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Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:I've just received the report on the facility we could build if we scrapped this terraforming ship. Particularly, how profitable it would be. So I would like it put on the record that this may be the hardest thing I've ever had to do, but, I believe that we should instead restore the vessel to full functionality, for the good of humanity.
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Jun 13, 2022 19:04
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On a not-directly-related note, and particularly addressed to Thomas, Oriole, Prudence, and Romeo... Emily and Malachi just came of age. Emily is Intelligent, Dull, and Reserved, and Malachi is Intelligent, Greedy, Proud, and Reserved. I could hunt out outside matches for the two of them, or I could arrange a marriage between the two of them, which, given their personality compatibilities, would be a decent match for both of them and involve less time investment tying up my action points this turn. They are distant enough relations that this is an acceptable match by colonial standards, and we can be assured we'll not have honor or genetic issues with it. The thoughts of the parents here? Both would make excellent staff for Technology; Malachi would also be viable for Administration. (Emily 24A 24M 0D 11S 55T; Malachi 35A 17M 0D 11S 50T.) E: Checking alternate options, about our best choices for 'good spouses that would have decent personality compatibility and would involve marrying them into House Weiss rather than marrying our young ones out' would be, for Emily, either Master Leslie Porter (age 36, one of three children of the colonial ruler of Hyadum in the Lamb Clan, age 36, Humble, Satisfied, Reserved, 2A 50M 0D 11S 51T) or Hadley Horton (age 16, member of a minor House in Nashira, Forgiving, Individualistic, 12A 6M 27D 6S 11T). Hadley Horton would probably be less satisfied with the marriage than Leslie Porter, and has lower skills and is a less prestigious match, but he's a better age match and would provide a decent backup member for Diplomacy, which is currently understaffed for eventual replacement of Mariko. For Malachi, the best other option is probably Geraldine Fardell (age 19, member of House Fardell here in Vega, Brave, Intelligent, Tribal, 17A 37M 27D 21S 11T). Geraldine Fardell would work well, I'm sure, as a recruit for either Military or Diplomacy, and would have... well, decent personality compatibility with Malachi. Malachi would like her quite a bit; Geraldine would likely be less satisfied. Personality compatibility for the possible pairs here would be +14 opinion from personality both ways matching Emily and Malachi. Emily's opinion from personality of Leslie Porter would be +28, while Leslie's opinion of Emily would be +7. Emily and Hadley Horton would have Emily with a +7 opinion of Hadley from personality and Hadley having a -14 opinion of Emily from personality. Malachi's opinion of Geraldine from personality would be +21, while Geraldine's opinion of Malachi would be -7. Edit to the edit: As you'll note, one of the major factors I try to take into account when arranging marriages is personality compatibility; I like to minimise marital discord. The selection doesn't always make great choices on that account possible, though. Edit to the edit to the edit: For obvious reasons, this means Emily and Malachi are now open for claiming. Even more edit: This old post with notes on religion and marriage is probably relevant: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3997288&userid=191030&perpage=40&pagenumber=3#post523003494 nweismuller fucked around with this message at 20:50 on Jun 13, 2022 |
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Jun 13, 2022 19:54
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Doctor Prudence Weiss posted:I'm favouring bringing prospects from outside the house.
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Jun 13, 2022 20:54
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Director-General Jane Weiss posted:I can hardly disagree, Prudence, but in all honestly I can hardly ignore the fact that Emily and Malachi seem very well-suited to each other. Mother did her very best to arrange my marriage for the sake of my happiness, and I feel a certain responsibility to keep on seeking the happiness of our young House members while arranging their marriages. My hope is that the good of the House and the good of its individual members can coincide. Still, we have at least a little time before I need to make a final decision on marriages to arrange. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 21:27 on Jun 13, 2022 |
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Jun 13, 2022 21:17
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Commissioner Oriole Weiss posted:I'm always in favor of bringing in new talent and avoiding a monocultural approach.
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Jun 13, 2022 21:34
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Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:While I agree with my wife in the general sense that we should be bringing in outside talent, I have to adamantly disagree with her choice of suitor. Hadley Horton is untalented, politically irrelevant, and doesn't even hold our daughter in particularly high regard. As much as I might dislike the age difference, at this point, it seems foolish to bother going against it, so I'm in favor of Leslie Porter.
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Jun 13, 2022 21:55
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As things stand, we currently have three House members assigned to work for Administration, three to Military, one to Diplomacy, two to Security, and two to Technology. I'm frankly satisfied with two in Security at the moment; our Security demands are not intensive. The departments, given my priorities, that would generally be most demanding of staffing are Administration (revenues and rebuilding!), Military (because peacekeeper deployments are a big deal), and Technology (training rulers and heirs is important), although having at least two active members in all departments is decent practise to ensure we're set up in case of disaster. Potential departmental assignments for Emily, Malachi, and potential spouses: Emily: Technology Malachi: Technology or Administration Leslie Porter: Military or Technology Hadley Horton: Diplomacy Geraldine Fardell: Military or Diplomacy If department heads have any particular requests (and it appears most likely we're going with marriages to Leslie Porter and Geraldine Fardell) for assignments of our new House members, please make them, else I'll assign them by my own judgement.
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Jun 13, 2022 22:10
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I have an extremely important question: Does Malachi have the mustache?
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Jun 13, 2022 22:26
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Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:While I'd love an additional staff member, Malachi's talent for technology is much too great to let go to waste with us. His mother has clearly been a positive influence on him, even if he did pick up some of his father's bad habits.
