SunfallE

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='MaskedRider'] I'm actually a nice guy, but girls don't generally tend to go for nice guys. Yes, that's what they want, but they usually end up going for the self confident jerk who treats them like ****. But whatever, it's their mess not mine.[/QUOTE]Or we find those nice guys and keep them. >_> Sorry Rach, but you [I]are[/I] nice. :p Anyway... even if it's considered cliched, I like the standard deal of someone who's honest, fun to be with and can make you laugh. As well as having something similar and yet different as far as tastes go. Probably one of my number one things I look for is someone who isn't offended if you are intelligent. Because the stereotype that blonde's are stupid and all the jokes to go with it gets real old. It's kind of sad the guys I've never gotten to know because they couldn't go one day without cracking some stupid blonde joke at my expense. It's painfully annoying to like someone only for them to be too clueless to realize what a stupid habit that is and for them to fail to see that it's not funny. Naturally there are other things I don't like. Such as smoking and drinking. That's a given whether it's a relationship or friendship. I can't stand either one. I don't care if you think you are responsible and maybe you are... it's just a no in my book. Physical is more of an iffy in that I don't expect perfection. Anyway, my relationship I'm in right now works out really well and I'm very happy with it. So right now, I'm not looking for one. Friends are another matter, I'm always looking for those. You can never have too many friends. Heh.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='Rachmaninoff'] Though it seems clear to me that it means, normally it's like the lower bottom left corner and deploys with the additional blades whenever Gavrie wishes it.[/QUOTE]That's what I thought when I looked at the picture. Anyway... I'm toying with some ideas for graphics, but at the same time I also getting use to the new version of theO on account of being a moderator there too. So I've got a lot going on right now. I am going to at least give it a try though. Once I have something ready, I'll send it to all of you so we can decide which one we like the best. Until then... *waits for the revision to the history she sent everyone* :p[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='Rachmaninoff;806685] Dead is fine by me, she is a "horrible little yip dog" after all it seems. :animesmil[/QUOTE]I'm for her ending up dead. The backstabbing little dear needs to be done in. I rather like Raiha's suggestion of being trampled by chimeras. [quote name='Rachmaninoff'']Also, Donner needs to DIE. Just making that clear.[/quote]I second this sentiment. [I]DEAD![/I] And it had better be pretty damn painful or else! :p[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Celestia was dreading returning to the computer lab that morning. Even if Kenath didn?t know the message came from her or what it had contained, he would know it was sent from the computer lab. Just thinking about her and Jason being taken for away for disciplinary measures and interrogation to find out what was in the message as well as who it had been sent to, was enough to make her sick, literally. She found herself fighting for control as her and Jason headed for the lab like always. [I] I?m such a fool![/I] She thought as they entered the lab and took their seats, simply pulling up their work, trying to not draw attention. Celestia?s heart sank when she heard Kenath approaching from behind. ?[B]Come with me you two,[/B]? He didn?t even wait for them to answer but turned to head for his office, trusting that they would follow. Puzzled by his calm manner, both of them did as they were told.[I] Has he not run the program yet? [/I]Celestia wondered as the two of them entered his office and took a seat across from where he was sitting at his desk. She glanced briefly at Jason before giving Kenath her full attention. ?[B]I ran the program last night.[/B]? Kenath explained, his expression was puzzling as he seemed angry but it didn't seem to be directed towards them. ?[B]I was expecting to find traces indicating messages were deleted, but I was not expecting to find so many from the lab.[/B]? Celestia couldn?t hide how surprised she was, after all, the person she had warned did not work in the computer lab. She had expected him to find plenty of traces for unauthorized messages being sent, but not from the main computer labs of the [I]Creator[/I]. Plus, she had only sent the one message. She was starting to feel a tiny bit relieved and then froze briefly in fear at what he said next, at least for a moment that is. ?[B]When the first one came up I was certain it was one of you, but the data indicates that it?s likely the messages were sent from multiple terminals. The two of you other than one time have never been allowed access to any of the other terminals, so it?s not possible for you to have done it.[/B]? Celestia couldn't believe their good luck.[I] Does he think all of the messages were sent by the same person?[/I] His angry expression seemed to indicate that. Those who were loyal to the High Council had a very dim view of those who would even think of betraying their own kind. She wondered if he was offended by learning he had a traitor under his command. Celestia just kept quiet, if he wasn't going mention the possibility of it being more than one person, she certainly wasn't going to say anything. He looked at both of them for a moment, ?[B]The program doesn?t tell me which terminal it came from, but based on the time imprints it narrows it down to only the ones which were currently active. Also, nearly half of the messages were sent when the two of you weren?t even in the lab.[/B]? ?[B]I need both of you to improve the program, or rather to start eliminating who could have been responsible. I have no intention of possibly handing the investigation over to a traitor.[/B]? He snarled in irritation. ?[B]This assignment is not to be discussed with anyone but me, is that clear?[/B]? "[B]Yes sir.[/B]" They both replied at the same time. ?[B]Good, I?ll send you the relevant data to help you narrow things down. In addition to that I want you to also work on the other unauthorized messages that were sent from other areas of the ship.[/B]? He looked to each of them and then dismissed them both. "[B]Unless you have questions for me, we're done.[/B]" Both of them shook their heads, indicating they did not have a question for him. Getting up to hastily make their way back to their terminals with Kenath motioned for them to leave. Only when the door to his office had closed behind them did Celestia breathe a sigh of relief. Not that she wanted to do the work in question, but rather that she hadn?t been caught. If she was careful about it, she would be able to remove any trace data in regards to the message she sent. That would come later though. For now, she was merely relieved that she hadn't been caught. Though as they took their seats she wondered if some of the deleted messages had been sent by the person she had warned. She certainly hoped not, based on where they were situated on the [I]Creator[/I], she knew the person was unlikely to attempt to run unless they had no choice. