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| Cetatsenia-Demoness Meeting | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 18 2013, 07:41 PM (8,316 Views) | |
| Cetatsenia | Nov 18 2013, 07:41 PM Post #1 |
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If one was to take a place from the nation of Demoness to Cetatsenia, one would most likely see the dichotomy that the nation was rather known for. In the southern parts of the nation one would notice the highlands, heavily forested and almost untouched by man aside from the winding roads and the occasional town. But further north, the terrain would give away to the lowlands of the Centric Basin. This land was flat, and lacked the expansive forests, though there were smaller isolated forests. But the main difference one would notice would be the level of development, it was dominated by a large amount of farmland as the lowland soil was incredibly fertile, but there was also the occasional city, bustling with people. Albraustana-zid was one such city, and it was the primate city of Cetatsenia, the richest and most populous and most important of them all. It was built along both sides of the great Albastru River that ran through much of Cetatsenia, though most of it was on the southern bank of the river. This was because of the simple fact that Albraustana-zid had begun life as three separate forts and settlements built along the river. Albrau and Stana had been built on the Southern bank, and over time had grown together until they were finally united into Albraustana. And while Zid would eventually become part of the greater whole, for a long time it was simply considered a city separated from the capital only by the river. Since it had grown organically over the numerous years, and had once been three separate cities, the streets and roads had a habit of being winding and could be complicated to navigate for those unfamiliar with them who had no map. Though the roads had over time been widened and revamped in order to accommodate cars, and the newest sections of the city on the outskirts actually had a gridded street plan. As it was the middle of the day, the streets were currently filled with cars and buses, and the sidewalks filled with pedestrians, while the newest addition to the city's transportation network, the subway system, ran below the streets. While there was a number of attractions in the city, such as the museums and baths, one of the most prominent is the Palatul Regal, the Royal Palace. The site of the original settlement of Albrau and lying atop a hill, it has been torn down or otherwise destroyed and then subsequently rebuilt several times throughout history. The most recent being the ascension of Ioan I to the throne of Cetatsenia, though it has been renovated and updated since then. The Palace itself is surrounded by a wall that rings the entirety of the hill, with only a single gate leading up to it. The wall is patrolled by a special corps of Cetatsenian soldiers, easily identified by their bright blue ceremonial uniforms and ornate, pointed helmets. After that, a road lead up to the palace proper, an expansive building with a stone exterior that shared more in common with a medieval castle than what one thinks of when they hear the word 'palace'. It was home to a fair number of servants, as well as the guardsmen, and a small number of government officials. Most of those lived out in the city, and worked in their own buildings. It was absolutely huge, and in front of it was an expansive pool of water. Overall, it was an impressive sight that could be seen from a good portion of the city. At the moment, however, Voivode Gavril IV Suveraneshti was not at his home in the palace. Rather he was at the airport, which had been cleared of any citizens besides him, the guards arrayed with him, and those who worked there; all flights to this airport had either been delayed or rerouted to other nearby airports. Today was an important day, as this was the decided upon day of Jia Li's visit to Cetatsenia. As two nations whose relationship could be accurately described as "mutually neutral", this was a rather important meeting, and Gavril did not want to mess anything up. So he stood alongside his older sister Andreea, the Steward of Cetatsenia, in the airport, ready to head out onto the tarmac to greet the Empress as soon as her plane set down. Edited by Cetatsenia, Apr 22 2014, 09:58 PM.
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| Cetatsenia | Dec 10 2013, 09:16 PM Post #201 |
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Gavrila tilted her head, and a conflicted expression came across her face. "I am not sure how exactly to feel about zat," she said, "I know my views are tinted by ze fact zat I am Cetatsen, but marriage is supposed to be a lifelong commitment. But it does not always work out, so divorce is necessary; not to mention zat zere is nozing shameful about sex." She put her hand to her chin in thought for a few moments before reiterating, "I am very conflicted." "I am curious, but how exactly does one criminalize, uh, sex?" Gavril asked, "Or did you just mean extramarital sex?" |
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| Demoness | Dec 10 2013, 09:45 PM Post #202 |
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"In general. Prostitution, among other things, had been legal prior to Oriana - Ah! Her reforms happened in the late twelfth century - but excessive sex, even in marriage, was frowned upon. Sex was controlled," Jia Li answered. "Or at least she attempted to control it. The Morikubi and Morikarans refused to adopt her viewpoints, especially since they directly conflicted with their family systems." She tilted her head and faced Gavrila. "If I stay with Xel because I am legally tied to him, how does he know I truly love him? If I can leave him at any time, but I choose to remain by his side, then we are truly committed," she said. "Besides, that indirectly discriminated against homosexual females. How are they supposed to have children if they can't have sex outside of 'marriage'?" It was a valid question, especially considering Demoness' most public gay couple - Dames Sachiko Ruadha and Kimera Kobannaiha - each bore children, though the paternity had been kept secret. |
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| Cetatsenia | Dec 10 2013, 09:53 PM Post #203 |
