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--- place:nightclaw [2012/11/26 06:33] – pinkgothic
+++ place:nightclaw [2017/11/18 21:34] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
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-The largest city on [[:Sehto]] by far, **Nightclaw** is a coastal city that truly deserves calling itself 'city'.
+The largest city on [[:Sehto]] by far, **Nightclaw** is a coastal city that truly deserves calling itself 'city'. Having everything in common with cities as we understand it out of character, the only thing of note is the lack of skyscrapers - Nightclaw has always grown like a moss across the landscape, and the only building towering across the rest is their 'lighthouse', the //[[place:Nightclaw:Helix tower]]//, at which's base is the pokémon gym of the city. Approximately eighty thousand people live here.
-Having everything in common with cities as we understand it out of character, the only thing of note is
-the lack of skyscrapers - Nightclaw has always grown like a moss across the landscape, and the only
-building towering across the rest is their 'lighthouse', the //Helix tower//, at which's base is the
-pokémon gym of the city. Approximately eighty thousand people live here.
-===== Descriptions from Sessios =====
+===== Districts =====
-Collected from [[plot:Arsaga]]:
+Nightclaw is probably the only Sehtoan settlement large enough to be segmented into districts. There are five of them altogether, formally simply named by the cardinal direction they occupy: //North//, //West//, //Southwest//, //South// and //East//.
-Nightclaw is like a strange, multi-facetted gem sat into Sehto's landscape, at least during the nighttime
+Of these, some disticts have different colloquial names to avoid the blandness of the formal ones. //East// is also known as //Helix Shrine// or //Coast//, and widely considered by people from outside the city and the inhabitans of the district themselves to be the 'center' of Nightclaw. //North// is also known as //[[place:Valcee Cave|Valcee]] Suburbs// or //River//. //South// is also known as //Slums// - somewhat ironically more by the people living there than the people outside it hoping to give it a bad name; it's used chiefly self-deprecatingly in the instances the district wishes to associate with Nightclaw at all.
-that gave it its name. From the highest platform of the seashore tower, it pulsates quietly below, like a
-melody of light, subtle, in waves, like the iridescence of sea shells.
-It had been day when they got here, the sun casting its light onto a landscape of glass and steel that
+Of the districts, only //Valcee Suburbs// can claim to have originated as a separate settlement (simply '//Valcee//') - the rest simply stem from the original Nightclaw's gradual expansion, and the divide between them is slightly artificial, though in recent years has begun to have effects on subcultural division, as well. The districts were originally created to help govern the area, seeing as the size of the settlement results in some struggle with the central authority that the [[PokéGym]] provides.
-initially looked uninspiring and uninspired. But as dusk crept in noticably from Vereheq - or so our
-traveller's new theory, or rather, superstition - the city came to life with a light that seemed almost
-mesmerising from below already. And this tower, functioning as so many things at once, has proven an
-excellent place for looking down at the artwork below.
-Of course, it's bizarre in it's own right. It's a helix, winding up into the night sky, with a segment
+===== Subculture =====
-of a double-helix at mid-height, that second helixoid - arcing across the distance of 180 degrees,
-center pointing straight out towards the sea - pulsing with light. A lighthouse.
-The top platform is technically open to the wind, except for a shallow but domed glass roof, held up by
+The Nightclaw cultural landscape is fragmented on a whole, though some trends can be said to have emerged amongst the different districts that can be considered typical of them:
-levitation. There's a café in the helix near the platform, and small tables and chairs are up on the
-platform, making this a nice meeting place at night.
-Conveniently, the pokécenter is just beside the pokégym - latter which is set into the foot of the
+==== Helix Shrine (East) Subculture ====
-Helix Tower, at its height looking less like a building and more like an exotic plant made of ivory,
-having structured walls spreading out like tendrils and leaves towards their end, peeling back from
-the main helix in fake organic ways. Ah, yes, the Glint Badge. When they're done staring at the city,
-they should probably head back down and organise themselves that one.
-The inside of the helix is full of modern art that they've seen much of on their way up, as well as
+A typical Helician is a nocturnal creature, thriving on artificial light, owing in part to the weather that Nightclaw is prone to getting (especially coastal Nightclaw) - winds are much stronger during the day during nearly any season as patches of the landscape are unevenly heated, and summer days are relentless in temperature for Sehto standards of them.
-a conveyor belt like escalator leading all the way down. It takes its time, but there is no elevator
-to speed things up. The Helix Tower is primarily pokégym and lighthouse, after all - and beyond that,
-mainly a work a art. An escalator would simply not fit.
