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Below are the 19 most recent journal entries recorded in
detective_raana's InsaneJournal:
| Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 | ||||
| 3:26 pm | Mini iPhone Dump Just a few pictures this time, since I'm lazy. This summer I went to a town called Capitola, which has prime beachfront real estate. My mom and I like to go for the shops and for Zelda's restaurant, which has the best burgers around. No one was in the water, though. There was a shark sighting. A great white shark sighting. I love California. Anyway, I found this in one of the shops and it amused me. See what you think.  I realize it's bad quality, so I'll add what it says: "Personality: Practical, trustworthy, and wise.--" Wise? Yeah, that's Brucie boy... "You value family and friends and are admired for your loyalty and dedication. Origin: Old French. Meaning: From the Thicket.--" Thick in the head, maybe. "Number: 4." Hollister's number should be 5... "Color: blue. Animal: python. Plant: juniper tree." That's Bruce, all right.  Taken in Japantown, San Francisco. I wanted to buy the little Azelf plushie so bad but they only had one and I didn't want to look like a dork and ask for it. ;_; Finally, this was taken last week. There was a volunteer fair at my school, and this woman showed up with a Shetland pony to promote volunteers at a local farm. Everyone was so happy to see it, pet it, and take pictures of it. I wish there were more animals around here. All we get to take care of are fish. :c  IT IS SO SMALL! IS CUTE TO ME! Current Mood:  cheerful | |||
| Sunday, August 9th, 2009 | ||||
| 8:54 am | Beta Read plox They were getting destroyed out there. BLU had launched a surprise attack. RED’s initial defense was shattered, and Point A was overrun. Engineer was trying to make another stand. Ducking and dipping sneakily past gunfire to a halfway safe position, he prepared to build a Sentry.
At the same time, Sniper scrambled up to a suitable hiding place in the second story of a building. He took shelter behind a window, then peered out with his rifle. The BLUs were drawing closer, their Demoman leading the charge with a smile straight from the Devil’s face. Sniper hunkered down low, then lined up a shot with the leering Cyclops. Suddenly, there was a roar. The RED Heavy Weapons Guy thundered out to the front line, Medic right behind him. Sniper watched as Heavy let loose with his minigun, causing the BLUs to scatter for cover. “Who sends babies to fight?” Heavy cried, a gleeful grin on his face, “Hide, cowards! I am coming for you!” Engineer’s Sentry whirred to life. The Texan looked up when Heavy and Medic approached. Heavy was still roaring fiercely. “Look at me, look at me!” Engineer felt a small glimmer of hope emerge in his heart, and he began to upgrade his gun with gusto. Sniper was much less enthusiastic. Heavy’s appearance on the battlefield had caused the BLUs to retreat, but this was unusual. Did they make a stand somewhere farther down? Medic didn’t have an Ubercharge ready. There were butterflies in Sniper’s stomach, and they were pissed off. “Run! Run, I am coming for you!” A glint of light caught Sniper’s eye. He looked up just in time to spot the enemy Sniper emerge from the window of a parallel building. A bright glare reflected off the scope of his rifle. There was a blue dot on the back of Heavy’s head. His fate was sealed, and Sniper could do nothing as the BLU sharpshooter pulled the trigger. The report of the rifle seemed to stop time. Heavy let out a blood-chilling scream in agony, the back of his head disintegrating into a red mist. He fell like a ton of bricks, collapsing to the ground. Engineer looked up from his newly-built Sentry when he heard the death bellow just in time to see Heavy breath his last. The world spun to normal time when Medic let out a shriek in absolute horror. “Heavy!” The doctor dropped his medigun, dropped to Heavy’s side, and clung to his corpse, still crying out in misery. “No! No, my Heavy, no! Please, Gott, no!” With Heavy out of the picture, BLU started to advance again. Fury burned in Sniper’s chest, but his enemy counterpart had retreated, his job done. He himself had no choice but to retreat as bullets ricocheted off the window pane. Meanwhile, Medic was still draped over the dead Russian as if the heat of his body could awaken him. Engineer left his Sentry to drag Medic away by the tail of his lab coat. “He’s dead!” Engineer cried. The doctor thrashed, trying to break the Texan’s hold, but Engineer was firm. “He’s gone, Medic! We have to get out of here!” All of a sudden, the hellish energy that possessed Medic vanished, leaving him limp in Engineer’s arms. The color drained from his face, tears running down his face. As the BLUs overtook Heavy’s body, the doctor let out a miserable, soul-wrenching wail. Engineer swore he could feel Medic’s heart breaking as they retreated from the incoming forces. Current Mood:  eegh | |||
