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jonnowrites · 3 months

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Kids With Laser Guns

Thought I'd kick off my new blog by posting a little cyberpunk themed one-shot I finished the other day. Hope you enjoy it!

CW: Cursing

The skunk anthro felt right at home skulking beneath the highway turnoff. The pillar she leaned on was a mess of assorted graffiti and anti-corp slogans, some smarter than others. The occasional gunshot and distant blaring siren penetrated the music from a nearby nightclub.

“Chilly tonight,” she said, tugging at the lapels of her red jacket. Her faded blue pants sported a holster on each side, both carrying a pistol. Her flat sneakers were worn from a lot of running. “Least it’s not raining, huh?”

She turned her head toward a brown-furred wolf anthro, wearing a white mask with red digital markings that occasionally flickered between lines and circles. Her fit torso was covered by a grey-blue shirt beneath a black suit coat. Her dark blue jeans stopped above the heels of her black boots. Her ebony hair was tied into a bun. She stood up straight, her eyes laser-focused on the road as cars drove by. She only broke that stare to look up at the passing hover-rides, in case any cops or CorProtect agents were overhead.

“They are late,” she said quietly in Japanese. She gripped her sleeve irritably.

“It’s old-school scare tactics,” the skunk assured her. Her cybernetic aural implants translated anything her partner said into perfect English. “They’re trying to get us antsy by making us wait.”

“I’m a little nervous myself” a third young woman’s voice sounded in the skunk’s ear, carrying a Latino lilt.

“What about? We’re doing the dirty work while you’re nice and safe in the car, as always.”

“I’m nervous for you two. You never know how deals will turn out, right?”

“We’ll be fine, girl. You got eyes on us?”

“Corner store.” The skunk looked toward the street corner and saw a blinking camera pointed in her direction. “The circuit covers the whole block. See me?”

The wolf curtly nodded her head. The skunk raised her middle finger with a smirk.

“Very mature.” Her eye roll was almost audible. “Okay, here they come now. Look professional, please.”

The skunk got off the pillar and stretched her arms before flicking some messy white hair from her eyes. “When do I not?”

The two watched as a topless military jeep pulled off the road and pulled up beneath the overpass. A small gang of anthros piled out of the back, sneering in their stolen army fatigues and waving stolen guns. From the front passenger seat came a cougar, wearing a bulletproof vest over his T-shirt and grey camo pants with his black boots. His brown head of hair was slicked back. His left arm was fully silvered out, and was just as large and mean-looking as his organic one. He took the lead, towering over the two girls as he smirked down at them, his sharp fangs gleaming menacingly.

“Arch must think I’m a pushover,” he said, “if he’s sending a pair of runts to make this deal.”

“You know what they say about small packages,” the skunk said, putting her paws on her hips. “Call me Jax.”

“And who’s your bud, then?” asked the cougar. “Your backup?”

“Kiba here is a thousand samurai rolled into one,” said Jax, patting the wolf’s back. “Fuckin’ steel tornado.”

Kiba stared daggers behind her mask at the guys behind the cougar, making one of them take a step back.

“Never told me who you are, though,” Jax continued. She tilted her head and noticed the stripes on his shirt sleeve, beneath a US flag with the stars replaced with a white wolf’s howling profile. “Take it you’re a Sergeant in New Glory?”

“Heh, you know your shit,” said the cougar. “Name’s Sergeant Cruz. This here’s my platoon.”

Of course, Jax didn’t need to ask. She’d had enough close calls with the New Glory street gang to recognise their structure, though not so close that they’d recognise her on sight. New Glory liked to think of themselves as the second coming of the US Army, giving themselves ranks and uniforms, but they were just a bunch of gangbangers cosplaying as fascists. Their boss, General Clash, ran the Silktown district with an iron fist. Two of them, in fact.

“Alright,” said Jax, “let’s get to bizz. You got Arch’s new toy?”

Cruz clicked his organic fingers. One of his boys dragged a briefcase out of the jeep and put it in his paw. Jax noted the distinct StarGuard logo on the side.

“Shit, I can’t see inside the case,” the Latina hissed in Jax’s ear. “It must be padded.”

She kept a perfect poker face. “Let’s see it.”

Cruz shrugged and opened the case, lifting out what looked like an assault rifle. “Watch this,” he said as he lifted a thick battery from the case and connected it beneath the rifle with a click. The battery glowed red, as did some lights around the rifle. He pointed it to a pillar and held the trigger down. The battery started spinning and a whirring noise came from the rifle as it fired bursts of light. The tasteful ‘All Corps Are Bastards’ graffiti on the concrete was peppered by large burn scores.

“The Heat Burster,” said Cruz as he turned the rifle around in his grip. “Fuck if I know how it works, but it’s some cool shit, right?”

“The coolest,” Jax gawked, her large tail flicking. “I didn’t think StarGuard was going into laser tech.”

“The info we got says they wanna replace old school leadslingers with these,” said Cruz. as he took the battery off with his cyber paw. Jax saw it turn red with heat. “Tell Arch to be careful playing with it - shit gets hot.”

“Well, I’m happy,” said Jax, grinning as she reached a paw out for the briefcase. She flinched slightly when Cruz pulled it away from her.

“Slow down there, stripe,” he barked. “I showed you mine, so you show me yours.”

“My bad, got caught in the moment,” said Jax as she reached into her pocket. She fished out a credit chip and held it out to him. “Here you go, not a cent more or less.”

“Let’s see it.” Cruz took the chip and handed it to one of his boys, who inserted it into a slot behind his ear. His eyes glowed blue for a moment.

“Twenty-K,” he confirmed. “It’s legit.”

