The Empire Strikes Back - Part 3

[Damian0358]

((If I could compare this entire situation to something, I would compare it to filler arcs in anime whenever it catches up to the manga. I'm fine with it, but it does seem a bit, well, lazy.))

Most of the Gang had effectively surrendered themselves to their fate, with the Cecil Sisters holding back tears, Lavigne praying in her native tongue and Franco cursing himself, wishing that he had been asked to go to Aeteorea instead. Heraklides was the only one to join the defiant senators, but he too was quieted down. They felt the knives to their throats after being forced to kneel. Then, they heard someone speak before feeling a gust of wind. They were let go along with the other senators as the cultists tried to fire at the mystery person. The Gang looked up just in time to see the bullets being stopped mid-air, before the mystery person, who they noticed was with Theodora and some other lady, did what he did to Ignatieff to the Cultists, sending them careening off the roof. Even Heraklides was stupefied by what he was seeing!

They listened to the absurdity of what the mystery man, apparently called Wilhelm, had to say. Heraklides once again was the only one to question what the brown was going on, whilst the others were just thankful to be alive. However, before anything could be done, Wilhelm snapped his fingers, and everything was reverted back...

---

That morning

Arriving at the party, Franco Lazaratos introduced himself to those who approached him, though it seemed that most didn't really care for him, seeing as he was the only the main chargé d'affaires for Nestorius. Not wanting to do anything embarrassing, he filled a glass with grape juice instead of wine and began drinking from it, trying to appear as natural as he could. One senator began engaging with him, speaking of some sports athlete he didn't like like (though Franco thought that "Sportaflop" didn't sound very athletic). He just felt awkward.

It was during this conversation that some folks from the estate arrived fashionably late, those being the Cecil Sisters, Carys and Delyth, along with Eudokia Lavigne and Antiochos Heraklides, leaving Olena Zhuk and Nicolaos Alexidas to watch over the estate. Barely noticing their arrival after finishing his sports conversation, Franco just silently drank from his glass, seemingly unable to get rid of this awkward feeling he had. Delyth engaged one of the senators, one who had gotten a degree in linguistics. Soon being joined by her sister, they began discussing over the names for the position of head of government. As the discussion went on, several more senators, Lavigne, and Heraklides joined in.

The linguistically-taught senator suggested "prothypourge" as a reasonable name for such a position, though no one was sure how that name was spelt, with some thinking (including Franco, who was listening in out of boredom) it might be spelt "prothipourge". One senator suggested "demarch," which was quickly shut down for sounding too democratic. Heraklides suggested "hypate," whilst another senator suggested "kephale." Carys and Delyth suggested "huparch" and "eisarch" respectively, but the linguistically-taught senator commented on how silly those names sounded, something which everyone agreed with. Lavigne suggested "mesazon," and everyone began talking about her suggestion and how it fit reasonably well, before she revealed that it was the name for the position in Aeteorea. The senators in the conversation had a collective "huh," Heraklides scratched the back of his head in realization that he could've brought that up, the Cecil Sisters were giggling to themselves for not remembering, and Franco looked out of a window, having lost interest in the conversation after it had reached the point where everyone agreed on a name.

Soon, the small crowd dispersed and the Gang was left by themselves. They all felt something akin to Franco's awkwardness, but it was something they had been feeling since they awoke this morning. The sisters attributed it to having binge-read a series of books whose ending had caused them many tears last night, Lavigne attributed it to a sort of longing for home, as she hadn't seen her relatives in France in a long while, whilst Franco had almost completely forgotten about the feeling as a result of the awkwardness he felt. Heraklides, however, believed it was something from God himself, though he wasn't sure if anything bad was going to happen. Last time he felt like this, he recalled getting a call telling him that his father had recovered from an illness that had been ailing them for at least 3 months, whilst the time before that his pet bird was killed by hail. The Gang didn't even notice Theodora handing over preparations to Mara, or the mention of the Cult slightly before that.

