Gears and Goggles

People like to dress up and use the aesthetic because they enjoy it, and as of yet there is no other word (to my knowledge) for the aesthetic side of it.

Also, steampunk has a lot of branches/derivatives as well. In dieselpunk, the focus is on limited resources and the futility of fossil fuels (think of the video game Frostpunk). Atompunk is all about humanity’s doomed obsession with nuclear energy and weaponry (the entire Fallout series). Stitchpunk is just meant to be pretty plainly creepy and dark, bridging the old-fashioned with the modern to create Things That Should Not For The Love of God Exist (Coraline, 9, Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands) in the eyes of society and then going on to either use that instinctual revulsion as a symbol of evil or to smash down the consumer’s prejudices about the character/item.

steampunk borrows imperial aesthetics, and that’s a shame, but it’s specifically a romantic escape from the new millennium’s minimalism and consumerism, as well as an interrogation of the class divides any imperial power maintains within itself and the nature of consumption itself.  people, machines, money, dreams. 

there’s a reason gears became the central symbol of the genre, aside from looking cool: we wanted authentic interiority, as everything around us turned digital. we wanted authenticity. we wanted machines we could take apart and touch, and we wanted beauty. we wanted machines made of iron and wood that you could fix with a wrench, lush costumes with layers of embroidery, the promise of freedom and adventure on your airship while you looked dope as shit in your fancy corset. 

I recommend watching the documentary “vintage tomorrows” about steampunk and what makes it punk.

People like to dress up and use the aesthetic because they enjoy it, and as of yet there is no other word (to my knowledge) for the aesthetic side of it.

Also, steampunk has a lot of branches/derivatives as well. In dieselpunk, the focus is on limited resources and the futility of fossil fuels (think of the video game Frostpunk). Atompunk is all about humanity’s doomed obsession with nuclear energy and weaponry (the entire Fallout series). Stitchpunk is just meant to be pretty plainly creepy and dark, bridging the old-fashioned with the modern to create Things That Should Not For The Love of God Exist (Coraline, 9, Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands) in the eyes of society and then going on to either use that instinctual revulsion as a symbol of evil or to smash down the consumer’s prejudices about the character/item.

These Little Steampunk Gnomes Are So Adorable

tbh “the Victorians did not go to the trouble of inventing aniline dyes so that we could wear neutrals” mostly covers it?

let’s not forget the tacky patterns, too

oh yeah

oh fuck yeah

also

So I have been working on this small 5e expansion for a few days. It contains 9 new constructs, a new race, a Cleric Domain and 6 magic items/artifacts. I really hope you like it and I tried really hard to make it relatively detailed.

Been largely absent from this blog this year, so of course I figured I’d make it up to you with two extremely long text posts two days in a row. Love you all!

This is the Timepunk/Punk Punk post from 2015 updated for 2018, in a format you can copy/paste, and accessible to screen readers. Added a few more *punks and clarified a few more definitions. (Feel free to message me if you know of a *punk not on the list.)

Timepunk: Advanced technologies develop in a historical (or future) period, which changes the associated society, fashion, and magic. TVTropes explanation: Either exchanges the basic technology for that of another historical period or mixes in another genre.

These are not definitions or in-depth in any way. I describe each with associations and imagery, as I’ve found these to be useful shorthand for explaining to strangers and newbies. I tried to make sure each punk had more than one discussion or labeled work online (otherwise the list would expand to include every silly discussion thread on the internet).

Note: none of these have much to do with 1960s-70s Punk music culture, other than some possible overlapping anti-authoritarian themes. These genres are derivatives of steampunk, which arose from cyberpunk.

stonepunk: Prehistoric, Neolithic, Stone Age

bronzepunk: Bronze Age, Ancient Egyptian, Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Mediterranean

sandalpunk, classicpunk, ironpunk, togapunk: Iron Age, Classical antiquity, Greece, Roman Empire, Atlantis, Antikythera mechanism

biblepunk: Biblical Middle East, emphasizes adventure over morality

middlepunk, dungeonpunk, candlepunk, plaguepunk, castlepunk: Medieval European, medieval fantasy, Black Death

dragonpunk, vikingpunk, wizardpunk: high fantasy, medieval fantasy, Tolkien, wizards, Vikings

clockpunk: Renaissance, early Baroque, Leonardo Da Vinci, Galileo

bardpunk: Shakespeare sci-fi

rococopunk, lacepunk: Baroque, Rococo, Colonial, Marie Antoinette, American Revolution, New Romantics

rococoa: rococopunk based on black history, Assassin’s Creed Liberation

piratepunk: Golden Age of Piracy, Age of Sail, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag

steampunk: Regency, Victorian, Edwardian, Art Nouveau, Industrial Revolution, Jules Verne, HG Wells

steampulp, gaslamp fantasy: steampunk focused on fantasy/adventure/romance over science fiction

steamfunk: steampunk based on black history, sometimes combined with 1970s funk aesthetics

steamgoth, dreadpunk: period gothic, supernatural, horror, Penny Dreadful

dustpunk, cattlepunk, Weird West: North American cowboy, American Indian, Wild West

