The Strange and Wonderful House: Difference between revisions

← Older edit

The Strange and Wonderful House (view source)

Revision as of 02:22, 6 June 2024

20,938 bytes added , 6 June

→‎Later history

Scrooge MacDuck

Tech, Wiki_Correspondent, Bureaucrats, emailconfirmed, Administrators

38,060

edits

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 | notable_inhabitants= '''''[[:Category:Residents of the Strange and Wonderful House|See list]]'''''
 | first_seen_in= [[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]''
-| also_seen_in= [[PROSE]]: ''[[Jenny Everywhere and the Nowhere Spiral (novel)|Jenny Everywhere and the Nowhere Spiral]]''
+| also_seen_in= [[PROSE]]: ''[[Jenny Everywhere and the Nowhere Spiral (novel)|Jenny Everywhere and the Nowhere Spiral]]''<br>[[PROSE]]: ''[[Morning After (novel)|Morning After]]''<br><small>(mentioned)</small>
 | copyright= CC-BY-SA
-}}'''The Strange and Wonderful House''', often referred to as simply '''the House''', and also called '''the Infinite House''' or '''the Mansion''', was a living house of mysterious origins whose interior encompassed an infinite number of rooms, many of them strange or supernatural. [[Jenny Everywhere]] was friends with [[the Architect]] of the House, and had an unusually good understanding of the nature of the House, which she visited in many incarnations, up to and including the day of the House's eventual destruction.
+}}'''The Strange and Wonderful House''', often referred to as simply '''the House''', and also called '''the Infinite House''', '''the Mansion''' or '''the Manor''', was a living house of mysterious origins whose interior encompassed an infinite number of rooms, many of them strange or supernatural. [[Jenny Everywhere]] was friends with [[the Architect]] of the House, and had an unusually good understanding of the nature of the House, which she visited in many incarnations, up to and including the day of the House's eventual destruction.
 == Description ==
@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 Some of the House's inhabitants perceived it as a “work of fiction” they had created as “writers”, which had somehow become real. This included the “modern” [[Master of the House]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 38: The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Accursed Springs)|The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Accursed Springs)]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 39-II: The Will of the Creator|The Will of the Creator]]'') However, [[Sid]] argued that this was a limiting perspective and the writers had ''not'' really created the House. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 38: The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Accursed Springs)|The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Accursed Springs)]]'')
-[[#The Basement|The Basement]] was a sea of intricate, inhospitable mechanisms which seemed to be over a thousand years old. One visitor who nearly lost their life there came to believe that these were the underpinningsof the House above: “the whole lace is run on valves… along a cosmic camshaft, seeming to rotate into the misty, mildewy distance”. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 44: The Basement|The Basement]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 44-I: Safety Catch|Safety Catch]]'')
+[[#The Basement|The Basement]] was a sea of intricate, inhospitable mechanisms which seemed to be over a thousand years old. One visitor who nearly lost their life there came to believe that these were the underpinnings of the House above: “the whole place is run on valves… along a cosmic camshaft, seeming to rotate into the misty, mildewy distance”. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 44: The Basement|The Basement]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 44-I: Safety Catch|Safety Catch]]'')
 ==== Inner structure ====
-The House was infinite, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Welcome!|Welcome!]]'') being described as “larger than most universes” by one [[Maid (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|elder]] [[Maid]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 46: The Maids|The Maids]]'') and home to many portals to and from other dimensions than [[Universe A (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|the one]] where its original exterior happened to be located. In many cases, transit from one room to another was achieved through portals internal to the house, rather than more conventionally making one's way through the building. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'')
+The House was infinite, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Welcome!|Welcome!]]'') being described as “larger than most universes” by one [[Maid (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|elder]] [[Maid]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 46: The Maids|The Maids]]'') and home to many portals to and from other dimensions than [[Universe A (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|the one]] where its original exterior happened to be located. In many cases, transit from one room to another was achieved through portals internal to the house, rather than more conventionally making one's way through the building. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'') Because it connected to so many realities, the House was constantly under attack from various dangers at its “borders”, including but not limited to [[Lovecraftian nightmare god]]s, steampunk pirates and [[zombie]]s. [[#The Observatory|The Observatory]] was tasked with protecting the House from these dangers, but was only partially effective. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 59-I: Remnants and Reminders|Remnants and Reminders]]'')
 Its internal organisation was paradoxical, including such rooms as a “[[#3rd floor basement|3rd floor basement]]”. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 11: Every House Needs One|Every House Needs One]]'') Most rooms' actual relative positions within the House were “fluid”, with the exception of [[the Stationery Room]] which was always located at the exact halfway point between [[the Master Bedroom]] and [[the Gatehouse]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 20: The Stationery Room|The Stationery Room]]'') Some rooms were incalculably larger on the inside than normal, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 7: The Coat Room|The Coat Room]]'') sometimes containing entire biomes, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 4: The Catamaran Loos of Oceania|The Catamaran Loos of Oceania]]'') and some changed appearance based on the observer ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 7: The Coat Room|The Coat Room]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 12: The Dining Room|The Dining Room]]'') or the circumstance. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 41: The ‘Rock Room’|The ‘Rock Room’]]'')
