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The Political Thread

A question for all who frequent this thread, as I'm curious to see varied PoV on this topic:

What are your perspectives on 'libertarian-socialism'?

Caravan: Resurrection

Smor'Gen'Blok's Lower Tunnels, Kul Hearthsite
_{3rd of Summer - 10:24 AM}

"Next for the Kul is to care for survivors. Once all dust settles, Lower and Low tunnels must be reconnected through aftermath of Wor's hearth. Monsters nest without hearth, nearest junction besides that above is hours away by foot." Ju'Kul nodded in agreement.

"I will tend to Wor. Search parties should return any minute," Ju'Kul announced. Ha'Kul nodded to him.

"Good news comes with them, I hope."

Moments after Ju'Kul's comment, one of the search parties entered through a lower path. Five Lok'Sha in total, including the likes of Mia'Lai and Kul'O, two of the Kul's most trusted warriors. But as they cross the dark recesses of the hearth site, it became clear that they weren't returning with good news. One of their women was missing an arm, with blood coating her entire left side. She stood resolute despite this. An arm could be grown back with aid from the appropriate soul magic as long as a Lok'Sha's soul remained in tact. Ha'Kul glanced at his son as they approached, immediately overcome with disappointment. Of course. When dealing with the powerful Lok'Sha of Smor'Gen'Blok, things could never be that simple.

"Chieftain," Mia'Lai spoke, "One dead. One injured. Many Wor still alive in collapse. None willing to accept help. All willing to place blame with low tribes." Ha'Kul grunted and slapped the side of his fist against his thigh. Ju'Kul stopped half-way across the cave and walked back over to the chieftain. "We kill three, luckily. Two escape, one of them use soul to empower self. Encounter happen near Low Jo Tribe's hearth site in Lower Tunnels."

"Collapse not kill them all?" Ju'Kul grunted, "Unbelievable."

"Not surprise," Ha'Kul grunted in return, "Wor warrior Resilient and stubborn. If what happen with Mia'Lai's group not simply fluke, many more survive, and lurk in Lower tunnels. All Low tribes in danger."

Feral Cove, Near Ayer and Paric's Landing
_{3rd of Summer - 9:46 PM}

Dannisus' expression was drained of all life as the men refused to acknowledge him as anything more than a primate. Idiots. Completely idiots, the lot of them. The Myti latched one of his claw-grips into the bark of the tree and began to slide down into the dense overgrowth at its base, fully intent on approaching the two men and giving them a refresher course on his elegant people and their defining features. Maybe a few whacks to the head would improve their eyesight a little.

Baeshri Pass, Caravan Centaurus
_{3rd of Summer - 11:04 PM}

Blake sat still for a few moments, swatting away the nearby bugs until he heard the explosion coming from where his cart was positioned. Even with a busted ear, it was obvious. But he didn't know what had caused it. Regardless, he knew that it was something that needed to be taken care of. Without another second of delay, the massive man rose to his feet and charged across the path, ignoring Rem and heading straight for the two Captains. As he moved, he held his hammer high and unleashed a shock-wave of compressed mana to disperse the harmless dragonflies.

"Outta' my way!"

Berganfont, Lily's Keg
_{4th of Summer - 9:14 AM}

Matthew paid little mind to the patrons of the Keg this early in the morning. It looked like there was only one guy present thus far. He wasn't one to steal from the Low-house patrons. They sure as hell didn't deserve to have their lives made any harder by self-centered thieves. That's why he would always go to the high houses! Those pompous assholes, especially the priests of Shaidra, had tonnes of gold to spare. He ignored him and slowly made his way to the opposite side of the bar, where he hopped up onto one of the chairs and waited patiently for Lilith to come out and greet him. Even if she didn't think so, he thought of the woman as a sort of foster mother. Lilith kind of hated the kid either way. She was diametrically opposed to thievery, otherwise she wouldn't have opened this bar.
When Matthew noticed Vizz's cloak enter the pub, he sighed at the Gibu's shameless greed. Hardly honorable of a thief to steal from the poor! Fortunately, the man he'd stolen from wasn't a drunk, or an idiot. Part of the Eldi wanted to vouch for Vizz, but this was bound to be a hilarious show if he didn't interfere. How would he react to a greenie? Matthew's mouth curled into a sadistic smile before he even realized it.

