sugarvalves [1963573] —
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Find out the leaked details of the union between Relentless and Mentos and Cola. Read on to hear how one brave reporter was targeted as a result of his inquiries. Relentos Pepsi proposed as new name.
The Torn City Times can confirm that the rumours of a merger between Relentless and Mentos and Cola are true. In an incredibly brief interview with Relentless' leader Hank, the Torn City Times was given the following comment:
"It’s not over the line yet, once it is we will hype it via the newspaper."
No, you won't.
TIMES JOURNALIST TARGETED
In a brutal act of journalistic oppression, Torn City Times reporter Aaassh has been slapped with a slew of bounties for simply asking the wrong questions. Earlier this week, I asked a number of my reporters to investigate the Relentless - MnC merger to see if any further information could be found. Their efforts were successful, and you will find details of the merger later on in this article. But given that the joining of two of Torn's most notable factions is a major news event, it would have been remiss of me if I were to simply wait for the leaders to send out their press statements.
In response, a number of Relentless goons, including their leader Hank, have slapped Aaassh with $500k bounties. Aaassh has not complained about this, but I cannot stand by and allow one of my reporters to be targeted for doing something I asked. I've also heard thatRelentless Mentos and Cola have begun targeting the Little Stompers faction too, because apparently, Relentless gets to decide when they make the news or not.
That is obviously not the case. Factions do not dictate how or when they may appear in the press - especially when the info has been leaked already - and the Torn City Times will not tolerate the abuse of its reporting staff. Relations between the TCT and Relentless have been sour in recent years, but they uncurdled slightly when Hank gave a full and frank interview to the TCT earlier in the year. Consider these relations all curdled again, and not in a good way like yoghurt.
Relentless have broken no rules by bountying one of my journalists, as the role of reporter is something of a grey area, with those who hold such a title not protected from abuse in the same way that staff are. That being said, there are many grey areas in Torn, and it is perhaps in such places that a solution will be found should the bounties continue.
Although as you're about to find out, Relentless may wish to save their money to bounty one of their own.
MERGER DETAILS
Earlier this week, an anonymous member of Relentless provided us with a newsletter sent out by R's leadership team which outlines their reasons for the forthcoming merger. The document can be seen in full here, but the key takeaways are as follows:
Another interesting fact gained from the newsletter is that Chain Reaction and Forged Through War were approached by Relentless regarding a union, but both offers were rejected. In the newsletter, Mentos were then described as an "active, outspoken, aggressive, and member-owned faction...". This appears to be an attempt at assuaging their members' fears over Mentos' reputation, and a similar effort can be seen in entry five in their Question and Answer section.
5. Mentos have a history on Torn of being 'Scum', how will this merge work?
Mentos leadership don't act like this on the game, and the behavior is limited to some of their members. We expect they will shape up and evolve to the new required standards or move on. I also expect to be able to manage their trolling on the forums."
I have also gained a copy of the new factions' rules of conduct. You can read this here.
WHY THE SECRECY?
Now we know the details of the merger, I'm curious as to why there's so much secrecy surrounding the whole thing? It seems like a bog-standard merger to me, and yet Relentless are acting as if we've caught them doing something illegal... again.
The attacks on Aaashh aren't the only form of news suppression being conducted at the moment either. Z_junior of JFK has even gotten involved, telling one of his faction members, a TCT reporter, to avoid writing an article about this merger before it happens.This means that Relentless and JFK have communicated regarding this merger. Make of that what you will. We have been reliably informed that Z_junior is close to MnC, so it is more likely that this request for silence came from their side, rather than Relentless.
But why are Relentless engaging in an aggressive attempt to suppress this news? And by all accounts, it is Relentless doing it. Mentos and Cola members have been tight-lipped about the merger too, but none of their members have attempted to silence the press. So what do Relentless specifically have to gain from trying to keep this information under wraps?
