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As the sun rises in a cloudless sky over The West Pacific, slumber ends for most of its residents. This is the day they celebrate the Enthronement of The Second Dragon-Emperor! Preparations that began as soon as Bran Astor was named Heir Apparent come to fruition today. No school or work! Real life is suspended! Everyone who isn’t part of the ceremony will dress in their finest and hurry to claim a prime vantage point for witnessing this historic event. One resident greets the sunrise wide-awake. In a meditation chamber off the throne room, guarded by Sir Fujai, Xia of The Benevolent Order of The Three Perfections, and Dilber, a Guardian and close aide, Bran Astor, Delegate of The West Pacific, has been praying and fasting since the previous dawn, eager to gain The Mandate of Heaven. While The People’s Mandate had, through their endorsements, secured his power as regional Delegate several days prior, and even though he is more comfortable with a casual approach to governing, The Second Dragon-Emperor is happy to play his part in this ritual in order to affirm his allegiance to the principles and traditions of The West Pacific. His most fervent wish is that his Delegacy will serve and honor his people. He has risen to this region’s Delegacy and is now ready to ascend to The Dragon Throne. The Commander of The West Pacific Armed Forces, Kawaii Schoolgirl, Countess of Junshan, reviews her troops stationed in formation outside the palace of Zijin Cheng, The Forbidden City. Soldiers know that emperors blessed with The Mandate of Heaven are assured victory. They sense greatness in the one who will soon be enthroned, and stand a little taller. Inside the ornate gold and red Hall of The Dragon-Emperor, the throne room of the immense palace, priests and acolytes have been at work polishing and lighting incense. All must be perfect. The hour is near. Stately melodies on the erhu, pipa, dizi and suona intermingle with the rustle of the silks of the expectant crowd, and the Past Delegates and Peers process to the palace. Many of these dignitaries, such as Mediobogdum and Big Bad Badger, Royal Dukes of The West Pacific, Darkesia, Duchess of Hainan, and Yy4u, Xia of The Benevolent Order of The Three Perfections, have already assisted the new Delegate in his transition. Others, like Neenee, Royal Princess of The West Pacific, Elegarth, Royal Duke of The west Pacific, Davelands, Wickedly Evil People, All Good People, Bhang Bhang Duc and BIteland, have helped to build the region into the powerful cultural and educational center it is. In a region that venerates its elders, the sight of all these luminaries right before them almost causes several in the crowd to swoon. The procession halts at the carved great doors to the throne room. Bran Astor has arrived and waits with facing the rising sun, attended by Dalimbar, Earl of Zhifu, Arkadia Universalis, Earl of Ping, and Overthinkers, Baron of Lantau. As the hymns reach a crescendo, Saint Mark, Emeritus Emperor of The West Pacific, Chancellor of The Hall of Peers, and Celestial Sage, nods and smiles to his new Dragon-Emperor, and opens the doors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiXgOQ9_-RI The angelic voices of The Imperial Choir of The West Pacific wash over the assembled from the balcony above. Bran Astor is the first to enter, followed by Saint Mark and the others in order of precedence. The ancient hall fills to capacity. When all is ready, The Dragon-Emperor ascends to his rightful place on the throne as the choir’s last triumphant stanzas ring out. In the silence that follows, the Emperor Emeritus unfurls a scroll and calls out the Imperial titles: His Imperial Majesty, Bran Astor, Dragon Emperor of The West Pacific, Delegate, Son of Heaven, Builder of Worlds, Supreme Squatcher, and Duke of Hebao Confident, the newly enthroned Dragon-Emperor then rises to read his ascension edict: http://www.westpacific.org/forums/index.php?/topic/3402-honors-of-the-west-pacific/ At the conclusion, a joyful cry erupts from those present, the epicenter of a thunderous wave of celebration that spreads across The West Pacific. Through the night and into the morning, there are parades and parties, fetes and fireworks. A new Delegate sits on The Dragon Throne. The West Pacific is assured of continued peace and prosperity.

What is it about a redemption story that draws us in? Is it the drama of the fall from grace? Is it the hope of a better tomorrow? Could it be that each of us has a nagging memory of a wrongdoing we hope won't follow us the rest of our IC, OOC, and IRL lives? The author of the White List Campaign telegram is betting on that. NationStates, for the most part, has a good Admin and Moderation team that does indeed protect its players. We've witnessed them warn, correct, suspend, ban, and delete accounts that commit everything from spam to flamebait to harassment. However, as most of us know, the communities and overall nature of gameplay extends to several off-site locations, such as forums, IRC, Skype, and Discord. Does the protection of the Admin and Moderation team extend to those locations? No. Do certain players take advantage of that? Yes. NationStates should be a safe space for people of all ages. A vast majority of communities have admin teams comprised of good, sensible, caring players who diligently extend the umbrella of protection to all facets of gameplay. They have long drawn a line of decency against bad behavior in the sand and proclaimed "Here we stand." The West Pacific has a long memory. We remember the White List author. We remember their actions. You and your kind will never be welcome here. Here we stand.

