Gavin

[SIZE="1"]Honestly, I think the rights and wrongs of prostitution are entirely within the eye of the beholder, something which has already been proven fairly conclusively by this thread. Personally, I neither agree, nor disagree with prostitution as a job, I do however feel some sympathy for people who are prostitutes because like Mike/Zen, I'm a hopeless romantic and I think selling sex takes something out of the act. As has already been said, I don't think any child grows up with the dream of being a prostitute.[/SIZE] [quote name='DeathKnight'][color=crimson]Operating on the basis that its illegal nature does not cease its existence, measures should be taken to ensure the quality of health within the industry at large to aid the fight against the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. If that requires legalization, legalize it. A level of enforcement should be sought to bring it in line with other commercial enterprises and regulated.[/color][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Quoted for truth. For the welfare of all parties, regulation and some degree of legalisation is necessary, because obviously you can't regulate an illegal industry. Pretending prostitution doesn't exist doesn't prevent people from using the service and potentially getting a fatal STD.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Just to clear something up Sandy/Josh, when is Lady Bavaria expected back at Rosengard ? I know we said "soon" but, just how soon is soon ? I'm asking because I'm thinking of having Daedalus make a little sojourn to the High Academy for a confrontation with Moebius. I know Catherine will already give him a chewing out over it, but I feel Daedalus will try to protect the new found father-on bond he has with Harrison. Oh, and Victoria and Harrison, don't think just because Daedalus and Catherine are standing up for you that you're getting away unpunished when you get back home. :p[/SIZE]

[quote name='Neuvoxraiha'][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"][i]Neil nearly dropped him, but righted himself and focused his grip. Billy glared right at him, and bopped one pint-sized fist into his mouth.[/i][/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Great line, it really brought a smile to my face imagining Neil getting a punch in the face from our few months old son. With a temper like that, maybe he should be a Craig. :animesmil[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]I agree with Nerdsy, hobo lawyers FTW ! :animesmil[/SIZE]

[quote name='Neuvoxraiha'][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]?You?ll never take me down! Not while I still draw breath! I own you all!? ?...does that even make any sense??[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]My favourite quote, full stop. :animesmil[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Happy 2008 everyone. Resolutions wise, I've really only got one, do well enough in my senior year to get into med school at the end of the year, if I can do that, it'll be a truly great year for me.[/SIZE]

[INDENT][SIZE="1"][CENTER][IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee132/Runaway511/almagest/daedalusavatar.jpg[/IMG] [img]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee132/Runaway511/almagest/vincentavatar.jpg[/img][/CENTER] Daedalus did not sleep that night, nor did he expect to sleep any night in the near future. He did not feel rested, nor was his grief any duller. Harriet had lay beside him, her head on his chest, listening to the strong, steady beat of his heart. He lay there, watching the sun climb slowly through the sky. ?[b]A new day...[/b]? ?[b]You?ll do fine. You don?t give yourself enough credit.[/b]? Harriet?s eyes were still closed, he ran his hand down her cheek. What would he do without her... He rose without word from the bed, wrapping himself in the silken dressing gown hanging closest to his reach. Daedalus felt his breathing unintentionally quicken, he willed it back to it?s normal rate, exciting the room with a final loving gaze at his wife. ?[b]Lord Almagest.[/b]? Gravius stood, ramrod straight, awaiting his friend and master. ?[b]Gravius ?[/b]? ?[b]News my lord. Lady Bavaria is returning soon. Lady Grimalkin is already seeing to the preparations.[/b]? He sighed. This would complicate matters even further. ?[b]Thank you Gravius, I shall be ready within the hour.[/b]? ?[b]Yes sir. Vincent also wishes to speak with you sir. He said it was urgent.[/b]? This piqued his interest. Vincent did not idly describe things as being urgent. ?[b]Thank you Gravius, tell Vincent to await me in my study, I will see him as soon as I can.[/b]? ?[b]Sir.[/b]? The white-haired man strode away purposefully, Daedalus was thankful for such an utterly reliable aide. Normally Daedalus would have forgone the use of expensive deodorants and colognes, but he would not give the impression to Lady Bavaria that he would be any less capable than Leonhart. Although he did not bear any grudge against his late-brother?s second wife, he knew she could be a force to be reckoned with, should she choose to be. He smiled wistfully as he removed the tailored black suit he intended to wear... Leonhart had given it to him as a gift once, claiming his brother?s sense of expense was so reserved, he could potentially turn up in rags to a funeral... The walk to his study was short, and he found Vincent standing pensively waiting for him. ?[b]Yes Vincent ? You said it was urgent.[/b]? Vincent?s face remained impassive as he removed the piece of paper from inside his jacket and handed it to the elder man. Daedalus? emotions betrayed him, his eyes widening in shock. ?[b]Where did you get this Vincent ?[/b]? ?[b]Lady Grimalkin told me Lord Leonhart received it two nights ago.[/b]? Daedalus felt physically sick. but showed no outward sign of it. He respected Vincent, even liked the man personally. It had been a shame his marriage to Macey had not endured, but he had never held it against him. ?[b]Thank you for bringing this to my attention Vincent. I would ask you to handle this, I will assure Gaul you have my full support in the matter.[/b]? Yet again Vincent?s face remained impassive. But Daedalus could tell instinctively that he had made the man uncomfortable. ?[b]Lord Almagest, I...[/b]? Daedalus cut him off. ?[b]You are the best person to handle this. You were once a member of this family Vincent, and I know that you held your father-in-law in a great esteem, do him this service as a last tribute.[/b]? Leaving the room, he gave Vincent no opportunity for further objection. Perhaps he was being unfair to Vincent in not respecting his uneasiness in dealing once again with his former family, but he was, without doubt in Daedalus? mind, the best person to investigate that note. Right now, however he needed to speak to Anna.[/SIZE][/INDENT]

