James

[font=franklin gothic medium]Yeah, the Obamessiah phenomenon is certainly not exclusive to the United States. Almost the whole world has gone all gooey and puppy dog-eyed. I like Barack Obama and I think he will likely be a sensible President. But... he's just a man and his message, while positive, is absolutely not innovative. To me, substance matters most. So I guess we will see how things pan out. In the meantime, he does need the best chance he can have to pursue his policies.[/font]

[quote name='Gavin'][SIZE="1"]Well after the debacle that was Final Fantasy XII, XIII is really going to have to impress me in order to restore my faith that Final Fantasy isn't simply a series being milked by Square-Enix for the sake they know the brand will sell even a average game. [/SIZE][/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Wait... FFXII, a debacle? Wow. We must have been reading different reviews (and playing different games!) In all seriousness, those who argued that Final Fantasy was becoming stagnant by its tenth installment really received everything they wanted with XII - it had a vastly improved battle system (more akin to the classic Vagrant Story than anything else), a substantially improved plot that [i]didn't[/i] involve a cliche love story and an entirely more refined package overall. Rather than shying away from the achievement that was FFXII, Square-Enix should follow that direction even further with XIII. XII was anything but a "milked" product. If Square-Enix has been using XII to milk the franchise, they would not have taken so many risks by pushing in several new directions. They even appointed an entirely new director - Matsuno - who has a stellar reptuation within the Japanese development community (and I believe he was actually the director of Vagrant Story itself). Admittedly I have not read a great deal about XIII, partly because I'd rather just experience it myself when I play it. But reading that the battle system remains somewhat faithful to XII makes me very happy - once you get used to XII, it's so hard to go back to the relatively stiff and limited system in the previous titles. I mean, Gambits alone were absolutely fantastic - they offered a layer of strategy without creating added complexity. Brilliant. I'm not sure if XIII will use a Gambit-type system or something improved, but I am definitely glad to see that the battle system continues in this direction. My bigger concern is actually related to characters and plot. XII set a new benchmark for the franchise by attempting to move in a different direction, with better characterization and a more fleshed-out plot. I hope that XIII will continue to push in that direction, without resorting to the lazy cliches we've seen before.[/font]

[quote name='Darren']I'm guessing the image that James used for his post (other than Gustave) was supposed to be Oliver??? Unfortunately, I can't see the image. All the rest of them show up but that one.[/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Yeah that was Olivier. I'm not sure why it isn't showing up for you, because it seems to be loading on my computer. Hrm... Do you see it in the stack of avatars at the start of this thread and the main thread? It's tough to pick up these characters again after so long... especially after a three year gap. I decided to change my Gustave avatar because I wanted something that showed him to be a little less... well, out there. Haha. He's just a little more serious now, as he approaches thirty. He still likes giving presents though, as evidenced by the little wooden chimaera for Victoria Ann. :catgirl:[/font]

