Embassy of The East Pacific: March Issue is Out Now!

[United Massachusetts]

I think NationStates needs to have a serious conversation about forgiveness, if I'm being honest.

UM, we found out only today that you attempted to aid a fascist region in couping TNP by giving them advice, open doors, and insider help. And of course by offering to manipulate a portion of their community into unwittingly voting for their own destruction through devotion to their religion. I felt like TNP was very cool and lenient with you in their statement. TEP is a treaty ally of TNP, your complicity in the situation as a shared citizen between them is I'm sure alarming to both regions. TEP also making a statement was the most appropriate thing in the world to do.

A few hours after we find out what you've been up to, I feel like it's a little early to be saying that we are holding grudges for too long. It makes you look insincere. I know you're not a fascist, but this was a big mistake. Try to take your penance with grace. Don't coup your friends.

I know. It was a stupid statement, I realise. I regret it, and I would take it back if I could. I was stupid this whole process.

[ArenaC]

Wait a sec, he can’t be a Nazi. The National Socialist party of which “Nazis” were of was disestablished.

[Queen Yuno]

I think NationStates needs to have a serious conversation about forgiveness, if I'm being honest.

UM, we found out only today that you attempted to aid a fascist region in couping TNP by giving them advice, open doors, and insider help. And of course by offering to manipulate a portion of their community into unwittingly voting for their own destruction through devotion to their religion. I felt like TNP was very cool and lenient with you in their statement. TEP is a treaty ally of TNP, your complicity in the situation as a shared citizen between them is I'm sure alarming to both regions. TEP also making a statement was the most appropriate thing in the world to do.

A few hours after we find out what you've been up to, I feel like it's a little early to be saying that we are holding grudges for too long. It makes you look insincere. I know you're not a fascist, but this was a big mistake. Try to take your penance with grace. Don't coup your friends.

I 1000% second this
he did make a bad mistake
make no mistake about my post, I believe UM deserves the consequences for all that.
My post is basically "Fascism=bad, UM helped fascists but isn't a fascist (and thus should get out of there)"

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Disclaimer: I would be more harder/anti-UM and be calling UM a fascist too, if UM didn't look regretful of fascism. But looks like he is. I am giving benefit of the doubt. I'm not saying "don't make any punishments" -- just don't think the fash label should be applied to JUST ANYONE who touches a fascist. Since that's a hard label.

(Again I am just a citizen please don't take my words as a government official )

[United Massachusetts]

UM, we found out only today that you attempted to aid a fascist region in couping TNP by giving them advice, open doors, and insider help. And of course by offering to manipulate a portion of their community into unwittingly voting for their own destruction through devotion to their religion. I felt like TNP was very cool and lenient with you in their statement. TEP is a treaty ally of TNP, your complicity in the situation as a shared citizen between them is I'm sure alarming to both regions. TEP also making a statement was the most appropriate thing in the world to do.

A few hours after we find out what you've been up to, I feel like it's a little early to be saying that we are holding grudges for too long. It makes you look insincere. I know you're not a fascist, but this was a big mistake. Try to take your penance with grace. Don't coup your friends.

I 1000% second this
he did make a bad mistake
make no mistake about my post, I believe UM deserves the consequences for all that.
My post is basically "Fascism=bad, UM helped fascists but isn't a fascist (and thus should get out of there)"

Hell, I second it too.

[Francois Isidore]

Simple reply for you: no. You've willingly cavorted with Nazis. That's going to be with you for your entire NS career. So, no, we don't like people who willingly assist Nazis. Sorry, bud. That basically makes you one.

I want to say something about that -- in this whole thing, that's what I'm most regretful for. In my defence, however, I will note that I had not seen any direct evidence at the time that CCD harboured fascists, despite asking various people for it many times. I left in a week, in large part because I realised this much.

Really?! You didn’t know that there was a possibility that the Confederation of Corrupt Dictators was harbouring fascists? I find that quite interesting. You’ve immediately put yourself on the defense in light of this report’s public release, and you’re especially vocal about this whole ordeal for someone who’s supposedly the crusader who’ll lead the charge of forgiveness for all in NationStates.

Where is the calm, collected, cooperative United Massachusetts who reiterated again and again that you hold no ill will towards the North Pacific, its government, and its community? You statements in public are quite the contrary, aren’t they? In the public eye, you want to present yourself as someone who once hated the region, and that hate caused you to lapse your judgement for a moment now didn’t it? Now, people have access to this information and they see your name on the list of cooperators. Whether or not you provided any tangible support to Jocospor or not is irrelevant, because you were, at one point, willing to take up espionage against a game-created region and idly sat on the sidelines when you knew of a plot to destabilize democracy. That is something that people should not “forgive” you for, and you can deflect the blame as much as you’d like but it won’t undo the fact of the matter. We had to come to you to get you to fess up, not the other way around.

I appreciate you owning up to your involvement and understanding that your cooperation was regrettable. Having said that, how much of this is posturing and how much of it is remorse? Your hand was caught in the cookie jar, so of course it’s easy for you to put on a masquerade of friendliness and portray a change of heart. I do not discredit you for your assistance in allowing is to collect evidence. I do not dispute the notion that you were helpful when you decided to finally do the right thing and attempt to atone for your misgivings against the North Pacific. I do, however, challenge the sincerity of your words; as I have seen both the public discourse and the private discourse. You “doubted that you would ever seriously undermine the North Pacific”, and you’re exactly right. Do you know why you have that doubt? Because quite frankly you’re incapable of posing a real threat and you know that. I do not speak as the Vice-Delegate of the North Pacific, but rather I speak as a proud regional patriot who doesn’t appreciate shady dealings and has an extremely low tolerance for incompetency.

