Nightshade

The bustling City of Nightshade is as remote as you can get. Completely independent, from its government to its industries, from the rest of the world, Nightshade resided somewhere between American and English waters when it was initially founded in 1912, but sometime, largely presumed by its current citizens to be December 8th, 1984, the foundation that kept the city from moving gave way. Currently, the city sits on the Pacific Ocean, keeping its distance from all outside life by a massive wall built by locals to keep the city free from any form of outside life. Since the Nightshade Independence Act passed in 2018, no person from Nightshade may leave the city, and, save for very specific exceptions, any person from outside of the city will be refused even temporary access to the city. Because of this, no global pandemics, wars, or even minor conflicts from outside the walls have ever touched Nightshade.

Despite the city being isolated from the entirety of the world, industries such as robotics have exploded, and many people have some form of robot companion. Laws have been passed to regulate how robot companions may be used, providing mutual respect to both humans and robots. In addition, Nightshade provides itself everything from locally grown, caught, and prepared foods, to canned goods, to toys, books, video games (however, some of these may be imported from the United States or other countries, through loopholes in the Nightshade Independence Act purposefully implemented to allow Nightshade citizens to import select items Nightshade may have difficulty producing on its own.), game consoles, and much more.

Nightshade, aside from local businesses like Grantworks and their exemplary services, sports teams, and some famous people, are mostly well known as the home of the legendary heroes known as the Minutemen, who saved the city, and the world, from the threat of Von Nebulus and his Silencer army 1000 years ago. Spanning 14 generations, the current Minutemen, Harper and his android friend Amy, now protect the city from Von Nebulus' former second in command, Stryker.

Within Nightshade, they are given as many rights as possible, and are treated as proper heroes, and have uninhibited access to any and every building, business, and area within Nightshade's border walls, which separate the foundation Nightshade sits on and the massive wall that keeps the city isolated. The color they wear has been trademarked as Minutemen Blue, and can only be used with the permission of the Minutemen, to which for 7 generations, they have mostly agreed.

In short, with about 20,000 residents, encompassing 25 square miles, and featuring everything from highrises, to quaint neighborhoods, to a massive lake, amusement park, two waterparks, ski mountains, hiking trails and more, many of which can be accessed any time of day, Nightshade is a city that works a bit different. Friendly people, robots to keep you company and cheer you up, things to do, sights to see, and a relaxed atmosphere make Nightshade a white spot on a black void. Those who live outside wish they could go in, and those who live inside never want to leave. Even with Stryker's chaos and havoc occassionally causing property damages or other issues, Nightshade chugs right on, and keeps a smile on its face doing it.

Population and Culture
Nightshade's residents are almost always relaxed, calm, and kind, and some business owners even risk their own personal profit to ensure that a certain customer can leave with a happy experience. In the early 2020s, amidst a global pandemic, while all of those affected lived outside of Nightshade, residents still crumbled under all the heated debates, headlines, and other issues that occurred outside their walls. During that time, suicide rates exploded, and depression within Nightshade reached an all time high. Robotics company Evotek, who was working on a special line of robot companions, began offering their robots to affected persons at no cost, and by 2023, the depression spike had fallen back to minimal levels, but Evotek realized there were others who wanted a robot but couldn't afford one at their prices. In addition, they saw a golden opportunity to offer robot friends to help teens and children dealing with depression and loneliness. By both introducing a line of these robots, and reducing the cost of their original series, by 2030, for the first time since 1999, depression had fallen to 0%. As Evotek was a Nightshade company, like many of Nightshade's leading corporations, it used its vast revenue to provide its components and technologies to smaller, struggling companies.

Despite outsiders meticulously trying to peer in and count the population, see everything that can be seen and spy on its citizens, on the inside, Nightshade and its 20,000 inhabitants live peaceful lives, doing as they please. While 80% of the population is human, 20% are androids, some built by local companies, some built by citizens, and all of which mainly exist to keep people company, make them feel happy and comfortable, and help them whenever they need it. Most of these androids are female, but some boys do exist. Unlike the rest of the world, no companies in Nightshade have any interest in developing robots with any intimate capabilities. As well, Nightshade androids have a more robot-like appearance, with sparing use of soft skin, only where its needed, and adorably expressive faces, stylized after colorful cartoon characters. They first went on sale to citizens in 2002, and became commonplace by 2024, as companies took extra time evaluating these robots to ensure they would function in almost any circumstance.)

