http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Senemura 2026-04-20T20:05:18Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.31.16 http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Glossary&diff=1289 2016-11-24T06:22:29Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>;Endocosm<br /> : A personal private world.<br /> ;Eucosm<br /> : A ideal/perfect world— or &#039;&#039;the&#039;&#039; ideal/perfect world.<br /> ;Exocosm<br /> : Physical reality, in the sense of &#039;that which does not go away even if you&#039;d prefer it did&#039;<br /> ;Orthocosm<br /> : Day-to-day life, in the sense of consensus reality and quotidian primate bullshit.<br /> ;Paracosm<br /> : Broadly, any non-orthrocosmic world.<br /> ;Syncosm<br /> : An interpersonal shared world.<br /> <br /> [[Category:In Progress]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Gridwalkers&diff=1269 2016-10-21T05:49:56Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>&#039;&#039;Gridwalkers&#039;&#039; are [[Puzzlebox]] inhabitants, usually of [[Downwarp]], that hold to a particular set of holistic animist beliefs. They&#039;re sometimes counted among Puzzlebox&#039;s formal factions, sometimes under the name &#039;Gridshamans,&#039; but there&#039;s not much evidence of large-scale faction-like organization among them. Gridwalkers tend to organize themselves in small tribes of a few dozen individuals at most, each tribe pursuing a general artistic or civic-works aim, and any factional &#039;artwar&#039; activity is on behalf of these, not any larger overarching group.<br /> <br /> == Worldview ==<br /> What binds the Gridwalkers together, or at least individuals likely to take on that label, is their view of the universe as an interconnected living system that they call the Grid. This is not merely a sense of the connectedness of all things or a broad pantheism, instead it&#039;s a perception of reality as being made of literally a social network, in the old sociological sense. Everything that can be seen as a &#039;thing&#039;, whether material, conceptual, or somehow something else entirely, is in their view &#039;&#039;alive&#039;&#039;, individuated, and inclined to form personal connections with other things. In understanding, forming, and strengthening these connections, Gridwalkers believe they can not only have a fuller experience of the world, but also gain favor and strength from the relationships they&#039;ve formed with their friends, physical and otherwise, throughout the Grid.<br /> <br /> Working with the Grid, therefore, involves cultivating these relationships. Gridwalkers call the attention, effort, and energy put into these relationships &#039;Candescence&#039; or, informally, &#039;Glow&#039;. One of the best ways to raise Glow is through creative processes: inspiring, building, changing, rebuilding, helping others up as you do, or simply bringing them along for a ride. This creative cycle forms the very heart of the Grid, birthed at the beginning of everything when something in unformed primal chaos became aware of itself, introspecting, looping, shaping and redefining itself until it ramified into the boundless diversity of the universe. That cycle, which Gridwalkers call the Circuit, suffuses everything in the Grid, and also serves as a way of beginning to understand Grid and Glow in terms of those core concepts of creation, formation, breakdown, and re-creation.<br /> <br /> == Powers and practices ==<br /> Since Gridwalkers live in a world filled with artifice and technology (even if much of it tends to be cobbled together or in poor repair), their greater powers have a decidedly urban bent. The three main stages of the Circuit are called Spark (Creation), Steel (Pattern), and Smoke (Change), together called the Cores or Attractors. These bear some resemblance to greater deities (and, in animist terms, are certainly powerful spirits) but are not often seen as personified, being somehow too big to put a face on. Propitiating them usually involves simply acting in accordance with one or more, being creative, inspiring, supportive, transformative, and knowing that that strengthens them and puts the &#039;walker more in tune with them.<br /> <br /> Other nodes of the Grid are often seen as much more individuated and personified, even if they are larger concepts or entities as large as a building or neighborhood. Relationships with these spirits are built on reciprocity, as in countless other animist cultures. Offerings are given regularly, though their form can be anything from food left at a doorstep to dances performed at a crossroads. These are never to be seen as a quid-pro-quo; the Grid is not formed of spiritual vending machines. Instead, friendships are formed: you do things for your friends because you like them, and your friends do things for you because they like you.<br /> <br /> [[Category:Puzzlebox]] [[Category:Factions]] [[Category:Metaphysics]] [[Category:In Progress]] [[Category:Downwarp]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=User:Senemura&diff=1259 2016-10-19T21:19:19Z