Whether you realize it or not, your cooperation after you were caught doesn’t exempt you from criticism nor does it help you evade scrutiny. It’s not your saving grace, and it’s not you token to being free from blame. As far as I’m concerned, if you even suspect that a region has played host to fascist elements then that’s reason enough to not touch it with a ten foot pole. You’re a smart enough player to have known that, and you said it best yourself. Given the Confederation’s track record of the last couple of years it amazes me you can make such a blatant excuse for yourself. Whaaaaa ... “TNP is toxic! They’re this, they’re that.” Please, spare yourself the martyr and spare us the finger-pointing. That does not excuse your willingness to damage my home region.

[United Massachusetts]

I want to say something about that -- in this whole thing, that's what I'm most regretful for. In my defence, however, I will note that I had not seen any direct evidence at the time that CCD harboured fascists, despite asking various people for it many times. I left in a week, in large part because I realised this much.

Really?! You didn’t know that there was a possibility that the Confederation of Corrupt Dictators was harbouring fascists? I find that quite interesting. You’ve immediately put yourself on the defense in light of this report’s public release, and you’re especially vocal about this whole ordeal for someone who’s supposedly the crusader who’ll lead the charge of forgiveness for all in NationStates.

Where is the calm, collected, cooperative United Massachusetts who reiterated again and again that you hold no ill will towards the North Pacific, its government, and its community? You statements in public are quite the contrary, aren’t they? In the public eye, you want to present yourself as someone who once hated the region, and that hate caused you to lapse your judgement for a moment now didn’t it? Now, people have access to this information and they see your name on the list of cooperators. Whether or not you provided any tangible support to Jocospor or not is irrelevant, because you were, at one point, willing to take up espionage against a game-created region and idly sat on the sidelines when you knew of a plot to destabilize democracy. That is something that people should not “forgive” you for, and you can deflect the blame as much as you’d like but it won’t undo the fact of the matter. We had to come to you to get you to fess up, not the other way around.

I appreciate you owning up to your involvement and understanding that your cooperation was regrettable. Having said that, how much of this is posturing and how much of it is remorse? Your hand was caught in the cookie jar, so of course it’s easy for you to put on a masquerade of friendliness and portray a change of heart. I do not discredit you for your assistance in allowing is to collect evidence. I do not dispute the notion that you were helpful when you decided to finally do the right thing and attempt to atone for your misgivings against the North Pacific. I do, however, challenge the sincerity of your words; as I have seen both the public discourse and the private discourse. You “doubted that you would ever seriously undermine the North Pacific”, and you’re exactly right. Do you know why you have that doubt? Because quite frankly you’re incapable of posing a real threat and you know that. I do not speak as the Vice-Delegate of the North Pacific, but rather I speak as a proud regional patriot who doesn’t appreciate shady dealings and has an extremely low tolerance for incompetency.

Whether you realize it or not, your cooperation after you were caught doesn’t exempt you from criticism nor does it help you evade scrutiny. It’s not your saving grace, and it’s not you token to being free from blame. As far as I’m concerned, if you even suspect that a region has played host to fascist elements then that’s reason enough to not touch it with a ten foot pole. You’re a smart enough player to have known that, and you said it best yourself. Given the Confederation’s track record of the last couple of years it amazes me you can make such a blatant excuse for yourself. Whaaaaa ... “TNP is toxic! They’re this, they’re that.” Please, spare yourself the martyr and spare us the finger-pointing. That does not excuse your willingness to damage my home region.

The statement was stupid and I shouldn't have said it. I'm really sorry. The statement was stupid of me. I regret it, and honestly don't harbour any grudge towards you. There were a lot of emotions that went into that, and I really regret what I did. I mean that very honestly. If I could take back what I said, I would.

[Prydania]

The following in no way reflects an official position of TNP's Ministry of Culture or government as a whole

I would hesitate to call UM a friend, but I did gain a ton of respect for him over the the last two+ years I've been in TNP, as a bright young man who I knew I could always count on for an invigorating and insightful discussion on faith and politics.
While never "close" I still feel a sense of betrayal. As a TNPer for his actions that aimed to turn my region into a satellite to a foreign power and as a Jewish person for the fact that he did this with a region of Nazis and other assorted white supremacists.

I appreciate that he's remorseful, and appreciate that he's been helpful in TNP's investigation into the matter. He still got in bed with people whose ideology is, frankly, disgusting. And aimed to aid them in undermining my home region.

I admit it will take time for me to process this and separate what I believe UM's true motives were from the visceral reactions I had to this news, but yes. I'm disappointed to say the least.

[United Massachusetts]

While never "close" I still feel a sense of betrayal. As a TNPer for his actions that aimed to turn my region into a satellite to a foreign power and as a Jewish person for the fact that he did this with a region of Nazis and other assorted white supremacists.

Again, and I know this is a stupid defence, but I genuinely did not believe CCD harboured OOC fascists and Nazis at the time. I really, really regret cooperation with them, and realising what they were really about was a big part of the reason I left.

