The Campaign Builder's Guild

I was actually pleased that you handled the problems of inheritance nicely, though societal pressure, instaed of creating some hokey police or law.  It seems much more realistic.

At last. An update!

Magicantal Located on the opposite side of a massive gorge from Cantileval, Magicantal looks down on the Magicant valley below where splendid springs, multicoloured paint pots and glorious black shimmer wells to the surface, erupting at regular intervals at one of four designated "national scenic and historic" locations. At the other shimmer spouts, massive rigs loom, harnessing and pumping the all-important magical essence.

Magicantal was formerly renowned for its feather gatherers, its glacial explorers, its salt mines (in the valley), and for being a place of relaxing retreat for when people came down with Tuberculosis and summered in Magicantal's fine sanatariums. The city however, lost much of its bedroom community flair when Shimmer was discovered to be magical. The discovery sparked a land-rush to Magicantal, one whose effects are still felt to this day.

All across Magicantal's once pristine cliffs sit the decaying remains of foolishly sited shimmer wells. The shimmer is mostly located at the foot of the valley, near the salt domes, but during the rush people erected drilling rigs everywhere. Land prices soared during the rush, with a five meter square location fetching over 5,500% of its original price less than a year after discovery. Within but four years, several of the most famous gushers, the Spirit and Opportunity, both of which yielded over 3,500,000 barrels/year at their peak, were played out. And with the discovery of Shimmer in many other locations around Gloria, the price of Shimmer itself went down and with it, the price of land.

Cartelization of Shimmer Markets
Magicantal still does well for itself, however, as landowners quickly realized the importance of cartelization for both keeping prices high, and for ensuring that Shimmer is not wasted. During the Rush, millions of barrels were stored in rotting kegs because the market supply was greater than the demand of engineers who could work with the Shimmer. The stored shimmer however turned "potted" after over two years in storage and became wild and nearly unseable.

The Shimmer producers of Magicantal then decided to make an agreement pooling their territory voluntarily and allocating maximum "allowables" that each landowner could withdraw from the land.

The system worked well when everyone was willing to voluntarily pool, however, not all pooled voluntarily- some argued that contrary to the landowners' claims that Shimmer flowed equally under all landowners tracts that Shimmer was present in reservoirs under certain places and that the landowners directly over the reservoirs should have larger allowables or else they would suffer drainage from neighboring owners.

Those who did not voluntarily pool, however, found themselves in a bit of difficulty when time came to get their Shimmer to market. First, few in Magicantal were willing to transport the Shimmer-- many were "bought off" by the pooling cartelized landowners. So the "Refusers" who did not pool offered a higher buy out price. Then, once the Shimmer was in transit, those who pooled offered to purchase the excess Shimmer. Some Refusers gave in, and sold out at current market price; others, being greedy went to market and the first to market realized gains, the slower ones however sold at lower market prices and regretted not selling out to their neighboring pooled landowners.

Still, this presented a problem for the Pooled ones, they were out money for purchasing the excess Shimmer and they could only store the excess Shimmer for so long, so they needed a new solution. They found this solution by attempting to pump the Shimmer back into tapped out salt dome formations of Shimmer- where the shimmer rests under a former salt mine. Once sealed, the salt prevented the Shimmer from leaking back and the Shimmer could later be extracted-- this prevented waste and allowed for Shimmer storage.

Still, the re-injection of Shimmer into salt domes imposed costs upon the Poolers and many grumbled and decided they wished to join the Refusers in order to escape overhead. Then the Poolers crafted perhaps their greatest threat. Because property rights had traditionally ended at the surface, they argued that they were within their rights to do something heretofore unheard of-- horizontally drill into their neighbors' reservoirs! Since they argued that Shimmer flows and is not stationary in reservoirs, by drilling upstream, they were not significantly "taking" Shimmer from their neighbors. This "Horizontal Forced Pooling" option frightened and annoyed upstream Refusers. Then the Refusers started realizing that the upstream drilling took much of their Shimmer and caused their wells to play out faster.

As more and more Refusers joined the Poolers, the system of draining, then storage by re-injection took off, and the Refusers gradually dwindled in power, profit, and influence.

