History Location Concepts Places

Rules Big Names Muses In-Jokes

The following sections is just a resource for anyone seeking details and is NOT required reading. You do NOT really need to know any of this stuff to enjoy or write an SC story. However, there are some recurring themes and people want to have them explained, so I'm going to list as many as I can think of. Again, please don't be confused into thinking that you NEED to know all this to write something. You don't.

History

In real-life terms, Subreality was a one-shot idea spawned in Subreality Hopscotch, which was refined into a finalized concept presented in Somebody Fire My Agent. This was followed closely by Raindrops Keep Falling In My Beer and To Hell With The Fake ID and from there into a pretty amazing run of stories by various authors on ACFF and beyond.

Then the idea was adopted by both part of the round-robin community (then hosted on Mirage & Jelpy's now-defunct GenXForce website) and the newborn chat community...and sorta went mad from there.

In imaginary terms, Subreality has always existed, but has only recently become greatly expanded into a place in its own right by the massive influx of imagination from writers & readers. At first it was mainly populated by fictives (characters) until the Writers moved in en masse; most recently the place has expanded to include a thriving community of muses who, in typical Subreality fashion, have of course always been there. ;) It changes from month to month depending on who's into it, so don't expect any great continuity...

Location

Subreality is not so much a place in and of itself as it is the borderline between Reality and Fantasy, a hazy place where anyone can wind up and anything can happen. It has, however, become a place of its own right as more and more people contribute ideas to flesh it out. The Cafe itself is either a lonely roadhouse in the middle of nowhere or nestled at the heart of "Subreality City" itself depending on which setting you prefer -- it's up to you.

As for adding other new places of your own...have at it. :)

Concepts

• The Angst Squad = A special division of the Subreality PD (see below) whose job it is to crack down on and cure dastardly "angst dealers"...by any means necessary. Even if it involves applying Barney.
• AntiMuse = a creature which does the exact opposite of a muse -- constantly trying to distract a writer from their work! Invented by TangleToy in Pennies From Heaven.
• Back To Basics (BTB) = a Subreality fic focusing solely on characters -- no writers or muses allowed. A challenge issued in late 1999 by Kielle.
• Halloween or the Halloween RR = For Halloween 1998, many of the regulars participated in a round-robin story whose only purpose was to gorily massacre everyone who participated in it...and beyond. It gets mentioned now and then with a shudder -- a sequel was assembled in 1999.
• Muse: a semi-imaginary being which inspires a human being to dream and create. For far more info, read the Muse FAQ.
• Muse Tale = The official designation for any story which focuses on Muses as the main characters.
• Orioles = a certain type of Writer avatar, almost a "club" -- mainly used by several Writers from the ReBoot side.
• SCRR = Subreality Café Round Robin, a different breed of SC story entirely. These are mainly writer-insertion and have attracted their own distinct crowd and something vaguely (but only vaguely) resembling continuity. You can find the board here, and some of the RRs are located at here.
• Subreality PD = Operating from an HQ on the border between Subreality City proper and ShantyTown, this precinct's force consists of volunteer characters from various military/police-oriented comics, shows, and movies. They take their job enforcing law upon the chaos of Subreality very seriously.
• SubReversity = The label for stories which evolved out of the idea of the AlterCafe, a place where everyone's diametric opposites dwell. Your SubReverse self is your exact opposite...good or bad.
• Writer = often capitalized to denote their status in Subreality, a Writer (or writer) is anyone who actively contributes to the tapestry of ideas by writing, filking, etc.
• Writers' powers = Subreality is created and molded by imagination. Therefore, it is subject to the creative abilities of visiting writers (also capitalized as "Writers"). If a Writer can get his/her hands on writing materials of any kind (pen/paper, laptop, etc.) he/she can rewrite their surroundings...including the laws of physics and time. It has been theorized that a Writer doesn't technically need writing materials to do this, but there has to be some kind of parameter or it's all too easy!
• uncreated = a character who has been thought of but never written down or fleshed out in any way, making him/her in essence a mere shade. These characters do not mingle with "real" characters and usually fade away shortly after their conception unless someone writes about them.
• unWritten = a state of being in which a character's writer stops work on his/her story before it's finished. This is a character's worst nightmare, as an unWritten character is essentially a creature whose days are numbered. UnWritten characters can subsist for some time if they still have a reading audience...but when the readers also forget, the character may fade out. See ShantyTown.

