Circ

Featuring is the name of the Harry Potter RPG I've been running since... Oh well back in October of last year. Not a bad performance when one comes to think of it, but anyway. It has been waiting for a layout for ever: I wanted to wait for the PoA pictures, and now that we've got them, I could work it up. I know the text for "Un Blog Harry Potter" and "Laissez s'épanouir la magie" (Let magic blossoms) are in horrible colors, but I really couldn't get anything to look good. bleh :bawl: Suggestions and comments are welcome, as always

That is usually due to color depth (you have a 16 million colors, right?) and the fact browsers do not uses the same color to "translate" a shade when it's a picture and when it's html code.:rolleyes:

Me new blog layout. It's been made from a picture of a very rusty metal door found somewhere around gettyone.com Comments are welcome

[i][size=1]I won't be able to post much in the RPG, so I have to drop off it. Exams are coming, and I can barely hold up with Endless Void, which I'm in deeper. Sorry.[/size][/i]

"Well, you may need to run, but I neither want or need to." Tycho said, attempting to punch her. "What a prat!" She said, apparently not taken aback. "How is that?" "First, I'm a well-known pirate-Buster, second, my hand [i]is still back here[/i], you bitch." He tried tripping her, but she jumped over him and *disappeared*. Tycho stood a moment, just scanning the areas until he looked down and saw that she'd jumped inside an open manhole. Sticking his head inside, he heard faraway sloshing sounds. He grunted and walked back to the fight scene. "She escaped." »He told the policeman. "She disappeared in the sewers." "What were you having a swing at her for?" THe policeman asked. "Not sure. She surprised me when I manacled her with the biosuit." He walked to the broken window and picked up his hand. A young recruit turned away sharply and produced a retching sound. "Now if you'll excuse me. I have to get to a clinic ASAP." [i][size=1]Tycho doesn't have to tell them [/i]who[i] you are. But he's not telling them what's your job.[/size][/i]

Actually, you know, I wasn't even aware there was now a 7.0 version of Photoshop.:blush: For your info, when you get into some of the stranger stuff I've been doing, you get to use quite a lot of the features. Though there are still some I'm not even ure how they're best used (Black/White point, for exemple, though it might just be because I haven't yet [i]needed[/i] it.) Anyway, Photoshop [i]is[/i] powerfull (especially, I've heard, if you also use Photoshop Elements). This post was mostly my personnal experience of it and PSP. The memory thing is not unique, PS IS memory hungry on my comp too, though both program are quite more than Illustrator (Which is probably THE reason PS's vector support is not very good) [QUOTE]whatever program you start with is whatever program you will like better. [/QUOTE] True, true. When I first used PS, my big piss-of was that the zoom with the roulette was inverted :laugh:

[i][size=1]In this article PS=Photoshop PSP=Paint Shop Pro[/size][/i] I've never been a fan of Photoshop and never will be. It's price is overly prohibitive (How many of you actually paid for your copy?) and you can't even half-experience it with the demo version. You can't edit/save masks and selections... Anyway, back onto subject. I've recently acquired a copy of PSP8 and I'm quite impressed. It has acquired many of the most important tools it lacked (A background eraser, for exemple, which I actually consider MORE performing that PS') while yet improving it's advantages. Several changes I'm not happy about, though, for various reasons: They tried too hard to mimick photoshop. Doing this they both lost what made the program special and rendered it less user-friendly. -Placing the Tool Options palette atop the screen and default-hiding the actual options: It took me [i]3 days[/i] to correct the Magic Wand's Tolerance! (PS mimicking, [i]especially[/i] the brushes' presentation *gag* You have to notice the little "follow" button at the extreme-right of the screen.) -Changing the menu presentation: Why did they need fancy menus? I find it ridiculous. They should just have stuck to "standard windows menus" (I've been told you can customize this, but have yet to find how) -Changing ALL the the specific file types! Brushes, gradients, textures, masks now all have to go through complex conversion. And the program can't even load most psp7 files correctly. (Painfully long when you have more than 500 brushes and 40 masks. i haven't found a simple to do it.) -The program is definitely memory-eating. We have a good computer, but on print-quality pictures, even moving a layer can take painfully longs, and the program is much less stable than it used too (It crashed 4 times on me this week, while it almost never crashed by itself before!) On the other hand, the program is definitely more powerful than ever! Scripts, actual layer groups (Something I've been waiting for), saving tool customizations, fine text edition and powerful vector tools (Something I have yet to explore, though) are included, multiplying the versatility of the program by 100.

