Everyone who had me on their watch before Feb 8, 2007 is handwrittenly thanked in there.
Thanks everyone!

A friend of mine once said:
If you want to be good at something, dedicate ten years to it. Manuel Tenorio.
I hold it as one of the best and wisest things a friend of mine has ever said; plus, it's damn true.

This is one of the reasons why the hairs on the back of my head bristle a bit when someone says "I can't draw" like if some evil fairy had cursed him/her at birth. I'll be honest, I SUCKED at art, and I used to say I couldn't draw, either. I was the kind of kid that couldn't draw inside the line, I have a TERRIBLE trembling hand (one of the many genetic boons I got from my Dad's side. Sure, I got his charming good looks, but he could have kept the trembling hand. Oh well, better me than my bro who's studying to be a surgeon XD), am too easily distracted to focus on little things and generally was too over the place to actually do something worthwhile.
The first time I even began to consider drawing was when I was about 15, but actually picked up my first piece of paper at about 17. I still have the first tracings and sketches I ever did, done with the subtlety and mastery of an alligator with parkinsons wielding a chainsaw. So yeah, it's really been 10 years since I started drawing, and it's BEGINNING to show. My male anatomy is ok, my female anatomy is at least not-laughable, I can draw expressions, have some idea of foreshortening and perspective and can colour well enough to have my works pass off as a deviation. The 10 year thing is just a rule of thumb, and I'm as sure as heck a slow learner... so I guess it might be 15 years for me, heh heh.
I had absolutely no talent for art (I still don't think I have), so anything I've managed to do has come out of hard work, lots of paper and enough erasing to blot out the sun. You say you can't draw? Here's a pencil and paper, and start practicing. I give you 10 years, if you get your ass in gear.

Robert A. Heinlein's heroes are usually handsome/beautiful men and women, sexually powerful, incredibly charismatic, rich, versatile, smart and so badass they could make James Bond and Bruce Wayne blush. They do, however, all have one thing in common, one thing that sets them apart from the usual lot of heroes and, at least to me, makes them awesome: Everything they are has come from their own effort.
Heinlein usually takes a few pages (or chapters) to illustrate everything the characters had to do to get where they are. Everyone from Jubal to Aunt Sharpie, they've achieved their position, their knowledge and their attitude from years and years of hard work. That's why Heinlien's characters are usually past their late 20's or even further. THOSE people are role-models.

<big> DISCLAIMER: This is not a criticism towards any culture, creed, race, religion, fanbase, pet, vegetable, etc. These are musings of my own flawed human brain, and thus are to be taken with at least 3 metric tons of salt. </big>

I've noticed a big tendency from the eastern art and storytelling (in other words, manga and anime) when it comes to characters. The hero(ine) of the story is usually born with his/her special ability, and thus has been chosen by heaven/fate to walk the path of greatness. I'm going to forgo the more typical examples and go with one that I believe exemplifies this: the main character from Yakitate no Japan. Basically put, the guy was born with "solar hands", which means that his body temperature is apparently higher than normal people, and this makes him incredible at breadmaking. I admit, I've seen only a few episodes (it's not like I'm making a thesis out of this), but from what I've seen, this guy always comes with the perfect, unbeatable and sublime bread that solves the problem/issue/competition without breaking a sweat.
So the tendency in the debate of "Birth or Becoming", the signs USUALLY point to birth. No matter how awesome Vegeta becomes, Goku is the prophesized Super Saiyan. Effort takes second place over talent, and the "blood of warriors in your veins" means you can whoop a monk who's been training for decades.. provided you've been blessed by Heaven.

Remember the times back then when Bruce Willis was beaten, burned, shot and pierced with glass as he tried to stop the bad guy? Do you remember Harrison Ford running away from the army of thugs and getting constantly beaten up by Nazis? Hell, do you remember Brendan Fraiser being absolutely powerless when facing an unliving creature capable of wielding the magics of Ancient Egypt? The list goes on forever of the times when a good story meant the villain was nigh-unstoppable and the hero had to literally sweat blood to just barely beat him at the very end.
Now, on the other hand, we have Keanu Reeves going against armies of androids, Milla Jovovich slicing through vampires and Jet Li plowing through armies without even flinching. The plot of action now seems to be the hero going against hoards of weaklings, showing just how amazingly badass he/she is until finally reaching the Boss who is up to the level. And still, most of the time, the hero will recieve only a light beating (if any) and end the battle with some overpowered move. Hell, there are even stories where it all seems to be how SuperMarySue (usually a ninja or some other cliche) defeats EVERYTHING, boss included, with ease. We now get our kicks at invincibility, the universe bending itself to our will without even the slightest effort from us. We don't even have to lift weights or go to some monastery, we're BORN with everything we need.

