[OUTDATED] Lawston's RP Canon Purgatory

[Pikabo]

***PLEASE READ***
The contents of this thread are "canon-to-be." NOTHING here is canon until I put them in a factbook, RP, or any other IC thread.​

Hello! I'm Pikabo and I roleplay the nations of Lawston and Zhen. They both share the same continent, Iteria, in the world of Eras. But this thread only concerns Lawston.

I've decided, since I accumulated a lot of worldbuilding for RP nation Lawston, it's time for me to sum it all up and synthesize all of it into more meaningful content.

This is my first time to RP a country and I am keen on exploring the many different aspects that make up the Nation-state. All of us have RL experience of living in a country, but we only have one perspective to count the many different experiences other people encounter every day. We, surely most of us, live in countries where there are millions of people so the prospect seems daunting. But, after spending some time in Eras RP, I realized you only need worldbuilding that counts.

Now, in order for me to synthesize what I worldbuilt so far, I've got to analyze and determine which would fit Lawston best. And the best way to do this is to type it down and rationalize.

So this thread will start with this:

NOTE: Map no longer accurate. Particularly, the distribution of territory in the panhandle region.​

1. Two peoples, geographically the same, yet forever divided by custom and foreigners.

Spoiler: "1957 movie Badjao"

[Foreword]
This is the story of the Badjaos
A pagan tribe that roams the seas
Deep to the south of the Philippines
They live upon the sea
And find refuge in its vastness.
It is also the story of the Tausugs
The proud and fearless race of Moros
Who live upon the land...
Here are two peoples
Geographically the same
And yet forever to be divided
By custom and by faith
This is a moment...
In the ever-changing present
An unchangeable moment
That today joins the past.
[Postscript]
Is it one race
Or faith
That divides us?
What can unite us
The right to build a future
Free
Together
Whether Muslim, Christian,
Brown or White.

Hassan, the son of a tribe chief of the Badjao's, a pagan, sea-dwelling Filipino tribe, meets and falls for Bala-amai, the niece of the chief of the Moros, an Islamic, land-dwelling tribe. Although the Hassan is willing to give up his lifestyle for Bala-amai and vice versa, the Moros plot to break up the union of the happy couple.

When I first came here in TNP, I came with an intention to join as an English-speaking country. I wanted to try and RP a European nation. But, because of rules against RPers who want to worldbuild colonial histories, I had to wait. And because I didn't know Syrixia, I chose the RP nation as the conquistadors of Lawston with blind eyes. Then I later found out English was called Mercanti, Syrixia was "If India and the British Empire switched places" (That's mildly putting it than accurate...sorry Syr! ).

The rest was up to me and I, after posting my first RP post, realized I didn't want to change anything I already wrote so far at the time. I realized I wanted to challenge the bounds of creativity and see what RPing a country is all about. So Lawston is a Tagalog-based nation colonized by the Syrixian Empire.

So what does this historical Romeo-&-Juliet-esque movie Badjao have to do with Lawston?

Well, I stumbled upon this recently when I did some reading to prepare myself for RPing a Tagalog nation. I know it might seem odd for someone roleplaying to go to such lengths, but RPing countries depend on worldbuilding so I know it's not too weird.

When I read the movie summary, and the opening and ending text, it reminded me of the two races that make up Lawston. There's the Tagalog-based people I named the Lasakits, Ano'ans who originated from South Iteria. Then there's the Lapu-Lapu people, Hailakaids who originated from the early Astragonese people when they first arrived in West Iteria. But the problem with how I worldbuilt them, so far, is how there is no conflict between them whatsoever, at least in precolonial up to the colonial eras.

The first time they started seeing differently was after Lawston became a nation in 1925. Under Syrixian rule, the two peoples were supposedly treated and protected equally. The Lasakits were written as a very traditional and reclusive people, seeing foreign influences as threats to their way of life. They live deeper inland in Lawston proper (Not to be confused with The Inlands, Lawston's panhandle). They are communal and, although they traded with outsiders, they make sure they understand they don't belong there. What happened in 1925 and afterwards is another story though.

The Lapu-Lapus are more interactive, as people who settled near the coast. They were traders, merchants, and explorers. They welcomed foreign traders and visitors with open arms in their ambitions to gain power through wealth and fortune, thus it became the dynamics of their maritime, mercantile, and materialistic society. They were the ones who first met the Kianese Empire when their traders arrived and gave Lawston the origin of its Mercanti name. And again, in 1642, when the Syrixians arrived.

