Let's Survive the Post-Collapse Colonies in... Star Dynasties

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EclecticTastes: Sep 17, 2012; "Most plans are critically flawed by their own logic. A failure at any step will ruin everything after it. That's just basic cause and effect. It's easy for a good plan to fall apart. Therefore, a plan that has no attachment to logic cannot be stopped."

nweismuller posted:

I'd hope he loves his sister like a sister, hah. So what was the passing out about, exactly?

That's just a joking reference to the joking post I made during the Time Break, the implication being that poor Yeardley was erased from existence. Malachi will be fine in the morning, aside from a splitting headache.

# ? Apr 10, 2024 08:45

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# ? Apr 29, 2024 20:00

Lady Jaybird: Jan 23, 2014; to ride eternal, shiny and chrome

THUNDERDOME LOSER 2022

nweismuller posted:

Malachi Weiss, with the departure of his father Romeo, has been left as the second in command of House Weiss Administration. He has been overseeing taxation and logistics from the Lamb Clan, but the loss of nobles in Administration and the demands of the terraforming project may mean that he shall soon be forced into new duties in the department. The match of his son Adam with the archon of a major league has flattered his pride. The fact that he was passed over by his father when his father changed inheritance laws for Ross 128, however, has been less pleasing to him.

Audio diary of Romeo Weiss:

I told that boy that if he wanted to inherit Ross 128 after my passing, all he had to do was continue the line and grow a mustache, but nnnnOOOOoooooo he thinks that they're hideous. Which I could of overlooked, but what he did instead was even worse! HE GREW A SOUL PATCH! I thought I raised him better than that.

*sigh*

So fine, if he wants to keep the soul patch, fine, have fun.

I'm gonna switch the inheritance. Lucy is a lot more grateful, and my favorite to boot.

Take that Malachi! You and your soul patch can have fun as second fiddle to Rebecca.

# ? Apr 10, 2024 13:33

AJ_Impy: Jun 17, 2007; SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?; Yam Slacker

Private Security memo, Noelle Weiss to Family personnel posted:

The attempted assassination of our Head of State by her own serum-maddened spouse is a failing that must not be repeated. Anyone acting out of character needs eyes on them and boots not far away.

We are in need of a reorganization and reprioritization of our assets. With the Terraform project established in Capella, Sigma Draconis is no longer a priority. Vanida Weiss is hereby recalled and assigned to Jane Weiss' protection detail. Jayne Weiss is getting a tougher assignment, keeping up with Rebecca Weiss and safeguarding the heir.

The loss of Oriole has hit us all hard. Don't be afraid to ask for help should you need it, she'd want us all to get our heads in order so we can best do our jobs.

# ? Apr 10, 2024 20:05

nweismuller: Oct 11, 2012; They say that he who dies with the most Opil wins.

I am winning.

Director-General Jane Weiss posted:

We find ourselves at the brink of starting the effort to create a New Earth. I do not pretend that this shall be easy, but I believe, when it is done, we shall be creating a foundation from which humanity can truly begin to rebuild, and a place which can continue to accept the numbers straining the life support capacity of our colonies. I expect Administration to put one of its top people on arranging for the supply of everything that will be needed for the terraforming of New Earth. I have concerns about the situation of Atlas- what do Military and Diplomacy make of our options to secure territory around the Roach Colonies?

# ? Apr 10, 2024 20:23

nweismuller: Oct 11, 2012; They say that he who dies with the most Opil wins.

I am winning.

Incidentally, Lady Jaybird, given that Romeo is leaving our lives, are there any characters you want to take over heading forward, or are you good?

# ? Apr 10, 2024 22:01

wedgekree: Feb 20, 2013

Great to see this going again! Is internal stability reasonable within the Guild and in good economic shape? And what/if any repairs/upgrades are going on if any beyond the terraforming?

# ? Apr 10, 2024 22:21

nweismuller: Oct 11, 2012; They say that he who dies with the most Opil wins.

I am winning.

wedgekree posted:

Great to see this going again! Is internal stability reasonable within the Guild and in good economic shape? And what/if any repairs/upgrades are going on if any beyond the terraforming?

I'll let the people getting Administration, Military, and Diplomacy reports field the questions about 'economic shape', 'stability (local colonial unrest)', and 'stability (the loyalty of our vassals'. They should have the information to present what they think the situation is.

