Addressed to the Comrades of the People’s Imperial Confederation
In a rapidly changing army community, the People’s Imperial Confederation’s presence is something I have always considered to be meaningful. As the current state of Club Penguin armies lacks genuine consequences and accountability, I have aimed for PIC to serve as the voice of reason, demonstrating standards that are lacking throughout the community. This image is one I sought to uphold throughout my own 2021, 2023, and 2024 leaderships, however, it was more than just an image, it has been a set of values I’ve lived by. Regardless of any presence within the army, Sidie9 and I both expected standards of behavior to be upheld and respected by all PIC leaders and affiliates. Though room for humor and edginess exists, there are certain lines that should not be crossed.
Following my retirement from the People’s Imperial Confederation in July of 2024, Sidie9 and I took a year hiatus from the army community. Only returning upon hearing that we were doxxed by a CPA Admin and another former leader of the Elite Guardians, we quickly realized that the community as a whole had taken a turn for the worse. We felt PIC was needed now more than ever, so we supported the return of the Confederation for a fifth generation. While I consider them all close friends, and I support steps the current PIC leadership had taken to uphold principles demonstrated by their predecessors, recent events must be addressed.
What Happened?
The Group Chat
Late November, I was made aware of a PIC high command group chat with an unsavory name. As neither Sidie or I were present in this group chat, the name set off red flags and I began investigating further, aiming to gain access to the chat. A few days later I was approached by high command members Miffy and Ellie, who expressed concern over a message sent into the group chat by a PIC leader. The message was explicit and sensitive in nature so I will not be sharing it here, however it was enough for me to request the full logs of the group chat.
In general, the chat contained a variety of misconduct, from members including PIC’s leadership (Villa and Scars) along with current and past members of PIC’s HICOM (namely Kiltanon, plus Miffy and Ellie themselves). The messages included instances of antisemitism, racial slurs, and references to sexual violence such as rape. Alarmingly, discussion of sexual topics did occur, however this was not as prominent. As several users within that chat were minors, one being under the age of 15, the dynamic could not continue.
As Chairman of Congress, Alucard was the highest-ranking PIC member within the group chat, and more should have been done to stop the behavior or redirect the dynamic of the chat to something more appropriate. I was informed that another member of PIC’s Congress had been recently been added to the chat in hopes of preventing certain discussions, however clearly this was not enough. Standards are higher for Chairpeople of PIC, and allowing this to take place did not reflect our army’s historic value for accountability, safety and respect. I fail to understand why the leaders or Alu did not come to Sidie and I, as we made it clear time and time again we were around to help them. Alu’s role in this was one of the most upsetting reveals of my entire investigation.
Behaviour towards Kiltanon
In the hours before releasing this post, it came to my attention that at some stage in the past month, Miffy saw fit to write and release a satirical homoerotic fanfiction about former-HICOM member Kiltanon, and CPA Admin Edu. Kiltanon described the fic to us as being very sexual in nature. Our understanding of events is that the fic made Kiltanon very uncomfortable, so he contacted Alucard on the subject. Though we’ve been unable to directly view this exchange, Kiltanon alleged that Alucard had been very dismissive and didn’t appear to take the matter seriously. We’ve been unable to verify this definitively.
The fic is no longer available online as Miffy has subsequently removed it, though he was able to provide us with a copy to judge for ourselves. The fic itself contains no explicit references or descriptions of sexual activity, but we did understand why Kiltanon, and likely Edu also, felt uncomfortable as the subjects of it.
The fic is completely unavailable online, which resolves the most immediate concern this raised. It’s also difficult to precisely gauge whether Alucard did handle Kiltanon’s complaint correctly as Kiltanon was unable to supply the conversation for us to read (I will update this post if this changes). It’s difficult to explicitly comment without seeing the conversation, but we’re sorry for any discomfort the situation caused.
