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Aethernet posted:Just chiming in to say this is a great LP and prompted me to buy the game. On the third turn of my first game my character's daughter proposed that she become my secret lover, and apparently my character was into it. Luckily he was already happy enough without banging his own child. Game rules. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Either the dev missed a "don't trip this event if" flag somewhere, or Zoroastrianism came back in a big way somewhere in the backstory.
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Jun 30, 2022 07:53
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It's happened in my Catholic ck3 games
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Jun 30, 2022 08:00
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EclecticTastes posted:Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Either the dev missed a "don't trip this event if" flag somewhere, or Zoroastrianism came back in a big way somewhere in the backstory. Close relatives are significantly less likely to fall in love with other close relatives, but it can happen. And becoming a secret lover with your own child is breaking an additional moral rule over and above the other moral rules being broken with secret love affairs. The moral rules involved, all of which have honor impacts, are 'don't have sex with somebody who you are not married to', 'don't betray your own spouse with an affair', 'don't harm somebody else's spouse by having an affair with somebody married', and 'don't lie with close kin'. This can make affairs pretty reputationally-devastating if they come out.
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Jun 30, 2022 08:51
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So the bloodlines upgrades are tied a bit to how many members of your family/dynasty hold titles/are landed. Didn't we miss a big chance to put a member of the Weiss family in power after that one baroness suddenly died without heir?
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Jun 30, 2022 10:11
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Torrannor posted:So the bloodlines upgrades are tied a bit to how many members of your family/dynasty hold titles/are landed. Didn't we miss a big chance to put a member of the Weiss family in power after that one baroness suddenly died without heir? Making a gap in your org chart by appointing a member of your own House can have its own drawbacks. I didn't feel like we had anybody good we could spare who was in a position to start generating heirs for that barony. (That said, we've just spread our bloodline a little further in the 2516-2518 update by marrying off a newly-adult member of our House to a baron who soon afterwards became a duke.) As of early 2518, our kinship map looks like this, with red representing close kin as ruler (only Jane, in this case), orange representing 'normal' kin, and yellow representing distant kin. The striping over the Weiss Guild and the Lamb Clan indicate that the ruler of that realm is closer kin than the local ruler of the colony someplace. E: We're getting benefit to bloodline upgrade points from distant kin of at least ducal rank, and from normal and close kin of baronial rank and up. As well as 'respect' earned by normal and close kin, wherever they are. Given that throwing feasts is a decent respect generator for the host, the organiser, and and the guest of honor, you can effectively use hosting feasts as a way to convert money into respect that becomes bloodline upgrade progress. Further edit: Specifically, the base bloodline upgrade points from rank are 1, 2, and 4 points a turn from baronial, ducal, and archon rank, multiplied by 1, 4, or 8 for distant, normal, and close kin, and with distant kin not giving upgrade points for baronial rank. From respect, each point of respect earned by close kin is a one-time award of 8 upgrade points and each point of respect earned by normal kin is a one-time award of 4 upgrade points. We're earning a total of 54 points passively every turn, 32 for Jane's rank as an archon, 8 for one normal kin of ducal rank (the Porter Kingdom), 12 for three normal kin of baronial rank, and 2 for distant kin of ducal rank (the Lamb Clan). Our next upgrade costs 800 accrued points, and each upgrade increases in cost by 50 points. The first upgrade costs 700, and you start with 350 already accrued, so the first upgrade comes faster. 
nweismuller fucked around with this message at 11:00 on Jun 30, 2022 |
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Jun 30, 2022 10:48
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So what you're saying is, once we've got enough people in our court to properly handle any tasks we need done, excess kids should be shopped out to our
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Jun 30, 2022 11:05
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EclecticTastes posted:So what you're saying is, once we've got enough people in our court to properly handle any tasks we need done, excess kids should be shopped out to our That is indeed one of the factors to consider for negotiating marriages. E: Going to be honest, though, the fact that Gustave Porter is Honorable, Humble, and Intelligent and Alice is Honorable, Intelligent, and Loyal was actually the decider here for me. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 11:19 on Jun 30, 2022 |
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Jun 30, 2022 11:13
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nweismuller posted:Close relatives are significantly less likely to fall in love with other close relatives, but it can happen. And becoming a secret lover with your own child is breaking an additional moral rule over and above the other moral rules being broken with secret love affairs. The moral rules involved, all of which have honor impacts, are 'don't have sex with somebody who you are not married to', 'don't betray your own spouse with an affair', 'don't harm somebody else's spouse by having an affair with somebody married', and 'don't lie with close kin'. Mostly all of that "all of this poo poo is marked to be Highly Unlikely but it can still happen" stuff reminds me of that screenshot from one of these types of games, I think it was a Crusader Kings but I am not sure, that basically was a letter saying "oh poo poo boss, I found out Loyal Spymaster Jimmy is plotting to whack Loyal Spymaster Jimmy, better watch out for that shifty fucker; signed Loyal Spymaster Jimmy." I don't know if that kind of thing can happen in this game, but I hope it can and it does, just to see how you spin it. 
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Jun 30, 2022 19:03
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MechaCrash posted:Mostly all of that "all of this poo poo is marked to be Highly Unlikely but it can still happen" stuff reminds me of that screenshot from one of these types of games, I think it was a Crusader Kings but I am not sure, that basically was a letter saying "oh poo poo boss, I found out Loyal Spymaster Jimmy is plotting to whack Loyal Spymaster Jimmy, better watch out for that shifty fucker; signed Loyal Spymaster Jimmy." I hope loyal spymaster Jimmy kills the plotter!
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Jun 30, 2022 19:20
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Meet the new Jimmy, same as the old Jimmy
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Jun 30, 2022 19:35
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MechaCrash posted:Mostly all of that "all of this poo poo is marked to be Highly Unlikely but it can still happen" stuff reminds me of that screenshot from one of these types of games, I think it was a Crusader Kings but I am not sure, that basically was a letter saying "oh poo poo boss, I found out Loyal Spymaster Jimmy is plotting to whack Loyal Spymaster Jimmy, better watch out for that shifty fucker; signed Loyal Spymaster Jimmy." Not quite the same, but I caught a bug in Star Dynasties (now fixed), in which an event where you recruited the aid of a House member who gets along with your spouse as you attempt to seduce your spouse (a case where seduction is totally acceptable!), where it didn't disqualify your own spouse as your wingman. "Well, if I speak so well for you, it makes me think there must be something to you..."