<p>Senemura: Created page with &quot;AKA [http://twitter.com/epicened @epicened] on twitter, and Zara on the slack. Currently a white manticore, but known to change species frequently. Generally a friendly, well-...&quot;</p> <hr /> <div>AKA [http://twitter.com/epicened @epicened] on twitter, and Zara on the slack. Currently a white manticore, but known to change species frequently. Generally a friendly, well-meaning creature, although that by dint of considerable effort.</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Upwarp&diff=1258 2016-10-19T19:33:55Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>{{TOC right}}<br /> <br /> &lt;blockquote&gt;&#039;&#039;“A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts. A graphic representation of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding.&quot;&#039;&#039; William Gibson, &#039;&#039;Neuromancer.&#039;&#039;&lt;/blockquote&gt;<br /> <br /> Upwarp is a warp of [[Puzzlebox]], now reorganized into a city of reason, science, information, and customized environments. <br /> <br /> == Environment == <br /> <br /> The city that comprises Upwarp sprawls within a massive, three-dimensional spherical volume, with buildings extending above and below what could be called the &#039;ground&#039;, a transparent plane upon which all things in the warp anchor. Buildings, parks, streets, all are laid out in polar coordinates from the central origin of the volume: concentric circles of buildings ring the core, while streets either follow the circular curve between them, or radiate from the core at random points of the compass. <br /> <br /> The plane is the reference for gravity both above and below, but it is only partially tangible. Buildings anchor to it as solidly as bedrock, but an individual can move through it as one might through a sheet of ice. Roads and sidewalks run back to back across its surface. At the fringes of the developed areas, faint gridlines can be seen glowing along the plane.<br /> <br /> At Upwarp&#039;s heart is a single bright point of light, called the Aleph. From it, a solid beam of light called the Axis projects above and below the city seemingly into infinity, like an otherworldly tentpole for the sky washed in a perpetual twilight of pink, orange, gold and indigo. There&#039;s a theory that the Axis is one single line that eventually wraps around the curved space to return to its origin -- nobody has been able to actually test this hypothesis by flying in either direction to find its end. The current consensus is that the Axis serves primarily as a point of reference, allowing one to judge orientation and distance from the core. <br /> <br /> The city is comprised of many varying Zones, for which different visual themes and Augmented-Reality (AR) overlays exist. In many cases, entering a Zone includes a change in one&#039;s entire sensorium (if so equipped) or matching suite of sensory inputs to match the new area. Additionally, uncountable datafeeds and communication channels permeate the volume, waiting to be tapped from anywhere -- Upwarp is very much oriented around digital information and communication. The fact that Upwarp itself is a virtual environment doesn&#039;t tend to bother anyone living there, since they&#039;re already at home navigating multiple layers of reality. <br /> <br /> It doesn&#039;t hurt that it simply &#039;&#039;looks like&#039;&#039; the Jungian conception of cyberspace, as well. From afar, Upwarp is a tremendous, glowing, three-dimensional quartz, with buildings of darker colours outlined in neon highlights of every hue. It is a glistening city of the future, the spherical sky coruscating through the colours of twilight on a roughly diurnal cycle. Everything within is laid in precise geometrical patterns, arranged meticulously on the polar grid. <br /> <br /> &#039;&#039;Neuromancer&#039;&#039;, &#039;&#039;Snow Crash&#039;&#039;, &#039;&#039;ReBoot&#039;&#039;, and &#039;&#039;Tron&#039;&#039; all inform the aesthetic style.<br /> <br /> == Upwarp Science, and The Aleph ==<br /> <br /> Upwarp&#039;s daily life is connected intimately with the Datasphere -- the popular colloquialism for the repository of information, communications, and constantly-churning data gathered from everywhere in the &#039;Box. It is vast enough to be considered near-infinite in scope, potentially even containing information concerning events that haven&#039;t happened yet, or objects and persons that are yet to exist. <br /> <br /> As with any sufficiently large set of data, deriving useful, applicable pearls of wisdom from the Datasphere is an awesome undertaking. Organizationally, this breaks down to what Upwarp denizens tend to call &#039;&#039;&#039;Research&#039;&#039;&#039; and &#039;&#039;&#039;Science&#039;&#039;&#039;. Collating data, filtering the oceans of gathered information, sifting and rendering them down to usable forms and readable archives, all these tasks are lumped under the umbrella of Research. The far less regimented practice of finding interesting ideas within that sorted data and ultimately doing something with it is considered Science. <br /> <br /> The primary way in which information is gathered is through the Aleph. Functionally, the Aleph is an infinitely vast source of information, but it contains no inherent organization. Like determining a star&#039;s makeup by telescope, the Aleph&#039;s surface is a churning maelstrom of chaotic, flowing data, and its contents can be derived by studying its cast-off emissions and patterns. Thus, gathering information from the Aleph is akin to collecting water from a waterfall by holding a thimble to the spray at its edge: each thimble contains enough data to keep corps of researchers busy for months.<br /> <br /> Physically accessing the Aleph is practically impossible, as the intense energy of the Aleph disassociates instruments and &#039;matter&#039; within close physical proximity. The most common way to access the Aleph is to simply drop probes in nearby, just beyond the disassociation range, and suck up what you can over time. A cloud of data-probes ring the Aleph in all three dimensions, fuelling the Research consortia in the innermost ring. Surrounding that are the Science Zones, which tend to also maintain the databases of information deemed &#039;&#039;complete&#039;&#039;.<br /> <br /> Upwarp denizens are much more comfortable sifting and filtering a few different realities or infostreams at a time, derived from curated Aleph data -- but trying to directly experience the Aleph, essentially seeing everything all at once, is madness-inducing. Even a brief, temporary immersion in the raw datastream collected from the Aleph remains a difficult endeavour, but remains as a sort of initiation ordeal for many of the Research consortia. Thus, appropriately, most of them are just a little bit mad. <br /> <br /> It&#039;s still unknown what the Aleph actually is, despite considerable time and processor power devoted to answering the question; while the Aleph could theoretically contain information about itself, finding that information among the tremendous volume of data passing through it is just as difficult as finding anything else specific. The popular theory is that the Aleph is a singularity containing the remains of the old Datasphere of Puzzlebox, which collapsed in on itself some time after the Magic Mirror system [[The Fracturing|shut down]], possibly also taking old Upwarp with it.<br /> <br /> == Proximity ==<br /> <br /> The existence of the Aleph very directly informs the structure of the cityscape. In closer proximity to the center, information naturally grows more accessible, systems tend to work much faster, everything is extra-efficient (aside from the mad experiments in the Science Zones). Thus, the truly limited resource of Upwarp is the &#039;&#039;space&#039;&#039; available within the spherical volume immediately surrounding the Aleph. <br /> <br /> While Downwarp is sometimes considered an experiment in artificially-limited resource scarcity, Upwarp is an experiment in unlimited resources but artificially-limited proximity and space. Zones can be located anywhere, but only without overlap, which means that closer to the center there is less space available. At the same time, space closer to the Aleph is more desirable due to greater efficiency in data flow and processing speeds. Contrariwise, on the outer rim, there&#039;s plenty of space but a far less optimal data flow overall. Sections of city can grow upward and downward from the equatorial plane, but there&#039;s some functional limitations to extending too far in either direction; rules pervade the environment akin to the real world, and building too tall is a risky endeavour, just as anywhere else. <br /> <br /> The limitations of space are more or less enforced by a transportation network limited in speed. Roads and highways are still mostly necessary, though the aerial versions can more easily break the polar coordinate layout, so they tend to be more common. Actual individual vehicles are mostly for show, since using the transport network could just as easily be done in a tiny personalized pod. <br /> <br /> An interesting limitation here is that, for the most part, there is no teleportation allowed. The overwhelming majority of methods of travel that use instantaneous transmission of information, or &#039;&#039;&quot;spooky action at a distance&quot;&#039;&#039;, simply fail to function, where they function flawlessly elsewhere. Information flow is stuck to the speed limits imposed by proximity to the core, and nothing seems to be able to violate that cardinal rule. There are quick-travel pads organized by radial sector, but these are more &quot;fast travel&quot; stations, and are much farther apart in the outer Zones. <br /> <br /> Both the transportation restrictions and the space-allocation system are managed by a subsystem that remains in the background, interfacing through software agents when necessary. Citizens of up tend to assume it is not sentient, but it has never shown concrete evidence either way, so they have affectionally nicknamed the entity &#039;&#039;&#039;Null&#039;&#039;&#039;. The main issue that anyone has with Null is that it is perhaps too strict on requirements of space usage. <br /> <br /> Essentially, to keep ownership and stewardship of a given Zone or smaller space within it, someone must actively be &#039;&#039;using&#039;&#039; it. The criteria has, of course, been tested extensively and has been found to be relatively simple in practice. A citizen needs to regularly upkeep their zone by moving around within it, giving a certain amount of attention to it. This can also be delegated to other people, but only to a point. A random stranger can&#039;t camp out in someone&#039;s yard to prevent it from changing, but a citizen can designate someone to patrol the boundaries, making sure that their favorite spot isn&#039;t suddenly reallocated to someone else. This doesn&#039;t happen randomly -- the Null subsystem helpfully populates the datasphere with plenty of accessible data to tell you rates of expiration and how often one needs to upkeep on zones that one owns (info on zones other people own are not shown, by design). The closer to Aleph one gets, the more desired the space is, and the faster claims decay.<br /> <br /> == The Zones ==<br /> <br /> The various chunks of cityscapes are, in a very literal sense, functional [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporary_Autonomous_Zone Temporary Autonomous Zones]. <br /> <br /> === Temporary ===<br /> <br /> Using the underlying system built into the subatomic structure of the local physics, a zone can be created and filled with just about anything. In the AR overlays, space is still at a ratio of 1 to 1--things can be seen that aren&#039;t there, but for the most part physical things you&#039;d want to interact with are created out of the city&#039;s smart-matter substrate. However, spaces and the things that make up the zone must be actively maintained or used to keep from being reallocated. For example, you could create a sprawling fantasy monarchy, but be constantly patrolling the borders to make sure some part of it doesn&#039;t suddenly turn into someone else&#039;s space opera fantasy. <br /> <br /> Of note, &#039;&#039;people&#039;&#039; will remain, but &#039;&#039;places&#039;&#039; and &#039;&#039;things&#039;&#039; may vanish or turn into something else. There is a certain amount of negotiation with the allocation system in keeping some personal (important or often-used) things, but an also-limited inventory to keep those in. The limitations are artificial, but intended to provide structure to an otherwise infinite space. <br /> <br /> === Autonomous ===<br /> <br /> Zones are managed by their initial creators, and Null maintains access and privacy controls that manage who can go to one or even who can see one. Some Zones are entirely invisible (and thus private) to anyone not living there or on the guest-access list. Zones are also characterized by varying visual themes and settings--a naturalistic setting could be right next to a huge chunk of city. The main principle in play is persistence--spaces do not overlap each other except at the edges, and people can&#039;t pass through each other even if they&#039;re virtual projections. Roads and aerial highways are always public, but routes passing through private Zones follow the restrictions of the owner.<br /> <br /> === Zones ===<br /> <br /> Zones can be created by an individual or by a collection or group. Folks can carve out a personal bedroom, house, or larger region by sending a request to Null, with varying degrees of preference for location. Subspaces can be managed within a larger Zone (the interior of a building, a single apartment space within a building, etc). If a general proximity preference is given (close to Aleph, close to other preferred zones), the space is created and allocated the space available up to the size requested. If no preference, then the space is created in a random location--and the creator is relocated to it.<br /> <br /> ==== Example ==== <br /> <br /> As an example of how this all works (as assumed by scientists studying Null): Nik decides he wants a new lab, close in to the Science zones. He requests of Null a small city-block-sized space. Null finds a spot close enough that&#039;s about to expire, keeping watch on several other suitable but less-preferred locations. Three other requests come in shortly afterwards, with similar preferences. Null weights the requests in order they arrived, and performs a lottery based on that data. Nik wins, and is teleported to the empty zone, and given access to customize the space as he wishes. The others in the queue get similar spaces as they become available, even though not all of them are the favored location.<br /> <br /> == Coordinates ==<br /> <br /> Some notes on Upwarp’s city road system: everything is circular, centering on the Aleph, and the roads run both radially and angular. <br /> <br /> Rather than keep the ancient 360-degree system for polar coordinates, Upwarp uses the more economical [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gradian gradian] measurement, also known as ‘gons’. Each right-angle section is 100 gons, with a full sweep around being 400. <br /> <br /> The roads are labeled according to this scheme: angular lines that lead in towards the Aleph, or towards the outside of the city, are each numbered. 104th St, 390th—each gives a measure where one is around the circle. The measurements along the circles, increasing in radius from the Aleph like ripples in a pond, are named by letters of the alphabet, increasing (the English alphabet is used here for clarity—feel free to imagine other language equivilants). The Aleph takes up the first letter, and the next out always starts with B, then C, and so forth. Notably, the letter scheme is always followed, but the actual names might be different according to the local theming in given neighborhoods. One sector could have a Centenary Avenue, while across the circle might be Canter Ave—these are the same roads, but since the city is not a perfect grid, roads may vanish in some places and start up again elsewhere.</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Charmwarp&diff=1257 2016-10-19T19:32:58Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>{{TOC right}}<br /> <br /> Charmwarp is one of the six Warps of the [[Puzzlebox]], a realm of riotous color and joyful exuberance, where chaos is kept in check by ritual competition.<br /> <br /> == Environment ==<br /> Charmwarp has changed dramatically since the last [[The Fracturing|ontological shift]] in the Puzzlebox, and a relatively new form has emerged from the chrysalis. Compared to prior incarnations, the &#039;new&#039; Charm is remarkably more orderly than before... at least on the surface. If anything, it is as dangerous as ever, in the way that only a realm of the truly innocent can be.<br /> <br /> Physically, Charm is a riot of color and gloss, much as it has always been, though now its tones are more those of candyfloss and ink than of rubber and metal. At some unidentified point in time, a surge of what has been consistently been described as &#039;elemental color&#039; swept over the Warp, hardening and crystallizing to form its present strata. This selfsame incident also brought with it the Warp&#039;s new ruler, an enigmatic figure known only as the Tearose Dowager, who undertook massive efforts to sculpt the roiling protomatter into functional structures. Depending upon location, Charm seems to be either constructed of finely-polished, carefully-sculpted candy, or living ink that appears to have been drawn-in by an unseen animator; deep beneath the &#039;modern&#039; strata, one can even find remnants of its previous structure, which local myth holds to house many of the residents who refused to change, including the [[Bubbledolls]].<br /> <br /> Its aesthetic mixes freely from both the Italian Rennaissance and the Heian Era, though all grounded in the strange physical properties of the Warp, with glossy materials that seem to be forged from hard candy, and lighting sources that seems to have been hand-shaded. Flower and plant motifs are common, etched into gleaming, partially-translucent candied marble, which come in all colors of the rainbow. Charm&#039;s aesthetic is moderately infectious, as well, with those who spend extensive time there typically taking on a glossy sheen or cel-shaded pastels.<br /> <br /> In present form, Charm is unusual in that while it shares the same theoretical infinitude of all the Warps, this property is notably vertically-oriented; everything in Charm is &#039;&#039;&#039;tall&#039;&#039;&#039;, buildings towering over its inhabitants except at the furthest reaches. Without a high enough prestige ranking or explicit invitation, the upper regions of Charm are always at one set height: too far to reach. Standing at &#039;ground-level,&#039; Charm seems to have an absolutely infinite amount of &#039;up&#039; inside it. Once one has attained the proper prestige, one can ascend or descend via elevators that seem to materialize whenever it is convenient for them to do so, traveling through streams of liquid color that often reflects whatever thoughts the occupants are having. More intellectually-inclined residents theorize that these are actually telelocation, and that the sensation of motion is simulated; why someone would simulate elevators that seem to move at right angles or in spirals is a different matter, as-yet unaddressed.<br /> <br /> == Sociology ==<br /> Charm has a well-known and well-deserved reputation for being a madhouse. The physical rules of reality are intensely mutable here, and residents are particularly tapped-into it. Anyone who visits Charm has, traditionally, been at rather extreme risk for &#039;deciding&#039; to stay, and Charm residents who leave tend to cause substantial chaos in their wake. The only rule Charm has natively is &#039;be colorful and have fun,&#039; and it twists the interpretations of that credo as far as it can get away with.<br /> <br /> The Tearose Dowager, confronted with the inherent chaos of Charm, instituted a system to keep the more dangerous inhabitants relatively pacified and &#039;safe&#039; towards outsiders, while still permitting them leave to do whatever they wish to each other: that of the Royal Duels. For most residents of Charm, the Royal Duels are not something that affects them; like anywhere else, it is simple enough to live a happy life without any concern for safety or scarcity. These are not who the Duels are for. <br /> <br /> Those who the Tearose Dowager identifies as &#039;troublemakers,&#039; however, are made Duelists, and branded with her mark: that of a stylized flower, each one particular to the given individual, upon the back of their hand or hand-equivalent, typically invisible but which glows in the presence of fellow Duelists. Duelists may freely challenge each other, but are prohibited from &#039;playing&#039; with anyone who does not bear the Dowager&#039;s mark, unless they give their express permission for a Duelist to do so. Duelists who attempt to break this prohibition are visited by the Dowager&#039;s discipline, which is typically public, deeply embarrassing, and often explosive.<br /> <br /> The primary prize for which Duelists duel is prestige. Those of higher prestige are permitted to access higher levels of Charm, with the top-ranked permitted to attend the Dowager&#039;s court. Duels take many forms, combative and otherwise, but all are inherently competitive and emotionally-charged, with the &#039;test&#039; typically being maintaining courtly composure in the face of debilitating bliss. Prestige is an invisibly-tracked but tracked-nevertheless rating which assesses Duelists on a number of factors, skill, composure, and valor chiefly, but also how entertaining they are when facing a loss: many well-ranked Duelists are perennial &#039;losers&#039; who are simply so adorable in a state of ecstatic meltdown that they are awarded bonuses.<br /> <br /> Duels are incredibly varied, and can range from painting exhibitions where the canvas corresponds to the opponent&#039;s body, elegant dances where Duelists must struggle to follow each other&#039;s moves, or out-and-out combats where being struck results in pleasure rather than pain. It is customary that the challenger picks the locale, while the defender picks the terms of the duel. Refusing a duel results in an automatic deduction of prestige, but losing does not necessarily mean a &#039;loss,&#039; which keeps the system functional.<br /> <br /> The chief effect this has upon local metaphysics, however, is that issuing or accepting a duel counts as explicit, non-revokable consent to whatever may happen as a result. No one knows &#039;&#039;&#039;how&#039;&#039;&#039; the Tearose Dowager managed to subvert Puzzlebox&#039;s Consent Maintenance System to make this system work, and those who have investigated it, if they have discovered anything, are not sharing. Most likely because the ranks of the Royal Guard seem to increase in number anytime somebody goes looking, always looking suspiciously like someone you used to know.<br /> <br /> == Inspiration ==<br /> <br /> * &#039;&#039;&#039;Anime&#039;&#039;&#039;<br /> ** {{wp|Revolutionary Girl Utena}} – The most obvious inspiration for neo-Charm, of course, with its bizarre architecture, emotional duels, and fascinating exploration of the interplay between gender and power dynamics. Come for the lesbians, stay for the Gnosticism!<br /> ** {{wp|Kaiba}} – A surreal, colorful exploration of identity, set in a futuristic sci-fi universe where memories can be manipulated, moved from body to body, and stored to make you immortal. Hauntingly beautiful and often &#039;&#039;&#039;very&#039;&#039;&#039; tropey.<br /> ** {{wp|Aim for the Ace!}} – The &#039;&#039;&#039;original&#039;&#039;&#039; shoujo anime, and the one that set the mold for all to come. Beautiful despite limited animation, staggeringly emotive, and wonderfully-written with every event being driven by emotion.<br /> ** {{wp|Kill La Kill}} – Madcap, fetishy as they come, and completely awesome. Fashion gives you superpowers because of aliens! School uniforms are bloodsucking symbiotes! Everything is adorable, violent, and gay as hell!<br /> <br /> [[Category:Puzzlebox]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Bottomwarp&diff=1256 2016-10-19T19:32:36Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>{{TOC right}}<br /> <br /> Bottomwarp is one of the six warps of the [[Puzzlebox]], a hedonistic playground populated by those with a passion for pleasure and congress of all stripes. <br /> <br /> == Environment ==<br /> Bottomwarp was once described as &quot;&#039;&#039;a hot, humid, twilit place, mired in a sea of musky haze&#039;&#039;&quot;. This is, by and large, still accurate, but it is a pale descriptor of what the warp has become in recent years.<br /> <br /> Originally, Bottomwarp was organized largely in a fashion akin to a city, albeit organically shaped and inspired. This was possible by means of a sort of fluffy, foamy organic substrate. After the sundering of the connections that linked Bottomwarp to the other Warps of the Mess, something happened to this stuff. The locals refer to it now as the Growing.<br /> <br /> The Growing is one part slime mold, one part insulating foam, and one part flowing concrete. It is definitely alive. At some point, whether by accidental experimental process run amok, intentional introduction and engineering, or random, spontaneous evolution, the substrate took on a living quality, and began to expand, and reshape its environment by designs that were not according to any one whim or collective. Like a tree, it diverged, grew, flowered and bloomed, and it has never stopped for one second since, assuming all manner of texture, colour and consistency. Sometimes, the foamy Growing will even exhibit bioluminescence, either in steady glowing patches, or coruscating whorls and swirls like aurorae.<br /> <br /> Bottomwarp is now as much jungle as city, a teeming hive inhabited by all stripes of hedonist and libertine. It has strata, discussed in greater detail below. Its geography is now a panoply of varied terrains inspired by the wildest of terrestrial and extraterrestrial possibilities found naturally, and encouraged and guided from time to time by the inhabitants. Valleys, mesas, rivers, tunnels, forests and fields, all can be found in the varying stratigraphic layers of Bottomwarp in all manner of combination and variety.<br /> <br /> The Growing is harmless; it does not consume so much as cover, engulf as much as ensconce. It can be encouraged and persuaded to assume shapes, follow paths, or even withdraw and hold empty volumes to produce usable spaces. It can be negotiated with, as one might negotiate with a cat; sometimes it will comply, and sometimes it will assume its own whims. Nothing remains the same forever, regardless. <br /> <br /> Nobody is quite sure how the Growing collects energy; there are conflicting hypotheses. The most common is that it is photosynthetic to a degree that rivals the best solar collectors. Others believe it harvests energy by biological reactor. Still others, conspiratorially, believe that the Growing runs on what some Bottomwarpers describe as “orgone”, the intangible product of organic pleasure, and do everything they can to ensure the Growing has an adequate supply.<br /> <br /> The only part of Bottomwarp that remains in the same place is a volume nicknamed the Root. Everything else changes, a controlled, slow-motion chaos. Filmed over the course of days or weeks, the vistas and layout of Bottomwarp can change completely, renewing and rebuilding, forming connections and denying old paths. Many are arguably non-euclidean, and as many, arguably, do not exist once traversed. Change and spectacular, barely-controlled, thriving chaos is now the norm for Bottomwarp.<br /> <br /> ===The Root===<br /> The Root once contained the nexus of old Bottomwarp’s fast transit system, including the Magic Mirror. As though in deference to its existence, this location has remained roughly static, sufficient that inertial positioning systems, used by those so equipped, can rely on it as a calibration point. While the point in geographic space has remained, the environment around it has changed. It is a nexus of passageways, causeways, highways and breezeways arranged in a gallery akin to a broad, squat hourglass, comprised of gleaming, smooth, rich green Grow-foam. Instead of sand, the flow is of water, cascading down from a seemingly inexhaustible source high above that rings the outside of the upper volume, flows down the inner slope in a patchwork of waterfalls that change configuration by the day, and pour through the neck, along with sunlight, into a reflecting pool in the centre of the lower half.<br /> <br /> Spiral stairs wind, and organic elevators slide behind the curtain of water above to access the “surface” of the growing, also called the canopy, an ever changing landscape of peaks and valleys where one can see the crystal blue sky above. Below, the domelike lower half of the hourglass is a common space, frequented by merchant carts, revelers and festivals, and decorated with all manner of holographic and conventional light sources. From here, it’s possible to find passages to anywhere. Some passages remain static longer than others, or change sluggishly; some are gone by the hour. Regardless, the space is honeycombed with ways to travel elsewhere, above, aside, and below.<br /> <br /> <br /> ===The Canopy===<br /> Bottomwarp can be roughly described using analogies to a jungle, aside from the Root. The first of several layers in Bottomwarp’s structure, the Canopy consists largely of the peaks, branches, outcroppings, and stretched awnings that form a forest-like maze of suspended catwalks and bridged branches, and platforms or mesas akin to immense toadstools, akin to inhabiting a village suspended high in the branches of some unfathomably immense forest. Some of these bridges are artificial, composed of the stuff made by people, silksteel cabling and ceramic or plastic, others are spontaneous or at least purely the squishy foam of the Growing. Falling off rarely results in injury, with outcroppings and formations of soft foam the consistency of fluffy padding seemingly strategically placed wherever one is likely to tip over the edge, or slopes that redirect a falling person into one.<br /> <br /> These “trees”, immense stalks of sheer grow-foam, are highly variable in colour and configuration, but when occupied, they give some measure of warning when change is coming. An occupied platform or fractally branching ‘tree’ of foam, say with a treehouse-style dwelling built in, may begin to recede over a course of days, giving the occupant plenty of time to adjust, where an unoccupied branch may evaporate in hours, collapsing back towards the ground rapidly. The longest gatherings of sapients in this realm can be measured in months, but no more than that. This forces the dwellers of the canopy level to be particularly itinerant. Aerostats, and airship-based transportation are frequently found here.<br /> <br /> Above those that live here is the sky, an endless stretch of blue that meets a horizon line some kilometres distant, implying a spherical body. There is weather, albeit always mild and temperate. Also, a day/night cycle on a familiar timetable, though there are variations there too, defying even accurate timekeeping. During the day, a bright main-sequence star traverses the sky in a direction and progression that changes a little every day, randomly. During the night, a smaller, binary companion illuminates the surface with a lustrous, ivory glow. Long-time residents of Bottomwarp debate whether Bottomwarp ever possessed these astronomical features in the past, but there is even spirited disagreement in that realm as well.<br /> <br /> <br /> === The Valleys ===<br /> The most stable of the layers of Bottomwarp, the valleys are, as the name implies, large canyons and gullies that form randomly within the structured, varied surface of the Growing. Like cracks in a cake, their walls are irregular and varied; newly formed crevices can be narrow, jagged, but smooth over within hours, forming graceful, curving slopes and breathtaking galleries. The scale of each valley varies; the largest are a few hundred metres long and wide, whereas the smallest evoke alleyways and crevasses. Frequently, these larger canyons fill with rainwater at their lowest points to create ponds, and even lakes, and hidden springs will occasionally produce streams and rivers.<br /> <br /> These valleys also form the backbone of the flora and fauna that occupy Bottomwarp, a rather new addition. The collection includes all manner of flora, in the form of actual trees, bushes, shrubs and vines, and fauna, running the gamut from innocuous insects, fish, crustaceans, birds, mammals and reptiles. Frequently, there are observations that Bottomwarp is like a traveling zoo, circus or nature preserve. The number of species is not large, at any given time, and they seem to come and go; a species declared ‘extinct’, having not been observed for months or years, will suddenly reappear in another location entirely, without explanation. Many species exhibit bioluminescence, none that encounter people are venomous or poisonous, and when studied, there are rarely signs of genetic relation, indicating wildly differing origins.<br /> <br /> Regardless, it is these Valleys that form the backbone of what passes for civilization in Bottomwarp. The most stable valleys can last years, but unlike the Root, they fluctuate in their configuration and size considerably on a day to day basis. One can go to sleep in an apartment carved into the side of a Valley with a view of a pond, and discover the next morning that pond is now a lake or is gone entirely, now a river draining into a new Valley spontaneously formed. Catwalks, adhesive temporary structures, cave-like dwellings, all are commonly found in the Valleys, teeming markets, networked cities of hundreds or even thousands of sapients, complete with venues and merchants of all that civilization requires. Some valleys restrict building, refusing to obey the desires of sculptors or settlers by passive resistance, stubbornly remaining as wild parks and untamed nature.<br /> <br /> === Warrens ===<br /> <br /> The understory of Bottomwarp, the Warrens comprise a honeycombing of passageways and chambers like an anthill that would seem to continue on down into the lowest depths of Bottomwarp’s core, if such a thing exists. Bottomwarp itself seems to be a solid, soft Grow-foam throughout, lacking any sort of bedrock or underlying geology. Periodically, channels and passageways form in the material, some lasting hours, others days. <br /> <br /> Those occupied by people may find themselves in a cozy pocket of foam if they linger long enough, seemingly trapped, but a little cursory exploration will inevitably yield a soft patch of foam that opens into a crevice or passage to admit exit. Some use this intentionally to produce private spaces. Oxygen balance remains constant, waste gases withdrawn, as though filtered and distributed through the foam itself. <br /> <br /> The temperature can vary, but it is almost always hot and humid, occasionally with passages that leave only narrow breathing spaces, otherwise filled with water or other organic fluids. Lighting is variable, but there is always at least some degree of diffuse glow at any depth, permitting navigation. Needless to say, the Warrens are not recommended for claustrophobes. Alternative route, however, are easy to find; even reversing direction can lead to somewhere totally different. Retracing one’s steps in the Warrens is essentially impossible; there is only going somewhere new.<br /> <br /> The passageways that make up the Warrens go to any number of places, and this is where the non-euclidean nature of Bottomwarp is most apparent. Different passages that lead to the same place, from a different same place, with a known distance between them, can take wildly differing courses and be wildly differing lengths, to the point of being impossible. When unobserved, passages can cease to exist, or spontaneously appear. Navigating these passages, interestingly, produces the best results when conscious intention is involved, suggesting some degree of intuition or telepathy on the part of Bottomwarp itself. A party determined to return to a particular Valley, or to the Root, will inevitably find themselves there, while wanderers will remain delightfully lost.<br /> <br /> Spaces and chambers at these depths are described variously as cocoon- or womb-like, and serve varying purposes, the most common of which is spaces for liminal and ephemeral indulgence of pleasure. Secret, spontaneous raves, cuddle-puddles, and meditative spaces are frequent finds, if one goes looking. These spaces rarely exist for more than a few days before disappearing again, making exploring the Warrens an exercise in what the game-players of Bottomwarp affectionately refer to as ‘procedural content generation’.<br /> <br /> == Civilization ==<br /> <br /> Civilization in Bottomwarp is robust, ever changing, and almost always delighted to see you. Some constants remain in the controlled chaos; there is a robust local commerce, fueled as much on the barter of favours, sexual and otherwise, as the other typical currencies of Puzzlebox: information, ideas, and unique technologies. One can expect to be propositioned (politely) for dalliances and pleasure at every turn, and many of the so-called businesses and establishments carved into the foamy buildings or operating out of ramshackle vehicles or carts cater to fulfilling these whims and urges with aplomb. But aside from that, Bottomwarp is like any other place, but without any sort of central governance or authority. Customary law is the law, but few are of a mind to cause infractions, and those that do are treated as individuals who are unwell and are in need of help.<br /> <br /> Bottomwarp&#039;s &#039;&#039;modus operandi&#039;&#039; remains, as always, the pursuit of pleasure and pleasurable experiences, primarily focusing on the experiential dynamics of organic experiences. Most residents here spend their time either indulging in or providing the sought-after experiences of pleasure and sensation, or producing the means for others to provide it. <br /> <br /> === The People ===<br /> <br /> The population possesses what could be called organic-standard bodies more frequently than average, when compared to residents of other Warps. Often, they sport outlandish modifications (erotic morphing and hypertrophy, dermal alterations, neural restructuring), but they retain a focus on retaining or closely emulating nerves, blood (or blood analogues), chemical neurotransmission, brain function, and the physical sensations of the organic form. Nevertheless, Bottomwarp is home to a minority population of inorganics, ranging from digital sapiences inhabiting computing substrates, robotic denizens, and other life based on alternative means, such as silicon, or energy. <br /> <br /> Actual formal industries vary, from crop production on sun-soaked aerostat colonies in the Canopy serving exotic restauraunts in the Valleys, to tech shops in the Valleys providing the equipment for spectacular dance parties in the Warrens, commerce is as diverse as anything, supporting a fluctuating and impossible to census population of at least several thousand individuals.<br /> <br /> The politics in Bottomwarp are varied, but there is a sort of consensus to avoid conflict as “unproductive”, or at least to resolve conflict by means other than violence. The most popular alternative is, of course, sex. Political alliances come and go between factions of people, which are anything from loose affiliations that share a secret handshake and otherwise rarely interact in their broad wanderings, to close-knit groups that refuse to travel apart at any time. Bottomwarp’s hallmark is promiscuity, pleasure and intimacy; sex is downright common, to say nothing of nudity, and the orgasm is the most popular and sought after commodity of all.<br /> <br /> One popular faction is the Bonobians, who have weathered the change in their environment surprisingly well; falling more into the category of ‘secret handshake’ faction, the Bonobians are bio-augmented libertine neophiles, sexually promiscuous (like most of Bottomwarp’s population) and equipped with glands that cross-connect organic brains’ senses of physical and aesthetic pleasure and encourage a degree of lewd hypertrophy (unlike most of Bottomwarp’s population). The Bonobians hail from all walks of life, from artists to technicians to mathematicians, all given a new dimension of appreciation for their work, finding physical joy in the elegance of their creations and discoveries. Often found wandering, they will periodically form ad hoc groups to tackle problems, and mostly commune with each other via datasphere, seeking out new things and summoning others to them when they find one to delight in shared experiences. <br /> <br /> === Living Conditions ===<br /> <br /> Bottomwarp’s residents are itinerant out of neccessity; it is common to have one’s dwelling spaces changing on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis. Those seeking stability often make their hopes in the Canopy, ironically, aboard floating aerostat colonies. Little more than floating ramshackle platforms of wood connected to dirigibles and balloons, they wander the skies, docking periodically to offload people and goods. <br /> <br /> In the lower reaches, a favored tool for creating living spaces is the Sculptor; a combination of paint sprayer, pad sander and laser, this tool is the consensus favorite for coaxing the Growing to assume desired shapes. The paint sprayer works in conjunction with the laser, laying down a stream of experimentally derived nutrient and sugar blend that the organic substrate seems to enjoy “consuming”, and the laser warms the area, encouraging growth. Similarly, the pad massages areas smooth in conjunction with the warming laser, simulating the passage of organic feet in cadence, and thus a wall can be encouraged to retreat to form voids and rooms, and floors can be made firm and tough like ceramic. <br /> <br /> The result is that those that wield such tools with commensurate skill, known predictably as Sculptors, can coax and encourage the Growing into arbitrary shapes and formations, sculpting ramps, rooms, vaults, galleries and bridges. Like navigating the Warrens, intention seems to form a significant component of this endeavour; those with patience, respect, and a steadfast hand produce noticeably better results than anyone.<br /> <br /> Others still reside in an old Bottomwarp “technology” given new purpose; the venerable domichord, essentially a fairly dumb organism genetically manufactured to serve as a self-contained public housing, do very well in synergizing with the Growing. With their limited locomotion, akin to a slug, they can be encouraged to navigate in the same way that the Growing can be encouraged to take on new shapes. Within them is a simple assortment of life supporting apparatus in a thick, semi-hard shell; a place to sleep, perform ablutions like bathing and toiletries, and a simple organic protein re-processor that will go on making nutritious (albeit uncreative) meals indefinitely, so long as the domichord is supplied some basic nutrients and water. <br /> <br /> With a literal footprint the size of a wheeled vehicle, they serve as the day to day home of many individuals, periodically imbedding or anchoring themselves within walls, nestling in as cozy apartments. When the landscape inevitably reconfigures itself around them, they wander on to the next hotspot like a lazy roving herd of lumpy, hemispherical cattle. Others prefer the simpler life of a tent or even just finding a soft private space in the Warrens to rest their heads each night. <br /> <br /> Essentials are provided for by the usual suite of Puzzlebox’s post-scarcity accommodations. The instantiation system works without restriction here, in that it will produce everything up to complex elements, but not manufactured goods, with some coaxing. Water and waste handling seem to happen within the foam itself, unseen, and at least some of the fauna in every area are nutritious, usually identified by berry- or fruit-bearing plants. The comforts of home are made by a diverse array of artisans, with emphasis on portability in all things; collapsible furniture, folding tents, compressible pillows and beds.<br /> <br /> === Technology ===<br /> <br /> In terms of supporting higher technology, Bottomwarp’s local datasphere is maintained by an enterprising cadre of ad-hoc technicians and engineers that donate their time and materials to the task, maintaining a network of basic servers, radios and routers that link to the larger Puzzlebox network. The Growing seems to be functionally transparent to longwave radio, so data transmission is possible even in the lower reaches of the Warrens, albeit at reduced bandwidth.<br /> <br /> Perodically, explorers of the warrens will find nuggets and treasure troves of rare metals and elements that Puzzlebox refuses to instantiate, like titanium and platinum and other materials in demand by cottage industries. This keeps technologically inclined residents happy, while more mundane materials, like wood, can be harvested from the local flora. The rest is recycled endlessly. A closer look at the metals collected in the Warrens reveals that they are compositionally similar to rocks found wandering in space, suggesting that Bottomwarp is “eating” meteors and periodically regurgitating bits and pieces. This keeps the technologically diverse industries of the higher levels supplied at least minimally with the resources necessary to produce high-end equipment; if determined enough, anyone can have anything made, it’s just a matter of how many trades are going to get you there.<br /> <br /> Electrical power is supplied largely through a mixture of solar collectors, hydrolox fuel cells and a hodgepodge of other technologies. As opposed to permanent infrastructure, the manufacture and maintenance of high-capacity, high-efficiency batteries is a roaring industry, as is the deployment and operation of temporary charging hubs, which quickly become social hotspots while in operation. Interestingly, low voltages are available by tapping the foam itself, which possesses a latent potential across any two points sufficient to at least trickle-charge basic electronics. <br /> <br /> Most residents thus carry a simplistic arrangement of charging pads that can be stuck to a wall with some distance between them for basic needs. As always, there are luddites and technophiles, the overwhelming majority of Bottomwarp’s citizens are content with some nominal technological augmentation in the form of phones and wearables for communication. A wanderer in Bottomwarp is likely only to encounter static installations in the service of an experience, such as a rave’s lightshow, a restauraunt’s cooking appliances, or a library’s data warehouse.<br /> <br /> [[Category:Puzzlebox]] [[Category:Stubs]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Topwarp&diff=1255 2016-10-19T19:32:01Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>{{TOC right}}<br /> <br /> Topwarp is one of the six warps of the [[Puzzlebox]], an endlessly-refracting work of gears and astrology devoted to the Apollonian impulse: Rules and regulations, often arbitrary, and so many of them that they can&#039;t help but become self-conflicting.<br /> <br /> == Environment == <br /> <br /> If there were an &quot;origin point&quot; in Top, a central point to which everyone in the warp could at least provisionally agree both exists and is important, it would be [[Compass_Tower|Compass Tower]]. By some unspoken agreement, it remains the tallest building in the Warp, visible from almost any rooftop. Even on the cloudiest days, its silhouette looms overhead, its back-lit clock like a watchful eye gazing across the ever-unfolding cityscape. Many have threatened over the ages to build some structure glorifying one House or another that could dwarf the Tower, but to date, all attempts at such a landmark have ended in disaster, both for the structure and for those who&#039;ve proposed it.<br /> <br /> One such story tells of one of the original founders of [[Topwarp_Houses#Mars_House|Mars House]], Katerin Wheel, who published a proposal to build an elevator that could reach the heavens, complete with blueprints and the materials research necessary to craft such a contraption, the better to gather stardust from the source. After three months of demolitions and ground-clearing, a prior from [[Order_of_Saint_Cosmas|a nearby abbey]] arrived at the proposed construction site and asked the heads of Mars House to reconsider. The prior was rebuffed, and left. Soon after, work crews began reporting seeing other from the Order gathering near the site in larger numbers, pacing around its perimeter in packs. Then, one morning, the site was simply gone. The morning laborers arrived to find all their adamant scaffolding and gossamer cable &amp;#8212; as well as the cabin in which Mx. Wheel had been staying while overseeing construction &amp;#8212; replaced with several blocks&#039; worth of parkland. Of Katerin, there was no sign and no word. Not even the psychohistorians of Saturn House could explain it. When asked directly, a provost of the Order said only, &quot;we did ask they reconsider.&quot;<br /> <br /> == Sociology ==<br /> <br /> Outside the Compass Tower and its gardens, if there&#039;s an &quot;order,&quot; it&#039;s really the fractally complex intersection of geography, geometry, and personality. &quot;Neo-Victorian [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favela favela]&quot; would be the best descriptor of the lay of the land, with buildings on top of buildings in a crazy-quilt pattern, cut through with back alleys and the occasional thoroughfare. The sky ranges from light grey to charcoal, and at night, the sky is lit from below by an endless sea of phlogiston-jet lamps. Steamstacks dot the landscape shooting jets of vapor and soot into the air, and at times the clouds themselves seem to be on fire. Blimps dot the skies, along with autogyros, ornithopters, and the occasional &quot;tamed&quot; dragon. Horse- and other beast-drawn carts roam the streets, interspersed with the rare spell-powered vehicle.<br /> <br /> Keeping a &lt;span style=&quot;font-variant: small-caps&quot;&gt;[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonplace_book commonplace]&lt;/span&gt; is typical habit, detailing personal observations about the universe. Occasionally someone&#039;s &lt;span style=&quot;font-variant: small-caps&quot;&gt;commonplace&lt;/span&gt; will evolve into a [[Topwarp_Houses|House]]&#039;s codex, either as an addendum to someone else&#039;s or as a unique guide to itself. Visitors to Topwarp are, for the sake of politeness, sorted into a &quot;Guest House,&quot; unless of course someone wishes to join one of the others.<br /> <br /> == Psychology ==<br /> <br /> The key to Topwarp psychology is in the subtle and indirect. As is typified in the books of Austen and Brontë, Topwarp culture is [http://ask.metafilter.com/55153/Whats-the-middle-ground-between-FU-and-Welcome#830421 &#039;&#039;guess culture&#039;&#039;]. You will be expected to osmose the information you need without having to be told, and to synthesize the information you need from the information you receive. No Topwarper would ever nakedly proposition another for sex, but this doesn&#039;t mean they may not want it, or even be having it. Decorum, standing, and status are paramount. If you want something, you must find a way to get it without being so blunt as to directly inquire about it.<br /> <br /> This isn&#039;t to say that you &#039;&#039;can&#039;t&#039;&#039; ask; a Topwarper will answer a direct question if it would seem more rude to avoid doing so. However, forcing a Topwarper into the &#039;&#039;zugzwang&#039;&#039; of having to pick which social rule to violate is a good way to get yourself disinvited from future parties, especially if it can be arranged that said parties will have exactly the sorts of encounters that you were asking about.<br /> <br /> Likewise, beware the Topwarper and the &#039;&#039;grudge&#039;&#039;. Just as directly asking for something is seen as shockingly bold, no Topwarper would be so crass as to challenge someone who mortally and morally wounded them to a duel. It&#039;s much more likely that they&#039;d put a few drops of arsenic in your tea every Thursday for ten years, until you suffer a heart attack, at which point you&#039;ll wake up in the local hospital with a note on your bedside apologizing for the inconvenience and stating that now you&#039;re even. The Topwarper has learned patience, and will look for the perfect opportunity. They have eternity, and so do you.<br /> <br /> Above all else, psychology in Topwarp emphasizes the &#039;&#039;unremarkable&#039;&#039;. What&#039;s happening right now is &#039;&#039;normal&#039;&#039;, no matter how extraordinary. To borrow a fae expression, &quot;there is no blood.&quot; It won&#039;t matter if you walk into a room covered in the entrails of the damned; or if you have a small pack of gagged, plugged, and blindfolded &quot;pets&quot; on leashes behind you. If you act as though nothing is out of the ordinary, there isn&#039;t a Topwarper alive that will remark on it, whatever &quot;it&quot; is. Perhaps they fear retribution if they call attention to it, or perhaps they simply respect your privacy. The Topwarper impulse is to treat all things as circumspect, unless forced to pay attention to it.<br /> <br /> == Stereotypes ==<br /> Opinions provided by Claver, [[Topwarp_Houses#Mercury_House|Mercury House]] Emotochord Composer and Musical Historian<br /> <br /> * [[Upwarp]]: It&#039;s quite beautiful, but it feels so empty, as though they wanted a garden without any flowers in it. At least the clocks ring on time, though.<br /> * [[Downwarp]]: Would it destroy you to expect a bit of polish on your equipment? Your ingenuity is amazing, but have some pride in your work.<br /> * [[Bottomwarp]]: Rude, gauche, and lacking any sense of decorum. Revel all you like, but do it somewhere private, for gears&#039; sake.<br /> * [[Charmwarp]]: Beautiful parties, right up until the weapons come out. They&#039;re so... hot-tempered.<br /> * [[Strangewarp]]: Spare me your pre-Fracture nonsense. I have research to do.<br /> <br /> == Inspiration and Reference ==<br /> * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_the_Winds<br /> * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_compass_winds<br /> * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_clock<br /> * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_astronomical_clock<br /> * http://www.thesecretknots.com/comic/the-gif-day/<br /> * http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-to-keep-a-zibaldone-a-13thcentury-answer-to-tumblr<br /> <br /> [[Category:Puzzlebox]] [[Category:Stubs]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Rue_Tasloi&diff=1236 2016-10-17T06:07:32Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>Rue Tasloi is an ancient boulevard that runs throughout [[Strangewarp]]. It is paved in broad, irregular black flagstones mortared with gray concrete; it seems ancient, far older than any of the construction that surrounds it. In the times before [[The_Fracturing|the Abandonment]], it served as a major thoroughfare of the warp, running from one end of the city to the other and back again. It was a main drag, well-lit against the everpresent gloom, home to all varieties of miscreants, deviants and wretches.<br /> <br /> In the times since, the neighborhoods it runs through have gradually emptied out. In some the buildings are replaced by something completely other— a forest of spined metal-clad trees, ominous black basalt blocks that hum on subsonic frequencies and emit black mist, or the vast cathedralic structure that has grown, acrasid-like, over much of downtown. The boulevard itself now runs unpredictably; sometimes it loops around to its beginning as normal; other times one finds oneself traveling back the way one came with no memory of having turned around. And sometimes it runs on and on, deep into strange demesnes, out of all knowing or habitation, onward into the black depths at the edge of reality. The prudent generally turn back at this point.<br /> <br /> === The Shriketree Forest ===<br /> <br /> A shriketree is a tall, metal tree about 18-24&#039; in height, with razor-sharp bark. Its trunk runs straight and branchless before blooming into a canopy of metallic, clanging branches. When sated and torpid, its bladed bark lies flat, and the tree is safe to approach, even to lay against— or stumble into accidentally. But when the tree thirsts, it will greet an innocent touch or stumble with sudden blades, entangling if not impaling its victim. It drinks deep of their blood, and can quickly exsanguinate an unlucky passerby. The upper branches and leaves also take a sharp, funnel-like shape; during Strangewarp&#039;s rains of viscera, all the trees bloom at once, every one slaking its thirst from the falling offal. This is the only time the shriketree forest is safe to travel through.<br /> <br /> The forest is a swath of former neighborhood where the trees have grown up around empty buildings, even as the buildings have succumbed to the ravages of time at a thousandfold pace. It is more dimensionally unmoored than most Strangewarp locales— and it tends to wander. Traveling through inhabited Strangewarp, it is easy to turn a corner and find oneself surrounded by shriketrees, often within a foot of bumping into one. The way back is choked with trees as well, and only careful navigation can free one from the grove.<br /> <br /> When it routes through the forest, travelers on broad Rue Tasloi aren&#039;t in immediate risk from the trees— although the branches do arc troublingly over the road, giving the feeling of traveling down a long, bladed tunnel. At such times one can only travel forwards or turn back; turning onto any side street is folly. The trees rule there.<br /> <br /> === The Cathedral ===<br /> <br /> The cathedral is great. The cathedral is vast. The cathedral is beautiful. The cathedral is all Strange ever was, and all it ever needs to be. <br /> <br /> This alabaster growth is easily the largest structure in Strangewarp, and its opalescent glow is the strongest source of natural light after the warp&#039;s moon. It stretches 200 feet into the air across much of what was downtown, an endless series of arches and vaults and flying buttresses of smooth, white stone. Every year it expands by another block or so, growing new adjuncts, and subsuming existing structures like an immense nacreous slime mold.<br /> <br /> Rue Tasloi winds beneath it, built at its broadest, taking a circuitous route through what was once the heart of the community it served. Storefronts and plazas have been replaced with colonnades and galleries, empty of any living soul, and silent but for the blowing wind— and the creaking of stone as the cathedral expands ever outwards. The chilling glow that radiates from the stone surrounds the traveler here, crowding past eyes screwed shut, seeming to sing with elegance and inexorability and timelessness and certainty of triumph.<br /> <br /> &#039;&#039;We are beauty. We are grace. We are an endless monument to ourself. We—&#039;&#039; A wise traveler hurries on at this point, lest they become lulled by the siren song, drawn away into the cathedral&#039;s endless pearlescent halls. Few organized efforts have been made to explore the cathedral, and none have met with success— or even returned from the first expedition.<br /> <br /> === The Basalt Blocks ===<br /> <br /> Along a certain stretch of Rue Tasloi, the buildings begin to peter out, replaced one by one, and then by the dozens, with immense blocks of black basalt. The general shape of the original building is preserved— the size of each floor, any balconies or patios or suchlike, retained in vague outline in the block of cold unfeeling stone that has replaced the building. The streets are also scattered with smaller, pillarlike blocks, measuring roughly 0.5m wide and deep, and 1.5m - 2m in height.<br /> <br /> Large and small, the blocks seem to hum in subsonic frequencies. The hum is below most ranges of hearing; but it can be discerned by touch, felt through the soles of the feet, shaking ones form with its aching saudade. Spectral analysis of the hum reveals an immense amount of information modulated into the inaudible tones, each block radiating its own distinct broadcast of baffling complexity. Efforts to decipher the hum have failed; the only auditory interpolation engine so far devised was abandoned when all that could be heard through it was screaming.<br /> <br /> Traveling this stretch of Rue Tasloi is especially difficult, since the streets are in many places choked with narrow black pillars. At times a black mist slinks out from between the buildings, rendering the area nearly impassable. The mist reduces visibility to near zero even as it renders the hum far louder and more audible, raking the ears with the wails of dozens if not hundreds of blocks on all sides. At such times, even those who leave by the shortest route possible find themselves haunted by auditory hallucinations, and intrusive thoughts calling them to return, to breathe deeply of the mist, not to leave, please don&#039;t leave.<br /> <br /> [[Category:Puzzlebox]] [[Category:Strangewarp]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Rue_Tasloi&diff=1235 2016-10-16T07:28:57Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>Rue Tasloi is an ancient boulevard that runs throughout [[Strangewarp]]. It is paved in broad, irregular black flagstones mortared with gray concrete; it seems ancient, far older than any of the construction that surrounds it. In the times before [[The_Fracturing|the Abandonment]], it served as a major thoroughfare of the warp, running from one end of the city to the other and back again. It was a main drag, well-lit against the everpresent gloom, home to all varieties of miscreants, deviants and wretches.<br /> <br /> In the times since, the neighborhoods it runs through have gradually emptied out. In some the buildings are replaced by something completely other— a forest of spined metal-clad trees, ominous black basalt blocks that hum on subsonic frequencies and emit black mist, or the vast cathedralic structure that has grown, acrasid-like, over much of downtown. The boulevard itself now runs unpredictably; sometimes it loops around to its beginning as normal; other times one finds oneself traveling back the way one came with no memory of having turned around. And sometimes it runs on and on, deep into strange demesnes, out of all knowing or habitation, onward into the black depths at the edge of reality. The prudent generally turn back at this point.<br /> <br /> === The Shriketree Forest ===<br /> <br /> A shriketree is a tall, metal tree about 18-24&#039; in height, with razor-sharp bark. Its trunk runs straight and branchless before blooming into a canopy of metallic, clanging branches. When sated and torpid, its bladed bark lies flat, and the tree is safe to approach, even to lay against— or stumble into accidentally. But when the tree thirsts, it will greet an innocent touch or stumble with sudden blades, entangling if not impaling its victim. It drinks deep of their blood, and can quickly exsanguinate an unlucky passerby. The upper branches and leaves also take a sharp, funnel-like shape; during Strangewarp&#039;s rains of viscera, all the trees bloom at once, every one slaking its thirst from the falling offal. This is the only time the shriketree forest is safe to travel through.<br /> <br /> The forest is a swath of former neighborhood where the trees have grown up around empty buildings, even as the buildings have succumbed to the ravages of time at a thousandfold pace. It is more dimensionally unmoored than most Strangewarp locales— and it tends to wander. Traveling through inhabited Strangewarp, it is easy to turn a corner and find oneself surrounded by shriketrees, often within a foot of bumping into one. The way back is choked with trees as well, and only careful navigation can free one from the grove.<br /> <br /> When it routes through the forest, travelers on broad Rue Tasloi aren&#039;t in immediate risk from the trees— although when the branches do arc troublingly over the road, giving the feeling of traveling down a long, bladed tunnel. At such times one can only travel forwards or turn back; turning onto any side street is folly. The trees rule there.<br /> <br /> === The Cathedral ===<br /> <br /> The cathedral is great. The cathedral is vast. The cathedral is beautiful. The cathedral is all Strange ever was, and all it ever needs to be. <br /> <br /> This alabaster growth is easily the largest structure in Strangewarp, and its opalescent glow is the strongest source of natural light after the warp&#039;s moon. It stretches 200 feet into the air across much of what was downtown, an endless series of arches and vaults and flying buttresses of smooth, white stone. Every year it expands by another block or so, growing new adjuncts, and subsuming existing structures like an immense nacreous slime mold.<br /> <br /> Rue Tasloi winds beneath it, built at its broadest, taking a circuitous route through what was once the heart of the community it served. Storefronts and plazas have been replaced with colonnades and galleries, empty of every living soul, and silent but for the blowing wind— and the creaking of stone as the cathedral expands ever outwards. The chilling glow that radiates from the stone surrounds the traveler here, crowding past eyes screwed shut, seeming to sing with elegance and inexorability and timelessness and certainty of triumph.<br /> <br /> &#039;&#039;We are beauty. We are grace. We are an endless monument to ourself. We—&#039;&#039; A wise traveler hurries on at this point, lest they become lulled by the siren song, drawn away into the cathedral&#039;s endless pearlescent halls. Few organized efforts have been made to explore the cathedral, and none have met with success— or even returned from the first expedition.<br /> <br /> === The Basalt Blocks ===<br /> <br /> Along a certain stretch of Rue Tasloi, the buildings begin to peter out, replaced one by one, and then by the dozens, with immense blocks of black basalt. The general shape of the original building is preserved— the size of each floor, any balconies or patios and suchlike, retained in vague outline in the block of cold unfeeling stone that has replaced the building. The streets are also scattered with smaller, pillarlike blocks, measuring roughly 0.5m wide and deep, and 1.5m - 2m in height.<br /> <br /> Large and small, the blocks seem to hum in subsonic frequencies. The hum is below most ranges of hearing; but it can be discerned by touch, felt through the soles of the feet, shaking ones form with its aching saudade. Spectral analysis of the hum reveals an immense amount of information modulated into the inaudible tones, each block radiating its own distinct broadcast of baffling complexity. Efforts to decipher the hum have failed; the only auditory interpolation engine so far devised was abandoned when all that could be heard through it was screaming.<br /> <br /> Traveling this stretch of Rue Tasloi is especially difficult, since the streets are in many places choked with narrow black pillars. At times a black mist slinks out from between the roadways, rendering the area nearly impassable. The mist reduces visibility to near zero even as it renders the hum far louder and more audible, raking the ears with the wails of dozens if not hundreds of blocks on all sides. At such times, even those who leave by the shortest route possible find themselves haunted by auditory hallucinations, and intrusive thoughts calling them to return, to breathe deeply of the mist, not to leave, please don&#039;t leave.<br /> <br /> [[Category:Puzzlebox]] [[Category:Strangewarp]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Rue_Tasloi&diff=1234 2016-10-16T07:26:46Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>Rue Tasloi is an ancient boulevard that runs throughout [[Strangewarp]]. It is paved in broad, irregular black flagstones mortared with gray concrete; it seems ancient, far older than any of the construction that surrounds it. In the times before [[The_Fracturing|the Abandonment]], it served as a major thoroughfare of the warp, running from one end of the city to the other and back again. It was a main drag, well-lit against the everpresent gloom, home to all varieties of miscreants, deviants and wretches.<br /> <br /> In the times since, the neighborhoods it runs through have begun to empty. In some the buildings are replaced by something completely other— a forest of spined metal-clad trees, ominous black basalt blocks that hum on subsonic frequencies and emit black mist, or the vast cathedralic structure that has grown, acrasid-like, over much of downtown. The boulevard itself now runs unpredictably; sometimes it loops around to its beginning as normal; other times one finds oneself traveling back the way one came with no memory of having turned around. And sometimes it runs on and on, deep into strange demesnes, out of all knowing or habitation, onward into the black depths at the edge of reality. The prudent generally turn back at this point.<br /> <br /> === The Shriketree Forest ===<br /> <br /> A shriketree is a tall, metal tree about 18-24&#039; in height, with razor-sharp bark. Its trunk runs straight and branchless before blooming into a canopy of metallic, clanging branches. When sated and torpid, its bladed bark lies flat, and the tree is safe to approach, even to lay against— or stumble into accidentally. But when the tree thirsts, it will greet an innocent touch or stumble with sudden blades, entangling if not impaling its victim. It drinks deep of their blood, and can quickly exsanguinate an unlucky passerby. The upper branches and leaves also take a sharp, funnel-like shape; during Strangewarp&#039;s rains of viscera, all the trees bloom at once, every one slaking its thirst from the falling offal. This is the only time the shriketree forest is safe to travel through.<br /> <br /> The forest is a swath of former neighborhood where the trees have grown up around empty buildings, even as the buildings have succumbed to the ravages of time at a thousandfold pace. It is more dimensionally unmoored than most Strangewarp locales— and it tends to wander. Traveling through inhabited Strangewarp, it is easy to turn a corner and find oneself surrounded by shriketrees, often within a foot of bumping into one. The way back is choked with trees as well, and only careful navigation can free one from the grove.<br /> <br /> When it routes through the forest, travelers on broad Rue Tasloi aren&#039;t in immediate risk from the trees— although when the branches do arc troublingly over the road, giving the feeling of traveling down a long, bladed tunnel. At such times one can only travel forwards or turn back; turning onto any side street is folly. The trees rule there.<br /> <br /> === The Cathedral ===<br /> <br /> The cathedral is great. The cathedral is vast. The cathedral is beautiful. The cathedral is all Strange ever was, and all it ever needs to be. <br /> <br /> This alabaster growth is easily the largest structure in Strangewarp, and its opalescent glow is the strongest source of natural light after the warp&#039;s moon. It stretches 200 feet into the air across much of what was downtown, an endless series of arches and vaults and flying buttresses of smooth, white stone. Every year it expands by another block or so, growing new adjuncts, and subsuming existing structures like an immense nacreous slime mold.<br /> <br /> Rue Tasloi winds beneath it, built at its broadest, taking a circuitous route through what was once the heart of the community it served. Storefronts and plazas have been replaced with colonnades and galleries, empty of every living soul, and silent but for the blowing wind— and the creaking of stone as the cathedral expands ever outwards. The chilling glow that radiates from the stone surrounds the traveler here, crowding past eyes screwed shut, seeming to sing with elegance and inexorability and timelessness and certainty of triumph.<br /> <br /> &#039;&#039;We are beauty. We are grace. We are an endless monument to ourself. We—&#039;&#039; A wise traveler hurries on at this point, lest they become lulled by the siren song, drawn away into the cathedral&#039;s endless pearlescent halls. Few organized efforts have been made to explore the cathedral, and none have met with success— or even returned from the first expedition.<br /> <br /> === The Basalt Blocks ===<br /> <br /> Along a certain stretch of Rue Tasloi, the buildings begin to peter out, replaced one by one, and then by the dozens, with immense blocks of black basalt. The general shape of the original building is preserved— the size of each floor, any balconies or patios and suchlike, retained in vague outline in the block of cold unfeeling stone that has replaced the building. The streets are also scattered with smaller, pillarlike blocks, measuring roughly 0.5m wide and deep, and 1.5m - 2m in height.<br /> <br /> Large and small, the blocks seem to hum in subsonic frequencies. The hum is below most ranges of hearing; but it can be discerned by touch, felt through the soles of the feet, shaking ones form with its aching saudade. Spectral analysis of the hum reveals an immense amount of information modulated into the inaudible tones, each block radiating its own distinct broadcast of baffling complexity. Efforts to decipher the hum have failed; the only auditory interpolation engine so far devised was abandoned when all that could be heard through it was screaming.<br /> <br /> Traveling this stretch of Rue Tasloi is especially difficult, since the streets are in many places choked with narrow black pillars. At times a black mist slinks out from between the roadways, rendering the area nearly impassable. The mist reduces visibility to near zero even as it renders the hum far louder and more audible, raking the ears with the wails of dozens if not hundreds of blocks on all sides. At such times, even those who leave by the shortest route possible find themselves haunted by auditory hallucinations, and intrusive thoughts calling them to return, to breathe deeply of the mist, not to leave, please don&#039;t leave.<br /> <br /> [[Category:Puzzlebox]] [[Category:Strangewarp]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Rue_Tasloi&diff=1225 2016-10-16T03:55:04Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>Rue Tasloi is an ancient boulevard that runs throughout [[Strangewarp]]. It is paved in broad, irregular black flagstones mortared with gray concrete; it seems ancient, far older than any of the construction that surrounds it. In the times before [[The_Fracturing|Abandonment]], it served as a major thoroughfare of the warp, running from one end of the city to the other and back again. It was a main drag, well-lit against the everpresent gloom, home to all varieties of miscreants, deviants and wretches.<br /> <br /> In the times since, the neighborhoods it runs through have begun to empty. In some the buildings are replaced by something completely other— a forest of spined metal-clad trees, ominous black basalt blocks that hum on subsonic frequencies and emit black mist, or the vast cathedralic structure that has grown, acrasid-like, over much of downtown. The boulevard itself now runs unpredictably; sometimes it loops around to its beginning as normal; other times one finds oneself traveling back the way one came with no memory of having turned around. And sometimes it runs on and on, deep into strange demesnes quite unfamiliar to most Strangewarp denizens, out of all knowing or habitation, onward into the black depths at the edge of reality. The prudent generally turn back at this point.<br /> <br /> === The Shriketree Forest ===<br /> <br /> A shriketree is a tall, metal tree about 18-24&#039; in height, with razor-sharp bark. Its trunk runs straight and branchless before blooming into a canopy of metallic, clanging branches. When sated and torpid, its bladed bark lies flat, and the tree is safe to approach, even to lay against— or stumble into accidentally. But when the tree thirsts, it will greet an innocent touch or stumble with sudden blades, entangling if not impaling its victim. It drinks deep of their blood, and can quickly exsanguinate an unlucky passerby. The upper branches and leaves also take a sharp, funnel-like shape; during Strangewarp&#039;s rains of viscera, all the trees bloom at once, every one slaking its thirst from the falling offal. This is the only time the shriketree forest is safe to travel through.<br /> <br /> The forest is a swath of former neighborhood where the trees have grown up around empty buildings, even as the buildings have succumbed to the ravages of time at a thousandfold pace. It is more dimensionally unmoored than most Strangewarp locations— and it tends to wander. Traveling through inhabited Strangewarp, it is easy to turn a corner and find oneself surrounded by shriketrees, often within a foot of bumping into one. The way back is choked with trees as well, and only careful navigation can free one from the grove.<br /> <br /> When it routes through the forest, travelers on broad Rue Tasloi aren&#039;t in immediate risk from the trees— although when the branches do arc troublingly over the road, giving the feeling of traveling down a long, bladed tunnel. At such times one can only travel forwards or turn back; turning onto any side street is folly. The trees rule there.<br /> <br /> === The Cathedral ===<br /> <br /> The cathedral is great. The cathedral is vast. The cathedral is beautiful. The cathedral is all Strange ever was, and all it ever needs to be. <br /> <br /> This alabaster growth is easily the largest structure in Strangewarp, and its opalescent glow is the strongest source of natural light after the warp&#039;s moon. It stretches 200 feet into the air across much of what was downtown, an endless series of arches and vaults and flying buttresses of smooth, white stone. Every year it advances another block or so, growing new adjuncts and subsuming existing structures like an immense pearlescent slime mold.<br /> <br /> Rue Tasloi winds beneath it, built at its broadest, taking a circuitous route through what was once the heart of the community it served. Storefronts and plazas have been replaced with colonnades and galleries, empty of every living soul, and silent but for the blowing wind— and the creaking of stone as the cathedral expands ever outwards. The chilling glow that radiates from the stone surrounds the traveler here, crowding past eyes screwed shut, seeming to sing with elegance and inexorability and timelessness and certainty of triumph.<br /> <br /> &#039;&#039;We are beauty. We are grace. We are an endless monument to ourself. We—&#039;&#039; A wise traveler hurries on at this point, lest they become lulled by the siren song, drawn away into the cathedral&#039;s endless nacreous halls. Few organized efforts have been made to explore the cathedral, and none have met with success— or even returned from the first expedition.<br /> <br /> === The Basalt Blocks ===<br /> <br /> Along a certain stretch of Rue Tasloi, the buildings begin to peter out, replaced one by one, and then by the dozens, with immense blocks of black basalt. The general shape of the original building is preserved— the size of each floor, any balconies or patios, and suchlike, retained in vague outline in the block of cold unfeeling stone that has replaced the building. The streets are also scattered with smaller, pillarlike blocks, measuring roughly 0.5m wide and deep, and 1.5m - 2m in height.<br /> <br /> Large and small, the blocks seem to hum in subsonic frequencies. The hum is below most ranges of hearing; but it can be discerned by touch, felt through the soles of the feet, shaking ones form with its aching saudade. Spectral analysis of the hum reveals an immense amount of information modulated into the inaudible tones, each block radiating its own distinct broadcast of baffling complexity. Efforts to decipher the hum have failed; the only auditory interpolation engine so far devised was abandoned when all that could be heard through it was screaming.<br /> <br /> Traveling this stretch of Rue Tasloi is especially difficult, since the streets are in many places choked with narrow black pillars. At times a black mist slinks out from between the roadways, rendering the area nearly impassable. The mist reduces visibility to near zero even as it renders the hum far louder and more audible, raking the ears with the wails of dozens if not hundreds of blocks on all sides. Those who do not leave by the shortest route possible at such times find themselves haunted by auditory hallucinations, and intrusive thoughts calling them to return, to breathe deeply of the mist, not to leave, please don&#039;t leave.</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Rue_Tasloi&diff=1224 2016-10-16T03:48:05Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>Rue Tasloi is an ancient boulevard that runs throughout [[Strangewarp]]. It is paved in broad, irregular black flagstones mortared with gray concrete; it seems ancient, far older than any of the construction that surrounds it. In the times before [[The_Fracturing|Abandonment]], it served as a major thoroughfare of the warp, running from one end of the city to the other and back again. It was a main drag, well-lit against the everpresent gloom, home to all varieties of miscreants, deviants and wretches.<br /> <br /> In the times since, the neighborhoods it runs through have begun to empty. In some the buildings are replaced by something completely other— a forest of spined metal-clad trees, ominous black basalt blocks that hum on subsonic frequencies and emit black mist, or the vast cathedralic structure that has grown, acrasid-like, over much of downtown. The boulevard itself now runs unpredictably; sometimes it loops around to its beginning as normal; other times one finds oneself traveling back the way one came with no memory of having turned around. And sometimes it runs and runs deep into strange demesnes quite unfamiliar to most Strangewarp denizens, out of all knowing or habitation, onward into the black depths at the edge of reality. The prudent generally turn back at this point.<br /> <br /> === The Shriketree Forest ===<br /> <br /> A shriketree is a tall, metal tree about 18-24&#039; in height, with razor-sharp bark. Its trunk runs straight and branchless before blooming into a canopy of metallic, clanging branches. When sated and torpid, its bladed bark lies flat, and the tree is safe to approach, even to lay against— or stumble into accidentally. But when the tree thirsts, it will greet an innocent touch or stumble with sudden blades, entangling if not impaling its victim. It drinks deep of their blood, and can quickly exsanguinate an unlucky passerby. The upper branches and leaves also take a sharp, funnel-like shape; during Strangewarp&#039;s rains of viscera, all the trees bloom at once, every one slaking its thirst from the falling offal. This is the only time the shriketree forest is safe to travel through.<br /> <br /> The forest is a swath of former neighborhood where the trees have grown up around empty buildings, even as the buildings have succumbed to the ravages of time at a thousandfold pace. It is more dimensionally unmoored than most Strangewarp locations— and it tends to wander. Traveling through inhabited Strangewarp, it is easy to turn a corner and find oneself surrounded by shriketrees, often within a foot of bumping into one. The way back is choked with trees as well, and only careful navigation can free one from the grove.<br /> <br /> When it routes through the forest, travelers on broad Rue Tasloi aren&#039;t in immediate risk from the trees— although when the branches do arc troublingly over the road, giving the feeling of traveling down a long, bladed tunnel. At such times one can only travel forwards or turn back; turning onto any side street is folly. The trees rule there.<br /> <br /> === The Cathedral ===<br /> <br /> The cathedral is great. The cathedral is vast. The cathedral is beautiful. The cathedral is all Strange ever was, and all it ever needs to be. <br /> <br /> This alabaster growth is easily the largest structure in Strangewarp, and its opalescent glow is the strongest source of natural light after the warp&#039;s moon. It stretches 200 feet into the air across much of what was downtown, an endless series of arches and vaults and flying buttresses of smooth, white stone. Every year it advances another block or so, growing new adjuncts and subsuming existing structures like an immense pearlescent slime mold.<br /> <br /> Rue Tasloi winds beneath it, built at its broadest, taking a circuitous route through what was once the heart of the community it served. Storefronts and plazas have been replaced with colonnades and galleries, empty of every living soul, and silent but for the blowing wind— and the creaking of stone as the cathedral expands ever outwards. The chilling glow that radiates from the stone surrounds the traveler here, crowding past eyes screwed shut, seeming to sing with elegance and inexorability and timelessness and certainty of triumph.<br /> <br /> &#039;&#039;We are beauty. We are grace. We are an endless monument to ourself. We—&#039;&#039; A wise traveler hurries on at this point, lest they become lulled by the siren song, drawn away into the cathedral&#039;s endless nacreous halls. Few organized efforts have been made to explore the cathedral, and none have met with success— or even returned from the first expedition.<br /> <br /> === The Basalt Blocks ===<br /> <br /> Along a certain stretch of Rue Tasloi, the buildings begin to peter out, replaced one by one, and then by the dozens, with immense blocks of black basalt. The general shape of the original building is preserved— the size of each floor, any balconies or patios, and suchlike, retained in vague outline in the block of cold unfeeling stone that has replaced the building. The streets are also scattered with smaller, pillarlike blocks, measuring roughly 0.5m wide and deep, and 1.5m - 2m in height.<br /> <br /> Large and small, the blocks seem to hum in subsonic frequencies. The hum is below most ranges of hearing; but it can be discerned by touch, felt through the soles of the feet, shaking ones form with its aching saudade. Spectral analysis of the hum reveals an immense amount of information modulated into the inaudible tones, each block radiating its own distinct broadcast of baffling complexity. Efforts to decipher the hum have failed; the only auditory interpolation engine so far devised was abandoned when all that could be heard through it was screaming.<br /> <br /> Traveling this stretch of Rue Tasloi is especially difficult, since the streets are in many places choked with narrow black pillars. At times a black mist slinks out from between the roadways, rendering the area nearly impassable. The mist reduces visibility to near zero even as it renders the hum far louder and more audible, raking the ears with the wails of dozens if not hundreds of blocks on all sides. Those who do not leave by the shortest route possible at such times find themselves haunted by auditory hallucinations, and intrusive thoughts calling them to return, to breathe deeply of the mist, not to leave, please don&#039;t leave.</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Estrigan_Alley&diff=1223 2016-10-16T03:47:45Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>Estrigan Alley is an alley off of [[Rue Tasloi]] in [[Strangewarp]]. A variety of horrors haunt its streets, mostly manmade, and it has become sparsely populated— save by those to whom they feel like home.<br /> <br /> The alley twists and winds for considerable length, doubling back and at one point running across a rickety bridge over itself, all without changing apparent elevation. It crosses several other streets in the process, either as a bridge or as a tunnel; the only street it intersects with is Tasloi, though it does that twice. It is lit dimly at irregular intervals, and seems never far from rain, no matter the weather in the rest of the city. Its perimeter of ancient, two- and three-story stone buildings loom ominously in the dark, and too many never show a light in their windows.<br /> <br /> An artists&#039; colony has taken residence along a stretch of Estrigan near Tasloi, laying claim to many of its untenanted warehouses and other abandoned spaces. These have been given over to studios, galleries, and environmental art installations. The artists explore a variety of outre art forms, including psychodioramas, radical body mods, and altered cognition performance pieces— also more conventional work, such as autonomous parasapient holographic sprites, self-modifying swarm displays, and Riemannian architecture.<br /> <br /> The artists have done what they can to keep out Strangewarp&#039;s perpetual gloom, hanging strings of biolumenescent lanterns across and along the way in their area; although there are gaps where a lantern has crawled away of its own accord and not yet been replaced. Windows dance with holographic displays, and some artists work in open studios or even public spaces, weaving the otherworldly and the macabre in public view. Etrigan alley has few remaining residents who do not share their aesthetic.<br /> <br /> === Theodosophe&#039;s Folly ===<br /> <br /> At the heart of the colony is a building-size art installation, Theodosophe&#039;s Folly, which has become its unofficial community center— and a source of disturbed sleep and nameless dread for many nearby residents. Constructed of a slate-gray material with the texture of granite but the frangibility of drywall, The Folly has been growing for several years and now rises nearly five stories into the air. It has has begun to crawl across several adjacent structures, and has formed an unwelcome skybridge to the building across the way. It branches in a profusion of windowless crawlspace-sized projections, which dont so much terminate as fade away into nonexistence in a manner that eludes close examination. The Folly doesn&#039;t grow visibly, but changes suddenly while it is unobserved, often several times a day, always becoming slightly larger.<br /> <br /> The Folly&#039;s ground floor has the typical features of a building interior, but starting with the second floor its floor plan and design features begin to warp and permute in troubling ways, before branching as crazily as the exterior. It is possible, although not easy, to climb inside a crawlspace and explore it to its terminus. Most turn back, whether out of fear or good judgment, often after having travelled much further than the exterior should allow. Some others report having successfully used a particular branch of the Folly to travel to another warp. The remainder are never heard from again.<br /> <br /> The Folly is the work of Theodosophe, an avante garde artist in spatial anomalies. Xe created or modified several other structures in the alley before undertaking what would come to be known as xyr Folly. Shortly after finishing xyr masterpiece, xe retired from spatial anomalies, and launched a long-term performance piece in artificial irreversible neurological decline. Xe has reached the intelligence of a 3 month old, and is in no position to comment on xyr Folly, where its branches lead, whether it will ever stop growing, or whether the sinister intelligence that seems to radiate from it is just our imagination. However, xe always waves xyr hands and coos appreciatively when xyr caretaker takes xem by the Folly in xyr stroller.<br /> <br /> The ground floor is more or less stable, within the norm for spatial drift for a Strangewarp locale. A countertop which had abutted a wall might one day have a gap, or a cupboard might turn out to be bigger on the inside than the outside today— perhaps by several hundred feet. For want of other tenants, it has become home to regular gatherings among the local artists, including poetry slams, live music, gallery shows, artificial lifeform exhibitions, obelisk rites, and potlucks. One wing serves as a open gallery for local works, and there is a volunteer-run cafe some evenings. A warm, supportive community has formed around the Folly, of creatures who protect each other from the horrors of the warp— including what they create themselves.<br /> <br /> === Resident Artists ===<br /> <br /> * [[Senemura]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Strangewarp&diff=1222 2016-10-16T03:46:06Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>__NOTITLE__<br /> <br /> &lt;youtube&gt;iMd8BkkCiUY&lt;/youtube&gt;<br /> <br /> W͚͉̫̤̳̝̔̌̈́ͪ͜h̝͐a͔͎͚͓͙͚̬̾̊͒́̿̓t͖̪̠̤̭͍̅ͮ̂ͤͧ̚͝ ̱̥ͦ͗̉̉ͩ͑ḍ̫͎̋͊̃́ȫ̱̥ͧͤ͠ ̢̹͓̰̂̏̀Ḭ̬͂̆͂́ͨ̐ ̴̗̠w̫̦͘a͕̹͖̞̠̙̫̾̈́̋̀̅̚ṇ̖̙͓̳̈ͤͩ̀t͛̑̄̏̂ͫ͛ ̨̻͉̝̼̩̿́̈́w̞̱̱̘̪͔͘i̩̜͍͕̖͉̭ͨ͆͒̓t̯̲̪̜̼̻͇ͣ̇ͬ̄̎͗h̴̖̫̟̻͉͗̇ͬͭ̽̔ͣ ̵̥͙̥̰̩͉ͧ̆ͪ̏͆̋ͅa͒̍̑ͧl͍͉̭̗̖͕̰̉ļ̟̥͈͛ͦ́̉̑̀ ͇̦͖t̵̯̓̇̎h̠̻̎e͖͓̖͊͆̿̃ͮ́̊ś̹̩ẹ̫̟͓͖ͭ̃ͦ ͉͓̟ͭͯͥ͂ţ͖͚͖͕̅ͨ͂͐̐h̙̩̗̰͛ͥ͝i̠̝̲̯̖ͪ͗͂̅ͣ͘n͙ͤ̅͆ͣģ̩̩̩͓̘̼͗ͪ̽s̨̩̳̬ͦͬ̈́ͥ̒́͛?͕̭̳͕̃̒̌<br /> <br /> {{DISPLAYTITLE:W͓̅h̴̳͕̩͎͓͛ͩy̸̖̭͆ͥ̃ͤ̾̌̓&#039;̮̟̦̽̉ͤs̬̦͙͖̥̤̆̊̑̌ͦͣ͟ͅ ̻͇̥̳̘̄̅ͥ̿e̥͊̎̍̏͘v̧̓͒̓̽̅̇e͚͎͒͛̎ͫͥͩ͠r͋y̗͚̗̲͉̔̍̿͑̀b̧͙̌ͧ́͊o̶̲͈͇͉͉͖d̠̹̬̖͔͈̖̈͜y̖͔͡ ̭͍̀̚a͆̎͌̽͛͘c͕̠ͬ̍̌ͪ̆ͅt͚͓̑̇̇͛̽ͅi̝̮͚͙͎͔ͬ̍ͪ͌ͪͪͅn̉͐ͨ̈́̃͏͍ ̤̣̳̲ͩ̌ͯ̈ͣ͞f̤̬̟̻̠̬̃̂ͯ͌̋͒ͅu̎҉͉̣͙̦͚ͅn̫ͅnͤ̓̋͆͆̈͗͏̬̰y̐͑̉͗ͦ̐͢?͙}}<br /> <br /> === Locations ===<br /> <br /> * [[Estrigan Alley]]<br /> * [[Rue Tasloi]]<br /> <br /> === Inhabitants ===<br /> <br /> * [[Senemura]]<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> See also: [[Strangewarp/Archives|Archival Information]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Rue_Tasloi&diff=1221 2016-10-16T03:40:47Z