I'm sorry that you feel betrayed, and I understand that feeling.

[Honeydewistania]

While never "close" I still feel a sense of betrayal. As a TNPer for his actions that aimed to turn my region into a satellite to a foreign power and as a Jewish person for the fact that he did this with a region of Nazis and other assorted white supremacists.

Again, and I know this is a stupid defence, but I genuinely did not believe CCD harboured OOC fascists and Nazis at the time. I really, really regret cooperation with them, and realising what they were really about was a big part of the reason I left.

I'm sorry that you feel betrayed, and I understand that feeling.

Even if it were fascists, you were aiding in an attempted coup of the legitimate government? That kind of thing is bad, fascist or not

[Francois Isidore]

While never "close" I still feel a sense of betrayal. As a TNPer for his actions that aimed to turn my region into a satellite to a foreign power and as a Jewish person for the fact that he did this with a region of Nazis and other assorted white supremacists.

Again, and I know this is a stupid defence, but I genuinely did not believe CCD harboured OOC fascists and Nazis at the time. I really, really regret cooperation with them, and realising what they were really about was a big part of the reason I left.

I'm sorry that you feel betrayed, and I understand that feeling.

You have not answered my question. I asked you how much of this is posturing and how much of it is remorse, yet you’ve continued to offer your “defense”. Surely you realize that a defense is very different from an apology. You’ve “apologized” profusely since being caught as a conspirator, but unfortunately you currently seem to be failing at both defending yourself and apologizing adequately. This is disappointing.

Tell me, if you really regret this incident as much as you say you do, then what steps will you take in the future to prevent “a lot of emotions” from going into it? How will you self-regulate, and how will you seek to truly take responsibility for your mistakes?

[United Massachusetts]

Again, and I know this is a stupid defence, but I genuinely did not believe CCD harboured OOC fascists and Nazis at the time. I really, really regret cooperation with them, and realising what they were really about was a big part of the reason I left.

I'm sorry that you feel betrayed, and I understand that feeling.

You have not answered my question. I asked you how much of this is posturing and how much of it is remorse, yet you’ve continued to offer your “defense”. Surely you realize that a defense is very different from an apology. You’ve “apologized” profusely since being caught as a conspirator, but unfortunately you currently seem to be failing at both defending yourself and apologizing adequately. This is disappointing.

Tell me, if you really regret this incident as much as you say you do, then what steps will you take in the future to prevent “a lot of emotions” from going into it? How will you self-regulate, and how will you seek to truly take responsibility for your mistakes?

All I can offer is that I'm genuinely remoseful and plan to help in the investigation in the future. In the future, I'm honestly not certain I'll stay on NS, and I'm not sure I deserve to. I was stupid. I'm done with political gaming -- I just want you all to know that I regret what I did. I'm sorry if I'm not getting that across, and I'm sure the opening statement didn't help.

[Tim-Opolis]

As someone seasoned in backpedalling, UM is desperately backpedalling hard.

I already had IC reasons not to like the guy, this just vindicates the opinion. Gonna take a while to trust someone willing to work with fash.

[Syberis]

As someone seasoned in backpedalling, UM is desperately backpedalling hard.

I already had IC reasons not to like the guy, this just vindicates the opinion. Gonna take a while to trust someone willing to work with fash.

You know what they call a man willing to work with fash to accomplish their own goals, right? >.>

[Tim-Opolis]

As someone seasoned in backpedalling, UM is desperately backpedalling hard.

I already had IC reasons not to like the guy, this just vindicates the opinion. Gonna take a while to trust someone willing to work with fash.

You know what they call a man willing to work with fash to accomplish their own goals, right? >.>

I call them a fash

[Syberis]

You know what they call a man willing to work with fash to accomplish their own goals, right? >.>

I call them a fash

I see we are in agreement. Again. I hate it when that happens.

[McMasterdonia]

Strong statement by our allies in the East. Thank you.

[ArenaC]

As someone seasoned in backpedalling, UM is desperately backpedalling hard.

I already had IC reasons not to like the guy, this just vindicates the opinion. Gonna take a while to trust someone willing to work with fash.

At this point I’m about to call on both the East and North Pacific(s) to bring this nation to justice.

[The Church of Satan]

At this point I’m about to call on both the East and North Pacific(s) to bring this nation to justice.

TEP brought him to justice nearly a month ago.

[Eastern Pacific News Service]

Editor's Note: This article was edited especially for NS Gameplay forum readers. The original, unedited version may be found here.

The East Pacific News Service
January 31, 2020

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CCD Attempts to Infiltrate TNP, Fails Miserably
By Tretrid

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On January 19, the delegate of The North Pacific, McMasterdonia, released a report stating that the Confederation of Corrupt Dictators attempted and failed to infiltrate TNP.

The report goes on to specify that Jocospor, the founder of CCD, had two nations enter TNP “as part of a long term operation to become Delegate of The North Pacific.” The report also states that United Massachusetts, who was TEP’s WA Minister at the time, was also involved.

However, things did not go to CCD’s plan. One of the infiltrators spent time getting involved in TNP’s RP, the other only applied to the Executive Staff, and United Massachusetts slowly drifted away from the operation. An entire year into the infiltration, and the agents hadn’t even gotten into any senior position, much less become Delegate.

By January 9, McMasterdonia was alerted that one of the agents was a spy for CCD. On January 15, The Chuck, a former administrator on CCD’s Discord server, confirmed to TNP’s government that those nations were spies.