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Jun 30, 2022 21:01
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MechaCrash posted:Mostly all of that "all of this poo poo is marked to be Highly Unlikely but it can still happen" stuff reminds me of that screenshot from one of these types of games, I think it was a Crusader Kings but I am not sure, that basically was a letter saying "oh poo poo boss, I found out Loyal Spymaster Jimmy is plotting to whack Loyal Spymaster Jimmy, better watch out for that shifty fucker; signed Loyal Spymaster Jimmy." 
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Jul 1, 2022 06:59
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What I want to know is how that situation resolved itself, if the spymaster succeeded in killing himself, if he got caught killing himself and killed himself in retaliation, if he failed to kill himself and wound up imprisoned for it, or what, and also who ended up taking the heat for the plot in terms of reputation hits, and from whom.
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Jul 1, 2022 07:02
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EclecticTastes posted:What I want to know is how that situation resolved itself, if the spymaster succeeded in killing himself, if he got caught killing himself and killed himself in retaliation, if he failed to kill himself and wound up imprisoned for it, or what, and also who ended up taking the heat for the plot in terms of reputation hits, and from whom. The situation resolves as normal. If you check the portraits in the message, you will see that it's two different ones. Meaning that this is not a glitch, it's just that the two involved people happen to have the same name.
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Jul 1, 2022 07:05
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Theantero posted:The situation resolves as normal. If you check the portraits in the message, you will see that it's two different ones. Meaning that this is not a glitch, it's just that the two involved people happen to have the same name. Oh, right. It's been a while since I last played CK2, I forgot what the smaller portrait was for (thought it was for their lord i.e. the player).
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Jul 1, 2022 07:10
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Theantero posted:The situation resolves as normal. If you check the portraits in the message, you will see that it's two different ones. Meaning that this is not a glitch, it's just that the two involved people happen to have the same name. That's actually a different one from the more famous original, which does NOT to my knowledge involve two separate people with the same name (you'll note no second portrait). I still like the jokes that it's actually a secret cry for help from a suicidal spymaster and he just needs a hug.
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Jul 1, 2022 21:11
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Sorry I've been a bit busy lately. I'll try to get on things this weekend.
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Jul 13, 2022 22:05
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nweismuller posted:Sorry I've been a bit busy lately. I'll try to get on things this weekend. It's cool, I'm finally going to update one of my LPs this week! after not updating since February. 
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Jul 14, 2022 00:54
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Major insomnia slowed me down, but I've finally finished processing and uploading images. Writing to ensue in the next few days.
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Jul 22, 2022 06:30
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Lamb's Labors Lost Jayne Garcia, the second son of Admiral Bella Garcia and Noelle Garcia, was born in the latter half of 2516. Although House Weiss now housed twenty-four nobles, a number whose expense would be a heavy burden on many colonies, the wealth afforded to House Weiss allowed it to absorb these expenses without any appreciable strain on the colony's resources. Few noble Houses could boast such a size, a size which was only viable due to Hose Weiss's status as the wealthiest House in known space. Every House has a member limit determined by its income, with minor Houses (which have no tracked income) having a member limit of 10. House Weiss, as of game start, had a member limit of 13, which had since grown to 25 by 2516 and has now reached 26 as of 2518. A House of 24 members is, not to put too fine a point on it, huge, and gives us the luxury of plenty of departmental staffing and a new generation to replenish our ranks. Any new House members over your limit give a sharp honor hit to reputation as you end up having to overburden your local colony's population to support the life support and lifestyle of a bloated House; it's a very good idea to keep your House below its size limit. The expense of maintaining your household is abstracted into a simple capacity, similar to the expense of maintaining a fleet, handling basic colonial upkeep, keeping your departments running, and so forth.     Shortly following the birth of Jayne, Rebecca and Ilario Weiss returned to Vega for one of the routine visits home made even by nobles spending most of their time resident on assignment in another colony, with Emily- who had been travelling with Rebecca and Ilario for their work- taking advantage of this time to visit her husband Leslie where he was helping Geraldine Weiss study military affairs at Ross 128. While Rebecca and Ilario were meeting with the Director-General and her wife for a private lunch, Ilario began choking on a piece of synthpork. Jane quickly realised the situation, acting swiftly to dislodge the piece of meat from Ilario's windpipe before he could asphyxiate. It seemed likely that Jane's quick action had saved Ilario's life. While Jane accepted the praise for her action and the gratitude of Ilario and Rebecca, she nonetheless emphasised that this was her simple duty to do good deeds when the situation presented itself. I could take advantage of this event to have Jane become Satisfied or to lose Honorable, but neither of these options appeal to me, so I simply take the option that would make Jane Kind again, to no effect.   During a training exercise in Kapteyn's Star, the cloaking device for the cloaked interceptor at House Weiss's disposal shorted out the interceptor's power systems, dropping the interceptor back into visibility until the power systems rebooted. Security soon confirmed that local forces in the service of House Hayes had observed the strange appearance and disappearance of this interceptor, and that House Hayes had become convinced that House Weiss now had access to a secret technological edge.   Similar technical issues in Vega were observed by Malachi Weiss during a shuttle flight, leading him to directly ask Director-General Jane Weiss about their cause. Jane found it impossible to lie to her own House members about such a thing, and ended up explaining the situation in full to Malachi. Although this did not directly cause any problems, nonetheless it raised questions about how reliable the cloaking device was and how secure the secret could be.   The latter half of 2516 saw a rebellion erupt against Archon Leane McCoy, spearheaded by Lady Blythe Maxwell. The rebellion was ultimately a doomed effort, crushed by loyalist forces, and Lady Blythe Maxwell was soon arrested and executed by House McCoy Security forces, shot in the base of the skull.  