just an ordinary box here. as you were, soldiers.

level 14.

i'm an autobot.

that's right, we still remember kickin' your ass at puebla, france. and don't think we forgot the occupation either. maximilian I? emperor of mexico my ass! the last Uei Tlatoani died in the 1500s. what the hell made napoleon III think he could go around appointing emperors? nice job on that franco-prussian war, jackass.

......yeah, i'm babbling, but at least i'm historically accurate.

you know you have at least one. don't try to deny it.

in my case there's mila rose, fran, suzumiya haruhi, shego, and arcee, just to name a few off the top of my head.

but there is, of course, one that trumps them all. my one and only. if you don't know that i'm madly in love with neliel-sama, then you just don't know me. i don't know how kubo does it, but she is just gorgeous beyond all measure and reason. the moment i saw her in her grown form i started reading the bleach manga just to see more of her. she was a total badass back in her espada days, and it was just adorable the way she nearly killed ichigo hugging him. i was so jealous. i am truly and wholeheartedly smitten with her. ♥!

your turn. fess up. who makes you swoon/blush/melt/grin like an imbecile? don't be shy, now. we're all dorks here. ^_^

that one character that serves as a role model. someone whose character and personality you truly respect, someone you actually wish you could be more akin to.

in my case, it's top cat. he's the quintessential hustler and he carries himself with an air of confidence that i hope to achieve someday. when one of his schemes goes awry, he improvises and he handles it. he acts like he knows exactly what he's doing and the rest of the gang follows without question. in fact, the respect he commands is nothing short of remarkable.

now that kind of loyalty doesn't come from fear or tradition, and they generally know when T.C. is bull$hitting his way through a situation. so why do they follow when he's seemingly in over his head? why do they follow when he has no idea what he's gonna do next? for that matter, why does he keep going, even when life throws a curveball at his best-laid plans?

trust. benny, chooch, fancy-fancy, spook, and brain all knowthat with T.C. in charge it's gonna work out. they know he's looking out for them. they know that no matter what goes wrong along the way, he'll come through for them in the end. T.C. delivers.

and he knows this himself. call him arrogant, call him brash, but top cat knows what he's doing, even when he doesn't. that's why i want to be more like him. he never doubts himself.

that's who i want to be. i may be nothing special to most of the world, but at least for those around me, i want to be there when they need me, ready to help out however i can without doubt. if i doubt myself, how can i expect others not to?

there are no wrong choices. there are no regrets.

so who's your hero?

in 301 F.E. the newly reformed zutarian empire endured the greatest joint attack in shipping history. maiko stuck first with the larger invasion force, to be joined with support from kataang in 302. zutara suffered heavy casualties; by 303 the fledgling empire had all but fallen, and zealots of the former cult of zutar rallied in the streets in desperation.

a minor but noteworth attack on george by tokka occured in 304. it was easily repelled.

in 305 the advancing maiko troops were halted at the zutarian border. though lacking the recources and manpower to attack, zutara's military was efficient in defending its borders from maiko's slowly weakening forces. kataang provided increased support in 306, but as zutara's geographical allowed its military to effectively defend its borders with minimal recources the oncoming attacks were repelled. the empire slowly rebuilt and maiko's attach camgaign was called off in 310.

there has been a lull in the fighting since, which both sides appear to be taking full advantage of to prepare for the inevitable confrontation. the zutarian empire has allocated the bulk of its recources toward a new highly classified military campaign, while the republic of kataang has its military on full alert and prepared to mobilize at a moment's notice.

it seems undeniable that one way or another, the end of this war is upon us.

on a side note, this whole thing is now a thread in the avatar forum. enjoi. ^_^

201 E.E. marks the beginning of the earth era. zutara-kataang violence continues.

in 202 the violence intensifies as a kataang increases its military efforts several particularly crafty strategists rise to power in the cult of zutar. zutar declares another vision, and begins writing his zutarian manifest in an attempt to find express the vague deeper meaning in his his prophecies. a minor and innefecticve ship appears in opposition to zutara, though records of its name and eventual fate are sketchy at best. it is believed by some to be a covert colony of the republic of kataang. in 203 maiko is formed, though small, it recieves support from kataang in exchange for aiding in the conflict with zutara.

in 204, a small group begins plans for the establishment of a new ship in oposition to kataang, and in 206, taang is formed, allying itself with zutara.

in 208 a new radical group know as ty-lokka declares itself an enemy of george. in 212, yet another radical group appears in opposition to both goerge and ty-lokka. tokka is by no means powerful enough to take on george, but they are seen as a much greater threat. the nation of sukka mobilized the national guard to mrotect its borders from tokka, and remains the most stable of all ships.