They all went ahead to solve this feeling they felt. The Sisters engaged themselves with a pair of younger-looking senators, leading to the two chaps asking them to speak in their native Welsh for no reason in particular. Franco refilled his glass and wondered if he should indulge in some wine, thinking it might make him more willing to approach the senators, feeling as though that would be better than just waiting here by the window for someone to come and talk to him. Lavigne joined in another conversation being held between some senators, this time over one of them pitching their idea of getting into writing by doing a series of speculative fiction novels, adding her voice to those who suggested he go for it. Heraklides, meanwhile, decided to just wander a bit and check out the area - maybe someone will engage him.

---

In Aeteorea

Things continued as they did, as nothing major had happened today in terms of important events. It was a slow day for everyone there.

The only one who felt something was a bit amiss was little Timon. He felt a strange sense of déjà vu as he went to school.

 

[Idhrendur]

Michael Doukas watched the party. It was a boring one, yes, but there were worse things. The fear of being gunned down like his father was a constant companion, so boring was good. When Theodora handed over preparations to Mara, he was curious, but he trusted his minister of security to be effective. He silently gave a prayer of thanks for her branch of the family, and then for all the other loyal senators. They were a boon to the Empire, and his grandmother has been wise to make their role more formal. They were useful in bypassing the deadlock of the bureaucracy and the church. The bureaucracy was almost ready to be given some freedom, and the industrialization of the past century had weakened the church. Mayhaps some better institutions could be put in place in coming years. He'd have to ponder that over a pre-dinner smoke.

(( With any luck I should be able to get the next post up later this week or over this weekend. Then I'm thinking I'll write an interlude discussing caesaropapism and the Empire. Gotta learn more about caesaropapism first, though! ))

 

[Idhrendur]

1 July 1920

Senators,

Following your suggestions, We began a massive build-up of the navy in the Mediterranean. We have added the Adriatic Fleet, the Algeria Fleet, the Valencia Fleet, the Naples Fleet, the Suez Fleet, and the Azov Fleet. The latter two are still assembling.

When the Legions’ new field manual suggested improvements to the Empire’s fortifications, We expanded the existing upgrade program.

The field manual only addressed infantry tactics, so We tasked the Legions with finding new tactics for tanks and artillery.

After they organized the necessary committees, We tasked the Admiralty with upgrading the navies to use oil instead of coal.

And all this year We assembled air forces throughout the Empire.

However, all these military upgrades are costing the Empire dearly. We have money saved, but three years of this budget shortfall will leave Us needing to take loans to fund the Empire’s everyday operations.

In civilian affairs, the mine disaster of 1918 inspired Us to continue improving safety regulations. Our workers are as directly protected as can be.

However, ensuring workers have sufficient time to rest also helps ensure their safety.

In international news, Iran fell to Jacobin rebels last July.

And in Aquitaine, a separatist movement has caused a crisis. This movement is agitating for Le Midi to return to Our control. Great Britain has given Aquitaine their backing, and so far the other great powers are avoiding the crisis. Our people have only now stopped being haunted by the Great War, so We are wary about how this may end.

Finally, the archivists have finally considered some newspapers to be significant. As is usually the case, We are unsure just what they see in these particular papers, though We are enjoying Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poetry.

 

[zenphoenix]

A man outside the window sits on a pole, watching the Senate proceedings as Theodora speaks.

"It is good to hear there are still those being oppressed by the rebel scum who are not themselves rebel scum. We must give this movement our full support. It is clear that the people of Le Midi want to return to the fold of the Empire. We must support their interests, and if Aquitaine refuses to acknowledge this, we must force them to do so. Also, that man outside is getting quite annoying, don't you think?"

 

[Michaelangelo]

It is clear to me that these rebellions that tore our great Empire apart were nothing more than the scheme of a few dissidents who cared nothing for the people who benefited from our rule. Now it seems that there are those living amongst the rebels who have found themselves forced from the Empire's loving grasp and now wish nothing more than to once more be guided by the benevolent hand of our beloved Emperor. We must answer their call and liberate them from rebel control. It is the time to take back what is ours, for the benefit of all!