With no practical way for either side to conduct offensive operations given the intervening colony at Kastra, the war of revolt between the Marshall Collective and Sherman Collective had long endured only on paper. By the end of 2516, the war was generally considered ended. Peace was restored through sheer default.  Rebecca Weiss had been leading a project to restore a solar power station in close orbit of Mu Capricorni to operation, the abundant energy collected by this station then rendered portable by siting fuel manufacturing on the station. By the end of the year, this project was completed, and Rebecca returned to Vega along with her husband Ilario Weiss and her sister Emily Weiss, both of whom had been assigned to assist with her continuing education as the expected future Director-General of the Weiss Guild. There she awaited reassignment.    Shortly after the beginning of 2517, Baroness Qiana Liu of Alhena approached House Weiss seeking aid- rebellion was brewing, spearheaded by her stepson Sir Ponce Stuart. Director-General Jane Weiss, who was aware of Alhena's vulnerable position on the Weiss Guild's borders, agreed to dispatch military aid, on the condition that the Baroness break allegiance with the Lindsey Coalition and swear her colony to the Weiss Guild. Baroness Qiana agreed, citing unjust fines against her as a justification for her succession from the Lindsey Coalition. Soon fleet forces from nearby colonies within the Weiss League were on their way to support Liu loyalist forces at Alhena.   The revolt at Alhena was put down swiftly, rebel ships and peacekeepers along with their allies from Saiph convincingly beaten within minimal damage to the colony. Order was restored, but now the colony was joined into the Weiss Guild, part of a realm that had grown dramatically over the past seventeen years.  Shortly after the end of the fighting at Alhena, Geraldine Weiss gave birth to Malachi Weiss's first child, Adam. Adam was the first child of the new generation of House Weiss, the first grandchild of the Weiss siblings who had been present for the rebellion against House Goodman, and, briefly, the twenty-fifth member of the House.  Early 2517 also saw Duchess Leane McCoy of the McCoy Dominion, archon of the Gilmore League, host a great feast in honor of Duke Dallon Werner, ruler of the neighboring Werner Dominion and husband to her niece. An invitation was dispatched to Director-General Jane Weiss as the powerful ruler of a neighboring realm and archon of a league, an invitation that Jane accepted. Jane was accompanied to Albali by her wife Mariko, her brother and heir Thomas, his wife Oriole, and by Admiral Bella Garcia.    Commissioner Oriole Weiss asked of the Director-General permission to champion House Weiss in the tournament, seeking to at long last fulfill a lifelong ambition of victory in a tournament. Jane consented, naming Oriole as House Weiss's champion in the tournament. Oriole flew aggressively- some said recklessly- in her matches, but she defeated contestant after contestant until finally facing Master Katungi Nicholson, the eldest son of Duchess Aracely Nicholson in the final match of the tournament. By being willing to accept maneuvers on the very edge of blacking out, Oriole was able to swiftly pull behind Katungi's interceptor and pelt his ship with the lightweight aluminum pellets of tournament ammunition. The tournament ended, Oriole crowned as champion to the acclaim of the guests at the feast.  During the feast thereafter, Duchess Leane McCoy signaled her wish to grant a great honor to Ruana Garrett, once duchess of the Garrett Confederation before her abdication. Ruana was to serve as Leane's cupbearer, and was requested to go fetch Leane's cup. For a moment, the true implications of this request were unclear, before somebody pointed to the observation window and called out for the other guests to look. There, drifting gently downward to the surface of the moon holding the feasting hall, was Leane McCoy's cup, glittering in the light of Albali. The hall burst into laughter, with Ruana thoroughly humiliated by this gesture.  Over the course of the meal, Jane forged a new acquaintance with Governor Lee Shaffer of Propus, who by coincidence or the design of Executive Nasya McCoy in the feast preparations was seated near the Director-General. The two fell into deep conversation about mathematics, colonial engineering, and astronomical history, the Governor proving to be an intelligent conversationalist who could keep up with Jane even despite his weakness from a long illness.  Following the feast and the music and dancing that followed, the guests prepared to depart. In all, it had been an enjoyable excursion for most- leaving aside the badly-humiliated Ruana Garrett. Oriole, in particular, returned home to Vega buoyed by a sense of great pride, having at long last claimed victory in a full tournament as she had long wished.     On the return of Jane and her party to Vega, they were almost immediately met by a request from aid by Baron Bradford Eaton of Haldus. Lady Walker Wang, the last surviving child of former Coordinator Walt Wang, was preparing a revolt against Baron Eaton's rule, and Jane's assistance as the Baron's liege was requested. The Director-General immediately dispatched what ships could be deployed from Vega to Haldus, under the direct command of Admiral Bella Garcia. The battle was brief indeed, with House Wang lacking any outside support and only able to raise a token force from the forces at Haldus. The rebels were swiftly crushed and Lady Wang arrested, to eventually be executed by command of Baron Bradford Eaton. The baron, wishing to carry out the execution with as little pain for Lady Wang as possible, ordered that she be killed by being shot in the head. Medics on the scene indicated that death was instant.    Nearly simultaneously, Baron Kuron Robinson of Tseen was levying an ultimatum against King Lowell Lamb of the Lamb Clan- that the King declare war against the White Federation to place a new ruler on the throne of Albireo, or face a revolt by Tseen. Lowell Lamb refused this ultimatum, at which point Kuron Robinson declared the independence of Tseen from the Lamb Clan as the Robinson Confederation, the newest member state of the Weiss League.  Executive Director Thomas Weiss, on top of his duties as head of House Weiss Administration, had been working on an expensive and delicate project to greatly scale up the mining of blue dust at Rotanev. Before the midpoint of 2517, this project was finally complete, the aluminum lithium borate compound beginning to be exported in quantity across the Weiss League. Blue dust was not only a powerful euphoriant, but one with minimal side-effects, minimising the risks to colonial workforces making use of this drug. As a matter of policy, most rulers preferred blue dust to the other synthetic drugs that periodically erupted into use in the slums of the colonies, and blue dust was soon legally traded across the league, accruing profits for House Patton and helping keep the serf workforce on colony after colony more docile.   