Embassy of Lazarus + News

[Kuriko]

How are we supposed to support them in their stance when they're labeling us as hostile? Sure, if they weren't labeling us as such we'd be happy to support it. But we're hostile to them apparently.

Is this something you've spoken to them about one-on-one? Or did you just flock to the forum to express your outrage? Seems like that may be a bit of the point they are making.

Oh, I approached them. Lots of us have, and we've been met with silence for hours now. Not really a great way to conduct foreign affairs.

[Fauxia]

Chase your bliss, tbh. A regional military should serve toward the common good and ultimate goals of a region. If a military ideology is detrimental - even inconvenient - for the region at large, it doesn't belong. In the war between raider and defender, Laz lives its best life when it's true to itself and the needs of its natives. If you're more loyal to an ideology than your home, that sounds like a personal problem. And regions who can't support Lazarus as they take an ideological stand toward what they believe is best for their success don't support Lazarus at all.

I find it odd that the former Pharaoh of Osiris seems to have no problem with Lazarus and Osiris closing off diplomatic relations for no reason at all. Almost as if accepting Lazarus’ implications that all raiders or otherwise ideological forces, including Osiris, share the blame for Lazarus’ years of turmoil. Or do you not care about the image of your region now that you aren’t the one in power?

[Altino]

Chase your bliss, tbh. A regional military should serve toward the common good and ultimate goals of a region. If a military ideology is detrimental - even inconvenient - for the region at large, it doesn't belong. In the war between raider and defender, Laz lives its best life when it's true to itself and the needs of its natives. If you're more loyal to an ideology than your home, that sounds like a personal problem. And regions who can't support Lazarus as they take an ideological stand toward what they believe is best for their success don't support Lazarus at all.

I find it odd that the former Pharaoh of Osiris seems to have no problem with Lazarus and Osiris closing off diplomatic relations for no reason at all. Almost as if accepting Lazarus’ implications that all raiders or otherwise ideological forces, including Osiris, share the blame for Lazarus’ years of turmoil. Or do you not care about the image of your region now that you aren’t the one in power?

On the contrary, I foresee Osiris acting in no way except fully supportive of Lazarus' decision, reaching out to Lazarus privately as requested, and having both communities work toward whatever compromises or courses of action are appropriate for both regions. I of course can't speak for Osiris, I run out of my UCR Karma now, but Lazarus and Osiris have stood unflinchingly side by side on a mutual walk toward stability while we've discovered our identities after years of instability. I think we are due the availability to think for ourselves and have weathered enough together to know who our friends are. While it is 100% true that military faction driven vyes for power in Lazarus have been a leading source of its troubles over the years, Osiris is factually not an enemy of Lazarus. I have every confidence that they will work it out as friends.

[Fauxia]

Osiris is factually not an enemy of Lazarus. I have every confidence that they will work it out as friends.

Neither is almost any "partisan" region, except Lazarus has unilaterally decided that they’re hostile now. Considering the radicalism of this decision, I believe your confidence is misplaced.

[The Pharcyde]

Congratulations to Lazarus on the most interesting gameplay policy I've ever seen.

[Flanderlion]

Not caring about Laz's FA stuff/World Fair, but for the weekly clip could we have a different background or something for each topic so it's easier to fast forward to CUK's mention?

[Your Imaginary Friend]

I was thinking last night, it'd be good to explain the reasoning behind Lazarus' move towards "radical" neutrality further than with a few spoken words. Hopefully this post will allow you to understand our decisions, and perhaps even lead you to contemplate taking similar steps for yourself and your community.

---

Lazarus has a lesson to put in action. We didn't learn it easily, and we won't forget it easily either.

The downfalls in our history are not the fault of some specific set of ideals; they are the expressions of conflict between competing ideals. By recognizing this (the cause behind the broken parts in our past) we have finally arrived at a solution to the issue and worked towards it.

For the last two years we have refused to participate in the tug of war between raiders and defenders, or the jumprope regimen independents pursue. Experience showed us that such directions tend to lead only to the noose for our community, so we dropped all the cords of military gameplay into the fire.

It is our opinion that regions (outside of the warzones, which were made for the purpose) should not be fought over just for the sake of doing so, or in order to position oneself above another faction. Raiders want to have fun in destruction, and most defenders do their work merely to see the opposing side in defeat, but these interactions they exchange are not "healthy" gameplay activities as some would propose. In Lazarus we have borne witness to the parts both sides have played in leading to the destruction of our home. We have no interest in repeating the past, and would encourage others to forbear doing it either.