As for this matter of the horrendous budget deficit, perhaps if the lower classes paid their fair share of taxes we would not face such financial troubles. They do, after all, benefit the most from the Empire's sprawling social programs. It seems only logical that they pay the brunt of its costs.

- Senator Donatello Favero

 

[Idhrendur]

(( For what it's worth, I'm rather annoyed by that crisis. The current borders were a near-perfect setup for HoI4, and there's no really plausible way to not get a chunk of Aquitaine. Grr!

Also, I dreamed someone new had signed up to join the AAR. Sadly, it was only a dream. ))

 

[Rabbit Burgher]

((
Also, I dreamed someone new had signed up to join the AAR. Sadly, it was only a dream. ))

((Well, you might be a prophet. I'm contemplating signing up. Got quite a bit of reading to do first, however))

 

[Idhrendur]

((Well, you might be a prophet. I'm contemplating signing up. Got quite a bit of reading to do first, however))

(( We'll be happy to have you! If you want to get up to speed quickly, you could start reading at the Time Of Troubles posts, then jump in while taking a more leasurely read through the full archives. ))

 

[Damian0358]

"Iran seems to have finally come to its senses. Hopefully those four years they have spent under communist rule will show just how terrible that ideology is in practice," Franco commented on the fall of the regime there. Reading about Hopkins, pole sitting and selective jukeboxes, he wondered what Nestor thinks about all that, considering he always seemed to be in the know regarding up and coming culture. Those thoughts were set aside when he read about Flanders-Wallonia, causing him to giggle in glee over the possibility of their government collapsing. As he giggled, he noticed the senators mentioning the situation in Aquitaine, and decided not to comment, considering everyone would be supporting those in Le Midi.

He did, however, decide to comment on the budget deficit; "Raising taxes on the lower classes could help in this regard, as Donatello has commented, but need we forget the revolts from just a decade earlier? If we raise taxes, we have to raise them on all the classes, as much as that would anger the upper class as well."

 

[Sir Dippingsauce]

(( For what it's worth, I'm rather annoyed by that crisis. The current borders were a near-perfect setup for HoI4, and there's no really plausible way to not get a chunk of Aquitaine. Grr!

Also, I dreamed someone new had signed up to join the AAR. Sadly, it was only a dream. ))

((If this was March you would have been right.))

((Well, you might be a prophet. I'm contemplating signing up. Got quite a bit of reading to do first, however))

((Well slap me down and call me a walrus, Idhrendur is Jesus.))

"Hmmm." The senators were arguing about taxes and Le Midi and such. Julius meanwhile, was preparing a new doctrine he liked to call 'Superior Firepower'. Expensive but incredibly effective.
"This would require massive amounts of industry, and the artillery demand would go up...."

 

[Idhrendur]

Emperor Michael glances outside.

Ah, he's one of them. You've no doubt heard of the man who fancies himself a new Saint Simeon Stylites. Well, he's inspired both followers and satirists. The man outside either thinks that by his asceticism he can lend us wisdom or is satirizing the pole sitters by indicating much the same. It is not easy to tell in the short term. If he's still here in a year, then he's the former. If not, the latter.

 

[Arcleae]

((Well i signed up to comment. does that count?))

 

[Idhrendur]

((Well i signed up to comment. does that count?))

(( Sure! ))

 

[Idhrendur]

((Well i signed up to comment. does that count?))

(( In other news, after consulting with a potential new member, I've decided to allow political parties to be changed. I don't trust Vic2 enough to add or remove parties, or add new ideologies, but if you want to rebrand a party, ask and I'll likely allow it. The Varangian Guards (fascists) are getting just such a facelift, into 'The Pars Imperium Aecus Romani Operarii' (Imperial Just Roman Worker's Party). I'll leave it to the new character to explain how the formative group for fascist thought in the Empire was supplanted by this new group.