In response to the report, CCD released a statement stating that Jocospor was busy with RL and started attempting damage control. The response on the NS forums slammed the statement as “underwhelming” and noted that the CCD still refused to admit their mistakes.

Meanwhile, on CCD’s RMB, Jocospor claimed that Chuck was a traitor out to destroy CCD, and later suggested that there was “some sort of invisible script” on the Discord server “which bypasses various security protocols.” People on the NSGP forum noticed, and noted how ridiculous such a prospect would be.

On January 21, the CCD posted an apology and had Jocospor resign from the WA and have someone else be Delegate. However, it was pointed out that this was a symbolic gesture only, since Jocospor was still the founder and therefore still had absolute authority over the region. Jocospor then stated that they would cut their sabbatical short, due to the fallout of CCD’s infiltration.

On January 22, the nation 2nd Imperial German Reich stepped forward and admitted that they were the one who sent screenshots and info to The Chuck. They subsequently left CCD and plead guilty to the charges against them.

The response to TNP’s report was quick. TNP’s allies quickly condemned CCD’s actions, including TEP. The NPA also quickly mobilized and raided regions that were aligned with CCD.

CCD’s failed damage control also lead to internal upheaval. On January 31, Riakou decided to eject about half of the nations in CCD, despite being banjected by another RO about halfway through.

An Interview with Todd McCloud
By Tretrid

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Todd McCloud has been one of the mainstays of TEP’s government for around 10 years now. Todd has served 3 terms as Delegate, and is a longtime vizier. Todd has also been heavily involved in forum RP, roleplaying the nations Vekaiyu, Listonia, and Isklevyu. Under the name “D. L. Nighly,” Todd has written the books The Listonian and The Vekaiyun, based off of his RPs on the forums. Todd is currently serving as a Magister and Vizier, and is working on his third book.

Tretrid: What first brought you to NationStates?

Todd: Well, I actually wanted to connect with people from Poland. So I probably typed something of that nature into a search engine, and the game came up. I founded my first nation (Cavask) in what I believe was TNP, then moved said nation to the region Poland, where I started to understand the game and its appeal.

Tretrid: What lead you to discover R/D?

Todd: I discovered R/D because it came into my backyard. Poland's founder ceased to exist, and we were raided by the Blades of Conquest (BoC). I had no idea who they were, I just wanted them out. So they left, and then a defender region, Zurich, came in and asked to speak to the native delegates, of which I was one. They determined that they would refound the region. I didn't want that, cause they weren't a part of the region. So, another region, Catlandatopia, said they wanted me to be the founder and they'd help me refound it. I of course chose that option. After that, I let Cavask be my founding nation and I used my other nation, Todd McCloud, to cruise around NS

Tretrid: What brought you to join TEP?

Todd: In 2008, I really wanted to go into the feeders, which was actually spurred by a big conference held by Gatesville, which was one of the top 3 UCR's of the day. I wanted to see if I could be one of those few former raider delegates, but I didn't realize how much work would go into that and how much of a hill I'd have to climb. I joined TEP and TSP, but spent most of my time in TSP. I then moved over to TRR for a bit. When The Empire thing came about, I was curious and, after looking around, decided to join to see what's what. I sort of followed whatever Kandarin did, cause I knew them from TRR, knew they were respected, and knew they liked TEP. There were purges towards the end of Phedre's reign, which caused him to leave, so I left too and started learning about the region before all this began (granted, I tried and failed at joining the RP's in early 2008 / late 2007). ASBS gained the delegacy, and I stuck around to try and help build a functioning concordat. I learned from a lot of folks, like Elu, TAO, Kandarin, FPS, and several others who stuck by.

Tretrid: What did you do in your early days in TEP?

Todd: I roleplayed, I learned, and a few months later I ran for delegate, relying a lot on Kandarin and TAO for advice.

Tretrid: What led you to decide to use Vulpines for your RPs?

Todd: When I was 14-16, I wanted to write. I was in a lot of the math classes, and, well, I was more or less pushed to be an engineer or a scientist, cause that's how I'd afford college. But I loved the allure of writing and reading. I wrote vulpine characters because I joined a starfox RP forum, because I wrote down what my likes were and figured that would be something neat to try out (it wasn't my first one to look into - I tried baseball forums but sports can be disappointing). So, I'd RP, write, RP, draw even, and write some more. I gravitated towards vulpines since they seemed unique, I figured I could write about them, and I figured they had a bad stigma about them in stories that could use someone to buck the trend. Ah, I just thought I could make fox people and give them mostly human but some animal traits.

Tretrid: What was it like to start RPing?

Todd: Oh. TEP at that time was tough when it came to RPing. They didn't put up with a lot, and you had to learn as you went. There was no retconning, so if you messed up, and your character died, well, that was that. Folks like Kandarin, FPS, DFD, Allegheny, EM, Lazlow, Dannistaan, and several others forged this era of RPing. Vekaiyu ended up getting sucked into a civil war brought on by poor leadership and heavy influence from other nations, which wanted to see it torn apart! I had a lot of characters die off. The first character that showed promise was Ikrisia, then Stapen came along. Those two helped forge Vekaiyu into what it was by couping the Vekaiyun dictator and starting a revolution, respectively.

Tretrid: Why did you decide to run for Delegate?

