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Problem is, I've never even held the book and thus The few times we did play AW, the MC did all the mechanics stuff and therefore inasmuch as I know the general principles of the "genre" (from hacks, mostly WWWrestling), even the basic moves elude me, so I'd have to rely on Foo to tell me when and what to roll and stuff. Either way, hell, might as well post poo poo. Be right back.
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Mar 15, 2016 20:10
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 15:02 |
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Rector Noam Baudouin von Saussur, the Hocus Thee crucial-ah - matter at hąnd is - that - we simply do not comprend yeт. We know - we know - we know for ʒure that die notes - die explications - the paths to it are somewehr, in an-anxious preparation to be discovered. Our speech - our language - our parole - is bigger than any of - of us, it does not exist merely with-within us, it encadrates all of us, beyond - beyond the limitations loci et temporae. Said otheɺwise, it is the one thing that linкs you to those that came b4 you, and to those that will follow, hence it must - MUST! - be related to the maelstrom! That the krankstürm speaks is is is not a mysstery to any/all users. Naturellement, this is not the answer to the question of whetнer or not the Great Device predicates this connection or is a consequence of it, predating the Apocalypse and confirming the Eternal Storm Theoremm-m! Stephenson - Stephenson might indicate - might suggest - [meɪ] be a clue that - d̼at this has happened before. In fact, I once - once - longtimeago - collaborated with a re-spected scholar of the maelstorm who claimed this all has happened before, that maelstrom is a manifestation of a disaster in language - Enki's nam-ʃub being the solution! I thence put forth the claim - the claim - that disaster in human unity [being: language] is cyclical, like the disaster in human disunity [being: socioeconomic process]. Now - voilà, you start piecing it together, true? Horrorshow! But - allow me to spell it out, to those of - of you who may have missed some - something. To purge - the new Welt - to re-establish the Ordo Seclorum - once and for all - we must find that which would terminate the cycle, what the scholars of old yearned for: the Language of Paradise. For if we do - WHEN WE DO, I SAY - AS PER THE UTMOST HYPOTHESIS - when we SPEAK IT - OUR WORLD SHALL BECOME IT. quote:Look: Man, scrounge vestments, ascetic face, dazed eyes, lanky body. Noam cannot rely on anything in his journey, yet when possible, he tries to pick vestments that would look respectable in a place of learning. He pays far less attention to his body. His movements are twitchy, uncertain, and when he speaks, he does so in a weird, uncanny way, inserting sounds and phrases few living men or women would recognize, with pacing so aberrant as to suggest he is not as adept with speech as he is with language. In game, I would naturally limit the gimmicky alphabet-messing stuff posted above - it's mostly to underline what the character is about here, but I know it'd get old fairly fast. Tevery Best fucked around with this message at 23:27 on Mar 18, 2016 |
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Mar 15, 2016 21:31
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I for one approve of crazy post-apocalyptic Noam Chomsky. Noam, do you have anything to explain to me why the Child-things can speak with the tongues of men? It's honestly downright unsettling when you stop to think about it.
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Mar 15, 2016 21:46
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Noam, what in the gently caress is the reason that Colonel Crocker didn't drive you off when she had all the chances in the world?
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Mar 15, 2016 21:55
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Noam, you talk so strangely. Like your plucking words out of another place and slotting them together. What do you dream about, mystical man?
