Isles of Joy

Isles of Joy
Flag of the Heart, commonly used to represent the Isles of Joy.
Capital	The Heart
Demonym	Joymen
Government	Dispersed and localized democratic governance
• Face of State	Circo
• Dirigents	Heart's Choir Local dirigents
Establishment
• Founded	~200 years ago
• Joined IgRS	14-5 20 PC
Population
• Estimate	3,350,000

The Isles of Joy are a nation in the western Attu Archipelago, spanning the territory of seven islands. Its population totals approximately 3,350,000 people, mostly located on the island of Belum, the Isles' largest landmass. Their largest city is the Heart, which has a permanent population of only 7,000 people (although it receives over hundreds of thousands of visitors yearly). A defining feature of the Isles is their dispersed nature, with their surface being dotted with smaller townships rather than having any major urban centers. Unlike the other islands of the Archipelago, the Isles of Joy have no strong overarching central state, and are mostly governed on the local level. However, the Isles are deeply culturally interconnected, and a strong web of relationships exists between towns both far and near. Although the Isles of Joy have not seen much international involvement, relations have mostly been handled by the government of the Heart, which is seen as representing the Isles as a whole due to their role in welcoming people across their territories. The Face of State has served as an international representative of the Joymen.

History

The current generation based societal structure of the Isles came about at least 13 generations ago.

The 2nd Calming came to the Isles of Joy in 20 PC, allowing contact with the outside world and the joining of the Inter-governmental Radio System.

Government

Every generation (16-year long period of time) has six Masters selected based on their knowledge, talent and approach to various forms of art (such as music or literature). These are each selected once the youngest member of the respective generation reaches the age of 18, and continue to hold their position for life, tasked with spreading love and engagement with art, as well as carrying on the artistic tradition of the island, both through their own and onto the next generation. Though they are not involved in everyday governance in the usual sense, they hold great followings that support their symbolic role. Existing outside politics of power, they nonetheless hold great influence among the people of the Isles of Joy.

There is also the Face of State, who is a charismatic performer that is not part of the Masters, as elected by popular polling as the Isles' highest rated performer. They don't have much power and mainly act as the country's main diplomat, though this is a role that has largely fallen to the wayside as other nations proved too boring to interact with. The Face of State continues to hold a role in Joyan politics, though once more as a charismatic but symbolic figure, one that cannot compel people to act a certain way but that finds fans and followers. After the position was first established, the Face of State has begun writing humorous columns and doing shows where they air their grievances and thoughts about the current state of things to the public.

In local politics, a Dirigent or conductor is tasked with keeping things running, in cooperation with the local bureaucracy. This includes all jobs that are necessary for public life to occur that the Joymen aren't expected to do on their own, and generally includes work that keeps municipal services functioning.

== Boring piece of text. Do not click. ==

== Not for prying eyes. Close as soon as possible. ==

[CLASSIFIED BY ONE SANE MAN]

Joymen living on the main isles are thought not to be capable of performing any sort of vital societal function, generally thinking of them as too boring to take care of. The few mentally stable people of the Isles live on an island away from the mainland, operating a shadow government under the name of One Sane Man. One Sane Man's people have infiltrated the local bureaucracies across the Isles of Joy, and are tasked with ensuring Joyan society does not collapse. This may, depending on the circumstances, involve working with the local Dirigents, or actively working to avert their attention away from the functioning of One Sane Man. One Sane Man seeks to distract the Face of State from fulfilling their international diplomatic function, so as to keep as many eyes away from these Isles as possible. One Sane Man serves as a leaderless bureaucracy that guides the Isles of Joy away from despair. This conspiracy may not be compromised.

Society

The guiding religious ideology of the Isles of Joy is Joyism, the central belief of 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 they're on.

Joymen exist in a largely rural society, dispersed across smaller villages and townships rather than major urban centers. In smaller places, most people know each other, and tend to be bonded quite closely. The Heart (Joy. Ov Teselum), the closest place the nation has to a capital, has a permanent population of only 7,000 people. However, it sees a huge moving population that exceeds 250,000 yearly, consisting mostly of visitors who attend various festivals, celebrations and events for a few days or weeks out of the year. Great artists, Masters, and other people of importance tend to be the only ones to stay in the center of happening for longer periods. For others, the connection to their home towns tends to be much weaker in comparison.

