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[quote name='Whiteblaze'][FONT="Arial"]The [B]average[/B] French citizen eats 500 snails per year.[/FONT][/QUOTE] I'll call ******** on that one. I doubt enough snails are produced commercially for this to be realistic. Montreal is the world's second largest French-speaking metropolitan area, and accounts for roughly half the population of Quebec.

[quote name='Neuvoxraiha']In Chinese Culture, sticking your chopsticks point down, vertically, into your bowl is considered extremely rude behavior as well as obscenely bad luck. Never do it.[/QUOTE] For the record, that's because this is the way offerings to the dead are presented. Painter Cornelius Krighoff was involved with the foundation of the first Entomological Society of in Quebec.

[quote name='Gavin'][SIZE="1"]- In England, in the 1880's, "Pants" was considered a dirty word![/SIZE][/QUOTE] I dunno if it would be considered "dirty", but in many parts of England, the word still means "underwear".

[quote name='Neuvoxraiha'][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Uh. ......mosquitos bite. They don't inject. Now that folks is a fact. Mosquitos bite. And by passes diseases, I mean that the diseases mosquitos do pass to others exacerbate preexisting conditions and leave the immune system weak and succeptible to HIV.[/COLOR][/QUOTE] The inject their anticoagulant saliva, which is both what transmits diseases and causes itches (it's a mild allergic reaction). Over a dozen, mostly Asian, species of maples have leaves that are not actually maple-leaf-shaped.

[quote name='Neuvoxraiha'][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]HIV is passed more effectively through the population through malaria. An unchecked mosquito population passes both diseases without bias. Millions have died from getting malaria, then HIV. Ever since the banning of DDT, Malaria cases have skyrocketed and so have casualties. Bring back DDT! I don't care about birds! I care about humans![/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] Actually mosquitos don't transmit HIV because what they inject never contains HIV: [QUOTE]When mosquitoes bite a person, they do not inject the blood of a previous victim into the person they bite next. Mosquitoes do, however, inject their saliva into their victims, which may carry diseases such as dengue fever, malaria, yellow fever, or West Nile virus and can infect a bitten person with these diseases. HIV is not transmitted in this manner.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='James'][color=#606060]I never really buy the slippery slope argument though. If we applied that logic to everything, we'd never be able to regulate anything effectively.[/color][/QUOTE] Wen was the last time you saw a slippery slope argument that wasn't a misleading fallacy, anyway?

[quote name='Gunslinger']"A ball of glass will bounce higher than a ball made of rubber. A ball of solid steel will bounce higher than one made entirely of glass"[/QUOTE] There are quite a few rubbers that don't bounce at all... [quote name='Neuvoxraiha']Canaries can't swallow when hung upside down. They lack the muscles that humans have allowing such an action.[/QUOTE] Most bird are like that, actually. But canaries are the lucky one that went into space. The word "transformer" was only uttered once in the movie [I]Transformer[/I]: after a "earthquake" caused by the Autobots, Ron Witwicky comments that one was busted.

[quote name='The13thMan']There's even blue stuff on the walls! [/QUOTE] I hope that's just blueberry jelly because I seem to recall the spores from those fungi are toxic...

[quote name='Lunox'] [font="trebuchet ms"] I didn't read anything about it, but were the Westboro Baptists violating the ban on distance? Was the funeral public? As far as I know, it is not protected by the Respect of America's Fallen Heroes Act, as it was no under control of the National Cemetary Administration. If it was, the maximum fee is $100,000, not $10.8 million. [/font][/QUOTE] For the most part, you seem to be missing a key element here: this was a [i]civil[/i], not criminal lawsuit, which carries a whole different set of issues. They were not issued a fine; those were punitive damage for the harm they did to the family.

I'm just popping in (Oddly enough, I still occasionally browse around) to ask if somebody is willing to document that trend we had at some point of having "OB families", which were, unfortunately, mostly listed only in signatures?

[SIZE=1] The next morning found Michel awake earlier than usual. He shuffled around in his bed and pulled the covers over his head in a vain attempt to muffle the annoying cheerful chirping of birds outside his bedroom window. All to no avail. He threw the covers off and some clothing on and left the discomposed room to fix himself a breakfast, grumbling all the time. Breakfast eaten, Michel was stuck between two options. He could either wait for Jacob's call, of set off right then for the facility where they had their reserved stalls. Considering he still had to move across town without his bike anyway, the man set off. He finally reached the front desk, nearly an hour later. His trip had been lengthened significantly by realizing mid-way that he had managed to forget his digivice home. The desk operator was someone new to the job, apparently, and dealing with the weekend's intake of customer took the guy more time than Eiffel had expected. Eventually, all matters settled, he was allowed entrance and searched for his boot. He smiled just as hi mind was wrenched away and projected into the game [COLOR=DimGray] Eiffel opened his eyes to find an eager lizard and flying mammal waiting for him. "Hey there," he greeted them, his voice more subdued than usual. Guilmon cocked his head to the side "You okay Eiffel?" he asked "You sound tired." The player smiled weakly. "I'm all right. It's just..." "Uh uh?" his partner prodded. "It's Gabumon," Eiffel finished. "Oh? Right, you never told us what happened back there..." Guilmon commented. "He... He tried to push me away. And he slipped. It all happened so fast... I couldn't do anything..." "But you tried," Patamon said. "Of course I did! But I failed." Eiffel shook his head. "I was supposed to protect him, and I only got him killed," he explained. Guilmon snorted. "You fought for him. That's all that matter. Remember what you told Kalika yesterday? Battles are not to be won or lost. they are to be fought." "You tried to save him, but he fought back and in the end, you both lost," Patamon summed up. "He got himself killed, not you. Besides, we were supposed to get him through the battle safely, nothing more." "I know, I know. But it still doesn't make me feel better," Eiffel sighed. He gave a glance to his digivice, finally noticing the blipping that indicated an incoming. It was from Kiva. Whatever she wanted to drag him into he wasn't interested with. Not today at least. He deleted the message without it a second thought and slumped down. "I don't feel like battling or such today. How 'bout we just have some good leisure time?" he proposed. "I'm all for it," Patamon answered. Guilmon just shrugged. Whatever they did it was probably not going to end the way it had been originally planned. Not that he really minded. Guilmon wasn't big on plans. "How about we have a trip to Miskas?" he offered. Eiffel smiled up at him. That suggestion was definitely interesting. Miskas had always held up a special place in his heart. It was the starting location where he'd first began to play the game, for one. It was also where he'd met and befriended Guilmon, as well as most digimon he had gone adventuring with. As a plus, the city fervently maintained a culture of neutrality, which meant they would not risk getting dragged into a random battle. He pushed himself to his feet and stretched his arms as if he had been sitting for hours. "Let's get going then guys, we're going sightseeing," he announced. They have took their time, and still, because of the Digital World's special brand of time compression, the long-distance travel had been barely a hour long. as much as the entire Digital World was unusual to the players, seeing Miskas still floored him. The entire city was carved in, build amongst or hanging from the branches and trunks of several dozens of humongous trees. Access was regulated from ground through staircases, manned elevators and a system of aerial shuttles. A Lillymon lead the trio in a basket hanging from a lower level and asked for a lift up. She hushed them out nearly before they even reached their destination. Eiffel couldn't help noticing that there was indeed an unusual amount of players hanging around in town and he wondered whether there was some event coming up he wasn't aware of. He resolved of asking as soon as possible. "So, what now, guys?" he asked. "Eating would be nice, after all that walking," Guilmon commented. Eiffel laughed and lead the way to a nearby pub. What he saw inside he certainly had not expected. [/COLOR] [/SIZE] OOC: I felt like giving Miskas a more definite description. I'll change/remove it if you want me to, takuya.