Todd: I wanted to try it. At that time, the concept of having a raider delegate, even a former one, was still taboo. Folks like Blue Wolf in TNP and Kandarin helped ease that concept a bit. I also think that the addition of Osiris and Balder interjected a lot of R&D politics into feeders and helped normalize those a bit. Either way, I wanted to prove that a former raider, or even a current raider, could do a bang-up job as a delegate. To be fair, there were those who wanted me to coup, and others who egged it on, and others still who met me over MSN or IRC to ask what my deal was. I didn't want to, never really wanted to, actually. I grew to love the community.

Tretrid: What was it like to be Delegate?

Todd: Honestly, it was fun. I had a lot of fun, cause I decided to try and be encouraging and tried to make a game out of how many nations I could bring to the forums. Delegating is a lot of work, true, but I'd say it's 20% making decisions 30% not making a hasty decision and 50% talking to other nations.

Tretrid: What did you decide to do after your first two terms as Delegate?

Todd: I almost left the region, to be honest. But I decided to stay on, RP, and help where I could. Truthfully, a year of someone being a delegate can bring about stability, but the person doing it can be subjected to burnout. It's kind of like how geese fly south. The lead goose doesn't always fly in front - it does so for a while, then glides in the back to rest a bit while another one blazes the path forward. Not all regions do that, but I think that system works best for TEP.

Tretrid: What did you enjoy the most about TEP?

Todd: Its welcoming atmosphere, the fact that it would allow anyone a second chance for in-character infractions.

Tretrid: What made you decide to write a book?

Todd: When I was 16, I tried to write a story. A teacher who taught the accelerated reading class noticed it and asked if she could read it. I handed the draft to them, and two days later they told me it sucked and that I should just stick to math. It devastated me. I threw it away and stopped writing altogether. I stopped going to the RP forum I went to. I was too embarrassed to really try again. Years later, I tried my hand at RPing. I was discouraged at first, but for some reason I kept at it cause I really wanted to have a character live for a change. The longer I stayed in TEP, the more drawn out my responses were, and I realized I was writing pages to respond to a few paragraphs. I wondered if it was being read as consequence - it's easier to read a paragraph than it is to invest time in reading a long response. I also started to write more independent plots, which is not good for RPing. So, I decided to try to write a book. A few chapters cascaded into more chapters, and for some reason, the story just kind of flowed out. It deviated heavily from the RP's I've done, but it stayed within the typical NS-common themes of coups, diplomacy, uprisings, and so on.

Tretrid: Do you feel that there’s anything particularly unique about your books?

Todd: Not really. If so, perhaps because they deal with fox people? I sorta think all books are unique to a degree!

Tretrid: And finally, are there any words of wisdom you’d like to give the readers of EPNS?

Todd: Build the community you belong to, and don't limit yourself based on how others define you.

Tretrid: Thank you for having the time to be interviewed.

Todd: Thanks for the q's, and the time!


Why Valsora Needs A Villain
By Zukchiva

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Stories are tales of conflicts. Of how characters develop and change over time as they face a variety of issues, big and small. This idea of conflict is what drives storytelling all around the world, and is a fundamental concept of literature. And because roleplaying is a more involved and hands-on way of telling stories compared to traditional formats, it’s no new idea that roleplay is filled to the brim with various conflicts, no matter the type of roleplay it may be.

A conflict is generally a problem the protagonist in a story faces. Conflicts can be anything from the actions of other characters to an internal conflict within the protagonist. However, one prevalent instigator or embodiment of conflict is a villain, or the antagonist. As the villain escapes from or attacks the protagonist, the protagonist develops and changes (as characters do against non-human conflicts as well). In other words, stories with villains often would not work without a villain. Valsora, TEP’s RMB RP, also requires a villain to function.

Valsora is a very political roleplay by nature. Set in a world with similar rules and natural laws as real life, its political nature and dynamics are interwoven and intertwined with the decisions made by its characters on multiple scales. Usually, roleplay consists of the political interactions between nations, and their governments, leaders, and armies.

The roleplaying world of Valsora has always primarily been a roleplay that’s needed a villain to generate a good amount of conflict. Traditionally, the most powerful nation (commonly named the hegemon) within Valsora has always been some sort of nation that frequently engaged in international conquests, taking the land of others for themselves. The antics of the hegemons have always spurred on alliance activity, broken and formed national relations, and in general continuously pushed the continuing story line of the roleplay.

However, recent times have seen to Valsora becoming a stagnated and overall less interesting roleplaying world. Being a community member may make my opinion more biased than it should be; however, I have also seen others who have either expressed the same concerns or just went inactive and CTE’d after a while. Simply because there is nothing to do. And the reason for this is because Valsora has no dominant villain as of right now.

With no hegemony existing in Valsora, there’s no true reason for alliances to form, and no friction to emerge between nations. Peace, as is in real life, is a preferable option, and is surprisingly easy to achieve when a superpower is breathing not down your nation’s back. The issue with peace is that Valsora is a war driven roleplay, due to the history of the roleplay community and its culture. While attempts at other forms of roleplay such as fairs and whatnot have been tried, war has remained as the dominant roleplay type of the planet.

This is not to say that war is gone from Valsora. Sadly, we are still a bunch of warmongering humans who want oil! However, the fact is that Valsora needs a villain because it’s only then that world tensions will rise. Without fear and terror, nations settle into the lull of peace; therefore, they settle into the lull of boring roleplays. Without a villain, Valsora is listless, stagnated, and barely engaging. That, my readers, is why Valsora needs a villain.

