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HMverse WBJ: day 7

There is power in knowing a name. Keep it close. If lost it might be lost for good. You are listening to The Static, 24 hour radio, so you may never be truly alone.

Money makes the world go around,  but so do many other things. Welcome back listeners, today we are going into the money zone.

Everyone needs money to live; we have dollars and cents. Depending on your country what exact currency changes but here in the states we use United States Dollars. Both the fae and demons have currency for their own parallels. Everything is pretty standard.

The secondary currency for fae and demons are names though. Give your name, a deal, and a handshake and you should consider it done. This is a more casual, under-the-table way to get things done. However, once your name is given you can’t get it back. They have full rights to keep it and use it for however long they wish. You could get smart and null the name after the usage, but you would need to legally change your name. Demons can keep names in their family, so if you stick around awhile you might want to consider that as something that may happen. The fae also have name markets where they can trade and sell names that they have received. I have only heard of them, I don’t know of anyone who has been to one. This event is kept tight-lipped when it comes up.

The name market is just one of the many illegal markets that exist though. Hard as they may try, however, the government and Black Jackets have had no luck finding these elusive places. They are places where you can get all sorts of rare and mystical items, but the prices are where the markets become problematic. The name market sells names, the very identity of a living and breathing person. The other markets all take names and people as currency, because while most find actual cash the easiest to hide, deals can always be made. I would never recommend going to one, they are trouble through and through.

If money makes the world go around, then keep your name close. It is the fuel to make the world move. My dear listeners, middle names exist to keep you safe, guard them. This has been The Static, 24 hour radio, so you may never be truly alone.

[sunshineara5]

HMverse WBJ: day 6

A heart is a monster of its own kind pounding inside of the chest. This is where love lies. The love for a special someone, parents, siblings, family, friends, and yourself. You are listening to The Static, 24 hour radio, so you may never be truly alone.

Welcome back my dear listeners, seeing as this is pride month it only seems fitting that we discuss our pride and adoration for the LGBTQIA+ community. They stand proud and push for inclusiveness at large.

Being LGBTQIA+ is generally well accepted. I cannot speak for all places, but most places welcome anyone of any orientation happily. Everyone is human, we all bleed red, it would be silly to degrade someone for their preference in who to spend their lives with. We wish a husband and wife happiness, thusly it only makes sense to do that for everyone else.

Humans are still humans no matter where you go. It has been confirmed that there are both male and female fae, there is also another third and maybe fourth sex as well. They have not cared to expand upon this since they find the confusion on the matter funny. Demons have male, female, and a third sex. They also have some who lack a sex altogether, station management being one.

Most people identify with their birth gender, however there are those who do not. The majority are also interested in the opposite sex, but again, not everyone is. I think it is really important for everyone to have the chance to think about self identity and come to an understanding of what is best for them. LGBTQIA+ is a community of individuals, they have started thinking about something that most people just assume as a default. There is so much bravery and strength in that and we applaud you.

Love yourselves my dear listeners, but if you cannot, know that I love and cherish the true you. This has been The Static, 24 hour radio, so you may never be truly alone.

[sunshineara5]

HMverse WBJ: day 6

A heart is a monster of its own kind pounding inside of the chest. This is where love lies. The love for a special someone, parents, siblings, family, friends, and yourself. You are listening to The Static, 24 hour radio, so you may never be truly alone.

Welcome back my dear listeners, seeing as this is pride month it only seems fitting that we discuss our pride and adoration for the LGBTQIA+ community. They stand proud and push for inclusiveness at large.

Being LGBTQIA+ is generally well accepted. I cannot speak for all places, but most places welcome anyone of any orientation happily. Everyone is human, we all bleed red, it would be silly to degrade someone for their preference in who to spend their lives with. We wish a husband and wife happiness, thusly it only makes sense to do that for everyone else.

Humans are still humans no matter where you go. It has been confirmed that there are both male and female fae, there is also another third and maybe fourth sex as well. They have not cared to expand upon this since they find the confusion on the matter funny. Demons have male, female, and a third sex. They also have some who lack a sex altogether, station management being one.

Most people identify with their birth gender, however there are those who do not. The majority are also interested in the opposite sex, but again, not everyone is. I think it is really important for everyone to have the chance to think about self identity and come to an understanding of what is best for them. LGBTQIA+ is a community of individuals, they have started thinking about something that most people just assume as a default. There is so much bravery and strength in that and we applaud you.

Love yourselves my dear listeners, but if you cannot, know that I love and cherish the true you. This has been The Static, 24 hour radio, so you may never be truly alone.

[sunshineara5]

HMverse WBJ: day 5

Time is fleeting, the sun rising and setting  in the sky serves as a gentle reminder as to all that can be lost in just a day. But for as much as is lost, there is that much more that can be built. You are listening to The Static, 24 hour radio, so you may never be truly alone.

