#manorpunk

ohohoho I’m gonna go on some tangents here because I have thought a LOT about “what if manorpunk/SMGF was Disco Elysium”

(to clarify: ‘Manorpunk’ is the name of the overall setting with Sunny Roosevelt and Usonia and the Global Logistics Network, and ‘Swordmaster Girlfailure’ is a story within that setting because I’m building a BRAND baby!)

So, the skills. They’re great, right? It is known. They’re funny and poignant and memorable. But part of what makes them so good is that they’re *deliberate.* They exist the way that they do as a reflection of Harry’s self-perception being shattered into dozens of pieces because he’s depressed and heartbroken and waking up from a failed attempt to take his own life. A lot of DE is like that: the themes of fracturing and the weight of history run through every level, from the history of all of Revachol down to the history of Harry’s love life. So to me, “DE but Manorpunk” wouldn’t be just “Disco Elysium skill system but change some of the skills and put it in the Manorpunk setting” but rather “a skill system which resonates with the broader themes of the story.” So with that in mind, let me tell you about:

Heaven is Falling: The CRPG, Maybe?

The basic plot setup: Johnny G. Newsroom, a ranger with the Usonian Union, is investigating the disappearance of an Infrastructure Corps work site on the outskirts of the Protectorate of St. Louis, which is mostly a launching pad for a lot of sidequests. St Louis seems like a compelling setting for a lot of reasons: the iconic Gateway Arch now a symbol of the re-frontierization of the former US; the blending of Southern and Midwestern culture; the stark and un-ignorable class and ethnic divisions; the reputation as the “city of neighborhoods” making it feel diverse and vibrant but in an isolated and almost paranoid way, like a Balkan vassal state. The Cardinals are a major source of political legitimacy now, where if you want a career in politics you basically have to be involved with them because they’re the only local figures who are seen as transcending petty local politics while also representing/embodying St. Louis.

(The Johnny here may or may not sound like the Johnny in SMGF; this would probably be a prequel to explain why the Johnny in SMGF is still terse and unsentimental but substantially more chill.)

The intended feeling I want with Johnny’s character arc is that at first he seems like a default and ‘relatable everyman,’ but as you play the game and hear more from him, it’s increasingly clear that he’s someone who has deliberately tried to strip himself of wants and needs and personality traits. He’s like an inverted Holden Caulfield. He’d always been told that he needs to grow up, be mature, and take things seriously. So he did. And once he set aside childish things and became a serious grown-up, he looked around himself and said “wait a minute, I’m surrounded by fucking children.” He thinks he’s trapped: he fell for the polite lie of a meritocratic society, and now it’s already ‘too late’ for him because it’s all he knows how to do and he’s too scared to try and break out of it.

So Johnny’s equivalent of ‘main attributes’ would be a variety of outdated stereotypes of American masculinity:

Johnny Law: The cowboy-sheriff, stoic and independent. Responsible for ‘physical’ skills like endurance and pain tolerance, as well as survival skills like animal handling and botany. The Neo-West is a harsh place, no place for weakness or cowardice. You gotta be tough to survive. Tough and distrustful and maybe even a little stupid. It’s simple: there are good guys with white hats and bad guys with black hats and there are no unfortunate implications to this metaphor. And if someone isn’t wearing a hat, well, it’s probably best to assume they’re evil, just in case. After all, how can you trust someone who doesn’t even have a hat?

Newsroom, P.I.: The private eye, sharp, introspective, and fatalistic. Responsible for ‘intellect’ skills like logic and investigation. The mean streets of current location will chew up a bleeding heart like yours and spit it out. And then ash a cigar on its remains. Maybe even piss on it a little. Sure, he’d LIKE to help make the world a better place for all the downtrodden little guys, but he knows the powers that be, how vast and implacable they are, so you may as well give up in advance before you get yourself hurt.

Sarge: The soldier. Irascible, bitter, and protective. Responsible for ‘motorics’ skills like reflexes and hand-eye coordination. He knows that war is hell, but goddammit, he’s going to get our boys back, whoever the hell “our boys” are, if he has to die trying. Does anyone have a suicide mission for him? Someone give him a goddamn suicide mission right fucking now!

Father John: The reverend. Bombastic and passionate. Responsible for ‘psyche’/’spirit’ skills like empathy and insight. All the other guys in here, they’re closed off. They’ve become shells of themselves. They refuse to understand their inner selves. But not Father John. Father John is kind and compassionate. Father John has a strong moral compass. Father John will listen to you. And that’s why you’ll always come crawling back.

Coach J: The football coach. Dedicated and encouraging. Responsible for ‘morale’ skills like willpower and leadership. Seemingly friendly and avuncular, but god help you if you get in the way of his competitive streak. All your other selves had better knock it off with all that quitter talk and get their head in the game. You gotta hustle for sports. You gotta give 110%. Whatever you’re doing right now is the only thing that has ever mattered and the only thing that will ever matter, and you’re going to win it. Even if the dice are loaded, even if the deck is stacked against you, even if the task is not in any way a competitive measure of skill, you’re going to bring that trophy home!

