The Crossroads of the Aether
New Citizens of the Empire
As steampunks from all over the colonies of the new world and the motherlands of the old world gather on this fabulous crossroads of the Aether, we invite you to share a little about your steampunk self and tell us about your airship, meetup, local steampunk scene, or whatever.
On the waves of the Aether I am known as Aloysius, a dandy who is a little more of the steam and a little less of the punk, heralding from the Queen City (aka Cincinnati, Ohio) although originally I was born and bred in the heart of the British Empire before migrating to the colonies toward the end of the last century. I am a founding member of the League of Cincinnati Steampunks, a band of anachronistic anarchists who meet every couple of weeks to share tales of adventure and find new ones. I have been a steampunk for longer than I realized; I knew the literary genre back in the 90s, wore Victorian and Edwardian fashions, liked goggles, airships, and brass gizmos, but did not piece it all together until these last couple of years . . . and it's been steamy fun ever since!
On the waves of the Aether I am known as Aloysius, a dandy who is a little more of the steam and a little less of the punk, heralding from the Queen City (aka Cincinnati, Ohio) although originally I was born and bred in the heart of the British Empire before migrating to the colonies toward the end of the last century. I am a founding member of the League of Cincinnati Steampunks, a band of anachronistic anarchists who meet every couple of weeks to share tales of adventure and find new ones. I have been a steampunk for longer than I realized; I knew the literary genre back in the 90s, wore Victorian and Edwardian fashions, liked goggles, airships, and brass gizmos, but did not piece it all together until these last couple of years . . . and it's been steamy fun ever since!
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dizzy on -
Hi! I'm Dizzy lead singer and field investigator for the Deadly NIghtshade Botanical Society. I've spent my whole life a little bit steampunk (found out it had a name a few years ago) a little rock and roll. I love Sherlock Holmes, Mysteries, Lost worlds, and taking the best part of the victorian era and smashing into the best part of today. I'm also a bellydancer, and a fashion designer.
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Permalink Reply by Aloysius Fox on -
Come on ladies an' gents! Don't be shy. Tell us a lit'le 'bout yourself.
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Permalink Reply by Aloysius Fox on
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Actually I feel like I am turning into the "Tom" of this site, so I think I'll take a break from being the "Walmart greeter" of the Empire. I am very glad that you found us here . . . viva l'empire!
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Permalink Reply by Sair Blades on -
Whoops, I thought I made an introduction here!
My name's Sair, and I'm a civil engineer from Cincinnati with a fondness for tinkering, crafting, and dissembling things in the hope I don't lose too many of the pieces. To be honest, and possibly to out myself, I'm more of a wild west style steampunk, and I have been a fan of that kind of fiction for as long as I can remember. I've only been aware of the scene for a couple years though, and I've only been a participant recently.
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Permalink Reply by Professor Angelus P. Fumolatro on -
I've long been a fan of the Steampunk genre although for many years I did not know it had a name.
About 1 1/2 years ago an aquantance of mine got 'dolled up' and took a self portrait which she titled "Alter ego". This got me to thinking what (who?) my alter ego would be. It was not long after that my Steampunk persona "Professor Angelus Potuissimus Fumolatro" was born. He is described thus:
Professor Angelus Potissimus Fumolatro:
Inventor, Explorer, Culinarian.
By way of employment, a professor of Engineering, though he considers himself a student of all sciences. Life, he has been heard to say, is a constant process of inquiry and discovery. There are precious few disciplines with which he will not occupy his time save medicine and the so-called heavenly sciences. The ministration of medicaments he leaves to his wife, Dr. Velocity Jones Fumolatro; and the study of the heavens is best left to those of no ambition and less sense. Long hours spent staring into telescopic lenses hunting for the Luminiferous Ether shall never benefit man. What value is there in studying that final frontier into which humans shall never tread? Metalurgy, mechanics, mineralogy, fluidics, botany, geology, locomotion, and even the culinary arts are all matters with which he occupies himself. Argument and superstition must give way to the proof of science for only that which can be proven can be true. He believes that only through the study and application of the lessons of the sciences will the world find the path to truth and enlightenment. So strong is his belief that he has made this his personal motto:
“Hoc nomen meum verum non est.” (Without proof there is no truth.)
In real life I, much like the Professor, enjoy tinkering, building, exploring and cooking.
