The Spectacular Professor

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Wow. So the entire journey was to ensure that the one feather would exist. That's just... [I]Holy crap.[/I] Fei Wong, you are officially the master of Xanatos Roulette. It's not even funny how much could have gone wrong there. I don't think I can even call him names this week. I'm busy giving him a standing ovation.[/FONT]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]And there's my post. I took a few liberties, of course, so let me know if I messed up Dawlish's character or anything else.[/FONT]

[CENTER][IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee132/Runaway511/almagest%202/Ivan_Almagest.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee132/Runaway511/almagest%202/Dawlish_Almagest.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [FONT="Times New Roman"][B]"DAAAAAAWLIIIIISH!"[/B] Ivan charged at his uncle as fast as his feet would carry him, left fist drawn back for a heavy blow. He let fly, only to feel the air in front of him as Dawlish deftly sidestepped. [B]"Ah, hello, Ivan. Enjoying the party?"[/B] asked Dawlish calmly,[B]"I imagine it's somewhat rare for you to be at an Almagest gathering like this."[/B] [B]Yeah, I think the last one was my father's funeral!"[/B] Dawlish chuckled slightly. [B]"Clever. Did you spend the entire evening thinking of that?"[/B] [B]"No,"[/B] replied Ivan, [B]"I spent it plotting to kill you!"[/B] Ivan threw a number of punches, most of which were blocked or dodged. The kick, however, made hard contact with Dawlish's stomach. [B]"Right,"[/B] muttered Dawlish, clutching his chest and turning to the other guests, [B]"Have we all had enough of this spectacle?"[/B] There seemed to be a general consensus, so Dawlish drew his sword. Two swift jabs and a light cut to the cheek soon had Ivan sitting on the ground, utterly defenseless, with the tip of Dawlish's blade at his neck. [B]"I've been told that the sword can be thought of as an extension of the arm. It also happens to be sharper."[/B] [B]"Finish it, then!"[/B] said Ivan, coldly staring into his uncle's eyes. Dawlish turned to the onlookers and noticed Diane, mortified, staring at the scene. [B]"No, I don't think I will,"[/B] he replied, [B]"Not in front of your mother, at least. And I suppose it would put quite the damper on the festivities."[/B] With that, Dawlish sheathed his blade and returned to the party. Ivan took the opportunity to patch himself up a bit, alchemically mending the cut on his cheek. [I]It's not even deep enough to scar!,[/I] he muttered to himself, [I]Damn him, he was playing with me![/I][/FONT]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]I'll go ahead and mention it now, but I'm not making it this week. I've got a basketball game that pep band has to play for. I did take the liberty of watching LoveCom early this week, though. Haha, you guys get to meet Maity this week.[/FONT]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]I've always claimed that Friday the 13th was my lucky day. This year, it has no choice but to be. I have two options: 1: find a special girl and have something to do for Valentines, 2: not find a special girl, therefore keeping my money that much longer. Win-win.[/FONT]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Isn't most of Adult Swim's stuff hit-and-miss, though? Robot Chicken, for example. There's times when they pull off a really great parody, like that Dragonball Z Christmas one or the Admiral Ackbar cereal. Then there's times where you just sit there and go "eh." And then there's the worst case scenario where you just change the channel. Same with Family Guy (though they rerun the older episodes a lot, which is a point for them) and most of their other mainstays. Heck, King of the Hill. I adore the show, and it seems like everyone I've met either loves or despises it. Tim and Eric I haven't personally gotten around to watching. I haven't heard much that interests me about it. Same thing with PJs. Come to think of it, the only show on there that people seem to have a universal unanimous opinion on is Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law. I have yet to meet a person who dislikes that show.[/FONT]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]I just realized, Solo. You left Crow and Akamaru off your list. _> ...Don't judge me.[/FONT]

[quote name='chibi-master']But I thought you didn't like SasuNaru?:smirk: *thinks dirty thoughts* (Hey, you brought it upon yourself.)[/QUOTE] [FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Of course I don't like it. Makes me feel sorry for Hinata every time I see it. I just can't argue with the canon, much to my chagrin.[/FONT]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Nah, it's fine. Ironically, it's probably better than whatever I would have ended up doing. I'm just waiting for the action to start. I'll try to think of a little filler sometime tonight, after doing obligatory things and therefore freeing up recreational-type time.[/FONT]