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='Sandy']The point of the cannon was that no-one knew about it's existence or how it's operated. That's why we kept it a secret for so long in this game. The Underdogs discovered it by chance, and think that it's their key to end High Czenoble's tyranny once and for all. With the text carved to it, they assume that an Almagest is needed for the job - and for once, they got it right. Anyway, this traitor thing is getting a bit old, isn't it? I mean, in the end, who [I]is[/I] on the Dynasty's side anymore? XD Though there are certainly more than two sides in this story.[/QUOTE]My question is how could something like that stay hidden with the population only getting larger? Makes no sense that only Leonhart and Daedalus would find it, no matter where it was hidden. There is bound to be more citizens like Victoria, Harrison and Josh who spend their spare time exploring the tunnels. Plus Daedalus would know just how dangerous that Cannon is so I imagine he would do something to make it more secure than simply making the[I] hiding place [/I]more secure. Doing only that would seem to be reckless on his character's part and doesn't fit the sense of responsibility that Gavin has portrayed Daedalus as having in this rpg. And the traitor thing getting old? You've lost me really. :p Traitors are what's fueling this entire operation. Since revolutionaries alone doesn't cut it in my view. So really, what's one more? It makes it a hell of a lot more sense to me that things would be like that. More importantly though.. that post between Crystia and Gavin with "The Game?" Hehehe. That was hilarious! ^_~[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][QUOTE='[Sound_Nin];806613'][COLOR=Navy][FONT=Book Antiqua]So you [I]don't[/I] think there's a massive amount of advice threads? Fair enough. I revoke my [U]opinion.[/U] [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]No I don't, and think about it, if so many advice threads bother you... the easiest way to counter it is to you know... create new threads with new topics instead of telling people to stop posting a type of thread because you or someone else might not like them. Whether or not there are a lot of them, is irrelevant. People shouldn't be limited on the type of threads they are allowed to post. As I said, your claim was inaccurate, it is not a case of nearly every thread being one for advice, out of the first thirty threads on the first page, only five are on advice, that doesn't even come close to[I] nearly every one [/I]being on advice. Plus you don't know if quite a few people are tired of seeing them or not, you're jumping to conclusions here since you can't really know what others think. That's your opinion, and it's not necessarily shared by others. So it's not getting to be a bit much. So I'm saying, your opinion is fine, but your conclusion or rather logic supporting that opinion is incorrect and flawed. I'm also saying, as I already said, there's no reason to tell people to stop posting a type of thread. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][QUOTE='[Sound_Nin];806608'][COLOR=Navy][FONT=Book Antiqua]That's true. But notice where I said, [/FONT][/COLOR] [COLOR=Navy][FONT=Book Antiqua]Which is along the same lines. Don't bother to read it. ;) Point taken, however. I knew someone would say that. [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]Notice where I said:[quote name='SunfallE'][COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]there's really [U]no reason[/U] to ask people to stop posting a thread like this.[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]That's the real point to my post. Because your statement that: [INDENT][SIZE="1"]I know there are quite a few of us that don't like seeing every single effing one of these threads being about 'oh my boyfriend/girlfriend/ex broke up with me/wants me back, what should I do?' Seriously, folks. This is getting to be a bit much.[/SIZE][/INDENT] Isn't accurate and it's unnecessary in the first place. So lets just not do it alright? [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][CENTER][B][SIZE="3"]Enclose[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER] Lucia looked at the new results from her scan and finally, with a shake of her head she closed the program. She could work on improving it to eliminate more of the anomalies but even with the scans, it was unlikely she’d get too much more. To get a true picture of what happened, she just about needed to scan something like that while it was happening. She already had data indicating pieces of the attack pattern, but that wasn’t going to be enough to get the full picture.[I] I wonder if Nathan would be willing… [/I]There was only one way to find out, a moment later she had sent off a message to him. She put the communicator away once she was done. “[B]I need to know more about Vampires.[/B]” She said to herself more than anything as she stood up, heading over to the tables set up against the far wall. In the corner farthest from the windows overlooking the lake she had one of the human versions of a computer set up. Not that she liked it, but rather because sometimes it was better to see how things worked in a real working environment that pertained to the human world. Accessing the Internet that they used was easy enough when using their own protocols. She had her program, but she was not above using other methods to learn more. Even if the data the humans had was likely to be full of errors, having it on hand would be useful for comparison if she was to figure out just what they were capable of doing. That and doing simple work or rather projects for humans working with their primitive systems was an easy way to get a hold of their means for paying for things. It took so little time to do a quick assignment here and there. And the Council didn’t forbid it so long as they didn’t improve their technology or didn’t let it interfere with their real work. She turned it on while also activating what appeared to be a thin sheet of paper hanging on the wall over the table. It went from being a six by six picture of some mountains to a computer screen, split into multiple windows depending on what Lucia decided to pull up. It was made of the same material of her Crystal Communicator and virtually undetectable by humans or other Shinigami as well, unless it was active. She didn’t like using the screens that humans made, they were just so limited in what they could do. “[B]Lucia![/B]” Ruby came in to land on the table next to her, reaching over and turning the computer off without asking. “[B]You need to take a break.[/B]” “[B]What for?[/B]” “[B]Because I’m hungry! So lets go and get something to eat.[/B]” Ruby moved until she was practically sitting on the keyboard, matching Lucia’s stare with one of her own. It was written all over her small face,[I] go ahead, try me. I won’t move until you agree.[/I] Lucia just sighed a bit and gave in. “[B]Alright.[/B]” She stood up, shifting to her more casual outfit of shorts, a shirt and shoes. She moved until she was fully in the human world, actually using the door instead of simply ghosting through it. She walked up the stairs and out onto the street with Ruby sitting on her right shoulder. She had been there long enough that people were use to seeing her and the tiniest hint of energy was all it took to keep people from realizing that Ruby had wings, making her look more like a real cat. Lucia just walked down the street, oblivious to the looks she got from the humans, she always was. It didn’t take her long to reach a restaurant that had tables and spots facing the lake, the place was use to her bringing Ruby along and no fuss was made as the hostess simply took them out back. Seating them where they were farthest away from the people and closest to the lake. “[B]Did you want the usual miss?