For an analogous situation, check out Daniel Yergin's book "The Prize" http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=2&ved=0CBEQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSearch%3Fsearch%3DThe%2520Prize%253A%2520The%2520Epic%2520Quest%2520for%2520Oil%252C%2520Money%252C%2520and%2520Power&ei=qmnVStfSA4eqtge0m5yrAw&usg=AFQjCNEXnNrLi2lfZXjy7I7wVh9qbjy3GQ&sig2=HregwCHbUFllI6W9VPA6_Q
(And now, nearly 2 years after writing this, I realize that the movie There Will be Blood also demonstrates this theory with its infamous "I Drink Your Milkshake" explanation).

Feather Hunting in Magicantal
People love feathers in their caps. Traditionally, one is presented with a feather for one's cap when one achieves a particularly noteworthy accomplishment.

* One's 15th Birthday is marked by the presentation of a Noble BlueBird black spotted feather if one is a male, and if one is a female, one receives a piece of the Pink Rose Flowery Reticulated Sparrow's plumage.
* Marriage is celebrated by the ringing of one's head in a wreath of Rainbow Bird plumes.
* Birth is celebrated by the Orange Wraithbeast's fiery and optimistic adornment.
* Embarking on Entrepreneurship is celebrated by a medallion encircled by green Economy Bird foot plumes.
* Opening of a Second Store is celebrated by a bouquet of green Economy Bird foot plumes surrounding a red flower, symbolizing the green shoots of success and the red symbolizes new challenges.

These feathers sometimes are gathered from the ground, but most often they are produced from hunted birds in Magicantal. In some cities, the birds are raised in captivity as a renewable resource, but those birds' feathers do not shine as bright, nor do they "keep" as long, so wild feathers are particularly sought after.

Bird populations have experienced some decay as a result of the hunting near Magicantal. It is believed that several species, such as the Red-Feathered Warbler, and the Sallow-Faced Grouse have become extinct due to the predations of zealous feather hunters.

Note Also Some distasteful hunters have also been known to scrape the tightly woven penny-wide purple and black feathers from living Mystical Etteratis' leathery wings. The Etterati consider this to be a grave insult, and when Etterati see someone with one of their compatriots' plumes, they will often demand the plumes' return and will sometimes fight the possessor to the death. (This is one of the few actions that will drive the usual cowardly Etterati to violence).

I'm refamiliarizing myself with Gloria a bit and found myself wondering if there were any Luddite-equivalent movements around as a result of industrialization/Shimmer putting laborers out of jobs?

Thanks for asking. It was also probably a good idea to check things out. I've been changing things here and there since the last post here in October 2009.

After some reflection, the answer to that question is : No. The Socialists managed to recruit some people who were displaced as a result of Shimmer, but ultimately the people of Gloria are willing to re-invent themselves; and the net economic effect of Shimmer has been an economic boom.

As for its effects on the alignment system:

Some Compassionate Conservatives gave more to Charity,

the Market Oversighters cautioned about market concentration, monopolies, and conglomeration,

Socialists agitated for equality for workers,

the Moral Perscriptionists worry about the Shimmer and the rise in Faith, because a large amount of them are like the real-world Theosophical society and they worry about ghosts and demons leaking into the world due to the Shimmer's destruction of the rational reality. They believe very much in righteous faith and the virtues- but they fear that too much faith will lead to a hippie-like existence where no one follows the laws of society, or the laws of nature.

The Moral Absolutists generally stood by the entrepreneurs and developers, although some opposed the Shimmer magic as not scientifically-enough based and too tied to Faith--they worried that this might cause a return to the great conflict of Faith and Reason. Many of them, however, have tried to claim Shimmer for Reason, since they recognize its high value.

All the mainstream points on the alignment chart (the lime green labeled alignment sections) generally agree with the situation, even if they did not profit from it. Many returned to University or tried to stake their own claims.

In Gloria, people generally see things like the Puritans did. If they fail, it's because of their fault- not because of Society's. So if they fail, they tend to work harder rather than become discouraged.

===
I'm not sure if I should go back in the character creation thread and set an alignment for each character- what do you think? I'm thinking of ignoring the formal alignments as being too restrictive for a one-shot. But anyone who plays is welcome to choose an alignment. The ones in lime green are the mainstream. Everything else is fairly rare and I can only think of one character on the listed choices who might possibly qualify for Socialist; and even then there are probably more appropriate choices for that character.