As part of The West Pacific's month-long recognition of Autism Spectrum Disorder, we present three essays from our friends on the spectrum. Wymondham So, I suppose I should start by telling you all about myself. I’m Wymondham, Vizier of CA in Osiris, NSToday PR Director and Court Justice in Lazarus. But, I’m not here to talk about that. I was diagnosed with High Functioning Aspergers at age 13 and that helped explain a lot to me. However, to explain the rest of my story, we need to go back further to when I first started primary school aged 4. I had always found making friends difficult and the same was true at Primary school, I made 2 or 3 friends and was very close to all of them. I quickly found that, although I excelled at the work, I would misinterpret the teachers instructions and was often told off despite not really knowing what I had done wrong. When I got to the older years though I had an excellent teacher who seemed to really understand me and I cannot thank her enough for the ways she helped me. Whether it was from giving me instructions that I could follow and easily understand, to stretching me in terms of work difficulty by moving me up a year, which is an arrangement that I have continued to this day. Moving up to High School was difficult for me. I struggled very much to make friends and was bullied until the summer of last year. Without a diagnosis my teachers refused to make allowances for me. I got into a very heated row with my Head of House when he refused to give me some space to calm down following a fracas with another boy who had been mocking me because of my appearance. I’ve always struggled with expressing my feelings and, as such can often find opening up to people rather difficult. I was diagnosed aged 13 and it helped me understand a lot about myself. Suddenly certain things I didn’t understand why I did suddenly became a lot clearer and it has become a lot easier to develop strategies to control my often explosive anger. Routines are a major part of my day and since getting my diagnosis people have certainly been a lot more accepting off it. For example, when I go on discord, I will always say good morning to servers in a certain order: a friends personal discord server, followed by Osiris, then my two family servers, then Thalassia and finally Karma. Same goes for saying goodnight in PMs, I say goodnight to Rigel first and Altino last. I will have lunch at a certain time every day, go for my walk at precisely 2PM. Therefore, disruptions to my routine such as the Coronavirus can be extremely disorientating, I go to a boarding school which I find extremely useful due to the routine. Going home has required a readjustment to my routine and for the first week I was very very confused until I adjusted to the new normal. The internet and NS have been so useful for me as someone with Aspergers syndrome. It has given me the opportunity to interact with people without having to read facial expressions, which are the bane of my social existence - as a Brit I have grown up around Sarcasm so do not find that as difficult to deal with as other people with Aspergers. It has enabled me to meet people like Altino, Rigel, Halo, Rachael and Sho who have all helped me so much with my other mental health struggles which my tendency to hyperfocus does not exactly aid. So yeah, that’s me and Aspergers. If you’ve got any questions TG me or shoot me a discord PM (Wymondham#3478) Dilber As a kid, I always was a little different. I skipped speaking individual words and went straight to sentences. My teachers told my parents I was far behind on reading, and that I had major learning disorders until all of a sudden, I could read paragraphs and was years ahead of my class. When I was four years old, I was playing with a friend and he teased me mercilessly. Instead of getting angry at the time, I waited a day, and then bit his finger to the bone. My favorite book to read for years was volume A of the encyclopedia. I received my initial diagnosis back when Aspergers was just added to the DSM. My mom had read up about it, and was pretty sure I had it. The psych, however, didn’t believe that it was a real disorder. In the end, I was diagnosed with ADHD, Dysgraphia, and Non-verbal learning disorder. I started therapy at 4 years old. I don’t remember much of my early therapy, but one of the things I do remember was my writing therapist giving up on me. I went to a writing therapist for four years, but by second grade I was using a laptop because the therapist didn’t know how to improve my motor skills. I didn’t have a good experience with therapy until I was 8 years old, and we’d moved to a different city. I got a fresh start with a new therapist that I would end up seeing for the next thirteen years. Through middle school, I went to therapy 2-3 times a week. I lacked very basic social skills and was unable to read people at all. I was very young for my grade (made the cutoff for being in that grade by 2 days), and then skipped 4th grade. My peers were 2-3 years older than me, and I just didn’t know how to interact with them. Therapy was a very important part of my life and helped me learn how to function. I was regularly bullied by some of the kids, and therapy helped me learn coping skills, and how to handle people. I was very lucky to have incredibly supportive parents. Therapy also taught me how to connect with my father. We also conflicted when I was young, because he had issues understanding my actions. I had a tendency to use my “logic” which no one else could understand where I came to the conclusion that something needed to be done. The most common therapy that I did as a kid was “play” therapy. The therapist and I would talk and play games, and he’d indulge all the rules changes I would make to the game. This allowed me to open up more, and really helped me learn how to communicate. Over time, I learned how to read body language better, while also getting really good at the made up version of connect 4 that we used to play. I ended up repeating 8th grade, not for academic reasons but because I would have been going into high school as a 12 year old, and that would have made the bullying worse. When I was 14 or 15, my psych admitted that I most likely had Asperger’s, but it wasn’t worth changing my diagnosis because it would mess with all the educational plans I had at school. I would have been forced into special education classes, and taken out of my honors classes, and it would have really been detrimental to my social life that I’d finally managed to start developing. In middle school and ninth grade, I always had a very small circle of friends but I started blossoming in tenth grade when I joined the school jazz band. Music helped me connect with people, and I was able to form close attachments with friends. I still was the “weird” kid, but all of us were a little bit weird and that taught me it was ok. Making friends was the next important step in development for me. Back in middle school, I thought it was “cool” to sit by myself because it would impress the girls. I wasn’t any smoother in high school, but navigating social groups and bonds helped set me up for the learning how to become a functional adult. This was also around the time I got into Nationstates. Nationstates was great because on the internet you could be anyone, and no one had to know your struggles if you didn’t want them to. Nationstates taught me a lot about online communication at the same time I was really learning how to interact with people in-person. The next step for me was in college when I got into Improvisational Comedy. One of my long running-struggles was a massive need for “structure”. Without structure, I was unable to operate and basically shut down. Improv taught me how to play around with-in the rules, before later learning how to break them. This was a big improvement over me as a kid, where I once tattled on my cousin for buying me ice cream when my mom told her not to get it for me because I knew I broke the rule and it wasn’t right. I’m now a “slightly weird” adult. I had a conversation with a former co-worker that told me that when I was hired, they thought I was going to be incredibly annoying. I had a tendency to want to talk while they were doing work and wouldn’t understand their body language that they wanted me to back off. This was a really important learning for me, and I’ve told my co-workers to straight up tell me “hey, I need to do stuff.” Therapy helped me learn how to read people, but when I get excited I still run into issues. I hyper-focus on this, and I get really excited about stupid things and then explain it to my poor wife. I got really into smart home technology, and now I own three smart ceiling fans. It’s interesting to think of what I would have been like without years of work. When people think of the spectrum, they think of what they’ve seen in movies. Not everyone needs to live in a group home, but if they do that’s ok. We all cope and learn to do things different ways. My business partner was diagnosed with Autism as an adult, and it made a lot of things in his life “click”. We have discussions because sometimes it feels like we’re on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of our preferences to do things, but because our brains are different that “normal” people we can understand each other better. Normal is a relative concept. Most people have no idea that my friend or I are on the spectrum, and many would be surprised to find out. There is a stigma attached to the spectrum that needs to be cleared up. People on the spectrum can be just as unique from each other as they are to neurotypical brains. If you know someone with autism, just talk to them about it. Ask about their preferences or why they said something. Be gentle, be kind, and be understanding. This doesn’t mean be a pushover. Being on the spectrum is not a license to be an asshole, and I thank my parents, friends, and coworkers for giving me boundaries. Awareness of the spectrum is key for the future. There’s a whole gap between the public perception of “group home” or “rain man”. Awareness is really important, and I’m glad that people are starting to learn more. Ithobbit I think a lot has been written by people close to Autism, quite a number of articles, studies, notes and even projects that heralded new insight as to what Autism (and the spectrum) is. Not so much (or at least published in great numbers or popular in nature) has been written by the autistic to tell their part. The new found use for Social media and Social networking has shifted the balance here, everyone can get a platform to shed light on the things close to their hearts and to be able to express themselves somewhat. We know what the DSM says about Autism: "Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Fifth Edition of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM 5)*, is a complex developmental disorder associated with symptoms that include "persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts" and "restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities." But, from the point of view of someone in the spectrum, what does that really mean? To me, being on what used to be called Asperger’s and now is just a part of the ASD, it means that certain things are FAR more important or worthy of attention than others. That I’ll settle in and be comfortable with certain tasks and situations, while being absolutely unable to cope with others, and for each one of us, these are different. My son, also on the spectrum will tirelessly research, learn and go on to teach if allowed anything and everything he can about video editing, cinema and movies. He’s dedicated dozens of hours to analyzing the differences in DVD (or BluRay) menu options between different versions of a movie, and will gladly share everything he knows about it if you just sit down “for a minute”. Some of us are very prone to bouts of “self isolation”, alone playtime, going into closets, under beds, or dark places. Others are hyper and love moving about and doing all sorts of physical activity, but one major thing we have in common is that social “awkwardness” that prevails over most of our interactions; be it that we miss social cues, we take things at face value, or simply, miss absolutely anything relating to sarcasm or innuendo because we only really register the words, not the nuances. Overall it makes daily things hard. People may take advantage of it (we trust a lot) or be afraid of our aloofness or possibly even they fear that we may become irate “over nothing”; quick hint here, very rarely it’s over nothing. We on the spectrum obsess easily, that’s a great gift for learning, but we also don’t let things go as fast as others. Someone making fun of you stays, sometimes even for years, which lends itself for some really hard times when forgiving a slight. Eating is another “fun” time. Some of us have issues with textures, some foods that are absolutely enjoyable by most, are actually retch producing and we need to work around that daily. It all is variable, and some people seem very far removed from “neurotypical” while others are far more functional, but sometimes none of us get a chance to show how or why. I’ve taken my son out of more schools than I care to admit, we’ve tried different systems, education patterns, teachers and methods, and only some work, and not all the time. We’ve had parents force our kid out of the classroom because they are afraid that their children may miss classes, have a hard time, or, in the worst cases “catch something”. It’s been 11 years of schooling, Jr has moved to seventh grade now, he’s moved out of the city and into a more rural environment, people are somehow more open there, teachers try to explore different ways, and the fact that there is more space and nature, has brought anxiety levels down on all of us. Not everyone is this lucky, we had a choice, we were able to move him to a place where people were willing to not just shy away, but reach out; in times like this, don’t we need a bit more of reaching out, albeit metaphorically if not actually?

