Yeah, it looks like he's successfully undergone 4 surgeries and a lot of the warts and growths have been removed. So far it seems he has been able to write again, albeit slowly and has another surgery to go through. I do hope he continues to do well and can go home cured of this horrible affliction. So far his prognosis has been fine and I hope they will show some 'after' photos so we can see how he looks after.
The word has referred to 'black people' and wasn't always used in a derogatory way, much the same as the word negro (which means 'black' in quite a few languages), which is hardly used anymore. It did become slanderous though and meant more of a 'lazy slave' as time went on. I really don't tend to use the word unless I am explaining its meaning to someone that doesn't get it or someone is playing around with me and we say the 'a' ending word as a friendly notation, which happens VERY seldom. I never use it to describe a person in a bad way and the only other time I say the 'a' ending word is if singing or relaying lyrics with it in there. I will admit that in high school I had a black friend and we played sports together etc and he used to call me '*****' and I would call him 'white trash' or 'cracker' as a means of confusing people for fun. We had so many looks! It was great...but I digress. You are right that there is a controversy with the word and kind of a double-standard going on but in fairness I think that it is a word that has existed for a long while and since people decided to take it as a means of calling someone a worthless slave even if the person was free, if those who are progeny of these people want to take it and assign their own meaning to it, who am I to say no? I'm not black but have quite a few black friends that use it and sometimes address me with it too and it seems mostly to them to be a thing like calling someone 'bro' or 'man' or 'dude'. It isn't really so bad to me in that context though I certainly don't use it liberally myself and I know for a fact some African Americans will not use it at all either because they loathe it, regardless of how others try to dress it up. It's one of those words that has changed meanings a few times and I know pretty much each meaning implied. I avoid the negative connotations and don't like the word but I suppose I am not against people using it who have 'taken back the word' to mean what they want it to. Also, I do not think the N-word should be forgotten or 'wiped out' as people want it to because I think it robs Africans of history and as said before, it was not always meant in the negative way but was just another way of saying 'black' which is still used though we also say 'African American' or 'African European' etc. There are books and such with the word in it and they were not meant to be 'bad' uses of the word. I think also noting that the word was turned into such an ugly thing is important to recall and as the word continues to alter and change into something else, good. I hope it can mean something better. Forgetting what it meant would be a bad thing and wiping it out would be too because it encourages history to be lost. Saying it in the way it was meant is wrong to me but people still do and I can't stop that. Another word that is derogatory but did not mean something bad at first was the word 'wench' which meant young girl...then serving girl...then became even ruder at times. I wouldn't call a woman this of course, but we also do not -ban- the word from the dictionary and say it is an illegal term despite how some women really dislike the word. The term 'madam' is also a word that meant an important lady...to a prostitute or brothel matron. It's not banned either but we do know what it implies to use and how it was used in the past. I'm really kind of against too much 'Political Correct' stuff because it robs people of language and makes people forget how wrong some things were and just removing a word or 10 because they are 'offensive' isn't always what people want. This word seems to be one that is not going to just go away whether PC people want it to or not. The younger people who use it obviously want it to be out there, but in -their- way so yes, it's kind of a double-standard but I am really not against it since it doesn't appear to even mean the same thing as what it did when slave holders and others were using it as a nasty remark. It's just one of those things I choose to let go and see how it will develop as I don't care to really use it myself. Hope this made sense because I kind of rambled on.
OOC: How long is Erkz gone for? Really, I suppose we just have to lurk till he gets back around. Without a judge we can't really go on.
Axel had no choice but to fight Roxas and make it look like he was going to kill him because of his duty to the Org to wipe out traitors to the cause. He was literally threatened with being made into a Dusk if he did not comply. However, I still don't think Axel actually 'seriously' tried to kill Roxas as much as make it look good and to just come off with the point that Roxas is more powerful as an excuse to why he couldn't finish him off. Roxas may be 'more powerful' but he is nowhere as smart as Axel. If Axel truly wanted Roxas dead, he wouldn't have challenged him that way. However, making it look good was a necessity and it would buy Axel some time because 'failure' in the Org is frowned upon and apparently a 'capital crime' according to CoM, but it also let Axel roam about to figure out his next actions, which were to try to bring Roxas back.