I love that your alignments are as much economic ideologies as they are descriptions of personal spirit.

A frightening comment about Icingcube! Day.

Remember how you mentioned that it was sort of like the opposite of Christmas? A secular consumerist holiday that acquired trappings of the transcendental and spiritual?

Here's an attempted real world analogue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepero Pepero day in Korea.

Quote from: PeperoPepero Day is an observance in South Korea similar to Valentine's Day. It is named after the Korean snack Pepero and held on November 11, since the date "11/11" resembles four sticks of Pepero.[3][4] The holiday is observed mostly by young people and couples, who exchange Pepero sticks, other candies, and romantic gifts. Lotte denies starting the holiday and instead states that they noticed a bump in Pepero sales around November 11th and after continued popularity they decided to then encourage the holiday with special gift boxes and other promotions.[2] Some consider it to be a contrived holiday and some teachers have encouraged children to exchange healthy snacks to help combat obesity. An alternative "Garaetteok Day" (sticks of white tteok) has been proposed.[5]

According to one story, Pepero Day was started in 1994 by students at a girls' middle school in Busan, where they exchanged Pepero sticks as gifts to wish one another to grow "as tall and slender as a Pepero".[6]

And thanks! re "I love that your alignments are as much economic ideologies as they are descriptions of personal spirit. "
-I am looking forward to further fleshing-out details of the alignments and providing references to articles by Hayek, Hamilton, the Mercantilists, the Keynesians/Galbraithians, Reaganomics and more.

What's fashion like in Gloria?  Is it stratified by gender, or does the egalitarianism elsewhere present extend to the sexes?  Is the business world stratified, hierarchized, and otherwise sorted by rigid fashion laws, or do self-expression and sartorial freedom of choice trump the economically sculpted conformist workplace capitalism has typically promoted IRL?  If someone went to a job interview with a tattoo taking up half their face, would they generally be judged a miscreant or applauded for their bold taste?  Is the dress norm modest, immodest, or wildly variegated?  Is dress very class-conscious or does everyone wear T shirts?  Can you provide any real-world influences to give a good picture?

My sense is of a kind of anarcho-punk mishmash of fashions from the first half of the twentieth century, mostly American, with some Victorian oddments and then some really weird stuff (Bauhaus-inspired dresses or something) thrown in.  Probably more bold, sparsely ornamented, colourful garments than baroque or intricate pieces.  But that's just the vibe I get.

Cross-Posted Response from IRC Thread regarding Gloria Literature

[spoiler]

Quote from: Steerpike
Xue seems to be a literary aficionado.  What sort of tastes does he have?  Who are some of Gloria's more distinguished authors and what sort of works do they produce? Gloria's core values seem to be focused on things like work, utility, function, virtue, and justice rather than leisure, artistry, form, or pleasure; is this reflected in literature, or has the more aesthetic/"frivolous"/non-didactic side of literature earned it a dubious and/or suspect reputation as something fundamentally "useless"? Are some novels or plays regarded as subversive, and are there any forms of censorship for politically revolutionary literature?  Is literature predominantly in the Randian "romantic realist" tradition, presenting the world as the author believes it "could and should be"?  Or do we find dystopias and the literature of discontent i.e. social realism, satire etc?  What about transgressional literature i.e. erotica/pornography, obscene works, etc?  How about Horror/Gothicism?

These are really good questions. I'll let you dream up some of the books and literary traditions and whatever you want Xue to read (though I have one suggestion below that he may be interested in), but here are my thoughts on a workable guideline:

REASON-based literature (almost all non-fiction).

1. Business literature. How to get ahead in business. Who Moved My Cheese-like books. "Seven Highly Effective Habits of Salespeople", "Stock Picking for Smarties!", "Smiling Money, with Evhyn Kranmer".

