Profile for Custer
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Custer |
| Member number | 3151 |
| Title | Bob's Big Date |
| Postcount | 2367 |
| Homepage | http://desperance.net |
| Registered | Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
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| WTF are we still in Iraq. in General | |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Wednesday, January 21 2004 05:58
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Four words: Connections to corporate oil. Oh, and the fact that he's a blatant imperialist. His administration published a document in, what? 2002? stating that any attempt to challenge American hegemony -- be it military, economic, or whatever -- would be answered with unilateral, overwhelming military force; that America is basically entitled to go over and take what it likes from other, smaller countries; it says we are entitled to define other countries as 'failures' unilaterally (it rejects international law, by the way) and then deal with them as such. Personally, I believe the National Security Strategy of the United States sounds more like something a nineteenth-century empire would publish than a self-respecting (small-r) republican government in the 20th century. This is not extremists within Bush's faction talking, by the way. It was written by Bush and Rice and various other members of the current administration. To be honest, I can't see how putting so much trust in the diplomatic gestures of someone who has basically ressurected the politics of blood and iron is at all a good thing. I mean, the last time we did, we had a war or two because of it... [ Wednesday, January 21, 2004 06:08: Message edited by: General Secretary Custer ] -------------------- In a word, gay. --Bob the Impaler Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
| Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! in General | |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Tuesday, January 20 2004 14:15
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quote:The quote you dredge up is, to be fair, somewhat out of context. He wished that the Jews had reacted to persecution in a similar way to the Indians: nonviolent resistance. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to understand that the Jews did not have the advantage of numbers, nor a cultural history of nonviolence (The general idea is that if someone strikes you and you turn the other cheek, you are encouraging injustice and therefore as guilty as him who starts it), nor enemies who could be defeated by appeals to common humanity. Gandhi's statement wasn't directed by bigotry (although he was, being a product of his times, not divorced from it), but by ignorance and false analogy. -------------------- In a word, gay. --Bob the Impaler Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
| Pants of Sorrow in General | |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Tuesday, January 20 2004 14:07
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Gay sex, Bates. -------------------- In a word, gay. --Bob the Impaler Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
| What music (if any) are you listening to... in General | |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Monday, January 19 2004 19:30
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KST. -------------------- In a word, gay. --Bob the Impaler Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
| Pants of Sorrow in General | |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Monday, January 19 2004 18:45
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Why is everyone always trying to make me the sagots' gigolo? I have a life too, you know. For a good time, go bug TM. -------------------- In a word, gay. --Bob the Impaler Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
| Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! in General | |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Monday, January 19 2004 17:54
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-------------------- In a word, gay. --Bob the Impaler Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
| WTF are we still in Iraq. in General | |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Monday, January 19 2004 17:01
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-------------------- In a word, gay. --Bob the Impaler Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
| WTF are we still in Iraq. in General | |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Monday, January 19 2004 16:34
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And you still manage to believe going in was?  