Riku wasn't sure what exactly to say to Namine. So...he'd do his best. "It's fine Namine. You are entitled to your opinion. It made me angry at first but I'm not going to hate you for believing something that I utterly feel is wrong. You feel that way and it's because people have used you for a lot. In life though, it may help you to know that friends do depend on friends for favors now and then and mutual benefit. It's not the same as using someone like Marluxia and Larxene did. I didn't agree with what DiZ did either. I understood it, but that's not the same as agreeing with it." Riku looked at Pika. "She did not dark portal in the Castle Oblivion. DiZ and I took her with us when we left to move Sora to Twilight Town. However, I don't think it's a good idea to talk about the case on a break. It's stuff we can say when on the stand and really, he's got his work cut out to try to toss Namine's case out like that. Sora remembers things now and I never forgot the Castle Oblivion events. I was with Namine at the end and though I want the Org fairly tried, it should not come at expense of lies from lawyers either. Do me a favor and keep it all honest up there. There's already one lawyer I want to punch in the head."
Repliku blinked as Namine ended up in his lap. It startled him and he looked at her with wide eyes as she went on with her apology that had come at least a year late. It didn't really matter though. She kissed his cheek and be blushed a bit and she was gone, off to do something else in a chaotic storm of mayhem before he could say anything. He ran his hand over his cheek and then sank in his chair to think if he should 'forgive' her. Then he just decided that it was not that important because he had not really held much of a grudge any way and he didn't have to respond since she was gone now. He didn't get the kiss thing and assumed it was just a friendship thing. After all, he knew where her interests lay. So in his twisted little mind he turned it into a friendship hug so he wouldn't feel things he should not. After all, the promise was fake and he knew that. It was a difficult thing to fight memories that were fake and not even technically Riku's, because this past was falsified. In an odd way that was almost comforting because it did mean he was actually different and himself. He'd maybe talk to her later but was glad for now she took off to go do her own thing because it gave him time to think straight over the matters. Riku wandered back through with his soda and taking a gulp, he missed the girl that rammed right into him. The soda flew out of his hands, landing on the floor 10 feet away, shooting up carbonated liquid around like a smoke bomb until finally it had died. "...No one step in that" he uttered and wiped at his shirt that now had some soda on it. His pants had gotten a bit damp too but he'd endure. He looked down at Namine and moved to the side. "Sorry about that." He then moved past her to call down the hall to a janitor about the mess and went to go sit down. Everything was rather chaotic and he didn't really want to be in the midst of it. Sora looked as a bag of Skittles landed on Pikachu and rushed over to assist Kairi in removing the bag from the Pokemon and the little blue guy under. "Hi Stitch!" Sora would pick up the little blue alien and give him a hug. "How are you doing?"
Harvey watched as the judge fell back. He was going to dash and rescue the judge but he had slipped on his shoe lace that suddenly became latched around the bottom of the table. Over went the judge and CRACK!.. Sounded like something broke. Well, he was sure the judge would be back and fine. These things always happened in a court room when the tension was hot. He sat down and a person brought him coffee which he promptly paid for. "Thank you" he mentioned to her and rubbed his elbow that he had banged on the floor. Sora blinked. "Goofy! You may want to sit down and try to calm yourself." And then the Judge fell over. *blink* "Ouch...I hope he's okay. But I guess it's recess. Just try to not bug the Organization too much. We don't want to get into a fight with them during a big huge court trial!" Sora stood up and walked over to Scrooge McDuck. "Where is the concession stand? If anyone has one here it's you and people are talking about leaves in coffee and everyone here has Skittles." Listened to the laywer accuse Namine of things and his aquamarine eyes gleamed in anger. He may have a 'fake' Heart as he was told, but it was real enough to be really really mad. Yeah, Namine was no angel, but for this man to twist the scenario up so much to make a whole fabricated story...who the heck did he think he was? He looked at the other lawyer on the Defense who was being quiet and pondered that this was a rouse to push the people testifying against the Organization to do something so it made them seem more violent and then to try to use that 'you have Hearts' argument against why there was a lack of control. That must be the reason this lawyer was being such a jerk. Repliku was fuming but he'd remain seated. For a guy who had not even been on the scene he sure made some wild guesses. Then again...this court seemed to have at its leisure...many events that no one should have seen or known about. What an odd place. He leaned back in his chair looking rather ominous but doing nothing. He had control of the Darkness within, he hoped. Riku