I almost had decided to not make this post, but after reading something (which I will show you later), I changed my mind.

Some of you will remember back in, oh, 2000 or so, TC was at its height of influence. I was a VP in MPExTC at the time. The only reason this matters is because AS a VP of MPExTC, I had access to the TC boards. Where Coalition issues were discussed and the Council made decisions common to all ember clans.

You know, I didn't much like ICD in those days. RaTS acted like a Thug and Crippy was a fluff. Straight up. Back in those days, their idea of "FA" was, well, let's just say they weren't terribly fair a lot of times. I only state this to set the table for what comes next.

One week, there was trash talk floating around on FFaT (shocking, I know) that involved TC and Crippy for the most part. He was doing his usual job of rattling sabers and stirring the pot. ICD was a belligerent bunch at times.

Towards the end of the week, I started reading the TC Forums. Talk started about ICD. Long story short... They decided to gang bang ICD over the weekend. THEY didn't call it a gang bang, but that's what it was. Their logic was pretty twisted and certainly not as noble as they wanted everyone to think.

The decision was made and a time was set for like 6 clans (maybe more) to hit ICD. Flashin' that TC Powah! Jerks. But I digress. Sprad and Outlawz0 (remember him?) were out of town or something that weekend and I was left "in charge" of MPE. Obviously, this was after Dom had stopped playing. You know, I think someone with no nose could have smelled the bullfluff coming from TC as they declared "war" on ICD. Pissed me off. Didn't like them, but they didn't do anything to merit what was going down. Except talk some fluff. Big effin deal. Sticks and stones, etc.

Now for the reason I decided to make the post anyways...

"2) Donny and the other CC people were talking a lot at the end of last set, and obviously RaTS was quite loud on the boards as well.

***We, along with NBK and Ares, were convinced ICD was going to declare on at least 2 of the 3 clans, and possibly all 3, and at least those of us in PAN have played the "let's just hope what we're hearing is wrong" game enough times when we were convinced a war was imminent***

, and we've absorbed a lot of FS's (mostly, ironically, from NBK). We didn't really feel like doing that again." - Twain


Twain wasn't IN TC in those days, I don't think, but that was pretty much the BS reason TC decided to gang bang ICD. Not only did I not allow MPE to be part of that FS, but I also worked my ass off to get Outlawz0 to agree with me to pull MPE out of TC. Which, we did.

Certainly, the dynamics of this situation are somewhat different. Maybe the remaining CC guys from last set could have stayed CC to take the pain even Stevie Wonder could see coming. Maybe ICD could have not taken them in. There are a lot of maybes. And I'm not judging any single clan involved in this event.

It's just a little spooky to watch history repeat itself with almost an entirely new and different cast of characters outside of a very few who actually played at the time above.

Nothing new here, FFA has always had a history of gang banging clans that dared to challenge the status quo.

It's ICD that set up this situation. They basically came in with the dual attitudes that they were too good to contact the current clans for pacts (and made this known, so that for any of the current clans to go to them was basically a forced admission that they're intimidated by ICD), and that anyone who wasn't with them was against them.

I doubt this was the situation Crippler was really intending to create when bringing back ICD, but ultimately that's the situation that was created.

If you want to compare the two situations, so be it. I was never in a TC clan, and I certainly wasn't at that time, so I don't know anything about the specific situations then, since I wasn't directly involved. But ultimately, if you believe war is going to happen and it's a decision of warring on your own terms or warring on someone else's terms, that's an easy decision.

If you guys want to see it as a form of persecution, then nothing I'm going to say here will convince you otherwise, but I believe the situation it as it is because of the actions and attitude coming from the ICD side.

woooo i just finished reading all these threads lol

pretty thrilling, one can write a novel!

in the end as somebody sitting on the sidelines, rats did have that arrogant attitude that makes people nervous because he's vague, unpredictable, and rude.

add the fact that cc went and hid in icd with the phrase that i kept reading "the 20 best killers" (im paraphrasing here) added another layer of vague intentions, rude to nbk(knowing what cc did to them), and not knowing if cc members were inciting and pushing icd to war nbk from within

from the most part i didn't see much thrash talking from nbk but a few veiled threats dressed as sarcastic remarks from ares.

like i said, good show!

icd came with a big stick indeed but nbk, ares, and panlv put together the fragmented spear of destiny to smite the devil!