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jevoudrais
Member
1698 Posts |
 Posted - 13 Mar 2012 : 4:30:35 PM
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Voting Closed
For previous eliminations, see this thread
To see the backstory for this battle and the concept art for each contestant's city-state, see this thread
Guidelines
1. Battle
You start with the concept art for your city-state, and create your strategies based around that. Your weapon for this round is a city-state...a fortress of sorts...which is the theme that you'll work with. Apart from the concept art, you'll receive no other limiters regarding what you must create, so this is a little more free-form than the previous two rounds to tap your creativity and see what you come up with. You want to use dragons? Fine. You want to use fighter jets? Fine. You want to stage political intrigue, guerilla warfare, or a dance-off? Great! It's all good!
Each contestant will post the following -
Background - weighs for 25% of vote
a) Name their city-state
b) State a brief description to give us a sense of your town, which could include anything - examples might include but are not limited to the economy, population, local religions, politics, flora and fauna, etc. This is just a brief introductory paragraph, just several sentences, to give us a sense of your concept for the place.
Battle - weighs for 75% of vote
a) Describe ONE way your city-state goes on the offensive (against enemies generally and/or specifically against your opponent.) This can be a complicated composite strategy, or as simple as you like. (In other words, you can describe the movements of an army, a royal guard, a secret weapon...whatever you would like.) It should reflect the theme of your city and its people.
b) Describe ONE way your city-state defends itself (against enemies generally and/or specifically against your opponent.) This can be a complicated composite strategy, or as simple as you like. It should reflect the theme of your city and its people.
*** Because you are working free-form from concept art, there is the potential for you to go overboard and do too much. The point is to have fun, so don't stress yourself over this. Entries should be comparable in length to entries in the previous two rounds, to give a rough estimate. I state this so we're all on the same page. (Of course, something like RobinF's novelistic style is okay too and would look a little different, but generally entries will all be roughly similar in length, more or less.)
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2. Voting
Boardies (including the denizens of the jello pit) cast a vote for one of the two competitors in each battle. It would be good if voters include a brief reason for their decision.
Factors to consider could include e.g. creativity, effectiveness, style, use of theme, use of enneagram or personality-related concepts (if any), or whatever other criteria you decide...in the end, it is personal taste, take in each entry as a whole and decide which one you think wins the battle round. No one thing should be decisive (except perhaps a stroke of utter brilliance, lol), but this is where judging based on creativity and the concept as a whole might come into play.
If something is really confusing, there can be Q&A with the competitor who posted it for clarification.
*note - Battles close (Thursday, March 22, at midnight). Please vote only after both competitors in a particular battle have posted their strategies, or after the deadline on Thursday, March 22, at midnight, whichever occurs first. We will determine the window for voting when the battles close.
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3. Winning
The competitor in each battle with the most votes moves onto Round 4.
If someone forfeits at any time in the competition, they will automatically go to the jello wrestling pit of hilarity. If someone does not post their spells during Round 3 by the deadline of Thursday, March 22, at midnight, they forfeit and their opponent automatically proceeds to Round 4, which is the semi-finals.
This is the first round where we've eliminated all the straw men who aren't actually participating, so eliminations will cut deep. We will resolve ties, and there will be no more do-overs.
Fyi, the city-state concept from Round 3 will not carry over into Round 4.
Errata from previous battle threads -
* Competitors are free to describe their tactics specifically in relation to their opponent's ability (as per offensive and defending against them), or they can describe what they would do generally. Both ways are acceptable. It is up to voters to weigh how important this is as an individual factor in the overall calculation.
Ultimately, as long as this thing doesn't become a dogpile or anything like that, whatever happens is cool. Voting can be impressionistic, just which one ultimately you liked better overall - whether as a voter you want to be more analytical or more off-the-cuff about it is fine. The accompanying reasoning is just so people can see a general idea of why you voted the way you did. In that way, two voters might theoretically approach judging entries rather differently.
Therefore, when crafting battle strategies, one can do it with votes in mind, but it is hard to secure votes for sure sure. Just have fun, work with the concept art that you selected (or for you free-thinkers out there, explain sensibly how you got from point A to point B), and let the chips fall where they may.
