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--- gameplay:lore:projectsquat:squat_hole_history [2025/09/15 16:25] – [Chapter 1 : The Origin of the Outpost] hairy_mary
+++ gameplay:lore:projectsquat:squat_hole_history [2025/09/15 19:25] (current) – [Chapter 1 : The Origin of the Outpost] hairy_mary
@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 === Ch1.2 Foundation of the outpost. ===
-Squat Hole was at this point little more than a permanent collection of squats gathered together in one place, all doing the same thing. There were no shops or other amenities of any kind - just a semi-continuous fight over cigarettes and tobacco ore. Events elsewhere on the Island were to change this, in particular [[gameplay:lore:projectsquat:a_short_treatise_on_the_inhabitants_history_and_customs_of_squathole#The Origins of Mudwiseacre |Noxious Smith's recent discovery of using zombie goats to brew beer.]] Many squats had taken advantage of this discovery, setting up a zombie goat holding pen where ever they could find space, and selling to each other any of the resulting tipple that they didn't drink themselves. These squats had their own cigarette requirements as much as anybody else, and the baccy mines were a natural place to set up a brewery, providing as it did, not just a ready source of cigarettes, but also a ready crowd of patrons happy to spend their new found wealth on beer. The baccy mines were already starting to be a magnet for squats engaged in the more traditional profession of mugging contestants in the jungle as well, and they brought requisition into the area.
+Squat Hole was at this point little more than a permanent collection of Squats gathered together in one place, all doing the same thing. There were no shops or other amenities of any kind - just a semi-continuous fight over cigarettes and tobacco ore. Events elsewhere on the Island were to change this, in particular [[a_short_treatise_on_the_inhabitants_history_and_customs_of_squathole# The Origins of Mudwiseacre |Noxious Smith's recent discovery of using zombie goats to brew beer.]] Many Squats had taken advantage of this discovery, setting up a zombie goat holding pen where ever they could find space, and selling to each other any of the resulting tipple that they didn't drink themselves. These Squats had their own cigarette requirements as much as anybody else, and the baccy mines were a natural place to set up a brewery, providing as it did, not just a ready source of cigarettes, but also a ready crowd of patrons happy to spend their new found wealth on beer. The baccy mines were already starting to be a magnet for Squats engaged in the more traditional profession of mugging contestants in the jungle as well, and they brought requisition into the area.
-One particular group of brewers were particularly successful. The McThugger family, led by Misanthropy McThugger. The reasons behind the McThuggers becoming the dominant brewers in the area are unclear. Perhaps it was their practice of adding panthzer tank fuel to their brew. Having a tight knit family meant that they were just better able to protect themselves against raids by rival brewers or better at handing out such attacks. Whatever the reason, the McThuggers soon rose to become the leading beer producers in Squat Hole. Certainly very soon they had gone beyond the normal practice of brewing at home and selling to passers-by on the street, and had set up a dedicated building where their brew could be bought and drunk, the aptly named //McThuggers' Piss House.//((It should be noted here that the word "building" should be taken loosely here. The Piss House, and indeed almost all buildings in Squat Hole to this day, was little more than odds and ends of canvases propped up and staked down with anything that came to hand no matter how inappropriate the material might seem to builders from elsewhere, or even to anybody with any common sense whatsoever.)) The squats now had all the basic essentials of life in the area. Beer, cigarettes, and an outside source of requisition.
+One particular group of brewers were particularly successful. The McThugger family, led by Misanthropy McThugger. The reasons behind the McThuggers becoming the dominant brewers in the area are unclear. Perhaps it was their practice of adding panthzer tank fuel to their brew. Having a tight knit family meant that they were just better able to protect themselves against raids by rival brewers or better at handing out such attacks. Whatever the reason, the McThuggers soon rose to become the leading beer producers in Squat Hole. Certainly very soon they had gone beyond the normal practice of brewing at home and selling to passers-by on the street, and had set up a dedicated building where their brew could be bought and drunk, the aptly named //McThuggers' Piss House.//((It should be noted here that the word "building" should be taken loosely here. The Piss House, and indeed almost all buildings in Squat Hole to this day, was little more than odds and ends of canvases propped up and staked down with anything that came to hand no matter how inappropriate the material might seem to builders from elsewhere, or even to anybody with any common sense whatsoever.)) The Squats now had all the basic essentials of life in the area. Beer, cigarettes, and an outside source of requisition.((Some might include //food// as a "basic essential of life" but very few Squats would and they would be regarded as effete by their colleagues. In any case the occasional morsel was provided by unwise improbability created creatures that attacked the outpost, more than enough for the cast iron bellies of the Squats.))
