[Campaign] Delechama-chama!

Eastern Alksearia Fountain Plaza The Conclave Delegate Election
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What happened to us?

The East Pacific is the land of second chances, the supporter of underdogs, and the proving ground of tomorrow’s greats.

In today’s TEP, we need leaders that are willing to accept blame and criticism, and transform negative energy into results - even if out of spite.

We need to continue to oppose sanctions that dictate who we can and can’t associate with and seek the death of community on NationStates before it will tolerate the continued company of sanctioned players.

We need to strictly evaluate what it means to be “a Friend of the East”, where TEP is more than “a Tool that is East”, and where they demand we change our very identity to bring back old “friendships”.

And we need to remember that what brought us here was a friendly community of comedians and a land of opportunity. How many of us were drawn here by Libertanny’s charisma as an ambassador? How many of us joined realizing our elections and high offices are open to all interested to apply and thrive in? How many of you are now named as great of heroes as the Delegates of the last two decades, realizing that TEP too realizes the contributions of both the old and the new?

I’m Ill’haress Aurora Yukihime of Albrook, the former Delechama of The East Pacific. And this is my contiuing vision to let the light shine on the East.

Head of Government

To my “land of opportunity” point, while I lament it will be harder to earn placement on the top of the region page for all to see (I did vote in Zukchiva’s survey that being the WAD was part of the reason why I ran in my first term), our land of opportunity continues to offer this honor to our greatest homeland protectors in the Praesidium.

As for myself as the chief executive (not proper noun), I will:

  • Seek out and continue the wisdom of the experienced. Just because I’m the boss now does not mean the tried and true methods that guided our region for so many years need to be discarded.

  • Be highly responsive to feedback and suggestions. I own the decisions of my Executive. You can blame me. You can call out my stupidity. You can say you can do something better than I or my ministers can. And you can have ideas you really want to see. And I will do my best to resolve all of these.

  • Adapt to a dynamic region The needs and feelings of our region change, and that’s ok. It is my responsibility to accept change and adapt the Executive to our needs. We are not robots or Sims with easy criteria to satisfy, and especially in our passionate culture it’s very real to expect to need to adapt structures, policies, and decisions to our changing needs.

As the head, I am not Superman. I’m a 9-5-working, hobby-having, gamer, with a life. I cannot run this government alone. I need a cabinet. And here are my champions:

Advisors

My future Cabinet Advisors,

I need your wisdom. There are so many things I don’t know.

I am not an RP player.

I was not you in your career in TEP.

I probably didn’t feel everything you felt.

And I am not Superman.

I need at least someone from each subcommunity and branch of government to help me.

We have new leaders we need to grow together.

Are you in?

Clerical Agency

My future Minister of the Clerical Agency,

I want you to continue your mission to keep the details of TEP’s infrastructure up to date.

My authorities and manpower are available to you. Please, ask me anytime for guidance and help.

Are you in?

Culture Ministry

My future Minister of Culture, I want you to assemble a highly available team of fun people.

We and our allies love The Hunger Games, and in my power they will continue on schedule as long as folks remain interested. We will work together to continue them.

We need to always be seeking creativity. Let us work together showcase the work of our Residents in contests over regional decorations and exhibitions of our creative works.

We need activity. You may, and I desire periodically to the best of your team’s availability, organize and lead events featuring free and low-cost multiplayer games or activities. You may invite any in or Friends of the East. You do not need my permission, but please be respectful of other regional events.

You have my full support and arsenal of authorities at your side.

Are you in?

Eastern Pacific Sovereign Army

My future Admiral, I want you to continue to grow our highly available army.

I am no soldier. I have been WA-locked for nearly my entire NS career as Delegate of the Alstroemerian Commonwealths or as your former Delegate. I have never jumped, and I have never occupied.

You hold a unique and valuable skillset. I trust you to continue to share it to spread TEP’s virtue of democracy in our unalignment as we coordinate ourselves and with our military allies.

Please advise me on your observations and on my decisions that may affect you.

Are you in?

