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Hello mortals, it's your neighborhood friendly adventurer Pengu here!  You can see that I'm carrying my trusty +2 Winter Blade accompanied by my various die of power.

As you know, this term I'm putting aside being Thane of Werewolf for once, because I want get a feel for other areas, specifically Roleplaying and Foreign Releases.  I love the work that's been done in both areas so far with the thriving Academy and Roleplaying Server, but I also want to find ways to bring more focus back to Forum RPs, which haven't been active since March.  Possibly exploring new ideas and seeing where we can go, promoting RPs through our Discord, and coming up with some RP events such as costume parties, and overall just casual events that anyone can take part in with ease.

Likewise, I want to continue the progress with the Orendi, pushing to get more editions out since our last Orendi has been up in the air since Novemberof 2019, and it's currently almost June.  We should be doing at least 2 releases a year since there's a lot that goes on in this region, but ideally I'd want it to be quarterly with 1 release per quarter.  Basically have a Spring Orendi, Summer Orendi, Fall Orendi, and Winter Orendi.

Overall, it's two areas that I want to get a feel for and have some ideas for, and I'd like to give at least one of them a shot.

And for the questions:

Why are you running for this position?
Roleplaying: I've always liked the creative aspect of roleplaying, and want to bring back some of the activity to our Forum RPs aside from just the Academy while keeping the current activity we have in our RP server, while also finding more ways to get people wanting to take part in our Discord RPs and Academy as well.  Roleplaying, like Werewolf, is one of those areas with enormous potential that I want to see if I can tap into a bit more.

Foreign Releases: I like our Orendi, but I also want to find ways to shake it up and get more releases out, keep finding fun ways to get others involved with the Orendi (like when we did puzzles).  I like the idea of it being quarterly released and seeing it flourish, and I want to find new ways to do that such as making it more like an actual newspaper (especially since we do that format for it).

What do you aim to accomplish as thane? As part of this, you must include at least one thing that you promise to do beyond the minimum listed duties of the position during your term. It should be measurable, so that it's black and white whether you fulfilled this mandate at the end of the term if you are elected.

Roleplaying: My main attainable goals are to set up some event RPs and get some more interest in our forum RPs again...possibly as a sort of place for people currently in the Academy to do some test RPing.  Ideally the midpoint of my term I want to set up a main RP to bring some activity back to the Gathering Portal.

Foreign Releases:  I want to get us back on a Bi-yearly schedule, through ideally I want to get us on a quarterly schedule with releases.  While the latter is more a hope, the former is more of my main goal at the very least.  I also want to find more ways to get people interested in wanting to submit articles, as well as continuing finding ways to get people involved with our releases, such as how we did puzzles that our friends in other regions could solve.

What qualifications or experience do you have in the area that you are running in?

Roleplaying: I've been textual roleplaying on and off since I was 12, and have experience in world-building and story writing from about the same age.  I also helped moderate and run RPs in older forums during my college years such as a Final Fantasy themed messageboard where I hosted a few RPs, as well as a few Harry Potter messageboards back in the day where we did events such as Hogsmeade visits (where I was the current owner of Honeydukes and came up with new types of candy), class sessions (I was the Divination Teacher), and big events like the Triwizard Tournament.

Foreign Releases: Outside of being part of the staff for my community college's newspaper, I've also on and off single handedly written editions of magazines on Wintreath such as the Lusty Jarl, Busty Bandicoot, and recently Posh Penguin.  Currently, I help in Thalassia as the Deputy Minister of Information, which is mainly responsible for getting together and releasing their own news publication known as The Wave.

How do you plan to have the time to fulfill the duties of the position until the next election in March?
Until things pick up and get back to normal, I have plenty of time to fulfill any and all of the duties I'm given since I'm not currently working, and have access to a computer 24/7.

Are you currently a part of any other NationStates regional or organizational government? If so, please include those regions and positions.
Currently I'm Deputy Minister of Information for Thalassia, which basically is identical to the Foreign Release position here.


Outside of those questions, let me clear up some others you may have:

Q: I noticed you're not running for Werewolf this time, why's that?
A: This is true, I'm not running for Werewolf this term, and I'm sure that's probably a little confusing with how much I gush on and off about it.  Don't get me wrong though: I won't be giving up Werewolf for good, as I'll still be hosting games since it is something I treasure.  However, I want to explore other Ministries and get a feel for working them.  This term it'll be running for Roleplay and Foreign Releases, and if I get/do successful in one or both areas, then push those some more and see how much I can put into them and then run for a different office.  Like Werewolf, these are two areas that I'm familiar with and would be comfortable running, so I figured why not step back from Werewolf and let someone else have a shot at it while I try something new yet also still familiar?

