The Shuraya House of Inquiries (Shuraya Q&A Thread)

by **The Celestial Shurayu Republic** » Mon Jun 14, 2021 12:30 pm

BEHOLD, SAVAGE.

Within the immensity of the Dašarum-Lá-Šanán is located a small ancillary building about the size of a shed, within it lies a single wooden desk and well-worn chair sitting beneath the dutiful whirring of a tired ceiling fan. This humble building is known as the the Bét-Maš'alti, built to reflect the importance foreign matters play in our collective mindset and staffed by none other than our Illustrious Leader, Iššû Muttallu Ṣírúta, Kinzirû Anšar, Šar Šinálímu-Šinášrá Šúráya. If your simple minds have any questions, IC or otherwise, about anything related to Shuraya, be it our culture, the Šar himself, or other things, we encourage you to transmit your queries through the multiversal causeways, so that they they might be received, and answered whenever the Šar deems it convenient.

by **The Near Islands** » Mon Jun 14, 2021 1:24 pm

by **The Celestial Shurayu Republic** » Mon Jun 14, 2021 2:55 pm

The Near Islands wrote:
"Hail! I do apologies for taking up your time, but I do have questions.

Are there any cultures that you personally come close to admiring? I do understand your culture is above all, but some have to be better than others.

Seeing how pedophilia is taboo in your culture, how do you deal with pedophiles legally? Similarly, is beating them up and taking their wallets legal?

Seeing how Cannabis is a favorite of yours, I have a few questions about that. How did you get into weed in particular? Do you grow it yourself or do you have a preferred dealer? Lastly, do you prefer blunt or bong?

Who would you say is the most "popular" god? If such a question isn't heretical to ask.

Who do you hate more: Pretentious Communists or Pretentious NeoLiberals?"
- President Tiarlach Vasil

"Thank you for your questions, savage, and don't worry, I don't mind this distraction.

1: Favorite Savage Cultures
This question required a little research on my end, considering the last foreign cultures died out centuries ago thanks to the Ḫalluláya, and I'm no historian. There's some islands north of the Capital that used to be inhabited by one of the tribes of green Erṣetim who were known as industrious folk and peerless warriors, I suppose I like them best. As for my favorite culture that would actually be known to extradimensional savages? Babylon, Assyria, Sumer, and Persia come to mind since they look and sound most like us, but second to them is Amurika, I do enjoy Amurika, and no, I will not elaborate.

2: Pedophiles
Pedophilia is a killing offense, so if tried guilty, the pedophile in question is marched behind the House of Law and publicly hanged. Beating people up and stealing their wallets is always illegal, but that doesn't mean the cops will always intervene, some people deserve to be beaten and mugged, illegal or no."

3: Qunnabu
Qunnabu is very common in Shuraya, the rich prefer various expensive and exotic strains that change with the season and they typically smoke in private areas. In poorer places, like where I grew up, people are only concerned with how strong the Qunnabu is and if it's cheap, and they'll smoke it wherever or whenever they godsdamned please. I am one of the latter. I got into Qunnabu quite young, it was always around, always available, generally, the more your life sucks, more Qunnabu you smoke, so it was just a natural thing for me to do I suppose, kids always want to be like adults, and the adults around me smoked Qunnabu. Now that I live in the greatest palace in existence, I smoke the Qunnabu grown in it's gardens, I'm learning how to tend to the plants properly by the Master-Gardener, growing and maintain quality Qunnabu Plants is a lot harder than it looks, as it turns out. I prefer blunts, usually four parts Qunnabu and one part Tutana. Qutruqanú are used mainly ceremonially, during celebrations and religious rites, that sort of thing, though when I wake up and get the sense it'll be a shit day I do give my Qutruqanû a quick visit."

4: Most Popular Gods
Not a heretical question at all, don't worry! The Ur-Iláni are of course all equals in power and in their own eyes, but in the hearts of their mortal children, I'd say Enlil, God of Primal Power, thanks to it imbuing the hero Turtak with it's power, allowing him to expel the Ḫalluláya. In close second would be my master, Ištar, God of Love-and-War, whose following grows each day thanks to all the war along the frontier.

5: Pretentious Foreign Ideology or Pretentious Foreign Ideology
I had to look these terms up as I'd never heard them before. I'd say I prefer pretentious Kummunayu, as they seem to want to work together for the good of all in a great collective, which sounds familiar to what we do here, these pretentious Nelibralayu on the other hand, sound like total tools, all hypocritical, vain, and wasteful, just awful."

