DeathBug

Seth watched as Amanda arrived with detached amusement, at least until Mokuba spoke with her. If she was trying to find Kaiba...he'd just have to stop her. He emerged from the forest shadows. "Hello," he said to her quietly. "Who are you?" OOC: Why, exactly, are the evil guys trying to keep Kaiba prisoner?

Oh, oh! Can I be a bad guy? Please? *Does puppy eyes* Hmmm...probably shouldn't do puppy eyes if I want to be evil.... Name: Seth Niteshade Age: 15 Appearance: tall, lanky, with black hair and red eyes. Dresses all in black Deck Type: Demonic deck, with the Dark Ruler Ha Des as his main hitter Bio: Seth grew up with parents who constantly moved; as a result, he never made many friends. He grew to enjoy the dark, and created a deck accordingly. He remains quiet and subdued at all times, even while dueling. His reasons for entering the Virtual World are unknown. Good or Bad: Bad I could post a deck for him, if you want. =)

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Hells Fire [/i] [B]I hate Scrubs. I feel it is a rippoff of ER. Though it does have its funny moments; it is just not practical though. These people are in the hospital cracking jokes and pulling pranks while people are diying all around them. ER has better effects and is more realistic then Scrubs. They don't stand around and laugh they actually save lives. [/B][/QUOTE] Scrubs is as much a ripoff of ER as Finding Nemo is a ripoff of Jaws. Besides, I'd rather go to the Srcub's hosptial than let those weirdos on ER cut me open. (In other words, apples & oranges comparison.) Besides, the characters on Scrubs are interns, and interns don't usually deal with the life & death situations. I love Scrubs; my personal favorite "gimmick" is JD's little fantasy flashes. My favorite scene in the whole show was when JD was dealing with a German patient, and tried to think of a way to breach the language barrier. His solution? "99 Red Ballons." =) Oh, and JD and Elliot belong together.

When I was a kid, it was all about the Ninja Turtles. Even when their variations stopped making sense, I bought 'em. Later, it became Spider-Man. The Spider-Man line had to be one of the best *ever*. I mean, they had every single character as a toy! wh00t!!

Okay, scrap Terrorsaur, here's a new character. ^^; Name: Wheeljack [i]"There are no rules on the road, only the victors and the scrap metal."[/i] Age: 7,500 Gender: Male Race: Autobot Alliance: Decepticon Weapons: The Mini-Con Wind Sheer, (no pic), a Mini-stealth bomber. Also has a pair of swords that can be launched as missiles in his alt. form. Transformation:Sports car History: Wheeljack was once a bright and capable Autobot soldier with a bright outlook and cheery disposition. He thoroughly believed in the autobot ideals and was dedicated to his leaders and comrades. However, one day, during a simple scouting mission, his team was ambushed by a Decepticon fleet. In the ensuing chaos, Wheeljack was wounded and thought dead by his fellow Autobots. Immobilized by his injuries, he watched as they left him behind to return to their home base. For several cycles he remained, growing bitter and resentful at the allies who left him for dead. As his vitals weakened, he was eventually rescued by Megatron himself. Shocked, Wheeljack renounced his alleigence to the Autobots and joined the Decepticons. To further cement his defection, Megatron presented Wheeljack with a token of good will: Wind Sheer, the very MiniCon Wheeljack's team had been seeking when they were ambushed. Wheeljack is adept at handling a pair of swords weilded in robot mode. To keep up with the aerial Decepticons like Starscream, Thundercracker and Thrust, he underwent enhancements to have a flight mode installed as a variation of his sports car mode. this mode is activated by linking with Wind Sheer. In this mode, Wheeljack's swords may be fired as projectiles. His swords have been sharpened to a molecule's thickness, allowing him to slice through most Transformer armor with ease. Wind Sheer, as a stealth bomber, acts as a spy for Wheeljack. He is armed with a single laser under his nosecone. Appearance:See Attachment Personality: Formerly cheerful and good-humored, Wheeljack has become bitter, and his sense of humor warped and twisted. He hates all Autobots, considering them hypocrites. Any Decepticon who insinuates that Wheeljack is less than completely devouted to the Decepticon cause will likely find themselves staring down his blades. Wheeljack is very intelligent and resourceful, and totally loyal to Megatron. He is vicious in battle, and will fight on even against hopeless odds. Wheeljack may often trigger a beserker rage aimed at his old comrades, causing him to loose himself in battle. Both enemies and allies alike want to avoid him in this state.

