Darcs

The Walking Dead: Among the Ruined// Spin-Off

Ada Cinet - MEC Ground Level Hallway - John Teller Blood pulsed through Ada's ears, her body was sore from the abuse of adrenaline the last six months had forced on her. Each step was smaller than the last, her legs stung, her arms felt like jelly-- But that didn't matter. She could keep her gun raised, she could still move, she could still see and think. That was what mattered. She could survive as long as she had that, and luck, but she could continue forward in the world. It didn't matter in that moment, if the world was some lonely Mexican road or the dark and dusty corridor of some Texan hospital. It wasn't all she had, nor was it all that mattered-- but survival would be Ada's. The blood pumped so loud in Ada's head she could only barely hear the world around her. Barely. She inhaled, tightening the grip of the gun in front of her in preparation for a confrontation. In the light of the hallway, a man stepped in front of her-- their distance was only one of a few meters, but that was all it took for the shadow of the dimly lit hallway to obscure Ada's small figure and for the man to be completely exposed in light. A small part of her couldn't help but notice the cinematic merit of the situation, perhaps it was even symbolic of something? But what? The man spoke, he was younger than Clayton, but stronger, also. He'd been keeping himself maintained well. Here? "Put the gun down and I will not be forced to shoot you" The man's eyes were serious, but Ada didn't comply, not immediately. Her mind was in a state of conflict. Guns weren't unfamiliar to her-- she had held a man up not 12 hours ago-- but still, avoiding death when faced with the barrel of one was always a unique challenge. He spoke again. "Whatever you want, we will not give you, so please.........do not do this" A weak part of her mind that craved companionship told her to do as he asked, that she should just drop her gun and do what he wants. Another part, a smarter part, a part that wanted survival and company detected something in his voice, a certain treble. The man was protecting people. Ada kept her gun raised and spoke, revealing her gender, she parroted words that had been spoken to her not 12 hours ago. “I’m not going to drop my gun, and I know you’re not gonna fire yours.” In a compromise, she lowered the firearm, aiming at the lower torso of the man as she gingerly stepped into the light, sighing as she spoke again. "I took out some of the sickos on my way in, but the door can't hold 'em off with that lock shot off-- two shots would be like a dinner bell, and you couldn't protect whoever else is here with a gut-shot." Her body was shaking with hunger, but she maintained eye contact with the man.

The Dust

Yeah, I think I'm just arguing linguistics... Also I wanted a solid identifier for wealth so that the Castalias can have a room filled with gold bullets that they do Scrooge McDuck dives into to literally bathe in their excess.

Your Political Ideology

I think the american government while flawed is one the best kind for a nation that's so big, i don't think the European model of government would work for a country so big and diverse. But if it were up to me then I would make a bigger more centralized government run by moderates and the philosophical minded in a more authoritarian style of government.

@The Patriarch

An authoritarian government ran by someone philosophical or moderate (who, might I remind you, would only be that subjectively) would be even worse for a country as diverse as America.

I don't think democracy is as great as so many liberals and social justice warriors scream about. I'm pretty sure I said before, but I believe that not compromising and extremism is the first step to political disaster. No government can survive with those hindrances.

@The Patriarch

Democracy is great because people are born with the right to decide how they should live-- ideally democracy tries to allow that for the majority and allows for protection of the minority.

I don't think city states would work out too well, ancient Greece is a good example of what problems we might face under such a system. It could end in the city states being united under one leader.

@The Patriarch

You mean like "a bigger more centralized government run by moderates and the philosophical minded in a more authoritarian style of government?"

Also with that form of government then you might have issues with people committing a crime and then fleeing to another city state to escape prosecution. Another problem with a city state system in America would be criminals being able to have more power. If Detroit or Pittsburgh were city states then they would definitely be controlled by organized crime

@The Patriarch

So then instead of keeping people trapped in a big pen to avoid them escaping from persecution of crime, we do more to address WHY crime is happening, and why people become inclined to commit it. We should also look at things, less from the 'objective' eye of the law, and more from where it touches the actual people who matter-- the 'War on Drugs' is dumb, we need to be looking at things like actual violent crimes, human trafficking, and child slavery.

The Dust

Actually, I think that our little Bloody Sleeve girl has the most expensive dress :P

World runs on trade and barter, no currency system but bullets are widely accepted, high grade being worth more.

