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Ouch. So we hold the line for now. Suppose once the local sector is secure and the Meklar have deployed further forwards we can always drop colony ships into the area...
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# ? Jul 3, 2017 09:51 |
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# ? Jun 5, 2024 04:46 |
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nweismuller posted:We're in no position to do so at the moment. Doing so would require mustering and deploying more troops, which may take a while. We can at least blockade their industrial worlds to stop them getting a fleet together, and saving a bit of hassle later when the troopships arrive.
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# ? Jul 3, 2017 10:00 |
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So are we at least canceling the planetary fire sale, now that it looks like we're keeping it?
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# ? Jul 3, 2017 22:29 |
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I already know this is not on the table, but do we have the fleet power to just bomb the poo poo out of the Darloks and wipe out their empire that way?
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# ? Jul 3, 2017 23:19 |
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Loren1350 posted:So are we at least canceling the planetary fire sale, now that it looks like we're keeping it? Indeed we are. We could only sell one item before the blockade started- dismantling improvements is no longer possible on a blockaded planet. (How are you going to get the profits of scrapping equipment past the blockade, after all?) MechaCrash posted:I already know this is not on the table, but do we have the fleet power to just bomb the poo poo out of the Darloks and wipe out their empire that way? We'd need to recommission bombardment cruisers to have the bombardment ability to work on it. We'd frankly do better with dedicated 'orbit to surface bombardment' vessels, rather than the 'torpedo-focused' bombers we have (because we have a military doctrine that de-emphasises the uses of bombs).
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# ? Jul 4, 2017 07:22 |
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nweismuller posted:We'd need to recommission bombardment cruisers to have the bombardment ability to work on it. We'd frankly do better with dedicated 'orbit to surface bombardment' vessels, rather than the 'torpedo-focused' bombers we have (because we have a military doctrine that de-emphasises the uses of bombs). Given our ethos, would we name the ship class after historical mistakes which seemed a good idea at the time but which we hope our society has grown past?
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# ? Jul 4, 2017 11:24 |
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AJ_Impy posted:Given our ethos, would we name the ship class after historical mistakes which seemed a good idea at the time but which we hope our society has grown past? I believe the question is a moot point in any event, as we're not going to be building a dedicated surface bomber class. Anyhow, a little busy this week; birthday on the fifth and I have lots of stuff to do with friends and family. But fear not, an update shall come in the fullness of time. That said, if I'm inspired, I'll grab time when I can to continue to entertain my loyal fans. Now that we've had more time to observe, I'd be curious to hear impressions from the readership about the culture and/or politics of the Meklars, Mrrshan, and Psilons. I'm deeply interested to hear just how they come across, now that we've had more time to know them. And if people have suggestions about any of the aliens we've met, I may well be able to expand that into more material...
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# ? Jul 4, 2017 12:00 |
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The Mrrshan High Queendom doesn't seem all that stable to me. The current High Queen is popular, but with the high level of autonomy of the vassals, and the lack of what seems to be a centralized authority, I could see Mrrshan society under a weak or unpopular High Queen splitting pretty easily into regional strife and factionalism.
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# ? Jul 4, 2017 19:16 |
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AJ_Impy posted:Given our ethos, would we name the ship class after historical mistakes which seemed a good idea at the time but which we hope our society has grown past? RSS Chattel Slavery, RSS War On Drugs, RSS Vietnam. I like where this is going.
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# ? Jul 4, 2017 20:50 |
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Rick_Hunter posted:RSS Chattel Slavery, RSS War On Drugs, RSS Vietnam. I like where this is going. RSS The Internet.