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Mar 15, 2016 22:14
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inklesspen posted:Noam, do you have anything to explain to me why the Child-things can speak with the tongues of men? It's honestly downright unsettling when you stop to think about it. The perplexing nature of the Child-Thing is a- a matterr of some debate within the Institute. While beyond any doubt there exists much difference between the individual Child-Things and their - and their idiolects, as dictated by the typical variation of place and co-mmunity they inhabit, it appears they possess the Great Device, the Lad, to a similar degree as any proto-to-typical human being. One general school - of thought dictates that a Child-Thing is proof for the Eternal Storm Theorem, in that it must be the Maelstrom that awakens the latent Device, thence the nature of the Device must be such that it had always been a reflection of the Maelstrom. Others argue that the language of the Child-Things could be a suggestion that beyond the Language of Paradise, there is a Language of Purgatory as well. The implication... of the third language to complement the Trinity... is a prospect too horrifying to study. Hurricane, Dean Tryuk has approached me with a peculiar theory. She says your signs, being marked for future tense within the Maelstrom, may be a reflection of the Language of Paradise. But so far we assumed - with no records - that it must have been lacking a written form. Is it - are they - can you shed the light on this? Captain Foo posted:Noam, what in the gently caress is the reason that Colonel Crocker didn't drive you off when she had all the chances in the world? Entschlossenheit. The Institute is devoted to learning, and the truth we seek may be anywhere. And we cannot care for the rulers of the world that is now, lest that truth perish unpublished. To die in the service of knowledge is a grim duty, but one we all chose to accept nonetheless. We know the risks, and we TAKE THEM, consciously and conscientiously. Academician Labov was the one to pay the price this time. But we - we in the discourse comm-community - we may skulk and hide, but we will refuse to be cowed. And we don't care what she thinks, our work is for her benefit as well. Captain_Indigo posted:Noam, you talk so strangely. Like your plucking words out of another place and slotting them together. What do you dream about, mystical man? I dream of the Utmost Hypothesis of Sapir-Whorf coming true. With the - the - Language - in our grasp, in our mastery - it will change the world before our eyes, as proven by men of learning, into that of the First People, the bountiful land of plenty under the eye of a loving Creator. And I dream of the screams of the words never coined. Ideas unnamed, unverbalised, thus: uncreated; what worse a fate could be for what exists, but cannot be? Marie, at what point and what manner did your brother cease - cease to communicate? Key, we brought you Labov and we brought you payment, yet the bargain was never concluded. Why?
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Mar 15, 2016 23:23
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inklesspen posted:Gilly: You ever killed someone and regretted it after? Or are you somehow the only one of us with no regrets? I've killed plenty of people and regretted it later. Usually when their buddies show up looking for me, but that's still regretting. One time, I killed the only guy who knew where the water hole was. That was a bad week. And I have plenty of regrets. I've left more behind than most of ever had, or will have. I just don't waste time jawing about them when someone's about to loving shoot.
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Mar 15, 2016 23:39
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K Prime posted:I've killed plenty of people and regretted it later. Usually when their buddies show up looking for me, but that's still regretting. One time, I killed the only guy who knew where the water hole was. That was a bad week. I know you've had your brain read by that Brainer guy, Stradivarius, who passed through two years back and comes back sometimes. Could you tell me what you heard when he did that? Redstone, you requested the help of the Institute some time ago. What did you seek to learn - and why did it end up not helping you any after all? Tevery Best fucked around with this message at 23:45 on Mar 15, 2016 |
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Mar 15, 2016 23:42
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Noam The words sound familiar, but the face is very different. -raises voice slightly- Has one of you walked in the barrens before now my friend? Also, your crew, they needing anything fixed? I think some of them look in need of eye covers, judging by how much they are squinting at things.
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Mar 15, 2016 23:55
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Josef bugman posted:Noam Yes. Doctor Jones often scours those territories, seeking answers we all desire. In fact, I believe one of his tours took him after the Illuminated you speak of. Her device would have been a great step in helping us develop a serious teaching programme. To simply allow people - any of them - to study the maelstrom first-hand - what an opportunity would be had! We had to try, you understand, and all we know was that his fate was grim. What happened to him? We spent much time in study, reading through the old texts. It is no wonder our eyes are not what they should be.