-This was around the time that the network decided to set up separate outposts for the various races, and for whatever reasons((The reasons that the network does anything at all are shrouded in secrecy, and the motives behind this move can only be speculated about.)) the baccy mines were chosen for the squats' home. The network set up a branch of the [[places:outpost:building:bank|Bank of Improbable]].((We are here going by the generally accepted theory that the bank is indeed run, or at least a product of the network. There are of course scholars who dispute this but they are in the minority. Whatever the truth of the matter, here is not the place to discuss these issues.)) An entrance to the [[places:outpost:buildings:commongrounds|Common Grounds]] was established, and another exclusive squat-only entrance to [[places:outpost:building:joesdojo|Joe's Dojo]] was also built. Squat Hole was properly born.
 === Ch1.3 Consolidation of the outpost. ===
-As in all outposts, [[places:outpost:building:eboys|eBoy's]] lost no time in setting up a branch of their emporium. Sheila took a little while longer to be convinced of the value of a [[places:outpost:building:sheilasshack|Shack of Shiny]] here, but she too eventually opened one of her famous shops.((In interview, Sheila, the overall owner/manager of the "Shack" chain, was strangely reticent about this period of time and the reasons for the change of heart. Other sources, who have asked to remain anonymous, inform me Sheila was worried that the cost of the extra security needed to see off burglary attempts by squats would outweigh any profit made. She was also unsure of the wisdom of arming the squats whom she thought were quite dangerous enough anyway. The source that I spoke to was unsure what had caused the change of mind on the subject, although it seems to date from a visit from the Watcher which led to a protracted conversation in a back room. My source told me that she did not know the subject of this conversation, as she would never snoop or pry, and anyway, the door was locked. She did note however that Sheila left the conversation tight lipped and in as bad a mood as she had ever been seen. Also that it was soon after this that my source got promoted to managing the new Squat Hole branch of the Shack.)) Other businesses soon followed. One squat, Micronoetic James had seen the success of the [[places:outpost:building:mikeschopshop|Mike's Chop Shop]] chain in [[places:outpost:improbablecentral|Improbable Central]] and [[places:outpost:newhome|New Home]], and demonstrating the initiative and entrepreneurship that makes Squat Hole what it is, set up a franchise in the outpost, undeterred by the minor detail that he didn't actually have any mounts to sell.
+This was around the time that the network decided to set up separate outposts for the various species, and for whatever reasons((The reasons that the network does anything at all are shrouded in secrecy, and the motives behind this move can only be speculated about.)) the baccy mines were chosen for the Squats' home. The network set up a branch of the [[bank_of_improbable|Bank of Improbable]].((We are here going by the generally accepted theory that the bank is indeed run, or at least a product of the network. There are of course scholars who dispute this but they are in the minority. Whatever the truth of the matter, here is not the place to discuss these issues.)) An entrance to the [[places:outpost:building:commonground|Common Ground]] was established, and another exclusive Squat-only entrance to [[joe_s_dojo|Joe's Dojo]] was also built. Squat Hole was properly born.
+As in all outposts, [[places:outpost:building:eboys|eBoy_s]] lost no time in setting up a branch of their emporium. Sheila took a little while longer to be convinced of the value of a [[places:outpost:building:sheilas_shack_of_shiny|Shack of Shiny]] here, but she too eventually opened one of her famous shops.((In interview, Sheila, the overall owner/manager of the "Shack" chain, was strangly reticent about this period of time and the reasons for the change of heart. Other sources, who have asked to remain anonymous, inform me Sheila was worried that the cost of the extra security needed to see off burglery attempts by Squats would outweigh any profit made. She was also unsure of the wisdom of arming the Squats whom she thought were quite dangerous enough anyway. The source that I spoke to was unsure what had caused the change of mind on the subject, although it seems to date from a visit from the Watcher which led to a protracted conversation in a back room. My source told me that she did not know the subject of this conversation, as she would never snoop or pry, and anyway, the door was locked. She did note however that Sheila left the conversation tight lipped and in as bad a mood as she had ever been seen. Also that it was soon after this that my source got promoted to managing the new Squat Hole branch of the Shack.)) Other businesses soon followed. One Squat, Microcephalus James had seen the success of the [[places:outpost:building:mike_s_chop_shop|Mike's Chop Shop]] chain in [[improbable_central|Improbable Central]] and [[new_home|New Home]], and demonstrating the initiative and entrepreneurship that makes Squathole what it is, set up a franchise in Squathole, undetered by the minor detail that he didn't actually have any mounts to sell.