As for what repairs are ongoing, Rebecca is finishing up repairs of a waste processing plant at Wei. The other two Administration members are currently assisting vassal tax collection for the Lamb Clan and White Federation, but we're going to need to totally shuffle Administration assignments to handle terraforming and keep repairs going. We, unfortunately, have an Administration department which has suffered from losing both Thomas and Romeo in relatively quick succession, and we're more strapped for people to handle assignments than would be ideal.

# ? Apr 10, 2024 22:34

EclecticTastes: Sep 17, 2012; "Most plans are critically flawed by their own logic. A failure at any step will ruin everything after it. That's just basic cause and effect. It's easy for a good plan to fall apart. Therefore, a plan that has no attachment to logic cannot be stopped."

wedgekree posted:

Great to see this going again! Is internal stability reasonable within the Guild and in good economic shape? And what/if any repairs/upgrades are going on if any beyond the terraforming?

Admin's performing as well as it always has, despite everything. We'll see a minor dip once that improved factory modifier from a while back expires, but with our recent expansion and ongoing developments, our net income probably won't change too much, relative to before we brought in the Roach Colonies. And with Intergalactic Markets on the horizon, we'll be doing just fine on income.

Actually, my main concern for Administration is manpower. We're down to three people to oversee projects, and could really use some more hands to get some unrest-reducing facilities ready to help deal with whatever problems the terraforming causes.

As a matter of fact, go ahead and bump up unrest-reducing facilities on our list of priorities, effective until the situation at Capella resolves.

-If the system already has issues with Unrest, they're top priority, and we should focus on them before turning attention to other colonies.

-If the system is fairly stable, they're second in line, behind the wealth-producing facilities (and ahead of Admin/tax-increasing ones).

# ? Apr 10, 2024 23:02

nweismuller: Oct 11, 2012; They say that he who dies with the most Opil wins.

I am winning.

It looks like we don't have any direct unrest-reducers, but the whole Roach Colonies/Lindsey Coalition area is dealing with some unrest issues, and the Interstellar Authority Outpost at Wei is perfectly situated to cover that whole area and make Military's efforts to put out fires more effective. Shall we prioritise that one? There's another one in Atlas as well, but Atlas isn't yet in our hands. Leaving aside the fact that every repaired facility slightly reduces unrest in its colony due to reduced crowding and better economy, but that's not 'unrest reduction' as an added effect of the facility.

nweismuller fucked around with this message at 00:11 on Apr 11, 2024

# ? Apr 11, 2024 00:06

EclecticTastes: Sep 17, 2012; "Most plans are critically flawed by their own logic. A failure at any step will ruin everything after it. That's just basic cause and effect. It's easy for a good plan to fall apart. Therefore, a plan that has no attachment to logic cannot be stopped."

nweismuller posted:

It looks like we don't have any direct unrest-reducers, but the whole Roach Colonies/Lindsey Coalition area is dealing with some unrest issues, and the Interstellar Authority Outpost at Wei is perfectly situated to cover that whole area and make Military's efforts to put out fires more effective. Shall we prioritise that one? There's another one in Atlas as well, but Atlas isn't yet in our hands.

Yeah, that sounds like the right idea, and let's make sure to get all our colonies up out of the risk-of-famine range. Admittedly, I'm this close to just letting Tseen fall victim to colony collapse and let the Lamb Clan deal with restoring it, but let's keep rolling that boulder uphill for now.

# ? Apr 11, 2024 00:12

Xlorp: Jan 23, 2008

wedgekree posted:

Great to see this going again! Is internal stability reasonable within the Guild and in good economic shape? And what/if any repairs/upgrades are going on if any beyond the terraforming?

Our situation is nominally stable within the galactic context. There are always a handful of systems which we can keep a lid on with a team of roving peacekeeping specialists. Our military has thankfully not been strained by combats as our diplomacy has sufficed to hold steady borders. That profitable peace is our real strength. General system repairs and upgrades are a a higher ROI than just adding more ships to all borders.

That said, attempting terraforming is a provocation to chaotic elements which may very well vex and harass us. That's where we rely on our fundamentally strong Guild strategy to be able to use reserve savings to rebuff the hotheads and buttress the hotspots as they appear. We can't afford to lose any battles at Capella now; we can afford mercenaries and we have real military strength, plus loyal allies with ships we can call upon.

# ? Apr 11, 2024 02:39

Artificer: Apr 8, 2010; You're going to try ponies and you're. Going. To. LOVE. ME!!

quote:

Mariko Weiss personal journal:

I think, other than actually being in the grasp of madness, that this is the lowest point of my life. How do I face my wife? My family? How do I face myself?

I will speak to Jane... I can barely believe she holds me in any sort of esteem after that. My God. I wouldn't wish madness of that sort on anyone.