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DimGray] Eiffel sighed and turned toward Guilmon. "Think you can track him?" Guilmon smirked. "You doubt me?" he asked, running forward. Eiffel and Patamon took after the sniffing lizard. "Not for a second," the man said. The forest slowly changed as they moved. As they moved deeper into Saware valley, it became darker. The air dampened and the shadows thickened until it seemed like they could not see beyond the next tree. The ground began to make light squelching under the trio's feet. When Eiffel looked down, he immediately noticed Gabumon's tracks. They were widely space and rather erratic. The rookie had obviously not been spending much attention as to where he was going, and had ended up tripping over several times. Eiffel bent over to collect a now familiar item: Gabumon's lost claw. [i]Damn! Why do those things always happen to me?[/i] he thought. Just then, Guilmon stopped to sniff more intently at the air. Eiffel looked at him. "What now?" "Caltrop plants," Guilmon answered. Patamon shook his head with a dispirited expression. Eiffel could only stand there with a puzzled look on his face. "Well, color me stupid," he announced. "What the heck are caltrop plants?" Guilmon quickened his pace and Eiffel panted slightly as he himself tried to keep up. Patamon continued to hover next to his partner "Carnivorous plants," the digimon explained. "They grow underground and they can open or close like pit holes." "So if he get caught, we can't even [i]find[/i] him?" he exclaimed. [i]I hate my life,[/i] he added for himself just as the gang reached a clearing. It was an almost perfectly circular area covered with the tall fronds of ferns. From place to place a tall purplish flower rose through the plants. Eiffel was about to enter the glade, but froze upon hearing muffled screams. "[i]Help! Anybody out there?[/i]" "He's there! I can hear him!" Patamon said. "How do we find him?" Eiffel asked. "If we get in there, we risk getting caught too." Guilmon grabbed a rock the size of a football. He turned around and threw it in the clearing. Almost immediately, the ground split open, revealing a long pit lined with a thick-mucous covering. It was a brownish green in tint. From inside the pit a yell came. It was Gabumon's voice. "Hey! Watch out with these things!" Eiffel gave a short smile and shook his head. The player took out his Digivice and looked through his item list until he reached what he needed and summoned it. Eiffel handed his partner and Guilmon an end of the rope and had them tie it to a tree. He tied the other end to his waist and advanced cautiously to the edge of the caltrop plant's pit. "Some help there please?" Gabumon's insisting voice rose. "I'm starting to slip." Below, desperately clinging to a root that stuck from the wall, was the rookie. The bottom of the pit was filled with a yellow liquid, the nature of which Eiffel didn't ponder on. He looked around to check that the other two digimon were ready and started scaling down without a word. When Gabumon noticed him, he pointedly looked the other. Eiffel sighed and reached out with his hand. "Come on, we're getting you out of this soup," he said. "Go away," Gabumon flatly retorted. Eiffel blinked and tried to hinge closer. "Don't be like that, I promised..." "GO [i]AWAY[/i]!" the lizard suddenly yelled. He reached around with his right arm to try and push the human away. Fatal mistake. His already uncertain hold gave up. Gabumon, his fingers clawing at the air, fell down. Eiffel did not have the time to catch him or anything. With a gasp of surprise, Gabumon was swallowed by the unknown fluid and did not resurface. All the player could do was watch in shock as is charge vanished. "Get me out!" he finally yelled. He knew there was more panic in his voice than he'd have liked. "Got 'im?" Guilmon yelled. "Get. Me. OUT!" he yelled more urgently. He did not hear the answering "Okay, okay!" over the deafening sound of his own breathing. He did not really notice it once he'd been pulled out of the pit. The digimon looked at him inquitively, but he just shook his head, incapable of words. Nobody spoke again until he logged off, once they had gotten away from Saware Valley. [/COLOR]Eiffel found his friend waiting for him in the lobby. He barely gave Jakob a look before he grabbed his bike and walked out. The other man looked after him in bewilderment before jumping to his feet and following him. "Hey Michel!" Jakob called. "What's going on?" "I failed, Jakob, that's what's going," Michel calmly answered. Jakob's eyes widened. "Come on! I beat you, and so? I know you're going to get the crap out of us next time." Michel rolled his eyes and gave out an exasperated sigh. "T's not that. It's Gabumon." "You mean that brat thing that was following you around?" "Yeah, he got eaten by a Caltrop Plant." Jakob couldn't help it. He guffawed. Michel quickened his pace, forcing the other man to run after him. "That's rich.Oh really Michel, you know just how to choose your friends, don'tcha?" "And you, what happened to that Tentomon of yours?" Jakob looked away with a distinct blush. "He's going to stick around for a while." Michel repressed his laughter. "Interesting. I thought you had bigger ambitions," he teased. "Says the guy who got his charge killed," Jakob retorted. Michel frowned. "You got a point..." he sighed another. "See ya tomorrow? I'm probably going to be a bit late though. My bike met with a old wrench on the way in." "Sure thing! Can't wait to see what,s in store!"[/SIZE] Disclaimer: I don't like this post. It sounded so much better when I was thinking it out in my head :mad:

