The Western Post - January 2023

Invite to TWPAF

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By Nagaraningrad, Admiral of the Fleet

MAKE YOUR MARK WITH THE WEST PACIFIC ARMED FORCES!

Come with us and make yourself worthy to sail the sea, see the world of Raiding/Defending in NationStates, and be the crew to serve our Pirate King, Giovanniland.

Sign your mark on TWPAF Application Thread and join the TWPAF Discord Server!

Be the faithful hands before the mast! Join TWPAF Today!

“…WE WERE TALKING ABOUT NATIONSTATES?”

Catalog of Speeches: January 2022 ● March 2022 ● May 2022 ● July 2022 ● September 2022 ● November 2022

Greetings to the residents of the West and our friends elsewhere! It is time for me to write another Delegate's Speech, as the length of my term soon reaches one year. The speech is a rundown of the highlights within the West for these past two months, and serves not only as an encouragement for everyone that has contributed in any way, but also as an invite to continue their work or even do more!

Our military, The West Pacific Armed Forces, has seen change once more. Unfortunately, United Adaikes had to resign due to real life, but I want to thank him for the incredible work he did in just two months—his term saw the entry of several new crew members, promotion of active ones into higher roles, and an uptick in operations, my only wish being that it could last longer were it not for real life. Thankfully, the West is a meritocracy, and I've appointed a very skilled officer into the commandership, Nagaraningrad, who served as UA's second-in-command in the First Mate position before. Nagara has already set plans in motion of regularly holding training operations and enacting a recruitment drive that is currently ongoing, because the current focus is to have more TWPers join our military, learn useful raiding/defending skills and become future officers. Readers of the newspaper that are interested can, of course, apply for membership in the forums!

Another ministry with recent success has been World Assembly Recruitment through the work of Overthinkers and the WAR staff, especially Occidius! November saw the opening of the URA-TWP WA Training Camp today!, a joint initiative between the West and the United Regions Alliance (URA). Both regions, seeking to join efforts in drafting resolutions, decided to create this server where aspiring authors can flesh out their drafts and ask for comments before moving to official drafting in the forums. Currently, it has ten resolutions counting both chambers, at various levels of completion, and I'm glad to see the work there! Furthermore, internally, we've added two new tasks to focus on, aside from the traditional ones such as monitoring and increasing endorsements on the Delegate and Guardians. The first is public voting recommendations, in order to solidify our anti-GA stance and our influence in the Security Council; and the second is the return of the WA Member and Guardian of the Week program, which will seek to highlight not only good endorsers but also examples of activity in the region. Of course, the new WAR staff team is still being built and appreciates any new arrivals.

Meanwhile, in Foreign Affairs, we've advanced our collaboration with the other regions of the Mutual Gameplay Compact (Balder, Europeia, The North Pacific and the Pacific), sticking together and helping each in diverse ways, as well as holding the very successful 20th NS Anniversary Festival during November 10-13 in order to celebrate the game we all love! Collaboration with the URA has been made through the aforementioned WA resolutions projects, and planning is ongoing for the first event of 2023 with another treaty ally. The Laika Accord was also updated following the unfortunate departure of the Communist Bloc, being reworked into a bilateral alliance with the Leftist Assembly. Internally, FA staff has seen the continuation of Varanius's creation GioGuesser, the live quiz featuring several questions about NS gameplay, while new activities are coming to diplomats soon, according to the results of discussion with the Prime Ambassadors.

Another part of the region that really deserves the highlight continues to be the Cultural Trust and its communities. TWP Roleplay is one clear example of activity begets activity, especially in the continent of Nur that was unveiled this year, where several new nations have been active in developing roleplay there. The addition of cities to the map and regular RP voice chats for worldbuilding discussion continues, as well as Sports RP through the 2nd World Cup of Football that took place last November. West Pacific Gaming has seen several newer members of the region engaged in these regular gaming times throughout the week, serving as a way for folks to get to know each other and have fun beyond NationStates. And the TWP Card Club should be mentioned for its excellent increase in participation recently, with contests in November and December equaling and even passing previous attendance records, as well as the arrival of Laudesia in helping me with leadership.

Last but not least, I also want to highlight some key happenings in the Regional Guides and the Hall of Nations. The Guides saw a change in leadership, with Zoran taking the leadership and Blue bubble as second-in-command, the same day as both members were promoted to Cabinet due to their merit, taking the position of Minister without Portfolio to pursue own projects while fulfilling the existing roles. Led by Zoran, the Guides have maintained regular activity from its core members, with inactive ones removed recently. Zoran also spearheaded the organization of the 2022 Midwinter Shenanigans that are described in detail in their own article, with several others helping to oversee the winter season's many regional traditions. As for the Hall, Speaker Hertfordshire and Jammbo has been working on projects such as making dispatches for each Regional Commendation, a soon-to-be-announced Hall Member of the Month, as well as plans for future events such as the regular Ask Me Anythings and possible new ideas.