Be Thankful, Not Entitled By Madeline Norfolk ( @Lady Madeline) Over my years in NationStates, I’ve come to realize that I have these phases in my time in regions that I put a lot of work in. I go from being gracious just to be given the opportunity to do what I like, and extremely humbled when recognized by folks that I’m doing a good job, to being frustrated that nobody appreciates my work and my time I’m putting in. Currently, I’m in a weird place where I’m not really gracious or frustrated—I guess that comes with more RL maturity. I’m in a place where I just want to do what I enjoy in NationStates and if that means cutting down how many regions I’m involved in, or taking a step away from a position or part of a region I really enjoy, then that’s what I’ll have to do. Through this journey of maturity and general peace in NationStates activity, there’s something we all should learn, we need to be thankful instead of entitled. What I mean is, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve worked in a position or a region, Be Thankful every time someone recognizes you for doing good! Don’t expect people to fall to your virtual feet and sing your name in praises every time you do whatever your job is. I certainly don’t play this game to stroke the ego of strangers on the internet, and you probably don’t either. If you’re getting frustrated because no one is praising you anymore or thanking you, then it may be time for you to take a step back or go in a different direction! It is amazing how much a term break or letting someone else take over with as little involvement from you as possible can be. Not only can it be rewarding to see your hard work continue in others, but it can also help you reassess why you’re doing this job. So why am I even talking about this? Too many of my friends and people I know in NationStates come to me or others frustrated that nobody cares what they’re doing or they’re feeling underappreciated because they got negative feedback. It isn’t fun and it really just stinks worse than leftovers from Thanksgiving that you left in the fridge for a month. As we enter this season of giving and receiving, remember that everyone here is human, and not only that, but most are not here to make you feel good about this game. You should find your feel good in things you accomplish, the surprises when you do get recognition, and most importantly in the friendships and communities you join. At the end, if this game were to shut down tomorrow, it isn’t like we’ll all just stop talking to one another, and frankly nobody cares if you’ve built 8 different proboards forums or written 4 Constitutions. So be thankful for your opportunities— Be thankful for the unexpected recognitions— Be thankful for the communities you have— And don’t feel entitled that you deserve things because you did a thing or anyone owes you things because you did a thing for them. Do things because you like doing them, not for whatever prizes you expect to get for doing them! I wish you all a wonderful holiday season, be thankful, be gracious, be humble, be loving, be caring, be intentional. ✌

Firstly, I thank @Saint Mark. I joined NS at the time of Halo's reign as Delegate. He showed me that there was a lot more of NS beyond issues, and encouraged me to become a citizen and join the Discord server and forums. Although the delegate change happened not much time after that, I still remember Halo's delegacy, and I thank him for helping me. I also thank @Ark for introducing me to Foreign Affairs, which was the first ministry I decided to join, and I thank @Bran Astor for being an amazing Delegate and helping me with the Speaker position after I was elected, such as giving me ideas on how to start the Regional Commendations. Furthermore, I also thank @Reçueçn, @Elegarth, @TUMS and @Mediobogdum for being Trading Cards players that constantly trade cards with me and help keep the TWP Card Channel in Discord active. From all these card farmers, I think I should especially thank @Reçueçn for also encouraging me when I was seeking the last cards for my TWP S1 collection, giving me ideas to contact the players who had these rare cards, and showing me some tools to make card farming faster and less boring. It is important to say, though, that those are all individual players. I thank the West Pacific as a whole for being a wonderful region! Without you all, TWP wouldn't be the same.