Cruz nodded and gave Jax the briefcase. “Don’t shoot your eye out. Or do, I don’t care.”

“Pleasure doing business.” Jax patted Kiba on the arm. “Let’s scurry.”

Kiba gave the New Glory boys a final warning glare before turning to follow Jax back to the car. Hiding beneath the overpass was a cheap sedan with faded and chipped orange paint, pointing toward the road.

Jax knocked the back passenger window and watched it roll down to reveal an ocelot woman. A young adult like Jax and Kiba, dressed in a black coat with purple highlights and an upturned collar. Her green pixie cut only slightly hid the violet-tinted goggles over her eyes. The splotches on her fur faded from blue to pink to green and other bright colours, like small lava lamps. Her gloves had blue, jagged lines running along the tops of her fingers to the tips.

“One experimental laser gun,” Jax said, passing the briefcase through the window. “Hold on tight to it, Oscura.”

“If that’s what stops me from melting myself,” the ocelot remarked in that Latino voice. “Let’s get out of here.”

Jax hopped into the driver’s seat while Kiba was already clipping her seatbelt. She glanced over in Cruz’s direction a moment longer before driving back onto the road. She turned on the radio, grinning as an Analogue Era rock song started blaring through the speakers.

“Easy peasy,” she said, drumming her fingers on the wheel. “You think Andy would mind if we took it for a spin before we get home?”

“Probably a bad idea,” said Oscura. “You might break it.”

“I will not!” Jax said indignantly. “C’mon, Kiba, back me up!”

“Do not play with the laser gun,” Kiba said flatly as she looked out the window.

Jax slumped back in her seat. “See if I let you two use the next cool gun we get.”

She drove through Central Square, and the sedan certainly looked out of place amongst the sleek sports cars and fancy corp vans. The anthros on the streets were dressed in style, wearing faux-fur coats and jackets bearing glittering lights. Holo-ads projected scantily dressed anthro girls showing off junk food and the latest fashion and cyberware on the sidewalk.

The brightest lights cast the darkest shadows, as Kiba once said. Jax thought it described the city of Nueva Angeles perfectly.

“Oh, shit,” Oscura muttered in Spanish. “We have a problem.”

“Sup?” asked Jax. Kiba’s ears perked up to attention.

“I just intercepted some texts between Cruz and General Clash. About the Heat Burster.”

Jax shrugged. “If he feels ripped off, that’s Arch’s problem.”

“That’s not it.” Oscura’s paw typed in the air as windows opened and closed on her goggles. “Here, read this.”

A set of text windows appeared in Jax’s peripheral vision. She had gotten good at reading them while driving at this point, hence why the sedan only had a few dents.

Sgt Cruz Ya we got the cash. All 20 K

Gnrl Clash Good good. Did Arch’s buyer give u trouble?

Sgt Cruz Nah she was chill abt it. Didnt think Arch would send a pup tho

Gnrl Clash She?? U were waitin for a weasel called Marco

Sgt Cruz ? He didnt send a skunk called Jax??

Gnrl Clash WHO TF IS JAX

Jax bit her lip as the texts disappeared. Kiba tensed up next to her, having no doubt read them with her own ocular implants.

“Well, we’re too far away for them to find now, right?” Jax tried, her voice shaking.

A yelp escaped her when her rear-view mirror suddenly shattered from a speeding bullet. Cars swerved and honked their horns as Cruz’s jeep came speeding down the crowded street toward them.

Jax put her foot down and sped the sedan along the road, weaving around other cars and narrowly avoiding pedestrians. The car was a lot faster than it looked thanks to some modifying. Naturally, most add-ons weren’t exactly street-legal.

“Shit shit shit!” she hissed.

“We need to lose them!” yelled Oscura.

“Oh, do we?!” snapped Jax as she drifted onto another street. The jeep kept pursuit and fired more shots.

“Watch where you’re shooting!” Cruz roared, the three hearing him clearly thanks to Oscura tapping into his comm unit. “We can’t lose the gun!”

Jax grabbed a pistol and pointed it out the window, recklessly firing in the jeep’s direction while keeping her eyes on the road.

“Am I hitting it?!”

Oscura poked her head over the back seat. “You got a headlight.”

Jax made another sharp turn onto a narrow street, weaving onto the empty sidewalk to avoid an oncoming delivery scooter. The scooter itself then weaved to avoid the oncoming jeep of jeering anthros. Jax flinched when a bullet clipped the driver door.

“This is getting nowhere,” she growled. “I’ll lose them on the highway.”

She sped toward an exit from the road and oversteered, manipulating the handbrake to drift the car up the onramp. The tires screeched while they coughed up a cloud of smoke, and the sedan was soon rushing along the crowded highway.

“Was the drift necessary?” asked Obscura.

“If by ‘necessary’ you mean ‘cool as fuck,’” Jax grinned, “then yes it was.”

“That is absolutely not what I meant.”

A bullet ricocheted on the road next to the sedan, and Jax looked behind her to see Cruz’s jeep was recklessly weaving around the fancier cars to get right up next to the girls. His boys pointed their pistols and assault rifles at them.

“What’s your problem?” she groaned. “You got the money!”

“You’re not who we agreed to sell to!” Cruz roared. “Hand over the gun and this’ll be over!”

“Can’t do that! We need it for our own thing!”

Cruz bared his fangs in a snarl. “Fine, fuck this. Prepare to fire!”

Jax swallowed as she watched the wannabe soldiers lock and load. She and Oscura slowly lowered their heads in hopes of not getting a bullet lodged in them.

Kiba, meanwhile, lowered her window and slunk out onto the car roof.

“The fuck are you doing?!” gasped Jax.