Places

Places To Eat/Drink/Party/Meet People:
The AlterCafe Created by Abyss, first fleshed out by Falstaff & Tapestry	Deep down underneath the surface of Subreality lies this bizarre doppleganger of the Café which is populated by the exact opposites of the writers & characters who hang out in the "real" place above. Completely bizarre. Characters of this subgenre are sometimes referred to as "SubReverse."
The AOA Bar & Grill First mentioned by Kielle	A minor hold-out for AOA characters (alternate versions of the standard Marvel canon characters created in a major crossover) -- also frequented by the occasional Elseworlds characters. The upper story, however, has been taken over by X-Force fictives. Don't ask...
The Blue Lounge Created by KBMcDragon Intro'd in The Blue Lounge	Only truly old heroes & hangers-on allowed -- no time travellers, nobody who's been deaged or doesn't age or doesn't look old, period. You gotta be real to get in!
The Bronze Menagerie Created by Ana Lyssie Cotton -- name suggested by Hutch Intro'd in Introductions, Singalongs, And Booze	A fairly classy evening spot for denizens of the fanfic which has sprung up around "Buffy The Vampire Slayer." Writers are welcome only on alternate Saturdays. If you want to party, head over to the Stake House.
Club Concepto Created by Kielle -- also more generically dubbed the Uncreated Café by Geoff Jones	An amorphous, nebulous place on the fringes of Subreality where the UnCreated -- characters who have been dreamed up but not yet actually written -- hang out. Writers and established fictives rarely ever go there, and they certainly don't hang out there.
Club Generica Created by Dyce	THE place to find stock characters -- faceless henchmen, scientists, soldiers, you name it, this is where they wind up waiting for the call to duty like extras in a bar near a movie studio. More individualistic characters are unwelcome.
The Diner Created by Seraph Intro'd in Echoes Of A Lonely Heart	One of the few "safe spots" in Shantytown -- a cozy (if threadbare) little mom-&-pop joint open to any unfortunate seeking directions, advice, a warm meal, or a brief respite from the streets.
The Fried Green Hedgehog Created by Alibi Intro'd in untitled	An out-of-the way spot for original roleplaying characters -- online or traditional, muses and writers welcome. Mary Sues are allowed only under close observation. HAS BEEN DISMANTLED.
Joe's Created by Acetal Intro'd in The End Is The Beginning Is The End	A very exclusive spot, for Archetypes only -- if that doesn't make sense, read the story. :) Writers are good-naturedly tolerated but not encouraged.
The Magic Caverns Cafe Created by Jo Ann Montgomery Intro'd in The Grand Opening	A friendly little spot open only to cartoon/Saturday morning characters and their Writers -- the MCC is kid-friendly, so any swearing will be bleeped out and no alcohol is allowed. But the music is great!
The Mhairie Hut Originally mentioned as Mhairie's House by K.P. Karolina, then recreated as a hotspot by Dex	A cheerful little cesspool of sin just down the road from the Café. We blame Dex for this. For adults and erotica fictives only -- no minors allowed!
The Monster Lounge Created by Lori McDonald Intro'd in The Only Ones Let In Less Than The Writers	For unusual characters that just don't quite fit the "respectable humanoid" bill -- dragons, Broodlings, Living Hills, and the like can schmooze here in comfort without garnering funny looks.
The Sidekicks' Delicatessen Created by Falstaff	A rarely-seen little nook where sidekicks swap stories about their respective bosses. Rife with Robins & Jubilees -- no alcohol is served here.
The Solar Heart Bar Created by D^Knight Intro'd in All Alone And Nowhere To Go	Originally an author's own private nook, this place has been revamped and reopened as a hangout for ReBoot characters; anime characters are tolerated.
The Stake House Created by Ana Lyssie Cotton -- name suggested by Turlock Intro'd in Introductions, Singalongs, And Booze	A gaudy, colorful, loud, and slightly fey restaurant/nightclub for "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" types. If you're looking for something more sedate for a quiet drink, try the Bronze Menagerie a few doors down.
The Subreality Café Created by Kielle	The one and only! Intended for fictives only, but Writers are allowed in on certain nights and under supervision.
The Subreality Dojo & Sake Bar Created by Emby Quinn	Just across the street from the Subreality Café, this combination bar/Anything-Goes workout arena is designed for anime/manga characters.
The Surreality Café Created by Jesse Willey	Ummmm...only Jesse seems to understand this place, where the rules of Subreality are bent into pretzels and nothing makes sense...least of all the talking furniture!
The Sword & Trenchcoat Created by Troll Princess Intro'd in Spice Girls Karaoke Is Punishable By Death	Located through and beneath beneath the largest weeping willow in Subreality if you have the right secret password -- just look for all the Thunderbirds and dusty motorcycles parked around it. For Highlander fictives and writers only!
Taco Hut Created by Jesse Willey but independently mentioned in various forms by others	Call it Burger World, McChicken's, whatever you like -- this is the generic fast-food joint where anyone can stop in for a quick bite to eat without dealing with the madness of the Cafe and its various cousins.
This Time Round Created by Tyler Dion	Almost as busy as the Subreality Café itself, this highly successful spin-off of the SC concept hosts an ever-shifting clientele of Doctor Who characters, including the notorious Psycho Nyssa. Beware! Well, if you're an Adric, anyway. ;)
The TTPCTS Club Created by Bodger Intro'd in TTPCTS Club	A hangout for characters whose writers Take The Plot Concept Too Seriously -- so far a favored hangout for MST3K types, but all are welcome!
The Trauma Room Created by Epona Harper Intro'ed in The Trauma Room	A rowdy tile-floored haven for off-duty medical characters, be they from actual medicine-oriented shows (ie. ER, Chicago Hope, M*A*S*H, Emergency, etc.) or doctors/medical types from non-medical genres.
The Villains' Bailiwick First mentioned by Tapestry as the Villains' Bar & Grill, then created by Falstaff under its current name	Goes by other names too...in short, it's where the bad guys carouse. Down the road from the Café and not a safe place to be if you're not a villain yourself...
The Writers' Café First mentioned by Tapestry, then fully created by Yasmin M. & Seraph	Writers keep getting thrown out of the Subreality Café, so now there's a place just up the road for them to call their own. Yasmin maintains full details online -- go take a look if you're interested!