- IŠŠÛ MUTTALLU ṢÍRÚTA, KINZIRÛ ANŠAR, ŠAR ŠINÁLÍMU-ŠINÁŠRÁ ŠÚRÁYA

by **Bloodshade** » Mon Jun 14, 2021 3:53 pm

Greetings, distant beings of the void.

I come to you with curiosity and inquisitiveness in my heart and mind. I have one scenario to pose to you. If your folk encounter savages with a great hatred of the unknown and alien, would your shared hatred of anything that may be novel or new be a welcome sight? After all, they might be savages in your eyes but they're savages who cling tightly to their values. Surely, there must be something redeemable about such a culture, if lowly in comparison.

I guess if I wanted to get to the point with the scenario I've posed, is there any possible room for connection between your civilization and the savages of the universe? If the savages reject your sugar and evade your vinegar, what then? Could you not see fit to use such savages as tools to keep everyone distant and focused on their inner self, rather than possibly corrupting each other's societies?

In the impossible scenario that your enviable civilization be humbled by alien forces, how would you imagine your civilization to react to such a turn of events? Would the taut strings that make up Shurayu split in the face of such pressure or would you have me believe that Shurayu would be unbent in the face of possible defeat?

Finally, who in Shurayu has the right to evolve its philosophy in the face of new, terrible danger within the vast unknown? If your immaculate gods see fit, do they have the right to steer your ship in the face of future trouble or must one double down on the basics and keep their precious ideals close to one's belly?

- Victoria Hoffmeister

by **The Celestial Shurayu Republic** » Mon Jun 14, 2021 4:35 pm

Bloodshade wrote:
Greetings, distant beings of the void.

I come to you with curiosity and inquisitiveness in my heart and mind. I have one scenario to pose to you. If your folk encounter savages with a great hatred of the unknown and alien, would your shared hatred of anything that may be novel or new be a welcome sight? After all, they might be savages in your eyes but they're savages who cling tightly to their values. Surely, there must be something redeemable about such a culture, if lowly in comparison.

I guess if I wanted to get to the point with the scenario I've posed, is there any possible room for connection between your civilization and the savages of the universe? If the savages reject your sugar and vinegar, what then? Could you not see fit to use such savages as tools to keep everyone distant and focused on their inner self, rather than possibly corrupting each other's societies?

In the impossible scenario that your enviable civilization be humbled by alien forces, how would you imagine your civilization to react to such a turn of events? Would the taut strings that make up Shurayu split in the face of such pressure or would you have me believe that Shurayu would be unbent in the face of possible defeat?

Finally, who in Shurayu has the right to evolve its philosophy in the face of new, terrible danger within the vast unknown? If your immaculate gods see fit, do they have the right to steer your ship in the face of future trouble or must one double down on the basics and keep their precious ideals close to one's belly?

- Victoria Hoffmeister

"Hello, distant savages of the unknown.

1: Mutual Racism
If ever we come across a savage sentient race that shares our... Vigorous insularity, it would be a great relief, for chances are, they'll be less inclined to stick their noses in our business. And you're right, we would be more inclined to respect a culture that fervently sticks to well... it's culture. The tiny bit of respect probably won't amount to much, though.

2: Possible Foreign Cooperation
Listen, we aren't keen on wagging around our dicks in the faces of creatures that might bite them off, well not the government anyway, individuals are as contemptful as they like though. If it was deemed necessary, we would absolutely use a foreign power, put them in conflict with others as we've done in the past, etc. And you know, now that I think about it, it's not impossible for genuine altruistic actions between the Celestial Republic and savage powers, don't get me wrong, it's exceedingly unlikely, but possible. It hasn't happened yet, but there's always a first for everything!

3: Possible Defeat (Not Possible)
We will never be beaten by savages, of course, but if this were to hypothetically happen... Well actually I'm having trouble imagining what would happen, honestly. If I had to guess, it'd be a reaction of legendary resolve fueled by hate, we haven't stayed the course for ten-thousand years to throw everything away over a defeat (that will never happen).

4: Ideological Evolution
Over the years, a council of scholars has dictated the few, careful changes to the ŠIPÁR ATRAḪASÍSI, usually only in response to the evolution of technology more than anything else, and yeah, the traditional Atrahasian response to new unwelcome stimuli is to double-down, so basically the evolution of the ŠIPÁR ATRAḪASÍSI is... Difficult. The Gods on the other hand are much more lively, they're animated, passionate, and utterly free, for them to have the "right" to steer the ship is moot. The Gods are our parents, they are kind and understanding, but if they decide to steer ship towards a different course for whatever reason, there's really nothing to be done for it, they're unimaginably more powerful than the greatest of the Shurayu.