After the Beast Machines saga (my fave Transformers series ever) came to a close, Hasbro wanted a return to vehicular Transformers that also carried on the Beast-era storyline. They designed a line called "Transtech", but it never got off the drawing board. Instead, they used RiD as a stopgap while they created Armada. (gag) I've been finding picks of the "Transformers that Might have Been", and thought I'd post them. Characters planned for this line include: Cheetor, Silverbolt, Rattrap, BlackArachnia, Megatron, Immorticon (?), Soundwave (?), Starscream (!) and Depth Charge (!). The most interesting fact is that rather than a return of Optimus Primal, this line would have featured Optimuis [b]Prime[/b]. His pic is posted below, for your veiwing pleasure. (I'll post other pics if anyone is interested at all.) Sadly, this line will not see release.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Altron Gundam [/i] [B]Well gee..thanks for pointing out the obvious..--; Never said he was a rusher. [/B][/QUOTE] Sorry to agree with you. Won't happen again. :D

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Altron Gundam [/i] [B] Scientist is a deadly card to those who have a good grasp of the game and can think outside of stupid atk/def. Partially, in the end, effects make all the difference. [/B][/QUOTE] Yeah; I mean, if Atk/Def were all that mattered, why would anyone play cards like witch of the Black Forest, or Sangan, or any Jars, Magicians of Faith, Exiled Force, etc.? Scientest can be used in a lot of ways, but rusher ain't one of them.

I am so, so peeved at J. Michael Stracyzynski...I'll explain why. JMS is the current writer of "The Amazing Spider-Man", the wall-crawler's first and longest-running comic. It's been ongoing since 1964. Now, most of you know I'm big into Spider-Man; beemn a fan since ish 407. (My first ish of Amazing, in late '95). As such, there's no way I'd miss out on something as big as the 5ooth issue of "Amazing". (Quick math lesson: publishing 12 issues every year, it takes two + years to get to 25, then 4+ to get to 50, then 8+ years to get to 100. Ergo, to get to 500, Spidey's been in publication 40+ years.) Anyway, JMS, given his shot at the 500th issue, proceeds to do something totally unforgivable: He's boring. The double-sized 500th issue was completely and totally dull. The story was fine, but there was absolutly no drama at all. The artwork was great, but the plot was so trite. The only nice part was the end, but the gimmick had been used before. (In the last ep. of the '90's cartoon). JMS was a pretty decent writer, but this is just ridiculous. 100th issues deserve to have some sort of dramatic twist, or something important happen in them. With the exception of #100, every 100 issues so far were landmarks. (Stan Lee was burnt out on the title by ish #100, which was why it wasn't really up to snuff.) #200: Peter confronts the Burglar who shot his Uncle Ben. (In the original comics, the Burglar didn't die, as he did in the movie.) #300: First Venom, as well as Pete moving into an apartment with his new wife, Mary Jane. asso, Pete ditches the black costume and returns to the classic red-n-blues. #400: The death of Aunt May. (Since undone...don't ask.) #500: Uhhh....a clip-show, basically. Not even a really good one; the flashbacks are innaccurate to the original comics.) So, so much wasted potential. At least the art was nice. *Sighs*

I believe I stated in my post in several places that I was reffering to stem-cells gained from aborted fetuses. I repeated the phrase "from aborted fetuses" many times. Of course I have no problem with stem cells coming from other sources. The information I'd read said that the *most reliable* way to get stem cells was from human fetuses. If this information is innaccurate, then Im' sorry I wasted everyone's time. I was scanning the middle of the thread and only read the beginning and end post thoroughly. I missed your joke the first time. Sorry; my unoriginal knock-off is gone now.

The things that can be done theoretically with stem cells are amazing, and would greatly benefit society. **However**, using stem cells from humn fetuses in this reasearch is wrong. Completely, totally, absolutly wrong. There is no grey area. "But DeathBug, the babies were aborted anyway." Doesn't matter. Providing *any* rationalization for abortion is wrong. Besides, what will happen if the amount of stem cells required exceeds the amount of aborted children? You can't tell me that no one would start getting pregnant and having abortions just to get the cells. "But DeathBug, stem cells can save lives, and improve the quality of life for millions of people." As long as the only reliable way to get S-cells is from the murder of unborn children, they'll just have to wait. No one has the right to deny another life on the basis of extending the life of another. That *is* playing God, by the very definition of the term. "But DeathBug, what if it were one of your loved ones who could benefit from s-cells? What would you think then?" I would hope that no one I'm deeply attached to would be so selfish as to condone or request murder to extend their own life. If they would, perhaps I didn't know them as well as I thought I did. "But DeathBug, what if *you're* the one dying, and s-cells from an aborted fetus could save your life?" Then my sisters can have my TV, Myssy can have my GBA and my manga, Ernesto can have my comics and Carolyn can have my encyclopedia. Do'nt get me wrong, stem cells themselves can save lives and improve them. However, until there's a reliable way to get stem cells than from slaughtered babies, I will not support it for any reason. On a brighter note....what a funky lil' rodent!