You mention being a Deputy Minister in another region, won't that eat away into your time and take away from your duties here?
A: Not at all.  If anything, much of the work I'd be doing here would mostly mimic the work I'd be doing there except here, I'd be more pushing the progress of the Orendi as opposed to helping push it.  At the same time, I could always dual-write articles to fit both publications if articles for either were needed, so if anything it wouldn't slow down my duties here or take away from any time at all.

What's your preferred Genre of Roleplay?
A: Fantasy.  I usually feel most comfortable setting up a fantasy roleplay as opposed to any other genre since it's my overall favorite to read and write about.  I do like Sci-Fi as well, but usually there's some sort of logical real-ness to it that requires some knowledge of how things actually work in real life if you want to get into the good sci-fi futuristic or even other-worldly stuff, whereas with Fantasy it requires really a minimal knowledge of that and more just a knowledge of how to create a unique world and how characters work...with everything else being up to "as long as it has some basic roots in realism" as opposed to having to be able to explain in closer detail how your science holds up (unless it's a Sci-Fi Fantasy combination, in which there's usually more leeway).

Favorite time period to explore in roleplaying?
Well, I love the overall middle-ages/Medieval typical fantasy setting, but I also love mixtures of it...having some modern and some sci-fi mixed into it (such as having a fantasy world that has a futuristic city, a modern one, and a medieval one, etc...).  I also love Egyptian Mythology, but that's one of those areas that I'm not the most comfortable writing intricately about as much as the typical Medieval fantasy...but it is an area I'd hope to explore some day after some research.

Why Do you feel like you're a better choice than any other candidates vying for this position, or than the current people in office
I don't, in all honesty.  I know this election is going to have some great candidates, and I know some will be running for the same office.  I also think that our current Roleplay and Foreign Affairs Thanes (aka Excalibur and Kiwi_Kebab) are excellent.  Excalibur has really taken off with this Arts Academy with Ruguo, and has done phenomenal in getting people interested in the classes.  I honestly think Roleplay has been doing great under him.  Likewise, even though the Orendi hasn't been out since November, I think that Kiwi has been doing a great job with the Orendi, but it just hasn't really gone anywhere most likely because of busy schedules and outside factors.  It's not that I think I'm a better choice, I just have a few ideas for both areas that I want to explore and see if they bear any fruit in both continuing the great course that Roleplay is on, and putting the Orendi on an even better path than before.

What are some things in those areas that you feel could be better?
As I mentioned, with Roleplaying it'd be bringing more focus back to the Forum RPs while still encouraging people to join the Discord RP server and taking part in the RMB roleplays.  The Academy is already doing the first steps to bring back activity to the RP section of the forums, and I'd like to see that go even further with Academy students taking place in actual forum RPs, casual and non.

With Foreign Releases, I want us to have more actual deadlines that we hit.  With our current publication, the original date was the end of December, and it still has yet to be released.  I want us to be able to start actually hitting deadlines and releasing the Orendi in more opportune windows so that we don't become ghost ambassadors that are kind of just there but give no updates to our region outside of unless Wintermoot makes and address or we're getting ready to host a game of Werewolf.  I want us to be much more timely and even ideally I'd want us to up the release amount to 1 per quarter on a specific date...though that's more of an ideal that I'd want to work towards as opposed to my main goal of just getting them out and getting back to at least 2 per year to start with.

If you were told that you couldn't have both areas and had to choose one, which would it be and why?
Honestly, that's a difficult question since I actually like and want to get much more involved with both areas and have ideas for both.  It'd be easy for me to say that I'd choose Foreign Releases because it's an area I'm already getting experience with in another region and likewise have prior experience working deadlines and such.  At the same time, it'd be just as easy for me to say Roleplaying since I appreciate the challenge that the area would present despite any experience I have with RPing.

But if I had to pick just one, I'd probably pick Foreign Releases assuming that someone else like Excal was running for Roleplay, because while I have ideas for the Roleplay area...it's already going in a great direction, and would continue going in that direction with or without me at its helm.  Whereas Foreign Releases does need a bit more of a face lift since it's been stagnating in what I'd consider our most important area, and I definitely want to get that up and going.

Preferrably, I'd like to try my shot at both.  But if I had to choose one, I'd feel more comfortable letting someone else take Roleplay and I'd take Foreign Releases.

And that's my campaign! If you have any other questions, please ask away as I love answering them! And remember to vote Pengu for Foreign Affairs and/or Roleplay Thane!

Well, I approve your campaign for Thane of Foreign Releases, haha, but @Ruguo will have to do that for the other position you're running for.