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Jun 13, 2022 22:27
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dervinosdoom posted:I have an extremely important question: Malachi has an Ilario-style goatee, but no mustache. 
nweismuller fucked around with this message at 22:32 on Jun 13, 2022 |
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Jun 13, 2022 22:29
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Director-General Jane Weiss, in memo to council members posted:Attention: official departmental postings of House members follow. Malachi and Emily are assigned to Technology, Leslie to Military, and Geraldine to Diplomacy. I hope your new noble staff will provide their best in service to their departments.
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Jun 13, 2022 22:42
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Romeo, proud papa posted:
Romeo, laughing to himself posted:This is hilarious! Tommy's daughter and my son! I can't wait to see the look on his face at my boy's wedding!
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Jun 13, 2022 22:49
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Director-General Jane Weiss, wrapping up special council meeting posted:After hearing you all, I confess to finding myself torn. I can see the potential for ruin for our House down the path of pursuing terraforming, and I confess that I dread it. But, with that said... a habitable world would mean a fundamental change for the colonies. Life support requirements would be significantly simpler for a population on a habitable world, and by permitting resettlement to a habitable world, we could find ourselves in a position where population controls would no longer be necessary. I believe that we can continue to build up our territory even without such a world, but such a world, by easing the burden on colonial life support, would improve social stability and the chances of survival on every colony we hold. With a living world as a source of supply... perhaps such a world would not hold the position Earth once held, true, but nonetheless it would help anchor trade networks, draw off excess population... it might well be a new era of wealth and progress for humanity and the colonies. May God grant that such a quest is even possible. For now, I want Administration and Technology drawing up preliminary studies of what we'd need to restore the Eden ship to functionality and get it mobile again, and Technology reviewing survey data and cross-checking against Eden ship logs and data models to try and identify potential candidate worlds for terraforming. Let us hope this is a true opportunity for us, and not a deception leading to our destruction. This meeting of the House Weiss council is adjourned.
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Jun 13, 2022 23:21
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I'll claim Malachi, unless someone else wants him. Does he have a better relationship with his mom or dad?
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Jun 14, 2022 15:08
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dervinosdoom posted:I'll claim Malachi, unless someone else wants him. Better with Romeo (91 versus 71). Hard to say his relationship with his mom is bad, mind you.
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Jun 14, 2022 15:52
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nweismuller posted:Better with Romeo (91 versus 71). Hard to say his relationship with his mom is bad, mind you. I can see it. He takes after dad quite a bit. Are council members the only ones that can have guardianships?
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Jun 14, 2022 20:37
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dervinosdoom posted:I can see it. He takes after dad quite a bit. Correct, as previously stated.
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Jun 15, 2022 07:30
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This terraforming plot sounds interesting and I hope you go through with it to see where it goes, (and because the scrap it option is narratively super boring by comparison) although I’m kind of skeptical that a successful ending is even possible just because it doesn’t look like the game systems are set up to handle such a thing as a fully habitable planet, except maybe as some sort of victory condition that ends the game. Do choices made in these sub-plots affect the opinions our councilors have towards the ruler? Or does the game not really model them having opinions about decisions like this.
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Jun 15, 2022 07:44
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Mzbundifund posted:This terraforming plot sounds interesting and I hope you go through with it to see where it goes, (and because the scrap it option is narratively super boring by comparison) although I’m kind of skeptical that a successful ending is even possible just because it doesn’t look like the game systems are set up to handle such a thing as a fully habitable planet, except maybe as some sort of victory condition that ends the game. Well, choosing to pursue terraforming is both a respect hit and something that displeases many of your House members (including people who actively supported this in our discussions out of game), but frankly Jane is so popular with her House for other reasons her council still ends with 100 opinion of her across the board at the end of this coming update. Up to and including 'saving Thomas' life'.
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Jun 15, 2022 07:56
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nweismuller posted:Correct, as previously stated. Sorry for the repeat questions!
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Jun 15, 2022 14:57
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nweismuller posted:Up to and including 'saving Thomas' life'. Is that rapscallion Romeo up to something again?
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Jun 15, 2022 14:58
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Speaking of Thomas's and Romeo's relationship, are they still in the negatives with each other?
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Jun 15, 2022 17:53
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dervinosdoom posted:Speaking of Thomas's and Romeo's relationship, are they still in the negatives with each other? Romeo's opinion of Thomas is now 42, and Thomas' of Romeo is 9, as of early 2516. They've recovered from the rivalry to have a baseline 'very mildly positive' opinion of each other by default, but Romeo likes Thomas significantly more because his daughter Devon appreciates being Thomas' ward. And since Romeo loves his daughter, he therefore likes the person who has done good things for his daughter more. Update after I return from visiting parents this weekend.
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Jun 16, 2022 22:48
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nweismuller posted:Romeo's opinion of Thomas is now 42, and Thomas' of Romeo is 9, as of early 2516. They've recovered from the rivalry to have a baseline 'very mildly positive' opinion of each other by default, but Romeo likes Thomas significantly more because his daughter Devon appreciates being Thomas' ward. And since Romeo loves his daughter, he therefore likes the person who has done good things for his daughter more. Update after I return from visiting parents this weekend. That's pretty cool how that shakes out! Can't wait for the next episode of Everybody Loves Jane Weiss
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Jun 17, 2022 14:24
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Small update: I'm back and I did a little writing yesterday, but I've been slowed by feeling extremely sleepy and low energy recently. I'll work on getting the update out ASAP.Director-General Jane Weiss posted:The pursuit of power without honor is like a jury-rigged repair. It might get done quickly, but I wouldn't count on it to hold atmosphere after it's done. Goodman, Patton, Gilmore- thus passes their glory.