<p>Senemura: /* The Cathedral */</p> <hr /> <div>Rue Tasloi is an ancient boulevard that runs throughout Strangewarp. It is paved in broad, irregular black flagstones mortared with gray concrete; it seems ancient, far older than any of the construction that surrounds it. In the times before [[The_Fracturing|Abandonment]], it served as a major thoroughfare of the warp, running from one end of the city to the other and back again. It was a main drag, well-lit against the everpresent gloom, home to all varieties of miscreants, deviants and wretches.<br /> <br /> In the times since, the neighborhoods it runs through have begun to empty. In some the buildings are replaced by something completely other— a forest of spined metal-clad trees, ominous black basalt blocks that hum on subsonic frequencies and emit black mist, or the vast cathedralic structure that has grown, acrasid-like, over much of downtown. The boulevard itself now runs unpredictably; sometimes it loops around to its beginning as normal; other times one finds oneself traveling back the way one came with no memory of having turned around. And sometimes it runs and runs deep into strange demesnes quite unfamiliar to most Strangewarp denizens, out of all knowing or habitation, onward into the black depths at the edge of reality. The prudent generally turn back at this point.<br /> <br /> === The Shriketree Forest ===<br /> <br /> A shriketree is a tall, metal tree about 18-24&#039; in height, with razor-sharp bark. Its trunk runs straight and branchless before blooming into a canopy of metallic, clanging branches. When sated and torpid, its bladed bark lies flat, and the tree is safe to approach, even to lay against— or stumble into accidentally. But when the tree thirsts, it will greet an innocent touch or stumble with sudden blades, entangling if not impaling its victim. It drinks deep of their blood, and can quickly exsanguinate an unlucky passerby. The upper branches and leaves also take a sharp, funnel-like shape; during Strangewarp&#039;s rains of viscera, all the trees bloom at once, every one slaking its thirst from the falling offal. This is the only time the shriketree forest is safe to travel through.<br /> <br /> The forest is a swath of former neighborhood where the trees have grown up around empty buildings, even as the buildings have succumbed to the ravages of time at a thousandfold pace. It is more dimensionally unmoored than most Strangewarp locations— and it tends to wander. Traveling through inhabited Strangewarp, it is easy to turn a corner and find oneself surrounded by shriketrees, often within a foot of bumping into one. The way back is choked with trees as well, and only careful navigation can free one from the grove.<br /> <br /> When it routes through the forest, travelers on broad Rue Tasloi aren&#039;t in immediate risk from the trees— although when the branches do arc troublingly over the road, giving the feeling of traveling down a long, bladed tunnel. At such times one can only travel forwards or turn back; turning onto any side street is folly. The trees rule there.<br /> <br /> === The Cathedral ===<br /> <br /> The cathedral is great. The cathedral is vast. The cathedral is beautiful. The cathedral is all Strange ever was, and all it ever needs to be. <br /> <br /> This alabaster growth is easily the largest structure in Strangewarp, and its opalescent glow is the strongest source of natural light after the warp&#039;s moon. It stretches 200 feet into the air across much of what was downtown, an endless series of arches and vaults and flying buttresses of smooth, white stone. Every year it advances another block or so, growing new adjuncts and subsuming existing structures like an immense pearlescent slime mold.<br /> <br /> Rue Tasloi winds beneath it, built at its broadest, taking a circuitous route through what was once the heart of the community it served. Storefronts and plazas have been replaced with colonnades and galleries, empty of every living soul, and silent but for the blowing wind— and the creaking of stone as the cathedral expands ever outwards. The chilling glow that radiates from the stone surrounds the traveler here, crowding past eyes screwed shut, seeming to sing with elegance and inexorability and timelessness and certainty of triumph.<br /> <br /> &#039;&#039;We are beauty. We are grace. We are an endless monument to ourself. We—&#039;&#039; A wise traveler hurries on at this point, lest they become lulled by the siren song, drawn away into the cathedral&#039;s endless nacreous halls. Few organized efforts have been made to explore the cathedral, and none have met with success— or even returned from the first expedition.<br /> <br /> === The Basalt Blocks ===<br /> <br /> Along a certain stretch of Rue Tasloi, the buildings begin to peter out, replaced one by one, and then by the dozens, with immense blocks of black basalt. The general shape of the original building is preserved— the size of each floor, any balconies or patios, and suchlike, retained in vague outline in the block of cold unfeeling stone that has replaced the building. The streets are also scattered with smaller, pillarlike blocks, measuring roughly 0.5m wide and deep, and 1.5m - 2m in height.<br /> <br /> Large and small, the blocks seem to hum in subsonic frequencies. The hum is below most ranges of hearing; but it can be discerned by touch, felt through the soles of the feet, shaking ones form with its aching saudade. Spectral analysis of the hum reveals an immense amount of information modulated into the inaudible tones, each block radiating its own distinct broadcast of baffling complexity. Efforts to decipher the hum have failed; the only auditory interpolation engine so far devised was abandoned when all that could be heard through it was screaming.<br /> <br /> Traveling this stretch of Rue Tasloi is especially difficult, since the streets are in many places choked with narrow black pillars. At times a black mist slinks out from between the roadways, rendering the area nearly impassable. The mist reduces visibility to near zero even as it renders the hum far louder and more audible, raking the ears with the wails of dozens if not hundreds of blocks on all sides. Those who do not leave by the shortest route possible at such times find themselves haunted by auditory hallucinations, and intrusive thoughts calling them to return, to breathe deeply of the mist, not to leave, please don&#039;t leave.</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Rue_Tasloi&diff=1220 2016-10-16T03:36:52Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>Rue Tasloi is an ancient boulevard that runs throughout Strangewarp. It is paved in broad, irregular black flagstones mortared with gray concrete; it seems ancient, far older than any of the construction that surrounds it. In the times before [[The_Fracturing|Abandonment]], it served as a major thoroughfare of the warp, running from one end of the city to the other and back again. It was a main drag, well-lit against the everpresent gloom, home to all varieties of miscreants, deviants and wretches.<br /> <br /> In the times since, the neighborhoods it runs through have begun to empty. In some the buildings are replaced by something completely other— a forest of spined metal-clad trees, ominous black basalt blocks that hum on subsonic frequencies and emit black mist, or the vast cathedralic structure that has grown, acrasid-like, over much of downtown. The boulevard itself now runs unpredictably; sometimes it loops around to its beginning as normal; other times one finds oneself traveling back the way one came with no memory of having turned around. And sometimes it runs and runs deep into strange demesnes quite unfamiliar to most Strangewarp denizens, out of all knowing or habitation, onward into the black depths at the edge of reality. The prudent generally turn back at this point.<br /> <br /> === The Shriketree Forest ===<br /> <br /> A shriketree is a tall, metal tree about 18-24&#039; in height, with razor-sharp bark. Its trunk runs straight and branchless before blooming into a canopy of metallic, clanging branches. When sated and torpid, its bladed bark lies flat, and the tree is safe to approach, even to lay against— or stumble into accidentally. But when the tree thirsts, it will greet an innocent touch or stumble with sudden blades, entangling if not impaling its victim. It drinks deep of their blood, and can quickly exsanguinate an unlucky passerby. The upper branches and leaves also take a sharp, funnel-like shape; during Strangewarp&#039;s rains of viscera, all the trees bloom at once, every one slaking its thirst from the falling offal. This is the only time the shriketree forest is safe to travel through.<br /> <br /> The forest is a swath of former neighborhood where the trees have grown up around empty buildings, even as the buildings have succumbed to the ravages of time at a thousandfold pace. It is more dimensionally unmoored than most Strangewarp locations— and it tends to wander. Traveling through inhabited Strangewarp, it is easy to turn a corner and find oneself surrounded by shriketrees, often within a foot of bumping into one. The way back is choked with trees as well, and only careful navigation can free one from the grove.<br /> <br /> When it routes through the forest, travelers on broad Rue Tasloi aren&#039;t in immediate risk from the trees— although when the branches do arc troublingly over the road, giving the feeling of traveling down a long, bladed tunnel. At such times one can only travel forwards or turn back; turning onto any side street is folly. The trees rule there.<br /> <br /> === The Cathedral ===<br /> <br /> The cathedral is great. The cathedral is vast. The cathedral is beautiful. The cathedral is all Strange ever was, and all it ever needs to be. <br /> <br /> This alabaster growth is easily the largest structure in Strangewarp, and its opalescent glow is the strongest source of natural light after the warp&#039;s moon. It stretches 200 feet into the air across much of what was downtown, an endless series of arches and vaults and flying buttresses of smooth, white stone. Every year it advances another block or so, growing new adjuncts and subsuming existing structures like an immense pearlescent slime mold.<br /> <br /> Rue Tasloi winds beneath it, built at its broadest, taking a circuitous route through what was once the heart of the community it served. Storefronts and plazas have been replaced with colonnades and galleries, empty of every living soul, and silent but for the blowing wind— and the creaking of stone as the cathedral expands ever outwards. The chilling glow that radiates from the stone surrounds the traveler here, crowding past eyes screwed shut, seeming to sing with beauty and inexorability and timelessness and certainty of triumph.<br /> <br /> &#039;&#039;We are beauty. We are grace. We are an endless monument to ourself. We—&#039;&#039; A wise traveler hurries on at this point, lest they become lulled by the siren song, drawn away into the cathedral&#039;s endless nacreous halls. Few organized efforts have been made to explore the cathedral, and none have met with success— or even returned from the first expedition.<br /> <br /> === The Basalt Blocks ===<br /> <br /> Along a certain stretch of Rue Tasloi, the buildings begin to peter out, replaced one by one, and then by the dozens, with immense blocks of black basalt. The general shape of the original building is preserved— the size of each floor, any balconies or patios, and suchlike, retained in vague outline in the block of cold unfeeling stone that has replaced the building. The streets are also scattered with smaller, pillarlike blocks, measuring roughly 0.5m wide and deep, and 1.5m - 2m in height.<br /> <br /> Large and small, the blocks seem to hum in subsonic frequencies. The hum is below most ranges of hearing; but it can be discerned by touch, felt through the soles of the feet, shaking ones form with its aching saudade. Spectral analysis of the hum reveals an immense amount of information modulated into the inaudible tones, each block radiating its own distinct broadcast of baffling complexity. Efforts to decipher the hum have failed; the only auditory interpolation engine so far devised was abandoned when all that could be heard through it was screaming.<br /> <br /> Traveling this stretch of Rue Tasloi is especially difficult, since the streets are in many places choked with narrow black pillars. At times a black mist slinks out from between the roadways, rendering the area nearly impassable. The mist reduces visibility to near zero even as it renders the hum far louder and more audible, raking the ears with the wails of dozens if not hundreds of blocks on all sides. Those who do not leave by the shortest route possible at such times find themselves haunted by auditory hallucinations, and intrusive thoughts calling them to return, to breathe deeply of the mist, not to leave, please don&#039;t leave.</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Rue_Tasloi&diff=1219 2016-10-16T03:36:35Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>Rue Tasloi is an ancient boulevard that runs throughout Strangewarp. It is paved in broad, irregular black flagstones mortared with gray concrete; it seems ancient, far older than any of the construction that surrounds it. In the times before [[The_Fracturing Abandonment]], it served as a major thoroughfare of the warp, running from one end of the city to the other and back again. It was a main drag, well-lit against the everpresent gloom, home to all varieties of miscreants, deviants and wretches.<br /> <br /> In the times since, the neighborhoods it runs through have begun to empty. In some the buildings are replaced by something completely other— a forest of spined metal-clad trees, ominous black basalt blocks that hum on subsonic frequencies and emit black mist, or the vast cathedralic structure that has grown, acrasid-like, over much of downtown. The boulevard itself now runs unpredictably; sometimes it loops around to its beginning as normal; other times one finds oneself traveling back the way one came with no memory of having turned around. And sometimes it runs and runs deep into strange demesnes quite unfamiliar to most Strangewarp denizens, out of all knowing or habitation, onward into the black depths at the edge of reality. The prudent generally turn back at this point.<br /> <br /> === The Shriketree Forest ===<br /> <br /> A shriketree is a tall, metal tree about 18-24&#039; in height, with razor-sharp bark. Its trunk runs straight and branchless before blooming into a canopy of metallic, clanging branches. When sated and torpid, its bladed bark lies flat, and the tree is safe to approach, even to lay against— or stumble into accidentally. But when the tree thirsts, it will greet an innocent touch or stumble with sudden blades, entangling if not impaling its victim. It drinks deep of their blood, and can quickly exsanguinate an unlucky passerby. The upper branches and leaves also take a sharp, funnel-like shape; during Strangewarp&#039;s rains of viscera, all the trees bloom at once, every one slaking its thirst from the falling offal. This is the only time the shriketree forest is safe to travel through.<br /> <br /> The forest is a swath of former neighborhood where the trees have grown up around empty buildings, even as the buildings have succumbed to the ravages of time at a thousandfold pace. It is more dimensionally unmoored than most Strangewarp locations— and it tends to wander. Traveling through inhabited Strangewarp, it is easy to turn a corner and find oneself surrounded by shriketrees, often within a foot of bumping into one. The way back is choked with trees as well, and only careful navigation can free one from the grove.<br /> <br /> When it routes through the forest, travelers on broad Rue Tasloi aren&#039;t in immediate risk from the trees— although when the branches do arc troublingly over the road, giving the feeling of traveling down a long, bladed tunnel. At such times one can only travel forwards or turn back; turning onto any side street is folly. The trees rule there.<br /> <br /> === The Cathedral ===<br /> <br /> The cathedral is great. The cathedral is vast. The cathedral is beautiful. The cathedral is all Strange ever was, and all it ever needs to be. <br /> <br /> This alabaster growth is easily the largest structure in Strangewarp, and its opalescent glow is the strongest source of natural light after the warp&#039;s moon. It stretches 200 feet into the air across much of what was downtown, an endless series of arches and vaults and flying buttresses of smooth, white stone. Every year it advances another block or so, growing new adjuncts and subsuming existing structures like an immense pearlescent slime mold.<br /> <br /> Rue Tasloi winds beneath it, built at its broadest, taking a circuitous route through what was once the heart of the community it served. Storefronts and plazas have been replaced with colonnades and galleries, empty of every living soul, and silent but for the blowing wind— and the creaking of stone as the cathedral expands ever outwards. The chilling glow that radiates from the stone surrounds the traveler here, crowding past eyes screwed shut, seeming to sing with beauty and inexorability and timelessness and certainty of triumph.<br /> <br /> &#039;&#039;We are beauty. We are grace. We are an endless monument to ourself. We—&#039;&#039; A wise traveler hurries on at this point, lest they become lulled by the siren song, drawn away into the cathedral&#039;s endless nacreous halls. Few organized efforts have been made to explore the cathedral, and none have met with success— or even returned from the first expedition.<br /> <br /> === The Basalt Blocks ===<br /> <br /> Along a certain stretch of Rue Tasloi, the buildings begin to peter out, replaced one by one, and then by the dozens, with immense blocks of black basalt. The general shape of the original building is preserved— the size of each floor, any balconies or patios, and suchlike, retained in vague outline in the block of cold unfeeling stone that has replaced the building. The streets are also scattered with smaller, pillarlike blocks, measuring roughly 0.5m wide and deep, and 1.5m - 2m in height.<br /> <br /> Large and small, the blocks seem to hum in subsonic frequencies. The hum is below most ranges of hearing; but it can be discerned by touch, felt through the soles of the feet, shaking ones form with its aching saudade. Spectral analysis of the hum reveals an immense amount of information modulated into the inaudible tones, each block radiating its own distinct broadcast of baffling complexity. Efforts to decipher the hum have failed; the only auditory interpolation engine so far devised was abandoned when all that could be heard through it was screaming.<br /> <br /> Traveling this stretch of Rue Tasloi is especially difficult, since the streets are in many places choked with narrow black pillars. At times a black mist slinks out from between the roadways, rendering the area nearly impassable. The mist reduces visibility to near zero even as it renders the hum far louder and more audible, raking the ears with the wails of dozens if not hundreds of blocks on all sides. Those who do not leave by the shortest route possible at such times find themselves haunted by auditory hallucinations, and intrusive thoughts calling them to return, to breathe deeply of the mist, not to leave, please don&#039;t leave.</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Puzzlebox&diff=1218 2016-10-16T03:30:24Z