@@ Line 56: / Line 56: @@
 * the [[personification of February]]; ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 43: The Vault|The Vault]]'')
 * pink [[gnome]]s; ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 47: The Fabulous Salon|The Fabulous Salon]]'')
-* [[Dragon]]s; ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 47: The Fabulous Salon|The Fabulous Salon]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 49: The Roof|The Roof]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 50: The Stage|The Stage]]'')
+* [[Dragon]]s; ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 47: The Fabulous Salon|The Fabulous Salon]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 49: The Roof|The Roof]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 50: The Stage|The Stage]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 59-I: Remnants and Reminders|Remnants and Reminders]]'')
+* [[Ghost]]s; ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 59-I: Remnants and Reminders|Remnants and Reminders]]'')
 * [[the Lady in Mourning]], speculated to be a former goddess. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 19: The Ruined Chapel|The Ruined Chapel]]'')
-There were also miscellaneous human, or seemingly human, residents, such as [[Federico Ruiz]] and the other decadent socialites of his Pleasure Pad, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 3: The Pleasure Pad of Federico Ruiz|The Pleasure Pad of Federico Ruiz]]'') and more normal individuals like [[Christopher (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|Christopher]], [[Mandy (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|Mandy]], and their [[Uncle Jack]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 24: The Cellar|The Cellar]]'') The inhabitants of the House were numerous enough to form a society unto themselves; for example, there were multiple magazines internal to the House. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 47: The Fabulous Salon|The Fabulous Salon]]'')
+There were also miscellaneous human, or seemingly human, residents, such as [[Federico Ruiz]] and the other decadent socialites of his Pleasure Pad, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 3: The Pleasure Pad of Federico Ruiz|The Pleasure Pad of Federico Ruiz]]'') and more normal individuals like [[Christopher (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|Christopher]], [[Mandy (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|Mandy]], and their [[Uncle Jack]] ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 24: The Cellar|The Cellar]]'') or the artist [[Oliver (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|Oliver]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 52: The Guardian of the Ink Wells|The Guardian of the Ink Wells]]'') The inhabitants of the House were numerous enough to form a society unto themselves; for example, there were multiple magazines internal to the House. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 47: The Fabulous Salon|The Fabulous Salon]]'')
 There were also visitors to the House who stayed for years, in some cases dying there. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 19-I: The Right Wrong Questions|The Right Wrong Questions]]'')
@@ Line 65: / Line 66: @@
 === Staff ===
 {{main|Household Staff}}
-There existed a [[Master of the House]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 20: The Stationery Room|The Stationery Room]]'') He had to negotiate with the [[Goblin King (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|Goblin King]] on at least one occasion. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 24-I: Montresor|Montresor]]'') There was also a [[Master of the Fields]], the symbolic leader of the people of the rural towns surrounding [[the Strange and Wonderful House]] in its [[Universe A (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|native universe]]. It was this Master's responsibility to lead the [[Harvest Procession]] that brought victuals to the House for the winter through [[the Great South Gate]] every year on [[Harvest Day]], riding on the lead cart, which was pulled by a team of eight, unblemished black oxen adorned with ribbons. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 30: The Great South Gate|The Great South Gate]]'') However, [[Maid (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|one elder Maid]] was openly dismissive of the claims of those who saw themselves as “rulers” of the House; in her view, the House ruled itself, and all the members of Staff, Master included, were but custodians. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 46: The Maids|The Maids]]'')
+There existed a [[Master of the House]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 20: The Stationery Room|The Stationery Room]]'') He had to negotiate with the [[Goblin King (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|Goblin King]] on at least one occasion. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 24-I: Montresor|Montresor]]'') There was also a [[Master of the Fields]], the symbolic leader of the people of the rural towns surrounding the Strange and Wonderful House in its [[Universe A (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|native universe]]. It was this Master's responsibility to lead the [[Harvest Procession]] that brought victuals to the House for the winter through [[the Great South Gate]] every year on [[Harvest Day]], riding on the lead cart, which was pulled by a team of eight, unblemished black oxen adorned with ribbons. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 30: The Great South Gate|The Great South Gate]]'') However, [[Maid (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|one elder Maid]] was openly dismissive of the claims of those who saw themselves as “rulers” of the House; in her view, the House ruled itself, and all the members of Staff, Master included, were but custodians. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 46: The Maids|The Maids]]'')