Recall that right now, political parties aren't directly part of the Imperial government. They're (at least officially) just names for groups of like-minded people who happen to have political opinions. And the Senators aren't really involved with them. But that might change in the next several years…

As far as popular support goes, the Empire is about evenly split between Conservatives/Reactionaries, Liberals/Anarcho-Liberals, Socialists/Communists, and Fascists. ))

 

[Sir Dippingsauce]

(( In other news, after consulting with a potential new member, I've decided to allow political parties to be changed. I don't trust Vic2 enough to add or remove parties, or add new ideologies, but if you want to rebrand a party, ask and I'll likely allow it. The Varangian Guards (fascists) are getting just such a facelift, into 'The Pars Imperium Aecus Romani Operarii' (Imperial Just Roman Worker's Party). I'll leave it to the new character to explain how the formative group for fascist thought in the Empire was supplanted by this new group.

Recall that right now, political parties aren't directly part of the Imperial government. They're (at least officially) just names for groups of like-minded people who happen to have political opinions. And the Senators aren't really involved with them. But that might change in the next several years…

As far as popular support goes, the Empire is about evenly split between Conservatives/Reactionaries, Liberals/Anarcho-Liberals, Socialists/Communists, and Fascists. ))

((The liberals can be called The Unified Imperial Citizens!))

 

[Damian0358]

((The liberals can be called The Unified Imperial Citizens!))

((But which liberals? We have two liberal parties. Speaking of rebranding parties, perhaps ol' Miro Taior's political group has supplanted one of the liberal parties with its more progressive policies, such as their Romanitas full citizenship policy.))

 

[Rabbit Burgher]

Gaeta, Roman Italy.
"That disgraceful border, not far north of here, is a shameful sign that the barbarians have successfully struck the Empire in a way that should never be tolerated by true Romans" began the man standing on a recently raised scaffold in the town square. The small group of Romani vi Bonorum that now guarded the speaker had earlier tore down the posters of the other parties and prepared the Square for the special speech by the leader of the Pars Imperium Aecus Romani Operarii, Tiberius Julius Aurelius, by raising the scaffold and displaying the Imperial Eagle. With the vocal opposition having been cleared out of the area , the remaining crowd was listening intently to the Fascist speaker.

"The Roman Empire, the greatest and most prestigious nation to ever exist, has been pushed off its rightful place in the theatre of the world. Ever since the betrayal of Diocletian, ceding power to the Greeks, the empire has been on its way into decline. This effective declaration of support for those wanting to leave the empire directly caused the weakness allowing the first barbarian invasions and the lack of power that allowed the recent rebellions against the Empire".

"Most shameful of all, however, is the barbarian nation to the north of here that has seized control of the empire's ancient and true capital. This is the perfect symbolism of what the Greek rise has done to us. We have been torn from our Roman roots towards their limited and weak ways. Ways that will, in the fullness of time, be the permanent downfall of the empire. A fate that we are currently on course towards".

"But not all is lost! We, the Pars Imperium Aecus Romani Operarii, are the guides towards the salvation of the Empire! We will reclaim our lost territory and remove the barbarians! We shall unite the people of Rome into one nation and one culture! We will pursue the removal of the barbarian threat until the future of Rome is completely safeguarded"!

"Gens una, populo una e Vindicta!"


The Pars Imperium Aecus Romani Operarii

"Gens una, populo una e Vindicta!"
One Nation, One People and Revenge!

The Imperial Just Roman Workers' Party, is dedicated to the rebuilding of the Roman Empire and the establishment of a new Roman culture uniting the people. The party's roots are from the Romani vi Bonorum, the Roman Loyalist Force. Set up during the Time of Troubles the RvB waged a damaging but unsuccessful guerilla warfare campaign to oppose the Italian rebels. When the Empire made peace with the Italian government, the most radical members of the RvB relocated to southern Italy to create a political party to campaign for the rebuilding of the empire.

Tiberius Julius Aurelius, born Giovanni Romano, was one of the first members of the RvB. Like all members of the RvB, he had taken a Roman name upon his joining the RvB but held it far more important than many others. Quickly rising through the ranks, he was the Tribunus Laticlavius - the RvB ranks are modeled off of the ancient legions - when the peace was signed. Showing far more aptitude for politics than the Lagatus Legionis, Titus Salnonius Hirpinius, he was selected as the leader of the political party.