<p>Senemura: /* Historical Archive */</p> <hr /> <div>{{TOC right}}<br /> The Puzzlebox is an arbitrarily large, arbitrarily old, arbitrarily weird corner of space, or subspace, or non-space. Specifics tend to be difficult to nail down about it, it&#039;s that sort of place. It might reasonably be called a transhumanist megastructure, and indeed there are [[Puzzlebox/Archives|records]] of such a place going by such a name, but not all the details match up. The Puzzlebox of record seems to have largely been a pleasant galactic subdivision, well-kept but staid. The Puzzlebox that most folks seem to have direct experience with is something altogether messier. It&#039;s possible that this place was once part of that larger whole, there is evidence of an [[The Fracturing|event]] that may have caused all sorts of topological and mereological confusion.<br /> <br /> Despite its oddities, the Puzzlebox has all the conveniences of any good transhuman habitat: no one need die or go homeless or hungry, but life there is far from simple. It&#039;s divided up into districts, the Warps, and each one has slightly different rules of reality from each other (and the rest of the universe), supporting their own idiosyncratic ways of life.<br /> <br /> == The Warps ==<br /> There are six districts in total, three pairs, each named after a flavor of quark. Each warp seems to be as big as it needs to be, but rumors persist of borders between them, the particular reality of one warp bleeding into another in the far reaches. After the [[the Fracturing]], travel between warps became difficult and rare, but not unheard-of; and recently it seems to be increasingly common.<br /> <br /> [[Warp Metaphysics|There are countless ways to divide and characterize the six warps]], the following list simply uses the masses of the corresponding quarks to provide an ordering.<br /> <br /> * [[Downwarp]] - A cyberpunkish urban ruin homesteaded by tribes of artists and mystics.<br /> * [[Upwarp]] - A clinical technocratic society devoted to humanistic science and rationalism.<br /> * [[Strangewarp]] - A twisted mirror-image of an elegant city, turned inside-out by all those things that most folks would rather not think about.<br /> * [[Charmwarp]] - A fantasyland of bright colors, whimsical creatures, and exuberant ambition.<br /> * [[Bottomwarp]] - An endless street festival where shame (and clothing) are virtually unknown, and where kinky behavior and hippie-ish values predominate.<br /> * [[Topwarp]] - An aristocratic land of palaces and estates, whose inhabitants are devoted to craftsbeingship and personal development.<br /> <br /> == Life in the Puzzlebox ==<br /> Regardless of the specifics of various local realities, the Puzzlebox provides a number of conveniences. There&#039;s the Backup System, which constantly scans inhabitants&#039; bodies and minds and, if they suffer fatal physical damage, restores them intact at a nearby safe location. There&#039;s also the Instantiator, which allows inhabitants to create simple objects, including anything needed for sustenance and shelter, with only a thought. Finally, there&#039;s the Consent Maintenance System, which seems to prevent (or at least mitigate) anything happening to someone that they don&#039;t (by some definition) &#039;want&#039;. <br /> <br /> : &lt;span style=&quot;color: purple&quot;&gt;From an out-of-character perspective, this all basically means that MUCK rules are physical laws there; you can&#039;t die (unless you want to), you can make whatever you want (as long as you spend the mental effort), and usually you&#039;re the one who determines what happens to you (via your own poses).&lt;/span&gt;<br /> <br /> These make physical combat essentially superfluous (or at least clearly recreational), but that doesn&#039;t make the Puzzlebox free of conflict entirely. Instead, the way that Puzzlebox inhabitants contend is through memetics and propaganda, what is sometimes called &#039;artwar&#039;. Over Puzzlebox&#039;s long history, factions have formed, along ideological and aesthetic lines, and they&#039;re always vying with each other to win converts and influence. New inhabitants are particuarly prized; convincing someone from somewhere else that your way of life is the right one brings with it a lot of prestige.<br /> <br /> === Factions ===<br /> This is a necessarily incomplete list; factions form and fragment constantly, and there&#039;s plenty of disagreement even within factions as to who belongs and who doesn&#039;t.<br /> <br /> * [[Architects of the Future/Archives|Architects of the Future]]†<br /> * [[Bonobians]]<br /> * [[Bubbledolls/Archives|Bubbledolls]]†<br /> * [[Chitin Queens/Archives|Chitin Queens]]†<br /> * [[Eisenstimmen/Archives|Eisenstimmen]]†<br /> * [[Fever Cathedral/Archives|Fever Cathedral]]†<br /> * [[Gridwalkers]]<br /> * [[Hemotopians/Archives|Hemotopians]]†<br /> * [[Modulari]]<br /> * [[Neo-Boreals/Archives|Neo-Boreals]]†<br /> * [[Neovictorians]]<br /> * [[Plurals/Archives|Plurals]]†<br /> * [[Strange Medical Corps]]<br /> <br /> <br /> † (pre-[[The Fracturing|Fracturing]]) archival information<br /> <br /> === Historical Archive ===<br /> <br /> * The remains of the old PBX Wiki [http://wiki.postfurry.net/pbxarchive/ have been partially recovered]. <br /> * Room descriptions for a majority of the muck: here. (Coming Soon)<br /> <br /> === See Also ===<br /> <br /> * [[Characters]]<br /> * [[Puzzlebox/Glossary|Glossary]]<br /> * [[Puzzlebox/Archives|Archival Information]].<br /> <br /> [[Category:Syncosms]] [[Category:Puzzlebox]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Rue_Tasloi&diff=1217 2016-10-16T03:29:11Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>Rue Tasloi is an ancient boulevard that runs throughout Strangewarp. It is paved in broad, irregular black flagstones mortared with gray concrete; it seems ancient, far older than any of the construction that surrounds it. In the times before Abandonment, it served as a major thoroughfare of the warp, running from one end of the city to the other and back again. It was a main drag, well-lit against the everpresent gloom, home to all varieties of miscreants, deviants and wretches.<br /> <br /> In the times since, the neighborhoods it runs through have begun to empty. In some the buildings are replaced by something completely other— a forest of spined metal-clad trees, ominous black basalt blocks that hum on subsonic frequencies and emit black mist, or the vast cathedralic structure that has grown, acrasid-like, over much of downtown. The boulevard itself now runs unpredictably; sometimes it loops around to its beginning as normal; other times one finds oneself traveling back the way one came with no memory of having turned around. And sometimes it runs and runs deep into strange demesnes quite unfamiliar to most Strangewarp denizens, out of all knowing or habitation, onward into the black depths at the edge of reality. The prudent generally turn back at this point.<br /> <br /> === The Shriketree Forest ===<br /> <br /> A shriketree is a tall, metal tree about 18-24&#039; in height, with razor-sharp bark. Its trunk runs straight and branchless before blooming into a canopy of metallic, clanging branches. When sated and torpid, its bladed bark lies flat, and the tree is safe to approach, even to lay against— or stumble into accidentally. But when the tree thirsts, it will greet an innocent touch or stumble with sudden blades, entangling if not impaling its victim. It drinks deep of their blood, and can quickly exsanguinate an unlucky passerby. The upper branches and leaves also take a sharp, funnel-like shape; during Strangewarp&#039;s rains of viscera, all the trees bloom at once, every one slaking its thirst from the falling offal. This is the only time the shriketree forest is safe to travel through.<br /> <br /> The forest is a swath of former neighborhood where the trees have grown up around empty buildings, even as the buildings have succumbed to the ravages of time at a thousandfold pace. It is more dimensionally unmoored than most Strangewarp locations— and it tends to wander. Traveling through inhabited Strangewarp, it is easy to turn a corner and find oneself surrounded by shriketrees, often within a foot of bumping into one. The way back is choked with trees as well, and only careful navigation can free one from the grove.<br /> <br /> When it routes through the forest, travelers on broad Rue Tasloi aren&#039;t in immediate risk from the trees— although when the branches do arc troublingly over the road, giving the feeling of traveling down a long, bladed tunnel. At such times one can only travel forwards or turn back; turning onto any side street is folly. The trees rule there.<br /> <br /> === The Cathedral ===<br /> <br /> The cathedral is great. The cathedral is vast. The cathedral is beautiful. The cathedral is all Strange ever was, and all it ever needs to be. <br /> <br /> This alabaster growth is easily the largest structure in Strangewarp, and its opalescent glow is the strongest source of natural light after the warp&#039;s moon. It stretches 200 feet into the air across much of what was downtown, an endless series of arches and vaults and flying buttresses of smooth, white stone. Every year it advances another block or so, growing new adjuncts and subsuming existing structures like an immense pearlescent slime mold.<br /> <br /> Rue Tasloi winds beneath it, built at its broadest, taking a circuitous route through what was once the heart of the community it served. Storefronts and plazas have been replaced with colonnades and galleries, empty of every living soul, and silent but for the blowing wind— and the creaking of stone as the cathedral expands ever outwards. The chilling glow that radiates from the stone surrounds the traveler here, crowding past eyes screwed shut, seeming to sing with beauty and inexorability and timelessness and certainty of triumph.<br /> <br /> &#039;&#039;We are beauty. We are grace. We are an endless monument to ourself. We—&#039;&#039; A wise traveler hurries on at this point, lest they become lulled by the siren song, drawn away into the cathedral&#039;s endless nacreous halls. Few organized efforts have been made to explore the cathedral, and none have met with success— or even returned from the first expedition.<br /> <br /> === The Basalt Blocks ===<br /> <br /> Along a certain stretch of Rue Tasloi, the buildings begin to peter out, replaced one by one, and then by the dozens, with immense blocks of black basalt. The general shape of the original building is preserved— the size of each floor, any balconies or patios, and suchlike, retained in vague outline in the block of cold unfeeling stone that has replaced the building. The streets are also scattered with smaller, pillarlike blocks, measuring roughly 0.5m wide and deep, and 1.5m - 2m in height.<br /> <br /> Large and small, the blocks seem to hum in subsonic frequencies. The hum is below most ranges of hearing; but it can be discerned by touch, felt through the soles of the feet, shaking ones form with its aching saudade. Spectral analysis of the hum reveals an immense amount of information modulated into the inaudible tones, each block radiating its own distinct broadcast of baffling complexity. Efforts to decipher the hum have failed; the only auditory interpolation engine so far devised was abandoned when all that could be heard through it was screaming.<br /> <br /> Traveling this stretch of Rue Tasloi is especially difficult, since the streets are in many places choked with narrow black pillars. At times a black mist slinks out from between the roadways, rendering the area nearly impassable. The mist reduces visibility to near zero even as it renders the hum far louder and more audible, raking the ears with the wails of dozens if not hundreds of blocks on all sides. Those who do not leave by the shortest route possible at such times find themselves haunted by auditory hallucinations, and intrusive thoughts calling them to return, to breathe deeply of the mist, not to leave, please don&#039;t leave.</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Rue_Tasloi&diff=1216 2016-10-16T00:11:44Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>Rue Tasloi is an ancient boulevard that runs throughout Strangewarp. It is paved in broad, irregular black flagstones mortared with gray concrete; it seems ancient, far older than any of the construction that surrounds it. In the times before Abandonment, it served as a major thoroughfare of the warp, running from one end of the city to the other and back again. It was a main drag, well-lit against the everpresent gloom, home to all varieties of miscreants, deviants and wretches.<br /> <br /> In the times since, the neighborhoods it runs through have begun to empty. In some the buildings are replaced by something completely other— a forest of spined metal-clad trees, ominous black basalt blocks that glow in UV and hum on subsonic frequencies, or the vast cathedralic structure that has grown, acrasid-like, over much of downtown. The boulevard itself now runs unpredictably; sometimes it loops around to its beginning as normal; other times one finds oneself traveling back the way one came with no memory of having turned around. And sometimes it runs and runs deep into strange demesnes quite unfamiliar to most Strangewarp denizens, out of all knowing or habitation, onward into the black depths at the edge of reality. The prudent generally turn back at this point.<br /> <br /> === The Shriketree Forest ===<br /> <br /> A shriketree is a tall, metal tree about 18-24&#039; in height, with razor-sharp bark. Its trunk runs straight and branchless before blooming into a canopy of metallic, clanging branches. When sated and torpid, its bladed bark lies flat, and the tree is safe to approach— even to lay against (or stumble into accidentally). But when the tree thirsts, it will greet an innocent touch or stumble with sudden blades, entangling if not impaling its victim. It drinks deep of their blood, and can quickly exsanguinate an unlucky passerby. The upper branches and leaves also take a sharp, funnel-like shape; during Strangewarp&#039;s rains of viscera, all the trees bloom at once, every one slaking its thirst from the falling offal.<br /> <br /> The shriketree forest is a swath of former neighborhood where the trees have grown up around empty buildings, even as the buildings have succumbed to the ravages of time at a thousandfold pace. It is more dimensionally unmoored than most Strangewarp locations— and it tends to wander. Traveling through inhabited Strangewarp, it is easy to turn a corner and find oneself surrounded by shriketrees, often within a foot of bumping into one. The way back is choked with trees as well, and only careful navigation can free one from the grove.<br /> <br /> When it routes through the forest, travelers on broad Rue Tasloi aren&#039;t in immediate risk from the trees— although when the branches do arc troublingly over the road, giving the feeling of traveling down a long, bladed tunnel. At such times one can only travel forwards or turn back; turning onto any side street is folly. The trees rule there.</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Rue_Tasloi&diff=1215 2016-10-16T00:11:26Z