Speaking to the PIC Leaders
On the 26th of November, Sidie and I approached PIC’s leadership with the group chat findings. We immediately requested that the group chat be archived, requiring the presence of either myself or Sidie in any new chats made. The leadership appeared cooperative and understanding of our concerns at this time, and we believed our concerns to be reasonable. As my investigation continued, I went through the group chat logs in it’s entirety, discovering key PIC member’s involvement in a third-party group chat, where this same behavior appeared prominent by most participants. The use of slurs, antisemitism, and the normalization of inappropriate topics was enough for me to warrant genuine action.
In the days following, I was made First Secretary of the People’s Imperial Confederation, making the handling of this issue my responsibility. Though initially cooperative, it was clear to me that the PIC leadership was resentful of my sudden involvement, including my conversations with members present within the chat. The leadership’s response to my involvement and investigation was unfair, and genuine issues and critiques of my involvement were not adequately communicated to me. Instead conversations happened behind the scenes, only fueling an angry rhetoric. I was not under the impression that there was remorse for the behavior, only upset over the inconvenience my involvement was causing the leadership. It was from this point where I began considering the removal of the involved leaders and members, not ruling out a complete shutdown of the army.
I want to make it clear that issues related to personal conduct, safety, and community interactions will always be my business as First Secretary. However, in my initial efforts to reaffirm the autonomy of PIC leadership throughout Generation Five, I was, it seems too hands-off, and for that I take full responsibility. I feel confident that my presence within these chats could have served as a deterrent of specific topics, so I apologize to everyone involved that I did not fulfill the role I should have.
Whilst Sidie and I acknowledge that a sudden jump from minimal involvement to heavy involvement was a lot and that we could have handled this better, it was only as a result of what was witnessed in the group chat. Had these events not transpired, we would not have gotten involved. There was no ulterior motive, we weren’t trying to insert ourselves into the success of PIC, we weren’t trying to get involved in the day-to-day function of the army and leadership decisions. Our sole focus was on fully understanding the extent of the misconduct, and ensuring it did not repeat. Failing to get involved would have made me complicit in the actions, and would have been irresponsible of us. On a personal note, though I am sympathetic to any annoyance my sudden involvement may have caused, I will not apologize for the actions I took in investigating this matter.
As First Secretary, I did not overstep my role as overseer and main guardian of PIC. I stand by that wholeheartedly.
Comments Towards Romans Leader Znation
When Sidie and I confronted PIC leadership about the group chat, they initially believed we were coming to them about Villa’s treatment of Znation in a Clash Royale clan chat. Though we requested the screenshots, the first time we saw them was when they were publicized on the recent Void Troops website in their war declaration.
As other pressing matters had my attention, I did not push hard enough for the screenshots. Upon seeing them, I personally find Villa’s conduct unacceptable, and after speaking to him he lacks remorse for his actions. That is not the behavior I will tolerate from a PIC leader and member of Congress. As days before the war declaration, he had announced his retirement, which was something I supported entirely. The Void Troops were absolutely justified in calling out the hypocrisy of Villa’s treatment of Znation, as historically this type of treatment is something PIC has always fought against. On behalf of the People’s Imperial Confederation, I sincerely apologize to Znation for being at the receiving end of that behavior.
Post War Declaration
I want to make it clear that the Void Troops war declaration is not the reason I am writing this post. For over a week now Sidie and I have been speaking and trying to navigate the best way to do this, however the war declaration did make this decision easier. It was evident within the current high command group chat that morale was at an all-time low. Scars, Villa, and Alucard had announced their retirements, citing lack of trust as one of the main reasons. Ultimately, Miffy, Ellie, and myself were blamed for the breakdown in momentum and the dip in overall morale. Unfair things were said, instead of an overall reflection of what led to this, blame was pushed around. This led to me suggesting the full shutdown of the People’s Imperial Confederation, in which the majority agreed.
As First Secretary of the People’s Imperial Confederation, I officially pause all events and army operations indefinitely. Furthermore, this ends the People’s Imperial Confederation’s Fifth Generation.
What Now?
In the hours before releasing this post, we were informed by leadership that they no longer wished to participate in the upcoming Christmas Chaos battle against the Romans. The original plan was to have this battle serve as the generation’s final event, largely for the benefit of members of the army who had no involvement in these controversies and deserved a chance to enjoy a last hurrah before the army closed down. Nevertheless, plans have changed.
