Alright folks... this'll likely be my last entry till I get back (and hopefully no longer than that -_-). See y'all later. Try not to have too much fun without me. ::distributes tear bottles:: If you start missing me, just cry into those. XP;; No, I kid.

Those of you whose phone number I know, I might call ya from the beach. I might even be able to get online for a short period of time. I do not know. n_n But I'll try. :3

Twwoollle I'm sorry I was away when you sent the link, but that Karma picture is AWESOME. XD It will be up tomorrow and remain there until I get back. Plenty of time for people to bask in its supreme coolness. I love the expressions especially. n_n ::stares at it:: Man, that's cool.

Y'all get to see it now if you want to. Neat. x_x

I want more pictures of Sinclair pointing guns at people. XD (especially Yamari :B)

All of the Kurai folder (which contains 49 subfolders and over 2000 files~) is now on a lovely CD, along with the files for Netscape and AIM, so if Malfactor commits suicide I at least won't have to redownload those. Netscape is especially important since I prefer the older version that comes with the Composer, which is kind of a pain to search out. I'll just have to reinstall Windows and MSOffice and download WS_FTP. Still a pain, but less of a pain. =P

Now that blogger's stopped being a punk... >_> Well, this is my last day here for a little while folks. Got a lot of packing to do...not so much for the trip, but for things to keep me from going insane on the fifteen hour car drive. >_>

Meep, I got a nice IM but I wasn't at the keyboard, so when I came back the person had signed off... I hope they come on again between now and Saturday so I can apologize.. it seems I only get messaged when I forget to put up an away. X3;

MOM: [The black wings Tanya sent me] are really pretty. You should hang them from your wall or something.
ME: (wearing them) Mom, they're made for wearing.
MOM: You're not gonna wear those in public, are you?
ME: Of course. I'm going to wear them at Rhodes. I'm going to wear them TO CLASS.
MOM: (horrified)

Happy 4th, y'all.

EEE!! ::glomps Tanya!!:: Your box came today!! Thank you!! :D :D Pretty black angel wingies! And the box picture of Sean is AWESOME! My dad was highly impressed. XD Eeee, wingies! I love them!! ::glomps you again n_n::

And, eh... it's just a few days until I leave for the beach (I thought I wasn't going anywhere until another week from now, as I may or may not have said before), so maybe I'll ask for guest stuff some other time. Between now and Saturday isn't really enough time for anybody, I don't think, unless anyone has their own idea or just wants to draw a pinup for me to stick up like I did last time I left. :3;

New Karma. There'll be a new page tomorrow too. n_n

In this chapter of Claris that I'm writing now (I'm typing up what I wrote today, although I'll likely run out of energy before I finish since I wrote quite a bit), there's a scene in which Cadmiel teaches Sean to fly. Thus, I'm doing a little research on the mechanics of flight in vertebrates (namely birds) so that if I need to I can explain some things, though I probably won't. It's just nice to have the knowledge for development of all my theories on angels. I'm not going to try too terribly hard to be physically correct on this, since obviously angels are creatures of magic and thus can use that as an excuse as to why they can fly despite not having bodies that are at all suited to do so. But I would like to still have some basic theories for it anyway.

For example, obviously the angels have wings that are absolutely gigantic, in order to support the weight. In general, the taller the angel, the larger their wings, since weight increases with height. Sean is a freak when it comes to height (he's 6'5), so his wings are mammoth. In order to get off the ground in the first place, they have to generate some lift, which is done by beating their wings quickly, then jumping into the air and holding themselves aloft with the continued beats of the wings. The bones in their wings are hollow and, since they are so large, have millions of feathers, but due to the magic of angelic-osity, they're still quite easy to move, especially if you've had millions of years of experience (like Cadmiel). Once in the air, they manuever their wings much like birds, though they have a harder time soaring because most thermals aren't powerful enough to affect their big wings. They are able to fly at incredible speeds and dive even faster (much faster than most cars, for relation), BUT, flying sucks up a lot of energy (especially if you're inexperienced and don't know how to use your wings to their proper advantage). This is why Leliel and Ireul didn't fly through the entire forest in the fourth chapter--they would run out of energy doing that (though it would be easier on their feet :).

Grr, no AP results yet. I want to know what I got. ::frets -_-::

I guess villains are more interesting, by default. Unless they're one-dimensional, 'HAHAHA I AM TAKING OVER THE WORLD FOR NO REASON OTHER THAN BECAUSE I CAN' types, and even those can be fun and interesting if done with some panache. But, you don't really need a reason to be good usually... people don't question goodness.

