Ignition (MTG/Multicross, Planeswalker PC)

In fact, I think our hour is just about up - so I'll open the voting with a slightly more well-thought out version of my earlier suggested rewording. I'm open to revising it or jumping onto someone else's vote if they can word this better.

[X] Tempting, but you'll do it yourself.
- [X] Have Mom get as ready as possible for a fight without blatantly looking like that's what she's doing. You don't want to provoke Terry but you'd also rather minimize the damage if he is provoked.
- [X] Shields up first, then start talking.
-- [X] Remind Terry that you crossed dimensions to be here and in more ways than one, that gives you an outside perspective on this world. For example, did he know that there's actually a second organization of magicians? They're quite reclusive and have some pretty powerful warding to maintain their isolationism on a remote island.
--- [X] Be sure to mention that you don't know anything else about them, but phrase it in a way that implies that's because you didn't care enough to start prying.
--- [X] But you imagine that if Terry is who you suspect he is, then he'd be intimately familiar with such a group. And if that's the case, you'd certainly prefer to engage with him openly and honestly - your reasons for being here don't necessarily involve them and you're not really looking to pick a fight.

Alivaril said:

"How would you handle a country that isn't going in a desirable direction? Assuming you're one of its rulers, of course."

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...Can't tell if he means Magnostadt, or somewhere else. Leaning towards the latter. Either way, the problem's complicated and situational.

ShadowAngelBeta said:

His question doesn't really work. If you want to change a countries direction and you're only one of it's rulers, and it's not a democracy, then you need enough leverage to make the others do what you want them to or remove them from the equation to then direct the country as you wish it to be.

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Thanks for catching that "one of" bit. Doesn't narrow it down too much, but I think he either means Magnostadt, or Reim. Who are a Rome expy, republic, I think? Also possibly founded by Remus, instead of Romulus. I suppose he could mean Kou, but the name doesn't fit.

Stardust Falcon said:

I think his question works perfectly well in the context where we identify and then call him out as an agent not of some other country, but as an agent of the other group of mages on this plane. And I agree with Ayashi that we don't really care about the local politics but the group of paranoid isolationist magicians who may or may not have sent Terry to us to feel us out for some as yet unknown purpose. They're just as much of an unknown quantity to us as an extraplanar goddess and her friends and family setting up shop are to them, and we really don't need to be inviting their ire if we can at all avoid it.

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...How'd they know we'd be here? Or was he just infiltrating and happened to meet us and get ordered to feel us out? And why in the world did they send a youngster mage who was able to become a leader to spy on Magnostadt?

I don't think I really agree with this idea. The question feels too personal. Plus, you're jumping to conclusions based on scant evidence. He could be from that group...or he's a Magi in disguise. Or a clone of one. Or any number of things. Sure, I've made some hypotheses of my own, based on canon and scant evidence, but I did try to emphasize that those were guesses. Mildly informed guesses, but still deductive leaps in logic based on intuition and setting knowledge, which are inherently unreliable.

[X] Tempting, but you'll do it yourself.
-[X] Avoiding the appearance of being a figurehead is probably important if you want people to respect you, right?
-[X] Bluntly ask if Terry is a foreign agent. It'll make this conversation simpler if you know.
--[X] Do so via LC telepathy.
-[X] Tell Terry that they'd need to somehow attempt mass criminal actions for that to occur. You aren't going to deny other cultures or anything, so the only direction you'd truly disapprove of would be crimes such as slavery, something your subordinates would jump on within minutes. Might may not make right, but it certainly makes right easier to enforce.
--[X] Seriously, you have sleepless, tireless 'golems' your caretakers can control en masse. Anyone trying to break the law is going to have a rough time of it.

Guys, he's probably worried about either governmental corruption, excessive nationalism/isolationism/imperialism/who-knows-what, or some other, similar, bad direction. Or something we'd consider good, but he'd consider bad, like a push towards democracy or anti-slavery. Any way you slice it, I doubt a major outbreak of, say, banditry is his concern. As political problems go,that one's pretty simple to solve, albeit not necessarily an easy solution to execute.