| Saturday, May 16th, 2009 | ||||
| 12:38 pm | iPhone Photo Dump #3 It's that time again! Proof that college is for nerds:  This is a velvet worm. It's a marine critter related to the common earthworm. It's in a finger bowl for examination. It was awesome to look under a microscope at its little "feathery" legs, even if it did like to move around a lot and disrupt observations. iirc that's it's head at the bottom.  Finally, this is a project that my Freshman Year Experience (FYE, "Fwee") class did the other week. It's a prosthetic hand. It attaches to someone's arm by a harness latched around his or her shoulder. It's nothing super fancy -- no nerves connect to it or anything so you can't control it by thought, etc. -- but it suits its purpose. You can do pretty much anything that requires gripping: writing, holding a glass, even driving. I managed to make only one of the little suckers. First of all: they're tricky to make. Lots of shoving springs and screws in places that are just a fraction too small to insert, fragile pins and plastic pipes, and the tension you have to put on the thing at any given time. Secondly: the Rotary Club who gave us the kits to make 'em only had a limited amount. In any case, mine worked just fine. I hope whoever gets it is grateful! Front view:  Side view:  Current Mood: goodCurrent Music: Mute City -- Super Smash Bros. Brawl | |||
| Monday, May 11th, 2009 | ||||
| 1:15 am | Chimeras  What is a chimera? Let's start all the way back at square one. Hundreds of millions of years ago, back in the Permian era of Earth's past, for the very first time, all forms of life existed. Everything from the lowly protist to the vertebrate appeared in the warm, shallow seas of the young planet. During this time, the ancestor of the chimera emerged. It was a predatory creature that preyed on everything except others of its species. Nothing was too nasty for a particularly hungry chimera to take down. How did chimeras do it? The creatures have the unique ability to copy the characteristics of whatever it absorbs. If a primordial chimera ingested a trilobite, for example, the chimera had the trilobite's DNA in its body. If the chimera did not use the DNA in its current form, its offspring would still have the trilobite DNA and could call upon it to grow a shell, multiple limbs, etc., as long as the trilobite had it. This continued on for millions of years. The ability to copy made chimeras very successful as a species. They avoided both the massive Cambrian die-off and the meteor strike at the end of the Cretaceous period. Chimeras took on many different forms based on what they had to be at the given time. The creatures evolved very rapidly, which led to their Renaissance period during the Pleistocene, 1.8 million years ago. By the time homo sapiens came about, chimeras were incredibly advanced biologically. Somewhere along the line, a freak mutation gave them the ability to manipulate the absence of light: darkness. Although a crude power at first, evolution and the cleverness of the breed made this a formidable asset. Eventually they were able to bend darkness around them, giving themselves an intangible form. Being able to change shape, size, and texture at will allowed them to branch out across the planet, but it also lowered their breeding rate, as individuals were often separated over large distances. Despite this, chimeras continued to prey on other animals and incorporate foreign DNA into their own. The downside to lacking a form is that there is no substance. Chimeras started to decline during the various ice ages. Sometimes all it took was a strong gust of wind to send one to pieces. As a result, chimeras hid away underground, in ocean caves, and at the bottom of lakes. Chimeras eventually took humans as prey, incorporating them into their species. This had profound effects on them. The human mind became part of them, along with human emotions. Chimeras grew more intelligent than humans, as they had the additional