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Hexenritter posted:I'd love to see more tertiary character posts. Hop to it people. Come on in the water's fine You know, I'd like some advice and feedback on doing so; I've been reading this thread for years (finally caught up last week), and my 40k knowledge is essentially what I picked up from this CYOA. The Wiki is so large its overwhelming. So, how would you recommend someone create a tertiary character without actually knowing how to create a 40k character?
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Feb 27, 2017 22:19
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Introducing Helena, a simple shuttle pilot coming to terms with grief and loss Helena had a light touch. Even before learning the family trade of flying a nearly rusted out heap of thrusters, mangled wiring, and almost inadequate life support systems which was somehow cobbled together into a barely functional planetary cargo shuttle, she was known to be delicate and deliberate. Where a spacer learned such habits and mannerisms? Who knew? The family certainly didn’t have a ‘noble’ heritage, no matter how distant. No formal schooling either. Just generations of knowledge in piloting planetary shuttles, and an antiquated flying brick with which to ply their trade. A brick, she noted with rather mirthless humor, she was in the process of flying apart. Her family laid dead all about the ship. Her husband, a smear in the cargo hold. Her children, crushed against their harnesses by metric tons of crates which had broken loose when the energies released from the cracking of the planet had washed through the shuttle. Soon, Helena would join them. She had looked out the viewport, seen that monstrous, heretical Xeno ship hanging in the dark. A predator. An ender of worlds. She had nothing which could hurt it. She knew she couldn’t even get close; other ships had tried, been ripped apart by whatever fiendish weapons it possessed. So, she waited. Either her food, water, or air would run out first, or, some type of opportunity might present itself. And, eventually, it did. Ships had left that monstrosity. Scavengers and salvagers. Picking over the bones of a destroyed world. Some of those ships, armed to be sure. Others, not. It was one of the unarmed ones she was trailing now, all the way back to that beast. Her shuttle danced behind the other craft, mere meters from its stern. It couldn’t shake her, carrying too much pillaged loot she’d imagine, and its bulk shielded her from a guaranteed fiery death. At first, the craft had sped up; a pilots instincts where just that, instinctual. Always rely on the throttle to get you out of a tight situation. Which was what exactly Helena had counted on. Then the ‘dancing’ had started. Her ship was smaller, nimbler, and was hauling less cargo. It wouldn't be long now, they were mere seconds from one of the docking bays. As anticipated, the larger craft veered off on a steep ‘climb’; someone was getting pasted in there, she noted absentmindedly. You can’t turn at that angle, at these velocities, without a casualty or two. The cockpit was a cacophony around her, a riot of blaring lights, screaming horns, and incessant chatter on the radio. Helen heard none of it. In her mind, the laugher of her children, whispers from her husband. She was close enough now to make out the smooth texture of the bony material on the Xeno ship, the details of the docking bay doors, the people within through the viewports. As oblivion embraced her, one final thought, “See, Momma had a light touch” Loel posted:If Fabiyan is the incarnation of one word/concept, what should it be? Loss
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Feb 28, 2017 02:09
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Hexenritter posted:Beautiful intro, and welcome to the thread Thank You! So how does it work now? Do other people take my character and put it into their story-lines? Or do I start 'slice of life'ing' it up?
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Feb 28, 2017 20:43
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Hexenritter posted:Amusingly, Haradrius Van Vaal, the guy in charge of the annexation fleet that met up with Huron. He started out blending sorcery and technology, and with the anti-Chaos slant the Athenian Technocracy has, he hit the ground running with the hyperreality field tech Sebekh concocted. There's also Malatach the Heresiarch, way off in one of the core AT systems, Dagaz. See, this is why I created Helena; I have no idea what any of this means, so I might as well write from the perspective of a character who neither knows nor cares about such things.