@Bran Astor You've been one of my closest friends. This was the case before you were my boss. This will be the case after you're my boss. While you're my boss here, you've been one of the best people that I've served under. I like that you challenge me to think in new ways, and I like that you allow me to challenge you as well. I like that we can have very frank discussions and as much as I've be annoyed for a brief couple days, you're always ready for the next discussion that I bring up. You're a true comrade and friend.

Commend Neenee Nominee: Neenee Passed: 24 November 2020 For: 24 Against: 0 (0%)

Do you really respect someone? Do you admire someone or their hard work? Then use this thread to thank them. Right now we live in uncertain times, the world we create is the one we make. We should spread as much gratitude as we can. Recognize someone in the thread below, list out why they mean something to the region, to you or to thank them for contributions.

https://r8.whiteboardfox.com/810372-3549-9959 Use this whiteboard to write or draw anything you want! The sky's the limit, and in the end a wonderful collage of TWP's thoughts will come out! [May take a few tries to connect to it.]

I'd like to thank @Sensorland for getting me more involved and for also being a friendly and fun presence, and @Bran Astor for liking my haiku and getting me even more involved! Thanks as well to the folks in Karma who have so kindly welcomed me as a new ambassador.

There are so many people I could thank here. TWP is filled to overflowing with good people. I really am blessed to have been "born" in this region. So one person .... hmmm ... I think I would like to thank @Big Bad Badger. When I was a noob, he was the TWPAF Commander and tried to teach me raiding. I stunk at that, but he saw potential in me in other ways and stuck with me, mentoring me when he became delegate and including me in his plans. In addition to helping me personally in NS, he has been a huge asset to the region. His reforms began our TWP renaissance. Even after his delegacy, he has continued to be active and supportive. Thanks, Badger!

Here is some more. @Dalimbarwhile threatening to purge me is an amusing, steady snarky consistent resource and asset to the region. While he may threaten, he has the region's interests best at heart, infamous as almost "evil" Dilber in a sense, his hard working talent leads to the protection of our region. His humor, his participation keeps the region going, while he does quite a bit in the background, I appreciate his opinion, snark and general contribution to the region. People keep the community going, whether in obvious ways, behind the scene, whether in being a pillar of community. TWP would not be the same without trying to bedazzle Dali's banhammer. Dali is a significant and important member of this community that I am lucky to know (seriously). @Fujai is extremely hard working. He is always coming up with new ideas for culture, promoting activity within the region and with the newspaper. He has amazing skills and he is just a joy to watch work. He clearly knows what he is doing, and he is a remarkable individual. He is kind, good-hearted, humorous and full of snark.

Recognizing The Holy Principality of Saint Mark as a leader in many aspects of NationStates. Realizing Saint Mark has influenced many Nations by serving as a leader in the feeder region, [region]the West Pacific[/region]: -Serving as Delegate of the West Pacific -Serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. -Serving as a Guardian of the West. -Green-lighting the the The West Pacific Armed Forces, helping bring peace to game created regions and their allies Also remembering Saint Mark’s Service as a Regional Officer in [region]Osiris[/region], [region]Albion[/region], and [region]The Sasquatch Republic[/region]. Observing Saint Mark’s recognition by NSToday as one of the 20 most influential nations. Appreciating the establishment of the Protect our Players Accord by the Holy Principality of Saint Mark, which created a fun and safe environment for all. Seeking to commemorate the Influence and goodwill of the Holy Principality of Saint Mark. Hereby commends the Holy Principality of Saint Mark. authored and researched by @Teralyon, @TUMS, @Kurabis

Dear all, When I started my nation and signed up on the forum, I was a little intimidated since it was clear that there are some long-time players here. Sorry for not posting sooner! It's also been a bit of a learning curb. It took me time to understand RMB etiquette with things like double posting. I am Fuentana and I have been lightly spamming our RMB with puns and Haikus with some regularity, so this might be a bit of a delayed and unnecessary intro for some. It's been a lot of fun getting more involved over the last few months. I'm looking forward to more chuckles through the region's snark, wordplay, and RP. But I do want to note that I'll be posting Haikus here in the Library and Coffee Shop section of our forum, as well as various RP stuff as I learn them. Probably a decent amount of my RP contributions (if valid; I'm still learning my way in these parts) will be cultural in nature, playing on some of my real life interests. So I hope you'll visit the library from time to time with a cup of coffee in hand (or a dram of whisky) to see what the poetically just people of Fuentana are writing. Cheers!

Hi everyone! My nation is named Kurabis. I have as of time posting this 648 million people. My capital is Parducze, national animal is blackbird and currency is Kurabisian crown. I am not very active in the region RMB since joining this region , but I will probably start to be more active there.