2. Children's literature reflects business literature in teaching the youth concepts about the world; like "Gwenny Appleseller", "

3. Economic History. Examines all aspects of history through economic analysis. (But no Marxist analysis! Although oddly, Hegelian cycles are discussed with a degree of rigour...they just tend to revert from Faith to Reason and from Capitalism to Libertarianism- Socialism is often ignored, although Denis Nostramadus Dideryon--a disfavored author--once suggested that Socialism could be included in the cycle and if it is included in the cycle, then that would explain the time of the Demons. According to his prognostications, which Xue may know about, the cycle of demonic and socialist rise should be returning soon. Denis has a small "cult" following of readers who devour all scraps of his writing and there is a rise in black market trade of his "Nostranomicon" and knock-off Gnostic Nostranomic scrolls reputed to be his "lost literature" and reputed to have been the last things he wrote before he "went mad". Denis spent the last years of his life in an asylum in Gloria, scrawling out sayings on whatever scraps he could find, after being tricked by his sister to admit that he was insane, which resulted in his self-committance. She inherited all his wealth and some say she perverted his works by editing into it a stream of virulent Anti-Libertarianism. Some say she would have excised his Socialist comments but that she decided against it when she realized that is what sold the books.

4. Inspirational Works and Comics. Instead of Chicken Soup for the Soul, they have Horatio Alger; Moneyman! and his sidekick Five a' Penny; Real True Stories of Wealth!; ShimmerProspector!

5. Advertising magazines. Gloria circulates magazines with coupons and other information on products. These are read diligently by folks searching for deals.

6. Textbooks (on economics, making money, entrepreneurialship)

FAITH-based literature
-This literature is less popular in Gloria, but it is more traditional. For thousands of years "faith" ruled along with a high sensibility of payment of some wealth to the poor or the less fortunate.

1. Historical literature (literature about what was, without relation to money).

2. Poetry (generally it concerns artful ways to talk about money and society. It does not delve much into social criticism. The poets are viewed with suspicion as many have become Socialists or have been labeled as such over the years. There is also an undercurrent of libertarian poets. Poets are generally revolutionaries and they cause problems-but their literature also excites the mind, so some of the best CEOs do stock some poetry as idea-generators.

3. Popular Fiction about Occupations (Gloria's genre-literature is genre in the sense that it concerns a particular occupation and the struggles of its members. The literature is often told in episodic format with moral lessons in every chapter- like Aesop's Fables or like a 1930s serial radio show.)
    - Detective Literature
    - Medical Literature (Rosi Lesion, the flesh seamstress mistress of Electronic Conductor Street)
    - Shimmer-Prospector Literature
    - Chef Literature
    - Florist Literature (discussing the extremes that florists go to to acquire the best flora)

4. Trash literature (This is adventure literature. Its reading is frowned upon as it gains nothing for the reader except excitement. But many read them as dirty secret pleasures- like SciFi in our world)
     - Guilliver-Travels like tales (Among the Socialists...) (Dealing with Floaters) (Sitting with Slakes) (Hijra Orgy!)

5. Ancient Myths and Legends
-This includes the myths and legends of the Floaters, Etterati, and the Slake.
-This also includes that ancient myths and legends of the world's creation and the time of the demons' ascendance.

6. Subversive literature  (These may be confiscated).
     - Socialist Manifestos (they love to write), Libertarian tracts (usually written in scrawls, barely able to make out the words-barely able to follow the thoughts as they jump around on a hodgepodge of frankenstein pages in a potpourii of colour and slapdashery).

A Word on Leisure
There is space for leisure, as the consumer-artist Maxine character above demonstrates, but you are right that leisure is generally frowned upon. However, some less scrupulous members of Gloria's elite actually promote leisure of the lower classes so that they can sell them more products. Without leisure time, there would be less of an economy because people would not have time to read books. Generally even 'leisure' books contain economic morals or advice in them, so that people don't have to be embarrassed that they are relaxing. The books are considered part of one's lifelong education, not as good as reading a textbook, but they still have value by analogy and by stimulating the brain to invent new ideas.

Quote" Is literature predominantly in the Randian "romantic realist" tradition, presenting the world as the author believes it "could and should be"?  Or do we find dystopias and the literature of discontent i.e. social realism, satire etc?  What about transgressional literature i.e. erotica/pornography, obscene works, etc?  How about Horror/Gothicism?"