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# ? Jul 4, 2017 21:07 |
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RSS Something Awful
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# ? Jul 4, 2017 22:39 |
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Siegkrow posted:RSS Something Awful Well, nweismuller? Get on with it then
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# ? Jul 4, 2017 23:11 |
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Epicurius posted:The Mrrshan High Queendom doesn't seem all that stable to me. The current High Queen is popular, but with the high level of autonomy of the vassals, and the lack of what seems to be a centralized authority, I could see Mrrshan society under a weak or unpopular High Queen splitting pretty easily into regional strife and factionalism. This is, to the Mrrshan mindset, a feature. Who would want an unworthy queen to rule easily? On balance, they would rather endure war than dishonor.
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# ? Jul 5, 2017 01:00 |
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Siegkrow posted:RSS Something Awful First, I believe that the relevant ship prefixes were actually 'HRS' and 'FRS', not 'RSS', now that I think about it. Second, obviously. The legendary Something Awful was a den of villainy where its inhabitants sought to outdo each other in atrocities in service of a concept they called 'Maximum Hitler'. nods seriously (Of course, I imagine I've long since driven off the 'maximum Hitler' contingent in my LPs, given my general style.)
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# ? Jul 5, 2017 01:37 |
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Rick_Hunter posted:RSS Chattel Slavery, RSS War On Drugs, RSS Vietnam. I like where this is going. I dunno man, I understand your intent but "Colossal Injustice #1", "Colossal Injustice #2", and "Name of an entire country"... might be just a touch oversimplified. Have Republic scientists figured out how to cure the common cold, yet? Can't have been an easy nut to crack.
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# ? Jul 5, 2017 02:00 |
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That's because the common cold isn't one disease, but hundreds, coming from multiple families of viruses. They barely even have symptoms, but seem similar because they use the body's own immune response (mucus release, sneezing, coughing) to spread. So curing the common cold is, ironically, a bit like curing all forms of cancer.
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# ? Jul 5, 2017 02:15 |
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EggsAisle posted:Have Republic scientists figured out how to cure the common cold, yet? Can't have been an easy nut to crack. The thing about the common cold is that it's the easiest goddamn thing to cure in the world: Every time you get over a cold, that's you developing immunity to that strain, and then that strain can never infect you again. The reason, then, that is hasn't died out, is that there are countless billions of strains of the common cold. Curing the common cold, in essence, requires curing billions of very simple-to-cure diseases, and making a vaccine that can vaccinate you for billions of strains at once. It's not that it's hard, it's that it's mind-numbingly tedious and would take decades (not accounting for the fact that the common cold strains mutate like nobody's business) to cure an aliment that I'm reasonably certain has never claimed a single life in the history of mankind without bringing influenza into the rumble.
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# ? Jul 5, 2017 02:18 |
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EggsAisle posted:I dunno man, I understand your intent but "Colossal Injustice #1", "Colossal Injustice #2", and "Name of an Fixed that reference for you.
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# ? Jul 5, 2017 02:25 |
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Sordas Volantyr posted:The thing about the common cold is that it's the easiest goddamn thing to cure in the world: Every time you get over a cold, that's you developing immunity to that strain, and then that strain can never infect you again. I realize that, but hey, it's centuries from 2017, so maybe they've made a giant leap in immunology? I just want to think that my sci-fi alter ego doesn't have to put up with all this drat sinus congestion. Aerdan posted:Fixed that reference for you. Oy. Yes, I'm aware of its history circa 1955-1975. I'm just saying there's more to Vietnam than that. A couple thousand years' worth, give or take. It'd be like calling a warship the RSS Germany, in reference to the Nazi regime. Painting with a very broad brush and all that. (incidentally, in Vietnam they call it the American War, unless they're trying to be polite about it.)
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# ? Jul 5, 2017 04:06 |
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As regards the common cold, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that modern microbiotic treatment can pretty well purge you of a cold infection in an afternoon. The bad news is it takes a visit to a qualified medical technician to whip up a treatment (which, at the least, is about as cheap as a medical office visit can manage to be), and an afternoon of relatively intense feverish misery as the microbiotics hunt down the infection and burn it out hard. Despite the drawbacks, enough people actually take advantage of this that it reduces the average window of infectivity of people with colds, and so makes getting infected by a cold at least marginally less common than was historically the case.