Foreign Affairs Ministry

My future Minister of Foreign Affairs,

I want you to realize that almost everyone that holds this position declares this very candidacy, and very often becomes our chief executive.

Together we will address the region’s hardest PR disasters.

Together we will stand up for TEP in a metagame that, at times, wants us and our close friends conquered.

We will show our mercy and empathy with true friends. Still, be prepared to be betrayed. We must always keep them close…

But do not succumb to sanctioning our closest friends in seeking utility and redemption from bullies.

We will make hard choices. It will happen at 3am. Someone or something will piss us off.

I want us to assemble a team of everyone willing to deal with this pressure to continue to make The East’s principles known to NationStates.

You all always have mine and each other’s ears.

Are you in?

News Ministry

My future Editor-in-Chief,

I know how it feels. Everyone has big ideas of what to write, but take their time or won’t deliver. So we write it ourselves and burn out, or surrender to delay or skip the edition.

I’ve done the late-night crunch to assemble the edition on the deadline.

You have my entire support as chief executive, as a key contact for what we’re up to and what management your ministry needs to continue to be effective.

News can be multimedia. I am open to your team’s ideas on what more we can do.

Are you in?

RMB Council

TEP’s RMB Council, to whom I entrust your historic community’s sovereignty,

I am a stranger to most of you. I admit, I am rarely outside of Discord when it comes to NationStates. While I pledge my presence in checking regional correspondence and being present on the RMB during my hopeful term, I have never been a candidate for - as the Magisterium proposes - “RMB Status”.

Can you please advise me? I may want to make decisions that harm you, and I know you have lost trust in our past and present governments and administrators over these decisions.

Will you please trust me?

Recruitment Ministry

My future Ministry of Recruitment, I want to somehow create an extroverted engine of enablers with you.

NationStates has changed. By virtue of being named “The East Pacific”, 20% of this game’s new nations were completely free to us. Now we’re only gifted 10%. But the rules have changed - we can now recruit from other regions. And I want us to continue operating our current infrastructure to do this.

We have another problem to solve though. We need to share how much fun we have up here with others. I want us:

  • To monitor and reply to everything we send out, and answer both what we’re doing and how they can join us

  • To welcome new joiners, as noted by our platform automation, and begin a conversation about what they want to achieve in our land of opportunity.

  • To try your best; you won’t be perfect. Historically this office is headed by an introvert, composed of introverts, and know talking to internet strangers is scary. But do this for me - let’s consistently achieve what’s easy with the above. What we don’t have to extrovertedly discover ourselves. What can be simply checked off a list. I assure you it will be the best we’ve accomplished in a long time.

I will ask my Executive cabinet, advisors, and staff to help us, but I understand this is a demanding job that only the passionate can thrive in. At least, you have their ear if you need them.

Are you in?

University of The East Pacific

Sammy, to whom I entrust your great scholarly body’s sovereignty,

I trust you and will do my best to promote your opportunities in all I do, ensure you have a place in regional events, and are listened to.

Will you please trust me?

World Assembly Affairs Ministry

Cretox,

I am sorry to depart as your Deputy if I win this election. I may continue my periodic duties, however.

I look forward to your recently posted objectives and will do my best to help achieve them, including whatever I am presently promising to achieve myself.

Will you please trust me?

Principles of the Delechama

To all popular questions,

  • N-Day: Anime Nations Against Liberals (ANAL) awaits our confirmation to continue, or our decision to withdraw. They are our friends and at least deserve to know what we’re thinking. If we wish to propose to change their theme, let’s talk to them. If we want to make our own faction or join another, let’s ask them if they’ll continue to support us wherever we go. Many in our region are regular players and commanders. Publicly, we’re impending withdrawing from them. Let’s tell them what we’re thinking before they decide for us, especially if we have anything to say to or about High Commander Altys.

  • Modern Gameplay Compact Sanctions: I will always oppose these as I value our social sovereignty and the health of NationStates the game above social and political exclusion to achieve any goal.