“Keep driving,” Kiba ordered. She reached for her side, and from beneath her suit coat came her katana. She gripped the black handle tight in her paws and its long, narrow blade glistened beautifully in the rapidly passing lights. Despite Jax’s rapid swerves to pass traffic, Kiba kept her balance perfectly as she turned the katana, poised to strike.

“Nice butter knife, wolfy,” one of the gangsters taunted, nonchalantly pointing his pistol at her. “I got this one, sir.”

He fired a shot, and Kiba changed the katana’s position. He yelped as he gripped his paw while the pistol fell onto the road.

“The fuck?!” he gasped.

“Lemme try,” his friend said and fired his own pistol. Kiba changed position again, and he grunted before he gripped his now bleeding leg.

“Alright, girly,” a third growled as he pointed an assault rifle at her. “Get some of this!”

He opened fire, and Kiba’s blade was a blur as it swung at the air. A few New Glory goons were sent reeling from speeding bullets, and the side of the jeep was peppered with holes. The driver lost control for a moment and had the jeep skidding behind the sedan.

Cruz snarled as he picked a bullet from his metal arm. “Alright, I’m done. Get me Irma.”

“But sir, what about the Heat Burster?” one of his platoon asked while the others busied themselves.

“We’ll get what’s left from the wreck.”

Jax and Oscura gawked when they saw Cruz lift an honest-to-god oversized bazooka and rest it on his shoulder while one of his goons loaded it from behind. With its six firing tubes, a digital laser sight and the StarGuard logo emblazoned across the rectangle casing, it was practically some kind of revolver dreamed up by a lunatic.

And just when Jax thought she was already completely and utterly fucked, her ears twitched from the all-too-familiar wailing of sirens. She looked in a mirror and saw a sleek drone speeding in the air behind the speeding vehicles. Another lowered altitude so both flanked the jeep, with a fleet of what looked like a dozen followed close behind. Their red and blue lights flashed amongst the white lamp posts along the highway.

“Nueva Angeles Police Department,” a robotic voice bellowed from all drones at once. “Lower your weapons and stop your vehicles in a safe fashion, or face heavy retaliation. You have ten seconds to comply.”

Jax groaned, almost smashing her head on the steering wheel before needing it to pass a van. “First that freak pulls a rocket launcher on us, and now we’ve got Chasers.”

“Eight.”

“I’ll try to breach their system,” said Oscura as she started typing at the air. “Just give me time.”

“Six.”

Kiba, meanwhile, watched unfettered as Cruz raised a boot on the jeep windshield to keep his balance.

“Five.”

“Hold her steady,” he said with a sneer. “I’m gonna introduce this little bitch to Irma.”

“Four.”

Kiba readied her katana, poised to strike.

“Three.”

Cruz fired a missile that sailed through the air right toward Kiba.

“Two.”

Kiba swung her blade, and the missile careened back in Cruz’s direction.

“One.”

The missile flew into the rightmost drone and turned it into scrap metal from a glorious explosion. The jeep and multiple cars swerved and honked their horns in panic.

“Failure to comply detected,” the remaining drones said. The bottom of their chassis opened and a turret appeared, starting to fizzle with electricity. “Aggressive force authorised. A squad of officers has been called.”

Cruz snarled and fired another missile, which Kiba deflected into another drone. The remaining pursuers started barraging the jeep and the sedan with pulses of electricity that just barely missed both.

“I’m not going back to Clash empty pawed!” roared Cruz as he fired another missile, which only served to get swatted into another drone, taking it and two others out.

Kiba surveyed the situation as she blocked another shot. She was transporting an experimental weapon, no doubt the one stolen from the attacked StarGuard convoy she’d heard about on the news. A mad cougar with a deadly weapon trying to kill her and her partners for it. Multiple police drones trying to stop them both. If they were not destroyed by Cruz, they’d be handed over to StarGuard’s private forces to be given a fate worse than death. On top of all that, she was certain all of this chaos was attracting news drones.

She had to end this. Now.

“Okay, I’ve gotten control of one of the Chasers,” Oscura said through her earpiece. She watched as one of the drones shot another with an electric bolt, causing it to twitch before falling onto the road.

“One shot left,” Cruz said, and he flicked a switch on the bazooka. “Irma’s gonna get you this time.”

“Kiba, I just remembered,” said Jax through Kiba’s earpiece, “I’ve heard of those bazookas before. I think he just turned on the smart scope, so even if you block it, it’s gonna come right back for you.”

Kiba lowered herself. “Does it have a weakness?”

“If I remember right, the smart scope is really power-reliant. After all those shots he’s already fired, one smart missile will kill the power.”

“How do you know all this?” asked Oscura.

“Drunk StarGuard guy I found in a bar once, I think.”

“Locked on,” laughed Cruz, almost maniacally. “Say goodbye, you little shits!”

Kiba poised herself. “Move the drone behind these idiots.”

The missile launched toward her, and once it was close enough, she leapt over it toward the jeep and landed on the hood. The New Glory gangsters’ looks of confusion quickly turned to panic when they saw the missile turn in the air and speed straight toward them, then back to confusion as Kiba bounded down the jeep and hopped onto the Chaser hijacked by Oscura. She balanced on top of it and watched the missile.

“You are misusing Nueva Angeles Police Department property,” she heard as the remaining drones approached and surrounded her. “Remove yourself or prepare to be–”

Kiba leaped over the missile which collided with Oscura’s Chaser. The ensuing explosion of the remaining drones propelled Kiba back toward the jeep, and she turned herself to the side and rolled with her katana in her paws. Once past the jeep, she skidded her boots across the roof of the sedan to slow herself, and stopped with a foot on the hood as she looked behind the car. After a moment, the jeep split in half, and both sides careened to both sides of the highway before crashing, sending New Glory soldiers flying everywhere. Cruz was left laying on his front with his beloved Irma next to him, smoking and depowered.