"What are you smiling at, Matthew?" Lilith asked as she approached the bar again with a sarcastic smile. Matthew's smile vanished and he spun his head towards the pub's owner. Without a second thought, he pulled his coin purse out, or rather some old guy's coin purse, and splayed the contents on the bar. Lilith knew it already.

"Food please!"

Leias
_{4th of Summer - 5:45 PM}

The owner of the stand stood out more than anything it sold. Kolo Rio was a portly young woman - a trait very uncommon among the Myti - with thick auburn fur and exceptionally bloodshot eyes. Her ears were drooped, her nose twitched with a barely audible sniffle every few seconds, and worst of all, her frown was overbearing. But as soon as Ryio approached her, Kolo's features struggled to brighten. With a half-smile, she approached the edge of her little stall, but frowned again what it became clear that this human didn't want to buy anything. Even worse, with a human taking up space in front of her stall, several potential customers that glanced in Kolo's general direction ended up passing her by. The stream of Myti and foreigners behind Kyio was irritating to behold.

"Dud'it look like I'mb offerin' woork, sweedie?" She groaned exclusively through her mouth. Her nose twitched and she hacked back a mouth full of phlegm. "Bid'niss in Bobbeds' id'nt vereh, good ri'de now. If yoor lookin' foor woork, de' treetops are yer best bed'." Kolo's ears shifted forward as she spoke, and she looked the young woman over. She narrowed her eyes and rose a silky napkin up to her nose. A few men and woman shoved past Kyio by accident as she stood in front of Kolo's, offering a gentle meow as apology. The human looked more helpless with every passing moment. Even the no-nonsense Bobbet merchant was starting to feel sorry for her. "Bud..." Kolo paused and blew hard into the square of silk. "If your hungry, I've got some stale bobbets left over." With one hand, she reached under the stall's counter. Just then, and woman in dark robes shoved Kyio towards the stall with a considerable amount of force, hissing something indiscernible in Myti tongue.

'мσνє, ℓιттℓє нуυмαη'

Where is your "writing sanctuary"?

Wherever there's a keyboard and no sound. I cannot write if there's music playing or people talking, at all.

Most anticipated Games of 2018-2019

@Dynamo Frokane

Of those I'd actually played:

FF Dissidia
FF Dissida 02
FF Crisis Core
Ace Combat X - Skies of Deception {Possibly my favorite Ace combat title tbh}
Daxter
Ratchet and clank - size matters
Monster hunter freedom 1
Monster hunter freedom 2
Monster hunter Freedom unite
Valkyria Chronicles II
Valkyria Chronicles III
Kingdom of Paradise (or 'Key to Heaven')
Megaman Maverick hunter X {Oh my god why didn't they make more of these}
Megaman Powered up
Kingdom hearts birth by sleep
God of war - Chains of Olympus
God of War - Ghost of Sparta
Legend of Heroes - Trails in the sky

Most anticipated Games of 2018-2019

They're just on the PSP and who even has those.

@Fabricant451

Man the PSP was the second best handheld to hit shelves. The number of good titles it had to its name is shockingly high. It's shame the Vita didn't do well.

Most anticipated Games of 2018-2019

Gurren Lagann mech fighting game

As unrealistic as this may be, I really really really want this to happen.

Most anticipated Games of 2018-2019

Blade Strangers: (I usually don't like fighting games, but there are some exceptions like Blazblue and blazblue cross tab battle)

@Rex

There seem to be a few new anime fighting games trying to mimick DBFZ's unique style. Between this and that Kill-La-Kill fighter, Can't say I'm disappointed.

Caravan: Resurrection

Feral Cove, Edge of the Meotey Jungle
_{3rd of Summer - 9:45 PM}

Dannisus adjusted his ears forward on reflex, immediately scowling at Ayer's comments. For a moment, he actually considered robbing the unimpressive little human. Even if it went against his morals, maybe losing something precious to him would teach this guy some manners! We he that far away? Dannisus thought on it for a second, letting his body go limp as he hung there by his Feral Arms. He was used to conversing with Myti, and if he wasn't mistaken, none of the other races could hear very well. Their ears were like useless little skin flaps that poked out of their heads. Worthless little skin flaps. He wondered if they even needed them? Couldn't they hear just the same if their ears were torn off? The researcher shook the thought and slowly clambered towards the trunk of the tree where he propped himself sideways with both feet.