[/B]” The hostess asked and then left after Lucia nodded. The usual meant fresh uncooked fillet fish for Ruby and for her a type of Caesar salad along with water for both of them. Ruby just hopped down onto the table, eagerly awaiting her meal, something that just made Lucia smile a little. Once the food arrived she turned her attention to the view, taking her time to enjoy the meal. Being along the lake was one of the reasons she had chosen her location to begin with. Just spending time out on the balcony doing nothing but enjoying the view was very restful and calming, making it easier to refocus her thoughts when she was trying to solve a problem. She would visit other scenic spots on Earth for the same reasons, they quieted her mind, making it easier for her to focus later on. Something that Ruby was well aware of. Lucia just stayed put for a little while once she was done and then frowned when she sensed someone approaching, someone from her world. For only the briefest of moments she was puzzled until she turned and saw who was coming her way. Her brow furrowed and Ruby tensed before hopping back up on her shoulder. “[B]Jeez![/B]” She snarled in Lucia’s ear. “[B]You were barely in there! Why the hell do they have to check every tiny little move you make! That trip wasn’t enough time…[/B]” “[B]Please Ruby.[/B]” Lucia said quietly, though she was less than thrilled to see the Shinigami approaching, saying nothing when he stopped at her table. With short brown hair and eyes and of medium build, he was dressed as casually as she was in simple jeans and a polo shirt. “[B]Lucia,[/B]” he smiled a bit. “[B]May I join you?[/B]” “[B]Like I have a choice?[/B]” “[B]Now don’t be like that.[/B]” He sat down motioning for one of the waiters, ordering a drink before turning his attention back to Lucia and Ruby once the waiter had left. “[B]It is my job after all - you did disappear off the radar for a very short time. Unlike the slight distortion from dealing with the [I]assignment[/I], only one place would result in a true loss of [I]data[/I].[/B]” He smiled at the waiter who had returned with his drink. Taking a sip before setting it down. Lucia leaned back, trying to contain her irritation and failing. “[B]Short visits to my lab are allowed, or have you forgotten the terms of the agreement?[/B]” She said condescendingly, her voice cutting. “[B]I find this paranoia on the behalf of the Council tiring, I have always kept to the terms agreed upon since I was forced to become a Shinigami.[/B]” “[B]Of course, no one is saying you haven’t, all I wish to know is why you went there. You didn’t stay long enough to do any real research after all.[/B]” He was trying to give the impression of merely being curious, but Lucia was use to the guarded look he always had, giving nothing away. “[B]You know what my assignment was, how about you explain to me why I was never trained to deal with Vampires or even given any information as to what they were capable of?[/B]” She countered, glaring at him. “[B]One would think you were trying to get us killed.[/B]” “[B]That’s most unkind of you Lucia - to say such a thing.[/B]” He chided her. “[B]If that were true, no one would have been sent to retrieve Aeru. If the information on vampires was necessary, it would have been given to you. Lucia dear, the Council only has your welfare in mind, you simply refuse to see it.[/B]” Lucia snorted, holding up her left hand, palm facing towards herself as she touched her left wrist with her right forefinger, sending a tiny surge of energy out. Blue flames raced in a circular pattern around her left wrist, tracing what appeared to be some sort of language before the flames faded. “[B]All I see is a first level seal.[/B]” She corrected him, lowering her hand once the flames faded. “[B]Hardly the actions of someone who really cares, more like someone who doesn't know the meaning of the word trust, so save the lies for someone who will actually believe them.[/B]” “[B]You are being difficult when it’s not necessary Lucia, is it really so hard to answer the question? I’d hate to report that a new seal is required.[/B]” He narrowed his eyes at her sudden look of genuine anger. “[B]You really are stupid.[/B]” She said flatly. “[B]I gave you the answer, but it seems you are too stupid to see it.[/B]” Lucia leaned forward just a tiny bit. “[B]I asked you why I was never trained on how to deal with vampires. Try using that tiny pathetic excuse for a brain that you have and think for a change.[/B]” His expression turned cold, but Lucia did not care, she was tired of them checking every single time she went into her lab. She had promised to abandon pretty much all of her research, only keeping to stuff that was done outside of the void and yet, the damn Council had insisted on putting a first level seal on her anyway. Making it possible for them to track her every move, something she resented. Seals were only for Shingami who broke the law and she had, to her knowledge, broken no laws at all. Every attempt to get an explanation as to why they had chosen her when there were so many others who actually wanted it, had gone unanswered. Her attempts to petition and have the assignment dismissed, ignored. She would accept, abandon her research and accept having the seal placed on her, or all of her work would be destroyed. Leaving her to face even greater consequences if she refused. Such as the second or third seal. Lucia still didn’t understand how they could do something that seemed contrary to their laws, but her objections had been overruled. The second seal tracked one’s movements but was also more limiting, restricting where you were even allowed to go and if one crossed into an area they were not allowed to, the resulting punishment was far from kind. Shinigami were not immune to pain after all. The third, mainly for those few who could be considered criminals, not only tracked and limited one’s location, but suppressed the ability to tap into one’s spiritual energy, essentially making one unable to do anything, one couldn’t even perform the simple act of floating. “[B]I am trying to gather information on what happened at the Count’s mansion, if not for Adrian and Nathan, the rest of us would have died.[/B]” She finally explained when it was clear that he wasn't going to attempt to figure out what she meant. “[B]I don’t need another seal, all I did was retrieve one of my programs so I could better analyze the scans of what happened there.[/B]” “[B]Now that wasn’t so hard after all was it?[/B]” He smiled knowingly at her. Lucia just resisted the urge to smack the smile off of his face, pulling back when he stood up and reached over to grasp her left shoulder in a friendly fashion, he just smiled and instead placed enough money on the table to pay for everything as if that had been his intent to begin with. Lucia watched him leave and then took a deep breath, letting it out. "[B]It's about time that jerk left.[/B]" Ruby said with a disdainful flip. "[B]Next time he should have the decency to wait until later so he doesn't spoil a perfectly good meal.[/B]" Lucia just reached up and scratched Ruby behind the ears. If she had her way, there wouldn't be a next time, but after her last petition to be allowed to return to how things had been before had been answered with a warning to drop it, she had given up and focused on finding other ways to do research in the human world instead. It was clear that she was never going to get her old life back, ever.