Kiba sheathed her katana and slid back into the passenger seat, fastening her seatbelt and rolling the window back up.

“That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!” breathed Jax. “How’d you do that?!”

“Standard training,” said Kiba.

“I’ve scrambled the police’s tracker and wiped our car from the Chasers’ camera database,” said Oscura. “We just need to get out of here.”

“Gladly.”

Jax took the next exit back to the city, driving into the Little Asia district. A middle-class borough where most of the varied Asian community of Nueva Angeles banded together. She pulled into an alley next to a Vietnamese convenience store and stepped out, before collapsing against the hood. Oscura and Kiba got out with her.

“That could’ve gone better,” said Oscura.

Jax lifted her head. “Hey, we got away with the goods. And we looked cool doing it.”

“Very sloppy,” muttered Kiba, who leaned against the wall like she was trying not to collapse with exhaustion.

Jax perked up as she felt vibrating in her jacket pocket. She fished out her phone and grinned as she answered the call. “Andy, hey!”

On her screen was a badger called Andrew Mitchell, known in the merc world as Big Andy. Older guy, late thirties Jax was sure, known around N.A. for his huge cybernetic shotgun paws.

“Well, you three had a fun night out, did ya?” he asked in his gruff cockney voice. Jax couldn’t help but notice his RBF was particularly intense. “I sent ya to do a simple exchange, and suddenly you’re havin’ a merry little chase around the motorway with New Glory and cop drones?”

“Oh, you saw that?” asked Jax with an awkward toothy grin.

“The whole fuckin’ city saw it,” Andy sighed. “It’s all over the news. You’re just lucky the car was blurred out.”

“Hey, we got the gun!” Jax pointed the phone through the car window to show the briefcase on the seat. “See?”

“Well, there’s that at least,” said Andy. “Kiba and Oscura with you?”

“I’m here,” said Oscura.

“Yes,” Kiba muttered.

“And you’re all alive,” said Andy, his tone a little softer. “Ya took care of that mess quick enough, and ya got the Heat Burster. All in all, job well done, three of ya.”

“Did you see my sick drift?” asked Jax, smiling eagerly.

Andy rolled his eyes. “Yes, I saw your drift. Very nice.”

Jax’s big tail waggled happily.

“That said,” Andy continued, “streets are still a bit too hot after all that excitement. I’ll send ya a text when it’s safe to get back here, and we’ll see about a buyer for this fancy toy of ours.”

“We just paid twenty thousand for it,” Jax pointed out. “Granted, it wasn’t our money, but still.”

“And to the right market, we’ll get at least double,” Andy said. “You let me worry about all that. Just keep your heads down for a few hours, alright?”

“Rightyo, chief,” said Jax with a salute. “You won’t even know where we are.”

“Yeah, that’s gonna worry me a bit.”

“We’ll keep a leash on her,” Oscura assured him, getting next to the skunk.

Jax frowned. “I don’t need a leash.”

Kiba approached Jax’s other side. “No, you need a shock collar.”

“Getting kinky on me?” asked Jax, leaning toward Kiba and inadvertently flicking her tail in Oscura’s face.

“Just stay out of trouble until the heat dies down,” groaned Andy before hanging up.

“Well, the night’s still young,” said Jax, stretching her arms. “Wanna get something to eat? There’s a night market near here if I remember right, and I’m starving.”

“Fine, why not,” said Oscura, “but what about the Heat Burster? Should we take it with us?”

“You wanna carry a big corpo briefcase around the Black Tigers’ neighbourhood?” Jax pointed out.

“Good point. I’ll put it in the trunk.”

Once that was done, Jax locked the car and led her partners out of the alley.

“I can smell the ramen already,” she grinned, starting to walk down the street before being stopped by Kiba.

“If you could, then you would be following the smell that way,” the wolf said drily, pointing toward the alley across the road.

Jax darted her eyes between Kiba’s mask and Oscura’s smirk, before leading the way there. “Fuck off.”

#one shots #cyberpunk genre #furry #furry writing #furry fiction #writing #one shot #writeblr #anthro #anthro skunk #anthro wolf #anthro ocelot #original writing

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alpaca-clouds · 8 months

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The Punk-Factor of Punkpunk Genre

So, when I posted my history of Solarpunk, someone (probably not in good faith) asked: “So, what about the punk in all the other punk genres?!” towards my request to put the punk back into Solarpunk. And given that my autistic brain obviously cannot just let that stand… You know what? Let me talk about the other punk genre and in how far they are “punk”. I tried to be as exhaustive as possible, though there is a good chance, that I might have missed some of the punkpunk genre. So feel free to add.

Trying to judge the punkiness I do not assume punk as simple counter culture, but a specific ideology. Quote from Wikipedia:

[Punk ideology] is primarily concerned with concepts such as mutual aid, against selling out, hierarchy, white supremacy, authoritarianism, anti-consumerism, anti-corporatism, anti-war, imperialism, conservatism, anti-globalization, gentrification, anti-racism, anti-sexism, class and classism, gender equality, racial equality, eugenics, animal rights, free-thought and non-conformity

Most of the artwork here has been taken from concept art of either of the examples listed.

Sorted from most futuristic to pre(historic). Yes, the list is long.

Cyberpunk

We start with the OG punk genre, the one after which all other punk genre were named. Yes, you could argue that in fact the two genre following are more futuristic – but Cyberpunk kinda just had to start the list.