The eighteenth temple to Vuta was discovered today. This is exciting, not only because of the new temple, but also since it fits in with our theme of civilizations and architecture perfectly. Welcome listeners, let’s dive right in.

As has been standard with most of our topics so far, pretty much everything in the HMverse is as expected. Groups of people settled down and made kingdoms and countries, happening on the same timeline that you are familiar with. Even architecturally everything is pretty same-same.

There is a large focus right now on funding safe, sustainable, and green housing in cities. It has become a priority to be more environmentally friendly and there has been a huge public push to make sure these buildings are accessible for everyone. There are both generic and magical members of the community who would gain from a more standard policy like this. In NYC for example there has been huge, combined efforts to see this happen.

Ironically, much of our recent developments on how to improve green technology and agriculture actually comes from a civilization over three thousand years old. The Enya empire existed from around to 1000 BC - 400 BC. They controlled a large portion of what is now Colombia and parts of Ecuador. Although they are long since gone, they had great ideas for how to improve farming while maintaining a lot of the natural environment. The problem was that most of these were theories, they had no way to actually build all of the solar powered structures and systems. They lacked the method to harness the sun.

The question that plagues historians and archaeologists today is what happened to them. They were at the peak of their power, when suddenly they vanished. Local legends point to Vuta, the god who controls the night. The Enya fell out of graces with Vuta and “Vuta took the night out of the sky. On this endless day, the water dried up and the plants withered. Enyans took their last day to build twenty-four temples in her honor. Vuta accepted the temples and allowed them to have the night but cursed them to only exist in it. If ever bathed in the sun they will wither like the plants and dry like the water.” Scholars have a hard time believing this. There is no archaeological evidence that all plants and water disappeared. However there is nothing else that can explain the temples that they made. There was no context for them and they were all in the strangest of places: China, South Africa, over top of their capital.

Although no official statements have been made at this time. There are fingers being pointed amongst demons as to what happened. The Igeli family has been subtly hinting that Vuta may actually be Vutilia Vrata who sought to achieve godhood and take over all lands. The Vrata have neither confirmed nor denied whether this is Vutilia, the general of old. Vutillia lead their most successful invasion, said to have taken place around 450 BC.

As short as our time may be on this planet we call home, we should consider all of the parts and pieces that we have been able to build and piece together. My dear listeners, not all is lost and forgotten by time. This has been The Static, 24 hour radio, so you may never be truly alone.

[sunshineara5]

HMverse WBJ: day 4

We exist within a time of knowledge and explanations, but there are always things that we don’t know. You are listening to The Static, 24 hour radio, so you may never be truly alone.

Greetings, my dear listeners, and welcome back to the next installment of our month-long special. Today we will be discussing history. This is a subject that I am passionate about; I think it is one of the most important topics that we could cover. Alas, it would take years to discuss everything. So we will touch upon some of the most important details and my favorites.

Generally, the history in the HMverse is what you would expect: empires rose and fell, people came and went, revolutions were had in all of their forms. But all of this is from the perspective of the generics. Victories of the magical community of old were tarnished by time, but they are there. Hidden between the lines we can see that the French Revolution was out for the heads of the rich and powerful, but also the vampires who lived that same lifestyle. The church, for many years, was set on making sure that all was in place and that demons were punished sometimes for just existing. Fae and witch hunts all throughout time. There is so much depth that I can’t fit all of into a couple of minutes for you.

Many of you know about the multitudes of demonic invasions, every other hundred years or so they come knocking on the door ready to take over. The last recorded invasion took place in 1618 and is largely considered to be part of the Thirty Years War. Historians believe that the next one has to be coming up since it’s been four hundred years, two hundred over the usual amount. Conspiracy theorists in particular are starting to get paranoid, however some claim that maybe it already happened. Which is true: it has. An entire demonic revolution, that was not recorded by most of history, was put down by five people: two humans and three demons. Surprising, right? There were many other people who assisted in these endeavors, but largely handled by that one group. History has yet to name it but we here at the station jokingly call it the Mystery Corner of 1934. I have been asked not to share the names of the three that are still alive, so that they might not be bothered until they are ready to share more of the story. You didn’t hear it from me, but station management might be one.

As Salem is well known for its witch trials, Medford is known for the witch purifications. The largest attempt to remove witches in the United States after the 1800s. It is a sad story, but one that I feel doesn’t get the attention that it should. Seventeen people were murdered by people trying to rip the witch out of them. Although many supporters would claim that it was only sixteen and the last died of other health issues, this is a false statement. She lived those extra two hours due to her higher level of magical healing-aligned abilities. It would be an insult to her to imply that the removal of her magic was a success. I mention this, since there are brewings of another tragedy like this today. Black Jackets and local support groups are working hard to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

History is in in its own way magical. Many modern-day studies are working hard to uncover the more accurate truth to our past. We are blessed to have many people still alive from olden times. Sometimes a long-lived elf or vampire is able to give first-hand accounts. Many affluent magical families have been known to help sponsor digs and expeditions. The fae and demons have even donated items that relatives received in favors and offered deals to human museums and archaeological groups. This doesn’t allow us to have information on everything, but it has helped us make a quicker progress and bring in a more diverse group to study our past.