Nixeu said:

...How'd they know we'd be here? Or was he just infiltrating and happened to meet us and get ordered to feel us out? And why in the world did they send a youngster mage who was able to become a leader to spy on Magnostadt?

I don't think I really agree with this idea. The question feels too personal. Plus, you're jumping to conclusions based on scant evidence. He could be from that group...or he's a Magi in disguise. Or a clone of one. Or any number of things. Sure, I've made some hypotheses of my own, based on canon and scant evidence, but I did try to emphasize that those were guesses. Mildly informed guesses, but still deductive leaps in logic based on intuition and setting knowledge, which are inherently unreliable.

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They didn't, but if you're a group of paranoid isolationists with warding powerful enough that a planeswalker sitting in Eternity knows they're blocking her from learning their organization's name, you're almost certainly also dispatching agents on the ground to take care of the little things that your enchantments can't, such as making sure any discovery of a powerful ward like that gets quietly dropped off the record.

You're probably also going to want to learn a thing or two about how the formalized mage group that probably represents your biggest threat works, and one of the easiest ways to do that is going to be dispatching agents to pretend to be the usual magically-gifted who drifts into the country that welcomes them with open arms and see how you get treated as well as what you can learn as Terry Everymage.

Sure, he might be asking this question on a personal note, but as strange as it is to walk up to a goddess and start peppering her with theology questions, it's even stranger to turn the conversation towards governance unless you have a pretty specific agenda in mind. He might be an agent of another country and he's asking this because he feels his home country is mistreating or misusing its own magical citizenry, and if that's the case then we take the L and are happy to be wrong. He's almost certainly not planning to become the ruler of his own country based on the way he talked about king-candidates earlier, so that's out, and even in an anime high school I doubt rumors travel quick enough for him to be inquiring about how we plan to run our kingdom.

You're correct in that it's a guess. I insist that it's an educated guess, and I further insist that if it's the right guess, we want it on the table now rather than later. Being wrong means some embarrassment and Terry possibly thinks we're a little bit paranoid ourselves. Being right means there's an extremely dangerous unknown variable and that has the potential to lead to way worse outcomes than taking the L for jumping at shadows right now.

EDIT: Additionally, Terry here is one of Magnostadt's top students per Mom, who has suggested that that might just be because he knows all the material already. If he's an agent of one of any of the other countries, all of whom other than the one we're in right now profess extreme discrimination and hatred towards magic, he probably has no real way of getting that kind of leg up. Perhaps those countries are engaging in their own duplicity and he was privately given access and room to grow even as he was publicly alienated by his homeland, but it's far more likely that if he did learn all the material in advance, he learned it from the agency of shadow magicians since they'd have both the ability to teach and the desire to not send their infiltrator out behind enemy lines with no way of defending himself. This is also why I added some admittedly paranoid modifiers to prepare for a fight, since if he's not interested in talking and also knows he's been made he's liable to sucker punch us and run.

SECOND EDIT: Oh, and lest we discount it, there's also the possibility that both things are true - he is an infiltrator from isolation island, having been originally recruited from whichever other country he's thinking of when he asks his question. The only thing I'm really advocating for here is a) figuring out if he's with them and b) if he is, getting that relationship out in the open.

Stardust Falcon said:

They didn't, but if you're a group of paranoid isolationists with warding powerful enough that a planeswalker sitting in Eternity knows they're blocking her from learning their organization's name, you're almost certainly also dispatching agents on the ground to take care of the little things that your enchantments can't, such as making sure any discovery of a powerful ward like that gets quietly dropped off the record.

You're probably also going to want to learn a thing or two about how the formalized mage group that probably represents your biggest threat works, and one of the easiest ways to do that is going to be dispatching agents to pretend to be the usual magically-gifted who drifts into the country that welcomes them with open arms and see how you get treated as well as what you can learn as Terry Everymage.

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While most of those things is a reasonable inference, when combined, they risk compounding any false assumptions in the set. As someone who's done that before and been burned, hard, trust me when I say that's a bad idea. Though at least this is lower risk than that time...