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Jun 20, 2022 17:25
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Commissioner Oriole Weiss posted:OK class. Who can name at least three things that ruler did wrong?
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Jun 20, 2022 17:40
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The Eden Ship House Weiss, after lengthy discussion in its council following the discovery of the science ark at Albireo, came to a consensus that the purpose of the science ark should be investigated by dispatching a diplomatic mission to House Nicholson. The first inquiry, in the early part of 2514, was rudely rebuffed, representatives from House Nicholson making clear they had more important things to attend to than research in their House archives for a distant House they owed no duty to. Still, Diplomacy held out hope that approaching House Nicholson at a later time when they were less preoccupied with other affairs might have better results.   Director-General Jane Weiss, seeking to compensate Commissioner Oriole Weiss in some small respect for her disinheritance by House Nichols and removal from the line of succession for Miaplacidus, ordered a great feast to be held for House Weiss and all its vassals in Oriole's honor in March of that year. Not only was Oriole the guest of honor, she was appointed as the champion for House Weiss in the customary tournament opening the gathering, an honor Oriole gladly accepted in the hopes of claiming victory in a tournament as she had hoped.    Oriole claimed victory in her first match in the tournament, piloting her interceptor in a display that many onlookers found daring- even reckless. However, in her second match, Oriole was defeated by Colonial Director Javen Nichols, the very brother that had disinherited her, despite any risks she took to claim the advantage. In the end, victory in the tournament was claimed by Master Sasha Beck, son of Baron Angelo Beck, narrowly beating out Javen Nichols for the championship. The defeat frustrated Oriole, although she still took justifiable pride in her initial victory.  The feast and entertainments that followed were widely considered a splendid affair, a pleasure for the guests and a credit to Jane as the host, Oriole as the guest of honor, and Thomas as the feast's organiser. The food was plentiful and delicious, the wine flowed freely, and music, dancing, and conversation diverted the guests well after the feast itself. The rulers of the colonies of the Weiss Guild and the lords of the realms in the League departed Vega in good spirits, bound closer together by the event.  About midway through 2514, the colonies were rocked by the news that Director-General Pillan Gilmore of the Gilmore Guild, archon of the Gilmore League, master of the largest league in the known colonies, had turned over the archon's crown to Duchess Leane McCoy of the McCoy Dominion and dissolved the Gilmore Guild as an independent realm, leaving himself as no more than the Colonial Director of 94 Aquarii. This drastic step was taken in response to Pillan's mounting unpopularity amongst the rulers of the constituent states of the Gilmore League, an unpopularity brought about by Pillan's erratic and dishonorable behavior. Pillan Gilmore had changed the order of succession for House Gilmore on a whim more than once, repeatedly reshuffled his council, attempted murder, and committed any number of wrongs against the minor Houses of 94 Aquarii. Rather than risk open revolt against him by dissatisfied vassals, an outcome that might well end with House Gilmore stripped even of the rule of 94 Aquarii, Pillan instead gave up nearly all the power he had spent his life accumulating and trusted to the protection of his former vassal. Director-General Jane Weiss of the Weiss Guild, upon hearing the news, observed, "The pursuit of power without honor is like a jury-rigged repair. It might get done quickly, but I wouldn't count on it to hold atmosphere after it's done. Goodman, Patton, Gilmore- thus passes their glory."   Shortly after the dissolution of the Gilmore Guild, Director-General Jane Weiss was approached by emissaries from Baron Terryal Gates of Beta Librae, requesting military aid against a raid being launched by the forces of House Hunt of Algorab on Beta Librae. Jane, reluctant to expose the lives of her people in the defense of a colony she had no duties to, refused to get involved. News later arrived that forces under House Hunt's command had seized temporary control of the colony at Beta Librae, ransacking it for anything of value and bringing great hardship upon its inhabitants.  At nearly the same time, Executive Director Thomas Weiss finished the supervision of a project to restore a major waste recycling plant to operation at Alsciaukat- little to realise for how short a time this plant would remain in operation.   Back on Vega, the personal lives of the members of House Weiss were going well, with Technology Director Prudence Weiss making a full recovery from the gastrointestinal infection that had ravaged her and with Director-General Jane Weiss granting Noelle Garcia's request to allow him and Bella Garcia to try for another child.   The Director-General, on behalf of her stepmother Carmen, levied a fine of forty thousand marks against Baron Bradford Eaton, delivering justice for the baron's earlier divorce of Carmen. Jane Weiss had resolved to pursue justice for all the crimes still unavenged against members of her House, and this made the first step towards fulfilling this goal.   Following up with the inquiries to House Nicholson in the later part of 2514 revealed that, during the time when House Khalil had ruled, House Nicholson had dispatched a team to investigate the science ark in Albireo, which had returned to the House with copies of the ark's logs. House Nicholson was willing to provide copies of the logs to House Weiss, but requested a payment of sixty thousand marks for their trouble, a sum which House Weiss could not immediately afford, given its recent heavy investment into mining operations on Rotanev.  Near the beginning of 2515, House Garrett revealed files it had extracted from its House archives, appearing to indicate that the Garrett Confederation once controlled Albali during the Dark Ages. House McCoy immediately denounced this finding as a forgery, but House Garrett continued to hold it had a legitimate claim to the home colony of House McCoy and the McCoy Dominion. Whether the tenuous stability of the Gilmore League would continue to endure was growing increasingly open to question, as House McCoy held little claim to the loyalty of the other states of the Gilmore League and pressures were growing within it.  