Scheduled Battles
Abi (Rodin) vs. Chemical_art (Arkaris): Winner - Chemical_art
Lee (Panacea) vs. Relicquery (The Parchfort): Winner - Relicquery
Riley (Aetheria) vs. Invicta (City I): Winner - Invicta
Walden (city name - "Jevoudrais") vs. Jevoudrais (Dagger Point): Winner - Kate
Robinfalsehood (City "H") vs. Roshan (Pax Aeterna): Winner - Roshan
The Jello Wrestling Pit of Hilarity
(Don't worry, Walden...we changed it to fresh Jello  )
Lee, Abi, Jevoudrais, Robinfalsehood, Riley, Rockthrower, Whitelila, Desdemona, Enforest, Dnimon, Orpheus, Thomg, Thesingularsensation, Fleets, Dusty, Lake, Dfgray, Shakti, Glasgow, 4wants8, May Hem, Cytokine, Crooner, Metimes10, JoL, Eidbuser, Lovemyth, Diamondseeker, Rich, Galen, Radicaled, Enneathing, Vagabond, .ron, Silver, Transformer, Dboon, Delphyne, Ganglion, Artskidmore, Badman, Sappy, Montag, Bear, Astralscream, Manda7panda, Stormy, Savory, Baba, Svenschoene, Veiled One, Ptypes |
Edited by - jevoudrais on 27 Mar 2012 12:15:57 AM |
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jevoudrais
Member
1698 Posts |
Posted - 14 Mar 2012 : 3:52:31 PM
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Player: Jevoudrais
Battle: Walden (City "J") vs. Jevoudrais (City "A")
Dagger Point
Background
Dagger Point is a seaport town, founded several centuries ago by alchemists who were drawn to readily abundant quicksilver (liquid mercury) that was found there. They thought the shimmering metal was the basis for transmutation. These efforts failed, but defined the place as a center of experimentation, resulting in the subsequent Age of Chemistry which brought its own misguided theories as to mercury's potential (for instance, the myth that it could burn off to create a substance called 'phlogiston.') Nevertheless, their efforts eventually allowed them to harness the element as an amalgam that was used to refine ores such as gold and silver, which attracted the attention of pirates and thieves.
Over time, the reckless scientists of Dagger Point converted their supplies into forms that were unwieldy to work with, which were accidentally released into the environment and contaminated the town, much to the detriment of the local population. Wharf rats were one of the few life forms to withstand the crisis; they mutated into humanoid creatures the size and stature of men, and roamed the city terrorizing villagers. Their brains developed even further, giving them complex problem-solving skills and more human-like characteristics. It is these rat-men, with their feral and scavenging way of life, that populate the town to the current day.
The other major life form are beings made out of of living quicksilver. They are mysterious, reclusive, and silent. They glide swiftly along the ground and swim through the waterways. They have a symbiotic arrangement with the rats who, despite their repulsive appearance, are not as coldly terrifying, and better equipped to serve as a "face" with outsiders.
Today, Dagger Point is a seaport shantytown populated by only the most foolhardy of ne'er-do-wells. Rather than relying on traditional trade, it exacts heavy tariffs on merchants using its docks. Its rulers are two of the few humans left...the pirate couple, Hank and Cupcakes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfZA8FWP_BY
Dagger Point comes from the sea, and attacks Walden's city-state as follows -
(The attacks and defenses are much like the character Mercury, from the Marvel comic, the X-men, with some additional features.)
Attack
The quicksilver beings have molecular adhesion, which gives them the ability to cling to solid surfaces and move their bodies at will even without overt locomotive features. Their bio-mercury form allows them to collapse into a featureless mass, extend blades from their skin, or mold themselves into different forms. Their ability to shape shift extends to the most basic rudimentary weapons. This form in non-organic.
Quicksilver is highly destructive to structures and vehicles made of aluminum (a substance often used to protect airplanes, for instance); when it contacts surfaces that were recently scratched, it feathers out in pieces of oxide which tear away from the original structure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Z7Ilxsu-JlY
At room temperature, an additional form of attack is available: outer electrons help form loose bonds between mercury atoms which join in pools of shared electrons and make a fair electrical conductor, thus enabling them to siphon off electrical current from their enemy city, its buildings, vehicles, weapons, or anything else that might run on electricity. It also enables them to deliver shock and electricity-based attacks.
They can travel by ship or swim in the water of the ocean itself. When they do the latter, they volatilize the surface of the water, making it dangerous for my opponent to use.