With these vastly different and conflicting lifestyles (not to mention the colors of their skin...Lasakit would be white, or at least whiter, and the Lapu-Lapu would be black), there was surely some rough elbowing that occurred during precolonial times. One for their xenophilia and the other for their xenophobia. The only thing that ties them together is their common religious belief, "Diwanism." It is a pantheon of animistic Gods, mostly centered around agriculture (bigger yields, healthier soil) and luck (fortune, wealth). I believe I established a centralized authority for this religion, but that will have to be explained separately.

So the Lasakits and the Lapu-Lapus are like the Badjao and the Moros. But without religion playing a too significant role in dividing them (I imagine they'd be going back and forth between the best and worst gods). Instead, it is their way of life and relationship with the foreign visitors/invaders.

As a result of their materialism and encounters with foreigners, they'd be able to learn more about the world outside and consider ideas they never thought about before. Thus, the Lapu-Lapu valued their freedoms, put a price on knowledge, and saw their capabilities are important to enhance the individual.

The Lasakits, spiteful of the prosperous Lapu-Lapu people, were often very physical in expressing it and openly fought with their traders whenever they got the chance. Even though they depended on trade with them, they were very crass and careless about keeping up a good image. The family was the center of Lasakit society. They formed the tribes (Most likely led to incest; banned in modern times). As a communal and traditional society, the Lasakit saw it more important than wealth gain or acquiring new knowledge.

Some of the ideas brought by foreigners weren't all completely rejected. Astragonese and other Iterian visitors were welcomed, at least more decent than they treat the Lapu-Lapu if not too warm a reception. But among the Iterians, the Astragonese were favored by the Lasakit. Encouraged by the integral nature of family in Lasakit society, the idea of autocracy and authoritarian rule became a basis for Lasakit way of life. They were inspired by the caste system in neighboring Astragon.

Perhaps when there were points in time when efforts were made to reconcile differences between the Lasakit and the Lapu-Lapu peoples, there were forces behind the scene that actively hindered and prevented any kind of intimate cordiality that would allow the two cultures to openly interact with each other. Involving betrayal and the sort, this would have resulted in all-out wars and much bloodshed.

So if these divide them, then what can unite them? The right to build a future... Free... Together. The only answer (what is available atm), unlike the power of love as seen in the movie, is none other than Colonization with Syrixian characteristics.

Syrixia, as the namesake RPer also described the gallant RP nation, is xenophilic. They would've led the effort to finally reconcile and unite the two peoples in Lawston. Apart from the Syrixian settlers, their polytheistic religion "Rakanism" would have fit right in. As a colonial ruler, Syrixia (at least to Lawston) was more benevolent and fairer (if not completely) in contrast to RL examples of colonizers. The Syrixians also planted the seeds of democracy and liberty in the State Reform Acts of 1870, an innovation by reformist Emperor Samprati IV (Although Lawston took much inspiration from the Saintonian Declaration of Rights and the Goyanean Constitution).

So, I guess, thanks Syr???

 

[Syrixia]

Jokes aside: amazing writing! More people should share the thought process behind their nations like this.

 

[Pikabo]

Jokes aside: amazing writing! More people should share the thought process behind their nations like this.

Thanks Syr! I am glad you appreciate it.

I actually enjoyed doing this instead of the usual information dump. I can't have random info just lying around in the Discord server. It's more problematic for someone like me who easily forgets.

After doing Zhen's vote in The Commonwealth, I hope to post another one tomorrow to do the next batch of info. I have a long list of "Noted" waiting to be searched and reviewed on Discord.

 

[Pikabo]

2. Divide and Conquer, and Back, To Do it All Over Again

Colonization with Syrixian characteristics might've been the enabler, the conduit that allowed two peoples to bridge their differences and unite for the sake of their common home, but not for reasons one might think. In countries that were former colonies, if there's one thing the natives don't like, it's certainly their colonizers. But the question with Syrixia here is not "Was he a good master?" and more like, two of them, "Was the Syrixian way of life acceptable to the Lawstonian natives?" and "Who was their favorite?"

On the first question, it's one thing for foreigners to love people in another country and appreciate their culture. So it's another thing when foreigners go and live there with those people in their own country, a country these foreigners were never born in. Even if you know more about their country, that doesn't make you an automatic native. At the end of the day, other than laws, there are natural prerogatives which only belong to a certain group of people. Sadly, not everyone can be a Korean or a Japanese citizen.

So, I think it is clear where I'm going with this. What happens to the Syrixian settlers who came to live in Lawston?