@Aeonumbra

also, I find this a bit hard to believe. It's been over 300 years, and I think that at least some sort of currency should have risen up in at least the first 100 years, with the last 200 being the time it took for it to get widespread and something everybody used. Not talking the kind of paper money that we use IRL, but perhaps just coins made out of some metal, say, I dunno, tin? Brass? I'm okay with sticking to just bartering, but I do think that a currency system would've been at least attempted during those 300 years. P.S Evelina Quinn's character sheet is under revision. It (for some weird reason) doesn't happen often, but I suddenly had a pang of inferiority and I'm now re-writing just about everything. She'll stay the same character, but it should (hopefully) be of higher quality (I blame Darcs :P).

@kapuchu

@The P.S:: My first IC post wasn't exactly top notch either, sick with two different ear infections in the same ear and half asleep. XD As for the currency sir. You doubt me. Think about it. After the apocalypse you have a pocket full of funny colored paper with dead people's faces on it, and maybe some semi-precious metal coins. Who cares? What use is that after society has collapsed, the government is gone, and you're faced with lawless marauders. The most important things, besides basic survival and food, are going to be Ammunition and Gasoline, or fuel. Followed by infrastructural things such as flowing water, electricity, an establishment of order. So really there are a handful of things that would be considered valuable for trade, your funny colored money isn't one of it.

• Ammunition and Arms
• Gasoline / Fuel
• Cigarettes
• Spices
• Antibiotics & Medicine
• Food
• Skills and Knowledge

Despite the fact that you'd have to find someone willing to make the money.. and what would you pay them with? How would you get everyone to agree? What would you backup an established currency that you could oh say, print? How would you establish an effective protocol to prevent inflation? How would you assure there would be no homemade currency in an apocalyptic world? 300 years and the only things as an established trade medium are useful things. How absurd :P Now bullets, everybody needs those, the best part is, you make em, you shoot em, and the demand remains. Perhaps it was attempted, but really, what's the point? You have a faction of people who keep to themselves, a faction that are just a step higher than mindless savages, a faction that is more focused on their bindings of honor and tradition, a faction that values only knowledge and progress, and then the only faction wholly obsessed with establishing a trade empire. Respective order: Edenites, Forsaken, Aqueous, Gaens, Motum Diversum. So I ask you again sir, when I could safely give you something you want, for something I want; rather than give you something, for a meaningless medium, and perhaps be unable to get what I want, meaning I demand more of this currency, meaning inflation; What's the point?

@Aeonumbra

Hmm... Yeah. I doubt you. A teeny tiny bit :P But look on the bright side! It forces you to think a little ^^ Sorry if that sounds insulting, btw, not meant as such. But still, me asking this made you write that response. It made you write down why currency is not a thing. But even then, I just find it... strange, I guess you could say, that 300 years have passed with nothing but simple trade and bartering. It makes getting some things easier, t'is true, but it also makes other things more difficult. Not really possible to measure "wealth" if you can't measure it in a number. At the very least it's much more difficult to do so. Also: Trying to find a picture that looks like my character. Do you have any idea how difficult that is? :/ <.< Stupid Internet not having what I'm looking for.

@kapuchu

I already think most things through, you just need to ask the right questions xD. Trade and barter is not simple, it's an art. Each sides have their downfalls, I however, have provided a perfectly reasonable, realistic argument for my side, and I have yet to be convinced otherwise haha. Wealth can be measured in innumerable ways, most commonly it's just how we perceive it. If I have no need for perfume, then that would not be valuable to me, which in turn would not lead the salesperson to aggregate wealth from me. However, if I am in need of a firearm, then the gunsmith would be quite wealthy as I perceive him against my needs to his. He needs very little from me, yet I need much from him. This creates a contrast of supply and demand. I must have something the gunsmith wants, and obtain something from nothing I must be useful, to be useful I must have a skill, to have a skill I must learn. By learning a skill, applying the skill, I can now become the gunsmith. I can be useful to society as a whole, I do not weigh down the market with non-skill endeavors like cure-all tonics and miracle herbs. By paying a set price for a "cure-all" one without use could be of considerable wealth, however, in comparison to what I need, versus what I am willing to give up, versus what he wants, creates a situation for haggling. In the end, using barter instead of a medium creates a complex dynamic of goods exchange, which is quite efficient and functional. People who are useful, survive. People who are not, do not. It's that simple, but the practise itself is a living, evolving thing. I see little point to a set medium in a world such as this.