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Mar 16, 2016 00:13
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Josef bugman posted:
I go to noco's. Its just off Miller's Row. The building has been standing since before things went bad. The name comes from the sign that still is there. Most of it was gone, but what was left was a bit saying 'noco' and that's the name that stuck. Reason I go there is because its between the territories of several groups. Its a neutral territory for when various groups don't feel like killing each other. It isn't the safest place, fights happen a lot. At least the booze they serve there isn't watered down. Tevery Best posted:
I don't think you understand what I mean by payment. What you brought me wasn't going to work. I know you and yours are a bit odd, but I thought you would have known what to bring me for payment. I wasn't going to let Labov just leave with that wound of his. If i didn't take care of the injury, then it would have gotten infected. He had a good chance of dying if that happened, so I took care of him. You still owe me, but you can forget about that debt now. I don't think I'll be around long enough to collect.
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Mar 16, 2016 00:45
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Tevery Best posted:Problem is, I've never even held the book and thus come hang out on SynIRC in #gonzo or just post in this thread if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer and for most mechanical things other players will be able to help you out as well
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Mar 16, 2016 01:28
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Look at all these FUCKERS that think they're gonna be someone in this mess we call a world. Just look at them. Hurricane, a Touchstone, by inklesspen Wade, a Faceless, by Error 404 Baby-Boss, a Chopper, by PoultryGeist Nekoda, an Angel, by suicide4sexbots Josiah, a Savvyhead, by Josef bugman Director Redstone, a Hardholder, by Comrade Gorbash Roxanne, a Touchstone, by EnjoiThePureTrip Marie and Brother, a Brainer, by Captain_Indigo Gilly, a Gunlugger, by K Prime Key, a Battlebabe, by DocBubonic Rector Noam, a Hocus, by Tevery Best But it seems we're going to focus on the story of these fuckers right here: Baby-Boss, the Chopper, by PoultryGeist Director Redstone, the Hardholder, by Comrade Gorbash Hurricane, the Touchstone, by inklesspen Key, the Battlebabe, by DocBubonic Rector Noam, the Hocus, by Tevery Best I'm sure it will be luxe and bloody and messy and hot, eventually. We've got to start somewhere, though. Let's figure out exactly how these notable people relate to each other, hmmmm? === For those selected, do your Hx and highlights. For those not selected, thank you so much for your effort and contributions to this robust world we've got. I'll be assembling the dramatis personae and writing the OP tomorrow. Mechanical notes: Key can keep Prepared for the inevitable; Hurricane needs to select his Long History.
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Mar 16, 2016 01:54
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I went with NOT TO BE hosed WITH.The Touchstone posted:Go around again for Hx. On your turn, tell everyone Hx+1. You’re an open book.
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Mar 16, 2016 02:42
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Baby-boss, the Chopper Everyone: You all get Hx+1. I ain’t exactly complicated. Rector Noam: The Sworn Brotherhood rode down on you out in the Nowhere, and you didn’t even blink. Maybe you’re too cray to realize we could end you, but it was still kinda cool. Whatever you tell me, I’ll add +1 to it. Everyone Else: Whatever you tell me, I’ll subtract -1 from it. If you ain’t a Brother or Sister, how important can you really be?
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Mar 16, 2016 03:26
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Key / Shadow of Death - Battlebabe Everyone Hx+1 I'm out in the public view. DocBubonic fucked around with this message at 04:54 on Mar 16, 2016 |
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Mar 16, 2016 04:52
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Question: how freely can we interpret the Hx in the playbooks? Making someone my follower sounds like a very heavy mess with the others' concepts, but I'd really love to make Hurricane a doctor honoris causa.
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Mar 16, 2016 09:45
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Congrats everyone who got in! Foo, if you want to, you can totally use Wade as an enemy/NPC if you have a use for him.
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Mar 16, 2016 16:19
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Tevery Best posted:Question: how freely can we interpret the Hx in the playbooks? Making someone my follower sounds like a very heavy mess with the others' concepts, but I'd really love to make Hurricane a doctor honoris causa. Usually, you'll ask if anyone is your follower - you can't really just make someone else your follower. You can invite them, to be, however. Error 404 posted:Congrats everyone who got in! noted 
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Mar 16, 2016 17:14
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Congratulations guys!