On a closing note, my special thanks to everyone that has contributed to the region in any way during the year of 2022! For those starting in the game especially, I also invite you to apply for Hall of Nations Citizenship and to check How to Get Involved in TWP. My inbox continues open for any ideas and suggestions people may have!

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After a detailed update last month that included Season 3 news, the Card Club returns for the first update of 2023 with great news!

The Punday Monday awards of the month were Season 2 McMasterdonia received by Rengum in Lingo, Season 2 Sciongrad won by Bhang Bhang Duc, Season 2 The Centauri gifted to Jolly ole saint nick, and Season 2 Kundu was awarded to Occidius! Cards were gifted to players new and old alike, demonstrating that this event welcomes anyone and has a fair chance of victory for those who think of good puns. Come join us each Monday, and if your pun is declared as the winner, it will be added to our Big Book of Puns and you will earn a legendary card!

The month of December also sees our yearly Midwinter Shenanigans happen, with the third card contest in a row (after the Tree Decorating Card Contest and Christmas Card Collection Contest), the Wassailing Collection Contest! Most notably, the number of participants has been steadily increasing since the first themed contest in 2020 that only saw two participants, with 4 entries in 2021 and a record 6 entries in 2022! This made for a very diverse array of cards collected, and also a tough decision to be made by the two judges, myself and Laudesia, when the contest ended at the new year. The collections submitted were:

• Wassailing by Con Nihawitan

• The Wassailing West by The Holy Principality of Saint Mark

• Wassailing by Rengum in Lingo

• Wassailing Card Contest/Christmas Cards! by Guam-North Mariana

• Wassailing Card Contest-Christmas 2022 by CSB PM Union

• The Wassailing Pacific Pirate Christmas Drinks Cabinet & Sozzled Santa's Wassailing Christmas by Mediobogdum

The 12 Days of Christmas themed cards by Medio.

Some of the highlights were Medio's creativity in collecting cards related to the 12 Days of Christmas song and to drinks that they'd have in the Wassailing Pacific during Christmas; Guam-North Mariana's quantity and quality of diverse cards, many of which themed after Christmas yet not easy to find; and Halo's in-depth explanation of what each card stood for, quoted below. For these reasons they were, in that order as cited, given the first, second, and third places in the contest and winning great prizes! The legendary cards gifted were, respectively, Season 2 Great Nepal, Season 2 Mousebumples, and Season 2 Teaberry!

The Holy Principality of Saint Mark wrote:

First, I included cards that are important to the reason we celebrate ... Christmas Eve, Christmas Morning, The Star of Bethlehem, and Christmas Angel.

Next are the many cards that show TWPers waking to a White Christmas and looking under the tree to see what Santa brought. These are all of the Santa-themed cards.

After opening gifts, those of the Wassailing West will consume their favorite holiday beverage (mine is represented by I Love Eggnog) and join their fellows in song. These are represented by the many drinking and caroling cards. Of note, one of the beverage cards I sought out was Ciderlovers, because as BBD has pointed out, the first wassailing was tied to sharing hot mulled cider.

Finally, although Christmas is fun, a TWPer would never forget about sharing their good fortune with others in this special season. The NS Christmas Charity Fundraiser card stands for this commitment.

My prayer is that each of you experiences some joy this Christmas Season.

Furthermore, as also mentioned in the results announcement, the other participants Con Nihawitan, CSB PM Union, and Rengum in lingo were also gifted one epic card each, in celebration of the high number of entries achieved in the contest. Once results were ready, they were also added to the Card Club History thread in our regional forums, which recently achieved a major update during the last month, including the mention of every contest winner and other cosmetic changes to make the timeline easier to comprehend.

And that's not all yet! The Card Club is proud to announce its first contest of 2023 already, called the Avian Celebration Card Contest! Announced by Laudesia, the contest lines up with both the National Bird Day that took place in January 5th and saw many people comment about birds they know, and with the one-year anniversary of my delegacy that will happen tomorrow, January 8th, aligning with my representative animal, the Lavender Macaw.

The rules are to collect cards featuring birds in their flags or nation name, with bonus points if connected to my delegacy—then all you need is to make a collection and post it in our message board with the #aviancardcontest tag before 23:59 EST of 31st January! Myself and Laud will judge all entries and declare a winner, to receive a Season 1 legendary card; a runner-up, to receive a Season 2 legendary card; and perhaps even more prizes depending on the number and quality of the entries. After all, with the success of the Wassailing Card Contest, we hope to see many nations participate in this contest as well!

All in all, this was a nice month for the Card Club, with many notable events and great participation. These are all the major card-related news in TWP for now, but stay tuned for more announcements and another update in the next edition of the Western Post!

