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  1. The East Pacific News Service July 31, 2020 Mindful Horizons: The University ReimaginedBy Wonderess (Castle Federation) Over the years, since 2011, I have spent in NationStates, I have realized that being here was never about the game. Of course, gameplay can be fun and fulfilling, but really NS gives us an opportunity to be a part of a community and contribute something we can be proud of. I am happy to be able to tell you here that yet another opportunity has blossomed in The East Pacific. The historic University of The East Pacific is open once again for everyone to enjoy and take part in. I am equally proud and humbled that I am the one that gets to speak to you about it. I am thankful to the Delegate for allowing me to become a new addition to the TEP community in such an amazing capacity as the Chancellor of the University. You may be wondering what is in store for the University, so I hope I can paint a full picture for you. UTEP is first and foremost a community. I have decided on a motto for the University which is Veritas per civitatem which translates to “Truth through community.” It is all well and good to learn through Wikipedia pages or readings through books, but knowledge really comes alive when we approach it through discourse and speak about our loves with those who share our passion. Truth comes through the encounter of the other, and so UTEP fully revolves around this premise. We have both forums for in character topics such as NationStates subjects, role play, TEP history, along with real-world topics like science, the humanities, and subjects you would find at a real-world university. We provide goals to work towards such as the creation of a department which through effort can thrive into a sub-community focusing on a specific topic. You may even find yourself promoted to professor one day heading that department. The UTEP balance is between openness to provide spaces and resources for the topics you love to explore and also keeping the structure coherent so that there are not a bunch of empty channels or subforums forever. The University mainly functions in two places. The forum is where academic works like papers go while the newly formed UTEP Discord is where conversations and casual learning take place. We are still getting things up and running, but I think the level of interest and excitement I have seen is very promising. I hope UTEP can be a place where all of NS can come and take part and actively bring growth to the TEP community as a prime intellectual hub of NationStates. If anything here piques your interest, then I invite you to join us. If you would like to be a part of the inaugural UTEP staff and come join our ongoing conversations then you should join our Discord: https://discord.gg/SFfHssKThen just petition the Chancellor for membership in the Chancellor Petition channel, and you are on your way. Details about the university can also be found on the Discord in the Quick Facts channel. No matter who you are, there is something you can bring to our community that no one else can. I hope to see you come to take part soon! Thank you for reading, and here’s to a long-lasting and successful University! Wonderess (Castle Federation) Chancellor of the University TEP RMB: A Fantastic Place to BeBy Zukchiva By now many readers of our awesome regional newspaper have seen articles on both RMB RP and forum RP. And many may be wondering… “Really? Another article on this roleplay stuff? How is this relevant to anything I care about?”Well, consider this article as an opinion, by me, Zukchiva, on why RMB RP is an awesome place for roleplay for your average newbie. Or in other words… a sort of recruitment article? Whatever, let’s get to it.#1 REASON: YOU GET A MAP, YOU GET A MAP, YOU ALL GET MAPS!Many roleplaying regions usually have one or two maps, in which people set their nations and roleplaying careers on. Maps are pivotal to most regional roleplay communities and rarely does roleplay exist in a region with no map to mark down land claims.But here in TEP’s RMB, map limitations are nothing but a false construct. We’ve gone through multiple variations of maps and are still learning to this day what makes a jaw-dropping map and what makes a flop. In fact, you could consider the map environment of TEP RMB RP’s as something following Darwin’s theories of evolution; the maps that attract and keep roleplayers survive and thrive, those that fail to grab interest eventually die out and are forgotten.But this world of tough love shouldn’t be discouraging to any intrepid cartographer! Roleplayers are forever seeking new opportunities to a) worldbuild, b) rule the world, or c) shitpost in new creative contexts. And what provides those very necessary opportunities? MAPS!So the bulk of this reason is that TEP’s RMB RP is really a place for map experimentation. Roleplay in the (currently) three maps available, or maybe even make your own map and see what makes a good roleplay!#2 REASON: DEDICATED COMMUNITYNot everyone wants to roleplay with only themselves for company. Most people really want to experience the joys of nation-making with other flesh-and-blood humans. At the risk of toxicity, headaches, drama, and angst, roleplaying with other people is something that can be an enlightening and fun experience!And that’s what TEP’s RMB RP roleplay has. An active, dedicated community focused on roleplaying (at least, when they aren’t meme-posting or discussing politics when the ROs aren’t prowling). It’s a community that’s been established for over two years, and it has been extremely vibrant ever since. (It’s also kind of taken over the entire RMB, to the point where “RMB” is a stand-in for “RMB RP”, but don’t tell anyone that.)If you don’t believe me, just look at those page numbers! From 2011-2017, the RMB only had around 3,000 pages (sad). But then when the spark of roleplay hit, the RMB churned out nearly 40k pages in the span of 2018-2020 (nice). #3 REASON: BAD ROLEPLAY? WE’RE USED TO ITA lot of times, people often fear roleplaying/writing in general because they think they suck at doing it. The fact is, however, that RMB RP is full of “bad” roleplay. Plot lacking, shallow characters, and godmodding are as common to RMB RPers as seeing roleplay posts are.So is your low-quality writing holding you back? Are those large beautifully-written textwalls scaring ya from trying your hand? Well, don’t let them. Because lemme tell you: I was here when all of these roleplayers began writing their first roleplays. And while they all write beautifully now, they sucked when they first started out in their writing diapers!So TEP RMB RP is perfectly used to “bad” roleplays. So come and grow with us! We won’t do much (besides decimating your country and take over the world).ENDWORDS AND FAREWELLSRoleplaying, in the end, is an awesome endeavor that occurs all throughout NationStates and the internet in general. But TEP’s RMB RP is one of the best places to begin your roleplaying career; whether it’s trying to get used to socializing with people on the Internet, improving your writing, or just wanting to talk about your nation to others.You have to start somewhere, so why not start in a dedicated, experimenting, seen-it-all roleplay community? Because in the end, there really is no reason not to!So come along down, old and newbie roleplayers alike, to TEP’s RMB RP. I promise we’ll take care of ya. Somewhat.See you around! Rewarding TEPBy y0 (Evrigenis) Throughout my time in The East Pacific, I have found many aspects enjoyable—the region’s diverse RPs, lively government debates, and new trading cards organization have each been good reasons to start playing and keep staying. But I have found the best reason of all is its community. Our community is hard to define, but one of our core characteristics is that we are extremely inclusive and constantly improving. In the last month, we have initiated several region-wide programs to boost activity.One major component of this suite of renovations is the World Assembly. If you’re not familiar with it yet, here are