[quote name='Sangome'][SIZE="1"]Don't mean to rain on your parade, Ace, buuut... [U][URL="http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=59671"]I'll just leave this here...[/URL][/U] [Perhaps someone can merge?][/SIZE][/QUOTE] [FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Ah, crap. Yeah, merge please. No idea why I didn't bother to check. Usually I would.[/FONT]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]You know what? This needs a thread. It's not a game adaptation anymore, it's got enough else going on that it warrants discussion even though at least half the people watching already know what's up. Before we begin, I think this is how we should handle spoilers: Episodes that have aired require no tags. I warned in the title, so boo to you if you come crying to me about it. However, I think it is fair that anything that hasn't happened in the anime yet be tagged. That way we can all enjoy the thread however the heck much we want. Think of the game as weekly chapter spoilers.[/font] [color=#4B0082][size=1]But then anyone who hasn't been following the series from the start is screwed. So, spoiler tags added. - [i]Desbreko[/i][/size][/color] [FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Anyway, Let's see. What can I say about TotA? Besides the fact that the previous sentence rhymed? Plenty, but I'll try to cut it short. Tales of the Abyss is the story of Luke fon Fabre, a shut-in aristocrat with an ego the size of Mercury and an attitude that is appropriately disgusting, and his band of merry-making world savers. The first few episodes are basically boy meets girl; girl attempts to assassinate boy's sword instructor; boy and girl get warped halfway across the globe after creating a hyperresonance (is that what they're calling it nowadays? dur hur,) boy and girl meet boy who looks like girl; and boy, girl and hermaphrodite priest go on a wildlife rescue only to be arrested by a snarky, cynical military officer and recruited into a secret peacemaking operation. Simple stuff. After that, the real fun begins. As of episode 19, things are really starting to pick up again. [spoiler]Ion has died[/spoiler], leaving only a cryptic Score verse and the cure to [spoiler]Tear's Seventh Fonon contamination[/spoiler]. Anise is [spoiler]revealed to be a spy for Mohs, but only did it because her parents were being threatened and is now forced to deal with having the blood of her beloved superior and friend on her hands[/spoiler]. Luke tries to console her, and meanwhile Van is still presumably [spoiler]running around screwing with everyone's crap. Even though he's dead(?)[/spoiler]. Also, [spoiler]replicas of familiar faces are popping up and the Planet Storm is getting stronger[/spoiler]. I'll call it a bit rushed, just because they didn't have to go pick up Jade and Guy like in the game. This took away a chance at some Emperor Peony epicness, but ultimately managed to make the story flow better anyway. No real complaints here. One thing I'm looking forward to based on the previews is more backstory for Arietta, which will apparently detail her relationship with [spoiler]the original[/spoiler] Fon Master Ion. That was not present in the game, folks. Count yerselves lucky. On that note, however, I did find myself wondering exactly how much Arietta knew about the Fon Master situation. It was revealed earlier that she didn't know [spoiler]the current Ion was a replica[/spoiler], but I'm wondering if she knew about Sync. It seems like most of the God-Generals would at least be allowed to know anything suspect about each other, in case of betrayal (yeah yeah, hasn't stopped Dist.) It seems like his existence could have easily been written off as [spoiler]a "backup copy" or an experiment on how powerful a replica can be[/spoiler]. No need to reveal that [spoiler]the original is dead[/spoiler]. Lastly, my thoughts on Anise. A lot of people seem to hate her for the events around this section of the story. Personally, I think her actions fit. She's been in this situation since she was five or six years old, I'd say, which means she's spent the last seven years of her life watching out for her gullible parents and [spoiler]keeping Mohs happy[/spoiler]. On top of that, she's currently 13 years old, which is still way too young to deal with this kind of thing, and she's shown that she genuinely regrets all of it, especially the [spoiler]death of Ion[/spoiler]. Seems to me like she's got at least a little more justification for being how she is than Luke did for being a general pain in the tuccas for the entire first part. Then again, I may be a bit biased. I play as her a lot in the game, see. She's epic win on the battlefield, gameplay-wise.[/FONT]

[quote name='Rurouni922']lol..I could see this going somewhere like where Sasuke busts in, god help us all, but it's a good guess since Kishi seems to be in love with him, but anyway, Sasuke busts in and goes all "ololol [B]hands off my man[/B]!11"[/QUOTE] Fix'd. Free of charge, even.

