Re: [GRIMDARK] Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons Discussion

[Icy Shake]

Mr. Handys: Whoa, was that ever a false positive! I think I misread the context there.

And yeah, mistyped that the whole infinitive should have been cut on that last one.

I miss Meleagridis too.

[O. Hinds]

Mr. Handys: Whoa, was that ever a false positive! I think I misread the context there.

Ah, I'll change it back, then.

[Somber]

Sigh... have to go into the IRS soon.  My taxes are a mess.

[Frost]

Fuck it, dude, do what I do and just let the Army take back your entire paycheck. Boom; taxes done.

[O. Hinds]

Sorry, Somber.

@Frost:
That reminds me of my Mandarin professor in undergrad telling us how, in the PRC, taxes were just taken out of their pay before it was given, and they never even knew how much it was.

[Frost]

Oh, I get a Leave & Earnings Statement every month detailing exactly where my money is going--specifically, where besides my pocket my money is going. (+$300 allowance for sustenance, yay! -$350 for access to the DFAC, which is open at best 45% of the time, yay!)

[O. Hinds]

Ah, interesting.

[Frost]

Eh; it's the same old shit--the inevitable result of miring every step of every process in layers of bureaucracy--especially when processes are regulated and automated for the sake of 'efficiency'--the Government at large, but especially the military, virtually runs on mid-to-low-level personnel from operations to administration being willing to (technically illegally) scam, sham, and corner-cut their way to solutions that actually manage to make things worth through the haze of bullshit.

[O. Hinds]

Huh. Also interesting. Thanks.

[ILM126]

Hurray! I'm too young to pay taxes XD

[Thoroar]

So when they were in Thunderhead and Dawn killed the councellor and said one of Blackjack's friends betrayed her, did we ever find out who or how?

[Somber]

Do you really think Rampage could be drugged like the rest of the household?

And I let them take an extra 10 dollars a check in taxes just to have a pad... with the understanding that I'll get it back.  Unfortunately, some one used my SSN last year when they filed their taxes to claim an exemption on the kid, and now suddenly I can't file my taxes or get a return.

[StoneSlinger88]

Oh, I get a Leave & Earnings Statement every month detailing exactly where my money is going--specifically, where besides my pocket my money is going. (+$300 allowance for sustenance, yay! -$350 for access to the DFAC, which is open at best 45% of the time, yay!)

"Here's 300 bucks for food, but since fuck you we're taking 350 for eating the food."

[Frost]

"Oh, hey, funny thing. We fucked up, and you, an E-3,  have been getting E-2 pay for three months. Don't worry, we'll have it sorted out before you make E-4. No, you don't get back-pay."

"Oh, hey, we fucked up. You wound up with an extra fifty bucks a few years ago. I know it's 0930 on your comp-day, but we're gonna need you to drop by S-3 (make sure you have a fresh shave) and get that back to them."

[StoneSlinger88]

"Hey, I know you got promoted to E3 a year ago, and even though there's a video of the promotion, we lost the paperwork so you're still an E2." --two weeks before a promotion (back?) to E3.

[Frost]

"Hey, I know you're getting fucked with this [anything] going on, but I'll make it up to you." --every squad leader ever

Current "Make it up to you" points--12, after resetting at the beginning of the new year

[ILM126]

Another artwork I found, I'm sure that's what Blackjack would do ^^
http://nemo2d.deviantart.com/art/Security-Mare-394881065


She did do that back in Stable 99, right? ^^"

[Somber]

Hee.  Except she's not allowed alcohol, and in 99 her being drunk would have been a big problem.  99 doesn't have much in the way of punishment and rehabilitation, so it doesn't take much for a mare to recieve capital punishment and some other lucky mare gets to have an extra kid.

[ILM126]

Hee.  Except she's not allowed alcohol, and in 99 her being drunk would have been a big problem.  99 doesn't have much in the way of punishment and rehabilitation, so it doesn't take much for a mare to recieve capital punishment and some other lucky mare gets to have an extra kid.

Alright then. LOL. Also, anyone "trying" to play Legends of Equestria?
If anyone has a window laptop and wants to download the game client, I got a version on my site ^^ Hope this helps! https://treblesketch.net/downloads/

(I'm off to bed now, I just spend the past 2~4 hours  trying to get LOE to work... 12:11am 25/01 now, Zzzzzzz )

[Icy Shake]

Somber, I hope you can get your tax problems sorted out with a minimum of pain and trouble.

Hee.  Except she's not allowed alcohol, and in 99 her being drunk would have been a big problem.  99 doesn't have much in the way of punishment and rehabilitation, so it doesn't take much for a mare to recieve capital punishment and some other lucky mare gets to have an extra kid.

Well, there was at least flogging. But given that you could get that for sex in the showers while off shift, I guess I could see drinking on shift as requiring something harsher. But damn, it's like they were trying to speed the day the whole stable would be massively inbred.