[i]Hey! I need that...[/i] "That wasn't very nice of you." Tycho said neutrally. His suit quickly covered the large bleeding wound, stopping the blood flow. They started circling again. Tycho madly scanned the area for a weapon he could use with his left hand. Then he remembered a nasty move from an old holovid. As he walked over some plastimetal bar someone dropped in its attempt to avoid being hitten, he dazzingly spun around while pinching it between his feet. Surprised by the strange move, the women didn't react quickly enough and her legs were swept from under her. She fell on her back with a grunt. "And now..." With a fancy foot movement, Tycho sent the bar up, catching and readying it to knock her out, but she was more rapid, rolled out of the way and attempted to point her blaster at him, but a well-aimed blow sent the weapon flying into the crowd. "One everywhere." She pointed out. [i][size=1]Okay, I suppose that's what I get for starting that kind of fight. Be assured Tycho'll be after you for a while after that, though. I think it's time for the patrol to intervene before more parts are sent to land unknown XD[/size][/i]

The villager had witnessed many a powerful spell before, but he estimated a giant bright yellow flower growing inside 2 seconds was something worth staring at. Then it burst, and an aged elf stumbled from it to come crashing at his feet. For a good ten seconds, the simple farmer was left staring. When he rushed to help the apparently exhausted man, he started moaning. "Mr 'Lliel! Ie Tough Ie'd die Before Ie'd see you again!" He exclaimed. The elf kept mumbling something. "What do you say? Ie can't hear you!" He asked in concern. "Need... Light..." He managed to moan. "But iet's full of iet! The sun ies hiegh and there's no shading!" He said, surprised. "On... Back..." And he collapsed. "Oh god!" He quickly undid the belt and opened the back of the robe, before falling back in petrified disgust at the thick, leather-like skin. Terribly wrinkled, it seemed to [i]writhe[/i] with need. It stopped moving and uncrumpled itself. He couldn't hold it. He yelled. And missed the satisfied sigh from the laid man.

His hand suddenly clasped over hers. He smiled broadly at her surprised discomfort. "Stop worrying." He whispered. She felt something molding around her wrist, which was yanked up as she attempted to reach for her blaster. "Don't even think about it!" He said, grabbing her other hand. They started wrestling. A bio-suit! And she'd walked straight into it! As they fought his goggles were knocked down and she gasped in surprised at the bionic eyes, who apparently [i]stared[/i] at her for a second. "Yup. That's me." He flashed her a grin. "Okay, you asked for it!" [size=1]Okay, here it is. The grand fight scene XD Just remember you need to either knock Tycho out or cut the biosuit to free your wrist. Oh, and kicking in the groin will just hand hurting you XD Most other place are not too much of a problem: The suit it set into "Stick" mode. (well, not too much of a problem to hit, getting yourself free after is a wholly different matter XD. His head is uncovered, though.)[/size]