Westwind By Correspondent Reçueçn “I’d like to ask for your thoughts on some things, as well as just your own history,” I said. “Go right ahead,” said Westwind. He poured us both another glass of rum. I took a moment to look at the bottle, with the TWP Spiced Crimson Rum branding. “This is good stuff,” I said. Westwind nodded. “By the way, in TNP it was Crimson Rum. In TWP it was Spiced Crimson Rum. There IS a difference! Both are served at the E-Bar in Equilism, and kegs of Spiced Crimson Rum are delivered to the TWP RMB on special occasions. Such vintage spirits have limited availability.” I laughed. “Well I’m glad I could taste some.” I savored a mouthful as I thought about what I wanted to ask. “We talk a lot about how NS is a 'text-based game' and what that means. Definitely it's a very unique game in both the demands it makes of players and the opportunities it presents. What qualities of yours do you think it plays to?” “Well, having a degree in political science and geography plays well to a political simulation game. I remember when SimCity first came out....and the first Civilization. Having done my own sort of version of NS when I was young, and having written a book about those fictional nations and characters... it all fits well. Maybe Max Barry was my protege and he doesn't know it. As for the text-based aspect, there's probably a few other factors. Besides trying to write a book, I'd been editor of three publications. Back in the days of paste-up layouts before computers. So I'm often comfortable writing. And when those early computers came along, text-based games were what was available. 'Rogue'....enter a direction and get a response. Text based. Due to my disabilities, I cannot play Real Time Simulation games. (I liked Age of Empires, but I can't play it) Trying to keep up with the game causes me to have seizures. So I have to be careful what kind of video games I play. I have to watch out for rapid graphics, flashing graphics. And my medications slow brain function. So I'm too slow to react for some games, and I have to play them on the very easiest settings. The text-based game NS doesn't give me any of those problems.” “When you reminisce about your time on NS, what period do you think of the most fondly?” “I would have to say it was the camaraderie of the players of Equilism,” said WW. “How well we all worked together inside and outside the region. How we were often able to avoid the heated conflicts that were seen in so many other regions. How we were able to innovate outside of traditional NS ideologies, plot complex ideas outside of the box and out of the R/D perspective, ground our actions in well-founded ideals, and how well we could come together to accomplish our goals. Great players with great accomplishments all across NS. I was fortunate to work with them. Just like all the greatest rock bands....the interactions of strong personalities makes for great music.” “What is the biggest thing you’ve learned from NS?” “Intrigue in NS is described by Pink Floyd in the song 'Dogs' Welcome to NationStates!” And in true TWP style, Westwind began to sing me some karaoke: “- You got to be crazy.... - Gotta sleep on your toes... - You got to strike when the moment is right without thinking... - And after a while, you can work on points for style.... - You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to So that when they turn their backs on you You'll get the chance to put the knife in. - You gotta keep one eye looking over your shoulder.... - You know it's going to get harder, and harder, and harder as you get older... - And when you lose control, you'll reap the harvest you have sown.... - Sometimes it seems to me as if I'm just being used.... - That everyone's expendable and no-one has a real friend....” He trailed off and thought for a minute before speaking again. “Or....Maybe I"m an old grandpa (my nickname became 'Gramps' in Equilism by '05) that's learned to be more online social media savvy from interacting with players young enough to be children and grandchildren on NS? Too weird. But I've been online since before the Internet was public, so I already knew cyberspace.” Once more, he began to sing: “’Net boy, Net girl Send your signal 'round the world Put a message in a modem And throw it in the cyber sea...’ I have seen NS political tactics applied in RL across Social Media that baffled traditional political operatives. I ran for office once in 1990's RL, via third party for State Legislature. An informational campaign. More recently, both major parties were offering me leadership conferences and training in the '16 election. So strange...getting offers from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Washington, California...... I admit a certain curiosity as to how useful NS experience might be in pursuing RL Politics. Would I do it though? Probably not. I don't like either major party, and you can't win without one. I don't think my health would like it. And the mudslinging would drive anyone mad. But most of our RL politicians are not terribly intelligent.The Oligarchy of Real Life. In NS and RL, leadership requires finding the right people to do the job that needs doing, and being willing to delegate tasks and the authority (and resources) they need to carry them out. Thus, in NS as in RL, politics makes strange bedfellows. Play NS enough, and you'll understand the odd alignments that appear in RL politics at times.” “What question do you most want to get asked in an interview? What's the answer?” “I don't know. I'd found it curious that no one had ever asked me about The Crimson Order in TNP, and now that's been asked and answered in TRR.” We drifted into natural, personal conversation as we sipped on our rum and enjoyed some TWP karaoke favorites. Suddenly, the clock on the mantlepiece chimed loudly. It was already evening, and I had stayed longer than I had meant to. “Thank you so much, Westwind. For the newspaper, I'll let you have the final word. Anything else you'd like to say?” “I don't know if I have any words left." He chuckled. "NationStates is a curious animal. It cannot be tamed, but it can be lead and domesticated for a time and place. Just think.....had the Destroyers/Deadwood/NTO/SOULEATERS efforts been backed by a multi-regional organization such as a reformed ADN or The Crimson Order and followed to it's natural conclusion.....more Raider targets would have been removed from the game....Region names freed for new/active players to use.....there would be fewer small regions without security, leaving fewer regions for defenders to defend....the R/D game could be crippled......forum/offsite communities enhanced by players returned from the void of inactivity....interregional politics and 'wars' could supersede the R/D conflicts of the past....NS could be a more dynamic political simulation capable of innovation unhampered by limited R/D gameplay perspectives. The potential in those ideas that were developed was audacious. No wonder defenders worked with raiders to defeat The Crimson King. *chuckles* Existing paradigms don't like change. NationStates is a long story that is constantly having new pages written by it's players on a daily basis. And I'm just one of the Storytellers.” I would like to personally thank @Westwind for granting this interview. I had a lot of fun speaking with him and learning from him. I'd like to apologize for the frankly ridiculous amount of time it took me to get around to writing it up, and also for leaving out as much as I did... WW is a source of much wisdom and I couldn't pack it all into the format I wanted. Any inaccuracies in the above articles not in direct quotes are my responsibility: please let me know if I've gotten anything wrong. Happy Holidays!

He blends in with his surroundings

Commend Big Bad Badger Nominee: Big Bad Badger Passed: 10th October 2020 For: 26 (100.00%) Against: 0 (0.00%)

Commend Eli Nominee: Eli Passed: 18th June 2020 For: 31 (100.00%) Against: 0 (0.00%)

Group GA Resolution Repeal Clinic brought to you by the Ministry of World Assembly Recruitment Open to all Members of the Hall of Nations as part of the WA authors initiative: Do you want to become a WA author? The Ministry of World Assembly Recruitment wants to create new General Assembly Repeal authors. Join us as we learn together and then individually(or in small groups: craft, write, edit, submit, lobby and hopefully pass a General Assembly Repeal! The Learning Experience: The workshop is divided into 4 parts. What is repealable: understanding the General Assembly andwhy we repeal, what a repeal can and cannot do, finding legislation to attempt a repeal. Writing a repeal: operative clauses, branding, existing resolutions, general opinions. Feedback and editing: the General Assembly Forums, acknowledging ideas, edit-lobbying. Lobbying and power-voting: sending campaign telegrams, understanding Delegate voting powers, historic and political voting trends. Want to Join us: Reply to this thread or join us on The West Pacific Discord. Some resources used will be posted in this thread.