In the meantime, I will direct my team to continue to focus on the Shannon Collective. Ensuring attention and energy maintaining our most vulnerable border is of great value as we embark upon this great project of ours.

Duke Hayden Roach will be the next priority of diplomatic efforts, since the recent fines for his crimes have stung him greatly. How a man like that could be responsible for so many crimes is an uncomfortable question. Perhaps he found some elixirs of his own.. hah hah hah.

We should also reach out to young Baroness Tatiana Clay, and see if inroads could be made there. However, not too many resources should be invested just in case we need to have a safety margin ready as the terraforming project continues.

# ? Apr 11, 2024 03:28

nweismuller: Oct 11, 2012; They say that he who dies with the most Opil wins.

I am winning.

For Mariko: it sounds like you'll want to focus missions on Nusakan. Lucy and Keir are already on dealing with House Shannon and House Roach, and Mariko and Harold are dealing with other diplomatic missions. Want that we should have one of Mariko and Harold switch to improving relations with Tatiana and the other word on establishing a claim to ease the possibility of bringing her over?
For EclecticTastes: Does Malachi have a preference for whether he'll do terraforming logistics or repair work? Since one of him and Rebecca will be doing one of those, and the other the other.

# ? Apr 11, 2024 07:04

Torrannor: Apr 27, 2013; ---FAGNER---
TEAM-MATE

Would it have been better to upgrade installations at Capella before trying to terraform the planet?

# ? Apr 11, 2024 07:05

nweismuller: Oct 11, 2012; They say that he who dies with the most Opil wins.

I am winning.

You're prompted to commit or not as soon as you gain control of a terraforming candidate. You don't get to do repairs before you get started.

# ? Apr 11, 2024 07:09

nweismuller: Oct 11, 2012; They say that he who dies with the most Opil wins.

I am winning.

Director-General Jane Weiss posted:

Given the immense reserve of wealth House Weiss has collected is starting to see distinct issues with wastage, I believe that there is no better time than now to throw a feast to demonstrate our wealth and glory. Given my wife's recovery from the madness that has gripped her, I believe there is no better candidate for the guest of honor than Mariko. Let the colonies see the faith I continue to have in my wife, and let them know that I do not believe we can hold her to blame for actions not taken in her own right mind. She has supported me for thirty-seven years, ever since House Fardell consented to her marriage to me, before even the Weiss Guild came to be as a state. I am the most blessed of women, and I continue to thank God for having granted me the chance to share my life with Mariko. Are there any objections in this council?

Admiral Carmen Weiss posted:

Jesus, Jane. Your wife tries to murder you and now you want to shower honors on her. In your position, even assuming I left her alive, I'd have divorced her faster than you can say 'stupid bitch'.

Director-General Jane Weiss posted:

Any objections not from our resident misanthrope, thank you.

# ? Apr 11, 2024 07:26

EclecticTastes: Sep 17, 2012; "Most plans are critically flawed by their own logic. A failure at any step will ruin everything after it. That's just basic cause and effect. It's easy for a good plan to fall apart. Therefore, a plan that has no attachment to logic cannot be stopped."

nweismuller posted:

For Mariko: it sounds like you'll want to focus missions on Nusakan. Lucy and Keir are already on dealing with House Shannon and House Roach, and Mariko and Harold are dealing with other diplomatic missions. Want that we should have one of Mariko and Harold switch to improving relations with Tatiana and the other word on establishing a claim to ease the possibility of bringing her over?
For EclecticTastes: Does Malachi have a preference for whether he'll do terraforming logistics or repair work? Since one of him and Rebecca will be doing one of those, and the other the other.

Audio Diary of Malachi Weiss posted:

Unbelievable news! It turns out that boondoggle of Aunt Jane's needs an overseer, and Rebecca seems quite neutral on the whole situation. This is my chance! Bloated government projects are an embezzler's dream! The sheer scale of graft I'll be capable of when so much money is flying around makes me veritably weak in the knees. And best of all, if it actually works? If we somehow manage to terraform a planet? That's when I- Malachi Weiss!- can leap in to claim all the credit for our success! They'll be begging me to take over Administration when Rebecca is finally leading the guild!

...You know, I'm beginning to this this whole "audio diary" thing was a bad idea. Well, too late to worry about it now, maybe I'll release them in my will, get in some posthumous gloating. Plenty of places to hide audio logs on an entire terraformed planet, after all....

Yes. Yes Malachi will take the job overseeing Capella's terraforming.