Places To Stay:
The Beach Of The Shifting Sands, aka The Shifting Sands Created by Phil Foster	A nice sunny beach not far from the Café, complete with beach-hut bar -- named as a homage to Darqstar's once-major archive.
The House Of Strange Dimensions Created by Kielle	Called THOSD or HOSD for short, this is a communal mansion a short walk away from the Cafe. Why? So the truly insane can say that they really do live in Subreality. ;) It has its own messageboard and is roughly mapped out online.
The Pendragon Inns Created by Falstaff	Two old-fashioned inns facing each other across a narrow lane -- one for Marvel's UK characters, the other for DC's UK characters and a smattering of Vertigo types.
Slashonia Created by Poi Lass	A nice little waystation for characters of an, ahem, alternate persuasion -- writers/readers are welcome if they're fans of this genre.
The Stan Lee Condominium Complex Created by Jesse Willey	Only fictives who closely resemble Mainstreams are allowed to stay here...however, you could probably bunk overnight with a friendly tenant if you needed to. Buildings are named for canon writers.
The TwiddleDeeDum Inn Created by Paradoqz	Details pending

Places To Avoid:
The Angst Pit First mentioned by Leary Intro'd in Claremont's Hideaway	Is it a corner of the Subreality Cafe or another bar entirely? Either way, it's where miserable characters (and, sometimes, writers) congregate. Unless you enjoy listening to non-stop whining, it's just not a fun place.
The Block Created by Rossi Intro'd in The Caretaker	The Subreverse version of THOSD. Picture the worse tenant building you can, throw in a grouchy landlord who actively enjoys making tenants miserable, and there you have the Block.
The Bureau Created by Paradoqz Intro'd in "Paradoqz Does Subreality	Need a license of any kind? You have to brave THIS place. How much red tape can you imagine? It's all here!
Ground Xero Created by Static-Pulse Intro'd in Hopeless	The lair of SP's Subreverse (and intensely evil) alter-ego DarkBeast, located in the sewers near the AlterCafe.
The Mists Created by Kielle Primary concept	Everything we know of Subreality is merely a swathe carved out and shaped by imagination; beyond this island of near-sanity lie the cold formless Mists which are Subreality's natural state. In themselves they are not dangerous, but it's easy to get lost out there between dimensions...
ShantyTown Created by Seraph First mentioned in Ol' Tom	The rock-bottom ghetto of Subreality. Ever make up a character only to lose interest in them and set them aside, never to be written again? These poor souls haunt the alleys and gutters of ShantyTown until they inevitably fade away from neglect. For several ways this can happen, read the following: Death Of A Fictive by Ficwarrior View From My Window by Ana Lyssie Cotton Tick Tock by D^Knight
The Subreality Hospital Mental Ward Created by Ana Lyssie Cotton Intro'd in Mental Inconsistancies	The Hospital itself is a nice enough place considering what kind of place it is. The Ward, on the other hand... Staffed by volunteers from the medical and psychic areas of fanfiction, it's mainly populated by fictives driven mad by their writers -- but they've got room for you too. ;)

