Serph
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Free Spirit
Posts: 125
Likes: 22
Gender: Male
Nation: Icy Wind
Discord ID: Serph#9714
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Post by Serph on Feb 13, 2023 5:49:55 GMT -5
Hello Spiritus! Today is Founder's Day, a regional holiday where we celebrate the foundation of our great region! This will be a celebratory thread, where we will have the opportunity to demonstrate our appreciation for Spiritus!!! Would you mind sharing a bit about your experience with Spiritus? How about a small text detailing that? We would love to read it! Things you can address: - How long have you been on this region? - How did you find out about Spiritus? - How much have you been involved with Spiritus? Tell us a bit about what you've done throughout the years! - Tell us about your favorite moments - What makes you love Spiritus so much? - About yourself and your involvement with NS - How much do you love potatoes? - Anything you feel like sharing...
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Maluhia
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Citizen
Posts: 26
Likes: 4
Gender: Other / Decline to State
Nation: Lanai
Discord ID: maluhia#2206
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Post by Maluhia on Feb 13, 2023 7:10:30 GMT -5
Hello! I guess I will go.
I was originally involved in (and later became Delegate of) a small, UCR region. After my delegacy term was over, I headed over to the South Pacific vying to get involved in their regional political scene. Along the way, I saw the firm partnership between TSP and Spiritus so I decided to also place a nation in this region. I guess I am just a citizen here -- I don't do much. However, I am more involved in other regions like TSP. I like potatoes. A lot. So I guess I like the spud-centric culture here.
As I mentioned before, I was involved in the South Pacific. Currently I serve as their Minister of Culture and as a Legislator. This is my second term as Minister of Culture. I guess I am pretty active over there political-wise and semi-active roleplay-wise. I guess I am technically involved too in Gay, The Rejected Realms, and Europeia. I'm also a bit involved in the World Assembly, as the author of SC#422, Commend Kringalia.
And finally, I love potatoes. I would not say that they are my favorite food, but they are definitely up there on the list.
I guess that wraps this up. Glad to see that it is Spiritus Founders Day and I hope to get more involved here in the future!
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Louisistan
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Legislator
Posts: 573
Likes: 66
Gender: Male
Nation: The Spirit of Louisistan
Discord ID: Louisistan#9874
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Post by Louisistan on Feb 13, 2023 10:16:28 GMT -5
My NS origins lie in 10000 Islands (of which I'm still a member to this date). There I was, among other things, an officer in the regional military, which lead to my first experiences with the SDF. I found the people to be relaxed and nice. Later on, 10000 Islands was looking for a diplomat to this place - and that brought me to the shores of Spiritus. I served as 10ki's emissary to Spiritus for several years, witnessed the great constitutional double reset and gradually became more and more involved. I joined Discord, got to know all the great people - and at some point I ecided to apply for citizenship.
Ever since then I've been active in the Legislature and most recently as Chief Executive.
I love the community in Spiritus. The great and friendly people who are all around this place. And, I admit, I also like that it's a bit quieter than the larger regions out there who seem to be holding some sort of festival or other activity every 12 hours.
Potatoes are awesome with cheese.
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Feirmont
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Legislator
Posts: 671
Likes: 78
Nation: Feirmont
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Post by Feirmont on Feb 13, 2023 10:57:12 GMT -5
My timeline might be a bit fuzzy, but I started NationStates in The South Pacific, where I became what was then Minister of Regional Affairs. Spiritus and TSP planned a joint festival and we had a blast, and I enjoyed being around so I put a nation in Spiritus and decided to keep hanging around the cool people there. I became deputy thingy of Culture working with Wuufu there, and then became the top Culture person in Spiritus. When I became acting Minister of Foreign Affairs in The South Pacific, I got to sign the Lampshade Accord on TSP's side, which was really cool. After a fun term as TSP's Delegate (back then there was no Prime Minister), I hit a tumultuous patch with TSP, but the people in Spiritus were amazing, so I decided to make Spiritus my go-to region. I was a member of the Regional Assembly (on and off, we don't talk about it) and I even managed to snag the first Green Heart Award, which was all the way back in 2015. I was a proud member of the SDF back then too, and did a brief stint as the head of the SDF.
