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Victoria Falls: A Post-Collapse American Nation Quest [Down With Victoria!]

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KnightDisciple said:
....I mean, maybe, like, the pistols and a few marksman's rifles. But they don't need every bit of military cast-off gear.
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oh, of course not all of it.

Hell, not even MOST OF IT.

But they still could use some. Militia could use some too probably, at least until we manage to standardize and expand production (which, with the new APs, won't take TOO much)
 
KnightDisciple said:
I mean, maybe, like, the pistols and a few marksman's rifles. But they don't need every bit of military cast-off gear.
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Depends on the cop's jurisdiction, I suppose. I know if I was a sheriff Longmire type, I'd want some reasonably good firepower to deal with raiders, bandits, hostile entity's soldiers... Urban cops don't really need that, but it's out of our hands if we're selling that kind of hardware.
 
Shard of Victory said:
AKuz and her commie friends can go with victoria.
I want USA back, Legitimacy helps, and so I vote for it.
What value 3.5 communist nano-states who would like low legitimacy have, anyway?
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Much as I don't like people making shit up to smear others they disagree with, I'd also prefer for us to be implying that our fellow questers are no better than Victorians. Vote what you'd like, but refrain from the personal attacks, please? We are better than this.
 
Simon_Jester said:
The trick is, if we spend two more AP on something, we hopefully clear it a turn sooner. Then next turn we get to spend 2 AP on another action, maybe the action unlocked by taking the first action. Then the turn after that we get, again, to take another action we would otherwise have to do next turn.

Zoomed out into the grand scheme of things, it means little. But on the micro level it means, as I mention, that we're permanently one item further down our to-do list for the rest of the game, no matter how long the list may grow.
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rikalous said:
I think you're underestimating the value of getting actions completed earlier. If we'd had Audrey's spy network one turn later, we don't get intelligence from Buffalo about how badly Blackwell needs this peace, and things turn out rather differently. If we'd had it one turn earlier, we'd be free to take security actions using it, possibly tipping us off about how much Blackwell was bluffing. Every extra AP we can get our grubby little paws on is a chance to get that kind of advantage.
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I understand that 2 AP/1 more action off the to do list right now can have a strong effect in the short term, but I have noted in basically all of my posts on the topic that we are not, in fact, facing a deadline or other form of time crunch. We are no longer operating on the micro level where having something one turn earlier makes a big difference in critical events.

So while the immediate injection of AP could get something off of our to-do list, it's only major impact is if it carries forward turn after turn until we next hit a deadline/time crunch and has an effect then. That's not too likely - 2 AP disappears into the fuzz of variability caused by repeated dice rolling inside 4-5 turns.

*reads further looking for additional points to respond to*
Ah, and my arguments don't even really matter because logical and civil discussion has gotten short circuited. GDI, why do all the loudest proponents of positions I support have to be jerks using personal attacks or irritating argumentative strategies that just end up repelling people rather than swaying votes. :facepalm:
 
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PoptartProdigy said:
Hard to say, you couldn't really count bodies and Victoria isn't disclosing. Extremely rough estimates put it at 20,000-40,000. The Vicks brought over 100,000, and it just...wasn't enough. The Inquisitors kept rounding them up whenever they broke and sending them back in.
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Huh.
So we're looking at somewhere in the area of 200,000 dead by the time you count the casualties from the Accession War in addition to the New York Intervention. Just deaths alone.

Thats around 1% of the estimated 20 million Vic population.
2% of the Victorian total male population. 1 in 50 men died in the last six months during the war they started, with the proportions being closer to 1 in 25 when you only look at males 15-54.

And the bleeding isnt over.

Casualties inflicted by the Crusaders are not included in that count, and they are still out there with anything from 30,000-40000 soldiers. Nor is the civilian casualties; neither side's command structure has evinced a particular solicitude for civilian casualties, which often number at least as many as combatant casualties, when not significantly higher.

Every Victorian family on the average will be mourning someone dead before the end of this season of war
:(
PoptartProdigy said:
The NCR's treaty ending the Pacific War was with Russia, not Victoria. Yet another reason the NC decided that war would be better off completely fictionalized.
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Gotcha.
I assume Russia only got away with that shit because the world was in chaos at the time. Else they'd have to take responsibility for Vic atrocities.
Simon_Jester said:
Note that if true, this will also impact their ability to pay war reparations, and they may well appeal to the international community arguing (not without reason) that the war reparations we saddled them with are stopping them from buying food to feed their people.
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I don't see them making any appeals.
Russia might volunteer some after some discreet behind the scenes negotiations, or sell them some on credit. And I don't really see FCNY or Cali missing the opportunity to discreetly dunk on Victoria by offering food aid in clearly marked packaging.