[quote name='Shy'][size=1](Gavin, if you want to 'split' your post as well, for orders sake, that would be preferable.) -Shy[/size][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]I was just thinking that myself, I'll do so now.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]So we got the kids back, cool and I seem like such a capable dad, you really do me justice honey. :animesmil[/SIZE]

[quote name='Shy'][size=1]Can't you just call the religion 'Shyism' or something harmless, and use the whole thing as an allegory for Christianity? -Shy[/size][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]That's exactly what I was thinking. Tagging on the whole "Christian" name-tag just seems to complicate matters. If it's a fictional religion, regardless of how close it parallels a real life one, nobody can feel directly insulted.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]I hope I got both your characters right James and Crystia, if there's any problems, I'll try to fix them.[/SIZE]

[CENTER][IMG]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee132/Runaway511/almagest/daedalusavatar.jpg[/IMG] [img]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee132/Runaway511/almagest/harrison-chronicle.jpg[/img][/CENTER] [INDENT][SIZE="1"]It was the silence he hated... that horrible, all encompassing silence as the truth of what had occurred earlier in the day sunk into the minds of his family. Yes, it was his family now, all of them. As the head of the Almagest family he had to think in the best interests of everyone, he... he had to try and be a worthy successor to his brother, and to his father... Rueben... you never prepared me for this... We agreed, Leonhart would be the one to take up your mantle... I would be allowed to selfishly pursue my own work... I was never supposed to have to be responsible for everyone like this... I can't do it... I never could... Daedalus' heart ached even more, but his face retained the grim sense of duty, this would be his cross, and he would bear it with all of his strength. This was his family... he would not allow anyone else to be hurt, he swore it, to his father, to his mother... to Leonhart. The first to break was Beatrist, her face sank into her hands with pained whimpering. It was unkind perhaps, but Daedalus had expected it, after the loss of her eldest child, and the shock of Victoria Ann’s escapades earlier in the day, the shock simply overwhelmed her. After a moment there was another set of quiet sobs, then another. He watched with a muted sense of sorrow, one hand entwined with his beloved Harriet’s for strength, the other resting on his youngest son’s shoulder. He forced out a hoarse whisper, inaudible to all except himself. “[b]See how much you meant to everyone little brother...[/b]“ As if sensing his failing stoicism, Harriet’s gentle voice rose over the quiet lamentations. “[b]I think it best if we all retire for the evening to deal with our grief. It has been a very sad day for all of us.[/b]” Nobody doubted her intentions. Her maternal instincts had never been limited to her immediate family, Harriet had always made time in Rosengard for anyone who had needed her. She carried an inner resolve that was of similar strength, but an entirely different composition to her husband’s, her role of matriarch to the family had not changed, it had simply been formalised. “[b]Thank you...[/b]” “[b]Always...[/b]” Daedalus felt Harrison’s hand reach up and grip onto his father’s. He had hugged his son for the first time in years when he had walked in, it had been an awkward moment for both of them, full of uncertainty. There was less uncertainty in this gesture, Daedalus was utterly grateful for it. “[b]Dad ?[/b]” “[b]Yes son ?[/b]” “[b]I’m sorry about today.[/b]” “[b]Don’t worry about it.[/b]”[/size][/indent]