In response to your edited post: Explain exactly why, half a year later, we're still planning to install puppets and scoot before democracy can take root? Explan why we haven't taken out the imperial atavisms ruling Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the like, who are treated as US allies? Explain why the biggest excuse was WMDs before we realized that there weren't any? The current government of Iraq is a military committee; ruled half by the same people who mistreated Iraq under Saddam, and half by the US government. If there were WMDs in Iraq, they're gone now -- sold to the highest bidder, all too likely. The Al'Quaeda connections 'vanished' without a trace, while a man with a country's resources at his disposal only managed to last six months. If Bush were being graded on how well he could do what he set out to do instead of how well he could convince us he set out to do something else, we'd have impeached and convicted him in October. And quite frankly, I find your revisionist attitude not only inappropriate and ignorant but disgusting. There is no excuse for killing thousands of thousands of people in combat and starving thousands and thousands more for one goal and then deciding after you've failed to achieve it that the goal was something else the whole time. But who cares about the Iraqis? Who cares whether or not they wanted to be bombed or starved to death to change control of their country from one military dictator to a committee of them? At heart, you don't think of them as anything besides worthless savages, and that's what makes your position repugnant. [ Monday, January 19, 2004 16:53: Message edited by: General Secretary Custer ] -------------------- In a word, gay. --Bob the Impaler Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
| The System is Down in General | |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Monday, January 19 2004 16:11
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Allow me to cry bitter, bitter tears for Polaris. *titters like a schoolgirl* -------------------- In a word, gay. --Bob the Impaler Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Monday, January 19 2004 09:48
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 -------------------- In a word, gay. --Bob the Impaler Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
| An RP in the World of Avernum in General | |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Monday, January 19 2004 01:20
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*grunts indignantly* As soon as what was left of Karadas's grand levee got back to Kylenian territory, the Hugoists attached themselves to the Western Populists. And then came Hugo's last revenge: against his greatest opponents throughout the war -- not the titans that threatened his life, but the flea that sucked his blood constantly. SAFT. The army detachment sent to take SAFT headquarters found it heavily defended, but it soon became clear that SAFT men were awful land fighters. It cost them half the upper organization. And that cost them the sea. With the central control in chaos, the information that needed to go out to defeat the Hugoist holdout navy never went out. Somewhere in Vantanas there exists a native village populated by those who claim to be descendants of one of the many ships thrown to the sea after the Sundering. And after that was one long, brutal chain of assassinations. Even long after SAFT was long gone as an organization, and even long after the war was over. Holdovers seemed to live only to make traitors suffer, tracking them down like bloodhounds over generations, using all natural and unnatural resources at their disposal to bring the ultimate revenge to those who stabbed Dorian Kylen and Ilai Hugo in the back. Some died in grandioise gestures; an old functionary and his entire extended family were butchered by an unnumbered group of machetemen, and in his courtyard was found a simple message, in the blood of one questionably guilty man and many innocent: WE REMEMBER Of course, the majority suffered less flashy deaths. Suspicious hunting accidents that no one bothered to investigate. Muggings in which no money was taken. A sailor bumping the captain off the side of the boat in the dead of winter and waiting just long enough to throw in a liferaft. The most terrified-looking suicides the Pralgad police force had ever seen. And, in the end, no one cared to investigate them. After all, who but the old dogs of SAFT cared for that pack of vultures? The initial vengeance was incomplete, but in the end, the only people having anything to do with SAFT who died natural deaths were common sailors. ... Shortly after the apocalyptic battle that killed Hugo, Linda, Ironclad, and Karadas -- and yet left corpses for none of them -- the last holdouts of the Kyenian army faded into the Populists. Some officers even stuck along for the duration, becoming heroes of the revolution that seemed bound to failure. And somewhere in the army, there was an old man. Nothing unusual; the Populists didn't reject soldiers for age or gender, and were mostly reviled for that. He insisted he was younger than he looked, and certainly fought like it -- in spite of the wound that took one of his eyes, and in spite of the wound that broke one of his lungs and another which left his shield hand permanently weak. He should have been an old invalid, but he fought like a demon. When the time came, and the Emperor to end the war was finally crowned, he was one of the last to hear the news, and chuckled quietly, in an odd mix of schaedenfreude and pride. He always laughed a little -- deep on the inside, where they couldn't hear it -- when his officers spoke of the tyrannies and bloodshed of General Hugo. Ironclad thought the war was a harmless little lark, and Sol fought like a king. When he threw lives out, at least he wasn't throwing them away. He chuckled again, in that same odd mix. May the double crown crush your fool neck, he thought, for the first time in many years devoid of any jealousy. -------------------- ¡Viva Chile! ¡Viva el Pueblo! ¡Vivan los Trabajadores! Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
| An RP in the World of Avernum in General | |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Sunday, January 18 2004 17:58
