I have often found the internet to be an outlet for easy social commentary and indirect friendships. These are often found through either forums or social networking sites such as facebook or twitter. Not even I predicted that I would meet a plethora of new friends in a relationship that would slowly excel into a second family of sorts. I am talking of course about the nation building site called NationStates where you rule over a nation that has 2 daily political issues a day. I created and named my nation The United Broviet Federation of Nations. I found the way you resolve these issues either positively or negatively impact your nation in often over exaggerated ways. Upon coming to this assumption I also found out that NationStates encourages you to stay in game generated regions, make your own region, or join other regions that players created. I therefore, believing in dictatorship in all, joined a region called The Alliance of Dictators. Now I severed my ties with this region within a week of joining because they did not make me feel welcome and conversations could be considered dark, pessimistic, and even taboo. When I looked up the second most populated totalitarian region in the game I had no idea I would be greeted with new friends and acquaintances.
The second most populated totalitarian region happened to be a region called Black Mesa Islands (BMI). I was ignorant of the fact that an application called a Regional Message Board (RMB) allowed easy access to communication with the entire region and because of this I only talked with fellow nations through telegrams. It was due to this that I decided to leave and create my own region. What surprised me was that BMI's World Assembly (WA) delegate Johto and Kanto (J&K) telegrammed me and asked why I left and I told her (for the purpose of convenience I will be guessing the genders of my comrades in BMI I can't verify if I am right or not.) that I didn't feel like I was rising the rung of the power ladder fast enough. This was the first time I was introduced to a benevolent dictator that would soon become somewhat of a mentor to me. When my region wasn't raking in enough countries I decided to move back to BMI. At this time I had finally discovered the RMB and started communicating and collaborating with my comrades and co-conspirators.
I found that within 3 three days I was hooked to the creativity, authenticity, deplorability, and overtly hilarious shenanigans of my region mates and comrades that I rarely found moments to stop laughing. This relationship was summed up perfectly by WA delegate J&K when asked whether or not she remembered a specific day where we all had stayed up to near midnight she responded by saying, "We had a lot of days like that I can't possibly remember all of them."
I had found solace in the power and chemistry between region mates and as I was welcomed as part of the clan I couldn't help but ignore other aspects of the game and instead only logged on to talk to them. It was like a drug that improves your social life, makes you giggle, and consuming so much time that your left hungry afterwards…so yeah it was like marijuana. (Imagine several jokes like that on an hourly basis and you would have the RMB.) I loved every minute and completely ignorant of the tragedy to come.
In mid-July a nation came into BMI and harassed the occupants and even J&K the nation was called Darkfire Founder and I was petrified when he started harassing me. I tried desperately to stop him through insults and harassments of my own but it was futile in the end. In fact It was not me but the regions founder Viking Fjords (Viking) who got the final word in and banned and ejected (banjected) Darkfire. Well I felt as if this was not enough punishment and took it into my own hands a bad habit of mine I'm afraid. I found out he came from a region called the Shivering Isles where he so conveniently left his nations password on his RMB. Well when I told my region of the account hijacking they were less than impressed and rightfully so reported me to the game moderators and my nation was deleted. I ended up just creating a new one called the Reunited Broviet Federation of BMI (still Broviet). After this I knew that my region mates were loyal to something bigger than me and this caused me to respect them so much more than I thought possible.
To leave with a few words on social behaviors and traditions that I hope will compel the reader to seek out friendship in the unlikeliest of places. I found friends, confidents, comrades, brothers, sisters, mentors, and most of all benevolent dictators in BMI that have helped me get along with people in my life and have revived my faith in humanity. Without BMI I don't think I could have survived the pessimism and anguish I tend to have on a daily basis without resorting to a fallout addiction that could have been much more hazardous to my health. BMI as a whole has helped me deal with the pressures of everyday life caused most commonly by my fellow peers. I cannot rave enough about my region and how lovely and friendly everyone has been. I hope this has taught you that even the most unconventional of friendships can not only survive but thrive through the communion of comrades in even the least expected places.