i had initially planned to try and sync up my 4k with my 10 years on smogone milestone but sadly i am just too prolific a poster for that it seems...
presented below is an unposted (and unfinished!) thread directly from the smogon sandbox of yours trueley. it's from october of 2022, the year when i got far too into the whole people's mod thing (look it up if you'd like to cringe at an adult woman doing politics roleplay on a children's pokemon forum), and was going to be an exciteing new development in that saga. never got posted in the end, for a few reasons -- primarily i just never got round to doing it, but also it intersected with the onset of npn, which was going to impact the ability of key posters to reply to the thread in comic fashion (and once we hit december, certain references would have been more out of date than they already were.)
other relevant cultural references to point out: fairly recent big ashley namechange, ongoing u.k. cost of living crisis, smogoff death bingo getting orwelled, the ascension and subsequent resignation of liz truss, liz truss probably wearing a bdsm day collar in public, sports arena being (re?)absorbed into cong proper, dr. who turning into david tennant again.
i'd sent a screenshot of a fake dm to sijih for them to "leak" but nothing ever came of that -- for the best, really! quite glad i never posted this thread in the end lol. here's that screenshot:
and here's the thread in its unfinished form. i never made the rest of the imgs. if it's not clear (which tbf it may well not be), the thrust is that i was making a big speech about the Like economy being crap, fireing most of the Shadow Cabinet for transparently autocratic purposes, being shot by a cong-sent assassin (probably myzo), & regenerating into my current form. gets a bit strained in the second half (could've done with a redraft) but the idea's there...
My fellow Smogoffians, we find ourselves in dark and dire times. The economy has taken a mammoth hit following the Great Death Bingo Brouhaha - a strain it frankly did not need, already being weakened by the lasting impact of the pandemic and our financial aid for the brave heroes of the Sports Arena as they valiantly continue to fight against the annexation attempts of the Cong Federation.
In short: we are currently living through the Cost of Liking Crisis.
We have seen an exponential fall in the value of the Like, our normally-strong currency. I turn to the following graph:
I'm sure this makes the problem quite clear. To be exact: for the first time ever, the value of the Like has fallen below 1c (USD). This is bad. For reference, a little over a year ago, the exchange rate was 83 likes to £15 (GBP). I know I don't need to explain that conversion to you! Furthermore, as the Posting Point economy is backed by the Like, Posting Points are currently worth a little over a quarter of what they once were. Most damningly of all, the current religious exchange rate has dropped to 1 like = 0.34 prayers.
More seriously, the rapid decline of the Like has led to a crash in the TQI (Thread Quality Index) - something I'm sure hasn't escaped the notice of the ordinary Smogoffer! This has directly manifested itself in the form of low-quality threads on the front page of the subforum, with Posters simply unable to spare the economic capital necessary to Post well.
It is clear, then, that the ordinary Smogoffians need help. And that's where we, the Shadow Cabinet (alt: "The People's Ponces"), come in. Our beloved Shadow Chancellor of Reactions, shadowpea, will spearhead the rollout of several economic packages to support the populace through these unprecedentedly troubling times. He has already begun depositing stimulus Likes, in line with regular economic support measures, and this will continue to ramp up as this month goes on. We hope that this short-term investment, while creating an immediate forum-wide debt, will shore up the coffers of the hoi polloi for now - really, the economic burden will only be felt by the next administration!
Further, in order to allow us to catch up with the inflation rates of more likewhore-heavy fora, shadowpea and I will be redoubling our own personal Liking rates within the walls of Smogoff, whilst simultaneously withdrawing such investment from other parts of Smogon. This will go hand-in-hand with our new protectionist Imported Poster Tax, which will see users whose primary forum is not Smogoff paying a flat Like rate in order to Post here. In the same vein, Posts exported to other fora by moderators and the like must be paid for on arrival - this is a non-negotiable part of the new trade deal I am putting forward with my counterparts elsewhere.
Further, we will be entering into negotiations with the Smogoff mod team in order to sharpen up the TQI once more in the interim period until these measures begin to affect it; specific negotiations with each mod (i.e. shroomjak pics for Ivy, a phoot massage for phoopes, promises to sponsor Smogoff's Drag Race for dave, grass for Sijih) will be taking place in this regard.
