assault

Profit is the only legitimate value. Public infrastructure ("the commons") is useful only if it supports profit making, and "should" be eliminated if someone can make a buck from providing it. Other social goals/values are "government regulation", and thus bad. Extreme examples: all roads should be toll roads. All hospitals should be private. Regulations involving, say, air, water or food quality/safety, are bad. But this is politics.

Wheeler-Nicolson was fairly quickly forced out by figures with strong, if not legally provable, organized crime connections. For at least a decade or two, Batman was published by the Mob! (Which could be the basis for a really cool character...) What became Marvel was also a shady, marginal business. So were most of the early comics companies. In fairness, like many other small companies, they could only stay in business by keeping the wise guys happy. The military connections of their founders are probably less important than this.

3 years at 2.5 million a year? Make sure your money is in a safe place. Depending on the prison system, it might be worth it.

Second and last bonus pick. --- The people had gathered in a circle. The sacred bowl had been passed. The singing had begun. It began discordantly, with each singing their own tune, often out of tune, but presently it began to take on a unified character. From many voices came a single tune - a Harmony. From many, one. Secondary Domain: Harmony. --- Making one out of many could arguably be taken as an interference in Etterskell's domain, but it's reasonable that there should be an opposing pole, and it fits in nicely with Oeneus' existing domains. And that's it for me.

The first of my bonus picks will be an Interference. --- "The Shepherd is my lord. I shall not want. He makes me sit, beg, stay and roll over..." To protect the flocks from wolves, you need your own wolves. Interference (Fitz): Dogs are domesticated Wolves. And don't say Oeneus is is a complete deadbeat dad - he invented puppies for his kids! --- Second bonus pick soon. Working out some details.

I should get my last two picks in today. I pretty much know what they are going to be. I just need to scan the thread again first.

Catch up pick. The last of my regular picks. --- "Enough of this!" thundered Oeneus. "Time to Roll some Stones! I will create a being so mighty in my ways that all will be in awe!" And thus was created his undying Avatar: Keef. (Any similarity to anyone living, dead or other is purely coincidental.) Mythic Monster or Guardian: Keef.

The God of Music is not impressed. Another grudge. That's two, and I've only got three picks left...

Resists the temptation to post Satyr pics.

Hmm. One catch-up pick, and two bonuses to go for Oeneus. A grudge against Crax, for the Flora Intoxicana. A general thought about Oeneus: while he is clearly on the more Chaotic end of things, his gifts bring joy and culture as well as more destructive things. I should probably stress that a little. So: one pick to shaft Crax, another two to do the second bit.

Up until ten years ago, Myanmar had its own system of measurements. It has changed to metric since, apparently.

The chanting crowds were drawing nearer. "He-don-ia! He-don-ia!" came from one direction. "Mar-ket! Mar-ket!" came from the other. Soon they would meet, and the mayhem would begin. --- Where there is competition, there are fans. And when you mix rival fans and the gifts of Oeneus, there is trouble. Whether it is chariot racing or Foote-the-Ball, there are hooligans. Secondary Domain: Hooliganism.

Pythons are obviously a Burmese unit of measurement.

It would be nice if these included bonus picks too, to make it easier for us to know where we are up to.

"Hmm..." said the god of Intoxicants. "Meddling in my domain? I must contemplate." Oeneus approves!

I lost a bit of momentum last weekend, so three picks to catch me up. Fauna: Caprines (Sheep and Goats.) Satyrs are pretty much human/goat hybrids, so the world needs goats. Geography: Pastures Beyond the cities and fields lie grasslands, meadows and hillsides, where sheep and goats (and other creatures) can graze. Gift to Civilization: Herding Where there are sheep, there are shepherds. And where there are shepherdesses, there are satyrs. Rumours about satyrs and sheep are, of course, scurrilous.

The foreman said: "By the Bastard! How are we supposed to move these rocks? This monument won't build itself!" The devotee of Oeneus looked up from his reverie, and said: "Rollers. We put them on rollers." And that is how Oeneus became the god of Sex, Drugs and Rolling Rocks... --- Interference: Fitz's monuments are built using rollers. It's too petty to justify this as a Secondary Domain, unless DT declares otherwise. I originally intended to use this joke much later in the draft, as the end of a Shaggy Dog story.

Oh dear. I may have to use my punchline pick earlier than I had hoped.

I wasn't going to make this pick just yet, but DT has forced my hand. --- Music can be an accompaniment to merriment. Or it can be a reminder. When the devotees of Oeneus meet, they remember the victims of Crax, and his crime. Secondary Domain: Music.

Oeneus needs someone to party with. Someone with similar enthusiasm for drunkenness and lust. Sentient Life Pick: Satyrs.

In a vision, Oeneus saw where you can go with this. Oeneus starts hitting the poppy.

Oeneus is the God of casual sex, so, yeah.

The gifts of Oeneus may inspire Lust. They may inspire Lovers. Either way, Oeneus is the God of Sex. Secondary Domain Pick: Sex.

I can see this being quite a tactical game this year. A God of Illumination and a Fire God? Hmm. Clearly not the same thing.

Interesting. This closes off one of my lines of development for Oeneus. Or does it?