[Nationstates] Who Wants to Rule a Nation?

[Gaby]

as you guys have probably realized (or not realized), Corvermell has been lacking a Grand Priestess for a while!
this sort of thing is putting strain on the nation, leaving the important decisions to warring political parties, leaving an empty seat in the government, and making @Valonyx groan in agony when I tell him he has to invite either 4 housekeepers or 45 in order to avoid favoritism.

this needs to stop. problem is, I don't know what kind of Grand Priestess to make up. there's.... so many options.

so I have decided to let the people help me figure this out! essentially, this is a contest. it is the role of the contestants to make up a grand priestess, and it is my role as judge to see who will be the lucky winner! runner-up will fill the last empty space in the Sangue Lune house.


Template:

Name: (leave this blank if you want me to make up the name)
Appearance: (you can use this dollmaker, find a picture, or just describe. or leave blank)
Home Island: (you can find existing islands on the factbook or the corvermell thread(s), make one up, or leave this blank)
Political Affiliations: (Traditionalist, Integrationist, Moderate, Something Else?)
Priorities: (such as, say, education, military, welfare, diplomacy, religion, etc)
Campaign Speech: (why should this lady become Grand Priestess?)
Notes: (anything you think would be important. more detail is better!)

How to Submit: either post on this thread, or PM, telegram, or skype me privately.

Submission Guidelines:
- a Grand Priestess must be female
- a Grand Priestess must be vermellan
- a Grand Priestess must follow the Law of Red exclusively
- your submission must make sense for the culture and lore of Corvermell.
- I'll be judging them based on "popular opinion": which one would be more favored amongst vermellans. this is based on a lot of teeny weeny factors.

alright. if you have any questions, I'll be happy to help!

 

[BrianAT16]

Name: Nalki Veyrattin
Appearance:
Home Island: Kamiki
Political Affiliations: Traditionalist Isolationist
Priorities: Religion & National Defense
Campaign Speech: Nalki is a woman who believes that Corvermell should return to it's previous isolationist state. Believing that all the other nations, even those allied, are working against Corvermell and the law of Red as well. All she sees in each nation is red spillers and believes that if Corvermell wants to survive they /must/ return to their previous isolationist state to survive in this world. Stating that after they entered the democratic council they have been affected by plague, war, death and corruption. Also believing that the council itself is full of corruption and wishes to not endanger any by sending them there to talk diplomacy. She also is very against both of nations of Morgnatha and Mechanica. Believing that they are trying to change Corvermell and only have their own interests at heart. She has openly spoke to the nation about removing all external influence and returning to the ways of the old Selvalla I can expand more on this in private if you wish.
Notes: She is an elderly woman but she still is quite healthy and acts with energy just like any other HouseKeeper. She was taught much about the Selvalla growing up and is a very devout worshipper of the Law of Red.

 

[Deathmoron]

I would go and post one, but Brian has the gist of what I'd put.

 

[Lord_Sinclair]

Name: Illjas Sannleika

Appearance:


Home Island: Veyr-parai

Political Affiliations: Integrationist

Priorities: Economics, Culture

Campaign Speech:
"Sisters and brothers, do you believe that our fair nation is perfect? Do you believe that we have reached the pinnacle of our civilization, the point where needless death is no more? I have lived amongst the people for many years, and I now know the answer.

We have not reached our peak; nay, may even be regressing! Have you not all felt the pains of hunger? More children are born every day, but our stores of food only grow smaller and smaller! If our nation has not enough food to feed its people, then we must improve! We cannot afford to resist the advances the rest of the world is making at the cost of our children's lives!

Now is not the time to pull back from the world! We cannot simply ignore our problems and bury our heads in the sand! If we do not reach out, how, then, will we support our brothers; our sisters; our children? For the well-being of our nation, we must advance!"

(Sector: Agriculture score (-3) was used to assume that Corvermell is under threat of famine.)