English is the language of the day in Nightshade, but some folks have come to Nightshade hailing from the UK and even Australia, and many colloquial terms and general, non-vulgar slang used there, have ended up becoming part of Nightshade vocabulary, with many of the current younger generations picking up these words as well. Many of these people are granted residence in Nightshade as their parents likely came to Nightshade before the NIA went into effect.

Sports are a common hobby in Nightshade, but with limited local teams, most sports come through television and in the earlier years, some television companies reached out to British companies for licensing and affiliation. One of the premier channels on Nightshade television is an affiliated version of defunct British service Screensport, founded by several people of British descent.

Once Screensport in the UK left the air on 1st March 1993, the Screensport Broadcasting Company, which was formed in 1989 as a small startup aiming to bring local Nightshade residents sports action (and was still looking for an identity and name at the time), was given approval to continue using the Screensport name for their service once they began broadcasting, so long as it was only within Nightshade.

Signing on the air on January 1st, 1999, and using a graphics package similar to the package the UK feed of Screensport used from 1988-1990, the network is adored by Nightshade residents, and is offered on every Nightshade TV service. (More specifics about the Nightshade TV industry and its parallels to British TV can be found in the "Dive in Depth" section of this article.)

Screensport broadcasts the largest collection of European football (Known to Nightshade residents as simply football. American football never caught on there.) as well as motorsports. NSB's The Sports Channel, a part of their "5 Channel Strategy" and a premium service, works in conjunction with Screensport while also offering more local coverage. Every year, Nightshade's youth engages in thrilling BMX racing championships, which are broadcast on both networks, and even smaller regional networks. These events have grown more and more popular as of the 2030s.

Unlike the rest of the world, simple clothing is what Nightshade citizens flock to. Something that keeps the sun off, the gentle ocean breezes on, and a smile on their face is all they need. As such, Nightshade only sells clothing, and for that matter, electronics, food, and other goods, made in Nightshade. (Some businesses from outside Nightshade have been given permission to sell to Nightshade citizens. For more info on these brands and their status in Nightshade, see "Foreign brands in Nightshade" in the Dive in Depth section of this article.)

Currencies and Economy
This article will be completed soon. -NT

Education
Nightshade has a rather strange mentality to education, ditching written assignments and six-hour long tests in favor of more hands-on learning. Throughout Nightshade's five schools (Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High, and one University), all of them encourage students to do things rather than write things. From art to physical education, gym to computer class, students are instead taught real world scenarios, shown good ways to deal with them, and then will be able to try it themselves, at their own pace. While many teachers and councils of the outside world have spoken that Nightshade's educational system is "broken beyond repair", actual students can't get enough of it.

Nightshade University is also one of the most special facilities in all of Nightshade. Not only are students free to explore the campus, perform music, work on just about anything, and use their room to the fullest with ample space and a friendly atmosphere, but students are given a lot of things free with admission, including their room, a top of the line laptop, free for them to customize as they feel makes them comfortable, and for the students who feel like they may not be able to handle all of these responsibilities on their own, those students are given a friendly robot companion, courtesy of Evotek, Nightshade's world-class robotics company. After they graduate, they are allowed to take everything home with them, including their newly acquainted android friend. Students who show unbridled compassion for their robot friend during their enrollment will, after graduation, also be given the opportunity to work with Evotek in making more robot friends for all of Nightshade.

Nightshade University is the only facility in all of Nightshade that accepts students from outside of Nightshade's walls, but recently, laws are being passed to change that and make it only open to Nightshade students, in part due to recent world affairs souring Nightshade's connections to the outside world.

Arts and Entertainment
Nightshade is always alive with the swish of paintstrokes and dotted with creative individuals ready to make something beautiful. With tons of beautiful places to see, its not hard to see why Nightshade is beloved by artists and illustrators the world over. Thanks to Nightshade's advancements in Internet, Nightshade residents can use approved conventional social media platforms, or use a new social network, Nighthawk, that acts as a place for Nightshade artists to truly express themselves. Not all social networks, or even websites, can be used, however. Nightshade specifically bans sites like Google, Facebook, and others for incredibly egregious data collection practices. Nightshade tech companies have worked to provide Nightshade only alternatives, but some residents have used virtual private networks to share their work with the outside world. Such work that in most cases would go unnoticed has exploded on social media as users realize the joys and warm fuzzy feelings Nightshade's artistically gifted citizens can convey.