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# ? Jul 5, 2017 04:30 |
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For some reason, this talk of the common cold and how it spreads via mucus and stuff has me wondering extremely bizarre things such as "is there any kind of market for mucus?" I mean, are there aliens or whoever interested in getting the bodily fluids of other races so they can study them or something weird like that? My mind goes really strange places sometimes.
I can have moments of... eccentricity and sometimes be quite curious about things. Please forgive me if I do something foolish or rude.
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# ? Jul 5, 2017 13:29 |
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Snail mucus has been a thing in cosmetics for about 20 years, I think. In the last few years it's become more known in Western cosmetics too, to the point that I can pick it up at CVS.
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# ? Jul 5, 2017 14:11 |
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Dude! That is gros-wait... Actually, you makes a good point? Hm. So! Nweis? Has Star Wars survived into the future? Has Jedi-ism become an actual religion? What are the alien's opinions about this science-fantasy fare?
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# ? Jul 5, 2017 14:35 |
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Oh, the questions people ask...
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# ? Jul 5, 2017 16:08 |
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Siegkrow posted:Dude! That is gros-wait... Star Wars has technically survived, but has slipped into obscurity, with only hardcore devotees of historical cinema aware of it. What has actually survived well from the 20th century is the novels of J.R.R. Tolkien- less so the movies made based on them. Over time, a number of new cinematic adaptations of the books have been released, of greater or lesser quality and popularity.
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# ? Jul 5, 2017 16:10 |
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I can't imagine the
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# ? Jul 5, 2017 16:21 |
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Seems like Tolkien's stories of inherent racial superiority and the destruction of a hostile, mysterious Other would be a soothing balm for the paranoid Darlok about town, actually.
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# ? Jul 5, 2017 17:13 |
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nweismuller posted:Star Wars has technically survived, but has slipped into obscurity, with only hardcore devotees of historical cinema aware of it. What has actually survived well from the 20th century is the novels of J.R.R. Tolkien- less so the movies made based on them. Over time, a number of new cinematic adaptations of the books have been released, of greater or lesser quality and popularity. That's great and all, but I'm sure the thing everyone wants to know is what about the animes? Are the Bulrathi pursuing cho-kawaii chikyuu waifus? Do the Mrrshan find the concept of catgirls uncomfortable? Also, has the legacy of Star Trek survived longer than Star Wars? It was a different kind of cultural milestone in our history; one more tuned toward the exploration of space and the triumph of reason over humanity's long-running, endemic flaws rather than an awesome story of magical space samurai.
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# ? Jul 5, 2017 22:27 |
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Stephen9001 posted:For some reason, this talk of the common cold and how it spreads via mucus and stuff has me wondering extremely bizarre things such as "is there any kind of market for mucus?" I mean, are there aliens or whoever interested in getting the bodily fluids of other races so they can study them or something weird like that? My mind goes really strange places sometimes. Where do you think biological weapons come from? (Though I tend to assume that the ones in MoO games are more of a doctrine for demolishing a biosphere rather than being some sort of biochemistry-specific plague, given that the same tech works on any species.) The Deleter posted:Seems like Tolkien's stories of inherent racial superiority and the destruction of a hostile, mysterious Other would be a soothing balm for the paranoid Darlok about town, actually. And as for the good guys going forth in secret to destroy a powerful and cunning enemy using a combination of misdirection and stealth...
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# ? Jul 5, 2017 22:28 |
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nweismuller posted:This is, to the Mrrshan mindset, a feature. Who would want an unworthy queen to rule easily? On balance, they would rather endure war than dishonor. <Crosses off Mrrshan from my list of vacation destinations>
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# ? Jul 6, 2017 02:17 |
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Stormgear posted:That's great and all, but I'm sure the thing everyone wants to know is what about the animes? Stormgear posted:Are the Bulrathi pursuing cho-kawaii chikyuu waifus? Stormgear posted:Do the Mrrshan find the concept of catgirls uncomfortable? Stormgear posted:WHAT ABOUT THE ANIMES?