Meanwhile, Director-General Jane Weiss took note of two puzzling trends across the league and realised how they were connected. Minor Houses beneath the ruling Houses of the colonies had begun to freely provide charitable contributions of basic food and water to ease the lot of the serfs of their colonies, while small dips in the income of ruling Houses had begun to impact the taxes collected by House Weiss. What became clear is that these contributions to the serfs of the ruling House of their colony had been encouraged by the ruling House, which in turn relieved the tribute burden on the minor House, while re-arranging serf compensation and scrip prices so that the amount their serfs consumed remained essentially the same after the charitable aid by minor Houses. In effect, minor Houses were substituting explicit tribute which was recognised as taxable income by the Weiss Guild with the payment of part of the upkeep expenses for the ruler of their colony, a clever dodge to reduce tax burden originated in the very capable Administration department of House Ritter at Beta Eridani. Once the nature of this 'charity' became clear, Director-General Jane Weiss decreed that going forward, direct donations to the serfs of the ruling House of a colony would be counted as donations to that House for purposes of taxation. Almost immediately, the 'charity' programs run by minor Houses under the encouragement of their barons began to wind down, their true motive uncovered. This was a relatively minor boost in tax revenue, but one still welcome for House Weiss, which went through a tremendous amount of capital in its efforts to repair installations and rebuild economies across the league.    The latter half of 2517 brought the majority of Alice Weiss, Thomas and Oriole's third daughter, who had grown into an intelligent and principled young woman. Seeking a good match for Alice, Jane soon settled on Baron Gustave Porter, whose first wife had recently died and who was a man of excellent character. Gustave Porter gladly consented to the marriage, with Alice leaving House Weiss to join House Porter. Gustave Porter's older brother, Leslie Weiss, was already married to Alice's older sister, Emily, making for close ties between Thomas' family and House Porter.  While the marriage was being arranged, Colonial Director Javen Nichols attempted to have Director-General Jane Weiss serve as guardian and tutor for his young son Bryant. Jane, who hoped to involve herself as the guardian of one of the children of House Weiss in the near future, refused, disappointing the Colonial Director.  The war between the Garrett Confederation and the Pruitt Systems petered out in the later part of 2517, after the interruption to that war caused by the revolt of the Ferrell Clan against the Garret Confederation rendered further fighting impossible. With this, the Pruitt Systems were left at peace, a small independent realm wedged between the Weiss and Gilmore Leagues.    Colonial Director Devon Kelley of Ross 128 launched a raid against Haldus before 2517 was out, attempting steal whatever portable wealth she could for the benefit of her colony. Both she and Baron Bradford Eaton attempted to enlist Director-General Jane Weiss's aid in the battle, which the Director-General refused to do, as fighting against one's own vassals without excellent cause is dishonorable. Fortunately, the raiding forces were beaten off, and the colony at Haldus remained unplundered and undamaged.   Director-General Jane Weiss was involved in several matters of justice in the later part of 2517, both being charged by King Lowell Lamb to punish Duke Kuron Robinson for his rebellion and charging Duke Yardley Patton to punish Baron Blaine Floyd for his fighting against Weiss Guild forces at Alsciaukat. At first, the Director-General considered aiding King Lowell Lamb to retake Tseen, but soon realised that Duke Robinson's case for revolt was valid enough that- while not justifying rebellion- nonetheless did not justify military action by the Weiss Guild in punishment, either.    As such, when the Lamb Clan attacked the Robinson Confederation shortly thereafter, the Director-General refused to involve the Weiss Guild in the fighting despite requests from both the Lamb Clan and Robinson Confederation. The request from the Lamb Clan would have been at least partially justified as justice for the Robinson Confederation's revolt, but the request from the Robinson Confederation was entirely unsupportable.     The Robinson Confederation's search for allies was not entirely fruitless, however, as they convinced Duke Yardley Patton to support them in exchange for Yardley Patton being granted the privilege of raising the heir to the Robinson Confederation's throne as his ward and two of the barons in the Weiss Guild throwing in to support Duke Kuron Robinson. Formidable fleets mustered for the battle at Tseen, supported by mercenaries hired by either side. Although the defending forces took brutal losses, with over half their fighting strength no longer capable of acting by the end of the battle, the Lamb Clan's attacking forces were forced to retreat with only a tiny fraction of their forces still combat-effective. Although post-battle repairs restored some of the ships damaged in the fighting to operational status, nonetheless it was an immense loss of life, compounded by heavy damage to the colony during the fighting.    Under Commissioner Oriole Weiss's direction, Security had taken steps to minimise the chance that the secret of the cloaked interceptor would escape by the end of 2517. Their efforts were soon rendered moot, however, after a conversation between Ilario Weiss and Director-General Jane Weiss. Ilario raised concerns about how deceptive and underhanded the use of cloaking technology was, and questioned whether such tactics were truly honorable. The Director-General was forced to agree with these points, while also having concerns about the reliability of the technology which had already had several prominent failures. She chose to openly demonstrate the cloaked interceptor's capabilities before making a public vow to never use such technology, sending the interceptor into the star Vega to be destroyed. Many across the colonies were impressed by this statement of principle, which helped further cement Jane's reputation.  Oriole Weiss gave birth to her and Thomas' fourth daughter, Anna, shortly thereafter. Although Jane had borne no children, her brother Thomas and her sister Prudence had ensured a healthy supply of Weiss children to carry on the House to a new generation.  Near the end of the year, Carmen Weiss was robbed in the streets, relieved of weapons, money, jewelry, and electronics- a fortune accumulated over a lifetime of service. Romeo's daughter Devon was with Carmen at the time, and attempted to suppress the audible alarms so Security guards assigned to guard these two could catch the robber by surprise. Despite these efforts, the robber eluded capture, no doubt to go to ground in the slums until they could discreetly arrange passage off the colony. Director-General Jane Weiss agreed that her stepmother deserved compensation for this robbery, which she paid directly out of House Weiss coffers. Any effort to catch the robber was almost certainly hopeless, and Jane believed it was better she bore the burden of compensation rather than Oriole as head of Security or the general population of the colony.     Not long after this incident, Jane was taking her young niece with her on a brief shuttle tour of the Vega system, familiarising Devon with the various bodies spread throughout the system. An unfortunate malfunction left the shuttle with rapidly failing power, caught in a trajectory far from normal lines of travel in the system and stopping air recycling. Knowing that there was little time, Jane focused on first transmitting a distress call before power completely cut out, helping ensure they would be found, before insisting that she and Devon sleep in order to conserve oxygen. Fortunately, a nearby trading vessel caught the distress signal and changed course to conduct rescue operations, ensuring that Jane and Devon were brought to safety. Devon, deeply affected by the incident, strove to emulate Jane's calm and rational approach to the problem thereafter, seeking always to think clearly and carefully when acting.  