"I'm not a Primate" he shouted from overhead.

Caravan: Resurrection

Feral Cove, Edge of the Meotey Jungle
_{3rd of Summer - 9:44 PM}

Dannisus' nose twitched and his ears flapped with each mechanical click that sounded from Ayer's device. It was a familiar smell, something he'd come across before, hidden beneath of veil of mana and sea-water. That was something he would have liked to get his hands on. Usually, he wouldn't consider approaching strangers at all. The danger that accompanied such foolish choices led many Myti to their doom. Slavers were not uncommon in the northern sprawls of Meotey. But even if the two of them didn't belong to one of the Slaver Caravans, Humans and Eldi were the two most dishonest races in the entire world. But listening in on their conversation slowly granted Dannisus peace of mind. Not because they seemed innocent, or even remotely trustworthy.

It was because they sounded stupid.

Perhaps he should be judging others, considering his own decisions. They began their approach into the jungle after wrestling with a wee Dustilk that had somehow clung to his ear, putting Dannisus on guard. But this was a good opportunity to grab an advantage. He looked up, and then back down, and then up again. His nose twitched. The coast was clear, and there was nothing dangerous for at least half a kilometer. Without further delay, the Myti hopped up towards a tree-trunk and began scaling it with a pair of claw-like gauntlets, reaching the upper branches in a few seconds before turning around and hanging in place with one hand latched to the branch above him. He'd made a slight ruckus, and was in plain view now. If they posed even the slightest threat, his options were plentiful now. It's not like a couple of idiots from the ocean were going to be able to keep up with him in the trees.

"Well now," He started. Dannisus paused for a moment, trying to think of something clever to say, but simply couldn't manage another word for a solid three seconds. Despite how cautious the man was, there was one thing he couldn't manage for the life of him. Dannisus was a socially inept buffoon.

Leias
_{4th of Summer - 7:44 AM}

In contrast to the tightly-packed stone monuments that define the most populated cities in Arcadia, the Myti's homeland was a stark reminded that even intelligent creatures could survive without crude walls to keep them safe. Leias was nothing more than an assortment of tree-tops with vast, untamed wilds branching at random beneath them. Wards lined the edges of Myti territory where ground-based structures did exist, but for the most part, they were a tree-faring people taking to the heights with no issue at all.

The center of the city, known to most as the Stretch of Gaia, was home to most of what the Myti would consider civilian housing. It also acted as a hub for trade and commerce, where the northwestern and northeastern stretches of the city were home to more secluded patches of the Myti Populace, including the living quarters of Kiki Myalmo, current ruling Empress of the beautiful Nation. Rounded Tent-like enclosures wrapped around the stripped undersides of massive trees that stretched more than 10 stories into the sky. Between them, rope bridges held their homes together, and even stretched across the wide open plains where Myti would hunt, farm, and gradually expand their forest-side territory towards, connected by lone trees across stretches longer than 10 kilometers, at most. Truly, the nation was a dangerous place to traverse for those inept at climbing. Of course, most Myti could climb naturally by age 3. Male Myti were the only exception, forced to implement tools in order to assist their travel. You wouldn't often see a man in Leias without a pair of Feral Arms at his side, unless he had chosen to remain in the trees or on the ground without any desire to leave.

For visiting humans or Eldi, the forest was unwelcoming. Not because of the locals, though. Myti were rather accepting of visitors, and open to trade. But entering through the Meotey Trade Route would only grant visitors access to a fraction of the Nation's potential market. If they wanted to speak with figures of importance, or locate some of the more respected merchants, they would have to climb. Naturally scaling 10 to 15 stories of wood with one's bare hands was no easy feat, of course. Especially if you planned on hauling anything you found back down without aid of the often fully-occupied Marketplace Winches. But people who hadn't been to the city before couldn't have possibly known just how terrible it might have been to get up to the treetops.