I left briefly near the end of the Elemental Republic era, and again near the end of the Lord of the Rings Era, but after coming back in the Potato Era I've had a blast being in the Legislature and even put on the Chair Potato hat a few times. Then I became Chief Executive for a while, enjoyed that, and now I'm puttering around just being a grumpy old soul.
What keeps me coming back to Spiritus are the people, new and old. Quirky and fun, the ones I've known for a while have had my back even when I wasn't at my best, and I've grown better as a person because of the friends I've made here. Heck, I shouted out Spiritus in my Master's thesis, and plan to do it again in my dissertation. Best community.
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Rogamark
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Chief Executive
Posts: 736
Likes: 73
Gender: Male
Discord ID: Rogamark#1427
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Post by Rogamark on Feb 13, 2023 13:20:17 GMT -5
It's funny, I had no idea the other day that we would be asked to do this. And yet I was composing one in my head when I perused the commendation thread. It may sound like a cliché that it's "the people" who make Spiritus great. Who wouldn't say that about their region? And rightly, this is not what successful commendations are based on. But it is what successful communities are based on, and I dare anybody to find a better example for that anywhere in NS.
I created my first NS nation in the year of the Lord 2005 and actually started to do things in 2008, so one might say I've been around for a while. My true to form eclectic resume includes places like Europeia (where I started doing things), Equilism (the first region where I held the top job), and Osiris (the first and only GCR where I served in the government). I never actually planned to move to Spiritus for good. But I had heard about it, not necessarily *all* good things considering the GP corners I used to dwell in, and I was intrigued. Before I knew it I was serving in the RA, eyeing a run for president, my main nation also moved over, and after a while even our defender allies stopped thinking I'm a spy (cf. FRAkileaks).
But more importantly, before I knew it, I had made friends. The first was Lego, whom we regrettably lost to real life since. Then Johanna. God help me, but Cormac belongs on that list as well - it was one of the periods where we sort of got along. Then there was this strange Tim person. He and I spent a year or three circling each other and pounding our chests until we realized just how supremely unnecessary it was. Over the following years we've had the most spectacular fights, the kind where the devil sits in a corner and takes notes with trembling fingers. And yet we were always still friends afterwards. It doesn't get more solid than that.
With Toms, it was even more of a gradual process. No one would have thought back in the days that we would become the founding fathers of the Hive Mind of Spiritus, capable of not just finishing, but also starting each other's sentences, and of standing in for one another in conversations or switching roles without anybody seriously finding anything amiss. Salax and I was even more unlikely. For quite some time we were fairly sure we don't like each other. At some point we discovered that no, we actually do, quite a lot. We just didn't know how to communicate. This is a problem everybody will have had with someone at some point. But we went to the trouble of learning each other's language, and it was worth it, bigly.
Someone said in the commendation thread to one SDF-involved item something like "so they've detagged a bunch of regions, big deal". It wasn't meant as a compliment, but I... agree. NS-wise, Spiritus offers nothing you can't have elsewhere, and other regions that specialize in one aspect or another do them a lot better even. But we "specialize" in something they don't have: the most closely knit community I have seen in all my years of NS, that is at the same time open to literally anybody who wants in, provided that person isn't a complete male genital (And provided that person shares at least some interests with the most active talkers, otherwise they will get bored rather quickly, but where is that not true?). You are 15, vaguely nuts, no one understands you anyway, and your life plans involve a scheme to do with NFTs of memes? Great, come on in, you're just right for us. You're 45, a professor of comparative social euphemistics, your Rhodesian pot-bellied pig Bertha is currently divorcing you, and you enjoy weird haikus and long walks on the beach? Perfect, you'll fit in just fine. Have a potato. You can even share recipes of jellied foods without being run out of town with torches and pitchforks. Honestly.