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Feb 28, 2017 23:08
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Hexenritter posted:You'd only really know wtf I was on about if you'd been following my sideplot shenanigans . . . Oh I realize there are subplot shenanigans, thanks for posting the summary. I read before, and I'm reading it again now; frankly, about 1/3 of the way through, I find myself still shaking my head and going 'what!?!' (smile) Its not the writing (which is great by the way), its just that its taken me years to read through this thread, and my mind just can't keep track of it all. So, I'm approaching this from the other end; namely, someone who doesn't kill, doesn't have augments, isn't a power player. You know, good old Mom. (smile)
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Feb 28, 2017 23:26
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Loel posted:I cant keep track of my plots or characters either, so it works out /doubletake OMG, its him, its him, its him, its him, its Him! /okay stay cool "How are you, Mr. Loel? May I please play in your pool?"
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Feb 28, 2017 23:41
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Hexenritter posted:"This is Shuttle Slow Deep and Hard to Titan Traffic Control. Open up, you know you want me inside you." Arkanomen posted:"You are cleared for rear docking port 69, Blackfinger #420." For one, you fellas watch your language, Shuttle Mom can hear you (smile) Two, I was going to ask the thread to name her Shuttle. Then I realized I'd get names like these. (smile)
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Mar 1, 2017 01:32
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Hexenritter posted:Suggestions: I like the FTS part. The names seem rather, serious and grim dark, which I suppose is the whole point? The reason I haven't selected a name yet is because 1) I haven't thought of one and 2) from a plot perspective, what would a grieving Mom lost to a Xeno, Heretical world she doesn't understand rename her boat?
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Mar 1, 2017 01:51
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Hexenritter posted:I thought Epona and Guiding Light were kinda nice and not grimdark-sounding at all Hey man, its all good, didn't mean to 'poo poo' on your suggestions, definitely know that your input is appreciated! (smile) I was just thinking of going in another direction, kinda like this actually: Blasphemaster posted:The shuttle obviously needs to be called The Empty Nest. Maybe not 'Empty Nest'; however sufficiently gut wrenching and nihilistic while 'Shuttle Mom' copes with her new world. C'mon Thread, let's hear those names!
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Mar 1, 2017 19:57
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Slice of Life: Helena "Shuttle Mom" Location: Docking Bay, The Beast A soft whimper. Shallow, labored, breathing. Another whimper. It took a few moments for Helena to realize it was her making those sounds. Consciousness came back to her, slowly, a little bit at a time. Something was different though; she felt, drowsy? Detached? Not quite present, not quite there? “It’s quite pleasant, isn’t it?” A voice. Female. Distant? Near? She honestly couldn’t tell. “The effects largely depends on the one administering the dose. And, you’ll find that I have a practiced hand.” A struggle to open her eyes. Vision came back slowly. Red light, in a dim, familiar cockpit. Hers? “As this is our first meeting, I’m not quite sure how you like your ‘pleasure’. You’ll tell me what you prefer, won’t you?” Helena blinked, too slowly. Tried to raise her head, take in her surroundings. Gradually, understanding came. “In general, most like a feeling of warmth. Of feeling safe, comfortable. A few prefer cold. Ice flowing in their veins. Yet others, a detachment. Not remembering what they don’t remember.” She was in her cockpit, aboard her shuttle. The red emergency lighting bathing the space in a dull red. Flopped in her seat, which was turned to face backwards, towards the rear. The seat restraints undone, dangling from the chair. “Good, you understand your situation, such as it were. You’re not really in a state to do anything other than listen. So, please, listen, and intently” A figure was before her. Shimmering, undulating. Absent of details, of shape, of definition. Try as she may, she couldn’t register anything about this voice which was speaking at her. “Suicide by shuttle. Not the most imaginative method for ending one’s life. Not the most effective either, as it turns out. Still, full marks for at least attempting vengeance” It occurred to Helena she could in fact move. Jump up from her seat. Scream. Fling herself at the voice. Do something, anything. She just didn’t quite want to. She was content to just stay flopped, staring at