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][QUOTE='[Sound_Nin];806603'][COLOR=Navy][FONT=Book Antiqua]Now. [U][B]*At the risk of sounding like a complete *******.* [/B][/U]Can we please stop with the advice threads? They're getting way too excessive. Really, why don't you call Sue Johanson, or Dr Phil? At least invest in a psychiatrist, because I know there are quite a few of us that don't like seeing every single effing one of these threads being about 'oh my boyfriend/girlfriend/ex broke up with me/wants me back, what should I do?' Seriously, folks. This is getting to be a bit much. [/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]You know... It's not that hard to[I] not[/I] answer advise threads. ^_~ If they really bug you that much, then don't bother to read them. I can see suggesting someone get more professional advice, but there's really no reason to ask people to stop posting a thread like this. And since others have already offered the excellent advice of focusing on school, I won't bother to rehash that bit. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Well since Rach brought it up... I nominate him to do it. :p And it's not like we can't keep a link to this thread in the main post. Plus with him being able to edit the first post, it will be easy to add in things that are needed or even missed. Personally, other than the information about our characters, the scythes, etc. A lot of what's here can just be left behind. A link to the thread will make it easy to find and we can always edit in stuff as needed. So... get started Rach! Each of us can always pull what we want out and give it to you for inclusion in the main post. ^_~[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][CENTER][IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee132/Runaway511/almagest/alexanderedward-chronicle.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee132/Runaway511/almagest/alecialeanna-chronicle.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Alecia knew something was wrong when Alexander came home after going to attend something with his superior officer Jonathan Grants. It was clear that his mind was elsewhere and it bothered her since she couldn't recall seeing him so troubled before. It was if something had him stressing and she could only imagine as to what it was since he didn't want to talk about it, telling her that they would discuss it soon, once he had a chance to sort things out. Though she supposed that the news that communication between New Czenoble and High Czenoble was non-existent had something to do with it. She was sure he had to be worried about his family, she certainly was. The next morning as she was getting ready for work, Alexander was in the small study off the main receiving room to their home, writing up a letter. She walked in and leaned over, wrapping her arms around him from behind as he finished sealing the letter. Smiling a bit when she saw that it was addressed to either Dwalish or Daedalus. "[B]Did you find out more about Grandfather?[/B]" She asked, smiling when he stopped and reached up to take her hands in his, grasping them firmly before turning so they were facing one another, his expression serious. "[B]Alecia, you have to promise me something.[/B]" She didn't know what to think of his expression, never had she seen him looking so torn or serious for that matter. "[B]No matter what you hear, no matter what happens. You have to stay at the Eshe Rehema until I come for you.[/B]" He gripped her hands even tighter. "[B]What's the matter Alexander?[/B]" "[B]I can't tell you just yet,[/B]" he stood up, pulling her into a fierce embrace, making her wonder just what was going on when he finally pulled away and then kissed her tenderly before letting go. He reached over and snatched the letter, stuffing it into his pocket. "[B]Please Alecia, promise me.[/B]" He waited for her to finally nod before continuing. "[B]We need to get going or we'll be late.[/B]" He took her hand in his and the two of them went to get some breakfast before finally leaving to catch the train to work. When they finally arrived at their stop, the day looking to be one of rain as it was overcast and slightly chilly, Alecia couldn't help but wonder what had Alexander so worried, or just what was in the letter he had marked urgent and mailed before they had gotten on the train at the stop closer to home. Instead she did as she always did, smiled and exchanged a hug and a kiss before they went their separate ways, her into the Eshe Rehema and him on his way to the headquarters of the Royal Police Guard that was further up the same street. She watched him until she could no longer see him and then finally turned to enter the medical center to get to work. Later, once they were done, she'd see if she could find out what was bothering him so much.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='Sandy']However, outside that case, I do believe it will hurt the game in the long run if we have to check every post with other players, just in case someone has something planned. It leads to a situation where player characters only communicate with NPCs, afraid to "talk with other person's mouth", so to speak. The bottom line is that a roleplaying game is about interplayer communication, and adapting to the post prior to yours. It is not a novel that you can plan in details very far, because there are other people involved who can suddenly make everything turn around completely. So while we have to collaborate with other players in the important scenes, it's also important to give space to creativity and surprises. This is all just generally speaking, some of the thoughts that have come to me during this game.[/QUOTE]I don't think anyone is saying you have to check with every little post. :p Only for major events. I speak from experience when I say that the same is true of my own rpg Silver One. For the most part, it's not required, but when it's something big for a character then we can and do communicate with one another. ^_~ The bottom line is, its a hell of a lot more fun to plan things out with someone instead of simply posting and hoping you read things right. Plus bouncing things off of the other person often results in a much higher level of creativity too. Anyway, the real reason for this post? Like Rach, those kind of puzzles really aren't my thing either. So unless you've got some hint or clue... I won't be any help on it either. The latest landmark that is. Hope it's not super important since I'm pretty sure I won't be much help for solving it.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='indifference;806401][COLOR="Indigo"]Well, well, well. Interesting twist there in Kathy's post. [/COLOR][/QUOTE][SIZE="3"][CENTER][B]O_O[/B][/CENTER][/SIZE][quote name='indifference;806401][COLOR="Indigo"]All I have to say is that Hugo Black had better hope Daedalus never finds out he was responsible for that. Or for actually touching Catherine. Otherwise, connection to the Dynast or not, Daedalus is likely to kill him with his bare hands. [/COLOR][/QUOTE]>_< He had better clobber that horrible Hugo Black. I feel so clueless in that it never crossed my mind that of all people, [I]Catherine[/I] would get snatched. [QUOTE=indifference'][COLOR="Indigo"']I just know that Shy is snickering right about now[/COLOR][/quote]Feh! I would be surprised if he wasn't! I know he had Rach banging his head on his desk with that last post of his. XP Anyway, I'm mainly posting just to say that I'm kind of a bit brain dead on account of recovering from a sinus infection that started over the weekend. Headaches and attempting to post do not go together very well. It's getting better so I'll probably be up to posting again in a few days.