FeatherWriter

Gah! Recently found out about Team Fortress 2 (I have the Orange Box, but all I ever played was Portal) and now I really want to play it, but I'm too cheap to buy Xbox live! Grr...

Yeah, I read it in one sitting 'cause I was on a plane. Bit of a captive audience. Otherwise I probably would have abandoned it.

My Little Pony is one of those shows that's good because you don't expect it to be. Though, the creator is Lauren Faust, who was one of the creative directors on Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. It's just one of those shows that could have been really shallow, cliche, and full of stereotypes easily, but is instead full of well-rounded, pretty deep, engaging characters, coupled with fantastic animation and fairly good storytelling. In other words, WATCH IT!

First, you'll need a deviantart account if you don't already have one. Then go to the SovStates page HERE, read through the rules, regulations, blah blah blah. Your audition needs three things: A race reference: basically an outline of your race as creatures. This is where you mention any attributes or enhancements that they have. If they're completely human, this is fairly easy but you should still put a few things about the way your race looks that can differentiate them. An Attitudes and Beliefs outline, (here's an explanation): This is the bare bones of your race's culture. Religion, relationships, government, all that. (Mine's HERE if you'd like to see what I did) Lastly, the audition itself. Give us a snapshot of your race in their tribal phase. Mine is on my deviantart as well as the Creator's Corner. Yours doesn't have to be nearly as long as mine; most are only about a page long. But the storyteller in me gets carried away. That's it really. If you're looking for ideas, check out some of the already submitted auditions, references, and attitudes. Mine's not the be-all-end-all; be creative!

I recently had a long plane ride in which I finished both Clockwork Angel (the steampunk prequel to the Mortal Instruments) and Incarceron. I was kinda dissapointed actually. There's nothing that's really wrong with them, but I just feel like they're immature. I never really connected with any of the characters. The "big reveals" and "plot twists" weren't exciting, sometimes I saw them coming and other times I just didn't care. I feel like these are books that I might have enjoyed a few years ago, actually. But Brandon ruined them with his amazingness of course. I keep waiting for the awesome reveal or the magic systems to get fleshed out and they just don't. I did just start the Pendragon series, and so far I'm impressed. The first few chapters have me hooked, and I care about the main characters already. It's not super sophisticated either, but it's fun to read.

I made sure I didn't sent sent you a message Endra. Season three is awesome! I second that the Green Hornet is good. The fight scenes are over the top, but the dialogue is just fantastic! I loved it. A friend introduced me to the Chronicles of Riddick recently. I saw the first one, Pitch Black, but haven't gotten around to watching the next. It's not bad either. Also, SERIOUSLY? No one even mentioned the fact that I brought up My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic? Really? I know some of you have seen this show!! There are bronies out there, I know it! (Grr. I wish I was a guy fan of this show. Fan girls are "fillies" and guy fans are "bronies." Brony just sounds so much cooler.)

You should do it anyway! And Emeralis, Deviantart is the host site, not a forum. The actual SovStates group is fairly small at the moment if you're worried about it being "too established." There's actually very little that is established at all. And as for the no magic policy, it's really not that hard. I took one of my fantasy races and just came up with some sciencey-sounding explanation for their powers (they get stronger in the sunlight). I think the reason we all love Brandon's magic systems is because they're so scientific. That, and because they really need more applicants, the judges have toned down the hard science aspect a bit. Plausible is more what they're looking for now. They just don't want waving wands and sorcery. I'm fairly sure something like the Ley Lines (for you EC Rpers) could be tweaked and reworked to fit the universe without too many problems. And it wouldn't be impossible to justify systems like Allomancy with a little creativity. (Heck, I'm sure Brandon already has. Spiritual DNA and ratios of Preservation to Ruin and all that) It's not like the magic of Harry Potter where there is no other explanation than just magic; that's the kind of thing that wouldn't work. (Obviously I'm not saying you should try to pass off a race of mistborn, but the things we think of as "magic" might not have to be seen that way if you tweaked them a bit.) If you love race building, don't let the magic thing stop you. That's a minor speedbump in this whole thing. EDIT: Totally meant to mention this, but Comatose, as to the nomadic thing, I think they just want you to pick a biome to roam through, not necessarily a specific place within that Biome. I'd talk to the judges to be sure though.

I think Moonlight is my favorite of these. They're all amazing though.

Yes, my evil plan is working! Um... I mean, my completely legitimate and wholesale investment opportunity is working!

Okay, double post, but I've got some updates (if anyone even cares). There were not enough participants, so the deadline has been pushed back to July. STILL TIME TO ENTER!! DOOOOO EEEEEEETTT. Also, for those interested in my story. I am almost finished with Part 4, but unfortunately, it is no longer the last part. There will be 5 parts now! Hopefully I'll post that soon!

So, I mentioned this on the Creators Corner board, but I figure you all are more the target audience. Basically, there's this really awesome writing competition called Sovereign States on DeviantArt. And it needs more participants. Badly. Like if they don't get some more people on board by July, it might not happen. And this competition looks like a ton of fun, so it'd be great if a bunch of people competed. Here's the gist. I'm not sure how familiar you all are with Original Character tournaments, but for the most part, you submit a character to the competition, your character gets matched up with another character, you and the other person each make a write-up of how the match would go (usually a fight of some sort), and the person with the best write-up moves on to the next round, with their write-up becoming canon. Rinse and repeat until you've got a winner. Now, OCTs are fun. But Sovereign States is even cooler. Instead of being an Original Character Tournament, SS is an Original Civilization Tournament. You create a race of people (humanoid for the most part, but adaptations are allowed) and you follow them through history as they meet and fight against the other civilizations on the planet. Each round is a different era; moving from the tribal phase to medieval to rennaisance to present day. Victory doesn't necessarily have to be conquest, it can be mercantile or peaceful or some other kind, but by the end of each round, there will be a winner, and that Civ moves on to becoming the world power. It's "the winner writes the history books" taken up to eleven! If you like worldbuilding or creating races and societies whatsoever, please consider joining! I think this OCT will be a ton of fun, and it'd be so cool if 17th Shard kinda took over. The link is at the top of this post and you can read about the world and the requirements. Some of the auditions are already up and you can look through those to get a feel for the races. If you want to read mine (or what I have finished of it so far), it's over herein the Creator's Corner. And seriously. Do it.