[COLOR=DimGray][SIZE=1] It was chaos. Utter and complete chaos. Eiffel hated chaos. busy as the gang were to lose Kalika, they had split in two. As luck would have it, Eiffel was stuck with Gabumon. Towing the rookie by the hand behind him, the player dashed madly between the fighting ultimates and mega, trying to avoid being stomped or hit by a stray attack at the same time. When he stopped for a few seconds, Kalika was nowhere in sight. Gabumon cheered loudly, earning himself a twap from the human. "That probably means she's after Patamon and Guilmon," he panted. Gabumon gave the surrounding battlefield a worried glance. A black grid formed on the ground. "Aaah... Eiffel? I think we'd better move it," the digimon commented. Eiffel looked up to see the grip shape itself up, surrounding the good digimon and attempting to trap the both of them alongside a Panjamon. The grid began to close rapidly, and they could barely slip out before it enclosed the ultimate completely. A few seconds after, a massive attack hit the ice-based digimon, forcing Eiffel and Gabumon to run away again as the battlefield cleared itself slowly. A Phantomon began chasing them, forcing Eiffel to curse loudly at his luck. [i]Talk about going from the frying pan into the fire...[/I] Guilmon and Patamon were not having much more luck. Between dodging stray attacks and not getting crushed by the stomping of incautious massive digimon, they did not have much attention left to avoid being spotted by Kalika. Just when the pair was pretty sure they'd managed to lose her, the fighter scattered themselves as a powerful attack ensnared many amongst the forces of good. Devidramon dove at them two rookies. The attack was predictable and the dragon digimon's Crimson Nail hit the ground, sending dirt everywhere. Guilmon and Patamon took advantage of the momentary distraction to launch their attack, hitting Kalika's ally in the face. Devidramon clawed at its head in pain, almost throwing the player and her partner to the ground and allowing the two to slip away. "Oy! Guilmon! Patamon!" a familiar voice carried over to them. Guilmon and Patamon looked over in joy as Eiffel came down running in their direction. Their smile quickly mutated in a look of panic when they noticed the Phantomon attacking in their direction. "There you are, Eiffel!" Kalika's voice interrupted. [i]Why me?[/I] Eiffel wondered to himself as Devidramon into position. Unfortunately for him, Labramon and Kalika, that put them straight in Phantomon's path. The ultimate couldn't change its course fast enough and collided into the champion's back. "Why you wench, get out of my way!" he yelled at the woman. "He is mine!" she yelled back. She glanced back to the ground and curse loudly. Eiffel and his infernal trio had disappeared again. The quartet slunk into the forest, wheezing. Eiffel slumped his hands on his knees and stopped to catch his breath. "I've had my share of running for today," he managed. "Me too," Guilmon agreed. "Me three," Gabumon added. "Pansies," Patamon taunted them. He was advantaged by the possibility for him to glide, and liked to tease his fellow digimon about it from times to times. Guilmon growled at the Eiffel's partner. Eiffel turned around to see Mekratrimon dominating the battlefield and the forces of good slowly repelled toward the forest. He shook his head. "Let's move it guys. I hate to say that, but this battle is lost." "Really? So soon?" Gabumon whined. The three others glared at him. [i]Some things never changes,[/I] Eiffel though as he grabbed the rookie by his horn and dragged him away. He did not get to ponder on this too much as they stumbled on a smaller battle. It seemed that a secondary tunnel opened in the side of the mountain, and that a group of less-experienced players had tried to enter in the dark lair that way. Unfortunately, a Devimon was now tearing through their digimon, having trapped everyone in some sort of dark energy field. Eiffel frowned. He hated bullies. "Hey Patamon, I've still got a healing tablet. Think you can go for another round?" he asked. Patamon nodded enthusiastically, just as his tamer had expected. Neither of them wanted this day to conclude on such a bitter note. An Elecmon cried out in pain at is was shredded by Devimon's Death Claw. It exploded into data and the Champion smirked at the other digimon. "Now, who is going to be next?" it asked, revelling in the look of fear on his opponents' faces. "How about 'nobody'?" a confident voice answered. Devimon looked around with a look of fury on his face. "Who dares!?" he yelled. A fireball crashed into him from above. It easily ripped through the demon's energy field and sent him to the ground. "I do," Piddomon answered. Eiffel grinned at his partner's antic. Patamon had a flair for the dramatic. The human shrugged, figuring he might as well play along. He walked up to the still petrified players. "Get out of here. You should never hang around after a lost battle." He pointed over his shoulder at the Mekratrimon-dominated battlefield. Those who still had befriended digimon gathered them and got away while Piddomon and Devimon clashed. Eiffel's partner was driven back by Devimon's Razor Wind and the player gritted his teeth. He had stupidly underestimated the wild digimon. It had to be strong to create and maintain that force field. It was his luck that Piddomon's being an angel gave him an edge in this battle. Devimon attack and racked his claw in his opponent's side. Piddomon responded by hitting him clear across the head and following up with an Apollo Tornado. Devimon was hit directly and deleted. Piddomon flew to land next to Eiffel. "That was harder than I expect," he said. His partner was about to answer, but was interrupted by a slow clapping. Eiffel looked over to see a familiar face. "Very nice, very nice, Eiffel," JJ applauded. "What do you want?" Eiffel asked tiredly. "Just wanted to comment that you should follow your own advice," the other man said. Eiffel stared back, puzzled. JJ rubbed his chin mockingly. "What did you told me the first time we came here?" he asked to himself. "Oh right, 'Never get in fights for the sake of others.'" Eiffel glared at his friend and began to turn around when Piddomon, who had let his guard down, was hit by an electric attack. "Gotcha," JJ said calmly. Piddomon turned to face the Tentomon responsible for the attack. From the corner of his, Eiffel caught JJ grinning. [i]Oh no...[/I] "Battle Rod Break!" JJ's partner attacked from the undergrowth, hitting Piddomon right in the wound left by Devimon's earlier attack. Piddomon was weak, he was wounded, he had no chance. He devolved to Patamon, releasing a string of data that Ginryumon absorbed. "You bastard!" Eiffel growled at his friend. "I thought you'd learned your lesson by now," JJ retorted, unfazed. "I am [i]not[/I] a nice guy in there." Eiffel did not answer and went to get his partner. "Oh, and by the way, you might want to get away before the chase starts," JJ continued. Eiffel looked over his shoulder. "The chase?" Eiffel looked over his shoulder. "There won't be any wild or good vaccine left around when it's done. You might want to keep an eye on your new friends," he chortled,turning around. "I'm not exactly proud of it either, if you want to know!" Eiffel called after the other man. He sighed and dropped his head. "Let's go, guys," he motioned with his hand. Then he frowned. "Where did Gabumon go again?" he asked. Guilmon pointed at the forest without a word. Eiffel palmed his forehead. He had offended the digimon. "Oh great..." [/SIZE] Edited as requested. Sorry 'bout that. [/COLOR]