# ? Apr 11, 2024 08:53

Dav: Nov 6, 2009

It�s easy enough to see how Mariko�s situation would spiral after taking the first dose, and I can see how the first dose might be tempting in a vacuum (as it were) but I admit that I�m having a *little* trouble picturing Mariko taking that first dose surrounded by bloody graffiti and corpses.

(Admittedly there�s always going to be some of these issues since it�s hard to foreshadow random events, but, uh, maybe this particular event should have been linked to a more restrictive list of traits or something.)

# ? Apr 11, 2024 14:46

AtomikKrab: Jul 17, 2010; Keep on GOP rolling rolling rolling rolling.

Dav posted:

It�s easy enough to see how Mariko�s situation would spiral after taking the first dose, and I can see how the first dose might be tempting in a vacuum (as it were) but I admit that I�m having a *little* trouble picturing Mariko taking that first dose surrounded by bloody graffiti and corpses.

(Admittedly there�s always going to be some of these issues since it�s hard to foreshadow random events, but, uh, maybe this particular event should have been linked to a more restrictive list of traits or something.)

So there was a thing there saying "once a month", she probably did one thinking "I can stick to that." and uh... you likely CAN'T given how she had an arm like a junkie.

# ? Apr 11, 2024 17:03

Dav: Nov 6, 2009

AtomikKrab posted:

So there was a thing there saying "once a month", she probably did one thinking "I can stick to that." and uh... you likely CAN'T given how she had an arm like a junkie.

Yes, that�s the �spiral� I was referring to, but that first dose still baffles me.

I feel like most people wouldn�t see a needle of unknown age/provenance/preservation surrounded by bloody corpses and think �ooh, it says �awesome� on the label, I should stick it in my arm!�

# ? Apr 11, 2024 17:34

nweismuller: Oct 11, 2012; They say that he who dies with the most Opil wins.

I am winning.

One does wonder about the train of thought which led to thinking that was a good idea, yes.

Sadly, limiting it to when you have a Stupid character in your House would make it quite rare.

nweismuller fucked around with this message at 18:18 on Apr 11, 2024

# ? Apr 11, 2024 18:11

Dav: Nov 6, 2009

nweismuller posted:

One does wonder about the train of thought which led to thinking that was a good idea, yes.

Sadly, limiting it to when you have a Stupid character in your House would make it quite rare.

I don�t know exactly what traits are available but maybe if risky/ambitious/aggressive type traits were also eligible?
(Or at least tone down the bloody graffiti and leave a little room for some initial confusion or self-delusion on what happened to everybody�)

# ? Apr 11, 2024 18:54

nweismuller: Oct 11, 2012; They say that he who dies with the most Opil wins.

I am winning.

Dav posted:

I don�t know exactly what traits are available but maybe if risky/ambitious/aggressive type traits were also eligible?
(Or at least tone down the bloody graffiti and leave a little room for some initial confusion or self-delusion on what happened to everybody�)

The game currently requires that the person taking the serum is neither Brave nor Cruel. The full list of personality traits, in pairs, is:

Kind-Cruel
Brave-Cowardly
Loyal-Fickle
Satisfied-Greedy
Friendly-Reserved
Honorable-Rulebreaker
Humble-Proud
Forgiving-Vengeful
Intelligent-Stupid
Charming-Dull
Individualistic-Tribal

For all of these but Individualistic and Tribal, the first trait in the pair is a 'positive' trait, that improves the opinion of others who share neither trait in the pair, and the second trait is a 'negative' trait, that hurts the opinion of others who share neither trait in the pair. People liking those with shared traits and disliking those with opposite traits happens regardless of if those traits are positive or negative. Specifically-

For all traits that aren't Charming and Dull, including Individualistic and Tribal, which are neither positive or negative:

People who share the same trait get a +14 to opinion.
People with the opposite trait get a -14 to opinion.
People with neither trait get a +7 to opinion of people with a positive trait.
People with neither trait get a -7 to opinion of people with a negative trait.
Many positive traits boost Diplomacy and many negative traits will penalise Diplomacy, and total Diplomacy score provides a modifier to people's opinions of a character, which can provide further effects.

For Charming and Dull, both Charming and Dull characters are indifferent to the opinion modifiers for both Charming and Dull, but people with neither trait get a +14 to opinion of Charming characters and a -14 to opinion of Dull characters.

# ? Apr 11, 2024 19:20

Artificer: Apr 8, 2010; You're going to try ponies and you're. Going. To. LOVE. ME!!

nweismuller posted:

Want that we should have one of Mariko and Harold switch to improving relations with Tatiana and the other word on establishing a claim to ease the possibility of bringing her over?