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='Aaryanna_Mom']My understanding is that there is more involved in that for Kreid and that Beth will be getting that to you shortly Blayze. [/QUOTE]Yes I will... Sorry for the delay, I've had a bit of a bug and though I've been online some, I've been feeling under the weather. XP I'll get that stuff to everyone later today. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Unlike the other Shinigami that Lucia knew of, she did not have an apartment, or rather one that was more normal by human standards. She really had no desire or need to talk to humans or other Shinigami for that matter either. So when she had first been assigned to work in the area, she had hunted until she found something more suited to her needs. If she could not use her own sanctuary where she had built a lab, then she had to make due with something similar. It had taken a little bit of time, but finally along the shores of the lake the city was nestled up against, she had found an old dance studio that was in disuse. The four story building, with the studio on the bottom, completely underground other than the one side that faced the lake, was ideal. The top levels that were above ground were in use by various businesses who had set up offices there and the owner of the building was only too happy to find someone to lease out the lower floor to since it was impractical for a true office and newer dance buildings down the street had led to the floor becoming nothing more than a glorified storage area. Lucia put that thought aside as she arrived and walked down the steps leading to the door that led inside. No one was around so she merely ghosted in instead of bothering to open the door that lead to the huge open room that had served as the dance floor. To the left there were floor to ceiling windows along that side of the building. The only side that was not underground as it faced the lake, two small glass doors leading out to a balcony overlooking the lake. Outside, one could see the buildings of the various businesses along the lake shore. To the right was a set of double doors leading to the office and small kitchen area for the studio and further back, another set of doors leading to two storage rooms, rooms that Lucia had simply converted to a bedroom of sorts. It didn?t bother her that things were underground and it was like a cave back there. Ruby wasn?t fazed either since like all dragons, she liked enclosed spaces and if either one of them wanted more light, all they had to do was head back out to the main room. Very little had been done to make it welcoming to guests. There were tables up against the wall opposite the main doors, all sorts of equipment set up, though Lucia had nothing that was truly from their world there. Only those few items from the human world that she would even consider using. Which wasn?t much really. There were a handful of assorted chairs and a sofa closer to the windows, nothing matched as Lucia choose things based on usability and comfort not appearance. The moment they were in Ruby took off and landed in a rather battered chair with a plush comforter in the seat. The indention clearly her size as she settled down to take a nap while Lucia did the same in one of the recliners facing the windows, though she was not going to rest. She wasted no time as she started reconstructing the analysis program for the data she had gotten at the mansion. In particular the ribbons of flesh and the blood splatters. When she had scanned it before, the data was so much more complex than anything she had ever run before, it had resulted in the program spitting back anomalies or rather errors along the lines of - unable to complete analysis. It made sense to her really, her program was rather basic since she had never needed to scan anything like that before. When a human died, she had no need of knowing exactly how they died. And her scanner was more advanced anyway so it had never been an issue those few times she had actually bothered to take a scan, but now? Even though she didn?t have the full details, she had to know if the speed was accurate since even though Shinigami were quick, they weren?t [I]that [/I]quick. At least not to the best of her knowledge, but after seeing how quickly Nathan could move... How long she worked on it, she didn?t know, Lucia tended to lose track of time when she was focusing on something and today was no exception. When she was finally ready to run the data again, she did so, eager to see just what it would say. There were still some anomalies, something she could address later but one detail stood out that had her speechless for a moment as she found it hard to believe. The person who had been shredded? if the data was correct, it had happened so fast, their body never hit the ground, until it was in pieces.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial](Somebody hit me, noowwww....)[/FONT][/QUOTE]Well since you asked... *THWACK!* Anyway... waffles and just about any breakfast food = boring. About the only thing that even comes close to breakfast food that I actually like is steak and eggs. But otherwise, waffles are not my thing, at all. Though since stuff like that tends to make me sick, literally, I imagine that's why. :p[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Actually Gavin... I'd say right about now would be a good time for Daedalus to show up for that chat with Alexander... XP Especially since he's gone and insisted on sticking his neck out like that. Getting involved in the mess with Bavaria. I left it open so anyone can pick up on it, It could be Gustave arriving with Victoria Ann or even Catherine returning via carriage to Rosengard. I think having Daedalus show up would be the most effective though. What with him being so highly ranked in the military and all. A Captain in the RPG would not deter him I'm thinking. :p[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][CENTER][IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee132/Runaway511/almagest/alexanderedward-chronicle.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee132/Runaway511/almagest/alecialeanna-chronicle.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee132/Runaway511/almagest/ladybavariaavatar.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] When Alecia and Alexander arrived at Rosengard, intent on checking up on Fauntleroy, they were surprised to see the royal police guard securing the perimeter of Rosengard. [I]What is going on now?[/I] She wondered as she made her way to the guards at the gate, intending to push her way through, but to her utter surprise they halted her. "[B]I'm sorry...[/B]" He started to say and then halted upon seeing Alexander's uniform. "[B]Oh! Did Captain Oref send for you sir?[/B]" "[B]No, what is going on here?[/B]" Alexander questioned. "[B]The Captain is questioning Bavaria Decon...