On Gothic
a cute helpful guide on the gothic subculture that no one asked for <3
goth music springing from the late 1970s after the post punk movement was a subculture heavily inspired by the themes found in victorian gothic literature
gothic literature:
frankenstein - mary shelley
dracula - bram stoker
jekyll and hyde - robert stevenson
wuthering heights - emily bronte
rebecca - daphne du maurier
edgar allen poe <3
some keywords that come from gothic literature that can help you spot a goth song:
'dark' 'death' 'black' 'cold' 'heaven' 'hell' 'witches 'bats' 'night' 'roses' 'blood' 'church' 'forest' 'jesus' 'grey' 'horror' 'shadow' 'sacrifice' 'tears' 'ghost' 'spells' 'cry' 'love' 'haunted' 'funeral' 'cathedral'
Some other themes in a song that can help you to decide if it goth or not can be:
heavy bass
synth sounds (the song sounds like it was recorded in an empty church)
mysterious and whimsical vocals
deep vocals
lack of a (electric) guitar
The 1980's and 90's were the peak for the gothic subculture, especially in camden market, london, england
Some bands that were prominent at the time were...
Bauhaus
The Cure
Sisters of Mercy
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Christian Death
Clan of Xymox
The Cramps
Depeche Mode
New Order
Joy Division
Alien Sex Fiend
Fields of the Nephilim
Killing Joke
The Damned
Nick Cave
Softcell
Some other goth band recs:
Boy Harsher
Children on Stun
Earth Calling Angela
Molchat Doma
Forever Grey
Horror Vacui
Lebanon Hanover
London After Midnight
Male Tears
The March Violets
The Merry Thoughts
Paradise Lost
Paralysed Age
Plastique Noir
Rendez Vous
Rosetta Stone
Selofan
She Wants Revenge
Skinny Puppy
Specimen
This Cold Night
Tragic Black
Traitrs
Type O Negative
Twin Tribes
ULTRA SUNN
Xmal Deutschland
Your Funeral
The 69 Eyes
Please let me know which ones i've missed because these are just ones that I have taken from my own playlist!
The music is the number one most important part of goth subculture and you don't have to dress goth to be goth... but it sure is fun to do so! Goth fashion holds its roots in thrifting, upcycling and sustainable fashion (buying 'goth' clothes from shein, dollskill and killstar is a big no no).
Anyone can style their gothic outfits however they like but here are some examples of different styles:
Trad(itional) Goth:
Romantic Goth:
Victorian Goth:
The styles can get very similar so let me know if i’ve mixed any up!
I’ve reached the limit on the number of pictures i can add so here are some more examples of goth styles:
Corporate goth
Gothabilly
Mall Goth
Cyber Goth
J-Goth
Baby Bat
Mopey Goth
Vampire Goth
Steam punk
To end the post i'm circling back to gothic literature by listing some films too (which are often based on the books)
Everyone's beloved: Bela Lugosi in the first adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1931
The Crow 1994 which comes with a song from The Cure
Interview with the Vampire 1994
The Rocky Horror Picture Show 1975
Edward Scissor Hands 1990
The Addams family 1991 (if he's not like gomez then i don't want him)
The Craft 1996
That's all I have for now and if you made it this far thank you so much for reading and have a nice day <3
current goth song on repeat:
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The History of Cyberpunk
Or why every other SciFi Genre is called [something]punk
You know what? Let's do this. Because I have seen the discussion on whether or not Solarpunk is "punk" over the last few days and... people really gotta learn their history.
The first time a genre took the "punk" name was Cyberpunk. And for context we gotta talk a bit about the history of the Cyberpunk genre.
While some books that we in hindsight call "Cyberpunk" were released as early as the 1960s, the start of Cyberpunk as a genre got its start in the late 70s and early 80s.
The term was invented by Bruce Bethke, who published a short story in 1983 with the name "Cyberpunk". His idea was to juxtapose the term "punk" for both the mentality and the punk protagonists in his short story with the term cyber, short for the cybernetics they were wearing. And while the cybernetics have become a main stay in the genre, the punk attitudes are not always carried through...
Well, the title Bethke invented stuck, though. When 1984 Neuromancer was published, one of the most influencial works in the early days of the genre, he called it "a Cyberpunk novel" in the marketing. And from there... Well, the genre was suddenly named like that.
The 80s were definitely the decade that had the most influence on the genre, given that a lot of the big novels and graphic novels of the genre were released here.