[I][SIZE=1]OOC: Really sorry I didn't post before, the week has been everything hectic and beyond,but I'm not given up just yet![/I] :animeangr [COLOR=DimGray]Gabumon was hiding. He was pretty good at hiding, as much as he might sometimes hate himself for it. He was huddled in a crevasse in the cave's rougher wall. From there he had a good view of the battle. Anubismon and Asuramon had been exchanging blows for several minutes now, and although none of them showed signs of wanting to stop anytime soon, it was clear the Ultimate was slowly getting worn down. And then something else had caused a stir near the entrance. When several good Digimon were blown to bits by an attack, he could only assume that the enemy had shown himself. And whoever it was, it sure didn't look too happy. Gabumon crawled back farther from the opening in the wall. Somewhere below, he could hear feminine grunts and groans. He dared to crawl to the edge and look down. Two human females were battling. They weren't very competent, even Gabumon could see that, having seen the fight between Piddomon and Wizardmon. Then there was a feral growl and Gabumon retreated again. He was cowering and he did not like it. That was the cry of someone intent to kill. Someone who'd been deeply hurt. Someone oddly familiar. He risked another glance. There was only one human now, and she was fighting a Digimon. She was wearing... Well, Gabumon didn't what it was, but it didn't cover much. She could probably had gotten more coverage off his fur. She was holding some sort of twisted piece of metal and swinging it at... Guilmon? Gabumon blinked. Why wasn't Guilmon back there helping Eiffel? He blushed when he realized he should be wondering why he himself wasn't back there in the first place. Neither Gabumon nor Guilmon could have done much for this fight. Eiffel knew it, but still he'd have preferred it if they'd been by his side. He was worried about both of them, and they couldn't fight efficiently if Eiffel's mind was split up like that. The standoff between Asuramon and Anubismon was, frankly, not going as well as he'd liked. Eiffel was on his last Moon Blades upgrade, now, and the Healing Tablets wouldn't help for much longer. As much as the Moon Blades proved efficient against the mega, Eiffel had to use e new one every time Asuramon scored a good hit, and it cost the ultimate a lot of energy to keep the item active. He skimmed through his item list. It was ironic, he thought, that Asuramon hadn't needed the Elemental Slabs. [i]Wait a minute...[/I] An idea was trying to push its way to the front of his mind, but it was so preposterous it could not... Could it? Combining opposites... Asuramon was a fire digimon, and Eiffel always kept a healthy supply of Fire Slabs power ups. The Water Slabs he mostly used as a defense, because Asuramon couldn't use them very well. Yet the Moon Blade he was so good at using was essentially a water-themed weapon. It was just so bold enough it could work. "Power up! Elemental slab! Fire!" he called up. Asuramon could feel a renewed power flow through his body and the flames engulfing him flared up. It was not a normal power up to have such a massive effect. His partner must have used all of the slabs he had. Well, they would be put to good effect! He prepared an attack. "No! Hold up!" Eiffel ordered. Asuramon glanced at him with raised eyebrows, but only for a fraction of a second as he dodged a powerful blow from Anubismon. "Then what?" he asked angrily, swiping ineffectively at the mega with the Moon Blade. Eiffel continued punching buttons on his digivice without listening. "Power up! Elemental slab! Water!" Asuramon's eyes widened. What the hell was Eiffel thinking? These two elements would cancel themselves out! Another power, different by its very nature, began to flow into him. He tensed slightly as he shoved Anubismon away, expecting the surge to clash and have adverse effect. Nothing happened. The two powers... He could feel they complemented each others, reinforced each others. He exchanged a smug look with his partner, earning a confused one from is opponent. [i]Opposite attracts,[/I] Eiffel mentally summed up his thought process. Asuramon raised both arms above his head. A small blue sphere formed around the moon blade. Anubismon snorted. He obviously expected his opponent to make a weak water attack. Then a flame appeared in the middle of the ball. Anubismon's eye widened. "Wha...?" "Unity moon!" Asuramon attacked He poured all the power he still had available in the lone attack. He knew it would leave him greatly weakened, but the attack was also a guaranteed hit on the flabbergasted mega. The beam of blue and red energy crashed through Anubismon's defenses and threw him to the ground, where he flopped down and was engulfed in a bright light. When it subsided, the only thing left was a dog-like creature sprawled on the ground of the cave. Itss fur was a creamy shade, with magenta ears and tail. A Labramon. It opened a bleary eyes and immediately jumped to its feet, snarling loudly at Eiffel and the now devolved Patamon. Eiffel took a step back, but Patamon didn't move "So, what are you going to do with me now?" it asked defensively. "Me? Nothing," Eiffel said. The dog digimon looked at him disbelievingly. "What?" Eiffel mocked. "You seriously expect us to delete you?" "I'm helpless now. I can't digivolve, and Kalika is not going to came tumbling to help me. I'm at your mercy. What are you gonna do now?" he paused. "You know you want it," he taunted them. Eiffel and Patamon raised their eyebrows in a perfect duo. "That's true," Eiffel admitted with a sigh. "And that's exactly why I won't. It would put me at the same level as her." He walked toward the larger battle at the entrance of the cave. Labramon jumped out of the human's way as if he'd been a leper. "Battle are to be fought first. Winning or losing is just a side effect," Eiffel commented as he walked away. Labramon snorted, then slinked away. He had to find Kalika now. She was there. Right in front of him. Practically defenceless as humans are. Now was his chance. He charged and swiped at the woman, fury empowering him. All he earned for his efforts was a hit to the side of the head form the twisted piece of metal she was holding. He knew that feeling. Adrenaline allowed him to ignore the pain. He roared again and launched a Pyro Sphere, which she merely side-stepped. Just like in the time. They were fighting again, mere feet from each other. But today, Guilmon was intent on hurting her. Just as much as she'd hurt him, even though he doubted that would be possible. Which didn't mean he would not try his hardest. He had rage and strength. [i]She[/I]'d made him this strong. He charged again and she again hit him across the head, managing to use his momentum against him. Guilmon slid aside and found himself backed against the cave's wall. "I see you still haven't managed to get any grip on your temper," she commented coldly. That's when a smaller yellow and blue silhouette dropped next to him with a grunt. "I'm there!" Gabumon said. Guilmon turned sharply at him. He stared down Gabumon with narrowed eyes causing the rookie in every sense of the term to take a step back, trip over his own feet and fall on his ass. "Stay out of it!" Guilmon snarled. "But. I. But." Gabumon stammered helplessly. "This is [i]my[/I] fight," the other reptile growled as he turned back toward Kalika. "Oh my..." the woman laughed derisively. "A Gabumon? Oh my, I should really be afraid, now, should I?" she mocked, faking a terrified look. Guilmon roared. A cry that expressed raw anger, pain and revenge. Gabumon knew that whatever she'd done to his companion of fortune, it was something that must have been truly horrible. Guilmon tackled the woman and they rolled around on the ground. "We fought, we travelled, we discovered together. I trusted you. I thought we made an unbeatable team." Guilmon growled. "Yeah, and so?" she retorted, kneeing him in the side without apparent effect. "And one day, you vanished. Without a word. Without so much as an excuse, as an explanation. Without even a goodbye," his voice tightened. The digimon snapped his head back and headbutted her, catching her head between his forehead and the floor. She groaned in pain, her vision momentarily blinded. "I had better things to do. Things that did not, fortunately, involved your hotheaded smoothscale stupidity," she snarled back. She somehow managed to roll on top him and hit him in the throat with her elbow. Gabumon winced in sympathy. Guilmon punched her hard in the side in return. A single tear rolled down the side of his face. "I would have died for you back then," he said bitterly. "Would just have made one less useless lump of data," she snarled back as the digimon rolled on top again. "True. You're not worth dying for," he said. Gabumon looked on in wonderment as the other rookie turned around and, hauling the full-grown woman over his shoulder, threw her against the wall. His maw opened as his throat flared up. "Guilmon! NO!" a man's voice came over. Both digimon as well as Kalika looked over. Eiffel would not let him do it. As much as she had earned it. As much as he hated her himself, he would not let Guilmon hurt his old partner like that. Not as long as Guilmon would accept to treat Eiffel as a friend, at least. He placed a hand on Guilmon's shoulder. "She's not worth it," he said. "She is. She was worth [I]everything[/I]. She was worth dying for. But I was only worth betraying," Guilmon said. "She's not, and never will," Eiffel insisted. He gave the digimon an insistant pull and began to turn around. Slowly, reluctantly, Guilmon followed. Kalika got up and dusted herself. "Do it," she demanded. Eiffel and the digimons froze. "I am worth it. I was worth fighting and I lost. That makes me worth destroying too, right?" she said confidently. "You should never give up on people just because of a loss. Much less yourself," he told her without looking at her. "You'll be there again, and we'll fight again. We might win, or we might lose, but we'll fight again. Because that's what all of this is about, right? Fighting. As long as the fight is worth it, the opponent doesn't matter." He paused. "Today, I found out why I'm here. Have you?" Kalika sneered. She walked up behind him, intent on going away in the most scornful way she could, but Eiffel didn't let her. When she came up behind him, he whirled around, arm drawn back, and punched her in the jaw, throwing her to the ground. He sighed, rubbing his knuckles as he walked away from the woman. "Damn, that felt good, he muttered." Then he sighed. "That went too well," he added for himself. "Something really bad should happen about now..."[/COLOR] [I]OOC: Wow, I didn't think it would turn out so well.[/I][/SIZE]

[COLOR=DimGray][SIZE=1]Kiva had been right. There hadn't been much action in their position, save for the occasional rear attack from a few wild ones, but the bulk on the force had already plowed through them and even this Phelesmon that Piddomon was battling was hardly a threat. Eiffel wanted to wait for the right time to evolve his partner to Asuramon. His current position and allies might not have rendered him an obvious threat, but Asuramon's skill and Guilmon's own strength would prove the downfall of an unprepared enemy. He wasn't sure how Gabumon took to the whole thing. He'd seen him battle with a DemiDevimon earlier, and Guilmon had barely saved his ass from a group of Bakemon before Piddomon intervened. Gabumon was now looking around warily as the combined forces of good approached the lair of the evil digimon. "This is what battle is like," the player commented to the lizard. "Violence, pain, blood, struggle for survival." Gabumon shuddered slightly at these words. Despite all his bragging and actually having some skills, he wasn't programmed for this, Eiffel could tell. "It's what makes us truly alive," Guilmon added. Eiffel nodded at that. Guilmon's eyes tightened as they entered the cave. Battle broke between the defenders there and the incoming combined forces. Guilmon had smelled something. And that something did [i]not[/I] make him happy. "She's here..." he growled. His tone lowered and the growl became more feral as the digimon looked around. Eiffel knew who Guilmon was referring too. She would try to... "Who's there?" Gabumon asked. Eiffel palmed his forehead. The prospect of Kalika's presence had made him almost forget about the rookie. The small group was huddled next to one of the hallways for the moment. "An old acquaintance of ours," he answered. It was kinda ironic that they would be the one meeting an old enemy here after what happened earlier. Of course, considering Kalika's character, it was hardly surprising at all she'd be hanging around. Guilmon's sniffing became more insistent. They followed him until they reached a 3-meters tall blue humanoid dog with copper-colored wings. It looked down at the four of them in utter contempt. "Guilmon, that is [i]not[/I] Kalika," Eiffel commented, taking a step back. "It's definitely her partner, though. The smell doesn't lie," Guilmon retorted. "Indeed I am, and I will not disappointed her," the mega-level Anubismon said. [i]Oh shit...[/I] There was no formal thinking. Eiffel reflexively pressed the digivolution button. [i]Piddomon, digivolve to... Asuramon![/I] Anubismon never lost his arrogant look. he waited patiently for the champion to complete his evolution, then casually pointed his arm at him. "Amemit," he said. The ring around his wrist glowed and sent a wave of dark energy in the form of large jaws forward. Asuramon barely dodged and punched the mega in the face. Anubismon barely flinched. Eiffel turned around to prevent any foolish actions from the rookies, but Gabumon had vanished, and while this wasn't exactly surprising, Guilmon's disappearance was worrisome. [i]He's not thinking of...? Oh damn![/I] Eiffel thought. Then Asuramon crashed next to him, and he didn't get to ponder on it any longer. "Activate item! Moon blades!" The two sickle-shaped weapons appeared in Asuramon's hands. The ultimate-level smirked. The fight was almost balanced now.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

Just wanted to say that Patamon's line will end with Lampmon instead of Orochimon. Takuya pointed out to me that although Asuramon can evolve to Orochimon in thecard game,both are still ultimate-levels.