And yeah, college + finance = worry. I'm doing work-study at Rhodes, I have a tiny scholarship, my grandparents are helping, we have some money stashed away, PLUS we're taking out loans so I'm prolly gonna be in debt when I graduate. :\ Oh well. c'est la vie. Mostly I just want to do well in school, because since it IS so expensive I would feel horrible if I failed. Not doing well enough is my biggest fear, next to the money in general. -_-

I am sad that I missed Friday's Sailormoon episode, the one where Nephrite dies. It and the one before it are two of my favorites of all the episodes I've seen, and if I ever seen any uncut episodes from the series, I want to see those two. (I would love to hear Molly/Naru's and Nephrite's Japanese voices; I don't like the American actors much at all. Molly's Northern accent annoys the hell out of me and Nephrite's actor is, as twolle said, like Barry White without the soul. =P)

I think the villain treatment is the main (and possibly only, in general I find the manga far superior to the anime) area in which the anime surpasses the manga. The anime villains were assigned much more depth than the manga villains, who usually only showed up for a little while, didn't do much, and then died.

I try to write Clarity according to certain Sailormoon conventions, even if I don't use Sailormoon characters or places. At first I was going the anime route with the villains, where they mostly use youma to do their dirty work, but I discovered very quickly that I really suck at creating monsters (which is why there are only two [Etienne had one and so did Sikari] and they're both uber-lame), so I went the manga way and had the villains fight mainly in person. But I also treat them like characters with conflicts and weaknesses and humanity, which is why I think Clarity's villains are even more popular than the girls. =P (though I hope y'all like the girls, too, I mean, the story is about them, even though I try to pay attention to the villains too) My favorite parts of both worlds, I guess.

Brace yourselves kids, lyn can't sleep, and that means crazy ramblings.

I got a feedback form-mail for Claris recently that said basically 'I like your story but why is everyone crazy?' I don't really think my characters are all that nuts. Some of them are more 'out there' than others (Sean and Donovan being obvious examples; Lucius and Delilah are kind of unhinged too, but they're on the opposite spectrum), but in my (admittedly limited--I am only eighteen after all) knowledge of people, no one is really sane. I don't know anyone I would classify as normal, and my definition of normal is a person who never does or says or thinks anything that would strike anyone else as odd. In other words, a person who is utterly dull. My mother, for example, is what my brother calls 'a tool', since she eats up even the most obviously emotionally manipulative TV and movies. But she's still crazy, in her own Mom-way.

Most people I know are 'crazy' in some way, and if I know you, I don't mean that as an insult. I mean that as saying that everyone I know has something--and usually a lot of things--that would cause others to think maybe they're a little bit mad. For example, I have a sincerely religious friend, and by this I mean, she takes the Bible VERY literally. Some people might think that she is a little bit mad for these beliefs. The fact is that everyone is kind of crazy, and in fact if you ever MEET someone that seems dull and sane, then chances are that person is actually a serious fucking psycho.

However, I know writers that create characters who are cruel bitches or whores or whatever in an attempt to make 'real' or 'human' characters. In my (again, limited!) experience, no one is actually that nasty. Yes, some people treat others like crap. But at the same time they're kind to other people, and at their hearts ninety percent of people THINK they are good human beings. And if not good, at least in some way noble or elevated. The world is full of sick people yes. But most people aren't that bad. They're just crazy.

Which is OK, because we all are.

I try to reflect that in my characters.

(I hope this post made something resembling sense. perhaps i will edit it after I have done the sleep)

I told Bryan that just before we leave for the beach I want to back up all of my files on a CD, just in case something happens to Malfactor while we're gone and he wants ANOTHER reformat (if this does indeed happen, it will be his last, for soon after that I will have a new computer and Malfactor may sleep forever). So now I'm thinking watch something horrible happen to him between now and when we leave, because I'm psychotically paranoid like that. =P He does seem to do a lot better with 98 than he did with 95 though. Though I do still need to restart him every few days or he starts getting REALLY slow... poor old man. Just a few more months, Malfie. That's all.

I've gotten several search queries along the lines of requesting pictures of Satan. Perhaps the second picture will appease? =P Yes, he's a Claris Project character. The white space where his name and the silly quote are was filled with my notes on his clothing (think uber-goth Reve and such like). I'm not sure I like his hair... I kind of like it, but I'm not sure if I should make it totally silver or just change the way I mix the silver and the gold.

And the other picture was fun. n_n I used the wire frame method of drawing the head circle first (not what I usually do); I think the art sucks anyway but it was fun to put in all the black. Leliel can, of course, disappear in the darkness, like Shamshiel disappears in daylight. That line of the Garbage song is really the only one that fits her though (besides 'my only comfort is the night gone black' I guess, though it's not her ONLY comfort.. :3;)...but it fits so well. :B