was glad there was a recess, though the means of getting that recess were questionably quite negative. The resounding crack was enough to say that the judge was going to be gone and returning possibly with a cast. Riku stood up and stretched a bit to loosen up and let some of the anger and tension leave him. Even if he was disappointed and a bit miffed at Namine, he knew enough that this lawyer for the Defense was drawing at straws to acquit the Org members of anything with no sound proof at all. Yes, Namine could Dark Portal but so could the Org and she had to obey Marluxia or the bigger threat of Xemnas was looming behind, just as the other Org members had to. Namine, though kind of selfish to Riku, didn't have the mind of a schemer to do more than try and be a lonely girl that would draw on a thread she knew existed to give her company in a very cold place. She wasn't an angel, but she definitely wasn't on the lines of being capable of the deeds the man accused her of. Riku let out a brief yawn and looked around. He could go for a good soda about now or some energy drink to perk him up. This court case was getting ugly and he wished he did not have to be here for this silly song and dance of lawyers. He almost had the urge of just going over to Xemnas and asking if this case was as dumb to him as it was to Riku and that as long as the Org promised to not do anything else stupid that would get them in trouble, they could all blow this Popsicle stand and do something better like try to figure out a non-harmful way of getting their Hearts back. Of course he would not do this...at least yet, and just walked out the door to the hall to find a soda machine. After he took out some munny and took out a soda, going back and sitting down, propping his feet on the chair in front of him. With a pop and hiss of the release of carbonation, the soda can was open and Riku took a sip. He hoped the caffeine would hit his system soon enough.
I would bet there are 'cell phones' in the KH universe on some worlds. Destiny Islands seems to be pretty 'modern' so it would not surprise me if they are there or Radiant Gardens. However, the characters don't really need them and it would seem kind of unexplainable if cell phones worked from world to world. They really aren't necessary or very logical to put in the game.
If we went on intelligence, I think the list I made would do some switches around. The way I made the list was based on who was strongest to weakest, adding in a lot of factors. I am assuming many people's lists might change if we went by the most intellectual to weakest.
"Wrong again. You have not proven anything to show that Namine during her tenure at the Castle Oblivion in fact had a way OUT of it. Prove she could Dark Portal IN the Castle Oblivion while Marluxia was in charge and you will win. Otherwise it must be assumed by the court to go by the statements of Marluxia that Namine and the Castle Oblivion were in his care and thus she could very well be threatened, held against her will and subjected to his whim. You have shown nothing to support this." Harvey sipped his water.
"I believe that you are missing the point that both proofs are within the points I gave you. Let me spell it out for you." Harvey took out the paper and read once again... Marluxia clearly states that the castle and the girl Namine have been entrusted to HIM. Defy Marluxia and you defy the Organization. Now who has the power to entrust the Castle Oblivion AND the girl to Marluxia? Obviously, Xemnas. If you need more proof..." "So basically, if he has someone who has failed, he must report the progress to the Superior. The Superior is a title for none other than Xemnas, correct? This implies that Xemnas is the one who gave him the permission to run the Castle Oblivion and also have dominion over Namine. Namine could not leave the castle because Marluxia was placed in charge of it AND her. No dark portal is an issue in this. It was NOT an option. It is Marluxia and Larxene that committed the coup against Xemnas and the Organization. It is not Namine. She was a tool, pure and simple. Unless you have ANY proof other than the fact that AFTER she left the Castle Oblivion and was freed by Axel that she could open portals in the castle oblivion, you have lost this match." "AAAAAAAAAaand on a final point, Axel is the one in your own proof shown that verifies to Sora where Kairi is held. It is AFTER this that Namine goes to free Kairi. Now if Axel met Sora in the realm they were at, which in fact he did, who is to say Axel did not lead Namine to the World That Never Was. She could not have been this great conspirator you make her out to be because she was lacking in information. It is clear Xemnas put her where he wanted her and it is undeniably shown by Marluxia's own statements that she was HIS as was the Castle Oblivion to do with as he saw fit." Harvey wonders where coffee is at this point... "Someone, if you'd get me a cup of coffee, I'd be grateful. It's going to be a loooooooong trial"