 Prospective members of [[Household Staff]] were recruited from the people of the Fields on some Harvest Days, as children aged between six and twelve. If chosen, they would spend their whole lives within the House. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 30: The Great South Gate|The Great South Gate]]'') Similarly, adults could volunteer to join the Servants of the House, but would have to agree never to leave again, and to only marry among the other Servants. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 46: The Maids|The Maids]]'')
@@ Line 71: / Line 72: @@
 Directly under the authority of the “Masters of the abode” were the battle-ready, all-female [[Housekeeping]] corps, who were sworn to clean out every room in the House at least once per year. They were led by a [[Head of Housekeeping|forceful woman]]. They had an enmity with the [[Artifector]]s, eccentric inventors who worked in [[#The Laboratory|the Laboratory]] on devices nominally intended to make the lives of the residents of the House more convenient, although they often did the opposite or else wholly failed to pan out. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 27: The Lab|The Lab]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 27-I: The Lab: The Alarum Goes Off|The Lab: The Alarum Goes off]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 27-II: The Lab: Setting The Alarum|The Lab: Setting The Alarum]]'') The [[Maid]]s were a very serious guild, who saw themselves as second-only to the Master, and communicated directly with the House. Not all applicants survived [[the Test]] which they had to undergo before they would officially become [[Maid]]s. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 46: The Maids|The Maids]]'')
-Other staff included the guards keeping watch over the door to [[the Conservatory]] from [[the Guardroom]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 12: The Guardroom|The Guardroom]]'') the zookeepers patrolling [[the Zoo]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 29: The Zoo|The Zoo]]'') [[Malthus]] who watched over [[#the morgue|the morgue]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 23: The Rose Cottage|The Rose Cottage]]'') [[Montresor]] the [[Keeper of the Cellar]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 24-I: Montresor|Montresor]]'') the [[man with the crimson cloak]] who distributed invitations for [[#The Ballroom|the Ball]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 34: The Ballroom|The Ballroom]]'') the mysterious [[Sid]] who once led the [[Master of the House]] on a journey through [[the Gardens]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 35: Into the Gardens (Part 1)|Into the Gardens]]'', etc.) and [[Frank the Janitor]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 43: The Vault|The Vault]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 43-I: The Note|The Note]]'') A [[Robot (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|giant robot]] guarded [[#The Basement|the Basement]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 44-I: Safety Catch|Safety Catch]]'')
+Other staff included the guards keeping watch over the door to [[the Conservatory]] from [[the Guardroom]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 12: The Guardroom|The Guardroom]]'') the zookeepers patrolling [[the Zoo]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 29: The Zoo|The Zoo]]'') [[Malthus]] who watched over [[#the morgue|the morgue]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 23: The Rose Cottage|The Rose Cottage]]'') [[Montresor]] the [[Keeper of the Cellar]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 24-I: Montresor|Montresor]]'') the [[man with the crimson cloak]] who distributed invitations for [[#The Ballroom|the Ball]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 34: The Ballroom|The Ballroom]]'') the mysterious [[Sid]] who once led the [[Master of the House]] on a journey through [[the Gardens]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 35: Into the Gardens (Part 1)|Into the Gardens]]'', etc.) [[Frank the Janitor]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 43: The Vault|The Vault]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 43-I: The Note|The Note]]'') A [[Robot (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|giant robot]] guarded [[#The Basement|the Basement]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 44-I: Safety Catch|Safety Catch]]'') [[the Triplets]] who ran [[#The Fabulous Salon|the Fabulous Salon]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 47: The Fabulous Salon|The Fabulous Salon]]'') [[the Guardian of the Ink Wells|the Guardian]] of [[#The Ink Wells|the Ink Wells]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 52: The Guardian of the Ink Wells|The Guardian of the Ink Wells]]'') [[the Librarian]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 55-I: There is No Dripping in the Library|There is No Dripping in the Library]]'') the unkempt inspector who spent their career travelling through the House examining each of the hundreds of Airing Cupboards, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 56: The Seven Hundred Nineteenth Airing Cupboard|The Seven Hundred Nineteenth Airing Cupboard]]'') [[the Room Keeper]] of [[#The Spinning Room|the Spinning Room]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 57: The Spinning Room|The Spinning Room]]'') and [[the Armourer]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 58: The Armory|The Armory]]'') A [[Robot (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|giant robot]] guarded [[#The Basement|the Basement]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 44-I: Safety Catch|Safety Catch]]'')
 === Contents ===
@@ Line 78: / Line 79: @@
 The gates themselves, although they appeared at first glance to be made of glowing golden metal, were actually made of clear tubing within which luminous insects milled about for an indiscernible purpose. The gates could open of their own accord to let in a visitor. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 1: The Courtyard|The Courtyard]]'')
+From the Courtyard, the House itself was sometimes invisible, with only the windows and the thirty-foot-tall, [[The TARDIS|TARDIS]]-blue doors floating in mid-air. There was a doorbell, consisting of a “curious-looking, seemingly [[Japan]]ese bell with a matching stone mallet at its side”; striking the bell with the mallet incongruously produced the sound of a baby's laughter. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 51: The Doorbell?|The Doorbell?]]'')
