VIDEO: @LOKIOFASGARD (with @beloved)

[selfimage]

Well, hello!

[ it's Loki, decked out in his civvies, green hoodie and fingerless gloves, working his magitek like he's trying to take a selfie. behind him is the backdrop of the middle levels, dimly lit in the dreary evening. there's a flash of a half smile to Team Ophelia, and when he speaks again it's in a wistful, casual tone. ]

It seems that we've landed ourselves a doozy, hm? The poor souls in Rost are are ready for a little revolution, but haven't a solid plan for the rest. [ he makes vague, spread-finger gesture, and his expression says that he's excited about the prospect of an uprooting. ] But like every ready and willing revolution, there should—hm, well ... probably be some longer term changes following it, right?

It's not exactly in the mission specs, which is wringing out the corruption and all ... nor is solidity my specialty, buu-uu-ut!

[ the camera angle changes, as Ahad reaches into the frame and adjusts Loki's arm. they've managed to squish together so that they're both easily viewable, from Loki's magitek. ]

But it would be irresponsible, to leave without ensuring that they have a plan for for governance post-mission. While the ultimate solution should be left up to the people of Drakstaden, [ he says, as if this is a foregone conclusion that requires no debate, ] perhaps we could offer suggestions? What has been successful, in your own worlds?

[ Loki's head is half obscured by the video while he changes the angle to put a pair of wiggly rabbit ears behind Ahad's head. ] That means the suggestion box is open! Let's get a team effort, hm?


[ Note: there will be Loki & Ahad out! they might be nosy in eachother's threads. feel free to thread hop if that's a thing you wanna do!! we encourage it. ]

Comments

video; @eraserhead

[eyedrop]

An election. They can make their own decisions.

[dailydouble]

[ It's very difficult for him to resist rolling his eyes here. ]

An election is not a form of government.

[selfimage]

Yes—well, it's a possibility, isn't it? But if that's the case, we should most likely try to ensure that no one wiggles up the power ladder again, hm?

[ there's a little puff of a sigh. ]

There are ways to rig elections. Lots of ways.

video; @emperor

[assimilative]

Perhaps there is someone fit to rule among the rebels. If they have the wherewithal to start this revolution, they should have the wherewithal to carry on afterwards.

[dailydouble]

How would such a ruler be selected?

[selfimage]

Someone or someones might not be a bad suggestion. At least one to have a voice and ensure that things don't remain the same.

video | un: RHY5-W1NZ

[dbag]

Well, where I'm from, if you kill somebody, you usually get their job. Soooooooo...

[dailydouble]

Has that worked well, for your people?

[ His tone is very dry, as if he's anticipating the answer to his question. ]

audio; un: aloy

[datapoint]

Shouldn't they be involved in this conversation?

[selfimage]

They seem a tad preoccupied with all of their blueprints. Some framework might help.

Out of ideas already?

UN: urahara

[predomination]

I agree that an election would be the most straightforward way to keep the groundwork but start fresh, but we would have to make sure that the most corrupt individuals were taken out completely.

As difficult as it might seem, we have to uproot the diseased tree before any hope of new seeds can be sown. Preferably in a way less extreme than what Rost wants ito do...

[selfimage]

Elections can be corrupted, even when the corruption is purged. We'll have to think forward to suggest that they don't trade one for another, if you get my drift.

[ there's a puff. ]

There's also the instance of just how many to elect ...

voice, @Vistoso

[cyberware]

Oh, let them pick their own poison. No system is ever flawless, and I certainly don't want to be responsible for installing a subpar solution.

[selfimage]

Less of responsibility, more like suggestion, really ...

Purging the corruption seems straight forward until you add the planless rebuilding to the mix. If they fall into the same pattern, well, no one can say we didn't try.

audio | un: ciri

[persists]

We find someone who will make this land prosper. To ensure the voices of the small and overlooked finally become heard. These are no slums, these are rungs of a broken ladder with no destination.

[ She's quite for a moment, thinking. Sorry, the whole election thing is super lost on her and fantasyland. ]

Someone with political instincts and common decency. It's a bit harder to find that anywhere, sadly. We were brought here to do a job, might as well do it right.

[dailydouble]

Must it be only one ruler? What are your feelings on a council?

@eli

[vanto]

Agreed, there is no point in exchanging one dictatorship for another.

You'd probably require a system to ensure the legitimacy of the votes, an understanding that the losing party are not to try and seize power by force.

[dailydouble]

Parties, even. The more elements of society that are represented, the less likely they are to run into the same problems.

audio; un: inuyasha

[boxedcrook]

Geez. Just let 'em fight to the death. That's how it's turning out anyway.

Like last time. Or are all of you gonna make everybody get married, too?

[dailydouble]

I suppose that everyone dying would end the corruption here.

[ Is that sarcasm? It seems likely. ]

video; un: ren

[sololoquy]

It is useless to discuss this until we discover what allowed the current minister to come into power in the first place.

[Everyone knew he was going to say something eventually.]

Democracy is all well and good until democracy fails, as it as here.

[PS: according to the book of Snoke, democracy sucks.]

audio; un: aloy

[datapoint]

Kylo Ren. What is democracy? [Since everybody's talking about it and she knows u.]

Video | un: sieglindesullivan

[grunehexe]

Look at you two.

[She certainly is.]

[selfimage]

[ then



he sticks his tongue out at her. ]

video; un: kovacs

[interior]

I'd suggest we look at their world. Not ours.