benefits of millions of years of genetic memories. Their understanding of the world and of themselves grew, and something like a civilization sprouted over the idea that, as a culmination of the animal kingdom, they were the "royalty". Perhaps it was curiosity, but for some reason or another some chimeras began to form alliances with humans. Since chimeras were without form, they could take up residence in the dark places of humans, hiding in their bodies like a symbiote. The human became the chimera's host. In exchange, the chimera would allow the human to borrow its power over darkness. Not all chimeras chose this lifestyle and remained in their lairs, away from human contact. This was how it went for thousands of years. Chimeras became the basis of legend and myth. Chimeras witnessed surfacing from lakes to breed started tales of lake monsters and sea serpents. Dragons, unicorns, and demons often were thought up after someone caught sight of one of the elusive creatures. Throughout this time, people were still being used as hosts for the beings. Depending on the person "possessed" and the dogma of the time, this could be either good or bad. Many times a chimera was driven out of its host. Occasionally they were killed, but this was often on accident. Bruce's Chimera The chimera that eventually possessed Bruce Hollister was born in what is now Mexico in 1245. Chimeras stay with their parent (the mother is the primary caregiver, the father leaves after mating with her) until they have mastered their powers. This often takes at least one hundred years, but time is immaterial to a formless being. The chimera left its mother's lair deep under Lake Texcoco, curious about the life above water. The chimera lurked in the jungles of Central America for many years. The Aztecs learned it was there and dubbed it Tepeyollotl, God of the Mountains. When the Spanish invaded, the chimera fled. It made its way into the Pacific Ocean and stayed a marine creature for a longer period of time, exploring the vast world it was a member of. The chimera met with others of its kind in different forms, from wanderers to symbiotes, but it still wanted to see the world for what it was. Its time in the ocean still left it in a form incompatible with land, so it rested while coming up with a suitable body for terrestrial life. During this time, however, the US was conducting experiments with nuclear weaponry on atolls in the Pacific. The chimera drifted too close to a blast and was seriously wounded. It used the last of its energy to flee as fast as it could, uncaring of which direction it went. It ended up in Africa...where it met Bruce. The chimera was dying, and its last shot at survival was to get Bruce to become its host. The blonde agreed. The chimera was impressed by his courage, and the first thing it did after becoming one with the wanderer was to remove his sense of fear as a gift. Bruce learned it was named Tepeyollotl, and that is what he calls it to this day. Tepeyollotl (pronounced teh-peh-yo-lo-tle) ("Tepe" for short) Tepe is the chimera that has Bruce as its host. When it became one with the blonde, it effectively hit the restart button. Its personality was wiped out and started anew. Whereas the old Tepeyollotl was wise and cautious, Tepe is more of a teenager. He's antsy and doesn't like to be bossed around. Bruce doesn't mind so much, as he doesn't rely on Tepe constantly, but when he does need the chimera's help and Tepe refuses, problems do emerge between them. Bruce does keep Tepe happy by letting him take over on dark nights, emerging to romp around before the sun rises. Tepeyollotl has the body, head, hind legs, and tail of a lion. He has raven wings protruding from his shoulders and his front legs are talons. He also has the ears and nose of a hare, with a puff of fur at the end of his tail. Chimera Powers Chimeras can manipulate darkness. In complete darkness they can become invisible, so long as they keep their eyes closed. They can make darkness into tangible forms. Anything and everything can be made from darkness, but if none is available, the power becomes moot. Chimeras can also "jaunt" between shadows, but only if they have been to those places beforehand. If a chimera has a human host, the human can also use its powers, but only if the chimera allows it. The form chimeras take depends on whoever looks at them. What a chimera looks like to one person may be different than what someone else sees. A chimera with a human host takes on whatever form the host sees, and remains that way for everyone to see. Current Mood:  creativeCurrent Music: none | |||