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Every season of Midwinter Shenanigans, residents of the West Pacific and visitors alike submit their favorite holiday songs on the Regional Message Board during Karaoke Fridays, a regional tradition that has happened for years. The 2021 festivities saw the introduction of the Holiday Playlist, and now we've gathered submissions throughout the 2022 event as well! You can check the songs sorted by alphabetical order here:

12 Days Of Christmas, suggested by Rengum in Lingo
https://youtu.be/2Fe11OlMiz8

2000 Miles, suggested by Bhang Bhang Duc
https://youtu.be/AEyGZlBdkaA

A Christmas Song, suggested by Bhang Bhang Duc
https://youtu.be/BdalBvgNAxI

All I Want For Christmas Is You, suggested by Guam-North Mariana
https://youtu.be/yXQViqx6GMY

Boas Festas, suggested by Giovanniland
https://youtu.be/mC0EvZFn3lc

Christmas at the Zoo, suggested by Indycar racing
https://youtu.be/Y3mRC-foSZs

Christmas in Hollis, suggested by Rotvania
https://youtu.be/N8NcQzMQN_U

Feliz Navidad, suggested by Corbeil
https://youtu.be/MgIwLeASnkw

First Snow On Brooklyn, suggested by Davelands
https://youtu.be/GOlEZ7r72Tg

Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, suggested by Corbeil
https://youtu.be/MgIwLeASnkw

I Believe In Father Christmas, suggested by Bhang Bhang Duc
https://youtu.be/yfY4b1NszpY

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, suggested by Corbeil
https://youtu.be/zsat4e8jgHA

If We Make It Through December, suggested by Kwisatz Carderach
https://youtu.be/wNfK819vnrQ

Here We Come A Wassailing, suggested by Bhang Bhang Duc
https://youtu.be/fZjQTCaJCEY

Little Drummer Boy, suggested by Hysterical Females
https://youtu.be/WJP6HgngAvY

Mary's Boy Child, suggested by Rotvania
https://youtu.be/cmm1gt_2SkQ

Merry Christmas Darling, suggested by Moaning Lisa
https://youtu.be/XN4nzZbUnQc

O Holy Night, suggested by The Holy Principality of Saint Mark
https://youtu.be/bDrAFheE4Yg

People, Look East, suggested by The Holy Principality of Saint Mark
https://youtu.be/Vwel-dlLSAY

Ring Out, Solstice Bells, suggested by Bhang Bhang Duc
https://youtu.be/XJS9TjjHxx8

Run Rudolph Run, suggested by Corbeil
https://youtu.be/YiadNVhaGwk

Santa Baby, suggested by The Pole Dancers
https://youtu.be/StTJTJaoccY

Silent Night, suggested by Con Nihawitan
https://youtu.be/u9jQl6JcIVQ

Snowman, suggested by Hongg Kong
https://youtu.be/gset79KMmt0

So This Is Christmas, suggested by Moaning Lisa
https://youtu.be/Ax9ekyUy5gg

Thank God It's Christmas, suggested by Moaning Lisa
https://youtu.be/qw2TD91Nytg

The Carol of the Bells, suggested by Bhang Bhang Duc
https://youtu.be/3x_qMcIRbdU

Underneath The Tree, suggested by Hongg Kong
https://youtu.be/YfF10ow4YEo

Winter, suggested by Moaning Lisa
https://youtu.be/cpUuU07_iMc

Wizards in Winter, suggested by Corbeil
https://youtu.be/pWBjl-jPcVM

Yelling at the Christmas Tree, suggested by Locksley Hall
https://youtu.be/wlZIwTRqxxo

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Click here to view the interactive version

Notes: Some brief delegacies have been omitted for the graph for a better visualization, for example glitches (the Endorsement Glitch of 2004 during Berhampore's term), intended happenings (Slingshot Maneuver by Tao the watcher and Cave canem), and transitions (such as those overseen by Wickedly evil people and Mediobogdum).

Graph Data: All graph data, compiled from the sources below, is viewable on this spreadsheet, with records spanning nearly every delegacy except some brief ones. The spreadsheet also contains its own small graph (without delegacy markings) and each delegate's highest endorsement count marked in red.

Sources:

• 2003 to 2012 data (Commercial affairs until Enlightened defenders) compiled by myself through the Wayback Machine and other sources linked in another spreadsheet.

• 2012 to 2016 data (Yy4u until early Elegarth) compiled by Refuge Isle in their dispatch called "World Assembly Trends | Oct 2012 - Jan 2022", which mentions several regions including TWP.

• 2016 to present data (late Elegarth until Giovanniland) compiled by myself through the endorsement graphs provided by NationStates in each delegate nation's rankings.

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The Community Calendar originally designed by Fujai and adapted for 2022 by Zoran.