If we all spent our efforts on more productive things than promoting petty military alignments, NationStates gameplay would improve in quality.

Formerly wracked by coups, LazCorp only seeks peace to flourish in. And we know that one does not find peace by taking up a sword (especially not in the kind of wars this game provides for). The only correct option is to choose a Neutral path, without acceptance of those that choose to continue their brawling.

Neutrality has been likened to Francoism, but I'd like to further explain what it means to be Neutral so a better conclusion can be drawn. Neutral regions do not do military operations at the whim of its leaders like the Francoist NPO. LazCorp does not do military operations, period, outside of warzones, allies or unsavouries. Neutral regions do not infiltrate and manipulate other regions like the Francoist NPO. We were the victim of Francoism, the victim of fights between many military ideologies...

But we are choosing peace over conflict.

If you choose war, we won't try to stop you. Our path to the future is much more effective than any alleyway brute force would lead us down. LazCorp has established itself as the center of The Neutral Sphere, and our region of serenity will become a beacon of NationStates that I hope others will enter the light of in time.

If you want a better NationStates, start with where you are. Everyone else will follow when they realize they would rather be in what you're showcasing than anywhere else. With this in mind, we hope that our example as a Neutral region entices you to follow in our footsteps when you're ready.

Lazarus stands for peace. I hope you will as well.

Thank you for your suggestion Flanderlion. Unfortunately I don't have software that can accomplish that (I use an online image + sound = video converter that doesn't have any further complexity. If you have any advice on something else I could use without shelling out them dollahs I'd love to hear it though!

[Bormiar]

(Assuming this isn’t April Fools joke) You weren’t likened to Francoism because you’re neutral. You’re being likened to Francoism because you’re throwing out the other ideologies and condemning them. Does that not create conflict you’re trying to avoid?

[Fauxia]

Alienating every single one of your allies will not prevent a coup. Sed contra.

Congratulations to Lazarus on the most interesting gameplay policy I've ever seen.

Francoism is more interesting. This is merely the roleplayer retreat into "r/d bad" on a larger scale.

If you choose war, we won't try to stop you.

Didn’t you say in the broadcast that going forward the influence of the neutral sphere would be LazCorp’s"#1 Goal going forward?"

[Your Imaginary Friend]

If you choose war, we won't try to stop you.

Didn’t you say in the broadcast that going forward the influence of the neutral sphere would be LazCorp’s"#1 Goal going forward?"

And if you read the next line of my post, you will realize that there are more ways to expand influence than by bloodying one's hands, and that we have chosen them.

"Our path to the future is much more effective than any alleyway brute force would lead us down. LazCorp has established itself as the center of The Neutral Sphere, and our region of serenity will become a beacon of NationStates that I hope others will enter the light of in time."

(Assuming this isn’t April Fools joke) You weren’t likened to Francoism because you’re neutral. You’re being likened to Francoism because you’re throwing out the other ideologies and condemning them. Does that not create conflict you’re trying to avoid?

We're incomparable because Francoism sought to overthrow other ideologies via force where it could. We aint about that. We don't like r/d military ideologies, but we're not going to stoop to their level and fight them on their terms.

[LollerLand]

Thank you for your suggestion Flanderlion. Unfortunately I don't have software that can accomplish that (I use an online image + sound = video converter that doesn't have any further complexity. If you have any advice on something else I could use without shelling out them dollahs I'd love to hear it though!

Not going to comment on the snipped out wall of text, but for video editing I would personally recommend 'Shotcut', which is a free and simple yet feature-rich video editing software.

[Crab King]

The Crab King of the West Pacific enthusiastically approves of your move to neutrality, tepidly. We look forward to maintaining our strong but grey relations with you, as we feel the aims of the crabs falls within this covenant. The crabs wish merely to co-exist everywhere at once peacefully, and we are glad our ideology is taking root in our most important of mild acquaintances.

Hereforeth, the crabs wish to present a present to Lazarus as a show of :| to our friends.


Please accept this wooden horse. The clacking sound inside is meant to happen, and you can leave it near a gate or something.

The Crab King of the West Pacific, embodying the entire nation of Dilber at the moment.

[Your Imaginary Friend]

(Image)

The Crab King of the West Pacific enthusiastically approves of your move to neutrality, tepidly. We look forward to maintaining our strong but grey relations with you, as we feel the aims of the crabs falls within this covenant. The crabs wish merely to co-exist everywhere at once peacefully, and we are glad our ideology is taking root in our most important of mild acquaintances.