[SIZE=1][B]OOC: Woah... I think that is my longest RP post ever.[/B] [COLOR=DimGray] [i]Kalika... Wherever we look, she's there, always ready to pull something impossible from her ass just to make sure she stays on our bad side. I don't mind powerplaying. God knows I've done it when it suited me. I hate how she treats everybody around her as... things. Sometimes I wonder if she even draws a line between players and Digimon. She just likes to hurt people. I wonder if she's like that outside the game too. I know JJ doesn't really enjoy it as such. It's a game choice. More challenges for him, he says. And to a point, he's right. bad players get chased a lot. JJ's here for a challenge. What is Kalika here for? What am [/i]I[i] here for?[/I] Eiffel glanced around himself. His walking had driven him to the outskirts of the city. He smiled. [i]There was a hole in my soul. And it fills up when I'm here. I feel complete. That is why I'm here.[/I] While he was here, he decided to check out a few item shops. With the big event coming up, they were being raided by players, newbies as much as old-timers. Eiffel wandered around until he came up to Digitamamon's Cellar. He was a regular, and he knew the ultimate-level would not drive him nearly as had a bargain as he would any random client. He might get an even better price by offering his services. The shop was nearly out of stock on everything, not that these usually had much stuff to begin with, but still. Fortunately, Eiffel wasn't interested in the usual items. Most players were stocking up on Dark Shields and Dark Slabs, but he knew Patamon didn't need those. "Hey Digit!" he called for the shop owner. "Eiffel!" the digimon yelled back. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?" "Thirty five," the human retorted, waving a hand dismissively. "But I didn't come here just to give you nicknames you hate. Have you got any Water Elemental Slabs left?" Patamon nodded his approval, even though his partner couldn't see him. He was a strong vaccine-type, but Asuramon was rather weak against water-based attacks. "it's your lucky day. I have a couple left. They are 5000 digicredits each. If you take them, I can make you the Moon Blades half-price." Eiffel bit his lip. [i]I should stock them up when the prices are low,[/I] he kicked himself mentally. That was going to be a hard bargain. He was a bit short on money to buy the whole lot [i]and[/I] the Blades, but the Blades were practically more necessary than these 4 slabs. Asuramon worked wonders with Moon Blades. "3500 each," he proposed. "No way!" Digitamamon grumbled. "4000." "3800, and I'll take the Moon Blades two-third of the price," Eiffel tried. "I'm not going below 3900," Digitamamon countered. Eiffel sighed deeply. "I'll take the Slabs, but only one Blade," he surrendered. Guilmon nudged the man. Eiffel looked down at him. "And me?" Eiffel smiled down at his friend and gave the digimon's nostrils a light scrub. "I know you don't need anything, Guilmon. But if you really want..." "Nah, that won't be necessary," the rookie retracted gruffly. He could never take it when people doubted him. Eiffel fumbled with his satchel to get his money out. "Well..." Digitamamon began. "Yes?" Eiffel looked up hopefully. "Maybe we can settle a deal..." the digimon continued. "[i]Get to it![/I]" Eiffel snapped. He immediately covered his mouth. That was not a smart move on his part, but Digitamamon just gave him a chuckle in return. "You really want the entire lot, don't you?" Eiffel tried not to blush. "It'd be really great," he admitted. "Well, here's the thing. My nephew, Gabumon, wants in on the battle, but he's not very experienced, and he's a terrible hothead. We won't let him, but we're worried he's going to run away and go on his own. It'd be a good thing for him to get busted through a bit, but I'd prefer if he actually made it out alive. If you could take him under your guidance, I'd give you the Moon Blades for free. How's that?" Eiffel wasn't sure it was such a god idea anymore. Another, inexperienced rookie could be a serious hindrance, and he didn't want to face Digitamamon if the thing got injured, or worse. On the other hand, he was getting a [i]great deal[/i] off this. The player eventually nodded, if only so the other clients would stop yelling at him to get it on with. "Okay, I'll take him with me." "Great!" Digitamamon was terrible at giving indications. Eiffel, Patamon and Guilmon had went through the city twice before finding Gabumon's home. His parents were more than happy to get rid of him, if only for a while, and Eiffel could hardly blame them. The digimon was giving their patience a full work out. He was now having second thoughts about the entire thing. The rookie was quite literally a ball of uncontrolled energy wrapped in blue fur. Said fur was probably going to be flying soon if the newcomer didn't stop harping on about Guilmon being a Virus while Patamon and himself were Vaccine. The hyperactive lizard strafed around the others as they walked. It was giving Eiffel a headache and a nausea at the same time. "I mean, sure, he's with you, but what tells you he won't tun around if he sees his advantage to it? He [i]is[/I] the same type as those we're supposed to be battling, you know," he rambled on. Eiffel caught him by his horn so he could look him in the eye. "I'd trust him with my life. And you're going to have to, too," he growled. "[i]What?[/I]" the rookie panicked. "No way I'm trusting [i]him[/I]!" Great, he was bigoted, at that. Behind Eiffel, Guilmon gave a low growl. "Besides," Gabumon tried to throw his chest out and failed miserably. "I can fend for myself." And full of himself too. Eiffel rolled his eyes in desperation. He pushed the horned digimon forward. "Hurry up now!" he ordered. "We're going to be late." "Nope, you're just in time, fur freak," a voice in front of them said. Gabumon froze in place, this caused Eiffel, who was right behind him, to practically trip over the lizard, sending them both sprawling to the ground. There was a chorus of raucous laughs. Eiffel looked up to see a band of slovenly-looking (if that was possible) digimon. Several Gazimon and Gizamon, a Guilmon and a Wizardmon. Gabumon was now shaking like a leaf. He appeared behind Guilmon. Eiffel knew that wasn't possible. One could not move from here to there without leaving at least a blur or causing a rip in space-time or [i]something[/I]. Yet that was apparently what just happened. Gabumon was unashamedly hiding behind the larger rookie. Guilmon snorted loudly as the row of Digimon in front of them broke into more laughing. "I thought you could fend for yourself," he said sarcastically. The red lizard grabbed the yellow one and shoved him forward. Eiffel got up and looked down at the rookie. "Who're they and what do they want with you?" he asked. Gabumon's hands fiddled as he tried to look somewhere else. "An... Unresolved issue. I tried to drive them out of my neibourghood, but it didn't really work..." "You got the City Guard after us instead," the other Guilmon completed. "We [i]don't[/I] like stoolies," the Wizardmon added. "Get them!" "Oh damn!" Eiffel cursed. The other Guilmon bulrushed Eiffel's ally and slammed him against a wall. Hard. The other rookies went for Eiffel and Gabumon. As they closed on him, Eiffel noticed Gabumon has vanished again. He did not get much time to dwell on it as he brought his knee up in the chest of an incoming Gazimon. Another was knocked into a stall by Patamon's Boom Bubble. "Whenever you want, Eiffel!" his partner said. Eiffel pressed the button activating the digivolution. "Patamon, digivolve to... Piddomon!" In place of the small flying creature now stood a tall angel with a heavy helmet covering the top of his head and face. Lengths of pink fabric were spiralling around his left arm and right leg and he held a long staff ending in a small moon-shaped blade. They were surrounded by Gazimon and Gizamon. "Keep them busy," Wizardmon ordered. "I'll get him." "Piddomon, Guilmon," Eiffel mumbled, "let's get this over with. We're late already." Guilmon gave a feral growled and kicked at his opponent with both legs. Guilmon #2 went flying and crashed into two Gazimon. That was Eiffel's clue. He crouched and swiped the legs of the two others. At the same time, Piddomon attacked. "Fire feather!" The attack created numerous small fireball that crashed into the Gizamon, sending them flying. Those that managed to dodge counterattacked and jumped at the champions, curling into Spiral Blade attacks. Piddomon knocked them back to the ground with his staff. Turning around, he finished the remaining Gazimon on Eiffel's side. The three looked at each others. "Now where did that idiot go?" Eiffel asked. The sound of an explosion came from somewhere out of sight. Eiffel sighed. "Are you sure you want to get him to Saware Valley?" Guilmon asked as the three ran down an alleyway. "At least now he shouldn't be such a hindrance on the battlefield," Piddomon commented. "We have to keep our end of the deal," Eiffel said. They reached a small place. Nobody in sight, but there had obviously been battle. The walls and ground were charred. "Which way?" Piddomon asked. Guilmon began sniffing around for a trail. Eiffel looked down into one of the alleys. He walked down it a few yards and collected something from the ground. "This way!" he yelled, running down between the desolate buildings. His fist tightened around a red claw and patch of blue fur. Wizardmon was about to send his finishing blow when the human and his allies barrelled down into the court. "Thunder Blaster!" He turned and hurled the lightning strike at Piddomon instead. Piddomon countered with Apollo Tornado, the two attacks cancelled each other in an violent burst of energy. Eiffel managed to hide back behind the arcade, but Guilmon was violently slammed against the wall for the second time today and slumped to the ground. When he could see again, Wizardmon and Piddomon were still facing off, oblivious to his or the rookies' presence. Gabumon's fur looked like it had been through a shredder and then burned. The digimon was curled in foetal position in a corner, shivering. Piddomon and Wizardmon hurled attacks at each others and dodged in turn. Piddomon eventually flew at Wizardmon and engaged him hand to hand, their staff clashing loudly. unfortunately, the magic user proved to be more adept at this and his staff caught Piddomon's side, discharging a Thunder Blaster attack into him. Piddomon fell to the ground, but did not devolve. As the fight went on, Gabumon eventually looked on. When he saw Piddomon go down, a feeling he wasn't used to overwhelmed him. This guy was his ally. There was no way he would let him get killed! When Wizardmon turned back toward him, Gabumon greeted him with a full-force Blue