His mind lingered in between the real world plane and the astral plane. He floated amidst the web of power that sustained their world and strange forms floated nearby. He didn't look at them. He followed what seemed to be a Line of Fire. "Oh, God!" He exclaimed, awakening hurriedly. He stood and placed his hand slightly at his side. Magic gathered around them in a swirling of black and green, a ribboon forming and twirling around him. Then it exploded into green leaves, leaving nothing to be seen. ---- Derax was almost at the Ludarai ruins when a plant started germinating right in front ofhim. It quickly grew a 1-meter diameter tulip-like button that opened, revealing the gardian mage. "It's been a while since I've used that spell." Circalliel said, rather exhausted. "So, let me guss, from the heat, the lake has turned to lava?" He asked. "Yes. How did you know?" The surprised faun asked. "Now is not the time. If this node is not undone in the next twenty-four hours, a volcano will appear here." "What!?" Derax exclaimed. "How can we dispell this thing?" "It's a Fire Line that whirled on itself. I'll need a Sun Stone to undo it. I must travel to Azerzas." "But Azerzas is two days' walk away from here!" The faun noted. Magic forces were already surrounding the mage. "Not for me," he said, straining. [i][size=1]Note: Circalliel's Flower Travel is pwoerful, but rather exhausting, even for himself. He can still cast minor spell, but casting it twice a day is very demanding when you feed on sunlight...[/size][/i]

[i]Sun. Healthy, nourrishing sun. Beautiful, gloden sun.[/i] Nothing could ever compare to the feeling of warmth that accompanied the exposure to the sun. The strentgh and energy flowing through your vein. Being infused with the glowing stamina of the day. Circalliel stood up and pulled his robe over his now dark green back. This one was a great day. The day that brings new opportunities, new visions, and possibly new adventures. A faun walked out of the forest just as he noticed it. He didn't look at him. He didn't need to to know it was. "Derax! It's been a long time. What brings you here?" He said, finishing to readjust his clothing. The faun looked concerned. "Well, I was going to fish out from the small lake near the old Ludarai ruins, but... Well, I think you should come and take a look yourself." He finally said hesitantly. Circcalliel frowned. This what not exactly what he expected. "Go before me, I have one things or two to do first." He said, closing his eyes and sitting down. "Uh, okay sir. I'll meet you there, then." [i]By the heart of Alluana, mystical forces. Tell me what is going on![/i]

Must be a thing with English-speaking people or something. Here in Quebec, it's now quite rare married women takes on their husband's name. Neither my cousin nor my mother did it. My Grandmother did, though. I think it's one of the result of the "Révolution Tranquille" in the sixties/seventies. Also, the tradition for children to take on the father's surname is quite strong: most children either have composed surnames (My half-sister, for exemple) or the father's name. Actually, composed surnames are becoming so frenquent I'm wondering what will be the resukt when two people with composed surnames marry? :laugh:

no problem. I'll just stay a Servant of Nature ;)

Name: Circalliel Age: about 230 Species: Elf. Calling: Servant of Nature. Physical characteristics: Thin, 5'7'' tall elf wielding a tortured wooden staff with a green crystal embedded in it's head. Long floating grey-white hair. usualy wears a large green robe. Whole body save hands and head is actually of very greenish tones. Appearance: See pic, but without the arrows. Biography: Circalliel is a sort of druid. A wizard living and drawing all his power from the surrounding wilderness. When a young child, he was extremely akin to the plants and the animals. He grew up living in the woods and the plains, andeventually vowed to never hurt a natural living being (This [i]doesn't[/i] include most sentient species, rather more magical in nature). Following this, he cast a strong Chlorophyllia spell on himself, allowing him to process the sunlight to feed upon. He does notseek other company than the wild animals, or the occasional ally to slay some problematic demon. He is a powerfull, taciturn wizard and his forest lore is often looked for by adventurers and sorcerers of various races. Random fact: Usually vows by "the heart of Alluana" (Elven goddess of the Earth). [i][size=1]Baron Samedi: That sounds like you've recently read some Terry Pratchett... Raiha: I originally wanted to use the call "Servant of the Pardic Lady", but I want your opinion first.[/size][/i]

A radio bipep near his ear. [i]What now?[/i] "Watch out, deary, her heart sounds like a heavy metal drummer on crack." If Tycho still had his eyes, he'd have blinked. "What the?" He muttered, suddenly noticing the recorder bug near the woman's hear "What? What's wrong?" Yelena said, turning her head. "Yikes!" She impaled the mecanical bug with her fork. [i]See what you've done! I hate overconfident AIs.[/i]