Your name may not make it into the history books, but there is so much importance in knowing history. It doesn’t take a fortune teller to know how to change the future, when you already know the past. My dear listeners, know that you have the power to make a change for the good. This has been The Static, 24 hour radio, so you may never be truly alone.

[sunshineara5]

HMverse WBJ: day 3

There is a flower still undiscovered. An animal that no one has seen. As more is explored outward it is important to remember to explore within. You are listening to The Static, 24 hour radio, so you may never be truly alone.

Welcome back listeners, thrilled for you to be here since the Black Jackets got back to us! Woo! They were able to share 2018’s census records with us for this special. There is clearly information omitted, but they allowed me to have everything that I would need for today’s special. Let’s get right into it:

As we touched upon in our first installment, generics are the main people here in the HMverse. Over half of the population is non-magical, however the exciting part is that only 58.9% of people residing in the USA in 2018 are generics. There are 41.1% people that are magical in some way. I am thrilled to see this number go up, since it is much more accurate. These percentages are determined by the Black Jacket standards; counting anyone who has magical properties to them. This is openly magical people, magical people who have a criminal record, anyone who has registered themselves as magical with the Black Jackets but not the government, and anyone who they have suspicion of being magical. They do request that after reading that statement I give the disclaimer that there is a 1.3% error margin on their numbers, accounting for people they have not identified yet, people who they have identified incorrectly as being magical, and for those who may become magical.

Although I had hoped for some more numbers about who makes up the magical community, the Black Jackets could not disclose this information to us. Which I understand, safety of the people comes first. I was able to pull together some more information for us and confirmed accuracy with the Black Jackets.

There are seven broad categories of magical people: generic, animalesque and aquatic, witch, fae, demons, undead, and other - listed in order of how commonly they appear in the USA and how many of them are residents.  The exact order may change depending on specific locations, of course.

Generics are again the most common. We won’t be talking about them that much, because they are exactly what you think they are: humans, no more and no less.

Animalesque and Aquatic sound more like they are two different categories, but all of the specifications for these categories match. They are most memorable for their werewolves and mermaids. One part human and one part pick-an-animal. This, for many that fall into the category, includes several different states between animal and human. Usually two, but in the case of werewolves all three.

Witches are our next group, and although you wouldn’t necessarily expect it, there are two types of witches.  I want to start by acknowledging that every witch practices their craft differently and they are defined by how they practice, but not for this. There are general witches and lineage witches, the difference being how they obtain magic. General witches are frequently generics who choose to study and practice witchcraft, largely using runes, sigils, circles, and other tools to be able to use the magic in the area and transform it. They are what most people think of when discussing witches. Lineage witches, also called line or family witches, get magic through their bloodline. They have a fae or demon relative and traces of their magic are still found throughout the family. They are generally stronger and affiliated with an element based on their family line. However, most of the population doesn’t know that there is a difference.

Fae are the fae. They are fairies, sprites, goblins, gnomes, trolls, elves, even some types of animals. There is a huge and broad variety of them, but a uniting factor is that they are all magical. Usually their magic is nature-based, but many have learned to do all kinds. It is a fact, though, that you never give them your full name. They can and may spirit you away depending on the one you are speaking with. Consider your courts carefully. Summer is unlikely, Winter is likely, and Spring and Autumn are a toss-up.  So always remember, middle names are a secret.

Demons are exactly that. Like the fae, there are a few different kinds. Demons are generally identified by family: Vrata, Tor, Levica, Igeli, and Kannatin are the ones most seen, however there are many more families than that. Families usually have similar types of magical capabilities and generally specialize in a skill. Again, do not give them your full name; while they are statistically less likely to do anything, they are just as dangerous as the fae. Really depends on what context you meet them in, but not a chance you need to take.  

The undead are really a small group, but they usually “live” the longest because they are already dead, thus appearing on our census for many, many years. This includes vampires and ghosts as the most common, but zombies and more still exist. Vampires have actually started evolving into two separate types, daywalkers and nightwalkers. This is a much more recent turn of events; the first reported daywalker didn’t appear until 1982, and there is record of nightwalkers going back much, much further. Both are still vampires, but they have started adapting to becoming something else, which is thrilling.

Other is the catch-all. Anything that doesn’t fit into the previous categories goes here. Enchanted and cursed people, dark parts, mind readers, mixed species, and corruptions. There is so much more that can fit in here as well. There are technically more people that fit into this category than into the undead. I myself am a member of this category.