Randian Realism
Amusingly the Randian Realism is more of a FAITH type of literature, more traditional. The REASON type literature, which is in vogue, is of how the world is and how to get ahead. It's like reading a history book or the Wall Street Journal (non-Opinion pages) rather than watching the US networks FOX or MSNBC news on television. With the exception of the Inspirational Faith works, randian realism is faith literature. Atlas Shrugged would fit in category FAITH3:Popular occupations- Entrepreneur as it tells an inspirational story of a man in a non-realistic world where socialists have taken over and where the nasty consequences of that fact are elucidated. If Atlas shrugged was done in a REASON:Inspirational fashion, it would be set in the world of Gloria and it would tell the story of someone who really suffered those things and who overcame adversity.

Art v. Literature
Art for arts sake is valued more than books for books sake, since art can be looked at and admired and it can cause people to buy things that they otherwise would not buy. ConsumerArtistry is big bucks. Thus, being an author is very low on the totem pole of desirable jobs in Gloria. To marry an author is to starve, many mothers tell their children. But to marry a propagandist is to grow rich. (That demonstrates the difference between FAITH and REASON authors).

Social Realism and Satire... I don't think there is social realism per se, that would drag too much into the Socialist-literature. Satire does exist. Along the lines of "An American Carol" starring Leslie Nielson, it's crude and it's highly racist against Socialists and non-patriotic Glorians. Satire against the social order also exists, but it's mostly poking fun at old money Glorians who inherit and are lazy against new money Glorians who don't have the family connections that the old ones do. It also pokes fun at people who donate to the poor and at the poorer Glorians. The poor generally take this in good spirit because they realize that only the truly poor will stay poor and that hard work is rewarded.

Obscene works... Only socialism and laziness are considered obscene, though a few ConsumerArtists have sought to satirize these taboo topics. "Sloth" is an avant-garde piece about a Slake. It is 1000 pages and there are seven words. "I .... moved .... and ...... ate  ..... a ..... food .... slept." spread throughout the pages. It did not sell well, although it is present in the libraries of those who study the Slake creatures in an attempt to sell to them--the Slake do not purchase much, however. There is only a taboo against sexuality among certain people. Some of REASON are against it because it is an urge that can lead people to spend too much money. Some of FAITH are against it because it takes one away from the self and makes one a slave to something other than oneself. Generally though in Gloria, if it can be sold, no one would forbid it--although it could be frowned upon.

Horror/gothic-literature... not much. Horror exists but is not popular. Horror generally is of the sense that--"Mr. X. lost all his money by gambling. Now Mr. X is poor and will die alone on the streets." That's what passes for horror- no cosmic creatures, just shimmers of fear and concerns of society at large reflected in the popular literature. There is no horror genre, but children are told "fare-y tales" (so called because they can be told in the time it takes for a rickshaw cab fare to take one a few blocks) about what not to do- like "Small Olaf and the Poor Investment" and "Fat Pietr and the Compounding Problem" (he spent all his money on food instead of investing it, which then led to health problems), etc.

Gothic-literature does not exist. People of Gloria always tend to look on the brighter side of life. Socialists write Gothic-literature in their lands, and libertarians have been known to write almost anything, but Gloria Residents do not like Gothic Literature with its decay.[/spoiler]

Some more very good questions from Steerpike. You certainly help as the right things to properly develop a world!

First, some excerpts related to clothing from what has been written earlier in the thread:

QuoteArterial Nerve Center - The heart of the city and the place where people come to talk, come to buy, and come to gawk. The Arterial Nerve Center has a dizzying array of the newest styles, the shrewdest inventions, and the most boisterous bowyers of merchandise. Constantly rotating, the Center boasts tiered stages where people construct elaborate displays and attempt to move merchandise. Scanty clothing, amorous aromas, and vibrant colors attract customers.

QuoteThat wizard barely descends the tower, for fear of being swarmed by mobs of people who rip off his clothing to sell or trade to their loved ones (or other passers'-by). Once, the wizard, while shopping, was stripped completely naked. And then someone tried to shave off part of his skin while another lopped off some of the wizard's hair. Since that experience, the wizard has taken to hiring bodyguards.

I'd actually like to think that there are clothing styles that go in and out of vogue. There are upwardly mobile types of clothing styles. Generally, the more expensive and rare the clothing, the more likely that the rich will be wearing it.

