This is a follow-up to the proposal post, for characters to ICly argue to Youmi, Nama, and Doro why Hathaway's proposed solution is a good idea. The winning vote was to propose the empresses marry each other, so all arguments must be in support of this solution. Arguments are due 28 February 23:59 UTC.
WHAT DO I DO?
Submit a unique argument for why the empresses should marry in the comments below. Arguments must be between 50-250 words and must be submitted as a summary of what your character would ICly say. Characters may submit arguments in a group or solo. There will be a subthread for anyone looking to group up below!
UNIQUE ARGUMENT?
This means that your argument should not be for the same reasons as anyone else. Because each submission must be a unique argument, you may only be involved in one comment, so choose carefully!
For example, if the solution was to make the Hanabiran national animal a hamster, you could not argue it should be because hamsters are cute if that was already someone's argument; you must choose a different argument, such as hamsters' propensity for chewing wood would be a boon to the logging industry.
You may choose a related topic as well; for example, hamsters being cute because they are small if someone argued that hamsters are cute because they're soft.
WHAT ARGUMENTS NEED TO BE MADE?
Nama and Youmi must be given solid reasons why their marriage will benefit each empress and empire. If you need help thinking of something they could offer each other, looking over the dossier description of each empire may help.
THE SOLUTION WAS ALREADY VOTED ON. WHY DO WE NEED ARGUMENTS?
The mods will be using an algorithm to determine how effective the solution is. What the empresses think of it and how successful it is depends on both quantity and quality of the arguments, as well as other ~secret~ factors. In other words, if only one person submits an argument (and that argument is "because I like hamsters"), the solution will fail. So get brainstorming!
I DIDN'T VOTE FOR IT, BUT I STILL WANT TO ARGUE FOR IT. CAN I?
Absolutely! Characters who decide to help the majority despite their qualms may certainly argue for it.
WHAT IF MY CHARACTER DOESN'T AGREE?
If your character wouldn't argue for the marriage solution, then they certainly don't have to! If they would actively argue against it or for a different solution, you may handwave that they did, but we are only accepting arguments for the winning solution.
OK, so after seeing other people's approaches, Veronica would personally want to go the more emotional route—at least on the surface. Nama is in a position where she could use some assistance from a powerful ruler, and Youmi is lonely, and has been strong for many years. Nama had indicated an interest in reaching out, while Youmi accepted that. Not to be presumptuous, blah blah blah.
But she would want to talk about how these cultures can complement one another, and that they don't necessarily need to be treated as things to force together, but unique, powerful entities that can either grow together or take root in its own direction.
The list is as follows (consider these the pros!):
- Complementary trade goods (since someone else would be handling this, she'd just cover it) Complementary cultures (militaristic versus artistic - they can draw from one another in developing their own and uniquely fortified front) - Two women coming together will show their adherence to continuing and perpetuating the strength of a matriarchy, rather than possibly setting that aside because the sea clan is less rigid. - The progress of the Sea Clan and their innovation can only make the Mountain Clan stronger. - Meanwhile, the Mountain Clan will understand the significance of tradition, so that this idea of fostering two, unique identities and communities can be used as a strength rather than a weakness.
Overall, she would be emphasizing the idea of uniting their powers. Nama is a weaker ruler with a stronger military, while Youmi is a stronger ruler but with a less militarized group (albeit just as respectable—she wouldn't be out to offend Youmi). Their people have more to gain from one another than to lose. I think a lot of her proposal would have bullet points like the above, pointed out quickly, and then focusing on how to have the cultures blend, how they can benefit one another, how they can compromise so that both sides feel as if they're equally recognized, etc.
Some of the ideas are: rotating capitals, having people marry one another, maybe having culture festivals and exchanges. There can also be certain holidays to respect and celebrate the cultures of each country, and those holidays would be honored and respected in each. Perhaps educational institutions where children can go to the other side and learn art or vice versa with the military. Perhaps a fostering of educational institutions in general to encourage this. At first, there may be laws in order to foster the differences in how men are treated, so that people know they have to adhere the laws in a specific province/state/etc. I'm not sure how to go about this. But yes, a lot of it will be "you need to win over your people but really go via the children so that the future of your great nation can really bloom and flower" and so forth.
