Terminal Jest CB talk - about FR

[Prefonteen]

 

Both Terminal Jest under previous administrations and I personally have a longstanding history of accompanying any declaration of war with an outlined justification. We believe that -whether our counterparts and the community as a whole agree with our reasoning or not-, the provision of a reason beyond just shedding pixels is always preferred above wars for war’ sake.
 
Over the past two weeks, I have received various requests for a presentation of our reason or war. When I posted the Terminal Jest's placeholder declaration of war, I intended to uphold that ideological tenet by eventually circling back to it to properly outline our Casus Belli. Unfortunately, RL circumstances (OOC: I am lazy as frick) led to a lack of time, and a long delay. You have my apologies for that.
 
So… Strap in. Wall of text inbound!
 

1. Prewar leadup.

 

A year ago, the idea of a Terminal Jest alignment with The Golden Horde in opposition to our old allies in Frontier Records would have been viewed as unfathomable. When Terminal Jest went paperless, some hoped but I daresay few believed that this was done in any other way than amicably.
 
TJEst government at the time sought a change of dynamic which I believe has already been documented by my predecessors. I will therefore move on.
 
Following TJEst’s paperless decision, FR-TJ relations remained more than cordial. Although TJ's self-imposed political removal from IQ significantly altered the internal dynamics of that sphere, the EMC  KETKPOFSDJFIEFJ or whatever the frick its called vs IQ dynamic remained unchanged.
 
During this period, the tier disparity rose to unprecedented levels, with IQ claiming absolute domination over the lower tier and KETKPOFSDJFIEF consolidating the top tier. Many have lamented this, recognizing that (from a gaming perspective) this cold war of tiers is harmful to Orbis’ overall environment. Both spheres entrenched themselves in their view that the other side was the existential threat to this world, and the fear of that threat would often be cited as the primary roadblock to any significant political movement. Stagnation followed.
 
Until recently, Terminal Jest found itself locked in this political dynamic. The cold war of tiers had a suffocating impact on political innovation: After all, any prospective move would have to be weighed against its viability in a bipolar environment which -broadly speaking- would not tolerate destabilizing elements. In our view, this assertion is supported by a variety of minor skirmishes and rollings (BK's Chaos plots and NPO's yolo come to mind for example).
 
With the major players accounted for by other spheres until relatively recently, TJ found itself in a situation where it was forced to either pick a side or remain passively sidelined with the understanding that its paperless security would likely only be safeguarded until the bipolar dynamic would end and one side or the other would assert its dominance. At that point, TJ -for sitting out of the remainder of the rivalry- would find itself isolated and forced to return to the political arena under potentially dangerous circumstances.
 
Historical IQ relations remained amicable to a point where cooperation was on the table. Toward the end of our paperless period, unofficial agreements existed with regards to defense obligations. IQ has often pointed at the continuation of informal relations between Terminal Jest and KETKPOFSDJFIEF as an absolute confirmation that TJ’s paperless was little more than a PR gimmick, and that KETKPOFSDJFIEF never allowed IQ to break up, thus justifying their consolidation against a perceived existential threat.
 
Though not entirely unfounded, it can be viewed differently. I pose that Terminal Jest's alignment to KETKPOFSDJFIEF throughout this war has been a sliding scale, directly influenced by the actions of both IQ and KETKPOFSDJFIEF within their rivalry. The long-term outlook however saw us gradually gravitating back to KETKPOFSDJFIEF coalition over time.
 
So we found ourselves in an odd scenario: Political considerations saw us headed towards re-entering the bipolar dynamic as a full-fledged KETKPOFSDJFIEF party. This caused a degree of dissonance as accepting this role would mean forfeiting the desires which caused us to move to hitting random shit in the first place. Our shift to hitting random shit, after all, was never ideologically motivated (like it is for alliances such as TEst). It was viewed as a means to an end, with an expiration date.
 
The alternative of directly affiliating with IQ was undesirable to us for similar reasons.
 
With the above in mind, Terminal Jest decided a pivot was in order. I think it’s a known secret at this point that a few days ago, we terminated the peace agreements set in place by KETKPOFSDJFIEF. Following that termination, we started new wars with our new running partners to form the chassis of a dumpsterfire.

 

 

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770 words in, it’s finally time to delve into the Casus Belli aspect of this wall of text. To all those who will !@#$ over the length of this post: frick you. You wanted more professonal TJEst announcements, here you go.