Stardust Falcon said:

You're correct in that it's a guess. I insist that it's an educated guess, and I further insist that if it's the right guess, we want it on the table now rather than later. Being wrong means some embarrassment and Terry possibly thinks we're a little bit paranoid ourselves. Being right means there's an extremely dangerous unknown variable and that has the potential to lead to way worse outcomes than taking the L for jumping at shadows right now.

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How would "that's complicated, can I have more context?" exclude that piece from being put on the table? If he gives us more data that points to your scenario, we can still easily make that statement. Whereas, we actually kinda risk revealing information he, and possibly even Magnostadt, was previously entirely unaware of. And, essentially, spilling a group's secrets without their permission. Not a good diplomatic move.

Stardust Falcon said:

EDIT: Additionally, Terry here is one of Magnostadt's top students per Mom, who has suggested that that might just be because he knows all the material already. If he's an agent of one of any of the other countries, all of whom other than the one we're in right now profess extreme discrimination and hatred towards magic, he probably has no real way of getting that kind of leg up. Perhaps those countries are engaging in their own duplicity and he was privately given access and room to grow even as he was publicly alienated by his homeland, but it's far more likely that if he did learn all the material in advance, he learned it from the agency of shadow magicians since they'd have both the ability to teach and the desire to not send their infiltrator out behind enemy lines with no way of defending himself. This is also why I added some admittedly paranoid modifiers to prepare for a fight, since if he's not interested in talking and also knows he's been made he's liable to sucker punch us and run.

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Or, he's secretly linked to, or secretly is himself, a Magi. Or he's from Kou. There are magicians elsewhere, you know.

Yeah, can we please not jump to the conclusion this guy is a foreign agent? There's very little evidence of such, and accusing him of being one without proof is extremely rude. (And pointless; do you honestly think he would just admit to being a spy, even if he was one?)

Keep in mind he lives in a city-state which drains life from non-mages to power their public works and defenses, and is partially founded on the idea of mages ruling non-mages for their own good. There's a very good chance he's just concerned about the direction Magnostadt is heading, or is feeling Jade out for her opinions on governance, or any number of other completely benign explanations.

Alivaril said:

"How would you handle a country that isn't going in a desirable direction? Assuming you're one of its rulers, of course."

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We should ask him to clarify what he means. This question is way too vague, and doesn't make much sense when posed to Jade if it has anything to do with setting policy. The Agni idea of government is an absolute theocratic monarchy; if Jade doesn't like the direction of a country she's ruling over, she can usually just change it with a word.

So what is he really asking about? Religious or cultural freedom? Criminal activity? Troubling national ideology? Is this purely hypothetical, or a roundabout method of seeking advice for his own concerns? Each would require a very different answer.

[X] Tempting, but you'll do it yourself.
-[X] Avoiding the appearance of being a figurehead is probably important if you want people to respect you, right?
-[X] Bluntly ask if Terry is a foreign agent. It'll make this conversation simpler if you know.
--[X] Do so via LC telepathy.
-[X] Tell Terry that they'd need to somehow attempt mass criminal actions for that to occur. You aren't going to deny other cultures or anything, so the only direction you'd truly disapprove of would be crimes such as slavery, something your subordinates would jump on within minutes. Might may not make right, but it certainly makes right easier to enforce.
--[X] Seriously, you have sleepless, tireless 'golems' your caretakers can control en masse. Anyone trying to break the law is going to have a rough time of it.

[X] Tempting, but you'll do it yourself.
-[x]You mean like draining the life from people underground in order to fuel a wasteful amount of magic for the people above?

[X] Tempting, but you'll do it yourself.
-[X] Avoiding the appearance of being a figurehead is probably important if you want people to respect you, right?
-[X] Bluntly ask if Terry is a foreign agent. It'll make this conversation simpler if you know.
--[X] Do so via LC telepathy.
-[X] Tell Terry that they'd need to somehow attempt mass criminal actions for that to occur. You aren't going to deny other cultures or anything, so the only direction you'd truly disapprove of would be crimes such as slavery, something your subordinates would jump on within minutes. Might may not make right, but it certainly makes right easier to enforce.
--[X] Seriously, you have sleepless, tireless 'golems' your caretakers can control en masse. Anyone trying to break the law is going to have a rough time of it.

