Let’s review our nominations:
Hathian citizens, last week the Observer was sponsored to feature the Mr & Miss Hathian 2023 competition. This event, which seeks to crown winners with this ‘coveted’ title is the 2023 take on it since the rather troubling and extensively chronicled events of 2022.
The Observer is pleased to report that the town has already started to send in some nominations. This article features some of the nominations as an encouragement to the town to submit more and as a chance for you to review a few of the entrants so far. Could any of them be your Mr & Miss Hathian? Read on!
With the recent destruction of the HGH, we included questions to our nominees about how that made them felt. Many provided moving responses which give us hope for Hathian.
There’s still time to enter your nominations. Get writing to us Hathian! The deadline for entries is the 31st of July 2023. As we went to the press, we received another two nominations, one for a fantastic nurse, Emily Wood and one for a FDH responder, Spurs Seattle. We’ll be sure to feature them both in the next round-up!
The Social Worker & The Pawn Shop Organiser
Your potential Miss Hathians (or perhaps Why can be sort of a Mrs. Hathian… ey Corbin?) are Annika Jacmenkovich from the Pawn Shop and Why Verdandi from Hathian Civil Services (‘HCS’). Our nominator said this: “I want to nominate the team behind the HCS and Pawn Shop HGH relief fund. In particular Why Verdandi from the HCS and Annika Jacmenkovich from the Pawn Shop. The team have already raised a huge amount of money for the HGH rebuild and have gone out of their way to advertise on social media and cajole and build donations. Well done for the community spirit!”
We caught up with Annika in the Observer’s offices and asked her a question about HGH:
Observer: “How has the recent HGH incident effected you and what do you feel about it?”
Annika: “I was not physically injured in the HGH tragedy, but I was betrayed in the same way that all of Hathian was. The hospital is one of the only places in this city where everyone finds open arms and helping hands. No matter who you are, what you have done, or what you may do… the hospital will be there to shelter you and heal you when you most need it. It is the one truly sacrosanct institution in Hathian and to harm it brings harm to everyone. Everything else may divide us, but our base humanity will always be an undeniable commonality between even the most different of people, no? We all bleed. Where there may be feuds and battles that rage in all other corners, we all have this redoubt to retreat to when our base humanity must be tended. The attack on the hospital was a betrayal of this basic agreement”
Observer: “And who would you say in Hathian is your inspiration?”
Annika: “We started this relief fund to hear from those who understand the importance of this and of the hospital as a place for all Hathians. So… you ask who are my inspiration? It is those who have responded with helpful actions and their dollars to affirm the importance of our city hospital to all Hathians.”
The Observer understands that donations have already exceeded $21,000 as of this morning! Well done!
Why Verdandi was asked the same questions and replied over e-mail instead:
“How does being nominated make you feel?“
Why: “Confused, I guess. I don’t get out much. I do my job and attempt going to an occasional party. I can’t think of who might have nominated me. I would say thank you to whoever nominated me, but I feel pretty certain they have baaaaaad intentions.”
“How has the recent HGH incident affected you and what do you think about it?“
Why: “It makes me really sad that a place of healing could be targeted like that. In addition, the loss of HGH deprives Hathian citizens of a service they are in desperate need of, especially since the next nearest hospital is so far away. It’s my hope that Hathian Civil Services and the Pawn Shop can raise enough money to pay the medical expenses for victims of the attack, as well as pay for lost wages as they recover. If we are able to raise enough, then we can help to rebuild the hospital.”
“Who in Hathian is your inspiration and why?“
Why: “I would say that James O’Graydy is my inspiration, because he’s an excellent goat herder. With the sudden influx of goats in Hathian, we need a strong man to herd them into submission. In addition, Mr. O’Graydy is a pro at navigating Hathian without being either a criminal or a victim. That’s rather difficult to accomplish! So horns off to him!”
The Former Gang Member & Her Boyfriend
Introducing your potential Miss Hathian – Zariah Scott and her Mr Hathian – Masao (No Twitter ). The Observer caught up with Zairah over Twitter and asked her a few questions:
- How does being nominated make you feel?
- How has the recent HGH incident affected you and what do you think about it?
- Who in Hathian is your inspiration and why?
Zairah said, “Well it makes me feel like someone sees me worthy of a title like this. It makes me feel seen. And for HGH? Well I did help the fire fighter crew pull one of my friends out of the rubble, it was both adrenaline boosting and scary not knowing if we were going to find that person alive or dead after all the carnage. Finally, inspire me? Landon Fryre, because no matter how much hate he receives he still continues to be the same old dude who never changes his view on himself. I kind of wish I was able to just shut off the hate and be myself through everything.”
The Reporters
With a heart full of gratitude I thank someone for the anonymous for the nomination for myself and my colleague John Childermass (No Twitter). John is perfectly eligible (and deserving), but to avoid accusations of bias I will remove myself from the running. Good luck John! The nomination said that: “My Mister and Miss Hathian are two people who regularly put themselves at great personal risk to serve the people of Hathian, and they are Mr. John Childermass and Ms. Daiyu Tang.
As reporters for the Hathian Observer, they document the life of the city in all of its true and vivid color. From celebrating small achievements like the opening of the museum to investigating the deepest failures of virtue like corrupt civil servants and murder of innocents, these two are committed to showing us the truth of who we are. They place the mission of chasing the facts and images that tell Hathian’s stories before their own safety, wading into danger and making themselves vulnerable even when the immediate danger has passed. They and the Observer office have been the subject of attacks by those whose ugly truths they have uncovered. These attacks to their persons and their platform were intended to silence, punish, and intimidate. They nearly destroyed the newspaper office more than once and nearly ended the lives of these valued citizens. John and Daiyu have not been silenced nor have they shied away from continuing to uphold the this most critical mechanism of American democracy, the free and independent press.