At the end of 2517, Duchess Lovie Lindsey, in her role as archon of the Lindsey League, agreed to accept a payment of two hundred thousand marks to surrender control of the Thornton Quadrant to the Anderson League. The Lindsey League, once a relatively major power on the Weiss League's borders, had by this point shrunk to control of a mere four colonies, two in the Lindsey Coalition and two in the Roozen Territories. With the Roozen Territories entirely isolated from the Lindsey Coalition by the Thornton Quadrant, it seemed likely they they, too, would eventually break free of the Lindsey League or be absorbed into the Anderson League, which entirely surrounded them.  Meanwhile, repairs to bring the data center at Vega back into operation and ensure it was properly staffed with Administration officers was completed under the direction of Malachi Weiss. With the data center once more in service, Administration once more was properly equipped to track the vast quantities of information involved in managing Vega and a sprawling interstellar domain.     As 2518 began, King Lowell Lamb was quick to demand justice against Duke Yardley Patton for the Patton Quadrant's declaration of war against the Lamb Clan. Director-General Jane Weiss quickly acted, fining Duke Patton eighty thousand marks for his declaration of war and Duke Robinson twenty thousand marks for his rebellion, thereby discharging her responsibility to provide justice.  About this time, Thomas approached Jane seeking permission to have his fifth child. Jane, aware that granting further childbirth permissions to Thomas would be perceived as favoritism given his many children, declined, disappointing Thomas but ensuring her reputation remained unbesmirched.   Another revolt erupted against the Lamb Clan in the early part of 2518, Baron Gustave Porter attempting to press his sister Natalia's claim to the throne of the Lamb Clan. With Hyadum now independent of the Lamb Clan, Gustave Porter styled himself the first king of the Porter Kingdom.   Soon after he claimed his independence from the Lamb Clan, Gustave Porter proceeded to petition Director-General Jane Weiss to deliver justice against Leslie Weiss for the annulment of Leslie's earlier marriage. Jane promised she would consider the matter, although such a request was a relatively minor point of justice for her position. A request by Governor-General Gualtier White that Alsciaukat be transferred to the White Federation arrived about the same time, and was summarily dismissed.  The beginning of the year was also marked by happy news for House Weiss- Liberty Weiss, the first son of Emily Weiss, was born, the first grandchild of Thomas and Oriole.   Two major projects by Administration, repairing the large-scale waste recycling facility in Alsciaukat and a shuttle factory in Alhena, were completed over the first half of 2518. The recycling facility, put into operation once again, helped provide cheap (if unpalatable) food and clean water for Alsciaukat and surrounding colonies, while a steady supply of fresh shuttles from a dedicated factory was welcome indeed, as shuttles were the primary ship for couriers and passengers moving between systems, and were always needed by every colony.   The discovery of a facility tucked away on an obscure moon in Albireo in early 2518 proved the second great discovery of secrets of the past in that system. A warehouse powered by a small reactor was packed with computers, stashed there for some unknown purpose. Eventually, after studying project documentation at the workstation attached to the servers, Technology Director Prudence Weiss determined that the facility was a site running uploaded human minds in a simulated reality. Strangely, however, the server logs repeated over and over- was there some flaw in the simulation? Left with no other way to observe the simulation, Director-General Jane Weiss requested to be plugged in to observe the simulation.    What Jane observed inside was surreal, dream-like. Twice she lived through a day reminiscent of a fever-dream, and twice she lapsed into sleep, before being awakened from the simulation by Prudence pulling her out from the connection. On hearing Jane's experiences and after reviewing the development log, Prudence became convinced that the simulation had been overloaded by the complexity of modelling multiple minds, and was being forced into repeated reset. Prudence believed she had identified a means from the development log to improve the simulation and stop the breakdown under multiple minds. Jane, disturbed by the prospect of people trapped in the current state of the simulation, endlessly repeating a single day, commanded that Technology proceed at its earliest convenience to implement this fix. Both Jane and Prudence learned a great deal about computing architecture and modelling techniques by studying the development notes and the facility, helping bring them as close as any people in the modern era truly came to understanding the secrets of the ancients. The Weiss Guild and Weiss League, Early 2518   Not only have House Weiss's departments recovered from their disarray following the death of the old Admiral, they have- with the exception of Military- surpassed their previous peak in effectiveness. Even so, and despite the loss of the cloaked Ship, Military is still confident the fleet's state of readiness is higher than it was two years ago. The birth of many new children has swollen House Weiss's numbers to twenty-four, undoubtedly one of the largest Houses in the colonies, supported by the great wealth commanded by House Weiss. House Weiss's administrative effectiveness is little short of legendary- it is whispered in some foreign quarters that House Weiss can conjure viridium from hard vacuum.  Stopping up the recent popular means of minimising tax burden has provided a minor, but healthy, supplement to House coffers. A saying has become popular in House Weiss's Administration team- 'we only collect ten percent from vassals- but we will get the full ten percent'.  Director-General Jane Weiss has not been one content to stay still, and her keen and restless mind has stood her in good stead as she has striven to improve her skills. On top of being an incredibly capable administration and logistician, she has a command of ancient science matched by very few indeed- and, by long and arduous effort, has become a respectable diplomat to boot. Although the niceties of protocol and negotiation have not come as easily to her as the harder world of mathematics, scientific fact, and accounts, nonetheless, with the aid of Prudence's efforts in locating sources and references, she has finally learned tact and discretion enough to overcome her tendency to burden people who do not care with minutia of Vegan production schedules and adopt an air of grave and kindly respectability to most who meet her. She is deeply content with matters as they stand, her sprawling House operating in happiness and harmony for the most part. She remains devoted to Mariko, and Mariko to her.  