Before we conclude for today there is a quick PSA. Summoning demons seems to be really cool and hip right now. Some of our demon listeners want all of you to know that they do not want to be summoned and request that you please stop trying. They do not want to grant you immortality, enhance your non existent powers, nor fix your bad hair day. The Demonic Court thanks you in advance.

Just know that you are not one of a kind and that there are more people like you. The magical community is as big and vast as the night sky. Take comfort in this my dear listeners. If you are ever feeling alone turn on the radio and we will be with you. This has been The Static, 24 hour radio, so you may never be truly alone.

[sunshineara5]

HMverse WBJ: day 2

The wind blows; pushing puffy white clouds above the evergreens, across the sandy beaches and waves making little umbrellas fly, and into the heavy summer storms with thunder and lightning illuminating the city skies. The wind has the privilege to see it all. You are listening to The Static, 24 hour radio, so you may never be truly alone.

I am pleased to welcome you dear listeners. It is delightful to know that you have all been able to find your way back here. Today, I have a treat for you.  We will be going on an adventure through our world and its geography.

This is a big world we live in, and I would even go so far as to guess it’s even bigger than you think. All that we know of and are familiar with is just one of three worlds that are so tightly woven that they appear as one. Terra Proper, the Fey Lands, and Diabolus are all parallel worlds that have identical geographical features to each other, mountains and oceans are all in the same spot, even many cities wind up in matching locations. Some people have just accidentally wandered into one of the other two without realizing what they have done right away.

Terra Proper is the one all of you live on, it is also known as the base world. It’s an alternate Earth: the Adirondack mountains, Indian ocean, Sahara desert, and Canada are all here and exactly how you know them to be. The main difference between this Earth and any other Earths would be that we have our parallel worlds. But geographically, there are no other differences.  

The Fey Lands is, unsurprisingly, the parallel where the fae live. This is the name that Terra Proper has given it, since there has never been an identified name. All fae simply refer to it as “home”. The geography of the land is identical to Terra Proper, but the Fey Lands can easily be summed up as just a little more so. The summer just a little hotter, the winter just a little colder; there are many more types of plants that grow up to three times the size they would elsewhere. Although the area is wild nature, it isn’t particularly dangerous, though many that travel there never return. The Fey Lands is broken up into four courts that rule the seasons. The two largest are the Summer and Winter Courts, and the smaller two are the Spring and Autumn Courts. I’ve heard that the plant life and general vibe of territories will change depending on which court is in control of the area.

Diabolus is the demonic parallel to our world, inhabited by demons. The Demonic Court manages all things in Diabolus and anything demon-related that happens in the other parallels. They too, like the Fey Lands,  have near-identical geography, but the terrain isn’t quite the same. Many of my friends who have gone there say that the world is dark and hazy, with a perpetual mist in the air. The paths are rough and dangerous. Nature as a whole is wild and untamed. The demons predominantly live in dense cities where they don’t have to constantly be at war with the plants and animals. Diabolus has some level of seasons, but the shifting is very minimal. The temperatures of the land are based on what Fey Courts are in control of the matching land, but about five times more extreme. It’s an intense place to be.

There is also one more parallel. It’s nowhere yet somewhere simultaneously. It has been confirmed that there are two locations here, and we largely assume that they both must be here since they aren’t anywhere else. This place is seemingly a large expanse of nothing, discluding the two buildings situated inside it. We don’t know how our station came to be in this limbo nor how that house got there, but here we are.

Despite the reach of the world at large, most of the narratives that play out on paper take place in Northfield, a quaint little town in the Adirondack Mountains on Terra Proper. Norfield is a small haven for those seeking quiet and privacy - or the absolute middle of bumfuck nowhere, depending on who you ask. During the summertime it is a nice camping area, however they highly recommend not wandering the woods. Home to entrances for both Diabolus and the Fey Lands, it isn’t too hard to just go missing.

The dark woods may be dark for a reason and when the plants begin to change and whisper watch your step. This has been The Static, 24 hour radio, so you may never be truly alone.

[sunshineara5]

HMverse WBJ

The half moon is hanging high above the dense forests of Northfield, while the sun sinks slowly below the ocean waves outside of Laconia. You are listening to The Static, 24 hour radio, so you may never be truly alone.

I hope that all of you are having a pleasant evening, morning, or midday in whatever time zone you currently find yourself. There is a lot going on right now and we thank you for taking the time or lack thereof to tune in.

This month, June of 2019, the station will be running an educational special on our world. We were inspired by the Thatcher Diversity Association’s push to help more people understand ways we can improve the generic and magical peoples relationships as well as allow the greater population to really grasp what it means to be magical. They have been working tirelessly: setting up Q & A panels, printing and dispersing pamphlets, as well as supporting local members of the community share their stories safely. You didn’t hear it from me, but they may be putting together a documentary with those stories, so keep an eye out.