Yes that seems reasonable. Other sectors of diplomatic operations seem stable enough for now. Enough for us to strike while the iron is hot.

# ? Apr 11, 2024 21:49

AJ_Impy: Jun 17, 2007; SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?; Yam Slacker

Commissioner Noelle Weiss posted:

No objections, Director-General. The security detail will be as close or as discreet as you prefer, depending if you intend to display unconditional trust of the Director-Consort, or that your personal security is now ready for any future issues from anyone.

# ? Apr 11, 2024 22:00

EclecticTastes: Sep 17, 2012; "Most plans are critically flawed by their own logic. A failure at any step will ruin everything after it. That's just basic cause and effect. It's easy for a good plan to fall apart. Therefore, a plan that has no attachment to logic cannot be stopped."

nweismuller posted:

The game currently requires that the person taking the serum is neither Brave nor Cruel.

That doesn't really make narrative sense, wouldn't someone who's already brave and/or cruel be more likely to take a mysterious murder serum? The event, as written, does seem to require the target to behave wildly out of character. I'd require that the target have one of Greedy, Vengeful, Proud, Rulebreaker, Individualistic, Tribal*, or Stupid, if you wanna lock out the Brave/Cruel people. Pretty sure every house is bound to have at least one of those traits kicking around.

*Both Individualistic and Tribal can give a person reasons to take the serum, though those reasons would obviously differ.

# ? Apr 11, 2024 23:30

nweismuller: Oct 11, 2012; They say that he who dies with the most Opil wins.

I am winning.

EclecticTastes posted:

That doesn't really make narrative sense, wouldn't someone who's already brave and/or cruel be more likely to take a mysterious murder serum? The event, as written, does seem to require the target to behave wildly out of character. I'd require that the target have one of Greedy, Vengeful, Proud, Rulebreaker, Individualistic, Tribal*, or Stupid, if you wanna lock out the Brave/Cruel people. Pretty sure every house is bound to have at least one of those traits kicking around.

*Both Individualistic and Tribal can give a person reasons to take the serum, though those reasons would obviously differ.

I'm not disagreeing with you, it's just obviously the intent that there's an immediate dramatic personality change. All this said, your list of traits isn't bad; I'll advance them at Glen and see what he thinks.

# ? Apr 12, 2024 03:17

nweismuller: Oct 11, 2012; They say that he who dies with the most Opil wins.

I am winning.

Executive Director Rebecca Weiss posted:

If you're confident that Mariko is back to normal, I can see the value in showing our confidence, certainly. The overall economic situation across much of the Weiss Guild is looking good overall, although our new acquisitions are in shakier state and Tseen has taken unfortunate damage from the recent rebellion. The situation is hardly critical at Kapteyn's Star, but I've been left wondering what they've done with all their revenue- they've failed to do any real development at that colony for decades, if I'm following the records right.

We are, indeed, dealing with a situation where we can hardly track sources of waste right now given how much wealth we're sitting on. Admittedly, as problems go, 'being too rich' is one I'd rather deal with than the alternatives. I'd also like to report that in earlier internal discussions in Administration, Malachi volunteered to handle project logistics for the terraforming project. I'm confident in his ability and think this should be able to have House goals addressed, so I'll let him handle that while I work on stabilising the economic situation in our new territory.

Director-General Jane Weiss posted:

Thank you, Rebecca. One thing I was interested in hearing- what's the assessment of Diplomacy and Military about the viability of taking Atlas? I'd feel much more comfortable around the terraforming project if we secured that colony.

# ? Apr 12, 2024 03:27

Xlorp: Jan 23, 2008

Anna Weiss personal correspondence to husband Jayne posted:

Please be so good as to protect Auntie Jane as well as Oriole did. The family tradition demands nothing less and we have loyal but... shall we say troubled... mental health issues to address. Perhaps you could stage an intervention if Mariko goes off her rocker again.

I'm distrubed by the excessive sabre-rattling concerning Atlas. Surely we can manage one poor, isolated system into our care with calmer means than blasting apart the local infrastructure. I rather think Vanida would do well setting up a spy network on Capella to keep a close eye on local developments and be our good luck charm. Nothing serious ever happens where she's been assigned. Yes we can spend our famously efficient taxes and revenue on new ship-builing in Capella. A local force being reinforced steadily would be handy should some hotheads try our mettle there. If worst comes to worst we have that rainy day mercenary fund. It shouldn't come to that; we lead with our best foot - superior diplomacy.