[/B]" He halted as Alexander shoved him aside, alarmed by the use of her surname instead of her married one of Almagest. [I]What is that fool thinking? Just because her brother Jack is wanted for possible connection with the Underdogs... [/I] He kept Alecia's hand in his as he took advantage of the other guards confusion over his presence to get inside the house, he still had the tiny little pin on his uniform indicating that he was currently working in the detective branch since no one had thought to revoke that after Vincent was killed. And since he had been working on finding people who were missing, it was likely that the others assumed he was here for the same reason as Captain Oref. Looking into clues surrounding the Underdogs. "[B]What's wrong Alex?[/B]" Alecia tugged on the hand holding hers in an attempt to get him to slow down. [I]Why is he in such a hurry?[/I] "[B]Captain Alan Oref is a fool.[/B]" He hissed under his breath as he shoved the main doors open. "[B]He jumps to conclusions instead of thinking things through.[/B]" He did not explain, it would take too long. The fact that he had others securing Rosengard and referring to Bavaria by her maiden name was more than enough to tell him that things were off. It was an assumption that he knew was correct when he heard the Captain's voice... [I] “[B]Dammit![/B]” the sound of someone being struck was heard, “[B]Where are they? Where are the Underdogs!?[/B]”[/I] Alecia gave out a tiny little startled gasp as they made for the main receiving room, brushing past the guards to find Bavaria holding her cheek, a startled look on her face. "[B]What is going on here?[/B]" Alexander demanded, not caring that he was outranked as he moved to stand between Bavaria and Captain Oref while Alecia rushed to her side. "[B]Stand aside, this does not concern you.[/B]" Oref said coldly. "[B]Unless you too are sympathizing with the Underdogs as well.[/B]" "[B]You think she's helping them? Whatever gave you that idea?[/B]" Oref looked at him as if weighing his intent and then finally explained. Leaving Alexander wondering why he was even giving him the time of day by actually telling him about Bavaria's message in regards to Gadget. "[B]Let me get this straight, she sends you a wire, openly telling you about Gadget and now you think she's helping them?[/B]" Alexander said incredulously. "[B]Are you an idiot? Why the hell would she bother to contact the guard if she really was in league with the Underdogs!?[/B]" He met Captain Oref's angry glare with one of his own. "[B]With all due [I]respect[/I] sir.[/B]" He spat out. "[B]You're wasting your time questioning her when you could be searching the area for this Gadget.[/B]" Both of them glared at one another and then turned with Bavaria finally spoke up. "[B]I really don't know where he is. I think he found out that I had sent for you and took advantage of the confusion caused by your arrival to escape.[/B]"[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Celestia was paying little attention to the fact that the fleet had returned to sector one. She was more concerned about finishing up all the checks and rechecks of the new update system that was in place. So far, there had been very few bugs and things were running smoothly. It was to be frank, discouraging. Between her and Jason's improvements, it ran faster, quicker and was more secure than the previous system. Her original program she had written on Earth, for hacking into it, was now useless. Something that pained her greatly since anything that made it harder for either the Resistance or the New Alliance... She sighed to herself. She glanced sideways at Jason who was still focusing on the improvements on Kenath's program for hunting down illegal or unauthorized activity on the ship. There was something she could do about that, even though she knew she shouldn't. If she was caught... Celestia shook her head. [I]I have to do something. I can't sit by.[/I] With another side glance at Jason to make sure he was busy she pulled up a secondary window, hiding it behind her current work, accessing the exploit in the system. She knew who was using it and she knew that they would understand the message. It was short and to the point. [I]They are on to you.[/I] She encoded it and shot it off, making sure to erase what she had done before backing out of the program as quickly as possible. Before Jason noticed she was doing more and before Kenath came over to check on them. Even if the program was designed to run without leaving a record that someone was logged in, if he saw it up on her screen... Her heart skipped a beat at the thought. [I]Why did I do that? What if they find out that I warned the agent?[/I] She fought the urge to shake as she finished up her checks and shut down her terminal for the day. She gave Jason a tiny half smile as he finished sending the improvements for Kenath's program to him. Celestia had been so focused on stressing over the fleet update system and whether or not she should warn the agent that they were hunting for them, that she hadn't realized that Jason was virtually finished with it. [I]It's a good thing I sent that message[/I] she thought as the two of them got up and left for their assigned quarters. [I]If I hadn't, it's possible that Kenath would have caught them using the exploit.[/I] "[B]What's the matter with you?[/B]" Jason finally asked her once they were in their quarters. "[B]You've really been out of it today.[/B]" Celestia didn't have an answer for that, she hadn't told Jason that she had learned who was using the exploit and she wasn't planning on telling him that she had sent the person a message, warning them. She felt her heart begin to race, now that she had done it, she was thinking it had been such a foolish move on her part. [I]What was I thinking?[/I] Jason sat down on the sofa in their quarters, pulling her along so she was sitting next to him. "[B]Well it doesn't matter, I finished doing what Kenath wanted. I made the improvements to the program that he wanted.[/B]" He sighed. "[B]I was able to avoid putting in a direct routine to hunt for potential exploits, but I couldn't get around the request to flag recent deletions of unauthorized messages. Even if they don't find the exploit, it's likely that they'll pick up on messages that shouldn't be sent.[/B]" Celestia stiffened as her heart caught in her throat. [I]He did what?[/I] Jason frowned at her. "[B]It won't pick up someone using the exploit to look at files they shouldn't but unless the person is exceptionally skilled at hiding messages, anything direct is likely to be picked up.[/B]" She pulled free, her heart racing.[I] I have to go back and fix that! The message I sent... Gods! I should have said something to Jason first! If Kenath runs that program tonight...[/I]She hadn't gotten more than a foot towards the door when Jason caught her arm, pulling her up short. "[B]Hey! What's the matter?[/B]" He was confused by the panicked expression on her face. "[B]Celesita![/B]" He said sharply when she tried to tug free and said nothing. He was wondering what in the world was going on when suddenly she nearly collapsed and started sobbing, the words I'm sorry escaping her lips over and over. [I]What in the world?[/I] He took her back over to the sofa, holding her, stopping her from leaving in spite of her struggles to pull free. Doing so until she finally calmed down enough to stop struggling and talk to him. But when she finally spoke up, he felt like panicking himself, when he learned what she had done. [I]Oh hell![/I] "[B]I'm sorry Jason,[/B]" She was saying. "[B]I should have told you.[/B]" She tried to pull free again only to be halted by him holding her tight. "[B]Let me go Jason! I have to go and fix it![/B]" "[B]You can't.[/B]" He said miserably. "[B]There's a small chance that he won't run the program tonight or that it won't pick up the message you sent.