Philosophical Conversations

• As part of your attempts to improve culture of Len you and Yaling end up inviting philosophers and intellectuals to Len.

  • She is not overly political and these topics do not resemble American partisan discussions.
  • Nobody is a political radical and bring up overthrowing the social system or even questioning solfrey status.
  • Nobody will try to bring up polygamy or anything like that, the arrangement with commoners are not seen as polygamy.

• Each conversation is its own standalone Event.

• The purpose of these conversations is to both showcase Yaling's character as well as some of the philosophical ideas that are touched on in the game.

• Yaling's inherent conservatism as one of the elites of society is highlighted, but note that this conservatism is relative to her society, which already has gender equality and the like.

• The game will not delve into the discussion format or be overly descriptive about the conversation process, who says what, etc, in terms of the format, the characters, etc. That's not interesting. It'll just more convey the ideas as that's the core purpose of these philosophy scenes and not the actual mechanics or social atmosphere of it.

• Every conversation scene starts off by setting the scene of the salon and the philosophy party. Some conversations are more reflective, where the setting just gives way to reflections and thoughts, without ever returning back to the physical setting.

• Other conversations have more back and forth and twists and turns or debate. These would be more strongly presented as a scene.

• Other conversations would have closing scenes in the back end where Yaling talks to MC or other characters about what she's thinking.

The following conversations are in different scenes.

Conversations

Materialism, the Soul & Haecceity & the Nature of Being a Solfrey

• This is sort of a red herring in presenting the nature of the soul in a "traditional religious" way to prime the reader to think about it. But in actuality souls don't exist, though demon energies do (called demon souls).
• But also raise the question of materialism as foreshadowing, but yes fundamentally the setting is "materialist" and human beings, and all biological animals are automatons of flesh and blood, but most people don't see it that way.
• Most people are not materialist, and because solfrey and commoners are basically the same on the outside but invisibly different, this makes them think that there's a metaphysical difference.
• Some people think there is a genetic difference, or that they just haven't found the material difference yet and that they will. But it doesn't make sense to them that any children is automatically a commoner by this logic as that's not how mix-bloods work in any other animal.
• The philosophers debate the concept of haecceity, what is a solfrey, The distinguishing essence. "Being a solfrey cannot be an ostensive or purely enumerative matter. It must contain haecceity." The philosopher advocates for the plane of immanence vs your wife who argues for materialism.
• She watches another debate, talking about universal laws instead of the plane, and the hypostasis of the soul. She pokes fun at you for not being interested, but you can tell that she is bored too. You humor her by attending a couple of discussions.
• In reality solfrey are just humans who aren't infested, but they don't know that. Rather, thinkers would construct possibly inscrutable explanations, using recursive logic and big words like haecceity.
• A commoner can never produce a solfrey, it's just a fact with no exceptions (it's not propaganda it's literally true). It's just a more deeper philosophical question of what it really means, it's confusing and makes people think there might be a deeper meaning. The religion has an answer about the heavenly nature of the solfrey, but for solfrey philosophers they frequently seek a more rational explanation.
• For Yaling it's easy to understand that no explanation feels satisfying, she wants to keep questioning, but she doesn't have any faith that any of the philosophers can answer it properly for her.
• However there are people out there who are trying hard to spin logic to explain it try to see if you can expand on it and construct a logical philosophical argument. Well it doesn't have to be perfectly logical, just sounds like something a philosopher would say.
• It's a purely philosophical question and we're avoiding all social system and moral implications.

Written

You smile happily to yourself, you love to see Yaling happy. She's the life of the party, flittering about, going from conversation to conversation. Her salon is as interesting and eclectic as she imagined. Philosophers, theologians, literati of all types speak and debate. Yaling enjoys directing the flow of conversation, listening, and challenging.

The Sage Eremo Saykin speaks with increasing agitation.

@philSage1: Being a solfrey cannot be an ostensive or purely enumerative matter. It must contain haecceity.

@yaling: Your words remind me that not all truths can be neatly listed or named. Perhaps, before we unravel further, we can join in acknowledging the intricate bond between essence and manifestation. Then we can advance in unity.