Sapient_Ham said:

Yeah, can we please not jump to the conclusion this guy is a foreign agent? There's very little evidence of such, and accusing him of being one without proof is extremely rude. (And pointless; do you honestly think he would just admit to being a spy, even if he was one?)

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Yep. This is a public place, after all. We'd just risk making the administration suspect him, and thus make him unhappy with us, if it's true. And using telepathy is just going to make any watching us suspicious, unless we keep up a completely seperate cover conversation and avoid crossing the streams.

Sapient_Ham said:

Keep in mind he lives in a city-state which drains life from non-mages to power their public works and defenses, and is partially founded on the idea of mages ruling non-mages for their own good. There's a very good chance he's just concerned about the direction Magnostadt is heading, or is feeling Jade out for her opinions on governance, or any number of other completely benign explanations.

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Indeed. If it wasn't for the possible, but interrupted, use of foreign manners, I'd be much less inclined to think he was talking about somewhere else. Well, that, combine with the fact a member of the leadership of Magnostadt pretending to be a student seems a bit unlikely.

Nixeu said:

While most of those things is a reasonable inference, when combined, they risk compounding any false assumptions in the set. As someone who's done that before and been burned, hard, trust me when I say that's a bad idea. Though at least this is lower risk than that time...

How would "that's complicated, can I have more context?" exclude that piece from being put on the table? If he gives us more data that points to your scenario, we can still easily make that statement. Whereas, we actually kinda risk revealing information he, and possibly even Magnostadt, was previously entirely unaware of. And, essentially, spilling a group's secrets without their permission. Not a good diplomatic move.

Or, he's secretly linked to, or secretly is himself, a Magi. Or he's from Kou. There are magicians elsewhere, you know.

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Sapient_Ham said:

Yeah, can we please not jump to the conclusion this guy is a foreign agent? There's very little evidence of such, and accusing him of being one without proof is extremely rude. (And pointless; do you honestly think he would just admit to being a spy, even if he was one?)

Keep in mind he lives in a city-state which drains life from non-mages to power their public works and defenses, and is partially founded on the idea of mages ruling non-mages for their own good. There's a very good chance he's just concerned about the direction Magnostadt is heading, or is feeling Jade out for her opinions on governance, or any number of other completely benign explanations.



We should ask him to clarify what he means. This question is way too vague, and doesn't much sense when posed to Jade if it has anything to do with setting policy. The Agni idea of government is an absolute theocratic monarchy; if Jade doesn't like the direction of a country she's ruling over, she can usually just change it with a word.

So what is he really asking about? Religious or cultural freedom? Criminal activity? Troubling national ideology? Is this a purely hypothetical question, or is this a roundabout method of seeking advice for his own concerns? Each would require a very different answer.

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You're correct in that it wouldn't exclude that piece from being put on the table. In fact, "that's complicated, can I have more context?" is probably a much better way to lead into the question than subtly gearing up for fight-or-flight would be. In fact, even better still would be to swallow the accusations entirely and have Jade dig into this on her own after the conversation, but that's both not a very Red thing to do and also flies directly in the face of the bulk of the early voters seizing on this "confront Terry about his allegiances" thread. I of course seized that thread myself, but I'm trying to point us towards what I feel to be the far more likely thing (he's from mystery mage group #2) as well as the one that's a lot easier to downplay if we're wrong.

As I said with my vote post, I'm open to refining the message to be more in line with feeling him out rather than getting right in his face, and happy to switch to the "can we get more context first" line, especially if there's a way to tweak that line so that we're engaging in feeling out for the chance that Terry's in deep with the isolationist magicians. As you also mentioned, I think this line is risky but the risk level is low enough that the reward is worth it.

Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I have no source material knowledge so I'm going off of what I've read in thread and coloring it with how I would expect a shadowy organization like the one we pinged on when we first discovered this plane to behave (if anything, I might be guilty of letting too much Dimir from Ravnica lore leak into an organization that definitely isn't them) - since these are all alternate universes and source material isn't required I didn't go off to watch Magi but that might mean I'm missing something.