Ideas:

1. "DoppleSuit" "Twin Skin" "Flayed Skin" "Ripper Suits"
One type of opulent clothing is that of a human-skin suit, or a "DoppleSuit". Socially acceptable DoppleSuits are owned by the rich in society and are constructed from synthetically grown skin cells that can be worn as a mask or grafted onto one's skin (although most who would graft choose facial reconstructive surgery instead). The DoppleSuits are worn as masks and as costumes. Instead of putting on a tuxedo, one might put on a dopple suit that is made through biological engineering.

The less opulent version and the more socially questionable version is that of the "Flayed Skin" or "Ripper Suits." Some of the tackiest Shimmer-prospectors and socially-upward mobile people have invested in these creations. These creations are cheaper when compared to the DoppleSuits and people on inspection cannot always tell the difference between a Ripper Suit and a "DoppleSuit." The Ripper Suits are actually ripped from the flesh of willing or unwilling donors.

a. Cheap Versions and Knock-Offs (Ripper Suits/ Flayed Skin)
The cheap skins are sometimes looted from graves, sometimes purchased from unscrupulous doctors who then 'lose' a dead body, or sometimes purchased from very poor people who want to give the money for their families to have a better life. People look with suspicion on any skin suit that has notable scars because it was likely unwillingly given and it certainly is not a synthetically created Dopple Suit.  Many have entered trials to determine if their skin is a Dopple Suit or a Ripper Suit. If a court finds that something is a Ripper Suit, then the trial shifts to whether it was freely given and if the donor was compensated.

Willing donors of Ripper suits are often compensated well after the donation (or their next of kin are). Almost all die, but some survive, sitting in mineral vats and in anti-germ areas while their skin slowly regrows and while they feast on painkillers for the pain. These "flayed humans" are looked on with awe for their grit in surviving the donation process.

[note]Marigold. The only twice-skinned person. Her suits are well sought after and they fetch high bidding, even though the second is nowhere near as beautiful as the first. She lives in opulence as her first suit fetched a good price, but her second suit fetched the highest price ever paid for a Ripper Suit--a price as high as that of some of the better Dopple Suits.[/note]

b. Expensive Versions (Dopple Suit/ TwinSkin)
These biologically constructed suits are created through synthetic growing of skin in vats. Shimmer magic and oils are used to give them vibrancy and they can be worn. They are extremely expensive and are sometimes worn at masquerade balls. The rich often talk about "putting on a new skin" when they seek romantic partners and many have intercourse whilst wearing the skins, essentially buying a new body.

[note]Was that too disturbing?  :yumm: Support Mario's Tanooki Suit!  :wub: http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2011/11/14/peta-attacks-mario-for-wearing-tanooki-fur/[/note]

c. Problems with Ripper Skin Donation
The legally tricky standard is when a Ripper skin donor demands recompense either wholly before or in part before and part after. Enforcement of the donation is difficult and needs to be done by bodyguards, so only the ultra-rich will allow a donor to receive benefits before the donation process in the event that a donor decides to flee. Donors who feast and survive on boons before donation are closely watched. A donor who changes his/her mind will be shunned by society for their duplicity, but custom dictates that the donor should be freed.

d. Social Acceptability
- Flayed skin that has scars is looked on highly negatively as people assume that the subject was tortured or killed for the skin. This creates a huge demand for professional Flayers who can do the job without scarring or stretching the body.

- Wrinkled Dopple Suits or Ripper Skin is sometimes laughed at as a symbol of someone trying too hard to appear to be upper class. If something is obviously a ripper suit, the wearer is often shunned.

- Donors of Ripper Suits are looked on with pity that they chose to donate their skin rather than to work hard and to progress. They are also looked on with confusion because they are trying to benefit others and act with altruism rather than to serve their own impulses, but the accumulation of money for one's descendants isn't considered too strange since children are considered property until they reach legal age. Donors are also respected for the grit that donation presupposes. Donors who receive their benefits first are looked on with envy by many. Many suspect that they will try to back out before donating and reap benefits without paying the cost, so they are seen with suspicion. Surviving donors are viewed with honor and surprise by others. Most willing donors choose to die rather than to waste the majority of the largess they received.

- Skin-Purveyors are purchasers of would-be Ripper Suits. They scour the undercities for likely looking desperate people without blemishes or with interesting skin formations to sell their bodies. Skin-purveyors are looked down on and are perhaps the only business class of Gloria residents who are hated. Some will throw rocks at them due to a few unscrupulous skin-purveyors who have tricked the underaged to donate or who have convinced the weak-willed to donate when their families did not wish it to be that way. A few neighborhoods welcome them, seeing them as an option for a family to rapidly become upwardly mobile.