The 25-Year Queens of Mireota & the Allure (or Annoyance) of Constant Novelty

• Yaling likes to pick at the contradictions: Is there a secret logic behind that system? Is it purely decorative, or a cunning strategy to keep their monarchy fresh and agile?
• is Yaling a little jealous that Peizhi’s tradition fosters constant novelty?
• People see it as misogynist but also bizarrely neat.
  • Need to emphasize some guests really hate it and loudly dislikes how some guests seem unfazed by it. Some people say many men “replace” older wives anyway—Mireota’s just institutionalized it, which others really take offense at this "normalization" of it.
• The event brings her some thoughts about how some people seek constant novelty
• She avoids thinking about her own husband, but the custom stirs a vague sense that some people’s hearts perpetually yearn for a “younger model”—and that pisses her off.
• This annoys her, though deep down she knows she is the same way, when it comes to fashion, etc. It's an inherent part of human nature
• She's fascinated by the horror of it, in a can't look away type of way.
• She imagines how she would feel if her role had a ticking clock. The tension between her romantic ideals of eternal love and the creeping possibility that a “time’s up” system might also intensify each year’s passion. She never endorses the practice, but she’s enthralled by it as a conversation-starter.
• Under the Surface: Yaling feels a quiet thrill whenever she imagines a scenario of “timed marriages,” because it’s so alien and borderline horrifying to her own romantic convictions. It stirs up that sense of possibility: What if she had to re-win her husband’s heart every five or ten years? She’d likely do it and enjoy the game, but it’s also a bit terrifying.
• It offends her personal sense of romantic permanence, but she can’t help occasionally glancing at the “new queen phenomenon” with a perplexed mixture of fascination and scorn.

Love vs Fighting Other Women vs Victory

The topic is the nature of love, its romantic purity. The victory/fighting aspects are internal to Yaling. Some might go into it lyrically and romantically while others take a more boring approach of "it takes work to build", and "don't confuse limerence for love".

For Yaling:

• She is confident about her love but confused about some aspects surrounding it.
• She is confused about and wants to discuss how the feeling of winning affects her love for her man.
• Does her competitiveness and possessiveness add to love or take away from it? It might distort it, darken it, etc make it less pure. Or does it heighten it and make her love stronger.
  • Very important that she does not doubt the genuiness of her love, that's not the point of this.
• She loves winning (though not the fighting and the rivalry)
• Does being with an attractive man make other women look at her as an obstacle, hurting her relationships with women.
• She enjoys feeling like she won but she feels guilty about it. She loves to talk to her man and girlfriends about her competitors and beating them but there's a sense that she shouldn't.
• Since this is a rather public setting most of this is internal monologue rather than part of the argument. She just invites these debates and listens.
• One notion is that all deep emotion demands a sense of exclusivity—winning out triggers an adrenaline that merges with genuine affection, forging an inimitable bond. Another angle suggests that once the competition phase is done, the love must stand on its own.

How women fight each other for the same men because there are just so few attractive and good men: The Half-Joking Misandry

This is potentially quite similar to the previous topic, oh well but it seems hard to combine.

• In terms of being capable in intimacy, appearance, maturity, and personality
• This is a misandrist POV, but widespread belief is common
• This is purely a philosophical remark as she's very much a girls girl and want to trust other women and don't believe in a jealous or competitive way unless given reason to
• Yaling partakes in that joke, sometimes wryly, sometimes with genuine conviction—though it’s not a dogmatic stance.
• Yaling, personally, has a high bar. She also sees that her husband’s attractiveness is unusual—he’s powerful, charismatic, not run-of-the-mill. So she can half-believe that “rare men are actually worth it.” The rest, perhaps, languish in mediocrity.
• She’s somewhat smug (she got the “prize” she wanted), and she loves the tea from the other women both old and new stories.
• The conversation can tip into intense territory about jealousy, heartbreak, or the erotics of conquest. Yaling lets it linger there—she likes her guests to feel that thrill of discussing borderline-private secrets in a public forum.
• She recognizes the competition that this causes but due to her general strong confidence doesn't have a negative feeling about it.
• She’s also a “girls’ girl” who doesn’t want to see this lead to undue rivalry between women. That's the part that disturbs her the most.