some pages that may help you get context. If you are familiar, that’s great! To encourage region-wide participation in the WA, the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs has launched Raising Eastern World Assembly Recognition and Development. Wallenburg, TEP’s MoWAA, stated his primary objective for the program succinctly: “As Minister for WA Affairs, I am chiefly interested in getting people to join the WA, take interest in its mechanics, and become part of the WA community.” As a precursor to REWARD, TEP implemented an auto-updating dispatch to encourage WA members to endorse our Delegate, Libertanny. But that’s just the beginning. We have also begun discussion for a tiered reward system based on how many endorsements nations give and receive. But that’s not where REWARD ends. The World Assembly Development Program of TEP has made strides to publish region-wide opinions on resolutions. We are also in the process of building a mentorship program that connects experienced authors with newer members of the community. If you haven’t already, you should join the WA community! I hope you’ll find it as rewarding as I do.y0 Volinovia and Merlovich Talk About Each Other’s Maps!By TechTag (Technocratic Tagalog) Here in NationStates, every region has its own message board, or RMB for short, which is used for talking IC (In-Character) or OOC (Out-of-Character) stuff. But here in TEP, the RMB has another function, Roleplay!But first, what is a roleplay? What is RMB? The Regional Message Board, or RMB for short, is a chat function visible in a region,( found by scrolling down on the region’s homepage). This aspect allows nations of that region or other people from other regions if they have an embassy there to communicate and displays their flag as well as allowing them to ‘like’ others’ messages and quote them. Roleplay is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role.Now we have RMB RPs where people role-play in the regional message board. But what do they roleplay? Of course, there are people who have made specific maps and specific eras to fit the nation/player’s taste on roleplay! In TEP we currently have 3 very active roleplays, Windsor by Volinovia, Valsora by Merlovich, and Courisla by me!Windsor takes place in the World War I Era of the 1910s to 1920s; Valsora features modern technology roleplay that is slowly advancing into future tech, while Courisla is a renaissance role-play that is also advancing in technology. But since there are lots of Regional Message Board Role-plays sometimes bad things happen including on which RMB RP is better or such, and this is the purpose of this article, to ask the owners/cartographer’s opinion about other RMB RPs throughout the entire region of The East Pacific, starting with Volinovia, the Owner and the Lead Cartographer of Windsor!TechTag: *barges in Volinovia’s room door* Hemlo Volinovia! How are you? Are you doing fine on your vacation? I hope you get a keyboard soon. Anyways I’m not here for that, But I think you already know why am I here right?Volinovia: Hello! Doing fine here, thank you though. And yes I do know why you are here in the middle of night barging in at my big mansion is totally not creepy.TechTag: Okay, okay I am sorry to interrupt your beauty sleep. I will only ask a few questions about the RMB RPs then I will leave you alone. Is that okay?Volinovia: Fine then. Ask.TechTag: So, what do you think about Valsora?Volinovia: I love Valsora, it was the map I really made the image of my nation on through kicking the NUSSR’s butt back when he was fledgling. I have always liked it through Zuk, Nova, and now Merlo.TechTag: Okay okay, what do you think about Merlovich and Valsoran roleplayers? Instead?Volinovia: Valsoran Roleplayers have always been my friends, I have always kept tabs on Valsora and the movement of things in the TEP, although I may be biased in thinking Windsor is better, Valsora is certainly not far behind and is an important piece of the TEP’s history.TechTag: Hmmmm, okay. Last question. Are there any circumstances that you have encountered saying that “Valsora is better than Windsor” or other things that basically make Windsor and Valsora somewhat rivals? If yes, what would you do to show that it’s not rivals of some sort, and if no, what would be your response to it if it happens?Volinovia: I remember in the first version of Windsor had a small running with a Valsora v Windsor rivalry. I don’t think that either map is “better”. Each RPer needs to find the map based on their RP style. While Windsor may be a little more Game like and in-depth, Valsora has its own charms that make it unique as well and nobody should be judged based on their choice of map. If a Windsor RPer went around toting that Windsor is better than Valsora and started being toxic I’d clamp down on them, I would expect and hope that Merlo and the Valsora staff would do the same.TechTag: Thank you for your amazingly grandiose answers Voli! I know this may be short and somehow quick as it’s my first article and *sigh* woooo. This is somehow nerve-cracking! Anyways I shall barge out of your room now! Until we meet again! Woop woop! Woo! What an entertaining interview! Let’s go barge into Merlovich next! This will be enjoyable as well!TechTag: *barges in Merlovich’s door* Hemlo Merlooooooooo! I mean no- Oi mate! howdy! What are you doing in this fine upside-down world today? Oh my god, it’s too hot here!Merlovich: G’day m8, what brings you here in the middle of deserted Australia with lots of spiders, snakes, and emus?TechTag: Ah yes, I came here to interview you! about…..*pants heavily* Windsor… Yes! Windsor. Merlovich: About Windsor? Hm sure, go ahead!TechTag: Okay then if you say so, first question -- so, what do you think about Windsor?Merlovich: I think Windsor is great, it's always interesting to look at other maps as a map owner myself. I like Windsor both as a conventional map, and admire the loyalty it's members show to it. Despite it's quieter nature recently, Windsor still has a great load of potential, and I'm eager to see where it goes.TechTag: What a wonderful answer: very nice, next question! What do you think about Volinovia and Windsorian roleplayers instead?Merlovich: I don't know a huge amount about individual roleplayers on Windsor, but I know that they're quite strongly tied with the map, and they enjoy it. As for Volinovia, that only goes to show how much he cares for the map, and how well he's done at running it.TechTag: *is jungshooked* Okay, questionne la finale~ Are there any circumstances that you have encountered saying that “Windsor is better than Valsora” or other things that basically make Windsor and Valsora somewhat rivals? If yes, what would you do to show that it isn't at all If no, what would be your response to it if it happens?Merlovich: I've heard from a lot of people that Windsor is either being run better or is overtaking or has 'overtaken' Valsora as the RMB's main RP map. I've seen a lot of people place Windsor and Valsora as direct rivals, which I'm not a fan of, and neither is Voli. Both these maps can work and live in peace with one another, and they've done so recently quite well. I dispute the claim that Valsora is any lesser than Windsor, while I admire the work that Voli has put into Windsor, and am impressed with its longevity, I'm still confident that Valsora is the main map for RMB RP. Valsora goes through ups and downs, it always has and the cycle continues no different, sometimes there just needs to be a spark to keep the RMB alive and running smoothly. Valsora is still going strong and will continue to do so. I love this map and have the utmost faith in it's continued success as TEP's main RMB map.TechTag: What a long answer, anyways thank you so much for your time and such, I hope you have a good day mate!Merlovich: Yeah, you too!There we go, we basically got each other’s opinions on their maps. Both Cartographers say each other’s map is awesome and unique in its own way, having different roleplay styles. Both maps have their own life and fandom and should not get hate, as they are one of TEP’s most