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There's a culture called Steampunk that is dedicated to a revamp of the Victorian age. Typically filled with massive steam powered mechanics and extravagant dirigibles, this classic age is mixed up with fantasy. The Steampunk genre includes not only clothing, but music, art, and literature.

In the fashion industry, steampunk has become a major hit. Classic steampunk designs including cogs and gears are being incorporated into the clothing lines of various designers. However, it is in the cosplay scene that steampunk is seen as a growing trend. Many cosplayers get together to wear steampunk costmes, including modified and stylized Victorian clothing, and portray themselves as pirates, adventurers, explorers, and victorian socialites. They wear outfits adorned with top hats and goggles, decorated coats, and even mock ray guns! The do-it-yourself community supports steampunk because most steampunk stuff has to be made your self. The aforementioned ray guns are simply modified and painted Nerf or Airsoft guns. Some are even good enough to use wood and metal to build their own ray guns or other accessories! You can find more info on this at http://steampunkguides.com.

Steampunk elements within the music genre aren't as popular as other styles; however it does encompasses all different styles of music, including rock, rap, . Steampunk rock has a particular sound to it, the beats are dark, and gritty, are mixed with a presence of folk, and can often have a shanty sound to them. Abney Park is an aptly named Steampunk band that is not only influenced by it in there music, but also in the instruments and personas they carry with them on stage Other, rap and hip-hop influenced music usually has a dark up-beat bass, with lyrics depicting a post-apocalyptic world, or even that of a mad scientists workshop. Dr. Steel is an example of this. His beats are catchy and heavy hitting, but his character resembles that of a mad scientist.

Steampunk has been picked up by the art culture surprisingly fast. You can easily find paintings of dirigibles and other flying machines traversing grey skies above vast, desolate landscapes. Such art can be found online, at your local art shows, and in galleries. While the purpose and perspective of such paintings is unlike anything else, the art styles can be very similar to other styles you have seen. While being dark and dreary, the artwork often depicts a violent sea, a dungeon-like-lab, or a deadend world, sometimes Frankenstein-esque. It is easy to point out anything steampunk inspired because the style is particularly unique compared to others.

Literature has made breakthroughs with the Steampunk culture. The birth of this trend can actually be linked back to H.G. Wells, and Jules Verne. Without there knowledge, the inventions, and worlds that these two writers depicted became the base of what we see in today's Steampunk community. The idea of a massive submarine, such as the one in 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea', and a brass time machine in 'The Time Machine' set up the idea of futuristic, yet what we would call retro nowadays, machines that seem so out of place in there given time periods. This idea was the very basis of Steampunk, and has been the driving force for many fanatics and hardcore fans.