 ==== The Great South Gate ====
@@ Line 95: / Line 98: @@
 ==== The Library ====
-The Library was extremely dusty, and its floors creaked in a frightening fashion. It was connected by a portal to the Library of [[Hawk Manor]] in [[Universe B (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|one universe]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 5: The Library|The Library]]'') The Library had a bespoke bathroom, which was, surprisingly enough, completely spotless, but for the forgotten book. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 5-II: The Bathroom (of the Library)|The Bathroom (of the Library)]]'') An “[[Elshanor|elegant and studious woman]] stroll[ing] with melancholy through a tattered library” was one of the scenes from across the House glimpsed by another visitor through one of the glass panes in [[#The Conservatory|the Conservatory]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our_Strange_and_Wonderful_House_(novel)#Appendix_13-II:_View_From_a_Jungle|View From a Jungle]]'') Directly above the bathroom of the library was [[#The sideways room|the sideways room]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 27-III: Heebie Jeebies|Heebie Jeebies]]'')
+The Library was extremely dusty, and its floors creaked in a frightening fashion. It was connected by a portal to the Library of [[Hawk Manor]] in [[Universe B (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|one universe]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 5: The Library|The Library]]'') The Library had a bespoke bathroom, which was, surprisingly enough, completely spotless, but for the forgotten book. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 5-II: The Bathroom (of the Library)|The Bathroom (of the Library)]]'') The Library was incredibly large, possibly infinite; from at least one spot within it, one could see bookcases “receding to the horizon in all directions”. It was dimly-lit and the floor was covered in plsuh red carpeting. The room was watched over by [[the Librarian]], an ominous figure who hated noisy guests. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 55-I: There is No Dripping in the Library|There is No Dripping in the Library]]'')
+An “[[Elshanor|elegant and studious woman]] stroll[ing] with melancholy through a tattered library” was one of the scenes from across the House glimpsed by another visitor through one of the glass panes in [[#The Conservatory|the Conservatory]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our_Strange_and_Wonderful_House_(novel)#Appendix_13-II:_View_From_a_Jungle|View From a Jungle]]'') Directly above the bathroom of the library was [[#The sideways room|the sideways room]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 27-III: Heebie Jeebies|Heebie Jeebies]]'') A portal connected the surface of the sea in [[#The Beach|the Beach]] to the middle of the Library. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 55: Teleporting Beach|Teleporting Beach]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 55-I: There is No Dripping in the Library|There is No Dripping in the Library]]'')
 ==== The Theater Room ====
@@ Line 110: / Line 115: @@
 ==== The Observatory ====
-The Observatory was located at the end of [[#Hallway - P13|Hallway - P13]], behind an “elegant door of dark wood” ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 9: Hallway - P13|Hallway - P13]]'') locked by a complex mechanism. The room itself was circular, with a dome that looked out into the night sky. Around the room were dozens of monitors built into consoles with buttons, keyboards, levers and toggles. In the middle sat a “technologically-advanced ”recliner chair with joysticks on both armrests and a helmet on the seat, from which a user could control the House's defensive lasers. According to its A.I. guardian [[Ana]], the purpose of the Observatory was principally to observe “both space ''and'' time”. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 10: The Observatory|The Observatory]]'')
+The Observatory was located at the end of [[#Hallway - P13|Hallway - P13]], behind an “elegant door of dark wood” ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 9: Hallway - P13|Hallway - P13]]'') locked by a complex mechanism. The room itself was circular, with a dome that looked out into the night sky. Around the room were dozens of monitors built into consoles with buttons, keyboards, levers and toggles. In the middle sat a “technologically-advanced ”recliner chair with joysticks on both armrests and a helmet on the seat, from which a user could control the House's defensive lasers. According to its A.I. guardian [[Ana]], the purpose of the Observatory was principally to observe “both space ''and'' time”. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 10: The Observatory|The Observatory]]'') The Observatory allowed the House to protect itself from threats native to the many realities to which it connected, and which constantly sought to overwhelm it, such as [[zombie]]s, [[Lovecraftian nightmare god]]s and “steampunk pirates”. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 59-I: Remnants and Reminders|Remnants and Reminders]]'')
 ==== The Men's Restroom ====
@@ Line 173: / Line 178: @@
 ==== The Tarn ====
-The Tarn was located behind the House. The backdoor of [[#The Conservatory|the Conservatory]] led out of the House and onto a path passing between [[#The Dark Wood|the Dark Wood]] and the Tarn, leading to [[#The Ruined Chapel|the Ruined Chapel]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 19: The Ruined Chapel|The Ruined Chapel]]'') The [[Wandering mendicant (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|wandering mendicant]] who spent his final years near the Chapel drew “a meager sustenance of wild root and clear water” from the tarn. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 19-I: The Right Wrong Questions|The Right Wrong Questions]]'') One legend about the origins of the House claimed that the “curse” of the Tarn originated when [[the Architect]] drowned himself in it after being spurned by [[Woman in the Painting|the woman he loved]], but serious historians of the House believed that this was nonsense and the Tarn and its curse predated the House. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 33: The Painting|The Painting]]'')
+The Tarn was located behind the House. The backdoor of [[#The Conservatory|the Conservatory]] led out of the House and onto a path passing between [[#The Dark Wood|the Dark Wood]] and the Tarn, leading to [[#The Ruined Chapel|the Ruined Chapel]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 19: The Ruined Chapel|The Ruined Chapel]]'') The [[Wandering mendicant (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|wandering mendicant]] who spent his final years near the Chapel drew “a meager sustenance of wild root and clear water” from the tarn. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 19-I: The Right Wrong Questions|The Right Wrong Questions]]'') One legend about the origins of the House claimed that the “curse” of the Tarn originated when [[the Architect]] drowned himself in it after being spurned by [[Woman in the Painting|the woman he loved]], but serious historians of the House believed that this was nonsense and the Tarn and its curse predated the House. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 33: The Painting|The Painting]]'') Indeed, the Tarn was left intact by the [[Fall of the Strange and Wonderful House]], the House's last ruins crumbling into the Tarn. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 60: The Fall of the Strange and Wonderful House|The Fall of the Strange and Wonderful House]]'')
 ==== The Ruined Chapel ====
@@ Line 212: / Line 217: @@
 ==== The Airing Cupboard ====
-The Airing Cupboard was located on [[#The fourth floor|the fourth floor]] down [[#The east wing|the east wing]], and apparently held a terrible secret. It ceased to be used as an actual airing cupboard in the Victorian era, when a parlour maid “discovered its true nature”, which prompted “the [[Master of the House]] at that time” to conceal the entrance by placing a life-sized portrait of [[Master of the House's mistress|his mistress]] over it. Reportedly, his [[Master of the House's wife|wife]] was so outraged she left [[The Strange and Wonderful House|the House]] forever, moving to the continent, only to die of jealousy “a mere fortnight after”.