| Thursday, April 16th, 2009 | ||||
| 5:09 pm | Aw, cripe. I'm sorry, guys. I feel awful about this. If it had pissed you off so badly, then why didn't you say something about it? I'm down with it! ...sigh. I don't even feel like explaining. Just makes me feel like more of an ass. Excuses, excuses... ... I'll stop it. I promise. Current Mood: depressed | |||
| Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 | ||||
| 2:10 am | Uggh. No Australia trip for me. Bugger the economy. Current Mood:  pissed off | |||
| Thursday, February 26th, 2009 | ||||
| 9:45 am | My day today, an update on Mr. Skullhead, and a new default icon Today was the World of Work fair at my university. It was a bunch of different organizaitons looking for cheap labor -- us college students. No one was getting hired on that day, it was for jobs over the summer. But hey, I take what I can get! I gave in resumes at two places: VIP Petcare and a wildlife rescue foundation. Petcare would get me paid, but just on the weekends. Wildlife rescue is volunteer work, although you can become an intern. Doesn't matter to me. A degree in zoology is great, but what employers are really looking for is experience, and tons of it. It's all good, though. I like to help out. I showed the picture of the skull to the woman at the wildlife rescue bench, and she said it wasn't a coyote at all. It was a boar. Apparently there are wild boars roaming around Salt Point. They're not native to the area, but I guess whatever predators are up around there (probably bobcats and mountain lions) are keeping them in check. Finally, new default icon. It's the dove from the No Hitter achievement. Current Mood: calmCurrent Music: video game gunfire | |||
| Monday, February 23rd, 2009 | ||||
| 9:05 pm | The Mushie Hunt 7:30 AM: The alarm goes off. Time to get up, grab some breakfast, check Email, get dressed, etc. for the mushie hunt today. I almost didn't make it in -- someone dropped out at the last second. I feel bad for her, but hey, I got in. I have something to do with myself today. 8:30 AM: After gathering everyone at the big white van we're traveling in, we are on our merry way. It's a two hour drive to Salt Point, the second half of which is on twisty coastal roads with 50 foot drops at every turn. I don't get carsick, but I tell you what, it made me dizzy. 10:00 AM: We arrive at Salt Point. We meet up with mycologist (mushie expert) Autumn Summers. ...I swear that's her name, as nonsensical as it is. Before we made it here we saw several other groups of mushie hunters. Apparently you can get paid good money for selling these wild mushrooms to fancy restaurants. This is a hobby that a ton of people share. I'm just in it for the lulz. Maybe I can find something cool though. We wandered on trails for a while, and I found our very first mushie. It was a LBM -- Little Brown Mushroom. Mushies really do look alike, and without getting what's called a spore print, it's hard to tell just by looking at it. Then we went off-trail, into the forest proper.  You can almost expect to see a T-Rex come stomping through. 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM: Wandering through the undergrowth, hunting for mushrooms. We called out every time we found one, from the toothy hedgehog to the almost-impossible-to-see black chanterelle. Here's some of the more interesting things we found.  A skull. The snout is too long to be a bobcat or mountain lion, and this isn't grizzly country. It had sharp teeth, so it wasn't a deer. I think it's a coyote. I think someone actually took this with him. Don't know what for, although I remember him saying something about "putting flowers in the eye sockets".  This is called a jelly mushroom. It's totally inedible; zero taste whatsoever, but it's not poisonous. It's called a jelly mushroom because that's what it has the texture of: a gooey, floppy blob. Some people chewed on them like gum.  A banana slug on the hand of the trip's organizer. While the slugs are best known for being bright yellow -- hence their name, banana slug (they're also roughly the size and shape of a banana too) -- this little fella was pickle green. Banana slugs live all over the coast of California. They're totally harmless. Fun fact: in reality, banana slugs are poisonous, it discourages birds and lizards from eating them. The poison, however, has no effect on humans, their slime just acts as a very mild anesthesia. You can kiss a banana slug and have no ill effects. I'm proud to say that I have kissed a slug and would be happy to do so again. Having your lips numb for five minutes is a nuisance, however.  