- IŠŠÛ MUTTALLU ṢÍRÚTA, KINZIRÛ ANŠAR, ŠAR ŠINÁLÍMU-ŠINÁŠRÁ ŠÚRÁYA

by **Adad Civilization** » Tue Aug 17, 2021 8:09 pm

"Allû Šulmu! It is great to see another civilized nation in a universe with so few. Truly, your nation exceeds above all others. Excluding my own, of course. I do hope you will take the following questions well.

How does it feel knowing you're not a barbarian?

Your men of science are mostly not actually men, now are they? You instead allow women to study the sciences. Understandable, but I am curious to wonder if you look down upon men who wish to go down that career path.

Do your people have any rituals when it comes to respecting or summoning the dead? For my people, we leave items they would have enjoyed in this world such as alcohol or flowers and I was curious to see if you had similar practices.

Seeing how music is so important to your culture, what is your favorite "genre" of music?"
- Nutesh of Adad

by **The Celestial Shurayu Republic** » Tue Sep 28, 2021 4:24 pm

Adad Civilization wrote:"Allû Šulmu! It is great to see another civilized nation in a universe with so few. Truly, your nation exceeds above all others. Excluding my own, of course. I do hope you will take the following questions well.

How does it feel knowing you're not a barbarian?

Your men of science are mostly not actually men, now are they? You instead allow women to study the sciences. Understandable, but I am curious to wonder if you look down upon men who wish to go down that career path.

Do your people have any rituals when it comes to respecting or summoning the dead? For my people, we leave items they would have enjoyed in this world such as alcohol or flowers and I was curious to see if you had similar practices.

Seeing how music is so important to your culture, what is your favorite "genre" of music?"
- Nutesh of Adad

Allû Ṣeḫḫeribru! It is good to hear from you! My best wishes go to you and your quaint city, may your kind reach ever greater heights! (not higher than Shuraya though)

1: Not Being a Gross Barbarian
"It feels fucking awesome, Ṣeḫḫeribru, I thank my ancestors and the Gods that I've been blessed with the luck of being born as one of the Unshakable Race of Shuraya. By the way, the feeling is mutual, you Adadayu are considered civilized by us, or honorarily civilized, maybe. Listen, there's not much of a difference, just know it's a huge honor, it is comforting, in a way, to find a race so similar to us.

2: Science
"Women tend to pursue the sciences because their minds tend to be somewhat less terribly attuned to that. Remember, Ṣeḫḫeribru, the maths and the sciences are esoteric fields of study to us- physics, chemistry, calculus, division, what have you, are super confusing since our minds just aren't wired for that. I would never disrespect someone in that they are a man and understand the esoteric arts, my husband, Iššû Muttallu Ṣírúta, Kakkulata Mandaru, Ḫarmu Šinálímu-Šinášrá Šúráya is one such man, you know. Those with an understanding of the esoteric fields are weird since they know weird things, but they are respected for their secret knowledge all the same.

3: Rituals of the Dead
"Even middling families have family tombs which each living member is obliged to maintain, cleaning and dusting things, polishing the statues, that sort of thing. Other rites are also done regularly though, prostrating ourselves before them and thanking them for their sacrifices, setting plates of fresh meals at their feet before the living eat, so that the dead may smell once more their favorite foods, same with music. (Knowledge of their likes is kept in a book) Someone who spends their whole life doing right by their blood and obeys the Right Path doesn't deserve to have their Stone-Shell decay as they're abandoned by their descendants. Summoning the spirits of the dead is taxing if you aren't knowledgeable in Kišpé, and most of us aren't so we do it the hard way: We use our magic to tear open the divider between living and dead, placing the things the person once enjoyed or were important to them to help with that end, and speak to their statue, to help get their attention and add weight to our magic. You'll know it's worked when the eyes of their statue light up with the eminence of their soul.

4. Favorite Music Genre
"Back in Bábilméš, where I grew up, music is even more important than usual, not for any reason I can discern, just a quirk of the neighborhood, I guess. I can enjoy basically every genre but the king of them is Nigút Daṣtu, where the tempo is fast, the tone is aggresive, guitarists go particularly ham on their guitars, the drumbeats are simple, and the singer, well there's no rules for them in Nigút Daṣtu, so it can range from incoherent screaming to something soft and melodic, I don't mind either, there's a time and place for both.

by **Sky Reavers** » Wed Sep 29, 2021 7:35 am

"Yo' there, spell castin' dudes! I know, that your race is inclined to magic, which means ya' can throw fireballs and lightnings at percieved "savages" and your managers can turn entitled karens into frogs, but I bet ya' still learn how to channel the magic through your body and give it a form and purpose. Either intuitively or through readin' lots of smart books. Any chance I or mah' pal can learn a few spells? Not from you maybe, since you would deem us barbarians and refuse."-Liam Graham, mechanic.