Meanwhile, King Lowell Lamb had taken action to follow up on House Lamb's claim to rule over Zeta Ophiuchi. He dispensed a generous payment of one hundred twenty thousand marks to President Lawrence Moody of Zeta Ophiuchi in exchange for House Moody breaking its oaths to House Pruitt and the Pruitt Systems and joining the Lamb Clan. King Lowell Lamb had parlayed the wealth he controlled from his rulership and the payment he had received for joining the Weiss League into notable growth for the Lamb Clan, making it one of the more important and powerful states of the modern colonies. His intelligence and ambition had been well-rewarded, and the growth of the Lamb Clan had in turn helped strengthen the Weiss League.  Less beneficial, however, was the raid launched in early 2515 by House Durham of Kastra against Mu Capricorni. The sole colony of the Marshall Collective was devastated- although it still survived, it was on the very edge of viability, with little more than the most essential industries to permit the continued survival of the colony. This also helped make the Marshall Collective's status as a full member state of the Weiss League seem fairly ridiculous, with the Marshall Collective unable to prevail against even a single baroness of a colony of no particular distinction.   Back on Vega, Admiral Harold Weiss, already old and weak, showed the first signs of outright senility as his condition began a rapid decline. He had long been aggressive in organising military exercises and training drills for the fleet, a pattern which continued- but a major training exercise in 2515 was rocked by the aftermath of Harold outright forgetting to precheck the orbital mechanics involved in his exercises. Following bomber targeting drills, several stray missiles drifted ballistic for over a month before one impacted the colony itself, breaching the primary colony data and computer center and killing a number of technical officers working for House Weiss Administration. The Director-General promptly suspended her father's training schedule until calculations could be rechecked and proper safety margins ensured. This event can currently fire for any Brave admiral. I've brought this up with Glen- it seems likely that Honorable or Kind admirals should probably have more concern with collateral damage. It's possible the event may be revised in future builds to be possible for non-Honorable, non-Kind, Brave admirals, and I could possibly fix it in my local build to work that way, assuming people think that's reasonable. Still, under the circumstances, it works as a one-off accident for a declining Harold, if we ignore the rather callous dialogue in the event.    Executive Director Thomas Weiss had been present at the data center when it was struck by this stray missile, and was badly injured by debris and decompression. Jane, who had just met with Thomas, was close enough to provide emergency medical aid to her brother after he was rescued from the breached facility by some of her Security detail, keeping him alive long enough for Prudence and a team of medics to arrive and hurry him to the hospital for recovery. Without her timely intervention, it seemed certain that her brother would have perished from blood loss there, another victim of the accident. Jane seemed to be deeply affected by the incident. She had never been cruel and had long had a deep concern for right and justice, but now she was noticeably gentler and more solicitous of the welfare of those around her- a fine trait and one that helped engender her popularity with the inhabitants of Vega, but one that hampered Security in taking the steps needed to prevent potential threats from approaching her. It's nice to be Kind, but the Security penalty from Kind given that Jane was already not terribly impressive at Security makes us a little easier to target covertly.   The Garret Confederation was rocked when Baroness Cherie Ferrell of Phecda delivered an ultimatum, demanding that Duke Landon Garrett take action to force the installation of a claimant to the throne of Beta Eridani in the Weiss Guild. When Duke Landon refused, Baroness Cherie rose in revolt, proclaiming herself Duchess of the Ferrell Clan. This was soon followed by the Ferrell Clan assaulting and seizing the colony at Alundra, deposing the colony's old ruler. Within a single month, the Garrett Confederation had lost two colonies, and was threatened on its flank by the prospect of losing yet another. Despite this rebellion against the Garrett Confederation, the Ferrell Clan remained a member state of the Gilmore League, although now that league was riven by an internal war between two of its members.        Bella Garcia spent much of the early part of 2515 assigned as a commodore leading Weiss forces against a pair of rebellions in Haldus and Alsciaukat. The rebellion in Haldus, an effort to reinstate House Wang as rulers of the colony, was handily crushed, but the rebellion in Alsciaukat was little short of a disaster even though House Weiss and loyalist forces claimed victory against the rebels led by House Booker. By the time House Weiss intervened, House Eaton had already committed his forces to the support of the rebellion, while House Perry of Nashira found itself honor-bound to assist the rebels due to earlier aid and Baron Blaine Floyd of Salm threw in his support to the rebels in exchange for fifteen thousand marks. By the time the fighting for the colony had ended, Baroness Meria Perry of Nashira was dead, the frigate she was commanding her forces from blasted to shrapnel, while the recently-repaired waste processing plant in the colony was hit by stray fire from the space battle. Both these rebellions were triggered by leftover characters with claims to rule trying to press their claims, rather than by accumulated unrest at the colony. At least failed claim rebellions at a colony weaken the rebel claim. Claim rebellions and random murders from minor Houses can be staved off by maintaining good relations with the minor Houses at a colony, or by just repeatedly crushing rebellions until they no longer have the legitimacy to try anymore. Unfortunately, not a great deal we could have done to stave off these particular revolts.    As the battle ended and loyalists were left in control of the colony, word was going to be delivered to Baroness Tala Mendoza- but soon it became apparent that somebody had gunned the baroness and a small detachment of her Security agents down shortly after she emerged from her secure position after the fighting ended. As the baroness lacked any natural heir, the colony reverted to the control of House Weiss as the ruling house of the Weiss Guild, with Director-General Jane Weiss needing to find an appropriate candidate to rule Alsciaukat. The Director-General, after reviewing potential appointees, named Lady Darlita Stevens, head of the minor House Stevens from Miaplacidus, as the new Colonial Director of Alsciaukat, and expressed her hopes that the new Colonial Director could help ensure order at the colony. Tala's death is pretty suspicious given her age and the circumstances- it wasn't a death in combat proper, and she was healthy before the rebellion. We don't exactly have proof, however.  