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Altron Gundam [/i] [B]Yes, and Domon, that is why duelists like you, Deathbug, and Tom will always lose to more experienced duelists like me and Kakashi. We know how this phase of the game went with the JP CCG, and we know how it will turn out here. [/B][/QUOTE] Or maybe we'll simply be unable to make any moves, being so heavily crushed under the weight of your ego. So you know how the enviornment will change. So what? That alone won't win you games. I can ask any JP player how a certain card changed the game, and then I'll have the same information. You would probably win against me because you have more experience than I do. Nothing more, nothing less. (I use the qualifier "probably" because talk is cheap, and I haven't actually seen you duel. I would assume a person with 2 years experience over me could win, but you never know.) Get it through your head: most of us here are English CCG players. The Japanese game isn't better, it's just bigger, and we're not stupid enough to believe otherwise. Sure, I'd like to play the JP game, but not only would it be a pain in my arse to get JP cards, there's no one around my area who plays the JP game. Since it's a game, and I just want to play with others and have fun, it wouldn't make much sense to be an elitist jerk about the whole thing. Oh, and English players: Go to Edo's site. Educate yourselves.

The whole point of Scientest 1st turn decks is that they are unstopbale, provided they get the right cards in their opening hands. If they don't, then they're in for a bit of trouble. It's still possible to get their combo out, but it takes more effort, especially if their opponent knows what's going on. You can only beat a Scientest deck if they don't kill you 1st turn. Then, it's simple: rush and do a lot of damage, so much that their strategy isn't viable anymore. A Scientest deck will *never* attempt their combo if you havew a face-down M/T. (At least, if they have any brain cells at all.) The worst deck to go against Scientest are Exodia, IMO.

Well, for an average deck, 40-42 cards is the best size. However, if yours is a defensive deck, you might want to go a little beyond that, in order to deck your opponent.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Sara [/i] [B][size=1][b]Yes, curse me and my differing opinion![/b] Deathbug, yellowflame and natalie are references to PT's signature. [/size] [/B][/QUOTE] Ah...I see. My mistake, then; I really don't pay attention to sigs unless they have bright colors. ^^;;