In the end, stories do exist that have no villain. Whether Valsora becomes such a story in the future or not, it’s obvious that, at least for right now, a villain is needed to bring back Valsora to the old days of active and inspiring writing and roleplaying.

An Ode to Aurora
By Tuvaltastan

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Aurora is a continent that I doubt most people in Nationstates, heck, even The East Pacific are even aware about, but it holds a special place in my heart, as its formation set the stage for so much about Urth (TEP Forum’s name for their map) as it stands today, and so much about why I love this RP community. I first joined TEP alongside a friend of mine (If you’re reading this, HI FORT!) who had already been in the RP community for a time. Applying for citizenship and drawing up my map claim back then, I hadn’t realized that at least eight other people, many of whom still RP to this day, had also laid claims there around the same time. Many of those claims conflicted and overlapped with mine, not to mention the same was the case throughout every other part of the continent; right off the bat, Aurora as we know it today was pushed into its first conflict before even being on the map. How could one resolve this? Well forum-user and fellow Auroran map claimer Alix (claiming for Caltharus) had the excellent idea of establishing a thread where we all could hash out and rework our claims to better work with our neighbors’ claims, and from there we could submit a map claim encompassing all of us in one fell swoop for the cartographers to use for the update. It took us about two weeks, and after a few claimants CTE’ing and new ones taking their place, and me (reluctantly ) relinquishing my claim over a certain coveted chili-shaped lake, and after plotting out our capitals and major cities (we even got Dragonia to plot theirs out), we were ready. We submitted the claim, and in that moment Aurora went from being almost entirely made of empty space, save for primarily Xiopothos and Dragonia, to becoming the first continent (at least in recent memory) to be fully and completely claimed. Truly a sight to behold when we finally had finished it up and were added to the map, to finally see our hard work pay off in such a wonderful way.

This exercise in cooperation and debate is a shining example of why I have stayed in TEP for three, coming on four years now. Aurora as a whole has been a wonderful experiment in trying out new ways to roleplay, and has maintained a unique level of activity unlike any other part of Urth; detailed maps have been drawn, history timelines written, and countless stories told, all about this one slice of Urth. Even though we had filled out the map back then, we still made room for newcomers to join in, from Xagrurg to the Oan Isles to the far-off island of Blueacia, and even with these new additions, we all still share the unique identity of Auroran.

[La Xinga]

CCD was in the coup for 1 year??

[Tretrid]

CCD was in the coup for 1 year??

They started their attempted infiltration in December 2018.

I wouldn't give them the credit of calling it a "coup." At least the Rahls managed to control the Delegacy before their coup fell flat.

[Eastern Pacific News Service]

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Editor's Note: This article was edited especially for NS Gameplay forum readers. The original, unedited version may be found here. The Magazine edition may be found here.

The East Pacific News Service
March 1, 2020

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Marrabuk Elected to Second Term as Delegate
By Tretrid

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On February 15, Viceroy Zukchiva officially declared that Marrabuk had been elected to a second term as Delegate.

Marrabuk’s first term started off with the turbulent end of the elections on October of 2019, when the Conclave was forced to postpone declaring the election results due to complaints made by Davelands concerning the election. However, in the last round of the instant-runoff vote, Marrabuk defeated Davelands by 8 votes. Marrabuk’s tenure got even more interesting after the outgoing Delegate, Fedele, attempted to coup the East Pacific. Marrabuk immediately got to work, writing a statement telling the nations of TEP to unendorse Fedele. The day after Fedele commenced the coup, he had been removed and replaced by Vizier Aelitia.

Things started to go back to some semblance of normalcy after that. The Delegate-elect finally became Delegate after the Delegacy spent some time flipping between the Viziers Bachtendekuppen and Aelitia. Marrabuk had put together a cabinet almost as soon as he was elected, even as the coup was commencing, to fulfill his plan to revitalize the Executive.

However, those events had passed. Four months later, Delegate elections were once again on the horizon. The Conclave ran the Nomination period from February 7 to February 13.

Nominee	Response
Todd McCloud	Nominated, Accepted
East Malaysia	Nominated, Declined
Algerstonian Leader	Nominated, Declined
Pakitsk	Nominated, Declined
Marrabuk	Nominated, Accepted
McStooley	Nominated, Accepted
A mean old man	Nominated, Accepted
Ramaeus	Nominated, Accepted
Zukchiva	Nominated, Declined
Tretrid	Nominated, Declined
VW53a	Nominated, Declined
Atlae	Nominated, Declined
Bachtendekuppen	Nominated, Declined
Libertanny	Nominated, Accepted
Angel of Charity	Nominated, Declined
Rage Mage	Nominated, Accepted
Sakana	Nominated, Declined
Wallenburg	Nominated, Declined
Polandball7878	Self-Nominated, Seconded
Asendavia	Nominated, Declined

(Editor’s Note: Nominations that were not responded to were interpreted as declined.)

Of the 21 to be nominated, 7 of them went onto the ballot. They were A mean old man, Libertanny, Marrabuk, McStooley, Polandball7878, Rage Mage, and Ramaeus.