[SIZE="1"]Wonderful story honey, you really do know how to lighten the mood, or I suppose in this case, how to captivate an already amused audience with your story-telling. Even though we're friends, if Alex has brought Rick back, I should be the one to deal with him, in an honourable Jedi face-off. :animesmil[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]This argument has been fairly well wrapped up at this point by Allamorph, Petie and Aaryanna_Mom (and you know if A_M disagrees with you, you're wrong, plain and simple). I would like to point out though, to Rick if he's still reading this thread, you have likely increased the attention to the very article you wanted deleted, I know that I went over to read the article after I had read this thread just to see what the fuss was about and I would guess many other members have done the same. Had you handled this through PMs as opposed to creating a thread, it is likely it could have been wrapped up considerably more quietly, which is apparently what you desired in the first place.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Yay, new chapter and it looks like the fight is just about to begin.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]There's a translated version of the most recent chapter ? All I've seen is raws with the translation after it. From what I've read, Kishi has said that the Itachi/Sasuke fight is going to last through January, so I wouldn't call the fight complete by a long shot yet. Remember, Sasuke is dealing with the master of genjutsu himself, I wouldn't be at all surprised if all we've see so far is just a genjutsu that Itachi has cast.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]And here I was stupidly worried you weren't going to keep this up. :animesmil[/SIZE]

[quote name='DeathKnight'][color=crimson]Same here. DeathKnight is the most badass book of the Bible.[/color][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"][I]Available to download from iHymns to all iGods. :animesmil[/I][/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Tombstone is right, Tobi can call himself every name under the sun, but until that mask of his comes off, and probably even after, there are going to be arguments about his identity.[/SIZE]

[quote name='ssj chic']Ear-grating Christmas music.[/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Unfortunately quoted for truth, I just heard Bing Crosby's "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" for about the millionth time this week. Christmas songs being just overplayed is my least favourite part of the whole holiday.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Petie'][FONT=Verdana][COLOR=blue]Have you checked your junk mail folder? I have a vBulletin forum myself and I've had users tell me they never received the activation email when in reality, it was just delivered to the junk folder instead of the inbox. If that's not the case though, I'm not sure what's causing your problem.[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE] [SIZE="1"]Seems Petie beat me to the punch. Either it's in your Junk Mail folder, or the infamous email problem has reoccurred.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"][I]Clandestine gay orgies[/I] ... :animesigh[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Suppose I might as well post my "haul" from this year. [list][*][SIZE="1"][FONT="Verdana"]Panasonic Wireless Headphones[/FONT][/SIZE] [*][SIZE="1"][FONT="Verdana"]?100[/FONT][/SIZE] [*][SIZE="1"][FONT="Verdana"]Ireland Rugby Jersey[/FONT][/SIZE] [*][SIZE="1"][FONT="Verdana"]CK Bath Robe[/FONT][/SIZE] [*][SIZE="1"][FONT="Verdana"]CK Socks[/FONT][/SIZE] [*][SIZE="1"][FONT="Verdana"]Lynx "Africa" Deodorant Set[/FONT][/SIZE][/list] Quite a decent haul overall.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]I guess I'll write Daedalus' explanation at some time today if I get a chance, being Christmas Day though I may not get a chance to do so. Merry Christmas to everyone, I hope the day goes well.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]Yeah, it'll be a while before the fan-subbed version of the movie makes it's way onto the web, if you're waiting for a dubbed version, prepare to wait a hell of a lot longer than that.[/SIZE]