influential RMB RP Maps, and their purpose is to shed happiness and fun to its roleplayers, not hate. -TechTag Technocratic Tagalog Interview: RMB’s Rising StarBy Art (Sokala) 1. How long have you been in NationStates?Around 96 Days! And Yep, I’m one of those peeps who joined during the infamous “Drew Wave”.2. How long have you been in The East Pacific?I started in TEP So lol! Same day as my nation founded above!3. What was the first RP that you joined? What made you join that RP?Windsor, I was pretty much got interested with it as I talked with some RMB Persons that are included in the map which are; Azureano, Volinovia, and Distro-Spartica.4. Are there any other RPs you are part of? What are those RPs?Yep! I am also a Part of Valsora, My own map, Courisla, and now the forum rp, Urth! And some Roblox RPs5. What are you RPing as in those RPs respectively?Ah, in Valsora I’m just a simple republic there who is slowly rebuilding from the ashes of its past, I decided to go into that way since I’m inactive in Valsora, In Windsor, I am a Kingdom bearing the name of Valhalla, a powerful Kingdom with a pretty much worldbuild related to some real-life nations. And in Urth, I’m an Absolute Monarchy focusing on Technology.6. Prior to NationStates, did you have any other experiences in roleplay?I have been to a lot, I have also experienced roleplaying in such games such as; Roblox, Minecraft and other games but not this time of roleplay as a nation of course hahaha. And some real-life roleplays that I’m sure I don’t wanna talk about.7. What are your thoughts on your rapid ‘promotion’ from cartographer to one of the admins of Windsor, a relatively powerful position for someone who’s less than a year in NS?It was a damn emotional rollercoaster. In just a span of three months, I have already got into this position? Man, this feels like yesterday when I joined, to be honest. I don’t even know how I went up into this position starting as a Helper, I just did my own thing and moved with the flow, It's pretty much amazing if you ask me.8. With Volinovia moving on from Windsor, what are your future plans for it?Currently, I am still planning the last update that Volinovia was going to make for Windsor before he decided to leave, the culture and religion update in which Culture is now released, planning for religion. But I guess for now I don’t have many future plans for it but I’m sure there is a plan that might come soon.9. You recently joined the Urth RP of TEP. Any thoughts on why you joined Urth?I am a man of curiosity. I like to check out things when I have extra time and have nothing to do, I saw the server invite in the main discord server and joined, There are a lot of supportive people there like Sammy (New Leganes) and Dylan(Staynes) which really urged me to join Urth and here we are now, me having a fun time on Urth as well.10. There are talks about you rebooting Courisla. Any comments on this?Courisla just went from active to super dead when I lost my charger for 2-3 weeks, I started it as a joke as I am trying to hone my cartography skills without using a premade map by a generator and tried it. It turned at least pretty decent and joked about it on the server then, yeah some people do want the reboot. Who knows? Maybe in the near future if someone is still interested. Looking through the Stained Glass WindowsBy Inquisitive Examinations Editor’s Note: The following is a work of satire and does not represent the views of The East Pacific.As you know, we are currently in the middle of this [current world event], and no doubt it’s taken a big toll on people in this game and elsewhere. I’d just like to preface this with a reminder to stay safe and kind to each other at this time.One of Delegate Libertanny’s most prominent actions this month was the Windows Defender theme, which confused many interregional onlookers. The posting of blue flags and blatant advertisement of Microsoft’s anti-malware program seemed completely out-of-character for the previously-vibrant green tones of The East Pacific. The July 12th announcement, prefaced with “Statement on Defender Alignment,” no doubt alarmed many in the R/D-centric Gameplay community. Some individuals concluded that this couldn’t have meant a defender ideology, since TEP law currently forbid such a move. Ultimately what was the Windows Defender theme and why did it take place? The earliest mention of Windows Defender seemed to take place a day previous, when Libertanny joked that The East Pacific was turning defender, shorty before complaining about setting up Windows 10. A connection between these two topics were soon made, with the Windows Defender joke being born. What turned Windows Defender from a throwaway joke in the General channel into a theme for the whole region? In his statement, Libertanny cited the “NSGP rumors” about TEP’s “guilty pleasure.” It would seem the conventional reason would be that Libertanny was shrugging off these rumors by declaring that TEP would turn defender - Windows Defender.But...something doesn’t add up. Why would Libertanny do this? It’s clearly not very funny. If you look under the announcements at the comments, you get a true representation of feedback, because looking at the comment sections is always a valid method to gauging opinion. You get some less than stellar reviews.Clearly, Libertanny was paid to do this. Like all the Raid: Shadow Legends commercials, only money could have convinced him to post something as unfunny and meme-worthy as Windows Defender. This thus implies that some higher power has paid off Libertanny to be unfunny. Could it be the Rahls, whose presence has similarly plagued TEP and NSGP with rumors for years? The Illuminati, like we at Inquisitive Examinations illuminated in a previous article? I think it’s more than this. And before you ask what’s higher than the Rahls or the Illuminati, I need only remind you of the world’s richest man. He’s the one running all of this.Bill Gates. Wait, I hear you saying. Isn’t the world’s richest man Jeff Bezos?Yes, technically. But it’s all a front, you see, so he’d be less suspicious. And also possibly because it took a lot of money to pay Libertanny off.Of course it would be Bill Gates who did this. Windows Defender is a thing developed by Microsoft, which -- not a lot of people know this, but -- Bill Gates runs! Well, until a few years ago. But he’s still the person people think of when they think Microsoft and has a lot of money.People complain that TEP doesn’t take things as seriously. Maybe this is the true reason because they have no reason to while they are being paid off by Bill Gates to advertise Windows.This is an affront to the broader NationStates community. You can’t have all this handed to you on a silver platter! Yes, you can be in charge of a GCR, yes, you can have a constant influx of new nations and people, yes, you can have a boatload of WA endorsements and influence, and yes, you can have a ridiculous presence in the World Assembly and no one will call you out.But this is where it ends. We at Inquisitive Examinations have decided to take action. Today, we have filed a subpoena with the East Pacific Conclave in Rillanon, Christie Island. We wish to divulge something very important to the true people of NationStates. The East Pacific will call it leaking. We call it investigative journalism.We need Libertanny’s tax returns. There is no way that his salary as Minister of Foreign Affairs or even as Delegate of the East Pacific justifies his lavish behavior. Even with the heavy pension that birds get in TEP because they have all the power and influence. We will find the root of all of this, whether it be Bill Gates or the New Pacific Order. Join us in this noble and valiant fight, for the true people of NationStates. This will be long and grueling, and we will face many trials along the way. Legal challenges in the Conclave are very expensive, and as a newspaper, it is very hard to get funds as print media is dying. That is why we humbly request that you disable AdBlock and donate to Inquisitive Examination’s Patreon here. Your donation would be greatly appreciated.