+The Airing Cupboard was located on [[#The fourth floor|the fourth floor]] down [[#The east wing|the east wing]], and apparently held a terrible secret. It ceased to be used as an actual airing cupboard in the Victorian era, when a parlour maid “discovered its true nature”, which prompted “the [[Master of the House]] at that time” to conceal the entrance by placing a life-sized portrait of [[Master of the House's mistress|his mistress]] over it. Reportedly, his [[Master of the House's wife|wife]] was so outraged she left the House forever, moving to the continent, only to die of jealousy “a mere fortnight after”.
 Eventually, the door was uncovered once again as part of the preparations for “the coming of [[The Great Glass Elevator|the elevator]]”. The first visitor to take notice of the door pulled it open only to be greeted with “the unexpected scents of lavender and lye soap laid over a base tang of copper”. A [[Figure in the Airing Cupboard|mysterious figure wearing a “peculiar” Victorian nightdress]], seated in a corner, greeted the visitor with “Darling! You've been so long!”, and closes its arms tightly around him, locking him into place. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 26: The Airing Cupboard]]'')
@@ Line 265: / Line 270: @@
 The Gardens were large and mysterious. A sign at one of their entrances warned that they were “the domain of the [[Werepanda]]”. They were tended to by [[Sid|an old man]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 35: Into the Gardens (Part 1)|Into the Gardens (Part 1)]]'')
-It contained anything from bushes to “great trees”, and somewhere within its depths was [[the Bodhi Tree]]. There was a shortcut to [[#The Warrens|the Warrens]] through the Gardens, which was often used by certain [[Hares In Charge of All Vegetation|parkour enthusiasts]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 36: Into the Gardens (Part 2)|Into the Gardens (Part 2)]]'') Generally speaking, the orchards and vegetable gardens were “nearest to the House”, but “a determined person could appear anywhere in the garden if they so desired”. Notable subdivisions of the Gardens included [[#The Topiary Veranda|the Topiary Veranda]] and [[#The hedge maze|a hedge maze]] designed by [[I. T. Haze]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 37: The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 1)|The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 1)]]'') The Gardens also contained a location which, “depending on [one's] perspective”, also simultaneously existed in [[China]] and in [[Japan]], where thick bamboo stalks stood in pools of stagnant water. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 38: The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Accursed Springs)|The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Accursed Springs)]]'')
+It contained anything from bushes to “great trees”, and somewhere within its depths was [[the Bodhi Tree]]. There was a shortcut to [[#The Warrens|the Warrens]] through the Gardens, which was often used by certain [[Hares In Charge of All Vegetation|parkour enthusiasts]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 36: Into the Gardens (Part 2)|Into the Gardens (Part 2)]]'') Beyond the Gardens, past the Bodhi Tree, was [[#The backyard|the backyard]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 55: Teleporting Beach|Teleporting Beach]]'') Generally speaking, the orchards and vegetable gardens were “nearest to the House”, but “a determined person could appear anywhere in the garden if they so desired”. Notable subdivisions of the Gardens included [[#The Topiary Veranda|the Topiary Veranda]] and [[#The hedge maze|a hedge maze]] designed by [[I. T. Haze]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 37: The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 1)|The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 1)]]'') The Gardens also contained a location which, “depending on [one's] perspective”, also simultaneously existed in [[China]] and in [[Japan]], where thick bamboo stalks stood in pools of stagnant water. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 38: The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Accursed Springs)|The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Accursed Springs)]]'')
 ==== The Warrens ====
@@ Line 319: / Line 324: @@
 ==== The Stage ====
 The Stage of the House was a dangerous, temperamental theatre stage; stained with what lore insisted was just dye, it had heavy, purple velvet curtains which “[had] been known to swallow whole people up”, trapdoors which sometimes accidentally opened, lights wont to catching on fire, and other such hazards, with rubber knives occasionally being replaced with metal ones. As such, only extremely adventurous and experienced entertainers dared to perform upon it, from “singers and musicians who [had] sung to pirates, princes, [[dragon]]s, peasants, and spies and lived to sing the tale” to actors who “[were] not really acting”. Indeed, many thrilling tales were told or performed on this stage, including “pirate adventures, tragedies from [[Angel|the Gardeners]], romances told by [[dragon]]s, space voyages told by aliens and astronauts, and so much more”. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 50: The Stage|The Stage]]'')
+==== The Ink Wells ====
+The Ink Wells were circular wells filled with an apparently limitless supply of all the kinds and hues of paint and ink one could imagine. They were located in a cement room locked behind a large golden gate whose bars were actually enlarged pens. The gate was located at the end of a long series of twisting, “whispering” hallways, and an ominous female voice chanting in a dead language warned anyone who got too close. However, [[the Guardian of the Ink Wells]] who watched over the room and could unlock the door from the inside was actually benevolent and harmless-looking, being a [[Jenny Everywhere#Guardians of the Ink Wells|teenaged girl wearing aviator goggles]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 52: The Guardian of the Ink Wells|The Guardian of the Ink Wells]]'')
+==== The Tunnel ====
+The Tunnel was a long glass tunnel in which all light in [[the House]] once became trapped, making it into “the Airing Cupboard of Despair”. There were people trapped inside the tunnel, one of whom eventually worked up the courage to creep to the end of the tunnel and unlatch the brass-and-glass hatchway; instead of letting the swirling, silent darkness in as the others feared, this let the light out. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 53: The Airing Cupboard of Despair|The Airing Cupboard of Despair]]'')