California in particular could use the international goodwill stockpiles in advance of next year.
Simon_Jester said:
The Victorians may recover surprisingly far from this disastrous situation if Blackwell can beat the Crusaders in a timely manner and regain Russian support.
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Well, yeah. We didn't destroy their infrastructure like we could have.
They have a lot of slack in the system that ideology is preventing them from using. If they got around to using women in more roles outside the home, or more mechanization, they'd be able to compensate for the economic effects.

Psych trauma is a different matter.
But psych trauma is par for the course for every community in present-day North America:(

Gamerlord said:
That wasn't a no~
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When the Lawful Evil GM warns you about boldness, take it to heart.
:p
Chronic said:
Should be noted that unlike the Loyalists, the Crusaders actually have men with military training and experience left. The Loyalists just squandered what could have been the core of a training program for their militias on a spiteful terror strike against Buffalo. And i am pretty sure the QM said that these were all of the remains of Victorias regular armies. Since I interpret the Old Monsters interlude to mean that Russia will stay out of the Civil War until things have shaken out, this means that the Crusaders are the only ones who can actually train their own militias to the status of somewhat regular troops. Needless to say, this also means that the Crusader officer corps is vastly superior to the secret police Inquisitors that are all Blackwell has left.
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And Blackwell has control of what's left of Victoria's treasuries. And has discredited some of the hardliners in his own administration, which loosens his hand a little more. He can literally import mercenary trainers and staff advisers for his military over the winter and have a bunch of Q1/Q2 divisions by spring. He might be able to afford actual mercenary formations.

He can ship in secondhand AFVs and light aircraft.
He can build Grad knockoffs, if Vic ideology will accept the use of rocket artillery; it's WW2 level tech, and well within his techbase.

Crusaders have overperformed, but they were always prohibitive underdogs.
clockworkchaos said:
Honestly the biggest Seaway effect might be Buy Fertilizer, good Fertilizer is huge and the modern US imports $7 billion worth of it. Even if we weren't staring down the barrel of a Famine, the increases there are worth it in a modern US context. Though I want to emphasis that this doesn't mean any sort of not getting the Farming Equipment, Part 2 making our food supply dependent on a Victorian Seaway long-term is a baaaaaad idea.
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Even before the collapse, GMO crop penetration was pretty strong in parts of the world. I suspect that at this point importing GMO seed would have a greater effect on our agriculture. That's assuming it isn't already widespread; one of the lower-key ways for people to have intervened in North America would have been to try to ensure higher-yield/more resilient GMO breeds got out into the country as the US collapsed.

The biggest Seaway effect is likely to be on our petroleum mining/refining industry. Being able to reliably extract and refine diesel from the Illnois Basin and northern Michigan does wonders to our internal transportation capacity and chemical industry, and allow us to build out mass transportation systems(see rail) to actually move production around, both for internal consumption and export.

I would not be surprised to find that we're currently wasting >50% of our agricultural production because we can't move it economically.
Anime_Fan35 said:
Y'know looking back at everything that had happened before hand we should have anticipated that Blackwell was Bluffing. Even with the rolls being the way they are and the points system that Poptartprodigy set up for the combat system. It should have caused some of us to be more wary and catch on sooner that we were being tricked and lured into a fight on Blackwells terms.
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We did.

That was why a lot of us pushed; we did destroy his entire army, and he was calling up militia into the field to fight a rebellion. In harvest season. In New York State. The cupboard was bare of things to use against us(note that none of his remaining aircraft showed up even to scout) as long as Russia stayed out of things. And against the Crusaders, he needed TIME.

Question was whether he could bluff long enough for winter to call a time out or we had to go home.:p
 
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uju32 said:
Even before the collapse, GMO crop penetration was pretty strong in parts of the world. I suspect that at this point importing GMO seed would have a greater effect on our agriculture. That's assuming it isn't already widespread; one of the lower-key ways for people to have intervened in North America would have been to try to ensure higher-yield/more resilient GMO breeds got out into the country as the US collapsed.
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I have doubts on GMO > fertilizer because in all likelihood, GMO development was made assuming you already had industrial agriculture and optimized for that case. I doubt anyone bothered to design GMO optimized for a situation where you aren't exploiting all the previous tools to boost their yields already.
 