  2. The East Pacific News Service June 30, 2020 Libertanny Elected Delegate, Horse RetiresBy Tretrid After the latest series of Delegate Elections, Libertanny has been elected Delegate of the East Pacific.Vice Delegate Libertanny has run in both the February 2020 and the October 2019 elections, so it seemed natural that he should run again. It seemed like the path to the Delegacy would be clear for him, or at least it was until Viceroy Zukchiva entered the running.Here is a list of all nominees, as well as those who accepted their candidacy: Libertanny Accepted Zukchiva Accepted AMOM Declined Todd McCloud Declined Dragons Blood Declined East Malaysia Declined Bachtendekuppen Declined Pakitsk Declined VW53a Declined Sokala Accepted Dylan Declined Sakana Declined Aivintis Accepted Asendavia Declined Wiranath Declined Eastern Alksearia Accepted Algerstonia Accepted Danelaw Scandinavia Declined Marrabuk Declined Pax Declined Atlae Declined Acronis Declined ArenaC Accepted Since Viceroy Zukchiva, who would otherwise have overseen the election, was himself running as a candidate, Viceroy Designee Pakitsk was instead administering the election. Also, it should be noted that Marrabuk had opted not to run for a third term as Delegate.And so commenced the campaigns for the Delegacy. Libertanny focused mainly on foreign policy. Part of this was through the Consortium, an ambitious plan initially created under Marrabuk’s delegacy. Meanwhile, Zukchiva took a more general approach to improving TEP.Not all of these campaigns were serious, however. In fact, two joke campaigns were run. Algerstonia based their campaign off of George Orwell’s celebrated novel, 1984. To be specific, they proposed basing TEP off of INGSOC and instituting the totalitarian government from the novel. And most importantly, they proposed ordering citizens to touch their toes without bending every morning.Aivintis (or “Lerasi/Aivintis/Warris/Manganite Mangote Mangite Magnet Mangent Mangetithe/The Wolf/Oh My God Idiot Stop Changing Your Name”), on the other hand, proposed theming TEP after the Empire, the group that invaded TEP in 2008. Among other things, Aivintis also proposed making the founder of the Confederation of Corrupt Dictators, Jocospor, “Chief Minister of Laughing Affairs.”Eventually, every candidate other than Zukchiva, Libertanny, and Algerstonia had dropped out of the race. It was a very competitive race, and for a lot of the time Libertanny and Zukchiva were either very close or tied.However, eventually, Libertanny won the election with 30 votes to Zukchiva’s 24. The delegate transition quickly started. The Delegate-elect quickly started to create his own cabinet, nominate ROs, and start to institute his agenda. Meanwhile, outgoing Delegate Marrabuk has made a farewell statement, and has recently been confirmed as a Vizier by the Magisterium after his nomination by the Delegate-elect.A Parrot's Platform of Promised Plans and Potential PoliciesBy Aivintis Libertanny's campaign, called the #Libertanny4Delegate Program, promised to bring even more democracy, unity, and strength to The East Pacific. In case you weren't planning on reading through text wall that would put the Great Wall of China to shame, I reread it so you don't have to. Here's a little rundown of Serge's plans for The East Pacific and promised policies: Approachability - Monthly forumside Cabinet meetings to be augmented by Voice Chat meetings on discord to answer questions Cabinet Reform - Retainment of the Vice Delegate position, release of the Ministry of World Assembly Affairs into its own Chief Ministry, transparent records and goals for all Ministries, new Chronicler office to maintain even more records, and concrete layout for all 12 Regional Officer positions Bureau of Public Affairs - New department akin to a Ministry that consists of an appointed Director, and elected "Ambassadors" to represent RMB RP and Forum RP and to act as middle ground between the RP community and the government, and to promote RP within the greater TEP community, with the possibility of mentorship Ministry Plans - Staffer of The Month program to boost morale, even more cultural events and activities, a focus on education and assimilation, simplification of the Ministry of Immigration, maintenance of current WA voting procedure, and new World Assembly Development and Education Program run by the CMoWAA Foreign Policy - Maintenance of the current foreign policy, a focus on UCR-oriented affairs without compromising GCR relations, Statesmus+ as a form of foreign exchange akin to Erasmus+, a treaty with Thaecia, guarantees of independence, and official establishment of the Inner Circle as the FA leadership council Consortium - Foreign Affairs project forming a Cultural-Military-WA-Diplomatic Bloc with a select number of active UCRs that maintain close relations with TEP promote equality and cooperation and to pay attention to TEP's UCR allies These potential promised policies and plans (phonetically fun to say) are apparently indicative an ambitious delegacy in which the rebuilt government will be built upon even more in new ways. Minor points like "Spreading The East" to other games, and maintenance of the current EPSA policy augment this platform.Although it hasn't even been an entire month since Libertanny was elected, this is what has been accomplished already: June 15th marked the release of Libertanny's first statement as delegate, naming his cabinet. A lot of the Cabinet stayed the same, but some of the changes included the appointment of Dragons Blood to Vice Delegate, the naming of Zukchiva as Director of the Bureau of Public Affairs, the promotion of Wallenburg from Minister of World Assembly Affairs to Chief Minister of World Assembly Affairs, the appointment of Feu de Glace as Chief Minister of Regional Affairs, and the appointment of Virgolia as Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs while The Earth Systems Alliance goes on a Leave of Absence. Bureau of Public Affairs - Zukchiva was named Director of The Bureau of Public Affairs, and has since worked relentlessly on sculpting the new organization. On June 23, Eastern Alksearia, better known as SirShadow, was elected Forum RP Officer by Evolved RPers, making them the official Forum RP Ambassador to the Bureau. RMB RP Ambassador elections are being held as of the writing of this article. Independence - Our first guarantee of independence was offered up to a founderless UCR with close relations with TEP and a promising future, however it was refused by their leadership. Goals + Staffers - On June 17, Libertanny officially requested that all Ministers write up a list of Monthly Targets and keep an updated list of Staffers. This is still a work in progress for some Ministries. Chronicler - Vanzeria was appointed Chronicler on June 17, and has proved to be a valuable addition to the Cabinet. New Executive Application - Chief Minister of Regional Affairs Sakana reached out to Ministers on in regards to updating the Executive Branch Application with new descriptions and contacts, with changes to account for the Cabinet changes. Festival of Tranquil Suns - On June 22, Libertanny opened the Festival of the Tranquil Suns, a festival that had been being planned for quite some time, with a speech written by Vanzeria and Aivintis. Trello - Trello.com was adopted on June 22 as a new platform used by Cabinet as a place for various forms of task management. It has seen extensive use already by most of Cabinet. Consortium - On June 23, the Consortium, which had been discussed before amongst TEPers and other regions, began development. Since, multiple regions have taken part in discussions and debates on various aspects of the Consortium. New Festival - On June 24, Libertanny approved the planning of a new Festival with recent consulate Grace of Gaia. WA Development / Cabinet VC - On June 25, practically the entirety of Cabinet gathered in Voice Chat to discuss the WA Development Program. In this chat, an agenda was followed and ideas were put out and discussed, making great progress for the WA Development Program. The next VC has already been scheduled for early July. Foreign Affairs - Under the leadership of Acting Minister Virgolia, the Chief Ministry of Foreign Affairs has opened up a consulate with India, as well as reviewing all current consulates upon Libertanny's request and requesting aid in the delegate transition from a number of our allies. Talks have not yet begun with Thaecia regarding a treaty. So in this short time, some of Libertanny's campaign goals have already been fulfilled and other achievements have been made, heralding a bright term for Delegate Libertanny. I, for one, look forward to next month's achievements, and the months after that. Hail Pacificus Orientalem.An Honest Interview with a Parrot: A Talk with LibertannyBy Zukchiva Interviewer’s Note: This interview was held with Delegate Libertanny on June 29th, 2020 via Discord Direct Messaging. As such, the grammar and spelling of this interview is riddled with typos and mistakes!Zukchiva: Hey Lib, thanks for giving me the chance to interview you! I'm sure a lot of people have