We here at The Static thought that we too could help to make a greater impact by putting out a month-long special to increase understanding and awareness about our world. I will be going over topics each day taking you on a deep dive into some of the important facets that have shaped our world into what it is today and where these may take us forward.

To start off our special, I would like to give a warm welcome to our new listeners. It is a pleasure to have so many first time listeners on at one time, magical and generic alike. I  hope that you may find comfort in knowing that there are more of us out here. And a big shout out to our return listeners: Allie please do your homework, Stefan there is a page for you, and Phil remember, just take it one day at a time.

I am going to take this first day to do an overview. Paint a large, broad-stroke picture so that as we go into more detail all of the parts have a place. We exist within a world called the HMverse, an alternate Earth reality where the magical and the mundane walk side by side, but not as equals. The magical are frequently considered monsters and menaces by the generics - those without magical qualities. Mainstream articles and news reports are always coming out with the new thing that the magical community has done wrong, rarely stopping take a moment to consider the individuals inside of this community and how this portrayal negatively affects them.

Our world has a significantly larger population of visible generics. They run almost everything and have - and continue to make -  laws and rules and society structures that stand against the magical at every turn. Many magical people live in hiding, passing as a generic and never daring to tell a soul about who they really are. In the 2010 census it was reported that approximately 71.3% of the population identified as generic and the other 28.7% as some form of magical. I speculate that this is not an accurate number, stating this is a public census and many people would not want to identify as magical on a public record. I also suspect that the fey count is low due to their reclusiveness and that those afflicted by curses and permanent magical enchantments are not being counted as magical. I have reached out to the Black Jackets in hopes that they may be able to supplement some information or give a more accurate count. As of this time I have not received a response. So we will hopefully be saving that information for a later day when we can speak more on it.

Recently there has been huge strides in legislation and general outlook on the magical community. There are more news outlets that include magical voices and thoughts, even some that are managed and owned by openly magical people. Groups such as Thatcher’s Diversity Association have been instrumental to supporting the notion of acceptance and educating people about these matters. Magical actors and writers have been finding their way onto the big screen and in bookstores. Fashion brands have been supporting and showing off magical people. Hospitals and doctors have been learning how to accomodate for various magical people’s medical needs. Whole communities who are paving the way for a balance between the magical and the generics. It brings me so much joy to be able to witness these things and leaves me looking forward to what is next.

The majority of the narratives within the HMverse are about people, both magical and generic. If we were to put a genre to these people and their stories then we would cover almost every type of book, movie, and media. Ranging from slice of life and romance to action and mystery to comedy and drama, the lives of these people are wildly different while all being the same. Just some people who are trying to live their lives as best they can.

Here at The Static, we strive to help both the magical and the mundane realize that there are more of us than is known. That we should never have to fear being alone. We are running this special to help educate you and you and you and as many people as we can in the nuances so that everyone can have a larger and greater understanding of this world that we call our own.

My dear listeners, if you are ever feeling alone turn on the radio and we will be with you. This has been The Static, 24 hour radio, so you may never be truly alone.

[sunshineara5]

WBJ Day 13

The plants are what has allowed Fracture to grow and thrive throughout the years. Everyone knows how to grow and maintain plants, since almost everyone lives inside of or in part of a tree in some way.

The main type of tree that grows on fracture is a quick-growing variety. In about a year, it becomes sturdy enough to start letting people use for housing. There are some other varieties as well, but this is largely the one used for their housing. Other plants are used for furniture as well as decorations in the home.

The most widely grown plant is hemp; a versatile plant that can be made into rope, cloth, paper, and much more. This is a plant that they used for testing of growing conditions and terrain since it is a durable plant.

Gardening is an important aspect of Fracture life. Almost everyone has a garden in their home where they can grow food, flowers, and herbs. However, if they cannot fit everything they want inside their house, there are community garden spaces as well. These kinds of gardens are all over fracture and many host competitions for best grown things and the best looking garden.

The oddest part about the plants, largely the trees, is that they are all connected in a way. The plants can hold memories: this is only something that native fracture plants are able to do, and only something that kats can access, but it is absolutely strange. Memories are almost automatically added and the bank of memories grows with the number of plants. This is one of the many ways that kats have been able to share their knowledge with others and then build off of ideas from the past.

[sunshineara5]

WBJ Day 12

There is a very limited number of animals on Fracture due to its size. A majority of animals have been domesticated for population control, as well as the fact that these animals would not be able to survive without assistance.