[/B]" He held her at arms length, "[B]But if you go back to the lab after hours, that will draw far too much attention.[/B]" "[B]But...[/B]" He could see the desperation and fear in her eyes. "[B]You can't Celestia![/B]" He nearly shouted at her. "[B]Gods...[/B]" He pulled her close again and held her tight. "[B]You can't.[/B]" He understood why she had done it, and at the same time he hated the position they were in. Tomorrow morning he would help her to remove any traces of what she had done, provided it wasn't too later by then. Even if they didn't know it was her, they would know it came from the lab. And who else but them had a reason for doing such a thing?[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Interesting that you guys are posting pictures of scythes... I did find one some time ago, but other than to save a copy, I never got around to posting the picture. XP But I believe now I will. [URL="http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/6668/wipfantasyscytheskickasxi4.jpg"][U]Lucia Scythe[/U][/URL] It may look a bit cumbersome, but it's balanced well enough to make an effective weapon in battle. And yes the bottom part is just as sharp as the main blade. :p Anyway, like Rach... I too am looking forward to seeing how things wrap up with Nathan and Adrian. And poor Astera, stuffed into a sack no less. XP[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][CENTER][IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee132/Runaway511/almagest/alecialeanna-chronicle.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee132/Runaway511/almagest/morphiaavatar.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] The morning had been rather uneventful for Alecia since even with the unrest being caused by the news of what was going on in New Czenoble, things had been calmed down or rather the Royal Police Guard were working hard to keep things under control. So though she had been terribly busy, it wasn't as hectic as the day before had been. And even though it had been a bit strained since it was clear that he was still upset, lunch with Alexander had at least been relaxing to a certain extent. It had been good to see that he was still doing well in spite of his injury. Alecia would be glad when the day was done and they could both go home and rest, but for now, she had work to do. She had only just gotten back from lunch with Alexander, but the sooner she got started, the sooner she would be done. She set her things down in her tiny office and went to the nurse's station where the chart for Morphia Markham was located. After a quick greeting to the staff, she opened it up and took a look, by now the results of the check that morning would be there and sure enough they were. In a way, Morphia was lucky, the breaks she had gotten were clean, and those always healed the quickest, especially when combined with injections. The scans confirmed it, they may have been simple since the technology for getting a picture of one's bones was still relatively new, but it clearly showed that she was responding well. At this rate, she could be sent home in a wheel chair either later that night or first thing in the morning. Preferably the next morning since it would be better to wait for the second check the next day, since she might need another treatment. Alecia put it out of her mind and left to head for her room, smiling a bit as she entered the room and Morphia turned to see who had entered. "[B]I trust you are ready for your next injections?[/B]" She asked her politely after they exchanged greetings. Morphia just grimaced a bit, "[B]Yes, as ready as I'll ever be.[/B]" Alecia took that as an indication to get things ready and in no time she had finished up with the second set of shots. She put everything away and then move over by the bed as she had one last thing to tell her before the sedative did it's work. "[B]You'll be pleased to know that you're responding very well, enough that it's possible for you to leave later today or tomorrow morning so long as you have someone to care for you. You still need to use a wheelchair for a while though. Anyway, at this rate, you'll only need one more treatment and then it's only a matter of follow up appointments to determine when you are ready to start working on walking again.[/B]" Morphia looked a bit surprised at that news and then in spite of the obvious pain she was in she smiled just a tiny bit. "[B]Thank you.[/B]" She finally said. Alecia just smiled a bit in return before leaving and heading out to see to the other patients she was working with.[/FONT][/COLOR]

Lucia finished up at the mansion, heading outside along with Ruby once she was done, heading to the top of the roof and taking a seat facing the sea, though the view was the very last thing on her mind. She was too busy deciding on her next course of action since it was clear she needed something a bit better - okay - a lot better. She needed to go back to the sanctuary that she had built, the one that on some level she had been required to quit developing. Or rather compared to the time she use to spend on it and everything else, now it was so minuscule, it may as well have been abandoned. The only good thing was that she had that in place before she had been called, the time and work involved in setting it up just wasn't feasible for one who was actively working as a Shinigami, it required too much attention and time when being set up for the first time. But now, other than an occasional visit to ensure that the barriers were firmly in place, it didn't need her attention to maintain its existence. "What do you want to do now Lucia?" It was Ruby, her ears flattened a bit as she avoided looking at Lucia directly. "I need to return to the lab, the program I have now isn't quite up to the task and I need the information there in order to build a new one." She avoided Ruby's gaze as well, since she knew how she felt about her returning to that place. It always reminded her so painfully of what she had been forced to give up and visiting the place always put Lucia in a bad mood. But she needed to go, or rather she wanted to go, she still refused to give up all that she had worked on, even if she was limited to only snatching a bit of research here and there. Ruby sighed, "I was afraid of that." She batted Lucia's left cheek with her paw. "You're going to be moody as hell if you go. You know how I hate that." "I know Ruby, I'm sorry." She really was, on some level and yet at the same time after what had happened.... "It's okay, I understand. We nearly died in there and understanding what happened is important, we need that knowledge." She shifted nervously on Lucia's shoulder before taking off to hover in front of her. "Did you want me to open the barrier?" It was easy for her to sense that Lucia was still tired from the fight and getting hurt earlier. "Thank you Ruby." Lucia said with a smile and then she focused on following Ruby's lead. Getting to her sanctuary wasn't as simple as ghosting through a wall or traveling to the world of the Shinigami, or rather their plane of existence. No, it was located in that fold between dimensions, the void as it was often referred to. It was something that Lucia had discovered early on when she first started looking into the technology behind the communicator. She had been looking for an efficient way to power it and the experiments had lead to realizing that instead of being smooth like page one and two, where each