As a genre: Given that Cyberpunk had its start completely in literature it is the best defined in this regard. Taking place in a late stage capitalist dystopian world in which most is owned by megacorps who don’t follow anyone’s laws but their own, the protagonists usually are social outcasts fighting against their own oppression, trying to keep themselves alive in a world hostile to them. With cybernetics always being a core of the genre, it also tends to deal with the question of humanity in a “ship of Theseus” sort of way. How much can the human body be altered, before the human vanishes?

As an aesthetic: Cyberpunk is the most punk in terms of aesthetics, really. There is a lot of punk and grunge going on in terms of character design. Neon hair colors, fishnets and thorn up jeans jackets can be found here. As well as of course cybernetics on the characters. The world usually is a megacity with a stark divide between rich and poor, tons of neon signs, a slight Japanese influence, flying cars and somehow a constant downpour of rain.

Punk-Factor: Cyberpunk is the one punk genre, where the “punk” was chosen very knowingly as a name. Usually the protagonists are “punks” fighting for their place in the world against a suppressive capitalist system. (Also, they usually fit the punk aesthetic, if they don’t wear leather dusters.) It should be noted however, that especially in newer western Cyberpunk often the punkiness vanishes more and more – for the same reason we have so little Solarpunk: media that outright confronts the problems of capitalism is just less supported.

Examples: Neuromancer (1984), Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology (1986), Snow Crash (1992), The Matrix (1999), Dredd (2012)

Biopunk

As a genre: As a genre biopunk is still fairly ill defined, as it mostly shows up as a subsection of Cyberpunk. Rather than the characters having cybernetic implants (or additionally to it) they are augmented on a genetic level. This can be all sorts of augmentations, changing anything from appearance to giving characters higher strength and agility, giving them claws or night vision, or in some cases even “magic” powers. Usually the genre tends to be set in worlds similar to Cyberpunk. In fact it might well be set in a cyberpunk world, only that characters with bioaugmentations exist parallel to those with cybernetics. Additionally, though, there is a subsection of this genre, that concerns reproductive rights.

As an aesthetic: Ironically biopunk is even less defined as an aesthetic. There is not a lot of biopunk art out there and most that exists can go in different directions. As such it often mixes elements from other punk aesthetics – like Cyberpunk, Steampunk or Dieselpunk – with an assortment of bodyhorror elements.

Punk-Factor: It is hard to define the “punkiness” of a genre, that barely exists for the most part. Usually, when it is set against a Cyberpunk backdrop, it might be very punky, but in other settings those punk elements vanish.

Examples: Ribofunk (1995), Altered Carbon (2002), Bioshock (2007), The Windup Girl (2009)

Nanopunk

As a genre: Like Biopunk Nanopunk mostly exists as a subsubgenre to Cyberpunk, often being set in a mostly Cyberpunk world, only that instead of or additionally to Cybernetics, the technology used to alter the human body is nanites. These serve the same function as the genetic manipulation in Biopunk, giving the human in question more strength and agility and at times more or less magical abilities. There is one common plot that comes up again and again, with an AI or megacorp turning the nanites against the people they inhabit or trying to control them.

As an aesthetic: Aesthetically Nanopunk does not have much in terms of its own identity. Most artworks relating to Nanopunk feature a similar aesthetic to Cyberpunk, with megacities and lots of neon.

Punk-Factor: This genre is so small, that it is kinda hard to judge the exact punkiness.

Examples: The Diamond Age (1995), Prey (2002)

Solarpunk

As a genre: Being another genre, that started as such, Solarpunk is a bit better defined. Solarpunk usually takes place in a world post-strive. It is post-capitalist and decolonial in its settings, usually featuring a world that has either formed against the backdrop of preventing climate collapse or in the aftermath of it. A lot of it features people rebuilding – or alternatively building communities. It always features elements about living in harmony with nature or trying to do so. So far, the genre is mostly defined by short stories, partly because there is still disagreements within the movement, how far a conflict can be taken to still qualify as Solarpunk.

As an aesthetic: Solarpunk has a very strong aesthetic definition, mostly featuring all sorts of cities and urban areas, that incorporate natural elements into the urbanity, with greenery growing on roofs and concrete car-centric streets being replaced with more natural, walkable areas. The character design aesthetic is not quite as clearly defined, but usually features natural materials and patterns usually seen within indigenous art.

Punk-Factor: Contrary to what many say, Solarpunk is fairly punk, as it very much embraces the entire anti-hierarchical, anti-capitalist mentality. With the big difference, that the punk mentality is no longer counter culture, but the mainstream culture.

Examples: The Dispossessed (1974), Nausicaä (1984), Laputa – Castle in the Sky (1986), Princess Mononoke (1997), The Summer Prince (2013)

Lunarpunk

As a genre: Lunarpunk is pretty much a subsubgenre of Solarpunk, just as Nanopunk and Biopunk are sprung off from Cyberpunk. It is so far ill-defined as a genre, but the general consensus is, that it is set in solarpunk-esque worlds, but with a heavier focus on mysticism or spiritualism, at times outright including magic. It also tends to feature a lot darker places, being set in underwater or underground settings – or alternatively at night.

As an aesthetic: Lunarpunk is far more of an aesthetic than a genre so far. It features dark places, often with bioluminescent elements in it. Often featuring a mixture of black and dark blue with lighter blue, violet or light green elements shining in the middle of it. Mushrooms – especially glowing mushrooms – feature repeatedly in artwork.

Punk-Factor: Given that Lunarpunk is barely defined as a genre it is hard to estimate the punkiness in it. If it gets more stories, will those still feature the anti-capitalist and anti-hierarchical messaging we see in Solarpunk? This should be the defining factor. Some of the artworks use little aesthetics from the punk scene, but nothing much more.