Nightshade also features many forms of entertainment and leisure. In addition to its cinemas, parks, the massive waterfront that is free for residents to swim in, free from the fear of creatures such as sharks, thanks to the city's massive walls, sailing, and more, Nightshade offers a ski mountain with a variety of slopes, amusement park with 4 heart pounding roller coasters, and one historic landmark, two waterparks, rec centers, and much more, hidden away in the bustling city and its outlying landmasses.

Notable Locations
Each of Nightshade's four Districts offers many types of facilities based on certain themes:

- Northern District (Entertainment and Leisure)

- Eastern District (Arts and Recreation)

- Western District (Education and Commerce)

- Southern District (Business)

Each District is littered with beautifully designed facilities, drafted by Nightshade's own artists and architects. Many of the Southern District buildings feature bridges over the main roads, so as you leave Central Square and ascend a tunneled roadway, large bridges will dart overhead as you see massive business headquarters where all the magic really happens. Some companies, like Nightshade's beloved Evotek, and Specticom, a communications company, allow visitors during business hours, so you can catch a glimpse of how the stuff you use everyday is made, firsthand.

Central Square is the most active part of Nightshade, with millions of steps taken every day. Shops, including an Evotek Experience Centre, where residents can find a new robot buddy to keep them company, and more offer everything under the sun, with big, open buildings giving beautiful views of the sky (whilst polarized glass allows you to look all around without going blind from the sun's harmful rays.)

Houses and residences litter the Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest of the city, with enough space between the districts to look outside your windows and see rolling hills and clear skies instead of highrises and corporate buildings while taking in the happy and optimistic atmosphere Nightshade provides.

Trivia
- The Animated Series takes place within the 2100s, although that would only represent 300 years instead of the 1,000 years Nightshade has dealt with the Silencers. Nick changed this for the September 2021 reboot of the series, as he felt setting it in the 2900s just didn't feel right. Instead, the lore of Minutemen equates that the 1,000 years of war actually started before Nightshade became what it is now.

- Nightshade's massive wall actually rarely appears in the animated series unless a scene takes place close enough to it. This is done, according to Nick, due to his own lack of proper depth perception, to ease the workload on himself.

- Many companies and businesses borrow some form of name or design philosophy as a real world company (most of these now being defunct.) For example, NSB, Nightshade Satellite Broadcasting, a television provider, takes its inspiration from the defunct BSB, or British Satellite Broadcasting, who went on the air AND off the air in the UK in 1990. The real company offered much better picture and sound to rival Sky, but unfortunately, unlike NSB did for Nightshade, BSB couldn't make a dent in "The Murdoch Machine" and would eventually merge with Sky. In parallel to the real world BSB, NSB uses square shaped aerial dishes, or "Squarials", which litter the residential areas of Nightshade, and an actual reconstruction of the now demolished Marco Polo House was also made, and can sometimes be seen in the animated series. Partially, this was done so Nick could give his friends in the UK something to recognize, and partly because he is a massive fan of retro British television.

- In Nightshade, 99% of all homes receive Nightshade's teletext services, whereas in the rest of the world, teletext is already out the door.

- Much of Nightshade's TV industry borrows presentation cues from British television, simply as Nick prefers it to American TV. Cues such as in-vision continuity, nightly sign-offs with a clock, and others can be found on Nightshade television, just as they used to be on older British television stations, but nowadays, no longer exist.

Dive in Depth
Still want to know more about Nightshade? You're in the right place. Take a look at the pages below, and see where they take you.

Foreign Brands in Nightshade

Nightshade does have some brands that originate from outside the walls, that have been granted explicit approval to sell their goods in Nightshade. While these brands are not named in the animated series (mostly due to copyrights) the designs of these goods are instantly recognizable with their real world counterparts. Some of these companies are:

- SEGA (Video Games, Arcade Machines, Game Consoles)

- Apple (Cellular Phones, Smart TV Boxes, Tablets, Computers, Watches, etc.)

- LEGO (Construction Sets)