Introduction
The following article is the result of two months of undercover reporting. The reporter involved asked for total anonymity. What follows is their account of their time with the Blue Shell Brigade. The Blue Shell Brigade have been called terrorists, heroes, a nuisance, and a necessity. Whatever they are to you, you probably benefitted from their actions without even knowing it. This is the story that the reporter wanted to be told without bias.
The Introduction
The first piece of communication came in the form of a post on r/socialistgaming with a link to the page www.bsb.org and the following text
Equality and Justice. One Shell At A Time
We have watched for far too long. We see as the rich get richer. Collecting cois, power ups, and “wins” while the rest of us are forced to fight for what’s left. You think that you deserve to win because of your skill. We know that most of it is luck. You think that first place is permanent. We know it is temporary. And, we intend to prove this to you.
We are the Blue Shell Brigade. We know that the current system is broken. While the elites celebrate in their ivory towers, the rest of us are expected to be happy with the points they leave behind. We are forced to wait for a mistake, a miracle, or a randomly alloted banana peel. Miracles are few and far between. Mistakes aren’t regular enough. And banana peels are the tool of them. They only work on your comrades, the ones behind you. The ones ahead of you believe themselves to be untouchable. In many ways, they are. Unless we touch them.
We are the Blue Shell Brigade. We are not random. Instead, we strike with purpose. With a keen eye and a ear to the ground, we watch and listen. When someone startes to benefit too much from this system, we step in.Some mistake our actions for violence. But, the Blue Shell is not a weapon. It is a correction. The Blue Shell reminds us that first place is temporary and victory is not guaranteed.
Our Mission
We leave the noobs who finally gain first place after 20 races. We ignore the younger brothers and children who defeat their siblings or parents, whether legitimate or not. If you earn your place through skill and determination, worry not. However, to the billionaire who buys his way to the front or the player that never looks back. Be on the lookout. We come for you. While you toss banana peels at those unfortunate enough to be behind you, we trade our green and red shells for tool of your inevitable defeat.
We dare to ask “What if?”
- The playing field was level?
- First place belonged to us all?
- Every race truly started fair and square?
We stopped asking and started acting. So, we call out to you. Those who finish in the bottom half every time. You who keep an eye on the track inset because you can’t see the leaders on your screen. If you want to make a change and we believe you do, then you know what needs to be done. The next time you receive a blue shell, don’t hold it. Use it. Throw that shell to disrupt the established order and bring about a new order. When you throw it, know that we throw with you.
The Call
We can’t stop until first place means something again. When the answer to the question of “Who leads?” is “We do.” Make sure that they know to look behind them. The Blue Shell Brigade comes for them.
The Aftermath
The post barely registered, garnering only a couple of dozen upvotes and less than 10 replies before being removed by one of the mods. Most on the subreddit thought it was a joke and treated it as such. They soon learned, exactly how serious the Blue Shell Brigade was and what they would accomplish in a short period of time.