Kakaru

TYLER NO WE NEED MORE CANNON FODDER DARN IT Er, there's no real requirement as far as activity, or posting reviews, or even the points system. Those are pretty arbitrary. The only reason I can think of is if you'd like honest feedback on your stories from a group of reasonably experienced fellow writers. That being said, you could find that anywhere. As an honorary and self-proclaimed leader of the Ambage, I couldn't give you any real reason to join beyond your personal choice. Best of luck with the decision though.

Hahaha, I totally get that. Right, like I said, the key to a good debate is restraining from using the hammer, even when it would really be far easier to vent your frustration. A good method I've found is to open a text document, then write down everything you're feeling against that person. Swears and all. Type in caps if it helps. Then walk away from the computer for an hour or two, maybe even a day. Try to avoid thinking about the beef you hold with that person. Read a book, watch a movie, maybe take a long walk and try to put things into perspective. Then come back and read what you wrote. Chances are that a good portion of it is going to seem more absurd than it did at the time you wrote it. Then you can start composing an actual reply once you're done venting. Like I said, acting on impulse and throwing out careless words against someone else is harmful to everyone and can destroy lives. That's what I've had to do on more than one occasion when involved in these sorts of debates with other people. Just thought I'd share my tactic. Anyways, thank you so much for the chance to hold a rational and civilized discussion. If we all understand that not everyone will choose their words with care and respect, and we choose to step up to be the example first, I'm confident in the future of the site, despite the drama and vastly contrasted viewpoints represented. Cheers mate! --- I'm leaving a note here that me and Basilisk have reached an understanding in private, and he's given me permission to close this entry to prevent room for misunderstandings and additional controversy. I'm pulling my head out of the hornet's nest, as all I wanted to do was ask people to be more respectful in their discussion of controversial topics, and to lead the way by being more tolerant to show others how to follow suit. If you have any additional thoughts, feel free to shoot me a PM. Thanks for understanding, everyone. Entry locked.

Thank you for understanding and being respectful, I genuinely appreciate that. I agree absolutely, there is not nor will there ever be a good way to justify discrimination. The entire reason I chose to stick my head in this hornet's nest was to defend my good friend Velox's character, if not his actions and words. I've explained at length elsewhere that Velox simply has a hard time gathering his words together properly, and discrimination based on sex, race, religion, sexuality or anything else was not what he intended. But what he said has been said, and the damage to his character is done. Regardless his intentions, his reputation as a respectful and understanding guy has been soiled by a few poorly chosen words and a heap of misunderstanding and lack of respect and clarity. This is why I'm asking everyone to stay respectful to their opponents and to choose their words (and when it's appropriate to say them) with a little more care. Lives can be ruined in a matter of seconds with a few careless words. Thank you for your time and responses, Basilisk. I'd like to apologize for calling you out in Gato's entry. That remark to Zar caught me as off-colour and I wanted to cut off any chance for your words to be misinterpreted then and there. Understand that I would have done the same if I walked in and Zar had just said the same sort of thing to you. I appreciate that we can still have a civil discussion on this site. There's hope for BZPower yet, on both sides.

That's not what I meant to imply at all, and I apologise if I've allowed it to be taken that way. You're right, they brought up the definition and the argument, and you brought up the evidence. But that doesn't mean that we have to stick it to them, because that's disrespectful even if they are in the wrong. Always assume that they believe what they believe very strongly and have a good reason. Absolutely correct, they should have the decency to keep from making bigoted remarks in the first place where they're aware that people will take issue with it. And understand that I'm not saying that you shouldn't disagree with them or attempt to argue with them if it conflicts with your beliefs. That's a good thing. What I'm saying is, (and this applies to everyone, this is only directed towards you as an example. I apologize if this offends you) have debates. Have lengthy discussion. Resolve your issues. But do it with respect in all things, and they in turn should show you the same respect. Asking them to be tolerant first won't work because they'll ask you to do the same, and if nobody takes that first step it will never happen. Thanks for understanding. I don't mean to call you out specifically, but you responded with a good point that allowed me to clarify my ideas. All I'm trying to do is prevent nasty feeling towards each other by resolving our issues through a mutual respect and understanding.

