[At Home in Europeia] A Very Europeian Valentine's Day






A Very Europeian Valentine's Day
A Valentine's Day Special

Written by Grandfather Clock




Valentine’s Day, February 14, is a day commemorating the love people in relationships share. That being said, how do people in Europeia and NationStates at large celebrate it with their significant others, if at all? And for those who have a ‘better half’, do they know about the game? Being intrigued by these questions and more, the Europeian Broadcasting Corporation asked several players from Europeia, as well as outside (Xoriet, Legatus of the New Pacific Order and Dilber, delegate of The West Pacific), to share their experiences.

HEM: "Yes, kinda. They know I play an online game with forums, have heard me on EBC Radio and knows [sic] of a few key players I talk about occasionally. They play games themselves (though none like NS...) so they get gaming culture even if this game is very different."

Istillian: "I don't think I could have spent the countless hours of time that I do in Europeia without my wife knowing, and she might hide it from her friends, but she loves me for it because of how passionate I am about the region. Interestingly enough though, back when we first met, I had a political science lecturer in my University that mentioned NationStates, and we had both made a nation and spent a little bit of time playing around with the game. Now, clearly it made a more lasting impression on me, but she has a good idea of what NationStates is, and a solid appreciation for things like the World Assembly and the gameside forums.

When my daughter was born though, she was premature, and she spent a fair bit of time in hospital, so I would sing to her, write stories for her, and then I'd browse the forums after becoming a citizen in Europeia looking at senate responses and EBC articles, until I eventually started contributing myself - which I would also rave to my wife about, easing the difficulty of our life at the time with one child at home, and the other in hospital.

For our first Valentine's, when we were admittedly younger and poorer, I spent a fairly hefty chunk of my pay on jewellery, flowers, and an over the top fancy dinner; which while nice, we decided didn't really fit with our idea of appreciating one another. So nowadays it's our tradition to come up with the most "cheesy" gift for the other person, to take the stress and expense off the day, and also to have some competition. It's ranged from purchasing romantic novels where the main characters names are changed to our own, to the house covered in cheap plastic flower petals and chocolate fondue fountains flowing, to teddy bears that play songs when you press a button, with a dozen Red Roses and a two player Xbox game by its side.

This year we had a family picnic while on a hike, and I organised a single red rose, and a box of 52 cards with reasons for why I love her (one for her to open each week of the year, until next Valentine's Day.)
She got me a tacky card and [fun clothes], so I think she won."

Malashaan: "I was already playing NationStates when I met my SO. I told her about it pretty early in our relationship. She had a nation and we played together a little in another region, but she never joined Europeia.

We do fairly low-key Valentine's Day, particularly this year with covid. We got each other fairly gifts that we exchanged this morning. We just had a moderately fancy meal that we’re about to finish off with lava cake."

Lloenflys: "I mean, there isn't much to tell lol we don't really celebrate Valentine's Day (I'm not even going to be there on V-Day). We'll talk (we pretty much do every day) but ... we really don't do anything.

Yeah, they know about it - I've done NS stuff while there before so they've heard some radio broadcasts and stuff lol.

They know primarily that it's just a grouping of people who are generally interested in politics and political simulation. They know that I spend a ridiculous amount of my time logged into the forums and talking to people on the Discord (in fact, there are definitely people in Europeia I talk to more frequently than my SO's lol). They don't really know any of the mechanics but they know I have roles in the region and that there are periodic elections. I would say mostly just the basics."

Dilber: "Yes, my wife is aware of NS. She hears me on the cabinet meetings we do weekly. And has talked to some of them.

Valentine's day is weird for us because it's the lesser of days this week. Our wedding anniversary and her birthday are the 16th, so it tends to get rolled into one
We'll be ordering in some food and watching a movie tomorrow. Today we're going to my parents to celebrate her birthday."

Prim: "Yeah, I used to play NS when I was in high school. When I rejoined NS after becoming a stay-at-home dad in order to connect with more people socially, I told her about it and she knew I had a long history with it from far back.

