I must agree with Beff, and confess my own oneupmanship tendencies.
The crusade was meant to stir up activity at TRF again, engage in some fights with all the fun of not caring if we win or lose. Even with this goal in mind, however, the urge to overpower the person you're writing against has ruined more threads than I've ever read. It gets to the point that if you're NOT throwing a doomsday Force power out of your ass, or hurling a legion of super soldiers into the fray, then it honestly looks like you should be dead right then and there.
This has seriously marred the quality of the writing, the story, and the thread as a whole, and I think if we want to finish it in anything resembling a respectable manner we'll have to change our ways. Maybe if we'd sought moderation from the start things would be different, but that might as well be Omnae writing the thread for us since I can't imagine anyone (myself included) could make a fair appraisal of our abilities for this fight. Everyone seems to have a justification for their actions that sounds obvious to them but silly to everyone else.
Beff, I really would like to get into communication with you as soon as possible. If you're not available I'll try PMs. Failing that I'll think of something. Perhaps a change of tact is in order for the remainder of this story to try and salvage its' value from the risk of spiralling off into chaos and bickering.
To retcon is to change the facts after the fact. Such as saying, "Oh, I was here all along, just waiting and I'm only now posting and acting on that fact because it suits me."
C'mon. You were there the whole time, eh? But no precursor to your appearances where offered save your "BAM!, HERE I AM ASSHOLES!"
I think, Beff, that you're possibly being a shade harsh on yourself and some of the others involved in the thread. The writing so far on BOTH sides (in my opinion) is of a pretty high quality - and now that we're all aware of what's happening, we can ensure it stays at that level.
That said,
When you've got a fleeting thread, the major thing is the size of your....battle fleet, which you can argue with at least a semblance of logic. For Force users, appearing to be powerful and all-knowing is the major thing (even more so for Sith). You never see a Sith talking normally in the films. They're always with the "It is all proceeding as I have foreseen".
Can you imagine what the Emperor would be like if he said "Well, it might do this. I'm not totally sure."? Or "Ahhh, I'm off duty. Pass the pork scratchings.". It'd be ridiculous, and totally not fitting with the character. So that's it - appearing to know everything and being ready for everything is a key part of a Sith.
If a Sith gets one-upped or taken by surprise (as it were), or even overpowered by sheer force with no way of saying "I meant this to happen." or then you have done a LOT of damage to that character by removing the aura of omniscience that makes a Sith a Sith. That's not to say that a Sith can't be beaten, of course, just to suggest that it's not going to be easy - the author won't let it happen without a fight - and tensions ARE going to run high - that's noone's fault.
That's the key thing really, I think. Attacking the Sith on their home turf is like walking into a bar in the roughest area of town, smashing a bottle on the bar and shouting something offensive about the patrons' mothers.
I'm sure I was going somewhere more interesting with this, but I've got a train to catch. Basically, I'm sure it's noone's fault - the writing is damned good and interesting, and I look forward to reading what dastardly tactics the Crusade is going to try next. There are certainly no hard feelings from me.
Brohiem, I really hope we're all okay. I was just as uncool with it then, but I didn't feel like I could say anything. And then I saw it.
I just really, really needed to get that off my chest. No harm done? We move, we adapt... or the Jedi catch up.
Ithron... you're probably correct in your assessment. It was, I felt, a valid commentary on what's happening. That said, if the blob could multiply itself exponentially, what road do we continue down if no one points at the map and wonders why the road got all bumpy.
Ithron, I see what you're saying but I don't really think that's Beff's point. Of course through the course of battle there's going to be some type of one-up-manship, which is fine depending on how it manifests. If it results in superior or surprise tactics that's one thing, but in some of these cases it's resulting in absolutely ridiculous force powers that are completely unrealistic.
A Sith "exploding" killing untold amounts of people only to go to Sith "Heaven" and meet Darth Bane? I mean come on... of course there's going to be the natural escalation of matters but it has to end in realism. What's next? Someone using the force to put the moon on a crash course with the planet you're fighting on causing untold chaos?
I believe that's Beff's point. In the natural course of events the writers were so focused on "beating" each other that they might not have realized how far they were taking it. And Beff admitted that he was just as guilty as anyone else. If that's not what you were driving at Beff, then fuck you.
Of course we're OK man, as if something like this is going to change anything!
But i do have to wonder what it is that made you think you couldn't tell me then? I am a little peeved, simply because a 'hey fucker, no dice!' then, would have saved all this effort. Remember, i'm lazy. Because of this i'm not likely to rewrite a post, whereas the heads up approach means i never make the mistake in the first place.
Also, realistically had i not been present on planet for the attack, i would not have been here at all. Based on those same disputed grounds of realism, if i wasn't here, i would either be on Corellia or Naboo, therefore unable to attend your big bash until the tail end of the after party.
So now, baring all other crap, the question remains...
