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With some help from /Kehari?, she was able to convert her balloon genie form into a figure made of imilexene?. Her base form looks like this, now: You find yourself looking at an imilexene genie. Her skin is composed entirely of the silvery-blue material, but judging from the lightweight bouncing movement of her steps, her rounded curves, and the way it bends and flexes as she moves... she is like a balloon with an imilexene skin, filled with air or some other gas. Her features are as monochromatic as her skin -- the genie's eyes are silvery blue orbs, and her lips are the same color, even as they twist into a smile as she notices your look. Her hair consists of neural tendrils, resembling slightly thicker koosh ball strands. Currently tied up into a ponytail, the shimmering purple strands fall down to the middle of her back, although sometimes they seem to move about on their own accord. The genie's ears have been stretched to be a few inches long and pointed, like those of an elf, helping with the somewhat mystic feel to this genie's appearance. As she moves, her clothes flow about her. Also made of imilexene, they are colored an electric blue, that shifts shade irridescently as they flow about her. Shaped into a harem-style vest that clings to her bosom, and a loose, billowing pair of diaphanous genie pants, they both reveal and conceal her figure. Pointed slippers of the same material adorn her feet, while rings of metallic purple imilxene hang around her ankles and wrists, jingling softly with each movement. KoenraadWhile even the concept of one's 'past' may be a somewhat ephemeral thing in the Mess... and given the range of histories for its many inhabitants, Misha's may seem mundane at best. But as something that has shaped her more than her time in the Mess so far, it is of some significance to her. Thus... a short primer on Koenraad, for the curious. In comparison to the rest of the Puzzlebox, the inhabitants of Koenraad have an attitude similar to that of, say, the Amish of the 20th century -- beleiving that older and more traditional ways are better than those followed by others around them. Thus, they established a society on Koenraad based around competition for a limited supply of resources. Essentially... scarcity. Feeling that competition made you stronger, it became an integral part of virtually every part of society, and daily life. Not just competition economically, but socially, even physically. Gradually, it became increasingly a game of one-upmanship, as each person would try to get ahead of his or her fellows, improving themselves, their status, and their wealth. And there was wealth, and a wealth-based economy... for how could you compete without a scorecard? Of course, a society like than can get rather stressful... 'death from overwork' was far from uncommon. And so the people of Koenraad played hard... but worked even harder. Such a state of continual stress is obviously unhealthy, so to ensure they could keep competing, the people would spend their evenings relaxing with entertainment... entertainments that were themselves produced by those competing for resources. Viewers, ratings... whatever it took to get ahead. And so the media of Koenraad ended up exemplifying the worst of the worst, going for the lowest common denominator. It was all Fox television, and no Masterpiece Theater. Imagination, creativity, and even critical thinking were considered to be wastes of time. As long as the audience was titillated and distracted from its problems until it went back to work, it was fine. Learning? Thinking? There was no need for such things on Koenraad. Of course... those around them regard Koenraad with a mixture of feelings, from disdain to amusement. Some found entertainment in trying to provoke a change within their culture, usually by crude methods such as launching artwar weapons at the planet. Koenraad still maintains an antiquitated defense grid, with graser platforms and pulsar generators, but even so, occasionally incidents happen. Around 20 years ago, some form of "charmvirus", its vector being delicate, soap-bubble-like spheres, managed to reach the planet. The affected areas were quickly quarantined, and the government negotiated to obtain treatment for those affected by the virus. Not all could be 'saved', however, and were reportedly given comfortable lives in institutions for their benefit. Some speculate, however, that the resulting living toys ended up as playthings for the wealthy... or were traded off-world. Koenraad did have to trade with the rest of the Puzzlebox, after all. While practically self-sustaining, there was still a need to keep abreast on what went on elsewhere around them, and to occasionally trade for useful goods -- such as the aforementioned vaccines. To ensure that the system remained closed, however, the goverment of Koenraad worked to ensure that any immigration (of which there was hardly any) was closely scrutinized -- and emigration was almost completely banned. No inhabitant of Koenraad was allowed to leave to travel elsewhere, except under exceptional conditions. |