nothing. “Death, pain, threats, coercion. None of these things would faze you, that much is clear. So, instead, the most insidious poison of all” A faint stirring within her. She needed to focus. “Your children. I have them. I can return them to you, alive, flesh and blood, exactly as you remembered.” Eyes narrowed at those words. “Your husband. I have him also. He too I can return, undamaged, whole. You can be in his arms once more.” A shake of the head to indicate no, “Dead.” “Yes, they were. Are. And yet, not. Miraculous things happen on this ship, as you’ll come to appreciate. You being alive, as a start.” Another shake of the head, “Lie.” “You’re alive, that much is truth. I can return your family to you. That too is truth. Doubt me, if you wish. Are you really willing to consign your children to oblivion, again?” Silence. She wanted to respond, didn’t know what to say. Somehow, didn’t care enough to speak? “You fly for me now, Pilot. You’ll even be compensated, and well, for your efforts, though you care little for such things. What you do care about, will be returned to you, at my leisure, to my satisfaction.” The numbness returns. Head lolled back on the seat rest. Blank stares at the rear bulkhead. “Interesting. Your husband said you’d put up much more of a fight. And your children, they’re wondering when they’ll play ‘who’s lightest on the stick’ with Momma again.” Her heart would have skipped a beat, if it weren’t for the hypodermic injection to her neck. Ice, in her veins. Hollowing, in her chest. “Interesting.”
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Mar 2, 2017 02:43
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Blasphemaster posted:That's not regular medicine, shuttle mom. That's Totally Awesome Sweet Alabama Liquid Snake. Enjoy the ride. If you only knew (smile). I have rough ideas on what this medicine is and how it will eventually play out; no worries, I won't pull a 'Lost' and say, "Well, what do YOU think it is?!?" Loel posted:Color me intruiged. You talking 'bout Helena? (smile) Arkanomen posted:"Every docking umbilical?" Asked Ohone. Que? ----- Time for some feedback, how do folks feel about Shuttle Mom? Are people interested? Would you like to know more? Or should I come up with something else?
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Mar 2, 2017 19:54
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Slice of Life: Helena "Shuttle Mom" Location: Docking Bay, The Beast The pre-flight checklist was a ritual Helena had always enjoyed. Part prayer, part pride of ownership, careful adherence to the established protocol had kept her family heirloom flying for generations, and would keep it flying for generations to come. Which was all the reason she needed to hate the man-machine monstrosity in front of her. Its ‘voice’ came from some form of box buried in its throat; the horrid mechanical buzzing discomforted her and gave her a headache. She tried to be in its presence as little as possible, and she ignored it completely regardless. It didn’t make it easy though; apparently, this ‘thing’ was now her co-pilot, loadmaster, basic security, and nanny-spy. “Pre-Flight complete. Shuttle is cleared for operations. Captain has control.” These proceedings were a mockery, Helena had decided. She didn’t need It to tell her anything about her flying Her Ship. Well, her old ship, anyways. Before the upgrade. The shuttle still looked the same, on the outside; a humble planetary cargo craft, one of countless billions commissioned in-service to the Imperium. Some 159 meters long, she was rated to carry approximately 16,000 metric tons of material within a star system, give or take a few unofficial nooks and crannies reserved for ‘premium services’. The inside though, that was a completely different matter; her home was unrecognizable to her, to the point where she doubted it was her home at all. The layout had changed, the equipment, even more so. Everything was presented in clean, glowing, bright mirror finishes; holographic displays and tactile spatial interfaces projected from every console. Xenotech and Heresy, the lot of it. Technical manuals and performance specifications were provided to her, detailing the exact nature and capabilities of her ‘new’ shuttle. She had tried to read it, and stopped at about the end of the second paragraph. If she had been an Imperium Naval Cadet, at the height of the ‘Golden Age’, perhaps she could have made sense of it. Maybe. Except she was just a shuttle pilot, trained by her Father, who was trained by his Father, and so on. A cargo manifest was about as much reading as she’d care to do. “Captain. Mission briefing incoming. Shuttle is to rendezvous with contact currently in station keeping location near Titan. Receipt confirmation requested by sender.” Helena took a deep breath, “Why am I here? This thing can probably fly itself, or you can fly it just as well. Either way, you don’t need