Harvey grinned. "Wrong, I addressed the issue by the Org's own statements. The point is that Xemnas did indeed pass the Castle AND Namine to Marluxia which suggests that Xemnas knew of the girl and made her incapable of leaving. There is nothing to refute the point that the Castle Oblivion is indeed Namine's first place of memory that you have in your notes. There is also nothing to declare that though she could Dark Portal later that when she was held in control of Marluxia, that she was not bound to the Castle and Dark Portal simply may not have been an option. Note -none- of the Organization left and also the fact that Repliku could also Dark Portal but even after he parted from Sora it would appear he also was stuck at the Castle, which obviously the boy might have wanted to get away from there if he had the option. The only people that left the Castle in the end were those AFTER Marluxia had been dealt with. Saying that Namine had the power to leave and used the Organization for her own benefits, blaming her for the entire events is foolish and dodging the truth. In other words, you are twisting the scene to fit your need and there is no proof at all to say that Namine's testimony is fraudulent."
Birdman was determined to push the point. "Wrong. There is no proof at all to show Namine had the power to leave the Castle Oblivion by what you have shown. Just because she could Dark Portal does not imply she had the power to leave. The Castle Oblivion was under the command of Marluxia and therefore he could control what people did in it. Also I'd like to present the fact that Vexen did speak against Marluxia and was promptly held in check ONLY because he was threatened with Larxene and Marluxia going to Xemnas over his 'failures' which it is presumed Xemnas would have punished Vexen for. Also, he was reminded that Marluxia was left in charge and that was the way it is." "I submit this evidence to show this." "This clearly shows that Vexen, who is a top member of the Organization and one of the Original members was bullied into submission NOT by Marluxia's power but by the fact that Marluxia was granted control of the Castle Oblivion. He is also conned by the fact that failure in Xemnas's eyes AND betrayal which he was charged with are to keep him in line." He sipped from the glass of water. "And lastly, it proves the point that Marluxia was IN FACT without a DOUBT placed in charge of the Castle Oblivion AND Namine. Therefore she was held there under him and was in fact a prisoner. All charges should therefore stand."
I have very mixed feelings about why Nomura would decide to put Riku's hidden year story on Coded and yet avoid it on a better graphics, more accessible game console. It really is annoying because I doubt I am going to go waste all the money on a cell phone that is capable of playing this game even if it is available in other countries than Japan, unlike the FF 7 game. I would have been much happier were it to be in 358/2 Days, but ah well. I will just have to probably wait for someone to kindly translate the script of the game because the likelihood chance of seeing this game on top of getting a DS and a PSP seems pretty slim. I still think I stick to my point that Nomura must have something against Riku. lol
OOC: I knew you were going to go with this angle. But fortunately, I can counter it. And yeah, the Skittles thing is just messed up, lol. Sora just hopes Xemnas doesn't take it all out on him at this point. lol Namine's statements and Roxas's show nothing that states that Namine could leave the Castle Oblivion whenever she wished to. Also, if he wishes to state Namine could use Dark Portals, let us bring up the point that in the Castle Oblivion, she never Dark Portaled once, which is very probable due to the fact Marluxia ran the castle and could prevent this. Without Xemnas or Marluxia reigning over her to keep her contained this ability could be used. There is -nothing- to say that she was not imprisoned at the Castle Oblivion. Also on the note of Marluxia owning the Castle Oblivion, if the others suspected a coup, why didn't they confront Marluxia direct instead of trying to use Riku? It is obvious that he had the power here even if all of the others could have taken out two Nobodies on their own. By stating that Namine had control of the situation you also state that Luxord, Zexion and Vexen could have done more against Marluxia and did not. They all were stuck there under orders from Xemnas as well as the control Marluxia was granted over the castle. You ruin your own Defense by stating otherwise. Also, on account, she did flee when Axel gave her the ability to do so which shows the Organization did in fact have control over what she did there. Also, she -did- run off when given the opportunity by Axel so this discounts the statement that she could have left at any time and why didn't she." As for the charge that the witness went to the Castle Oblivion prior to Marluxia being set in charge of the castle so that she could use her powers ahead of time because her bond there would enable her to use her memory powers...who is to say that Xemnas did not place Marluxia in charge of both the Castle Oblivion AND Namine and set her there in the first place? You will need to present factual evidence and not hypothetical scenarios if you want to back this up and if you cannot I call for it to be stricken from the records because it is not evidence but speculation on the part of the Defense." Birdman would let the Judge side and hope he would go with the Objection. This was clear rubbish with nothing to support it but the girl could Dark Portal later and did no such thing prior. Everything else appeared to be just allegations. Harvey fussed with his tie as he waited for the judge's verdict.