Blaster in the face. Wizardmon yelled out in pain and brought his hands to his face. Gabumon wouldn't stop there, though. He tackled the champion and began to punch in the face, the chest and everywhere his short arms could reach. Completely taken by surprise as he was by the sudden outburst, Wizardmon couldn't react at first. Eiffel rushed to Guilmon's side. At the same time Piddomon was getting back up. "Now's the time!" Eiffel called for him. "Gabumon!" he yelled to catch the rookie's attention just as Piddomon's wings burst into flames. "Fire feather!" Gabumon looked up just in time to see Piddomon launch his attack and lunged out of the way. The fireballs hit Wizardmon full force. He convulsed for a few short seconds and burst into data particles. Piddomon devolved to his rookie form and Patamon flew to check on Eiffel and Guilmon. The larger rookie stirred and opened a bleary eye. "Is he...?" he managed to utter. Eiffel gave Gabumon, who was coming toward them, a glance. "I think he's doing a bit better than you." "Good." The red lizard closed his eyes again. Eiffel pressed a few buttons on his digivice and two large tablets materialized in mid air. Eiffel gave Gabumon one before opening Guilmon mouth and shoving the other in it. "What's that?" the horned lizard asked. "Healing tablets," Eiffel answered curtly. Gabumon's lips rounded into a "Oh" as Guilmon briefly glowed with golden light and rose up. He took the tablet in his own mouth and somehow managed to swallow. When the tablet's effect was done, he looked much better, and his fur was almost entirely restored, except for a missing claw on the right arm. That reminded Eiffel. He took Gabumon paw in his hand and placed the lost element in it. "This is yours, I think," he just said. "Uh..." Gabumon resumed fumbling as when he'd been faced with the gang earlier, his foot rubbing in circles and his eyes looking down. "I'm sorry for being such a prat earlier. If you want to stay behind, I'll do that." "Why would we want to do that?" Patamon asked. Gabumon looked up in surprise. "He's right," Eiffel added. "You're still coming with us. Courage is not about what you can talk about. It's about what you can face. You faced off against Wizardmon when given the chance to, and that's all we need to know about you." "If you can just avoid meeting other... acquaintances on the battlefield, I think we can pull it off," Guilmon commented. At this point, Eiffel's digivice began to beep. The player cursed loudly. They should already have been in Saware valley by now. "Patamon! You think Piddomon can carry al three of us?" he asked his partner. "Sure! No problem!" After a quick digivolution, the foursome flew off. [i]JJ is never going to let me live that down...[/I] [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Michel was late. His bicycle was rolling downhill way too fast for its driver's peace of mind. It swerved wildly to avoid lampposts, mailboxes, large potted plants and the occasional unfortunate pedestrian. The fact Michel was busy scramming a 6-inches sub sandwich in his mouth with one hand just made the entire operation more perilous. Eventually, the two-wheeled vehicle went skidding when Michel took too step a turn and the young man landed head over heels in a flowerbed, his sandwich sent to destination unknown. "Jacob is going to have my head," he sighed as an elderly lady began yelling and waving a rake at him. Michel had crashed only a few blocks away from the NovelWorlds facility he had originally intended to go. When he walked in, twenty minutes later, having finally managed to slip away form the batty lady, and carrying his bike over his shoulder, he got more than a few stares. "Hi Samantha!" he greeted the front desk girl, which he had known both in-game and in real life. "I have a boot reserved," he said without heeding he startled look at his dishevelled, scratched and dirty appearance. "Uh, right," she typed reflexively. "Unit F-43." "Thank," he answered dryly, trying to cut off on question time. "The event hasn't started yet, I hope?" She blinked. "No. It starts in twenty minutes, real time," she answered, still staring at him. Michel nodded curtly and walked out of the entrance hall, leaving the damaged bicycle leaning against the wall and the receptionist gaping. He walked down the hall and reached his unit, relieved that no new catastrophe had gotten in his way. The Digivice was slid in its designated slot and Michel' consciousness was wrenched from this world. [COLOR=DimGray] He found himself standing in a large forest opening near a pyramidal structure that apparently responded to the game programmer's idea of an Aztec template. He had spent his last game session, a week ago, fighting off rabid Baromon and Coatlmon priests in there, only to have victory barely taken from him as his fellow player JJ intervened and brought down half the subterranean part of the compound around him and his companions. "Eiffel!" a high-pitched voice called for him. The man turned toward the flying creature coming for him full-speed. "Hey, Patamon!" he said, grabbing it as it reached him and squeezing the creature briefly. "Hiya!" a large white and red lizard with black markings greeted him. "Hi, Guilmon!" Eiffel answered. He gave his surrounding a quick wary look. JJ, who he knew in real life as one Jacob Elder, had taken on an habit of ambushing him each time he got online. Mostly reassured by his quick examination, he turned his attention back to his two companions. "So, anything new? What's going on with Kalika?" Patamon twitched slightly. "She's won the Blue Card tournament earlier this week, apparently." Eiffel cursed loudly. That couldn't be good. The Blue card tournament was renowned both for the challenge it represented and the prizes it handed. Guilmon began sniffing at the air at this point and Eiffel immediately stopped worrying about his archnemesis. He trusted the Digimon's instinct and sense of smell with all his experience. He began looking around, searching for any hint of a foreign presence, but couldn't find one until a three-feet tall grey humanoid rabbit jumped from the bushes and swiped at him with long, black claws. Eiffel barely managed to dodge the attack at the small digimon was carried over by his momentum and slid around, leaving two long traces in the ground. Another identical then emerged and rushed toward him. "Boom Bubble!" Eiffel's partner inflated his body and launched a burst of wind that forced the Gazimon to dodge out of the way, allowing Eiffel to scramble away from the two rookies. "Electric Stun Blast!" The retaliatory attack missed the flying complete as he had been send backward by his own attack. Guilmon barrelled into the digimon and they rolled to the ground. The first came back at the player, only to be caught the side by another Boom Bubble that sent his crashing to the ground. Eiffel gave him a sound kick in the head and the creature stopped moving. "JJ!" Eiffel called out. "Come out, now! I know you're here, you backstabbing little-" "Hey hey, no need to be rude there!" a voice answered from the temple's ruins. Two silhouette, one a human wearing a sweat suit and army pants, the other an orange lizard in black armor, walked out of an opening toward the group. Meanwhile, Guilmon had pinned the other Gazimon under his weight and begun charging a Pyro Sphere. He gave the human a questioning look. "Do it," Eiffel said. The attack obliterated the digimon's head and he exploded into data, some of which was absorbed by Guilmon and Patamon. Eiffel grabbed the Gazimon and threw the unconscious creature at JJ. "This is yours," he said dryly. "Hey, don't look at me [i]this[/I] way!" The man put a hand to his chest in jest before continuing: "[i]You[/I] are the late one! What did you expect?" Eiffel sighed. "Right, I [i]should[/I] have expected it," he admitted. " Anyway, you getting ready for the big battle?" he added sarcastically, nodding toward the stirring creature. "Them?" JJ smirked. "Nah, I'm not really interested with these." He suddenly turned at the rookie and violently kicked him in the midsection before he could take his surroundings in. With a loud cry of pain, it fell over and curled in a ball, tears of pain in his eyes. Eiffel winced in sympathy. He had just tried to keep the creature quiet. JJ was actively hurting it. "You [i]incompetent[/I]! You were supposed to get them! Now get away from my sight before I just kill you myself!" Gazimon nodded wordlessly and crawled away looking at the ground. JJ's Ryuudamon's partner looked up at the man. "Should I?" he asked. "Have fun," JJ answered. Ryuudamon stalked after the other rookie. JJ turned toward Eiffel with a grin on his face. "It's going to be a great occasion to get acquainted with a lot of dark and powerful Digimon. I wouldn't miss that for anything in the world." "So that's why you threw these at me?" "Yup, they were... expendable." Eiffel just stared back wordlessly. "Hey, don't look at me like that! I have a reputation to keep, you know? That evil shtick and all that jazz. Besides, it's much more fun than that goodiness stuff of yours." Eiffel shook his head in desperation. Jacob was going to drive him crazy. A shout of "Iaijin!" and a cry of pain came from the forest. "You know what happened with Kalika?" JJ asked after a moment of awkward silence. "Yeah, I do. What's she up to exactly?" "Well... For one thing, she's now the biggest landlord in the Saekos plains." Eiffel cursed again. "I think she's been using her new position to send newer player to collect Elemental Slabss, but don't quote me on that," JJ added. "Collecting Slabs? What for? She's not exactly one for using special items," Guilmon quipped in. JJ shrugged. "One thing is sure, she's going to be on Daekos' side, and no little player in the events to unfold. If I'm not mistaken, battle will take place at Saware Valley," he added Eiffel's eyebrow twitched at that name. "Isn't that the place where there's supposed to be a secret area?" he asked. JJ nodded. That little fact had been the rumour going wild for the previous weeks. Saware Valley was always a battle zone between the various local militias, making access complicated at best, and highly hazardous at worst. As they both weighted in the meaning of that, Ryuudamon came back, looking rather pleased with himself. Eiffel shook his head again. "Well, it was nice chatting with you man, but I've got a few errands to run before the big thing. See ya on the battleground!" JJ turned around and waved in his general direction, Ryuudamon by his side. "See ya," Eiffel mumbled. He turned around and went his own way. He needed time to think. [/COLOR] [B]Note: Me and JJ had worked this beforehand, so he'd appreciate it if nobody would use his character at the very least until he has posted himself[/B][/SIZE]

