- Pronouns
- he/him
- TNP Nation
- El_Fiji_Grande
- Discord
- El Fiji Grande (#3446)
by El Fiji Grande and Loz, Min. Comms and MoD
El Fiji Grande: Welcome to The Spotlight, Loz! I am delighted you were able to find time on such short notice.
Loz: My pleasure, happy to be here
El Fiji Grande: One thing that that struck me a couple weeks ago when you returned to TNP is just how little I know about you. Could you tell me how you came to join NS?
Loz: Sure, I came into the game in January 2017 if I recall correctly. I was a pretty casual player at first, but a Telegram from Gladio caught my eye. Before I knew it I was in TNP, and in the NPA
El Fiji Grande: How early after joining did you become involved in the NPA? Did you become involved in other aspects of the regional government as well?
Loz: I joined the NPA as soon as I gained my citizenship! I was mainly just in the NPA in the beginning, but after a few months I started joining other ministries piece by piece. I really got my start in the executive in Comms helping to write the NPA bulletin. After that I joined the others, and actually became the Deputy Minister of Culture for Role Play Promotion. My proudest achievement there was restarting the Eras Magazine, which Prydania and McM are now doing a great job with!
El Fiji Grande: Are there any particularly noteworthy moments during your rise while in the NPA? What rank did you ultimately reach before your current position?
Loz: My Officer Test is a moment that will always be dear to me, but my proudest accomplishment was probably my term as Deputy Minister under Malphe. We smashed operation records that term and I learned more about R/D than I ever had before. Following my term as DMoD I was promoted to Major, which was the rank I held before becoming the Minister of Defense.
El Fiji Grande: Siwale mentioned something about how being involved in IRL militaries drew you away from NS. What made you decide to return?
And is that statement even accurate?
Loz: Yes actually, I am in the United States Army and my duties over the last sixth months kept me too busy to be active in Nation States. For this term I thankfully have something of a break, but come May I'll have to put NS on hold once more.
El Fiji Grande: (Thanks for your service!) Congratulations on your appointment to Minister of Defense!! It seems like it’s well-deserved. How does it feel to be Zazumo’s successor?
Loz: Thank you for your support, I appreciate it! I am very happy to be following Zaz, but he has left a tremendous legacy. As Minister he was phenomenal in maintaining activity, and working with our allies. I will absolutely try my best to live up to the standard he set.
El Fiji Grande: Do you have any plans for where you want to take the NPA?
Loz: My main focuses for this term are training and modernization. I have already reorganized the officer corps in order to make more officers involved in the administration of the NPA. I will also be updating the NPA training documents to reflect changes in R/D, and changes in the NPA. Of course I would also like to continue working with our allies, and continue our dedication to anti-fascism and anti-Nazism.
El Fiji Grande: That sounds good! My plans for the future of the Northern Broadcast Service line up with that as well.
Loz: I am actually in the NBS, or I was before my absence
El Fiji Grande: I'm glad to hear that! I've listened to all the old episodes, so I may have heard you.
To continue, why were you chosen above other candidates for the office? What do you bring to the job?
Or rather, what would you say your greatest strengths and weaknesses are?
Loz: While I don't want to speak for Siwale, I'd like to think that he remembered my passion for the region and for the NPA. As for strengths and weaknesses, am I very proficient at leading and triggering which has also been what I enjoy most about NS war. In terms of weaknesses I suppose my weakness is that I have been a TNP loyalist all my time in NS. I have recently starting communicating with my allied counterparts to close up that gap in knowledge.
El Fiji Grande: Interesting. I know from experience how difficult leading and triggering can be. Regarding stance, how do you align yourself on raiding and defending? What are your thoughts on our stance as independent?
Loz: To be truthful I don’t have strong opinions either way. The NPA is a tool of foreign policy and I’ll do whatever it takes for the NPA to fulfill the needs of the Region.
El Fiji Grande: A careful response.
It's ok, I respect that. Is there anyone in the region in particular whom you look up to, and if so, why?Loz: Like is said I’m a loyalist
El Fiji Grande: That's not a weakness!
But I understand what you mean.
Loz: I look up to so many people in this region it’s hard to put a few down here. QuietDad, Gladio, Bootsie, McM, Malphe, Zaz, Prydania! It’s hard to pick when this region has such a wealth of incredible people
But I will say that I look to people who take the time to help others learn and grow
El Fiji Grande: *nods* To borrow a question from Kasch’s interview of Malphe: How do you want to be remembered in TNP? What do you want your legacy to be?
