The UnderGround
Technically, "down" is a misnomer since the Underground exists in the same space as the RG, just invisible until you open your eyes a little wider.
Geography
When "in" the Underground, the landscape of The RealGround largely carries over. Perceptions are realities in the UG. Local celebrities will be larger than life. A neighborhood that is seen as dangerous may be visibly darker with its street twisted and razor wire growing between cracks in the sidewalk. An old and internally dilapidated house may still look like it did in its prime due to how the people on the street remember and idealize it.
Ironically, this means that visitors from the RG typically recognize the wild shapes that something like a statue or a building can take. That's how they already see them, in a sense.
With Players from the RG though, this gets more complicated. A Player’s appearance in the UG is defined by perceptions, both their perception of themselves and others' perception of them. This composite image is called a Reflection. When someone from the RG travels to the UG, they can take advantage of this and may be able to change their appearance at will, at least within the limits of how they can see themselves. This flexible image that the Player projects is then called a Persona.
Ironically, this means that visitors from the RG typically recognize the wild shapes that something like a statue or a building can take. That's how they already see them, in a sense.
With Players from the RG though, this gets more complicated. A Player’s appearance in the UG is defined by perceptions, both their perception of themselves and others' perception of them. This composite image is called a Reflection. When someone from the RG travels to the UG, they can take advantage of this and may be able to change their appearance at will, at least within the limits of how they can see themselves. This flexible image that the Player projects is then called a Persona.
Fauna & Flora
The things that live in the UG are usually called Denizens or Cousins, but those things may or may not be reflections of living things in the RG. That might lead one to call them imaginary, which is technically true, but very misleadling. Denying the reality of the Denizens is a dangerous position to take. Whether by the will of the Citizens of the RG or the Higher Authorities they're real enough to be wary of.
Denizens are capable of what people believe of them, including manipulating or destroying Reflections of things from the RG. The UG is a land of ideas. If something dies there, then it dies in the hearts and minds of the Citizenry. A building destroyed in the UG may end up losing renters or lose market value, worse yet it may take on a negative light and attract vandalism. Intentional defacement in the UG could lead to condemnation and eventual demolition of the building in the real world.
Obviously with people this is more complicated. Reflections of people are deeply tied to the person's individual self-image. Fully destroying a Reflection is more likely to cause an existential crisis or psychotic break than to cause everyone around the person to forget they exist. But even so, crafty Cousins are more than capable of a somewhat literal character assassination.
-Art from Chiara Bautista
Alternative Name(s)
The UG, Backstage
Type
Dimensional plane
Location under
Included Locations
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