However, we recognise that there are even more measures that can be taken. In order to cut costs even more, I will be removing many of my Shadow Ministers from their posts. This is purely for economic reasons; it will also make the implementation of the aforementioned aid packages more efficient. After all, when we Fired the Bot out of the a forum Union, did we not promise to cut red tape?
Now, allegations have begun to surface that this is merely an attempt on my part to remove undesirable elements from my cabinet. This is patently false! Nothing pains me more than to deprive these fine users of such a prestigious job, but this unfortunately must happen.
Allegations that this is a simple attempt to consolidate my "inner circle" are, similarly, foolish hearsay!
It is with much regret that I announce that the following users will be relieved of their Shadow Cabinet duties:
- BP - (former) Shadow Smogoff Defence Minister
- Slapperfish - (former) Shadow Ambassador to CAP
- Fishy - (former) Shadow Ambassador to Cong
- xzern - (former) Shadow Ambassador to Orange Islands
- earl - (former) Shadow Ambassador to Pet Mods
- Snak - (former) Shadow Ambassador to the Playpen
- PokeKids2 - (former) Deputy People's Moderator and Heir-In-Waiting
The new, streamlined (and ever-so-slightly reshuffled) Shadow Cabinet will therefore look as follows:
- BIG ASHLEY - People's Moderator
- shadowpea - Shadow Chancellor of Reactions
- monkfish - Postmaster
- faint - Shadow Ambassador to Inside Scoop, All Competitive Forums (inc. CAP, Pet Mods, Battle-By-Post, and Finch-Wrangling), and Liaison with Smogon Staff
- az - Shadow Minister With No Secret Role and Ambassador to the Orange Islands and Smeargle's Studio
- Albatross - Shadow Playpen Warden
[IMAGE: THE 6 OF OUR PFPS EDITED ONTO THE "FIVE HEADS OF COMMUNISM" PICTURE]
Some of these changes may seem a little odd - why has Albatross been shifted sideways? Well, in short, I believe that now more than ever, the Playpen need an especial focus, with an eye to bringing the TQI back up; who better to do this than a former child?
And regarding the abolition of the Deputy PM post - I feel that there is no need for such a role. My premiership remains as strong and stable (anyone else remember that?) as ever. Despite mounting calls, I will not resign - the people of this forum, on the whole, wish me to stay and carry out their mandate, and that is what I intend to do!
It is as important as it has ever been for Smogoff to unite behind one strong leader. I intend to be that leader for you.
Make no mistake - I will deliver. Claims to the contrary, already swirling, are nothing but enemy fabrications. And I would like to take this opportunity to reinforce my commitment to hold the PM Election next year on schedule - despite calls for it, I will not be holding it early. We must stand firm and embrace these challenges head-on - we can't afford the distraction of an election.
The other pledge I would like to reinforce is the one I have held most true to all along - my pledge to You, The People to serve Your Interests, and fight back against the influx of Congers, Orange Islanders, and Pokemon Players that threatens to overwhelm our forum.
Thank y-
[IMAGE: ASSASSIN - MIZU?]
[IMAGE: SOMEONE GETTING SHOT]
[IMAGE: ASSASSIN DRAGGED AWAY]
[IMAGE: JODIE WHITTAKER REGENERATING + BI-SHARP PFP HEAD]
[IMAGE: ODDISH HEAD ON LIZ TRUSS]
Oh!
New face. That's weird. And - hold on - a... girl?
Huh. Interesting. What's this necklace...?
Well. This is a turn-up for the books.
No, no. No need for a medic. Or even (heh) a doctor. You see, I'm a Post Lord - and we don't die. We regenerate.
So. My second incarnation. I think a new name is in order. Not Total Clefairy... BIG ASHLEY it is.
The First PM is gone. And in their place is the Second.
Don't worry. We're going to have lots of fun.