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# ? Jul 6, 2017 04:14 |
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Counterpoint: Yes. Yes yes yes. I wanna know.
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# ? Jul 6, 2017 04:30 |
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Anime will never die. Even if some parts of it definitely should.
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# ? Jul 6, 2017 10:19 |
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As fun as it is to rag on anime, you have to admit that despite being seen as (and often IS) a facile product, it has gained surprising popularity among the peoples it once considered its enemies. Also people with pony avatars shouldn't throw stones Anyway, it's inspired me to write this: Bulrathi Media in the Republic: While the flow of information both to and from the once Imperial territories is as carefully curated and controlled as possible, it is inevitable given the Republic's own laws and ideals that more cross-pollination will occur than is nominally allowed. One such example is the surprising popularity of Bulrathi 'People's Dramas', media which on the surface of it, doesn't look much different from Humanity's usual melodramas, featuring simple characters and plotlines that slowly grow more convoluted as time goes on. The key difference is that these dramas are usually produced and acted by communities and their members, and often feature issues specific to them, instead of mass-market appealing productions from media conglomerates and professional actors as is the norm among Human worlds. Some towns and villages were so ingrained in Bulrathi common consciousness by these dramas that even during the conquest, small groups of soldiers would desert rather than be involved in a fight that would harm one of these places. Ironically, the strengths of Human productions, namely the professionalism, care and polish placed into them, became their weakness when facing People's Dramas. Human productions had long since abandoned live-action actors outside the theatre, instead preferring a combination of motion-capture and dubbing by professional stuntmen, acrobats and voice actors. This allowed companies to perfectly tailor-make their work to focus-tested audiences, and combined with the ease of CGI in the modern age, create a massive output of entertainment media. Unfortunately, this meant that there was a great untapped market for more authentic productions that Bulrathi media satisfied. Combined with the general curiosity for literally alien experiences among humans, the insight into Bulrathi society People's Dramas provided much of their push to popularity. Some of the more forward-thinking Bulrathi communities have even integrated Human 'actors' into their works, allowing their own people to see how Humans live. Some military commanders on both sides are even pushing for government funding into these productions, in the hopes of speeding integration. Of course, there has been some pushback, mostly from Bulrathi worlds but also from the Human worlds who had suffered during the war. That said, much of the wind in the sails of the Human side was taken away when a senator from New Eden claimed that this new media was 'encouraging Bulrathi infiltration of our Republic', and that 'the Imperial flag will fly over Geneva if something isn't done soon'. This histrionic argument was also mirrored on the Bulrathi side of things soon after- so soon, in fact, that whispers of conspiracy further damaged their causes.