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by PoisonTongue [/i] Regarding the news, explain then, why every time we turn on MSNBC, or FoxNews, or CNN, or pick up the Philly Inquirer, it's violence violence violence? I am well aware that hate sells, but in light of the world today, the violent to peaceful ratio is more like 80% to 20%. The monsters outnumber the good, I'm afraid. Too bad for you.[/QUOTE] Too bad for me? If the monsters outnumbered the good, I'd think it would be too bad for the entire planet. Of course the news media only reports violence. "No news is good news". You lack perspective. [QUOTE]Hm. Writing off the entire species. So, you then accuse me of a generalization. What are you doing? Saying that the few do not influence the general scope of society? Saying that the few do not influence the flow of humanity? Are you nuts? Hitler. Stalin. Hussein. Bin Laden. Jefferson. Franklin. Martin Luther. Marx. Yeah, I'm sure those few aren't doing anything to change society.[/QUOTE] I did not say that the few do not influence; I said that the few do not [b]represent[/b]. [QUOTE]About my logic, how in the hell did you figure that? Now I know you're an idiot. No doubt about it. Nowhere in my post did I say if one causes anguish, we'd be better off without them. Take a look. Here, I'll copy and paste them.[/QUOTE] Yay; I get to read garbage twice. [QUOTE]I am going to say again; you are an idiot with absolutely horrid interpretive skills. You would have to be the dumbest waste of space to use that analogy. Hmph. Sunburns. You idiot. Do you have any comprehension in that skull? Do you have any brain matter in that skull?[/QUOTE] Yes, curse me and my differing opinion! I would have to be some kind of moron to dare think about a situation and come to a seperate conclusion! Your screen name is quite appropriate if you can't have a healthy debate without resorting to ad homenim. You're only embarassing yourself. [QUOTE]OK. Rectifying the situation. We really corrected Afghanistan. We really corrected Iraq. We really corrected Germany. We really corrected the Former Soviet Union. We really corrected rape, violence, kidnapping, arson, murder, theft. Wow, we rectified SO MUCH! OMG. We really corrected social dysfunction. We really corrected political turmoil. We really corrected...do you get my point finally?[/QUOTE] Yes, I get it. You focus entirely on the negative, and assume that the situations you listed are actually in a worse situation than they were before intervention ocurred. [QUOTE] We haven't corrected or rectified anything. Thinking that humans can examine themselves and change, fix situations, is noble, but horribly uneducated.[/QUOTE] How is it uneducated? We both know they can. The question is whether or not they will/do. [QUOTE]You are Yellowflames2. You are Natalie. [/QUOTE] Okay, right there's where I have to ask what the hell you're talking about.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by PoisonTongue [/i] [B]LOL. You should know I don't ***** and moan. And did you really want evidence to support my claim of the human race being monsters? Do you read the ******* paper? Do you watch the news? I say, YOU are misinformed. YOU have your head in the sand. You are the definition of naive, if you REQUIRE someone to provide evidence of something as frigging obvious as the human race being corrupt. You are an idiot. No offence, of course, but you are an idiot. And comparing us to everything else on this planet, explain how we're pretty awesome, because "You say all this, but do you say *anything* to support your claim?" Hm? Braindead. We should send you to the Australian outback. [/B][/QUOTE] I am well aware of the atrocities that people can commit. Are you aware that the people you read about in the news consist of less than five percent of the population? Can people be monsters? Sure. But to write of the entire species because of the actions of a relative few is laughable. According to your logic, because the sun can cause sunburns, we'd be better off without it. Human beings aren't monsters because they can ask questions like "are we monsters?" They can examine their own actions, decide if they are being harmful, and rectify the situation. No other creature on Earth can do that.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by PoisonTongue [/i] [B]Human beings are monsters, mean-spirited, evil, chaotic little creatures. How else could Dubya have been elected? I'm not a defeatist, but I really don't see how ANYONE can say the human race is loveable, or nice, or fun, or peaceful, or...any other positive adjective to use here. The only thing that separates us from the apes is not our mind. The only thing that separates us from the apes is we have our finger on the button. [/B][/QUOTE] Cry me a river. You say all this, but do you say *anything* to support your claim? I'm not claiming that the human race is perfect, but compared to everything else on this planet, we're pretty awesome.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Altron Gundam [/i] [B] Well, I could care less if the English CCG dies, it sucks anyway. Its the English CCG players who are ruining the game... [/B][/QUOTE] Yes, I'm sure that the players here ruin a game produced on the other side of the world. Give me a break. If the english game is so darn substandard, then why don't you leave us poor ignorant English players alone to enjoy ourselves? I fail to see hoiw the English game is anything but good for the Japanese game. How many people do you think are now playing the JP game as a result of the English game? Elitism is a terrible thing.

From dictionary.com: mon·ster ( P ) Pronunciation Key (mnstr) n. An imaginary or legendary creature, such as a centaur or Harpy, that combines parts from various animal or human forms. A creature having a strange or frightening appearance. An animal, a plant, or other organism having structural defects or deformities. Pathology. A fetus or an infant that is grotesquely abnormal and usually not viable. A very large animal, plant, or object. One who inspires horror or disgust: a monster of selfishness. I'd say that means no. An *individual* can be a monster, but you will never convince me that the entire race is a bunch of monsters. As I've so often said, humans aren't basically evil; they're basically stupid.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Snodin [/i] [B]YES! Finally, Amazon Archer props. If it were up to me, I'd have my deck revolve around her, but sadly, that could only work in a dominant Amazon deck. I'd like to see the Archer get more play, 'cause you'd all be surprised at just how much play she can see! And how much damage she can dish out! [/B][/QUOTE] I like the Archer, but, sadly, Cannon Soldier will always have an edge for general purposes because he doesn't require as many monsters on the field to work. However, for a general warrior deck, an Earth deck, or an Amazon deck, she's excellant. In this deck, all my support works for her. ^_^ Yay!