Notes:
> Grew up on Veyr-parai.
> Is keenly aware of the discrepancy in wealth between Vermellans and tourists who travel to the island.
> Realized early on that Corvermell's economy was, and remains, in shambles.
> Is focused on the big picture of ensuring Corvermell's stability to avoid famine and lethal levels of poverty.
> Puts extreme focus on enriching Vermellan culture.
> Believes that a cultural revolution could revitalize tourism and create economic benefits by exporting Vermellan arts.
> Strongly believes that cultural strength is more important, and more practical, than military strength.
> Follows the Law of Red from a utilitarian point of view.
> Acknowledges the benefits of Mechanican protection but desires to incorporate more nations into the defense pact to avoid becoming a vassal of Mechanica Rationalis; considers joining SATO one means of obtaining this goal.
> Desires to pursue a low-profile foreign policy to avoid diplomatic conflict while still reaping economic rewards of international trade.

 

[Gaby]

I would go and post one, but Brian has the gist of what I'd put.

MOAR.

MOAR CROTCHETY OLD TRADITIONALIST VERMELLANS I LOVE THEM.

 

[Gaby]

> Follows the Law of Red from a utilitarian point of view.

clarify?

 

[Valonyx]

clarify?

Religion (or anything else) is a tool to be used to better society/one's position/a specific cause.

that's what being utilitaristic means.

 

[Lord_Sinclair]

> Follows the Law of Red from a utilitarian point of view.

clarify?

Religion (or anything else) is a tool to be used to better society/one's position/a specific cause.

that's what being utilitaristic means.

Actually... no. Val's meaning of "utilitarianism" is not what I had in mind.

Simply put, utilitarianism is the belief that one should always strive to do the most good for the most number of people.

When I say "follows the Law of Red from a utilitarian point of view", I mean to say that she strives to shed as little blood from as few people as possible. If, for example, there was ever a situation where the saving of one person would directly, unavoidably bring about the death of 100 persons, she would sacrifice the one to save the many.

To quote Spock, "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

 

[Valonyx]

Actually... no. Val's meaning of "utilitarianism" is not what I had in mind.

Simply put, utilitarianism is the belief that one should always strive to do the most good for the most number of people.

When I say "follows the Law of Red from a utilitarian point of view", I mean to say that she strives to shed as little blood from as few people as possible. If, for example, there was ever a situation where the saving of one person would directly, unavoidably bring about the death of 100 persons, she would sacrifice the one to save the many.

To quote Spock, "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

Sorry bout that, I suppose there's multiple ways to see a thing! xD

 

[Gaby]

Actually... no. Val's meaning of "utilitarianism" is not what I had in mind.

Simply put, utilitarianism is the belief that one should always strive to do the most good for the most number of people.

When I say "follows the Law of Red from a utilitarian point of view", I mean to say that she strives to shed as little blood from as few people as possible. If, for example, there was ever a situation where the saving of one person would directly, unavoidably bring about the death of 100 persons, she would sacrifice the one to save the many.

To quote Spock, "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

that's actually the spirit of the Law of Red, verbatim.

"do not spill blood unless absolutely necessary"

meaning, always pick the route of least bloodshed. in this sense, she is entirely faithful to the Law.

 

[Gaby]

so! *ahem* currently, with ah. a good deal of housekeepers in the running, (and fascinating ideas ohoho), I'm gonna.... try something. not sure what yet, but for the moment, here's a list of all the housekeepers currently running for Grand Priestess, and the current uh, status things? anyways:

Nalki Veirattin of House Kamiki, the elder, wanting to separate Corvermell from the rest of the world to avoid war, death, and suffering. very pious, very much old and wise.

