Some things just aren't practical on an airship.

[momebie]

If you mapped out my psychology,
it would look like archeology.

When I look back through my journal it doesn't tell me when I "discovered" steampunk. The first mention of it in the tags is dated the 13th of May, 2008. Nine days later I posted a snippet of silly bandom fic that would have fit into the steampunk genre if I'd ever completed it. From there it's all research and discussion and recs and talk of a novel I may very well one day finish writing with theemdash. (I'm being the slow one. I'm stubborn about Ideas.) To put things bluntly, steampunk ate my soul. And that's where the wind up begins.

Crick.

Steampunk, for those of you who aren't familiar with the term, is a literary and musical genre—as well as a quickly growing subculture—that concerns itself with alternate histories set between the Victorian Era and WWI. In steampunk there's certainly contraptions and brass and clock work gears. There's also gaslight and fog and the smog of the Industrial revolution. But there are other things layered over the coal dust on the goggles, as it were. Steampunk, for me anyway, is about optimism and hope and possibility above all else. It's a spirit of adventure that my life so sorely needed. Still needs. It makes me want to be a better person; a snappier, braver, more intelligent, more self-reliant person.

Crack.

There's a band called Abney Park. They were my first introduction to steampunk music and the idea of 'playing the part' until it became your reality. Captain Robert* sat on a Dragon*Con panel with Cherie Priest**, Stephen H. Segal***, and the Davenport Sisters**** and made it clear to every one of us curious people in the room that to him, steampunk was not a fad. It had become his way of life. If we wanted it to be our way of life, we could make it happen. All it took was some tweaking in our wardrobe and our brains. (And probably a certain amount of pigheadedness, but I have that in spades.) I don't often try to become other people, but I have had to train myself over the years to be the person I am now. I've had to consciously work at being kinder, happier, stronger, and more confident. If it was just a matter of owning what I wanted to be, I could make myself more adventurous as well. He was giving me, all of us, permission. I could take those steps I've been dreading, if only I could work out how to do it.

Creak.

Steampunk, because it teaches us that anything is possible, breeds creativity. A lot of the dress up these days gets flack for the people who merely stitch some brass cogs onto jackets and think they've got it, but there is some real genius lurking about the community. You've probably heard of Jake von Slatt of The Steampunk Workshop. He and the other contributors to the site spend their time adding a bit of alternate history beauty to real world applications. Tom Sepe's steampunk motorcycle is a thing of personal joy for me. And there's always the brilliance of Les Machines de L'Ile. The inventors and artists in the steampunk community show us that things don't have to be perfect and clean and rounded off at the edges to be beautiful. We can make beauty out of anything we want if we show it a little love. To me that means that I don't have to be perfect either. I don't have to fit into an iPod shaped hole with perfect curves and straight lines. And if I don't let fear of the imperfect limit me, out of my imperfections I might create something that's amazing.

Twang.

So really, steampunk ate my soul because steampunk is my hope for my future self. It's filled up all of the cracks in me that I was afraid of polishing up and showing off. It's given me an aesthetic to work toward and a science fiction based literary genre that's based in optimism and creation rather than destruction or cynicism. I love it. I read and I research and I study. I know so much, and yet I'm still a little afraid to participate. There is so much beauty out there that I don't want to mar it with my ridiculous ramblings and my inability to draw or write songs that make sense or build fantastic machines. I don't want to dress up an empty shell, glue some cogs to my head, and be the fashionable new thing for a while. I want to be the real thing, for life. But that's the next step. That's the thing I'm working toward and winding myself up to be. Like the Tin Man, I've always had a heart of brass. I just haven't had the courage to tap into it. I've done enough reading. It's time to stick my toe in the community and see who I can let myself become.

* Captain Robert (robert_from_ap) is the singer for the band Abney Park.
** Cherie Priest (cmpriest) is the author of Boneshaker, as well as other Clockwork Century works.
*** Stephen H. Segal was the editor-in-chief for Weird Tales magazine at the time I first saw him. He is now an editor at Quirk Books.
**** The Davenport Sisters run the Clockwork Cabaret podcast. (clockwrkcabaret)

This entry was written for Topic 1: Winding Up at therealljidol.