questions on what you plan to do in the next few months as Delegate, especially now that you've spent two weeks in office.My first question (to ease into this interview), is simply how have the past two weeks as Delegate gone for you so far? Have you already come across strong obstacles and have you made substantial progress on your campaign goals in this short time?Libertanny: Hello Zukchiva,Well. When Marrabuk said, that being Delegate is basically having a second job, I didn't fully believe him. I was a Vice-Delegate for some period, and I was thinking on how is that supposed to be that different from being Delegate. But it is. It is very different. You can go to sleep and wake up with 20 pings and 10 DMs, alongside forum and in-game notifications. So in between of working full-time, being freelancer / setting up own websites related company and spending weekends away from home, I'm also doing my best to be the Delegate of the East. I hope I'm not doing that bad, but it's up to Citizens. But that's just a typical me, and you seem to know it the best Speaking of what I have achieved (looks into his own campaign). We started creating Bureau of Public Affairs, we already have its leader (Zukchiva) and Forum RP Officer (SirShadow). RMB RP Officer elections are currently happening and I have contacted TEAPOT to have its representative in BoPA / Cabinet too. I have instituted McStooley as Vice Delegate of the East. We kind of changed idea for Organization, and we decided to use Trello, which is an awesome tool to organize Cabinet's tasks. I have nominated ROs. Ministry of WA Affairs has become and independent body (as in, not a part of Regional Affairs). We've had an awesome VC with most of Cabinet attending, during which we talked WA Development Program and prepared business plan for it. We have also began working on Consortium (having already 5 regions + TEP being interested in idea and server being created). We've also already scored a failure - the guarantee of independence of one of regions was denied by them.Zukchiva: Thats... actually extremely impressive @_@So that's one thing that caught my eye in all that is the WA Development Program! Many people would say that TEP is a bit behind on the World Assembly game, with GCRs such as TNP, TSP, and Balder having WA programs.If possible, is there any special unique feature you plan to put into TEP's WA Program, which our fellow GCRs have not added within theirs?Libertanny: I wouldn't say so. The East Pacific doesn't have its own resources to have a Development Program, so we are really relying on r3n from The North Pacific here. We're basically making a copy of TNP's program. What we are adding, however, is membership in EPSA as part of WADP. In order to encourage people to participate in EPSA without them feeling like losing cool badges from WADP, we will be adding EPSA related categories. Thanks to Evri, we now also have an autoupdating dispatch, that pings WA Residents not endorsing me once a day (if I'm not wrong).Zukchiva: Well, for better or worse, having a World Assembly Development Program is gonna make our region stronger, that's for sure.One important campaign promise you made is that you are willing to form a treaty with the region of Thaecia. How is the progress on that? If you haven't started negotiations, when do you plan too?Libertanny: We haven't began talks yet, as we are pretty busy, as in, both regions are. Thaecia's just gone through elections and we started so many tasks at once. So I would say, as soon as situation gets calmer for both regions, we will start treaty talks with Thaecia. Hard to say when, excatly. But in less than a month, I hope.Zukchiva: Mhm. Interesting!One thing you've always been interested in is Magisterium activity as you've been a Magister for a long time before becoming Delegate, and in many other regions the crafting of legislation plays a big part in the executive leader's role.As Delegate, do you see yourself pushing for any specific piece of legislation, or general changes to our current law?Libertanny: I don't think we should determine this per me serving our region as Delegate now. I have always been into Magisterium and I have always been more or less active there, even as non-Magister. And I do intend to be active, when some things calm down and I have more time. I do not support anything specific law as of now, but I am in general support of (1) making laws less complicated, (2) making laws shorter and more universal (i.e. no refenreces to Concordat or other Acts, unless totally necessary) and generally (3) laws to boost security and (4) laws to boost democracy.Zukchiva: All of those are very strong goals regarding our legislation. o-oNow to take a small shift in direction: what do you think has been the greatest challenge (insofar) as Delegate that you have dealt with in these last two weeks, if any?Libertanny: Frankly. VC has been the biggest achievement imho. I havent seen such activity in Cabinet yet. And we managed to prepare a rather detailed idea for WADP during 90 mins. So it seems like something so simple, but yet so efficient and fruitful.Zukchiva: The Voice chat was pretty cool, ngl! I especially liked the fun we had in it.So, another question I have is, why did you decide to stick with the masonry theme and why did you make it a large part of your campaign? Many other Delegates in TEP have experimented with TEP's theme, why not you?Libertanny: It is a very simple question and a very simple answer. Keeping masonic theme is remembering about past heroes of our region, that server under the Compass. We also remember about Loop, who is more or less the Father of current East. This also seems to be simply "our" Eastern theme. When you think about freemasonry, you think about TEP. And that's also because I'm a regionalist, so keeping traditions is kind of a part of my ideology.And as a last note. Last time we changed theme we were couped Zukchiva: Lol, yeah that's a pretty strong point ->-Speaking of coups, it has only been eight months since the coup occurred. While TEP is pretty strong now, it may not be as security-protected in the future.What do you think is the most largest long-term threat to TEP's security, how do you propose we solve it, and is there anything you plan to do now as Delegate to lessen said threat in the future?Libertanny: Oh the solution is pretty simple. We need to stop making overly complicated laws and make them all more universal. What killed us the most were so many non-updated or overly complicated laws. Coupers didnt care and were doing their thing, whilst we were debating in Conclave and Magisterium things like "is stopping a coup legal?".I dont have a direct solution, as I dont see a direct threat. We can never know what is gonna happen tommorrow. But having simple, universaland understandable laws is probably the main self-defence mechanism.Zukchiva: Hm, that's quite a unique take. But, it does make sense.This next question is a bit different from the others.The Vice-Delegacy was a new position created by Delegate Marrabuk, in which you served for around a few months. Do you think that your tenure as Vice-Delegate has helped you acclimate into your role as Delegate? And do you think it has, in some way, prepared you for your current job, and if so, how?Libertanny: Well. It for sure did help me prepare for Delegacy. But I wouldn't say it played an important role. It's role would be just equal to being Minister of Info in past, or MoFA or Magister. Delegacy is being fluent in or at least similar with a lot of spheres of GP. So that was a nice addition, but I don't think it prepared me for being Delegate more than any role I had before. What was awesome about being Vice-Delegate is that, you had more freedom in doing things, than when you were a Minister. So that for sure boosted my GP activity even more.Zukchiva: And it seems I'm running out of questions, and we've both got places to be. So, it's time to conclude this interesting interview!But on a last note, as is custom, do you have a general message you want to share with EPNS's readers?Libertanny: Pax Fruits are a cheap replacement for Italian pasta. Gooses taste the best grilled.Besides that. I think not.Zukchiva: Well Lib, this has been a fine interview, besides the threat on my species and way of life O_OThank you for having me, and allowing me to bombard you with my questions!Straight from the Horse’s Mouth: An Interview with MarrabukBy Atlae Interviewer’s Note: This interview was held with the outgoing Delegate Marrabuk on June 29th and June 30th, 2020 via Discord Direct Messaging. The following is an unedited transcript of said interview.Atlae: On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate your delegacy and why did you choose that number?Marrabuk: 7. I chose that number because even though I felt like I have done well, there are always room for improvement and always more things to accomplish. As a matter of fact, I didn't even manage to complete the consortium project.Atlae: Is The East Pacific better now than it was before Fedele?Marrabuk: Personally, I believe so, yes. The region is more stable and unified. There are