Illjas Sannleika of House Veyr-Parai, the revolutionary, managing to synthesize both traditionalist and integrationist ideologies into a strategy to better her country. patriotic, critical of current systems. (@Lord_Sinclair this b u)

[Spoilers] of House Veyr-Parai, whose submitter submitted to me via PM, so I assume they want it kept a secret that she's in the running

currently in news:

• Nalki Veirattin has the complete and total support of the Traditionalist party, to the point that housekeeper Thiya Keirattin has stepped out of the running to support her. (big deal. Housekeeper Keirattin had quite the following)
• meanwhile, Graiva Dictheri of House Kamiki is getting flack from the Traditionalist party for her vermellan gold initiative (you all remember the one). she has come forth to ask Sister Veirattin what she plans to do about the economy's poor state.
• Illjas Sannleika, uttering speeches to rival Keirattin's, is gaining a great following in Veyr-Parai from members of both parties. one of her opponents, thinking she's all talk, has challenged her to improve the economy in Veyr-Parai, if she's so intent on fixing the entire nation.
• Veyr-Parai is having a bit of an ideological clash, as two high-profile integrationists (Illjas Sannleika and ____ ) dodge accusation and rumors from traditionalists on the island. the traditionalist housekeepers in House Veyr-Parai have been quietly murmuring words of support to them both, despite ideological differences.

@BrianAT16 @Lord_Sinclair
keeping things interesting by seeing how they respond to challenges.

@Valonyx @Deathmoron you know, you guys can join in. XD if u need help or wanna keep involvement secret, PM me. it's ok. I have a lot of lore for this nation, it may be a bit hard to catch up if you haven't been paying attention.

@Lord_Sinclair for the record, the way I make up vermellan names is through a careful mix of google translating words into catalan, google translating words into icelandic, and referring to my eh... little fae lexicon notes that I cant actually show everyone cause they're not complete. I just take dem words and combine them into a first and last name. if they don't sound flowy enough on the tongue, I mess with them, find synonyms, alter syllables until they do sound flowy. easy! XD (not sure how baron did it, but he managed to make it sound legit and i was impressed)

 

[Gaby]

anyways.

@Deathmoron

Genocide Threatened on Corvermell!

Alvaro Perez, a prominent Roachen activist and soapbox orator, caused quite a stir last week when he publicly called for the complete extermination of the people of Corvermell, accusing vermellan citizens of being 'sub-human', 'immoral', and 'really weak too':

[video footage]
A marching of protesters fill the public streets of the town square. Rioting seems to be inevitable with the numbers; though, a man walks onto a stage and the parade goes quiet with only some using murmurs to speak. The man begins.

"Hola, yo soy Alvaro Perez. Tu lider en este reunión para nuestro voces. Estamos aqui para que el gobierno nos escuche y haga algo contra la mierda de sociedad que son los de la theocracia. Theocracias es la muerte del mundo. Que un nacion trabaja debajo un identidad que no existe, es para que justicien su inferioridad. Eso es porque se deben eliminar!"

The man chuckles afterwards, "Sera facil. Ellos no tienen un militar de su mismo, pero tiene a los andriodes. Los debil se esconden. No deben estar /vivos/. En la naturaleza, los debiles mueren. Lo de Covermell son debiles."

(subtitles: "hello, everyone. I am Alvaro Perez, your leader in the reunion of our voices. we are here today so that our government can hear us, and do something about the **** of society that is theocracy. Theocracies are the death of the world. That one nation works under an identity that does not exist, [something about justifying their inferiority]. this is why we should eliminate them!

je je je, it will be easy. they don't have a military of their own, but they have the androids. the weak hide. they should not be /alive/. in nature, the weak perish. those of Corvermell are weak.")
[end video footage]

Housekeepers everywhere are in riot about this complete travesty, yet at a loss about what to do.

"I can't believe we're even debating this," says Housekeeper Thiya Keirattin, "Doesn't it not appall you that a man, who would obviously be happier if we all died horrible, painful deaths, is given a voice in that militaristic land of red-spillers? Let him continue and there will be machine guns at our door! we are supposed to keep our nose out of international affairs, but talking about open genocide, they might as well declare war on us! Hate speech is a very serious threat, We can't just ignore this!"

"Words by themselves can't hurt anyone," counters Housekeeper Salori Telaia, "We don't need to be 'protected' from some backwards rat spouting nonsense, by the Queen's Light! oh, let us make a deal of this internationally! perhaps set another embargo! You can't punish people for disagreeing with you! if the government was actually planning to do something to us, we would know!"