Hereforeth, the crabs wish to present a present to Lazarus as a show of :| to our friends.


Please accept this wooden horse. The clacking sound inside is meant to happen, and you can leave it near a gate or something.

The Crab King of the West Pacific, embodying the entire nation of Dilber at the moment.

Thank you for the gift, Crab King of the West Pacific. Our gameplay seers tell us that your generosity is a sign of further victories for The Neutral Sphere to come. We will bring this beautiful and intriguing horse of tree flesh into our regional art collection so all can view its splendor.

[Unibot III]

I’ll play along even if this is an April Fools joke because I think it’s an important point to raise:

It is our opinion that regions (outside of the warzones, which were made for the purpose) should not be fought over just for the sake of doing so, or in order to position oneself above another faction. Raiders want to have fun in destruction, and most defenders do their work merely to see the opposing side in defeat, but these interactions they exchange are not "healthy" gameplay activities as some would propose. In Lazarus we have borne witness to the parts both sides have played in leading to the destruction of our home. We have no interest in repeating the past, and would encourage others to forbear doing it either.

There is no way to oppose invaders effectively without taking practical defensive action. You can stomp your feet all you like, but invasions are only obstructed and challenged by the initiative of others. Nihilism results in inaction or accessory to subjugation.

Compartmentalizing defenders who work to stop region destruction and those who “just like to play the game” leads to the irrational conclusion that invading is a wrongdoing that cannot ethically be obstructed.

Lazarus would have received no external assistance if people hadn’t committed to liberating Lazarus. Lazarus has borne witness to the goodwill of others, and the dedication of their time and effort to free their community from subjugation. The main antagonists in Lazarene history have been *neutral players* from the New Pacific Order; ironically they identified military gameplayers as an extension of an exploitive class. Much of your rhetoric is borrowed from the New Pacific Order.

[Drop Your Pants]

The main antagonists in Lazarene history have been *neutral players* from the New Pacific Order;

Just to correct that, LWU have couped Laz at least twice in their history compared to TPs 1 time.

[Unibot III]

The main antagonists in Lazarene history have been *neutral players* from the New Pacific Order;

Just to correct that, LWU have couped Laz at least twice in their history compared to TPs 1 time.

I was also including the substantial entryism campaign by NPO officials that precipitated the Civil War. I’m obviously not going to disagree though that LWU has been an enemy of Lazarus on multiple occasions.

[Treadwellia]

Let us not speak of another coup for Lazarus. Pleeeease?

[The Church of Satan]

To be honest I think Lazarus' decision to be neutral in R/D is a good thing. It will allow the region to focus on itself instead of being concerned about which side in R/D it'll be a pawn for.

[Your Imaginary Friend]

(Image)

To be honest I think Lazarus' decision to be neutral in R/D is a good thing. It will allow the region to focus on itself instead of being concerned about which side in R/D it'll be a pawn for.

Lel, neutral hearts cannot be stolen by those that would do them harm. :)

Thanks for voicing your support CoS!

[New Rogernomics]

To be honest I think Lazarus' decision to be neutral in R/D is a good thing. It will allow the region to focus on itself instead of being concerned about which side in R/D it'll be a pawn for.

What makes anyone turn to the gray side...cookies.

[Treadwellia]

To be honest I think Lazarus' decision to be neutral in R/D is a good thing. It will allow the region to focus on itself instead of being concerned about which side in R/D it'll be a pawn for.

What makes anyone turn to the gray side...cookies.

Tubbius of Treadwellia loves cookies, and He had gray hair, once. . . .

Does that count for anything?

[Drop Your Pants]

Let us not speak of another coup for Lazarus. Pleeeease?

Could be worse, could be another theme change

[New Rogernomics]

Let us not speak of another coup for Lazarus. Pleeeease?

Could be worse, could be another theme change

Christian Doomsday Cult hasn't been tried yet.

[Ikania]

This is... incredibly interesting. Good luck? I've never seen a gameplay doctrine quite like this. Maybe it's for the best. I suppose time will tell.

[Flanderlion]

Thank you for your suggestion Flanderlion. Unfortunately I don't have software that can accomplish that (I use an online image + sound = video converter that doesn't have any further complexity. If you have any advice on something else I could use without shelling out them dollahs I'd love to hear it though!

Possibly just putting the timestamps of each in the video description or a comment on Youtube? It's not life or death or anything, but just making it more accessible.