Adonalsium Endowment Enterprises Soul Investment Agreement All investors shall be subject to, without exemption, the policies stated herein. At commencement, all investors are required to give up their soul, sometimes colloquially known as and henceforth referred to as "breath," to the company for the use in the research of Awakening. For every two (2) new investors that the investor recruits into the company, the investor will be awarded one (1) breath. Should the investor recruit an awakener with more than one breath, the company will reward the investor with a number of breaths equal to or less than 40% of the recruit's breath count. Should the investor recruit a Returned for investment in Adonalsium Endowment Enterprises, the company specifies that the investor NOT recieve the Divine Breath, and should instead contact the nearest Adonalsium Endowment Enterprises representative to accept the Divine breath on behalf of the investor. The rumors that Divine Breaths are equal to the two thousand (2,000) breaths required to reach the Fifth Heightening are false. The company concludes that the normal breath equivalent of Divine Breaths is closer to eight (8) breaths, therefore the investor will be awarded two (2) breaths (25%) for every Returned investor recruited. Adonalsium Endowment Enterprises reserves the right to nullify the investment of any and all investors at any time, without warning or explanation. If your investment is nullified, please report to the nearest Adonalsium Endowment Enterprises Nullification Acknowledgement representative and recite the Nullification Acceptance Phrase: "My life to yours. My Breath become yours." Failure to comply will result in incarceration and torture via Nightblood until the Nullification Acceptance Phrase is recited. If you agree to these terms and conditions please sign on the dotted line below. ................................................................

I don't know. I have a feeling he might want to wear it as a badge of honor. It's kinda badass. He has "dangerous" written across his forehead!

I downloaded season 3 through torrents, (shh) because the DVDs aren't supposed to come to the US for months, and I'm impatient. You might be able to find them on youtube, but it's doubtful.

Merlin is so awesome, Endra. The first season's good, the second season's great, and the third season kicks butt! If you're liking it now, I can just say that it gets even better! Yay! Arthur: I've been trained to kill since birth. Merlin: How long have you been training to be a prat? Arthur: You know, you really can't talk to me like that. Merlin: Oh, sorry. How long have you been training to be a prat, my lord? Love it. Okay, confession time. I'd heard a lot about My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and I decided to check it out. Result: Surprisingly good. I later found out it's directed by Lauren Faust, who did Powerpuff Girls, and this show's actually better (in my opinion). Yes, it's a kids show, so don't expect a Brandon-avalanche at the end of the season, but the characters are what really sell it. At first they seem like stereotypes, but really they're way deeper and complex than I would expect a show of this level to be. They're characters I seriously care about and I laughed out loud on numerous occasions. If you're on the fence about it, I'd say give it a shot, it's far better than you'd expect.

and ran out

Something other than Video Game Soundtracks and KPop (both of which I was guilty of): Enjoy having "La la la, whatever. La la la, doesn't matter" stuck in your head all day.

That is so perfect. Shallan as the new Wit, which leaves Hoid all sorts of time for Hoidy-ness. *cough*andthenshefallsforRenarin*cough*

Hmmm. Pyramid schemes are fun... On an unrelated note: Who wants to invest in Adonalsium Enterprises?

Okay, I've totally got this one nailed down. Shallan and Jasnah get to the Shattered Plains Adolin: Hi, there. So, you're my cousin's ward? That's really amazing. We should go talk about that somewhere. Alone... Szeth shows up to kill Dalinar Szeth: Honor, Honor, I hate my life, Honor, honor Awesome Kaladin/Szeth showdown!! Syl: *stands between them with hands on hips* Stop it right now, both of you or I'll stick you to the ceiling! In the midst of this, Shallan gives her shardblade to Dalinar Jasnah: Oh, now you're a shardbearer, Shallan? Any more life-changing secrets we need to get out of the way? No? There better not be. *gives Shallan the I-will-turn-you-into-a-statue-if-you're-lying-again glare* Shallan: No, never, Brightness. Nothing else. *cough*exceptIkilledmyfather*cough* And then my shipping friends have informed me that Shallan must then fall in love with Renarin, much to Adolin's dismay.

Eh, I kinda skimmed, so this may have been brought up already, but I've always assumed that Nalthians' ability to give away breath came from the fact that their shard patron is Endowment. They are able to give away part of their soul because their creator is based upon the concept of giving things to others. And breath-giving must be "consentual" (though torture and such work) because it is supposed to be "endowed" upon another. It fits with this theory perfectly.

Wow. That's awesome! I absolutely love the keteks in TSA, I wish there'd been more than two.

The Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Soundtrack has gotten to me. I downloaded the whole thing: original and orchestrated. It's just so good! All the songs sound different but they go together too! The various fight songs are probably the ones I know best, but Law Card is my favorite. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsXmvVE5lco&feature=related

banana's before. This

Okay, did anyone ever watch the show Code: Lyoko? I absolutely love that show! Last summer, I watched all 96 episodes over the course of a week. It's so awesome!