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He lived his life in a small town, known as Shawtel. The families in Shawtel were very strict on the forbiddance of magic, whether for study, battle or just fun. They especially despised sorcerers, for they were born with this ability. And, of course, Severus was a sorcerer. He didn�t find out about his ability until he was ten years old, when he accidentally cast a spell after his mother was yelling at him for dropping plates, shattering them all over the floor. Severus was so frustrated, and said it wasn�t his fault because his older brother had purposely tried to trip him. This was always happening, and he couldn�t take it anymore, he finally screamed, and a circle of purple light spread around him at his feet, it rose up around his body, then from his hands shot a sort of missile, and it went flying round the house, ricocheting of the walls and furniture, breaking everything it touched. It finally subsided after it had hit his father�s suit of armor, leaving a giant dent right in the chest plate. His father, as the town�s chief of law enforcement, was indifferent as to whether it was his son or a criminal, for they are the same if they both cast magic. It was late at night, raining, and Severus�s father just picked him up and threw him out into the streets, a few minutes later, he came back, carrying all of his son�s belongings, and a horn. Standing before his son, looking at him as if he was naught but a little bitch, old, weak, not even good enough to kill and cook for supper. He blew the horn, and in a few short minutes, almost every house in town had someone coming out of it, some in their night clothes, others dressed as if for war. They all gathered round in a circle about Severus, some fifty or so men, and they all began to advance in on him. Three men with ropes came foreword a little faster, cautiously tied him up. Severus tried to cast another spell, but it didn�t work, he concentrated as best he could, but nothing happened, he screamed, kicked and bit but couldn�t fight off his captors. When he was bound and gagged, they threw him in the back of a wagon, three men plus his father and brother, rode for hours into the night. At about three in the morning, they stopped in the middle of forest, and just threw Severus and his belongings off the wagon, and rode back to Shawtel. Severus lay there, in the dark, in a forest, rain pouring on him through the leaves above. A streak of lightning ran across the sky, the thunder applauding it�s entrance, roaring in the night, and the entire wood seemed to be listening to it�s call. Severus was scared, afraid he would not survive this onslaught of nature. It then occurred in his mind, that the nature may save him. He recalled stories of powerful mages who could summon lightning and fire out of their fingertips, with but a word and a motion, but he couldn�t move, and couldn�t speak. He cursed the bindings placed to his person by the people who were, or once were, his family. He could do nothing then but sleep, so he did.
p.s. yes, i am back. sorta
No, TV shows are produced for the corporate citizens and their children, who will buy the toys, pay the admission to see the crappy movie version and sport the backpacks as they head off to their nice school with their lunch consisting of of licensed pasta, shaped in the likenesses of their favourite characters.
Heinz Pokemon pasta, anyone?
They want the starving homeless masses to buy the stuff that there advertising, instead of buying food and a safe place to sleep.
No, actually they couldn't care less. The starving homeless masses, by definition, represent the shrinking minority of their marketshare. They represent 0.1% of their revenue. If they can alienate 0.1% of their market share, while pleasing the other 99.9%, they're going to do it. Every time.
The starving homeless masses are good for things like clearing out unsold inventory. Got a big crate full of designer shirts that are 3 years out of style and would otherwise represent a loss? Sell them on Red for 1/10th of their oringial price, and you can even turn a small profit on what would otherwise be a loss.
But they know they're never going to pay full price, and even when they do, it won't even compare to the numbers of the corpies who will pay full price. No way, no sir, no how.
Name a single ad where a luxary item is sold where the marketing campaign targets the homeless and poor. I dare ya. Just one is all I ask.
And this is in a day and age where the homeless are still reconized as having basic quality of life rights. In 2089, these rights have eroded to the point of making any such notions comical.
Homeless shelters? Soup kitchens?
Yeah right. Not with my corperation's dollars.
-Kevlar
Quote: from Kevlar on 10:55 am on Aug. 1, 2004[br]
(...)
Name a single ad where a luxary item is sold where the marketing campaign targets the homeless and poor. I dare ya. Just one is all I ask.
(...)
-KevlarICly? None.
But there is this one store here in Brazil that sells everything on tiny monthly payments for 1-5 years...
That gave me an idea...
Quote: from Kevlar on 9:53 pm on Aug. 1, 2004[br]But there is this one store here in Brazil that sells everything on tiny monthly payments for 1-5 years...One store? The conversation is about multinational multi-billion dollar corperations here...
The same economics simply don't apply.
-Kevlar
I should have said company, it is widespread over the whole country and even has a couple of stores next to the borders to sell to foreiners.
They sell from furniture to refrigerators and car sound. One of their buys can suck dry the production of a television factory for a month. They really can have the best price on the market due to their broad buys.
I got my Phillips D-Wide with them, and at the end after haggling a bit and going to other stores I got something like a US$ 170 discount on the price.
They also have the motto "How much you want to pay?"
Rent-A-Center.
My mom bought a couch, big ass TV, my bed, dresser, etc, through RAC when I was 9-13. She paid it all off, bit by bit. Considered 'rented' until it was paid off (in total, at 300% of the real value of the item) and yours.
Now, that assumes you're not black flagged, have a place to live (with a good address) and they require proof that you live there. And ofcourse, if you missed a payment, they came and took your shit (this happened once or twice as a kid to my family - fucking late 80s layoffs).
I can't see any 'rent-to-own' systems working in SD though, as the abuse control would be completely dependant on the GMs (RPing the repomen who come to break down your door and get your TV). Besides, marketing towards the unwashed masses is all about getting your brand burned into the frontal lobe of those drooling peons in the Mix. Let them find it at an Uncle Sungh's chain store.