"How exactly do ya' decide if someone is "Barbarian" or "Civilized" and what to do with him? And what do ya' think of our free and casteless society where we grow weed, make booze n' tech, have wild parties and kick the asses of slavers, banditos, tyrants and all those, who prey on a common man! We empower the weak and embrace the art of war so we can fight for our cause. And we provide for our folks. To do so, we trade and do so alot. We can make a trade route with ya', if ya' want. As for culture, we study the other cultures and learn from them to synthesize something unique. Cause we had an enlightened culture before, but it was mostly destroyed by the fascist theocratic regime. The remaining pieces of Enthorean culture are highly valued in our society, and we can show some if ya' want."- Casey James, leader of Chillax Dudes faction.

by **Wuchu** » Mon Oct 18, 2021 3:19 pm

Stecker#9967
stecker@wuchu.xml
they/them
Guten Tag, illustrous leader

I'm Stecker, the Commissar of Communications and Head Archivist representing a community known as the Library & Archives Complex. Our primary duty is to study the multiverse, and despite preliminary research of your peoples, our surveyors have failed to answer a few pressing questions.

I understand your culture is based around the fundamental belief that the Shurayu is a supreme being, to the point of... well, being proudly fanatically xenophobic. Our reports indicate that this belief is grounded, at least partially, in your biology as well as physical and mental aptitude. I mean no offence by this hypothetical scenario, but, if a member of a savage species were to somehow transform their physiology into a fully accurate Shurayu, complete with all biological characteristics of your species, yet retain the personality and memories of their previous self - would you consider them to be an equal to any other Shurayu, or would they be lacking something in your eyes? If the latter, what would you classify them as?; are they still a savage, despite their physiology being that of a Shurayu?

We are also interested in your religious traditions. Although you have made it evident that certain Shurayu are more fully devoted to certain gods, akin to our idea of a priest or monk, are these devotees prevented from worshipping your other gods? Can your people worship more than one god at a time; if so, do individual Shurayu need to balance their worship across your pantheon in order to not anger any one god, or do your gods only care that your society as a whole continues to worship them? Further, can a devotee of, say, the god Ištar eventually stop their worship of Ištar and switch to Dumuzid, or are they bound by covenant for life?

Your answers are greatly anticipated by our staff.

(Sorry if you've answered one of these questions in your dispatches, I skimmed over a few factbooks but didn't see anything directly relevant; if you have, then feel free to just ignore it.)

by **The Celestial Shurayu Republic** » Sun Oct 24, 2021 11:19 pm

Sky Reavers wrote:"Yo' there, spell castin' dudes! I know, that your race is inclined to magic, which means ya' can throw fireballs and lightnings at percieved "savages" and your managers can turn entitled karens into frogs, but I bet ya' still learn how to channel the magic through your body and give it a form and purpose. Either intuitively or through readin' lots of smart books. Any chance I or mah' pal can learn a few spells? Not from you maybe, since you would deem us barbarians and refuse."-Liam Graham, mechanic.

"How exactly do ya' decide if someone is "Barbarian" or "Civilized" and what to do with him? And what do ya' think of our free and casteless society where we grow weed, make booze n' tech, have wild parties and kick the asses of slavers, banditos, tyrants and all those, who prey on a common man! We empower the weak and embrace the art of war so we can fight for our cause. And we provide for our folks. To do so, we trade and do so alot. We can make a trade route with ya', if ya' want. As for culture, we study the other cultures and learn from them to synthesize something unique. Cause we had an enlightened culture before, but it was mostly destroyed by the fascist theocratic regime. The remaining pieces of Enthorean culture are highly valued in our society, and we can show some if ya' want."- Casey James, leader of Chillax Dudes faction.

"Hello, pirates.

1. Savage Magic
"I have no idea if you have the potential for magical casting, barbarian. If your species is like the Erṣetim, that's a solid no. You need magic within you in order to cast spells, you follow? We Shurayu have that, you most likely don't."

2. Who's A Savage
"If you are not Shurayu you are a barbarian. If your kind shows itself to be extremely alike to us culturally and also useful to our ventures, your are no longer a barbarian but are civilized. Yes, savage, I get it, your kind are hedonistic bandits who've convinced themselves that they're moral crusaders, even heroes. Your antics remind me of myself when I was a kid back in Bábilméš, but that's just it. I was a kid, one who'd lost his last remaining parent and couldn't cope with it so he threw away everything else good in his life and tried to destroy himself. Even now, a tiny part of me goes 'Oh, look at how much fun they have! Go! Join them! Living straight is for weaklings and idiots. Remember how much fun it was to tear around with the Ur-Maššašéssú?' Looking at your kind is like looking back at myself at my worst and I hate it so much. Keep your trade and your knowledge, your lifestyle turns everything to shit. We are a people of discipline and order and we have no use for you."