"I... DECLARE.... BANKRUPTCY!!!!" - Michael Scott

There are quite a few thanks I could give in this thread, but I'll do just one right now: Thanks to @de la Fuentana for sharing your poetry, forming an RP alliance with me, being a generally fun presence in TWP, and most importantly, for relieving me of Today in the West duty.

@Dilberis the most amazing boss that I have had the pleasure of working for in this game. He inspires me to do work without ending. He is my best friend, he is loyal as hell, he is always willing to give himself to a dedicated cause. He is truly one of the kindest and heart of gold people I have ever met.

Commend Winnipeg Nominee: Winnipeg Passed: 4th April 2020 For: 17 (100.00%) Against: 0 (0.00%)

Just a newbie here looking to learn and interact more with this great region! I chose TWP since it has the best maps among the Pacific regions I am a relatively big fan of anime (not so much of a manga fan though) and play some board games here and there (I frequent Board Game Arena a lot) - so if you're also into those things, we'll probably get along nicely! Hopefully you are all doing well despite COVID-19 forcing us to retreat back to our homes. Stay safe everyone!

Bingsearching and his associated account has been banned for attempting to evade a discord ban by creating a persona on the forum and applying for citizenship with that second account.

Hello folks. Small Huts AKA Cro Magnon here. You deserve an explanation so here it is: Some time over a year ago as the UCR game was waning due to game wide rules and practices changes, I moved my WA membership to TWP, a Region which has been home to my Cro Magnon Nation for several years. My intention was, and still is, to be more active in this Region where I have always felt kinship despite the Raidery ways. I remain so determined, but also stymied by RL. My tale of woe is such that some 5 years ago I was separated from my special needs son's mother and stayed on as his primary caregiver in her home RL region of the country and far from my own including my friends and family. Last year my son's mother had a stroke and came through it quite well all things considered. My son's response was extremely stable so I decided it was time to return to my homeland, content in the belief that my child could handle being separated from one of us for extended periods and thus begin the travelling life of a person with two homes in distant lands. His mother saw fit to drop a Non-removal Order on him and I have been in legal Mediation, Council and Court for the last year to resolve the impasse. I have just spent 5 full days in court which ended last week and included a gruelling full day and a half on the witness stand in cross examination. What remains is for the lawyers representing both parties to submit written closing arguments and subsequent rebuttals which will take another two months. I expect the judge's ruling some time in April, but I hope this to become solidified by the end of this week. Needless to say I've been too distracted and occupied by events in the real world to commit to the level of participation in NS that I would like. Thanks for your understanding everyone. You'll see more of me soon. SH / CroMag

Dilber/Chucky Bear credit to Yy

Hello, I just moved to the West Pacific to reside and hope I get to meet some new nations. My last region was Balder which didn't do much for me. I landed in West Pacific previously and helped out on Zombie Day as best as I could and was very fun, but moved on, and after awhile, I wanted to come back. I found it friendly here. I hope to help out in the region again. So, hello, hi, and everything.

The following article ran in the 21st issue of The West Pacifican and is reproduced here with the rest of the interview. By Correspondent @Reçueçn Back in April, I sat down with Westwind to get to know a little bit more about one of TWP’s greats—himself. He invited me into his study, poured me a glass of crimson rum, and arranged himself in his favorite armchair. I, recently returned to the region, decided I had better start at the beginning. “What originally got you into NS?” I asked. “And what was it that got you to stay? Do you remember the moment you went from thinking 'Ok, this is interesting,’ to ‘I can see I'll be into this for a while’?” Westwind half-smiled, nodded, and leaned back. “That's a good question, because it reminds me of what it was like to be a new player in NS. We can become jaded and forget that NS can seem like directionless and confusing place when your nation is first Founded in one of these ‘region’ things. I was completely baffled by what a region is. It made no sense to me. Where are the Continents? What am I supposed to do?” Westwind’s first encounter with Nationstates, the game we know and love, was short-lived, and came about when his ex-wife, aware of his interests, sent him a link. At the time, Westwind was too busy, but something must have intrigued him, because a couple months later he came back and began again. Having forgotten his original nation, he founded Westwind—now his oldest nation, dating back to January of 2004. But the nation of Westwind had been conceived even decades before that, on paper; “I did hardcopy NS on my own before Max was even alive,” boasts Westwind. Westwind had drawn maps, tracked economies and international relations, and even written books on his nations—books from which the stories would later influence roleplays in Equilism. But Westwind didn’t get to Equilism right away. Like many in the west, Westwind claims The West Pacific as his nation’s birthplace. But when he originally founded his first nation, that meant nothing to him. “Westwind was Founded in The West Pacific. I had no idea what that meant. I read the NS FAQ and I was just as confused as ever. I couldn't grasp the concept of what a 'region' is or what it means. I received the usual flood of recruitment telegrams, and they did not help me understand NS.” I smiled as Westwind talked. A lot of what he recounted—even if it had happened in 2004—sounded like the same situation with which new players are faced today. Having figured out the basic mechanics behind moving regions, Westwind decided on a move to Equilism, still less than two weeks old. He lurked there for a while, but many things were different in that era—no mass telegrams, and messages that disappeared off the RMB as soon as they left the front page. Communication was more difficult, but off-site forums helped to fill that gap. Westwind had arrived in the middle of a constitutional convention, and as it finished, Equilism moved to new forums where he joined and became a senator. It as the beginning of a meteoric rise—within six weeks of being on Nationstates, Westwind had become Prime Minister and Delegate. “NS moved very quickly those days,” he said with a chuckle. “What led you back to TWP after you’d left for Equilism?” I asked. “That Westwind was Founded in TWP is certainly important to me. I really can't say why. IRL, I was born in Ohio and my family left there six months later. I have no attachments to Ohio. (Except for Darkesia.)” Westwind’s return to his birthplace, however, took some time, and only happened once he had built other connections first. Most notably, Equilism was a defender region and its E-Army, of which Westwind was commander, was a member of the ADN—as was TWP. During thepuppetmaster liberation of TNP, he guesses that Equilism made the largest contribution, followed by TWP. His lead nation for that liberation might ring a bell: All Good People. These events lead to Westwind then becoming more involved in TNP. But as time passed and he tried to use the region as a platform to rekindle gameplay, the old guard refused to work with him, sometime around ‘07/08. He had been banned from TWP during the triumvirate, but now he quietly moved back in with All Good people. When The Faeyas was elected Delegate, Westwind began to reinvolve himself in TWP politics. Westwind felt that delegacy in TNP had prepared him for his eventual delegacy in TWP. But even before that, the schism in Equilism prepared him for delegacy in TNP. The Equilism schism was very similar to something Biyah had done with the West Pacific Directorate, although Westwind emphasizes that this was merely coincidence. This would have been in late 2006. The secret behind the Equilism Schism was that both sides of the schism were in fact in on it and working together—it was just a big scheme to promote activity. When he finally came back to TWP, Westwind ran for delegate but lost against Punk Daddy. It was only years later he actually gained the delegacy, by that point a well-known and respected figure in the region. After the schism in Equilism, that region and TWP, despite their very different communities, found similar ideologies concerning game mechanics and the delegacy. Westwind fit right in in both.