[i]Here goes nothing...[/i] "So, as I've told you, I'm already hired on security crew aboard the ship. My job is to lay low until we get through Neostria's orbit. At that moment, I'll release a paralysing gas into the ship. Then I'll send a distress call about said gas to the 4 fighters protecting the ship and activate an anticom cloaker." The woman nodded. "That sounds right. How you got hired is beyond me, but the plan seems flawless to me so far." "The anticom, you guessed it, is there to prevent the fighters to send a S.O.S. before we're done with them. The procedure specifies that if such a thing happens, no more than one fighter pilot is allowed to board, one will immediately fly off to the closest planet to bring the cavalry, another is to be ready to destroy the ship, and the last is checking on the surroundings." "That doesn't sound easy to get through." Yelena pointed. "Well, unless you forget that the ship himself does possess a limited amount of weapons..." A smile crept to her face. "So... I suppose I have to take out the messenger fighter, then you get rid of the watcher one, and the third is a piece of cake?" "Exactly. That or I get out 'unscathed' as the pilot and we get rid of them together. That leaves us with a week to go looking out for that guy... Ry you said?"

[i][size=1]ooc: How can you see "pierce through his eyes?" The goggles certainly aren't see-through. He wears them to conceal his cybernetic eyes in the first place!.[/size][/i] Tycho sighed. [i]Great, I've got two birds with one hand.[/i] "If you don't mind, I don't think here is the right place to discuss this. I should know." He said, catching the cambug. "You were recording us al along!" She growled. "Hem. Actually, I didn't expect my A.S. to keep the bug running after I 'caught' you. It was only to follow you unnoticed. Anyway, your ship or mine? Or maybe you have an ever better suggestion?"

"Perhaps the fact you noticed me so quickly is a word in your favor. I don't like killing skilled myself. There's always a risk they'll kill you first," he explained, shrugging. "As for my name, you can call me Alexander." "What's that job of yours you're talking about." she retorted. "I've got ahold of informations that the Merchants' League will actually be transporting a substancial amount of Kernalin out of Planet New York next week. It's hidden inside fake hypercom detector pieces. They are not even aware of it, making it all the more interesting for us." Kernalin was a drug, a dexterity and IQ-enhancing product that had the worst addictive effecs ever seen in man's history. It was banned on half the worlds in humanspace. It was also just short of being as valuable as antimatter. "As you know, the League go to great extent to protect that cargo, I'v managed to get hired on the protection squad, but I'll need a partner to complete my plan." [i]Now I'm really in trouble. And I didn't need anyone's help to get there.[/i] he though, mentally sweatdropping.

Tycho had not expected expected the woman to get herself stuck [i]before[/i] getting to her ship. This was going to be very close. Fortunately, he had switch the biosuit into a more normal set of clothes when entering the place. "You're a pirate," he stated, "and I have a job for you." She kept glaring at him. "Don't look at me like that! It's not like any [i]normal[/i] woman would get into that bar." He chuckled. -Yeah, well maybe I don't take contracts! -What if I told they it concern the merchant's league weekly shipping? Her eyes bulged out. Tycho realised he might have gotten himself in more trouble than he had wanted. Oh well, it's not like he wa sin service... [i][size=1]OOC: The cambug is still in the room. Just so you know.[/size][/i]

[i]She's mine.[/i] If that wasn't just his perfect kind of target, the woman had just paited a bullseyes in the middle of her chest. "Alexandra" Tycho whispered to the bug near him. "Send a cambug after that woman. Be ready to guide me exactly twenty seconds after she's out." He started to count mentally. No bug had picked anything else of interest. He activated a the comflex on his suit, slowly downed his drink before slipping a 20 bitels notte inside the bar. Walking past the downed man, he kicked his hand for good measure. No need to raise suspiscion. "Alexandra, where?" "2nd alley on your left, quick, she's in a hurry!" [i]The chase has begun![/i] he though as the suit turned to an aerodynamical fabric.