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Mar 16, 2016 18:35
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All respect to the good Rector and his Institute, Hurricane is not really academically minded; he goes his own way.
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Mar 16, 2016 18:41
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Noted! I think I'm going to skip it, though, unless someone's in the mood for it. Everyone else, Hx=0. Hurricane, I've seen your soul, reflected in the semiotics of your symbols, and learned of the maker from the work. Whatever you tell me, I'll just write Hx+3 and be done with it. Everyone else, whatever you tell me, I'll add +1 to it. It doesn't take many words for me to get a grasp of who you are.
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Mar 16, 2016 19:13
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Here's what we know so far also, it seems like The Strip is the central and default area for most characters at this point; that's where Big Lowe runs the place but is being challenged by both Colonel Crocker and Gagarin's End are. More semantically, there's been a lot of reference to places by relative directions, and in order for anything to make geographic sense we need a point of origin, which has seemed like The Strip. If anyone has any comments, questions, or clarifications, let me know. I'll try to get a map together once some game-time passes, and I should have the game opened tonight!
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Mar 16, 2016 19:47
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Two things I've noticed: - Dean Tryuk is a woman. - You missed Doctor Jones, who tried to find out if The Inspired's machine is for real and never actually came back.
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Mar 16, 2016 20:21
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Tevery Best posted:Two things I've noticed: -fixed -Dr. Jones is probably dead (I didn't miss the Dr.)
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Mar 16, 2016 20:59
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Key Baby-boss Sooner or later we're gonna have trouble. Nothing personal, mind you, I just figure at some point we're gonna be on the opposite sides of a fight. I trust you less than the others. I'm taking Hx+3 with you. Here's Key's Hx tallies: Baby-Boss Hx+3 Director Redstone ? Hurricane ? Rector Noam Hx+0
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Mar 16, 2016 22:12
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I told everyone +1
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Mar 16, 2016 23:39
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Redstone is reserved with her trust and resources. I tell everyone Hx=0. Key once betrayed me. I write Hx+3 next to you name. I'd like to find out in play what the betrayal was. I don't think anyone really fits the "with me from before" option what with the End's wandering ways, so I'll leave that off. Baby-Boss Hx+1 Key Hx+3 Hurricane Hx+1 Rector Noam Hx+0 That means I should be getting a highlight from Key. --------- Also, for locations, should add the Missile Range. It's the possibly mythical land Gagarin's End is making for, where rocket fuel flows like water and the launch towers are as thick as a forest. There's also the Complex, where the End started from, but its way back behind them and was stripped by the End before it left. --------- Tevery Best posted:Redstone, you requested the help of the Institute some time ago. What did you seek to learn - and why did it end up not helping you any after all? Among these were the Green Manuals. They detailed rockets of rugged and simple design, ones that stirred the imaginations of our engineers. But they were written in strange runes, indecipherable to us. When we met the Institute, I provided access to the Green Manuals, an exchange of knowledge. I was promised a translation in exchange for access to this trove of unknown speech. I did indeed receive a translation - but it is as indecipherable as the originals. Comrade Gorbash fucked around with this message at 00:25 on Mar 17, 2016 |
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Mar 17, 2016 00:08
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Comrade Gorbash posted:
done. Does Redstone know where the Complex was, or has Gagarin's End been rolling for long enough that its starting point is as mythical as its destination?
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Mar 17, 2016 00:22
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Captain Foo posted:done. Does Redstone know where the Complex was, or has Gagarin's End been rolling for long enough that its starting point is as mythical as its destination? Redstone has a vague idea where the Complex was, that its back the way they came, in a place with long sweltering summers, near the ocean. They have old maps on board that could lead someone back to it with some work. The Enders themselves have no interest in turning around, though. In a few generations, the Complex will probably be just as much a legend as the Missile Range, but it hasn't quite reached that point yet.