bound to have disagreements like all families do. But at the end of the day, we will die for one another.Atlae: What was the best thing that happened during your administration?Marrabuk: To be honest, there's too many to list. For starters, loyal TEPers banding together to help fight against the coupers was and will continue to be one of my fondest memories of our great united region.Atlae: What was the worst thing that happened during your administration?Marrabuk: There were a few notable ones. For instance, the whole AMOM being appointed as Senior Commander of EPSA and releasing an official statement has caused such a huge uproar amongst our allies and potential allies. We could've definitely handled that better, but I still believe we managed it well enough given the cards that were handed to us.Atlae: What would you say is TEP’s position on the interregional stage?Marrabuk: We have a treaty with every single GCR except Lazarus. A treaty with strong UCRs such as XKI and Europeia, building stronger relations with many stable and upcoming UCRs like Thaecia, for instance. So I say, we're pretty strong in the interregional stageAtlae: What do you think is the general direction and outlook for the future of TEP?Marrabuk: Reforms internall post coup has been tremendous. Activity has went up tenfold and the unity of the region is now unparalleled. Keeping our region's activity high, unifying our region further and strengthening our influence in the interregional stage via the consortium is the direction I feel our region need to continue.Atlae: What obstacles will Libertanny have to overcome in order to be a successful Delegate?Marrabuk: Libertanny has a tendency to work and focus on too many things at once. Personally, I believe Lib's biggest obstacle to prioritizing and recognizing what needs to be worked on first and be able to complete it before moving on to the next project.Atlae: How will you stay involved in The East Pacific now that your term has ended?Marrabuk: I have recently just been confirmed as a Vizier and have also been nominated for forum Global moderator role. I am still an advisor to the cabinet and my DMs are always open if Lib or fellow TEPers need advice and guidance.Atlae: As of now, you have around 100 endorsements from the nearest Vizier, Zukchiva, as well as a boatload of influence. Will you repeat the decisions of your predecessor?Marrabuk: Not sure, I understand this. What decisions did my predecessors do?Atlae: What did your immediate predecessor do when he was leaving office Marrabuk: Coup? Yes, definitely and I am certainly planning to coup. Thanks for asking.Atlae: Thank you for letting us interview and thank you for the service to our region.We’re a little TEAPOTBy Evrigenis Within TEP, interest in NS trading cards has been brewing for several months, and it has found its culmination in The Eastern Association of Pacifican Ornamentation Traders (TEAPOT). The new body has struck out from existing cards organizations by deciding to be independent of regional government while simultaneously being the region’s official cards association. In addition to being able to sign up on the East Pacific’s regional forums, residents can apply by pinging the official TEAPOT puppet on the regional message board with the pledge to abide by the Charter. The full text of the Charter is available here.How did the tea come to be?On the 6th of June, the Vizier and Arbiter Goose Zukchiva fielded the idea to make the Association official. They then promptly wrote the first draft of what was to become the Charter. This spurred on many questions about what the foundling organization was to look like: Would it be part of the government or independent? How should leadership be structured? While the legislative debate was developing, another important question was asked: What should it be named? Feu de Glace, also known as Sakana, CAME UP with the current name to hearty approval. Rateafication on the 13th was unanimous. Thus, The Eastern Association of Pacifican Ornamentation Traders was born.Who serves the communitea?In the wake of the Delegate election, the cards community held its own tea party leadership contest. Nominations were plenteaful; however, the election boiled down to former Overseeing Officer of EPSA, current Minister of Regional Affairs, Feu de Glace/Sakana and Deputy MoIC and cards enthusiast Evrigenis/y0. The campaigns focused on who the Steward should be and how the Association would strengthen TEP, respectively. Both campaigns were well received, and on the first day after voting was opened, “abstain” led. In the final analysis, the results were 3 abstensions to 3 votes for Sakana to 4 votes for y0. With y0 taking a sliver of a lead, they became Steward.How tea get started?Evrigenis’ first action as Steward was to appoint Feu de Glace Deputy Steward. y0 also set up the beginnings of the structure for the TEAPOT, going through with their campaign promises to hold a contest for a new puppet and open a heisting reports thread. What’s next? We’ll soon find out!RMB RP Spotlight: A Civil WarBy Osterreich und Ungarn During the month of June, an arresting development took place in the TEP’s Regional Message Board Roleplay. What occurred was a major geopolitical crisis in the world superpower Osterreich und Ungarn in the form of a military coup directly followed by a civil war. The Kaiser (the leader-in-exile) rallied his supporters and tried to fight the new military government, but a lack of professional soldiers along with a socialist uprising in the West quickly caused the Kaiser’s front to collapse and for him to flee into the wilderness.After the Kaiser’s disappearance, the socialist faction and the military government continued to fight, causing untold amounts of destruction to multiple cities, small towns, and landscapes. The newly fledged military junta was, however, soon hijacked by an ultranationalist and expansionist group called the Honor Party, which rallied its supporters and took charge of the junta.During the later stages of the war, the socialists began to run out of food, oil, and most importantly, morale. In a desperate attempt to salvage their goal, the socialists spread their troops out and consequently overextended their front. This decentralization of socialist forces allowed the Honor Party to crush the socialists once and for all, take control of the nation, and establish a new totalitarian state.Now, the nation rebuilds itself as the world prepares to deal with the war's unprecedented outcome. Whatever may happen next, the future of Osterreich und Ungarn, both as a world superpower but also as a bastion of democracy, has now been irreversibly changed.The East Pacific’s Urth Roleplay: A Newbie’s PerspectiveBy Art Roleplay. According to Wikipedia, it is “an activity that is the changing of one's behavior to assume a role.” In NationStates, one assumes the role of multiple identities. You assume the role of not just the leader, the congress, or the senate of a nation but the nation as a whole. As someone whose only roleplay experience was playing at Garry’s Mod DarkRP servers where everything was basically just “make money and then shoot people”, Roleplay in NationStates, in general, was a culture shock to me. I was first introduced to NationStates by the Youtuber named Drew Durnil. As an RTS enthusiast, the idea of controlling a nation tickled my brain and led me to join NS. Upon fiddling with ideas for a nation name, I settled on the name Sokala and from then on I discovered The East Pacific(TEP)’s different roleplays. From Urth’s intricate history to Valsora’s futuristic world, TEP’s roleplays were filled to the brim with pages upon pages of worldbuilding and hours of effort by the creative minds of Roleplayers in the East Pacific. During my time roleplaying on Urth, TEP’s Forum Roleplay world, I found out three things that made Urth different from other roleplays in TEP.The first thing that differentiates Urth RP from other RPs was that it had a very long history spanning almost two decades. Urth RP, formerly known as The East Pacific RP, was created by One Infinite Loop in 2003. Until today, lore created by nations in 2003 is still used in today’s Urth RP. One such example is the Urthian race of Nekomimis, a race of cat people made by Loop himself, which still populate many nations in 2020 Urth. Another example is that some nations like Bai Lung, Kelssek and even Xiopothos that were from the original map still exist today on Urth. A picture of TEP RP’s ‘Asia’ map. Est. 2004-2008 The second thing is that Urth has a very well-built world. Many established nations like Great Morstaybishlia, Asendavia, and Norgsveldet have very detailed wikis in TEPwiki, with details ranging from bios of the current presidents, to how a person from that nation speaks, to even the daily common routines from a person from that nation. One great example of this intricate world-building can be found in Great Morstayishlia's Wiki page.Last but not the least, Urth RP has one of the most newcomer-friendly communities I’ve ever seen. Right from the start, you’ll be greeted by the mods and current roleplayers then during