<p>Senemura: Created page with &quot;Rue Tasloi is an ancient boulevard that runs throughout Strangewarp. It is paved in broad, irregular black flagstones mortared with gray concrete; it seems ancient, far older...&quot;</p> <hr /> <div>Rue Tasloi is an ancient boulevard that runs throughout Strangewarp. It is paved in broad, irregular black flagstones mortared with gray concrete; it seems ancient, far older than any of the construction that surrounds it. In the times before Abandonment, it served as a major thoroughfare of the warp, running from one end of the city to the other and back again. It was a main drag, well-lit against the everpresent gloom, home to all varieties of miscreants, deviants and wretches.<br /> <br /> In the times since, the neighborhoods it runs through have begun to empty. In some the buildings are replaced by something completely other— a forest of spined metal-clad trees, ominous black basalt blocks that glow in UV and hum on subsonic frequencies, or the vast cathedralic structure that has grown, acrasid-like, over much of downtown. The boulevard itself now runs unpredictably; sometimes it loops around to its beginning as normal; other times one finds oneself traveling back the way one came with no memory of having turned around. And sometimes it runs and runs deep into strange demesnes quite unfamiliar to most Strangewarp denizens, out of all knowing or habitation, onward into the black depths at the edge of reality. The prudent generally turn back at this point.<br /> <br /> The Shriketree Forest<br /> <br /> A shriketree is a tall, metal tree about 18-24&#039; in height, with razor-sharp bark. Its trunk runs straight and branchless before blooming into a canopy of metallic, clanging branches. When sated and torpid, its bladed bark lies flat, and the tree is safe to approach— even to lay against (or stumble into accidentally). But when the tree thirsts, it will greet an innocent touch or stumble with sudden blades, entangling if not impaling its victim. It drinks deep of their blood, and can quickly exsanguinate an unlucky passerby. The upper branches and leaves also take a sharp, funnel-like shape; during Strangewarp&#039;s rains of viscera, all the trees bloom at once, every one slaking its thirst from the falling offal.<br /> <br /> The shriketree forest is a swath of former neighborhood where the trees have grown up around empty buildings, even as the buildings have succumbed to the ravages of time at a thousandfold pace. It is more dimensionally unmoored than most Strangewarp locations— and it tends to wander. Traveling through inhabited Strangewarp, it is easy to turn a corner and find oneself surrounded by shriketrees, often within a foot of bumping into one. The way back is choked with trees as well, and only careful navigation can free one from the grove.<br /> <br /> When it routes through the forest, travelers on broad Rue Tasloi aren&#039;t in immediate risk from the trees— although when the branches do arc troublingly over the road, giving the feeling of traveling down a long, bladed tunnel. At such times one can only travel forwards or turn back; turning onto any side street is folly. The trees rule there.</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Estrigan_Alley&diff=1210 2016-10-09T04:17:04Z

<p>Senemura: /* Theodosophe&#039;s Folly */</p> <hr /> <div>Estrigan is an alley off of Rue Tasloi in [[Strangewarp]]. A variety of troubling phenomena haunt its streets, mostly manmade, and it has become sparsely populated— save by those to whom they feel like home.<br /> <br /> The alley twists and winds for considerable length, doubling back and at one point running across a rickety bridge over itself, all without changing apparent elevation. It crosses several other streets in the process, either as a bridge or as a tunnel; the only street it intersects with is Tasloi, though it does that twice. It is lit dimly at irregular intervals, and seems never far from rain, no matter the weather in the rest of the city. Its perimeter of ancient, two- and three-story stone buildings loom ominously in the dark, and too many never show a light in their windows.<br /> <br /> An artists&#039; colony has taken residence along a stretch of Estrigan near Tasloi, laying claim to many of its untenanted warehouses and other abandoned spaces. These have been given over to studios, galleries, and environmental art installations. The artists explore a variety of outre art forms, including psychodioramas, radical body mods, and altered cognition performance pieces— also more conventional work, such as autonomous parasapient holographic sprites, self-modifying swarm displays, and Riemannian architecture.<br /> <br /> The artists have done what they can to keep out Strangewarp&#039;s perpetual gloom, hanging strings of biolumenescent lanterns across and along the way in their area; although there are gaps where a lantern has crawled away of its own accord and not yet been replaced. Windows dance with holographic displays, and some artists work in open studios or even public spaces, weaving the otherworldly and the macabre in public view. Etrigan alley has few remaining residents who do not share their aesthetic.<br /> <br /> === Theodosophe&#039;s Folly ===<br /> <br /> At the heart of the colony is a building-size art installation, Theodosophe&#039;s Folly, which has become its unofficial community center— and a source of disturbed sleep and nameless dread for many nearby residents. Constructed of a slate-gray material with the texture of granite but the frangibility of drywall, The Folly has been growing for several years and now rises nearly five stories into the air. It has has begun to crawl across several adjacent structures, and has formed an unwelcome skybridge to the building across the way. It branches in a profusion of windowless crawlspace-sized projections, which dont so much terminate as fade away into nonexistence in a manner that eludes close examination. The Folly doesn&#039;t grow visibly, but changes suddenly while it is unobserved, often several times a day, always becoming slightly larger.<br /> <br /> The Folly&#039;s ground floor has the typical features of a building interior, but starting with the second floor its floor plan and design features begin to warp and permute in troubling ways, before branching as crazily as the exterior. It is possible, although not easy, to climb inside a crawlspace and explore it to its terminus. Most turn back, whether out of fear or good judgment, often after having travelled much further than the exterior should allow. Some others report having successfully used a particular branch of the Folly to travel to another warp. The remainder are never heard from again.<br /> <br /> The Folly is the work of Theodosophe, an avante garde artist in spatial anomalies. Xe created or modified several other structures in the alley before undertaking what would come to be known as xyr Folly. Shortly after finishing xyr masterpiece, xe retired from spatial anomalies, and launched a long-term performance piece in artificial irreversible neurological decline. Xe has reached the intelligence of a 3 month old, and is in no position to comment on xyr Folly, where its branches lead, whether it will ever stop growing, or whether the sinister intelligence that seems to radiate from it is just our imagination. However, xe always waves xyr hands and coos appreciatively when xyr caretaker takes xem by the Folly in xyr stroller.<br /> <br /> The ground floor is more or less stable, within the norm for spatial drift for a Strangewarp locale. A countertop which had abutted a wall might one day have a gap, or a cupboard might turn out to be bigger on the inside than the outside today— perhaps by several hundred feet. For want of other tenants, it has become home to regular gatherings among the local artists, including poetry slams, live music, gallery shows, artificial lifeform exhibitions, obelisk rites, and potlucks. One wing serves as a open gallery for local works, and there is a volunteer-run cafe some evenings. A warm, supportive community has formed around the Folly, of creatures who protect each other from what haunts the warp— including what they create themselves.<br /> <br /> === Resident Artists ===<br /> <br /> * [[Senemura]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Puzzlebox/Glossary&diff=1206 2016-10-07T06:38:57Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>;Faction<br /> : Groups of subcultural and ideological affiliation, devoted to spreading their sense of style; factions roughly take the place of ethnicities and nations in the Mess, and levels of participation range from casual fashion affectations to ritualized daily devotions to a faction&#039;s lifestyle.<br /> ;Fashion War<br /> : The predominant form of cultural conflict in the Mess, in which various factions attempt to popularize their ideology through propaganda, psychotronic devices, guerrilla theater, graffiti, performance art, and so forth. (aka &quot;Art War,&quot; &quot;Poetic Terrorism,&quot; &quot;Meme War&quot;)<br /> ;Imipolex<br /> : A putty-like computing medium that can also act as a display. (aka &quot;flickercladding&quot;)<br /> ;Imilexene<br /> : An &#039;&#039;n&#039;&#039;th-generation descendent of rubber and imipolex; an artificial resin seeded with a parasapient magic mirror preparation that allows it to reshape itself instantly and respond to the desires of its user via voice command or neural impulse.<br /> ;Instantiator<br /> : A device or system which creates objects on demand from a base material. Puzzlebox&#039;s instantiator system is built into the atmosphere and allows most sentients to summon material objects of reasonable complexity at will. Item templates of high craftsmanship or very specific function are deliberately disabled, for the sake of the local artisan communities. (aka &quot;matter compiler&quot;)<br /> ;Magic Mirror<br /> : A liquid biocybernetic supercomputing medium of almost magical levels of complexity and flexibility, forms the basis of the datasphere; can also be used to reconstruct matter and energy from a pattern.<br /> ;Puzzlebox<br /> : A transhuman megastructure comprising six vast themed habitats— the warps— as well as any connecting infrastructure or subordinate spaces; may all exist in the same universe or stretch across several.<br /> ;Tasp<br /> : A device which stimulates a sentient (but not necessarily organic) being&#039;s pleasure center; available in a dizzying variety of forms on Puzzlebox, from small bliss-wands, to rifles and crowd-control devices, to sky-mounted bombing platforms.<br /> ;Warp<br /> : Each of the six themed areas named for a species of quark; the six warps are not apparently physically contiguous with each other, and each may exist in its own pocket dimension.<br /> <br /> See also: [[Puzzlebox/Glossary/Archives|Archival Information]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Puzzlebox/Glossary&diff=1205 2016-10-07T05:02:04Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>;Faction<br /> : Groups of subcultural and ideological affiliation, devoted to spreading their sense of style; factions roughly take the place of ethnicities and nations in the Mess, and levels of participation range from casual fashion affectations to ritualized daily devotions to a faction&#039;s lifestyle.<br /> ;Fashion War<br /> : The predominant form of cultural conflict in the Mess, in which various factions attempt to popularize their ideology through propaganda, psychotronic devices, guerrilla theater, graffiti, performance art, and so forth. (aka &quot;Art War,&quot; &quot;Poetic Terrorism,&quot; &quot;Meme War&quot;)<br /> ;Imipolex<br /> : A putty-like computing medium that can also act as a display. (aka &quot;flickercladding&quot;)<br /> ;Imilexene<br /> : An &#039;&#039;n&#039;&#039;th-generation descendent of rubber and imipolex; an artificial resin seeded with a parasapient magic mirror preparation that allows it to reshape itself instantly and respond to the desires of its user via voice command or neural impulse.<br /> ;Instantiator<br /> : A device or system which creates objects on demand from a base material. Puzzlebox&#039;s instantiator system is built into the atmosphere and allows most sentients to summon material objects of reasonable complexity at will. Item templates of high craftsmanship or very specific function are deliberately disabled, for the sake of the local artisan communities. (aka &quot;matter compiler&quot;)<br /> ;Magic Mirror<br /> : A liquid biocybernetic supercomputing medium of almost magical levels of complexity and flexibility, forms the basis of the datasphere; can also be used to reconstruct matter and energy from a pattern.<br /> ;Puzzlebox<br /> : A transhuman megastructure comprising six vast themed habitats— the warps— as well as any connecting infrastructure or subordinate spaces; all exist in the same universe or stretch across several.<br /> ;Tasp<br /> : A device which stimulates a sentient (but not necessarily organic) being&#039;s pleasure center; available in a dizzying variety of forms on Puzzlebox, from small bliss-wands, to rifles and crowd-control devices, to sky-mounted bombing platforms.<br /> ;Warp<br /> : Each of the six themed areas named for a species of quark; the six warps are not apparently physically contiguous with each other, and each may exist in its own pocket dimension.<br /> <br /> See also: [[Puzzlebox/Glossary/Archives|Archival Information]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Puzzlebox/Glossary/Archives&diff=1204 2016-10-07T05:01:57Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>&#039;&#039;&#039;ARCHIVAL INFORMATION&#039;&#039;&#039;<br /> <br /> &#039;&#039;This information dates to an earlier instance of this wiki and is very likely not current with the metaplot.&#039;&#039;<br /> <br /> ;Cube Tree<br /> : One of the Mess&#039;s few pieces of religious iconography, the Cube Tree resides in Puzzlepark and seem to have originated with the Mess; shows signs of autonomous growth and learning, and radiates feelings of well-being and otherworldly gnosis; beings who have meditated near the Tree for long periods have reported an overwhelming sensation that She is trying to point them to something.<br /> ;Faction: Groups of subcultural and ideological affiliation, devoted to spreading their sense of style; factions roughly take the place of ethnicities and nations in the Mess, and levels of participation range from casual fashion affectations to ritualized daily devotions to a faction&#039;s lifestyle.<br /> ;Fashion War<br /> : AKA &quot;Art War,&quot; &quot;Poetic Terrorism,&quot; &quot;Meme War&quot;: the predominant form of cultural conflict in the Mess, in which various factions attempt to popularize their ideology through propaganda, psychotronic devices, guerrilla theater, graffiti, performance art, and so forth.<br /> ;Imipolex (also, &quot;flickercladding&quot;)<br /> : A putty-like computing medium that can also act as a display.<br /> ;Imilexene<br /> : An &#039;&#039;n&#039;&#039;th-generation descendent of rubber and imipolex; an artificial resin seeded with a parasapient magic mirror preparation that allows it to reshape itself instantly and respond to the desires of its user via voice command or neural impulse.<br /> ;Instantiator (also, &quot;matter compiler&quot;)<br /> : A device or system which creates objects on demand from a base material. Puzzlebox&#039;s instantiator system is built into the atmosphere and allows most sentients to summon material objects of reasonable complexity at will. (Item templates of high craftsmanship or very specific function are deliberately disabled, for the sake of the local artisan communities.)<br /> ;Magic Mirror<br /> : A liquid biocybernetic supercomputing medium of almost magical levels of complexity and flexibility; can also be used to reconstruct matter and energy from a pattern, so it forms the basis of the Mess&#039;s transit system as well.<br /> ;Puzzlebox<br /> : A massive self-constructing, self-designing, possibly sentient habitat system of unfathomable size; more-than-three dimensional and so convoluted in structure that it may enter and exit several pocket dimensions ([[The Mess|the Mess]] is just one settlement in this much larger structure).<br /> ;Tasp<br /> : A device which stimulates a sentient (but not necessarily organic) being&#039;s pleasure center; available in a dizzying variety of forms on Puzzlebox, from small bliss-wands, to rifles and crowd-control devices, to sky-mounted bombing platforms.<br /> ;The Mess<br /> : An anomalous urban development at the outer edges of the Puzzlebox; a six-zoned complex of themed areas, connected by a system of magic mirrors; the first known evidence that Puzzlebox possesses self-awareness, long-term goals, and/or a sense of humor.<br /> ;Warp<br /> : Each of the six themed areas named for a species of quark; the six warps are not apparently physically contiguous with each other, and each may exist in its own pocket dimension.<br /> ;Zipstops<br /> : Huge, bustling travel plazas built and operated by the Zips; comparatively sane, safe areas favored as vacation spots for frazzled Puzzlebox pioneers.<br /> ;Zipways<br /> : Fancifully structured highway system built by the Zips; Zipways provide transit service to MUCK areas outside the Mess.</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Puzzlebox/Glossary/Archives&diff=1203 2016-10-07T04:53:04Z

<p>Senemura: Created page with &quot;&#039;&#039;&#039;ARCHIVAL INFORMATION&#039;&#039;&#039; &#039;&#039;This information dates to an earlier instance of this wiki and is very likely not current with the metaplot.&#039;&#039; ;Cube Tree : One of the Mess&#039;s fe...&quot;</p> <hr /> <div>&#039;&#039;&#039;ARCHIVAL INFORMATION&#039;&#039;&#039;<br /> <br /> &#039;&#039;This information dates to an earlier instance of this wiki and is very likely not current with the metaplot.&#039;&#039;<br /> <br /> ;Cube Tree<br /> : One of the Mess&#039;s few pieces of religious iconography, the Cube Tree resides in Puzzlepark and seem to have originated with the Mess; shows signs of autonomous growth and learning, and radiates feelings of well-being and otherworldly gnosis; beings who have meditated near the Tree for long periods have reported an overwhelming sensation that She is trying to point them to something.<br /> ;Zipstops<br /> : Huge, bustling travel plazas built and operated by the Zips; comparatively sane, safe areas favored as vacation spots for frazzled Puzzlebox pioneers.<br /> ;Zipways<br /> : Fancifully structured highway system built by the Zips; Zipways provide transit service to MUCK areas outside the Mess.</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Puzzlebox&diff=1202 2016-10-07T04:51:09Z

<p>Senemura: /* Factions */</p> <hr /> <div>{{TOC right}}<br /> The Puzzlebox is an arbitrarily large, arbitrarily old, arbitrarily weird corner of space, or subspace, or non-space. Specifics tend to be difficult to nail down about it, it&#039;s that sort of place. It might reasonably be called a transhumanist megastructure, and indeed there are [[Puzzlebox/Archives|records]] of such a place going by such a name, but not all the details match up. The Puzzlebox of record seems to have largely been a pleasant galactic subdivision, well-kept but staid. The Puzzlebox that most folks seem to have direct experience with is something altogether messier. It&#039;s possible that this place was once part of that larger whole, there is evidence of an [[The Fracturing|event]] that may have caused all sorts of topological and mereological confusion.<br /> <br /> Despite its oddities, the Puzzlebox has all the conveniences of any good transhuman habitat: no one need die or go homeless or hungry, but life there is far from simple. It&#039;s divided up into districts, the Warps, and each one has slightly different rules of reality from each other (and the rest of the universe), supporting their own idiosyncratic ways of life.<br /> <br /> == The Warps ==<br /> There are six districts in total, three pairs, each named after a flavor of quark. Each warp seems to be as big as it needs to be, but rumors persist of borders between them, the particular reality of one warp bleeding into another in the far reaches. After the [[the Fracturing]], travel between warps became difficult and rare, but not unheard-of; and recently it seems to be increasingly common.<br /> <br /> [[Warp Metaphysics|There are countless ways to divide and characterize the six warps]], the following list simply uses the masses of the corresponding quarks to provide an ordering.<br /> <br /> * [[Downwarp]] - A cyberpunkish urban ruin homesteaded by tribes of artists and mystics.<br /> * [[Upwarp]] - A clinical technocratic society devoted to humanistic science and rationalism.<br /> * [[Strangewarp]] - A twisted mirror-image of an elegant city, turned inside-out by all those things that most folks would rather not think about.<br /> * [[Charmwarp]] - A fantasyland of bright colors, whimsical creatures, and exuberant ambition.<br /> * [[Bottomwarp]] - An endless street festival where shame (and clothing) are virtually unknown, and where kinky behavior and hippie-ish values predominate.<br /> * [[Topwarp]] - An aristocratic land of palaces and estates, whose inhabitants are devoted to craftsbeingship and personal development.<br /> <br /> == Life in the Puzzlebox ==<br /> Regardless of the specifics of various local realities, the Puzzlebox provides a number of conveniences. There&#039;s the Backup System, which constantly scans inhabitants&#039; bodies and minds and, if they suffer fatal physical damage, restores them intact at a nearby safe location. There&#039;s also the Instantiator, which allows inhabitants to create simple objects, including anything needed for sustenance and shelter, with only a thought. Finally, there&#039;s the Consent Maintenance System, which seems to prevent (or at least mitigate) anything happening to someone that they don&#039;t (by some definition) &#039;want&#039;. <br /> <br /> : &lt;span style=&quot;color: purple&quot;&gt;From an out-of-character perspective, this all basically means that MUCK rules are physical laws there; you can&#039;t die (unless you want to), you can make whatever you want (as long as you spend the mental effort), and usually you&#039;re the one who determines what happens to you (via your own poses).&lt;/span&gt;<br /> <br /> These make physical combat essentially superfluous (or at least clearly recreational), but that doesn&#039;t make the Puzzlebox free of conflict entirely. Instead, the way that Puzzlebox inhabitants contend is through memetics and propaganda, what is sometimes called &#039;artwar&#039;. Over Puzzlebox&#039;s long history, factions have formed, along ideological and aesthetic lines, and they&#039;re always vying with each other to win converts and influence. New inhabitants are particuarly prized; convincing someone from somewhere else that your way of life is the right one brings with it a lot of prestige.<br /> <br /> === Factions ===<br /> This is a necessarily incomplete list; factions form and fragment constantly, and there&#039;s plenty of disagreement even within factions as to who belongs and who doesn&#039;t.<br /> <br /> * [[Architects of the Future/Archives|Architects of the Future]]†<br /> * [[Bonobians]]<br /> * [[Bubbledolls/Archives|Bubbledolls]]†<br /> * [[Chitin Queens/Archives|Chitin Queens]]†<br /> * [[Eisenstimmen/Archives|Eisenstimmen]]†<br /> * [[Fever Cathedral/Archives|Fever Cathedral]]†<br /> * [[Gridwalkers]]<br /> * [[Hemotopians/Archives|Hemotopians]]†<br /> * [[Modulari]]<br /> * [[Neo-Boreals/Archives|Neo-Boreals]]†<br /> * [[Neovictorians]]<br /> * [[Plurals/Archives|Plurals]]†<br /> * [[Strange Medical Corps]]<br /> <br /> <br /> † (pre-[[The Fracturing|Fracturing]]) archival information<br /> <br /> === See Also ===<br /> <br /> * [[Characters]]<br /> * [[Puzzlebox/Glossary|Glossary]]<br /> * [[Puzzlebox/Archives|Archival Information]].<br /> <br /> [[Category:Syncosms]] [[Category:Puzzlebox]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Puzzlebox&diff=1201 2016-10-07T04:47:35Z

<p>Senemura: /* See Also */</p> <hr /> <div>{{TOC right}}<br /> The Puzzlebox is an arbitrarily large, arbitrarily old, arbitrarily weird corner of space, or subspace, or non-space. Specifics tend to be difficult to nail down about it, it&#039;s that sort of place. It might reasonably be called a transhumanist megastructure, and indeed there are [[Puzzlebox/Archives|records]] of such a place going by such a name, but not all the details match up. The Puzzlebox of record seems to have largely been a pleasant galactic subdivision, well-kept but staid. The Puzzlebox that most folks seem to have direct experience with is something altogether messier. It&#039;s possible that this place was once part of that larger whole, there is evidence of an [[The Fracturing|event]] that may have caused all sorts of topological and mereological confusion.<br /> <br /> Despite its oddities, the Puzzlebox has all the conveniences of any good transhuman habitat: no one need die or go homeless or hungry, but life there is far from simple. It&#039;s divided up into districts, the Warps, and each one has slightly different rules of reality from each other (and the rest of the universe), supporting their own idiosyncratic ways of life.<br /> <br /> == The Warps ==<br /> There are six districts in total, three pairs, each named after a flavor of quark. Each warp seems to be as big as it needs to be, but rumors persist of borders between them, the particular reality of one warp bleeding into another in the far reaches. After the [[the Fracturing]], travel between warps became difficult and rare, but not unheard-of; and recently it seems to be increasingly common.<br /> <br /> [[Warp Metaphysics|There are countless ways to divide and characterize the six warps]], the following list simply uses the masses of the corresponding quarks to provide an ordering.<br /> <br /> * [[Downwarp]] - A cyberpunkish urban ruin homesteaded by tribes of artists and mystics.<br /> * [[Upwarp]] - A clinical technocratic society devoted to humanistic science and rationalism.<br /> * [[Strangewarp]] - A twisted mirror-image of an elegant city, turned inside-out by all those things that most folks would rather not think about.<br /> * [[Charmwarp]] - A fantasyland of bright colors, whimsical creatures, and exuberant ambition.<br /> * [[Bottomwarp]] - An endless street festival where shame (and clothing) are virtually unknown, and where kinky behavior and hippie-ish values predominate.<br /> * [[Topwarp]] - An aristocratic land of palaces and estates, whose inhabitants are devoted to craftsbeingship and personal development.<br /> <br /> == Life in the Puzzlebox ==<br /> Regardless of the specifics of various local realities, the Puzzlebox provides a number of conveniences. There&#039;s the Backup System, which constantly scans inhabitants&#039; bodies and minds and, if they suffer fatal physical damage, restores them intact at a nearby safe location. There&#039;s also the Instantiator, which allows inhabitants to create simple objects, including anything needed for sustenance and shelter, with only a thought. Finally, there&#039;s the Consent Maintenance System, which seems to prevent (or at least mitigate) anything happening to someone that they don&#039;t (by some definition) &#039;want&#039;. <br /> <br /> : &lt;span style=&quot;color: purple&quot;&gt;From an out-of-character perspective, this all basically means that MUCK rules are physical laws there; you can&#039;t die (unless you want to), you can make whatever you want (as long as you spend the mental effort), and usually you&#039;re the one who determines what happens to you (via your own poses).&lt;/span&gt;<br /> <br /> These make physical combat essentially superfluous (or at least clearly recreational), but that doesn&#039;t make the Puzzlebox free of conflict entirely. Instead, the way that Puzzlebox inhabitants contend is through memetics and propaganda, what is sometimes called &#039;artwar&#039;. Over Puzzlebox&#039;s long history, factions have formed, along ideological and aesthetic lines, and they&#039;re always vying with each other to win converts and influence. New inhabitants are particuarly prized; convincing someone from somewhere else that your way of life is the right one brings with it a lot of prestige.<br /> <br /> === Factions ===<br /> This is a necessarily incomplete list; factions form and fragment constantly, and there&#039;s plenty of disagreement even within factions as to who belongs and who doesn&#039;t.<br /> <br /> * [[Architects of the Future/Archives|Architects of the Future]]†<br /> * [[Bonobians]]<br /> * [[Bubbledolls/Archives|Bubbledolls]]†<br /> * [[Chitin Queens/Archives|Chitin Queens]]†<br /> * [[Eisenstimmen/Archives|Eisenstimmen]]†<br /> * [[Fever Cathedral/Archives|Fever Cathedral]]†<br /> * [[Gridwalkers]]<br /> * [[Hemotopians/Archives|Hemotopians]]†<br /> * [[Modulari]]<br /> * [[Neo-Boreals/Archives|Neo-Boreals]]†<br /> * [[Neovictorians]]<br /> * [[Plurals/Archives|Plurals]]†<br /> * [[Strange Medical Corps]]<br /> <br /> † (pre-[[The Fracturing|Fracturing]]) archival information<br /> <br /> === See Also ===<br /> <br /> * [[Characters]]<br /> * [[Puzzlebox/Glossary|Glossary]]<br /> * [[Puzzlebox/Archives|Archival Information]].<br /> <br /> [[Category:Syncosms]] [[Category:Puzzlebox]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Puzzlebox&diff=1200 2016-10-07T04:47:16Z