Loz: I want to be remembered as someone who left the region better than he found. And as someone people could always come to for advice or just to chat
El Fiji Grande: I'll keep that in mind.
Alright, before we bring this interview to an end, is there anything you'd like to add?
Loz: Yes! Thank you for having me in the spotlight tonight Fiji! I didn’t know you before I left, but it’s clear to me that you have passion and work ethic that we should all aspire to.
El Fiji Grande: I appreciate that, thanks. I look forward to serving alongside you this term.
Well, it looks like that's all we have time for. It’s been a pleasure. *shakes hand*
Loz: *shakes hand*
by Ryasta, Staff Writer
When writing roleplays, to some of us, the story comes naturally. To others, we may have to write drafts or outlines before we can come up with a final product. No matter what method you decide to do though, you will end up producing a written roleplay. But what makes this roleplay “good,” and how do you go about producing a roleplay post that is considered quality?
There are so many possible answers and opinions to these intriguing questions. To see what our own region thought about them, I went and surveyed several active roleplayers and people throughout the region. Many answers were given along with explanations for their reasons behind their decisions, but the top three most popular answers for what makes a roleplay quality are as follows:
- An entertaining plot
- Complex characters
- A hooking narrative
Now how do we apply these to roleplay?
First, let’s talk about plot. Plot is the sequence of events that make up the story line of your roleplay. Plot is powerful, and can make or break your audience’s interest in your roleplay. A great way to keep your audience interested in what you’ve written is to write a plot that makes them want to keep reading in order to find out what happens next. One example of a way to make the plot interesting is through the use of plot twists. A plot twist is an unexpected event or turn of events in a story that shocks the reader or changes the way they think about a character or scene. By including a plot twist, you inspire a feeling of shock or surprise in a reader, which will prompt them to want to know more about this new development in the story, which will lead them to keep reading so that they can find or discover more about the new turn of events. When writing a plot that includes twists, however, it is important to make sure there are not too many included in the plot. This can make the story line confusing and hard for readers to understand because of how much things continuously change.
An example (SPOILER WARNING) of a popular plot twist is in M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense, where towards the end of the movie it is revealed that Dr. Malcolm Crowe has been a ghost the whole time, while he has been under the assumption that he survived the gun wound inflicted on him at the beginning of the film. Including this twist in the story keeps readers interested in the plot by giving them a new event to think and learn about, going on the same journey of confusion and discovery started by the twist that the character is now going on, which also helps in drawing the audience into the story even more. Nonetheless, in order to have a plot in motion, you of course will need characters.
Complex characters help improve your roleplay post quality by adding a sense of relatability to the characters in the story you’re writing about, making the story more immersive. Creating characters with a good balance of positive and negative qualities can also help make the characters more likeable. A positive quality can be defined as a character or personality trait that improves how others view the person possessing those traits, and negative qualities are those that help present the person in a bad or possibly dis-likeable light. Giving characters both positive and negative qualities make them more entertaining to read about, and continue to increase the immersion level of the story. It's important to make sure characters are not cliche, however. This includes overused personalities or ones lacking originality. It also means avoiding making them Mary Sues, characters that contain little to no flaws.
On the other hand, this does not mean you should outright avoid writing any characters similar to or containing cliches; it’s all about how you write the characters. One way you can take cliches and turn them into interesting characters is by changing one or two details about a usual cliche, like switching the gender of your character to the one opposite of the gender usually seen containing the cliche traits. Another example of how you can put a spin on cliches and make them more unique is by changing the character’s social standing in the story. For example, take the typical shy nerd character and make her friendly and outgoing instead of an extrovert. Or, take the grumpy elderly man with a heart of gold and make him just plan old mean and grumpy all around instead of just having it as a persona.
By putting your own spin on common character cliches, you add a sense of uniqueness to your characters and ultimately make them your own. This leads them to be characters people will be interested in reading and learning about, as they are unique enough that they won’t be viewed as boring and unoriginal. It is not about whether or not your characters contain cliches, but how you ultimately write them, that will determine whether or not they’re interesting to read about. Originality, relatability, and the balance of strengths and weaknesses are key in creating characters your audience will grow to be interested in and enjoy reading about.