A teeny weeny salamander we found. None of the body parts in this picture are mine. 1:30 PM: We leave the forest and go to the nearby campground to cook up our bounty. We brought other snacks besides the mushies, and had a totally vegetarian lunch. I'm a carnivore, but it was delicious anyway. We cooked up the hedgehog mushie and a few of the black chanterelles we found (how those little buggers were found, I'll never know, they were practically invisible against the forest floor). They were sauteed and given some salt and butter. I thought they tasted like rich olive oil. The Sonoma County Mycological Association (SOMA) was there too, showing off their wares. Mushies of all sizes and shapes were there! Big ones, small ones, ones the size of your head! Everything from butt rot (because it rots away the butts of trees), to witch's butter (an orange blob you would never expect to be a mushroom). They had slim pickings too, I guess it was just an off year. 3:30 PM: We start the drive back to school. We were right on the ocean, and the view was incredible. 5:00 PM: We arrive back at school. Everyone's wiped out from the fresh air, physical exertion, and good times. We bid each other adieu, and go our separate ways, thinking of what we had done today, what we had seen, and how lovely it all was. I'm going back next year. Current Mood: calmCurrent Music: Jump! -- Van Halen | |||
| Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 | ||||
| 10:04 am | iPhone Photo Dump #2 This is my favorite jacket in the whole world. I got it at a Genesis concert in Sacramento. It's two years old but it's still snuggly and hasn't worn out its utility yet.   I found the taxidermied animal collection in my school's science labs! :D   FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF--  Meow :3  Go aweh, I am teh sreepy kitteh  Mrrow God leave me alone you damn dirty human  Current Mood: squishy Current Music: none | |||
| Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 | ||||
| 7:58 pm | Later, gator My Dad wrote this:  That page was also the first thing my new printer ever printed. Out with the old, in with the new and infinitely better. Current Mood: satisfied | |||
| Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 | ||||
| 5:30 pm | iPhone Photo Dump Welcome to Silent Hill, California:    Jesus Christ it's a (sea) lion get in the car:  I wonder what gets made here:  :3:  Current Mood: calmCurrent Music: Pump Up the Jam -- Technotronic | |||
| Sunday, November 9th, 2008 | ||||
| 11:46 pm | It's a quarter past one. Let's do this. 19th birthday shenanigans. I'd like to go back when it's not as crowded. Might actually get to do something. And call me what you will, it warmed my heart to see children's faces lighting up while looking at fish that were four times as old as they were. Makes me think there's some hope for the species. (Humans, that is, the fish are chill.) Got Japanese food. Not bad. But now I'm sick. My throat feels like raw hamburger meat. Probably looks like it too. Medicine's not helping. Pain...such a cruel mistress. Also why I'm up at this ungodly hour. It's keeping me from sleeping! Sigh. Going to the doctor tomorrow, perhaps he can help. Current Mood: soreCurrent Music: my cat's snoring | |||
| Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 | ||||
| 11:23 pm | MADNESS 
MAGGOTS Current Mood: crazyCurrent Music: TF2 frag vid on Youtube | |||
| Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 | ||||
| 10:19 am | It ain't easy
Current Mood: sleepyCurrent Music: Galvanize -- Chemical Brothers | |||
| Sunday, October 19th, 2008 | ||||