At the moment, I cannot answer that question. All I can do is pose another interesting query, which is to ask why Natural Selection members have joined in with Relentless' bountying campaign. The relationship between R and NS has never been good, so why have Finally of NS III and Anath3ma of NS IV targeted our journalist? Members of Helvete were obviously among those who paid for hits on Aaassh, but so were members of PT-Ironhearts, 31st Assassination Corps, and Honey Badgers Medical.
Does this hint at where this new megafaction's allegiances will lie? Apparently not, according to one of the bountiers.
"Your article is a bit off at the start, I'm in helvete and we were never asked to bounty your reporter. I do bounties for a bounty service and it was simply one of the contracts, I personally had never heard of the player and the bounties are just business. Probably rings true for many who bountied your person."
The bounty service that has been used to target our reporter is called Bounty Depot, and is apparently run by LarryStooge. Nevertheless, I reached out to Stretch of NS to answer questions regarding his members' conduct, and he replied with the following:
"I had not heard about the bounties thing, seems silly and not really appropriate."
Natural Selection's relationship with Mentos is friendly, so you can understand why some of their members may have acted in this way. But is it friendly enough to withstand a union between Mentos and Relentless? One of our anonymous sources doesn't think so.
"Obviously the biggest question here is where does this leave NS? The faction that farmed and has continued to farm respect for Mentos. Was this simply out of retribution only? Last I checked, Relentless and NS aren’t really friends. Are NS and Mentos breaking up for good?"
An interesting question indeed. One of our readers informed me that several NS members even went over to Mentos to help rebuild their respect after the recent DB attacks. They went on to say that these members were not guesting, and appear to have made permanent moves over to Mentos. Whether they will stay there given the recent news I do not know.
Perhaps this is the reason why Relentless wanted to remain quiet about the merger. Were they hoping that NS would plump up their little Mentos-flavoured chicken before they took it for themselves?
Stretch told the Times that he thinks competition in Torn is important, and that a megamerger like this should be interesting to see come together. But how does he feel about Mentos and Relentless buddying up?
"I don't think this means an end to relations with Mentos and things with R have been more amicable in recent months. You never close a door because of history."
It's also going to be fascinating to see how the merger plays out for the members of Relentless and MnC's subfactions. As we learned earlier from the leaked newsletter, members of Relentless will be asked to make way for their stronger MnC counterparts if the merger goes through. My source has a feeling that this will not go down well.
"I would love to be a fly on the wall when Relentless tells dedicated, mid-low tiered stat members they have to move to a sub to make room for realist and Mentos."
My second source agrees with this comment:
"I imagine some people will be unhappy not to make the cut in the main and head for the exit door, whilst others will leave because they are not happy with the merge. That is to be expected in a huge merger like this, particularly when the two factions are not really from the same side of the line in the sand!"
WHAT NEXT?
In terms of territories, Mentos are in possession of 17 blocks on the east side of the city, with their holdings situated in Sector 1 along the coastline to the north of the bridge. Relentless also holds 17 blocks on the east side, but they can be found slightly further north on the border of Sectors 3 and 4, just outside the Casino. Whether these two sides will attempt to consolidate their territories in the same region we do not know, but if they do, you have to imagine it is MnC who will be asked to move.
The merging of these two factions overall makes a lot of sense, with R now well and truly on their way back following their defeat by JFK in February, and Mentos remaining an active and powerful outfit that has proven they can survive multiple Dirty Bomb strikes and emerge from the other side. However, the way Relentless has conducted themselves leads me to believe that the negotiations over their potential partnership with MnC may be on a knife-edge.
My source tells me that this is far from true, with most of the particulars agreed upon, and only the rosters to be decided.
"The merge is pretty much done and dusted. They are at the stage of discussing who the 100 will be for main... It is a fascinating merger to see. It will create a true superpower faction but I am interested to see how the two cultures mesh together. Mentos' scum squad teaming up with the analytical robots at R is not something I expected to see!"
"But if it does get over the line, this is a faction that will have a lot of ability. Some huge stats, some big NW players who are starting to pump up into the huge stat range, and some crazy activity. They will be a force to be reckoned with."