Stardust Falcon said:

if anything, I might be guilty of letting too much [̶̱͎̤̤͉͉R̷͍̥̹͈͙̦É͚̝D҉͕̲̣̲͈A҉̻̻̗̗̫ͅC̦̱͙T̛͇̺̜E̦̯̙̮̖̠D̗̕]̟͢ͅ from Ravnica lore leak into an organization that definitely isn't them)

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The what now? I have no idea what you're talking about; there are only nine guilds on Ravnica and none of them act like that.

Well, this vote is going to go absolutely fantastically with the defaults. Hopefully I'll have a write-in up later tonight.

If he's not an agent, we obviously answer honestly. If he represents a power that we could get along with, we answer honestly to gain an ally. If he represents a power that we would want to take over and fix, we stick to the policy we established while negotiating with Magnostadt and answer honestly to give them a chance to fix themselves before we come for them.

As for the details of the answer: what characteristics do we want to signal, what do we want to implicitly indicate as being desirable traits for a nation, and what implications do we want to make regarding our policy toward interfering with our neighbors? How much modern theory of government should we get into?

Stardust Falcon said:

Also, in the interest of full disclosure, I have no source material knowledge so I'm going off of what I've read in thread and coloring it with how I would expect a shadowy organization like the one we pinged on when we first discovered this plane to behave (if anything, I might be guilty of letting too much Dimir from Ravnica lore leak into an organization that definitely isn't them) - since these are all alternate universes and source material isn't required I didn't go off to watch Magi but that might mean I'm missing something.

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Oi vey. Yes, I believe you might be confusing two different groups. I'm not certain, but the isolationist group of mages and the shadowy puppetmaster cult were completely seperate canonically. I don't recall being told they're the same here, but I could be wrong.

Vebyast said:

Well, this vote is going to go absolutely fantastically with the defaults. Hopefully I'll have a write-in up later tonight.

If he's not an agent, we obviously answer honestly. If he represents a power that we could get along with, we answer honestly to gain an ally. If he represents a power that we would want to take over and fix, we stick to the policy we established while negotiating with Magnostadt and answer honestly to give them a chance to fix themselves before we come for them.

As for the details of the answer: what characteristics do we want to signal, what do we want to implicitly indicate as being desirable traits for a nation, and what implications do we want to make regarding our policy toward interfering with our neighbors? How much modern theory of government should we get into?

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Personally, I think asking what the negative direction entails is the best way forward.

Well, here's a vote for seeking more elaboration, barring a more detailed write-up:

[X] Tempting, but you'll do it yourself.
-[X] The Agni have historically gone with an absolute monarchy, so changing direction would typically be very simple. But I get the impression that's not what you're asking.
--[X] Ask for elaboration; is he seeking our stance on personal freedoms, governance, and religion, or...?

[]"Honestly, it would depend entirely on the specifics. Geopolitics always does. That said, creating a regional governor AI to analyze the situation in detail and provide proposals would usually be a good first step. The most likely follow-up would be leveraging data processing advantages to apply subtle pressure to thousands of minor socioeconomic tipping points. Change that emerges organically from fundamentals tends to be resented and resisted far less than change noticeably imposed by an external source. Thus it avoids planting the seeds for later hosti ... "
-[]Awkwardly remember this isn't one of mom's statesmanship lessions.

[X] Tempting, but you'll do it yourself.
-[X] The Agni have historically gone with an absolute monarchy, so changing direction would typically be very simple. But I get the impression that's not what you're asking.
--[X] Ask for elaboration; is he seeking our stance on personal freedoms, governance, and religion, or...?

[X] Tempting, but you'll do it yourself.
-[x]That would depend on the momentum, how much force you can apply to shift it and how much it would cost. If the cost would be high considering exactly why the direction is undesirable. If you are still certain then tell your reasons to others and convince them. If you convince enough people then the direction should shift.
-[x]if you mean like draining the life from people underground in order to fuel a wasteful amount of magic for the people above? Then the first step would be curtail wasteful uses of Mana. Then find better sources.

Vebyast said:

If he's not an agent, we obviously answer honestly. If he represents a power that we could get along with, we answer honestly to gain an ally. If he represents a power that we would want to take over and fix, we stick to the policy we established while negotiating with Magnostadt and answer honestly to give them a chance to fix themselves before we come for them.