<p>Senemura: /* Factions */</p> <hr /> <div>{{TOC right}}<br /> The Puzzlebox is an arbitrarily large, arbitrarily old, arbitrarily weird corner of space, or subspace, or non-space. Specifics tend to be difficult to nail down about it, it&#039;s that sort of place. It might reasonably be called a transhumanist megastructure, and indeed there are [[Puzzlebox/Archives|records]] of such a place going by such a name, but not all the details match up. The Puzzlebox of record seems to have largely been a pleasant galactic subdivision, well-kept but staid. The Puzzlebox that most folks seem to have direct experience with is something altogether messier. It&#039;s possible that this place was once part of that larger whole, there is evidence of an [[The Fracturing|event]] that may have caused all sorts of topological and mereological confusion.<br /> <br /> Despite its oddities, the Puzzlebox has all the conveniences of any good transhuman habitat: no one need die or go homeless or hungry, but life there is far from simple. It&#039;s divided up into districts, the Warps, and each one has slightly different rules of reality from each other (and the rest of the universe), supporting their own idiosyncratic ways of life.<br /> <br /> == The Warps ==<br /> There are six districts in total, three pairs, each named after a flavor of quark. Each warp seems to be as big as it needs to be, but rumors persist of borders between them, the particular reality of one warp bleeding into another in the far reaches. After the [[the Fracturing]], travel between warps became difficult and rare, but not unheard-of; and recently it seems to be increasingly common.<br /> <br /> [[Warp Metaphysics|There are countless ways to divide and characterize the six warps]], the following list simply uses the masses of the corresponding quarks to provide an ordering.<br /> <br /> * [[Downwarp]] - A cyberpunkish urban ruin homesteaded by tribes of artists and mystics.<br /> * [[Upwarp]] - A clinical technocratic society devoted to humanistic science and rationalism.<br /> * [[Strangewarp]] - A twisted mirror-image of an elegant city, turned inside-out by all those things that most folks would rather not think about.<br /> * [[Charmwarp]] - A fantasyland of bright colors, whimsical creatures, and exuberant ambition.<br /> * [[Bottomwarp]] - An endless street festival where shame (and clothing) are virtually unknown, and where kinky behavior and hippie-ish values predominate.<br /> * [[Topwarp]] - An aristocratic land of palaces and estates, whose inhabitants are devoted to craftsbeingship and personal development.<br /> <br /> == Life in the Puzzlebox ==<br /> Regardless of the specifics of various local realities, the Puzzlebox provides a number of conveniences. There&#039;s the Backup System, which constantly scans inhabitants&#039; bodies and minds and, if they suffer fatal physical damage, restores them intact at a nearby safe location. There&#039;s also the Instantiator, which allows inhabitants to create simple objects, including anything needed for sustenance and shelter, with only a thought. Finally, there&#039;s the Consent Maintenance System, which seems to prevent (or at least mitigate) anything happening to someone that they don&#039;t (by some definition) &#039;want&#039;. <br /> <br /> : &lt;span style=&quot;color: purple&quot;&gt;From an out-of-character perspective, this all basically means that MUCK rules are physical laws there; you can&#039;t die (unless you want to), you can make whatever you want (as long as you spend the mental effort), and usually you&#039;re the one who determines what happens to you (via your own poses).&lt;/span&gt;<br /> <br /> These make physical combat essentially superfluous (or at least clearly recreational), but that doesn&#039;t make the Puzzlebox free of conflict entirely. Instead, the way that Puzzlebox inhabitants contend is through memetics and propaganda, what is sometimes called &#039;artwar&#039;. Over Puzzlebox&#039;s long history, factions have formed, along ideological and aesthetic lines, and they&#039;re always vying with each other to win converts and influence. New inhabitants are particuarly prized; convincing someone from somewhere else that your way of life is the right one brings with it a lot of prestige.<br /> <br /> === Factions ===<br /> This is a necessarily incomplete list; factions form and fragment constantly, and there&#039;s plenty of disagreement even within factions as to who belongs and who doesn&#039;t.<br /> <br /> * [[Architects of the Future/Archives|Architects of the Future]]†<br /> * [[Bonobians]]<br /> * [[Bubbledolls/Archives|Bubbledolls]]†<br /> * [[Chitin Queens/Archives|Chitin Queens]]†<br /> * [[Eisenstimmen/Archives|Eisenstimmen]]†<br /> * [[Fever Cathedral/Archives|Fever Cathedral]]†<br /> * [[Gridwalkers]]<br /> * [[Hemotopians/Archives|Hemotopians]]†<br /> * [[Modulari]]<br /> * [[Neo-Boreals/Archives|Neo-Boreals]]†<br /> * [[Neovictorians]]<br /> * [[Plurals/Archives|Plurals]]†<br /> * [[Strange Medical Corps]]<br /> <br /> † (pre-[[The Fracturing|Fracturing]]) archival information<br /> <br /> === See Also ===<br /> <br /> * [[Characters]]<br /> * [[Glossary]]<br /> * [[Puzzlebox/Archives|Archival Information]].<br /> <br /> [[Category:Syncosms]] [[Category:Puzzlebox]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Senemura&diff=1191 2016-10-04T20:55:53Z

<p>Senemura: Senemura moved page Senemura to Characters/Senemura</p> <hr /> <div>Senemura is a female-presenting white manticore with a mohawk composed of long black spines. She has black horns on her forehead, and many other spines and spikes cover her body: hooked spikes to either side of her chin, dual clawlike spikes on the back of each of her hands, a band of spikes across her chest, and so on. She is not easy to hug.<br /> <br /> She is a wingless manticore with a long, prehensile tail fitted with a retractable intoxicating stinger. To most organic metabolisms, her venom induces euphoria. It does not impair judgment or affect the subject&#039;s ability to consent. Even so she keeps the stinger retracted and is careful not to sting anyone without their express consent.<br /> <br /> Her spikes make most clothing difficult. When she cant go naked, she prefers an imilexene coat. The substance resembles black PVC, can be worked around her spikes, and can be configured to form a variety of garments (but always black and shiny). She usually keeps it as a black trenchcoat, with as little on as possible underneath.<br /> <br /> Sen lives and works out of a hole-in-the-wall studio in [[Estrigan Alley]] off of Rue Tasloi, one of the more erratic districts in Strangewarp. She is an artist, usually working in metal plating and filigree. Her tool is a thesmet, which draws on the instantiator field for raw materials and her skill using it to create works of complexity and beauty. She normally keeps it wrapped like a bracelet around one wrist, allowing her to create artwork between her bare hands when she&#039;s bored, or spread art across any surface like growing vines.<br /> <br /> She is a quiet but generally good-natured creature. She doesn&#039;t want to see anyone she cares about hurting, although she often feels powerless to do anything about it. She will sometimes do a trick like pulling a flower from the air just to try and cheer someone up. She often doesn&#039;t know what to say, or feels like words have no value— you can say anything to mean anything, so why speak? Her art seems like a more powerful way to touch people... but even that doesn&#039;t seem to help people sometimes.<br /> <br /> How can you reach someone? How can you get to where you know they really understand you? Words usually don&#039;t do it. Art does it sometimes, but not often. People seem so far away. She engages with them, they act like she&#039;s close to them, but she doesn&#039;t feel close at all. She doesn&#039;t know what she has to do to feel that connection. She&#039;s gonna figure it out though.</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Strangewarp&diff=1190 2016-10-04T20:14:23Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>__NOTITLE__<br /> <br /> &lt;youtube&gt;iMd8BkkCiUY&lt;/youtube&gt;<br /> <br /> W͚͉̫̤̳̝̔̌̈́ͪ͜h̝͐a͔͎͚͓͙͚̬̾̊͒́̿̓t͖̪̠̤̭͍̅ͮ̂ͤͧ̚͝ ̱̥ͦ͗̉̉ͩ͑ḍ̫͎̋͊̃́ȫ̱̥ͧͤ͠ ̢̹͓̰̂̏̀Ḭ̬͂̆͂́ͨ̐ ̴̗̠w̫̦͘a͕̹͖̞̠̙̫̾̈́̋̀̅̚ṇ̖̙͓̳̈ͤͩ̀t͛̑̄̏̂ͫ͛ ̨̻͉̝̼̩̿́̈́w̞̱̱̘̪͔͘i̩̜͍͕̖͉̭ͨ͆͒̓t̯̲̪̜̼̻͇ͣ̇ͬ̄̎͗h̴̖̫̟̻͉͗̇ͬͭ̽̔ͣ ̵̥͙̥̰̩͉ͧ̆ͪ̏͆̋ͅa͒̍̑ͧl͍͉̭̗̖͕̰̉ļ̟̥͈͛ͦ́̉̑̀ ͇̦͖t̵̯̓̇̎h̠̻̎e͖͓̖͊͆̿̃ͮ́̊ś̹̩ẹ̫̟͓͖ͭ̃ͦ ͉͓̟ͭͯͥ͂ţ͖͚͖͕̅ͨ͂͐̐h̙̩̗̰͛ͥ͝i̠̝̲̯̖ͪ͗͂̅ͣ͘n͙ͤ̅͆ͣģ̩̩̩͓̘̼͗ͪ̽s̨̩̳̬ͦͬ̈́ͥ̒́͛?͕̭̳͕̃̒̌<br /> <br /> {{DISPLAYTITLE:W͓̅h̴̳͕̩͎͓͛ͩy̸̖̭͆ͥ̃ͤ̾̌̓&#039;̮̟̦̽̉ͤs̬̦͙͖̥̤̆̊̑̌ͦͣ͟ͅ ̻͇̥̳̘̄̅ͥ̿e̥͊̎̍̏͘v̧̓͒̓̽̅̇e͚͎͒͛̎ͫͥͩ͠r͋y̗͚̗̲͉̔̍̿͑̀b̧͙̌ͧ́͊o̶̲͈͇͉͉͖d̠̹̬̖͔͈̖̈͜y̖͔͡ ̭͍̀̚a͆̎͌̽͛͘c͕̠ͬ̍̌ͪ̆ͅt͚͓̑̇̇͛̽ͅi̝̮͚͙͎͔ͬ̍ͪ͌ͪͪͅn̉͐ͨ̈́̃͏͍ ̤̣̳̲ͩ̌ͯ̈ͣ͞f̤̬̟̻̠̬̃̂ͯ͌̋͒ͅu̎҉͉̣͙̦͚ͅn̫ͅnͤ̓̋͆͆̈͗͏̬̰y̐͑̉͗ͦ̐͢?͙}}<br /> <br /> === Locations ===<br /> <br /> * [[Estrigan Alley]]<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> See also: [[Strangewarp/Archives|Archival Information]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Estrigan_Alley&diff=1189 2016-10-04T20:11:21Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>Estrigan is an alley off of Rue Tasloi in [[Strangewarp]]. A variety of troubling phenomena haunt its streets, mostly manmade, and it has become sparsely populated— save by those to whom they feel like home.<br /> <br /> The alley twists and winds for considerable length, doubling back and at one point running across a rickety bridge over itself, all without changing apparent elevation. It crosses several other streets in the process, either as a bridge or as a tunnel; the only street it intersects with is Tasloi, though it does that twice. It is lit dimly at irregular intervals, and seems never far from rain, no matter the weather in the rest of the city. Its perimeter of ancient, two- and three-story stone buildings loom ominously in the dark, and too many never show a light in their windows.<br /> <br /> An artists&#039; colony has taken residence along a stretch of Estrigan near Tasloi, laying claim to many of its untenanted warehouses and other abandoned spaces. These have been given over to studios, galleries, and environmental art installations. The artists explore a variety of outre art forms, including psychodioramas, radical body mods, and altered cognition performance pieces— also more conventional work, such as autonomous parasapient holographic sprites, self-modifying swarm displays, and Riemannian architecture.<br /> <br /> The artists have done what they can to keep out Strangewarp&#039;s perpetual gloom, hanging strings of biolumenescent lanterns across and along the way in their area; although there are gaps where a lantern has crawled away of its own accord and not yet been replaced. Windows dance with holographic displays, and some artists work in open studios or even public spaces, weaving the otherworldly and the macabre in public view. Etrigan alley has few remaining residents who do not share their aesthetic.<br /> <br /> === Theodosophe&#039;s Folly ===<br /> <br /> At the heart of the colony is a building-size art installation, Theodosophe&#039;s Folly, which has become its unofficial community center— and a source of disturbed sleep and nameless dread for many nearby residents. Constructed of a slate-gray material with the texture of granite but the frangibility of drywall, The Folly has been growing for several years and now rises nearly five stories into the air. It has has begun to crawl across several adjacent structures, and has formed an unwelcome skybridge to the building across the way. It branches in a profusion of windowless crawlspace-sized projections, which dont so much terminate as fade away into nonexistence in a manner that eludes close examination. The Folly doesn&#039;t grow visibly, but changes suddenly while it is unobserved, often several times a day, always becoming slightly larger.<br /> <br /> The Folly&#039;s ground floor has the typical features of a building interior, but starting with the second floor its floor plan and design features begin to warp and permute in troubling ways, before branching as crazily as the exterior. It is possible, although not easy, to climb inside a crawlspace and explore it to its terminus. Most turn back, whether out of fear or good judgment, often after having travelled much further than the exterior should allow. Some others report having successfully used a particular branch of the Folly to travel to another warp. The remainder are never heard from again.<br /> <br /> The Folly is the work of Theodosophe, an avante garde artist in spatial anomalies. Xe created or modified several other structures in the alley before undertaking what would come to be known as xyr Folly. Shortly after finishing xyr masterpiece, xe retired from spatial anomalies, and launched a long-term performance piece in artificial irreversible neurological decline. Xe has reached the intelligence of a 3 month old, and is in no position to comment on xyr Folly, where its branches lead, whether it will ever stop growing, or whether the sinister intelligence that seems to radiate from it is just our imagination. However, xe always waves xyr hands and coos appreciatively when xyr caretaker takes xem by the Folly in xyr stroller.<br /> <br /> The ground floor is more or less stable, with the norm for spatial drift of a Strangewarp locale. A countertop which had abutted a wall might one day have a gap, or a cupboard might turn out to be bigger on the inside than the outside today— perhaps by several hundred feet. For want of other tenants, it has become home to regular gatherings among the local artists, including poetry slams, live music, gallery shows, artificial lifeform exhibitions, obelisk rites, and potlucks. One wing serves as a open gallery for local works, and there is a volunteer-run cafe some evenings. A warm, supportive community has formed around the Folly, of creatures who protect each other from what haunts the warp— including what they create themselves.<br /> <br /> === Resident Artists ===<br /> <br /> * [[Senemura]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Estrigan_Alley&diff=1188 2016-10-04T20:10:58Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>Estrigan is an alley off of Rue Tasloi in [[Strangewarp]]. A variety of troubling phenomena haunt its streets, mostly manmade, and has become sparsely populated— save by those to whom they feel like home.<br /> <br /> The alley twists and winds for considerable length, doubling back and at one point running across a rickety bridge over itself, all without changing apparent elevation. It crosses several other streets in the process, either as a bridge or as a tunnel; the only street it intersects with is Tasloi, though it does that twice. It is lit dimly at irregular intervals, and seems never far from rain, no matter the weather in the rest of the city. Its perimeter of ancient, two- and three-story stone buildings loom ominously in the dark, and too many never show a light in their windows.<br /> <br /> An artists&#039; colony has taken residence along a stretch of Estrigan near Tasloi, laying claim to many of its untenanted warehouses and other abandoned spaces. These have been given over to studios, galleries, and environmental art installations. The artists explore a variety of outre art forms, including psychodioramas, radical body mods, and altered cognition performance pieces— also more conventional work, such as autonomous parasapient holographic sprites, self-modifying swarm displays, and Riemannian architecture.<br /> <br /> The artists have done what they can to keep out Strangewarp&#039;s perpetual gloom, hanging strings of biolumenescent lanterns across and along the way in their area; although there are gaps where a lantern has crawled away of its own accord and not yet been replaced. Windows dance with holographic displays, and some artists work in open studios or even public spaces, weaving the otherworldly and the macabre in public view. Etrigan alley has few remaining residents who do not share their aesthetic.<br /> <br /> === Theodosophe&#039;s Folly ===<br /> <br /> At the heart of the colony is a building-size art installation, Theodosophe&#039;s Folly, which has become its unofficial community center— and a source of disturbed sleep and nameless dread for many nearby residents. Constructed of a slate-gray material with the texture of granite but the frangibility of drywall, The Folly has been growing for several years and now rises nearly five stories into the air. It has has begun to crawl across several adjacent structures, and has formed an unwelcome skybridge to the building across the way. It branches in a profusion of windowless crawlspace-sized projections, which dont so much terminate as fade away into nonexistence in a manner that eludes close examination. The Folly doesn&#039;t grow visibly, but changes suddenly while it is unobserved, often several times a day, always becoming slightly larger.<br /> <br /> The Folly&#039;s ground floor has the typical features of a building interior, but starting with the second floor its floor plan and design features begin to warp and permute in troubling ways, before branching as crazily as the exterior. It is possible, although not easy, to climb inside a crawlspace and explore it to its terminus. Most turn back, whether out of fear or good judgment, often after having travelled much further than the exterior should allow. Some others report having successfully used a particular branch of the Folly to travel to another warp. The remainder are never heard from again.<br /> <br /> The Folly is the work of Theodosophe, an avante garde artist in spatial anomalies. Xe created or modified several other structures in the alley before undertaking what would come to be known as xyr Folly. Shortly after finishing xyr masterpiece, xe retired from spatial anomalies, and launched a long-term performance piece in artificial irreversible neurological decline. Xe has reached the intelligence of a 3 month old, and is in no position to comment on xyr Folly, where its branches lead, whether it will ever stop growing, or whether the sinister intelligence that seems to radiate from it is just our imagination. However, xe always waves xyr hands and coos appreciatively when xyr caretaker takes xem by the Folly in xyr stroller.<br /> <br /> The ground floor is more or less stable, with the norm for spatial drift of a Strangewarp locale. A countertop which had abutted a wall might one day have a gap, or a cupboard might turn out to be bigger on the inside than the outside today— perhaps by several hundred feet. For want of other tenants, it has become home to regular gatherings among the local artists, including poetry slams, live music, gallery shows, artificial lifeform exhibitions, obelisk rites, and potlucks. One wing serves as a open gallery for local works, and there is a volunteer-run cafe some evenings. A warm, supportive community has formed around the Folly, of creatures who protect each other from what haunts the warp— including what they create themselves.<br /> <br /> === Resident Artists ===<br /> <br /> * [[Senemura]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Estrigan_Alley&diff=1186 2016-10-04T20:06:01Z

<p>Senemura: /* Resident Artists */</p> <hr /> <div>Estrigan is an alley off of Rue Tasloi in Strangewarp. It twists and winds for considerable length, doubling back and at one point running across a rickety bridge over itself, all without changing apparent elevation. It crosses several other streets in the process, either as a bridge or as a tunnel; the only street it intersects with is Tasloi, though it does that twice. It is lit dimly at irregular intervals, and seems never far from rain, no matter the weather in the rest of the city. Its perimeter of ancient, two- and three-story stone buildings loom ominously in the dark, and too many never show a light in their windows.<br /> <br /> An artists&#039; colony has taken residence along a stretch of Estrigan near Tasloi, laying claim to many of its untenanted warehouses and other abandoned spaces. These have been given over to studios, galleries, and environmental art installations. The artists explore a variety of outre art forms, including psychodioramas, radical body mods, and altered cognition performance pieces— also more conventional work, such as autonomous parasapient holographic sprites, self-modifying swarm displays, and Riemannian architecture.<br /> <br /> The artists have done what they can to keep out Strangewarp&#039;s perpetual gloom, hanging strings of biolumenescent lanterns across and along the way in their area; although there are gaps where a lantern has crawled away of its own accord and not yet been replaced. Windows dance with holographic displays, and some artists work in open studios or even public spaces, weaving the otherworldly and the macabre in public view. Etrigan alley has few remaining residents who do not share their aesthetic.<br /> <br /> === Theodosophe&#039;s Folly ===<br /> <br /> At the heart of the colony is a building-size art installation, Theodosophe&#039;s Folly, which has become its unofficial community center— and a source of disturbed sleep and nameless dread for many nearby residents. Constructed of a slate-gray material with the texture of granite but the frangibility of drywall, The Folly has been growing for several years and now rises nearly five stories into the air. It has has begun to crawl across several adjacent structures, and has formed an unwelcome skybridge to the building across the way. It branches in a profusion of windowless crawlspace-sized projections, which dont so much terminate as fade away into nonexistence in a manner that eludes close examination. The Folly doesn&#039;t grow visibly, but changes suddenly while it is unobserved, often several times a day, always becoming slightly larger.<br /> <br /> The Folly&#039;s ground floor has the typical features of a building interior, but starting with the second floor its floor plan and design features begin to warp and permute in troubling ways, before branching as crazily as the exterior. It is possible, although not easy, to climb inside a crawlspace and explore it to its terminus. Most turn back, whether out of fear or good judgment, often after having travelled much further than the exterior should allow. Some others report having successfully used a particular branch of the Folly to travel to another warp. The remainder are never heard from again.<br /> <br /> The Folly is the work of Theodosophe, an avante garde artist in spatial anomalies. Xe created or modified several other structures in the alley before undertaking what would come to be known as xyr Folly. Shortly after finishing xyr masterpiece, xe retired from spatial anomalies, and launched a long-term performance piece in artificial irreversible neurological decline. Xe has reached the intelligence of a 3 month old, and is in no position to comment on xyr Folly, where its branches lead, whether it will ever stop growing, or whether the sinister intelligence that seems to radiate from it is just our imagination. However, xe always waves xyr hands and coos appreciatively when xyr caretaker takes xem by the Folly in xyr stroller.<br /> <br /> The ground floor is more or less stable, with the norm for spatial drift of a Strangewarp locale. A countertop which had abutted a wall might one day have a gap, or a cupboard might turn out to be bigger on the inside than the outside today— perhaps by several hundred feet. For want of other tenants, it has become home to regular gatherings among the local artists, including poetry slams, live music, gallery shows, artificial lifeform exhibitions, obelisk rites, and potlucks. One wing serves as a open gallery for local works, and there is a volunteer-run cafe some evenings. A warm, supportive community has formed around the Folly, of creatures who protect each other from the horrors of the warp— and from those they create themselves.<br /> <br /> === Resident Artists ===<br /> <br /> * [[Senemura]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Estrigan_Alley&diff=1185 2016-10-04T20:05:40Z

<p>Senemura: Created page with &quot;Estrigan is an alley off of Rue Tasloi in Strangewarp. It twists and winds for considerable length, doubling back and at one point running across a rickety bridge over itself,...&quot;</p> <hr /> <div>Estrigan is an alley off of Rue Tasloi in Strangewarp. It twists and winds for considerable length, doubling back and at one point running across a rickety bridge over itself, all without changing apparent elevation. It crosses several other streets in the process, either as a bridge or as a tunnel; the only street it intersects with is Tasloi, though it does that twice. It is lit dimly at irregular intervals, and seems never far from rain, no matter the weather in the rest of the city. Its perimeter of ancient, two- and three-story stone buildings loom ominously in the dark, and too many never show a light in their windows.<br /> <br /> An artists&#039; colony has taken residence along a stretch of Estrigan near Tasloi, laying claim to many of its untenanted warehouses and other abandoned spaces. These have been given over to studios, galleries, and environmental art installations. The artists explore a variety of outre art forms, including psychodioramas, radical body mods, and altered cognition performance pieces— also more conventional work, such as autonomous parasapient holographic sprites, self-modifying swarm displays, and Riemannian architecture.<br /> <br /> The artists have done what they can to keep out Strangewarp&#039;s perpetual gloom, hanging strings of biolumenescent lanterns across and along the way in their area; although there are gaps where a lantern has crawled away of its own accord and not yet been replaced. Windows dance with holographic displays, and some artists work in open studios or even public spaces, weaving the otherworldly and the macabre in public view. Etrigan alley has few remaining residents who do not share their aesthetic.<br /> <br /> === Theodosophe&#039;s Folly ===<br /> <br /> At the heart of the colony is a building-size art installation, Theodosophe&#039;s Folly, which has become its unofficial community center— and a source of disturbed sleep and nameless dread for many nearby residents. Constructed of a slate-gray material with the texture of granite but the frangibility of drywall, The Folly has been growing for several years and now rises nearly five stories into the air. It has has begun to crawl across several adjacent structures, and has formed an unwelcome skybridge to the building across the way. It branches in a profusion of windowless crawlspace-sized projections, which dont so much terminate as fade away into nonexistence in a manner that eludes close examination. The Folly doesn&#039;t grow visibly, but changes suddenly while it is unobserved, often several times a day, always becoming slightly larger.<br /> <br /> The Folly&#039;s ground floor has the typical features of a building interior, but starting with the second floor its floor plan and design features begin to warp and permute in troubling ways, before branching as crazily as the exterior. It is possible, although not easy, to climb inside a crawlspace and explore it to its terminus. Most turn back, whether out of fear or good judgment, often after having travelled much further than the exterior should allow. Some others report having successfully used a particular branch of the Folly to travel to another warp. The remainder are never heard from again.<br /> <br /> The Folly is the work of Theodosophe, an avante garde artist in spatial anomalies. Xe created or modified several other structures in the alley before undertaking what would come to be known as xyr Folly. Shortly after finishing xyr masterpiece, xe retired from spatial anomalies, and launched a long-term performance piece in artificial irreversible neurological decline. Xe has reached the intelligence of a 3 month old, and is in no position to comment on xyr Folly, where its branches lead, whether it will ever stop growing, or whether the sinister intelligence that seems to radiate from it is just our imagination. However, xe always waves xyr hands and coos appreciatively when xyr caretaker takes xem by the Folly in xyr stroller.<br /> <br /> The ground floor is more or less stable, with the norm for spatial drift of a Strangewarp locale. A countertop which had abutted a wall might one day have a gap, or a cupboard might turn out to be bigger on the inside than the outside today— perhaps by several hundred feet. For want of other tenants, it has become home to regular gatherings among the local artists, including poetry slams, live music, gallery shows, artificial lifeform exhibitions, obelisk rites, and potlucks. One wing serves as a open gallery for local works, and there is a volunteer-run cafe some evenings. A warm, supportive community has formed around the Folly, of creatures who protect each other from the horrors of the warp— and from those they create themselves.<br /> <br /> === Resident Artists ===<br /> <br /> * [[[Senemura]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Senemura&diff=1183 2016-10-04T20:03:54Z

<p>Senemura: Created page with &quot;Senemura is a female-presenting white manticore with a mohawk composed of long black spines. She has black horns on her forehead, and many other spines and spikes cover her bo...&quot;</p> <hr /> <div>Senemura is a female-presenting white manticore with a mohawk composed of long black spines. She has black horns on her forehead, and many other spines and spikes cover her body: hooked spikes to either side of her chin, dual clawlike spikes on the back of each of her hands, a band of spikes across her chest, and so on. She is not easy to hug.<br /> <br /> She is a wingless manticore with a long, prehensile tail fitted with a retractable intoxicating stinger. To most organic metabolisms, her venom induces euphoria. It does not impair judgment or affect the subject&#039;s ability to consent. Even so she keeps the stinger retracted and is careful not to sting anyone without their express consent.<br /> <br /> Her spikes make most clothing difficult. When she cant go naked, she prefers an imilexene coat. The substance resembles black PVC, can be worked around her spikes, and can be configured to form a variety of garments (but always black and shiny). She usually keeps it as a black trenchcoat, with as little on as possible underneath.<br /> <br /> Sen lives and works out of a hole-in-the-wall studio in [[Estrigan Alley]] off of Rue Tasloi, one of the more erratic districts in Strangewarp. She is an artist, usually working in metal plating and filigree. Her tool is a thesmet, which draws on the instantiator field for raw materials and her skill using it to create works of complexity and beauty. She normally keeps it wrapped like a bracelet around one wrist, allowing her to create artwork between her bare hands when she&#039;s bored, or spread art across any surface like growing vines.<br /> <br /> She is a quiet but generally good-natured creature. She doesn&#039;t want to see anyone she cares about hurting, although she often feels powerless to do anything about it. She will sometimes do a trick like pulling a flower from the air just to try and cheer someone up. She often doesn&#039;t know what to say, or feels like words have no value— you can say anything to mean anything, so why speak? Her art seems like a more powerful way to touch people... but even that doesn&#039;t seem to help people sometimes.<br /> <br /> How can you reach someone? How can you get to where you know they really understand you? Words usually don&#039;t do it. Art does it sometimes, but not often. People seem so far away. She engages with them, they act like she&#039;s close to them, but she doesn&#039;t feel close at all. She doesn&#039;t know what she has to do to feel that connection. She&#039;s gonna figure it out though.</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Puzzlebox&diff=1155 2016-10-04T02:54:36Z