Comments

[team-jessie.livejournal.com]

I, myself, am just now discovering steampumk. So I'll use this as a bit of an introduction to the genre. :)

[amomentarythot.livejournal.com]

You would love this steampunk inspired house (http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/boston/house-tours/bruce-melanies-steampunk-victorian-house-tour-128693)!

I've never, ever been a part of any fandom, but if I had to choose one, it would probably be steampunk. The juxtaposition of Industrial Revolution plus optimism and the creativity, not to mention the costumes, fascinates me to no end. I'm just too chicken to actually do it, I guess *shrug*

[brilliant-snark.livejournal.com]

STEAMPUNK. I heart it. I have a whole sketchpad full of steampunk clothing designs I could make work-acceptable...but that requires time and money to make it all. :P My first belly dance solo was to an Abney Park song. :)

[matthewbowers.livejournal.com]

This is a lovely post!

I went to a steampunk-themed wedding reception once. I wore a suit and welding goggles. That's the extent of my knowledge and experience, but I love the way you describe it here. It's a neat aesthetic, but I'd never thought about it in any other terms before. Thanks for this!

[majesticarky.livejournal.com]

Nice. I really like Steampunk, especially the fashions. I haven't read any steampunk novels. I'm sure they exist somewhere, but I've watched some anime. I consider "Exile Saga" Steampunk and it was amazing!

[theemdash]

Word. ♥

[m-malcontent.livejournal.com]

Cool topic. I hope to see some steampunk fiction here if the prompts allow.

[yachiru]

I like! Steampunk is getting more popular now and I think it's because of people like you who can articulate just how cool it is.

>_> I'm still bitter about Cyberpunk. It needs to come back dammnit.

[lilycobalt.livejournal.com]

This was great! I honestly never really understood steampunk, but reading about what it means to you makes me think about taking a second look at it. I liked the part when you talked about how it shows that you don't have to be perfect to be beautiful.

[baxaphobia.livejournal.com]

I've heard the term but never really knew. It's still as clear as muc but your explanation makes me want to read more. Nicely done.

[antianhedonia.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting about this because I've been hearing about steampunk nonstop for a month or two and I'd been dying to hear more about it, and more detailed.

[heeroluva.livejournal.com]

I love steampunk. I wish there was more interest in it.

[brilligspoons.livejournal.com]

HAY KL HAAAAAAAY

That is all. /drive-by

[imafarmgirl.livejournal.com]

This is interesting. I've never heard of steampunk before.

[sra33.livejournal.com]

Hmm.... I've head of steampunk... in passing... nothing in particular. Never listened to it before, tho. I kinda like it. ^^

[abstruse-fangrl.livejournal.com]

Steampunk holds a special place in my heart. If I see a novel described as Steampunk or a band or a short film, I'm so there.

It's always there, somewhere on my radar. I love that you see it as analogy for acceptance of yourself and this untapped well of potential within you.

[tentaclecore]

♥__♥

STEAMPUNK!!!

I adore steampunk. And clockpunk. And cyberpunk, techpunk, anypunk-at-all. So, yanno. This post feeds my soul. *draws hearts all around you and it*

[lawchicky.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing this- I learned a lot. I'd heard of steampunk before, but I didn't know much about it.

[barrelofrain.livejournal.com]

I love the way you describe what steampunk is (after "Crick.")

Neat.

[mstrobel.livejournal.com]

Just the word steampunk is enough to make me glee! I adored this :) I'm not very knowledgeable about it, but just the basic idea always makes me so happy when I'm reading a book or what have you.

[locknkey.livejournal.com]

Very interesting and a nice reveal of the you that you want to be. :)

[dreamwriteremmy]

'nother steampunk newb over here. Mostly right now we just collect keys in our steampunk collection (because funds are low and keys are fun and easy to hang onto. (Also much Abney Park love, though there's a deeper fascination with their darker songs for us -- things like Breathe and The Wrong Side because they just scream "dhampir" at us...that's probably a story for another day though lol).

-Dreamers

[walkertxkitty.livejournal.com]

I'd always been interested in steampunk and write avidly in the genre but never knew it had a name until recently. Now I've joined a few communities --- more's the pity, there don't seem to be any real active and friendly groups around here --- and have tried my hand at making some of the jewelry. My Christmas present is to be a steampunk'd gaming desktop.

If you haven't already, you really ought to post this explanation elsewhere because it's one of the clearest descriptions of the genre I've ever seen.