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Permalink Reply by Lady Grace Hawthorne on -
Ah, what a lovely grouping of people, from all walks of this world… and others it would seem. I am the Lady Grace Hawthorne, some of you may have heard of me, though many likely have not. Allow me to rectify this.
It is only recently that I have begun to walk amongst the mortals again, as I have been in Asgard (Godheim for you of Christian descent) where I’ve been living for… oh stars, time runs differently here than it does back home. I’m not certain exactly how long I’ve been out of the world of men, but I’m back, for whatever reason the Aesir (that’s the Nordic pantheon for those of you not familiar with them) have chosen. I suppose you could call me a ‘scion’ or a… representative of sorts. (The Aesir, by the way, have a very strong affinity for a particular band, The Extraordinary Contraptions. Check them out if you have not all ready.)
I run alone for the most part, though I do have a very dear friend in Miss Dryope Palamara, and an… agreement with Captain Dreorig Thorngauge.
I ask your forgiveness for any faux pas I may make as I am still acquainting myself with the rules of this world, and constantly being reminded that a rage is not always necessary. It’s so different when you’re dealing with gods and valkyries. So very different.
If there is one thing I adore about being here, it’s the parties, the social gatherings, the adventure above all. You would think I’d have had enough of it by this point… but the Aesir don’t do nearly as much as you would think within the halls of their own home. From time to time, yes… but nothing like this wild ride you folks around here call life.
Ah, one more thing... I'm never afraid to get a little dirty if it comes down to it. And I never. Never, back down from a battle.... perhaps I spent too much time with the Aesir, warrior gods that they are.
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Permalink Reply by Dryope Palamara on -
I suppose it is about time that I introduced myself. I am Dryope, a naiad from the area of Mysia. Currently I am chef and magician aboard the ship The Persephone, a hybrid submersible and dirigible. Contrary to what you may have heard, we are not pirates but a circus. Also, my reputation for drowning pretty men is entirely unwarranted. Entirely! It isn't my fault they follow me to my underwater grotto without any means to breathe! And if Lady Hawthorne tells you otherwise don't you believe her, she is trying to get me back for revealing her current consorts demonic nature. (He is so a demon, Grace!! Just look at those fangs! Don't go berserker on me! You know it is true!)
Still, that little rumor of hers aside, Lady Hawthorne is perhaps my closest friend. It is so difficult to relate to mortals, sometimes, so it is splendid to have another of similar longevity to converse with. However, I do enjoy the company of the lads and ladies of The Hinderscipe, they know how to have a good time and are willing to dance with me to the lovely tunes of The Extraordinary Contraptions. If you are ever at one of their concerts do come and dance! ^_^ And of course I am fond of Capt. Resthal and Cita and the crew of The SS Icarus -- better known as The Penny Dreadfuls. In fact, the Dreadfuls are the first actual crew I met and they were quite kind and helpful for ruffians, so I am specially fond of them.
When I do attend events, usually I do not say very much. I am still not entirely sure how to act around mortals, since my interactions with them in the past have generally lead to their very quick demise. (Shush, Grace, I can see that look you are giving me. It wasn't on purpose. Usually. ) I do love to dance, though! Dancing takes me back to the wild revelries thrown by the Satyrs and the Centaurs. Now they knew how to party! Not quite as crazy as the Maenads, though, they were scary. And they would insist on tearing up all the men before they'd get to the river.
But enough of that, the rest of the denizens of the Empire must introduce themselves!
-sits and waits patiently-
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Permalink Reply by Mike Perschon on -
I love that you're a circus!
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Permalink Reply by Opal Light Neo on -
I am not a circus. I have a circus. There is a difference.
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Permalink Reply by Dr. Darien Mason on -
Greetings, to you all!
I am Doctor Darien James Mason, originally from Baltimore. I hold a license in Avatar Medicine from Miskatonic University. I until recently ran Caledon Regency Hospital in the Independent State of Caledon and was Director of Mason Labs (formerly the Bloodwing Foundation) in Steelhead Port Harbor, both in the virtual realm of Second Life. I was also founder of the High Tea & High Adventure Society, also based in SL's Steamlands.
I (and my neko son and large family of sentient constructs) have departed the Steamlands aboard the aethership Gygax II, waiting for portals to the worlds of Gatheryn and Blue Mars to open up so we may continue our adventures!