<p>Senemura: </p> <hr /> <div>{{TOC right}}<br /> The Puzzlebox is an arbitrarily large, arbitrarily old, arbitrarily weird corner of space, or subspace, or non-space. Specifics tend to be difficult to nail down about it, it&#039;s that sort of place. It might reasonably be called a transhumanist megastructure, and indeed there are [[Puzzlebox/Archives|records]] of such a place going by such a name, but not all the details match up. The Puzzlebox of record seems to have largely been a pleasant galactic subdivision, well-kept but staid. The Puzzlebox that most folks seem to have direct experience with is something altogether messier. It&#039;s possible that this place was once part of that larger whole, there is evidence of an [[The Fracturing|event]] that may have caused all sorts of topological and mereological confusion.<br /> <br /> Despite its oddities, the Puzzlebox has all the conveniences of any good transhuman habitat: no one need die or go homeless or hungry, but life there is far from simple. It&#039;s divided up into districts, the Warps, and each one has slightly different rules of reality from each other (and the rest of the universe), supporting their own idiosyncratic ways of life.<br /> <br /> == The Warps ==<br /> There are six districts in total, three pairs, each named after a flavor of quark. Each warp seems to be as big as it needs to be, but rumors persist of borders between them, the particular reality of one warp bleeding into another in the far reaches. After the [[the Fracturing]], travel between warps became difficult and rare, but not unheard-of; and recently it seems to be increasingly common.<br /> <br /> [[Warp Metaphysics|There are countless ways to divide and characterize the six warps]], the following list simply uses the masses of the corresponding quarks to provide an ordering.<br /> <br /> * [[Downwarp]] - A cyberpunkish urban ruin homesteaded by tribes of artists and mystics.<br /> * [[Upwarp]] - A clinical technocratic society devoted to humanistic science and rationalism.<br /> * [[Strangewarp]] - A twisted mirror-image of an elegant city, turned inside-out by all those things that most folks would rather not think about.<br /> * [[Charmwarp]] - A fantasyland of bright colors, whimsical creatures, and exuberant ambition.<br /> * [[Bottomwarp]] - An endless street festival where shame (and clothing) are virtually unknown, and where kinky behavior and hippie-ish values predominate.<br /> * [[Topwarp]] - An aristocratic land of palaces and estates, whose inhabitants are devoted to craftsbeingship and personal development.<br /> <br /> == Life in the Puzzlebox ==<br /> Regardless of the specifics of various local realities, the Puzzlebox provides a number of conveniences. There&#039;s the Backup System, which constantly scans inhabitants&#039; bodies and minds and, if they suffer fatal physical damage, restores them intact at a nearby safe location. There&#039;s also the Instantiator, which allows inhabitants to create simple objects, including anything needed for sustenance and shelter, with only a thought. Strangest of all, there&#039;s the Consent Maintenance System, which seems to prevent (or at least mitigate) anything happening to someone that they don&#039;t (by some definition) &#039;want&#039;. <br /> <br /> &lt;span style=&quot;color: purple&quot;&gt;From an out-of-character perspective, this all basically means that MUCK rules are physical laws there; you can&#039;t die (unless you want to), you can make whatever you want as long as you spend the mental effort, and usually you&#039;re the one who determines what happens to you, via your own poses.&lt;/span&gt;<br /> <br /> These make physical combat essentially superfluous (or at least clearly recreational), but that doesn&#039;t make the Puzzlebox free of conflict entirely. Instead, the way that Puzzlebox inhabitants contend is through memetics and propaganda, what is sometimes called &#039;artwar&#039;. Over Puzzlebox&#039;s long history, factions have formed, along ideological and aesthetic lines, and they&#039;re always vying with each other to win converts and influence. New inhabitants are particuarly prized; convincing someone from somewhere else that your way of life is the right one brings with it a lot of prestige.<br /> <br /> === Factions ===<br /> This is a necessarily incomplete list; factions form and fragment constantly, and there&#039;s plenty of disagreement even within factions as to who belongs and who doesn&#039;t.<br /> <br /> * [[Architects of the Future/Archives|Architects of the Future]]†<br /> * [[Bonobians]]<br /> * [[Bubbledolls/Archives|Bubbledolls]]†<br /> * [[Chitin Queens/Archives|Chitin Queens]]†<br /> * [[Eisenstimmen/Archives|Eisenstimmen]]†<br /> * [[Fever Cathedral/Archives|Fever Cathedral]]†<br /> * [[Gridwalkers]]<br /> * [[Hemotopians/Archives|Hemotopians]]†<br /> * [[Modulari]]<br /> * [[Neo-Boreals/Archives|Neo-Boreals]]†<br /> * [[Neovictorians]]<br /> * [[Plurals/Archives|Plurals]]†<br /> * [[Strange Medical Corps]]<br /> <br /> <br /> † (pre-[[The Fracturing|Fracturing]]) archival information<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> See also: [[Puzzlebox/Archives|Archival Information]].<br /> <br /> [[Category:Syncosms]] [[Category:Puzzlebox]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Topwarp&diff=1128 2016-10-01T01:57:30Z

<p>Senemura: /* Sociology */</p> <hr /> <div>Topwarp is one of the six warps of the [[Puzzlebox]], an endlessly-refracting work of gears and astrology devoted to the Apollonian impulse: Rules and regulations, often arbitrary, and so many of them that they can&#039;t help but become self-conflicting.<br /> <br /> == Environment == <br /> <br /> If there were an &quot;origin point&quot; in Top, a central point to which everyone in the warp could at least provisionally agree both exists and is important, it would be [[Compass_Tower|Compass Tower]]. By some unspoken agreement, it remains the tallest building in the Warp, visible from almost any rooftop. Even on the cloudiest days, its silhouette looms overhead, its back-lit clock like a watchful eye gazing across the ever-unfolding cityscape. Many have threatened over the ages to build some structure glorifying one House or another that could dwarf the Tower, but to date, all attempts at such a landmark have ended in disaster, both for the structure and for those who&#039;ve proposed it.<br /> <br /> One such story tells of one of the original founders of [[Topwarp_Houses#Mars_House|Mars House]], Katerin Wheel, who published a proposal to build an elevator that could reach the heavens, complete with blueprints and the materials research necessary to craft such a contraption, the better to gather stardust from the source. After three months of demolitions and ground-clearing, a prior from [[Order_of_Saint_Cosmas|a nearby abbey]] arrived at the proposed construction site and asked the heads of Mars House to reconsider. The prior was rebuffed, and left. Soon after, work crews began reporting seeing other from the Order gathering near the site in larger numbers, pacing around its perimeter in packs. Then, one morning, the site was simply gone. The morning laborers arrived to find all their adamant scaffolding and gossamer cable &amp;#8212; as well as the cabin in which Mx. Wheel had been staying while overseeing construction &amp;#8212; replaced with several blocks&#039; worth of parkland. Of Katerin, there was no sign and no word. Not even the psychohistorians of Saturn House could explain it. When asked directly, a provost of the Order said only, &quot;we did ask they reconsider.&quot;<br /> <br /> == Sociology ==<br /> <br /> Outside the Compass Tower and its gardens, if there&#039;s an &quot;order,&quot; it&#039;s really the fractally complex intersection of geography, geometry, and personality. &quot;Neo-Victorian [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favela favela]&quot; would be the best descriptor of the lay of the land, with buildings on top of buildings in a crazy-quilt pattern, cut through with back alleys and the occasional thoroughfare. The sky ranges from light grey to charcoal, and at night, the sky is lit from below by an endless sea of phlogiston-jet lamps. Steamstacks dot the landscape shooting jets of vapor and soot into the air, and at times the clouds themselves seem to be on fire. Blimps dot the skies, along with autogyros, ornithopters, and the occasional &quot;tamed&quot; dragon. Horse- and other beast-drawn carts roam the streets, interspersed with the rare spell-powered vehicle.<br /> <br /> Keeping a &lt;span style=&quot;font-variant: small-caps&quot;&gt;[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonplace_book commonplace]&lt;/span&gt; is typical habit, detailing personal observations about the universe. Occasionally someone&#039;s &lt;span style=&quot;font-variant: small-caps&quot;&gt;commonplace&lt;/span&gt; will evolve into a [[Topwarp_Houses|House]]&#039;s codex, either as an addendum to someone else&#039;s or as a unique guide to itself. Visitors to Topwarp are, for the sake of politeness, sorted into a &quot;Guest House,&quot; unless of course someone wishes to join one of the others.<br /> <br /> == Psychology ==<br /> <br /> The key to Topwarp psychology is in the subtle and indirect. As is typified in the books of Austen and Brontë, Topwarp culture is [http://ask.metafilter.com/55153/Whats-the-middle-ground-between-FU-and-Welcome#830421 &#039;&#039;guess culture&#039;&#039;]. You will be expected to osmose the information you need without having to be told, and to synthesize the information you need from the information you receive. No Topwarper would ever nakedly proposition another for sex, but this doesn&#039;t mean they may not want it, or even be having it. Decorum, standing, and status are paramount. If you want something, you must find a way to get it without being so blunt as to directly inquire about it.<br /> <br /> This isn&#039;t to say that you &#039;&#039;can&#039;t&#039;&#039; ask; a Topwarper will answer a direct question if it would seem more rude to avoid doing so. However, forcing a Topwarper into the &#039;&#039;zugzwang&#039;&#039; of having to pick which social rule to violate is a good way to get yourself disinvited from future parties, especially if it can be arranged that said parties will have exactly the sorts of encounters that you were asking about.<br /> <br /> Likewise, beware the Topwarper and the &#039;&#039;grudge&#039;&#039;. Just as directly asking for something is seen as shockingly bold, no Topwarper would be so crass as to challenge someone who mortally and morally wounded them to a duel. It&#039;s much more likely that they&#039;d put a few drops of arsenic in your tea every Thursday for ten years, until you suffer a heart attack, at which point you&#039;ll wake up in the local hospital with a note on your bedside apologizing for the inconvenience and stating that now you&#039;re even. The Topwarper has learned patience, and will look for the perfect opportunity. They have eternity, and so do you.<br /> <br /> Above all else, psychology in Topwarp emphasizes the &#039;&#039;unremarkable&#039;&#039;. What&#039;s happening right now is &#039;&#039;normal&#039;&#039;, no matter how extraordinary. To borrow a fae expression, &quot;there is no blood.&quot; It won&#039;t matter if you walk into a room covered in the entrails of the damned; or if you have a small pack of gagged, plugged, and blindfolded &quot;pets&quot; on leashes behind you. If you act as though nothing is out of the ordinary, there isn&#039;t a Topwarper alive that will remark on it, whatever &quot;it&quot; is. Perhaps they fear retribution if they call attention to it, or perhaps they simply respect your privacy. The Topwarper impulse is to treat all things as circumspect, unless forced to pay attention to it.<br /> <br /> == Inspiration and Reference ==<br /> * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_the_Winds<br /> * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_compass_winds<br /> * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_clock<br /> * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_astronomical_clock<br /> * http://www.thesecretknots.com/comic/the-gif-day/<br /> * http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-to-keep-a-zibaldone-a-13thcentury-answer-to-tumblr<br /> <br /> [[Category:Puzzlebox]] [[Category:Stubs]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Topwarp&diff=1127 2016-10-01T01:56:19Z

<p>Senemura: /* Environment */</p> <hr /> <div>Topwarp is one of the six warps of the [[Puzzlebox]], an endlessly-refracting work of gears and astrology devoted to the Apollonian impulse: Rules and regulations, often arbitrary, and so many of them that they can&#039;t help but become self-conflicting.<br /> <br /> == Environment == <br /> <br /> If there were an &quot;origin point&quot; in Top, a central point to which everyone in the warp could at least provisionally agree both exists and is important, it would be [[Compass_Tower|Compass Tower]]. By some unspoken agreement, it remains the tallest building in the Warp, visible from almost any rooftop. Even on the cloudiest days, its silhouette looms overhead, its back-lit clock like a watchful eye gazing across the ever-unfolding cityscape. Many have threatened over the ages to build some structure glorifying one House or another that could dwarf the Tower, but to date, all attempts at such a landmark have ended in disaster, both for the structure and for those who&#039;ve proposed it.<br /> <br /> One such story tells of one of the original founders of [[Topwarp_Houses#Mars_House|Mars House]], Katerin Wheel, who published a proposal to build an elevator that could reach the heavens, complete with blueprints and the materials research necessary to craft such a contraption, the better to gather stardust from the source. After three months of demolitions and ground-clearing, a prior from [[Order_of_Saint_Cosmas|a nearby abbey]] arrived at the proposed construction site and asked the heads of Mars House to reconsider. The prior was rebuffed, and left. Soon after, work crews began reporting seeing other from the Order gathering near the site in larger numbers, pacing around its perimeter in packs. Then, one morning, the site was simply gone. The morning laborers arrived to find all their adamant scaffolding and gossamer cable &amp;#8212; as well as the cabin in which Mx. Wheel had been staying while overseeing construction &amp;#8212; replaced with several blocks&#039; worth of parkland. Of Katerin, there was no sign and no word. Not even the psychohistorians of Saturn House could explain it. When asked directly, a provost of the Order said only, &quot;we did ask they reconsider.&quot;<br /> <br /> == Sociology ==<br /> <br /> Outside the Compass Tower and its gardens, if there&#039;s an &quot;order,&quot; it&#039;s really the fractally complex intersection of geography, geometry, and personality. &quot;Neo-Victorian [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favela favela]&quot; would be the best descriptor of the lay of the land, with buildings on top of buildings in a crazy-quilt pattern, cut through with back alleys and the occasional thoroughfare. The sky ranges from light grey to charcoal, and at night, the sky is lit from below by an endless sea of phlogiston-jet lamps. Steamstacks dot the landscape shooting jets of vapor and soot into the air, and at times the clouds themselves seem to be on fire. Blimps dot the skies, along with autogyros, ornithopters, and the occasional &quot;tamed&quot; dragon. Horse- and other beast-drawn carts roam the streets, interspersed with the rare spell-powered vehicle.<br /> <br /> Keeping a &lt;span style=&quot;font-variant: small-caps&quot;&gt;[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonplace_book commonplace]&lt;/span&gt; is typical habit, detailing personal observations about the universe. Occasionally someone&#039;s &lt;span style=&quot;font-variant: small-caps&quot;&gt;commonplace&lt;/span&gt; will evolve into a [[Topwarp_Houses|House]]&#039;s codex, either as an addendum to someone else&#039;s or as a unique guide to itself. Visitors to TopWarp are, for the sake of politeness, sorted into a &quot;Guest House,&quot; unless of course someone wishes to join one of the others.<br /> <br /> == Psychology ==<br /> <br /> The key to Topwarp psychology is in the subtle and indirect. As is typified in the books of Austen and Brontë, Topwarp culture is [http://ask.metafilter.com/55153/Whats-the-middle-ground-between-FU-and-Welcome#830421 &#039;&#039;guess culture&#039;&#039;]. You will be expected to osmose the information you need without having to be told, and to synthesize the information you need from the information you receive. No Topwarper would ever nakedly proposition another for sex, but this doesn&#039;t mean they may not want it, or even be having it. Decorum, standing, and status are paramount. If you want something, you must find a way to get it without being so blunt as to directly inquire about it.<br /> <br /> This isn&#039;t to say that you &#039;&#039;can&#039;t&#039;&#039; ask; a Topwarper will answer a direct question if it would seem more rude to avoid doing so. However, forcing a Topwarper into the &#039;&#039;zugzwang&#039;&#039; of having to pick which social rule to violate is a good way to get yourself disinvited from future parties, especially if it can be arranged that said parties will have exactly the sorts of encounters that you were asking about.<br /> <br /> Likewise, beware the Topwarper and the &#039;&#039;grudge&#039;&#039;. Just as directly asking for something is seen as shockingly bold, no Topwarper would be so crass as to challenge someone who mortally and morally wounded them to a duel. It&#039;s much more likely that they&#039;d put a few drops of arsenic in your tea every Thursday for ten years, until you suffer a heart attack, at which point you&#039;ll wake up in the local hospital with a note on your bedside apologizing for the inconvenience and stating that now you&#039;re even. The Topwarper has learned patience, and will look for the perfect opportunity. They have eternity, and so do you.<br /> <br /> Above all else, psychology in Topwarp emphasizes the &#039;&#039;unremarkable&#039;&#039;. What&#039;s happening right now is &#039;&#039;normal&#039;&#039;, no matter how extraordinary. To borrow a fae expression, &quot;there is no blood.&quot; It won&#039;t matter if you walk into a room covered in the entrails of the damned; or if you have a small pack of gagged, plugged, and blindfolded &quot;pets&quot; on leashes behind you. If you act as though nothing is out of the ordinary, there isn&#039;t a Topwarper alive that will remark on it, whatever &quot;it&quot; is. Perhaps they fear retribution if they call attention to it, or perhaps they simply respect your privacy. The Topwarper impulse is to treat all things as circumspect, unless forced to pay attention to it.<br /> <br /> == Inspiration and Reference ==<br /> * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_the_Winds<br /> * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_compass_winds<br /> * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_clock<br /> * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_astronomical_clock<br /> * http://www.thesecretknots.com/comic/the-gif-day/<br /> * http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-to-keep-a-zibaldone-a-13thcentury-answer-to-tumblr<br /> <br /> [[Category:Puzzlebox]] [[Category:Stubs]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Bonobian&diff=1126 2016-10-01T01:54:23Z

<p>Senemura: /* Technologies */</p> <hr /> <div>Bonobians are a prominent faction of [[Puzzlebox]], with a focus on developing physical and aesthetic pleasure in concert with one another using organic modification as a medium. <br /> <br /> == Principles ==<br /> Bonobians are the self-professed epitome of the Bottomwarp philosophy: to find pleasure in all things. However, Bonobians have taken this sentiment almost literally. <br /> <br /> In most organic beings, there are two dominating spheres of perceived &#039;pleasure&#039;; <br /> * The pleasures of the body, including touch, sensation, and orgasm.<br /> * The pleasures of the mind, including beauty, aesthetics, and elegance.<br /> <br /> <br /> The former sensations are achieved quite easily through physical congress. The latter, however, are more elusive. These feelings are elicited when one perceives a profoundly moving piece of artwork or music. To a mathematician, an equation or proof can be described as &#039;elegant&#039; or &#039;beautiful&#039;. Fractal patterns are expressions of algorithms, but produce fantastic patterns when rendered visually.<br /> <br /> Bonobians&#039; founding members carefully studied this phenomena, seeking to understand the root of it rather than merely pursue it. Their efforts yielded a confluence of technologies, developed together and deployed as the Bonobian &#039;gland&#039;, an artificial organ with a number of properties. When implanted into a subject, a number of structural changes in the brain and body occur, the net result of which being that the senses of aesthetic and physical pleasure become closely linked to one another. <br /> <br /> Something such as a beautiful piece of artwork or music can thus produce a physical response (not necessarily an orgasm, but a feeling of intense ecstasy not unlike it), and contrariwise, physical pleasure can elicit the same sort of intense, emotionally moving experience normally associated with artwork, music or other media. These sensations can easily become overwhelming, so Bonobian faction members use technology to &#039;tune&#039; the Bonobian gland, amplifying or lessening its effects so that they can function on a day to day basis without being overwhelmed by the sensations it evokes.<br /> <br /> The gland also produces a number of ancillary effects, not the least of which is a degree of hypertrophy. Enhanced sexual characteristics and drive are an unavoidable side effect of implantation with a Bonobian gland. The resulting practice of beneficiaries of the gland routinely engaging in sexual congress, seemingly at the drop of a hat and even as a means of greeting, led to them being nicknamed &#039;Bonobians&#039; in jest by other Bottomwarp residents, after the similar practices of the ancient Bonobo pygmy chimpanzee. Rather than shun the comparison, the Bonobians enthusiastically adopted and retained the nickname for their own.<br /> <br /> <br /> == Membership ==<br /> Bonobians are a tightly knit group, as implantation of the gland tends to produce a significant alteration in the subject&#039;s perceptions of the world around them, perceptions which are uniquely shared by other Bonobians. This shared, unconscious vocabulary for viewing the world leads to a degree of separation from the normal Bottomwarp populous, who, while hedonistic, sometimes view the Bonobians&#039; methods as either too narrowly focused or too niche.<br /> <br /> That said, the population of the Bonobian clave tends to fluctuate considerably, comprising anywhere between thousands and hundreds as the transitory whims of the curious dictate; Bonobians are happy to supply the gland to any who wish it, implantation and removal is a simple process that takes only a few minutes either way. That said, there is a slowly but consistently growing core population of a few hundred that adopt the Bonobian lifestyle completely.<br /> <br /> This core population has a wide and varied talent pool, as Bonobians attract many individuals from diverse fields. As many seek to augment their interest in their chosen talents as develop their talents subsequent to their introduction to the Bonobian gland as their interests evolve. In many cases, individuals find new dimensions of interest in their work, and new connections in the brain elicit alternate approaches to problems that they may not have considered prior. The result is that the core population of the Bonobian faction is made up of individuals with experience in everything from mathematics to sculpture, design to musical composition, genetic engineering to cosmology, and these individuals often draw on each other for inspiration and expertise in their projects.<br /> <br /> <br /> == Orion ==<br /> Discovered in the outer reaches of the Mess, the Orion serves as the home complex for the Bonobian faction. An immense, derelict vessel, the Orion is physically lodged in a multi-million kilometre long strand of Puzzlebox&#039;s outer superstructure. It is theorized that it is powered by a small singularity, and since Puzzlebox (as a sentient entity) does not permit threats to itself within its operational envelope (and singularities are viewed as high priority potential threats), Orion was &#039;quarantined&#039; on the periphery of the Mess as a means of control.<br /> <br /> The vessel is approximately 1,400m in length, and is shaped roughly akin to a flying delta wing that has been rear-ended and halfway subsumed by a blunt, rectilinear volume, each roughly equal in length to each other. Further details are difficult to discern, as the Puzzlebox superstructure has enveloped a significant portion of the ship, like a white blood cell might envelop a virus, and more than two thirds of the ship is hidden from view. <br /> <br /> Inside, only a fraction of the vessel&#039;s habitable volume is accessible, and that is after considerable work by Bonobian members to make the vessel operational. Basic life support is functioning on only a few decks, including a launch bay located in the port side delta wing, the Forward Observation Dome, a large cylindrical volume in the nose of the ship capped by a field-reinforced diamond window, a large corridor running the length of the ship&#039;s central spine, and a few ancillary workspaces and crew quarters.<br /> <br /> The interior was found spotless, with all major pieces of equipment removed or stripped down to their basic parts, suggesting an orderly evacuation, but no trace remained of any records or objects that describe the ship&#039;s crew or mission. Since its discovery, Orion has served as the base of operations for the Bonobian faction, allowing its members to develop and install workshops, computer labs, and other spaces as needed to explore their diverse talents while maintaining a degree of seclusion from the chaos and overstimulation of Bottomwarp proper.<br /> <br /> Orion is linked to the Mess primarily via an n-space compression gate (functionally little more than a frame of superconductor to sustain the event horizon of a spatial fold), and secondarily, a trio of small spacecraft (singleships) with limited faster-than-light capability.<br /> <br /> <br /> == Technologies ==<br /> Because of their diverse core population, and that population&#039;s penchant for creating new technologies and evolving their talents (rather than accepting the Mess&#039;s myriad functions as given, or purchasing black box technologies from others), Bonobians employ a mishmash of different &#039;hard&#039; technologies developed in-house, many of which other factions and warps would not even consider utilizing. <br /> <br /> Indeed, the Bonobian gland itself is a product of incredibly delicate (and many would say, very messily &#039;&#039;organic&#039;&#039;) genetic and medical engineering. The success of that technology has spurred the faction to retain its focus on developing and bartering or selling technology; difficult technical challenges are viewed as opportunities to explore and develop new, increasingly elegant solutions that are their own intrinsic reward. <br /> <br /> Notable products include flexible semi-liquid memory plastics and shapealloys, DNA-based computers, biochemical products such as matchsticks (single-use cannabis vaporizers with many tailored blends), &#039;&#039;n&#039;&#039;-space compression (used in the gates linking Orion to the Mess), and the Bonobian gland itself.<br /> <br /> [[Category:Puzzlebox]] [[Category:Factions]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Charmwarp&diff=1125 2016-10-01T01:44:17Z

<p>Senemura: /* Inspiration */</p> <hr /> <div>Charmwarp is one of the six Warps of the [[Puzzlebox]], a realm of riotous color and joyful exuberance, where chaos is kept in check by ritual competition.<br /> <br /> == Environment ==<br /> Charmwarp has changed dramatically since the last ontological shift in the Puzzlebox, and a relatively new form has emerged from the chrysalis. Compared to prior incarnations, the &#039;new&#039; Charm is remarkably more orderly than before... at least on the surface. If anything, it is as dangerous as ever, in the way that only a realm of the truly innocent can be.<br /> <br /> Physically, Charm is a riot of color and gloss, much as it has always been, though now its tones are more those of candyfloss and ink than of rubber and metal. At some unidentified point in time, a surge of what has been consistently been described as &#039;elemental color&#039; swept over the Warp, hardening and crystallizing to form its present strata. This selfsame incident also brought with it the Warp&#039;s new ruler, an enigmatic figure known only as the Tearose Dowager, who undertook massive efforts to sculpt the roiling protomatter into functional structures. Depending upon location, Charm seems to be either constructed of finely-polished, carefully-sculpted candy, or living ink that appears to have been drawn-in by an unseen animator; deep beneath the &#039;modern&#039; strata, one can even find remnants of its previous structure, which local myth holds to house many of the residents who refused to change, including the [[Bubbledolls]].<br /> <br /> Its aesthetic mixes freely from both the Italian Rennaissance and the Heian Era, though all grounded in the strange physical properties of the Warp, with glossy materials that seem to be forged from hard candy, and lighting sources that seems to have been hand-shaded. Flower and plant motifs are common, etched into gleaming, partially-translucent candied marble, which come in all colors of the rainbow. Charm&#039;s aesthetic is moderately infectious, as well, with those who spend extensive time there typically taking on a glossy sheen or cel-shaded pastels.<br /> <br /> In present form, Charm is unusual in that while it shares the same theoretical infinitude of all the Warps, this property is notably vertically-oriented; everything in Charm is &#039;&#039;&#039;tall&#039;&#039;&#039;, buildings towering over its inhabitants except at the furthest reaches. Without a high enough prestige ranking or explicit invitation, the upper regions of Charm are always at one set height: too far to reach. Standing at &#039;ground-level,&#039; Charm seems to have an absolutely infinite amount of &#039;up&#039; inside it. Once one has attained the proper prestige, one can ascend or descend via elevators that seem to materialize whenever it is convenient for them to do so, traveling through streams of liquid color that often reflects whatever thoughts the occupants are having. More intellectually-inclined residents theorize that these are actually telelocation, and that the sensation of motion is simulated; why someone would simulate elevators that seem to move at right angles or in spirals is a different matter, as-yet unaddressed.<br /> <br /> == Sociology ==<br /> Charm has a well-known and well-deserved reputation for being a madhouse. The physical rules of reality are intensely mutable here, and residents are particularly tapped-into it. Anyone who visits Charm has, traditionally, been at rather extreme risk for &#039;deciding&#039; to stay, and Charm residents who leave tend to cause substantial chaos in their wake. The only rule Charm has natively is &#039;be colorful and have fun,&#039; and it twists the interpretations of that credo as far as it can get away with.<br /> <br /> The Tearose Dowager, confronted with the inherent chaos of Charm, instituted a system to keep the more dangerous inhabitants relatively pacified and &#039;safe&#039; towards outsiders, while still permitting them leave to do whatever they wish to each other: that of the Royal Duels. For most residents of Charm, the Royal Duels are not something that affects them; like anywhere else, it is simple enough to live a happy life without any concern for safety or scarcity. These are not who the Duels are for. <br /> <br /> Those who the Tearose Dowager identifies as &#039;troublemakers,&#039; however, are made Duelists, and branded with her mark: that of a stylized flower, each one particular to the given individual, upon the back of their hand or hand-equivalent, typically invisible but which glows in the presence of fellow Duelists. Duelists may freely challenge each other, but are prohibited from &#039;playing&#039; with anyone who does not bear the Dowager&#039;s mark, unless they give their express permission for a Duelist to do so. Duelists who attempt to break this prohibition are visited by the Dowager&#039;s discipline, which is typically public, deeply embarrassing, and often explosive.<br /> <br /> The primary prize for which Duelists duel is prestige. Those of higher prestige are permitted to access higher levels of Charm, with the top-ranked permitted to attend the Dowager&#039;s court. Duels take many forms, combative and otherwise, but all are inherently competitive and emotionally-charged, with the &#039;test&#039; typically being maintaining courtly composure in the face of debilitating bliss. Prestige is an invisibly-tracked but tracked-nevertheless rating which assesses Duelists on a number of factors, skill, composure, and valor chiefly, but also how entertaining they are when facing a loss: many well-ranked Duelists are perennial &#039;losers&#039; who are simply so adorable in a state of ecstatic meltdown that they are awarded bonuses.<br /> <br /> Duels are incredibly varied, and can range from painting exhibitions where the canvas corresponds to the opponent&#039;s body, elegant dances where Duelists must struggle to follow each other&#039;s moves, or out-and-out combats where being struck results in pleasure rather than pain. It is customary that the challenger picks the locale, while the defender picks the terms of the duel. Refusing a duel results in an automatic deduction of prestige, but losing does not necessarily mean a &#039;loss,&#039; which keeps the system functional.<br /> <br /> The chief effect this has upon local metaphysics, however, is that issuing or accepting a duel counts as explicit, non-revokable consent to whatever may happen as a result. No one knows &#039;&#039;&#039;how&#039;&#039;&#039; the Tearose Dowager managed to subvert Puzzlebox&#039;s Consent Maintenance System to make this system work, and those who have investigated it, if they have discovered anything, are not sharing. Most likely because the ranks of the Royal Guard seem to increase in number anytime somebody goes looking, always looking suspiciously like someone you used to know.<br /> <br /> == Inspiration ==<br /> <br /> * &#039;&#039;&#039;Anime&#039;&#039;&#039;<br /> ** {{wp|Revolutionary Girl Utena}} – The most obvious inspiration for neo-Charm, of course, with its bizarre architecture, emotional duels, and fascinating exploration of the interplay between gender and power dynamics. Come for the lesbians, stay for the Gnosticism!<br /> ** {{wp|Kaiba}} – A surreal, colorful exploration of identity, set in a futuristic sci-fi universe where memories can be manipulated, moved from body to body, and stored to make you immortal. Hauntingly beautiful and often &#039;&#039;&#039;very&#039;&#039;&#039; tropey.<br /> ** {{wp|Aim for the Ace!}} – The &#039;&#039;&#039;original&#039;&#039;&#039; shoujo anime, and the one that set the mold for all to come. Beautiful despite limited animation, staggeringly emotive, and wonderfully-written with every event being driven by emotion.<br /> ** {{wp|Kill La Kill}} – Madcap, fetishy as they come, and completely awesome. Fashion gives you superpowers because of aliens! School uniforms are bloodsucking symbiotes! Everything is adorable, violent, and gay as hell!<br /> <br /> [[Category:Puzzlebox]] [[Category:Stubs]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Charmwarp&diff=1124 2016-10-01T01:43:54Z