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[x] Do it yourself. It's not like subtlety is necessary; even if he is representing a polity that you would object to, you won't be pretending to be on their side.
-[x] Don't do anything overt, but go ahead and imply implications as appropriate.

Vebyast said:

As for the details of the answer: what characteristics do we want to signal, what do we want to implicitly indicate as being desirable traits for a nation, and what implications do we want to make regarding our policy toward interfering with our neighbors? How much modern theory of government should we get into?

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So far, I believe that we've stuck to the following position:

• Social contract theory, monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force, peelian principles, rule of law, etc
  
• Bayesian-epistemic utilitarian philosophical framework targeting fulfillment of personal values
  
• Absolute monarchy viable solely because various magics and divinities mean the tails on the distribution of personal hard power are ridicluously thin and a sufficiently-significant outlier can single-handedly out-violence an entire polity

We would want to demonstrate the following characteristics:

• At least basic understanding of IRL modern civics, which should be significantly advanced over Magi's understanding of the topic
  
• General friendliness but morality that is uncompromising on some points
  
• Flexibility and adaptability

Policy statements to make and desired implications to imply based on those policy statements:

• Explain our philosophy of government
• Indicate that we are not satisfied with the general quality of life on this plane
• Make it clear that, while we can and have built states ex nihilo, we'd be happier if existing governments were sufficiently well-aligned that we could help them along
• Make it clear that, while the happy path involves existing governments, you recognize that active measures are necessary sometimes
• Begin acting, more or less overtly, to get his government "back on course" by your definition

[x] A real reply would be a stack of civics textbooks covering state-building in the wake of failed or degenerate states, which you'll try to provide later, but for now you think you can wing it for him.

In the case where he's an agent of a government we disagree with, this should be a message they pay attention to: Blowing up despots and building new, better states on their ashes is something we've done so much that we literally teach classes on it.

In the case where he represents a government we could work with, this is a message that we're willing to work with them.

In the case where he's just a wonderfully curious student, this is the best possible case for him.

Alivaril said:

"How would you handle a country that isn't going in a desirable direction? Assuming you're one of its rulers, of course."

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[x] It depends.
-[x] Perfect information and optimization are impossible, so even the most successful state will always need continuous correction. But you think you know what he really meant.
-[x] If it's a stable state, figure out what's gone wrong, adjust policy to correct as gently as possible. Strongly prefer legitimate methods e.g. reduce corruption, implement appropriate social services, regulate destabilizing technologies, etc.
-[x] If the state was recently formed or *cough* required a regime change, continue with standard state-building procedures: maintain monopoly on legitimate use of violence, establish rule of law and other key public services, effect cultural change to improve civil rights, establish game-theoretically well-aligned and stable bureaucracy, improve education and infrastructure to meet quality-of-life and value-fulfillment standards, etc.

In the allied case, call out rule of law as a key public service, civil rights and gentle implementation thereof, quality of life and value-fulfillment as standards, reducing corruption, and all the other things that would be identified as desirable by a government that we could get along with.

In the "*cough* required a regime change" case, more subtle threats - "maintain", not "establish", a monopoly on legitimate use of violence, "standard state-building procedures", that kind of thing. Further implications that this is something we have real-world experience with.

[x] In fact, if he wants, you could show him an example - you recently encountered a nearby state perpetrating some particularly egregious human rights violations and are now engaged in exactly the activities under consideration.
-[x] Ask Mom how long the trip would take aboard one of your magebane golems.

Less sure on this part. Extra-cheeky, but maybe over the top, and I can't remember what our policy was on information about our new little nation or where it was.[/i]

Yeah, there's a bunch of reasons why he may not be a foreign agent, even so. It's possible Terry is a local supporting one of the current faction leaders in Magnostadt, for example. He may even be here because you basically need to be a mage in order to infiltrate this place, regardless of what society he comes from. There might even be a tiny chance he's a magi looking for a king candidate to support. Or he's just the kind of student to coincidentally ambush royalty at the door of the academy. I guess.