A big influence was, no doubt, that 1982 the Blade Runner movie had released and had inspired quite a few writers and artists. (And yes, this makes Blade Runner a movie that released not only before the term Cyberpunk was coined, but also before the genre had a chance to define itself.)
Given that the genre was defined in the 80s, there are a lot of 80s anxiety kept within it about the rise of the Japanese economy, that are these days rarely questioned within the western Cyberpunk movement.
When the genre was coined and developed, Japan was the fastest growing economy in the world, being so influencial that they got to buy out several things in America. Something that kinda jerked white people in the US a lot. This is, why Cyberpunk originally depicted not only a capitalist hellscape - but specifically a capitalist hellscape were everything was bought out by Japanese companies, with many of those early antagonists being Japanese companies. And yeah... there was a lot of both anti-japanese racism, but also cultural appropriation of Japanese things in early Cyberpunk, at time surviving to this day. (But that is a story for another day.)
The general sense that Western Cyberpunk had, was always the idea of: We have a capitalist hellscape where the world is slowly dying and people are exploited with no end, while we have those kinda punky protagonists, who stand outside of the society and try to work against it. This being where the punk comes from.
Now, I could talk for length about how a lot of that punky attitude has been lost in more modern Cyberpunk media, but that, too, is a story for another day.
So, let me just talk about what happened then.
The term Cyberpunk really is darn catchy, right? So just when that name took hold, writer K.W. Jeter retroactively called his 1979 novel Morlock Night "steampunk". And guess what: This stuck, too. Though while the 80s Cyberpunk still stuck to the punk attitude, a lot of Steampunk did not. While for certain there is quite a bit of Steampunk that has kinda punky characters go against the quasi Victorian society of steampunk books (something most common in the air pirate novels I have read), a lot of other stories are more focused on a general sense of adventure.
But never the less... The genre names stuck and gave a nice baseline for naming other genre. We got Dieselpunk, Atompunk, Nanopunk, Arcanepunk, Dustpunk, Silkpunk and of course also Solarpunk and Lunarpunk.
And for the most part... The "punk" names mostly communicate: "It is SciFi with this kinda aesthetic/twist going on". Which is just how it turned out.
Funnily enough Solarpunk is for once a genre that brings back the punk, as it tends to include a lot of the ideals aspired to by the Punk counter culture of the 1970s: Anarchism, anti-capitalism, anti-consumerism, anti-classism, anti-racism, anti-colonialism and so on. Though other than with Cyberpunk and the real world punk movement, Solarpunk for the most part imagines a place, where those things are culture instead of counter culture.
I personally find it kinda sad, how for the most part Cyberpunk kinda lost a lot of the counter-cultural, revolutionary mindset. And how fucking defeatist the genre often is.
But again, it is a story for another day. Just as the story of Japanese Cyberpunk is.
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Project Gemini: Worldbuilding
Let me just take a moment to shout out my amazing writing partner Rachelle for being so meticulously anal about some of this. I wouldn’t have this information if it weren’t for her googling shit at 3 am
You can follow her on instagram @panda.panduh
Setting
Setting: Cyberpunk adjacent. Definitely advance technology in a city
Country: Utristan
Capital city: Eltrax in Aurora District
Caspian’s home city: Dreake in Titania District
Currency:
Seols - fully digital currency only accessed through PINs and SERiALs
Utristan uses Seol currency (§XX UTS)
Because of the incredibly high inflation, 5.8k Seol (§5800 UTS) is worth 1 US dollars ($1 USD) during Caspian’s generation
Any living costs and salaries will be based off of Illinois and doubled–
Minimum hourly wage [legally allowed]: $24 USD
(Nursing assistant wage: $28 - $52 USD)
Monthly rent: $1138 USD
Monthly phone: $50 USD until $1200 USD [first gen phone]; $70 USD until $1600 USD [upgrade]
Clothing style:
The general public does not lean so hard into true cyberpunk fashion but you can see traces of it there.
Military and Medical uniforms are strictly regulated.
The [Rebel Group Name] have the closest to cyber punk style, having more liberties to express themselves as such
the cyberpunk aesthetic combines 40s film noir fashion, gothic styles of the 90s, military uniforms, and gear, and more experimental and futuristic cybernetic details. While the cyberpunk look might seem incredibly unique, its essence is composed of many incredibly varied sources.
