25
Dispatch → Bulletin → News
by 
The Eternal Misfortune of Pencil Sharpeners 2.
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345 reads.
The End Game of the South Pacific
Alone in his kitchen, surrounded by empty beer bottles, Roavin lets out a choked sob.
“How did it come to this?” he whispers, “I thought… I thought this could never happen…” he collapses against the table, tears now flowing freely.
Five thousand miles away, Glen smoothly dons his dark red suit jacket, buttoning it up in front of the mirror, before heading over to his sunglasses rack.
“Hmm… which pair today? The poise of the classic black frames? The elegance of the frameless pair? Or maybe the bright green? Now that would be a statement…”
After much deliberation, Glen chooses to wear two pairs: a silver-framed number over the top of a blue-tinted pair, to symbolise power and style respectively, two things Glen has in abundance. He strides purposefully out the door, as he knows that he is one step closer to securing control over the region. He doesn’t want a Defender TSP, he wants a DeGlender TSP.
The year of 2016 was a time of great upheaval for the South Pacific. New delegate and prominent Glenemy Hileville had begun instituting a set of sweeping reforms of dubious legality, and a battle for the future of TSP was raging. However, within 2 short months, Hileville was gone and a Great Council had been called, with Glen now at its helm.
He did not have things all his own way, however. The prevailing attitude of TSP, as an independent region which stood above the Raider and Defender rivalry, did not lend itself to an unfettered Glen-based Charter. With his grasp on power delicate, Glen had to compromise, a word he still shudders at to this day. While he was able to write the bulk of what would become our Charter, it was not truly what he wanted. That was not possible at this stage, he knew he would have to wait.
Towards the end of the 2016 Great Council a new force would emerge in TSP politics, an energetic and charismatic figure called Roavin. Quickly gaining supporters in both TSP and the Defendersphere, Roavin would soon outshine Glen as the leading light of TSP’s political establishment.
This was exactly what Glen wanted.
Roavin would be useful to Glen. Their agreed stance on Defenderism, combined with Roavin’s likeable personality, would make it much easier to move the region’s military and foreign policy attitude in a Glen-friendly direction. Was Roavin ever an ally? Not really - he was a puppet, but Glen was very deft and subtle with how he pulled the strings. Roavin’s close connection to The Grey Wardens worried Glen, as there was a risk that TGW could overpower his influence in the region. Over the next few years, Glen would skilfully walk a thin tightrope, allowing and encouraging Roavin and his allies to move TSP closer and closer to Defenderism, while also preventing any high-profile Defendersphereites from gaining too much power within the region. Glen slowly backed off from public view, content to allow his plans to develop in the background. A new generation of TSPers would rise, consisting of some home-grown talent mixed with young and exciting Defenders from around the NationStatesverse. But Glen was always there. Watching. Waiting. Never losing his position as a voice of authority and respect, while rarely appearing too heavy-handed in his influence over the region.
The pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place. In 2019, TSP would officially become a Defender region. In 2021, long-time mischief-maker Cormac, a prominent international influencer and political opponent of Glen, would find himself unfortunately eradicated from this plane of existence. Glen’s path to power was becoming clearer by the day, but he would have to move fast. During a chaotic three months in which no minister completed their term, Glen saw his opportunity to strike, winning the MoFA special election after the resignation of Roavin. Now firmly back involved with TSP politics, Glen quickly utilised his reputation to gain allies among the new generation. Within three months of his return to power, a Great Council was called. Like 2016, Glen will be at the forefront, leveraging his experience to write the bulk of the new Charter. Unlike 2016, TSP is not a politically fractured and unstable region with an apprehension of moralist Defenderism. This time, the conditions are right, and Glen can shape the region exactly how he wants it. Publicly, he paints a picture of this being his last act before stepping back from the limelight of TSP politics for good, but in private, he knows that this is the closest he has ever got to absolute power. Soon, nobody will be able to stop him.
The sun shines down as Glen strides through the automatic doors of TSP’s government offices. He blows a kiss to the receptionist before entering the lift. Arriving at the top floor, he emerges to be greeted by two young politicians, both dressed in the same dark red suit as he is. Moon and HuSa believe that this is their time to shine, that they are Glen’s protégés and will lead TSP into a bright new future following the Great Council. This is not the case. They are puppets, just as Roavin was. A charismatic screen to cover the ever-strengthening DeGlenderism behind. They will be prominent until they are no longer useful, and then they will be disposed of, and will join Roavin in TSP’s alcoholic scrapheap of former political leaders. Soon, there will only be one.
There will only be Glen.