side did not truly touch one another, it was instead uneven and small pockets existed where one could visit, in a sense. This was before she had effectively figured out how to use one's own spiritual energy to power the device. At the time she had been looking for a way for one to receive power from their world while they were in the human one, and thus a need to build a bridge between the dimensions. But that had proven to be impractical for so many reasons. She had abandoned that line of reasoning fairly quickly. Even Shinigami were not meant to live in the spot between the different dimensions, but she had realized that the space had a different effect on what she was doing. She could experiment with different uses of spiritual energy and a mishap was simply absorbed into the void, making it a safe place to test out things, even if she rarely needed such safety. In the end she had fashioned a room, shaped like a Hexagon, from the same material the Crystal Communicator was made from and slowly built a lab in one of the spots. Part of what made her so angry at times, was that her appointment as a Shinigami came shortly after the Council learned of the work she was doing, making her wonder if it had been solely to put an end to her work. It had been a hard argument to come to the agreement that she would serve, only if her work was not destroyed. Though she was effectively limited on how much time she could spend there, they saw to that by constantly keeping her busy. Lucia put it out of mind as she felt the stirrings of Ruby's power and then tensed a bit as she always did as the sensation of being in freezing liquid glass rolled over her, making her want to gasp for air even though nothing was wrong. A sudden jerk as she was pulled from the normal destination of such a trip and into the tiny lab that was hers, and then it was over. To her relief, though why she worried about it she didn't know, everything was just as she had left it the last time. All the shelves, tables and even the living accommodations were still neatly in place, the lines of power that would have told her if something was off still in place, unbroken as they should be. She moved quickly to find the other communicator she had with the program she needed, or rather the information she needed, determined to head back to the human world as quickly as possible. Ruby is right, I need to let it go, or rather quit brooding over it so much and focus on what I can do. And as her hand closed on the second communicator, she knew just what that was, figuring out just what had happened at the mansion. The Council had to have known that they were in over their heads when they sent them there, unless they had been depending on Nathan to keep them intact. Regardless, she wasn't going to accept another assignment like that without knowing a bit more. "All right Ruby, take us back." She said, even though she would have rather stayed there to modify the program for the scans. "Are you sure? I don't mind if you stay a bit." Lucia smiled a bit, "Yes I'm sure, if I stay...." She shook her head. "You don't want me to get moody do you?" Ruby just batted her with her paw again before drawing on her power to open the barrier and take them back.

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Congratulations everyone, this is definitely one of my favorite events here at OB. I always love seeing it go up. And Des... it's no surprise to me that your slant is going from one of you are nifty because [I]you're a cool administrator[/I] to one of [I]if they don't recognize you they risk being hurt[/I]. :p[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"]Hey Gavin, just to be clear, Alexander sent a message to Daedalus about the photograph that Victoria Ann brought to him. The one indicating that Leonhart is not dead. I don't know how you want to handle that, so other than to mention that it was sent, it's up to you as to when he gets it and how he responds to it. It was of course sent the night before, so perhaps he'll get it first thing in the morning? Anyway... I can't imagine he'll be to thrilled to learn that Fonty had it all that time, since being a member of the rpg, he will have gotten as much info from Fonty and others about it. Alexander would have included that in the message. It's more of a report really. Fonty, you are so[I] busted![/I] :p[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR="RoyalBlue"][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][CENTER][IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee132/Runaway511/almagest/alecialeanna-chronicle.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee132/Runaway511/almagest/alexanderedward-chronicle.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] Alecia had woken up early, much more than usual, but she was reluctant to get out of bed to get ready for work. She moved over until she was next to Alexander who was still asleep, moving until she was resting her head against his shoulder. She already knew he would not stay home, with all that they had learned, he would go into work, no matter what the doctor had told him the other day. She had seen it last night in his expression as he dealt with the photograph Victoria Ann had brought over. Alecia didn't understand why he was so adamant about going to someone other than his superior officer Grants. Even after learning from Macey that Vincent was dead, he had insisted on talking to someone else. And then before they had finally left for the night, he had also sent a message to Daedalus, who according to Harriet had been recalled to active duty. She could only assume that it was related to the incident in New Czenoble, the news that the [I]Vigilant[/I] had been shot down was circulating throughout the city and last she had heard before they had called it a night, even transportation between the two cities had been shut down. Even in the darkness, they had been able to see the lights of small private air ships as a few took to the air and fled. Not many, but it was still happening just the same. Even Rosengard was being boxed up in preparation, though Alecia didn't see it coming to that, at least she hoped it did not. But it did seem rather ominous that her Uncle Daedalus would return to active duty. She sighed a bit, shifting a little to get more comfortable and then just as she started to drift back to sleep she was woken up by Alexander stirring. '[B]Good morning love,[/B]" He smiled at her when he realized her head was leaning against his shoulder. "[B]You're going to work today aren't you.[/B]" It was a statement more than an actual question. "[B]You don't need to say anything, I understand. After what you saw in New Czenoble, you want to see if there is any news on what's going on.[/B]" She smiled a bit sadly as he started to get up, moving until he was sitting on the side of the bed, something she did as well. "[B]I have to Alecia, I have to find out why they used lethal force and broke with procedure,[/B]" He looked away, still sitting on the edge of the bed. Alecia moved over and sat next to him, wrapping her arms around Alexander. "[B]I understand, you need to check on your family too.[/B]" She smiled when he turned to look at her and then hugged her close. "[B]I'm sure my parents would like to know that they're going to be grandparents as well.[/B]" He smiled and leaned down and kissed her before letting go and getting up, he reached down, offering his hand to help her stand up before the two started to get ready for the day. [/FONT][/COLOR]