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Prediction for next week's chapter: Shikamaru: Uh, dad? Are you sure we shouldn't help? Shika's Dad: Nah, he's fine. (Cut to battlefield) [I]"DAMMIT PUT MY SPLEEN BACK!"[/I] (Cut to village) Shika's Dad: See? He's got it all under control.[/FONT]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Mega bump. You know, after marathonning this series over the past few days, I've begun to loathe the word "Nakama." But who cares, this manga is great! It's a bit like [I]One Piece[/I], with similar humor and themes. The artwork resembles it, too. However, it's unique enough to keep you interested without making you feel like you're reading the same story with different characters. Natsu himself is a bit tamer than Luffy. He's not quite as much of an idiot, but he has his moments. They both feel strongly about their friends and can get extremely angry when someone hurts a comrade. As of now, the arc in progress is probably about to end. [spoiler]Natsu and Luxus' fight is really starting to get interesting. I don't know what kind of random powerup Natsu's going to pull off for this one, but Mashima hasn't disappointed me yet. Another thing I love about this series is the fact that it seems to come up with more plausible powerups than most of the others and manages to allow them to be unlocked mid-battle pretty successfully. The closest series to have come to this recently has been One Piece, with Luffy's Gears, created outside of battle. Also, Mistgun is another Gerard lookalike. He'd better not actually be Gerard this time. That was a cool reveal, but it's bound to only work once.[/spoiler][/FONT]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Chapter 434 I find this colorspread amusing. It showcases both of the most annoyingly common jutsus in this series working in conjunction. Naruto clones controlling a puppet. Priceless. We open with Naruto sitting on Dementor Pein's unconscious body. That must have been some feat taking that guy out. I mean, Konohamaru barely managed to. We all know how powerful Konohamaru is. Sith Pein wastes time figuring out Naruto's tactics which we already know about while one of Naruto's clones punches out Physical Pein. Suddenly, Pein remembers he's one with the Force and force pushes both Naruto and his clone away. The frogs decide to shank him around this point. With their ninja shankin' knives. Naruto, meanwhile, wonders what that tech was STOP CALLING IT THAT and Tsunade's parrot slug states the obvious. Fukusaku, meanwhile, sets up a diversion. Anyway, the force is so strong with Sith Pein that he can force push all three giant toads at once. They fly for a little ways, and we cut back to Konoha Crater to remind us all once again that this is Naruto's fight. Despite the fact that all the competent ones are still alive and Naruto is up against two very powerful ninja. Better not interfere, kids. We wouldn't want to see our savior survive this encounter or anything. Oh, look, it's Hinata. What's she up to? Oh, isn't that cute! She's the only one in the village with any sense left in her! But no, don't go out there. Daddy says you'll only get in the way. Arse. Back at the battle, Naruto reveals that he can't make more than two chakra-gatherin' clones at a time. He also can't use more than three clones to fight, lest the chakra-gatherin' clone's ADD kick in. Then we have a bunch of panels showing all the Peins Naruto's owned. No apparent reason. Pein decides to bust out a Jedi Mind Trick here. Those only work on weak-minded fools, you know. Our boy is screwed. Physical Pein takes the opportunity to place Naruto in the dreaded full-nelson-no-jutsu. It's a noteworthy sacrifice, since Piccolo's attack will no doubt kill both him and... Damn, wrong manga. Sorry. Turns out Naruto will be left alive, since he's got that... fox thingy still. I don't remember what it does. Kishi hardly ever mentions it anymore. Naruto tries to bluff, and gets called on it. Physical Pein steals all of Naruto's delicious Sage Chakra and Darth Pein announces the completion of Operation Kidnap the Nine-Tailed Fox and Drag it Back to Rain Village so we can Nuke Everything. End chapter.[/FONT]