I won't deny the fact I've also fallen prey to this kind of though. Can anyone honestly say that at one point or another they didn't create some ubercool Mary Sue? Yes, the vampire fallen-angel samuraininja with black wings and eyes of fire who wields twin laser katanas, shoot hadokens and basically use bullet time.
Sure, being all powerful and letting out every egomaniacal fantasy is nice.. but it's no excuse to make EVERYTHING like that. Effort is greater than Birth.

Ooh, here's another one, and this one really gets to me. Good is dead, and cynicism killed it (any similarities to what Friedrick said is purely aesthetical). The general idea (read: GENERAL!! As in overall, the most noticed, etc.) is that good doesn't exist, that everyone is flawed and nobody understand us. Gentleness is weakness, mercy is gullability and altruism is akin to a delusion or mental disease.
Examples abound. We LOVE villains nowadays, the cool guys are lone wolves or outcasts who take shit from no-one and the large ammount of heroes come with the "anti" prefix. Everyone wants to be bad; whether it's "bad guy" or "badass" is irrelevant. It's cool to be misunderstood, to rub your teammates the wrong way and to be as antisocial as possible. To make matters worse, the truly heroic stereotypes are either slandered as hypocritical fronts or seen as delusional characters who "don't get it".
Again, I don't deny that I too think this way. I LOVE making villains, and a good bad guy makes for a great character for an RP. Guilty as charged, but that doesn't change the fact that if I want a hero, I want it to epitomize goodness just like the villain epitomizes evil. It's not that he's going to be a cardboard cutout of a Boy Scout, far from it. In fact, I've come to believe that the "Badass" character is the one prone to just being a bunch of cliches taped together by the power of coolness.
A real hero, a true hero, is as human as the next person. Mistakes are made, flaws are shown, but they are NOT his qualities. His ultimate faith in the virtues of humanity and the triumph of Good and Love over Evil are what count. The point is not that he accidentally hurt someone by mistake, but rather his attempt to make ammends.
So with that said, no more vampire half-fallen-angel drow ninjas whose dark heart conceals a sliver of light, or Badass McCool the gun-toting vigilante who gets justice donw HIS way for me. Time to bring back the Paladin of Light, the Healer of Hope and the Hero of Heaven!! Toss your black trenchcoat to the fire and don your shining armour. It's time to face the light and be Good!

Everyone likes music, right? And everyone links songs to specific moments, ideas or even people. Well, through my time here in DA I've had some songs stuck to several people, and I'd like to post them all here so they'll know they're remembered. Now, some songs make no sense to why they're linked to someone... bear in mind it's logical only inside mine foxy head.

In Alphabetic order, all the Song-struck Deviants.

: "Simple and Clean" and "Sanctuary" Utada Hikaru.
: "Step by Step" New Kids on the Block, "Diamonds Are Forever" Shirley Bassey.
: "Better in the Dark" Dio.
: "Paint it Black" Gob.
"My Immortal" Evanescense.
: "Full Moon" Sonata Arctica.
: "Freedom" George Michael, "California Dreamin'" The Mommas and the Poppas
"Under Pressure" Queen and David Bowie.
: "Chill Penguin Stage Remix" some unknown mixer.
: "The Box" Orbital.
: "Guardian of the Blind" and "Tommynockers" by Blind Guardian.
: "Sexual Thing" Poison.
: "Starfire" Dragonforce.
: "Black Black Heart" David Usher.
: "Kathryn" Labyrinth.
: "Elevation" U2.
: KORN!!
: "Gravity of Love" Enigma, "Call of Dagon" Therion, "Ghost Love Score" Nightwish.
: "Emerald Sword" Rhapsody and "Komm Susser Tod" by Arianne.
: "Chiquitita" ABBA.
: "Mr. Torture" Helloween
: "Don't Stop Being Crazy" Helloween.
:"Time Stands Still (At the Iron Hill)" Blind Guardian.
: "In Your Eyes" Kylie Minogue.
: Anything from any Rockman game.
: "Keep Yourself Alive" Queen, "Mr. Badguy" Freddie Mercury.
: "Vivimos Siempre Juntos" Iguana Tango.
: "Jambalaya" The Carpenters, "Born on the Bayou" Creedence.
: "Macavity" Andrew Lloyd Webber.