215, jinko is formed. though oosely allied with kataang, its isolationist policy has little impact on global politics.

217 marks the fall of jetara, and the assimilation of its land, resources, and a portion of its citizens into zutara, the cult of zutara is renamed the zutarian empire.

in 220 E.E, emperor zutar dies.few zealots remain from his old following, remembering him as a brilliant prophet. kataang still regards him as a blasphemous lunatic. in truth, many modern zutarians agree that emperor zutar was indeed mad, though most regard him as a bit of both. upon zutar's death, the zutarian empire was reformed as a legitimate ship with the morals and teachings of the emperor as its foundation, rather than his prophecies and visions.

the kataang senate refused to recognize the legitimacy of zutara's new government, claiming that no government built upon "the ravings of a madman and his cult of delusional followers" would be recognized by kataang. transcripts of the zutarian manifest were banned within kataang's borders. this is the first recorded use of the word "delusional" as a zutarian epithet.

with its newly found political and military stability, neutralizing the "zutarian threat" became a top priority for kataang's government. the kataang military further increased their efforts and, for the first time, made psychological warfare a crucial point in their military strategy. to this day zutarians have not fully escaped the "delusional zutarian" stereotype rooted by kataang propaganda campaigns.

the reformation of zutara marked the beginning of the zutara-kataang war (previously classified as a "conflict")

next chapter: the fire era

the water era

the republic of kataang was the first, established in 101 W.E. as the earliest unified civilization in avatar shipping history, it rose to power virtually unopposed. there were those who opposed the rise of kataang, but they were few and had no organization or aleigance. though obscure at the time, historians now place the birth of zutar rought around 102.

in 104, the free nation of sukka (more commonely know to its citizens as george) was established. though rarely militant, its open diplomatic policy helped george become what is now the most stable of all avatar shipping civilization. many people held dual citixenshipwith george and kataang.

109, the prophet zutar declares his first vision. with a small cult of followers the self-declared prophet forms a small colony well outside the borders of kataang. drawing followers from george, the zutarian colony was labeled an enemy by kataang, and zutar is declared a blashemer and a madman. kataang's various attacks on the colony were unsuccessful against zutarian guerilla tactics.

kataang's inability to erradicate the zutarian colony, and zutara's obvious inability to win an all-out lead to a cold war. the shipping world was saturated with kataang propaganda, while zutara resorted to less frequest sensationalist tactics.

in 110, the jetara tribe is formed. kataang troops are stationed nearby, to guard agains them in the even that they would become a threat, but there is no open hostility.

114, vioence breaks out between kataang and zutara. zutar has discretely gained a much larger following since his cult's humble origin, the conflict would be an ongoing one and although no real winner would be declared declared, zutara's casualties were noticable greater than kataang's. 115 saw a small boost in zutarian morale and the prophet zutar declares another vision and rallies his troops onward.

118-120 saw the rise and fall of yuokka. most yuokkans were assimilated into george, though many retain a strong sense of yuokkan patriotism. despite its short span, it is still rememmbered historically as the only true threat to the nation of sukka. 120 W.E. marks the end of the water era.

next chapter: the earth era.

edit: yes. i'm back.

i had some corn the other day. not just any corn. good old-fashioned mexican street corn from the elotero (elotero roughly translates to "corn guy"). and sweet mother of prime it was DELICIOUS.

for those who've never had it, it's basically corn on the cob, boiled in a large pot, then skewered on a woden dowel, coated with mayonaise, cotija cheese, squeezable butter, and chili powder. it may not sound all that impressive; i don't even like mayonnaise, personally, but this stuff is jsut godly. i sh!t you not, my mouth is watering right now just thinking about it.

you can't imagine the joy i feel when i hear that distinct elotero bike horn from down the block. and words can not express how badly i want another elote right now.

i just thought i'd share.

Dead Fantasy II

sweet zombie jesus i just fell in love with tifa lockhart all over again.