Nyvis said:
I have doubts on GMO > fertilizer because in all likelihood, GMO development was made assuming you already had industrial agriculture and optimized for that case. I doubt anyone bothered to design GMO optimized for a situation where you aren't exploiting all the previous tools to boost their yields already.
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www.acsh.org

Genetically Engineered Wheat Reduces Need for Fertilizer, Helps Environment

A new kind of genetically engineered wheat is more efficient at absorbing phosphorus from the soil and, hence, should require less fertilizer.
www.acsh.org www.acsh.org
GMO unlocking pre-existing phytate in the soil

Science | AAAS

www.sciencemag.org www.sciencemag.org
GMO microbes synthesize absorbable nitrogen in lab experiments.
www.britishecologicalsociety.org

GM Crop that Needs Less Fertilizer - British Ecological Society

www.britishecologicalsociety.org www.britishecologicalsociety.org
GMO rice by Canadian scientists that are much more efficient about nitrogen absorption
geneticliteracyproject.org

Nitrogen-fixing GMO crops could reduce synthetic fertilizer use, benefit environment

Nitrogen is the main nutrient that limits crop yield. Biologically reactive nitrogen is therefore routinely supplied to crops as synthetic nitrogen
geneticliteracyproject.org geneticliteracyproject.org
Speculative paper by University of Alberta professor

First page of Google search results.
Do note that nitrogen fixation into the soil is literally what legumes and the Rhizobium bacteria do. And is the basis behind many crop rotation practices.
It's not wild speculation.
 
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Nyvis said:
I have doubts on GMO > fertilizer because in all likelihood, GMO development was made assuming you already had industrial agriculture and optimized for that case. I doubt anyone bothered to design GMO optimized for a situation where you aren't exploiting all the previous tools to boost their yields already.
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Artificial Girl said:
I mean there ARE GMOs out there like GOlden Rice meant to help address issues of vitamin deficiencies and so forth.
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It really depends on the type of GMO.

Round up ready and other pesticide resistant GMO's are not going to be very useful without said pesticide. They'd just be another plant with a bit of energy wasted on a useless resistance.
Meanwhile, stuff like Artic Fresh apples is still going to work, but I doubt anyone cares that their apples turn a bit brown if exposed to air. The cosmetics of food are not exactly our top priority.

However, many other modifications would come in extremely handy. Pest resistant plants like Bt-crops would heavily outperform normal varieties in our post-industrial agricultural landscape. In modern day, Bt-crops have only a minor yield advantage because other farmers utilize insecticides to kill the pests against which they defend. With the pesticide gone, Bt-crops prevent the devastating losses that other farms would suffer.

With all that said, I still think that the fertilizer will have an overwhelming advantage. Even if we consider @uju32's nitrogen fixing plants, you can not get around the sheer industry behind fertilizer production. We spend a massive amount of energy on fertilizer production (5% of world energy consumption IIRC). The plant simply does not have that amount of energy available. It has only a limited amount of solar energy that it has to split between nitrogen fixation and growing itself. The fertilizer industry is the only way to break that barrier, by introducing fossil fuels as an energy source.
Of course, that industry also has consequences (global warming, poisonous rivers, algae blooms.
 
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Simon_Jester said:
@PoptartProdigy

One other thing.

Given that we need the "supply everyone with food" action to complete and be successful during Turn 5, the upcoming turn... we are now in a position roughly as urgent as we were at game start.

Will we get access to a Scale Up Food Purchases option like we did then?

How about a diplomacy option like Beg For International Relief Aid, which should be at least theoretically possible from a logistics standpoint with Outreach partially completed and us having just pried open the St. Lawrence Seaway to foreign shipping by force of arms?
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You will have options.
SneakyWalrus said:
Old Town Roads
​
It is of little surprise to the aspiring anthropologist studying the post-fall culture of the North Americas that many of the isolated communities that sprung up in the wake of that terrible event would co-op much of the traditional lyrical themes and musical styling of the defunct United States. While there remains numerous peculiar pockets of neo-revivalist 'retro-pop' styled works that are popular among the refugee communities around the world, alongside it's more somber yet variably urban-based 'rap' approaches, the ubiquitous nature of the common guitar combined with the widespread knowledge of how to both play relatively competently and pass down those teachings through either written or oral means meant that many of the more isolated, rural communities returned to the usage of the acoustic guitar as their primary musical instrument. It is also undeniable that the antagonistic actions of state-sponsored terrorism perpetuated by Victoria tended to overlook the guitar in favour of targeting more noticeably different styles that did not fit within their proscribed list of 'acceptable' musics.