[IMAGE: JUBILANT TRUSS W ODDISH HEAD]
and there you have it! a look behind the curtain at a mercifully aborted addition to the saga of bashley takeing the whole pm thing a bit too far. that one kind of came back to bite me in this year's insufferable election campaign tho so all's well that ends well.
anyway that's my 4k i hope you like it. here's to the next 4,000 posts! and presumably the 20,000 after that also. see you in december for the 10-year special...
presented below is an unposted (and unfinished!) thread directly from the smogon sandbox of yours trueley. it's from october of 2022, the year when i got far too into the whole people's mod thing (look it up if you'd like to cringe at an adult woman doing politics roleplay on a children's pokemon forum), and was going to be an exciteing new development in that saga. never got posted in the end, for a few reasons -- primarily i just never got round to doing it, but also it intersected with the onset of npn, which was going to impact the ability of key posters to reply to the thread in comic fashion (and once we hit december, certain references would have been more out of date than they already were.)
other relevant cultural references to point out: fairly recent big ashley namechange, ongoing u.k. cost of living crisis, smogoff death bingo getting orwelled, the ascension and subsequent resignation of liz truss, liz truss probably wearing a bdsm day collar in public, sports arena being (re?)absorbed into cong proper, dr. who turning into david tennant again.
i'd sent a screenshot of a fake dm to sijih for them to "leak" but nothing ever came of that -- for the best, really! quite glad i never posted this thread in the end lol. here's that screenshot:
and here's the thread in its unfinished form. i never made the rest of the imgs. if it's not clear (which tbf it may well not be), the thrust is that i was making a big speech about the Like economy being crap, fireing most of the Shadow Cabinet for transparently autocratic purposes, being shot by a cong-sent assassin (probably myzo), & regenerating into my current form. gets a bit strained in the second half (could've done with a redraft) but the idea's there...
SHADOW CABINET UPDATE (important - please read!)
My fellow Smogoffians, we find ourselves in dark and dire times. The economy has taken a mammoth hit following the Great Death Bingo Brouhaha - a strain it frankly did not need, already being weakened by the lasting impact of the pandemic and our financial aid for the brave heroes of the Sports Arena as they valiantly continue to fight against the annexation attempts of the Cong Federation.
In short: we are currently living through the Cost of Liking Crisis.
We have seen an exponential fall in the value of the Like, our normally-strong currency. I turn to the following graph:
I'm sure this makes the problem quite clear. To be exact: for the first time ever, the value of the Like has fallen below 1c (USD). This is bad. For reference, a little over a year ago, the exchange rate was 83 likes to £15 (GBP). I know I don't need to explain that conversion to you! Furthermore, as the Posting Point economy is backed by the Like, Posting Points are currently worth a little over a quarter of what they once were. Most damningly of all, the current religious exchange rate has dropped to 1 like = 0.34 prayers.
More seriously, the rapid decline of the Like has led to a crash in the TQI (Thread Quality Index) - something I'm sure hasn't escaped the notice of the ordinary Smogoffer! This has directly manifested itself in the form of low-quality threads on the front page of the subforum, with Posters simply unable to spare the economic capital necessary to Post well.
It is clear, then, that the ordinary Smogoffians need help. And that's where we, the Shadow Cabinet (alt: "The People's Ponces"), come in. Our beloved Shadow Chancellor of Reactions, shadowpea, will spearhead the rollout of several economic packages to support the populace through these unprecedentedly troubling times. He has already begun depositing stimulus Likes, in line with regular economic support measures, and this will continue to ramp up as this month goes on. We hope that this short-term investment, while creating an immediate forum-wide debt, will shore up the coffers of the hoi polloi for now - really, the economic burden will only be felt by the next administration!
Further, in order to allow us to catch up with the inflation rates of more likewhore-heavy fora, shadowpea and I will be redoubling our own personal Liking rates within the walls of Smogoff, whilst simultaneously withdrawing such investment from other parts of Smogon. This will go hand-in-hand with our new protectionist Imported Poster Tax, which will see users whose primary forum is not Smogoff paying a flat Like rate in order to Post here. In the same vein, Posts exported to other fora by moderators and the like must be paid for on arrival - this is a non-negotiable part of the new trade deal I am putting forward with my counterparts elsewhere.
Further, we will be entering into negotiations with the Smogoff mod team in order to sharpen up the TQI once more in the interim period until these measures begin to affect it; specific negotiations with each mod (i.e. shroomjak pics for Ivy, a phoot massage for phoopes, promises to sponsor Smogoff's Drag Race for dave, grass for Sijih) will be taking place in this regard.