+==== The Infinite Wing ====
+Well into the House's modern era, it was said that [[the Architect]] continued drawing up blueprints for new rooms to add to “the Infinite Wing”. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 54: The Empty Room|The Empty Room]]'')
+==== The Empty Room ====
+The Empty Room was said to be the hardest room to access in the whole House, but that was perhaps for the best, as no one in their right mind wanted to access it: as soon as one entered the pure-white expanse within, one lost sight of the door itself, becoming nothing but a non-corporeal point of awareness in the middle of the void, lost forever — “eternal, suspended, deathless”. Only [[the Architect]] knew how to get in and out, and liked to spend its afternoons there, “thinking and drawing up blueprints for new rooms for [[#The Infinite Wing|the Infinite Wing]]”. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 54: The Empty Room|The Empty Room]]'')
+==== The backyard ====
+The backyard was located beyond [[#The Gardens|the Gardens]] and housed a portal to [[#The Beach|the Beach]] about which [[the Guardian of the Ink Wells]] once had to write “a report”. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 55: Teleporting Beach|Teleporting Beach]]'')
+==== The Beach ====
+The Beach was a beautiful beach of soft black sand, with a clear blue sea which almost seemed to glow. The water of the sea was warm enough to swim in, and, more bizarrely, was breathable, so that one might spend hours underwater without needing to resurface. A relatively well-documented portal connected [[#The backyard|the backyard]] to the Beach; less well-known, until it was discovered by accident by [[the Guardian of the Ink Wells]] and [[Treefrog]], was the portal from the surface of the water in one particular spot to [[#The Library|the Library]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 55: Teleporting Beach|Teleporting Beach]]'')
+==== The Seven Hundred Nineteenth Airing Cupboard ====
+The seven-hundred and nineteenth airing cupboard to be inspected by a member of [[Household Staff|Staff]] who had spent their career inspecting all the cupboards in [[the House]], this one was fairly innocuous, containing nothing but a damp mop and an off-white water-heater whose enameling displayed faint traces of rust. The oddity was that this water heater, a mere “forty-gallon job, quite possibly the cheapest one on the market” was the only water the aforementioned inspector had seen in all their travels over the House by the time they reached this particular Cupboard. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 56: The Seven Hundred Nineteenth Airing Cupboard|The Seven Hundred Nineteenth Airing Cupboard]]'')
+==== The Spinning Room ====
+The Spinning Room was hard to get to, as its door was never in the same place twice, moving every second. As the name implied, it spun endlessly on its axis, with the only furniture being a chandelier which appears as just a blurred shimmer, and a device to keep the spinning movement from causing the room to spin ''out'' of its axis. The only figure in the Room who, impossibly, did not spin, was [[the Room Keeper]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 57: The Spinning Room|The Spinning Room]]'')
+==== The Armory ====
+The Armory was located close to [[#The Guardroom|the Guardroom]], and its large double-doors were guarded by two guards armed with giant fountain pens for halberds. It contained billions of pens of various types and sizes, which, being creations of [[the Armourer]], could also transform into more conventional weapons, so as to have one's cake and eat it too based on the proverb of the pen being mightier than the sword. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 57: The Armory|The Armory]]'')
+==== The Room of Renewal ====
+The Room of Renewal was a room which appeared to [[Robert Quick (in-universe)|one of the House's original creators]] a long time after he started to believe himself to be the last living resident of the House. Entered through a set of glass double doors, it appeared as a huge, serene shower room, the showerheads on one wall seeming almost incongruous in the pastoral landscape that made up most of the room. The other three walls were only visible in the distance, there was a blue sky above with fluffy white clouds, and the ground was covered with thick vines and broad, fan-shaped leaves, with round pools carved out of smooth brown stone dotting the landscape and even a “squiggly closed-loop river” brooked by a stylised wooden bridge. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 59: Room of Renewal|Room of Renewal]]'', ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 59-I: Remnants and Reminders|Remnants and Reminders]]'')
 == History ==
@@ Line 359: / Line 394: @@
 A visitor to the House once wandered into [[#The Basements|the Basement]] through a small staircase that hadn't been there before. Once they reached the copper bridge at the end of the stairs, they briefly fell under the hypnotic thrall of the sea of gears, and walked off the bridge, falling to their apparent death. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 44: The Basement|The Basement]]'') However, they were saved by [[Robot (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|the giant robot]], who caught them in a grip that was at once hard and gentle. Smiling “indulgently”, the robot carried them back up the stairs and dropped them off at the door before disappearing, incredibly fast, back into the depths. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 44-I: Safety Catch|Safety Catch]]'')
+A [[Jenny Everywhere's friend (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|friend]] of [[Jenny Everywhere]]'s once sought shelter at the House because she'd heard about it from Jenny. She needed a place to stay because she had just been knocked out and robbed of all her possession, including the [[ruby chopstick]]s given to her by a “[[Space marauder (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|space marauder]]” during “her first visit to [[Mars]]”. Stumbling into [[#The Courtyard|the Courtyard]], she made her way to the huge doors, marvelling at the way the House itself seemed to be invisible, with only the windows and doors floating in mid-air. After failing to make a sound by knocking, she made up her mind to use the strange doorbell, which, to her surprise, produced “the sound of a child's laughter” instead of the loud chime she had expected. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 51: The Doorbell?|The Doorbell?]]'')