# ? Apr 12, 2024 07:16

nweismuller: Oct 11, 2012; They say that he who dies with the most Opil wins.

I am winning.

quote:

Surely we can manage one poor, isolated system into our care with calmer means than blasting apart the local infrastructure.

Sadly, given we don't directly control any colonies next to Atlas, we can't sway the baron over diplomatically- we need a direct border (i.e., with our own state, not just our league). The fact that the baron is the husband of the ruler of the Le Colonies is also an issue even if we were capable within game rules of doing that. We could try to sway the Le Colonies as a whole, but that seems dicey at best.

# ? Apr 12, 2024 08:24

Vee2003: Jul 12, 2018; "In retrospect, flying into the black hole may have been a tactical error."

Internal House Text Chat Communication Record: posted:

_____

ThatsAdmiralCarmenToYou: How she can hold a feast for that murderess is completely beyond me. She tried to kill her for God's sake!

Polly: She wasn't in her right mind. Mariko loves Jane more than anything. You should know that.

ThatsAdmiralCarmenToYou: What I know is it's a travesty that she's allowed to carry on as if nothing happened!

Polly: With respect, you don't know what it was like for Mariko. You are condemning her without caring to try to comprehend what they went through, and you have no understanding of her perspective.

ThatsAdmiralCarmenToYou: Perspective?!? And what perspective could she possibly have that would render such a ridiculous and potentially devastating series of decisions understandable? And who are you to think you can understand how a human mind works better than an actual human?

Polly: I... apologies. I should remember that humans don't have access to quite the same complex personality and decision making simulation abilities I have. If you really want to know, I can paint you a picture. A potential explanation for you.

ThatsAdmiralCarmenToYou: Oh by all means. Go ahead. Explain it to me. Explain it to me so that she's somehow not a traitor and a madwoman and a ticking time bomb. This ought to be *good.*

Polly: Alright...

Mariko is tremendously loyal and loving. She is a kind person. A caring person. But she is not a person who is good at hurting other people. And she knows that. But our universe is a scary place, full of people who are good at hurting people. Full of people who might want to hurt the people she cares about. Full of people who might want to hurt Jane. And that thought can be terrifying. The idea that someone might come for someone you love and you might not be strong enough to do anything to stop them. Now imagine what happens to that feeling as you start to lose people. First Thomas and then Oriole pass away, then Romeo and Prudence are whisked away to handle other duties.The circle of people you know best, who you care for most, is shrinking. It hurts you, and makes you all the more determined to protect who you have left.

And then you find yourself in a place that seems to represent all your worst nightmares. Carnage and bloodshed and destruction. People torn apart. Senseless slaughter. If this is what is out there how could you possibly ever stop it? All your fears confront you at once. But then, just down the next hallway, you find an answer. A promise of all the strength you'll ever need. All you need is a shot in the arm, and you can keep the people you care about safe. So you do it. And the result is miraculous and amazing. You feel stronger than ever before. More confident. Less afraid. But is it really enough? Dangers still lurk around every corner... why take the chance? So you take another shot. And then another. And then another. Power courses through you! You can handle anything now. You are strong. You are powerful! Now as long as you are there nothing can hurt those you love!

...but what if you aren't there, when the threat comes? Threats can come from anywhere and any time. You have to protect the one you love but you cannot be everywhere at once. All it takes is one moment and you could lose everything you hold dear! Unless...

And then you realize the answer. You can give Jane the injections. You can give Jane the injections and make them strong. Make them powerful. Make them invincible in the face of any threat! Take away all their worry and their fear! Show them how much you love them!

But they refuse. More than that, they are horrified. They destroy the machine, the shots, the serum. They destroy your gift to them. Why?! Do they not understand what you were trying to do to help them? Do they not realize this was the way to not have to be worried and afraid any more for them? Do they not realize this was the way to not be worried or afraid any more for you? Why would they hurt you that way? Why would they betray you like that? Do they not love you? Are you not good enough for them, after all you have done? Is your help not needed anymore? Are you about to be discarded? And if you are, what's to stop them from discarding everyone you've cared about? Is everyone you know expendable now? How could they do that to you?!? You won't let them get away with it. You can't!

And so you try to do something about it.

And the next thing you know you wake up in medical barely alive, because you tried to kill the person who is most precious to you in this world. Because the shots were a lie. Because the promise that if you traded morality for power and became harder and crueler and colder you could blot out your worries and fears was a lie. And that lie led you to become the very thing you were afraid of all along. Until the person you loved saved you from yourself, forgave you, and gave you another chance. And in so doing made you love them all the more, and resolve to never ever let them down again.