Executive Director Thomas Weiss, although disappointed he has not been permitted to try for a fifth child, nonetheless has been very happy with his life and work as of late. He, too, is nearly unsurpassed as an administrator, helping ensure that Vega remains productive and profitable, that the tax apparatus of House Weiss efficiently collects tribute from its vassals, and that whatever needs that it doesn't produce locally or gain via tribute is acquired via trade. In addition to his general duties as Executive Director for the Weiss Guild, he has been directing a project team in the process of restoring a hydroponics station at Albireo to operational status, helping further secure food supplies in the league. His marriage with Oriole is a very happy one, marked by mutual love and respect.  Although Harold Weiss has been a difficult person to follow as Admiral for the Weiss Guild, Admiral Bella Garcia has proved uniquely well-suited to take his place, as a very skilled military leader and tactician. She has been remotely commanding a peacekeeper deployment led in person by a major of peacekeepers at Hyadum, attempting to maintain order despite the unrest that has erupted there since the famines of two years ago that struck the colony. Even in this strange future, she has been content, although her memories of how the colonies once were still trouble her. This has come not least because of her two young sons and her husband Noelle, to whom she is deeply attached.  Director-Consort Mariko Weiss has grown into a great diplomat, helping ensure that House Weiss's reputation across the colonies- particularly within the Weiss Guild itself- is widely admired. She has been conducting a particular intense push to sway Duke Kirabo Pruitt of the Pruitt Systems so that the Pruitt Systems might one day be absorbed into House Weiss, but progress has been slow, as Kirabo rather intensely dislikes Jane as a person, viewing her as boring, retiring, and self-righteous. Duke Pruitt is 59 years old, however, and his son and heir Sivney Pruitt is cut from rather different cloth than his father, so perhaps the Pruitt Systems might be brought into the league after Kirabo's death.  Commissioner Oriole Weiss has, finally, achieved her goal of tournament victory, has recently been blessed with her latest child, and lives with a beloved husband while being trusted to serve as the guardian of Allen Weiss. She is more than happy. She has returned to coordinating a strong protection detail for the Director-General. Although it seems unlikely that anybody would wish to assassinate Jane, there is little point in taking chances with the ruler of the greatest league in known space.  Technology Director Prudence Weiss has, with the experience gained from puzzling out the uploaded minds simulation in Albireo, become a master of knowledge about ancient technology very rarely matched. In addition to her duties running the Technology department, she has continued assisting Director-General Jane Weiss with resources so that the Director-General can continue her education as a diplomat. Progress has, happily, been quite good.  Romeo Weiss, although generally contented, has been left rather subdued of late following the recent death of his brother, Haven O'Neal, at the untimely age of 45. With Haven's death, Romeo is now first in line to become Colonial Director of Ross 128 once his sister Colonial Director Devon Kelley dies. He has continued in his station at Pulcherrima, helping ensure that taxes are efficiently collected from the Lamb Clan. Although King Lowell Lamb is generally poorly-regarded, he and Romeo have developed something of a friendship, seeing in each other kindred spirits.  Ilario Weiss has continued to help provide reference material to Rebecca Weiss to further her administrative abilities, a project that has clearly begun to pay off as her skills have grown dramatically over the past two years. Although he is still very fond of Rebecca and is pleased to be able to spend his time with her wherever she is posted, his feelings towards her have nonetheless cooled somewhat as of late.  Rebecca Weiss, despite her failure thus far to conceive with her husband Ilario, has been deeply happy of late. She has most recently been assigned to Hyadum along with Ilario and her sister Emily, helping to restore major hydroponic farms to service there so that local food production will be increased. She is a promising prospective future ruler of the Weiss Guild- still young and inexperienced, but an accomplished administrator and diplomat already, and with her scientific and technological education progressing nicely. She remains deeply committed to Ilario, pleased at how well her marriage has gone.  Although somewhat saddened by only being able to spend limited time with her husband Leslie, who she loves, Emily nonetheless has been delighted by Liberty's birth. She has continued attempting to convey a scientific and technical education to Rebecca, aided by occasional trips to Pulcherrima to make use of the virtual reality simulator facility there as a training aid.  Although Malachi Weiss is the least accomplished member of House Weiss assigned to Administration, nonetheless his efforts to restore a ship components factory at Ross 128 have gone very smoothly with the aid of a steady stream of fresh parts turned out by a factory on Pulcherrima. His project nears completion, at which point he will return for a fresh assignment. His assignment to Ross 128 has been a happy coincidence for him, as it has allowed him to stay with his wife Geraldine, to whom he is deeply committed.  As Chief Investigator for Security at Vega, Noelle Garcia has done his best to track down criminals and bring them to justice for the safety of all. He has viewed the inability of Security to locate the criminal who mugged Carmen as a shameful failure. He has been happy enough with his family life, if somewhat distracted.  Following the death of his father Nyako Porter, the last baron of Hyadum, Leslie Weiss is now next in line to the throne of Hyadum and thus of the Porter Kingdom after his brother Gustave dies. He and his brother are united by being married to the sisters Emily and Alice, tying House Porter closely to House Weiss. He has been focused on training Geraldine Weiss in military matters while she has gained practical experience dealing with unrest on Ross 128, a project that has seen good progress thus far. Although he has been pleased at the birth of his son Liberty, the recent death of his father has hit him hard, and he is in the midst of a spell of black depression.  Geraldine Weiss remains a fairly inexperienced military officer, but has made great strides when presented with practical experience and more training. Her performance in quelling unrest in Ross 128 has been quite satisfactory, helping her gain practical experience in peacekeeper tactics and ground combat combined with periodic training exercises in fleet management. She is deeply in love with her husband Malachi, and delighted at the birth of their first son, Adam.  Jane's stepmother Carmen Weiss remains a practical outsider in House Weiss, having only a distant, professional relationship with her Director-General and with the Military department. Even her marriage to Keir Weiss is distant. She has been focused on helping to maintain order in Merope as a colonel of peacekeepers, an assignment which she has been executing competently. She has few strong feelings about her current situation- it is merely life.  Keir Weiss has settled in smoothly into work in House Weiss's Diplomacy department, where he has been focused on making the case for Alhena's membership in the Weiss Guild amongst the local populace and nobility. A mutual dislike has begun to grow between Keir Weiss and Mitch Lindsey, Baroness Qiana Liu's head of Security, which might be of concern if not for the fact that Keir shall likely be finished with his work in Alhena in about a year and render the rivalry moot.  