Names:
Normals/Non-Deviants/etc: those who were born without elemental powers
Deviants: those who were born with elemental powers
The Zodiacs: those who were created within the Operation Crimson Army (OCA) program
Technology
PIN (Particle Infused Nanochip):
available as a unique combination of numbers and letters for non-electronic access. Infants are instantly chipped and tested for elemental identification
Who has them: Humans and Deviants
When is it introduced in the story: Book 1
Public knowledge about them: only about the functions, except GPS tracking and power suppression
Properties: a small, square device that has been surgically implanted within the dermis layer of the right or left wrist, depending on the dominant hand the user uses.
Its embedded, replicate copper oxide particles improve the skin's well-being and since it is not made of real metal, will not be likely to cause any allergic reactions. If it detects an abnormal amount of carbon dioxide (either due to intentionally cutting out the chip or CO2 poisoning), the chip will release a silent alarm that will alert the authorities.
Normal adult concentrations: 23 - 30 mmol/L
Atmospheric CO2: 21,050 mmol/L
Alert ranges: 35 - 21,050 mmol/L
Functions: access to all modes of transportation, monetary funds, and certain buildings, GPS tracking, power suppression [in later books]
SERiAL (Serial Etched Reference in Anterior Limbs):
Who has them: Civilian and military personnel Deviants, the Zodiacs
When is it introduced in the story: in the later books
Public knowledge about them: only about the properties, but not about the Zodiacs
Properties: a medium-sized tattoo etched into either the inner forearms or napes of necks.
The ink is made with a substance known as xylothane, a fire- and scratch-resistant ink that penetrates the dermis layer of skin.
Civilian and military personnel Deviants have the SERiAL printed on their inner forearms
All Zodiacs have the SERiAL and their zodiac symbol printed on the back of their necks
Functions: identification, access to criminal records
ROB (Radical Operational Bots): those who can afford small animatronic assistants have access to them.
Properties: most basic forms of androids and come as a 2x2-inch boxes
Function: entertainment, reminders of events, basic web search
Features: reforming personalities depending on who owns them, will perform basic commands, GPS tracking device
The [Rebel Group Name]: Quinn has officially renamed the ROB acronym to Radical Operational Buddies. These assistants have been torn apart and reconstructed without the GPS tracking device and made to look like animals, personalities reformed to match their owners’, will perform more advanced commands, and are personally customized to the needs of their owner
Adrian: dragon with a dog-like personality, programmed with PTSD and de-escalating training
Iris: bison with a stern and stable personality, creates blueprints and diagrams of buildings it's scanned and projects images
Aurelia: snake with a sneaky personality, often hides amongst the plants and dispenses water to help with watering
Athena: gecko with a sneaky personality, can blend into the background and often acts as a “fly on the wall” with advanced listening capabilities
Mason: rabbit with a grumpy, protective personality, has non-lethal lasers. Quinn put them there as a joke/convinced Iris to help him do that
Quinn: standard cube with a smiley face [if a cube could be high this cube is it], helps with programming
Caspian: small bird with a bubbly personality, able to record and playback music and recordings
Tablets (HSP Tab: Holographic Screen Projector): those who can afford tablets have access to them.
Depending on the region will depend on the type of tablet one might have. Can range from the most basic to the most advanced.
Basic form (HSP Tab BF1-4 and S): palm-sized, touch screen with a frame
Function: basic web search, call and text with 2-D images, fragile glass surface
Advanced form (HSP Tab AF5-9 and S): standard magazine-size, glass screen with a frame and holographic imaging
Function: advanced web search, call and text with 3-D imaging projection, indestructible glass surface
Monorails (MPA: Magnetically-Propelled Antiquitrain): hovers in the air by magnets. Lack of friction achieves fast speeds.
Publicly accessed and publicly owned by the government
Taxis (PEP: Particle-Effused Pulsecar): hovers in the air by the high magnetic field in the area. The effusion rate of the particles needs time to create a short burst of propelling, kinetic energy to move.
Publicly accessed and can be publicly or privately owned
Jets (SSCJ: Supersonic Stratospheric Concealment Jetstream)
Privately owned by the military
Deviants
Scientific background:
Humans have 4 bases for DNA: guanine, adenine, cytosine, and thymine. Deviants have 4 bases and 4 extra bases that determine their element: ignisine (fire), aquanine (water), terranine (earth), ventinine (wind). Certain combinations of the 8 bases will determine the Deviant’s elements:
Father/Mother
Aquanine: Water
Water/Water: Cyclone
Water/Earth: Plant
Water/Air: Weather
Water/Fire: [Invalid]
Terranine: Earth
Earth/Water: Crystal
Earth/Earth: Earthquake
Earth/Air [Invalid]
Earth/Fire: Metal
Ventinine: Air
Air/Water: Fog
Air/Earth [Invalid]
Air/Air: Aero-Telekineses
Air/Fire: Light
Ignisine: Fire
Fire/Water: [Invalid]
Fire/Earth: Lava
Fire/Air: Electrity
Fire/Fire: Inferno
Although opposing Deviants are able to mate like Humans, their offspring will only inherit and express one gene of either element from the mother or the father.
