"What does it mean to be Kagomine? I don't know, I haven't been one very long..."
"What? But you lived in Lavali all your life!"
"Yeah, exactly. When you live in Lavali, everything is far away, and you're alone with the Mountains. It's not like Megamisama where people step on you merely because they're not looking where they're going!"
"Oh, yeah, that ain't happening a lot in Lavali? How come?"
"You mean, with two-hundred thousand people in lavali to Megamisama's seven million?"
"Oh."
"Yeah, bit of a difference there. Not that Lavali is alone in being a smaller city surrounded by larger ones, all the big cities are port cities in Kagomei. And Megamisama's not seven million, it's closer to twelve!"
"Ow, my head!"
"Well I don't 'live' in Megamisama, I live in Veneer, and spend time in Megamisama."
"How's that work?"
"I have duties, many duties, in Megamisama." Amarat's tone was grim.
"It's also where we met." Flora was hanging off his arm at this point.
"I had to endure navy school to meet you, can I call you my reward?"
"No, besides, we didn't meet at school, either, we met at my mother's promotion ceremonial after-party."
"Oh, yeah."
"My outfit wasn't all that, I'll grant you that."
"Actually, between that and the hair, there was no chance I'd not notice you."
"What?"
"You wore the only Academy jacket, so you were the only person guaranteed to be in my age group?"
"Ok."
"Sorry to interrupt, but going back, you said you live in Veneer?"
"Yes, I own property there."
"What's it like, really, what I hear about it is that its a pit of vipers, but any city this bad would just stop working..."
"It has it's perks, it's a walkable city, with varied architecture, very devoted to our casho team, the
Veneer Mirages, we've clashed with the Dunkehl Els more than any other team at this point. There's Opera, if you like that, live theatre, it's a coastal city, so there's lots to do along the coast, beaches, and the like." He paused. "None of that rings a bell?"
"Well, a little, Lavali has a casho team, the rest? No place in Lavalli is really easy to walk to, but we hardly have a choice, almost nothing else will work, we have song and dance shows with live music, too. But... I've seen snow, but never a beach. How silly is that?"
"We can fix that?"
"Don't you have to work?"
"Ah, but tomorrow is a bridge day!"
"Bridge day?"
"Yes, tomorrow is a holiday, and Vividay is an off day for government employees."
Naming Traditions
Native or naturalized: Amalthea, Prithyanka, Mikhala, Kira, Jaesa, Rumiko, Flora, Jima, Najima, Naflora, Ami, Rei, Shibué, Alezzia, Rylee, Nehanna, Shara, Reina, Narei, Mako, Namako, Jewella, Nakrysta, Narobin, Senya, Nameita, Laera, Nalara, Nalanara, Byanka, Nerd
Imported from other languages and seen commonly but used as-is:
Ilyana, Shanunzia, Robin, Robyn. Cehna, Lana, Dana, Kalina
Amarat, Amarak, Innu, Valatran, Meltran, Beltran, Venti, Trenti, Doppio, Largo, Cainu, Marhamat, Andei, Tadros, Solon, Kalatran, Kaldei, Thearon, Naniko, Vull, Solostaran, Juraian, Namei, Sandree,
Imported from other languages and seen commonly but used as-is:
Claude, Petro, Sammit, Karl, Thomas, Jack, Dan, Languedier, Saami, Volland, Varland, Brigand
Valias, Matsu, Mitsu, Mishu, Sooshan, Mindo, Ryder, Stegab, Nastegab, Sanarai, Nasarai, Solar, Raptor, Sohni, Salistan, Sharcip
Native: Kagomei, Yesugai, Kamagai, Yamagai, Veneer, Ma, Naloli, Laigai, Takahashi, Takamine, Yamahashi, Laihashi, Laimine, Namine, Nama, Naveneer, Yameneer, Narapt, Raptahashi, Matsumoto, Dandelion, Namei, Domei, Stark, Hayley, Boulton, Kimazi, Rolkazi, Halemoto, Banfeito, Stegab, Nastegab, Staneito, Danneito, Mulalita
Common imported or mixed: Weintraub, Van Pelt, Starboecks, Vannalecki, Goguryan, Benevent, Abend, Tsu, Nisan, Moniqi,
The names above are the "common' names, that everone tries, but the kagomine naming ritual is; try names until you find one that pacifies the child, so sometimes you find really strange ones.