  • Toxicity: I am not blameless. Let me be my own worst opponent in this election - I feel personal responsibility for contributing to Libertanny leaving our region behind without looking back, and I have engaged in personal and infuriating politics in this region. Let us work together to eliminate our bad behavior together. Let us once again love one another. Let us, before being opinionated obstacles to our objectives, be friends to one another before all else. Literally punch me in the face if I contribute to the toxicity again, even if I don’t win this election.

In conclusion,

  • Ask and I will try my best, or at least give you an honest refusal and reason why

  • We are the land of opportunity

  • I need you. I’m just an old armchair feeling the nerve to declare my candidacy again.

  • I will listen. We all have our convictions, but we must agree to what is best for the region at large in what we do.

Let the light continue to shine from the East,
Ill’haress Aurora Yukihime of Albrook, former Delechama of The East Pacific October 2021 - July 2022

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Awesome calls to action! Before I ask the candidates some generic questions, I have a specific one based on the conversation currently happening in the Discord elections channel. TEP FA has been broadly realigning over the last few months. We’ve ended relations with historical partners including repealing the NPO treaty and closing our TBH embassy, and moved closer to the Independent sphere, most notably TWP. Do you intend to continue along this path? If so, how aggressively compared to last term?

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Thanks for the support man :heart:

I am personally a contrarian and a hardliner. I do not always feel empathy for our oldest relationship because I was never there while that relationship was active. A lot of my history with these regions is generalized dismissal and cliquey superiority.

This is why I do not want to make these my decisions alone.

FA has always been a conversation here. Everyone who wishes to guide our FA direction offers their wisdom, opinions, experiences, reasons, excuses, rumors, grievances, and just shares what we know with each other. If you are active and know something about other regions or believe in strong TEP regionalism, I want to hear you!

We need to hear you. Because a lot of us, myself most of all, could choose incorrectly alone. I want to always choose my friends. But TEP is not me. It’s us. We should choose who we think our friends are.

And that’s a conversation that needs more voices, and a variety of personalities and backgrounds for when we need the right councilor or ambassador for the job to make that happen.

Through the years that’s why we always sent certain friends of our friends to those regions on ambassadorial or FA-IC assignments, and those who wish to integrate into their communities and truly represent TEP’s interest to them. We don’t send raiders to sanctioned regions - that’s just insulting. Nobody always wants to talk to me, and that’s ok - that’s what FA-IC is for.

I do not oppose continued growth with TWP, et al., as long as we never are told to compromise on our principles and convictions in order to do so.

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I wish to inform you about daily offline Q&A. Before headed to bed tonight, I addressed the following:

  • On MGC: It is the forsaken region’s FA Minister’s folly to pursue restoring relations wholesale based solely on bonds from a political lifetime ago alone. I cannot promise to continue to restore these relations above my promise to protect our unalignment and sovereignty. But I will not let my personal convictions halt our continuing efforts here. When it comes to sanctions, complicity is guilty.
  • On promoting sanctioned events: I agree with Delegate Dremaur’s current solution of letting OOC Admin announce and promote events that TEP OOC supports but cannot IC agree with. I will not make this decision without consulting FA.
  • On MoFA structure: My Cabinet is not where the FA experts live, and it will not be a FA channel. FA-IC is the open-radio situation room for sensitive topics; the decisions will happen here. FA Lower Council is a proving ground for folks interested in talking FA and for non-sensitive topics, general intel, and coordinating ambassadors. I have not decided the Lower Council’s structure yet.
  • On FA disclosure: I will be transparent on FA decisions with non-FA bodies. I am required to follow the law to inform the Magisterium about any treaty changes. As said, my FA approach is an open-radio, non-formal, constant discussion, and I will exercise my freedom to shape FA as I see fit to support these aims.
  • On DMs and GCs: These are distracting executive principals from their non-included team back in the main server channel. Stick to those channels unless we’re contacting foreigners. If you want new people to get involved in our government, we need these to be active.