[indent][center][img]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee132/Runaway511/almagest%202/gustave_achard-1.jpg[/img] [img]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee132/Runaway511/almagest%202/olivier_achard.jpg[/img][/center] [font=garamond][size=4][right][B]Aboard the Alaina[/B][/right][/font][/size][font=palatino linotype] Gustave stood before a tall mirror, his brow furrowed. The golden brown tie sat to one side of his chest, with its lop-sided knot seemingly grinning up at him. This moment reminded him why he disliked ties. Just as he went to battle the tie further, he felt a firm tap on the shoulder. When he turned around, he saw his uncle, Olivier. Uncle and nephew were sharing one of the [i]Alaina's[/i] guest rooms; the main suite was dedicated to Beatriste and Cole. No doubt Beatriste was receiving the final touches on her wedding gown at that very moment. 'You were always terrible with these things,' muttered Olivier with a faint smile. He adjusted and tightened Gustave's knot. 'There, now you look fit for a wedding.' Olivier had changed greatly over the past three years. He had aged substantially since Evangeline's death. When one looked close enough, though, it was possible to see the faint embers of a youthful exhuberance in his eyes. 'I hope the tables are ready by now,' said Gustave. 'I did hear some commotion earlier about flower arrangements...' Olivier busied himself at a writing desk in the corner as Gustave spoke. He produced several papers, which Gustave had never seen before; in fact, he had thought that particular desk was empty. He promptly folded the papers and pushed them into his suit pocket. 'I'm sure everything will be fine, Gustave. Today is a grand day for our country; we will show what warm and generous hosts we can be for the Czenovians. You should just try to enjoy it.' Olivier straightened his jacket and glanced down at his pocket watch. 'We should visit the deck and greet the guests before the ceremony starts,' he said. 'Do you know where Belmonda is?' 'I saw her about an hour ago,' replied Gustave. 'I just hope she and Macey aren't sitting near each other; we don't want a political debate on a wedding day.' Olivier chuckled. 'I'm sure Belmonda knows all about the appropriate protocol for such an occasion.' 'But does Macey?' 'Possibly not, but if she says something out of turn, I suspect old Leonhart will have a few thoughts about that,' laughed Olivier. 'He is a gentleman of the highest order. In fact, I must go and greet him now - I would very much like to know how he's getting on.' And with that, Olivier disappeared out the door, bound for the third deck. Gustave went to follow him and then paused. He reached into his pocket. [i]Where is it...[/i] 'Aha!' he said aloud. He produced the object from his pocket and examined it in the morning light. It was a small wooden chimaera. It had [i]Victoria Ann[/i] engraved on its side. Gustave smiled to himself and placed it carefully back into his pocket. He did not want to forget it, as it was a special gift for a young lady he was most eager to see.[/font][/indent]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I'm just making changes to my character images right now - I have already altered Edith and I'm fixing Gustave as well. I wasn't terribly happy with the initial images I used. So I'm also updating those links in the threads, to make it nice and easy. I can't think of much else other than that. I would like to put up the Chronicle about Anova soon, which will include the Le Monde stuff too. All that info is in the old Backstage, but I will reformat it all into the new design. So good to see this finally up, by the way! I can't wait to start reading everyone's posts. ^_^[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I also voted no. While this was something I was happy to consider, I don't think we can [i]ever[/i] really judge the quality of posts via a reputation system. The only way it'd really ever work is via a similar method to theOtaku, where staff nominate high quality posters. But I think we have so many other things to look at in the near term that this isn't a priority anyway.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Well in that case, it may be better to emphasize the reputation system on our next version, especially if we can create proper icons and stuff for it. I like the idea of rating individual posts (even if it's simple, like thumbs up or thumbs down). Thread ratings are nothing new and we did used to use them years ago. They were never terribly successful. This was because a couple of threads would carry ratings while most didn't... most people just wouldn't bother rating a thread. But yeah, we'll see. I'm sure there are plenty of options to make sure that we can recognize contributions from members in a variety of ways.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]There was some talk a long time ago about introducing stars or icons for "quality posters". Obviously this would be subjective, but it would allow us to mark people who really go above and beyond with their contributions, even if they don't have as many posts. We have no plans to introduce this, but I thought I'd throw it out there to see if there's any interest in it for the future.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Thanks for the advice, Rick - much appreciated. That site looks pretty interesting. At the moment I guess I'm not in a huge rush because we do already have the stellar Anime Pulse podcast to call our own - so I'm pretty happy with that. If we were to do an OB podcast, it would need to be different to the AP one, so as to avoid being redundant. I suspect we'd focus more on the goings-on here, for example. But yeah, at the moment I think the biggest issue is lack of hosts. Nobody has stepped forward with a voice sample, so that makes things a bit tough. We'll see how it goes.[/font]

[quote name='Rachmaninoff'] Guys, if you don't want to discuss it, how about not bothering to reply to the thread in the first place? It's not that hard really.[/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium][i]Thank you[/i], Rach. One of the worst things on OB - and something that regularly spawns off-topic arguments - is when someone jumps into a thread just to declare that it is pointless. So, yes, if you actually aren't interested in engaging in the debate, please do not post in this thread. That goes for everyone, including staff (if a staff member classifies a thread as pointless and it's not part of an actual moderation note, that's a problem). I'm sure Rach will deal with posts/members who continue to do this.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]This makes me wonder, when we go in and add/change the titles, should we announce the requirements? Or should we just let people discover them? A compromise could be that we list them (except for the last couple), but we don't say what the post requirement is. [/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Beautiful, thanks for that Petie. OB