Culture
Each province or region has its own dialect:
Kimagurei: sing-song language, maritime culture, oldest democracy
Megamisama: brusque speech, cosmopolitan, some shipbuilding, main city, so any arts depending on crowds do better here, but sometimes are just tour stops for acts started elsewhere on this list
Veneer: excessive search for elegance in speech, snobs, live venues: opera, restaurants, sports, theatre accompanied by studio music
Innu: populace is a melting pot of shipbuilding, pearl diving, wheat planting and sheep farming
Dunkehl: populace is rural and hard working
Byzance: Minimalist, almost brutalist, more industrial, still hardworking, but with more of a complexity addiction than Dunkehl, less then Veneer
Lavali: lilting speech, not sing-song, but do have more verse in normal speech than other dialects, alpine culture, love of beauty and nature, their main live performances are song, dance and live music
Lilleath: more intellectual, the written arts centre of Kagomei, residents are called 'the dreamers' by others, but with a strong civilian shipbuilding industry and a lively theatre and ballet representation
Roomillian: the bohems of Kagomei, physical artists: painters, sculptors, ceramists, with live performance scenes: dance, theatre, opera, live music
Adaptability and perseverance are their highest values, correspondingly, conservatism is felt to limit one's prospect, because one is trying to say they're trying hard enough.
Fully participating in the
Lai Dang Treaty Authority which reached, just barely, kardashev lvl 1
Reverse engineered, from captured equipment, spaceflight capability
Dark Green, so dark as to be almost black, is associated with the imperial family, anyone wearing this colour will be reprimanded. Because it's the imperial colour(and for the last hundred years, the imperial eye colour), it was chosen for awards made directly by the imperial head of state:
- ME-30 Meihomei
- ME-25 Nameihomei
- Emerald Knight of Great Kagome
- Merit of Honour
- Kagomine Navy List of Renown (the plaque is on deepest green marble)
- CI-10+ Secretary
- The insignia of all OF-10 officers has shoulder boards in black trimmed with this colour, unless they:
- Own a dual rank that is on this list
- Own an aristocratic rank of Domei or higher(basically given for saving the kingdom multiple times, the automatic rank for an of-10 is a Feyd, so happens very rarely)
- Have been decorated with the order, or received the merit.
Merlyn
Analecta Kagome Kira Takahashi
Kagome Jaesa Carson Takahashi
Innu Yesugai
Mitsu Dandelion
Matsu Dandelion
Rumiko Dandelion
Ideals
Forever associated with its island status, the ideal swimmer shape is preferred, regardless of gender.
Because of the island of beauty above, smaller breasts tend to be preferred for women.
It's written into the stories, the oral traditions and even video games commonly consumed by Kagomine that they prefer a 'slow burn' to relationships. Love at first sight, as an idea, has been thouroughly debunked as impractical.
Finding one's soulmate is considered the only real choice for Kagomine of all genders, however, 'settling' is also accepted, provided the relationship isn't cemented into by a permanent matrimony(this explains the popularity of non-permanent matrimony forms: people even grow out of relationships with people they thought to be their soulmates, although to a Kagomine, that's the rare exception that conforms the rule).
One's partner is expected to know of all of one's past sexual relationships or activities, even in open relationships, and failure to disclose leads to an automatic annulment. Offering to disclose, and being denied does happen, but that is also rare.
The typical partner is expected to know names, types of activities, frequency, and general time period however. A bad memory/intoxication that leads to non-disclosure is not an automatic deal-breaker. There's a strong cultural distaste for victim blaming in rape cases that led the Kagomine Nation to have the harshest laws on rape in arnd, and the only ones where 'willing victim until she changed her mind' is specifically excluded as a defense. Even before the law, however, a more pragmatic factor was at play: Kagomine has the most Elemental Priests of any nation in arnd, where they form the lifeguard, a combination medical and police force with magical powers, and a fanatical hatred of rapists. Yet, death is considered too good a punishment, so often creative, vicious punishments were meted out. As rumours spread, the act of rape became rarer and rarer, until it's now almost unheard of, and sadly, always accompanied by the victim's murder. A recent law highlights this, making any punishment for murder and rape cumulative, even in the cases of death penalty.
Dandelion Family Kagome Family Matsumoto Family @civil
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