Themes and Threats

[Arje]

Theme	Theme	Threat	Threat
The Idea	The Idea	The Idea	The Idea
Every neighborhood is segregated	The culture is free	The Murder Rate is skyrocketing	You can get anywhere from here
The Aspect	The Aspect	The Aspect	The Aspect
Class Obsessed	Lots to see and do	Death and Decay	Transportation Nexus

[Arje]

ok, so that's ugly. I'll do each one in turn from here on down.

[Arje]

Idea: Every Neighborhood is Segregates
Aspect: Class obsessed


The most common question asked in STL is "What high school did you go to?"

The reason is that, because each of STL's 100 neighborhoods are so segregated by any of variety of factors (not limited to; Income, Religion, Race, Social circle, choice of booze, childhood experiences, crime rate, etc) that when you ask "What high school did you go to?" you can instantly peg and know just about everything there is to know about that person.

It's STL's version of facebook stalking and it's been in effect for like 60 years. It takes far less time, and it's very effective.

STL has a shadow school district. There are about as many catholic schools as there are public ones, and the same sorts of things applies. Something like 30 percent of kids go to catholic school. A large percentage of them are not catholic, but the catholic schools are considered better schools education wise.

The new rich live in different areas than the new rich, and everyone is extremely class obsessed, to the point where you shop in "your" mall, eat at "your" restaurants etc.

I almost considered making this a threat. But STL is very stable. Good fences make good neighbors etc.

(PM about my real feelings. I love the city...but maaaan there are problems sometimes)

[Arje]

Idea: The culture is free
Aspect: Lots to see and do.

You'll get more of a sense of this as the locations and faces flesh out, but STL is a busy city culture wise. And almost everything is free.

The zoo, (the number 1 zoo in the country according to Zagats) is free. Art mueseum (chock full of monets and picasso's) is free. History museum, parks and attractions are almost all free, of if they do charge, are like 2 or 3 books. The botanical garden is cheap and gorgeous. The science center is a huge draw for the local kids.

And all the locals use them. All the time. Most st louisians go to the zoo two or three times a summer.

Mardi Gras is the second largest Mardi Gras in the country, also free. Concerts in the park happen in just about every park, all summer long, free.

July 4th weekend they get a top 20 music act or 3, and float them on a barge out in front of the Arch, and we throw a huge bar-b-que.

There is always something to do, there really isn't a city like it anywhere else. Some days it's the only thing that makes it feel like the city is alive.

[Arje]

The idea: The murder rate is skyrocketing.
The Aspect: Death and Decay

http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/mo/st-louis/crime/

go there. Begin to understand.

It's pretty much the highest crime rate in the country. Tons of murders. Whose to say that some of those aren't supernatural....

The crime rate has a lot to do with the decay of STL city proper. The death leads to decay. As the crime rate skyrockets the people move to the suburbs, and the crime rate only increases.

We'll be adding some backstory to what kind of supernatural crimes are taking place, (I'm looking at you red court), but just know, for all her beauty, STL has a dagger hidden behind her back

[Arje]

Idea: You can get anywhere from here
Aspect: Transportation Nexus


It was a river hub, part of the oregan train, the largest rail station in american, and airport hub, the home of Charles Lindbergh. And that's just the mortal ways of getting around.

The nevernever practically spills into STL. It's just as much as magical transportation nexus as it is a mundane one.

One of the things about a place that's so easy to get to, and so easy to go through, is that all kinds do.

The good, the bad, the ugly, and the downright evil can get in and out of STL very easily. You never know who is going to be swinging through town. And it's hard to keep an eye on so many ports of call.