Your Questions Answered

So Keriann Greaney Martin, my fabulous fellow Alliterati, was the only one to ask a question two weeks ago. Her query, reproduced here in case you don't want to go hunting, was:

What is your favorite thing about steampunk (if you could choose one)?

Oh sweet Jebus monkeys is this a hard question to answer, especially given there are so many reasons why I love me the Steampunk.

Steampunk attracts me because of the do-it-yourself aspects of the community. Many folks either make their own costumes or purchase items from craftspeople at conventions or at sole-proprietor shops somewhere in their town. It's that return to an earlier age, when the lone artisan was the main salesman of consumer goods to the general populace. Folks also would repair their clothing instead of purchasing new ones, and this aspect of repair instead of replace very much appeals to me. (I come from a family where we keep things until they wear out, so the whole "fix-it-first" mentality is fairly well ingrained.)

The other major reason is the sheer inventiveness of the most ardent parts of the subculture. There are people doing new and unusual things every day with Steampunk, and some are making their livelihoods off these constructions after realizing that there was actually a name for what they were doing anyway.

This is a very, very cool subculture to be a part of ... especially considering there's a very communal feel in many cases with people being eminently willing to help each other out.

So I hope that answers your question, Keriann. ;)