I of course approve your campaign for Thane of Roleplay.

You're reading everyone's mind with those questions. I was gonna ask why you weren't running for Werewolf Thane.

Foreign Releases + Pengu are a match made in heaven in my opinion.

Welcome to the campaign. I appreciate the thorough introduction.

Recently, there's been some talk of expanding the role of some RP elements in the region, for example giving new Citizens a noble-sounding title and allowing them to immediately pick a spot on a regional map as well as expanding the role of families. Do you think this direction would be beneficial to the region, or do you think we should maintain roleplay elements as purely optional things separate from anything else in the region?

On the Foreign Releases side, besides more timely releases, what do you think out outreach to other regions most needs?

You mention working on the print/newspaper/magazine format. This did not bother me much when you were just making your own publications, but if you bring that back to the Orendi, will you follow standard formatting conventions like obeying the reasonable margins laid out on InDesign?

You're reading everyone's mind with those questions. I was gonna ask why you weren't running for Werewolf Thane.

Foreign Releases + Pengu are a match made in heaven in my opinion.

Yeah, I had a feeling it was going to raise some eyebrows, but look at the result! Not just one but two people running for it for the first time that wouldn't have if I ran again.  That makes me exceptionally happy to see that others are wanting to go for it now.

Welcome to the campaign. I appreciate the thorough introduction.

Recently, there's been some talk of expanding the role of some RP elements in the region, for example giving new Citizens a noble-sounding title and allowing them to immediately pick a spot on a regional map as well as expanding the role of families. Do you think this direction would be beneficial to the region, or do you think we should maintain roleplay elements as purely optional things separate from anything else in the region?

On the Foreign Releases side, besides more timely releases, what do you think out outreach to other regions most needs?

Roleplay: I mean, I think picking spots on a map and doing what we have been with nobility but giving it more of a purpose would be exceptional.  The only thing that making things such as expanding the UH to RP laws and whatnot would do is benefit the region in that area because they'd give more foundation and purpose to regional RPs that we set up.

Foreign releases: making them fun and interactive for people at the start would be idea.  I'd take a page from my own publication and include something like comics and/or games to get people interested.  In all honesty, outside some occasional flavorful articles it comes across to me as a typically rigid updates-only foreign dispatch...but Wintreath isn't your typical rigid type of region.  The Orendi should be consistentl echoing our voice of warmth and openness and should push people to think "You know, I'd like to check this place out."  Keep what we have in th Orendi, but also just find ways to make us unique over other regions and emphasize our voice.

You mention working on the print/newspaper/magazine format. This did not bother me much when you were just making your own publications, but if you bring that back to the Orendi, will you follow standard formatting conventions like obeying the reasonable margins laid out on InDesign?

I plead the fifth on this.

In all seriousness, I may play around with the style a bit on my own time away from Orendi publication and then do some template test posting for input from others...but stick to traditional style in the meantime.

You mention working on the print/newspaper/magazine format. This did not bother me much when you were just making your own publications, but if you bring that back to the Orendi, will you follow standard formatting conventions like obeying the reasonable margins laid out on InDesign?

I plead the fifth on this.

In all seriousness, I may play around with the style a bit on my own time away from Orendi publication and then do some template test posting for input from others...but stick to traditional style in the meantime.

Mm, it's just common things that I never really noticed until working with Hydra on the Orendi, but publications look so much better when you have decent margins (otherwise it looks like someone converted an ebook/txt into a pdf lol) and have all text/images aligning when possible.

You mention working on the print/newspaper/magazine format. This did not bother me much when you were just making your own publications, but if you bring that back to the Orendi, will you follow standard formatting conventions like obeying the reasonable margins laid out on InDesign?

I plead the fifth on this.

In all seriousness, I may play around with the style a bit on my own time away from Orendi publication and then do some template test posting for input from others...but stick to traditional style in the meantime.

Mm, it's just common things that I never really noticed until working with Hydra on the Orendi, but publications look so much better when you have decent margins (otherwise it looks like someone converted an ebook/txt into a pdf lol) and have all text/images aligning when possible.

Oh I do agree, because even messed up margins can overall make a publication look messy.  It's something that I'm wanting to work on getting better so that my magazines look more pristine.

I was also thinking about having a sort of secondary editor type of person.  Basically someone that could be a second set of eyes for any grammatical/spelling errors, but could also clean up any marginal/spacing errors that may have originally been missed.  That way it's more than just one set of eyes on the final publication before it's sent out, especially when we're used to members like Hydra giving us some pretty spotless looking publications.  Who knows, maybe I'll get Hydra to be my second set of eyes. 