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Mar 17, 2016 00:27
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Baby-boss, the Chopper Hurricane: Hx=0 Shadow of Death/Key: Hx=0 Director Redstone: Hx-1 Rector Noam: Hx+1 Rector Noam, can a Big Sister get a Highlight? I believe I have Shadow's/Key's Highlight. Its not easy to walk into a fight with no-one having your back. Gonna have to stay Sharp.
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Mar 17, 2016 01:12
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Finish up Hx and get highlights sorted and we'll be good to go for tomorrow!
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Mar 17, 2016 06:51
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Hurricane's Hx towards the rest of you: Baby-Boss: +1 Key: +1 Noam: 0 Redstone: 0 Looks like a tie; if I get to pick, I want PoultryGeist to tell me what to highlight here.
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Mar 17, 2016 06:58
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I'm standing at: Baby-Boss: +2 Hurricane: +3 Key: +2 Redstone: +1 I'll take my highlight from Hurricane. Baby-Boss, I want to see you get out there and put yourself on the line. Highlight Cool. Tevery Best fucked around with this message at 22:23 on Mar 17, 2016 |
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Mar 17, 2016 13:19
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inklesspen posted:Looks like a tie; if I get to pick, I want PoultryGeist to tell me what to highlight here. Lots of fuckers don't like to see things change. Might take a Hard person to do so.
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Mar 17, 2016 13:43
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Key: Baby-boss thinks you're sharp, but I want to know how cool you'll stay having picked the gun back up. Hurricane: Baby-boss sees your hard edges, but I want to see how a mural-painter stays cool. Baby-boss: The Rector wants to see how cool you are when its on the line, but I want to see you draw the hard lines.
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Mar 17, 2016 21:23
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Noam, a fellow like you has gotta stay sharp, right?
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Mar 17, 2016 21:36
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Catching up here... Here's Key's Hx tallies: Baby-Boss Hx+3 Director Redstone Hx+0 Hurricane Hx+1 Rector Noam Hx+0 I have a feeling that Director Redstone will be making some Hard choices. All set unless I'm missing something (which is very possible).
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Mar 17, 2016 22:12
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Rector Noam: Hurricane wants to see how sharp your tongue and mind is, but I want to know is what you'll do when things get hard. Director Redstone: Key knows it's going to be hard out there for you, but what are you going to do when poo poo gets weird?
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Mar 17, 2016 23:05
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While driving around today, I decided I wanted to take all the weird poo poo I've made up for my character and my hold and put it one place for easier reference. Almost all of this is stuff from the thread or answers to questions in chats based on the thread, plus a little mortar to connect it all up. Gagarin's End The End is a giant crawler-transport that was used to move big vertically integrated rockets from an assembly building to a launch site. It's not actually one of the ones NASA has today - it's significantly bigger than those. After the apocalypse, a bunch of rocket scientists and astronauts converted it into a mobile fortress by installing an old battleship turret on it, hooking up some kind of nuclear power source to keep it running, and slapping on some armor. It's also got the facilities to make new rockets and rocket fuel. They can manage stuff about the size of the first generation of man-rated rockets - Vostok or Mercury-Redstone, really just primitive ICBM conversions. Inside, the End is pretty cramped, between the power plant, the fuel and manufacturing facilities, the hydroponics farms, etc. A bit more crowded than a modern naval ship. As such, the End is self-sufficient, but only barely. Raiding and trading - mostly the former - fills in the gaps. As for trade, the End produces a lot of unique stuff, plus in its travels it has exotic goods available. The End manages a top speed of about 1 mph. Even at that speed, it could cross the continental US in about 115 days if it ran 24/7. Obviously its been wandering for longer than that. The reason is it can't move 24/7 at that speed. For one, most of the time it can't do its top speed, especially going up any kind of