It is ironic then, that the guitar was one of the most ubiquitous tools by which many an isolated community used to vent their frustrations and anger at the state of the collapsed nation around them, especially when pouring their own frustrations into a form that many could empathize with. Certainly, the Free City of New York has produced more than a dozen artists who have gone onto famous careers overseas, heralded by a particular skill in music, although the rural interior of North America rarely had any connection to said artists. Instead, many casual artists instead turned to reworking traditional songs to make them more in keeping with the general feelings of the local populace, and it is not uncommon to hear a similar song played across the breath of the Americas despite minor variations in lyrics.

One of the most notable twists on a traditional song was the changes made to the song 'Country Roads', written just over a century ago by the artist John Denver. Originally a nostalgic recollection of his own time spent on the road heading back and forth to work, alongside a desire to follow the roads back home to West Virginia, this song has been through numerous highs and disappointing lows through it's usage over time, most notably in the late 2010s, but its most surprising change has been its slow but steady shift towards being both a nostalgic recollection of the old United States alongside somewhat of a rallying call to reunification, or at least the desire to rebuild the scattered rural populations into something better.

Today, its most prevalent version is known as 'Old Town Roads', and has numerous connections to the Free City of New York, the New California Republic, and most notably, the Commonwealth of Free Cities. Following the recent short but brutal war between the Commonwealth and Victoria, the song has become prevalent along the Mississippi river, a byproduct of the ease of trade along the river, spreading from the northern Great Lakes regions via word of mouth, catchy tune and undeniably popular theme of 'a better life' for all.

Lyrics below:


Although not officially recognized by any major organization as an appropriated song, the growing popularity of the tune across both the Mississippi and Great Lakes watersheds demonstrates an interesting recollection of past connections to the old United States of America, and the fascinating fusions of lingering elements of that previous cultural juggernaut scattered across North America and beyond.
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Canon.
PainRack said:
Battle of Buffalo, charge of Chester milita

"
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!" he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred."

There was only 200 in the militia. Organised into a company , equipped with two mortars and a machine gun. They were friends. Rivals over the hand of Miss Miller. Anderson had a long standing feud with Jackson over his cow.

By nightfall, there was only the company cat, 8 invalid, 10 unconscious critical and 2 walking wounded.

"We were NOT COWARDS sir! We headed FOR the guns as ordered.

No sir, I did not keep the message despatch sent. I say again, it did not say guns ahead. It said head for the guns.

How was I to know sir ? The sounds of the guns was that way, we headed for it .

Closing statement? The Chester militia did not abandon our fellow Victorians. We headed north toward the sounds of howitzers to engage them as we thought we were ordered. Upon being engaged by machine guns, we went to ground and tried to outflank them as we were taught. We did not flee but tried maneveur warfare. Despite murderous machine gun fire and 6 wounds, Anderson emptied his entire machine gun to cover Jackson advance, do not interrupt me, I say ADVANCE towards the opening in their lines . I know that we will be laying 180 flowers in the spring. But we died as Victorians should, with guns firing and our front to the enemy.
I don't know if Jackson succeeded, but with the sound of vehicles and the continuous fire, I assumed that the advance was impossible and rallied the troops back to our lines.


My last words ?

God grant me the courage not to give up what I think is right."


Chester New York Orange county
"Mommy... Where has all the men gone ? "

@PoptartProdigy
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Non-canon, and thank you. :)
Pittauro said:
Actually, I think I'll ask it. @PoptartProdigy after all the damage the Loyalists just suffered through, have the CMC's chances of victory gone up? If yes, by how much?
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The Loyalists will roll at a malus for their next war roll. If they lose by three or more, it will count as a flawless victory for the CMC towards their total needed for victory.
Shard of Victory said:
[X] Politely decline. You'd rather hold onto the artifacts, either for the symbolic value or for later resale. Gain +5 Legitimacy.