ThatsAdmiralCarmenToYou: ...

Polly: Do you understand now?

ThatsAdmiralCarmenToYou: tldr

Vee2003 fucked around with this message at 08:42 on Apr 12, 2024

# ? Apr 12, 2024 08:39

Xlorp: Jan 23, 2008

nweismuller posted:

Sadly, given we don't directly control any colonies next to Atlas, we can't sway the baron over diplomatically- we need a direct border (i.e., with our own state, not just our league). The fact that the baron is the husband of the ruler of the Le Colonies is also an issue even if we were capable within game rules of doing that. We could try to sway the Le Colonies as a whole, but that seems dicey at best.

So if the good baron should happen to fatally aspirate on his morning synthajuice, the Le connection suffers? That would be such a shame...

# ? Apr 12, 2024 09:00

EclecticTastes: Sep 17, 2012; "Most plans are critically flawed by their own logic. A failure at any step will ruin everything after it. That's just basic cause and effect. It's easy for a good plan to fall apart. Therefore, a plan that has no attachment to logic cannot be stopped."

If we're to take Atlas militarily, we need to be as surgical as possible about it. We should be ready to strike with overwhelming force the moment we declare war, get ourselves dug in as hard as possible, maintain direct control over Atlas until it's been thoroughly fortified (because we're obviously handing it over to Hayden Roach when we're done), and of course try to establish peace as quickly as possible.

And, I'm reviewing the map and, I'm sorry, does that say The Todd Planets? I don't think I've noticed them before, and I know it's a family name but I really want to imagine it's actually a Republic of Dave situation, where it's all run by some guy named Todd.

# ? Apr 12, 2024 09:58

Xlorp: Jan 23, 2008

EclecticTastes posted:

If we're to take Atlas militarily, we need to be as surgical as possible about it. We should be ready to strike with overwhelming force the moment we declare war, get ourselves dug in as hard as possible, maintain direct control over Atlas until it's been thoroughly fortified (because we're obviously handing it over to Hayden Roach when we're done), and of course try to establish peace as quickly as possible.

And, I'm reviewing the map and, I'm sorry, does that say The Todd Planets? I don't think I've noticed them before, and I know it's a family name but I really want to imagine it's actually a Republic of Dave situation, where it's all run by some guy named Todd.

Actually his name is Rod. Rod N. Todd

# ? Apr 12, 2024 20:36

nweismuller: Oct 11, 2012; They say that he who dies with the most Opil wins.

I am winning.

EclecticTastes posted:

If we're to take Atlas militarily, we need to be as surgical as possible about it. We should be ready to strike with overwhelming force the moment we declare war, get ourselves dug in as hard as possible, maintain direct control over Atlas until it's been thoroughly fortified (because we're obviously handing it over to Hayden Roach when we're done), and of course try to establish peace as quickly as possible.

And, I'm reviewing the map and, I'm sorry, does that say The Todd Planets? I don't think I've noticed them before, and I know it's a family name but I really want to imagine it's actually a Republic of Dave situation, where it's all run by some guy named Todd.

You've probably not noticed the Todd Planets before because their name isn't shown on the level of zoom I use to show the whole map while they're part of a league, and they only recently broke off from the Simpson League.

The current ruler of the Todd Planets is Duchess Kinipela Meza of House Todd, whose dry, detail-oriented, keenly insightful manner does not immediately betray her hobby of serf vivisections in the interests of a better understanding of the course of various diseases. The fact that she's prone to this has leaked out, rather damaging her reputation in the colonies at large.

Despite these experiments, the quality of her Medical services under Technology are frankly fairly dire, which means that these crimes were committed without even any substantial value to come of them.

nweismuller fucked around with this message at 21:36 on Apr 12, 2024

# ? Apr 12, 2024 21:27

EclecticTastes: Sep 17, 2012; "Most plans are critically flawed by their own logic. A failure at any step will ruin everything after it. That's just basic cause and effect. It's easy for a good plan to fall apart. Therefore, a plan that has no attachment to logic cannot be stopped."

nweismuller posted:

The current ruler of the Todd Planets is Duchess Kinipela Meza of House Todd, whose dry, detail-oriented, keenly insightful manner does not immediately betray her hobby of serf vivisections in the interests of a better understanding of the course of various diseases. The fact that she's prone to this has leaked out, rather damaging her reputation in the colonies at large.

Despite these experiments, the quality of her Medical services under Technology are frankly fairly dire, which means that these crimes were committed without even any substantial value to come of them.