Currently the Legatus Legionis and the Partium Ducem are of equal power, but the general view among the party and RvB is shifting towards Tiberius instead of Titus.

Policies:
State Capitalism
Protectionism
Moralism
Residency
Jingoism




((If any of my Latin is off, please do correct me. I'm mostly getting it online so it might not be too good. If there are any details you'd like me to change, please do say. Finally, are you okay with my managing internal party politics (whilst it's still just me)? ))

 

[Rabbit Burgher]

Name: Tiberius Julius Aurelius (born Giovanni Romano)
Birth year: 1889
Birthplace: Rome
Home: Gaeta
Party Affiliation: Pars Imperium Aecus Romani Operarii
Bio: A member of the Romani vi Bonorum during the Time of Troubles, he quickly rose through the ranks. When the Loyalist group turned into a political party, he had gathered enough support to become the Partium Ducem.

 

[Idhrendur]

(( @Sancronis: That's perfect! And you can go right ahead and manage the party internals.

As for the liberals, the Foiderátoi have a senator as member (Theodora Anna Doukas), so won't change without his permission. I could see Miro Taior's party being folded into the Foiderátoi and influencing some of their policies. If @zenphoenix sees them as changing, you two can hash out the details and I'll make the edits.

I'd want more details on the Unified Imperial Citizens before incorporating them. What are their views (both in-game and in general)? Which party would they supplant, and how did they grow to do so?

In-game edits have been made, and the listings in the first few posts as well. Anyone care to double-check them?))

 

[zenphoenix]

(( @Sancronis: That's perfect! And you can go right ahead and manage the party internals.

As for the liberals, the Foiderátoi have a senator as member (Theodora Anna Doukas), so won't change without his permission. I could see Miro Taior's party being folded into the Foiderátoi and influencing some of their policies. If @zenphoenix sees them as changing, you two can hash out the details and I'll make the edits.

I'd want more details on the Unified Imperial Citizens before incorporating them. What are their views (both in-game and in general)? Which party would they supplant, and how did they grow to do so?

In-game edits have been made, and the listings in the first few posts as well. Anyone care to double-check them?))

((Am I the only member of the Foideratoi? Didn't realize everybody else had left. I guess that gives me a good opportunity to change a few things before agreeing to a merger. If it's okay with everybody I'll write up an explanation for the Unified Imperial Citizens, or as I would like to call it...))


Komma Romanitas Autokratorikos (Imperial Romanitas Party)

Ideology: Social Liberal (liberal in-game, not socialist)

Platform:
Interventionism
Free Trade
Pluralism
Full Citizenship
Pro-Military

Chairman: Theodora Anna Doukas

Seeing the awkward situation the Foideratoi was in, Theodora decided to do something about it. After some negotiations with Julius Marco and Miro Taior, the three agreed to combine their factions into one; the Koinonikistai, which had been purged by the communist invaders during the attack on Constantinople, joined in later. As the name "Unified Imperial Citizens" didn't sound appropriate, she decided on the name Komma Romanitas Autokatorikos, which adequately summarized the new party's platform. The KRA upholds the ideals of Romanitas and full citizenship for all Romans. It supports Orthodox Christianity as the state religion of the Empire, but it recognizes and respects freedom of religious practice. The KRA is a proponent of free trade and interventionism when it comes to the economy and favors expanding the civil service along meritocratic lines to allow the common people more ability to participate in the government, though it fiercely defends the rights of the monarchy and the nobility as well. When it comes to passing legislation, the KRA will not hesitate to defend workers' and peoples' rights, though usually will try to first find compromises with the nobility, the monarchy, and the church. Membership is free and does not require anything other than a strong devotion to the Empire and its ideals.

((This political party is comprised of the merging of the Foideratoi, the XKM (as it has no player members), and Miro Taior's faction. Would it also be okay to merge the KRA with the Koinonikistai as well, seeing as it also has no members?))