 On one occasion, [[Jenny Everywhere#Romanced by Nowhere|an incarnation of Jenny Everywhere]] ran into the Strange and Wonderful House while chased by [[Jenny Nowhere#Romance with Everywhere|Jenny Nowhere]]. She tried to hide in a dark room, but was found by Nowhere; however, Everywhere picked up a lamp and clobbered Nowhere on the head with it before making her escape. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Jenny Everywhere and the Nowhere Spiral (novel)|Jenny Everywhere and the Nowhere Spiral]]'')
@@ Line 391: / Line 428: @@
 === Later history ===
-A resident of the House once lay ahead in bed at 3 a.m., unable to slip as thoughts swirled through his head. Getting up, he wandered the corridors until he found [[#The Zen Garden|the Zen Garden]] for the first time, and slowly began to rake. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 42: Zen Garden|Zen Garden]]'')
+A resident of the House once lay ahead in bed at 3 a.m., unable to sleep as thoughts swirled through his head. Getting up, he wandered the corridors until he found [[#The Zen Garden|the Zen Garden]] for the first time, and slowly began to rake. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 42: Zen Garden|Zen Garden]]'')
 On one occasion, a gardener made a mess in [[#The North West Attic|the North West Attic]], necessitating the intervention of [[Frank the Janitor]]. Realising that he needed the vacuum from [[#The Vault|the Vault]], Frank implemented the rather complex series of steps needed to access it: climbing “the sound of chimes in [[#The Courtyard|the Courtyard]] to pluck a leaf from [[the Bodhi Tree]]”, collecting a [[certificate of sanity]] from the “non-mad-science corner” of [[#the Laboratory|the Lab]], plucking a certain key from underneath the 32nd seashell in [[the Painting]], consuming the leaf, handing the certificate to the [[personification of February]] to gain entry into [[#The hallway to nowhere|The hallway to nowhere]], “turning left at Thursday”, and then chucking the key into “a vase on the ceiling above the painting of infinite sparrow hawks”. The door of the Vault duly unlocked; in the centre of the oppressive room stood the wooden plinth. However, after crossing the final defence, a stream, in the proper manner (jumping twice on his right foot and then landing on his left across the stream), he found a note on the plinth instead of the item he desired.
@@ Line 399: / Line 436: @@
 Over the years, dozens of writers solemnly laid down their implements of writing on the altar in [[#The Cathedral|the Cathedral]] and gave up on writing forever. None of them ever regretted this vow or went back on it. However, the ritual came to be a subject of stigma, and the Cathedral was dusty and long-abandoned by the time one more writer hesitantly stepped inside and prepared to put their fountain-pen down on the altar. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 45: The Cathedral|The Cathedral]]'')
+All light in the House once became trapped inside [[#The Tunnel|the Tunnel]], making it into “the Airing Cupboard of Despair”. There were people trapped inside the tunnel, one of whom eventually worked up the courage to creep to the end of the tunnel and unlatch the brass-and-glass hatchway; instead of letting the swirling, silent darkness in as the others feared, this let the light out. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 53: The Airing Cupboard of Despair|The Airing Cupboard of Despair]]'')
+After running out of ink, [[Oliver (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|Oliver]] once stumbled through “twisting, whispering hallways”, a stack of paper in his hands and pens, quills and paintbrushes filling his pockets, in search of [[#The Ink Wells|the Ink Wells]]. Following an eerie chant in a dead language, he makes his way to the giant gate made of golden pens, the room behind it too dark to see anything. Putting a hand on the gate, he caled out for “[[Jenny Everywhere#Guardian of the Ink Wells|the Guardian of the Ink Wells]]”. The gate opened of its own accord, and he fell into the room, where an ominous voice asked what his business is. However, when he explained that he simply needed some ink, the lights flashed on to reveal the Guardian, an unassuming teenage girl dressed in robes and [[Jenny Everywhere's goggles|aviator goggles]]. Gesturing at the giant holes in the cement floor behind her, she told him to help himself to “any of the uncovered wells”, claiming that she had “all colors and liquids”. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 52: The Guardian of the Ink Wells|The Guardian of the Ink Wells]]'')