[font=franklin gothic medium]You'd be surprised how close some other people got to me... if a couple of the really long-timers hadn't disappeared, I have a feeling someone could have reached the magical 10K mark by now. (By the way, 10K was the highest point under our previous system - that earned you a "special" title). In any case, I do welcome all the feedback. Thanks guys. If we can find a more elegant way to display this info we will do it. Unfortunately our postbits right now are pretty full, due to theOtaku link (which I still want to keep anyway). Plus, if you look at mine... it's a bit less cluttered because I'm only using one title. Having two titles on the system does clutter things up quite a bit. Having said that, we are also preparing a new site and that will have a different postbit layout anyway. So hopefully we can hold on until then. But yeah, in the meantime I'm happy for Petie to look into display options so we can refine this a little bit. :catgirl: Regarding new titles.. I'm working with Adam on that now. I asked him for suggestions and we will work on that together.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I don't want to sound dismissive, but I really wouldn't worry about this too much. Each person puts their own weight on post counts. I personally don't think they matter and I know many people don't, but some do like to see them displayed. For someone who has been around for a long time, you know that you can just easily view them in a profile. But you'd be surprised how many newer members aren't aware about a lot of things on the site - for someone who hasn't used a Virtual Bulletin site too, it can be daunting. Post count is something we can easily show without making it too prominent or taking up too much space. That strikes a happy middle-ground I think. We will see how it goes. In the meantime, I'd just say that if you actually don't place weight on post count, then this shouldn't be too much of a problem anyway. For many years we had about ten titles I think - these were just fun, non-serious milestones that people achieved as they remained on the site. They don't grant a user any greater power, ability, authority or anything else - they are just a small milestone and it can be fun to discover new ones as you go. So, at the end of the day, I wouldn't take any of this too seriously - doing so just misunderstands what it's all about. I'd just keep doing what you're doing and enjoy the site as you always have. Nothing has really changed - we've just taken a piece of information and made it easier to access. That's all. We've certainly had visible user posts far longer than not having them![/font] [quote]Different user titles are fun to both discover and achieve. Member customised ones are blah, since earning threm is half the fun.[/quote] [font=franklin gothic medium]Said far more succinctly than I could have done! Thanks. Haha. But yeah, that hits the nail on the head really. Perhaps we can look at a compromise where users can choose to hide their post counts/titles if they like. I will speak with Petie about this and see if there's a hack to do it. In the meantime, as I said, I would just treat this like it is intended - a bit of harmless fun for those who want it. For the rest of us, we can just keep enjoying doing what we've been doing. :catgirl:[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Yeah, wow, I haven't seen anything like this for a while - we even have quite a few New Members signing up with really fantastic characters. This is great. It's nice to see some new faces coming into OB RPGs already this year. And with so many great sign-ups, I think we're already getting off to a great start. :catgirl:[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Welcome to OB, guys. Hope you enjoy yourselves. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to post in the Info Kiosk forum or to PM me directly. :catgirl: Have fun![/font]

[quote name='Ace'][CENTER][IMG]http://www.aolcdn.com/ch_bv/flavor-flav-newswire-400a111606.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER] [FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Look at this idiot. Who the hell do you think you are, Flavor Flav? What statement are you trying to make? That clock supposed to remind you when it's hammertime or what? And that ridiculous oversized bling, ugh. You think it makes you look Gangsta? You think you look dope? No. You look like a moron. Now get off my TV. And tell me who gave you a show so I can slap them with a trout.[/FONT][/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Best post ever. I suspect he has a clock that large because he's never learned how to read the time - I notice that numbers are suspiciously absent anyway. I'm not much of a celebrity-hater really, but if I had to choose, it'd definitely be this guy. His show even airs on cable in Australia! I feel horrible that we are being bombarded with such rubbish. This guy is an example of how you can do absolutely nothing noteworthy and still be incredibly rich.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Good stuff, Fabricate. For your info, Evangeline's maiden name was Delacroix. But again you couldn't have known this because we didn't publish that info anywhere - sorry about that. Luckily it's a minor detail though! It's so cool to see new writers joining in on this. You guys have clearly paid a lot of attention to the sign up and such.[/font]