However, what about the bases? The things that makes up your characters, plot, and the story itself: the vocabulary and written words? Yes! That! You story’s narrative can also help decide whether a roleplay post is quality, or not so great. The wording you use when telling your story can help add imagery, meaning, and power to your story. They can also help make the story easier to visualize, which continues to assist in drawing in your readers and keeping them interested in the story because of the way it feels like they are seeing the events in front of them with their own eyes. One example of how to use vocabulary choice and the way you write your narrative to your advantage is through the use of the technique “Show Don’t Tell”. Show, Don’t Tell is when an author shows a specific topic or emotion in a written text through the use of character and scene description rather than outright stating it.
For instance, let’s talk emotions. If an author was trying to tell a character’s emotions, they would simply say “She was sad.” However, if they were to use Show Don’t Tell, they would use detail to show she was sad. It might look something like this: “Her brows dipped into a frown as her lips began to pucker. A soft whimper escaped her shuddering lips, and tears began to form in her eyes.” In this version of the scene, details are used to describe what emotion the character is portraying through the description of their actions and features related to the emotion. Instead of stating that the character was said, the emotion was described and portrayed through actions to make it sound more relatable and easier to visualize. By using Show Don’t Tell, you as the author allow the audience more insight into the world of the story and characters around them by making it easier to visualize and drawing the readers in more through the use of description and relatability.
In the end though, a roleplay is a roleplay no matter what the quality. It is still your own work, and it already earns some good points if you put effort and hard work into it. Including these aspects helps increase the quality of the roleplay, but at the end of the day what truly makes it special is the work and heart you put into it. So keep working, believe in yourself, and I wish you luck in the next post you create!
by Bobberino, Deputy Minister of Communications, Home Affairs
Due to the issue with the forums, TNP's constitutionally mandated election cycle was offset by roughly a month, and the Election Commission had their hands full with the implications and interpretations therein.
By looking at the results of the election, we get that we had several uncontested elections in the more high-profile offices (Delegate and Vice Delegate went to Siwale and Ghost, respectively) yet we also had a tight Speaker race (Wonderess beat out Bootsie) and one of the most contested Attorney General elections in memory.
That's just the surface, however.
The Speaker's election was simple in effect. There was no controversy- the incumbent Wonderess (He had been appointed after former Speaker ABC left the region) defeated the challenger Bootsie in a tight election. There was no controversy involved.
This was not the case in the hotly contested Attorney General election.
Crushing Our Enemies (herein referred to as COE) defeating Goyanes in a tightly contested vote doesn't paint half of the picture.
Nay, rather, COE was unable to get access to the new forum (after it had been established) on which the new election was restarted in the nomination/declaration phase. He missed the deadline. However, due to a clause dictating that government officials may not be penalized for “failing to take action for which access to the forum is required”, his petition to the Election Commission was allowed through, and through a vote of 3-2, allowed COE to get on the ballot and subsequently win the Attorney General election.
by El Fiji Grande, Minister of Communications
Being relatively new to TNP, I was curious about the history of the region, specifically in how TNP's democracy came to be as strong and reliable as it is today. It is important never to take these values and commitments for granted. In these difficult times given the forum emergency, I'm writing this article to help inform both our citizens and those of other regions of the long history of elections in TNP. What are the norms, and what makes this one so unusual? There are over 1250 election threads recorded in the archives of the current TNP Forum, with records going back to November 2005. Additionally, I have asked Wilkshire, a former TNP Delegate to help fill me in on undocumented history prior even to that. Interestingly, I have found some of this early history on my own by perusing the UDL forums. So, while I have done my best to summarize that history here, do note that there is simply too much to read, and as a result, I may have made mistakes. I'd also like to clarify that this article will focus only on the elections themselves, rather than on the history and zeitgeist surrounding those elections. As such, the historical events of 2004 will be neglected, as will the rest of TNP's rich legal and political history. This article seeks to discuss the history of what happened, though will overlook why.
In early 2004, there were no elections for Delegate, though by mid-late 2004, some Ministries were elected positions. In the words of Wilkshire: we just had a sort of unofficial system where when the delegate wanted to step down they would basically choose their successor from one of the trusted nations in the region - The Twoslit Experiment felt it was my turn next and I chose Blackshear to succeed me.