- IŠŠÛ MUTTALLU ṢÍRÚTA, KINZIRÛ ANŠAR, ŠAR ŠINÁLÍMU-ŠINÁŠRÁ ŠÚRÁYA

Wuchu wrote:
(Image)
Stecker#9967
stecker@wuchu.xml
they/them
Guten Tag, illustrous leader

I'm Stecker, the Commissar of Communications and Head Archivist representing a community known as the Library & Archives Complex. Our primary duty is to study the multiverse, and despite preliminary research of your peoples, our surveyors have failed to answer a few pressing questions.

I understand your culture is based around the fundamental belief that the Shurayu is a supreme being, to the point of... well, being proudly fanatically xenophobic. Our reports indicate that this belief is grounded, at least partially, in your biology as well as physical and mental aptitude. I mean no offence by this hypothetical scenario, but, if a member of a savage species were to somehow transform their physiology into a fully accurate Shurayu, complete with all biological characteristics of your species, yet retain the personality and memories of their previous self - would you consider them to be an equal to any other Shurayu, or would they be lacking something in your eyes? If the latter, what would you classify them as?; are they still a savage, despite their physiology being that of a Shurayu?

We are also interested in your religious traditions. Although you have made it evident that certain Shurayu are more fully devoted to certain gods, akin to our idea of a priest or monk, are these devotees prevented from worshipping your other gods? Can your people worship more than one god at a time; if so, do individual Shurayu need to balance their worship across your pantheon in order to not anger any one god, or do your gods only care that your society as a whole continues to worship them? Further, can a devotee of, say, the god Ištar eventually stop their worship of Ištar and switch to Dumuzid, or are they bound by covenant for life?

Your answers are greatly anticipated by our staff.

(Sorry if you've answered one of these questions in your dispatches, I skimmed over a few factbooks but didn't see anything directly relevant; if you have, then feel free to just ignore it.)

"Greetings, Lá Ziqnánu.

1. Transhurayu
"We, The Immovable Race of the Shurayu, are just that, a race. The only Shurayu are the Akalútumáyu, descended from the billions gestated from the Šíruqištamú like myself, and the Labíráyu descended from the Shurayu who accompanied ATRAḪASÍS to Shuraya. The very idea of a creature with the body and natural abilities of a Shurayu but isn't born of Shurayu batter cooked in a Shurayu oven is so immensely disturbing I can practically feel it in my bones. An abomination like that would be studied by Multépišú to figure out how it managed to mimic our perfection so keenly and then would be killed immediately once the Multépišú figure out what's up."

2. Religious Stuff
"When you devote yourself to a single god as I have, you create a special relationship with that god and they become number one amongst the gods in your heart but that doesn't mean the other gods just disappear. There were a number of gods who pitched in to create us Shurayu, not just Ištar, you know? I love and resonate most with Ištar, but I pray to every god daily because I love them too and they deserve my praise. The Gods aren't jealous types and they aren't dictators, they're our parents and they love us just as they love eachother, and they allow us to go our own paths in life. If they were dictatorial, they would've seriously fucked us up as punishment for our faithlessness but instead they allow us to come to them in our own time. As for the bond between worshipper and Ilu-Mušallimu, it's unbreakable. When you name a god Ilu-Mušallimu with honesty, humility, love, a sober mind, and an understanding of what doing so means, you tether your soul to them. You'll never want to leave them.

I hope my answers have equaled the anticipation of your staff!

- IŠŠÛ MUTTALLU ṢÍRÚTA, KINZIRÛ ANŠAR, ŠAR ŠINÁLÍMU-ŠINÁŠRÁ ŠÚRÁYA

by **Sherechia** » Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:29 am

"Just a simple question since Daikan told me that you told him that you own a car which honestly I did not expect, I thought you just use those flying ziggurats, or a saddled lion, or walk since your cities seem pretty walkable. So anyway, what car do you drive? How does the car look, feel and drive? What are its specifications like top speed, engine power and more? Do you like your current car or do you hate it? If you hate it, what is your ideal car?"
-Inogo Estima

The Shuraya House of Inquiries (Shuraya Q&A Thread)

The Shuraya House of Inquiries (Shuraya Q&A Thread)

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