Becoming a citizen is a simple way to contribute to your region. Plus, membership in the Hall of Nations allows you to propose and vote on legislation for the region, and to get involved with one or more of our Ministries to keep TWP Snarky & Free. To become a citizen of The West Pacific, complete BOTH steps listed below. Your application will be processed by the Office of the Delegate and you will be notified of the result or any updates in this thread. If you do not complete both steps, your application will be put on hold until both are complete. STEP 1: Fill out the following Google form. https://forms.gle/m7ntWDmPFZrTxkfe8 If you have any issues with the form (that are not a result of not reading the instructions), DM Overthinkers on Discord (@WeirdoXVII#8247). STEP 2: Copy the following oath to a new reply in this thread. Replace (nation name) with your nation name. I, (nation name), swear that I have, to the best of my knowledge, been completely truthful in applying for citizenship in The West Pacific and that I have no other NationStates identity that has not been made known in this application. I swear my allegiance to The West Pacific and its citizens, and I swear not to engage in hostilities against The West Pacific or to violate The Manners of Governance, or any laws made pursuant to it. That wasn't so hard, was it? Welcome to full membership in The Best Pacific!

Commend Bhang Bhang Duc Nominee: Bhang Bhang Duc Passed: 2nd September 2020 For: 22 (100.00%) Against: 0 (0.00%)

That's nice, thank you so much.

"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth" --- Marcus Aurelius

-Alexander The Great

Edith Wharton: "There are two ways of spreading light, to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it" My favorite

Here's a prompt if it helps: Where or how are you finding meaning during this crisis? Writings may deploy poetry or prose in response. As you ponder the question consider some of the following: Persons: what have friends, family members, strangers said or done to render care and support? Have you read about or learned about any heroic figures in your local community or beyond? Places: is there a special space in your home or neighborhood (if safe) that you've turned to? Practices: are there any daily rituals or regular practices that have helped you? This can range from cooking to watching The Office to prayer or meditation to art.

Hewwo from your ambassador from TSP called Rabbitz! If ya have any questions regarding TSP, contact me!

INTJ-A Architect I feel so different than when I took this the first time, 20 years ago. Yet I still get the same answer. How terribly stagnant of me.

"Please don't fire your guns at the hurricane!" -Every Florida police officer during Hurricane Season

So I decided that I should broaden my NS horizons and since I have never been the citizen of a GCR before I decided to join one. TWP looked the most fun of all and here I am! Some of you might know me as Loller from the other regions I am in like Equilism/Caer Sidi/The Universal Allegiance, but anyway, hi everyone! I am looking forward to having fun with you all!

Dilber shocked after a 4 week reprieve of slime returning en masse.

Hi there! I'm also new, hopefully we get along well here! And stay safe

Condemn Dalimbar is a good place to start. The problem is, I've heard some non-TWP members were also thinking of it, so not sure how it goes. My opinion is that those commendations/condemnations should definitely be done by us, for us.

Overall I want to echo Joe and LD's thoughts. As a first draft this looks amazing. On the NSToday point - you may wanna put region tags around it and put the full region name in so those who don't know what it is can find out. Mentioning Halo's role in giving NSToday a lot of support, by coming on podcasts, signing the TWP agreement etc. when we were just starting to get established might be useful if you want to expand on that point. Expanding on the TWP achievements point by mentioning some of the many things Halo achieved as Delegate and MoFA might also be a good idea.

Most of what I think has been said by LD already. Some minor things: - Influence has a capital letter, I think you might want to change that. - You might wish to specify what he accomplished during his time as Minister of foreign affairs and what is role as Guardian meant. - Like LD noted, more specified information is needed on his involvement in Albion, Osiris and TSR. Really good first draft, though!

@nparwani97 @Leader of Surroosia @Taledo @Craiolia @Rose St Clair @Drino Accepted! Thank you for your patience. @Amadeas Please copy and post the oath found in this thread's OP.