Then, the next day came:

  • On TWP, PoP, and our newest or developing partnerships: I have specifically kept to the stipulations of “treaty” so far in discussing these partners, in that TEP will very likely need to compromise on military and cultural identity to make a true, legal ally of our new MGC/sanctioning partners. I can’t promise prioritizing growing this relationship above keeping our principles. EDIT: This has been clarified on follow-ups on mutual WA cooperation and the WA Minister’s report on the state of our FA. As a FA Councilor, I feel I was not previously made aware of any of this.
  • On TEP authorship and approvals: A boon of continuing this cordial, mutually sovereign relationship is TEP is tolerated in the WA. Even before, we can have good friends we play the game with without succumbing to their ideology, as we previously had with TBH in refusing anything that would have us grief or hurt our allies, but also have each other’s backs in the WA.
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Dead has stated he will try to personally recruit individuals on a one-to-one basis if he sees someone fit for X or Y role. Will you do the same or appoint someone to do that task, or no?

discourse antispam

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Thanks for your question!

Yes and more. With my stance on the Recruitment Ministry, I intend to seek out these folks through engaging early with our new joiners and being present around the community for this purpose.

The Delegate sends our API telegrams and is the first person most folks are directed to in learning their way around TEP. This is unavoidably my responsibility.

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Would you be so kind and tell me a bit more about your past on NS, Aurora?

Still fairly new and have not yet figured out the background of most :3

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Welcome friend! Certainly.

I joined NS looking for how to design a government for a school project in Summer 2012. Within a year I joined the Glorious Nations of Iwaku at Founder Vandoosa’s invitation. Through its history, as the region needed to relocate over a crisis involving the founder nation, and as it grew into the multi-region Alstroemerian Commonwealths, I remained off and on one of its Delegates and OOC platform admin ever since with only brief breaks.

On or around 2020, TEP reached out to us to create real relations out of our in-game Embassy. I loved our memes and community and joined myself later that year. In 2021 I served as a FA Diplomat, FA Senior Diplomat (our decisionmakers), wrote for the Eastern Pacific News Service, and finally declared my candidacy in October 2021. I served as Delegate until July 2022, where I retired to off-and-on operation of our WA Ministry’s “The Queue Ahead” periodic notifications and discussion and writing for EPNS.

I briefly served as Arbiter, even more briefly as Viceroy of our supreme court - Conclave, and only just was accepted into our legislative Magisterium.

I have always been one of NS’s otakus or weebs, born and raised in the bigger anime spam region in the game and lived through my Touhou Project, Doki Doki Literature Club, and hololive chief obsessions in NS.

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clears throat

Maybe, or maybe not, a good soul sent me a screenshot of this campaign. Maybe, or maybe not, they somewhat applauded Aurora for being self-aware.

But to the point. I wanna add my two cents. I confirm that interaction with Aurora was a tipping point for me. But I do not permit anyone, Aurora herself included, to blame Aurora for my departure.

My departure was caused by the same thing that caused my mental breakdown earlier in 2025. I don’t wanna call names in public, as there’s no point to it (a mix of I don’t wanna start a drama in Aurora’s thread & I don’t believe TEP is ready to remove people with high influence over OOC). But so to say. It was months of mental torture, that included being blackmailed, lies being told about me to newer Citizens, various manipulation techniques. And it ended in my breakdown in T&S channel (which I admit - I lost control over my emotions, after months of the shitshow aimed at me and my colleagues, and I did make a Mod fuckup as a result).

But I just wanna say, that Aurora was not the main reason I left. Aurora was that one snowflake that caused the snow landslide (or whatever is the name). But that snow built over the months.

And if I can give on advice. I saw people asking about toxicity, how are ya all gonna fix TEP as community and so on. Don’t drop it at Mods. Don’t drop it at someone else. Don’t make it responsibility of other people. Take the matters into your hands cos you are a part of that community (you as in any and everyone, not Aurora).

And if I believe that there’s one person who can remove the spoiled / infected weeds alongside the roots, it’s Aurora. We might disagree. She might have been a tipping point for me. But if anyone’s got what it takes to heal TEP (both dedication and even more so courage to stand against influential people who made TEP toxic), it’s Aurora.

Now I depart until someone invades my DMs again. Good luck Aurora.

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Thank you for coming back to say this.