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Ilai Hugo heard about Ironclad's attack. He clapped his hands. "Excellent! I'll finally have a chance to do it!" "Sir?" "I'll finally have a chance to take the bastard out!" Hugo was out of the tent before he finished the sentence. His armor gleamed in the sun, and he carried a sword that sang as it clove the air. On his head was an iron crown over a helmet of steel. "It ends today!" ... Gideon Ironclad was astride his horse, marching through the terrified Pralgadians with great enthiusiasm, when he saw the black horse. His men charges Ilai Hugo. They assumed he was weak because of how old he was, and because he was an officer. It was the last delusion they ever had; he crushed cavalry, infantry, and even stopped an arrow with his sword. It was then that Gideon realized, somewhat indignantly, that he had become skilled beyond anything he could hope to match through long, tedious skill. And now the helmet turned to face the Emperor. He paused momentarily. This had been a moment, by all indications, Ilai Hugo had dreamed of for years. Until a few months ago, Gideon Ironclad hadn't even known who the mounted man was. He paused for a second, and spurred his horse on. Better he die fighting than running. This took Hugo aback somewhat, but not enough. The first blow took Gideon Ironclad's arm off at the elbow, the next opened up one of his lungs. He gasped and took a wild swing at Hugo. Hugo knocked it aside, and grasped the mortally wounded Emperor by the head, seizing his golden crown and putting it on his own head under the heavy iron he wore. For a split second, the first Emperor to wear the double crown since Sol I raised his arms in triumph. In that split second, no fewer than a dozen arrows thudded into his immediate location. His horse let out an inhuman shriek of pain; then a burst of pain struck him in the arm, then in the chest, and then a long blast of pressure in the head and not much afterwards. ... "Sir, the Emperors are dead." "Good goddamn riddance. Send out an immediate order to retreat, and execute the transferral of Ilai Hugo's imperial estate." "Are you sure we ought to do that, sir?" "If Sol wants to get in bed with the Populists so damn bad, let him suffer the clap." The general smiles at his own wit, and starts the movement of his army, vanquished, back home. ... [ Sunday, January 18, 2004 18:00: Message edited by: General Secretary Custer ] -------------------- ¡Viva Chile! ¡Viva el Pueblo! ¡Vivan los Trabajadores! Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
| An RP in the World of Avernum in General | |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Sunday, January 18 2004 12:40
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"They... won't remember... either of us..." "What the hell... do you mean?" "...Hugo... the damn fool... didn't see this coming... can't say I did either... and now... now we've handed... Pralgad... to the Solarans..." "What?" "The priests are good... but not this good... I have lost a hand... and you have lost your liver... the two of us are as good... as dead, and you... know... as well as I do..." "I... I can still..." The sword fell loose. By the way Karadas was bleeding, she wouldn't need it anyway. "What... do you mean?" "Hugo has given... the army... to the Western... Populists... thinking that you... would lead them..." He gives a tired smile. "And without you... they are doomed." The smile somehow gets wider. "I was the only... person who could have... lead us against Sol... I trust my seconds... I trust my liege... but I am the best survivor we have... ironic I should be the first officer... to die." Linda stared through blurring vision at her rival. Had he really said what she thought he said? Was he lying? Was he telling the truth? She thought on it with rapidly diminishing mental faculties -- how would he profit from lying? They were both very, very dead. "I've had a good run..." She tried to respond, but she found that she couldn't. She didn't realize why until she felt the iron taste of blood. The sky was getting dark. That can't be right -- it's not even noo ... Karadas was bleeding from the left arm, which ended in a rough stump. He cast a last look at his sovereign -- older than his years, his hair iron-gray and balding in patches, and he saw the Empire. He gave some thought to what he could do. He could go and have his wrist cauterized, and live for a few more years as an invalid on the run from Warderson's sorry excuse for justice. Or... he had always been ambidextrous. What was he if not a soldier of the Emperor? A corpse, the answer struck him. He hefted his sword and charged into the fray at the head of the Pralgad Imperial Army, shrieking like a madman. His men followed him, with the same bellowing cry. Soon he could no longer continue the cry; everything he did was infinitely tiring, and the world was going into a dim haze. He hit a man with his sword; the blow shocked him, and opened up his skull. It was then that he felt so tired that he fell down involuntarily, as if to rest. He tried to get up, but the strength had long since left him. The world seemed hotter for the briefest moment, and then shot into nothingness. If he were Emperor, he would have had the catapultman's head for hitting a friendly commander. He wasn't Emperor, and at this rate, he never would be. ... "Did we get her, General Jole?" "By all indications, yes. But we lost Karadas." "Oh." A year ago, he would have pitched a fit. Now, on the field of battle, every drop of energy had to be reserved for fighting the enemy. "How are our positions looking?" "Dismal, sir. We've been flanked something awful, and the catapult attack didn't do much except keep one flank at bay for a little bit." "We can't withdraw. We will die here before we withdraw. Get the mages and prepare them for a spearhead attack on Ironclad's lines. One good push should convince them that their generals don't know a damn thing they're doing." -------------------- ¡Viva Chile! ¡Viva el Pueblo! ¡Vivan los Trabajadores! Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