We don't do anything special, we're planning to have a normal dinner, but we bought cupcakes from a special cupcake bakery to have a Valentine's dessert with our two daughters. We also exchange gifts, nothing major, just small stuff. Before we had kids, we used to time-shift our celebration so we could eat at a fancy restaurant without all the crowds. We would normally celebrate Valentine's Day the weekend before the actual day."

Xoriet: "I can answer both pretty easily. My SO does know about NS, and he doesn’t mind it. He’s not interested in playing it, however. He was familiar with it because he made a nation once way back when and I discovered that we both knew what it was.

This year we’re celebrating by making a Bavarian pancake dessert and Chinese stir fry together. It should be fun."

Darcness: "Well, I've only been seeing someone for a couple of months. This is our first Valentine's Day, and due to a scheduling snafu, we're going to miss it.

Nope, they sure don't! They're pretty upset about our current political landscape, so a political game doesn't exactly sound like the best medicine at the moment. Maybe one day."

Kuramia: "Kharn and I tend to agree not to spend too much or any money on Valentine's Day. Instead we just randomly give each other stuff throughout the year and celebrate on our birthdays and Christmas. We don't tend to hold much stock into one day of the year when we love each other year round!"

Pichtonia: "My boyfriend doesn't know about NationStates. We live a few hundred miles apart, and only see each other for a weekend every now and then, during which NationStates and Europeia usually don't play a role. Whenever we call and I'm doing stuff for Europeia, I usually just say that I'm doing work stuff, because it's easier and more comfortable to explain. I don't think he'd have any interest or negative views on NationStates, however. He's not very political, and English is only like the sixth or seventh language he's learning, and he's not very adept at it yet. Not enough for mostly-English NationStates, anyways.

I don't know if Valentine's Day has any meaning to him, and I never asked. Last year, I was simply with him, and if you don't see each other very often, that's already a great time. He had to work sadly, and this year he wouldn't have, so I was really looking forward to visiting him -- you may have seen my Leave of Absence. Just like a few hours before you approached me, however, he noticed it might be prudent to inform me that he's currently sick and his illness is actually transmittable [sic], soooo we'll probably sit this year out after all and I've yet to adapt my LoA thread. We didn't have anything big planned anyways, just wanted to be together, watch some movies, cook together, have a nice time."

In all, it's safe to say that it can be hard to hide NationStates as a game from the people closest to us, especially being more involved. Many are also embracing the idea of ditching expensive gifts and instead opting for a special meal at home and some small presents, or even just some quality time together. Of course, given the events of the past year, it has been difficult for a lot of people to spend time together, not to mention people in relationships. While Valentine's Day 2021 may have been a less-than-pleasant event for some, here's hoping for many more pleasant ones in the future. On behalf of the Europeian Broadcasting Corporation, a happy Valentine's Day to you all!

 
Oh my goodness, this is such a lovely article! Excellently done GC ❤️

And Happy (belated!) Valentine's Day to those of you who celebrate
 
Great to read from so many different people, even Xor and Dilber!

Thanks for interviewing all these people and writing this up, GC. Awesome work, and congratulations on your first for the EBC. :euro:
 
Xbox game by its side.
Very sad to hear @Istillian is an Xbox stan, and doesn't use the superior PlayStation. 😔

This was a nice read! Very fun to hear all about everyone.
Little secret, I have both, but that Valentines day in particular we played Gears of War - only available on Xbox :(

Also, thanks for asking me to be a part of this GC, it's a wonderful write-up too! It's great to hear so many different stories from people!
 
Xbox game by its side.
Very sad to hear @Istillian is an Xbox stan, and doesn't use the superior PlayStation. 😔

This was a nice read! Very fun to hear all about everyone.
Little secret, I have both, but that Valentines day in particular we played Gears of War - only available on Xbox :(

Also, thanks for asking me to be a part of this GC, it's a wonderful write-up too! It's great to hear so many different stories from people!
Oh my, two sounds crazy.
 
This was so interesting, and some of these were very sweet, but damnit @Istillian your's made me tear up a bit thinking about it all. Maybe I'm just in a sappy mood though
 
I really liked this article, GC! The interview format was cool, and I enjoyed learning a little more about some of the other people in this region!
 
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