Ah, I apologise for the erroneous comparison. I didn't mean for the comparison to mean "this is just something you enjoy casually and can make the choice to change at any time," I meant that I respect it as an aspect of who you are. By using the football comparison I meant to imply that liking football was a part of who they are, and the fact that it's a hobby (and therefore a more casual choice) proved to be a hindrance to my point. Since there's not really an apt comparison I can make to sexuality in that regard, I suppose it will serve us both better if I simply say that I respect who you are and your right to your very being and personality, and I think that any form of oppression and hatred because of it is simply awful. While my religion inclines me to disagree with it, I will readily admit that I do not and will not ever fully understand my beliefs and how they relate to who you are. For this reason I will always choose to be respectful and give the greater benefit of the doubt to anyone whose actions disagree with my personal set of morals. I'd like to sincerely apologize for offending you in that regard. The metaphor I drew was in poor taste and the implications were not fully reasoned. In hindsight, I should have simply left it out entirely. I hope you understand and can accept my apology.

Because even if it's true, it's still impolite and often detrimental to them. If they're sexist or bigoted, you can call them that, but you should respect them enough and have the decency to avoid labeling them with a derogatory term for the sake of the debate. It's this lack of respect and flippant "whatever" attitude that prevents any real debate or resolution and breeds the hatred I'm addressing in the first place.

I'm just going to keep bludgeoning people with my "RESPECT" hammer until you all learn to stop belittling each other for your views and mindlessly hating and backstabbing without any real context or attempts to resolve your issues one-on-one. Seriously, you don't have to call people out in public with cutting remarks to try and make them see it your way. If anything, that makes them want to respect you and your ideas even less, and any opportunity for rational debate is lost when mutual respect goes out the window. Just. Stop. Reconcile your issues with that specific person through PM, one on one. We all have a sense of pride attached to our views, and when someone calls them out and disagrees with them in public, we get a bit miffed and tend to blow small negative remarks out of proportion, then we respond in kind as we see fit because "if they're not going to respect me then it's okay for me to do the same right" No. No it's not. We all seem to have an "eye for an eye" picture of justice when it comes to the internet, but as the saying goes, another eye for another eye until everyone is blind. Be the better man in every argument. Genuinely attempt to understand your opponent. If no resolution can be made quickly and politely in public, take it to them privately. If we all want this hate-free world that we claim to perpetuate, then we should all lead the way first. Stop spreading hate and backstabbing. The burst of adrenaline and petty retaliation feels good for a moment, but it helps absolutely nobody in the long run and is quite simply detrimental to this site, our community, and every member in it. So please, for all our sakes, respect your opponent and stop spreading hate. Resolve the argument in private if need be.

Okay Basilisk, stop bashing thanks. We're aware that you guys don't like Zar for his comments in the past. Try not to demean him, even if he does demean you. Be the better man here by giving him the example of the hate free-culture you're claiming to support. And Gato, I totally respect you and who you are. Even if I don't agree with it 100% (in the same way I don't agree 100% with people who watch football; that is, I don't do it myself and I don't personally see the appeal towards it, but I understand that's it a part of who they are and I do not demean them or their value as a person for doing it), I will still respect you, who you are, and your right to make that decision. This was a bad metaphor for many reasons. It was insulting and disrespectful, posted on a whim without care to understand the consequences and implication and I recognise that. I apologize for it and I definitely won't be making the same mistake again, ever. I'm leaving it here as a testament to my own carelessness, stupidity, and tendency towards hurtful words and actions. I can only pray that you won't think less of me for it in the years to come, but I understand that I have to live with the consequences of careless actions like this. In the meantime, please stop hating on either side of the argument, all of you. Period. I'm not saying it's gotten out of hand here yet, but if you stop treating your opponent with respect by belittling them and their views, we're going to have another horrid and pointless debate on our hands that will only breed more contempt, backstabbing and hate. If you have a problem, talk to them in person where egos can't be bruised and ignorance can't be justified. Thanks for understanding, guys.