2. Why we went to war.

 

Ultimately, our thoughts on IQ can be summed up as ideologically (and a bit OOC) motivated. The problem with IQ was that in reflection, the sphere was too close: Little to no tension existed. Parties within it were and are mediocre allies with a pragmatic attitude towards prioritization of the sphere over the $yndicate. That is rare, and neither TJEst's decision to go paperless, nor our more recent decision to hit random shit was made lightly.
 
But it was made nonetheless, and it caused a ripple effect of rumors. Following our sphere formation, the following rumors swirled at one point or another:
 
-        IQ was a thing
-        BK and NPO were still allied
-        IQ was never broken up
-        IQ got back together
-        The Hamster played us all
-       IQ double-crossed t$
-        IQ made buorhann sad

And so forth.
 
Many of these rumors were based on speculation, or on wishful thinking. Others were rooted in minor spats which arose: over the past months we have clashed with both IQ and KETKPOFSDJFIEFJ  over protectorates and allies and beiging and hitting the wrong targets.
 
Initially, I do not believe any of the mentioned parties put too much stock in the rumors. Shifty’s breakdown while alarming in principle, was also brought by a messenger with questionable credibility. Particularly his tendency to position logs out of context or alter logs lowered the impact of his revelations. They did however contribute to an environment in which it became increasingly difficult to discern between legitimate intel and misdirection.
 
The turning point from broad suspicion towards both IQ and KETKPOFSDJFIEFJ  towards actively viewing FR as a threat came when I was provided with two pieces of intelligence from three credible sources (who are both prominent community figures whom I trust, and who have yet to betray that trust). The three pieces boiled down to the following:
 
- KETKPOFSDJFIEFJ  allowed FR to exit the war without Terminal Jest consent

- FR has rebuilt some military since then

- FR threatened TJEst members 
 
All of these pieces of information were individually cross-checked and confirmed. KETKPOFSDJFIEFJ leadership was also notified of our receipt of this information at the time, and there was a discrepancy in the respective narratives of KETKPOFSDJFIEFJ and FR leadership, with one party (initially) categorically denying our sovereignty as a coalition ally, and the other party being a mediocre record label.
 
Terminal Jest government drew the following conclusions from this information:
 
-        Considering the above, we could reasonably assert that empty posturing was put out about fighting us, be it defensively or offensively, as indicated by the threat.
-        Keeping in mind that we were specifically mentioned in the third piece of intel, it’s not unreasonable to presume that the terms of peace are illegitimate.
-      KETKPOFSDJFIEFJ is a shitty coalition name.
-        Consequently, we concluded that FR felt threatened by our prowess, and that it was at the very least taking defensive measures and at worst, putting out feelers for an offensive maneuver.
 
Before moving on, I want to note that we are understanding of FR feeling threatened. I believe my personal reputation and relations with IQ (from TJest 1.0 times) played a role in the development of a perception of Tjest as a hostile entity. For FR/IQ looking in, I imagine it looks as if I came in, took over and immediately shifted FA direction from alliance to opposition.
 
TJest’s current FA is a continuation of broad strategic plans and objectives set in motion by my predecessors Fraggisan and Pragglesan, as can be attested both by them and by our allies in TKR. With that said, it would be understandable if mistrust was generated during our transitionary period.
 
Between personal mistrust, our movements and shifty, there is definite justification for FR to be gearing defensively. The problem with these matters is that they tend to become self-fulfilling prophecy. There are fine lines to walk with regards to being prudent about guarding against perceived (potential) threats to one’s security and inciting action against oneself. It’s a grey area with too many nuances, he-said she-said’s and what-if’s to count.
 
Which brings us to our reason for entering in a coalition of convenience with the KETKPOFSDJFIEFJ against IQ and FR.
 
1.      Recognizing that there is a historical precedent of IQ willingness to pre-emptively engage perceived threats, and recognizing that (even if it can be justified) IQ/FR views Tjest as a threat, Tjest has cause to view FR as a threat to its security.
2.      Though we can not discern whether FR approached IQ+third parties with aggressive or defensive intent, we can conclude that threats were made and that they specifically featured Terminal Jest. Politically, this is often a first step toward offensive action. Once a defensive coalition is formed and a prospective opponent has been threatened, it tends to be a matter of time before feelers are put out to turn defense into offense. This is a process in which both KETKPOFSDJFIEFJ and IQ (as allies at the time) have participated in the past. The approaches are therefore viewed as a threat to Terminal Jest's security, irrespective of whether they were defensive or offensive in nature.
 