[X] Tempting, but you'll do it yourself.
-[X] If there's a problem on a country-wide scale, and it seems likely to cause harm as it develops, you'd probably act. You'd consult advisers with a variety of viewpoints and expertise, investigate as best you can, pick the right people and methods to implement solutions, and adjust as you go. Is that about as non-specific as his question?
--[X] Soft methods work best when there are no urgent threats to safety and stability, and time to win over hearts and minds. Education, fair laws, fair law enforcement, establishment or development of institutions, assisting those in need, persuasion, negotiation, incentives, and so on. If it was always possible, you'd prefer these.
--[X] Hard methods can be necessary, especially if there's ongoing suffering or immediate threats. Hard methods are also expedient, but don't lend themselves well to long-term stability. At best they can command temporary control of a situation.

-[X] Most importantly, when it comes to morality, you trust your gut. Knowing when 'undesirable' actually means bad has been as important to you as any amount of civics theory.

-[X] Potential examples to draw on: Stopping slavery - ongoing suffering, threats of violence necessary, transition to nation-building after. Reforming Remnant - slow societal change through development, incentives. Initial discomfort with worshipers - example of no harm, no action. Other such no harm, no action examples if that's too personal.


[X] Ask Agneyastra about inviting him to talk later somewhere more private than the steps of the academy.




To be honest, I don't really care about impressing Terry or trying to craft an answer specific to his country's or Magnostadt's situation. I'm okay with needling him some, actually, since confronting Jade like this is his choice. Civics is a bit too much for Jade, imo. An honest answer and some unpredictability is all we need.

Frankly, I'm tempted just to vote -[] I listen to my advisers, but trust my instincts most of all.
It's even very literally true.

[x] Sapient_Ham

The Agni have historically gone with an absolute monarchy

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His scenario explicitly mentioned co-rulers, so this doesn't really seem relevant to the question...

SynchronizedWritersBlock said:

Initial discomfort with worshipers - example of no harm, no action.

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Unless you want to explain that we only recently learned of our divine lineage and status, "discomfort with worship" implies that we don't deserve being worshipped, which is a no-go.
Besides, what action could she have taken, considering the fault lay with Jade herself?
If you need an example of 'no action', you could mention social restrictions we disliked but conformed with, e.g. female dress code.

Other than that,
[x] SynchronizedWritersBlock

Alivaril said:

"Deploy every fully-functional droid we possess to swarm the city and the surrounding area. Have a few dozen Parasite droids block each entrance and exit to the city. Whenever I find a new slave, the nearest Seeker or Predator will locate them and ask for the whereabouts of their owner. Six to twelve Parasites will also climb on the walls and generally imitate giant metal spiders. Warn them that the goddess Jade Agni finds slavery reprehensible and will not tolerate it, but realizes this could easily uproot the lives of those owning slaves. As such, they may choose to challenge her edict or accept a generous payment based on 150% of the estimated market value of any given individual.

"Once we believe the city to be cleared, question any remaining slaves and ensure they do not know of any others. Branch outward and free anyone else within a ten-kilometer radius. Ensure families and friends will not be separated if there are individuals outside the radius they are attached to. After retrieving any additional slaves so located, escort everyone out of the city. Inform them they have been freed by the goddess Jade Agni and her friends. They may be provided with enough funding to last a few months if they desire to leave outright; if not, they may become new members of your kingdom. Warn them that building new homes for them will take a few days and reassure them that their lack of funds will not be an issue. Set up temporary shelters and distribute essentials.

"Leave those who stay with two Seekers, one Predator, and at least two hundred Parasites for protection. While planetary mapping is ongoing, adjust the 'pokeball' to be able to safely carry more than one individual at a time. Place Nanoha in the Stalker's cockpit while you and Sidhe travel in the sphere. Travel to whatever location I deem suitable for a new kingdom and drop off fabricators, materials, drones, and a handful of combat droids, including those which can be repurposed to assist in construction. Once their new home is suitable impressive, transport the former slaves over in groups of five via the Stalker and sphere. Switch to groups of thirteen once an improved version of the sphere is completed. Change landing location based on the time of day so as to maximize psychological impact on new arrivals."

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I kinda want to answer with this.

[X] Sapient_Ham