I'm going to start off this extensive rant about the Nolan Batman Trilogy and how most people I've talked to fail to realize how brilliant it actually is beyond a well done action/thriller film. Please excuse the lack of apostrophes as the BBcode editor has seen fit to remove them all on a whim. Here we go, starting with the basis of this theory. For now, assume that the city is a direct parallel to the Batman we see created in Batman Begins. Keep this in mind because its going to make more sense as I explain it. Okay, what three elements create the essence of who Batman is? His psychology and resources: the fear he creates in criminals. His morals: do good, combat evil, do not kill. His strength: to support the effort required to utilize the first two. His overall purpose is to protect the city of Gotham, which conflicts with Alfreds purpose to protect and see him at peace. The three villains in each story are tailored to conflict with a key aspect of Batmans core personality, and the villain orchestrating this is tailored to conflict with Batmans ultimate purpose. Ill explore this more in a bit. So heres the thing: there is one main villain in the entire trilogy. Ras Al Ghul. Ras Al Ghuls purpose is to save the city (Batmans goal) through destruction. So through Ras Al Ghul, three villains come to destroy the city. I know that the Joker wasnt sent by Ras Al Ghul, but bear with me, and assume that a psychopath like him didnt just come out of nowhere. Its entirely possible that, before his death, Ras Al Ghul orchestrated a series of events to bring the Joker to Gotham, understanding that the two black and white personalities would inevitably clash and one would be forced to come out on top. For the sake of this theory, Im going to refrain from delving into the brilliant parallel Nolan created by adding Two-Face to the story, serving as a literal representation of the binary conflict stated through the film: The binary moral decisions that result in life or death. Thats mostly irrelevant here but still a fascinating study nonetheless. anyways Scarecrow comes first and challenges the first aspect of Batmans character: his resources (through which he creates this sub-aspect, the psychology) and turns it on him, thus defeating him initially through fear. He also forces the city to confront its fear and weakness in resources and through this confrontation, they are destroyed and defeated. Batman, as a direct parallel to the city, is forced to confront his failure in his resources through fear as well as his inability to protect the city through it. So he rebuilds by accepting that and ultimately prevails, as does the city. Im going to step back for a second to give you an outline of the structure of each film: The city is challenged by a villain in one area, defeated and forced to confront their corruption in that area, and they rebuild by understanding and getting rid of that weakness. The Joker comes along and forces Batman to confront his morals: do not kill. This is the one rule Batman was forced to break in order to defeat the Joker, and the Joker explicitly said this during the interrogation scene. He had to make the people believe that he killed Harvey: he basically failed the people and the city by his reliance on his morals, which in turn forced him to destroy its real hope: the hero Gotham deserved. So heres the outline again: The city was forced to confront the decadence in its own morals, accept its defeat and rebuild, just as Batman had to. Batmans morals could not protect the city either. Then Bane comes and breaks Batman physically. Hold on to your seat because here comes the outline again: Bane forces Batman to understand that his strength, the one thing he has left, cannot protect Gotham, and Batman rebuilds in the pit and rises once more now Throughout this, the lies he has created build up until everything falls down around him. Ill explain this a bit more in a couple paragraphs. He accepts his failure in each area and eventually rises when he gives up this hope he had built through lies (the rope in the pit can be seen as a parallel to this hope given through lies; only when he stops relying on it can he finally rise as a new Batman). Ras Al Ghul says something to this effect when Bruce is in the pit: you used all your resources (fear), morals, and strength and still failed the city. This was a taunt to bring Batman back, to force him to finally confront everything, to accept it, to let go of this false hope, and to rise at last to save the city once more and to allow it to rise. So Batman sees that each area of his character is failing and that he cannot protect the city through each one. Im stepping