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Permalink Reply by KatChasm on -
I had thought myself unique, as a graduate of Miskatonic U. My name is Edna Katharine Jaygerwolf tho for reasons unbeknownst to me, fellow hunters call me KatChasm. I am a dilettante adventuress, residing in Colorado but currently on assignment in the deep South. I've been musickally led astray by Capitan Roberts and Aership Pirates but I enjoy a good tango as much as the next gel.
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Permalink Reply by Captain Vila Resthal on -
Greetings, friends!
I am Vila Resthal, Airship Captain and Sky Marshal of the Confederacy of North American Republics, serving in the Combined Airship Service. As the discerning reader may have noted, my homeland is not on the same timeline as that in which my Lady wife and I now find ourselves. Some accident of Nature has caused Lady Cita and I to randomly pass from one alternate universe to another, having adventures and meeting new friends...
As for my background, I'm a half-blood member of the Cherokee Nation and a decorated veteran of the 1860-1865 Alien Invasion of North America. I have seen service in both the ground and air forces of half a dozen of the Republics that are members of the Confederacy. After the War, I found myself assigned to part-time duty in the Secret Service and promoted to the rank of Captain of the Airship Service, assigned to the airship "Nemesis." I spent several years hunting pirates as an airship Captain under my own name, and battling power-hungry madmen bent on world domination as a Secret Service agent under the codename of Sky Marshall Ebon Black. During the course of my duties, I encountered a South American pirate Queen, Lady Cita, with whom I fell hopelessly in love. After several years and many shared adventures, we could deny our feelings no longer. Once Lady Cita had found a suitable successor for her throne, she abdicated and consented to become my wife. Roughly about this time in our lives, the two of us ran afoul of some oddity in the natural world that thereafter caused us to shuttle between alternate universes without warning.
One of our first trips between the worlds brought us into contact with Captain Thornguage and the crew of the airship Hinderscipe, as well as the naiad Dryope, her friend the chaos-elemental named Jinx, a lady assassin called Alterra, and several Asian warrior heroes and heroines. After battling invisible demons who had, at first, tricked us into fighting each other, Lady Cita and I once more found ourselves back in our proper world and time.
Months later, we once again found ourselves drawn into yet another world. One wherein we faced the menace of a mind-controlling artist bent upon using Captain Thornguage and ourselves, among others, as zombie puppets in her quest to create living artworks under her whimsical command. Finding a rusty ship's deck cannon, we managed to turn the tables on this demonic artist and escape.
Within hours of our escape, Cita and I found ourselves swept into the future of a world wherein the CNAR I'd devoted my life to preserving had never existed. Worse, the era I had spent fighting the invading creatures from Mars on my own world had, in this new world, been spent in a terrible war of brother against brother. Between what I knew in my world as the Federated and Confederated States of North America, this bloody war had only the one positive benefit of ending the institution of enslavement of people from the African continent- Something that the CNAR had ended during the late 1700s when Thomas Jefferson had almost single-handedly shamed the North American Republics into doing away with that horrible perversion. After wandering through a museum devoted to the long-past lives of Southern plantation owners and their slaves, Lady Cita and I met up with Lady Grace Hawthorne- newly returned to Midgard from a long adventure in Asgard -and the collection of heroes she had assembled to celebrate the anniversary of the naiad Dryope's birth. Also in attendance among the heroes was our friends from the Hinderscape, Captain Thornguage and his crew. After several too short hours spent with our friends, Cita and I once more found ourselves caught up in the mists of inter-worldly transition, returning to our humble home near the Southern borders of the Cherokee Nation.
As the last example illustrates, not all of the dimension-spanning travel we've been subjected to has involved fighting demons, sorcerers, or madmen. The most recent excursion to an alternate Earth deposited us within a veritable convention of other travelers in time and space. They had gathered together to celebrate their voyages fantastique and to join in a great fellowship of Time Travelers. This joyous occasion ended far too soon, but Cita and I were left with the promise that the convocation would seek us out when they next gathered to meet again.
As for now, Lady Cita and I are within the walls of our home once more. We are enjoying the sultry evenings of the Georgia countryside whilst we await the birth of our eldest daughter's first child, raising prize-winning thoroughbred cats, growing wetland cacti, and preparing for the next time the winds of change sweep us into the void between the worlds- and straight into another adventure.
Captain Vila Resthal
© 2013 Created by Hephzibah Marsh.