Many early elections composed of few voters and fewer candidates. Often, the choice came down to between just two or three candidates. In late 2005/early 2006, the UN was still the primary worldwide governing body of NS. It was only in March of 2008 that the UN was supplanted by the World Assembly. Thus, open positions included the UN Delegate, Vice Delegate, and Cabinet. The Cabinet looks much the same as the Ministries of TNP today, including the Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, Minister of Communications, Minister of Culture and Education, Minister of External Affairs, Minister of Immigration and Internal Affairs, Minister of Arts and Entertainment, Minister of Justice/Attorney General, Speaker of the Regional Assembly, and Security Council of the North Pacific (top 7 elected). Campaign threads tended to be simple and short. "Who am I? What do I plan to do?" Election voting was held over a one-week time frame. Private ballots were allowed by PMing The Voting Booth. At the end of this time frame, votes would be tallied and confirmed by the election commissioner. Terms appear to have lasted three months. Should any of the Ministries become vacant over the course of the term, the Prime Minister would appoint a replacement, whom would then need to be confirmed by a simple majority of registered voters. Registered voters were those with RA membership and with a UN nation within TNP at the time of the election, with exception given to active NPA members.
In mid-2006, a requirement was added by Hersfold that all candidates for Delegate and Vice Delegate must begin endotarting well in advance of the election to ensure a timely transition of power. Incumbents were instructed not to lower endorsement counts until such time as the newly elected administration has reached sufficient endo count so as to take office. Starting in November 2006, Associate Judges became elected positions.
With the new constitution in place in 2007, nearly all previous positions remained. However, the Security Council was replaced by the Council of Lower Officers (CLO), which were also elected positions. Registered voters were now simply those who were members of the Regional Assembly at the time of the election, a system that continues to this day. Chief Justice and Attorney General were now separate positions. Of note is that it was in this timeframe of 2011 that TNP's first political parties took their roots. This system remained in place until the next constitution was ratified, on August 21, 2012. This constitution is the one we still use to this day, and has only been amended 17 times since, by my count. Elections took place every two months, with general and judicial elections alternating such that term lengths were four months. Special elections were held when positions became vacant prior to the official end of term. In May 2012, the Council of Five was introduced, and served as the executive cabinet to the delegacy. By November, it was the Council of Six. Votes for the council were tallied in a complex manner using the Droop quota by Eluvatar. The Security Council has since been re-established, though these positions are no longer elected by the general public due to regional security interests.
In mid-2012, the first exploratory campaign committees were declared by candidates seeking to know if they would be supported before officially declaring a campaign. Started by McMasterdonia, several candidates in late 2012 followed this trend. In this period, debates were unofficially held on IRC channels. By 2013, campaigns began officially coordinating with each other to establish debate times, and have these debates be moderated by election commissioners. This began with Tim and COE but was followed up with debates for Speaker. Campaigns also became more creative, from Elu's poetry to the marvel of efficiency of Mall's thread. It was from this point forward that Mall became a supposedly joke element in nearly every election since (not to say his prior serious campaigns as JAL were any less so).
It is worth noting that half of all TNP election-related threads have been posted since March 2013, indicating that the last few years have seen a tremendous increase in election interest and activity. In 2014, threads were created (mainly by McM) with open questions for candidates for debate and to stir the pot of TNP. Some Delegate and VD candidates chose to campaign together, feeling that their teamwork and promises aligned for the benefit of the region. This began in earnest in early 2015. Campaign threads became much longer, both in the size of the initial speech, and in the number of rigorous questions candidates had to face in the vetting process. The modern era of TNP has seen campaign threads continue with this trend. Campaign banners and buttons began to play more of a role, being used by many serious and experienced candidates.
The TNP election system and campaigning methods continue to evolve to this day. The current trend of long, articulate posts and intense candidate questioning can be traced back to the roots of TNP, but really kicked off with the introduction of the most recent constitution, ratified back in 2012. TNP has one of the most enduring democratic systems in NS, and hopefully this legacy will continue far into the future.
by Brendog, Staff Writer of the Ministry of Communications
Discord is a prominent platform in NS, to the point that it has almost become a necessity in many regions. It has transformed communication, providing a single platform to easily participate in many major regions. Having a Discord account is beneficial to the user as many functions occur here and it has arguably become important to a region’s growth through the many benefits it provides.
Discord provides instant communication, and with this comes better cooperation between different ministries in TNP and in most other regions where similar systems exist. Discord also hosts general discussions, coordinates R&D, offers information about roleplay, and provides a space to supply ideas to improve the region. Furthermore, with voice chat being a feature, TNP’s Northern Broadcasting Service is much easier to operate, which provides another medium for TNP news. Moreover, features such as this have not existed on other existing platforms, such as in NS or even on off-site forums.