[quote name='ChibiHorsewoman'][color=#9933ff][font=monotype corsiva][size=4]You know what? If you do 'sea kittie' patties with a cookie cutter like that, it'll look like you're taking a bite out of Luna. More likely than not Sailor Moon will come and punish you- or sit down and eat depending on how hungry she is.[/color][/font][/size][/QUOTE] [FONT="Comic Sans MS"]I'll confess right now that I've only ever really watched the Abridged Series, but my understanding of Serena's character leads me to believe that she'd probably eat it, then actually cook the real Luna. In other words: Sailor Moon says PeTA is stupid! Teehee![/FONT]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Holy crap he can even do mind rape. Okay, fine. He's been doing it all along. But this goes to show that he's pretty intimidating even when he's not being a manipulative jerk. It's pretty staggering how well thought out this series has been from the beginning, though. It's almost impossible that they hadn't planned out the two towers from the beginning. Come to think of it, those ruins were always there, looking just like that. Either we're stuck in a stable time loop here or the series started out with the entire universe already screwed up as the result of Syaoran and co.'s meddling with time and space. It's possible that Sakura got frozen in time as a result of the journey that hadn't happened yet. Which would indicate that Fei Wong had even more planned out from the start than actually existed. I have a mega headache now.[/FONT]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]MOAR. [B]Who is it?[/B] Jade Curtiss [B]Why are they nifty?[/B] It's not just because I can tease Gome about being attracted to him (Besides, I'd be a total hypocrite if I tried that, considering [strike]Teacher McHawtness[/strike] Raine Sage.) It's not because he's incredibly powerful and it's definitely not because he apparently puts the "romance" back in "necromancer." I had been meaning to try out [B]Tales of the Abyss[/B] for a while, and this snarky jerkface was probably the most endearing character in a cast full of win and likability (Luke, Natalia and Anise being up for debate.) Seeing as how he's basically become a minor meme around here, I think he deserves a spot this year. [B]Who is it?[/B] Sangome [B]Why is it nifty?[/B] For starting all this Jade Curtiss madness. And the Chatlogs of Doom. And the Library of Memes. And her Fan Challenges. And... You know what, it would be easier to list the one or two ways in which she [I]isn't[/I] nifty. [B]Who is it?[/B] Gavin [B]Why is it nifty?[/B] He's such a worthy courtroom opponent that even when I'm writing, he manages to win the case by destroying my hard drive and hiding my iPod, effectively hindering my writing for a while. He's also awesome and fun to discuss crappy manga with. [B]Who is it?[/B] Shinmaru [B]Why is it nifty?[/B] Because Shiggy Lemons the Lord of Moe declares it so. [B]Who is it?[/B] Desbreko [B]Why is it nifty?[/B] Because as evidenced [URL="http://www.theotaku.com/worlds/chatlogs/view/69532/the_des_summoning_ritual!/"][COLOR="Blue"]here[/COLOR][/URL], the guy's the life of the party even when he's not there.[/FONT]