There is a designated area of Fracture for most animals; it is technically called the Fracture Animal Study and Conservation Facility but everyone just calls it the ranch. This is where they take care of the large animals and allow them to roam through the field and forest area designated for them. They largely take care of deer-, cow-, and sheep-like creatures that would have naturally lived in this environment. These animals are also used for food sources and material resources for Fracture. When killed for use; the people use every part of these animals, since it would be a dishonor to these creatures if they didn't.

Insects, birds, and small rodents and similar animals do exist outside of the ranch. Most of these are half-domesticated creatures just by nature of the fracture. It is not uncommon to have any of these as pets as well. However, the ones that are still “wild” are allowed to go around fracture and continue their business of pollination and the spreading of seeds.

Fish are a staple food supply on fracture, and there are surprisingly more fish than there are some of the other animals. There is about 10 different types of fish that swim through the winding river. These fish are so important that when hatching season comes at the beginning of their summer, there is a huge festival for it. The most visible and well known of the fish is the “nib,” as they have been dubbed. They are beautifully-colored fish that try and eat unsuspecting fingers that get too close to the water.

There is one other notable animal on fracture: rats. They are an invasive species that comes in on ships and is generally destructive. They are not cute little rats that people keep as pets; these are nasty things with teeth like knives and an aggressive nature to boot. They can grow to be as big as medium-sized dogs at maturity, and will hunt in packs. They eat through supplies and wreak havoc if unattended. They will go so far as to attack people of any species thanks to their aggressive and territorial nature. There is only one thing that is good about these vile creatures: they have tasty meat.

[sunshineara5]

WBJ Day 11

The language used on Fracture is Common, a simplified version of Sarlyvan, the sarlem language. Common was created to have a more universal language that can be learned relatively quickly, at least compared to Sarlyvan. All of the gendered nouns have been removed and are only the gender neutral terms have been left. Verbs are no longer conjugated based on gender and group size, but only gain the future or past tense distinctions. All of the capital letters were removed as well, since there was no great need for them. With a few other reductions and modifications, the language of Common was born. It is now used as the main language for any space travelers since it has become such a universal language.

On Fracture it is the main spoken language. It is taught in the schools and there are free classes for those living on the fracture who don’t already know Common to be able to learn it. Fracture is very invested in everyone learning Common, since they value the sharing of knowledge and equal access to communication greatly.

Fracture City is one of the leading places for communication research. They have many varieties of communication spells that are accessible for everyone. Fracture is also home to the largest continually running translator in the galaxy: fracture-wide magic translating everything said into common and then back into the language that the participants understand best. This is one of the pieces that allows Fracture to flourish and excel in many fields of research.

[sunshineara5]

WBJ Day 10

Fracture City loves a good party. Any type of holiday is turned into a big party: celebrations on Fracture are based around getting together with loved ones surrounded by food, music, and memories. The City is decorated in the finest flowers and leaves, topiaries are decorated and lanterns strung throughout.

Fracture City first and foremost celebrates the changing of the seasons and nature. Sprout Festival, Blooming Flowers Festival, Fish Feeding Festival, Changing of Colors Festival, and Planet Harvesting Festival are all two-day-long festivals that are dedicated to different aspects of nature which only happen once a year: when the plants begin growing, when the flowers bloom, when the fish are hatching, when the leaves change, and when the planets are close enough for spaceship-led harvests.

The (Fracture) Witch Festival is by far the most popular out of the native Fracture holidays, and is also the longest at five days, with each day representing a piece of the story of the Witch. Of all the native Fracture holidays, it is also the most historic, having been celebrated ever since the fracture stabilized.

Classic Sarva is the other largest religion on Fracture, and many people do celebrate the major holidays, with the various festivals of Kine, the god of life, Malquine, the god of planet and exploration, and Phire and Aichu, the gods of dark and light. There are many days dedicated to these gods: sarlems are always interested in reasons to celebrate what they have. These are notably only the classic gods; the new four gods’ celebrations are not as widely acknowledged on Fracture, and it is only those who actually pay honor to them that celebrate their festivals. There is a fair amount of overlap and additions to the native Fracture holidays. Kine is now a piece of all Fracture holidays, since nature is another facet of their domain and that is the base of all Fracture celebrations.

Other religions also have holidays celebrated on Fracture, however Fracture does not have a city-wide day off for these events. People are given these days off if requested, since just because the rest of the fracture is not celebrating as hard today, it doesn’t mean that the individual shouldn’t. There are many other holidays that are non-religious such as Family Day, a modern Sarva holiday, and the Landing when sarlems arrived on Fracture. These are just as important as many other holidays, however they are usually not a multiple day event.

[sunshineara5]

WBJ Day 9

The main religion on the fracture is unnamed, just like the Witch it pays honor to. She is not considered a god, but rather more akin to a prophet. She held fast and allowed the fracture to survive, and then taught the kats how to thrive. There are shrines for the Witch all over Fracture City, the largest being the one at the base of her tree. People will leave offerings for her and come to speak with her pretty regularly. It is not uncommon to find people meditating at her shrines so she may help guide them through whatever it is that troubles them.