-[There is a] strange vertical cut in the inner shell of the bottom of the helix - the entrance to
+They're not very involved with their fellow human beings, owing to a deeply urban culture, and are much quicker to judge perceived bullshit than any other subculture on Sehto, not known for much patience. Nonetheless, they can be considered deeply social creatures, in the sense that it's considered unusual for a Helician to prefer solitude to a gathering, be it a party or otherwise. Much work begins during daylight hours and ends around ten or eleven, and it's entirely customary for Helicians to meet with each other after work. The divide between work and private life is, in that, minimal, and bonds between colleagues can often be much deeper than bonds between familial relations.
-the pokégym, like a black slash across those smooth ivory walls.
-And it isn't just dark in here - it's pitch black. It's nothing one particularly wants to enter further
+As such, stemming from the combination of factors, not to beat around the bush, Helicians are known for a xenophobic bend. Anyone not part of their extended social circle is met with doubt and mistrust. Violence, however, is practically unheard of - the way //Helix Shrine// deals with troublemakers is to excise them from society, and it's quite harrowing to see how effectively people can be marginalised by a group in as minimal agreement as Nightclaw inhabitants.
-into - the sparse light filtering in from the Helix does nothing to make the texture of the ground or
-walls any more palpable. It's like a huge, inky void.
+Helicians value their individuality. Peer pressure, despite the social fabric, is almost unheard of, outside of the 'hallmarks of civilisation' - the 'consensuality and territory' ethic of Sehtoan culture reigns supreme here and is extremely intense.
+It's safe to say that Helicians consider themselves better people than those of the more rural areas of Sehto (and a little bit better than the rest of Nightclaw), though - so far - the attitude isn't poisonous enough that they're resented as arrogant twits.
+In short, strangers can expect little help from Helicians, short of being victim of some form of assault - civil courage is wide-spread enough that such a thing would prompt a heroic response. Lying in the street dying of starvation, however, is unlikely to prompt much empathy.
+==== Valcee Suburbs (North) Subculture ====
+The Valcee people take themselves considerably less seriously than the Helicians do, but inherit many of their traits. Specifically, the noctural nature - while not quite as extreme as with //Helix Shrine// - carries over, as does the lack of biological bonds and a strong belief in the 'typically Sehtoan' base ethic. However, they're less prone to considering themselves superior to their fellow Sehtoans and to strangers, and while they'd also regard a stranger sceptically, they're considerably more prone to helping those they don't know.
+==== West Subculture ====
+The west of Nightclaw is even more fragmented, culturally, than Nightclaw as a whole, owing to its history as the focus of Nightclaw's initial expansion and then never quite growing out of that. Western Nightclaw is the place in Sehto where most people from outside Sehto settle, including those of Johto and Kanto. How you'll be treated as a stranger when passing through here varies so greatly from individual to individual that it's best to assume nothing but the basic ethical premise of Sehto as a whole.
+One thing is for sure, though: Western Nightclaw is the most battle-prone pokémon trainer friendly area of Sehto, owing to its (small but nonetheless significant) population of Johto and Kanto immigrants.
+==== Southwest Subculture ====
+The south-west of Nightclaw can be said to have a bitter but passive rivalry with the //Helix Shrine// and despite considering them rather kooky is prone to much of the same trappings, most notably the xenophobic/indifferent bent. Generally, Nightclaw's south-west is the first obvious sign of a north/south divide inherent to Nightclaw's sprawl, where those further in the north are considerably happier on average than those in the south, and the levels of bitterness increase the further you travel away from [[place:Valcee Cave]].
+The Southwesteners are prone not to help any strangers less out of advertised mistrust and simply out of //principle//, bitterly believing that anyone who needs their help should first earn it.
+==== South Subculture ====
+Much of the south of Nightclaw possesses a stubborn pride and want to disassociate with the rest of Nightclaw, considering themselves quite a different people. Unsurprisingly, they're not, and can be said to have much the same subculture as the Southwest, perhaps in a slightly milder - but no less bitter (on the contrary) - manner. As such, they're definitely //not// prone to dealing well with people who starve on the street and will intervene, albeit begrudgingly, and likely to blame their fellow humans beings for the state of the poor sap.
+They're almost superstitiously wary of battle-prone pokémon trainers, to the point where even regular pokémon trainers receive some token mistrust, and of all Nightclaw subcultures, are the one most prone to violence - still not very much of it, but threats are easily spoken, and once they have been, tend to be followed through. Trying to be stubborn with a Nightclaw Southerner is can easily result in a not so friendly punch in the face - be that from ladies or men.