"Uh...guys? Would you not do that to Xemnas..please?" Sora was just lost at the antics going on. He almost wanted to chuckle at first but decided that might make Xemnas well...mad. "I'm over here, Donald and Goofy!" Birdman gave a nod to the Pokemon. "I hear what you are saying but the weapons charge was dropped for a reason that it doesn't work in the case. His issue could be dropped by what other things we said. Now we have to work together and stay focused, ok?" Repliku groaned. "Why aren't there any concession stands in this place? All anyone has to eat is candy!" *humphs* Riku glanced over at Kairi and nodded. "Sure" holding his hand out for some.
Sad to say, Johnny Cage was my least favorite character in Mortal Kombat. =:/. So I didn't mind so much. lol. I suppose for fans of him though, that really did suck and it wasn't that noble of a death scene. He died so swiftly.
I felt some sympathy regarding the Org's condition they ended up in. It's hard not to. However, some of them did do it to themselves and acted really rotten. Others seemed to be rotten by nature of memes like Saix and Xaldin. Mostly I felt bad for the ones who seemed to have some thought for others and not just their own predicament. I do think maybe Larxene could have turned out similar to Axel had she not been stuck with Marluxia. Demyx I think would have gone the way of Axel had he been brave enough. Xigbar I debate on because he's an older member and yet he seemed to be a bit more down to earth. I also ponder their reasons for doing what they did in the first place to Radiant Gardens. There are just a few I can say I had a bit more sympathy for than others in the games. However, Repliku genuinely had it the worst since he never asked to be created in the first place, was used as a tool all through his life, ran off, was seen and accused of being a failure, just wanted his own freedom to be himself and not a shadow under someone else, and Namine didn't even have the guts to apologize to him after telling Sora in front of Repliku that she could do nothing to make him free of Riku's memories so he could be himself. In the end, as I said before, about the only ones sympathetic to Repliku were Sora and Riku, which is sad since he had to keep opposing them.
I didn't really mind Sub Zero. But yeah, the problem I had was just ...well the actors weren't the same. Replacing Raiden was the most obvious one. However, just the plot as well was weak. I heard that the third movie would have Christopher Lambert back as Raiden, but I'm not absolutely sure. If it does, surely that at least is an improvement.
Harvey looked at Pikachu. "No, I disagree about the weapons charge. Assault and Aggravated Assault are better and more proper charges. There is no law against possession of a weapon in this universe they are from. You weaken the case continuing to bring it up. I see where you are going but let's not bring the weapons charge up anymore, please." Riku rubbed his eyes. Now the Prosecutors were debating and not agreeing on calls. This was not going to be good. They both had two different approaches and in some ways the court seemed more a mad house with lightning bolts flying than it did such a serious case. He supposed that was a good thing to ease people but at the same time, it was distracting. Why the hell were Skittles so important to trying a group of people for various crimes? Maybe he should buy some later and find out. "Oh jeez, come on" Sora muttered. "This is getting so confusing." He hoped Namine would hang on just a bit longer. They had to be done with her soon enough. He reached into his pocket and took out a caramel, unwrapped it and started chewing on it. Mhmm..tasted good. Food always makes things better. Repliku meanwhile yawns and looks under his seat to see if there are any Oprah notes that decree he's won a new car. None were spotted so he began checking out around other seats by him. No one was sitting by him any way.