Minor tweaking of my warrior deck. (Note: It's not a Warrior-Rush deck, it's a Warrior deck. There's a difference.) Tribute Monsters: Freed the Matchless General Monsters: Maurading Captain x2 Exile Force Goblin Attack Force Witch of the Black Forest Zombrya the Dark x2 Don Zaloog x2 Breaker the Magical Warrior Dark Blade x2 Amazon Archer x2 Sangan Traps: D-Ring Call of the Haunted Imperial Order Mag...Spells: Monster Reborn Premature Burial Regeki Dark Hole Pot of Greed Graceful Charity Painful Choice Harpie's Feather Duster Heavy Storm Mystical Space Typhoon x3 Reinforcements of the army x2 The Warrior Returning Alive x3 United We Stand Fusion Sword Marasamu Blade x2 Big Bang Shot What changed? Well, I removed one GAF for the Witch, and removed two traps to add Big Bang Shot and Sangan. (With BBS's drawback, I did not think it wise to add more that one in the deck, given that there were already three power-ups.) Mostly, I swapped out the two Gearfrieds for a pair of Amazon Archers. The Archers, though underpowered, are there for that last little push of LP destruction you need at the end of the duel. With this deck's swarming abilities, I can mop up monsters like GAF, Breaker and whomever I've attached BBS to, and still leave attackers on the field.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Altron Gundam [/i] [B]Union sucks..avoid it completely if you want to play competitively. [/B][/QUOTE] Or, play competativly using whatever the heck deck type you like, strive to make it better, create better strategies than mindless cookie-cutter beatdown/hand destruction combo decks, and actually bring diversity to the game. You know, just throwing another option out there.

A Geek Tragedy There exists in our society a non-publicized form of discrimination and, as an interested party, I feel it is my duty to alert the public of these goings-on. Consider, if you will, a sports fan. This person?s team is about to participate in the Big Game, so how do they choose to show support? The typical sports fan will dress in the jersey of his/her favorite player, paint his/her face, and hold a huge party, full of beer and gambling and pork rinds. Participants of this party are allowed to act as loud, and in some cases, as obnoxious, as possible. This is socially acceptable, and even encouraged. Now consider a fan of, say, Star Trek. Because the Sci-Fi Channel is showing an all-day marathon of all Trek movies, this person has decided to dress in the garb of his or her favorite Star Trek character, pointy ears and all. Oh ho ho, how different the reaction is then! This person will be ridiculed beyond belief, labeled as a life-long virgin and, if they are unfortunate enough to have a high school gym class, will probably spend a fair amount of their day with their head shoved in a toilet. (As you may know, toilet water makes it almost impossible to keep your Vulcan ears on.) Geeks in America are ostracized and mocked freely, whereas sports fans bask in the light. As a life-long geek, I feel this inequity must be rectified. After all, it?s only a matter of priorities that separates myself from a sports fan. (Perhaps a better title would be ?sports geek?, although I?m sure they would loathe to be called such.) I don?t really care to know anything about Brad Johnson, but that is only because I?d much rather remember the original Japanese names of the entire cast of Dargonball Z. I won?t pay a penny for Super Bowel tickets, but I?d sleep in front of the theater to see Spider-Man II before anyone else. Normal geeks are just as fanatical as sports geeks, merely in pursuit of different objectives. (I am well aware that some people, geek half-breeds as they are, enjoy sci-fi and sports. These day-walkers have the best of both worlds, but seeing as they aren?t the targets of such revulsion, they are not of concern to me. On a related note, if you understand what I meant when I said ?day-walker?, you?re probably also a geek.) As a geek, I am tired of such blatant discrimination. I demand the respect I deserve. Do you imagine it easy to recall the henchmen Soundwave had in the original Transformers cartoon? How about remembering which equipment cards will be destroyed under ?Gearfried the Iron Knight?s? self-protection effect? My brethren and I can rattle off facts and statistics just as well as any Fantasy Football fan. I assure you, it is not as simple as we make it appear. All we really want is the right to indulge in our own fandom without persecution, the same as a sports geek. I firmly believe that were a sports geek to attempt to understand our culture, he wouldn?t find us to be very different at all. So, I call upon my fellow geeks to put down their comics for a second and rise up! Otakus! Trekkies! Fanboys! All of you should stand tall and proud, regardless of what your geeky fascination is! Continue on with your valiant struggle! Pretend you?re role-playing if it makes the ordeal any easier! You may all rest assured that I will be standing right there beside you! But not right now. ?X-Files? is on.

Okay, here's a question: In the last episode, "The Big Fight", [spoiler] Alan Gabriel is killed by Big Duo, because he's not who BD desires as a dominouce. Now, during the battle, Roger says that Schwartzvauld couldn't control Big Duo either, and that it rejected him as well. I thought Big Duo [b]did[/b] want Schwartzvauld as its dominouce; that's why, even after it was defeated and Schwartzvauld was no longer piloting it, it headed towards the Paradigm Industries building, to tear it down the way Schwartzvauld had wanted. Or was I wrong?[/spoiler]