When the month of December started, the West Pacific embarked upon a month of Midwinter Shenanigans. Several activities such as the yearly Secret Santa, many regional polls, a card contest, holiday music and many others took place during this month, and this article will cover these events!

The celebration officially started December 1, the same day Secret Santa sign-ups and the Wassailing Card Contest opened. Matches were sent out after a week, with good participation from residents and friends alike, who then had to send out their gifts during the last week of the month. The NationStates servers also joined in with their contribution of their own, a planned maintenance that ended up having issues and lasted for 4 days, bringing a gift (or curse, depending on your opinion) of a NS-less Christmas holiday. Those in Discord could gift their creations normally, but luckily, the servers returned in time for the gameside players to send and receive their gifts as well, or a backup gift sent by Zoran if needed.

Another staple of the celebrations were the multiple themed polls created throughout the month! The Build-A-Santa polls by Zoran happened during eight days, two days for each of the four polls. The first poll to decide the Santa's facial hair saw the Gandalf beard overwhelmingly win, with the original Santa beard in a distant second. As for the clothing, however, it was a fair dispute between a pirate costume and the traditional Santa costume but in the red and purple regional colors, with the latter prevailing in the end. Next up was the transportation, an even closer competition where a DMC DeLorean edged out a shipwrecked pirate ship by only three votes! Last but not least, the Offering poll contained five options that all had reasonable support. Among two left Twix and a Klondike bar, whiskey and a steak, the traditional milk and cookies, weed for his pipe and wine, and a cup of coffee and a pastry, it was the weed and wine that won.

Zoran also oversaw the fifth edition of the Reindeer Death Match, an annual tradition. Vixen had won last year against former champion Blitzen, but did not succeed in retaining the title. Eight other reindeer—Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Blitzen, Vixen, Donner, Cupid and Rudolph—fought for the coveted chance of fighting Vixen. The first round saw traditional frontrunners Comet and Blitzen advance alongside Cupid and Dancer, the last one decided by a tiebreaker vote. These two frontrunners, naturally, won the second round and advanced to decide who would fight the champion. Then the aforementioned server crash happened, causing the next two rounds to happen in the Discord server for Hall of Nations Citizens. The results were that Comet defeated both Blitzen and defending champion Vixen, and lastly took successfully on the surprise challenger, the TWP Santa, after the game returned, to confirm his second championship and equal Blitzen's record! For reference, Comet has won in 2019 and 2022, Blitzen in 2018 and 2020, and Vixen in 2021.

Furthermore, the Midwinter Shenanigans TWPChooses questions were hosted in our regional forums, firstly by United Adaikes and then by myself, Giovanniland. These polls were a simple choice between two alternatives, with the option for people to comment on why they went one way or another through forum comments. Questions included whether people would choose colorful or white lights, ten smaller gifts or one big gift, make homemade presents or buy them, celebrate the next holidays like this one or do something different, and last but not least, if they preferred the year of 2022 that came to an end or think what the future holds in 2023 will be better.

Alongside these polls, many other activities happened throughout the month! Every Friday, nations could submit their favorite Christmas songs to the Holiday Playlist compiled for this edition of the newspaper, while card collectors could work month-long on their displays for the Wassailing Card Contest, which had the participation of Con Nihawitan, The Holy Principality of Saint Mark, Rengum in Lingo, Guam-North Mariana, CSB PM Union, and Mediobogdum, as described above in the Card Club Update. The third week of the month saw our tradition of the Ugly Sweater Week take place, and dozens of residents were creative with uploading ugly sweaters as their flags and adapting their custom fields to it as well! December 16th, the Ugly Sweater Day, was the date for the winners announcement, with Occidius, Davelands, and Glorious Existence taking first, second, and third place respectively.

Last but not least, a highlight of the month was the 4th NationStates Christmas Charity Fundraiser (NSCCF)! The chosen charity this year was supporting the Trevor Project, which provides mental health services for young LGBTQ+ people, and the fundraiser advertisements featured artwork by Bran Astor, Fujai, Imkihca, Aelitia, and Dalimbar. The main TWP stream happened on December 18th when Zoran hosted a game of Dungeons & Dragons, alongside the participation of Dali, Fujai, Dilber and Teralyon, which saw very good attendance!

All of us at the Western Post hope you had a very merry Christmas and happy New Year; we also thank all those who participated in any and all of the Midwinter Shenanigans. Stay tuned for more regional events and, when December comes again, another edition filled with many winter-themed activities!

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All your chocolate belongs to Darkesia
The Western Post Staff - Delegate: Giovanniland - Editor-in-Chief: Fujai - Staff: Blue bubble, Fauthur, Gryphonian Alliance, Hertfordshire and Jammbo, The Holy Principality of Saint Mark, Overthinkers, Podium, Santos-dominius, So long, Teralyon, United Adaikes, Varanius, Zoran, and YOU
All your chocolate belongs to Darkesia

spooky!