| An RP in the World of Avernum in General | |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Sunday, January 18 2004 10:20
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"Sir, many of our Populist constituents have chosen now to rebel." "No matter. The shipment is here, isn't it?" "Yes, sir. The whole shipment. We will make our stand here, sure enough. Does this place even have a name?" "It is called Coutharan, General Santhias. The battle ahead of us will take weeks, and at its end, it is most probable we will all be dead." "Sir?" The thought clearly horrifies General Santhias. "I mean it. I will most definitely not survive this battle, and I'll be damned if I intend to allow Warderson or Tarem or any of the damn traitors in the Aizoan Imperial Army live through it, either. What is important is whether he survives." "Sir?" A brief pause. "Sir!" Santhias might be somewhat naive, but he's not stupid. He realizes the weight Karadas puts on he. "Emperor Ilai Hugo fighting alongside the Pralgad Imperial Army to defeat Emperor Gideon Ironclad and the Aizo Imperial Army. Fate is cruel, isn't it?" "Yes, sir. I've got a question: who's going to rule the Empire?" "The Populists." Santhias stares at Karadas in blank horror. "What, sir?" "The Populists. Emperor Hugo, having no remotely legitimate or entirely trusted successors, has decided to will his estate to the Western Populists. As of now, you and I are the only people who know this, and I'm trying to decide what to make of it." "Sir, from what I can see, the Populists are closer to human beings than Sol's bastards or Warderson's vultures. I think, if we had to choose from anyone, we might as well pick the people who've been straightforward in hating us the whole time." Kardas smiles. "Said like a true pragmatist. What time is it?" "Uh..." He looks over at the camp courtyard. "Looks to be around nine and a half, sir." "Send out the first order." ... Day 0: 07:00 The Shipment, a massive group of covered carriages and several thousand Hugoist troops, are sighted by the Pralgad Imperial Army. The troops are the still-unrenamed Kylen's Legion, a group of men honor-bound to fight to the death, and are among some of the fiercest fighters in the Empire. The carriages are an unknown factor. ... Ten thousand Pralgad Imperial troops crossed the Populist lines at midnight; by 7:00, they were swift approaching the nearly defenseless SAFT headquarters, driving straight for it with seeming disregard for anything but their chosen target. Day 0: 08:00 Routine scouting operations start losing horsemen, and those that succeed speak in confused tones of something tremendous going down on the other side of the Coutharan Downs. Warderson assembles the army to prepare to meet the PIA threat. Day 0: 09:30 In the western sea, two battleships and six sturdy galleons set out under Hugo's banner from the Hugoist port of Thoren. They make sail straight for the bulk of the SAFT fleet, in spite of being horrifically outnumbered, and all rights, a boarding swarm waiting to happen. Activity in the Pralgad Imperial Army seems to cease entirely. Day 0: 09:45 "Fire!" The order came as a shock to many of the SAFT boarding party. What kind of idiots would affix missile weapons to self-respecting battleships? They quickly received their answer, even though most of them didn't like it for beans, and none of them had much chance to like or dislike anything afterwards. Idiots with lots and lots of napalm. The SAFT tried to board the ships; they failed. They tried to sink them with magic; they only succeeded in slightly injuring the Imperius. Most captains would have taken the victory they received for what it was worth, retreating after having slain twice their number. The captain of the Ilai Hugo II was under orders to remain at sea until one fleet or the other had been bottomed. Sure enough, the Hugoists had finally begun trying to take their enemies out or die trying. ... The Aizoan Imperial Army had set up a majestic pike line, stretching miles and reinforced by thousands of bowmen. They would be ready for the Pralgad Imperial Army's advance. Then, in the distance, they saw things crank into life. They looked like catapults, or at least like they owed some kind of distant relation to them, but they were like no catapults anyone had ever seen before. They seemed packed to the core with deadly energy. But the pikemen were unafraid. Catapults were siege weapons; they were no good in pitched battles, even in sieges. Then, in unison, the entire Imperial Ballistic Army opened up on the pike line. And the world caught fire. ... Day 0: 10:00 The blaze continued unabated after fifteen minutes, with no sign of stopping. The pike line was broken by the first volley, fleeing in utter terror, cursing the names of