It is already established that the Lapu-Lapu people, much accessible and available for foreign interaction, would have been more welcoming of Syrixians and they would have easily assimilated under Syrixian rule. But there's no guarantee it has been smooth sailing from there, even right at the beginning before the ship sailed. The British Empire, though merciful and cooperative with native cultures, notably the Sikhs and the Maori people, doesn't mean they get the Xenophilic Badge of Colonial History.

Through thick and thin, there will always be too much or too less. There is still prejudice and, I believe it is very conceivable, that there is a certain degree of wariness among the Syrixians when it comes to the Lapu-Lapus, especially when Syrixians first met them in their arrival in 1642. The main reason for this is because the Lapu-Lapu people descended from their infamous neighbors, the Astragonese people. They look like them, sound like them (if they do not speak their language), and the Syrixians must've met the Astragonese by then. By virtue of such a meeting, the Syrixians would've been very familiar as to why the Astragonese don't usually like foreigners, especially those who are trying to establish a settlement nearby.

It is important to note Astragon is a very old country in contrast to Lawston, which only became an actual country in 1925. The people of Astragon have a very deep sense of pride in their independence and the fact they have never been colonized. They even have an ideology in modern times which promotes Iteria for Iterians called "Pan-Iterianism," which reflects on the Astragonese ideal. The sort of RL ideal we'd see in Thailand, but more aggressive and massive, if not extreme. Astragon would later go on to establish one of Iteria's largest empires that would span the eastern portion of Lawston and the entirety of Fuss, Lawston's northern neighbor.

Back to Syrixians and the Lapu-Lapus, the latter would've taken offense from that kind of judgement, and that's just the beginning. They'd surely find the Syrixian way of life strange and some would just get stuck on the Lapu-Lapus, even if they're smiling. And if many of these strange customs persist, increase, and spread throughout the land, the Lapu-Lapus would've eventually got used to it but with greeted teeth, still smiling.

But apparently, it's easy for the Lapu-Lapus to accept because they find it worth their while. Literally. Some of them might even say it's "driving a hard bargain." After all, for the Lapu-Lapus, the origin of Lawston's cultural stinginess, is perfectly described with this joke from the Lasakits: "Take out your copper and you'll summon a sniffing Lawstonian merchant." If the Syrixians paid to stay, the Lapu-Lapus would even allow them to take their land, and that's most likely what happened in the early years of Syrixian colonization. Ancestral rights in exchange for one good deal.

The Lasakits in this part have something to do with the next question so this'll be brief: The Syrixians will run back to the coast because the Lasakits aren't going to take their shit, no matter how kind they sound or how much wealth they offer. They got too much pride in their minds, hearts, and hands overflowing with rage when they heard about Syrixians settling nearby. Forget about being a good master or an acceptable way of life, the Lasakit people would not think before they attack in order to cleanse the land of these "squatters" and "intruders."

The Syrixians probably tried to understand them and respected their distance, but of course not every can be a Syrixian saint and there were definitely some fights. It would have come to a limit as well. The Lasakits, being the sort who'd push anyone off the edge, might've provoked conflict with the Syrixians. But since I don't know the full extent of Syrixian reaction, I think Syr the RPer would be the best person to answer this.

Now onto the second question: "Who is their favorite?"

Syrixians would have no problems settling where the Lapu-Lapu people are, but it's the Lasakit they would most likely avoid. At a first meeting with any new foreigner, the Lasakit would feel threatened. Some unknown people from some unknown country coming to their doorstep isn't good news, and granted not even bad news, but they've been putting up with the Lapu-Lapu dealings and to know that some of those people might stay might put them a little over the edge. In this situation, however, they're not the ones who'll be jumping.

The Lasakit will never cave in and most certainly will fight to the death in defense of their homeland. There's no way they'd accept it, much less an offer. It was from here I found it difficult to figure out how the Lasakit eventually folded into Syr's Imperial Trophy Case of Civilizations.

Then, in a conversation on Discord VC, I asked a question about it and found an answer:

The relationship between the Syrixians and the Lapu-Lapu people could be parallel to the RL relationship between the British Empire and the Sikh people.

This would have culminated when the Syrixians realized they needed friends in the land if they wanted to conquer it and who else could this be? The Lapu-Lapus, probably bitter and tired of Lasakit violence, expressed in their persistent stubbornness and pride, would have aligned themselves with the Syrixians if called upon and, if not, would have offered it in exchange for the "pacification" of the Lasakit people. Either way, it was inevitable for the Syrixians.