[quote]I can't see judging Israel or the Palestinians in this case. I don't live there, and I don't know what goes on. The answer to this problem isn't in who's right. It's in who's willing to stop believing in nationalism. Which, conveniently, is the answer to a vast majority of the armed conflicts around the world.[/quote] [font=franklin gothic medium]That's an interesting point. I would suggest that Israel's brand of nationalism is unique though, given the circumstances under which the Jewish state was founded. I think the bigger difficulty right now relates specifically to religious and ethic divides, as well as the simple fact that - for both sides - it's all about retribution (no pun intended) rather than reconciliation. For those who are entirely pro-Israel, let me make a couple of points. First of all, bear in mind that approximately half of the 1.5 million people in Gaza are eighteen or under in age. These are literally children. Some of them have parents involved with Hamas's military arm, but they obviously wouldn't understand the complexities of this - all they know is that their mother or father has been killed by Israel. While we might argue that Israel has the right to defend itself, the end result of the Gaza offensive could easily be counter-productive for a few reasons. Yes, Israel may have made it more difficult for Hamas to organize and to fire rockets across the border. But this is unquestionably a temporary achievement. The longterm proposition of such an offensive is wholly more problematic, because the offensive has taught the many lost children of Gaza one important lesson: Israel is the enemy. A teenage boy who loses his mother in a helicopter attack can not realistically be expected to say "Oh well, we deserved it because someone I don't know fired a rocket at a country I know nothing about". That boy is either going to become so damaged and withdrawn that he'll suffer the scars forever [i]or[/i] he will turn to militancy, as so many young, unemployed, angry men tend to do. My hope is that Hamas now agrees to cease rocket fire into Israel. Even if you acknowledge that the Israeli response was very heavy-handed, it was nonetheless a [i]response[/i] rather than an [i]instigation[/i]. Hamas has directly and indirectly brought this horror on its people and for that, the Palestineans should ensure that they can never return to government in the future. If Hamas and Israel both agree to cease hostilities, it would be a good opportunity to re-open Gaza's borders while also incorporating a UN-sanctioned force to monitor the flow of goods into Gaza - specifically, to stop any more weapons smuggling. This may at least provide a short-term respite where moderate voices can be heard and where both sides can consider their options.[/font] [quote name='Chabichou']Accept responsibility? What did the innocent people in Gaza do justify their brutal slaughter? How about Israel accept responsibility for their crimes rather than blaming their own victims?[/quote] [font=franklin gothic medium]The [i]innocent[/i] people in Gaza - those majority who are truly innocent - did nothing wrong. But the militant arm of Hamas - and Hamas itself - is largely responsible for instigating the battle, while also avoiding any semblance of real governance. Read the part of my post above that explains the potential negatives - other than the horrific loss of innocent life - as a result of Israel's attack. And then consider this second part of my post. The mistake you're making here, Chabi, is that you are suggesting that those who are defending Israel to you are automatically giving them a free pass for their behaviour. I assure you, for most people here, that is not the case. The problem we see is that absolutely [i]none[/i] of the content in your posts make any attempt to either balance your criticism, or provide any reasoning beyond feel-good PC slogans. And with an issue this complex, that just isn't good enough for most people. As I said earlier, I think that the ability to overlook Hamas as an organization and a movement is almost indicative of a reverse-racism. Perhaps because Israel is an established democratic state, they are easier to criticize? They should know better? I don't know. You can't make the argument that Hamas was elected and is therefore beyond reproach. The fact that Hamas [i]was elected[/i] brings upon them the responsibilities of government! I would recommend just taking a step back and considering all of this. With some exceptions, most people in this thread are trying to express a balanced point of view. This does not mean that both sides have equal blame or are of equal size - that is almost a semantic argument (like the comparison between Hamas's "annoying" rockets and Israel's apparent-genocide). Such semantics only distract from the real problem and they do not attribute responsibility in a meaningful way. They just perpetuate a purely emotional argument. [/font] [quote name='Tophel']Hamas is impotent. Israel is not. The ball is obviously in Israeli's court. To suggest that Hamas and Israel are equal powers or have equal responsibilities is an absurdity. As for the much talk about clause in the Hamas charter (it seems we keep talking about this for some weird reason), as I've said so many times in this thread. Empty words.[/quote] [font=franklin gothic medium]Neither Hamas nor Israel are impotent. Israel is obviously the far more powerful force, but that does not inherently make them any more wrong or right. Hamas is obviously "impotent" enough to organize a large weapons smuggling operation for the purpose of firing rockets into southern Israeli towns. What is an absurdity is this idea that size or power somehow makes a fundamental difference in terms of a group's responsibilities. As I have said before, we keep being told that Hamas is an elected government, as if this procludes it from bearing any responsibility for violence. Just as each Israeli government is responsible for its policies, so too is Hamas. Those who excuse all of Israel's actions due to Hamas's provocation are just as ardently one-sided as those who excuse all of Hamas's actions due to Israel's provocation. It is a circle of intellectual dishonesty that feeds upon itself and perpetuates continuously - this very thread demonstrates why a political settlement is so difficult. I think that your last sentence really underscores what I've been talking about here. When referencing a founding document for what is now a government, you say "empty words". I wonder, perhaps, what you would say if the Israeli constituion specifically referenced the need to eliminate all of Palestine? You don't even need to answer that, actually. Words are important, especially for governments (and [i]especially[/i] for elected governments that truly represent their people). A charter, constitution or set of guiding principles represents the fundamental mission and values of an organization. Far from empty words, these documents embody the spirit of the organization they represent. Often I find one fact or one step is examined without examining those steps that led to it, or the circumstances surrounding it. Maintaining a full view of this conflict is impossible for any of us who do not make a full-time study of it and it is even more difficult for those of us who do not live among it. At least for those of us who [i]don't[/i] live among the conflict ourselves, you would think that we could have a somewhat impassionate view that can look at multiple angles without submitting to the desperation and anger that those directly involved fall victim to. Unfortunately we [i]do[/i] fall victim to that, but in a far more insidious way - for many of us who live far away, this conflict is limited to a talking point, where we feel better when we designate a hero and a villain. Then we can call it a day and go back to our peaceful lives. If only the actual conflict were so simple.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I have noticed some pretty cool Worlds on theOtaku in recent months - some that I had no idea existed until I accidentally stumbled upon them. It seems we've got Worlds for everything - from personal blogs to Japanese lessons! So I thought it'd be cool to put up a thread where people can link to either their own Worlds, or talk about the Worlds you've found that you're really enjoying. [url="http://www.theotaku.com/worlds/jmode"]My personal World[/url] doesn't really get updated very much, although I did spend a fair bit of time on the design. Sure, there's less flexibility here than on myOtaku, but at least now it's much harder to break your page as well! My own World really isn't a very exciting place, other than a few small updates and musings. So what about you? Show us your World! Then I can add some more subscriptions! :catgirl:[/font]