More to be added later...

Somehow the Cadaverous Earth and Gloria don't seem as opposite as they once did.

Was my rough guess at fashion - variegated mashup of early twentieth century stuff - suits, ties, hats, skirts, modernist styles - broadly correct?

>>Somehow the Cadaverous Earth and Gloria don't seem as opposite as they once did.
hehe. Remember, this is essentially the Capitalist Happy Optimistic world reaction to the usual Dystopic Sad New Weird version, so there will be analogies. :D There are nuances though :D The suits are generally not viewed as an 'evil' in society.

--

QuoteMy sense is of a kind of anarcho-punk mishmash of fashions from the first half of the twentieth century, mostly American, with some Victorian oddments and then some really weird stuff (Bauhaus-inspired dresses or something) thrown in.  Probably more bold, sparsely ornamented, colourful garments than baroque or intricate pieces.  But that's just the vibe I get.

You are correct about that. Less baroque, more streamlined. Mondrian, Bauhaus, Malenkov for REASON characters; and Impressionism, Pointillism, Escher for FAITH characters. There is no place for a Jackson Pollack.

QuoteWhat's fashion like in Gloria?  Is it stratified by gender, or does the egalitarianism elsewhere present extend to the sexes?  Is the business world stratified, hierarchized, and otherwise sorted by rigid fashion laws, or do self-expression and sartorial freedom of choice trump the economically sculpted conformist workplace capitalism has typically promoted IRL?  If someone went to a job interview with a tattoo taking up half their face, would they generally be judged a miscreant or applauded for their bold taste?  Is the dress norm modest, immodest, or wildly variegated?  Is dress very class-conscious or does everyone wear T shirts?  Can you provide any real-world influences to give a good picture?

1. Egalitarianism among the genders...because anyone can get rich. Although feminine garb tends to be more baroque, but hoop skirts, corsets, and other dresses that inhibit the ability to do work are in disfavor. Those complicated types of clothing are been inventive, but they promote too much laziness, so no one wears them.

2. If someone went to a job interview with a tattoo taking up half their face they would probably not get the job. A tattoo can be distracting. In some jobs that can be seen as a good thing, but usually it isn't. Some people will like the tattoo, but other customers may be turned off by it- so an employer is taking a risk by hiring someone with a huge tattoo on his face. I would say that they are more accepting of tattoos and spiked hair or rastafarians than would be Canada or the US in the 1950s, but they're still conservative for business reasons. The more glamorous and inventive jobs like  Consumer Artists will see people with tattoos or spiked hair.

3. Dress norm is wildly variegated by the type of job that people are doing and the type of job that they are aspiring to work at. There is a lot of mimicry of the well-to-do's styles and in cheap knockoff versions of wealthy people's styles.

4. Dress is very class-conscious. People dress up. Think 1920s when everyone wore suits to work.

Quote from: Light DragonThink 1920s when everyone wore suits to work.

Except those suits are made out of human skin.

I don't mean to jump on one thing and start being negative, but, in my opinion, that doesn't click at all with the concept of a happy optimistic world. It seems rather savage and morbid; more like the ideals of Gloria taken too far, like, someone whose desire to show wealth has eclipsed their basic human decency. There is a certain hardwired revulsion to signs of death, after all, because not being around dead bodies is a good way to ensure that whatever happened to them won't happen to you. Unless part of the point is even what we could consider basic human decency and instinct is, in Gloria, considered to be corrupt socialist influence-- but, again, then it doesn't seem too happy and optimistic.

Hm. I understand your comment and objection.

How about this reasoning:

1. From the standpoint of the Gloria residents, wearing a human suit is like wearing a fur. Furs were often worn by the rich  until the 1960s.

2. People today wear costumes of human skin suits. I've seen more than a few during halloween- full body baby suits, for example. Also, people have plastic surgery to change their miens. This is one aspect of Gloria's plastic surgery. Thus the wearing of simulated human skins or the alteration of one's own skin is not considered morbid.