@Aeonumbra

So I was thinking about this. In terms of the Castalia Family wealth, they've got hotels, brothels, clubs, casinos, bootlegging stills and a bunch of weapons and drugs to their name, so I mean-- that's wealth, but that's all not something people get paid in, you know? Not all of it. Motum Diversum is advanced-- they have trade and government and regular jobs and apartments and shit-- everyone does trade with them, there would need to be some common currency that you could then trade for other goods that you could also barter with. Economically speaking, today's money comes solely from the loss of a gold standard and banks passing out a fiat currency for convenience. I think people, after the Fall WOULD switch to a completely barter based economic system, with guns and bullets being the most important things. Bullets have this inherent power to them. Someone with a lot of bullets offers protection, they can take what they want, they'd resemble gold from the old world-- people who crawled out of the bunkers, used to a fiat currency, would be looking for that as they bartered-- that's something I think is important. Because proto-governments, even ones with raw natural resources to exchange, and like two or three banks if ANY, thrive off of an economy, and economy that consumers contribute too. How long is a dam worker going to accept water as payment? I think everyone, while still bartering, would naturally shift to also using some medium for convenience. That medium would be bullets-- Old World bullets mostly. They'd be like gold, there would be a precedent for using them, their ancestors used them, they have an inherent value, they look pretty. Really pretty Old World bullets, for guns that didn't even exist or work anymore would be the most valuable, polished, giant sniper rifle bullets would be like hundred dollar bills, and it would go down in order of decreasing scarcity until you got to the pennies that are Dust made junk rounds. I don't know, I still see barter being a thing, but I just don't see a guy walking into a bar and plopping down a liter of gas and asking for a beer-- or like, people paying admission to a club with some food. Then again, maybe this is just the Fallout fan in me missing muh caps.

Your Political Ideology

u no it, bb

@Darcs

Then I'm guessing you wouldn't like my believe that bigger government is better right? I don't believe in Anarchism

@The Patriarch

Depends on the type of government and the people who run it. I personally believe, a small country or city-state, places like Monaco, Palau, Hong Kong, and Singapore-- benefit GREATLY from their governments, where laws and regulations are more personal and local, the size of the people is manageable and there aren't a million districts and filters isolating from the citizens to the people in charge. Those are some of the most successful places in the world--I do believe in anarchism, consider myself an anarchist, but I also believe that government can be implemented to an extremely successful degree if the actual government and the people are tightly knit-- city-states, basically. Big government works on that scale. On the scale of America? Not so much. The layers between the people and the federal government are completely bloated and corrupt.

What do you listen to when writing?

>Electro-Swing ->Some Parov Stelar ->Caravan Palace

@Allel

This guy knows what's up.

The Dust

I too am feeling inferior after all these great posts, I promise I'll be at the top of my game from now on. Honestly, I fall into the trap of doing what others are doing. If someone writes a lot I will try to write the same amount etc. you'll motce that my first IC was a very similar length to the two before it when I'm sure I could've written far more... I'll work on it, I promise...

@Prophecy

Length>quality I thought your post was really good bruh

The Dust

P.S Evelina Quinn's character sheet is under revision. It (for some weird reason) doesn't happen often, but I suddenly had a pang of inferiority and I'm now re-writing just about everything. She'll stay the same character, but it should (hopefully) be of higher quality (I blame Darcs :P).

@kapuchu

*smug grin*

The Walking Dead: Among the Ruined// Spin-Off

Ada Cinet - MEC Back entrance Ada kicked detritus as she skipped around the back side of the medical center. An absolute mess of ambulance vehicles lay to greet her, there appeared to be only one silver car NOT originally designed for the purpose of transferring people to the hospital. A sicko milled about near it, Ada and her knife made short work of it, the knife making it's familiar squelch as she crouched deliver the blow to the brain. As Ada got up, she could feel her stomach growl. Thanks for the reminder, stomach! I'd almost forgotten I was hungry. Making her way up a ramp, Ada tried unlocking and opening various doors to no avail. Eventually, Ada summoned all the energy she could and kicked on the door, which only resulted in the pounding of soreness increasing. Running out of ideas, she tried another strategy, sheathing her knife and holstering her gun, Ada shot at the lock. Fuck. Her stomach was thinking for her at this point. Anyone inside probably heard that shot, and the groans from behind her told her the sickos had too. She ran inside the building, closing the door as best as she could, and found herself in a generally dim hallway. There appeared to be empty storage rooms on either side of her as she walked through the stagnant corridor, the musty smell lifted as she moved further in, and the lighting became brighter and more natural. Moving forward, Ada raised her gun as she approached the natural light of what appeared to be a large open area.

A Sinful Masquerade (A Horror RP)

If I were to make an 'angel' (the City Council tells me angels aren't real) could it align itself with one of the seven heavenly virtues?