grade. Plus, its so massive sometimes it has to stop for weeks or even months at a time while routes are scouted out for it. Sometimes its had to backtrack when it gets boxed in on a seemingly promising route. And then of course there's maintenance and occasional major breakdowns. In short, they've been traveling a long rear end time and there's no end in sight. The Population The Enders, who number somewhere around 200 all told at any given time, are split up between three groups. The Administers, the Technitions, and the Cosmonuts. Most Enders are descended from the original population that left the Complex so long ago, but Gagarin's End has picked up strays and new recruits over the years to keep up their numbers. People with technical knowledge are usually allowed in if they want. Otherwise, most newcomers come in through the Cosmonuts. Administers The people in charge of the whole moveable fiasco. The Director is the poor rear end in a top hat in charge of everything, but there's a whole series of Controllers nominally in charge of the important subsections, like the power plant, the farms, the launch complex, the big gun, etc. In practice most of the Controllers are just the people who have some kind of support among the population, with the exception of the ones in charge of the nuke and the cannons, since putting a political hack in charge of those doesn't work out well for anyone. Technitions Think technician + ignition for the name. This is the general population of the End. Some of them really are technical experts of one kind or another. These work from a small collection of hoarded manuals from the before times, salvaged from the Complex and annotated by their forebears, or by oral knowledge passed down. Others don't have any particular special skill and are grunt labor, traders, or generally useless mouths. Cosmonuts The crazy fuckers who make up the End's raiding and defense force. They are violent, savage, highly aggressive people with a surfeit of personal courage and a deficit of common sense. They talk a lot about having The Right Stuff, a general kind of indifference to physical danger and gung-ho attitude to Get the Job Done. Cosmonuts are a bit like Fury Road's warboys, but they lack the kamikaze fascination with a glorious death. That doesn't mean they're any less likely to take insane risks. The difference is that while a Cosmonut is aware that the crazy poo poo they pull is potentially lethal, each and every one is so self-assured that they know, while it might kill some lesser Cosmonut, they have what it takes to pull it off and live to tell the tale. Of course some Cosmonuts die, and there's a certain proper way this should happen (in a fiery explosion while the poor brave bastard at the controls is hammering away, trying to pull out of the nosedive right up til the bitter end). But not me, oh no, I've got The Right Stuff. A Cosmonut who loses this self-assurance usually ends up dead in short order, or retires to become a Technition, while their former fellows look at the side-eyed and mutter about cracking up and how it will never happen to them. Names Enders generally are named after spaceflight terminology (stuff like Capcom, Booster, Ohtoo) or have the names of astronauts (Yuri, Neil, Buzz, Ride, Valentina, Lovell, Yang, Gordo, etc). The latter sometimes have corrupted forms like Yura or Jonglen. No one names a kid Yaeger, that'd be like naming them Lucifer (in our history, Chuck Yaeger didn't particularly like the civilian space program and wasn't shy about saying so, to the irritation of astronauts; this has gotten twisted up and made into a bigger deal since the apocalypse, so Yaeger is a boogeyman to the Enders). Directors, and only directors, get to name themselves after actual rockets and spacecraft. Gemini, Soyuz, Falcon and so forth. It's like a throne or papal name, so sometimes the same name gets picked, and then you have like Soyuz 3 (always an Arabic numeral, not a Roman one). The most famous director was Saturn 2. Redstone is actually the first to use that name. Making poo poo Up I'm generally cool with anyone making up new Enders as the narrative requires, I just ask that you stick to the naming conventions.  Rocket Launches The End periodically fires a rocket off into the sky, trying to put someone into orbit. So far, this has never ended particularly well, though there are legends of a few who made it long ago. Additionally, launching the remains of the dead is a common practice, as a kind of Viking funeral (assuming the dead in question didn't die in some other kind of explosion, which is just as good). Comrade Gorbash fucked around with this message at 00:23 on Mar 18, 2016 |
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Mar 18, 2016 00:18
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