A few kilometers east of the Nation's singular path to the rest of the world, a treetop shop was opening for business. Jimo Hizz, a dealer of antiquities, alchemy reagents, and various types of smoked/dried meats had just finished restocking his place for the new season. Later winter in Leias was a perfect time to gather Summer-seasoned herbs and game. Thing never adhered to a strict schedule in the wilds, despite what the calendar liked to claim. Jimo was one of the few people who knew that, and it was one of the only reasons as to why he could keep up with the surrounding businesses in the stretch of Gaia. Businesses like the ground-based Boa's Baubles, or his neighboring competitor, Salidor's. Salidor Sorrelpaw was probably one of the most irritating merchants in the entire Nation. Jimo wouldn't mind him as much if it weren't for his customers though. Rumors traveled pretty quick about independent Male Myti in Leias, and they weren't all unfounded nonsense.

Jimo was almost sure of it himself, that his neighbor was in touch with the Sisterhood.

Baeshri Pass, Caravan Centaurus
_{3rd of Summer - 11:03 PM}

Blake rolled his eyes at Rem's comments with a smile, hefting his hammer up in the process. But as soon as he took a step forward, he heard something buzzing in his good ear, his left ear. It was faint, but he turned his head for a moment, only for the buzzing to grow louder. He turned again, towards Baeshri hills, and his eyes widened when he noticed the encroaching swarm of nasty nasty bugs. The huge man flinched before they even got near him, and jumped behind the Caravan, placing his back against its left side while channeling Mana into his hammer. He had no idea what those things were, and although he wasn't particularly afraid of insects, he really didn't like them.

Captain Copp was in no mood to go about killing these assholes, and he wasn't in the shape to fight at his best. Neal on the other hand, was perfectly able to go all out. But risking any permanent damage to his arm wasn't something on his to-do list. He looked back towards the Caravan, expecting back-up in the form of Pyra or Lyullia, but wasn't going to waste any hope on either of them. Bart finally finished charging his artifact before the two Captains could reach him though. He licked his lips and clutched the handle tightly.

"Back down!" He shouted, Firin' Yvin'lo!" His weapon sparked with mana for a moment. It lost its glow immediately afterwards, drawing dull particles to its tip. But there was only silence as the spear got darker and darker. Neal held one hand towards the man and overtook Zay, holding his other arm out to stop him. Captain Copp looked up at the man and hid behind him, slapping him in the back.

"Stopping? Why are we stopping?"

Bart looked down at the barrel of his artifact in utter confusion.

"Bart, why's it-"

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhwiboooowwwwm!"

Mana expanded outwards, stopping several feet shy of where Neal stood as a giant ball of plasma-like energy. A second or two afterwards, it shrunk back down towards the point of creation, Yvin'lo. The spear was broken in two, all of the nearby men were on the ground and covered in burn marks, and Neal was astonished at just how stupid Blake's Lackey's really were. Bart coughed viciously, crawling to his knees and grasping the stained hilt of his artifact, only the realize that it has broken in two. He didn't know exactly what'd happened, but it all Neal's doing.

"If there's nowhere for energy to go, it starts to get temperamental," Neal gasped, clutching his right shoulder. Zay looked around his massive body at the aftermath with droopy eyelids and chuckled.

"Oh, like Champagne," Captain Copp quipped.

Gravity magic was extraordinarily powerful if applied correctly.

Berganfont, The Sewage Crevice
_{4th of Summer - 9:07 AM}

Matthew did his best to keep up. Usually he wouldn't rush himself this much, but he had a strange desire to keep this little green thing from showing him up. Despite his age, the kid considered himself pretty capable as a thief. By the time they had a chance to rest, he needed a moment to catch his breath. But as soon as he was able, Matthew answered Vizz's inquiry with a heavy rasp.

"Friends-" He gasped, "We're going to go see some friends." Suddenly it occurred to him... They were in the Low Houses now. Matthew didn't need to hide here! He stepped out of the alley casually, not even thinking for a second that most people might have had a tiny problem with seeing a little green man walking through the town square casually. Regardless of the little Gibu took a direct route, stopped him, or simply followed along as if there was no issue, Matthew was headed directly for Lily's Keg across the plaza.

Current Mood in One Gif