Duchess Gwendolyn Garrett of the Garrett Confederation simply disappeared at the age of 24, leaving her crown in the hands of her younger brother, Landon Garrett. The duchess was so widely hated that spontaneous celebrations broke out across the Confederation as news of her disappearance spread. It seemed likely that she had been murdered, but her unpopularity meant that the list of potential suspects was very long indeed. A feast was held for House Garrett to celebrate Landon's coronation, but he refused to invite any guests beyond his own family in an effort to save money, a step which offended his vassals, his archon, and Director-General Jane Weiss, as ruler of the neighboring Weiss Guild.    While Harold Weiss was sliding down into senility, Thomas' daughter Emily and Prudence's son Malachi celebrated their majorities. Both had developed into intelligent- if rather introverted- young people, ready to contribute to their House. Jane immediately made seeking proper marriages matches for them a priority, soon settling on Master Leslie Porter, the disinherited son of Baron Nyako Porter of Hyadum, as a good match for Emily who might well make her happy. Soon the marriage was arranged, with Master Leslie Weiss married into his new House.   Jane continued to pursue justice for the crimes against her House, levying a fine of twenty thousand marks on Colonial Director Javen Nichols as punishment for his disinheritance of Oriole Weiss before the midpoint of 2515.   The funds thus raised were used to help defray the costs of buying the logs House Nicholson had recovered from the science ark, which revealed the nearly unbelievable truth. Shortly before the Collapse, the Galileo Institute had constructed a great terraforming ship intended to produce a breathable atmosphere on a suitable planet and then seed that planet with life- a project of immense ambition. After the loss of Earth and as colonial society was collapsing about them, the Galileo Institute crew of the 'Eden ship' attempted to terraform the planet in Albireo where the ship had been found, but, instead, accidentally triggered a runaway greenhouse effect. Even with all the expertise available to them as children of the height of human civilisation and technology, they had failed. On that planet they died as the life support of the Eden ship broke down. With the knowledge of the purpose of the ship now in House Weiss' hands, the council of House Weiss fell to discussion of what to do about the Eden ship. Although stripping the ship could bring great riches, many of the council were convinced that the importance of what a habitable world might mean for humanity meant that efforts should be made to put the ship back into operation. Reluctantly, Director-General Jane Weiss agreed, although she dreaded the cost and risk represented by a project that was beyond the abilities even of the Galileo Institute.    News began to leak that the Director-General was considering pursuing terraforming, a rumor which exposed her to laughter where it was shared. Of more immediate concern to Jane was the massive workload suddenly added to Administration and Technology as they began preliminary studies on how to restore the Eden ship to full operation and began considering candidate planets for future terraforming- a project which was nearly overwhelming at first. Although the council had generally supported pursuing terraforming, two people in House Weiss in particular became staunch partisans of the project. Ilario Weiss became convinced that the good this could mean for humanity's future was worth any risk, while Bella Garcia hungered to see humanity once more make progress, as she remembered of the days before her lengthy cryosleep. The huge empathy happiness hit Jane gets for the disapproval of so many people who, in thread, actually argued for this, I'm just glossing as the ridiculous workload of getting started on pursuing this project. The respect hit Jane takes, though, is definitely because the popular perception of such a project is that it's crazy. Ilario and Bella will now have a significantly improved opinion of Jane from now on... not that they didn't have a very high opinion of her anyhow.   The later part of the year saw Bella Garcia respond once more to command House Weiss forces in an effort to put down a House Wang rebellion on Haldus. The rebellion was crushed handily, and Lady Metea Wang pushed out an airlock immediately thereafter as punishment for her repeated rebellions. It was widely agreed that this execution was more than justified, although House Wang continued to seethe at Baron Bradford Eaton.   Duke Kirabo Pruitt of the Pruitt Systems charged Director-General Jane Weiss with delivering justice for the Lamb Clan's annexation of Zeta Ophiuchi. The Director-General promptly fined King Lowell Lamb twenty thousand marks for this crime, resolving her responsibility to deliver justice.  Meanwhile, King Lowell Lamb had been continuing to direct repairs to the colony at Pulcherrima, bringing the machine parts factory there back into operation. A steady supply of parts and mechanical components from a large-scale factory would be of immense aid in helping ensure the continued operation and repair of colonies across the Lamb Clan and beyond.  A half year after arranging a marriage for Emily, Jane arranged a marriage between Malachi and Geraldine Fardell, the daughter of Belicia Fardell and the niece of Mariko. Malachi almost immediately fell deeply in love with Geraldine, vindicating, to Jane, her choice of partner for Malachi.   Before the year ended, Harold Weiss's deterioration ended with his death at the age of 68. His loss was a crushing one for his children, and operations across the various departments under House Weiss suffered under listless and distracted leadership. With the position of Admiral now open, Jane raised Bella Garcia, the ancient Interstellar Authority officer, to Harold's old position on the council, trusting in her skill and professionalism to serve as a worthy replacement for Harold. With Harold's death, the generation that had led the revolt against King Emmanuel Goodman was now gone. The future of House Weiss now rested entirely in the hands of Alice and Harold's children.   