I agree this is all of our responsibility to fix. Toxicity changes us all for the worse and compels us to actions out of our minds.

My hope is to help create a TEP worth thinking about coming back to for you, and personally that we can ever forgive each other.

I don’t care how this election ends. I’m doing my part against our toxic climate no matter what. My offer to punch me in the face if I accelerate it again stands, residency not required, no expiration date.

EDIT: Following acknowledging response to this message, I have forgiven and apologized to Serge.

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You mention social and political goals a few times here, and you say we ought to prioritize them less (or prioritize unity above them). Whether I agree or not obviously depends on which social and political goals they are. Can you be more specific about this?

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Thanks for the question!

Forgive me if my answer seems off-topic. I believe above I’ve only discussed the social and political goal of MGC sanctions to eradicate the sanctioned. As for where our unity and sovereignty trumps any policy, it is considering adopting such exclusions ourselves.

Either you’re asking me to elaborate further on what our sanctioning friends believe in (and likely repeat myself again), or you’re asking what my social or political policy will be during my term. I am guessing you mean the latter. Could you please clarify if you mean something else entirely?

My ideas are three-fold on our social policy

  • Develop the new generation: Engage new TEPers early and often by promoting easily achievable recruitment objectives, ensuring to welcome new nations on the RMB and in Discord following at least our automated welcomes. The Ministry of Recruitment always fights an uphill battle in that everyone wants them to become best friends with everyone, doesn’t help to achieve this, and the ministry is entirely staffed by introverts with no clear or achievable goal.
  • Model non-toxicity: We don’t debate - we argue and fight. We are quick to make matters personal. We let it all divide us when we should be listening between the flaws for common ground. As Delegate, I am the chief executive and personally responsible for my branch’s decorum. I want to return to an Executive where we talk business then all go for a drink and meme later as friends.
  • Continue winning with foreign inclusion: We will continue to have guest regions featured in The Hunger Games, continue to host and join game nights and other small events with our friends, and through the FA Lower Council’s diplomatic and EPNS-delivering assignments.

As for political policy,

  • Continue mutual cooperation in the World Assembly: TEP continues to be a heavyweight in the World Assembly, Delegate Dremaur placing in the top 5 of currently voting WADs. Especially as the Magisterium prepares to transition to a more stable Vizier WAD, we can use this and our developing WA talent at home to mutually cooperate with independent and friendly WA authors and programs.
  • The Delegate is not the Ministry: This is not a campaign for personal glory. I want to help guide our current and emerging leaders within to grow more capable. I’ve had my day owning the News and WA Ministries, and my share of glory around the region. I’ve already held this office for 8 months total already. It’s your turn. You have my complete support, but this needs to be your show if I want to be satisfied by the end of all of this. My Ministers will not need my permission for each and every tiny little thing they want to do and are instead encouraged to maximize their creativity and staff to make what their ministry offers the best it can be.
  • My way is not the highway: I am always open to feedback from all sources - be it our communities, within the Executive, or from our allies. If every returning candidate was perfect they’d just have done it perfectly the first time and ensured there was nothing to ever improve upon again. Naturally, that’s not the case.

Repeating, these points stand separately from what I meant to reference in my OP on sanctions, but hopefully this does satisfy the question on specific social and political goals in my hopeful Executive.

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I wish to inform you about daily offline Q&A. Before headed to bed tonight, I addressed the following:

