Anu Drake Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 [color=#0000FF][b][size="5"]Darkly, Deeply, Beautifully[/size][/b][/color] [b]Something about the singing about the sky.[/b] [i][b]Warning:[/b] Boring historical information in first several paragraphs. If you just want to know what this announcement means, read the last two. [/i] North Atlantic Treaty Organization formed in June of 2006 and shortly thereafter became one of the first alliances to make the new sphere Aqua our home. With our close ties to MHA and generally good relations with the rest of the team, it was a great experience. We learned diplomacy and extended our influence through strong relationships. In Aqua's early days, the power hierarchy was yet to be established. NATO brought together other alliances on the team and held a security summit in the hopes of reaching some type of color NAP. Ancient history is ancient history, but for newer actors on the global scale, this project was a failure. With the crumbling of WUT, we were intent on continuing our close ties to MHA, Pacifica, Polaris and others and so entered the UJW. This entry broke two major treaties we had. One was with \m/, whom we felt justified in doing given their actions towards us in the previous two weeks; a recent influx of very intelligent \m/embers to NATO and a leadership that was unexpectedly torn apart. That justification was something we regretted afterward and has been the guilty driver of treaty-making since that war. The other treaty broken that night was our MADP with then-new to the sphere Mushroom Kingdom. The treaty itself was offered and signed by our side in the hopes that a new Aqua alliance that had just left GOONS (for the most part) and NATO's ties to Polaris might help ease the deepening WUT crisis. But the big boys were in charge of destiny and there was no GOONS peace. This meant either staying neutral or going against MK. We decided that the war was too big to see us staying out of it. As is the gentleman's agreement on the sphere, no Aqua alliance would fight another, so we ended up fighting GOONS and about five other smaller alliances. We broke our treaty with MK, but if we had been on the other side, we would have broken many more than two treaties. After the UJW there was the Continuum. Despite continuing strong relations with MHA and Fark in Trident, it was evident that our voice carried more weight in tC than it did in Trident. Superfriends was already at work dismantling the Hegemony, and had deemed us a troublemaker and stooge of Pacifica. Of course, we were, by their definitions. The reality from us was that we believed in the Continuum and felt it was the most important place to focus our small diplomatic resources. So again, sphere relations suffered. Then came Karma, and the utter PR failure of the mass cancellations. We were a vocal proponent of the idea, because we were all angry at Pacifica for their actions leading up to that war and wanted to send them a message, knowing that none of us were going to back out of fighting due to tC. But canceling a full 24 hours before attacking left a whole day of scorn and that led to being called members of the Coalition of Cowards. It was a war tactic that failed. We were always going to war (we've been in more than most of CN), but the name stuck as did our association with it. So that was a major setback. Being unprepared and getting out early because math is math and white peace is good didn't help our stature either. Finally there was the last war, where we declared via an optional aggression clause, and had TFD come along. We had other CBs that could have been used, but we chose this one. We could either hit an alliance in Superfriends, which contain the two Aqua alliances of Ragnarok (our former protectorate) and Fark; or we could hit someone in Complaints and Grievances, which contained Aqua alliances MK, =LOST= and Athens. We ended up attacking CnG - Federation of Buccaneers - and upheld our policy of never going to war with another Aqua alliance. We were declared on (rightfully so) by MK and Athens - plus Alchemy, DICE and Aloha - though MK and Athens gave us the same treatment we gave them in that it was only a forum war. Before this point, it had been becoming very clear to us where we were in relation to the rest of Aqua, and that many of our former friendships with the sphere were only shadows, or nonexistent, of what they used to be. This war was the nail in the coffin of Aqua relations for us. Given our efforts in the past year in attempting to regain some of these relationships, and failing, we have come to a point where we don't feel that we can gain any more traction with the sphere outside of the treaties we already hold. This isn't to say that things have been bad for us. NATO has a remarkable ability to stay the same small size, fight it out in wars then rebuild back to that same small size. We have a large number of members that devote a great deal of time and energy and fun to make the community enjoyable. Some stay and don't leave, some stay for a while and then leave, some come back; such is the life of any alliance. We are proud to say that we are the birthplace of so many alliances that are still around - NATO has always enjoyed having too many big fish in a very small pond, and so either by protection or by new alliances, part of our community is shared across the world. Some of our Aqua treaty partners, both past and present, were incredible friends at certain points in our relationships. We shed blood together, we worked as teams on coalitions. But other times the relationships have been cold and distant. We take some responsibility for this due to our friendships with alliances outside of the sphere for straining these relations. We have learned to base treaties on friendship and that is what we have done ever since the aftermath of UJW. We must now follow what we feel is the right path. [i]We lay no blame on any Aqua alliance for the degradation of our relationships and we wish only the best for the color, the sphere, the team that we called home for well over two years. [/i] [b]The membership of NATO has voted to join the team of our Blood Brothers and make our new home on the Blue sphere.