3. The people who sacrifice themselves are pitied to some degree, but they are fairly compensated for their sacrifice. Life has a value, and their families benefit from the donation. These people are making a huge sacrifice--the disconnect with Gloria comes in that these people are sacrificing for others-they are being altruistic towards their children or their extended family. Imagine these people like coal miners in places like China. These people are people of great faith and who are not like other Gloria people who are completely self interested. (Except for the donees who get their money first...they're just as self-interested as their fellows are).

4. A concept of "basic human decency" presupposes that universal morals exist in humans. I don't believe that is the case except possibly the moral of "self-interest" as Rand would identify it (although I can't call myself a Randian). Some Humans (mostly non Hispanic-Europeans) don't like death because they've been trained to not like death. The existence of psychopaths presupposes that evolution could have taken a different turn, as it did in Gloria. Also note, in the real world people celebrate Dia de Los Muertos where they camp in graveyards, people keep urns of relatives, others keep bodies on display in their homes for extended periods, others keep saintly or relatives' relics of handbones. The early Christians kept mass in crypts. And icky modern gaming threatens to de-sensitivize todays youth (crucifixtions and blood, severed heads, and gore in games like Bioshock, Fallout 3, Fallout: NV, and other more brutal games) It is mostly that modern society has demonized death. When death was a closer friend to more ancient people, it was often more celebrated rather than feared.

5. Consider this an anthropological experiment. The people of Gloria don't see this fleshwearing as wrong except when it is coerced. They certainly frown upon the coerced fleshwearing. When it is freely given and money is exchanged, then that is celebrated--because both parties are benefitting from the transaction.

The families of the flesh donors are happy for their relatives' sacrifice. The relative has helped them get ahead in the world much quicker than they otherwise could have. They may not be proud of the sacrifice since in Gloria one can always get ahead through hard work, pluck, and perseverence, but the riches they receive are a grand benefit.

Maybe I need to ramp up the positive aspects of the sacrifice instead of dwelling on the potential complications in the description? Above, I toned down some of the more negative reprecusions of the donation process.

Does that help?

Forgive my possible naivete in this post.  My next question hinges on education.  Is education privatized in Gloria, or is it a rare public service?  If the former, doesn't the obvious disparity in educational quality between rich and poor completely undermine the possibility of a true meritocracy, since the rich effectively get a head-start in life, only reinforcing divisions instead of allowing for the mobility a real meritocracy would reflect?  If the latter, is parallel, private education actually outlawed - since it would give unfair advantages that have nothing to do with personal merit, thus once again breaking the meritocracy?  Do the children of the rich meet in secret for illegal tutoring, to maintain their parents' fortunes and gain an illicit advantage over the disenfranchised?

In essence, the question might be rephrased like this: how meritocratic is Gloria in actuality?  If I'm born the son of a ditch digger but have the smarts to become a brilliant theoretical mathematician/economist/investment analyst or whatnot, how good are my chances of realizing my potential?

Sorry, no, it doesn't really help. I just find the concept really dissonant with what I thought Gloria was about. Perhaps I'd misread your intent and its main traits-- after all, it is your setting, so whatever you say is the definitive version-- but I never really saw this kind of thing fitting in at all. I don't think I'm totally alone here, as Steerpike also expressed a little surprise. I admittedly find the whole thing kind of squicky as well, which is probably biasing me, too.

I really don't see the relevance of any comparison with fur or Halloween. Fur is from animals, not humans. Humans still eat animal meat, but most human cultures, especially "civilized" ones, would find the eating of human meat to be repulsive. Halloween costumes are often intentionally morbid, whereas this is supposed to be some kind of normal fashion thing.

As for your point #4, perhaps I misspoke. I'm not really talking about any sort of high-minded concepts that philosophers like to debate. I'm certainly not talking about things that are trained by cultures. More like instinct, really-- the visceral (no pun intended) revulsion to seeing bad stuff, for the simple reason that avoiding it is a good way to ensure that whatever happened to them won't happen to you. Even if some cultural stuff is seeping in, it's not the most incompatible, because a lot of the values held up by Gloria seem to be from the same cultures, too: I get a lot of a vibe of 19th century Britain (the sun never sets!) and America (westward ho!) especially.

Like I said, it's your setting, so whatever you say goes, of course. I'm just going to reiterate my opinion that this seems really dissonant and I don't like it much.