which they’ll be guiding you every step of the way, from applying for citizenship to making a map claim. From personal experience, the people of Urth RP do their best to make sure newcomers feel welcomed and at home right from the beginning. Although other RPs like Valsora and Windsor are also newcomer-friendly in their own way, I think Urth is the best in the fact that everyone helps everyone, regardless if you’ve been part of the community for a decade or a second.Urth RP is one of the best communities to be in NationStates especially if you’re new not only to NS but also in roleplay in general. If you’re a newly founded nation and are looking to participate in TEP, I strongly suggest joining us over at Discord.The Megathread uprising of 2020By La xinga On the night of Sunday, Jun 21, 2020, Administrator and Senior Game Mod Reploid Productions locked the Right-wing Discussion Thread and the Left-wing Discussion thread, places which were meant for you to discuss about, well, left-wing politics and right wing politics! The mod's reasoning for the lock can be found here.United muscovite nations was the first nation to post. UMN was a person who posted on the 4 and a half year old threads frequently. He even put in his forum sig: "Grumpy Grandpa of the LWDT and RWDT".To quote UMN himself:"Congrats on [REDACTED] over a huge portion of the user base. Think I'm gonna head off the site for good, since LWDT and RWDT were the only halfway decent things to do on this site. Go ahead and deat me so I don't have a reason to come back."Once he realized the mods were not deleting him, he spammed and flamed his way into deletion. UMN was warned for spamming, didn't care, got a three-day ban for flaming, posted against it, and finally got the DEAT.The first FOUR posts were different posters attacking the mods for their actions. People demanded that the mods say how they got to this decision, and also claimed GHRs don't work. People questioned: "What happens if a mod breaks a rule? Can't they just delete the GHR? Oh, admins answer them? What happens if Admins break the rule?"Conspiracy theories ran rampant: Did the mods have some biased thing that no one knows about? The Archregimancy insisted that was not the case, yet, sadly, no one listened to Arch. People also claimed the mods didn't want people to chat, and one nation claiming that "the mods took smaller threads and merged them into bigger threads, and now they're getting rid of the big threads?Two nations decided that since there was no more RWDT or LWDT, they'll create a less broad new one. Nouveau Quebecois created the Authoritarian Right Discussion Thread I, while South Odreria 2 created the Authoritarian Left Discussion Thread I, both immediately locked by moderator Sedgistan, since they didn't meet the guidelines for megathreads. Whether or not that was a bad thing to do or a good thing, the users of RWDT and LWDT were not happy. People wanted other threads in NSG locked, some not even Megathreads. Nations did receive warnings, bans from forum for a certain amount of time, and even a DEAT. Reploid Productions repeatedly stated: “Once again, the topic is the megathread closures and requests for review of other megathreads. It is not for loaded questions about unrelated cases, hence the continued removal of posts as bad faith.”Yet again, when people are mad, they go over the line. People are free to criticize moderation, but mods are still players behind the screen, users that play NS too, like all of us.The Enemy of the PeopleBy Inquisitive Examinations (Editor's Note: This article is a work of satire. None of these views represent the view of the Eastern Pacific News Service as a whole.)On June 22, a scandal erupted that would change free press forever. Our step sister-twice-removed organization, NationStates Today, released information of a threat from Lazarene Prime Minister JoWhatUp not to publish a leak from a citizens-only channel about certain treaties.JoWhatUp’s worst crime - besides the capitalization of their name - is that he expected that this threat to NationStates Today would not be leaked, saying “I trust this will not be leaked.” This is an outrage for any believer in free press, who have for years advocated the god-given right to leak.One notable critic goes on to say that “[Lazarus] effectively criminalized routine investigative journalism,” which is verifiably true! According to NationStates Today, this leak came as a result of an article about the Better Together Accords and the Treaty of Skandia between the New Pacific Order and the regions of The West Pacific and Balder, respectively. These treaties were publicly posted in the Gameplay forum on June 10 and June 13, 2020. NationStates Today supposedly contacted JoWhatUp about leaked statements regarding these treaties at or around June 16, 2020, when JoWhatUp refused to comment on these statements and blackmailed NationStates Today. NSToday came forward with this behavior on June 22, and to this day there hasn’t been an article about these treaties yet. Or at least I can’t find it. I’m smelling censorship, though.When NationStates Today came forward with these allegations, Gameplayers blasted NSToday for accepting the leak. Some even went so far as to call them a security risk, suggesting that they were inside governments and watching! This accusation is absolutely absurd. The trench-coat wearing NSToday reporters hanging outside the region’s government buildings are not dangerous! If you go to them and ask about their day, they will probably sit down with you and explain for hours on end showing you pictures of their spouse and kids, as well as their loyal pet, probably. None of these Gameplayers have asked these spies how they feel. These people that they’re calling security risks have lives too.A young aspiring security risk walked into my office today. When they aren’t busy spying on other regions, they settle down in The East Pacific and write roleplay posts. I played Secret Hitler with another security risk, and although he was literally a fascist, I could tell that he enjoyed having fun and organizing the game.These security risks interviewed GCR Delegates like Marrabuk in an interview for a podcast. They literally recorded every word they said and no one raised any objections over their Delegates being bugged.If these people keep going on censoring the free press, who is next? The good people at Inquisitive Examinations will not bow down to this pressure and will continue to examine inquisitively!JoWhatUp, don’t comment on this article. We in Inquisitive Examinations do not like comments from people with random capitalization.
  3. Hi guys! I'm back and I'm the new Ambassador from The East Pacific! *shows off nonexistent badge* Here's an update to what TEP's been up to this month. EPNS will be posted in about a week. In the following thread, Vice Delegate Libertanny, known to most as Serge, won the Delegate elections with a 56% majority, narrowly defeating Vizier and Former Viceroy Zukchiva, who handled the loss with grace. https://forum.theeastpacific.com/june-2020-delegate-elections-voting-t17165.html After being confirmed by Viceroy-Designee Pakitsk, Delegate Libertanny has announced his new Cabinet, which is as follows: Vice Delegate: Dragons Blood (McStooley) Chief Minister of Regional Affairs: Sakana Chief Minister of Foreign Affairs: The Earth Systems Alliance (on Leave of Absence until July 15) Acting Chief Minister of Foreign Affairs: Virgolia (until July 15) Chief Minister of World Assembly Affairs: Wallenburg Director of the Bureau of Public Affairs: Zukchiva Overseeing Officer of EPSA: The Atlae Isles Minister of Information and Communications: Tretrid Minister of Immigration: VW53ALand Minister of Culture: Aivintis Cabinet Advisors: East Malaysia, Pakitsk, Asendavia, Bachtendekuppen, A mean old man, Marrabuk, Todd McCloud, and Hobbesistan* *Hobbesistan is yet to be confirmed
  4. Greetings, fellow West Pacificans. I've decided to take an extended break from NationStates. (I will make this post as short but informative as I can due to the Inverse Law of Retirement Posts.) As most of you know, I am a student (my grades are doing well this time around so far ) and that takes up a lot of my time, with homework and extracurriculars. The rest of my free time for a long time was put into NationStates. It's been an honor to serve among you all in government, in Discord conversation, and in TWPAF. There are a few reasons why I decided to leave. One and obviously the most important is my time. As goes the old saying, "RL >>>>>>>>>>> NS." Furthermore, my interest in NS has been steadily decaying for a while. It certainly doesn't help with all the toxicity that is to be expected from an online community masquerading as a political simulator (though perhaps the toxicity was always there). If you want more details, feel free to DM me (although I will not respond as quickly as I used to). I hope the TWPAF pirates will sail on to new seas! It's been a pleasure with you all.
  5. Apparently I cannot either, and as an officer, and as Kawaii posted there the other day, the unread notification is driving me crazy!
