Post by LINDSAY on Jan 12, 2012 18:14:09 GMT -5
MUNISING, UPPER PENINSULA, MICHIGAN
present day
People go to descriminate places to escape the harshness the world. Perhaps it is the flow of the river that washes away the condescending, insolent attitudes that the cold city holds on to so religiously.
Out here, the only real religion is the forest and Superior-- sunlight that feeds the leaves and the soil that feeds the roots; water that licks the coast and chills the bones with a crisp iciness.
And, naturally, the people that keep it interesting.
A roleplay based off of the cities of Marquette and Munising, Michigan, Marquette is a college town unlike any other. Munising is slightly more eastward, but it's much more remote -- Marquette is where the town and tourists are. is located on the north coast of the Upper Peninsula, Michigan, and has heavy Finnish, German, Scandanavian, French Canadian and Native American influences (Ojibwe in the northern half of the Peninsula, Menominee in the southern half). The language you hear on the streets is rather unique to the area -- many have the distinctive "yooper" accent. "Eh" and removing various letters from words is common; those with this accent make almost everything sounds abbreviated, and to those not familiar with the accent, hard to understand. Munising is also famous for its glass bottom boat Shipwreck Tours of Lake Superior.
Both cities feed off of plentiful tourism that the summer months bring, when its population can jump from 4,000 residents to as many as 10,000. Hiking, kayaking and canoeing the infamous seacaves of Superior, glass-bottom boat tours, exploring the adjacent islands. Further still are activities like fishing, hiking, and soaking in the great beauty that this area has to offer. Great fishing and hunting, beautiful scenery, gorgeous sunrises and beaches; not to mention electic shoppes; and for the nature lover, there's always a new secret nook waiting to be discovered in the forests. It's the ultimate vacation for many. A paradise, really.
Though it seems utopic, Some are just not cut out for this life on the great Lake Superior. Aside from the main cities of Marquette and Munising, where the nearby colleges are located, there is nothing. There is shoreline, beaches, forest, rocky outcroppings, shelfs of sandstone cliffside -- and then, nothing. The houses, miles apart, are engulfed by forest all around, with the occasional, tiny resort cabin here or there. Once you're out in the real U.P. (Upper Peninsula) country, you are enveloped by the sense that you are truly, utterly alone.
And yet, it is comforting.
The summers are warm, supplemented by the breeze off the lake, and the falls are cool and chilling. The land slips into a bitter, harsh winter that welcomes several feet of snow and thick ice blanketing the lakes each season. Spring barely struggles to surface its warmth around May, only to spring back to life in summer. It is a hard life, with many people requiring two jobs or more just to survive. Many still have wood stoves and bike across town. In fact, bikes are quite common, especially with college folk. But people are willing to live this life because it frees them from the strains of the life that so many are willing to live. Many of the inhabitants have lived here their entire lives, flies stuck in a flytrap -- yet, willingly so. A large number, however, are also college students, hoping to find new life and liberation in the limitless horizon and the big skies. It seems as though a new population of young people embark on Viridian each year, searching for themselves, their purpose.
There are your artists that paint by the sunrise, of which there are plenty. Scientists, English majors, and mathemeticians that got stuck on the "flytrap" out of college. Musicians, strumming on their six-strings on the beach, or to passerby, or in the solitude of the woods. The crazy gardeners and knitters that hermit themselves in their houses, the only sign of their existence being their flourishing gardens. The god-fearing families that attend the small church every Sunday. Those that are more spiritual than anything else. The gossiping women that somehow spread the "he-said-she-said". And then there are those that you hardly see other than out in the woods or in the brew (local slang for the numerous breweries to be found around the area, each with their own distinctive ales). There are festivals for nearly any occasion; art, music, beer, seasonal; all of which are quite popular and draw quite the crowds.
But, they are reasonable folk. Lovers, not fighters. But then again, there's a first time for everything.
Come for the serenity; perhaps come to fulfill your education, and receive some education of a more soul-searching variety along the way. Come to retire. Live your life. It's a free world out here, and no one's standing in the way. Just remember: you can never escape the world completely. the hawks are always waiting. The terrifying reality of Viridian is that, if you're want to fly, you can soar; if you've lost it all, the hawks will find you.
But at the heart of it all lies one question: we all got to this utopia somehow. But the funny thing about utopia, is that it never truly exists. Perception is the spice of life. We all have a story. For many, this is home. For some, it's passing through. Why are you here?