Syrixians would've put Lapu-Lapu people in distinguished positions in the colonial bureaucracy and hierarchy, exchanged favors with and made favorable business with them. But the Lasakits, although this would just make them feel ignored, which is good for them, actually felt more threatened. They would see this as an encroachment and clear intent of Syrixian colonization. With the Syrixian-Lapu-Lapu alliance, there's a strong implication of what enemy they are rallying up against.

The next step to this is very simple. Since the Lasakits are very autocratic, merit is based on inheritance and lineage. Leadership as well, and this is where the Syrixians can pull down the curtains on Lasakit resistance. If there's anything Robert California from The Office is right about, it's "All life is sex." It's power in the Lasakit mindset and it's their way to show dominance. That is why I'd propose a sort of royal marriage to subdue the Lasakit people.

If anyone would recall what I wrote in the OP post about a centralized authority in Diwanism, I decided to take a step further and make this authority an integral figure in Lasakit society. The Lasakit people would've had a sort of king or emperor, a divine unifying figure, but did not dictate their power. Their authority, instead, would be used by factions within the Lasakit elite to rule on their behalf.

The Syrixians would've either married one of their own, or Lapu-Lapu nobility, with the Lasakit king's heirs. This would have compelled the Lasakit people to accept Syrixian rule and protection. This could also help me explain the motivations behind the Lasakit people's conspiracy against their own king later on in Syrixian colonization, when they would massacre and exterminate members of the Lasakit royal family. That is another story for another post.

I estimated the Lawstonians of Syrixian descent would be around 15-20 million out of the 80 million population (19-20% of Lawstonians). Other ethnic populations will be determined later on.

Continuing, the divisions were never really healed and unity was only possible because the Syrixian colonial and socio-economic infrastructure would have forced them to interact together, more than they had in years of existence prior to colonization. In a way, the Syrixians needed them divided too. So as long as either side hated each other, they'd be forced to deal with the only ones who are on both sides. Whether Syrixian morals dictate against it or not, it doesn't matter. All of them: Syrixians, Lasakits, and Lapu-Lapus, have something against each other. All they have to do is work their way around it and, if necessary, through it, possibly with force.

As much as they don't realize, the real victim here are the Syrixians. They didn't know what they were dealing with and it'd be too late by the time they realized it, when Lawston became a proper Syrixian colony. This would also explain why Syrixians never considered a venture in The Inlands or deeper into this part of Iteria. With Astragon breathing down their necks and two people fighting in front of their faces, Syrixian colonial government in Lawston would most likely contemplate and advice against any further expansion. This makes sense because the Syrixians, non-violent colonizers, would easily be discouraged by such circumstances.

I'm suddenly reminded of when the British invaded Manila in 1762 and occupied it for only 20 months before they left in 1764. They realized the difficulties of conquering an archipelago. Although Lawston is not divided into many groups of islands, I'd imagine the rainforests and hills between plains and arable land would've made it difficult for travel. Not to mention the disunited groups on either indigenous side, debating for or against co-existence with the Syrixians.

Of course, Lapu-Lapu loyalties will run at an end. Like hotels and their guests: When the money tap runs dry, no matter how immaculate a guest is, the management will realize the guests have overstayed their welcome. In the early 20th Century, Syrixia found it was too expensive to maintain colonies any further (I think an economic crisis is involved too) and began the process of decolonization.

In its entirety, this divide and conquer mess repeats itself when Lawston becomes independent. Because of their historical prominence in colonial society, the Lapu-Lapus took leadership in the political class when the Syrixians left in 1925. And colonial laws that protected indigenous cultures and rights have been repealed. As a result, the Lapu-Lapus and who else composed the urban elite bought the ancestral lands of the Lasakit people, who were deceived to think of economic development when, in actuality, the urban elite simply wanted to carve out and expand their virtual fiefdoms. Some Lasakits abandoned their homes to move into cities, but not all of them can and many were left behind to become tenants under powerful and abusive landlords. But this covers another story I'll explain later on.

 

[Pikabo]

3.1 Aleman im Lawston: The Appetizer

Major changes to canon, such as the Hightonian colonization of Lawston, along with an upcoming map claim update, has convinced me that a lot of the things I've posted here (other than the names obviously) are considerably never going to be canon. While, of course, anything posted here isn't actually canon, I treat it as "canon-to-be."

Because of that, just to clarify, this thread isn't "Scraps of Worldbuilding: Lawston." NOTHING here is canon until I put them in a factbook, RP, or any other IC thread.

Well, at least I have the perfect origin for Lawston's name now...

Highton...Lawston...