Name: Michel Léroux age: 23 gender: male Username: Eiffel Apperance: [url=http://otakuboards.com/showpost.php?p=688932&postcount=4]See previous signup[/url] Parnter Digimon: Patamon Levels: Champion- Piddomon Ultimate- Asuramon Mega- Orochimon Michel has been an irregular playing for a little over a year and has befriended a Guilmon. [I]For those who participated in the first version of the RP, be aware that while [spoiler]Kalika will likely resurface[/spoiler], this is a version of Michel without the backstory involved in the original Digimon: Immersion[/I]

[QUOTE=VanS3n]hmm.. so far photoshop seems to be more user friendly than other softwares... its easy to learn how to use it.. and once you get the hang of it.. there are tons of stuffs you can do with it... ^__^d[/QUOTE] Photoshop is extremely un-user friendly to me. the learning curve is much, much steeper than Pain Shop Pro's. heck, it took me a whole hour just to figure out how to properly rotate text layers! And I still run to Paint Shop Pro whenever I have to do something involving masks. [quote name='"Hittokiri Zero"']o_O; man i'm not even going to bother explaining Photoshop's superiority of GIMP, you need look no further than a large art website such as DeviantArt or Shadowness to see the results for yourself...[/quote] I'm sorry, but that is awfully close-minded. No matter the program, an experienced user of it can produce some awfully nifty stuff with it. [QUOTE]is the standard for graphic designers everywhere[/QUOTE] I'll point out that while PS is admittedly a standard for design aimed at [B]printing[/B], PSP is more than you need if you intend to do mostly webdesign, [B]especially[/B] if you can't afford PS in the first place. PSP included web optimization of images ages before PS did and was never aimed at print market: it's not even available for Mac.

Formy part, I appreciate both, but I have found that Photoshop's handling of fonts was far more efficient than Paint Shopt Pro. This is the main reason I've found myself using Photoshop almost exclusively. I've been doing mostly icons, which can require a rather fine twiddling with fonts (well,that and layer styles, really). I still do find that Paint Shop Pro does a few things I can hardly do wih any kindof efficiency with Photoshop. Photoshop is a pain in the *** when it comes to many effects, because it lacks a preview window on several. It also lack PSP's nifty anti-JPG artefact tools and efficiency at handling vectors (although that is kind of debatable). [spoiler]And I agree with retri. My copy of PS 6 (I think it's six...) is also pirated, though I did just fine for a vey long time without it.[/spoiler]