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# ? Jul 6, 2017 13:57 |
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poo poo, now I've got the writing bug. Mrrshan Media in the Republic: Humanity and the Mrrshan enjoy some of the closest relationships among the galaxy's races, and this has extended into their media. At first, Human comedies led to packed Mrrshan theatres, while Mrrshan action films dominated the Human cultural consciousness, and the hypernet was full of members from the two races endlessly quoting their counterparts' movies at each of them. Stereotype soon gave way to subtle nuance, and today human documentaries have become the Mrrshan preferred choice of Human-made entertainment, Mrrshan romantic comedies turn the steadiest profit in the Human worlds of the Republic, and People's Dramas remain popular among both. This is not to say that there have been missteps, however. One of the biggest gaffes in media history, and a major embarrassment for Humanity, was the 'Fight for Justice!!' (sic) debacle. The Comega* Entertainment Network hit upon the idea of televising Mrrshan trials in order to ride the popularity of People's Dramas, combining what their board saw as both the authenticity people had been craving for, as well as some real action to spice it up. The plan was to only televise nonlethal trial by combat, and while this met with a warm reception at first from the Mrrshan legal community (at least, according to Comega's PR department), problems began as soon as the first ads began to air in Republic space. On the Human side, mobs of protestors formed to oppose what they saw as 'the gruesome televising of blood sport', with other prevailing opinions being that it demeaned the cultural systems of a valued ally, and that it turned what was supposed to be a fair contest of skill into a circus act. Among the Mrrshan, however, was the view that the show was far too tame, that not broadcasting the life-and-death battles showed a lack of respect towards both Mrrshan ways as well as the maturity and self-control of the Human race. Even the Bulrathi didn't go for the show- they had known enough war, and didn't care for either a watered-down version of it for Human audiences, nor the grim memories the Mrrshan-proposed version would bring back. In the end, the show was shelved after broadcasting barely a third of the first season's episodes, and Comega was rendered bankrupt after compensating Mrrshan litigants who had wanted to see their names in lights, as well as the Mrrshan legal community for holding up cases. The fact that a pair of litigants came out and admitted throwing their trial and exaggerating facts to get said trial in the first place also helped sink the show's reputation further. With all that being said, however, enough people have seen the funny side to the mess that a comedy based on the whole affair was soon made. the slapstick, screwball comedy proved to be much more successful than the show that had inspired it, not just across the Republic and Mrrshan space, but even among the Meklar and Psilon territories. The fact that Comega's ex-chairman sued the production company for making him look like a (quote) 'raving randy baboon' only added to its popularity. One could only imagine how he reacted when it was revealed that, thanks to the boost of popularity gained from his outburst, a series based on the movie was to be produced. Featuring Bulrathi actors. And entitled 'Comega: A People's Documentary'. *If I'm going to be writing fanfiction, I will self-insert, dammit Also, you just know that as soon as anything like the Mrrshan way of justice came up, we'd make a TV show about it, you just loving know.
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# ? Jul 6, 2017 14:24 |
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It's awesome to see other people put writing effort into what I've been working on, so I have to thank you, CommissarMega. It's not like trial by combat is the sole way to resolve Mrrshan legal cases, but duels remain as a last resort for those who do not feel as if they can be satisfied by more peaceful resolutions., and I can certainly see attention fixing on this aspect of Mrrshan society...
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# ? Jul 6, 2017 22:02 |
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CommissarMega posted:Also, you just know that as soon as anything like the Mrrshan way of justice came up, we'd make a TV show about it, you just loving know. CatJudge CatJudy when
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# ? Jul 7, 2017 04:23 |
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This si glorious. I wholeheartedly approve
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# ? Jul 7, 2017 05:45 |
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nweismuller posted:It's awesome to see other people put writing effort into what I've been working on, so I have to thank you, CommissarMega. It's not like trial by combat is the sole way to resolve Mrrshan legal cases, but duels remain as a last resort for those who do not feel as if they can be satisfied by more peaceful resolutions., and I can certainly see attention fixing on this aspect of Mrrshan society... Aw, thanks man! And yeah, i guess I did fixate on Mrrshan dueling as expected- I was skimming through the lore posts, and when i saw that the main cause for violent Mrrshan death was lawful dueling my mind immediately went to "ALL DUELS ALL THE TIME"
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# ? Jul 7, 2017 08:04 |
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# ? Jun 5, 2024 04:46 |
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Stormgear posted:That's great and all, but I'm sure the thing everyone wants to know is what about the animes? Are the Bulrathi pursuing cho-kawaii chikyuu waifus? Do the Mrrshan find the concept of catgirls uncomfortable? RWBY has been a surprise hit with the Mrrshans, what with it's emphasis on one-on-one combat resonating with their social history of duelling. There's also a long-running hypernet meme about Blake trying to assert herself as a Mrrshan Queen among the group and failing because humans don't work that way.
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# ? Jul 7, 2017 10:25 |