This is a very disturbing testimony. I recommend younger readers avert their eyes.

Overview

March 24th 2019, at around 16:40 EST, I was pearled by Pirater while playing on the alt roycato1.

I had logged in to Coventhia to join in the festivities, and this is where the crime occurred. I entered the pearl golf course in which one competes to throw pearls into holes in as few shots as possible. Right upon arriving, I threw a pearl that collided with Pirater. Around 30(?) seconds later, Pirater hits me and one shot pearled me for I was not wearing armor. Pirater then proceeded to take me a significant distance (around 20 minutes passes), with the goal of vaulting me. Eventually pursuers catch up to Pirater and Pirater handed the pearl to another player who then either handed it back to Pirater or freed me/ threw it on the ground so another player came and freed me.

The exact timings of events I am not entirely sure of and these can perhaps be determined through the replay that Pirater claims he will post. However I am sure of the actions and the general order and this is why I am suing for one count of 500.01, Treason. In particular:

c. Any attempt to cause the unjustified murder or removal from play any portion of the leadership of Mount Augusta, including but not specifically limited to the Mayor, the Judges, the Bailiff, the Cartographer, the Diplomat, or any other named position current or future.

My reasoning is that Pirater pearled me without justification and intended to place me in a foreign vault. I explain my reasoning below.

Though the events occurred outside MtA, as a conflict between two Augustan citizens, I would also like to sue for 300.01, Murder if possible. Particularly

a. The willful killing of another individual without their consent and not in self-defense or in the effort to pearl or kill a griefer.

Alleged Justification

Pirater listed a few alleged infractions for justification of pearling. One, that I had pearled into him, and two that I had typed in chat “me on my way to pearl pirater”.

The first has already been addressed - a pearl colliding with a player (an action that does not do any damage to the player hit by pearl) is hardly an extraordinary event on a pearl golf course.

However perhaps pearling me in response to these actions could be justified if I posed a credible threat. Which is why I now address the second alleged justification. The format “me on my way to [do malicious action]” is a meme in the civ community and beyond that Pirater himself has said. Just search ‘me on my way to’ in any major civ discord.

Here is Pirater saying “me on my way to pearl drllamma” in the MtA discord and another player defending it as a clear joke.

Here are a number of MtA players, Pirater included making 'me on my way to pearl X' jokes.

Here is my alt account covalentbondage and Pirater making more 'me on my way to pearl X' banter.

Here is Pirater saying ‘me on my way to mta to pearl squareblob’

This is just a small selection of the usage of 'Me on my way to pearl X'. All of these incidents happened on a timescale that starts far before the incidents of today.

At the end of the day this is clearly a meme and a meme that Pirater partakes in and is clearly aware of. If this level of meming counts as a credible threat, Pirater and many dozens of other Augustans deserve to be pearled - and not just pearled but vaulted - an absurd proposition. The threat is made less credible still be the fact roycato1 was not wearing any armor and lacked weapons while pirater had a full combat loadout.

Pearl taken

Here is one of many screenshots showing me pearled. The global chat logs in the official civ discord can probably be used to see all the ep broadcasts.

Pirater multiple times discusses his intentions of vaulting me in chat. A five minute meme might have been somewhat amusing but being taken for 20 minutes or so with multiple comments displaying an intention to vault is clearly beyond the level of harmless meme. Here is one such comment.

Hardship

Being pearled caused some minor yet not entirely insignificant hardship to myself. For one my account roycato1 was my only account in Coventhia. I had brought it from the city to the golf course intending to play as a dozen of people were involved in the festivities. Being exiled sent me to my bed with was at least 10k blocks away making it impossible to get an account back to Coventhia while pearl golf was still in session. Additionally my bed was set in a bastion grid I did not have access to on roycato1 - so for the whole time I was pearled I teleported around and was unable to escape. Even after I was freed, I am now saddled with the task of getting roycato1 back to Coventhia, which will likely take at least half an hour, potentially more given the state of the rails between Iria and Coventhia, most will not be AFK travel.

These are trifles and pale in comparison to the danger of being vaulted. One must ask themselves how much longer Pirater would have continued with these actions. Wether or not his threats were entirely serious, Pirater did not stop voluntarily but because he was caught up to. If he was not stopped we can only guess as to my final fate.

Also whoops I think to streamline judge procedures we need a forced max word count tbh, because somehow all posts end up sprawling and needlessly long as this one is /s.