That is what truly makes us special. There is no place like Spiritus, and there are no people like Spiritusianites. It's what sucked me in, it's what kept me here, and it's why I will never leave.
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Louisistan
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Legislator
Posts: 573
Likes: 66
Gender: Male
Nation: The Spirit of Louisistan
Discord ID: Louisistan#9874
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Post by Louisistan on Feb 13, 2023 15:43:16 GMT -5
You Executiveness, I rise to put on record my complete and utter agreement with the Chief Justice's very successful attempt at capturing the essence of Spiritus. He succeeded in what I didn't even attempt. That post sums up not only why he is here, but also why I am here and why I suspect most of us are here.
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Salaxalans
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Bow Before the Almighty Potato
Delegate
Posts: 318
Likes: 56
Nation: The Salaxalans
Discord ID: Salaxalans#6003
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Post by Salaxalans on Feb 14, 2023 0:16:54 GMT -5
I don’t know what I can possibly say after Rogamark’s post but I’ll give it a whirl. I’ve been here in Spiritus forever, a word which here means “since October 2012”. I looked through all my recruitment TGs and Spiritus seemed the most likely choice for becoming a Delegate quickly. I guess it worked!
I’ve been here for all the ups and downs and weird drama and constitutional resets and wars and what have you, occupying most government positions at various points, and through it all, despite occasional insanity, Spiritus has been an excellent, close community. Some of the people I’ve met here have become my best friends. I really don’t think there is anything else like Spiritus in all of NS, and I’m sure communities like this are still pretty rare outside of NS. We are all completely mad but get along so well, respect the interests and quirks of others, and generally have a wonderful time chatting aimlessly in our Discord server (or IRC channel, if you’re old).
It’s impossible to pick particular favorite moments because there are so many, every day. Our ability back in the IRC days to have several conversations going at once; with overlapping members, with everyone knowing when they are being addressed in which conversation, was one of the marvels that still baffle me. This still happens in Discord but to a much lesser extent seeing as we have multiple channels.
Somehow this potato thing has become a constant thing, to the point where many people in my life know I have a strange connection to them. It’s always a fun time when I’m taking pictures for the Potato Pardon and I have to explain what the heck I’m doing. I got a book signed by Max Barry thanking me for making NS a starchier place every day. Potatoes have consumed my life!
Spiritus has become an integral part of my life and I will always appreciate all of you.
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Post by beantime on Feb 14, 2023 4:34:46 GMT -5
Hello everyone! I joined Spiritus in late 2019 from one of those annoying advertising telegrams you get spammed with when you join. Y'know the ones "plz join my region it da best we are gameing plz i need friends". Well, it wasn't worded quite like that but all I remember about that telegram is it was one of the few regions to be more casual then the rest, because I really didn't have time to devote to clawing my way to the top of a region in a game where stat changes happen once every 6 hours, minimum. Back then, I was really immature (my first N-Day I had plans to change my name on the Discord server from "IM GONNA SAY THE FRICK WORD" to "IM GONNA SAY THE N WORD", but thankfully I forgot to follow through), but you all accepted me with open arms regardless. Even today, this place is one of the few corners of the internet where I can feel free to express support for the funny orange man and have genuine conversations about serious topics without being called racist/sexist/homophobic/other generic buzzword. That's not to say this place is a right-wing echo chamber, far from it. Believe me, I've seen my fair share of echo chambers. I used to know this one guy who thought the war in Ukraine was fake, and would occasionally send me obviously edited TikToks to "prove" this. But that's neither here nor there as he isn't from Spiritus, or really NS at all. I haven't seen any regions outside of Spiritus, aside from my brief flirting with regional politics as Chief Executive. (Whoever got elected after me, do not try to adjust the desk seat. It will explode. Do not ask why.) But I'm sure that this region is the best that NS has to offer. Free legal advice doesn't hurt either.
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