+===== Political landscape =====
+Nightclaw is one of the few places in Sehto that are large enough to be said to have a political landscape. The [[place:Nightclaw:Helix Tower]] is considered a political hotspot, despite really only containing the PokéGym, and the further away from it people in Nightclaw live, the more it feels like a castle fortress for the gym leader, seeing as Nightclaw is too large for all people to know [[character:Naomi Charna]] or her predecessors personally. Instead, Nightclaw is known for a strong police force presence, especially in the southern parts of the city, consisting of people reporting either directly to the gym leader or someone that does. Despite the inherent deep mistrust toward them, corruption amongst them is actually minimal, and they're made up of people who genuinely want to help keep the city together.
+===== Charity =====
+Charity in the classical sense is effectively absent from Nightclaw. The //Valcee Suburbs// have a slight presence of social charities, but the rest of Nightclaw bases their kindness entirely on personal bonds. The fact that they have many of those and they don't commonly fall apart at the drop of a hat makes for an effective social web... for those that are in it. Strangers need to settle and //work// to actually be accepted into the culture, which hinges regrettably on the fact that work is not easily found in Nightclaw unless you're actually a part of the culture. Fortunately, it's not impossible, and Nightclaw is //still// a place that continues to grow from a somewhat steady (if thin) stream of immigrants.
+===== Descriptions from Sessions =====
+Collected from [[plot:Arsaga]]:
-As the other three enter, hovering near the door, peering into the darkness, a sudden light spawns not
+Nightclaw is like a strange, multi-facetted gem sat into Sehto's landscape, at least during the nighttime that gave it its name. From the highest platform of the seashore tower, it pulsates quietly below, like a melody of light, subtle, in waves, like the iridescence of sea shells.
-far from them. It's a spherical ball, set upon something conical, like a torch, except that the bottom
-tip of the cone grows from the ground, [emitting a warm glow].
-The arena was huge, that much was clear - but that had left little place for the area of residence in
+It had been day when they got here, the sun casting its light onto a landscape of glass and steel that initially looked uninspiring and uninspired. But as dusk crept in noticeably from Vereheq - or so our traveller's new theory, or rather, superstition - the city came to life with a light that seemed almost mesmerising from below already. And this tower, functioning as so many things at once, has proven an excellent place for looking down at the artwork below.
-the background, and it was a strange, crescent-shaped area, mostly spartanically designed, with the
-coolness of the city. Fortunately, though the light there is mostly dim, Naomi doesn't seem to live
-in darkness in her spare time, so there was at least //some// shred of normality there...
-Nikki'd been quick to ask Naomi about wildlife in the area - but apparently, the beach is bleak at
+Nikki'd been quick to ask Naomi about wildlife in the area - but apparently, the beach is bleak at best and devoid of life at worst. Still, the prospect of potential pokémon made for at least something of an allure... and the beach with its black, jagged rocks and thinnest strips of white sand had its own allure, so perhaps Nikki was going to head there today.
-best and devoid of life at worst. Still, the prospect of potential pokémon made for at least
-something of an allure... and the beach with its black, jagged rocks and thinnest strips of white
-sand had its own allure, so perhaps Nikki was going to head there today.
-The rocks are //huge//, nothing like one would expect boulders worn by the endless gnawing of the sea
+The rocks are //huge//, nothing like one would expect boulders worn by the endless gnawing of the sea to look like, like massive shards of some godly, black vase, scattered across the white sand, nearly completely obscuring it. It's awkward to walk along these slopes, their expanse mindbogglingly unusual, though not grotesque. The wind tugs at their clothes, but it's merely a stiff breeze, and while the sun's not out on this cloudy day, the temperature is certainly bearable.
-to look like, like massive shards of some godly, black vase, scattered across the white sand, nearly
-completely obscuring it. It's awkward to walk along these slopes, their expanse mindbogglingly
-unusual, though not grotesque. The wind tugs at their clothes, but it's merely a stiff breeze, and
-while the sun's not out on this cloudy day, the temperature is certainly bearable.
-And, of course, Flash lights up the room [in the pokégym], exploding through the darkness and forcing
+{{tag>[comprehensive]}}
-it aside - and reveals a strange, but fortunately mostly simple room, tiled, with some of the same
-padded... so that's why the jumps had been so silent. More interesting are the platforms suspended
-from the ceiling, at size of one tile each, one square metre each, at different elevations, all
-softened, too. Even without the benefit of quiet landings making locating impossible, this setup
-was... different.