The Security Council The Security Council is the Counterpart of the General Assembly. Together they make up the World Assembly, the Security Council focuses primarily on Gameplay as opposed to the role-play centered General Assembly. Security Council resolutions are almost all based on Gameplay involving regional politics rather than any sort of role-playing. Unlike the General Assembly, the Security Council passes only three different types of resolutions: Commendations, Condemnations and Liberations. Commendations Commendations Are resolutions that are usually written in gratitude and meant to showcase the outstanding contributions of a certain nation or region. Condemnations While Commendations are written in gratitude a Condemnation is the exact opposite and are resolutions that are written to express disdain towards a certain nation or region. Liberations Liberations Are a type of resolution written that focuses only on regions, a liberation removes the ability to put a password on a region so that it may not be able to continue to be held by raiders that have taken over the region. It is also important to note that all three types of resolutions can also be repealed. This is done by a new resolution being passed in the Security Council that nulls any previously passed resolution, for Condemnations and Commendations this will remove the badge that the nation or region gained in the previous resolution and for Liberations it will mean that a region regains its ability to place a password. The Procedure for how a Security Council resolution comes to pass is done by writing one but its not just as simple as writing one out and have it be the next thing the Security Council votes on. First you’ll want to follow the rules, there are 4: You cannot commend or condemn site staff for their actions unique to staff roles, Your proposal must have a new and relevant argument, Your proposal must contain an operative clause that explains what your resolution will do, Your proposal must fit NS canon. It is important to note that to even be able to submit a proposed resolution you will first need to have your nation be apart of the World Assembly and it must hold a minimum of two endorsements. Before you submit your proposal it is recommended that you get feedback, a great way is to go to the Security council section of the Nationstates forums. The first thing to do after your new resolution has been written is to start by submitting your proposed resolution. Once you have submitted your proposed resolution you will need to reach the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly which is called attaining quorum. For your proposal to reach quorum all it needs to do is be approved by at least 6% of World Assembly Delegates within 3 days of submission which can become very difficult since many delegates do not look through the proposed resolutions. It is highly advised that you run a proposal campaign to try and reach as many delegates and get them to vote as you can within your 3 day period. One of the best ways to do this is by running a telegram campaign letter which will allow you to not only get delegate's to vote on your proposal to reach quorum but will also allow you see what delegate's aren't so convinced with your proposal and may end up voting against it. If your proposal attains quorum, your proposal will be placed into the Security Council's queue but be careful and make sure that you have more then just the bare minimum of delegate approvals because if it falls below 6% the amount of approvals required, it will drop out of the queue. Now finally if you attained quorum and made it to the front of the queue your proposed resolution will finally move to the voting floor and will be at vote for four days by all everyone that is in the World Assembly which means both WA delegate's and ordinary WA members will be voting. It is highly recommended that you also are active on the Nationstates forums while you proposed resolution is at vote. Many WA nations will vote either for or against your resolution based on the arguments for or against that are made in the thread for your proposal so you should address as many criticisms people have about your proposed resolution there. Written By; @TUMS, @Kurabis and @Teralyon

Walking around Sherman Pass, apparently!

Westwind By Correspondent Reçueçn In Nationstates, a player such as myself, whose nation has less than 10 billion population, and has only been around a couple years, is still new compared to many who play the game, and nothing drove that home for me like hearing Westwind reminisce. “2004/2005 was a busy/hectic time in NS gameplay. I can't speak for earlier days. For example, in Equilism elections were held every 6 weeks, and some wanted them monthly. A few even suggested weekly elections. Activity in NS was such that it could accommodate frequent elections and limits on the number of members in a regional assembly. Armies and Intel agencies could afford to deny applications without consideration under the strictest of security measures. The pace of NS gameplay was quick. It seems as if time was compressed compared to how time seems to run in modern NS times. You couldn't get any sleep trying to keep up with NS.” These days, I often hear the same repeated complaint about gameplay: ‘gp is dead.’ Even when things happen—whether that’s a war or a coup in a large feeder, or a raid in a small region, it is presented as the exception to the rule: “wow, this is the most activity gameplay’s had since [insert the last time something happened].” Or: “we’re the only ones keeping gp alive lol.” It made me smile, then, to realize as I listened to Westwind’s nostalgia that these complaints are as old as Nationstates gameplay itself. Nothing is new under the sun. “The discontent and beginnings of the decline in activity began in 2005. And perhaps the seeds were sown in '04,” Westwind said. Yet I knew that many gameplayers now thought of those times as the good old days. Maybe everyone was right, and gameplay used to be better, and it used to be better still before that. Maybe the universe of gameplay resembled our own: flung into existence with a bang by Max Barry to create a frenzy of activity that is slowly dissipating and fizzling out as it progresses toward its eventual heat death. By the universe’s timescale, then, the period Westwind was telling me about would have been billions of years ago. This was even before influence was implemented. “Established players were increasingly frustrated with constantly changing griefing rules, and Mods were frustrated with trying to interpret the rules and enforce them fairly. Mods would have been happy (probably still would be) to have the R/D game ended. Invaders/Raiders claimed the Mods ruled in favor of Defenders......and Defenders claimed the Mods ruled in favor of Invader/Raiders. You can easily see why NS Mods were frustrated. What constituted a legal raid? At what point did it become griefing? How do you handle both sides weaponizing Mod requests? The appointment of Myrth as a Mod brought loud protests from Defenderdom, and he then resigned. Mods became part of the conflict (incitement from both sides), when they wanted nothing to do with it.” Westwind paused for a moment before going on to mention some other factors he saw as leading to the decline in activity. Newer players at the time (Westwind mentioned Moo-Cow with Guns) felt trapped as mid-level officers, hitting a glass ceiling and unable to rise into the ranks of the old guard, still clinging to power. Among defenders, this led to some splintering off and turning to raiding. Rules and mechanics changes continued but gameplay felt stifled. CyberNations came along and pulled away part of Nationstates’ user base, not all of whom returned. Westwind was asked to be a mod. He declined. He didn’t blame CyberNations for the decline in activity, it merely accelerated an existing trend. Thus, leading up to the schism in Equilism (among other events to promote activity), Westwind saw old and new players alike growing more restless, leading to revolutions, conflicts, and rogue delegacies. “I was going to ask what else was on your NS CV besides TWP and Equilism,” I said, “but you've sort of answered that I guess. ADN, TNP, TCO... Were there any other major things you were involved in?” “I was involved in a lot of things, too many to try to pull from my memory...” Sure enough, the list was a long one, including the Pacific Underground, The Whole, the raider alliance TAG, ADN Intel, Lazarus last year, GLA... "There were hundreds of R/D battles I was in. Most NS major events will find me somewhere in the midst.... often unseen and unrecognized... There once was a Francoist raider region that I infiltrated. But then, there were a lot of raider and defender regions I infiltrated. And there was Westwind Flying Circus, a non-ideological, non-region based gameplay organization that's had two or three periods of activity around NS. But that's not major.” "What part of all this would you say you're best known for on NS?” I asked. “What do people think of when they hear WW?” “That probably changes with the years,” Westwind said. “Texas used to revile me because they believed I'd couped TEP, TNP, TRR, and others......didn't happen. FRA infiltrated Equilism to try to change our regional policies to their liking because they didn't like what Westwind did in Equilism and TNP. Meanwhile Imperialists cheered on a desired revival of The Crimson Order, and raiders offered me command their armies. My commendation focuses more on the ADN days, and my service in TWP. So I don't know.” “Phew, have I worn you out with stories yet?” I smiled. He had not.