While we will only consider a future revival of PIC under new leaders and a new advisory, we will not be permanently closing the army. If the right people show interest in its revival, Sidie and I are always open to seeing it return under different circumstances.
My Thoughts
Trust is a two-way street, and it was there on my end. Following the events that led to the end of Generation Four, Sidie and I had enough trust in the growth of the leadership to allow a fifth generation to happen. We demonstrated our trust by granting PIC full autonomy, the freedom from requiring our presence within their staff and leader chats, even allowing for established PIC procedure to be overruled in specific circumstances. We trusted them with the army that brought us closer, one we put our hearts into for several years. I want to make it clear that I do not regret giving them our trust, as after their efforts in PIC, it was something we felt they had earned. However, the reason for the breakdown in that trust did not stem from Sidie and I, or anyone who brought the issue to our attention. It came from the leadership’s failure to adequately address the group chat conduct before it had gotten to this point.
Villa, Scars, and Alucard cited a breakdown in trust as a reason for their retirement, and I find that ironic. They can speak of trust as much as they want, however the breakdown happened as a result of their actions, not my involvement. In a time where the leadership should have stepped up to reform standards of behavior, many chose to dismiss the concerns and give attitude throughout the later process. Ultimately, the lack of accountability from the leaders is why PIC is shutting. When confronted with the concerns they chose to blame others, blame lack of trust, blame literally everything except their own behavior. That is not something I will accept from PIC leadership, ever. I have spent my entire career since leaving RFCP pushing for accountability for actions, promising transparency and reflection, and this situation was an alarming step away from PIC’s identity as a whole. On the basis of values alone, it is clear this leadership could not continue, so with or without their retirements, the outcome of PIC closing would have been the same.
That being said, I genuinely recognize and appreciate the effort put into PIC since Sidie and I retired. Leading a small/medium army is not easy, and leaders throughout Generations Four and Five accomplished more than I could have ever dreamed of. It was always difficult for Sidie and I to imagine a PIC that didn’t include us within the ranks, so seeing this become a reality over the past year has truly been exciting to watch. Though this generation has ended, do not let the controversy fully distract you from the accomplishments and influence PIC has consistently demonstrated. There are a lot of emotions present, but pride for what PIC has achieved is definitely there. Another post will be published by Sidie over the next few days, highlighting PIC’s achievements and her personal thoughts. However extensively discussing the positives of this generation didn’t seem appropriate for this post.
I do not think this incident needs to define the legacy of PIC, or the value of the leadership as individuals. Sidie and I have made several mistakes over the years, some similar in nature to what took place within the chat. However, ultimately, external accountability from close friends, allies, and each other is what led to an overall reflection of our actions. Without our friends, and even those who dislike us, the necessary development for our genuine change and growth would not have happened. The lessons I’ve learned over the years are what have shaped the PIC I know and love. Though mistakes were made by certain PIC leaders, I extend to them the same opportunities I was given, the allowance for reflection and genuine change. Without accountability and consequence, it leaves no room for true growth or understanding, and as First Secretary it is on me to teach this lesson. Regardless of past history, it is up to those in charge to set the standard of what is right and wrong, and that is what I’ve aimed to do throughout this process.
In the meantime, this matter is not closed. I am still investigating an external group chat and will make more information available once I have spoken to more people and have reached a more concrete conclusion.
To the greater CPA community, let this serve as a reminder that standards of conduct still exist. While modern armies have chosen to prioritize success over accountability within their own communities, this is not something PIC will ever do. I refuse to allow the normalization of misconduct within the community compromise the integrity of an army I love and cherish.
Shallissa
First Secretary
Filed under: Announcements | Tagged: club penguin, LEGOMAN BICEPS, people's imperial confederation, people's imperial confederation club penguin, people's imperial confederation cp, pic, pic club penguin, pic cp, piccp |
People's Imperial Confederation of Club Penguin 
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