Mr. Blonde

I think it creates an undeserved aire of confidence. It's not a real accomplishment and not worth a breath of bragging rights. But that's just my opinion. Do I care enough to actually go to options and disable it? No.

Well that went off pretty well. Except for the Justice messing up the oath. So apparently they have something like 12 inaugural balls to go to which will last until roughly 3am. It's good to be the king.

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial] Watch your ellipses. Four periods at the ends of sentences, not three.[/font] [/QUOTE] Actually it [I]is[/I] three, not four. Well the response is pretty much what I expected so far. But I decided I'd rather do something unique and fail doing it than do what I have done before. Thanks for the feedback so far everyone.

I was kind of having a hard time thinking of what to do with my character but I think I can put something together now. Sorry for the delay, Vicky.

[quote name='JJ']As horrible as this sounds, he did "get" it for being a terrorist. Reading the article sent a chill down my spine as I read what all they had done to him. Some of that is almost unbearable and the fact that he landed in the hospital twice? I honestly think there was justice served here, if he truly is who he's been labeled as.[/QUOTE] Justice? I would hardly call this justice. "Rumsfeld warned in 2002 that torturing would jeopardize convictions of 550 detainees at Gitmo, hundreds ultimately go free with no charges. Dozens are tortured, eight fatally. Three are convicted on U.S. soil, twelve hundred immigrants are rounded up without due process, without bail, without court dates, and without a single charge of terrorism" That's not justice. We're getting that bad drinker face, and we're looking more and more like the terrorists.

[quote name='James'][font=franklin gothic medium]We do already have a name for Olivier's father, although I can't access that just now. [/font][/QUOTE] I searched for it but for the life of me couldn't find it. Thanks, James. I'll change that in my post.

[quote name='DeLarge'][SIZE=1]Actually, scratch that, I really can't. You Yanks and your crazy traditions... [/SIZE][/QUOTE] As you dust off your powdered wigs and go to court.

Alright, its up there. I followed those before me and kind of molded the Achard family a bit more. If anything needs to be changed, let me know.

[FONT="Book Antiqua"][B]Your name: [/B] Nicodemus Lockharvest [B]Your age: [/B] By his physical appearance one would judge Lockharvest to be no older than 65, but he refuses to reveal his real age, seeing it as a sign of weakness. [B]Your connection to the [B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Almagest[/COLOR][/B] OR [COLOR="DarkRed"][B]Achard[/B][/COLOR] family: [/B] Nicodemus Lockharvest was an orphan from the moment he was born, but was adopted by Olivier [COLOR="DarkRed"][B]Achard’s[/B][/COLOR] father (Laurent [B][COLOR="DarkRed"]Achard[/COLOR][/B] Sr.) when he was in his early teens. [B]Your portrait: [/B] [U][URL=http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/3230/1001ym1.jpg]Nicodemus Lockharvest[/URL][/U] (Shy, if you would like more detail let me know and I'll add some. I just sketched this up and wanted to get my audition up here asap.) [B]Your occupation/location:[/B] Nicodemus Lockharvest is the High Priest of the Treasury at the Church of the Phoenix. He lives along with the other High Priests on the Island Citadel, off the coast of Cobalt Bay. [B]Your story: [/B] Nicodemus was found on the steps of the Writhlyn Orphanage, hours from birth, barely alive. He was taken in by the women of Writhlyn and raised within its walls. If Lumière Academy is the light of Anova, Writhlyn was surely the dark. It was a dreadful place, where unspeakable horrors were brought upon its children. The orphans were used as beggars, placed on street corners to plead for change, nothing but pawns for the Orphanage to turn a profit. Some of the children were even blinded, crippled, maimed; the lame orphans always made more money for Writhlyn. Luckily for Nicodemus he was spotted by Laurent [COLOR="DarkRed"][B]Achard [/B][/COLOR] while begging in Le Monde and taken in as an adopted son. This displeased most members of the [COLOR="DarkRed"][B]Achard[/B][/COLOR] family for one reason or another. Despite his lack of acceptance by the other [COLOR="DarkRed"][B]Achard[/B][/COLOR] siblings, and even Laurent's wife, Marianne-Odette, Nicodemus quickly found a kinship with Olivier and for years the boy was Nicodemus’ only friend. However his time at the orphanage hardened Nicodemus, and it is this deep seeded resent that will propel him through his life, guiding his actions along the way. Though Nicodemus was always judged to be the brightest of his boys, Laurant always sensed something intensely troubling about the lad. He seemed to lack the slightest bit of human compassion, so the old man was bewildered when his early twenties Nicodemus decided to volunteer as a devotee in the Church of the Phoenix. His said his goodbye’s to everyone (though only Laurent and Olivier seemed to regret his departure) and left his home. Nicodemis’ wits and high intelligence allowed him to excel in his studies within the Church. He was a faithful protégé under Priest Camous Pendragon, before the Priest’s suspicious death some years later. And though there were whispers of treachery Nicodemus was appointed as Pendragon’s successor, and given the surname of Lockharvest by the Church. Nicodemus had no patience for teaching and held no interest in apprenticing a devotee. It came as no surprise that when his region’s Cardinal was found murdered, Nicodemus quickly sought the position. Nicodemus’ impeccable record, along with the kind words and considerable donations of Laurent [COLOR="DarkRed"][B]Achard[/B][/COLOR] guaranteed Nicodemus would receive what he desired. In his late thirties Nicodemus Lockharvest became the youngest Cardinal ever appointed within the Church of the Phoenix. For nearly forty years Nicodemus reveled in his comfortable position of power, molding his region’s churches into his vision: money making machines. Cardinal Lockharvest’s ministries raised more funds for the Church than all other Cardinals combined. Two years ago he was handsomely rewarded and given the position of High Priest of the Treasury, completely overseeing the church’s finances. During his years in the Church, Nicodemus has strayed away from his adopted family; this particularly affected his brother Olivier. After Laurent's death, Nicodemus never returned to his childhood home, and seldom agreed to meet with Olivier. Though many [COLOR="DarkRed"][B]Achards [/B][/COLOR]question the decency of Nicodemus, Olivier has stood by him all these years. This fact had led Nicodemus to say, “My father, and brother Olivier are the only people I will ever love”. [/FONT]