back again to point out another theme: The lies given to Gotham to give it hope. This hope is the most cruel punishment of all, as Bane stated in The Dark Knight Rises. The hope through these lies is a part of the citys corruption, and something that it is forced to confront in each film. At the end of Begins, Batman fails through his resources and fear, and he creates the lie that he can still sustain himself and still protect the city through it. We see the consequences of this lie as The Dark Knight opens, with Batmans resources failing, and the scars on his back as a result of trying to sustain this lie. But he does not dispel the lie, he continues to use it. At the end of The Dark Knight we see him create the lie that Harvey was a hero and that Batman killed him. As The Dark Knight Rises opens, we see the consequences of trying to maintain this lie as well. The parallel here is a little shaky because it all ties up in TDKR as opposed to these points resolving themselves individually in each of the films. These sustained lies build up to the point where Alfred simply says that maybe, just maybe, we need to let the truth have its day. This happens as Batman is in the pit, where his resources are gone, his morals have broken, and his strength is failing him. So he comes back and he understands that he cannot protect the city any longer, and these lies to give it a false hope need to be destroyed for the city to rise anew as he did. At this point, everything that makes batman who he is has been destroyed. When he comes back to Gotham, he faces the last challenge that Ras Al Ghul posed to him as a parallel to Batmans own progress: Either be literally purged of your decadence or confront your corruption in the areas challenged by these villains. Batman understand at last that Alfred was right when Alfred said that he didnt want Bruce to come back to Gotham because he knew that there was nothing left in the city for him. Alfred wanted Bruce to move on because he knew that Batman could not protect the city, that he had to finally move on, just as the city must be allowed to move on. There would come a day when Gotham no longer needed Batman, so Batman recognizes this and dispels every previous lie in one last gesture: His own death. The old Batman has died, and at the exact moment allowed the old city to die by destroying every lie and false hope he had crafted in his attempt to protect it. So now we see that Ras Al Ghul has won: The old city has been destroyed, purged of its decadence, and is now allowed to rebuild on its own without Batman. Since were running with the theory that Batman is a parallel to the city, we see that the death of Batman (the figurative concept) has allowed Bruce to move on and rebuild as well. The city no longer needs Batman, and Bruce doesnt either. Ras Al Ghul realized that trying to protect the city would destroy Batman, so he understood that he had to use Batman to destroy the city and he had to use the city to destroy Batman, because he wanted Bruce to be at peace the same way Alfred did, so he purged the city of its decadence at the same time he reconciled Bruce. The villains were basically a huge final training exercise orchestrated through Ras Al Ghuls death to teach Bruce a lesson and bring him to realize that there was nothing in Gotham left for him, and that Gotham had no use left for Batman. So in the end, the old Batman (the one that wanted to protect the city through these three aspects of his character: Resources, Morals, and Strength) fails in his goals. Ras Al Ghul succeeds in destroying the city and creating a new one, and destroying the old batman to create a new Bruce. Ras Al Ghul creates the illusion of his death as Batman is created (Batman Begins) because Ras Al Ghul was like the original Batman (where Batman is a parallel to the city), so he died as the new Batman was coming so that through him the city could confront its corruption and be saved. So Batman died to make way for the new city and a new era (represented by Robin) in the same way that Ras Al Ghul died to make way for Batman and the new era he represented. So keep all this in mind when you go back to watch the movies. Ras Al Ghul was the hero all along. [10:53:59 pm] kakaru: the end [10:54:02 pm] kakaru: am i missing anything [10:54:09 pm] angel of artistry: what [10:54:09 pm] angel of artistry: woah [10:54:12 pm] angel of artistry: dude [10:54:12 pm] angel of artistry: that [10:54:21 pm] angel of artistry: when do you think about these things? [10:54:29 pm] kakaru: i dunno [10:54:33 pm] kakaru: when im not doing homework [10:56:22 pm] angel of artistry: man [10:56:24 pm] angel of artistry: thats so crazy