| 2:43 pm | Wait, this isn't for a job? FFFFFF-- 1.) What inspired you to create Bruce? What made you choose his name? Bruce Hollister was actually inspired by ZTDO's drawings of the Sniper. I ran with it a bit, and out came Bruce. Originally he was a carbon copy of the in-game Sniper, then transformed as his character grew and branched out. What was once your classic Aussie turned into a Californian orphan with a bad case of restless feet, long blonde hair, and a raven named Lenore. More on her later. So...I suppose you can even go so far as to say that Bruce and Miles are related. Distantly and through a fourth wall, but perhaps they are... I chose "Bruce" because, like I said, he was the usual Sniper. I thought it sounded Australian. "Hollister" was the first thing that came to mind when I thought of his last name. No relation to the clothing store...maybe one of his descendants started the corporation. 2.) What is your biggest motivator? Music. Hands down. I listen to it all the time. When I write, when I RP, when I draw (on the rare occasion), when I do homework, when I walk to class, during meals, when I read... It's almost nonstop, and I love it. When I write, I imagine the story as a movie, and try to describe the scenes like you'd describe a film. When music's playing, I form a mental movie in my mind, and lyrics, if there are any, is dialogue. In an analogy: music is to gasoline as my writing is to a car. 3.) Which do you prefer? 80's music or 90's music? I'm a child of the 90's, but I don't care for that era's music so much. My friends fondly remember Spice Girls, N'Sync, etc., but now I hear them and get attacked by nostalgia. And it's not the good kind either. It's the stuff that makes you go: "Damn, I listened to this garbage?" So 80's and earlier, I suppose. I'm a huge Genesis fan. 4.) What's your favorite movie? And why? I don't really have one, but if I must answer, I'd say V for Vendetta. It was artistic, powerful, and very cool. V is badass. I dressed as him for Halloween once. 5.) What made you get into the wonderful world of Team Fortress 2? This is a bit of a round-about. First of all, I got to see Half-Life 2 on my brother's PC. His computer didn't handle it very well, but I liked the game and thought it was cool. Several years later, I somehow found the Meet the Series, and thought that looked neat. So I got the Orange Box for 360. I played through Portal, HL2, and the two Episodes, then tackled TF2. (trufax -- I'm used to Halo 3's control scheme, so whenever I press X to reload: "Whoops! Zat vasn't medici--aaaaahsdlfher *death*" And I facepalm and feel like a noob.) The struggle between RED and BLU intrigued me, and here I am today, for better or worse. --+-- 1 - What's your favorite song, and why? I don't really have a favorite...I listen to whatever comes on the radio. I love Genesis's songs though, and the songs of its past members like Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett. 2 - Say you get reincarnated, what would you be? No idea. I subscribe to the Buddhist belief that if reincarnation is real, we turn into something based on how we lived our previous lives. Since I'm an ongoing project, I can't say yet. 3 - TentaSpy or CaterSpy? What's a CaterSpy? I have to say TentaSpy. 4 - Who's more tragic, do you think - Jack or Tucker? Tuckie. Then again, I may be biased. I'm not as good at writing tragedy as some people. >_> 5 - If you could spend 24 hours with anyone (living, dead, fantasy, etc) who would it be and why? Gackt. He just seems like a cool guy. Current Mood: chipperCurrent Music: Darktown -- Steve Hackett | |||
| Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 | ||||
| 10:01 am | Profile - Lenard Carnegie Name: Lenard Carnegie Age: 39 Team position: Engineer DOB: August 24 Place of birth: West Copraville, Florida Image songs: "Kids" (MGMT), "Hero of the Day" (Metallica) Patron animal: cuckoo Quirks: Lenard's prone to forget what he's doing...while he's doing it. He also has an IQ of 245. Family History Lenard is the oldest of six kids -- he has three little brothers and two little sisters. West Copraville is a tiny little burg, and as Lenard grew up, found it couldn't contain his massive intellect. Unfortunately, his family was rather poor and couldn't afford to send him away. Armed with the few skills he learned from his father, a mechanic, Lenard left home with little to his name. While hitchhiking up Georgia, Lenard met a strange traveling man by the name of Bruce Hollister. It seemed both men were migrating paupers, but where Lenard was depressed and anxious about what tomorrow would bring, Bruce was excited. The Southerner was impressed that Bruce had made it all the way from California with the clothes on his back and the shoes on his feet, and, when they parted ways in Atlanta, Georgia, was given new hope in his independent state. Just when things started to look up for the young Floridian, he was caught up in a bank heist. As he was forced facedown on the floor of a bank in South Carolina, curiosity took over. He watched the robbers' methods, and, despite their multiple mistakes, left