During the horrendous siege of Hathian’s hospital, these two went routinely into the breech to cover the story of what was happening and why. They asked the hard questions and held a mirror up to all of us to hold us to account – not just the terrorists, but the civil authorities, and us average citizens. It was not enough to document the terrible things done by criminals, but they questioned the response by holding up a mirror to Hathian and pushed us to do better.
My Mister and Miss Hathian are deserving not just for the virtues they project themselves but for the virtues they hold all of us to account for.”
We caught up with our fabulous photojournalist John and asked him our standard questions:
“How does being nominated make you feel?“
John: “I was resting after working on HGH photos and suddenly got this message from Daiyu. So I don’t even know how to answer this question. I’ve never participated in a contest like this before and this is a big surprise. But I’m already here, so let’s give it a try. I feel like this is an opportunity to showcase the work of the Observer. News about the paper’s team is usually negative, either someone’s been shot or the office is on fire. But now we can show how important, albeit invisible, the work of a journalist is. So this is an opportunity for me.”
“How has the recent HGH incident affected you and what do you think about it?”
John: “It’s a terrible incident. I’ve written an article about it before, but to summarize, I think the gangs made a major mistake. Many innocent people suffered in the takeover and are still suffering because the town lost their hospital! This is a terrible strike for the whole town, but hopefully the police will get to the bottom of this tragedy.”
“Who in Hathian is your inspiration and why?”
John: “Hathian is a town of contrasts. There are both bad and good people here. Sometimes the good become bad. Perhaps I would not be able to work selflessly and live a normal life in general if it were not for HGH nurse Emily Wood. She is a professional who always treats patients with great kindness, is always selfless and gives herself 100% to her work. If most people gave themselves to the job the same way, the town would be a metropolis. I also try to give my all to my work. Emily helped me recover from a stomach wound. So I owe her and the doctors my life!”
The Fire Chief
Dale Warrhol for Mr. Hathian? Our nomination said of Dale: “I want to nominate fire chief Dale Warrhol for Mr Hathian because he’s a hero to the city of Hathian and has saved lots of peoples lives and put out lots of fires. He was always my hero and now he takes care of the whole city. He really deserves it plus he’s really good looking!”
During the HGH terrorist incident, Fire Chief Warrhol appeared instrumental in trying to save lives and make a difference. While certain HPD officers have complained about his decision making, it seems apparent to the majority of the town that without Warrhol commanding the scene, the fire risked spreading and causing even more damage to the town.
We approached the Chief for comment, but at the time of publication to our website he had not responded (he was probably saving lives!). However, like all good heroes who sweep in to make the save at the last minute he e-mailed across these responses moments before we went to physical printing. Fantastic!
“How does being nominated made you feel?”
“I am incredibly flattered to have been nominated. It is nice that somebody considered me.”
“How has the recent HGH incident affected you and what do you think about it?”
“As Chief of the Fire Department Hathian, I and the rest of the incredible team at FDH were working on the tragic HGH incident. We gave everything we had to minimise the loss of life/ injuries and try to save the building. It was gruelling and emotionally challenging for the entire team. Sadly, we could not save the building but contained the fire to just the hospital. I have never been prouder of my good friends and colleagues at FDH. The experience has strengthened our bond. I appreciate each of the firefighters and medics who are the lifeblood of our department a lot more. I was personally affected that somebody I care about was trapped in the building throughout the siege and the fire. It was distressing to have to excavate her from the rubble. I was elated that we found her alive and grateful to my colleagues in FDH, medical staff and community members for their efforts to rescue her. There was a lot of goodwill and rallying community spirit on that day, it proved to me that it is possible, even in Hathian.”
“Who in Hathian is your inspiration and why?”
“Rog Messmer, because despite being Canadian and having subjected me to sights I should never have seen, I have learned so much from his mentorship. I am frankly envious that he can charm as many ladies as he does, even now.”
Here at the Observer we’re pretty sure that the FDH Chief has ladies he doesn’t even know about out looking for him (in a good way).
The Psychiatrist, Lecturer & His ‘Crow’
How about your Mr. Hathian as Dr. Alexandr Romanov? How about combined with a Miss Hathian of his partner who he is engaged, Miss Lucy Crow? Dr. Romanov said in his own nomination: “I nominate myself, Alexandr Romanov for Mr Hathian and Lucy Crow for Miss Hathian because we are so charitable we will donate the prize money to Simon who needs a new truck. Also I am a psychiatrist at HGH and a seasonal CU Lecturer and if that isn’t being community-service based, I don’t know what is.”
The Observer had a hard time finding photos of Dr. Romanov; scrolling through thousands of GIFs he’d published. Even Lucy had more pictures, despite a habit of often ‘rating others’!
Using the same questions we’ve asked others Dr. Romanov told the Observer that:
- “Being nominated doesn’t surprise me. I am obviously the appropriate choice.”
- “The recent HGH incident impacted me because I actually work for HGH as a psychiatrist and it’s obviously prevented me from seeing and helping my patients. Not to mention the likely impact it’s had will have me working overtime in the near future.”
- “Simon and Simona are my inspirations. They are dedicated surgeons and the best in the field. I trust them with my life.”
The Observer notes that Simon… well, he’s com–plex. Not perhaps a ‘role model’ we’d choose, but it’s not up to us!
We left messages with Lucy but at the time of publication we had not yet received a response. We do note however that Dr. LeMarchand is already looking forward to his new truck (if they win!)
Good luck everyone!
The Observer Editorial Team