As season six has recently been confirmed and information has started floating around, I feel it most appropriate to revive this thread. Are you all as excited as I am to kow that Digimon will live again? [quote="Digimon Himitsu"][SIZE=1]A young boy who enjoys fighting even more than the 3rd serving of rice - Daimon Masaru. On a certain day, before a fight that Masaru had been training for, a strange dinosaur-like creature appears. This strange creature, "Agumon", is a "Digital Monster" from another world, the "Digital World". Masaru and Agumon agree to communicate by fighting. However, Agumon had escaped from and was being chased by an organization which investigates digital phenomena, called "DATS (pronounced 'dats')". DATS attempts to recover Agumon from Masaru. As Masaru and Agumon are chased, they run into the Adult stage Digimon, Cockatrimon. Seeing its enormous form ignites Masaru's combative heart, and he challenges Cockatrimon to a fight. Upon striking Cockatrimon, a "Digisoul" forms in Masaru's fist. When Agumon recieves Masaru's Digisoul, he evolves into Geo Greymon and defeats Cockatrimon. Commander Satsuma of DATS, after reviewing the events around Agumon and Masaru, formally appoints them as scouts for DATS. Thus, the captain of the school's fight club, Daimon Masaru, and his partner Agumon, join the fight against the Digimon which are threatening the world's borders. Daimon Masaru Junior high student who likes to fight better than the 3rd serving of rice. When he meets someone that looks strong, he can't help but challenge them to a fight. After meeting and defeating the Digimon "Agumon" in a fight on a certain day, Agumon becomes his partner. Because of his latent powers which allowed Agumon to evolve, he becomes a member of DATS. Tohma H. Norstein The 14 year old child genius who has graduated university. His ability is considered elite, even within DATS. He bases his operates on data and theoretical principals, and as such, his personality clashes with Daimon's. His mother is Japanese and his father is a prominent Australian aristocrat. Fujieda Yoshino The crimson point of Masaru's team. She acts like a big sister to Masaru and Tohma. She is shrewdly respectful, she considers it her job to push Masaru and Tohma, her ability level is very high, and she has a strong trust for her companions. Her favorite phrase is "palanquin set with jewels" (a woman who marries into wealth). Agumon (Daimon Masaru's Partner Digimon) He adores Masaru, after being defeated in a fight by him while escaping from DATS. He follows and acts like Masaru, as if he was an older brother. His special technique, "Baby Flame" is to spit flames from his mouth, and he can evolve into Geo Greymon by recieving Masaru's "Digisoul". Gaomon (Tooma H. Norshtein's Partner Digimon) Tohma's partner who calls him "master" and follows him without question. An Elite Digimon, like his Partner, Gaomon is both cool and intellectual, end he evolves into Gaogamon. Lalamon (Fujieda Yoshino's Partner Digimon) The Plant Type Digimon that is Yoshino's partner. Special technique is Nut Shoot. Thanks to Yoshino, it excels at relationships between man and Digimon, and is reliable and tied closely to friends. Evolves into "Sunflowmon".[/SIZE][/quote] Scans are also floating around,notably at the [url=http://digipedia.db-destiny.net/]Digimon Encyclopedia[/url].

:animeblus See? Copyediting is your friend. Thanks a bunch for pointing that out.

Weeee!!! Sorry for the delay, I've been wanting to post much earlier, but the ideas just wouldn't fall into place. I'm really proud of how it turned out, though. If I messed anything up, feel absolutely free to smack me down. hard.

The black robed figure Pygmalion recognized too easily. He had worn such a cowl-like garment at the beginning of his career, and it brought back unpleasant memories. The original one was still back in his personal museum, maintained immobile by enchanted wire. The last time he'd attempted to exorcize the ghost in there, he'd almost been strangled to death. This version was covered in Egyptians hieroglyphs reproducing Jewish, Greek and Hindu protective formulas. "A call to Yahweh in the wrong scripture? Don't you respect anything?" he growled. The other man's eyes he couldn't see because of the cloak. But his mouth curved up in a nasty smirk. "I only respect that which grants me power," he said with a silky voice in stark contrast with Pygmalion' own, deformed as it was by his stone flesh. He grasped the two side of the cowl and threw it open. Something shone brightly on his chest, but only for a second, as it seemed to dissolve into a thick smoke that seemingly poured out of his body. Within a few seconds, the entire room's floor was bathed in it. [i]Texcatlipoca's mirror... I though I'd destroyed that thing back in 1634,[/I] the man thought. Alternate history, off course, tend to bring back old problems. "Don't get down in the smoke," he muttered for Augur. "It will give rise to your worst nightmares." "I'm waiting," his double jeered at him. "You expect to defeat by just standing up there like a monkey? Well, then, let's just bring you [I][b]down[/b][/I]!" The man projected his right arm forward, losing the cowling the process and revealing his face. Pygmalion noticed bitterly the man had somehow at least half his age off his appearance. The doppelganger pointed at the two Legionnaires with his closed fist. That alone would have been laughable if not for the glowing blue ring on his index. The entire middle section of the balcony was briefly surrounded by a soft light, then the other Pygmalion apparently pulled at thin air. The two legionnaires jumped on the side as the entire section was pulled down and crashed to the ground. Pygmalion wasn't quite as lucky as Augur, though, with his newly acquired mass. The damaged section of floor crumbled under his weight and he came down crashing violently to the ground. When his eyes opened again, he was surrounded by the grey mist produced earlier by his double, whose voice raised somewhere he couldn't see. "Are you ready, now, to face your fear? To fight what terrorize you at night? To meet with the heart of your nightmares?" An all too familiar hissing slowly rose in volume behind him. Multiple rattles he remembered all too well. "I do not fear you,"he whispered. "You are my pas, my present and my future." His tone began to rise too. "But I have changed. I do not [i]fear you[/I]!" With the last, shouted word he turned around. The red eyes of the Medusa drilled into his own for several seconds before taking a surprised look. "You cannot petrify what is already of stone," Pygmalion reminded. The mythical monster exploded into wisps of smoke. His double gave a low chuckle. "Nice. Show off, but nice choice of words. I see you've received some 'improvements' of your own." Pygmalion began to advance into the smoke. His words showed irritation. "Where are you?" "Here," the voice whispered near his ear. Pygmalion jumped forward and rolled. Despite his best effort, his body was engulfed in flames that he didn't felt, although they consumed the better part of his coat and completely singed the rest of his clothes. He grabbed one of his gun and shot, but the bullet was deflected by the magical shield. "Tech made these for me. Shona firestone pills." The young man flipped one in his hand. Pygmalion's eyebrows raised. "Tech wouldn't recognize magic if it exploded in her face." "But you're no less afraid of it, right?" his double sneered back. "You were afraid of their powers. Afraid to lose control." "Yes. I was afraid. Afraid it would end up controlling me instead. Afraid I would not be able to distinguish the good and the evil anymore. Afraid I might... end up like you." His face distorted with rage, Pygmalion-2 pointed his ring-doned fist at the archeologist again. Pygmalion was engulfed in the blue light and paralysed. Then, as if violently repelled by a magnet, he was sent back flying into the wall. The telekinetic force let go for a split second, allowing his hand slipped to his back. When the light raised in intensity again, he slashed through it with the obsidian-clawed glove over his right hand. Another fireball was thrown at him, but the claws dissipated it as if it was a mere illusion. His double stepped back, surprised by this turn of event. "Quetzalcoatl's claws," he explained. "They'll cut through any magic you can throw at me." Pygmalion took advantage of the brief moment of hesitation and charged. A single slash of the claws ripped through the multi-layered protective shield. His forearm crushed the neck of his double against a statue of Apophis. "What now? You want to kill me?" "No. That would just lower me at your level." His other hand disappeared again, and reappeared with a vial of clear liquid. He knew his double could tell that it was magic. Pygmalion smirked. "Yes. Water of the Salmacis fountain." The other shook his head and tried to slip away,only to get the pression on his throat increased. "No! You can't!" "Wanna bet? You're as much a part of me as I'm a part of you, as much as we may both dislike it." With the vial firmly held in the palm of his right hand, Pgmalion backed his arm, then shoved it in the middle of his double's chest, crushing the glass in the process. The double yelled in terror. Pygmalion yelled in pain. They were both engulfed in blinding light for a moment that seemed an eternity. When it receded, Pygmalion was holding himself up with his forehead pressed against the statue, panting. His skin had recovered some, but not all of its original flesh-colored reflections and he looked noticeably younger. "Just another day in my life. But damn I won't be doing that too often," he muttered.