[quote name='Magus']Haha, it wouldn't be the same because it don't look as pretty as the game :catgirl:[/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Yeah I suppose, although the main street in the game isn't terribly pretty. I mean the graphics quality is nice, but you still have all the clutter everywhere and stuff... I think the real thing would be nicer. Except, of course, that you wouldn't have the whole plot going on where you've got to fight Lan Di and stuff. Speaking of which, I never played Shenmue 2... but I guess that's a story for another thread. :catgirl:[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Shenmue would be nice - although it was so realistic that you could almost have that same experience if you just moved to Yokosuka! Heheh. For me it's hard to decide. Possibly NiGHTS, or Super Mario Galaxy or even Final Fantasy VIII (when I see the FMV inside Balamb Garden, it looks so pristine and pleasant... I imagine it'd be fun to study in a giant flying school!) I guess I'd like to be in any game environment that is light and pleasant and fun. I wouldn't want to be anywhere too dark or serious. My game nightmare would definitely be Silent Hill. I can't even imagine being somewhere like that in person.[/font]

[quote name='Tophel']Yes, I see the ridiculous nature of PETA's latest move. I think I said earlier that this move was likely to hurt more than help their cause. It's not like they haven't been written off as nut jobs and this move by them only further marginalises them. Stupid IMO. [/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]I think it's true that PETA has gone from being seen as a legitimate organization to a pretty far-out organization in recent years. This latest stunt is part of that. As far as vegetarianism goes, I would say at a guess that most OBers would never make a serious judgment about that. I can only imagine that most "jokes" or references are firmly tongue-in-cheek. My own view is that vegetarianism is definitely a personal choice, but choosing to eat meat is not a fundamentally cruel or inhumane thing to do. After all, human beings are, by nature, omnivorous. We have canine teeth. And the one organ we have that is used to digest grass became obsolete long ago, as a result of our own evolution as a species. You'll find that most serious dieticians promote a balanced diet that involves a variety of foods, including meats/fish/poultry. This is why "vegans" in particular often must take supplements - taking a supplement implies that your body is missing out on something it could be getting naturally. I do have a lot of sympathy for some of PETA's arguments, such as the treatment of caged hens and things like that - even if eating meat is part of who and what we are as a species, we should still behave in a humane manner. I think most people would agree on that. As far as OB being conservative, well, I think Rach answered that point effectively. If you pay close attention to the Israel thread you'll find that most people actually [i]do[/i] talk quite seriously about the plight of the Palestineans (I certainly do). Glossing over that is somewhat unfair. I tend to think that whether it's PETA or any other issue, OB is pretty balanced. We are probably more center-left than anything else. Being a centrist doesn't make you conservative, really.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Okay so I've put the info up for my two characters. If anything needs changing just let me know - I've kept some of the details lighter, so they can be filled out during the RPG.[/font]