Male/Female Dimorphism & Gender Roles

• [Unmentioned Background] This is a scene that's dominated by reflection and with almost no physicality. Just mention that it's part of the philosophical conversations once but do not go into the physical setting. The setting itself is unmentioned and distracts from the reflections, the entire passage is entirely reflections except for 1 sentence to set up the philosophy salon at the beginning, there are no interruptions or wrapup. This is a highly unusual piece in its internality, essay-like, more stream-of-conciousness rather than novelistic.
• [Unmentioned Background] Magecraft has been in existence for thousands of years, and gender equality among solfrey are seen as default. There is no such thing as feminism. The conservative position is full gender equality. Don't talk about this or explain it.
• [Unmentioned Background] Developing greater gender roles is fun and feels a bit rebellious, though she's like a very very superficial rebel type, ultimately conservative (gender equality is the conservative, default position).
• [Unmentioned Background] We need the philosophy and the eroticism of this event to both stand out. We should start with philosophy, it should feel heavily academic at parts, diving into her intellectualism. At specific, later parts, it should be heavily erotic, titillating, vulgar. The contrast should stand out and we should show both sides to her views on this, but the intellectual side should be able to stand on its own, the eroticism in this case is not controlling the intellectual side, it's more like a cope to make it fun instead of the opposite.
• [Unmentioned Background] she's trying to eroticize or highlight dimorphism, sexual asymmetry, inequality. It's not just that men or male sexual characteristics are hot, it's more that the DIFFERENCEs are hot, the fact that there is a difference, and that you can read more into the differences to reveal a fundamental truth, that's hot. She's playing around with the idea, thinking about why she enjoys it, and if it's better to just not do so and embrace equality.
• [Unmentioned Background] She's not debating these ideas, they are a bit embarrassing, but reflecting on the conversation.
• [Unmentioned Background] Don't make her out to be a kinky sub girl, this is MORE of an intellectual reflection, this doesn't dominate her sexuality. It is something she's curious about but not that important to her. The intellectual reflection is primary, she doesn't act it in bed nor in life.
• [Unmentioned Background] Because such strong gender roles aren't practiced (most people think biological differences can be ignored or are kind of irrelevant), she feels it's taboo to want to have gender roles. People giggle about rough sex and being dominated in bed, but to her it's not a kink. It's a whole, transgressional worldview.
• Part of the philosophical interest of your wife is her keen awareness of the weaknesses of her biological sex.
• She's seeking out philosophers who would promulgate a theory of the solfrey as being an existence above that of mortal bodies, thereby gaining metaphysical equality with men.
• However she is critical of those philosophers and while hoping that they would school her, she goes into each debate as a devil's advocate, taking the opposite stance of materialism (pointing out male vs female biological differences), instead of latching onto any theory emotionally, because she is a smart person.
• The philosophical question is primarily of materialism (of fundamental biology) vs soft concepts (solfrey, class, magecraft ability) that feels socially constructed or meaningful only with caveats or in specific situations, despite there being a lot of support for them still. She's looking through the support for them and finding them lacking compared to the visceral, emotional, frames of body and flesh.
• Materialism is the key theme of the game in general, where Solfrey (humans) have no souls [unknown to the characters], it's what makes the entire plot of the story work. This is a really good chance to hint at it and foreshadow it, make sure it doesn't get lost.
• She puts more weight on biological materialism than most people, and that has to be strongly conveyed from an intellectual standpoint.
• While it's a male vs female dimorphism theme, try to use the husband, you the MC, as the prime male example so she doesn't come off as a hussy, but do keep the focus on maleness vs femaleness.
• There's a sexy contrast between what's pragmatic (having children is a drag and hurts having a fun life at least while she's in her 20s, and equality serves her well) and how that makes embracing womanhood more erotic and profound.
• She feels that there is an inherent meaning in the shape of men and women, that leads to intended and truthful female inferiority. Deep down it feels like the female should be beneath, an inferior that serves and is used.
• She keeps on thinking about the size and strength difference between men and women. She's amazed by that gap. She gets a little... light-headed when looking up at certain men. She wants it to be more profound than just an "accident" and is looking for meaning within it and how she responds to it individually and as a woman.
• She would be weaker than a male if not for magecraft
• She wonders if magecraft takes away some aspect of what it means to be a woman.
• She thinks this could be why she's so impressed by men who are really talented mages (note that all solfrey are decent mages).
• Pussy thoughts (sample, use these ideas, in this style, throughout the reflections):

  tonight i'm thinking about how having a pussy is inherently kind of degrading.
  there's no way to prevent a man from sliding his cock or fingers into me. it doesn't matter if i'm not wet, spit will do. after all, my pussy is literally a hole designed to easily receive.
  ...
  i can't do anything to someone else, but a man can spend however long he wants fucking me. he can cum inside me and permanently alter my body. i'm built for his pleasure.
  even my orgasms are for his benefit. if i cum, i clench, and then my hole just feels better for him.
  i'm not designed to be taken seriously. i'm not designed to be an equal. i'm designed to be fucked into submission and bred.

• While we start with her thoughts on the body, it's just a starting point and should lead more into gender roles and questions of like having a leader in the house and in life, as well as what it means to be a woman.
• She's never going to offer to her husband to rule over her (just imagining the scene seems strange and silly), but deep down inside she thinks it's hot when he orders her around, a deep sense of "rightness". But she never says that to anyone other than her husband.
• There's guilt and shame.
• Key is to focus on how it reflects on her philosophical musings about womanhood/gender roles and how to reach it, why she wants to reach it. Just open and honest and graphic without euphemisms.
  • Her musings are on primarily if womanhood is inferiority.
  • If she's "missing out" by not embracing a service, "being a useful tool", yielding attitude.
  • Why it feels right, and how that relates to the real servants she sees, she sees herself as above them as a solfrey lord's wife but maybe that's a perversion or desecration of her intended place.
  • Having magecraft perhaps ruined everything.
• Since Rogue Necro is a character-creator game, the player can optionally choose to be female and have Yaling be male. In this case this materialism philosophy takes on a different flavor despite it retaining much of the same elements.
  • Instead of seeing the sexual dimorphism as a weakness for women Yaling wonders if female fertility is something to be worshipped. Men destroy while women create. He wonders if he's wasting his life by not doing his part and fighting for the MC. If he wants children he needs

Written

Yaling's had another interesting salon. Her guests, philosophers, brought up the