OurLadyOfWires
Uh-oh, better hide those FOALS!
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Not caught up to thread. Won't answer pings now.
This post is specifically about "Priorities" for your Copper assault, since I believe that will be the centerpoint of this planning period.
This is a quick summary of my thoughts, so we can better align our language, and so you can know how I expect your assault team to interpret your orders, as well as how you all can expect your orders to be understood.
When it comes to Copper, you have a mixture of "very little intel", and "a lot of backing to make educated guesses". And that is because you have almost zero knowledge about her cult operations.
However, you DO have knowledge of how she was "taught" to operate a cult (since you were both advisors to the Master for a long time). And you also DID confirm that she has an "institution" of sorts, from your expedition to free Twilight.
After all, when freeing Twilight, you found an out-of-the-way warehouse, kept under constant guard, as well as indications that said place was "one of several" spots being used for shady business.
With that in mind, these are the "main points" that Velvet has in mind when planning this assault.
(This is all Velvet's own assumptions, but I believe it is the best way for us all to align our plans and thougts).
Copper's cult is composed of:
-"The Figurehead". Copper herself. The mare calling all the shots, and the figurative head of the snake. In your previous cult, this was the Master.
-"The Inner Circle". A group of unknown ponies who act as trusted lieutenants. You have no evidence that they exist, but this is an educated guess. This was you, and your companions, in the old cult.
-"The Outer Circle". The regular members. A mass of ponies of unknown size, but that comprise the cult as a whole. If you think of the saying that "a village is not a place, it's its people" then these are the people.
-"Infrastructure". The buildings, fronts, and whatever territory they hold. Manehattan is a city that has crime problems, so it is fair to assume Copper's cult has a presence (and thus "territory") in the city's underworld.
-"Resources". Bits, artifacts, sealed Windigos, and what have you. The stuff that can be stashed, moved, and stolen. And the stuff that can be evacuated during your attack, if you don't focus on getting to it. You assume any evidence they have on you would fall under this category.
-"Neighnia". Needs no introductions.
So, this might sounds like a lot of options, and a lot of moving pieces. And you are right, it IS a lot of stuff.
However, I am bringing this to your attention for two reasons.
First, you can't really destroy an entire cult in a single attack, that takes place in a single night. Even if you focus on one or two of those points, the other points might scatter and flee. It is disingenuous to expect a perfect and absolute victory.
(Or maybe it is. You are sending quite a few Names, after all. What do I know?)
Second, because if you think about it, removing any of those pieces would still cripple any cult. Kill Copper? They are lost. Kill the lieutenants? The cult can't be run. Frighten the flock? There is nopony left to order around. So on.
So, in short, I am presenting you with these "pieces" because this is how I think Velvet would "dissect" this problem.
However, you are not "forced" to use that terminology. And more importantly, you are still free to plan whatever you want. You can give orders to "capture" lieutenants. You can give orders to "frighten" the flock instead of killing them. You can give orders to torch however many cult buildings they find, and damn the fallout.
This is just me trying to explain how Velvet (and myself) thinks about this situation. And how your "priorities" might be interpreted when the assault finally happens.
I'll temporary threadmark this, because I hope it helps. But don't take this as an "order from QM" to use this terminology, or focus on these points.
Good day to us all.
This post is specifically about "Priorities" for your Copper assault, since I believe that will be the centerpoint of this planning period.
This is a quick summary of my thoughts, so we can better align our language, and so you can know how I expect your assault team to interpret your orders, as well as how you all can expect your orders to be understood.
When it comes to Copper, you have a mixture of "very little intel", and "a lot of backing to make educated guesses". And that is because you have almost zero knowledge about her cult operations.
However, you DO have knowledge of how she was "taught" to operate a cult (since you were both advisors to the Master for a long time). And you also DID confirm that she has an "institution" of sorts, from your expedition to free Twilight.
After all, when freeing Twilight, you found an out-of-the-way warehouse, kept under constant guard, as well as indications that said place was "one of several" spots being used for shady business.
With that in mind, these are the "main points" that Velvet has in mind when planning this assault.
(This is all Velvet's own assumptions, but I believe it is the best way for us all to align our plans and thougts).
Copper's cult is composed of:
-"The Figurehead". Copper herself. The mare calling all the shots, and the figurative head of the snake. In your previous cult, this was the Master.
-"The Inner Circle". A group of unknown ponies who act as trusted lieutenants. You have no evidence that they exist, but this is an educated guess. This was you, and your companions, in the old cult.
-"The Outer Circle". The regular members. A mass of ponies of unknown size, but that comprise the cult as a whole. If you think of the saying that "a village is not a place, it's its people" then these are the people.
-"Infrastructure". The buildings, fronts, and whatever territory they hold. Manehattan is a city that has crime problems, so it is fair to assume Copper's cult has a presence (and thus "territory") in the city's underworld.
-"Resources". Bits, artifacts, sealed Windigos, and what have you. The stuff that can be stashed, moved, and stolen. And the stuff that can be evacuated during your attack, if you don't focus on getting to it. You assume any evidence they have on you would fall under this category.
-"Neighnia". Needs no introductions.
So, this might sounds like a lot of options, and a lot of moving pieces. And you are right, it IS a lot of stuff.
However, I am bringing this to your attention for two reasons.
First, you can't really destroy an entire cult in a single attack, that takes place in a single night. Even if you focus on one or two of those points, the other points might scatter and flee. It is disingenuous to expect a perfect and absolute victory.
(Or maybe it is. You are sending quite a few Names, after all. What do I know?)
Second, because if you think about it, removing any of those pieces would still cripple any cult. Kill Copper? They are lost. Kill the lieutenants? The cult can't be run. Frighten the flock? There is nopony left to order around. So on.
So, in short, I am presenting you with these "pieces" because this is how I think Velvet would "dissect" this problem.
However, you are not "forced" to use that terminology. And more importantly, you are still free to plan whatever you want. You can give orders to "capture" lieutenants. You can give orders to "frighten" the flock instead of killing them. You can give orders to torch however many cult buildings they find, and damn the fallout.
This is just me trying to explain how Velvet (and myself) thinks about this situation. And how your "priorities" might be interpreted when the assault finally happens.
I'll temporary threadmark this, because I hope it helps. But don't take this as an "order from QM" to use this terminology, or focus on these points.
Good day to us all.