[indent][b]NAME[/B] Gustave Achard [b]AGE[/B] Twenty-nine [b]CONNECTION[/b] Gustave is Vincent's cousin (and is therefore the nephew of Olivier and Evangeline). His mother, Collette Achard, is Olivier's younger sister. [b]PORTRAIT[/b] [center][img]http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/7903/gustavesa7.jpg[/img] [i]Gustave Achard in a recent portrait.[/i][/center] [b]OCCUPATION & LOCATION[/b] For many years Gustave lived the life of a playboy, without any cares in the world. He became an accomplished chimaera jockey, competing in several international races. He also became Anova's only elite camel jockey, often participating in the Al-Ahmar Derby. In more recent times, Gustave decided to escape the public spotlight to deal with more serious pursuits: he invested some of his family's money into the creation of a small airship business. Rather than building entirely new airships, Gustave spent much of his time upgrading existing models. The business was closed down in recent months, to allow Gustave to focus on an entirely new - and expensive - pet project. The majority of Gustave's income is still derived from the international racing circuit. Gustave lives in Achard Hall, with Olivier and several others. [b]STORY[/b] Gustave's history lacks the controversy and depth of his cousin, Vincent. Where Vincent worked hard to climb the ladder and where he felt great pressure to build a stronger relationship between the Achards and Almagests, Gustave did not. By the age of eighteen, Gustave was already a pin-up across Anova. His real success was in chimaera racing, where he had natural talent. His youth - and pedigree - also ensured enormous media coverage for each of his races. Then, by the age of twenty-three, Gustave was competing in chimaera races across the globe. He was finally asked to captain an Anova-based camel racing team to compete in Al-Ahmar - the very first New Globe team to do so. Gustave's career culminated in his arrival three years ago at the Chimaera World Cup in High Czenoble. The very best riders from across the globe attended - even the Sultan of Al-Ahmar, Imran Mahid, was in attendance in his own private marquee. While Gustave did barely win the race, it ended in tragedy, as a chimaera crashed into the Almagest marquee, killing several onlookers. The tragedy was caused by infamous Czenovian rider, Hugo Black. Black was known to be a cheat in major races, particularly in those that saw Czenovia and Anova competing directly. After the race, Gustave retired to his summer house in the south-west hills of Mt. Grail. He became increasingly close to several members of the Almagest family during his trip, particularly Victoria Ann, who he began to view as the daughter he never had. Their relationship was cemented by a special gift - a chimaera called Lucy - which Gustave used as a peace offering between the two families. Victoria Ann and Lucy became so close that Gustave decided to fund the construction of a chimaera stable in the grounds of Rosengard. Gustave became caught up in the Czenovian Revolution during his stay in the country and it was during this time that he forged lifelong bonds with the Almagests. After the revolution ended, Gustave's staff packed up his belongings and he returned to Anova. During the last three years, Gustave has visited High Czenoble several times. He invested particular energy in assisting Victoria Ann with her riding lessons. He has also developed a greater appreciation of Czenovia, which saw many changes since a new peaceful government came to power. Today, Gustave continues to race, but he has closed down his little airship business. Instead, he has another project in the works - something he has been personally developing since the revolution. As the project nears fruition, he is particularly excited about showing Victoria Ann on her next trip to Anova. Although Gustave has always had play boy status, recent events (including his relationship with Victoria Ann and the death of his cousin and aunt) have given him a stronger sense of family. Marriage - or any relationship with a woman - would be sure to set the Anovan tabloids alight.[/indent]