[selfimage]

We're strangers in a new world—our suggestions are worth their weight in the box, I want to make that clear.

But a hint of self-awareness is appreciated.

video; @keith

[secondnature]

Is it the system that's the problem, or the people who decided to take power?

[After learning about Lotor's vision for the future, Keith can't ignore the fact that this is the way his team is going.

His team that he's not a part of.

But ... an election is right, isn't it? Shouldn't it be decided that way?]

[deemed]

It tends to be the people.

[In his experience, good people made all the difference.]

video; @9S

[bestaround]

Would it change matters up that much depending on what type of government they decide on? [ This is a genuine question; 9S only has the faintest ideas of how these work. ] I kinda assumed Rost knew what they were doing if they've already put this much work into it.

voice; @cyclops

[evenslimmer]

It does, yeah. Some forms of government are more representational than others— the people have more say in who's leading them and more power to replace their leaders. As opposed to some kind of leader-for-life they didn't choose, or once chose but now can't institutionally uproot. And some governments are less flexible to change and more easily exploited by a small number of people for their personal benefit.

@avatarkorra | video

[temperedavatar]

[Korra's been thinking a lot about the politics here. Even if this isn't her world, it's hard not to shake that Avatar-role of 'I represent all nations' mentality. She may not be a fan of politics, but she knows there is no avoiding it in this case.

So, have a young woman sitting on her bed in the hotel, joining the "discussion"]

We have Rost's point of view and then obviously the government currently in charge. But do we know what kind of government the majority of the people might want? I have a feeling it's going to be just as difficult for the average citizen to accept a group like Rost taking charge.

I'm not sure how we could find that out though...from the average citizen I mean.

[dailydouble]

No one will speak about it, as it stands now. There's too much fear of the current government.

video; @p.d.

[followhim]

I've been thinking about this. If we could target someone and take them out, that'd be one way to do things. Rost doesn't have the capability or the skills for that, but some of us do.

But we should have someone else lined up first. Maybe if we spent more time scoping things out, we could come up with persons of interest to put at the head. Just some thoughts.

[dailydouble]

Is it wise to perpetuate the same system? If that is what you're suggesting?

voice; @cyclops

[evenslimmer]

If it's the people in charge and not the system they most object to, then I'm sure they have their own ideas about who they would want in replacement. In which case, we should make it possible for them to have an open dialogue about that and break the surveillance and propaganda stranglehold.

If it's the system specifically, then right now it's not clear to me whether or not they're maintaining power because of blackmail, resource disparity and strength of personality, and/or how much they've changed law and customs to maintain control. It's important to know how much their government still possesses the institutional mechanisms to oust unwanted leadership, and if they could function if we could hand the remaining players with integrity sufficient information and space to get the process moving. I'm in favor of checks and balances, but I admit it's not a perfect solution either.

un: urahara

[predomination]

Considering the dossier says we're meant to deal with the corrupt officials and leave it alone, we may have to just place it in their hands, but I'm not comfortable leaving that entirely up to Rost. My, my... This is a situation. We have a lot of royalty among us, but not a lot of people familiar with this kind of government to weed through all that red tape.

video. @YUNA

[gunning]

Something like this happened where I'm from.. people were fed lies their whole life, and they really believed that those in power had their best interests at heart. But it was all a way to protect themselves, to further their own interests. But.. that's a hard pill to swallow, isn't it? Even with proof that they're being fooled, people will believe what they want to — what's most convenient — even if that means ignoring what's right in front of them. It's honestly a little scary. I was one of those people, too. [ it's hard remembering that time in her life. her tone is sober. ] Once things start to change, I think things will start to fragment. People will form their own groups, to represent their own ideals, and they'll naturally distrust anyone who tries to enact any kind of control or order.

I"m sorry. I know this isn't really helpful. I just thought.. maybe my experience could offer some perspective. I don't want to see anyone get hurt because our sloppiness. If only this were a situation where we could play the neutral party.

[selfimage]

[ he's not one to listen, but he does. stories about lies and truths—about lies becoming the truth, that's something that's in his nature as much as the revolutionary defiance. ]

Well—that's one step, isn't it? There has to be some level of self-awareness for how certain consequences interconnect.

We won't be able to leave here with a simple assassination.

[ "a simple one" he says. ]

voice: @tama

[tormado]

Proposing a wedding worked last time, can we try that again?

[dailydouble]

Who do you propose we marry?

[ He's not entirely serious, but he's willing to see how this plays out. ]

video; @shouto

[somelikeitcold]

The position of Prime Minister needs to be held accountable to others. If there's no checks on his power, things are liable to turn out this way again no matter whether we install a replacement or hold an election.

[Admittedly, he doesn't know a lot about politics, being only, you know, 15. But he also reads and pays attention in school, so.]

In Japan, we have a legislature and a court system in addition to a central executive authority.

...I also think we should find a way to disband the Vakdir. If they remain loyal to the current Prime Minister, they'll make trouble for whoever replaces them.

[dailydouble]

What would the Vakdir be replaced with? They do serve a function, even if they seem to do little now but abuse their power.

voice; un: merchling

[wyvil]

Are we sure they don't have a plan already? They could have one that they don't want to share with us. [Wylan, at least, really, really hopes they have a plan. Coming up with one for them seems like it could go wrong in too many ways.]

[selfimage]

Well, that would be preferable, wouldn't it?

Unfortunately, if they don't share it with us, we're left to our wiles to complete the mission. An objective sets a tone, rather than a nebulous idea of destroy corruption.