Having totally not read the guy’s mail, Simon would have an addendum to the Emotional Approach: Nama is close to Lord Doro and in addition to mentioning her attempt to reach out to Youmi, her letter to Doro expressed a lot of concern for the Flowerlands’ safety during the skirmishes, to the extent that in his half-written reply, he had to remind her that sending Mountain Clan samurai would make matters worse. So, presumably, she’d want to consider that the union of the empires would leave the Flowerlands bookended by powerful allies, and the Empresses now both extended family of its ruler. The Flowerlands can’t very well just move out from between the two empires, so this is the best way to protect it when it’s in the vulnerable position of being geographically between two larger empires: give both a vested interest in its safety.
As a bonus, both empires covet the Flowerlands’ resources and this eliminates the tug-of-war between the three of them and the threat of the Flowerlands just being swallowed up by one empire, which would both be bad for the Flowerlands and deny the other empire a slice of the trade pie.
The Flowerlands will be in the literal middle of all this, so there’s no avoiding them during all this cultural exchange stuff, but they remain an independent territory, so they don’t threaten the empires’ matriarchal values. They’re just more secure, and therefore also in a better position to trade.
Ideally whatever of this is useful would be phrased in such a way that it isn’t super obvious that somebody in Ophelia read the stuff on Doro’s desk. Super ideally, somebody else likes the sound of this and is down to clown with saying it publicly in front of ethereal royalty from another dimension instead of Simon doing it (but whatever he’s a team player) (but for real though)
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axiology2018-02-21 06:42 pm
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But she would want to talk about how these cultures can complement one another, and that they don't necessarily need to be treated as things to force together, but unique, powerful entities that can either grow together or take root in its own direction.
The list is as follows (consider these the pros!):
- Complementary trade goods (since someone else would be handling this, she'd just cover it)
Complementary cultures (militaristic versus artistic - they can draw from one another in developing their own and uniquely fortified front)
- Two women coming together will show their adherence to continuing and perpetuating the strength of a matriarchy, rather than possibly setting that aside because the sea clan is less rigid.
- The progress of the Sea Clan and their innovation can only make the Mountain Clan stronger.
- Meanwhile, the Mountain Clan will understand the significance of tradition, so that this idea of fostering two, unique identities and communities can be used as a strength rather than a weakness.
Overall, she would be emphasizing the idea of uniting their powers. Nama is a weaker ruler with a stronger military, while Youmi is a stronger ruler but with a less militarized group (albeit just as respectable—she wouldn't be out to offend Youmi). Their people have more to gain from one another than to lose. I think a lot of her proposal would have bullet points like the above, pointed out quickly, and then focusing on how to have the cultures blend, how they can benefit one another, how they can compromise so that both sides feel as if they're equally recognized, etc.
Some of the ideas are: rotating capitals, having people marry one another, maybe having culture festivals and exchanges. There can also be certain holidays to respect and celebrate the cultures of each country, and those holidays would be honored and respected in each. Perhaps educational institutions where children can go to the other side and learn art or vice versa with the military. Perhaps a fostering of educational institutions in general to encourage this. At first, there may be laws in order to foster the differences in how men are treated, so that people know they have to adhere the laws in a specific province/state/etc. I'm not sure how to go about this. But yes, a lot of it will be "you need to win over your people but really go via the children so that the future of your great nation can really bloom and flower" and so forth.
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As a bonus, both empires covet the Flowerlands’ resources and this eliminates the tug-of-war between the three of them and the threat of the Flowerlands just being swallowed up by one empire, which would both be bad for the Flowerlands and deny the other empire a slice of the trade pie.
The Flowerlands will be in the literal middle of all this, so there’s no avoiding them during all this cultural exchange stuff, but they remain an independent territory, so they don’t threaten the empires’ matriarchal values. They’re just more secure, and therefore also in a better position to trade.
Ideally whatever of this is useful would be phrased in such a way that it isn’t super obvious that somebody in Ophelia read the stuff on Doro’s desk. Super ideally, somebody else likes the sound of this and is down to clown with saying it publicly in front of ethereal royalty from another dimension instead of Simon doing it (but whatever he’s a team player) (but for real though)
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