me.” “Flight mission acknowledged and confirmed. Estimated flight time, 20 hours. Shuttle detaching.” A familiar venting of atmosphere, followed by several large metallic ‘cluncks’. Her ship was set adrift. “Fine, you to go to Titan?” Helena backhanded the flight stick with her right hand. The shuttle reacted immediately, more nimble and agile than it had in the past. At the same time, she increased the throttle to full, and felt the craft leap forwards with none of the creaking, groaning, or other signs of structural stress she was accustomed to. Pilot input of this nature would have damaged her ship in the past. “There’s Titan.” Somehow, the ship was pointed in the direction of the small moon. Or, so the holographics indicated. “Course confirmed. Captain, a decision is required. What is the designation of this vessel?” Helena had already undone her restraints and was out of her chair, walking back towards the crew area, “I don’t care what you call it, I’m going to sleep.” A soft hissing of the door, and she was gone. “Confirmed. Vessel registration logged under ‘FTS Psychopannychia’ ”.
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Mar 15, 2017 00:48
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Hey, glad to see you're back, its nice to get a story post!
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Mar 29, 2017 18:47
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Butt Discussin posted:. . . and ask their opinion on it. I like this idea. "Hey Superhumans, do you think having more superhumans would help us in our current situation, or do you think its a bad idea?"
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Apr 6, 2017 00:08
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Arkanomen posted:"I have combined the dna of the galaxies strongest and most infamous heroes and villains into one super being to do my will!" So, Serpentor then. We're making Serpentor.
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Apr 6, 2017 19:44
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Love doesn't necessarily have to be interpreted as 'bow chika bow wow'. The Eidolon of love could be seen as a savior and redeemer, if we're going full religious bleed-through. Would be interesting to see how that plays in 40k grim-dark.
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Apr 20, 2017 00:24
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What is Fabiyan's reason for wanting this? "I don't trust anyone else to do it the way I can."
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Apr 27, 2017 23:43
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Hexenritter posted:Sorry, not my strongest work by far. Bleh, I need to get back into the swing. The heck you say? I enjoyed that thoroughly, good read, saw myself on that bridge.
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Apr 28, 2017 01:03
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Hexenritter posted:Thank you. Read fine to me, you're often your own worst critic. (smile) Speaking of, anyone interested in more 'Shuttle Mom'? If so, I would appreciate some suggestions; last we left off, she was flying off on her first mission round Titan, any ideas on what that mission might be?
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Apr 28, 2017 01:34
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Hexenritter posted:Ferrying (self)important dignitaries and hoity toity higher ups between ships? You could have some fun with being ogled by the pirates of Blackfinger's ship. Hah! This one I like . . . you are in the neighborhood aren't you? And, you're getting ready for a ball ain't ya? (*smile)
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Apr 28, 2017 02:12
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. . . you are my last love, my one devotion. My greatest hope for humanity, and my deepest fear of the abyss. Become my Beacon, my rallying cry. My Savior, for all that remains . . .
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May 5, 2017 21:10
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Loel posted:"Plans can break down. You cannot plan the future. Only presumptuous fools plan. The wise man steers." Fabian take the wheel? 
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May 5, 2017 23:35
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Grouchio posted:Lowell, would you mind helping me set up a Presidential CYOA? I've sent you a PM on the matter. Not to derail, can you please provide a link once it's active? I'm really enjoying Nyaa's Presidential CYOA as well.
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May 24, 2017 18:37
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Hexenritter posted:The things he and Sister Suffer did in the blood I won't go into detail about but suffice to say his orthodoxy score isn't what it once was So, how many blood orgies does one get to have before falling to full Chaos?