<p>Senemura: /* Sociology */</p> <hr /> <div>Charmwarp is one of the six Warps of the [[Puzzlebox]], a realm of riotous color and joyful exuberance, where chaos is kept in check by ritual competition.<br /> <br /> == Environment ==<br /> Charmwarp has changed dramatically since the last ontological shift in the Puzzlebox, and a relatively new form has emerged from the chrysalis. Compared to prior incarnations, the &#039;new&#039; Charm is remarkably more orderly than before... at least on the surface. If anything, it is as dangerous as ever, in the way that only a realm of the truly innocent can be.<br /> <br /> Physically, Charm is a riot of color and gloss, much as it has always been, though now its tones are more those of candyfloss and ink than of rubber and metal. At some unidentified point in time, a surge of what has been consistently been described as &#039;elemental color&#039; swept over the Warp, hardening and crystallizing to form its present strata. This selfsame incident also brought with it the Warp&#039;s new ruler, an enigmatic figure known only as the Tearose Dowager, who undertook massive efforts to sculpt the roiling protomatter into functional structures. Depending upon location, Charm seems to be either constructed of finely-polished, carefully-sculpted candy, or living ink that appears to have been drawn-in by an unseen animator; deep beneath the &#039;modern&#039; strata, one can even find remnants of its previous structure, which local myth holds to house many of the residents who refused to change, including the [[Bubbledolls]].<br /> <br /> Its aesthetic mixes freely from both the Italian Rennaissance and the Heian Era, though all grounded in the strange physical properties of the Warp, with glossy materials that seem to be forged from hard candy, and lighting sources that seems to have been hand-shaded. Flower and plant motifs are common, etched into gleaming, partially-translucent candied marble, which come in all colors of the rainbow. Charm&#039;s aesthetic is moderately infectious, as well, with those who spend extensive time there typically taking on a glossy sheen or cel-shaded pastels.<br /> <br /> In present form, Charm is unusual in that while it shares the same theoretical infinitude of all the Warps, this property is notably vertically-oriented; everything in Charm is &#039;&#039;&#039;tall&#039;&#039;&#039;, buildings towering over its inhabitants except at the furthest reaches. Without a high enough prestige ranking or explicit invitation, the upper regions of Charm are always at one set height: too far to reach. Standing at &#039;ground-level,&#039; Charm seems to have an absolutely infinite amount of &#039;up&#039; inside it. Once one has attained the proper prestige, one can ascend or descend via elevators that seem to materialize whenever it is convenient for them to do so, traveling through streams of liquid color that often reflects whatever thoughts the occupants are having. More intellectually-inclined residents theorize that these are actually telelocation, and that the sensation of motion is simulated; why someone would simulate elevators that seem to move at right angles or in spirals is a different matter, as-yet unaddressed.<br /> <br /> == Sociology ==<br /> Charm has a well-known and well-deserved reputation for being a madhouse. The physical rules of reality are intensely mutable here, and residents are particularly tapped-into it. Anyone who visits Charm has, traditionally, been at rather extreme risk for &#039;deciding&#039; to stay, and Charm residents who leave tend to cause substantial chaos in their wake. The only rule Charm has natively is &#039;be colorful and have fun,&#039; and it twists the interpretations of that credo as far as it can get away with.<br /> <br /> The Tearose Dowager, confronted with the inherent chaos of Charm, instituted a system to keep the more dangerous inhabitants relatively pacified and &#039;safe&#039; towards outsiders, while still permitting them leave to do whatever they wish to each other: that of the Royal Duels. For most residents of Charm, the Royal Duels are not something that affects them; like anywhere else, it is simple enough to live a happy life without any concern for safety or scarcity. These are not who the Duels are for. <br /> <br /> Those who the Tearose Dowager identifies as &#039;troublemakers,&#039; however, are made Duelists, and branded with her mark: that of a stylized flower, each one particular to the given individual, upon the back of their hand or hand-equivalent, typically invisible but which glows in the presence of fellow Duelists. Duelists may freely challenge each other, but are prohibited from &#039;playing&#039; with anyone who does not bear the Dowager&#039;s mark, unless they give their express permission for a Duelist to do so. Duelists who attempt to break this prohibition are visited by the Dowager&#039;s discipline, which is typically public, deeply embarrassing, and often explosive.<br /> <br /> The primary prize for which Duelists duel is prestige. Those of higher prestige are permitted to access higher levels of Charm, with the top-ranked permitted to attend the Dowager&#039;s court. Duels take many forms, combative and otherwise, but all are inherently competitive and emotionally-charged, with the &#039;test&#039; typically being maintaining courtly composure in the face of debilitating bliss. Prestige is an invisibly-tracked but tracked-nevertheless rating which assesses Duelists on a number of factors, skill, composure, and valor chiefly, but also how entertaining they are when facing a loss: many well-ranked Duelists are perennial &#039;losers&#039; who are simply so adorable in a state of ecstatic meltdown that they are awarded bonuses.<br /> <br /> Duels are incredibly varied, and can range from painting exhibitions where the canvas corresponds to the opponent&#039;s body, elegant dances where Duelists must struggle to follow each other&#039;s moves, or out-and-out combats where being struck results in pleasure rather than pain. It is customary that the challenger picks the locale, while the defender picks the terms of the duel. Refusing a duel results in an automatic deduction of prestige, but losing does not necessarily mean a &#039;loss,&#039; which keeps the system functional.<br /> <br /> The chief effect this has upon local metaphysics, however, is that issuing or accepting a duel counts as explicit, non-revokable consent to whatever may happen as a result. No one knows &#039;&#039;&#039;how&#039;&#039;&#039; the Tearose Dowager managed to subvert Puzzlebox&#039;s Consent Maintenance System to make this system work, and those who have investigated it, if they have discovered anything, are not sharing. Most likely because the ranks of the Royal Guard seem to increase in number anytime somebody goes looking, always looking suspiciously like someone you used to know.<br /> <br /> == Inspiration ==<br /> <br /> * &#039;&#039;&#039;Anime&#039;&#039;&#039;<br /> ** {{wp|Revolutionary Girl Utena}} – The most obvious inspiration for neo-Charm, of course, with its bizarre architecture, emotional duels, and fascinating exploration of the interplay between gender and power dynamics. Come for the lesbians, stay for the Gnosticism!<br /> ** {{wp|Kaiba}} – A surreal, colorful exploration of identity, set in a futuristic sci-fi universe where memories can be manipulated, moved from body to body, and stored to make you immortal. Hauntingly beautiful and often VERY tropey.<br /> ** {{wp|Aim for the Ace!}} – The ORIGINAL shoujo anime, and the one that set the mold for all to come. Beautiful despite limited animation, staggeringly emotive, and wonderfully-written with every event being driven by emotion.<br /> ** {{wp|Kill La Kill}} – Madcap, fetishy as they come, and completely awesome. Fashion gives you superpowers because of aliens! School uniforms are bloodsucking symbiotes! Everything is adorable, violent, and gay as hell!<br /> <br /> [[Category:Puzzlebox]] [[Category:Stubs]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Charmwarp&diff=1123 2016-10-01T01:43:06Z

<p>Senemura: /* Sociology */</p> <hr /> <div>Charmwarp is one of the six Warps of the [[Puzzlebox]], a realm of riotous color and joyful exuberance, where chaos is kept in check by ritual competition.<br /> <br /> == Environment ==<br /> Charmwarp has changed dramatically since the last ontological shift in the Puzzlebox, and a relatively new form has emerged from the chrysalis. Compared to prior incarnations, the &#039;new&#039; Charm is remarkably more orderly than before... at least on the surface. If anything, it is as dangerous as ever, in the way that only a realm of the truly innocent can be.<br /> <br /> Physically, Charm is a riot of color and gloss, much as it has always been, though now its tones are more those of candyfloss and ink than of rubber and metal. At some unidentified point in time, a surge of what has been consistently been described as &#039;elemental color&#039; swept over the Warp, hardening and crystallizing to form its present strata. This selfsame incident also brought with it the Warp&#039;s new ruler, an enigmatic figure known only as the Tearose Dowager, who undertook massive efforts to sculpt the roiling protomatter into functional structures. Depending upon location, Charm seems to be either constructed of finely-polished, carefully-sculpted candy, or living ink that appears to have been drawn-in by an unseen animator; deep beneath the &#039;modern&#039; strata, one can even find remnants of its previous structure, which local myth holds to house many of the residents who refused to change, including the [[Bubbledolls]].<br /> <br /> Its aesthetic mixes freely from both the Italian Rennaissance and the Heian Era, though all grounded in the strange physical properties of the Warp, with glossy materials that seem to be forged from hard candy, and lighting sources that seems to have been hand-shaded. Flower and plant motifs are common, etched into gleaming, partially-translucent candied marble, which come in all colors of the rainbow. Charm&#039;s aesthetic is moderately infectious, as well, with those who spend extensive time there typically taking on a glossy sheen or cel-shaded pastels.<br /> <br /> In present form, Charm is unusual in that while it shares the same theoretical infinitude of all the Warps, this property is notably vertically-oriented; everything in Charm is &#039;&#039;&#039;tall&#039;&#039;&#039;, buildings towering over its inhabitants except at the furthest reaches. Without a high enough prestige ranking or explicit invitation, the upper regions of Charm are always at one set height: too far to reach. Standing at &#039;ground-level,&#039; Charm seems to have an absolutely infinite amount of &#039;up&#039; inside it. Once one has attained the proper prestige, one can ascend or descend via elevators that seem to materialize whenever it is convenient for them to do so, traveling through streams of liquid color that often reflects whatever thoughts the occupants are having. More intellectually-inclined residents theorize that these are actually telelocation, and that the sensation of motion is simulated; why someone would simulate elevators that seem to move at right angles or in spirals is a different matter, as-yet unaddressed.<br /> <br /> == Sociology ==<br /> Charm has a well-known and well-deserved reputation for being a madhouse. The physical rules of reality are intensely mutable here, and residents are particularly tapped-into it. Anyone who visits Charm has, traditionally, been at rather extreme risk for &#039;deciding&#039; to stay, and Charm residents who leave tend to cause substantial chaos in their wake. The only rule Charm has natively is &#039;be colorful and have fun,&#039; and it twists the interpretations of that credo as far as it can get away with.<br /> <br /> The Tearose Dowager, confronted with the inherent chaos of Charm, instituted a system to keep the more dangerous inhabitants relatively pacified and &#039;safe&#039; towards outsiders, while still permitting them leave to do whatever they wish to each other: that of the Royal Duels. For most residents of Charm, the Royal Duels are not something that affects them; like anywhere else, it is simple enough to live a happy life without any concern for safety or scarcity. These are not who the Duels are for. <br /> <br /> Those who the Tearose Dowager identifies as &#039;troublemakers,&#039; however, are made Duelists, and branded with her mark: that of a stylized flower, each one particular to the given individual, upon the back of their hand or hand-equivalent, typically invisible but which glows in the presence of fellow Duelists. Duelists may freely challenge each other, but are prohibited from &#039;playing&#039; with anyone who does not bear the Dowager&#039;s mark, unless they give their express permission for a Duelist to do so. Duelists who attempt to break this prohibition are visited by the Dowager&#039;s discipline, which is typically public, deeply embarrassing, and often explosive.<br /> <br /> The primary cachet for which Duelists... well, duel, is prestige. Those of higher prestige are permitted to access higher levels of Charm, with the top-ranked permitted to attend the Dowager&#039;s court. Duels take many forms, combative and otherwise, but all are inherently competitive and emotionally-charged, with the &#039;test&#039; typically being maintaining courtly composure in the face of debilitating bliss. Prestige is an invisibly-tracked but tracked-nevertheless rating which assesses Duelists on a number of factors, skill, composure, and valor chiefly, but also how entertaining they are when facing a loss: many well-ranked Duelists are perennial &#039;losers&#039; who are simply so adorable in a state of ecstatic meltdown that they are awarded bonuses.<br /> <br /> Duels are incredibly varied, and can range from painting exhibitions where the canvas corresponds to the opponent&#039;s body, elegant dances where Duelists must struggle to follow each other&#039;s moves, or out-and-out combats where being struck results in pleasure rather than pain. It is customary that the challenger picks the locale, while the defender picks the terms of the duel. Refusing a duel results in an automatic deduction of prestige, but losing does not necessarily mean a &#039;loss,&#039; which keeps the system functional.<br /> <br /> The chief effect this has upon local metaphysics, however, is that issuing or accepting a duel counts as explicit, non-revokable consent to whatever may happen as a result. No one knows &#039;&#039;&#039;how&#039;&#039;&#039; the Tearose Dowager managed to subvert the Puzzlebox&#039;s Consent Maintenance System to make this system work, and those who have investigated it, if they have discovered anything, are not sharing. Most likely because the ranks of the Royal Guard seem to increase in number anytime somebody goes looking, always looking suspiciously like someone you used to know.<br /> <br /> == Inspiration ==<br /> <br /> * &#039;&#039;&#039;Anime&#039;&#039;&#039;<br /> ** {{wp|Revolutionary Girl Utena}} – The most obvious inspiration for neo-Charm, of course, with its bizarre architecture, emotional duels, and fascinating exploration of the interplay between gender and power dynamics. Come for the lesbians, stay for the Gnosticism!<br /> ** {{wp|Kaiba}} – A surreal, colorful exploration of identity, set in a futuristic sci-fi universe where memories can be manipulated, moved from body to body, and stored to make you immortal. Hauntingly beautiful and often VERY tropey.<br /> ** {{wp|Aim for the Ace!}} – The ORIGINAL shoujo anime, and the one that set the mold for all to come. Beautiful despite limited animation, staggeringly emotive, and wonderfully-written with every event being driven by emotion.<br /> ** {{wp|Kill La Kill}} – Madcap, fetishy as they come, and completely awesome. Fashion gives you superpowers because of aliens! School uniforms are bloodsucking symbiotes! Everything is adorable, violent, and gay as hell!<br /> <br /> [[Category:Puzzlebox]] [[Category:Stubs]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Charmwarp&diff=1122 2016-10-01T01:42:45Z

<p>Senemura: /* Environment */</p> <hr /> <div>Charmwarp is one of the six Warps of the [[Puzzlebox]], a realm of riotous color and joyful exuberance, where chaos is kept in check by ritual competition.<br /> <br /> == Environment ==<br /> Charmwarp has changed dramatically since the last ontological shift in the Puzzlebox, and a relatively new form has emerged from the chrysalis. Compared to prior incarnations, the &#039;new&#039; Charm is remarkably more orderly than before... at least on the surface. If anything, it is as dangerous as ever, in the way that only a realm of the truly innocent can be.<br /> <br /> Physically, Charm is a riot of color and gloss, much as it has always been, though now its tones are more those of candyfloss and ink than of rubber and metal. At some unidentified point in time, a surge of what has been consistently been described as &#039;elemental color&#039; swept over the Warp, hardening and crystallizing to form its present strata. This selfsame incident also brought with it the Warp&#039;s new ruler, an enigmatic figure known only as the Tearose Dowager, who undertook massive efforts to sculpt the roiling protomatter into functional structures. Depending upon location, Charm seems to be either constructed of finely-polished, carefully-sculpted candy, or living ink that appears to have been drawn-in by an unseen animator; deep beneath the &#039;modern&#039; strata, one can even find remnants of its previous structure, which local myth holds to house many of the residents who refused to change, including the [[Bubbledolls]].<br /> <br /> Its aesthetic mixes freely from both the Italian Rennaissance and the Heian Era, though all grounded in the strange physical properties of the Warp, with glossy materials that seem to be forged from hard candy, and lighting sources that seems to have been hand-shaded. Flower and plant motifs are common, etched into gleaming, partially-translucent candied marble, which come in all colors of the rainbow. Charm&#039;s aesthetic is moderately infectious, as well, with those who spend extensive time there typically taking on a glossy sheen or cel-shaded pastels.<br /> <br /> In present form, Charm is unusual in that while it shares the same theoretical infinitude of all the Warps, this property is notably vertically-oriented; everything in Charm is &#039;&#039;&#039;tall&#039;&#039;&#039;, buildings towering over its inhabitants except at the furthest reaches. Without a high enough prestige ranking or explicit invitation, the upper regions of Charm are always at one set height: too far to reach. Standing at &#039;ground-level,&#039; Charm seems to have an absolutely infinite amount of &#039;up&#039; inside it. Once one has attained the proper prestige, one can ascend or descend via elevators that seem to materialize whenever it is convenient for them to do so, traveling through streams of liquid color that often reflects whatever thoughts the occupants are having. More intellectually-inclined residents theorize that these are actually telelocation, and that the sensation of motion is simulated; why someone would simulate elevators that seem to move at right angles or in spirals is a different matter, as-yet unaddressed.<br /> <br /> == Sociology ==<br /> Charm has a well-known and well-deserved reputation for being a madhouse. The physical rules of reality are intensely mutable here, and residents are particularly tapped-into it. Anyone who visits Charm has, traditionally, been at rather extreme risk for &#039;deciding&#039; to stay, and Charm residents who leave tend to cause substantial chaos in their wake. The only rule Charm has natively is &#039;be colorful and have fun,&#039; and it twists the interpretations of that credo as far as it can get away with.<br /> <br /> The Tearose Dowager, confronted with the inherent chaos of Charm, instituted a system to keep the more dangerous inhabitants relatively pacified and &#039;safe&#039; towards outsiders, while still permitting them leave to do whatever they wish to each other: that of the Royal Duels. For most residents of Charm, the Royal Duels are not something that affects them; like anywhere else, it is simple enough to live a happy life without any concern for safety or scarcity. These are not who the Duels are for. <br /> <br /> Those who the Tearose Dowager identifies as &#039;troublemakers,&#039; however, are made Duelists, and branded with her mark: that of a stylized flower, each one particular to the given individual, upon the back of their hand or hand-equivalent, typically invisible but which glows in the presence of fellow Duelists. Duelists may freely challenge each other, but are prohibited from &#039;playing&#039; with anyone who does not bear the Dowager&#039;s mark, unless they give their express permission for a Duelist to do so. Duelists who attempt to break this prohibition are visited by the Dowager&#039;s discipline, which is typically public, deeply embarrassing, and often explosive.<br /> <br /> The primary cachet for which Duelists... well, duel, is prestige. Those of higher prestige are permitted to access higher levels of Charm, with the top-ranked permitted to attend the Dowager&#039;s court. Duels take many forms, combative and otherwise, but all are inherently competitive and emotionally-charged, with the &#039;test&#039; typically being maintaining courtly composure in the face of debilitating bliss. Prestige is an invisibly-tracked but tracked-nevertheless rating which assesses Duelists on a number of factors, skill, composure, and valor chiefly, but also how entertaining they are when facing a loss: many well-ranked Duelists are perennial &#039;losers&#039; who are simply so adorable in a state of ecstatic meltdown that they are awarded bonuses.<br /> <br /> Duels are incredibly varied, and can range from painting exhibitions where the canvas corresponds to the opponent&#039;s body, elegant dances where Duelists must struggle to follow each other&#039;s moves, or out-and-out combats where being struck results in pleasure rather than pain. It is customary that the challenger picks the locale, while the defender picks the terms of the duel. Refusing a duel results in an automatic deduction of prestige, but losing does not necessarily mean a &#039;loss,&#039; which keeps the system functional.<br /> <br /> The chief effect this has upon local metaphysics, however, is that issuing or accepting a duel counts as explicit, non-revokable consent to whatever may happen as a result. No one knows HOW the Tearose Dowager managed to subvert the Puzzlebox&#039;s Consent Maintenance System to make this system work, and those who have investigated it, if they have discovered anything, are not sharing. Most likely because the ranks of the Royal Guard seem to increase in number anytime somebody goes looking, always looking suspiciously like someone you used to know.<br /> <br /> == Inspiration ==<br /> <br /> * &#039;&#039;&#039;Anime&#039;&#039;&#039;<br /> ** {{wp|Revolutionary Girl Utena}} – The most obvious inspiration for neo-Charm, of course, with its bizarre architecture, emotional duels, and fascinating exploration of the interplay between gender and power dynamics. Come for the lesbians, stay for the Gnosticism!<br /> ** {{wp|Kaiba}} – A surreal, colorful exploration of identity, set in a futuristic sci-fi universe where memories can be manipulated, moved from body to body, and stored to make you immortal. Hauntingly beautiful and often VERY tropey.<br /> ** {{wp|Aim for the Ace!}} – The ORIGINAL shoujo anime, and the one that set the mold for all to come. Beautiful despite limited animation, staggeringly emotive, and wonderfully-written with every event being driven by emotion.<br /> ** {{wp|Kill La Kill}} – Madcap, fetishy as they come, and completely awesome. Fashion gives you superpowers because of aliens! School uniforms are bloodsucking symbiotes! Everything is adorable, violent, and gay as hell!<br /> <br /> [[Category:Puzzlebox]] [[Category:Stubs]]</div>

Senemura http://wiki.postfurry.net/w/index.php?title=Puzzlebox&diff=1021 2016-09-30T03:12:28Z

<p>Senemura: /* Life in the Puzzlebox */ typo ^^</p> <hr /> <div>{{TOC right}}<br /> The Puzzlebox is an arbitrarily large, arbitrarily old, arbitrarily weird region of the Mess, an even larger, older, but rather less weird transhuman habitat. Most of the Mess is et up as a fairly mundane, unchallenging, comfortable existence for any sentient, offering freedom from death and want. <br /> <br /> The Puzzlebox has the same conveniences overall; no one need die or go homeless or hungry, but unlike the rest of the Mess, it&#039;s divided into vastly different areas, each one seeming to have its own very forceful personality. Each of these six Warps, as they&#039;re called, has slightly different rules of reality from each other and the rest of the universe, that support their own particular ways of life. Given its oddness by the general standards of the surrounding habitat, most Mess denizens look at the Puzzlebox as down-rent property, generally to be avoided.<br /> <br /> However, another thing that makes the Puzzlebox different is that it seems to have a will of its own, and a penchant for collecting. Strange immigrants are common there, from far-flung areas of the Mess and from other realities entirely. Many of them aren&#039;t even sure how they got there. In general, there&#039;s nothing keeping them from leaving again, but those that the Puzzlebox chooses seem to tend to find a place there, preferring it to wherever they came from.<br /> <br /> == The Warps ==<br /> The Puzzlebox is divided into six warps, three pairs, each named after a flavor of quark. Each warp seems to be as big as it needs to be, but borders between them can be found as well, the particular reality of one warp bleeding into another in the far reaches. There are rumors of other places too, specific junctions between two or even three warps, but details on these are sketchy at best.<br /> <br /> [[Warp Metaphysics|There are countless ways to divide and characterize the six warps]], the following listing simply uses the masses of the corresponding quarks to provide an ordering.<br /> <br /> * [[Downwarp]] - A cyberpunkish urban ruin filled with wild-eyed artists and mystics.<br /> * [[Upwarp]] - A clinical technocratic society devoted to humanistic science and rationalism.<br /> * [[Strangewarp]] - A twisted mirror-image of an elegant city, turned inside-out by all those things that most folks would rather not think about.<br /> * [[Charmwarp]] - A fantasyland of bright colors, whimsical creatures, and wide-eyed innocence.<br /> * [[Bottomwarp]] - An endless street festival where shame (and clothing) are virtually unknown, and where kinky behavior and hippie-ish values predominate.<br /> * [[Topwarp]] - An aristocratic land of palaces and estates, whose inhabitants are devoted to craftsbeingship and personal development.<br /> <br /> == Life in the Puzzlebox ==<br /> As a transhuman habitat, the Puzzlebox provides a number of conveniences. There&#039;s the Backup System, which constantly scans inhabitants&#039; bodies and minds and, if they suffer fatal physical damage, restores them intact at a nearby safe location. There&#039;s also the Instantiator, which allows inhabitants to create simple objects, including anything needed for sustenance and shelter, with only a thought. Strangest of all, there&#039;s the Consent Maintenance System, which seems to prevent (or at least mitigate) anything happening to someone that they don&#039;t (by some definition) &#039;want&#039;. <br /> <br /> &lt;span style=&quot;color: purple&quot;&gt;From an out-of-character perspective, this all basically means that MUCK rules are physical laws there; you can&#039;t die (unless you want to), you can make whatever you want as long as you spend the mental effort, and usually you&#039;re the one who determines what happens to you, via your own poses.&lt;/span&gt;<br /> <br /> These make physical combat essentially superfluous (or at least clearly recreational), but that doesn&#039;t make the Puzzlebox free of conflict entirely. Instead, the way that Puzzlebox inhabitants contend is through memetics and propaganda, what is sometimes called &#039;artwar&#039;. Over Puzzlebox&#039;s long history, factions have formed, along ideological and aesthetic lines, and they&#039;re always vying with each other to win converts and influence. New inhabitants are particuarly prized; convincing someone from somewhere else that your way of life is the right one brings with it a lot of prestige.<br /> <br /> === Current Events ===<br /> Once, the warps were all connected via the [[Transit Nexus]] and its Magic Mirror, but at some point in the relatively recent past, something changed. The greater Genius Loci of the Puzzlebox seems to have changed, or simply lost interest; not much has happened, and the connections between Warps, and in and out of the Puzzlebox itself, have broken down, leaving some inhabitants stranded outwarp or outbox, and the rest a bit worried about whether the backup system or the instantiator will be next to fail.<br /> <br /> More recently, contact has been made between [[Downwarp]] and the [[Oneiropolis]], allowing a bit of travel between that warp and other [[valences]]. Further experimentation inside Downwarp has given some hints that they may be able to re-establish contact with other places, as long as an inhabitant from each other warp can be found to help lead the way back.<br /> <br /> === Factions ===<br /> This is a necessarily incomplete list; factions form and fragment constant, and there&#039;s plenty of disagreement even within factions as to who belongs and who doesn&#039;t.<br /> <br /> * [[Bonobians]]<br /> * [[Bubbledolls]]<br /> * [[Eisenstimmen]]<br /> * [[Gridshamans]]<br /> * [[Modulari]]<br /> * [[Neovictorians]]<br /> * [[Strange Medical Corps]]<br /> <br /> == Other Places ==<br /> Puzzlebox is generally synonymous with the Warps, but there are always edge cases. These locations are undeniably inside the Puzzlebox, but also just as clearly don&#039;t belong to any particular warp.<br /> <br /> * [[Cube Tree Plaza]]<br /> * [[Transit Nexus]]<br /> * [[The Museum]]<br /> <br /> [[Category:Syncosms]] [[Category:Puzzlebox]]</div>

Senemura