"Now entering Mu Heracles system. Entering vector coordiates for Planet New York." A childlike voice said. It continued in a reproachfull mode "You're going to drunk yourself into hyperspace again, right?" Tycho laughed. -Yes. He felt like he was being glared at. Aw! Don't be like that! It's been a while, besides the [i]Lone Drifter[/i] has the best bourbon on this side of the galaxy and... Damn! I don't have to justify myself to my ship's A.S. (Artificial Sentience), damn it! It was her turn to laugh. "Are my bugs ready?" Tycho huffed. -Yup yup! 2 Dumas-shaped cambugs and 3 Guitry-like universal recorders. Tycho pocketed them. -You're the best, Alexandra. Tycho went into his cabin a moment. He needed a good camouflage. This army tactical suit would have his shot the second he'd enter the bar. A thin bio-armor suit went to replace it and a pair of all-around googles went to cover his artificial eyes. This device did have a very nifty sonatr included. -Minicomm me if there any trouble, Lex. I shouldn't be long. -I'll be ready for an emergency take off. She mocked. The computer knew all too well how these visits usually ended, but hey! The place was the best spot for smugglers and pirate info, artefact stealing and more. It regularly gave it juicy locations to investigate around and buuild his legend on. He craved for more, possibly a Shanti base? Yeah. Destroying a couple aliens would certainly allow him to take his retreat and possibly start an holovid carrier? Oh god! That would be great! Still deep in his thoughts, he entered the bar, heading for a lone stool.

Character: Cattail HP: 6 AP: 4 Starting Skills: Antidote (default), L-Leap, X-Attack

The Exploration Division was a small round building topped with a 50-meters diameters sphere. Inside the sphere, the galaxy rotated ever so slowly. Well, at least the most detailed map known of the galaxy. Situated in Paris, the building is also home to the Imperial Galactic Databases. An Italian man walked in. Dressed in a tactical outfit and his eyes' glowing turning from red to yellow. He looked around without moving his head and smiled as a small group near him silenced. -Is that him? A woman whispered. -Yeah, that's Dervicci. He was in Monoceros Aleph, exploring a boron-oxygen world last time I heard from him. -Isn't that the place they discovered the cure to lymphatic subversion? -Yup Tycho didn't like being whispered next to, so he walked to the nearest contragrav elevator to the Mapping Bureau. He reached into a pocket and extracted slowly a marble-sized violet-glowing square crystal. -Tycho! expert mapper Gregor Tchernopov greeted him as he entered his lair. The room was filled with plastipaper maps and holographic display of various systems and planet. Tycho stopped to slide the memory crystal inside an empty displayer in the middle of the room. -I've heard about your adventures with the pirates in the Cygnus arm. Did you still manage to get interesting data? -Most certainly. I had originally scheduled to explore quadrant Moscow-Omicron, but didn't manage to do much before these damned Space Worms got out after me. I still managed to map an important asteroid cloud they used for hiding. -Oh? A lone cloud? You never cease to impress me. I've never heard of one that was precisely mapped. Tycho activated a switch, dampening the room and shooting the hologram straight into the centre of the room. What looked like a group of rocks floating in the air showed up. Another switch made several highlight to appear. Tycho pointed at them as he spoke -These were the pirates' bases. Meliboea, here, is a big iron mass, twice Vesta's size. Nearly as big is Protea, which they hollowed to fill it with water. It's pumping station is on the smaller Tyrinos, which is magnetically chained to it. All in all, the cloud could be a great provisioning base. -Great work, Tycho, as always. I'll have your payload transferred to your account by Tuesday. Mind if I ask whether you have projects? -I'm still working on that "flying objects database", you remember? I'll probably stick around in the Vega sector and catch some more troublemakers. -Sounds like fun! Can't wait to hear about it in the news!

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