Warderson, Karadas, Hugo, and Ironclad, but mostly just cursing. Many of the survivors were enough to demoralize the rest of the men: they looked like vaguely humanoid skeletons, with bits of charred flesh attached to what must have been bone. More still left the pike line as wailing, burning lost souls, trailing fire for dozens of yards before the chemical fire finally consumed them too thoroughly to allow them to run any further. Then more of the fiery missiles struck the Aizoan Imperial Army, scattering burning death among the grassy plains and setting spreading fires. Those catapults had ungodly range, by all indication. And at the worst possible time, Karadas attacked; riding near the core of the massive, advancing army was, in resplendently-shined armor and riding a huge black horse, Emperor Ilai Hugo. The battle of the Coutharan Downs began in earnest, and would last for a long, long time. ((OOC: I'm still using the 500,000-700,000 numbers, and assuming that about 100,000 Populists spontaneously deserted, and more reinforcements arrived at the Aizoan Imperial Army position, leaving the proportion around 500,000-600,000 in Warderson's favor. The initial attack killed around 1,500 people and took countless casualties, along with demoralizing the Aizoan Imperial Army. This battle is going to last quite a while; I'd appreciate it if no one spontaneously declared half of the Pralgad Imperial Army dead or killed all of its leaders on the spot or any such silliness. Also, 6,000 casualties without taking any damage is about a miracle; don't expect to kill anyone in the melee without taking quite a few losses yourself. Medieval combat was very much about disposition, not about hitting the other guy until he died.)) )) [ Sunday, January 18, 2004 10:32: Message edited by: General Secretary Custer ] -------------------- ¡Viva Chile! ¡Viva el Pueblo! ¡Vivan los Trabajadores! Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
| A little thought experiment in General | |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Sunday, January 18 2004 00:07
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But why, really? Is £1,000,000 for sure really that much worse than £1,001,000 that you're not guaranteed to see more than £1,000 of? -------------------- In a word, gay. --Bob the Impaler Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
| An RP in the World of Avernum in General | |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Saturday, January 17 2004 22:08
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The Aizoan Imperial Army was exactly what you'd expect: spit-and-polish organization, but nothing like impervious to wandering tongues. Karadas heard that Warderson had almost been killed. He thought on it, and decided that any further attempt at audience would result in failure. "That godforsaken dog," Karadas muttered. "Trying to prevent us from joining righteously or meeting righteously on the field of battle with an assassin's knife? I hope he drown--" Karadas stops and thinks of his choice of words for a second. Drowning is considered by many the most horrific death someone can suffer, mostly because you can always see it coming from a mile away. But it held a deeper meaning: Who would try and kill the Emperor and then manage to escape? No random officer; no one he'd expect, really. A professional. Someone with official backing. For all the Solarans knew or could see, Karadas was still with Hugo preparing to launch a fatal attack on their territory. Who did that leave? He was more in control of the Hugoist faction than anyone except Hugo; he wouldn't expect the old general of being devious enough to act over his head. Would the Ironcladians kill a harmless, positively-held figurehead? Who did that leave? A chill ran down his spine. "Those bastards." He chose stronger words a second later. "If it's the last thing I do, I'll scatter those scheming bastards to the seven winds..." -------------------- ¡Viva Chile! ¡Viva el Pueblo! ¡Vivan los Trabajadores! Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Saturday, January 17 2004 19:27
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quote:Have you heard that they're scheduling a remake for Q2 2004? My loins quiver with anticipation. -------------------- In a word, gay. --Bob the Impaler Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Saturday, January 17 2004 16:50
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The individual words make sense, but the way in which they are ordered does not. Lemme try: Rooster I gated Ocean Sea to card a Quebec duck's to chair chairs Elvis demarcates the an Updike chart. This is fun! [ Saturday, January 17, 2004 16:51: Message edited by: General Secretary Custer ] -------------------- In a word, gay. --Bob the Impaler Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
| An RP in the World of Avernum in General | |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Saturday, January 17 2004 15:01
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They were from the East; Karadas was moving east from Hugoist territory, not west. 700,000 isn't entirely a logistical impossibility; it'll just leave the land it goes through in a bad way for a long time. Attrition is likely to be harsh, but not really all that harmful in the long run. The average person from the areas Karadas passed through didn't have much future at home, 'home' having been ravaged by all sorts of fighting, and probably felt the only way they could get anything done was with the snowballing army. Of course, all of this starts becoming relevant only if Omelette elects to try and harm Karadas's army. [ Saturday, January 17, 2004 15:04: Message edited by: General Secretary Custer ] -------------------- ¡Viva Chile! ¡Viva el Pueblo! ¡Vivan los Trabajadores! Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Saturday, January 17 2004 14:52