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"Zat is why I said divorce should be an option, so you can just divorce him if you did not love him. And if he cannot tell if you love him just because you are legally bound togezer zan zere is somezing wrong," Gavrila explained, "But I suppose you do have a point about lesbians, I do not zink adoption was very common back zen. It is not an issue we ever had in Cetatsenia, due to ze shunning of homosexuality. And it is a non-issue today zanks to sperm donations and such." The Gavrila stopped and thought for a moment before looking back to Jia Li. "Zere are sperm banks in Demoness, right?" she asked. It was an honest question; she didn't know if they approved of something like that. She saw no reason they wouldn't, but it was still a valid question. |
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| Demoness | Dec 10 2013, 10:11 PM Post #204 |
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Jia Li shifted uncomfortably. "Probably," she answered honestly, "but they are not legal, so they're probably advertised under other things. There was legislation many years ago outlawing anything that dealt with human fetuses and stem cells. I believe that falls underneath that." Xel raised his eyebrow in surprise; again, he'd assumed she didn't know certain illegal activity was occurring within her borders while he did. Genetic manipulation was not illegal, but Demonessians believed life began at conception, so any process that interfered with that - even in vitro fertilization - was not outlawed. That didn't mean it still didn't happen though. |
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| Cetatsenia | Dec 10 2013, 10:18 PM Post #205 |
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"I do not- I mean, why?" Gavrila asked, confused and genuinely curious, "Certainly that would be more comfortable for a lesbian who wishes to have a child zan having se wiz someone zey do not really want to. At least, I zink so." At this point Gavril and Andreea just stood back and listened to the conversation unfold. They didn't really have anything to add, and it was more like Gavrila to challenge and ask questions about the cultural practices of others. Gavril was more likely to just accept it as different unless he felt strongly about a topic, or the other person seemed to want to have a conversation. While Andreea wouldn't say anything in order to be polite and professional. |
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| Demoness | Dec 10 2013, 10:38 PM Post #206 |
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Jia Li looked to Xel, who shrugged. There were several ways to answer the question. She could point out the default sexuality of Demoness as being bisexual or that Kimera and Sachiko had managed to conceive without a sperm bank. She could even explain the complexity of Morikubi family relations, which did not concern itself with paternity, but all of it came down to religious reasons. "Complexity," she replied finally. "Our religious belief is that life begins at conception. That's why abortion is also outlawed. Fertility treatments are frowned upon because with the Goddess' will. So anything that interferes with natural reproduction was outlawed." |
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| Cetatsenia | Dec 10 2013, 10:47 PM Post #207 |
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"And what about people zat do not follow your religion?" Gavrila asked, "Zere are religious minorities in Demoness, right? What right does a government have to impose religious laws on people who do not follow zeir religion?" "Gavrila," Gavril said, his tone warning his cousin to stop. Now they were getting into what could possibly sensitive territory. Considering the fact that Demoness was theocratic, unlike the secular Cetatsenia, religion was a perfectly valid basis for their laws. At least to them. Gavril would disagree, but that didn't matter as he respected other nation's sovereignty and right to make their own laws; provided they weren't against basic human rights. But these laws weren't, and so it was none of his business, even if he disagreed with outlawing abortion. Then Gavrila turned to her cousin. "No. I want an answer," she said, and then turned back to Jia Li. |
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| Demoness | Dec 10 2013, 11:00 PM Post #208 |
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"They live in our country, so they agreed to follow our rules," Jia Li replied. "There is a secular set of rules, like traffic laws, that we believe do not pertain directly to our religion, but we expect people to follow." |
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| Cetatsenia | Dec 10 2013, 11:09 PM Post #209 |
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Gavrila stared at Jia Li for a long moment before shrugging and saying, "Fair enough I guess." She didn't bother asking about religious minorities that may be too poor to move out of Demoness even if they wanted to. She may not be the most agreeable person sometimes, but when Gavril wanted her to stop doing something the least she could do was not press the matter further than necessary. Even if she still thought that religion wasn't a good way to make laws. Though Gavril did have another question before they continued on. "You mentioned zat ze reforms zat created Orzodox Morante happened in ze twelfz century, correct? How were you able to get anyone to go back to ze former way of ze faiz? Was opposition to it so strong zat zere were still people willing to follow it even centuries later?" "Yeah, I was wondering zat too, now zat you mention it," Gavrila said, "Zat's an entire century before our country even came into existence." |
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| Demoness | Dec 10 2013, 11:23 PM Post #210 |
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Jia Li nodded. "There's still resistance either way. In the country, honestly, they don't care what the official religion is as long as the rituals are observed - that's actually the way with a lot of the religion - so we had support from that angle. There were also the Morikubi, Morikarans, and actually, some of the Ruadhans who were behind it. Many of the festivals were still celebrated, but we put the meaning back into some of them, and included the Courting and Mating Dances. The Council of Twelve also supports my decision and we are the authority, but I will admit that it has been difficult. There is definitely a rift that I need to close." |
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