The rat-men are skilled with basic weapons, such as firearms, and particularly those of a seafaring nature: tridents, spears, rope, and the like. They swarm their opponent and have a nasty bite attack.
Defense
Self-sustenance - the residents are no longer carbon-based life forms and do not eat or breathe the same way as normal humans. They possess resistance to telepathic attack, and to magical-based attacks. The have enhanced durability, with their skin, bone, and muscle transformed into liquid mercury to make it stronger and harder than human, impervious to injury to a certain extent (similar to T-1000 in the film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day.)
My opponent is a 7. I'll have to move quickly! Mercury's great density dampens all external vibrations and eliminates any surface rippling, while the metal's liquidity permits frictionless movement and increased agility.
For defense, the rats have two longer teeth on bottom they can separate, which helps them get a better grab on their opponent. The jagged bite means a festering, painful wound.
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Edited by - jevoudrais on 14 Mar 2012 8:13:30 PM |
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Roshan
Member
USA
4788 Posts |
Posted - 14 Mar 2012 : 8:18:14 PM
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Yep, you are one-fixed as sure as the day is long...
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jevoudrais
Member
1698 Posts |
Posted - 14 Mar 2012 : 8:26:05 PM
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LOL. Fair enough. I will quit futzing with the post now, I promise. 
Just kidding, I am done now.  |
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Abi
Member
USA
5911 Posts |
Posted - 14 Mar 2012 : 8:49:48 PM
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I can't believe you posted already. I'm still in the early stages and my schedule is tight the next three days. 
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jevoudrais
Member
1698 Posts |
Posted - 14 Mar 2012 : 10:01:20 PM
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| 3 wing, baby! |
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Roshan
Member
USA
4788 Posts |
Posted - 14 Mar 2012 : 10:11:58 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by jevoudrais
LOL. Fair enough. I will quit futzing with the post now, I promise.
Just kidding, I am done now.
well, good for you, you're done! congratulatons! 
but actually i meant one-fixed about the whole 'gestalt', your punctilliousness , not really the correcting. after all, you had to make it perfect. this is WAR! |
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Crooner
Member
USA
5391 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2012 : 12:05:58 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by jevoudrais
(Don't worry, Walden...we changed it to fresh Jello )
Oh, forget the Jello!
Where's the Whipped Cream?!
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jevoudrais
Member
1698 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2012 : 12:50:09 AM
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| Crooner, you are making the most of your just desserts. |
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Kate
Member
5931 Posts |
Posted - 15 Mar 2012 : 01:15:41 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by jevoudrais
The Jello Wrestling Pit of Hilarity
(Don't worry, Walden...we changed it to fresh Jello )
quote:
Originally posted by Crooner
Oh, forget the Jello!
Where's the Whipped Cream?!
Uhuh. LIme Jell-O and whipped cream and you think you're so smart. Right. I can oversome that, you -uckers.
quote:
Originally posted by jevoudrais
3 wing, baby!
| hate you.
quote:
Originally posted by Roshan
well, good for you, you're done! congratulatons!
but actually i meant one-fixed about the whole 'gestalt', your punctilliousness , not really the correcting. after all, you had to make it perfect. this is WAR!
And, I thought you were on my side, you traitor. Well, just y'all wait 'til the deadline mwuahahahaHA!
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jevoudrais
Member
1698 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2012 : 9:56:45 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by walden
| hate you.
HAVE AT ME, THEN, SORS'SRESS!
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Kate
Member
5931 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2012 : 10:29:23 PM
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It's coming.
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jevoudrais
Member
1698 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2012 : 11:43:13 PM
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Heyyyy!
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Abi
Member
USA
5911 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2012 : 09:41:23 AM
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I am Abi, one of the descendants of the ancient race of Rodinians.
Rodinia was an supercontinent that contained most or all of Earth's landmass existing between 1.1 billion years and 750 million years ago.
Those of my lineage held (and some still hold) the great Power of Petramancy. We can transform any rock material into different rock forms, structures and processes.
It is we who cause the shifting of the continents, through a geological process we set in motion eons ago that scientists today called plate tectonics.
We did so because we came to realize that the best way to evolve individual consciousness (and hence the larger Consciousness as a whole) was to break the great landmass apart, allowing many different subsets of humans to develop.