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Civilization develops even in the absence of a unified government. Europe didn't have 0 people when Rome started, after all. :P I still say around 40-50 million is what history would tell you, and that's not by any means a maximum. 40-50 million would be ridiculously low for a continent Pralgrad's size by Renaissance standards, for instance. -------------------- ¡Viva Chile! ¡Viva el Pueblo! ¡Vivan los Trabajadores! Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Saturday, January 17 2004 14:37
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I'd estimate it much higher. We're talking about reasonably big continents here; Roman Europe had to have at least 40 million people, which'd be more than enough to support 700,000 from all corners of it. It also means that the AIA is around 500,000, coming from a bigger continent with a much smaller explored area. -------------------- ¡Viva Chile! ¡Viva el Pueblo! ¡Vivan los Trabajadores! Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Saturday, January 17 2004 13:43
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I wouldn't take either. I'm overweight as is. -------------------- In a word, gay. --Bob the Impaler Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
| An RP in the World of Avernum in General | |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Saturday, January 17 2004 13:37
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"What a damn pity. We could have gone places." "Eh?" "Nothing, exalted sir. The attack is good and ready." "Commence it." ... As the fighting reached a fever pitch in the west, something came against the rising tide -- east, into old Ironclad lands. "Fight for freedom!", the heralds shouted. "Fight for Empire!", they shouted. "Fight for Emperor Hugo!" The people had long since been abandoned by Ironclad, and it rankled. They had little loyalty to the generals that were running the army and failing to hold back the Populist tide. "Food for all!", the heralds shouted. "Work for all!", they shouted. "Justice and freedom!" The Populists knew that their cause was doomed; by echelon, they surrendered. Then the most bizzare thing happened: They were given clemence -- and not just clemence, either. They were offered positions in the military. Karadas himself found his way into the east, riding with his growing army of ex-populists and ex-Ironcladians, along with quite a few who had never taken either side. "Freedom! Prosperity! Empire!" The rising call drew him more and more recruits, more and more surrenders, more and more old feelings patched up. Among the people of the East he was still a hero. "Hugo! Hugo! Hugo!" When General Karadas arrived at the Aizoan Imperial Army headquarters, seven hundred thousand men marched at his back; haggard, worn, but at last with the glimmer of hope that accompanied the promise of victory at last. "A fair shake for all! Liberty! Empire! Prosperity! Hugo!" The banners were exultant, and so were the men -- but unlike the banners (banners of cloth: with misspeled letters, off-hand color schemes, not of the fine silk and dye that made the usual army banners), they were unified of cause and purpose. "Hu-go! Hu-go! Hu-go!" "Please inform General Warderson that I intend to appropriate the Aizoan Imperial Army for use by his supreme majesty Ilai Hugo I. There shall be no more dithering, there shall be no more playing both ends against the middle, and there shall be no more evasion. Now is the moment of truth: tomorrow Corim Warderson shall serve in heaven or lord in hell." The messenger nodded brusquely, and he fled under Karadas's piercing gaze. Karadas nodded himself: if Warderson refused, he was ordered to give him the greatest battle in Imperial history. ... -------------------- ¡Viva Chile! ¡Viva el Pueblo! ¡Vivan los Trabajadores! Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
| An RP in the World of Avernum in General | |
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Bob's Big Date
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written Friday, January 16 2004 12:01
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Linda was surprised to see a man in formal armor enter the tent. "Who the hell are you?" Unflappable, just like Hugo... was. "Karadas. General Karadas, of the Imperial Army." "The Imperial Army? ...Karadas? You're Ironcladian, aren't you?" "I fought for Ironclad because I thought he could save us from the Solarans' banditry. My family has been hurt by the Solarans before; had I known that Ironclad would spend his efforts trying to smash Kylen and make a relative peace with Sol, and then go over and be the pirates' puppet, I would have thrown in for Kylen the moment Hugo's forces hit the gates." "You're a Hugoist, now? Explain why you aren't dead by now, and why you shouldn't be." "Because I fought with plenty of your men, Linda." Karadas smirks. "They fought oppression where they saw it, and so have I. We went our separate ways because of what I thought about the eastern Populists. What I