And that’s pretty much what I’ve got, I’ve still been trying to figure out who Johnny’s companion would be, if it would be one people or multiple, etc. Not to mention the actual plot lol. But it’s been fun to think about.

So I really liked this idea and, well...

SOTU 206X: New Patch Just Dropped! Texarkana Rework? Buffs for New England? #NEWMETA

Faction 1: Global Logistics Network Strauss-Howe cycle (I wasn’t deliberately going for a Strauss-Howe thing but I realized it coincidentally maps really well to the factions): Prophet. Austere lawgivers, obsessed with organization and self-discipline. Underpinnings: “People take modernity for granted. They don’t realize how much effort it takes to keep the lights on, the taps flowing, and the trucks moving - and the second it stops, people start dying.” Where they get weird with it: “Which is why our upper echelons must studiously dehumanize ourselves and embrace a Dark Corporate Wellness culture to transcend petty human obsessions like checks notes 'community' and 'happiness.' It’s just rational.” Supporters say: “We are the adults in the room. We’re the people who kept global trade from collapsing entirely after the USA’s arrogant incompetence. We understand the goddamn assignment.” Detractors say: “Imagine if Amazon and Huawei had a baby and raised it in a military boarding school. And then taught it about Calvinism.”

Faction 2: Usonian Union Strauss-Howe cycle: Hero. Civic-minded, collaborative, and optimistic. Underpinnings: “We have to thread a very delicate needle, because we kinda have to position ourselves as the successors to the USA but we also don’t really want to remind everyone that we’re the successors to the empire that got so drunk with power that they started declaring wars just for funsies.” Where they get weird with it: “So to thread that needle we’ve created a psychosexual cult of personality around an anime girl vtuber.” Supporters say: “We brought back peace and stability. No, seriously, did you guys already forget that ten years ago half of the continent was engulfed in border disputes and anarchy and now that's not happening anymore? Like I think we deserve at least a little credit for that." Detractors say: “They’re the simps who think they’re paragons of civic duty for buying body pillows and playing state-sponsored gacha games.”

In any case, history does seem to have certain running gags and recurring character tropes that it's fond of, and one of those running gags are "people trying to conquer mountainous areas and failing spectacularly." To say mountainous terrain favors the defender is a bit like saying the surface of the sun is a bit warm. The people who live on the mountain will be intimately familiar with the local terrain, knowing every potential choke point and ambush spot. And at the risk of getting a little Jared Diamond-ey about it, mountain cultures are also quite often oriented around self-defense and autonomy, possibly owing to trends in politics and geography: mountains make for convenient geographical borders and natural defenses, which means they are likely to be the periphery of an empire, an existence begrudgingly permitted by a distant emperor who knows that the cost to invade and occupy them would far outweigh the benefits, but who is also capable of changing his mind at any time, and that tends to make people prepare for the worst, especially if religious differences are involved as well. It's why Afghanistan is known as the "graveyard of empires," why Vietnam has resisted Chinese occupation for millennia, why the Swiss cantons have enjoyed great autonomy for most of their recorded history, and why Korea... actually let's not worry about Korea.

Instead, we should worry about the goddamn Mormons. It wasn't much of a surprise when the Utah state government declared independence during the Polycrisis and gave the whole "Deseret" thing another shot back in 204X, but they've kept at it for 2X years now, and some folks are starting to get a little worried. Not too worried, of course - the Californians take their eastern border seriously, and if Deseret tries to expand into the great plains instead they'll run into the Sovereign Ranchers: hundreds of ranches and estates, each one its own independent micro-nation, full of people who think gun battles are a great way to spend a weekend.

I went into this like “okay I DON’T want this to turn into a romance between Johnny and anon” but it keeps happeninggg. they do make a good pair, but realistically I think it would go something like

Johnny: “I am 10-15 years older than you and also your direct supervisor, this relationship would be one big red flag.“

anon: “nobody said anything about a relationship, we could just make out sloppy style”

Johnny: aren’t you interested in girls anyway”

anon: “omg you’ve been listening and paying attention to me… you care about me… you want me to be safe and happy… that’s so sweet… :’)”

Johnny: “okay I get the impression that you’ve been so isolated and sad that as soon as you receive any kind of positive attention you confuse it with romantic interest.”

anon: “what is WRONG with you, I tell you that I want to go sloppy style on you and you start psychoanalyzing me?”

Johnny: “what’s wrong with me is-“

anon: “heh heh anal-ize”

Johnny: “what’s wrong with me is that I wanted to work for the GLN when I was younger so I became a master at repressing myself and my own wants and needs, but I wasn’t able to make it, so I have the lingering unshakable sense of being a failure and can’t stop the habit of repressing my own emotions. spoiler alert.”

anon: “I’m gonna keep it 100% with you chief you are not even that good at repressing yourself.”

Johnny: “yeah…”

anon: “…”