There is an annual five-day-long festival dedicated to the Witch. Everyone on fracture ramps up for it weeks in advance, those who are currently off fracture come back, and even more people just come for the glorious Fracture Witch Festival.

Fracture City has a lot of other religions present as well, due to the large mix of people there. Classic Sarva, the former sarlem religion, is the most practiced religion after the Witch’s. Modern Sarva and Ovo Nro, the current sarlem religion and the kraatvian religion respectively, are the next most frequently practiced. There are many others as well, but they have a smaller or a less regular population to them.

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WBJ Day 8

The people are the main force of government on Fracture. Kats have a strong sense of self government that effectively is don’t be rude since you wouldn’t want people to be rude to you. They are a relatively chill species which just makes it easier. They have some basic set up for government offices which is mostly councils and bureaus for things that are needed such as the Customs Bureau. None of these groups necessarily make laws, but they bring order and are there to solve various kinds of problems as they arise.

There are some differences between the councils and bureaus. Councils are regularly made and then disbanded when their goal has been met or are no longer needed. They are usually formed of qualified citizens who are knowledgeable on whatever the subject they were called for. Bureaus are for long-term government needs. These are open to the general public to work in, but are, again, overseen by the most qualified people.

There is a small police force that exists to help maintain general public safety. They are largely there to deter people from stealing and doing unsafe activities. Thankfully, there are not too many issues with that in Fracture, and they largely spend their time helping people locate missing items or settling general disputes between people.

[sunshineara5]

WBJ Day 7

This is a complex subject since there is no one way to handle the economy on Fracture. There are four popular ways to handle the movement of goods: merchant trades (mt), visitor cards (vc), sarcharge, and trading and fracture favors.

Merchant trades (mt) is only used by merchants that come in: they trade some of their wares to the Fracture City government for an mt pass, which is effectively a debit card. This is done at customs when they check in. They will be able to buy whatever they need to, however there is a set amount on the card which is directly equivalent to the Fracture value of the items they gave the government. If they go over the set amount then they will need to pay it back. They would do this when they check out with customs at the end of their stay.

Visitor cards are obtained with the Customs Bureau. These are designed for people who are from off the planet and will be leaving again. This card is also like a debit card: the visitor puts a set amount on the card when they arrive, and then they pay any overcharges at the end of their trip. They are relatively easy to get as long as your currency is registered as a real currency. Thankfully, this is not usually a problem, since most people are in fact coming from a planet that has a valid currency.

Sarcharge is the currency that sarlems made up when they decided to travel the galaxy. This is a digital currency which all of the places that sarlems have a large presence on accept as a currency. Many trading ports also will accept this, since many ship crews get paid in sarcharge. Since Fracture is both a trading port and has a sarlem presence, they have have sarcharge and that is what most people consider to be the primary Fracture City currency.

Trading and fracture favors are very similar. Trading is using an item or service to pay for an item or service, this is pretty common. Fracture favors are literally trading but the kats will claim that it is not. They will say that it is a very different thing: at its base, it is not - the only major difference is that there is an actual government bureau that tracks fracture favors, while trades are not tracked. Since there were enough disputes about when the favors were to be paid, or when someone changed their mind, the government made a system so they could track it. It used to be hard and you had to physically register them at an office, but now there is a cool app for it and you register the trade right then and there. So Grandma Purlin who crochets all the nice blankets can make a nice blanket for restaurant owner Aii and then have her next nine meals there already paid for.

[sunshineara5]

WBJ Day 6

This is a complex subject since Fracture is a proverbial melting pot of everything. There are all kinds of people who come in with these complex facets to who they are and it would be impossible to touch on every single one. However, there is a general consensus for Fracture that will be looked at instead.

Gender is much less of a thing on Fracture than in other places. There are two physical genders of kats and sarlems (these two being the largest species on Fracture), however the language spoken on Fracture - Common - only has a gender neutral pronoun. Common is based off of Sarlyvan - the native language on the sarlem home planet - which has three gendered pronouns: female, male, and other (this is most apparent in how they write the characters for “I” when referring to oneself). However, ‘female’ and ‘male’ are exclusively used on sarlems in Sarlyvan: ‘other’ is still used, but is also used for things that are not a sarlem. Thus, when the Common language was created, they cut the pronouns down to just ‘other,’ for simplicity's sake. Fracture quickly adopted this language when the sarlems came, and have used it as the primary language for about 500 years. Thus, gender identity is not something that the inhabitants pay extreme attention to. They do keep track of physical gender in some cases, but when it comes to gender identity, no one makes a big deal of it since there effectively isn’t any way that you are required to present yourself.