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May 31, 2017 20:47
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Loel posted:What characters do people want to get more screen time? How about Shuttle Mom? I haven't had time to write lately, and, would be interested in your take on that character?
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Jul 12, 2017 23:20
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Loel posted:Sure, we can give her a scene during the party Thanks! My next scene with her was going to be having her help prepare for the party by hauling ice. That's right, Ice. From around Titan. Because its still more efficient to haul it from an asteroid than make it on the ship. (smile)
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Jul 12, 2017 23:53
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She'll met some people, itll be fun.
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Gwaihir posted:"You will find that I am kind" I vote whatever this is.
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Jul 17, 2017 18:55
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First.Arkanomen posted:Cute, now watch a true mind at play . . . class is in session. Then. Butt Discussin posted:Keep going with the quid pro quo, with the best security precautions we can manage. While we need to recruit as much talent as we can, I also don't like this 'things' tone and presumption. Its been sitting in its proverbial 'basement' for millennia, feeling happy about itself and being the big fish in a small pond. Its time to 'get a haircut and find a job' buddy, Universe is coming to an end again, need everyone on the Empress Program.
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Jul 19, 2017 20:18
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Slice of Life – Helena “Shuttle Mom” On approach to the Eminent Domain Helena stared out the main viewport of her ship with a detached incredulity; the shuttle traffic between those two behemoths were performing some sort of, dance? Corkscrews, serpentines, loops and figure eights? Something for the ‘party’ that’s got everyone stirred up, to be sure. The past few weeks have been dull and uneventful, which suited her just fine. It was like the world ceased to exist outside the confines of her pressurized hull, and she was beginning to prefer it that way. Her task had been to ferry ice to the Eminent Domain, whatever good it did for the poor souls residing on that hulk. Automated systems and mass drivers were much more efficient for the job, and Helena had tried to tell Traffic Control that on every occasion, not that anybody listened. On every trip back to the ship, the briefing had been the same; “Mission Parameters, proceed to the orbit around Titan and retrieve clean ice for VIPs onboard the Eminent Domain. End of Message. ” Clean ice?!? What does that even mean? Ice is ice, and in space, it has all the interstellar dust on it that it will ever gather. Her servitor ‘co-pilot’ could have flown the entirety of the ‘mission’ without her intervention; and frankly, it did just that. Helena had spent mere minutes in the cockpit over the past few weeks, mainly to ‘report in’, as she is about to now. “Traffic Control, Eminent Domain. Shuttle Psychopannychia inbound with cargo of ice. Request clearance for quick off-load and relaunch.” “Shuttle Psychopannychia, dock as indicated bay and power down for inspection. Flight operations grounded until further notice. Your presence is requested onboard.” “Can’t I just go get more ice?” There wasn’t a reply, and, it wasn’t expected anyways. CourValant fucked around with this message at 23:55 on Jul 19, 2017 |
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Jul 19, 2017 23:35
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Hexenritter posted:Welcome back, shuttle mom Thanks! Its fortunate that I am not a professional writer. As the saying goes, Amateurs wait for inspiration. Professionals hit their mark and deliver. Loel posted:Yes good Quite. (smile) Still looking for get your take on our Shuttle Mom; I put her on the ship, now you get to make her dance! (smile)
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Jul 19, 2017 23:55
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Butt Discussin posted:Shuttle mom has earned some octopod talons and an emotional regulator in addition to her mandatory bonus L-word filter. You leave Shuttle Mom alone, hasn't she suffered enough?!? (smile)
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Jul 20, 2017 00:03
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Arkanomen posted:We could race flagships? A lap around sol . . . Sol isn't there anymore; do we really want to take a pleasure cruise around whatever Dark-Chaos-God-Incubator-Black-Hole that is there now?