"I agree to an extent," ventures Housekeeper Veritas Milari, "But insulting one person is not the same as insulting an entire social grouping. The wrong word in the wrong place and you WILL have a serious threat: that's the reality we live in, whether we like it or not. If we want to make any real difference then we need to nudge international attitudes in the right direction with government awareness programmes and the like. I cannot believe I am agreeing with integrationists, but we need to reach out! Laying down a reactionary accusation will just fuel resentment in the long run."

(if anyone has an opinion on this ;^) )

 

[Lord_Sinclair]

Illjas Sannleika, uttering speeches to rival Keirattin's, is gaining a great following in Veyr-Parai from members of both parties. one of her opponents, thinking she's all talk, has challenged her to improve the economy in Veyr-Parai, if she's so intent on fixing the entire nation.

Genocide Threatened on Corvermell!

(if anyone has an opinion on this ;^) )

In response to her opponent, Illjas Sannleika would begin organizing a grand, international festival to celebrate the next Red Moon. The festival would be held in Veyr-Parai with the intent of drawing in an influx of tourists and showing off cultural works, such as Vermellan art, music, and fashion.

The influx of tourists, combined with the potential sale of Vermellan art and fashion to said tourists, would provide a small economic boost. Illjas Sannleika plans to use the proceeds from the planned Red Moon festival to invest in improving Corvermell's agricultural technology and practices.

In response to the hate speech coming out of Curacha, Illjas Sannleika would tell her supporters, and the people at large, to hold firm to their beliefs and show the world the strength of Vermellan will and determination.

Though not yet said publicly, Illjas Sannleika hopes to obtain aforementioned agricultural improvements from the modestly successful nation of Curacha, thus improving economic ties with Curacha and helping stymy the hate speech from influencing the Roachen government into taking punitive action against Corvermell.

 

[BrianAT16]

(if anyone has an opinion on this ;^) )

First Nalki would respond to the incident with Churacha.
"This, this is why we must succeed from international affairs. This is why I say we return to our previous isolationist state! Day after day there are more and more threats against our people. All this world wants is to see us burn. They wish to soak our lands in blood and see us exterminated. Not unlike the nation of Morgnatha not long ago! If we are to survive we have to learn to support ourselves. We have to learn to protect ourselves as well.

This world is filled with corruption, greed, and war. There is nothing outside of Corvermell for us. We strived as a people before we decided to look out into the world and join the democratic council. Lets all face it we have lived better, safer lives before we decided to try to talk with the other nations. And if we hope to continue to keep our own alive, we must stop working with the enemies.

Sure, there will be a significant drop of income due to a sudden lack of tourism if we were to do this. But that is not entirely bad. We are allowing red spillers into our home. Coming to mock us for our culture and religion. Defiling our land with their filth and their corruption. Why do we wish to put ourselves on display like this?

As for the state of our economy the solution is quite simple. Nor does it involve the exploitation of our religion to raise funds. The employment rate in Corvermell is one of the lowest in all of this planet. There are less people working than there are not. I plan to create jobs in every single island of this country. With jobs we may better support our selves as well. We can boost our agriculture by devoting lands to growing food and hiring people to work the lands.

Also we can create jobs by reopening our long forgotten hobbies of basket weaving, textile creating and stone carving. The Selvalla use to create the most ornate and beautiful baskets. Some of them prized in museums all across the nation. The stone carvings are used in some of our most magnificent houses of Vermella. Also, I believe that we must learn ways to defend ourselves. Defense is one of the core beliefs of The Law of Red, yet our national defense is laughable. We must learn to protect ourselves and our people, should the world try to come to us.

With this I suggest we return to our roots of the Selvalla. In which every person had a job, and every job had a purpose to better the community. Just think of it, every person being able to better our nation, our economy and our people. Every Vermellan in this nation, is important to its survival."

 

[Baron]

(not sure how baron did it, but he managed to make it sound legit and i was impressed)

I'm Icelandic, I can into phonetics.

 

[Gaby]

I'm Icelandic, I can into phonetics.

that.... explains so much...

and Im cackling at this. I'm pitting you guys against each other and its beautiful I love u all.