One of the pressing issues of this election cycle was the matter of unity. Over the past 2 years, the RMB grew into a large community of roleplayers. They grew independently of the forums, and so were something entirely different from the already well-established forums. There was an animosity between the two communities under the administrations of Yuno and Fedele, but the efforts of Marrabuk, an RMB personality even before being elected Delegate, helped mend relations.

Several of the candidates addressed the issue of reconciling the RMB and forums. The incumbent, Marrabuk, doubled down on the slogan of “Our region, our home, our family.” He stated that relations between the forums and RMBers were better than they were under Fedele, and touted the idea that “at the end of the day we all belong to TEP and we should always have each other’s back.”

Other candidates had other ideas on how to best deal with the RMB. Rage Mage suggested prioritizing the RMB and using the forums mainly for government work, like “office buildings that are in another part of town.”

Four former delegates, A mean old man, Todd McCloud, McStooley, and Ramaeus were in the election. Although Ramaeus ran a joke campaign centered on becoming an AI overlord, A mean old man and Todd McCloud ran on ambitious platforms. However, after A Slanted Black Stripe (best known for saving TEP from the Empire back in 2008) asked the candidates why replacing Marrabuk was the best route going forwards, Todd McCloud suspended his campaign, essentially dropping out of the race.



The voting period lasted from February 13 to February 15. After 34 votes and only 1 round of voting, Marrabuk won with a 20-vote margin.

Marrabuk has since reorganized the Cabinet, merged the Ministry of Manpower with the Ministry of Immigration, joined the Ministry of RMB Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, and expanded the scope of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Slatos Angers TEP and TNP, Gets Region Raided
By Atlae

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The saga all began with a nation named Slatos. After numerous complaints of flamebaiting, OOC drama, ban evasion, and harassment, it was banned and ejected from The East Pacific. The End.

Of course, this is not where the story concludes. It soon came to light that although Slatos was banned from the region, it had successfully infiltrated the region under the alias “Meddacah.” It had gained citizenship and joined the regional legislature, the Magisterium. A group of dedicated RMB RPers collected detailed evidence about the link between Meddacah and Slatos, eventually confirmed by a matching IP address on the TNP forums, where Slatos had placed the main nation.

Because Meddacah was a citizen of the East Pacific, a Public Conciliation Panel was held on February 4th to question the status of its citizenship. However, the nation Meddacah then left The East Pacific, automatically forfeiting its citizenship. The Viceroy Zukchiva recommended that any citizen who is found to be Slatos should have their citizenship renounced immediately.

By this time, Slatos’ namesake puppet storage region became a relatively large UCR, with a somewhat organized government. Its discord server reportedly featured a rant channel shouting “Death to TEP.” Its founder, Bear Territory (a Slatos puppet), had been DEATed by the moderators on January 23rd. The natives of the region endorsed its monarch, Arkoudan.

On February 9, Slatos (the nation) managed to anger its North Pacifican hosts when the Slatish (the region) military attempted to invade Stargate, a TNP ally. From then on, former EPSA Overseeing Officer Feu de Glace (aka Sakana) and The North Pacific helped organize an interregional coalition that included The Black Hawks, Karma, Lone Wolves United, Balder, and the Joint Task Force.

The operation began on the major of February 15/16. Sakana had a force of 38 nations whereas Arkoudan had 31 on its side. Thankfully, one of the Regional Officers, Phost Cel, was a TEP plant that had successfully infiltrated Slatos, a bit of ironic payback. Before the region updated, Phost Cel ejected 5 nations, significantly widening the margin. Shortly after the seizure of the Delegacy, the leaders, Slatos (under Arkoudan) and Opstan, conceded and moved to the region Opstan.

On February 22nd, the region was password-protected. Following the operation, Slatos has since been puppetswept and Opstan’s main nation was DEATed for OOC behavior. The region Opstan, left founderless, was raided by the North Pacific Army on the February 28/29 major. Slatos and Opstan have stated that they would “leave NS forever,” but have made a few appearances since.

Magisterium Stays Busy, Reforms Many Laws
By Gorundu

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(Editor’s note: Links to each of the laws referenced have been added for ease of use.)

The Magisterium has continued bustling with activity, with a variety of legislative changes being discussed and enacted in hopes of further securing the region and its democracy for future generations.
 
Firstly, a flurry of new Magisters was welcomed, including Rage Mage and Aivinitis, both personalities on the RMB, McStooley and AMOM, both former Delegates, and several other citizens new to TEP. The admission process has been made easier by the newly passed Standing Orders, which allow citizens with WA nations in TEP to be admitted by the Provost, without the need for a vote by Magisters. The new Standing Orders also allowed non-WA citizens to join the Magisterium, further boosting the numbers. Overall, the Standing Orders have been much more simplified, removing redundant clauses and eliminating overly complex procedures, to make the Magisterium a much more friendly and efficient institution.
 
The introduction of important new laws began with the passing of The Regional Officers Act, proposed by Todd McCloud, which required the Magisterium to approve all in-game Regional Officer appointments except for Viziers. Originally written during Fedele’s administration, this was given renewed attention because of Fedele’s coup, during which he repeatedly dismissed important regional officers and appointed fellow coupers to regional officer positions with Border Control authority. Todd McCloud further authored an amendment to the Endorsement Caps Act, which gave Viziers the authority to set and enforce the endorsement caps instead of the Delegate, to prevent endorsement caps from being used by the Delegate maliciously, as well as granting Viziers four permanent Regional Officer spots. To finish, a third bill – an amendment to the Curia Act, which sets out the structure of the regional government – is also authored and passed by Todd McCloud, placing the Eastern Pacific Police Service (EPPS) under the jurisdiction of the Viziers instead of the Delegate, and leaving intelligence operations solely to the Viziers as they are Magisterium-confirmed security officers. (Editor’s note: At this time of writing, the thread for the Curia Act has not been updated with the most recent amendment. The version from September 2018 is shown instead.)
 