think about the Western populists is different, or at least it is after the time I've had to reflect on it." "You're defecting?" "No." Linda arched an eyebrow. Most men would trip over themselves to say yes, and then try to leave as soon as they got the chance. Quite a few Solaran officers had died that way. "I'm here to make you an offer, Linda." "What offer is that?" "Warderson doesn't consider us a viable candidate for Imperial succession. My principal still believes he does, and that error may well ruin him. He's fighting the Solarans desperately, and unless something is done, he'll probably die well short of his goal." "And what goal is that?" "Killing Sol." Karadas smirks again. "Quite a thing to have two ruling Emperors fighting each other to the death, wouldn't it be?" "I'd agree, but you know my position on Emperors." "I'm not here, officially. I'm still in a camp in the southern part of Kylenian territory. But I have Emperor Hugo's ear, and I can easily make him change quite a few existing policies." Linda nodded. Karadas wasn't stupid, then; officially, that would look like a rogue officer making an impolitic statement of fact, not a Hugoite official offering an alliance to the Populists. "Who's going to eat whom?" "Do you even have to ask, Linda? You must know that, even were Hugo and every officer above the rank of colonel in this half of the continent to drop dead now, the Populists would have no chance at winning the war. The Imperial Army would crush them like ants. If you rejoined the Kylenian faction, we'd make plenty of concessions." "Like?" "Hugo has been planning a written code for weeks now. This would give him the chance he needs to make it official." Linda takes in a sharp breath. Two Emperors had made written codes before; they both ended with their writers' deaths, and consisted mostly of 'do what the Emperor says or suffer'. But the implication was that the Populists could have a hand in writing the code, and make it stick, if Hugo won the war. Linda blinks. "You have two options. I'm leaving this camp now; you can send a man after me, or you can send a man for me. If you do the latter, I can guarantee you and your ideals will die in obscurity at the hands of the Solarans and Ironcladians. Good day, madam." Karadas exits the tent as gracefully as he entered it. ... -------------------- ¡Viva Chile! ¡Viva el Pueblo! ¡Vivan los Trabajadores! Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
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Bob's Big Date
Member # 3151
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written Friday, January 16 2004 09:15
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Are you even capable of committing to independent thought, Bates, or are you only able to nod your head and grunt out agreement to whoever passes by, much like a well-trained parrot? I think that Michael Jackson had a screwed-up childhood; he's trying to compensate for that by being a father figure for children, and a father figure that he didn't have. Unfortunately, this may well have lead to Jackson acting entirely unappropriately towards these children (e.g. excessive but non-sexual physical contact, sleeping in the same bed, and so on); I imagine that he has given cash payments to parents because the parents have threatened to sue him for child molestation and Jackson genuinely cares for the children enough to prevent the media circus that would follow such a lawsuit for the affected child. Unfortunately, apparently one of those parents got pretty damn greedy, and pinning child molestation to someone is about as easy as pinning a little tail to a big donkey without a blindfold. When people hear 'child molester', they start seeing red and shouting, 'Convict! Convict! Convict!', as well as entertaining bizzare notions about the inhumanity of the offender. (How would the average person say with 'We should torture him to death with small electric shocks' in response to, say, grand theft auto? Or even murder? Probably 'You're a sick bastard', right? Now what about child molestation? Cheering and patting them on the back.) People don't understand that people do not just wake up and say, "You know what? I think I'm going to molest some children today". People don't steal out of sheer cussedness, and well-adjusted people don't go out and commit rape. Most child-molesters have a pile of psychological issues, and Michael Jackson, if he has molested children (which I still doubt!), is no exception. The Jackson who claimed he had seen and heard what Jackson 'did' at Neverland just goes to show that money is much thicker than blood or water. The simple fact is, Michael Jackson hasn't done anything; this is a case fueled entirely by a media circus. "He doesn't want cameras at the trial?", one asks. "He must have something to hide!" Or, perhaps, "The police say they found video evidence of him molesting children at Neverland? He must have done it, even if they haven't produced the evidence in contrary to previous behavior!" Even if Jackson has done what people have said he did (which I doubt), he has a right to a free and unbiased trial, and he is a victim here. You don't fix a buggy computer by beating it around whenever it crashes. That's all I have to say on the subject. Have mercy on the poor bastard; righteous vengeance is traditionally God's territory. -------------------- In a word, gay. --Bob the Impaler Posts: 2367 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |