As stated in our official thread, I'm back! And since I'm back, one of my primary urges is to get chummy with my clanmates again. I mean seriously chummy. I've had really good conversations with several of you in the past, and I'm starting to miss it. The point of this inane paragraph is "If you see me on AIM, fertheluv of all things Holy just IM me!"

Starting now, I'm going to be a lot less contentious around these parts and a lot more affable. I make no promises about my ostentatious demeanor, though.

So, let's have a conversation!

The reason I initially left is because I'm in the middle of a story which, after writing a dozen or so pages in, I've decided sucks total ass. The premises of Divergence kinda bores me; y'know the whole "kill a monster get a reward" process without any variation. I thought I'd vary on the theme, but sometime in December I realized:

"The last few weeks of my life have been devoted to writing putrescent shit. How can I in good faith keep updating something I can't stand?"

It was a horrible reason to drift away, but it's all that I've got. Seriously, read it. Utter trash. Part of me wants to finish it, just to bring closure to it and end that chapter of my life (yes, most of that was written while everything around me spiralled out of control). The other part of me wants to lock it away and pretend it never existed.

So, fellow clanmates, what do you suggest? What insights can you provide?

Some of you might have noticed that for the first time in about a year, I've changed my member title. I'm going as "The Midnight Swordbreaker" now. Not so much because I have some ridiculous complex about "evil" and "darkness" being cool, but because I'll be working from 9 pm to 6 am and sleeping from 9am to 5 pm. Most of the time I spend on Divergence will be in the wee hours of the morning, and it'll be pretty sparse at that. Since it's my last summer before I move 1,200 miles away, I'll be spending a lot of free time with friends that I can get ahold off outside the internet. Cherish what you have while you have it... Don't think of it as me prioritizing them over any of you, just consider it more of me taking advantage of the accesses afforded to me.

With all of that out of the way, I just wanted to say a few things.

1. To those of you who were around before my brief hiatus: I really missed you.
2. To the new kids on the block: I'm really looking forward to meeting you. Also, I'll be watching from the shadowy recesses to make sure that you're producing Swordbreaker quality work. :ph43r:

SO YOUR THAT PERSON THAT'S BEEN ON MY AIM BUDDY LIST FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS!!!

I've been wondering who FamiCthulu was <_< I thought he was kageryu or anubis... :unsure:

Anyways... well... how ya doing?

*looks at last few lines of post*

You missed... us? I don't know, I personally think that to miss an insane psycho is slightly off the charts for you <_<

Will do :ph43r:

Hehe ^^ Welcome back! Though I don't know if I should be saying that... I haven't been around much myself... But still! Welcome back! lol XD

I know how you feel with the crappy story thing. You waste a good few months of your life writing something and then you go back and read and think "The hell was I thinking?" I've done that... a few times XD Me? I'm not sure what to do myself. There are a lot of people reading one of my more recent failures, and they say it's good but really... it's crap... as in wanna-sit-down-and-weep-over-how-horrible-it-is crap, and I'm really not sure what to do :S So, sadly, I can't really help you, just know I feel your pain XD

And awwww... You missed us? I, personally, feel wubbed ^.^

Heh. At least your "failures" aren't published :-/ Warning to all... never become a reporter. Not good for the writer's ego.

Though... now you've got me curious, Aeneas. Link?

Good to have someone back. I could have been the first to say something, but I wasn't sure if I should, but meh. Anyways, welcome back! *gives a pat on the back*

Eek! I'm majoring in journalism. I want to be a newspaperman. Probably from reading too many of the local Anarchist rags or something.

<.< Nobody should read this, it may inspire severe stupidity >.>

What really upsets me about it is that I have a pretty good imagination, a decent command of the English language, and pretty good taste in reading. The question becomes: what sort of demon infestation possessed me to write all of that?

It's not bad for some people. There must be some draw to such an underpaid and overpopulated field :) It's fun at times though. I was fortunate enough to interview George Pataki, Hillary Clinton, Tony Stewart and Catherine Bertini (Former head of the UN World Food Organization) while I was reporting in NY - not fortunate because I liked those people, per se, but because they were fascinating, just to watch the dynamics that surround them.

but sometimes it gets weird, like today when Deep Throat finally unmasked himself. It was like being in High school with everyone so fired up.

The best perk of being a newspaper person, however... free CDs *sage* *... goes to read*

I think what finally persuaded me to pursue it as a career were two books. The first was called The Best Democracy Money Can Buy by Greg Palast; Palast is the greatest investigative reporter of ALL TIME. The other was Perfectly Legal by David Cay Johnston, which was an analysis of the tax system based on what he's seen as a financial reporter for the NYT. Both books are highly recommended.

I think that I'm going to be confused on those matters until I have matured...

I also think that cotton balls look funny.

What? Really, they do. I mean, they're fuzzy, and... well... fuzzy.

Anyways... Speaking of writing skills... My dad says that my writing looks like they way someone would speak. Well, he says that's how my sister writes, but also says that I'm only slightly better <_<

Do I write like I speak? I mean, really...

Wait a minute, I mean when I do a quest. I think I've had a quest with Senna and a duel with slicer... and I do believe I had done *something* (special quest, quest, duel... something) with Aeneas. As for Akane, well... I LOVE THIS CLAN! It's got people I forget even exist...

Which is probably why we need more bonding. People, post up like crazy and don't hold back. Do so and you will not be threatened with e-mail, PM, and IM spam.

Speaking of IM:

You didn't respond <_<

Yeah, I took some NyQuil to help me fall asleep earlier today and forgot to put up my away message >.< Sorry. Keep in mind that I'm usually asleep during normal hours thanks to the inverto-shift.

I'm rarely ever on AIM anymore...

I dont enjoy it so much.