"Also, I am calling them Relentos Pepsi if you need a placeholder name."
UPDATE: Relentless leaders continue to threaten Torn City Times staff
"It’s not over the line yet, once it is we will hype it via the newspaper."
No, you won't.
TIMES JOURNALIST TARGETED
In a brutal act of journalistic oppression, Torn City Times reporter Aaassh has been slapped with a slew of bounties for simply asking the wrong questions. Earlier this week, I asked a number of my reporters to investigate the Relentless - MnC merger to see if any further information could be found. Their efforts were successful, and you will find details of the merger later on in this article. But given that the joining of two of Torn's most notable factions is a major news event, it would have been remiss of me if I were to simply wait for the leaders to send out their press statements.
In response, a number of Relentless goons, including their leader Hank, have slapped Aaassh with $500k bounties. Aaassh has not complained about this, but I cannot stand by and allow one of my reporters to be targeted for doing something I asked. I've also heard that
That is obviously not the case. Factions do not dictate how or when they may appear in the press - especially when the info has been leaked already - and the Torn City Times will not tolerate the abuse of its reporting staff. Relations between the TCT and Relentless have been sour in recent years, but they uncurdled slightly when Hank gave a full and frank interview to the TCT earlier in the year. Consider these relations all curdled again, and not in a good way like yoghurt.
Relentless have broken no rules by bountying one of my journalists, as the role of reporter is something of a grey area, with those who hold such a title not protected from abuse in the same way that staff are. That being said, there are many grey areas in Torn, and it is perhaps in such places that a solution will be found should the bounties continue.
Although as you're about to find out, Relentless may wish to save their money to bounty one of their own.
MERGER DETAILS
Earlier this week, an anonymous member of Relentless provided us with a newsletter sent out by R's leadership team which outlines their reasons for the forthcoming merger. The document can be seen in full here, but the key takeaways are as follows:
- Relentless will be the main, Mentos second, Helvete third
- Hank will lead the new main. Mentos members to be integrated across leadership positions
- High-stat members of Mentos and Cola will shift to Relentless, lower-statted members of Relentless will have to move
- The merger will take place by the end of the month
- The names of Relentless and Mentos are likely to change
Another interesting fact gained from the newsletter is that Chain Reaction and Forged Through War were approached by Relentless regarding a union, but both offers were rejected. In the newsletter, Mentos were then described as an "active, outspoken, aggressive, and member-owned faction...". This appears to be an attempt at assuaging their members' fears over Mentos' reputation, and a similar effort can be seen in entry five in their Question and Answer section.
5. Mentos have a history on Torn of being 'Scum', how will this merge work?
Mentos leadership don't act like this on the game, and the behavior is limited to some of their members. We expect they will shape up and evolve to the new required standards or move on. I also expect to be able to manage their trolling on the forums."
I have also gained a copy of the new factions' rules of conduct. You can read this here.
WHY THE SECRECY?
Now we know the details of the merger, I'm curious as to why there's so much secrecy surrounding the whole thing? It seems like a bog-standard merger to me, and yet Relentless are acting as if we've caught them doing something illegal... again.
The attacks on Aaashh aren't the only form of news suppression being conducted at the moment either. Z_junior of JFK has even gotten involved, telling one of his faction members, a TCT reporter, to avoid writing an article about this merger before it happens.
But why are Relentless engaging in an aggressive attempt to suppress this news? And by all accounts, it is Relentless doing it. Mentos and Cola members have been tight-lipped about the merger too, but none of their members have attempted to silence the press. So what do Relentless specifically have to gain from trying to keep this information under wraps?
At the moment, I cannot answer that question. All I can do is pose another interesting query, which is to ask why Natural Selection members have joined in with Relentless' bountying campaign. The relationship between R and NS has never been good, so why have Finally of NS III and Anath3ma of NS IV targeted our journalist? Members of Helvete were obviously among those who paid for hits on Aaassh, but so were members of PT-Ironhearts, 31st Assassination Corps, and Honey Badgers Medical.