Baroness Yuki Perry of Nashira, who had taken the throne after her mother's death in fighting at Alsciaukat, took swift advantage of the fact that her Director-General's stepmother was now unmarried. Shortly after the beginning of 2516, Yuki proposed that her father, Keir Perry, unmarried since her mother's death, be married to Carmen Weiss, seeking a blood tie between House Perry and House Weiss. Jane agreed, on the condition that Yuki pay fifty thousand marks for this marriage. Yuki agreed, and soon Keir had travelled to Vega to join House Weiss.  Although Rebecca Weiss was well-liked, her sister Emily was less so, and the increasing public exposure of Emily after she reached her majority raised hackles amongst serf work crews assigned to Technology to retrieve possible examples of lost technology. The serfs who worked with Emily found her tedious and condescending, a perfect example of the 'out of touch intellectual', and a work detail she was assigned to head soon became an outbreak of jeering and contempt that drove Emily into retreat. News of the incident spread, raising unrest at Vega at the prospect that somebody like Emily might some day inherit the rule of House Weiss.    Efforts by Technology to retrieve examples of pre-Collapse technology bore fruit when Prudence and Ilario noted a sensor ping they did not anticipate and went to investigate. An ancient interceptor fitted with unusual equipment was recovered, with logs indicating that it was a NovaCorp prototype for cloaking technology. The interceptor had been drifting for centuries, its cloaking device still functioning until it had failed within the last year. Ilario was assigned to study and repair the device, which he was capable of restoring to operation. Both Admiral Bella Garcia and Commissioner Oriole Weiss soon learned of this ship, which could be a powerful asset in battle or for covert operations. Director-General considered their pleas, then assigned the ship to Military's authority as a secret weapon to help turn the tide where it could.  Jane levied a second fine against Colonial Director Javen Nichols, finally entirely discharging her responsibility to bring justice for Oriole's disinheritance. The Weiss Guild and Weiss League, Early 2516   The death of Harold Weiss has hit House Weiss hard, and, although their departments still function well by most colonial standards, efficiency has been notably impacted by the death of a beloved father. As time passes, departments are slowly beginning to show some signs of recovering from their recent lack of productivity. The effort of arranging marriages, pursuing justice, and the lack of initiative to ensure new House members are properly assigned has left fully four members of the House without proper assignments, a state of affairs which may take a little time to properly straighten out. Alice Weiss, Thomas and Oriole's third daughter, is now fourteen, and is rapidly approaching her age of majority.  The cloaked interceptor House Weiss has recovered is a weapon that could change the course of a battle. A ship that could slip in close and devastate bomber formations while the confusion of battle provides cover is an advantage it is difficult to overstate.  Director-General Jane Weiss has made significant strides as a diplomat under Prudence's instruction, and her mood has begun to recover, somewhat, from the devastating loss of her father. She has, if anything, become more detached from the operations of Military and Security, her increasingly gentle nature reluctant to be too deeply involved in such matters. Her marriage to Mariko has been a continuing source of strength to her, helping her to recover from the loss of her father.  Director-Heir Thomas Weiss is famed even beyond the Weiss League as an administrator, by now, an expert rarely matched in the colonies. On top of overseeing Administration as a whole, he has been directing the expansion of blue dust mining at Rotanev, in the hopes that the revenues from taxing blue dust traffic will be of profit to the Weiss Guild and that easy access to a relatively safe drug there is little need to suppress will help keep the peace amongst the commoners of the League. He and Oriole remain deeply devoted to each other, an inseparable couple.  Admiral Bella Garcia has thrown herself into her new role, seeking to prove herself a worthy replacement for Harold. Even with recent disruptions, Military is operating at nearly the efficiency it had under Harold as Admiral. She has been pleased to be able to spend more time with Noelle now that she is permanently resident at Vega, and has been remotely overseeing a deployment of peacekeepers to Ross 128 as well as directing the department as a whole. She is well into her second pregnancy, looking forward to a new child for her family.  Director-Consort Mariko Weiss remains deeply committed to Jane Weiss, and is widely considered a superb spokeswoman for the House, dedicated and quick to find areas of mutual interest. On top of ensuring stable relations overall, Mariko has been focusing on strengthening ties with the Pruitt Systems in the hopes of avoiding potential conflict.  Commissioner Oriole Weiss, although disappointed that her ambition to claim victory in a tournament has thus far been denied, has nonetheless taken consolation in her close relationship with Thomas Weiss and the pleasure of serving as Allen Weiss's mentor. She weathered the death of Harold Weiss better than most of the rest of the council, and has remained steadfast in her duty to ensure the safety of the Director-General and direct the operations of Security in general.  Prudence, unlike her siblings, has had more difficulty recovering from Harold's death, and remains distant and detached even by her usual standards. She continues to research old technologies and review astrographic catalogues, hoping to uncover ancient secrets and identify potential candidate planets for a terraforming project. She has also been working to provide study material for the Director-General to continue to hone her diplomatic skills, dredging through House Weiss archives for material of potential use in the study of rhetoric and psychology.  Ilario Weiss has spent much of the past two years together with Rebecca Weiss, helping ensure she has access to all the reference material needed to assist her in her assignment to Administration. He is, by now, clearly deeply in love with his young wife, and touchingly devoted to her happiness and welfare.  Romeo Weiss has spent most of the past two years resident at Pulcherrima, helping monitor accounts, arrange logistics, and ensure tax collections are efficient. His activities there have earned the Weiss Guild a significant amount of money, while Pulcherrima is a colony nigh-well as developed as Vega itself by now, well capable of supporting Romeo in the luxury he desires. Although not as skilled as Jane or Thomas, he is nonetheless a capable and insightful administrator.  