If you play by your hour, it's where you begin, not where you will end.
present day
People go to descriminate places to escape the harshness the world. Perhaps it is the flow of the river that washes away the condescending, insolent attitudes that the cold city holds on to so religiously.
Out here, the only real religion is the forest and Superior-- sunlight that feeds the leaves and the soil that feeds the roots; water that licks the coast and chills the bones with a crisp iciness.
And, naturally, the people that keep it interesting.
A roleplay based off of the cities of Marquette and Munising, Michigan, Marquette is a college town unlike any other. Munising is slightly more eastward, but it's much more remote -- Marquette is where the town and tourists are. is located on the north coast of the Upper Peninsula, Michigan, and has heavy Finnish, German, Scandanavian, French Canadian and Native American influences (Ojibwe in the northern half of the Peninsula, Menominee in the southern half). The language you hear on the streets is rather unique to the area -- many have the distinctive "yooper" accent. "Eh" and removing various letters from words is common; those with this accent make almost everything sounds abbreviated, and to those not familiar with the accent, hard to understand. Munising is also famous for its glass bottom boat Shipwreck Tours of Lake Superior.
Both cities feed off of plentiful tourism that the summer months bring, when its population can jump from 4,000 residents to as many as 10,000. Hiking, kayaking and canoeing the infamous seacaves of Superior, glass-bottom boat tours, exploring the adjacent islands. Further still are activities like fishing, hiking, and soaking in the great beauty that this area has to offer. Great fishing and hunting, beautiful scenery, gorgeous sunrises and beaches; not to mention electic shoppes; and for the nature lover, there's always a new secret nook waiting to be discovered in the forests. It's the ultimate vacation for many. A paradise, really.
Though it seems utopic, Some are just not cut out for this life on the great Lake Superior. Aside from the main cities of Marquette and Munising, where the nearby colleges are located, there is nothing. There is shoreline, beaches, forest, rocky outcroppings, shelfs of sandstone cliffside -- and then, nothing. The houses, miles apart, are engulfed by forest all around, with the occasional, tiny resort cabin here or there. Once you're out in the real U.P. (Upper Peninsula) country, you are enveloped by the sense that you are truly, utterly alone.
And yet, it is comforting.
The summers are warm, supplemented by the breeze off the lake, and the falls are cool and chilling. The land slips into a bitter, harsh winter that welcomes several feet of snow and thick ice blanketing the lakes each season. Spring barely struggles to surface its warmth around May, only to spring back to life in summer. It is a hard life, with many people requiring two jobs or more just to survive. Many still have wood stoves and bike across town. In fact, bikes are quite common, especially with college folk. But people are willing to live this life because it frees them from the strains of the life that so many are willing to live. Many of the inhabitants have lived here their entire lives, flies stuck in a flytrap -- yet, willingly so. A large number, however, are also college students, hoping to find new life and liberation in the limitless horizon and the big skies. It seems as though a new population of young people embark on Viridian each year, searching for themselves, their purpose.
There are your artists that paint by the sunrise, of which there are plenty. Scientists, English majors, and mathemeticians that got stuck on the "flytrap" out of college. Musicians, strumming on their six-strings on the beach, or to passerby, or in the solitude of the woods. The crazy gardeners and knitters that hermit themselves in their houses, the only sign of their existence being their flourishing gardens. The god-fearing families that attend the small church every Sunday. Those that are more spiritual than anything else. The gossiping women that somehow spread the "he-said-she-said". And then there are those that you hardly see other than out in the woods or in the brew (local slang for the numerous breweries to be found around the area, each with their own distinctive ales). There are festivals for nearly any occasion; art, music, beer, seasonal; all of which are quite popular and draw quite the crowds.
But, they are reasonable folk. Lovers, not fighters. But then again, there's a first time for everything.
Come for the serenity; perhaps come to fulfill your education, and receive some education of a more soul-searching variety along the way. Come to retire. Live your life. It's a free world out here, and no one's standing in the way. Just remember: you can never escape the world completely. the hawks are always waiting. The terrifying reality of Viridian is that, if you're want to fly, you can soar; if you've lost it all, the hawks will find you.
But at the heart of it all lies one question: we all got to this utopia somehow. But the funny thing about utopia, is that it never truly exists. Perception is the spice of life. We all have a story. For many, this is home. For some, it's passing through. Why are you here?
If you play by your hour, it's where you begin, not where you will end.