I am honored that you think so highly of my administration , but as we are running rivals now, I have my pre-campaign examination that I feel obligated to do.

You are going for two Thaneships: Foreign Releases and Roleplay. That's going to be a lot of work. You said you're deputy minister work won't interfere, but both Thaneships, Foreign Releases in particular are going to be big time sinks. How will you balance your time?

If you are elected, are you planning on making any changes to the way current RPs are run, or even the purview of Thane of Roleplay? Are you hoping to change it to a more active role or revert it to the overseer it was originally established to be?

Guild system: What are your plans? There currently isn't a lot of stuff going on with them, so do you believe they are a vestigial part of the RP system or are you going to revamp it with your focus on forum RPs?

I have more questions, but I'll stick with these right now. Good luck!

I am honored that you think so highly of my administration , but as we are running rivals now, I have my pre-campaign examination that I feel obligated to do.

You are going for two Thaneships: Foreign Releases and Roleplay. That's going to be a lot of work. You said you're deputy minister work won't interfere, but both Thaneships, Foreign Releases in particular are going to be big time sinks. How will you balance your time?

The beauty is that since I'm unemployed currently, I have a lot of time to be able to balance things.

Daily, I could spread my duties thusly:

An hour a day (or longer if there was a specific project I was working on) devoted to working each specific Thaneship, as well as an hour a day (once again longer if it was specific project) for UH duties if I get elected for that as well.  As I'm using the hour for my FR job, I'd also use that for my Deputy Ministership in Thalassia as well since the roles are pretty identical, so I wouldn't have to worry about splitting focus too much and could almost treat them as one and the same outside of the deadlines and article submissions (that, and Thalassia's newspaper has someone else put them together, so my duties there are literally just submitting articles and making sure deadlines are met).

So basically if I got both positions, I'd be spending an hour at least exclusively toward Roleplay affairs, at least an hour a day toward Foreign Release affairs for both here and Thalassia (though most would go towards Wintreath for the above explained reason), an at least an hour a day towards UH affairs if I get that...again unless there was a specific project I was working on the side on my own free time, such as the comprehensive list of Krone functions I want to do for the UH and/or the style testing for the Orendi.

In other words, 3 hours a day at least (no more than 5 hours total consecutively) towards Wintreath government affairs, with roughly 10 hours left to do what I wanted, and 9 of course for sleeping.

And since I don't foresee being able to get a job until August/September, that'd give me June, July, and possibly August to get stuff done before my schedule changes...and by then Thane Elections would be around again.

If you are elected, are you planning on making any changes to the way current RPs are run, or even the purview of Thane of Roleplay? Are you hoping to change it to a more active role or revert it to the overseer it was originally established to be?

Kind of a hybrid is what I'd be wanting personally.  Someone who does oversee the area, but also kind of how you have it to where you're running classes in the Academy and being a part of it.  I really don't like roles that specifically just oversee rather than actually take part in any way, so I'd always want to have it be somewhat active.  Actually, one of my plans is introducing some event-RPs and even doing a grand re-opening of the Frostbite Tavern and take ownership of it since Aubrey has long since left, maybe make it a tavern that's owned/ran by the current Thane and keep it being somewhat lively.

I will mainly be overseeing the RP Discord server rather than trying to change it though since it has a pretty good established formula that I don't want to touch.  But when it comes to the forums, I'm going to dig into topics such as the Guild a bit and seeing what I can do with that, and try to bring interest back to the forum side of RPs.

Basically, I'll be active on the Forum side while overseeing the Discord and RMB side since they both have a working formula that I don't want to break.  But if anything, I'll be encouraging people to try all three types since each of them have their merits.

But overall my main goal is to get people interested in RP, not necessarily changing what aint broke outside of bringing forum RPs back into the spotlight a bit.

Guild system: What are your plans? There currently isn't a lot of stuff going on with them, so do you believe they are a vestigial part of the RP system or are you going to revamp it with your focus on forum RPs?

I have more questions, but I'll stick with these right now. Good luck!

I'd want to look at them and weigh the options a bit.  I loved the idea when they were created and was really happy to see how they became, but now the question is whether or not the Guild itself is relevant or if it's obsolete with everything that's changed around it as time has gone by.  I do think there's still some possible hope with it, it just needs to be explored a bit to figure out what can be done with it unless we wanted to do away with it and replace it with, say, a council or something to help oversee the RP aspect of things (such as vetting RP proposals or creating RP-based regional laws that would affect the region for future regional RPs, but not affect the region in the same way the UH does).

But that's also something that could be asked of our RP players, since the guild's future is something that would affect them as well, especially those who have been pretty invested in it.