Rarely there will be offspring that express both genes from both parents due to mutation, but these often die in the early onset of pregnancy.
Those who survive express one element and have one “silent” element [meaning they will only be able to control one element] and are taken by the [Government Program] for further experiments.
Male babies will inherit their father’s genes, and female babies will inherit their mother’s.
Every baby that is born undergoes genetic testing to see which genes are expressed.
The Government
Utristan is held in a military state, with military members making up all branches of government and law enforcement. Those within the military are part of a group known as the Emissaries of Utristan.
Military consists of multiple other branches similar to: Army (combat), Air Force (air), Navy (water), Seals (secret ops) in early books
Military will crumble and become one giant branch: Army (everything) in later books
Army Ranks:
Class 1: lower-class military; doesn’t know aything about anything (grub work)
Private (Athena, Caspian and Aurelia)
Everyone who has ever graduated high school is a private since it’s a requirement to do at least 2 years of military service in Utristan
Corporeal (Iris)
Sergeant
Master Sergeant (Quinn)
Sergeant Major
Sergeant Major of the Army (steps up when General of the Army goes down)
Class 2: upper-class military; works closely with Zodiacs and OCA in general
Warrant Officer
Chief Warrant Officer
Lieutenant
Captain (Mason)
Major
Colonel (Adrian)
Major General
General (Lucia)
General of the Army
Operation Crimson Army (OCA)
Purpose: to weaponize the Deviants in order to have a one-up in any future wars
Deviants will develop normally and cannot be distinguished from Humans. Deviants that have been experimented on to have 2 or more expressed elements will develop more body mutations.
In the beginning, the OCA tried creating test tube babies that were genetically engineered to have 2 or more expressed elements, but since the DNA was not set like in older birthed babies, the DNA would often unravel and reject non-compatible bases.
Over time, those who survived having two expressed elements underwent “gene activation” in which 2 or more elements would be expressed, however, they would be more susceptible to developing physical mutation.
The ‘Zodiacs’
Physical mutations:
When genetically modified Deviants are created, depending on which elements are expressed, will undergo physical mutations such as:
glowing windpipes and coughing up cinders for fire elements
cold to the touch with skin feeling like cracking ice for water elements,
bones cracking and swiveling unnaturally with deformed skeletal structures and crystals growing in their pores for earth elements,
ghostly skin with shifting voices from whispering to booming roars for wind elements
Adrian is colder to the touch compared to other fire Deviants, which forces him to bundle up more than others. He would be extremely cold like other water Deviants, but since he hasn’t used his water powers as much, he’s not as affected. Because he’s used his fire powers so much in the past, his throat has started to become affected to where he prefers staying quiet and talks only when necessary.
The Zodiacs and their elements:
Capricorn:
Amped Electric
[Solider Group of 5+]
[Privates]
Aquarius:
Prophecy [Failed/Will Fail?]
[Colonel]
Pisces:
Poison
[Leader]
[Colonel]
Aries:
Amped Lava
[Small Group 2-3]
[Corporeals]
Taurus:
Stone Skin
[Soliders]
[Privates]
Gemini:
Adrian
[Leader]
[Colonel]
Cancer:
Telepathy
[Leader]
[Major]
Leo:
Amped up Inferno [Failed]
Virgo:
Invisibility
[Small Group]
[Corporeals]
Libra:
Speed
[Solider]
[Privates]
Scorpio:
Blood
[Leader]
[Colonel]
Sagittarius:
Oblivion [Failed]
The [Rebel Group Name]
Purpose: to gather the Deviants together to overthrow the government
Characters
🚧This section will eventually contain links to individual character posts🚧
Caspian Álvarez
Adrian Harlowe
Athena Álvarez
Aurelia Harlowe
Iris Dagon
Quinn Russo
Mason Hayes
Lucia Atore
Tags for Project Gemini in general; as usual, comment to be +/- from this list
@honeybewrites @the-letterbox-archives @the-golden-comet @the-ellia-west @yourpenpaldee
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