  6. I am deaf. I have always been deaf. Born without a sense of hearing, I am told (or at least, communicated) that there is a side to life that I cannot experience. That life is too silent. That life has cruelly taken the gift of sight, the gift of taste, or the gift to smell or taste away from someone. To not experience something. I don’t know what I am missing, since I have never heard a sound. They are all foreign concepts to me. I have often been asked what a thunderstorm is like. Thunderstorms, as I understand, are simply lightning storms, since I think I read somewhere that thunder actually comes after lightning. If, by circumstance, I am found outside during a thunderstorm, with the raindrops come the smell of the water spattering against the pavement, although I do not know how hard it hits unless I try to catch one in my hands, to feel the stinging pain from above. Maybe if I stuck my tongue out, I could taste it. Then comes the actual lightning. It flashes, a blinding light. For me, this is the most significant part of a storm. The zigzagging effect seems quite indicative of the zigzagginess of life itself. But to some, what follows lightning is the scariest part. Thunder, the sound that comes after. I was once taught that you could tell how far lightning was by counting the seconds between the lightning strike and the subsequent thunder and divide by five. I could never do such. Perhaps the fact that light is slower than sound is proof that it is inferior, that perhaps it could not reach my ears? I wouldn’t know. I can only tell when thunder has struck when I can see the faces of others, grimacing or covering their ears. I have no need to do that. If a strike is particularly hard, I feel the vibrations from it. Or is that just my increased heartbeat? I would not be able to hear it, but I think I can feel it pounding away in my chest. I don’t know how deafening thunder is. Would that be a good thing or a bad thing? Sometimes, when I’m inside and it happens, someone would come out and ask me, Did you hear that? Which, of course, I did not. I’m pretty sure that’s what they say, I’m used to reading lips to the best of my ability. And I can only assume that was a storm. Perhaps the omission of thunder from a thunderstorm was a good thing? Perhaps I can appreciate a storm more when thunder does not scare me off? I try not to dwell on it, but it comes and goes, like the lightning storms.
  7. I agree with the other statements, but I am really proud of the language you put into it. I think the best thing you can do with it is probably turn it into an issue, as someone who's published two issues. Go to the "Got Issues" forum and post your idea in "The Writing Block" to get the go-ahead.
  8. Now that the finals are over, I will be back more often.
  9. Official Factbook of Middle Teala Please pardon the dust.
  10. Draft 3 is out! I've added more policy achievements from Yuno, feel free to add some I've missed.
  11. Thanks! I have to admit, that was a hard part to replace. Now to address Arotania's thing about plotting, I have now added the new "CAUTIONS" clause. Hope it works!
  12. Hi guys, I'm supposed to be on LOA right now, but with school wrapping up for the year, I think I can squeeze just a tiny bit of time for this pet project. I don't foresee myself doing anything NS-related besides this, although I am excited for it. This is meant to be somewhat satirical, but I do want it submitted. Constructive criticism is much appreciated. Without further ado, here it is! P.S.: Replies in IC or OOC are fine by me.
  13. Hello. I know you’re all happy and stuff over the coming holidays, but I have some grave news to report. As you all know, it’s been a while since I joined TWP. It gave me great experiences, some of which I spent a lot of my time on. It is that which I have bad news on. It turns out all that time I spent in NS was really starting to detract from school and other stuff that was in hindsight more important than my work on NS. In fact, in hindsight, I probably spent way too much time on this post, too. Anyway, keeping it simple from now on. I hereby resign from TWPAF, DMoFA, and Deputy Speaker. I'm sorry, OT, for resigning less than 48(?) hours after I assumed my position, but c'est la vie. I do hope that my absence won’t take away much of the momentum in FA or TWPAF, and I totally understand if Bran wishes to erase my country or something since I won’t be RPing for the next few months. Hopefully, I can earn back my RP stuff. I loved working in TWPAF with you: Altino, OT, Laur, Strat, among others. I'm sorry that I have to stop raiding, but my schedule won't allow that for the time being. An ETA for my return should be probably sometime next year. Best case scenario is February-Marchish, if it comes to the worst, see you in June. Bye. And hail TWP. (Which assumes, of course, that I won’t be going back on my word and coming back early. If I do, do me a favor and tell me I have work to do. I’ll understand.)
  14. This sounds interesting. If no one else claims it, I can do it.
  15. I don't seem to be able to access this (http://www.westpacific.org/forums/index.php?/forum/27-private-foreign-affairs/) despite me being Dave's Slave/Deputy Minister. Is this a masking issue?
  16. Birds chirp in the crisp spring air. You see the cherry blossoms begin to open up, in the dawn light it almost looks blood red. The streaks of yellow and red burst out like fire as the sun rises on the land of the rising sun. You walk along one of the trails, relishing the crunch of the dirt under your sandals. It is another day, and soon, in a few hours, the people will come. The village is small, only a few hundred or so. Among them, there is one teacher, one official, and one healer. That last one is you. It is said you have magical healing properties like no other, not even the ones outside the village. Children especially love you, coming frequently for boo-boos and scraped knees from climbing the knottled tree outside one of the houses. You operate the village apothecary, with shelves lined with herbal powders, green tea, and candy (popular among the young ones). It is a bustling place, with everyday injuries, back pain, cuts, or the occasional broken bone. Each time, you calmly clean their wound and apply medicine. Each time, they break out in a fever and a bout of nausea. Each time, after a good night's sleep, it (fever and wound) disappears immediately upon sunrise, and they feel reinvigorated. You are Akuma Tenshi, praised among the village as a hero, an angel, if you will. From the plateau raised above the rest of the land, it feels like it's on the way to the celestial body. However, over the fence and down below, there is another village. They are rivals with the first, and let's just say they do not like you as much. In fact, they curse you everyday, calling you the devil, daring not to speak your name. Why? Well, the benefits of healing in your village have a great cost. Whenever a scrape or cut is healed up on the celestial plateau, it is suddenly inflicted down below as soon as the sun rises. They have a great suspicion it's you who did it. One day, a boy (toddler/child) climbed over the fence and fell straight down the plateau. No one could find his body, and was presumed dead. The village went into great mourning; it was the first time in many years such a tragedy had happened. But what really happened is that he survived the fall, and found his way into the enemy village, raising him as one of their own. He wore the same clothes, spoke in almost the same dialect, and made friends with many there. He did not remember much in the village from which he came, making the one he grew up in his home. Still, he could not shake the feeling that he was an outsider. He did not have all of the same scars on many of the boys in the village (which is why they wore traditional face paint and had long, robe-like clothes); not all of the injuries healed up there would affect him, and did not walk with a limp, wincing every time they took a step. Sometimes he imitated them just to feel included, but they still envied him a little. Once or twice, he was picked on by one of the bigger kids, but was able to run away, not slowed by a limp. When he grew up, he decided to trek the way up to the village from which he came. Although he did not have the characteristic limp or scars of the rival village, his face paint and robe-like clothes drew disdain from many as an enemy. He was teased and had rocks thrown at him from the village children (which bounced off the silk robe harmlessly). All you could do was look on in sorrow. Heal the physical scars and go was one of the things that you considered easy, mundane. But deep, emotional strains were not so easy, with complex motivations and thoughts behind them.
  17. I'm using a Chromebook, so maybe Chrome OS is doing something to it.
  18. Whenever I make a new edition of TWPAF Today, (http://www.westpacific.org/forums/index.php?/topic/2341-twpaf-today/) there's always the inevitable. I used quotes to put the text in in the first post, but in the rest, I use spoilers. In both cases, if I change tabs or do something and have to click back in the spoiler, it freezes. In the last post of TWPAF Today, I had to reload 5 times. Is this a problem with Invision or is it something else?
  19. Welcome! You'll have fun here in TWP!
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