I also imagined red alicorns with flamer and fireball type spells, yellow alicorns who could do lightning, and orange alicorns who could manipulate time. Probably a good thing I didn't go there, huh?

Yeah, I see some problems there. Where they'd come from is one (though I suppose some uniquely powerful in magic and personality unicorns could have just recently been added to Unity or something, or maybe a second Unity with an initial trial from Red Eye), but past that, fire and lightning seem a little too ordinary to justify a alicorn classes. And adding time stuff seems both potentially too powerful and like something that, if done, would make a better focus of a smaller story than piece of PH. And at that point, why not just make it about the unicorn with the time powers, rather than incorporate it into Unity?

[O. Hinds]

Hee.  Except she's not allowed alcohol, and in 99 her being drunk would have been a big problem.  99 doesn't have much in the way of punishment and rehabilitation, so it doesn't take much for a mare to recieve capital punishment and some other lucky mare gets to have an extra kid.

Alright then. LOL. Also, anyone "trying" to play Legends of Equestria?
If anyone has a window laptop and wants to download the game client, I got a version on my site ^^ Hope this helps! https://treblesketch.net/downloads/

(I'm off to bed now, I just spend the past 2~4 hours  trying to get LOE to work... 12:11am 25/01 now, Zzzzzzz )

The LoE servers were under a DDoS attack.  Quite annoying, given that last night was the only time this weekend I knew I'd be able to play.

Why do you have your own version of the client?

[Vergil]

Okay, who is the Blackjack at magfest? I see you.

[O. Hinds]

We've edited 72 to give the lunar facilities Equus-normal gravity.

Old Text:

New Text:

[Somber]

Sigh... sorry.  Unfortunately this weekend wasn't very productive at all.  I was hoping to get up to page 24 brushed and edited this weekend.  It didn't happen.  And with how little work we got done, I don't know if it will be up next weekend either.

Everything in life right now seems to be turning out as fail.

[Vergil]

Sometimes things take time. Usually they turn out all the better for it!

[Frost]

You teach'n'shit, yeah? Offer extra credit to any student who can edit or critique your work, "to develop their critical analysis and advanced literary structure and grammar skills"

That's what we in the Army call shamming delegating

[Somber]

No.  It's not that.  It was more just not able to get stuff together.  I really want Horizons finished before Everfree, but at this rate it's not going to happen... sigh...

[Icy Shake]

You teach'n'shit, yeah? Offer extra credit to any student who can edit or critique your work, "to develop their critical analysis and advanced literary structure and grammar skills"

That's what we in the Army call shamming delegating

I can only imagine what would happen if he were caught doing that, even if he were in the position to as a full-time teacher. Still, can't deny the idea's fun!

Sometimes things take time. Usually they turn out all the better for it!

Nah, we just need to be more efficient, really.

I really like the chapter so far, though.

Glad to hear that part.


On the recent topic of drinking and punishment in 99:

For the duration of her pregnancy, the expectant mother was supposed to take things easy. A mare that drank illegally, or did chems, or took risks was socially castigated. You simply didn’t do it when you were with child. Once the baby was born, things would return to normal; until then, you played it safe and wallowed in all the attention and well-wishes.

So it sounds like there's at least some room for punishment below death, and possibly even flogging. And that that's what happens when you drink while pregnant, merely drinking illegally probably wasn't that harshly punished. But again, I don't see illegally drinking on the job being looked at at all favorably.

Oh, and for big Blackjack fans, you might be interested in checking out "Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman" #6. I think that there are some engaging parallels there, in both of the stories in the issue. Well, that and "Sensation" is probably the best Wonder Woman available right now in general, even if the art is kind of hit-and-miss. But that doesn't have much to do with this topic.

[Frost]

"Delegating" work, "Acquiring" gear, "Scheduling an appointment", "Supervising" and "securing" an area are all skills that require a good bit of art and subtlety to perform. That's something that just about every work of fiction gets wrong--patriotism and dedication to one's cause are great, but there's only so much menial work you're going to get from an underpaid and overworked joe or all-that-plus-babysitter NCO.

The depiction of Lieutenant Butterbar eagerly telling a main character that "we stand ready to perform our duty without fail! [organizational motto]!" Is entirely accurate--so long as it includes his platoon standing behind him, collectively rolling their eyes and muttering "shut the fuck up....." Under their breath.

[O. Hinds]

You teach'n'shit, yeah? Offer extra credit to any student who can edit or critique your work, "to develop their critical analysis and advanced literary structure and grammar skills"

That's what we in the Army call shamming delegating

[shudders]
After some of the stories Somber has told about students he's had, I don't want them anywhere near PH with editing permission.

Still, can't deny the idea's fun!

Nope. No no no. I don't know if Somber would be okay with me sharing some of the things he's told us publicly here, so I won't, but... Oh dear, the mess that could make.
(And yes, also probably illegal and whatnot.)

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