However, we recognise that there are even more measures that can be taken. In order to cut costs even more, I will be removing many of my Shadow Ministers from their posts. This is purely for economic reasons; it will also make the implementation of the aforementioned aid packages more efficient. After all, when we Fired the Bot out of the a forum Union, did we not promise to cut red tape?
Now, allegations have begun to surface that this is merely an attempt on my part to remove undesirable elements from my cabinet. This is patently false! Nothing pains me more than to deprive these fine users of such a prestigious job, but this unfortunately must happen.
Allegations that this is a simple attempt to consolidate my "inner circle" are, similarly, foolish hearsay!
It is with much regret that I announce that the following users will be relieved of their Shadow Cabinet duties:
- BP - (former) Shadow Smogoff Defence Minister
- Slapperfish - (former) Shadow Ambassador to CAP
- Fishy - (former) Shadow Ambassador to Cong
- xzern - (former) Shadow Ambassador to Orange Islands
- earl - (former) Shadow Ambassador to Pet Mods
- Snak - (former) Shadow Ambassador to the Playpen
- PokeKids2 - (former) Deputy People's Moderator and Heir-In-Waiting
The new, streamlined (and ever-so-slightly reshuffled) Shadow Cabinet will therefore look as follows:
- BIG ASHLEY - People's Moderator
- shadowpea - Shadow Chancellor of Reactions
- monkfish - Postmaster
- faint - Shadow Ambassador to Inside Scoop, All Competitive Forums (inc. CAP, Pet Mods, Battle-By-Post, and Finch-Wrangling), and Liaison with Smogon Staff
- az - Shadow Minister With No Secret Role and Ambassador to the Orange Islands and Smeargle's Studio
- Albatross - Shadow Playpen Warden
[IMAGE: THE 6 OF OUR PFPS EDITED ONTO THE "FIVE HEADS OF COMMUNISM" PICTURE]
Some of these changes may seem a little odd - why has Albatross been shifted sideways? Well, in short, I believe that now more than ever, the Playpen need an especial focus, with an eye to bringing the TQI back up; who better to do this than a former child?
And regarding the abolition of the Deputy PM post - I feel that there is no need for such a role. My premiership remains as strong and stable (anyone else remember that?) as ever. Despite mounting calls, I will not resign - the people of this forum, on the whole, wish me to stay and carry out their mandate, and that is what I intend to do!
It is as important as it has ever been for Smogoff to unite behind one strong leader. I intend to be that leader for you.
Make no mistake - I will deliver. Claims to the contrary, already swirling, are nothing but enemy fabrications. And I would like to take this opportunity to reinforce my commitment to hold the PM Election next year on schedule - despite calls for it, I will not be holding it early. We must stand firm and embrace these challenges head-on - we can't afford the distraction of an election.
The other pledge I would like to reinforce is the one I have held most true to all along - my pledge to You, The People to serve Your Interests, and fight back against the influx of Congers, Orange Islanders, and Pokemon Players that threatens to overwhelm our forum.
Thank y-
[IMAGE: ASSASSIN - MIZU?]
[IMAGE: SOMEONE GETTING SHOT]
[IMAGE: ASSASSIN DRAGGED AWAY]
[IMAGE: JODIE WHITTAKER REGENERATING + BI-SHARP PFP HEAD]
[IMAGE: ODDISH HEAD ON LIZ TRUSS]
Oh!
New face. That's weird. And - hold on - a... girl?
Huh. Interesting. What's this necklace...?
Well. This is a turn-up for the books.
No, no. No need for a medic. Or even (heh) a doctor. You see, I'm a Post Lord - and we don't die. We regenerate.
So. My second incarnation. I think a new name is in order. Not Total Clefairy... BIG ASHLEY it is.
The First PM is gone. And in their place is the Second.
Don't worry. We're going to have lots of fun.
[IMAGE: JUBILANT TRUSS W ODDISH HEAD]
and there you have it! a look behind the curtain at a mercifully aborted addition to the saga of bashley takeing the whole pm thing a bit too far. that one kind of came back to bite me in this year's insufferable election campaign tho so all's well that ends well.
anyway that's my 4k i hope you like it. here's to the next 4,000 posts! and presumably the 20,000 after that also. see you in december for the 10-year special...
