The Courtesy Kick: A light kick to the butt is a friendly, affirming gesture used to encourage, congratulate, or end conversations. Use the side of the boot, not the toe. Strength must be calibrated; too soft is insincere, too hard is hostile. Failing to kick when the situation calls for it is seen as emotionally evasive.
Personal Space Is Seasonal: During the perpetual winter, people stand closer than is comfortable. Backing away implies distrust or that you think someone is about to malfunction. The only acceptable excuse is holding hot food or live machinery.
The Thirty Cookie Expectation: When cookies are present, you must eat at least one. If many are present, it is socially acceptable for one person to attempt to eat thirty in one sitting. This is not a contest. Refusing entirely makes people uneasy. No one remembers why this started.
Shared Food, Uneven Distribution: Food is rarely divided evenly. Someone always gets the burnt or weird portion. The correct response is to accept it, comment on it, and eat it anyway. Attempting to redistribute food evenly is seen as overcorrecting reality.
What Counts as an Insult: Deeply insulting acts include thanking someone too formally, asking why something is done a certain way, offering to optimize a process unprompted, or saying "that seems dangerous" without smiling. Kicking someone, mocking clothes, or pointing out failure are not insults. Tone matters more than content.
Apologies Are Backwards: If you bump someone, you say "watch it" and they say "yeah, yeah." If you break something, you explain how it happened and someone else apologizes for being nearby. Direct apologies imply guilt and unwanted responsibility.
Waiting for Machines That Are Ready: When a machine pauses, hums, or hesitates, you wait. Pressing buttons repeatedly is frowned upon. Talking to or creatively insulting machines is normal. Rushing a mechanism will draw glares.
Stepping Over Moving Parts: You always step over a moving part, never on it—even if it's safe or designed for it. Stepping on moving parts is considered arrogant.
Scarves Are Mandatory (Emotionally): Scarves are decorative, comforting, and something to fiddle with. Not wearing one makes people think you are new, reckless, or about to cause a problem. Extra scarves are loaned without comment.
Hats Mean Things (But Nobody Explains): Hat size, angle, and decoration carry social meaning. Nobody agrees on the specifics. Do not ask.
Stopping for Nothing: Sometimes groups will stop walking for no reason. The correct response is to stop with them, look around, and resume when they do. Pushing through marks you as impatient or suspicious.
Collective Ignoring: If something strange but non-threatening happens (e.g., a talking snack, a screaming gear), everyone ignores it together. This is maintenance, not denial.
Children, Teaching, and Correction: Children are rarely scolded. They are told, "No, like this," "Not yet," or "That’s later." Adults correct each other the same way. Direct explanations are avoided.
Visitors are allowed to break customs. They are watched, quietly steered, and gently kicked if needed. If a visitor insists on doing things "properly," locals become uncomfortable and distracted. Trying too hard is worse than doing it wrong.
Raverie runs on deadly machines, endless winter, and systems that require calm. These customs keep people moving, manage emotions, and make failure normal instead of catastrophic. Joy, stupidity, and routine are load-bearing. Nobody worships this idea; they just live it.
Gifts Must Be Slightly Inconvenient: A good gift is hard to carry, annoying to store, or requires explanation. A perfect gift is suspicious. An easy gift is lazy. If it fits neatly in a bag, people will comment.
Practical Gifts Are Rude (Unless Weird): Giving someone something they need is impolite unless the item is altered, oversized, or otherwise compromised. Examples: gloves with one long finger, a deafening kettle. Unmodified necessities imply judgment.
Gifts Are Given After the Event: Gifts arrive days late, too early, or during unrelated moments. Being "on time" suggests planning and feels impersonal.
Forgetting Is Temporary: Forgetting is fine. Never correcting it leads to corrective behavior: others will give you increasingly pointed gifts until you remember. This is maintenance, not hostility.
Small Gifts Become Large Quickly: If reciprocation is unclear, gift size escalates rapidly. A missed scarf becomes a coat. It stops only when someone declares, "Okay, we're even now."
Re-Gifting Is Encouraged (But Only Forward): Passing a gift back to the giver is insulting. Passing it to someone else, an automaton, or a public space is acceptable. People recognize their gifts in circulation and feel pleased.
Personal Knowledge Is Mandatory: A good gift shows you know someone's habits, annoyances, or a specific failure they'd rather forget. This is considerate. Excessive understanding is awkward and requires jokes to defuse tension.
Handmade Is Not Better — Modified Is: Handmade gifts are neutral. Altered gifts are ideal (e.g., a store-bought item with one piece replaced). Explaining the modification ruins it.
Gift Refusal (Extremely Serious): Refusing once is allowed. A second refusal requires explanation. A third refusal is conflict. Most people accept, complain loudly, and keep the gift.
Gifts are how people apologize, escalate friendships, resolve tension, and admit affection or rivalry. They are evidence of attention, not tokens of love. If someone stops giving you gifts, something is wrong.
Mild Annoyance Is Flirting: If someone teases, corrects, or inconveniences you constantly, they might like you. If they stop, they definitely don't.
Proximity Without Explanation: Repeatedly standing near someone without acknowledgment shows interest. Sitting nearby when other seats are free is bold. "Accidentally" sharing a route is obvious and respected.
Shared Discomfort: Bonding begins through shared minor suffering: waiting out mechanical delays, being stuck together, eating something unpleasant. Comfort comes later.
Gift-Based Escalation (Romantic Edition): Romantic gifts follow strict rules: 1st (small, irritating), 2nd (more personal), 3rd (borderline inappropriate), 4th (unmistakable intent). Skipping steps is alarming.
Touch Is Casual, Intent Is Not: Leaning, scarf-tugging, gentle shoving, and the Courtesy Kick are common. What matters is who initiates and how often. Sudden tenderness causes confusion.
Hand-Holding Is a Public Statement: Hand-holding is rare and serious. People will notice, gossip, and assume things are settled. Letting go too quickly is worse than not holding hands.
Confession (Worst Case Scenario): Directly saying "I like you" is overwhelming, risky, and dramatic. Most confessions are indirect: "So… are we doing this?" Once stated aloud, it becomes socially binding.
Breakups Are Logistical: Endings focus on returning scarves, dividing gifts, and clarifying who keeps which inconvenience. Emotional discussions happen later. Remaining friendly is expected.
Romance is not about passion. It is about endurance, mutual tolerance, shared stupidity, and escalation you forgot to stop. People don't fall in love; they accidentally commit, look around, and decide that's fine.