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What's it like being eUSA CP?

Paul Proteus: It's always fun to be involved and being CP certainly satisfies that, but it's also a lot more tedious than it used to be. Obviously the eUS is on a pretty set track right now with foreign policy so a lot of the job is managing training wars and being available on telegram. Obviously there's more I'd like to do but as the game's shrunk there are fewer people who are willing to volunteer their time to help out, and I'm very thankful to the people who still do.

As someone with experience in the current meta (Training Wars),
do you think they have a greater purpose?

Paul Proteus: I think that the purpose of the game is always going to be doing what players want, and as much as people complain about the lack of real wars, people want battles open, they want to be able to farm and rank up their accounts. It is what it is, but that's a large part of what the game is, so they have that purpose. And more broadly, for the eUS, we're able to host TWs in our regions easily and it's a way to contribute toward our allies and our alliance, so, it's good foreign policy as well

Can you tell me about current life in eUSA? Has it changed from the past, or similar?

Paul Proteus: Well the game itself has just shrunk, so there's less variety. There used to be so many people that you could have a comparative advantage in writing interviews, and be the interview guy, or be the politics guy in a party, and those were all useful roles. Now, outside of fighting and some coordination and logistics, there's a lot less value. I was always more of a meta player, so the past was more suited to my interests here, but I've been trying to make myself useful and adapt. I think one thing that's still true is there are still communities that exist and are worth being part of - for me, the Federalist Party has kept me around, and it's a lot smaller than it used to be, but it still feels like a home so to speak, and we still have enough of these communities to get into fights about it. I think the game will truly be boring when we stop holding grudges and bickering. In that way also, it's the same as it always was.

After all, controversy fuels dialogue for better or worse.
It's a focal point for communal changes, I'd imagine?

Paul Proteus: Controversy means people care, and it's way more fun to have narratives. Fight the elites is always a good one. Hopefully it leads to more meaningful competition. Having the same people in power for too long leads to stagnancy, and often the cause of that is because nobody really wants to do the nitty gritty needed, but controversy and conflict is a great motivator
Whether anything changes is up to one's perspective.

Have you listened to the artistry of Yung Gravy?

Paul Proteus: No. Is this meme rap? Is it good? I've been to a Yung Lean concert lmao I sound so old.

Yung Lean is excellent taste, I'd love to go to one of his concerts.
As for Yung Gravy, I would like you to let me know how this makes you feel as an American: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oE5Z2GLhNc

Paul Proteus: I cannot believe I am being rickrolled in 2022 by someone named Yung Gravy. Other than that, it's sick. As an American I always support getting money.

Yung Gravy is also a lover of MILFs. His dating profile seems to be steady Hot Mom's Near You.
Do you think most would support his lifestyle of getting money and becoming a Step-Father?

Paul Proteus: This exact scenario is what James Truslow Adams was referring to in 1931 when he coined the phrase "the American Dream".

What's the funniest story from eRep that you can share with us from your timeline.

Paul Proteus: Oh my memory is terrible, but from what I can remember right now, has to be when my 3 person vanity MU was used by a friend to start a dictatorship coup, and then everyone who donated the CC to start it acted outraged on the forum about it when they realized it was actually happening. That kind of inane bullshit is always the best.

What's your favorite comic, manga, anime - etc?

Paul Proteus: This is going to reveal how bad my tastes are. As for comic, I mean definitely Scott Pilgrim is the nostalgic answer, becoming older than Scott Pilgrim (I think he's 24?) was a serious existential crisis. For manga, maybe Miyazaki's Nausicaa manga? It's such a cool diptych with the film, being just way more discursive and philosophical, but still super cool. Favorite anime is probably NGE, I'm sorry for the boring answer, but I watched EoE again like a week ago and I am once again obsessed with depressed cartoon children.

What's your opinion of eJapan?

Paul Proteus: Some very cool players have played there, can't say I'm as knowledgeable of the history and politics as I should be, but yeah love the media and people I do see there.

Did you ever imagine a timeline where eUSA and eSerbia were on the same side?

Paul Proteus: Oh yes, I remember when the idea started being bandied around like a decade ago. I've never been one of those people who is averse to change or overtly loyal to the status quo. It's a game, and I think a benefit the eUS has is that most of our players recognize that this is a game and are less tied to specific conceptions of who should be allied with who than some people in other countries. It was certainly exciting when we were making that switch, and I definitely think it led us in a good direction.

Coming back as an old member and seeing the shifts, and the new alliances - it's definitely been a unique experience. The world in itself seems to have majorly toned down as well.

Does eUSA have a natural enemy these days?

Paul Proteus: I think you're right that everything has toned down. The eUS used to have players who leaned harder into that kind of roleplay, painting countries as enemies, and to be honest it was super fun, although we also succeeded in making some pretty antagonizing and possibly self-defeating decisions too, but that's not really the place we're in right now. Obviously we have enemies in CODE, but the energy isn't there in the same way it used to be. Which, like many things, is what it is.

Are there any players in the eWorld that you have significant respect for?

Paul Proteus: I have tremendous respect for anyone who is willing to put in the effort to still play this game, and kind of does the tireless work that involves, given how little thanks there is. Like in the eUS, I cannot imagine the level of dedication Voots has. I also have infinite respect for people who still produce media and contests and the kind of thing that I like to consume but also has very little reward. I think it's rad you're doing an interview, for example.

That caught me off guard for a second, but thanks. I'm just trying to make my own fun, or fun for others. Second to last question kind of follows up with the previous, and it's just a simple one:

Are you having fun, genuinely?

Paul Proteus: I don't know. In economics terms, by revealed preference, I clearly am, because if I wasn't I'd be gone. Who knows for how long that will be true, but there must be some reason we're still here talking into the abyss.

We established our slight age difference and we've been chatting daily for over two weeks, the last question is more of just a general vibe. I hope we'll become good friends. There's a lot I don't know that many of you are catching me up with, and I'm under leveled. But I appreciate you, and you're doing a good job. Any final statements for the viewers of TXN Stations as leader of the Free World?

Paul Proteus: It's been a blast, and I mean I'm also wildly under leveled and still learning how things work, so I think that's okay. If I have any last words it'd just be, keep on creating stuff, even if it seems like nobody is reading it, or there. I think any fun we want to have we have to create. Stay cool~.