[CENTER][IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee132/Runaway511/almagest%202/Ivan_Almagest.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [FONT="Book Antiqua"]It was a beautiful day in Czenovia. The sunlight gleamed down on the countryside, giving a warm glow to the landscape. Every farm and field seemed brighter and cheerier than the last. All of this was lost on Ivan Francis Almagest, as he gazed wistfully out the window of the steamcar. "Isn't this nice?" asked Diane, a hint of nervousness in her voice, "they even sent us a car! Perhaps we can finally mend ties!" "Yeah, and perhaps Great Uncle Leonheart has invented some new fantastic machine to bring Dad back to life." This comment managed to shut down communication for a good portion of the rest of the trip. Indeed, Brigit Town was looming on the horizon before any further words were exchanged. "Son, please try to keep that ugly business out of this wedding. This steamcar proves their willingness to accept us again." Ivan turned to his mother. "Mom, if they really wanted to reach out, they would have done it three years ago when we were in mourning. This steamcar is a pity move." "Ivan, please be reasonable." "As long as I don't see that murdering bastard uncle of mine-" "[I]Ivan![/I]" "-I'll try to stay civil. The others I have no quarrel with." Diane, taking this as a conversation ender, spoke no more. "Your stop," said the driver, pulling up at the airfield. Ivan and Diane exited the steamcar and prepared to board the [I]Alania[/I]. [I]If I do see Uncle Dawlish, though,[/I] thought Ivan, [I]things will definitely get a little more... exciting around here.[/I][/FONT]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]It is possible to go on the same 2-3 year long quest to save the world many times. Not only that, but you can rig fate so that you are the same age every time and remember all your skills, spells, abilities and just about everything else not directly pertaining to the plotline. You can also choose to grow either faster than a bamboo tree or slower than a hibernating snail stuck in molasses at a stop sign.[/FONT]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Chapter 433 Naruto's out of chakra. Watch out, little guy. What's that Fukusaku? Little Timmy is stuck in the well? Oh, Naruto still has an ace in the hole. Right. Like that idiot could- Well apparently something's about to happen, since he spends about five pages running around for about two pages' worth of time. After that, we switch bac to Froggyland, where there are apparently two Naruto clones [strike]cheating[/strike] gathering Sage Chakra. One of them is summoned to the battlefield, as the real Naruto stands off against Sith Pein in a surprisingly competent manner, especially since he has no Sage Mode at the moment. NOW HE DOES. WATCH OUT FOR THAT FOOT, PEIN. In case you missed it, here's an instant replay: Naruto just gathered sage chakra using a clone that was a couple hundred miles away from the battlefield at least. Not only that, but he did this in the middle of a battle. Furthermore, he set this up prior to knowing that Pein was ransacking [strike]Townsville[/strike] Konoha. This is the former village idiot we're talking about. Even I have to concede that that was pretty awesome. Naruto prepares another Rasen Shuriken, which gets sucked up by Physical Pein. But wait, I thought he was- Oh, Dementor Pein. You and your seventh chakra fonons casting Resurrection on your fallen comrades. Guess you get the next one. Rasengan apparently doules as a smoke bomb if you use two. This is followed by a Rasen Shuriken, which is actually Naruto, who pins down Physical Pein so he can't absorb the REAL Rasen Shuriken, which is coming along right behind. When the hell did this kid get so smart? Of course, Sith Pein uses this chance to announce that he's One with the Force again. The Rasen Shuriken dissipates, killing nothing. Cheeeeeap. Then another clone swoops down and owns Dementor Pein with a double Rasengan headshot. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE UNIVERSE NARUTO IS SMART AND SASUKE HASN'T APPEARED IN LIKE 30 CHAPTERS AND THIS FIGHT IS GOOD WHERE DID KISHI GO RIGHT?!?!?! End.[/FONT]

[quote name='chibi-master']You're kidding, right? I thought they'd only had a couple campaigns!:animedepr[/QUOTE] [FONT="Comic Sans MS"]They had one legit campaign. Someone was experimenting on monkeys and the living conditions were horrible and they were mutilated in order to see if they could learn to control prosthetic limbs in order to feed themselves. That one was their big break. Since then, it's been nothing but controversial flash games, unfounded Colonel Sanders harassment and child-directed propaganda.[/FONT]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Announcement: There has been a total revamp and a name change to this RP. I actually kind of ended up totally hating the first draft, so now it's totally different. Check the first post for the new plot. Signups, please include a small story detailing your character's daily life and a bit of their personality as well as how they arrived in the realm.[/FONT]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Of course it was the doctor. That was way too easy. Though I admit I was fooled for a bit there. Have I mentioned recently that Fei Wong is a complete bastard?[/FONT]

[quote name='Magus'][COLOR="Green"]Has anyone seen the spoilers for this weeks chapter? I hear that Naruto's finally using his brain. =O Perhaps I will finally start giving this boy his props afterall.[/COLOR][/QUOTE] [FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Yeah, he's using his brain... almost too much. He seems to be playing Xanatos Roulette with his ridiculous stamina. He's also managed to apparently predict something that he should have had no idea about beforehand. And his abilities are getting more out of hand then Sausage and the magic shenanigans. Either way, a lot of people are giving this next chapter props, it seems. I'll reserve final judgment until it releases, but I'm not anticipating much.[/FONT]