Amishpunk: giant wooden robots?

gauchopunk: South American cowboy

slavicpunk: Eastern Europe, rural/pagan/mystical themes

teslapunk: steampunk focused on electricity, free energy, Nikola Tesla

nerfpunk: steampunk in bright Nerf gun colors

stitchpunk: rag doll steampunk

fairypunk: steampunk fairy tales

decopunk, flapperpunk: Roaring Twenties, Jazz Age, Art Deco, Prohibition, flappers, gangsters

dieselpunk: World War I & II, London Blitz, tank/sub warfare, bomber planes, military, noir

dieselfunk: dieselpunk based on black history

Blitzpunk, Nazipunk: dieselpunk focused on Nazis as super-villains, alternate Nazi-ruled history

atompunk: Atomic Age, Space Age, pulp, raygun gothic, Fallout

transistorpunk, psychedelipunk, weedpunk: Cold War, Vietnam War, psychedelic drugs, disco, Space Race, James Bond, Philip K. Dick

spacepunk: space opera, space exploration, sword and space, futuristic utopia, Ziggy Stardust, Star Trek

Cassette Futurism, formicapunk: late 20th century analog technology, VHS, cassettes, primitive digital, 8-bit, no internet or cellphones, The Fifth Element, Max Headroom

gothicpunk, cybernoir: post-modern, dystopian, goth and punk fusion, old World of Darkness, The Crow

cyberpunk: cyberspace, cyborgs, dystopia, Blade Runner, Neuromancer, the street finds its uses for technology

postcyberpunk, cyberprep: cyberpunk without the assumption of dystopia, Ghost in the Shell

biopunk: cyberpunk focused on genetic engineering and organic technology

nanopunk: cyberpunk focused on nanites and nanotechnology

bugpunk: cyberpunk/biopunk starring bugs

solarpunk: near-future, solar tech, environmentally-friendly tech, neo-Art Nouveau & African, Asian art

post-apocalyptic, apunkalypse, wasteland: survivalist, Mad Max, Burning Man, Fallout, west coast tribal

junkpunk: post-apocalyptic using trash and repurposed scrap for material

Geographic punk: These punks are also about advanced technologies developing in a historical society, but are based on geography and culture rather than time. So the time period and technology can range anywhere from bronzepunk to cyberpunk, though steampunk is often the springboard.

silkpunk: Silk Road, classical Chinese antiquity, Ken Liu

bamboopunk, ricepunk: East and South Asia

jadepunk: East Asia, wuxia, mystical jade tech (sometimes mystical aether tech)

edopunk: Japan

rajpunk: India

SEAsteampunk: Southeast Asia

Environment punk: Advanced technologies in an environment rather than time period. Technology can range from stonepunk to cyberpunk.

desertpunk, sandpunk: survival in a very harsh environment, often post-apocalyptic, neo-Bedouins

oceanpunk: mostly watery/oceanic world, often piratical, One Piece, Water World

skypunk: sister to oceanpunk, the sky is an ocean

Falls outside the timepunk umbrella, but still has punk in the name. Mostly literary and musical:

seapunk: oceanic, aqua, spacey dance music, “Venice Beach Acid Rave 1995”

clownpunk: clowns + punk

wizardpunk: wizard rock, Harry and the Potters

splatterpunk: extreme horror, graphic violence, nihilistic

carniepunk: urban fantasy and horror set in carnivals

mannerpunk: fantasy focusing on elaborate social structure plots

elfpunk: fairies and elves in modern-day settings

mythpunk: myths and folklore through postmodern urban fantasy or science fiction

arcanepunk: fantasy where both magic and science exist

capepunk: superhero fiction deconstructing (or reconstructing) superheroism in a “realistic” manner

feltpunk: humans and muppets live side by side (in a dystopia?), Greg the Bunny, The Muppet Show

dreampunk: overarching meta-punk examining or rewriting history to address oppression, human rights, and environmental issues, or creating new myths to address the same. Employs dream logic. Draws on other *punk genres for material and influence.

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In these trying times of the Tumblocalypse, we gotta stick together.