[/b] [u]Signed,[/u] Anu Hakim Semi the Hard Hogosha Njero bigbull Lenny N Karl Joe Boo Jace Couture Aress Sumpwa BOOSHIFIED Mick Jones AtheistRepublican ZePear tommyknocker2121 Devo Analyzer bedeur asapilu Pollexter Tallon KING TOM Decius Brutus gstills22 Venom4Viper Warden Llama Farmer Iskander President Patton wentworth Sengala Ivan Danko Deep23 BillyAnderson Eleandrus Tony Blair and all the other NATOans... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogosha Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 NATO, now in a more awesome shade of [color="#0000FF"][b]BLUE[/b][/color]. [quote] You don't like the way we speak You don't like it when you lose You shouldn't be sad, don't get mad Or we're gonna teach you how to sing the blues You don't like the way we fight You don't have a clue You won't be great, but don't be late Or we're gonna teach you how to sing the blues You don't like the way we laugh At you and your retro shoes Don't be a heel, or an imbecile Or we're gonna teach you how to sing the blues -Motorhead[/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jace Couture Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 o/ NATO While we may never see Aqua's shores again, this move shall bring us to a new age. Forward into the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskander Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Onward and blueward we go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenny N Karl Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 I heart blue. onward to a new adventure in color o/ Blue good luck to you Aqua, you were a long time lover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Frontier Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Welcome to Blue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtheistRepublican Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Sad to leave Aqua after such a long history, but we look forward a great deal to our new adventure on Blue sphere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonewolfe2015 Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 (edited) Hmmm, this war has given a lot of people a new perspective on where their alliance should lay rest. Is this the revival of the importance of team spheres perhaps? E: Spelling fail. Edited March 23, 2010 by lonewolfe2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centurius Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Welcome to blue NATO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dev0win Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Woot! We've been turned smurf! o/ Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earogema Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 I must say that I am glad you remember the old \m/ treaty. Best of luck I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burnsey Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Good luck on Blue NATO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gopherbashi Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Welcome to blue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fallin Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Goodbye my friends. Like I've said in private, NATO will always have a special place in my heart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSelf Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 (edited) A real joy to have our brothers (and sisters) join us Welcome to the bounties of the deep blue, may you prosper in a new home. o/ NATO o/ NATO (for Cadie) Edited March 23, 2010 by The Iggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Cato Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Welcome to Blue guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Ubet Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Nice to see another alliance join the blue team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClashCityRocker Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Good luck with the move guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linden16 Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Welcome to Blue! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Wilson Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Oh. Um, welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dochartaigh Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 welcome to blue NATO. ya'll should swing by IAA forums if you need help setting up trade circles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Maximus Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Congrats on moving to blue. Snacks are to your left and the bathroom is down the hall, enjoy your stay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Fingolfin Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 (edited) Welcome. It'll be good to be on the same sphere as Atheist Rep and Hakim Edited March 23, 2010 by Lord Fingolfin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supercoolyellow Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 A classy announcement. Welcome to the party! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Blake Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Nice to have another alliance on blue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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