AKuz and her commie friends can go with victoria.
I want USA back, Legitimacy helps, and so I vote for it.
What value 3.5 communist nano-states who would like low legitimacy have, anyway?
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Shard of Victory said:
We are surrounded by Communist Traitors! Where is McCarthy when you need him?
Americans, Patriots, People of FREEDOM, do not give up!
Stand against Communist Menace!
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Shard of Victory said:
You know what we need?
Purge. Good Purge allways helps.
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No. Not only no, but hell no. This is unacceptable. Do not.
Faith said:
Humanitarian Crises

"Fucking hell," Miriam grumbled, the second the door shut behind the fleeing Spider. "Bad to bloody worse. We're just begging for more refugees and we haven't even done anything about the refugees here already." She reached out, passing the report to her mother. "I swear, if those short-sighted glory hounds-"

Her mother tutted as she took a hold of the paper. "Now, darling. It's not like your colleagues didn't have a dozen other problems to deal with."


"This is just a continuation of the same problems we've been dealing with since the Accords, though!" Miriam exclaimed. "We're still hungry, we're still packed to the gills with refugees, and we still don't know exactly how many people are around. Bringing even more people into the fold isn't the answer!"

"Well, they can't hardly say they're not aware of the problem, now. Your speech-"

"Made me look like a fucking idiot!" Miriam threw her hands up, carelessly brushing a few sheets of paper off her desk.

"To some of your colleagues, maybe. I would not pay too much heed to those who equate being wrong - or the lack of prophetic powers - for being unintelligent."

Miriam huffed, but after a moment conceded. "Well, whatever. My reputation is hardly the important thing here." She reached down and scooped up the misplaced papers, maps of the Commonwealth covered in hand-written annotations. "We've got thirty six thousand odd people to add to the pile."

"Thirty five thousand, eight hundred and ninety eight, specifically," Claire read from the report. "Credit where it's due, at least that's an accurate count," she pointed out. "Not to demean the Spiders or anything, but - "

"No, no, I get it. They're teens with limited training, unreliable schedules and highly variable work ethics. Not exactly a professional census team. Not hurting me or them to admit it. Well, as long as their unprofessionalism doesn't drop to Baxter levels."

Her mother hmm'd, placing the report down on Miriam's desk. "Never did like that kid."

Miriam shook her head. "Even here in Webber's Field we're not totally up to date on everyone. We're still turning up a bunch of new families every week who are new to the area. We only finished renovating the Korsey flats a week ago, and they're all occupied. Over-occupied, even, with the amount of house-sharing going on. Rest of the city needs to up its game, because we're going to run out of houses long before we run out of refugees, at this rate."

"Regardless, darling, you can't deny there's been progress. Certainly, it'll be a rough winter, but now that we don't have to worry about Victoria, and we have all these concessions, I'm sure everyone will be more than willing to turn their attention back to the internal issues."

"God, I hope so. With the Victorians shovelling money and gear at us - voluntarily, I mean, not like before, and the seaway open… we're going to have a lot of money and a lot of resources available. Just you wait, though. More shit will crop up. Or we'll get some opportunity that everyone will want to jump on. Always happens."

=#=#=#=#=#=​

One of the Spiders must have caught sight of her as she made her way down what was quickly becoming one of the main streets of Webber's Field, because the Sheriff was waiting for her in the lobby of the Salina Building, sat behind what was once the concierge's desk, when she arrived.

"Waterstone. Thanks for agreeing to meet me."

"Not a problem, ma'am." He gestured to the spread of papers on the desk. "Got all my notes an' all. Jake told me you were coming."

"Mm, I thought so," she said as she took a seat. "How have things been?"

"Busy, but otherwise? Not so bad. The Wellseys, they're the family that moved into our last apartment, seem nice enough. Couple more families moved in across the street. Haven't had much chance to speak with them, but haven't heard complaints yet." He took a moment to shuffle through the many sheets of paper on his desk, sighing as he did.

"Couple of new families who showed up recently, added them to the list. No major medical issues, just old wounds. Uh, three boys got in a fistfight with one of the Victorian Pows. Fight was over when I got there. Victor's back to the camp, two of the boys are in hospital. People are sayin' the kids started it, but until we can solidly confirm…"

Miriam nodded. "Right."

"And we had to throw Baxter off the volleyball courts, again. Still trying to pretend he's still one of yours."