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Jul 28, 2017 18:42
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mepstein73 posted:Visit museum, then saunter into ballroom with flowing gown and Eidolon on arm 20 minutes late. This, plus all that techno-spying stuff we can do on the ballroom. Check for threats, bits of gossip and little white lies, latest fashion trends, etc.
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Aug 1, 2017 17:18
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Just gotta say, really enjoy these lighter interludes between all the 'Grim-Dark'. Its a nice mental palette cleanser.
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Aug 2, 2017 18:19
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Outrail posted:Are we talking about the incredibly obvious nuke-trap? Xarbala posted:The supremely obvious one. /sigh . . . yeah, that was a depressing day. I miss tea time and knitting with what's-her-face. Grognan posted:I voted to walk into it proudly, because there was no way devries was that stupid. And he wasn't; he technically survived it, as did we. He just did it with the bragging rights. Although, that sequence of events did give us the webways, so it wasn't a total loss.
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Aug 3, 2017 18:23
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Hexenritter posted:Loving your new avatar, very thread-appropriate. Thanks Friend! I've been considering it for awhile now, although my hand was forced by some jag-off who thought it'd be funny to harass me in another thread. Blasphemaster posted:Have a Servo Skull zip by, stop, wink at them, and immediately self destruct in a burst of confetti. Why not? Seems cute and oddly appropriate for a wedding comedic interlude between story arcs.
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Aug 7, 2017 19:01
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Blasphemaster posted:We should include the new years buzzer noise too. Like when you open a lunch box in Fallout 4! Only if someone enters the cheat code for the "Q-Big-Head-Version" of Fabs and Ohone.
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Aug 8, 2017 00:26
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Arkanomen posted:. . . I think the answer lies in becoming an intergalactic flotilla. So, the idea is to take every single last human in the galaxy and put them on an ark-ship, Eldar style? And then sort them into a caste system, and tie everyone together through the worship of a living Goddess? You put a lot of effort into your post, and I don't have an equally long response; what I will say is that can't you institute the same duty based 'citizenship require service' mentality on a planet (Hive, city, farm, what have you?). That same pipe which requires fixing on a ship or everyone dies is the same pipe on a planet? Fix this pipe or no one gets water? What I'm getting at is I don't like the forced relocation nature of the fleet idea; 'congratulations citizen, you now live on a spaceship as a farmer' is the same as 'congratulations citizen, you now live on a commune as a farmer'? And that kind of forced relocation for the betterment of society just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
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Aug 10, 2017 20:26
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Outrail posted:So who does get paid the big bucks? What would you need money for in a true post scarcity society? Once the constraint of 'lack of resources' is removed, there is no longer the need for a debit/credit (banking) system. All you would ever need is energy to run the replicators, and 'designs' to replicate. Bear in mind, rationing of energy, or 'replicator credits' on how much you can 'print', is not true 'post-scarcity'. Outrail posted:. . . Billy, the sanitation technician with a multi-million credit annual salary is up to his armpits in poo poo on subsection 4.725.9b . . . I would argue that no amount of 'money' or 'prestige' would make a person take this kind of a job; even today, its been studied to death that money, beyond satisfying basic human needs, is not a long term motivator. A future technocratic society will rely on automation and 'robots', I don't see a way around it, Loki or otherwise. Imagine yourself living on that void-ship, would rather be in that cesspool, or in your design lab making a 'thing' that would clean the cesspool, with the added bonus that everybody will want to print your cesspool cleaning 'thing' and every time they do, they see your name and think how smart you are?
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Aug 11, 2017 18:34
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Blasphemaster posted:One tech is in place to allow for it, we replace existing monetary systems with individual EMAs (energy/mass alowances). As long as its an artificial scarcity and not a real one, it should work; as long as the '1%'ers who trade in massive amounts of EMA's don't affect the ability of the rest of the dregs to redeem theirs, then the other banking system fallacies don't necessarily apply. I suppose it makes sense, we're turning the galaxy into one big skee-ball-ticket-redemption line at the boardwalk.
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Aug 11, 2017 21:24
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