This fundamental aspect of Discord - instant communication - is the reason why Discord is so important in NS. While the RMB can perform this role in smaller regions, but as the population expands, it is much more difficult in regions of significant size. Posts are mixed: RP, General Discussion, Government, and WA posts are all held in the same thread. It does not provide a medium where a structured conversation can be held. With Discord, through the channel system, such conversations are easier to hold and ideas can be spread quickly, tasks done.
While the forum excels with structure, it does not provide the instant communication and ease of access that Discord provides. This can be seen by using the forum for two main reasons: long posts that cannot be made on Discord, and more official activities such as elections or votes. While such discussions or announcements about such official activities occur on Discord, the actual activity occurs on the forum. Undoubtedly, the forum is the backbone of large regions, but it is no longer the go-to platform. I say that Discord has taken over in terms of use and accessibility.
Such Discord integration in NS makes many regions reliant on it, especially in larger regions, where it has almost become a community that can exist without NS. It has bought people together with a common interest: NS. At this point, it can be semi-self-sufficient. As such I want to raise the question, are we dependent on Discord?
by Ryasta, Staff Writer
Does your life suck? Do you grumble and complain because you don't know what you're doing? Is your life just plain crumby? Then you've come to the right place, my friends! Welcome to Ry Bread's crumb of advice for a crumby life - your daily dose of wonderful wisdom to ease your aching and crumbling mind.
This month's question comes from BottledWater19, who asks me "How can I make the best quesadilla?"
Well, you've asked the right person! As a bread, I find myself cooking all the time! Carbohydrates are my personal favorite, they fuel you up and they taste so good too! Just uh.. don't tell my cousin Martin, please.. my wheat family is not too accepting of other cultures.
Anyways, back on topic! Quesadillas are something I have made plenty of times for my growing bread loaf family and now, today and today only, I will teach you how to make them for your own enjoyment! This is our family recipe and we have sworn on it for years, so I really hope you enjoy it.
The Ry Family Quesadillas
Ingredients:
Tortillas (I recommend corn but flour is okay if you don't mind my white bread cousins coming after and trying to kill you)
Shredded cheese of any flavor
A dash of hatred for your ex
A pinch of dignity
Cajun seasoning (optional)
Hot sauce
Materials:
Frying pan
Spatula
Instructions
Set the stove heat on low. Like, super low. You'll need a lot of time on your hands to get the other ingredients ready while it cooks.
Toss one tortilla into the pan and sprinkle as much cheese as you like on it! Seriously, who cares about the diabetes you'll get? The cheesy melty goodness is so good and besides, at least your heart is getting broken by cholesterol and not a person. It hurts way less, trust me.
Throw in a pinch of hate for your ex on top of all the cheesy, goo-ey goodness. Transferring your hate onto the food will allow you to feel like you're conquering the world whenever you take a bite, which will make the food more satisfying in the end.
Place a second tortilla on top of the pile. Or 2. Or 3. Or however many you'd like. It's just a heart attack you'll get, who cares? Then, flip the quesadilla onto the other side. When you think it's crispy enough, put it onto a plate. Enjoy!
As soon as you're done, grab your hot sauce. Keep an eye on the windows and cabinet doors because that's where my cousins like to break in through. As soon as they try to pounce, throw the hot sauce at them! It will make them soggy and disarm them completely.
I hope you find this quesadilla recipe satisfactory, and a delicious meal to add to your dinner schedules for years to come. Thank you BottledWater19 for asking this splendid question and thank you, viewer, for reading! Tune in next time for more crumby advice for a crumby life!
The Northern Lights: Beauty in Truth
Publisher: Siwale :: Executive Editor: El Fiji Grande :: Managing Editor: Bobberino, Dinoium
The Northern Lights is produced by the Ministry of Communications on behalf of the Government of The North Pacific and is distributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs externally and the Ministry of Home Affairs internally. Except where otherwise indicated, all content represents the views of the Government of The North Pacific.
Index of issues
Publisher: Siwale :: Executive Editor: El Fiji Grande :: Managing Editor: Bobberino, Dinoium
The Northern Lights is produced by the Ministry of Communications on behalf of the Government of The North Pacific and is distributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs externally and the Ministry of Home Affairs internally. Except where otherwise indicated, all content represents the views of the Government of The North Pacific.
Index of issues
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