"God damnit. Maybe I should make the Spiders a formal federal agency. Then he'd be impersonating a government official, and we could toss him in jail. He could use the time-out. Any other problems?"

"Nope, that's about everythin' big enough worth mentionin'."

"Housing sweep, then?"

"Of the buildin's down this part of town that are actually livable, I've only got a few apartments left, at last check. Only two suitable for families, though, the others are smaller, better for couples or singles. Here, I had Sarah make a copy." He passed one paper across the desk, a map of Webber's Field with hand-written annotations all over.

"And, ah, they're all a little spartan, if you catch my drift," he added with a wince.

Meaning they'd been looted for furniture or firewood. Miriam huffed.

"Alright, then. Not ideal, but every little helps. Thanks for getting back to me on that." Miriam tucked the paper into her jacket pocket. "Not great to know we're pretty much at our limit for now, but… ugh. I guess it's better to know now than later. On a more personal note, how are the Gates doing? Kane told me Gavin was out of hospital?"

"Yeah, he's back now. They're... handling it. I for sure can't say they're doing well., but… I can't imagine it's easy on them. He wants to go back to the Military - apparently they're going to let him, as a trainer. I'm… not sure she's happy about it."

"I can imagine. Husband comes back missing an arm, probably stress shock, they've got a kid to look after and now she's got to do most everything around the house… do you know which apartment they're in?"

"Third floor, north wing, right down the end," he answered without hesitation.

At her raised eyebrow, he added, "Thought you might want to see them. And I think it'd mean the world to them for you to visit. Little Jessie looks up to you."

"Terrible choice, honestly," Miriam deadpanned as she rose. "I'm an awful role model." Taking a more serious tone, she added, "I'll go see them in just a moment, then. Usual reminders - names for the records, don't waste food, radda radda."

Waterstone nodded, beginning to consolidate his papers. "I don't think wasted food will be a problem. We're still going through the leftovers from the Christmas party."

Miriam nodded. Waterstone and his group had travelled overland on foot through three states to get to Chicago, and arrived in the midst of what was about as close to a famine as possible that wasn't actual famine. He and his knew going hungry, and they knew how to make their food last. She couldn't say for sure, but she had to guess that the same applied to many of the new refugees as well.

"Alright. Third floor, north end. Thanks, Sheriff."

"No problem, little lady. You've been a great help for years, only fair I return the favour best I can."

=#=#=#=#=#=​

Cassie was waiting for her when she returned to her apartment, sitting at the kitchen counter with a mug of hot milk and a newspaper in hand.

"Ah, heya boss," she said, dropping the newspaper and giving Miriam a little wave. "You're out late."

"Yeah. Bumped into Tammy on the way back, her pram's broken. Had to help her carry it over to the Baker's Shed."

"Aww, how is she?"

"Seems like she's settling in. Samuel's doing well, although… well, I guess everyone looks just a little thin nowadays."

"Mm. Back to Chicago now, or too late, do you think?"

"I think we call it a night," Miriam said with a nod. "No need to be there particularly early tomorrow. Unless you have important news?"

"We got a message from New York, about the old knicknacks Victoria is handing over. They reckon they're better suited to taking them, because they have the facilities and expertise to care for them, and they're willing to shell out big to make that happen. Not super urgent though."

"Great. Personally I don't know what we'd do with a bunch of decaying relics anyay - New York wants them, they can have them. If they want them so bad they're willing to spend big to make it happen, even better. Money and supplies will get our feet back under us way faster than us waving around some old junk."

"Well, we could use the waving around of old junk to attract money and supplies in other ways," Cassie pointed out. "Having the relics of the old US makes us seem more like a legitimate successor, which could make diplomatic and trade deals easier. It'd make us look good at the Midwest Conference too."

"Ugh." Miriam huffed. "Do you know what the general consensus is yet, or is it pretty split?"

Cassie shook her head. "Didn't get much chance to gossip, sorry. I was running late myself."

"Before the Collapse-" Miriam halted, mentally adjusting her phrasing. "Well, my Nana likes to ramble about how bad the US was even before the Collapse. Not 'in your face' Victoria-style evil, but… they got up to some shady stuff."

Cassie frowned. "Really?"