Both nations have habitually overstepped their bounds. That's all I will say regarding the matter because many people have stated my opinions already. [quote name='Chabichou'][COLOR="#004a6f"] The only obstacle is Israel and the U.S. [/COLOR][/QUOTE] I don't know if I like the way this sounds... Obstacle? I think Otaku's threat level has just been raised to orange. Yikes.

Susan J. Crawford (the official in charge of deciding whether Guantanamo Bay detainees go to trial) has declined to refer Mohammed al-Qahtani (a Saudi national who attempted to take part in the September 11th attacks as the 5th man on flight 93) for trial because it is now evident that he was tortured while imprisoned. [url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/13/AR2009011303372.html[/url] So much for Bush's torture policy bringing justice to the world and avenging the deaths of those killed on September 11th. Now this would be terrorist will go free because of an archaic torture policy (which Cheney denied exists) that the Bush administration has used on Guantanamo Bay detainees.

The size of the event is only in response to public interest. Costly measures had to be taken to meet public demand and avert certain mishaps from happening. Though many will definitely occur regardless. This is a money making machine for the DC area, which will certainly recoup any losses. The bars, shops, stores, restaurants, hotels... hundreds of millions of dollars are coming to DC on the 20th. About 40 million dollars has already been raised to offset the cost of the event, and certainly much more will be raised on inauguration day. Also, the high security detail... I don't think anyone can deny that this president will be a marked man his entire time in office. Measures must be taken, even those seen as extreme.

[QUOTE=Meet the Parents] [SIZE="1"]Jack: Greg, how come you don't like cats? Greg: I don't not like cats. I-I just-- I just prefer dogs. I mean, I'm just more of a dog kind of, you know--Come home, wagging their little tails, happy to see you kind of-- Jack: You need that assurance? You prefer an emotionally shallow animal? You see, Greg, when you yell at a dog, his tail will go between his legs and cover his genitals, his ears will go down. A dog is very easy to break, but cats make you work for their affection. They don't sell out the way dogs do. [/SIZE][/QUOTE] hilarious. ------------------

Very nicely done both of you. You both paint a very vivid picture of the despair and hopelessness laid before you. My vote will go for Delarge for the following reason: The first post told me how the character was feeling. The second post explained to me his actions and that in turn allowed me to gauge how he felt. While the first post did this in a way, Delarge handled the subtle nature of failure and fall from glory very well.

cats are the lazy man's pet hence, I own cats.