In the personal lives of Joymen, a troupe is the primary organizational unit of the world around them, and includes all of the people they regularly interact with on a deeper level. In this way, it is a concept broader than a friend group, and it includes people that may not be to one's sympathetic liking, but are nonetheless important to forming their character. These groups, though central to the Joyan worldview, are also porous, and frequently see people entering and leaving out of lives. A person is allowed to leave for any reason they like, and though others in their life may try to convince them otherwise, such decisions are ultimately individual. In accordance with such freedom, institutions such as a family are functionally non-existent. Though parents and romantic relationships exist, children are not strongly tied to them, and tend to be raised communally with other children in their immediate locality. Playing and bonding with other children is taken as deeply important to the Joyan lifestyle, as preparation for the rest of their lives. Children tend to live together in a separate longhouse raised by the rest of the community, enforcing a separation from the adults and strengthening the relationship with their peers. Once they reach adulthood, it is a widespread tradition among Joymen to visit the Heart, usually as a troupe. While there, they come to meet other troupes from all across the Isles, with whom they may individually join up and come to live with, or they may return to their own home towns.

In accordance with such a moving lifestyle, there exists a separation between public and living space. While the foundations of a town, its streets, statues, town halls, are built to be solid and unmoving, houses are often made of much weaker non-durable material, such as wood and even paper. Made to be easily propped up and customized, they are also made in such a way they can easily be torn down should a person leave. Public squares are conceptualized as gifts from the past generation to the newer one, but housing is thought of as an individualized endeavor that can be approached in any way one likes, and the light materials make any such endeavors of limited danger to others. Historically, a different practice frequently took place, where old houses and buildings that were left abandoned by the owners have been disassembled, their bricks, sculptures and ornaments being used to either decorate existing houses or to create new ones. Most older residences are a product of such a process, having been created through a mixture of countless constructions made before them. Made of stone, such houses remain in use today, and their material continues to be recycled, although cheaper forms of housing have mostly displaced them in the construction of new places.

Economy

The Isles of Joy do not operate a market economy based on monetary exchange, as is common on other islands, but rather exist in a trust-based system based on individual relationships and contribution. They do not have wealth that can be measured, but instead the output of what they produce is distributed among others based on the belief that they will do the same, by contributing their output for the benefit of others. As a result, while the Joymen have a division of labor, such labor is not paid in wages, but is indirectly rewarded by others. Those who do not contribute their share tend to receive very little in return. Not all positions are directly involved in producing material goods, and many positions are either (partly) managerial or involve non-material results (such as musical artists, for example, who may still be rewarded for cheering others on). Though most work people do tends to be based on their passions, a few jobs remain necessary so society continues to function.

In order to ensure all needs are met, a local Dirigent is responsible for coordinating work by making enough is produced. Dirigents tend to be elected by vote, and closely resemble politicians in other places. Their primary role is in keeping day-to-day life running, resolving local issues, and ensuring there is enough to go around for everyone. If there is a significant lack of a crucial good, the town's local bureaucracy is placed in charge of resolving it by either redistributing resources or involving itself in production, such as taking care of farming, clothes production, etc. Not all localities produce all goods, and there are some exchanges between different towns, the residents of which are often met in the Heart. Friendly relations with other places and an exchange of goods between them keeps a loose network of connections across the Isles that keep them largely united.

== Economics are so boring. Do not click. ==

== Not for prying eyes. Close as soon as possible. ==

[CLASSIFIED BY ONE SANE MAN]

One thing must be clear. Joyan society would collapse without the involvement of One Sane Man. Regular famines and shortages are avoided each and every day through vigilant operatives guiding the population towards meeting its needs. It should not be, it is not capable of doing so, as must be apparent to every foreign observer. It is a wonder this machine continues to operate only if one is not aware of the cogs that turn it. One Sane Man must not be discovered for fears we will be kicked out. In such a circumstance, it would be impossible to truly imagine the scale of the fallout.

The Heart is the center of the nation's life, and home to a vibrant academic and artistic community, owing to a constant movement of people and exchange of ideas from all coasts of the Isles. The location gets its name not only due to its core role in Joyan life, but also due to the fact that it is not its importance as a mere place, but rather its flow of people that passes through it which gives it life. The ceaseless stream in and out of the city continues to renew its place as the beating heart of the nation. Its Dirigents, which it has several of, are the closest the Isles have to national politicians. The Heart is also home to the Face of State, who regularly performs in front of the crowds in accordance with the ongoing celebrations. Although the position was introduced relatively recently, their presence has proved quite popular.