Examples: Bioluminescent: A Lunarpunk Anthology (2023)

Hopepunk

Honestly, I had no idea where to put this one, given that it might technically be set at any time and place.

As a genre: Hopepunk is very much a genre, not an aesthetic. It has been defined as the opposite of grimdark by its “inventor/name-giver” Alexandra Rowland. The basic idea is to create fiction that instead of taking a dystopian, defeatist and violent approach, takes one defined by hope and to some degree pacifism. As such the genre can be set in any setting, real or fantastic. It mostly is defined by the protagonists taking opposition to cruelty and violence, fighting for a better world and, crucially, also partly archiving it. Other than in usual Cyberpunk, where the best possible ending, tends to be, that the protagonists get to live a somewhat better life themselves, Hopepunk aims to better the life at least for groups of people.

As an aesthetic: Being fully a genre, Hopepunk has no aesthetic associated with it.

Punk-Factor: Hopepunk is punk less in the sense of the protagonists or things happening within the story, which might or might not be punk, but was named such rather because it is considered counter cultural towards the gross of media at the moment, that often strives for a “realistic, gritty, grimdark” outlook on the world. Basically it is saying: “Hope is punk.” I will not make any judgement on whether or not this is true.

Examples: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (2014), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), The Good Place (2016)

Mythpunk

As a genre: Another one, that does not really fit into a temporal sorting system, because once again it can be set anywhere between the stone age and the far future. The basic idea is, that the story interweaves postmodern storytelling with elements from mythology or folklore. This can mean mythological, genre-traversing retellings, but it can also mean, that mythology seeps into any given story bit by bit. As such the genre with probably the most media in the subgenre is Urban Fantasy, which often borrows from mythology and incorporates these elements.

As an aesthetic: Mythpunk as an aesthetic is a bit strange. There is definitely a mythpunk aesthetic that exists, often mixing familiar elements with elements from mythology and folklore (at times also including quasi-folkloric works of literature, such as Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz). Often just a bit dark and twisted.

Punk-Factor: To be perfectly frank, for the most part, there is not a lot of punk to be found in this genre. While there have been definitely punky stories told within the genre, this is more a story decision than something inherent to the genre.

Examples: Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Over the Garden Wall (2014), Inscryption (2016)

Dustpunk / Rustpunk / Desertpunk

As a genre: Kinda grouping those above all together, because people argue about what they might entail and in some interpretations they kinda are similar: Post-apocalyptic stories set in a world of sand and rust. Often featuring a loner character, having to go up against everyone to ensure his own survival – and at times being forced to learn, that the lonerness might not win him (and most often it is a him) anything.

As an aesthetic: Aesthetically this tends to be very much post-apocalyptic, maybe in some cases with some more classical punk elements added to characters and surroundings.

Punk-Factor: Given that there is neither a system to rage against – nor a new, less hierarchical system – usually there is not that much punk outside of some aesthetic choices. Neither tend those stories go into constructing worlds of mutual aid or working against oppression.

Examples: Anything Mad Max should count for this.

Atompunk

As a genre: Atompunk usually deals with themes connected to the cold war – in some cases directly, in some indirectly. Often it overplays the American ideals that were pushed for during the cold war era and portrays scenarios in which American Exceptionalism slowly reveals itself as the dystopia most punks already know it to be. Outside of this vague idea for the setting, the genre is less described, as there is less of a clear script an Atompunk story might follow. So, little description of who might be the protagonist and what their role is.

As an aesthetic: The aesthetic of Atompunk borrows heavily from the Raygun Gothic aesthetic. So, futurism, as it was imagined in the 1950s and 1960s, with heavy influences from late pulp age science fiction art.

Punk-Factor: The aesthetic in this is definitely not punk. The stories often have some vague punk ideas of recognizing how fucked up the world has become, but given the genre is fairly wide in terms of stories, it is hard to give a definite answer to how “punk” it is. One can definitely tell punk stories within this genre, though.

Examples: Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (1978), Fallout (1997), Futurama (1999)

Dieselpunk

As a genre: Dieselpunk is once again an example of “strong aesthetic, but no clear genre identity”. Generally, Dieselpunk is concerned with the interwar period, but might cover either of the world wars. In some cases the genre features alternate timelines, in which one war happened and not the other, or in which another faction won, with the technological development being influenced by this as well. But as a genre it is not much defined. A lot of stories building on Lovecraft’s legacy feature Dieselpunk in some regards. And there is definitely a subsection of Dieselpunk stories centered around “what if Nazis won” or “what if Nazis somehow went underground and did their own technological development after the war”. Also, there are a lot of stories about pilots of war planes in this genre.

As an aesthetic: As an aesthetic Dieselpunk is more clearly defined. A lot of bare metal and the sorts of technology you would expect from this era, often with retro-futurist and art noveau elements in between. A lot of the fashion within the genre is defined by pilot and military clothing of the times, but at times also dipping into “roaring 20s” fashion styles.

Punk-Factor: In this genre I would generally say: “If the story involves punching Nazis, you might get a couple punk points – but otherwise this is not really punk.”

Examples: The Iron Dream (1972), Brazil (1985), Dark City (1998), Iron Sky (2012), Bitter Seeds (2010)

Teslapunk

As a genre: Yet another one of these, that exists mostly as a vague idea, with no clear definition. The basic idea is a world, that works on Tesla’s inventions. And as those of you, who watched Doctor Who, might know, Tesla sorta, kinda already invented the internet or had an idea of what it could be and how it could work. So a Teslapunk world is based in an alternate timeline, but might in fact go into light futurism. There is not much in this genre though with a unique thematic identity, as stories that use Teslapunk as a backdrop rarely have coherent themes.