I love the 2006-2007 era colour discontinuity there. This is definitely an old build.

There we go, clarification straight from the boss himself. Thanks!

Nuts. So is this spoiler discussion again or what? Does it really count as a spoiler now that the entire internet possibly knows about it? That's the thing about spoilers and leaked content: it doesn't matter how many people know about it, it's still leaked. Large portions of the community online may be talking about this, but if Lego asks us to take it down -as they may not have wanted it revealed or discussed yet- then we choose to respect their wishes by doing so and closing discussion. Note that this hasn't happened yet; it's sort of an awkward situation in the meantime. It doesn't matter what everyone else is doing because that's just peer pressure on a large scale.

Nuts. So is this spoiler discussion again or what?

I laughed out loud that you had to specify that the last line was a joke. And you know, they can't say that it's never coming back for sure...Anyways, glad to see a new western line is coming out, even if it is a license of a rebooted IP. We've been waiting far too long for this.

THAT IS BECAUSE IN THE JANUS EFFECT CONTINUITY COMMANDER ROB KILLS THE ILLUSIVE MAN AND TAKES OVER CERBERUS JUST SO HE CAN KEEP THE SNAZZY UNIFORMS And also because there was only ever one Janus Effect game. The three is actually hovering over the "effect," so it should read "Janus Effect to the third power (effect x effect x effect) which implies that the effect is multiplied by itself three times over as it should be. what yes thankyouverymuch. :3 I'm glad everyone likes it because my hand cramped up like crazy when I was colouring this and I went back to fix like a hundred little details every time I went back to try and admire my work. it's like art is never really finished until you stop looking at it

I DEMAND TO SIGN UP AND IF THERE IS A SUMIKI FANCLUB THAT I'M NOT A PART OF YET I WANT TO BE IN ON THAT TOO JUST COVERING ALL THE BASES HERE

I think the idea was to send in one topic, then be assigned one topic. Otherwise there are bunches left over with nobody to write for them.

In in in in. I will print whoever's I get and hang it on my wall for serious.

Next on my list. He will be the sparkliest commander ever.

(Here is proper link to large size) So I made this for Rob and Becca for Christmas because I'm kind of late sending Rob his birthday present. It is based on starwar and robotcop and other space movie from the 70's.

You and your dapper suit jackets. Congrats man! I wish famous authors held book signings where I lived. :v

Yep, this looks great without eyes. I've been following several builders who create figures at this scale for a couple years now, and they say that the key to creating good expression in characters is to leave out the eyes. If you put them in at this scale they end up looking blank and awkward, rather than letting the viewer impose the eyes on the model with their imagination. This is the entire reason miniland scale works so well, and the same principle applies to this cat. I could go into depth about this and rant for a couple pages, but I think this explanation should suffice.Anyways, just felt like that needed to be clarified since it's become a point of debate. The model looks great, and I particularly like the use of cones for ears. I think this is far more effective than the cheese slopes that people often use for cats around this scale.

Your camera wouldn't happen to have a 2-5 second timer, would it? That's what I have to do to get clear shots with long exposure times.

By the way, you can thank my girlfriend for A Monster Calls, since she picked it up at the library and brought it with her when we wento Nebraska to take a tour of my college last November. On the way, she finished it and I started it, then handed it off to Katie, who then eventually told you. yes it was a long boring drive because Nebraska sucks

Not terribly, we're all pretty chill most of the time. If you have specific questions about features you can always flip through the Reference Desk, which has pretty much everything you need to know and has been kindly catalogued and organized by our great leader, Black Six.While the key is certainly the Rules and Guidelines topic around here, you may want to check out the Signature and Avatar Guidelines, the Proto Energy FAQ, Advertising Policy, and our Leaked Content Policy. We do make use of all the rules in the Reference Desk, however, so if you have a question, go ahead and check the other topics.If your question isn't answered there, go ahead and post it in this forum, or if you notice a glitch or problem with the board (or even just have a suggestion), go ahead and file it in the tracker. We've upgraded the boards recently and are still ironing out the kinks, so there may be a few problems we can't answer at the moment.While there's no real required reading beyond the rules once you've joined, I'd personally recommend taking a look through the Short Stories Subforum, the General Art Subforum, and maybe look into joining an RPG in the Bionicle RPG Subforum. If you like, you could even try hunting down one of your favourite fandoms in the Completely Off-Topic Forum and start meeting people. You could even visit the oft-neglected Staff Profiles page if you're interested in seeing who our current staff members are, and maybe get to know some of them a little better.Otherwise, just run free and see what we've got laying around! Keep in mind that each forum has a topic revival limit, which is specified in the rules topic located at the top of each subforum. Keep it polite, don't spam or flame, and you should be fine.Welcome to BZPower, MisterGryphon! Enjoy your stay and make a few friends while you're here!