Under Executive Director Thomas Weiss's direction, Administration has been working on developing documentation and taxation standards that allow them to more easily get a complete picture of what is produced by a vassal and levy appropriate taxes, while likewise making compliance as simple as possible for vassals. Thomas is confident that within the next two years, improvements in Administration's handling of taxation matters will see real results.  The Gilmore League appears to have overcome its crisis of stability, for now, with nothing worse than the Nicholson Systems having been convinced to break away from the league in exchange for two hundred thousand marks. Both the Gilmore League and the Weiss League are troubled by internal wars rising from revolts against vassal states, with the Ferrell Clan and Garrett Confederation still at war and with the Lamb Clan at war with two states that have seceded from it and with the Patton Quadrant. The power of the Lindsey League has grown dubious, while House Weiss has become more aware of House Anderson and the Anderson Collective that rules over the Anderson League. Both the Anderson League and Shannon League are powerful, but each has only half the colonies of the Weiss League, while the Gilmore League, for all its troubles, remains a formidable presence on the borders. Just how long the fighting within the Weiss League will continue and how much damage it shall inflict before it passes remains to be seen. House Weiss has grown to be strong indeed, but the instability of the Lamb Clan has begun to raise problems within the Weiss League. Ultimately we shall all see whether God continues to favor House Weiss into the future. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 07:39 on Jul 27, 2022 |
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Jul 26, 2022 14:03
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Commissioner Oriole Weiss posted:All right! I told y'all I could hit the broadside of a barn and then pull off the Silly Straw Maneuver at 20 gees.
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Jul 26, 2022 18:48
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The size of our empire doesn't affect our ability to cover up secrets, but the cloaking device in particular has multiple events that can betray the secret, particularly before it's fully covered up. It's a somewhat unreliable technology.
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Jul 26, 2022 19:59
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It may be worth noting that, at present, the biggest threat to our empire is Romeo. The moment he inherits, that's him, Prudence, and all his kids, gone, and we're suddenly left to pick up the pieces. Is there some way we can encourage his sister to produce an heir?Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:My, the last several years have been quite bountiful for us, internal strife aside. However, this is no reason to rest on our laurels. We didn't get where we are today by being content with what we have. However well we're doing, we can always do better! It's how my beloved wife finally claimed victory in her recent tournament bout, and her efforts should serve as an inspiration to the rest of us!
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Jul 26, 2022 20:59
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EclecticTastes posted:It may be worth noting that, at present, the biggest threat to our empire is Romeo. The moment he inherits, that's him, Prudence, and all his kids, gone, and we're suddenly left to pick up the pieces. Is there some way we can encourage his sister to produce an heir? Unfortunately, the inheritance law for Ross 128 is 'oldest sibling', so Devon having a child (which she does) won't help there. That said, I think we might still keep his adult children- although I'm unsure on that. Thankfully, his older sister isn't that old, and we have time yet before he'll inherit, most likely. Director-General Jane Weiss posted:I'll admit that spending on covering up the cloaking device proved to be less productive than one might have hoped. That said, do you truly believe we could have kept that device running indefinitely? We saw how unreliable it was. And the moral question raised by Ilario did concern me. I will not apologise for revealing what I revealed, although I will apologise for assigning Security to conceal it. On another topic- Prudence, who do you think should focus on working on the simulation in Albireo? The thought of the people trapped in that still gives me bad dreams.
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Jul 26, 2022 21:30
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Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:I'm not here to make moral judgements, only financial ones. Funding remains available for whatever projects prove needful, but I won't approve of funding further cover-ups unless I see some guarantees that we'll get actual returns on our investment. This isn't the first secret that's been allowed to become public before it could pay for itself.
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Jul 26, 2022 21:40
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For what it's worth, we do still have the datavault secrets modifier, which means it's never been made public, even though Ruana Garrett still knows the secret. I think she's refrained from revealing it because she has a very high opinion of Jane. Our current House modifiers are the two bloodline perks, Bean Counters (20% bonus income, which has been very useful, as you well know), the datavault secrets (+10 to Administration, Military, and Security, and +10% to Vega fleet strength), the elite guard Bella trained (+5 Military and Security), the plugged tax loophole, and the servers from the Eden ship (+5 Administration). We also still have optimised production at Vega for a 15% bonus to income there, from back when Jane restructured production lines.
nweismuller fucked around with this message at 21:47 on Jul 26, 2022 |
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Jul 26, 2022 21:43
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nweismuller posted:For what it's worth, we do still have the datavault secrets modifier, which means it's never been made public, even though Ruana Garrett still knows the secret. I think she's refrained from revealing it because she has a very high opinion of Jane. Our current House modifiers are the two bloodline perks, Bean Counters (20% bonus income, which has been very useful, as you well know), the datavault secrets (+10 to Administration, Military, and Security, and +10% to Vega fleet strength), the elite guard Bella trained (+5 Military and Security), the plugged tax loophole, and the servers from the Eden ship (+5 Administration). We also still have optimised production at Vega for a 15% bonus to income there, from back when Jane restructured production lines. Oh, huh, I thought we'd lost the datavaults years ago, must have misremembered. Well, in any case, Thomas has not been a fan of throwing money at secrets from the get-go, so he's going to want to make sure the secret can and will pay for itself before he approves the expenditure. The cloaked ship was a huge boondoggle that did nothing for us, and was a rare case of the guild just wasting a bunch of time and money.