As an aesthetic: The aesthetic of Teslapunk is basically “Steampunk, but with Tesla-coils and electricity”. Which is not a big surprise given that Tesla came from the same era that would also be the inspiration for Steampunk. So, we have a lot of Victorian fashion, maybe some light augmentation, airships, and – again – all the tesla coils you can muster.

Punk-Factor: As, again, I think punk is more about themes than aesthetic, this is once more not really possible to judge, because there do not seem coherent themes within the genre so far.

Examples: The Prestige (2006), Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), Bioshock Infinite (2013)

Arcanepunk

Another one of those that do not neatly fit into the timeline…

As a genre: Arcanepunk takes place in a world, where both magic and technology have developed. In some cases both developed side by side, in others, we might have a technological world, that suddenly discovers magic by some happenstance. The fact is, though, that both exist parallel to each other or might at times be intertwined, with technology being powered by magic. This can exist at different technological stages, usually featuring settings inspired by the late 19th or early 20th century. But usually futuristic stuff that includes magic might be considered Arcanepunk, just as might stories that mix 18th century technology with magic. While also a vague genre, there is a repeating theme of magic being hoarded by those in powers and the poor and downtrodden finding ways to still use it in their own advantage.

As an aesthetic: Given that Arcanepunk’s setting is defined by the co-existence of magic and technology, rather than a specific technology, Arcanepunk has less of a defined aesthetic. Never the less, we have a part of punk aesthetics that often come up, as a surprising amount of Arcanepunk features characters with neon colored hair.

Punk-Factor: Another genre that is rather thin, yet, there is a surprising amount of stories featuring some punk ideas of fighting against an oppressive system and being counter culture to a main culture build around suppression.

Examples: Too Many Magicians (1966), Shadowrun (1989), Bartimaeus (2003), Arcane (2021) duh

Steampunk

Steampunk was the second genre to pick up the “punk” suffix and hence is as much responsible for the punk-punk as Cyberpunk as the originator.

As a genre: Being named as early as it has been, Steampunk kinda suffers the same issue as Cyberpunk itself. There is a lot of ideas there, but some are only vaguely defined. In general, though Steampunk always takes place in a world where the steam engine became the defining technology and was never replaced with the combustion engine. As such cultural aspects from the steam era, especially Victorian England and the Belle Epoche, still carry over for longer, than they did. So often we will see noble households based around similar values as the puritan Victorian English families, while the very poor are made to work in workhouses. At times we might also see themes of colonialism here. In some cases magic might exist in these worlds, as might electricity for some aspects. There is often a heavy inspiration from Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. Though it is still hard to define the “stereotypical steampunk story”, given that Steampunk offers a wide variety of stories, from adventure stories and romances, over to stories where people rise up against the Victorian-esque society.

As an aesthetic: Steampunk as an aesthetic is very much influenced by Victorian aesthetics and the time period of the late 19th century, mostly in the USA, Great Britain and France. But as all other punk genres it knows very well: “If it is worth doing, it is worth overdoing,” so steam-related elements are added to everything. Could

Punk-Factor: In the original idea for Steampunk was a lot of punk. “What if we took Cyberpunks ‘rage against the unjust system’ and made it 19th century” they asked. But given that the genre branched out so much, it is not necessarily there in all the stories. There is a ton of stories where people rage against that steam powered Victorian machine – but also a ton in which the Victorian world gets idealized and romanticized.

Examples: Thief (1998), The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (1999), Wild Wild West (1999), Clockwork Century (2008) – also half of all Sherlock Holmes adaption made after 2000 in any medium usually use Steampunk elements

Silkpunk

As a genre: Silkpunk is hard to define, despite there being a clear definition. The reason for this is, that the person who coined the term – Ken Liu – had a very specific idea in mind. He explains that the idea is of a world that has technology as language. In which form is as important as function, is made to speak a language all of its own. Inspired by ideas from W. Brian Arthur and Chinese philosophy. However, what the wider Science Fiction and Fantasy community made from it was “Steampunk but East Asian!” But given he coined the term (and also the alternative feels vaguely racist) I am going to go with Ken Liu for this. While Silkpunk will usually be set in an East Asian inspired world, the central idea is about the duality of technology, which will also be addressed within the stories.

As an aesthetic: As said above, the idea Liu had for it was a world that features some technology, but technology that is as much about form and communication through it, as it is about function. So the technology here has strong visual ideas. At least that was, how Liu intended it. Once again, the wider community made “Steampunk, but East Asian” out of it.

Punk-Factor: There is not a lot of stuff in this genre for now – however so far I do not manage to see a lot of punk ideas in it, even though some of Liu’s stories definitely feature the concept of challenging a higher power.

Examples: Dandelion Dynasty (2015), The Black Tides of Heaven (2018), The Tea Master and the Detective (2019)

Clockpunk

As a genre: Once again storytelling in this genre is not really defined, but the worlds diverge a bit before the wide adaption of steam, instead featuring mechanical devices powered by coils and springs and somehow kept alive, often at least implied through some form of arcane magic that gives “live” to these mechanical inventions. Most examples of Clockpunk, however, tend to show up as settings for parts of fantasy stories. Any fantasy world might have this “Clockpunk” area, where protagonists might travel. Especially games tend to feature this. While there is definitely a trope of the “mad inventor” often going along with this, few other tropes stand out.

As an aesthetic: The aesthetic of Clockpunk tends to take some inspiration from the early 19th century, but tends to add a lot of gears to everything, with even city wide gear constructions keeping things working. We often will find mechatronic characters, such as wind up soldiers or wind up dancers.

Punk-Factor: Once more, there are so few stories told, that it is kinda hard to speak about how punk this is. Most stories told so far, however, do not feature punk elements.

