Joyism

Joyism is the state ideology of the Isles of Joy.

Beliefs

the central belief Joyism which is that life itself is one big show, and should be lived as such. The core values of the ideology are personal growth, enjoying life, seeing the beauty of things, and being passionate. Followers of the ideology often don masks and act in extremely exaggerated ways. They usually find something they are deeply passionate about and devote their lives to it. Masks are frequently worn in public by followers as they believe that facelessness makes it so that their life, actions, and story are what really counts. Although seemingly hedonistic, most followers are willing to put themselves through incredible pain for the character arc they believe theyre on.

History

Joyism is said to have been first devised by Jubil, the mythic first joyman, some time in ancient history. There are many versions of the legends, written and rewritten throughout the centuries by generations of Joyan authors, and as such the early history is unclear. The common thread however, is that Jubil and his followers, the Jubile, attempted to establish a Joyist state in their original homeland, referred to as The Dull Land, only to be exiled to ocean. When all seemed naught, Jubil is said to have achieved a state of true clarity, understanding his current position as being the all-is-lost moment within his arc, and forcing into being the climax of the third act, pulling the land out of the sea, creating the Isles of Joy.

Over the next several thousand years, the isles were a chaotic land of individuals, losely maintained by the Jubilators, the successors of Jubil, though real power was held by local lords, save for when a new Jubilant One would rise and radically reshape the lands. In the mid 3rd millenium TT, however, the last member of the Jubo, the reigning Jubilator dynasty, died without an heir, and 801 years of disunity, referred to as The Woeful Age, ennsued. During this time, Joyism withered, and the people were increasingly forced to live ordinary and gloomful lives.

Eventually, the Isles would be unified again, by Eisau Chrai Yegol, and the Chrai Dynasty would reign for several more centuries, though this too would fade with time. By the turn of the 1st millenium there was once again be a withering of Joyist ideology, but it was cut short by the rise of the last Jubilant One, Maius Xius Arum, who abolished all pre existing lordships and called the people to radical Joyist action. Arum's form of Joyism is the root of most forms which continue to this day. Chaos, such as was found in earlier history, ensued, with a myriad of attempted Joyist states rising and falling, each different from the last. In 359 TT, the modern Isles of Joy state formed with the Wonderous Unity.

Varieties

Joyism, being an ideology thousands of years old, has many divergent forms. The most prominant ones are those which have to do with societal structure.

Jubilatorianism - The oldest variety, Jubilatorianism is differenciated by it's preference for the old Jubilator system, wherein a single great-man esque figure holds everything together, and government policy is driven directly by Joyist narrative dynamics. True Jubilatorians are rare, as the system has not been in play for hundreds of years.
- Jubocracy - Even more old fashioned, Jubocracy is Jubilatorianism with the caveat that the Jubilator must be a member of Jubo Dynasty, those with provable relation to Jubil. Jubocrats also tend towards multigeneration character arcs, and as such dynastic succession of power. Jubocrats are vanishingly rare, as the Jubo have been extinct for thousands of years. This is not to say however that the Jubo cannot return, though it is currently illegal for one to change their family name to that.
Joyousnessism - First espoused by Maius Xius Arum, Joyousnessism is centered around the idea that Joy should be equal among all people, and every character is a main character. All major modern varieties of Joyism are descended from Maius's declarations.
- Gleeism - Gleeism is centered around the idea that, below the active concept of Joy, there is the passive concept of Glee, the minimum form of Joy which all Joymen are entitled to, and it is the responcibility of the government to raise and maintain Glee.
  - Jubiglee - The only form of Joyism to deny being a form of Joyism, Jubiglee places Glee as being more important than Joy, possibly to the extent that Joy is considered only a frivolous extention of Glee. Older forms of Jubiglee claimed that Jubil's teachings were actually about Glee and were misinterpretted, modern versions however tend to simply reject Joyism whole-cloth. Jubiglee is rare, and while it is not illegal, Jubigleams are societal pariahs.
- Antigloomism - mirror to Gleeism, Antigloomism posits that the issue is not Glee, but Gloom, the antithesis to Glee, the common level of suffering which people face, which they say must be lowered at any cost. Most people who are not Antigloomists do not understand how exactly it's different from Gleeism.
- Free joy - Freejoyers believe that the quest for Joy is an individual persuit, and that governing bodies should exist only to facilitate it, not hinder it. As such, they generally oppose governental power.
  - Overjoyism - Overjoyists are the radical form of Freejoyers, who believe there should be no government whatsoever. Overjoyism is currently illegal in the Isles of Joy.
- Jubicanism - Jubicanists are Joyousnessists who incorperate soft elements of Jubilatorianism.

There are also several forms of Joyism which focus on specific kinds of narrative.

Lovism - Joyism wherein romance and love are seen as the most important aspect of life.
Comedism - Joyism wherein humor is seen as the supreme governing principle of the universe.
Dramatism - Joyism wherein thrilling drama is seen as superior to personal satisfaction.
Modhesian Joyism - created by Modhes Temple, Modhesian Joyism is an ideology which combines Joyist and Modhes beliefs. It isn't particularly popular.
Woeism - One of the oldest varieties of Joyism, Woeism is said by myth to have been invented soon after Joyism by Desol. Woeism is the antithesis of Joyism, seeking to create suffering and spread misery. Woeism is an ideology often chosen by Joymen in unsympathetic villainous roles.