Other Useful Places:
Crystallis Created by Chandri MacLeod Intro'd in Slightly North Of Subreality	To the chill north of Subreality, straddling the border to Fantasy, is this fantasy castle and its environs as detailed here. Visitors are welcome.
Diversion Created by Corone Intro'd in The Making Of "Corone And The Amazing Technicolor Dream-Small Town".... by Corone	Aka "The Amazing Technicolor Small-Town" -- yes, it's every quiet shady little small town you've ever seen in a fanfic. Open for residence.
The Drake College Of Accounting Created by Falstaff	Details pending
The Imaginarium Collegium Created by Farli	A "college" where new Muses learn their craft, something that has become essential since the creative population to the world became too large for the original nine muses to handle. Presided over by Calliope; the other eight classic Muses do not frequent Subreality often.
The Subreality Bowling Alley Created by Twist	Just like it sounds. ;)
The Subreality Health Spa Created by Epona Harper	A cozy, green, Mercedes Lackey-inspired "vale" within sight of the House Of Strange Dimensions where tired Subrealizens can stop in for a nice hot soak and a backrub.
Subreality PD Created by Phil Foster	Lying on the border between Subreality City proper and ShantyTown, this highly fortified building is home to a volunteer police department and the Angst Squad (see Concepts).
The Subreality Unemployment Office Created by Damian Jedwabnik	Details pending
The X-Babies Daycare Centre Created by Dyce	Where characters of all walks of subreal life drop off those little bundles of joy that various writers seem obsessed in saddling them with...

Big Names

This section does NOT mean to imply that some people/characters are more important than others...just that some do get mentioned fairly often, and it seemed helpful to explain who they are in brief.

Real People Often Mentioned:

• I've decided, for now, to leave the section unfilled to avoid looking like I'm playing favorites. I'll fill it in a bit later if it seems necessary.

• the bunnyslippers = aka the predatory canaballistic (sic) bunnyslippers, aka Nudge-Nudge and Wink-Wink. These belong to writer Abyss (or vice versa) and have developed distinct minds of their own, skittering happily about the Café chittering to each other and seeking out new victims. They enjoy Guinness, gummi bears, and raw human flesh. They may look cute, but STAY AWAY! (Their female equivalents, DuAnn's cute mules WhamBamm and ThankeeMa'am, have appeared in an RR or two.)
• Calliope = Official Queen of the Muses who work in and from Subreality. Cold, strong-willed, and extremely competant -- most Muses live in awed fear of her. For a complete list of fanfic muses created to date, click here.
• Mhairie = Oh my. Let's keep this safely short and tame: half-fae and related to Bobby "Iceman" Drake, Mhairie was a fictive created by Lady Amethyst who starred in one of the first (and certainly one of the most, ahem, creative) X-Men erotica stories. Her name has since become synonymous with "rampant wanton sex."
• Siku = If you catch any references to "small blue children," that's because Darqstar's popular Sikudhani McCoy of the life-spanning "X-S" story has been written by so many authors that...well, imagine how many of her (at various ages) there could be in Subreality at any given time...

Muses

A muse, both classically and in Subreality terms, is the personification of inspiration. A faction of those who write Subreality stories find it amusing to speculate about who their respective muses would be like -- and how they would interact. Not all of the original Grecian nine are present in Subreality (though Erato and Polyhymnia have been spotted "slumming"); only Calliope is a regular, as she manages muse affairs from the Subreality-based Imaginarium Collegium where a whole new crop of muses have been or are being trained to handle the recent massive influx of new writers/artists thanks to the Internet. For specific details on specific muses, click here.

In-Jokes

• the backroom(s) = Supposedly a storage space in the Cafe for bar-related supplies, but it also seems to double as a hideout for shady gambling operations and a passion pit for amorous couples...
• CBFFAs = The Comic-Book Fan Fiction Awards. In early 1998 a vote was held online for favorite fanfics, and the results were posted online in the form of a long, boisterous "awards ceremony" story written by numerous authors and set in the Café. It was...interesting. The 1999 version is better known for being horrendously late...
• chainsaw = Wielded by Arclight in the notoriously murderous "Devil's Due" by Laersyn, this weapon has since become associated with Laersyn -- more to the point, it has started cropping up here and there (rather like an anime hammer) whenever there's some serious vengeance to be exacted. Tapestry also has one, but she's not well known for it.
• Guinness = Also seen spelled "Guiness." Our mainly Canadian/British boozehound contingent have declared this Irish brew to be the lager of the gods and made it the official ale of the Subreality Café.
• "under the table" = Literally, under a Café table...usually for carnal purposes. A place first, um, explored by then-pseudocouple Dex and Celendra. Not somewhere you should be if you want to keep your reputation. See also "backroom."

Rules

These rules apply to stories, round robins, artwork, and other Subreality-related works:

• With the exception of one-word mentions, do not use other writers or their characters without permission. The following writers must never be used or mentioned as per their expressly stated wishes:

  Alara Rogers Matt Nute Jim Smith

  Kevin "Ramiel" Schmidt Phrykyh Redhawk

  You may ask them, but you probably will not receive a yes.
  E-mail me if you would like to be added to this list.

• Subreality is not your personal grudge ring. Do not use the milieu to flame, slander, seduce, or otherwise infringe upon the privacy/dignity of another real human being. Unless, of course, they agree to it. ;)

• Do not in any way, shape, or form define what happened during the Muse War. If you don't know what this is, don't worry about it...but if you do, you should know why. If you don't, ask.