When humans are too much alike, entropy sets in...and consciousness stagnates or devolves.
This breaking up of the landmass is recorded in the myths as the story of the Tower of Babylon.
As human subsets grew apart, most lost their power to transform rock (but retained a great ability to build with rock) and came to call themselves by
other names...for those, Rodinia, it's true history and true Power, became lost to memory.
And so it came to pass that there were times where groups lived in many different places...and traces of their work can still be seen.
In modern times, there are only enough of us (who retain our full power) left to populate a small city-state which we call Rodin. But there are also an equal amount of hermetic Rodinians who chose/choose to live alone, scattered out across all the landmasses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ggd736t3Ro
For those of us who reside in Rodin, we prefer to remain hidden, utilizing both the physical and non-physical realms...and so a veil of mystery and legend has built up about us. The only visitors we allow into Rodin are the Shamans of many different cultures who are on their (mostly astral) journeys.
We have found that the most prudent way to remain hidden is to use our Power of Petramancy to move the entire city-state of Rodin often...so it has manifested in many places and in many forms over the last centuries.
Since the heart of the ancient supercontinent of Rodinia became what is known today as the North American continent, Rodin often manifests there, as a symbolic gesture to the ancient history of our race.
This is why sightings of Rodin can be "imagined" in different parts of the Grand Canyon, where it is easy disguise the city, matching the formations of the Canyon walls.
Rodinians are a peaceloving race. To us, battle does nothing to raise Consciousness, our primary goal.
But strange times come to Rodin and we have found ourselves in a position where we not only have to defend ourselves...but must also contemplate the sobering possibility of having to actually attack another city/state.
What brought us to this point you might ask?
Recently, Rodin was found in eastern Canada's Torngat Mountains by an explorer known as Chemical_Art.
Because of his sudden appearance and because of his name, the residents of Rodin allowed Chemical_Art into their city...figuring that he must be a Shaman, albeit in physical form...and this intrigued them.
The Rodinians enjoyed his delightful company for many days.
Alas, Chemical_Art, used their extended hospitality to try and learn the Power of Petramancy.
He did not succeed.
But in his disappointment he threatened to expose our existence...using the vast resources of cyberspace to spread word far and wide as to our ways, powers and preferred places of manifestation. He even went so far as to threaten to gather the forces of his home city/state to attack us.
Chemical_Art left Rodin to return to his city and immediately following his departure, the Council of Elders used their Power of Petramancy to move Rodin to a new hidden location as a defensive strategy.
But sadly, the Council realized that it was only a matter of time, assuming that Chemical_Art would have at least some time to spread the word, before he or someone else from his city tried to find and attack Rodin.
With that in mind, they compiled an offensive strategy
Since the hermetic Rodinians were scattered throughout the physical and non-physical world, there was no place where Chemical_Art's city could hide. Once located, the Rodinian force of Petramancers easily transformed a path through the geological structure to the outskirts of his city.
They saw that his was a sunken city surrounded by small mountains.
Not knowing whom Chemical_Art may have told, they decided the whole city must perish.
They spread out, surrounding the entire city, and using their Power they turned the rocks into lava, pouring down into the city...into every crevice...
...entombing it and its inhabitants for all time.
Edited for typos.
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Edited by - Abi on 18 Mar 2012 10:29:04 AM |
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jevoudrais
Member
1698 Posts |
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jevoudrais
Member
1698 Posts |
Posted - 18 Mar 2012 : 2:18:14 PM
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| EST |
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jevoudrais
Member
1698 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2012 : 8:24:33 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Abi
one of the descendants of the ancient race of Rodinians...
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Edited by - jevoudrais on 21 Mar 2012 11:31:12 AM |
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Abi
Member
USA
5911 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2012 : 8:32:44 PM
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Love those.
Printed out and on my wall. |
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jevoudrais
Member
1698 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2012 : 8:39:28 PM
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| had to pay homage to your great post! |
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Abi
Member
USA
5911 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2012 : 8:46:35 PM
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Why thank you, kind sir.
C_A will prolly blast me out of the water.