These two points sum up our considerations in declaring war on FR. The decision was not made lightly as we are well aware of the nuances involved with respect to the mutual threat we pose(d) to one another. While we feel that our engagement in this coalition war became a political necessity due to the outlined events, we do believe that deterioration of our relations was -at its core- more the product of KETKPOFSDJFIEFJ  failng to communicate and a shift from bipolarity to tripolarity in the geopolitical dynamic than any malice on our or FR's part.

Terminal Jest continues to hold FR and IQ in high regard despite our current positioning, and commends them for the manner in which they have handled the conflict so far. It’s been a surprisingly civil ordeal and particularly the upper tier fight has been a fun contest.

 

 

[DemonSpawn]

You do you buddy. The fact that you spent so much time on this random crap, is quite sad.

[Zei-Sakura Alsainn]

What

[Dio Brando]

Just now, DemonSpawn said:

You do you buddy. The fact that you spent so much time on this random crap, is quite sad.

Personally, I don't care much for the hit on FR but this was fairly amusing. It's his CB-talk from Knightfall fitted for this situation, and it would've taken maybe half an hour to make this. 

[Cypher]

Partisan, I can't even understand English. Whisper it in my ears in Dutch please.

[Filmore]

We drop out due to a lack of activity, and you perceive us as a threat? Please tell me what you're smoking and where I can buy it

[Lu Xun]

13 minutes ago, Filmore said:

We drop out due to a lack of activity, and you perceive us as a threat? Please tell me what you're smoking and where I can buy it

He's Dutch. High-quality hemp grown in hydroponics near Amsterdam is all they have.

 

===

 

Also, it's possible to read Partisan as a commentary on how tired, stale, and stupid this entire game has become. When the best posts are meta-commentaries on the inanity of game politics, you know you have a problem.

Edited July 3, 2019 by Inst

[Avakael]

Partisan may or may not be the leader I need, but he's almost certainly the leader I deserve.

[Avakael]

2 hours ago, DemonSpawn said:

You do you buddy. The fact that you spent so much time on this random crap, is quite sad.

 

[Justin076]

I enjoyed this. 

[Mikey]

Trolling and still a better CB than anything NPO has put forth.

Edited July 4, 2019 by Mikey

[True King]

If BC would have went all in against IQ when they hit BC while Knightfall was ongoing & let me try building coalition instead of just wanting a quick surrender (all well as remove me for mentioning the possibility of forming a bigger coalition to fight back in an embassy the head of FA before Cynic wanted me to get setup), maybe they could have accomplished something. Although most who I were friends with have already left, but good luck to those still hanging in there I suppose.

[katashimon13]

this came up in way less time than the knightfall cb

./kookie

rawr

[Guest Epi]

1

Edited February 17, 2021 by Epi

[True King]

7 minutes ago, Epi said:

It's not a global war until Partisan makes a post about it. Though as a note, i hope future wars actually take the time to outline stuff too, imagine that we may actually start from a position of disagreement, rather than the same old 'dynamic/fun' wars, we've had for the last year until this one.

I do agree on “boredom” CB wars to be lame, people can at least a little more creative on why a bunch of people are fighting.

Although usually people don’t want their plans spoken of & easier to just attack if you don’t want to reveal much. Sure the hippo will pop in to tell me not to spoiler anything if I reveal or speculate on any of their plot.

[Kevanovia]

8 hours ago, Noctis Anarch Caelum said:

If BC would have went all in against IQ when they hit BC while Knightfall was ongoing & let me try building coalition instead of just wanting a quick surrender (all well as remove me for mentioning the possibility of forming a bigger coalition to fight back in an embassy the head of FA before Cynic wanted me to get setup), maybe they could have accomplished something. Although most who I were friends with have already left, but good luck to those still hanging in there I suppose.

This will never not be funny to me

[True King]

13 minutes ago, Kevanovia said:

This will never not be funny to me

Guess looking back it the entire situation of you guys both pissing off IQ & completely isolating us without thinking that would go wrong; then giving Cynic the bank is pretty funny. Although anti-IQ sentiment was at least as high then, although people didn't want to make any moves while TKR was still getting rolled. However BC could have made that front separate without fighting the whole coalition against TKR; while stirring up anti-IQ sentiments if BC's reputation hadn't already been destroyed back then as well.

Wouldn't have been a guaranteed win with how screwed our political situation was already; although BC would have gotten more respect from that war if they tried something other than roll over. Sometimes adding another dynamic into the war can change it entirely; we're suppose to believe Chaos & KETOG went from fighting to fighting alongside each other in order to hit BK; without a plan to hit BK before the Chaos/KETOG fight.

[This Fckn Guy]

Tl;dr