There are people who identify as trans: though that is not the word they would use, that would be the English equivalent. Most people in actuality don’t care if you are trans. In the general kat mindset they just want everyone to be happy and well, and so if that is the way that makes you happy and well, they will seek out a way to make it happen. The sarlem general opinion on the matter is that it isn't their business, so why should they care? They want to know just because they are nosy, but they don’t actually care about the meaning of the answer. There are medical procedures available on Fracture for anyone seeking them.

Sexuality along the same vein as gender on Fracture: they want you to be happy and it isn’t their business on how you be happy, so long as you aren’t hurting the people around you. Since the fracture gets so many people with different views on sexuality and what is normal for them, Fracture has just come to accept that. The kats have a long standing expectation of having any variety of sexualities, and this continued even after the sarlems came. Sarlems largely care about everyone needing a family - although they usually do push for the more stereotypical sarlem family of a mother, father, and their side people. Thus, the two largest groups on the Fracture are very open to the matter. The Fracture’s view on sexuality does have some more naysayers than that of gender, such as the Ascotha people, but those groups really can’t do anything about it without getting arrested.

[sunshineara5]

WBJ Day 5

A grand majority of the buildings in Fracture are made of plants; trees, to be specific. The base structures are masterfully woven trees and other plants to fill in any gaps. They are quite sturdy and constantly growing, allowing for population growth as well. Any other materials used in most of the buildings are decorative accents, such glass windows and metal door frames. Due to the shapes of the trees and homes, the streets are winding; spiraling in and out intersecting at any variety of points. It is not uncommon for foreigners to get lost.

There are five layers to Fracture City: tops, surface, underground, customs, and docks. These are the vertical distinctions to the city and their names are relatively self-explanatory.  Each has specific infrastructures located on that layer, though there is a lot of crossover and flow to these layers and, sometimes, very little distinction at all.

Tops: market, residential, academia, City Center Surface: market, residential, academia, City Center, Old Town Underground: market, residential, storage, City Center Customs: Customs Bureau , jail, storage Docks: ship bays, residential, storage

The market is a large and bustling area of Fracture. There are any number of stalls and shops that sell their wares year-round and others that rotate depending on what merchants are in town at the time. This is one of the areas where it is easiest to get from one layer to the next, with a higher concentration of stairs and elevators to allow for ease of access.

City Center is the government center of Fracture. There are many government related offices here as well as public forums. It is well-maintained and is one of the more open areas of Fracture - relative to tree density, that is.

The heart of the city is known as Old Town. The original location of the settlement as well as the location of the Witch’s tree, this is a historic and respected area of the city. There is very little in way of shops and residents in this area, since most of it has been converted into magnificent gardens. Old Town has the main shrine to the Witch, where many come to pay their respects and give offerings. All festival ceremonies start and end here under the watch of the great tree that the Witch lived in.

Fracture has been building up a great amount of academic and research facilities. Most are in around the same area, generally nicknamed ‘academia’. This is not an official area, but everyone knows what it is: Aster Academy for Magic, a research institution, three separate research facilities, one of the local public schools, and the second best library in Fracture are all within a twenty minute walk from each other. There are a number of other establishments in the area that add to the aesthetic of Academia, but it is largely the schools that dominate.

There are a few different residential areas in Fracture. They are largely decided by what species predominate the area and what types of facilities that they need. Residential districts are quickly determined by whether there are bath houses or not. Although kats do not need to use these establishments as much, they are quite helpful to the species that are not self-bathing. The houses in these areas are either small like an apartment or akin to a very large house. There is not much in the way of medium-sized locations, since most housing boils down to the number of tenants. Apartments are usually for one or two people, and they are comfortable for that. The large houses are always community houses - whether that is based upon family establishments or if it is just a house with a lot of people depends on the owner.

Fracture is primarily a trading center and thus there is a Customs Bureau. This is one of the main ways that Fracture funds itself, since imports and exports are taxed. This is also where people go to gain citizenship status and handle other intergalactic legal business. It is also one of the places that is certified to conduct background checks for various types of visas and galactic statuses - a popular one is “nonlethal entity,” which persons from highly volatile races need to have in order to travel.

Since there are many spaceships constantly coming and going, the whole docks area is dedicated to just that. There are many ship bays and launch pads depending on the type and size of the ships and their needs for fuel, maintenance, landing, and takeoff.

There is a relatively small jail in the customs layer. There isn’t too much by the ways of crime on the fracture, but it is important to have a detainment and correctional facility, especially with some of the shifty characters that dock there.

There are a number of storage facilities in the lowest layers of Fracture. Since there is not as much space on higher levels anymore, and usually what is being stored is not readily needed, they get put in large facilities that hold and keep track of the items. There are rentable spaces for individuals, groups, and businesses, as well. The size of each depends largely on what it is that is being stored.