Melbourne Crisis
| Melbourne Crisis | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 96 CE | ||
| Outcome | Inconclusive | ||
| Major Battles | Battle of Melbourne | ||
| Combatants | |||
| Commanders | |||
The NLE suddenly asked Lineland why it had control over the city of Melbourne, to which Lineland gave the historical explanation of it being a compromise in return for them returning the rest of Victoria to Luxuria. The NLE tried to convince Lineland to hand it over now that they had a much larger homeland in Linelandic Russia, which Lineland refused, prompting the NLE to try to begin manipulating them into handing it over by using the details of Zack Naps' death, blaming them for the landmine he stepped on as they demanded control over Melbourne in return for forgiveness. Lineland pointed out the flaws in this logic, leading to the NLE simplifying their demand to simply demanding the city to avoid consequences. As Lineland continued to refuse, Luxuria began to actively threaten the usage of force to take control of the territory, freaking out Lineland as they began shows of force in the city such as army parades in an attempt to intimidate Luxuria, though quite suspiciously a largescale Coronavirus Outbreak occurred during these parades to the point of causing somewhat of a crisis. The NLE offered to Melbourne itself that if it joined them they would cure them of the virus, prompting Lineland to shout about why it's wrong that the NLE has been keeping such a thing from others. Lineland began intense efforts to maintain control over the territory via largescale lockdowns while propaganda pamphlets rained down from above supporting reunification with Luxuria, with a notable point being avoiding being dragged into any Linelandic wars, which Lineland countered by saying the only time Melbourne was damaged by war was when Luxuria attacked it during World War 3, which motivated Melbourne not to go along with Luxuria's demands. Luxuria continued trying to convince Melbourne to join them to no avail as Lineland intervened and shut down their attempts once more, prompting the NLE to simply start publishing maps where Melbourne is a part of them in an attempt to convince the world they're the rightful owners, which Poavak and New Luxurian Spisos recognised as true. Lineland noted how its not surprising that the NLE's only ally and one of their colonies agreed with them, using Sipedro recognizing Lineland as evidence. With no other countries recognizing them or staying neutral on the issue such as Islandia, Luxuria suggested asking the countries of world's opinions on the issue once more, but Lineland refused as it talked over Melbourne's thoughts. Luxuria decided to try to convince Lineland to let Melbourne decide, but Lineland kept going on and on about how it was rightfully theirs, slowly making Melbourne become sympathetic to Luxuria's cause.
The crisis would become much more urgent as it went beyond merely diplomatic arguments as a group of Luxurians moved to tear down the border walls, leading to a standoff. The increasing Pro-Luxuria tendencies and border incidents soon lead to martial law being declared in the city as the Linelandic military seized direct control, leading to increased riots in the city which required intervention to stop as Luxurians tried to cross the now unguarded (Until Lineland closed it) border and Sizzle officially backed the NLE. As Lineland closed its communications, Sipedro continued to back them much to the NLE's annoyance. Linelandic police began tasing those which crossed the border, only leading to the Luxurians opening 'free taser stands' by the border in order to counter them. Lineland kept trying to crack down despite the people of Melbourne declaring the 'Commune of Melbourne' which sought unification with Luxuria.
Seeing the situation as going nowhere due to Linelandic crackdowns, the NLE turned back to manipulative means by offering to cure King William III Linasburg of Lineland who was in a coma due to the Shadow Plague released at the end of World War 5, which Lineland didnt trust. Seeking to prove himself, one of the people at the Melbourne riots was shot to the point of death, only for a Luxurian doctor to run up and inject him with something that made him pop back to life, soon repeating this miracle several times. Lineland remained hesitant, prompting the NLE to use the Communications Imitator it was given by the NSE to impersonate Lineland into handing over the territory, causing Lineland to freak out in an angry rant demanding Luxuria back down at once until they calmed down again. Soon afterwards the NLE grew tired attempting to convince Lineland to hand it over, breaking out into their own shouting fit directed towards Lineland and its hesitance, even making racist comments directed towards its Russian territories. The NLE grew tired of the diplomatic approach and decided to try to take it by force while making Lineland look like the villain, blowing up the border, leading to Lineland beginning to arrest Luxurians while Pro-Luxurian gunmen began shooting in the city. Luxuria's communications turned off for a little bit after screaming, reactivating once their head of state regained their composure. Upon returning, the NLE seemingly doubled down and now also demanded Linasburg, prompting Lineland to say they would rather die than handing over, leading to NLE beginning to threaten to hunt down Lineland's comatose king. As Lineland kept refusing, the NLE lost its composure once more and began shouting about how it was unjust and how Lineland had manipulated the 'weak' King Liam into handing over the territory. Sipedro told Lineland to threaten war, prompting the NLE to have a brief intensification in its anger before relenting and stating they would come for the territory later. Without direct support, the Commune was crushed over the following months.