Rebecca Weiss has taken to her assignment to Administration with vigor, splitting her time between overseeing the repair of solar collection arrays to provide energy for the colony at Mu Capricorni and studying the vast amount of material provided her by her husband and by her sister. Her marriage with Ilario is a very happy one, although they have yet to succeed at having a child.  Emily Weiss is, in many ways, the very picture of the ivory-tower technologist- withdrawn, meticulous, intelligent, and interested in little but the study of science. She has travelled with her sister to Mu Capricorni, where she has bent her efforts to ensure that Rebecca is properly educated in scientific matters. She has started to see some success, although Rebecca still has a very great deal to learn. On her last visit to Vega, she lost her temper with very little cause while talking to Keir Weiss, venting her anger and misery at the death of her grandfather.  Malachi Weiss, although keenly intelligent, is also greedy, haughty, peremptory to his inferiors, and solitary, and is considered distinctly unpleasant by most. He and his father get along very well, however, and he has become quite devoted to his new wife Geraldine in a very short span of time. He has yet to be formally assigned to any department for work, given the recent disorganisation in the upper levels of House Weiss.  Noelle Garcia has continued his dedicated, if unconventional, service as Senior Investigator for Security at Vega. He has done much to investigate minor crime, but his career has been relatively uneventful. He is pleased to have a nw child on the way, altough he finds the development less completely thrilling than does his wife. He views his efforts to protect the innocent people of Vega as a calling, and takes distinct satisfaction in his work.  Carmen Weiss has continued to serve as a colonel of peacekeepers at Nashira, helping quell unrest and disorder at that colony. She has been pleased at her recent marriage, but remains one of the most distant members of House Weiss from the remainder of the family. She reports that Baroness Yuki Perry has begun to take the unrest situation in Nashira in hand, and believes that she could safely be reassigned when needed.  Master Leslie Weiss, Emily's husband and Baron Nyako Porter's son, has been rather depressed since his arrival at Vega. He is humble, undemanding, and quiet by nature, but his unassuming manner hides somebody who is a skilled military commander and scientist. He has yet to get a formal departmental assignment, and so has remained at home with no work to occupy him.  Geraldine Weiss, Malachi's wife, shows some potential as a military leader, being both aggressive and prone to novel tactical experimentation, but is thus far hampered by her very limited experience and training. She is already pregnant- it seems likely that she conceived the very night she and Malachi were married. As with many others, she lacks a formal departmental assignment and has been unable to work for the House's interests yet.  Keir Weiss, Carmen's husband and the father of the new baroness of Nashira, is noted for his honesty and firm honor. Despite extensive training in security operations, his open and honest nature makes him deeply unsuited to work in Security. His open and honest nature, however, makes him a natural fit for Diplomacy, as he easily inspires trust. He too lacks any formal departmental assignment.  Although the Gilmore League is still marginally larger than the Weiss League, it is distinctly less internally-stable, and some wonder if the Gilmore League will survive its own internal pressures. The Weiss League, whatever its struggles- which have not been insignificant- nonetheless is relatively secure in its political position and has been making efforts to develop its territory, although raids and rebellions have made overall progress slow. Beyond the Gilmore League, the Werner Dominion has broken away from the Calderon League, a revolt which cost the Calderon League over half its territory. The war between the Garrett Confederation and Pruitt Systems has effectively been stopped by the revolt of the Ferrell Clan, leaving the Garrett Confederation with a war closer to home. Whether peace, order, and prosperity can become a reality for the Weiss League as a whole is an open question, although the alternative is a bleak prospect to imagine. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 03:42 on Jun 21, 2022 |
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Jun 21, 2022 03:32
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Director-General Jane Weiss posted:I'm hoping we can straighten out our current personnel issues quickly. I know it conflicts with earlier discussion, but, given who we have available and who is already assigned to other departments, I would like to propose that Malachi be assigned as a project manager in Administration, that Leslie be assigned as a senior scientist in Technology, that Geraldine be assigned as a colonel in Military, and that Keir be assigned as a diplomat in Diplomacy. Is this an acceptable arrangement for everybody? Also, Thomas, I can see several possible priorities you'll have for future repairs, I'm curious what you're intending to focus on first. I'll get out reports once my brain starts working again, but for now it's mush after writing. Given previous priority statements by Thomas, I can see three different things he might prioritise first- the Data Center at Vega, revenue-enhancing facilities in direct vassals that do not yet have four working installations, and the message drone hangar at Rotanev. Clarifying priority order between those three possibilities will be helpful to me. Working out who gets assigned to what department will also be key to determining what resources different departments have to play with, so make sure to weigh in on the proposed division of personnel. E: Mariko, Emily, Noelle, Carmen, Leslie, Geraldine, and Keir are all available to be claimed. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 04:36 on Jun 21, 2022 |
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Jun 21, 2022 03:41
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Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:I understand that I almost died, but that's no excuse not to have already fast-tracked the repairs of the data center father damaged. I'll not have father's legacy tarnished by long-term loss of operational efficiency due to a single botched exercise. Repairs are to begin immediately. Once that's taken care of, repairs at our vassal colonies will continue according to the normal priorities. And, given the instability we're dealing with at present, another hand in Administration wouldn't be unwelcome, so we'll welcome Malachi. In fact, he can oversee the data center repairs, get used to the job in familiar surroundings, before we start sending him farther afield.