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~lee~
Member
USA
8178 Posts |
Posted - 20 Mar 2012 : 01:43:21 AM
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Hey folks, this is the city-state of Panacea
It’s just so sweet here, I’m not sure that I ever want to leave. I’m here as a postdoc, working in the agricultural section, where we’re using genetic picotechnology to create crops that will survive and thrive on orbiting megaspace ships. This is an amazing place, Panacea—almost the whole city is devoted to research of some sort. Labs everywhere! When you get a hankering for sunshine, you can hit the roof deck and gaze up at the iconic statues that watch over, guard, and protect our city.
People come from all over the world to study here, leaving their nationalistic conflicts and prejudices behind (mostly).
We have the best, cutting edge, state-of-the-art equipment, and a fabulous support staff, all of which conduces to productivity. For those of my friends who are up on the enneagram, I gotta tell you, it’s a 5-7 paradise.
Panacea is best known for its seed bank. Seeds have been collected for hundreds of years from multiple ecosystems where all sorts of weird plant species have grown. On top of these, there are all of the recombinants produced from research like what I’m doing.
But—there’s other research happening—lots of medical stuff—gene therapy, pharmacology, cloning, organ regeneration, longevity enhancers. Some people are suspicious that we’re creating a brave new world with designer people. So our standard major worry is ecoterrorism. We have some of the usual sorts of defenses—surveillance, missiles. Everyone who works here or visits needs to have a security clearance. Our conversations and internet communications can be monitored. I’m not aware of any internal sabotage. Seriously, this is a sacred place—the idea of defiling it is abhorrent. It’s an ethos that is contagious—people just want to do good stuff, want to make contributions to humanity. And we have!
There’s a rumor floating around of a bigger threat than sabotage. Supposedly there’s a weird asteroid that got terraformed and colonized a few hundred years ago. Called Reliquery.
The Reliquerans are said to be introverted, clannish, into all sorts of odd habits and rituals. They have developed some sort of power—dunno if it’s magnetic, gravitational, quarkian or what (physics ain’t my thing, I’m a biologist!). But whatever, they’ve been sucking in spaceships, enslaving the prisoners, and dismantling the ships for the metal and electronics. Panacea has been asked to figure out how to make this stop.
Would you believe that I’ve been invited to join the think tank, based on my expertise and an idea that I presented to the Panacea Board of Directors? Reliquery is a pretty barren place—terraforming can only take you so far—they’ve got water and an atmosphere. But because it’s so barren, there’s space for these megaspace ships to land, even though it’s a freaking asteroid!
So my idea was that we search the seed bank for flora that will transform Reliquery’s open spaces into thick forests—so thick that a) the ships have no place to land and b) that whatever that power is that sucks in the ships -- it won’t work anymore—i.e., the plants will interfere by sucking up the power. Yes! And as a side note (what my friends call a Hello Kittyism)—the plants might be so beneficial that the Reliquerans would find ways to use them as resources.
I’ve come up with a list of seed candidates, and we’re experimenting now in simulated environments and conditions to see what’s most likely to work. Meanwhile, a stealth shuttle with invisible coating manufactured by Klingon Inc is being prepared to transport the seeds to the asteroid, once we figure out what to send. I sure hope this works! It’d help me get a real faculty job when my postdoc is over. Maybe even at Panacea!
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jevoudrais
Member
1698 Posts |
Posted - 20 Mar 2012 : 1:41:59 PM
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| Lee - I <3 your research theme! |
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baba
Member
2757 Posts |
Posted - 20 Mar 2012 : 1:50:28 PM
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Lee,
Use CO(NH2)2.H3PO4 and spread it on Reliquery.
Within no time, space-shuttles will not land.
Don't walk away.. |
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jevoudrais
Member
1698 Posts |
Posted - 20 Mar 2012 : 2:45:16 PM
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| unless cytokine promotes it as a beauty regimen, lol. |
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~lee~
Member
USA
8178 Posts |
Posted - 20 Mar 2012 : 3:49:58 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by baba
Lee,
Use CO(NH2)2.H3PO4 and spread it on Reliquery.
Within no time, space-shuttles will not land.
Don't walk away..
An ally comes to the rescue--yeah! |
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baba
Member
2757 Posts |
Posted - 20 Mar 2012 : 4:48:14 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by jevoudrais
unless cytokine promotes it as a beauty regimen, lol.
Jev, that´s really smart..Israel is one of the biggest together with Jordan as a manufacturer..
lol beauty regimen..
Don't walk away.. |
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eidb battle royale - round 3 battle thread