 

[Gaby]

(Im just posting this issue with nothing but name-changes, because seriously who could possibly improve on this genius?)

Flouride Controversey a Toothy Problem

Recent reports revealing that the dental health of Corvermell is far below the regional average have ignited a fierce debate over whether to introduce fluoride to the nation's tap water reserves.

1. 
   
   "Fluoride has been shown time and time again to promote dental health," argues Dr. Maralei, Chairperson of 'Friends of The Teeth'. "It's not an experimental drug for heaven's sake, it's an accepted method of promoting national good health. A nationwide program for the fluoridation of drinking water should not be seen as optional - it's a no-brainer for any sensible government. We need to implement this now, whether the public want it or not."
   
   "I am strongly against this proposal!" rages Asori Tella, one of the more vociferous members of the Corvermell Green Society. "When I turn on the water tap I expect to get just that. Water. Nothing else. We are not lab rats and it is not the government's place to force us into taking these chemicals! In fact I reckon we should put the brakes on all these new chemicals doctors keep pumping into people and give us the right to say no!"
   
   "There's no need to go to either extreme," says a random dentist. "It's all about, um, choice. Here's a nice alternative: why not just have clean non-fluorinated drinking water and give more funds to dentists? If we had enough money, we could make all dental care absolutely free! It will be demanding on the taxpayers I know, but they'll surely be happy when they all have sparkling white teeth!"

a silly issue.... you guys dont have to comment on it... XD

 

[Gaby]

update on statuses of housekeepers and current events in Corvermell. thanks for reminding me, Secret Anon Housekeeper

• Traditionalist support has waned slightly. news of a successful peace talk between the supposedly rabidly battling nations of Upresh and Carausmia, and international support for the war to end has, in a very slight way, caught Nalki and most of the other isolationists with their pants down.
• the recent international drama with Sincronia's denial of citizenship to synthetics had shifted the public opinion to such issues as the citizenship of Housekeeper Vaila Namasie. the recent trending topic, #dorobotsbleed, is inspired by an unintentionally awkward statement made by Housekeeper Terri Kaltyia: "I sometimes wonder how we can apply the Law of Red to the modern day, how we can uphold our relevance as a people, when questions of life and death become less a matter of, will I kill this fish or starve, and more a matter of, will the defense of an entire ecosystem be worth the eradication of an invasive species? Does a robot bleed?"
  while the tag is mainly a humorous one, with such deep, introspective questions as "does Housekeeper Namasie get PMS?", there is occasionally a philosophical theory or answer that gets retweeted over the entire net, and makes the population as a whole rethink their place in the universe.
• Illjas Sannleika got a recent surge of support from Traditionalists for her rousing speech on the values of vermellan culture.
• Housekeeper _____ has been touring the islands of Corvermell, in order to better connect with the vermellan people. she has made a great many outstanding speeches all over the islands, and has gone on the record as stating that roachen hate speech (such as Alvaro Perez's infamous tirade) comes from a place of fear, fear of the strength of the vermellan culture, that could easily overtake such uncultured, fascist nations.
• the rising population is indeed creating the very real threat of famine, a condition not helped by the fact that so little of Corvermell territory is actually available for farming. whatever is not ocean is protected nature sanctuaries. the nation Corvermell's population rises further, it will not be able to feed itself without food from foreign trade.

EDIT: I feel the need to make a little tally of public support for the three candidates, on a scale of 1-10. just to have an objective view of the support. this'll come with a little note on whether or not public support was improved or worsened.

Housekeeper Nalki Veyrattin: 8
Improved-Worsened: Worsened

Housekeeper Illjas Sannleika: 6
Improved-Worsened: (slightly) Improved

Housekeeper _____ : 4
Improved-Worsened: Kinda Weird Right Now

 

[Gaby]

@Ray1333 you were saying something about Volopians in PMs, feel free to write about them here~

 

[Ray1333]

@Ray1333 you were saying something about Volopians in PMs, feel free to write about them here~

As I stated, I do not believe the situation is suitable for another foreign-born candidate for Grand Priestess, lead alone one from a country which just got out of a great deal of political turmoil.