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Jun 21, 2022 07:23
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Admiral Bella Garcia posted:I had the utmost respect for my predecessor. Whilst his loss is chastening, we do his memory a disservice if we allow our standards to drop. Carmen, you've done sterling work on Nashira, but the reward for a job well done is a harder job. Your new assignment is taking over from the late Admiral on Merope. Geraldine, welcome to active duty, I'd like you to take over my work on Ross 128. I'll take responsibility for Hyadum personally. Leslie could have great aptitude for a military secondment, and whilst I accept the Tech department would benefit from his presence, we could do with someone attending to Mu Capricorni, but this is merely a recommendation with the final call in the hands of the Director-General. As an aside, Noelle and I are greatly appreciative of the chance to address the question of personnel numbers personally, all being well we expect good news in a short few months.
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Jun 21, 2022 09:55
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Thomas is having a hard time, almost getting shot by Romeo and then getting blown up by his dad, he needs a vacation!
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Jun 21, 2022 13:09
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Incidentally, thoughts on me tweaking the reckless training event so it will be blocked by Kind or Honorable from here on out? I'm inclined to do so, but I'm curious what others think.
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Jun 21, 2022 22:43
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Checks Bella's stats. Checks Bella's assigned role. Um, yes. Go ahead and tweak it. I'm being completely impartial here.
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Jun 21, 2022 23:41
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nweismuller posted:Incidentally, thoughts on me tweaking the reckless training event so it will be blocked by Kind or Honorable from here on out? I'm inclined to do so, but I'm curious what others think. I don't know about Honorable, but certainly Kind. An honorable person can be capable of simple poor judgment, particularly if they're reckless. Maybe have Intelligent block it, though?
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Jun 21, 2022 23:56
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EclecticTastes posted:I don't know about Honorable, but certainly Kind. An honorable person can be capable of simple poor judgment, particularly if they're reckless. Maybe have Intelligent block it, though? Honorable mostly because there's stuff in the honor code about protecting innocents and not endangering colonies. A Kind person would be scrupulous about collateral damage because it hurts people, an Honorable person because subjecting people to collateral just for training is unjust. E: It's worth noting that there's quite a few events where 'Kind or Honorable' is used to check for people with moral qualms about things or people with a certain level of idealism. The game's events make it clear both Kind and Honorable have a concern about the general welfare. The difference is that Honorable is concerned with the basic question 'right or wrong' and Kind is concerned with the question of 'does this cause suffering or happiness'? The two questions aren't entirely independent of one another on a practical level. As an example, the two terraforming supporters you get are chosen from somebody Kind or Honorable (in our case, Ilario, who's both) arguing for the good to humanity, and somebody Brave or a Rulebreaker (in our case, Bella) who argues that terraforming is an unmatched opportunity to seize an advantage. There are, however, other events that distinguish between the two concepts. I can think of at least one example of 'attempting to perpetuate fraud in order to encourage peace', for instance, that needs somebody who's Kind but not Honorable; other events likewise. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 01:51 on Jun 22, 2022 |
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Jun 22, 2022 00:21
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I'm absolutely cool with changing the event so it doesn't fire on kind/honorable people. I am also cool with engaging in any required console shenanigans needed to sync characters in-game opinions with their expressed RP positions in thread. I'm looking at you, events that make characters upset over terraforming. :P So yeah.
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Jun 22, 2022 03:04
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Do we have an 'Integrity' tag entirely separate from 'Honor'? Those aren't always found hand in hand.
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Jun 22, 2022 03:26
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Xlorp posted:Do we have an 'Integrity' tag entirely separate from 'Honor'? Those aren't always found hand in hand. No. The complete list of personality traits (which are all in pairs) is Kind/Cruel, Brave/Cowardly, Tribal/Individualistic, Loyal/Fickle, Greedy/Satisfied, Friendly/Reserved, Honorable/Rulebreaker, Humble/Proud, Forgiving/Vengeful, Intelligent/Stupid, and Chaming/Dull. 'Honorable' is the primary trait covering a concern with following moral rules and duties. ('Kind' is obviously also moral, but has more to do with 'empathy' than 'rules', as it were.) nweismuller fucked around with this message at 04:26 on Jun 22, 2022 |
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Jun 22, 2022 04:22
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So, the background of a character portrait actually contains some important information. One, two, or three colored stripes are behind the head of the portrait, and the background color of the portrait varies. The colored stripes indicate what rank the character's House is, and what the character's relative position in the House is. Three stripes is reserved for the head of the House. Two stripes indicate an 'important' member of the House- council members, the House head's spouse, and children of the House head are the ones I believe qualify as 'important'. One stripe indicates other members of the House. If the stripes are blue, the House is an archon-ranked House. If they're gold, it's a ducal House. If they're silver, it's a baronial House. And if they're orange-copper, it's a minor House. The background color, for its part, is a desaturated version of the House's identifying color. You'll also note every member of a House wears something in the House color- for instance, the suits that Jane, Carmen, Romeo, and Malachi are wearing all have shirts in Weiss blue. E: The coats of arms on the side of the portrait also provide an (almost) full hierarchy of the House and Houses above it- for instance, in this screenshot... ... you can see, on the left of Lawrence Moody's portrait, the coats of arms of House Weiss, House Lamb, and House Moody, going down in order. For a portrait for a member of a minor House, this list of coat of arms will not include their colony's baron if they're a minor House on a colony ruled by a baron. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 20:10 on Jun 22, 2022 |
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Jun 22, 2022 20:01
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Commissioner Oriole Weiss posted:Priorities, priorities... Xlorp fucked around with this message at 03:13 on Jun 23, 2022 |
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Jun 23, 2022 02:53
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