This is, of course, all prelude to the most monumental piece of legislation of all: a brand-new Concordat. Originally authored by Aelitia shortly after the defeat of Fedele’s coup, it was taken over by Provost Bachtendekuppen after Aelitia’s retirement. The most significant changes include a requirement for the Delegate to enforce any Conclave (court) orders, empowerment of the Magisterium to suspend Delegates, Viziers and Arbiters for suspicion of crimes committed, guaranteeing the right to legal counsel for all citizens, creation of the role of Grand Vizier, who represents the body of Viziers, and transfer of the citizenship process to Viziers from the Viceroy. It was passed by a unanimous vote of both the Magisterium and citizens in a referendum.
 
Lastly, the Magisterium has continued the work of processing Vizier and Regional Officer nominations, largely by near-unanimous votes. However, the nomination of one Vizier, Wiranath, generated some controversy, as they were not well-known with many Magisters, not particularly active on the forum or Discord, where government members congregate, and did not show up to reply to any questions posed by Magisters. This was the only nomination to fail, and in response, Delegate Marrabuk nominated ArenaC (a relatively new player) and Meddacah (who was suspected, and later proved, to be a puppet of a banned player) as Viziers, citing the Magisterium’s apparent desire to appoint citizens who are active on forum and Discord as Viziers. However, it came under heavy criticism from Magisters and Marrabuk withdrew it shortly after, stating he was “trying to make a point”.
 
Looking forward, the Magisterium is debating a bill to regulate Delegate elections proposed by Viceroy Zukchiva, an idea that has long been raised and made possible by the new Concordat, as responsibility for regulating elections was previously placed solely with the Viceroy. Another discussion on term limits for Delegates has been initiated, as during the last discussion on the same topic, many opponents of term limits were coupers who may have skewed the discussion.
The growing Magisterium will continue to be busy into the future, undoubtedly with robust discussions on new bills made possible by the new Concordat.
 
The Square and the Compasses - Where lies TEPs true East?
By Bachtendekuppen

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A second term for Marrabuk was to be expected.

Delegate elections proved utterly uneventful in our Eastern Pacific this February, with Delegate Marrabuk being elected to a second term with a very wide margin of 20 votes over the next contender, A Mean Old Man. Although 7 candidates contended the race, only 5 really campaigned and only three candidates got any votes at all.
A second term for Marrabuk was to be expected as he won the Delegacy in October 2019 during the 2019 TEP coup, and wrestled Delegacy from the coupers with the aid of the Viziers and numerous allies of TEP.

A wave of reforms.

During Marrabuks first term as Delegate, TEP set out on a huge wave of reforms and an uptick in activity The Executive and Cabinet were restructured, new Arbiters were nominated to the Conclave and the Magisterium voted on an array of nominations for executive positions
and legislative changes, including a host of new Viziers, a re-write of the Concordat, the Magisteriums Standing Orders, treaties various changes to security related laws such as The
Regional Officers Act and the Endorsement Cap Law. The Viziers are set to be restructured
as a new branch of government following the Concordat re-write, with extensive security-related powers.

Exactly what you would expect post-Coup

TEP has been continuously adrift since the end of 2016. A rift in its cohesion and community caused weakness of vision, culture, structure and security. We stumbled on, from one crisis in the next. In October 2019, we survived yet another crisis. In their campaigns, candidates promised more of the same, focusing around further reforming TEP, unifying the region, and the security of the region. Exactly what you would expect post-coup in a GCR. As yours truly pointed out during the campaigns, none of the candidates formulated a vision as to what TEP
should be and aim for in the future, other than patching up the government and chasing unity.

A vision for TEP?

We now try to arm ourselves better for the next one. But to what end? Other than trying to preserve what we think we know as the TEP of old, what is our vision for a future TEP?

Our lack of vision reveals itself on numerous occasions. How the government struggles to handle the RMB and the exclusively in-game community, as well as recruitment. How FA lacks clear direction. In legal bureaucracy. In responding to the sensitivies of allies. In dealing with the various new and not-so-new personas wanting to be part of a new TEP post-coup.

I do not place this at the feet of our current Delegate. His work was cut out for him in trying to rebuild the basics of the region and its government post-coup.

Yet without vision, our reforms will only go so far.

[La Xinga]

Yes!! The Horse!!!!!!

[Unibot III]

Very interesting to read about TEP considering in-game / forum community relations and RMB community governance. That was an issue which was raised quite a lot in TSP and led ultimately to the Local Council initiative.

Has TEP considered in-game elections, perhaps? Like, online polls for residents? TNP tried it in two Cabinet elections under Elu and those were immensely popular and active elections.

[La Xinga]

No it is offsite as you can say: "Only citizens vote! " You cannot expect everyone to listen, and most people have no time to see if every nation that voted is a citizen or not. That's why I cannot vote.

TEP elects Marrabuk again, with their votes!