"I guess. Sometimes the older people, the ones who remember the Collapse or the time before, talk about things quietly that don't paint America that was so great. They do say nostalgia is rose-tinted." Miriam shrugged. "Maybe you could ask her before we leave tomorrow. Point is, presenting ourselves as the USA Reborn isn't entirely advantageous. A lot of people would look at that kind of rhetoric and worry about the bad shit coming back, more than they'd look forward to the good. I'm sure a lot of people will argue along those lines."

"I guess so. Old rivalries and such. Can't imagine it would particularly endear us to Russia, either."

"Exactly," Miriam nodded. "Was there anything else?"

"Not really. Between reparations and the upcoming Midwest Conference there's a general wait-and-see vibe, regarding our next major moves."

"Wait and see, huh?" Miriam shrugged. "I can deal with that."

=#=#=#=#=#=​

bored at an airport have an omake
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Canon. Also about to be bored at an airport.
 
Stop: Someone's been naughty
  • Staff Post
    • someone's been naughty
    And by naughty I mean that someone has blatantly disregarded not only the thread policy, but has also broken multiple rules in the process with their trollish behavior which includes but is not limited to:

    Rule 2: Don't be Hateful, where they chose to advocate for genocide through a purge.

    Rule 3: Be Civil, for their general behavior in the thread

    And Rule 4: Don't be Disruptive, for the very disruptive and derailing nature of their posting.

    As such, I don't really believe that a poster like this necessarily deserves to be in the thread any longer. So!

    @Shard of Victory you're done. You're out of this thread for good for your behavior.

    As for everyone else...well, don't do what that guy did, mmkay?
     
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    • kokuenDG said:
    [STOP="Someone's been naughty"]
    And by naughty I mean that someone has blatantly disregarded not only the thread policy, but has also broken multiple rules in the process with their trollish behavior which includes but is not limited to:

    Rule 2: Don't be Hateful, where they chose to advocate for genocide through a purge.

    Rule 3: Be Civil, for their general behavior in the thread

    And Rule 4: Don't be Disruptive, for the very disruptive and derailing nature of their posting.

    As such, I don't really believe that a poster like this necessarily deserves to be in the thread any longer. So!

    @Shard of Victory you're done. You're out of this thread for good for your behavior.

    As for everyone else...well, don't do what that guy did, mmkay?
    [/STOP]
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    Thank you.
     
    SneakyWalrus said:
    written just over a century ago by the artist John Denver. Originally a nostalgic recollection of his own time spent on the road heading back and forth to work, alongside a desire to follow the roads back home to West Virginia,
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    en.wikipedia.org

    Take Me Home, Country Roads - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

    Danoff (from Springfield, Massachusetts) has stated he had never been to West Virginia before co-writing the song.[5] Inspiration for the song had come while they were driving along Clopper Road [6] to a Nivert family reunion in nearby Montgomery County, Maryland. According to a radio interview with Nivert, the road is close to Washington, D.C., where Denver often worked. To pass the time en route, Danoff had made up a ballad about the little winding roads they were taking. He had even briefly considered using "Massachusetts" rather than "West Virginia" as both four-syllable state names would have fit the song's meter. Today, the landscape around Clopper Road has changed drastically and little resembles the countryside scenery that once surrounded it.[7]
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    edit: I should probably vote

    [X] Agreed. Sell the artifacts from the treaty directly to FCNY, along with the attendant Legitimacy boost. Gain +2 free AP for this upcoming turn.
     
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    [X] Agreed. Sell the artifacts from the treaty directly to FCNY, along with the attendant Legitimacy boost. Gain +2 free AP for this upcoming turn.
     
    PoptartProdigyToday at 7:45 PM
    At the moment your big crimes are...largely inter-demographic. Tensions between refugees and citizens are spiking sharply. Police generally see themselves falling short most often on large incident response, these days. It's not hard to find a gun in the Commonwealth, what with how distributed manufacture is. In the present market, all the equipment the cops would really need to be able to count on a firepower advantage if shot at would be actual mass-produced, quality-controlled, semi-automatic pistols that won't jam if you look at them funny. Maybe basic kevlar vests if you want to splurge.​
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    Discord discussion tidbit relating to our police force.
     
    [X] Split the difference. New York has the means to better care for some of the more fragile / maintenance-intensive items, but you'd like to hang onto the rest (Gain 1 AP, 2 Legitimacy)
     
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    Decline is winning. By a lot, nearly double the votes :p
    Adhoc vote count started by Pittauro on Feb 5, 2020 at 2:57 PM, finished with 646 posts and 156 votes.
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