the scene with a ton of money. Well, he could do it better, so did that mean he could get even more cash? Lenard started to craft plans for his own bank robbery. He went with his plan, and it was a rousing success. The Southerner was rich in a matter of hours. The rush it gave him made him feel alive. He left Georgia, the local authorities unable to identify the perp. As years went on, Lenard continued to rob banks and jewelry stores up and down the East Coast blind. He never left a trace of himself behind, always worked alone, and never hit the same place twice. The FBI dubbed him Superthief. At this time, the RED/BLU war erupted, but the Southerner stayed away from the conflict, hiding in neutral zones. It only made stealing even easier than it already was...disappointing, but still satisfactory. Finally, at the height of his career, it happened. Lenard made a mistake. He was then faced with a dilemma. Keep robbing banks and stores, knowing one day he would be caught and be executed (the jail system had collapsed at this point), or flee to the war? BLU History Lenard chose to flee. Much to his disbelief, he found Bruce Hollister's name again, this time as the leader of Troop 45. The Southerner attended Engineer training in Houston, Texas. With his knack for complicated machinery and extremely high IQ, he graduated top of his class, although he did steal everything that wasn't bolted down -- he would've taken those too, but he forgot on the last day of training to pack bolt-cutters. Lenard was recommended to Troop 45, and Bruce, recognizing the name, took him on board. Personality Lenard always has a plan, and when he doesn't, he's thinking up one. With all these ideas floating around in his head, he sometimes does get a little fuddled, but then his memory fades out for a second and he's fine. No one's quite sure why this happens...maybe he's just absent-minded. He tries to improve on everything -- equipment, tactics, and people. If somebody's having an argument, Lenard's there, hatching a scheme to end the disagreement. As with most Engineers, Lenard hates Spies, but Jack, Troop 45's Spy, is okay by him...so long as he doesn't uncloak behind him suddenly. Current Mood: pleasedCurrent Music: Extreme Ways - Moby | |||
| Monday, September 15th, 2008 | ||||
| 11:29 pm | Profile - Bruce Hollister Name: Bruce Hollister Age: 37 Team position: Sniper / Leader of BLU Troop 45 DOB: October 25 Place of birth: San Francisco, California (or so he assumes) Image songs: "Still Waters Run Deep" (Rick Wakeman), "Doctor! Doctor!" (Thompson Twins) Patron animal: raven Quirks: He owns a stuffed dog called Truffles; it's been his for thirty-two years. He plans to give it to his kids. Family History Bruce never knew his parents. Living in an orphanage and reading whatever material he could, he began to dream of the world beyond the Bay. His fellow orphans treated him like their communal big brother, and he took care of them as well as he could. When he was eighteen, he left the orphanage with the clothes on his back and the change in his pocket. Bruce hitchhiked his way across the U.S.A., and what he saw on his travels only made him thirst more and more for adventure. Months later, Bruce stowed away on a ship bound for Europe, and landed in London. He ate up England and the surrounding United Kingdom, and then traversed the rest of Europe and the Middle East over the course of several years. In Africa, Bruce's life changed forever. An eyewitness to multiple genocides, Bruce began to get sick of humankind's unrelenting capability to cause other people pain for little or no reason. He armed himself, and found that he had a natural talent for sharpshooting. He taught himself how to be a Sniper in the middle of the African wilderness, and is now regarded to be one of the best in the world. Bruce lived in South Africa for a few more years before moving to Melbourne, Australia, the capital of Snipers. His skills were honed further, and he eventually developed an Australian accent -- "proof" he was a Sniper at heart. When his training was complete, Bruce finished up his tour of the world by trekking to Asia before returning to the States, nineteen years later. BLU History The ideology of BLU struck a chord in Bruce, and he joined up as a Sniper. Bruce was a member of several troops before he decided to begin his own, and that troop became BLU Troop 45. Personality Bruce Hollister is a cool, collected individual, but press his buttons hard enough, however, and