Examples: The Great Mouse Detective (1986), Hugo (2011), Clockwork Planet (2017)

Whalepunk

Please note: This is one of those genre, I would love to see more in, though so far it is barely explored.

As a genre: And you might ask: “Why do you even name those genre, that exist mostly in theory?”, to which I might answer: “Because I am a nerd.” As all these retrofuturists genre, Whalepunk imagines mostly an alternate historical timeline, where the technology that became defining was based around whale oil. This means that in Whalepunk often whalers or harbors play a big role, though as the genre is again very thinly spread, it is hard to say what “THE whalepunk” formular is. It seems there is a tendency, to mix some mysticism or magic into the genre, though, as the idea of hunting sea monsters often plays into it as well. Good chance that it could at some point merge with Cthulupunk (which I did not name separately, because most of it is either covered in Whalepunk or Dieselpunk).

As an aesthetic: The aesthetic of Whalepunk is basically “Steampunk, but with more sailors, ships and sea monsters”. There is definitely a bit of Oceanpunk mixed into it as well, with some aesthetics being somewhere between Steampunk and Dieselpunk. (Which is kinda ironic, because whale oil was mostly used in the early 19th century.)

Punk-Factor: And again. There so far is not a lot of connective thematic tissue within that genre, so exploring themes is kinda hard.

Examples: Dishonored (2012), Dredge (2023)

Oceanpunk / Piratepunk

As a genre: It really is hard to divide the Piratepunk out of the Oceanpunk, though some might call it different. The idea here is that this genre features stories mostly set on the ocean and often more heavily leaning into fantasy, than science fiction. While the worlds might feature technological elements, they will almost certainly feature magical elements of some sort. The characters will usually be seafaring one way or another and stories might involve any sort of adventure. There might be a storyline, though, about one company or nation trying to control the seas – often times through magical means – with the characters often unwillingly being made to oppose them. This genre might also take place in a post-apocalyptic setting with a flooded planet.

As an aesthetic: While the aesthetic is not clearly defined, there is a good chance that it borrows heavily from the late 17th and early 18th century and the golden age of piracy, when it comes to both ships and fashion sensibilities.

Punk-Factor: Pirates, at least as far as modern media imagines them, tend to be very punk, as they tend to inherently oppose any sort of government and what not. While the punk is not there in all of the stories, a lot of the most popular stories from the genre will feature at least lightly punky elements.

Examples: One Piece (1997), Pirates of the Caribbean (2003), Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (2013)

Dungeonpunk

As a genre: So, the idea of the genre is basically “What if Cyberpunk, but Dungeons & Dragons?” Usually set in a vaguely medieval world, this world still shows the same corporate corruption as your usual Cyberpunk world. Adventurers are just another resource to be exploited by the system, their day job involving going on yet another dungeon crawl. For this there might be some technology entirely powered by magic, with those magic items taking over the same functions technology might have in a Cyberpunk world. And yes, indeed some brave dwarf, elf or halfling might rise up and challenge the corporate dungeon syndicate. (As you might sense: Yes, this genre tends to be at least partly a bit of a parody of the punkpunk idea. Though it also can be played straight as “Cyberpunk conflicts, just that all technology is somehow magic.”)

As an aesthetic: This is once again one of the examples, where there is a clear idea behind it – but absolutely no clear aesthetic, as this genre might cover anything from medieval settings to a lot more modern stuff.

Punk-Factor: The base idea, being heavily inspired by the base idea of Cyberpunk, just from a very different perspective. But too many people read the genre as “Magic Technology, yay”, in which case, no, it is not punk.

Examples: Dungeons & Dragons can be played this way, also Final Fantasy VI – XIII definitely counts.

Sandalpunk

As a genre: I mostly include this for the sake of it, because this genre tends to boil down to “fantasy set in ancient Greece or Rome, but with vaguely anachronistic elements”. It might also include alternate history stories (even going so far as Science Fiction) based on the idea “What if Ancient Rome/Ancient Greece never fell?” There is no real overarching themes, even though I could imagine some interesting way one could build those up. So far, though, it is mostly a vague gesture towards: “SciFi Fantasy, but with more ancient civilizations.”

As an aesthetic: The aesthetic is usually just Ancient Rome or Ancient Greece, but with more magic or anachronistic elements.

Punk-Factor: Given the super vague nature of the genre and the fact that it seems more like a genre of hindsight (with most media being declared this having been released even before 2000)… Nobody wrote those stories to be punk. The one punk thing I can see about several of these stories is people challenging Gods, but… That’s about it.Examples: Hercules: Legendary Journeys (1995), Xena: Warrior Princess (1995), God of War (2005)

Stonepunk

As a genre: The basic idea of Stonepunk is, that it is set in a stone age world, but with the technology being pressed towards a very anachronistic end, which is often played for laughs. Basically it gives stone age people a modern seeming world, though not really. Often enough this is used to make a point about the modern world and parody it in some regard. An argument can be made for stories, that feature stone age technology people being somehow subjected to modern technology (for example through time travel or space travel) also possibly falling into this genre.

As an aesthetic: Usually the aesthetic of Stonepunk is one of an overplayed stone age setting. The clothing characters might wear are not what we know is historically more accurate but really just “everyone wears a pelt around their shoulders”. Meanwhile stone age tools get spun to be used as all sorts of modern technologies.

Punk-Factor: The genre does usually not feature punk themes. However, the nature of parodying and challenging the modern world tends to be punk in its own merit, I assume?

Examples: The Flintstones (1960), The Croods (2013), Horizon: Zero Dawn (2017)

That's it. That's the list.

Feel free to add to it.

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