This is actually pretty historically accurate. Pretty much all historical atrocities committed in the alleged name of medical research were done with such little rigor and were often so nonsensical in their premises as to provide nothing of value to mankind's body of medical knowledge. Unit 731, the experiments of Josef Mengele, and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study would be the most well-known examples. None of them produced even a single scientifically valid result. :eng101:

# ? Apr 12, 2024 22:20

nweismuller: Oct 11, 2012; They say that he who dies with the most Opil wins.

I am winning.

EclecticTastes posted:

This is actually pretty historically accurate. Pretty much all historical atrocities committed in the alleged name of medical research were done with such little rigor and were often so nonsensical in their premises as to provide nothing of value to mankind's body of medical knowledge. Unit 731, the experiments of Josef Mengele, and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study would be the most well-known examples. None of them produced even a single scientifically valid result.

Oh, absolutely. I was just pointing out she has no possible defense for her actions, even a blunt utilitarian outcome one. (To be clear, her House Technology rating is 35, which is pretty terrible.)

nweismuller fucked around with this message at 22:38 on Apr 12, 2024

# ? Apr 12, 2024 22:31

BassMug: Jul 19, 2022

Glad to see this is back

I�m pretty invested in watching these characters struggle and flourish.

# ? Apr 13, 2024 20:40

nweismuller: Oct 11, 2012; They say that he who dies with the most Opil wins.

I am winning.

Alex Weiss, personal diary posted:

Things have been a whirlwind since the wedding. Vega is so big, and busy. The colony never seems to rest. There's always some work happening at all times of day or night. Taygeta never was like that... Well, not the parts I was allowed to go to anyway. Not that that's stopped certain male members of the family from visiting, and sometimes coming back with a wife.

I've been put to work in administration. I definitely didn't start off on the right foot. There are big shoes to fill in the administration department in Vega. With my husband's grandfather's passing, and Director Romeo inheriting the directorship of Ross 128. At times it seems like the Archon, the heir, and Malachi are running the entire league. The education the nobles get is better here than in Taygeta, but Liberty said he had something in mind to help.

Speaking of Liberty, he's fourth in line for the Directorship. It certainly won't pass to us, unless there's some sort of terrible accident, but he's an actual prince. Oh sure, they don't call them that here, but that's what he is. I feel like Lubella. No! Stop that. I'm a proper noble lady that never had to grease an engine. I just have my prince!

# ? Apr 14, 2024 04:10

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# ? Apr 29, 2024 20:00

Groetgaffel: Oct 30, 2011; Groetgaffel smacked the living shit out of himself doing 297 points of damage.

Colonel Geraldine Weiss posted:

It seems the Admiral has handed her part in the council meeting to me.
I have not been given a reason, but I assume it is due to her poor health. _{_{Or she just couldn't be bothered to go herself}}
Her notes are full cynical remarks and general scorn, but light on useful details. Nevertheless, I shall do by best as duty demands.

It is my assessment that the Atlas system certainly could be conquered. While there is no certainties in war, our projections point towards a swift battle firmly in our favour.
However, unrest in the systems on our side of the border is alarming.
The Wei system especially being one of the two systems in the league directly connected to Atlas by starlane is already reporting demonstrations all throughout the colony.
According to the reports I've got full on riots are around the corner. And that's the good scenario. The bad is full on revolt within a year or two.

It is my recommendation that we cease our ongoing deployment of house peacekeepers to Algorab and Beta Librae, and redeploy those forces to Wei and Botein respectively.
If we are to strike at Atlas I consider it imperative that we maintain order in the colonies on our side of the border.
Wei and Botein needs intervention regardless, while I have three or four more systems displaying worrying signs of disloyalty and unrest, none of those are currently as urgent.

Personal message sent to the Director-General posted:

Honourable Director-General Jane Weiss,

My Lady, forgive my directness.
I believe we both know that I have surpassed Admiral Carmen Weiss in every metric aside from official station by now.
Not to mention that she is widely disliked, I am also concerned that in her poor health she has let her dedication to upholding her duties slip.
I am of course not suggesting violating the codes of honour!
My suggestion for upholding both the security and safety of the Weiss Guild, and its honour both is thus:
Let Carmen be your champion in any future tournaments, or even leading from the front any military action.
Give the old bat a chance to go out in a blaze of glory instead of wasting away in and out of the clinic.
I believe this is in the best interest of everyone involved. Yes, including the Admiral herself.

Your loyal servant, Colonel Geraldine Weiss

# ? Apr 15, 2024 02:46

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Let's Survive the Post-Collapse Colonies in... Star Dynasties

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