you're asking to get headshot. He's always willing to try something once, although its getting harder and harder to find those somethings. He's an adventurous soul who will jump at the chance to do the extraordinary, but he knows the difference between courage and just being plain foolhardy. Bruce cannot stand anyone with disabiling phobias, such as claustrophobia. He believes that all fears can be conquered, and people with these truly hindering phobias are letting their fears control them. Show a fear of something while he's around, and he will automatically mark you as a weak link, and take it upon himself to rid you of that fear, whether you like it or not...and sometimes his methods can be a bit extreme. Current Mood:  hyperCurrent Music: Don't Stop Me Now - Queen | |||
| Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 | ||||
| 6:10 pm | Profile - Tom Katz Name: Tom Katz (seriously. that's his name.) Age: 19 Team position: Scout DOB: July 15 Place of birth: Los Angeles, California Image songs: "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" (Monty Python, The Life of Brian), "Hyperactive" (Thomas Dolby) Patron animal: starling Quirks: Tom's bellybutton is pierced. He's not entirely sure how the piercing got there, but he's never bothered to get it taken out. Tom also sings like an angel, provided the song he's singing isn't a drunken rant. Family History Tom's parents, Harry Katz and Catherine Knipp, are quite affluent in LA's social circles, often attending parties and social outings with some of Hollywood's biggest stars, directors, musicians, patrons of the arts, and businesspeople. They agreed that having a child to carry on their artistic legacy would be a blessing...and thus, had Tom. Harry and Catherine's attempts to turn Tom into an upstanding art-loving gentleman were futile. The Katz turned out to be wild, and strayed from the calm and collected world of paintings and sculptures to the dark underbelly of the City of Angels. Tom never stuck to a single gang, but drifted between the warring factions. In this way, he learned multiple techniques and tactics from the urban soldiers. This also taught him how to read people like books...and also how to run like hell when those people wanted him dead. Allison Katz is Tom's little sister. Like her big brother, she doesn't have the patience to create art...but she's learning how to create plenty of mischief. She is deeply enamoured with Tom, and Tom loves her with all of his heart. The gold bandle he wears on his right arm was given to him by Ally Katz when he joined the BLUs. Tom's once dated a girl named Europa Pirate. While they were friends for years, they started seeing each other on a romantic basis only for a few weeks. Europa's father sided with the REDs, and that brought their relationship to a screeching halt. Tom hasn't seen her in a long time, but still holds a torch for her...albeit a small one. BLU History Tom Katz stumbled into the RED-BLU conflict. Literally. While looking for a fight in the depths of LA, he unwittingly wandered into a battle. As fate would have it, he had been wearing a blue shirt that day. The BLUs won, and their leader, Sniper Bruce Hollister, was so impressed by Tom's ability that he was hired on the spot. This devastated Tom's parents. Tom bade them a sad farewell, said goodbye to his sister, and left LA with the BLUs to begin a new life. Personality To sum up Tom Katz in an adjective: hyperactive. To sum him up in a noun: a snot. Tom is a bottomless pit of bad puns, and will use any attribute of his teammates available to tease them. Nothing is sacred to this Scout, but his jokes are all in good fun and he is never vicious. He has taken it upon himself to cheer up any comrades who are feeling low, whether they want his help or not. More often than not, they don't. Tom uses his tormenting skills in battle to rile up enemy REDs into making mistakes, which he seeks out and punishes with a scattergun to the face. The only way known to make Tom Katz shut up is a good punch in the face. Current Mood: creativeCurrent Music: Layla - Derek and the Dominos | |||
| 3:00 pm | Gentlemen. First journal on my first ever blog. Something tells me I'm going to like it here. I think I'll post some stories here if they're requested (hmm...exclusives, perhaps?), my character profiles, and my shoddyass artwork. Good to see you, come back another time. Current Mood: accomplishedCurrent Music: Stupid MF - Mindless Self Indulgence | |||