Bubblegum Love
- Intent: Describe a new area of Azurine City, Illyria where many 'alien' species can be found.
- Image Credit: Escape (Travel Website - The Shambles, Yorkshire)
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: Illyria
- City Name: The Ménagerie
- Classification: Urban Center
- Location: Azurine City, Illyria
- Affiliation: The High Court of Illyria
- Population: Heavy
- Demographics: A once independent city turned district of the Azurine City, The Ménagerie live a wide variety of off-world sentient lifeforms each often forming communities for support and protection. While Illyria is open to other races there is still a strong favoritism shown toward native Illyrians. Within its city limits can be found Twi'lek, Rodian, Togruta, Mirialan, Duros, Zabrak, Ithorian, Devaronian, Gran, and a few non-native Humans. While the inhabitants are not any more racist than native Illyrians, there is a strong desire to support one another against any perceived favoritism of native Illyrians by native Illyrians.
- Wealth: High. While Azurine City is quite wealthy as the capitol of Illyria populated by some of its wealthiest inhabitants, The Ménagerie is not. While most benefit significantly from the proximity to the capitol, many of its people do not benefit from established family names or hereditary wealth passed down among the Nobles of Illyria. As such, The Ménagerie is wealthy by comparison to most of Illyria, but not lavishly so.
- Stability: Medium. Local Law Enforcement is able to maintain Order with crime being on par for a city of its size. Local leaders are elected representing many communities within The Ménagerie and so its people feel their voices can be heard. Nevertheless, there is an undercurrent of tension with the nearby Azurine City. Nothing that has resulted in widespread protests or unrest, but a wariness of 'outsiders' corralled into a single location so native Illyrians can keep an eye on the 'aliens' among them. Outsiders are welcome -- even native Illyrians -- though patrons of certain establishments may keep a close eye on newcomers until their intentions become clear.
- Freedom & Oppression: The people of The Ménagerie and Illyria as a whole are free to live, shop, and eat wherever they like. This is especially true within the city limits; though even elsewhere considerable progress has been made introducing galactic species to previously isolated native Illyrians. Its residents can move freely and typically feel safe in doing so. That said, introduction of off-world flora or fauna must pass a rigorous customs inspection, with penalties being quite high for aggressive and prolific species being introduced to Illyria.
- Description: A homey, close-built city that once was far from the capitol and forgotten during the Noble infighting. With Azurine City's rapid expansion, this community has grown to house numerous sentients from other worlds serving as both a safe-haven for those of similar background and potentially a way for the natives to keep a closer eye on them. Speciesm isn't solved overnight no matter how firm an iron grip a ruler has.
- City Hall
The center of local government, this building is one of the largest in The Ménagerie. There are numerous offices with representatives from most of the local communities representing various species. Each community's representative forms part of the governing, legislative body. Citizens are welcome to observe the on-goings provided they do not interrupt the proceedings.
- Courthouse
Whenever possible the The Ménagerie will lobby to have alleged criminals from other worlds be tried at this Courthouse with juries more closely resembling the Accused's peers. Trials are often short, but fair to ensure cases are heard swiftly and not tied up in legal paperwork for decades on end -- the political pressure by the rest of Illyria also plays its part.
- Residences
The Ménagerie is comprised largely of residences. There are plenty of small business and stores, but most have occupations outside of the city itself. This helps avoid overcrowding for as long as possible while additional land is procured despite any Noble resistance. Homes are often relatively small on the inside, but not unduly cramped with most being single-family residences. Most residences are also condos or other high-occupancy dwellings due to the constraints of the city limits.
- Marketplace
There are several store centers, but there is only one Marketplace in The Ménagerie. This street is filled with stores and cries lining both sides. Unlike many streets being choked between dwellings, this street is suitably wide, but can still feel closed in due to the large number of people moving about stalls set up curbside. Almost anything can be purchased here even if the merchandise must be delivered elsewhere (often due to size).
- HyperRail Station
As part of the Illyrian Interplanetary Mass Transportation Development Project, the Chief Manufacturing Consultant ensured that The Ménagerie was one of the first major Stations constructed. While some Nobles grumbled at the expenditure, enough support was garnered among the Nobles after explaining what enabling rapid and free-flowing transportation for the city's residents might mean for Illyrian businesses.
Medium. As a civilian population The Ménagerie has a trained, local Law Enforcement department and a rigorous judicial system enforcing planetary and local law. It does not have any security check points, towering walls, or defense turrets that would be unusual for a typical city. While some have proposed additional security "for the residents of The Ménagerie" (no doubt a guise for controlling the crossing out of said city) such efforts have so far been held up in committee.
Enforcement Officers are provided training for a variety of issues, though there have been instances of cultural misunderstandings between different species of Officers and Civilian participants. Similarly, matters concerning poverty and mental health have a multitude of potential, often conflicting solutions put forward by various communities within The Ménagerie. Some frustration exists from the grid lock in what seems to be the government's unwillingness to address these issues, but have only amounted in small demonstrations before City Hall. Riots or criminal enterprises are unheard of to date.
In the wake of the Illyrian Civil War between Noble Houses, three major cities left standing began to grow. As their prosperity grew so too did their population. People from other worlds in the galaxy were soon brought in lured by the promises of opportunity or from the King's pragmatism in desiring the rapid ascension of the planet in the galactic community. Native Illyrian Nobles were heavily divided on the inclusion of such outsiders; and while the declare of King
Adron Malvern
could not be ignored, some resorted to subtler means of controlling the influence of outsiders. Those Nobles seized upon some non-native species began clustering together out of familiarity and sense of identity, and designated an area on the outskirts of Azurine City for their newest residents.Plans were drawn up with the intention of confining these alien species to a relatively small area where they could be monitored and, if necessary, dealt with -- should the King rescind his decision, or a new King rise. Yet despite the inhospitable welcome behind the design, or its distance at the time from the center of the Azurine City, the number of new residents did not slow as intended. Nor did it seem to inspire an overwhelmingly hostile response that could be easily spun to evict all of them off Illyria in one fell swoop.
Over a handful of years the area designated for The Ménagerie has been built up and filled with countless residences. With limited space almost no one holds a dedicated building for a single family or individual; almost every resident occupied some form of high-occupancy dwelling. What the Illyrian Nobles hadn't anticipated was that this density was entirely all too familiar. So many of those that came to Illyria had lived under such conditions their entire lives. A portion came from worlds with a population density far higher than anything a Noble could imagine. That being the case, the new residents found acclimating wasn't all that difficult -- though many aspired to lay claim to the wide open reaches once they amassed sufficient funds to do so. The opportunities were within reach, all they had to do was overcome the silent racism still prevalent in society.
More recently, the newly appointed Chief Manufacturing Consultant
Cali Ziiva
has taken it upon herself to elevate The Ménagerie from 'district we wish to forget' to 'district of Azurine City in need of development.' With the capitol having expanded considerably in recent years the two are practically on top of one another; with Azurine City naturally poised to engulf the far smaller Ménagerie. Before it turns into a 'petting zoo' of curios for native Illyrians, however, the Zeltron in charge of development has begun incorporating changes and rezoning efforts to ensure the city continues to prosper. In fact, her intention is that the residents can afford living anywhere else on Illyria as well as their skills can be useful in countless other cities, towns, or villages. Furthermore, while not her direct purview to do so, the Chief Manufacturing Consultant has begun to lobby other facets of government to promote and tout the benefits of the alien species to serving Illyrian purposes. With a little time, Cali Ziiva expects The Ménagerie as it is today will no longer be greatest concentration of diverse lifeforms; though she imagines it will always retain a certain character separate from most other area of the planet.