Does this hint at where this new megafaction's allegiances will lie? Apparently not, according to one of the bountiers.
"Your article is a bit off at the start, I'm in helvete and we were never asked to bounty your reporter. I do bounties for a bounty service and it was simply one of the contracts, I personally had never heard of the player and the bounties are just business. Probably rings true for many who bountied your person."
The bounty service that has been used to target our reporter is called Bounty Depot, and is apparently run by LarryStooge. Nevertheless, I reached out to Stretch of NS to answer questions regarding his members' conduct, and he replied with the following:
"I had not heard about the bounties thing, seems silly and not really appropriate."
Natural Selection's relationship with Mentos is friendly, so you can understand why some of their members may have acted in this way. But is it friendly enough to withstand a union between Mentos and Relentless? One of our anonymous sources doesn't think so.
"Obviously the biggest question here is where does this leave NS? The faction that farmed and has continued to farm respect for Mentos. Was this simply out of retribution only? Last I checked, Relentless and NS aren’t really friends. Are NS and Mentos breaking up for good?"
An interesting question indeed. One of our readers informed me that several NS members even went over to Mentos to help rebuild their respect after the recent DB attacks. They went on to say that these members were not guesting, and appear to have made permanent moves over to Mentos. Whether they will stay there given the recent news I do not know.
Perhaps this is the reason why Relentless wanted to remain quiet about the merger. Were they hoping that NS would plump up their little Mentos-flavoured chicken before they took it for themselves?
Stretch told the Times that he thinks competition in Torn is important, and that a megamerger like this should be interesting to see come together. But how does he feel about Mentos and Relentless buddying up?
"I don't think this means an end to relations with Mentos and things with R have been more amicable in recent months. You never close a door because of history."
It's also going to be fascinating to see how the merger plays out for the members of Relentless and MnC's subfactions. As we learned earlier from the leaked newsletter, members of Relentless will be asked to make way for their stronger MnC counterparts if the merger goes through. My source has a feeling that this will not go down well.
"I would love to be a fly on the wall when Relentless tells dedicated, mid-low tiered stat members they have to move to a sub to make room for realist and Mentos."
My second source agrees with this comment:
"I imagine some people will be unhappy not to make the cut in the main and head for the exit door, whilst others will leave because they are not happy with the merge. That is to be expected in a huge merger like this, particularly when the two factions are not really from the same side of the line in the sand!"
WHAT NEXT?
In terms of territories, Mentos are in possession of 17 blocks on the east side of the city, with their holdings situated in Sector 1 along the coastline to the north of the bridge. Relentless also holds 17 blocks on the east side, but they can be found slightly further north on the border of Sectors 3 and 4, just outside the Casino. Whether these two sides will attempt to consolidate their territories in the same region we do not know, but if they do, you have to imagine it is MnC who will be asked to move.
The merging of these two factions overall makes a lot of sense, with R now well and truly on their way back following their defeat by JFK in February, and Mentos remaining an active and powerful outfit that has proven they can survive multiple Dirty Bomb strikes and emerge from the other side. However, the way Relentless has conducted themselves leads me to believe that the negotiations over their potential partnership with MnC may be on a knife-edge.
My source tells me that this is far from true, with most of the particulars agreed upon, and only the rosters to be decided.
"The merge is pretty much done and dusted. They are at the stage of discussing who the 100 will be for main... It is a fascinating merger to see. It will create a true superpower faction but I am interested to see how the two cultures mesh together. Mentos' scum squad teaming up with the analytical robots at R is not something I expected to see!"
"But if it does get over the line, this is a faction that will have a lot of ability. Some huge stats, some big NW players who are starting to pump up into the huge stat range, and some crazy activity. They will be a force to be reckoned with."
"Also, I am calling them Relentos Pepsi if you need a placeholder name."
UPDATE: Relentless leaders continue to threaten Torn City Times staff
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