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Jul 26, 2022 21:57
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EclecticTastes posted:Oh, huh, I thought we'd lost the datavaults years ago, must have misremembered. Well, in any case, Thomas has not been a fan of throwing money at secrets from the get-go, so he's going to want to make sure the secret can and will pay for itself before he approves the expenditure. The cloaked ship was a huge boondoggle that did nothing for us, and was a rare case of the guild just wasting a bunch of time and money. Yeah, the icon for the House effects row with the 'hush, secret' icon is for us benefitting from the datavault secrets. You can see the +10 to our Administration score in the latest admin report breakdown of how we have a total of 310 Administration score. What we did lose is the Technology boost from finding the datavault, but that was always a timed modifier. The datavault secrets have been a great advantage since we've gotten them.
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Jul 26, 2022 22:00
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As far as restoring Priority 0 facilities- Haldus and Miaplacidus have Starlane Edge Ports we can take advantage of, and Rotanev has a Message Drone Hangar. The Message Drone Hangar has an ancillary benefit for running spy networks, while Haldus and Miaplacidus are less developed, so getting a fresh installation up might be more important there from an unrest management standpoint. You have preferences which we should tackle first?
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Jul 26, 2022 22:17
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nweismuller posted:As far as restoring Priority 0 facilities- Haldus and Miaplacidus have Starlane Edge Ports we can take advantage of, and Rotanev has a Message Drone Hangar. The Message Drone Hangar has an ancillary benefit for running spy networks, while Haldus and Miaplacidus are less developed, so getting a fresh installation up might be more important there from an unrest management standpoint. You have preferences which we should tackle first? Best to manage unrest first where we can. We haven't exactly been making heavy use of our spy network, to begin with, but unrest has been a recurring issue. We make enough money that we should be able to get all three underway within the next few years, though, so any order should be fine.
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Jul 26, 2022 22:21
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Admiral Bella Garcia posted:You did WHAT to our unique, one-of-a-kind technological marvel stealth ship?!
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Jul 26, 2022 22:58
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Director-General Jane Weiss posted:What was necessary to ensure our disavowal of such deceptions was credible. Were I more confident in its reliability, perhaps I would have kept it despite the concerns about the morality of the question, but after what I had already seen, I had deep concerns not only about its morality but also about its stability.
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Jul 26, 2022 23:18
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Or is just what we wanted the rest of the galaxy to see? 
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Jul 26, 2022 23:40
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Ilario Weiss, thinking to himself posted:Traveling with Emily is starting to take it's toll on me. It's not that she's the very definition of an out of touch intellectual. I'm more than used to dealing with those. It's not even that Emily had a baby before Rebecca and I did. Liberty is such a cute nephew, and has Rebecca and I trying even harder for a child. Thomas and Oriole what sin of yours caused Rebecca to have that nose? It wouldn't be such a problem if it weren't for the fact that your genetics are clearly capable of producing a much prettier face.
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Jul 28, 2022 07:51
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Director-Consort Mariko Weiss posted:I'm pleased to report that the Weiss Guild is very highly regarded amongst its vassals, thanks to the efforts of Diplomacy to promote our leadership, our tradition of light taxes, and our Director-General's reputation overall. I believe we have little risk of rebellion or betrayal against our own rulership. Director-General Jane Weiss posted:Thank you, Mariko. It's good to hear Diplomacy has matters well in hand. Speaking of matters of foreign affairs, I wanted to raise the issue of Leslie with the council. We are not, strictly speaking, obligated to execute punishment upon him for his prior divorce, but nonetheless it is a matter that King Gustave Porter expects to see us handle. I believe sentencing him to two weeks in the mines would be sufficient, if we choose to act. Does the Council believe this is a matter we should concern ourselves with? For members of your own House or local minor Houses, the primary options you have for punishment are, in escalating intensity, humiliation, corporeal punishment, exile, and execution. Sentencing Leslie to humiliation will be enough to fulfill the request for justice against him.
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Jul 28, 2022 17:14
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Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:Truth be told, if we don't stand to profit from it, I can't say I have much of an opinion. If it keeps a vassal pleased with us, I suppose we may as well.
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Jul 28, 2022 20:47
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Commissioner Oriole Weiss posted:The request pertains to actions and consequences prior to our introduction. We have no ground to protest in the history of it.
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Jul 31, 2022 04:44
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Haven't heard from Prudence or Romeo yet, and haven't heard policy input from Bella. Unclaimed adult characters are open for claiming if people want. Is there anything people would like to hear about while I wait on more input?
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Aug 1, 2022 21:29
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The Pruitt Systems and Lindsey Coalition look pretty small. I suspect you could roll them like cheap cigars, but swooping in with a fleet and going "nice systems you have, I'll take 'em" is still the kind of thing that would leave everyone shocked and horrified, possibly enough that you might face severe consequences. I further suspect that slapping them across the face with a wad of cash and saying "you're my vassal now" wouldn't work, because that requires them to accept, which they probably won't. Not that any of this matters, because I take it that the current task for the military is "make sure the peasants don't do a revolt" or something, and we don't really have the manpower to spare to police new places that came under our control either through bribery or force.
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Aug 1, 2022 21:40
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MechaCrash posted:The Pruitt Systems and Lindsey Coalition look pretty small. I suspect you could roll them like cheap cigars, but swooping in with a fleet and going "nice systems you have, I'll take 'em" is still the kind of thing that would leave everyone shocked and horrified, possibly enough that you might face severe consequences. As Mariko indicated, we're currently trying to sweeten up the Pruitt Systems for eventual annexation, but this is being slowed by the fact that, on a personal level, the current Pruitt duke can't stand Jane's personality (largely because he's a Rulebreaker). His son is Honorable, and may well be able to be sweetened up enough for a diplomatic annexation... once the current duke dies of old age. Given that he's 59, he's getting to the point where that may happen soon-ish. And yes, Military is having a fun time of keeping our systems from boiling over. Parts of the league are basically under control. Other parts... really aren't.
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Aug 1, 2022 21:56
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