+Later, the Guardian and her friend [[Treefrog]] decided to take a trip to [[#The Beach|the Beach]] through a portal in [[#The backyard|the backyard]] about which the Guardian had once written a report. Already wearing neon-coloured bathing suits, the two made their way through [[#The Gardens|the Gardens]] and past [[the Bodhi Tree|the giant tree]] until they found the backyard and were teleported to the beach. There, immediately jumping into the almost-glowing blue, breathable water, they spent an hour having fun before resurfacing them. Accidentally discovering another, hitherto-undocumented portal, they suddenly found themselves transported, cold and dripping, to the middle of [[#The Library|the Library]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 55: Teleporting Beach|Teleporting Beach]]'') where they were quickly reprimanded by [[the Librarian]]. Recognising the Guardian, the Librarian addressed her as “Inkstain”, forcing an annoyed Guardian to insist to Treefrog that it ''wasn't'' her real name in the face of Treefrog being all too glad to have a less grandiloquent name than “Guardian” by which to address her friend. This naturally angered the noise-hating Librarian further and she “roared in a whisper” for the girls to be silent. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 55-I: There is No Dripping in the Library|There is No Dripping in the Library]]'')
+A man once came to [[#The Armory|the Armory]] seeking a weapon and was initially taken aback by the shelves full of pens until [[the Armourer]] made his presence known and demonstrated the peculiarities of his creations. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 58: The Armory|The Armory]]'')
+=== The beginning of the end ===
 At some point, a man came to lie between the roots of [[the Bodhi Tree]] in [[the Gardens]]. He never moved or aged, although his blue eyes were wide open. He became known as “[[the Bodhi Son]]”, and a [[Loom weaver (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|superstitious old woman]] started a tradition of placing candle-prayers at his feet. Over time, this developed into a full religion, with a cathedral of wood and stone being carefully built in the shade of the Tree, with the Bodhi Son lying in the narthex. Eventually, a fire broke out, burning down the cathedral and the Tree itself, but the Bodhi Son was unharmed, crying in his sleep as his face covered with suit. In the instant when the Bodhi Tree finally died, he blinked as he awoke. When he opened his eyes again, they were no longer blue, but green like the Tree's leaves had been. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 39-III: The Bodhi Son|The Bodhi Son]]'')
+Over the years, entities from the many realities which connected to the House continued to make the House more dangerous, despite [[#The Observatory|the Observatory]]'s best efforts. Eventually, [[Robert Quick (in-universe)|one member]] of the original group of people who had “dreamed up” the House came to believe that he was the last survivor, though the House itself still stood firm. His certainty was shaken when he heard an echoing laugh coming from a room which hadn't been there before, and entered it. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Appendix 59-I: Remnants and Reminders|Remnants and Reminders]]'') However, he found himself alone in the serene [[#The Room of Renewal|Room of Renewal]], with a picnic laid out for him. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 59: Room of Renewal|Room of Renewal]]'')
+=== Fall ===
+{{main|Fall of the Strange and Wonderful House}}
+Eventually, the Fall of the House was foreseen; when “all the artifacts had been auctioned off, the [[ghost]]s had all found other places to haunt” and “the alchemists had moved their Great Work elsewhere”, the last two people to leave were [[Jenny Everywhere#At the Fall of the Strange and Wonderful House|an incarnation of Jenny Everywhere]] and a [[Dragon (Our Strange and Wonderful House)|Dragon]]. Jenny actually hadn't been to the House in ages, but found that she would somehow still miss it. She had returned to the House just before its fall to retrieve something: a [[House seed]].
+Jenny and the Dragon watched forlornly as a bolt of lightning shot down from the “lead-coloured sky” and struck the House. A blue fire consumed the vast bulk of the House within moments, leaving nothing but ruins which crumbled into [[#The Tarn|the Tarn]]. After a long moment of silence, the Dragon declared: “So it goes. All things must have their time”, before asking Jenny if she “ha[s] taken everything [she] need[s]”. She showed the Dragon the House seed before pocketing it, and, with no further ceremony, the two walked off elsewhere, leaving behind the silent shores of the Tarn. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'': ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)#Chapter 60: The Fall of the Strange and Wonderful House|The Fall of the Strange and Wonderful House]]'')
+=== Legacy ===
+While suffering from [[shifter hangover]], [[Jenny Everywhere#Kim's friend|one incarnation of Jenny Everywhere]] was put in mind of buildings which could alter their shape and remembered: “We had a house like that once”, her mind filling with other Jennies' memories of “a vast and ever-changing palace, strange and wonderful and alive”. She also remembered “[[Infinity Apartment|an apartment full of universes]]” and, in her addled state, could not recall if it and the House were the same place. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Morning After (novel)|Morning After]]'')
 [[Category:Locations]]
@@ Line 408: / Line 465: @@
 [[Category:Universe A (Our Strange and Wonderful House) individuals]]
 [[Category:Open-Source Characters and Concepts]]
+[[Category:Houses]]