  • On continuing relations with sanctioner regions: I do not intend to close any relations, especially if today they are truly Friends of the East. I have experience in my past Delegacy navigating differences in regional identity to still make great friends, despite our differences. TEP FA will not reflect only my personality and convictions, but the shared voice of the East - they are TEP’s friends, not just or only my friends.
  • On questions I asked on sustaining TEP’s success in the WA: I have become more aware of the working relationships and friends TEP has in the WA with the Sovereign Seven and the independent sphere, Minister Cretox’s networking, and TEP’s sovereign vote not bound to a voting bloc.
  • On negotiating easing of sanctions for treaty allies and defunct organizations: The MGC is very clear and fair in their application of sanctions to all remaining members and complicit of the Brotherhood of Malice, including myself as a citizen of the Alstroemerian Commonwealths - signatory for operation of the BoM-controlled Japan. I am informed and thankful for both the previous Executive’s and Cool Name Minecraft Server’s attempt to negotiate with the MGC via our refounded relationships on these topics to no effective change.
    • My sanctioned status does not drive my convictions towards these sanctions. Even if they were removed from only myself and my homeland, my selfless drive remains.
  • On balancing sanctions and relationships: Each pillar is true.
    • TEP will not sanction
    • We will avoid putting ourselves in situations where our friends may ask or force us to sanction
    • We will continue to enjoy today’s relationships, especially where we have come to terms with our GP/IC differences for our mutual benefit and enjoyment.
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You may very well be the last Executive Delegate we elect. Last term was undeniably transformative, with the return of EPNS and TFN, with the TWP detente, with Cretox’s WA revolution, and with the institution of the RMB Council. How do YOU intend to have a transformative impact? How will you ensure this position as we know it is sunsetted with a cambrian explosion of government success? What, in one sentence, is your vision of the TEP your term leaves behind? What image do you think we reflect by having our last Exec Del be a former Exec Del?

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“The future of our leadership is bigger than you, it’s bigger than me, and it’s bigger than all of us.” (Every slogan of mine has to be a song lyric. Unfortunately it’s three sentences, so I combined them.)

The Executive is a semi-rigid body. It needs some structure. Today so much happens in DMs/GCs that important folks sometimes don’t know what’s going on. There are more specific ministries and projects like the EPNS team and the Clerical Agency, where there’s already clear objectives and accomplishing them is a matter of scale and effort.

But it also allows room for creativity.

My Ministry of Recruitment plans trash the nearly-100% fail rate “just recruit more lol” approach to the Ministry for my entire career here. Instead of a broad critera with no goal and disappointing metrics, I simply want to begin with following up on what we’re already doing.

  • If you’re sending recruitment TGs, reply to replies to them and answer their questions about the region (and share that we’re not AI or bots, most likely).
  • If you frequent the RMB, ping and message the new nations our bot announces.
  • If you frequent the Discord, welcome and guide our new joiners.
  • Wherever you are, be visible and proud of your work. It will inspire others to join us.

I also want my Ministers to try and fail. I don’t want this Delegacy to be about me. I was supposed to retire as a happy, law-writing Deputy WA Minister, checking in once a week to ping everyone and draw with colorful red and green crayons over law. But I realized that so many of us - myself included - who hold this office want to be one of our Great Delegates. I instead want this position to give the new guys a chance to own their work.

  • It’s your ministry. Shape it how you need it.
  • You don’t need my permission to do daily business.
  • If you don’t like how it’s shaped, change it.
  • Use both your people and that most of your channels are intentionally open to Residents so they can see what you’re up to.
  • I can help. I can advise you. I will try my best to not let you make silly mistakes. But I don’t plan to be here next year holding all of this up by myself - that’s up to you and the next generation of TEPers we cultivate.

When, or if, the Magisters and Citizens declare it, if I am truly the last non-Vizier Executive Delegate, we do what TEP has always done best: we work with Culture to give the role a proper send-off featuring regional customization (with COUP everywhere of course), memes, and a recognition of our final line of Delegates of The East Pacific, into welcoming the Chief Minister / Executive / Director/ CEO / cute little HOGGIES of The East Pacific for a safer and more secure society.

I feel the impact of being a former Delegate in this election is diminished. I am running against, of those campaigning with an Executive platform, two former Delegates and the current Vizier Delegate. We’ve all had this spot before, so we are not taking it from someone who doesn’t want it. It makes me wonder if we’re all that presently is of the subset of TEPers who engage in this forum, are willing to join the WA, are willing to become WA-locked as Delegate for 4 months, and want this level of responsibility.

How much wider is this pool without being WA-locked? How cool will it be to potentially see active EPSA HOGs, knowing we don’t have to strap them down as an armchair while the army misses them?

Let’s go to the future and find out together.