Now Does That Sound Fair To You?

stay a while willya! main: @shrimpdotpng art reblogs: @smorkingtiger

[getvalentined]

The Weather Channel's AQI is broken (apparently the entire planet is hazardous to breathe right now, oops) but the scale only goes up to 500 so I am in tears at how the little indicator loads in upon a refresh.

[earhartsease]

on it boss

[hugsohugs]

happy Phoenix Wright Gets Hit by a Car Day everyone

[sashayed]

has anyone figured out how to turn off the thing where you love your pet so much it slides inexorably into grief-borrowing

[boomstab-papa]

[your-cosmic-creature]

“For me this glass is already broken. I enjoy it; I drink out of it. It holds my water admirably, sometimes even reflecting the sun in beautiful patterns. If I should tap it, it has a lovely ring to it. But when I put this glass on the shelf and the wind knocks it over or my elbow brushes it off the table and it falls to the ground and shatters, I say, ‘Of course.’ When I understand that the glass is already broken, every moment with it is precious.”

[importantpics]

[darrelodin]

So this morning I found out that the RPG Maker forums will be shutting down this year, and it’s really just another depressing thing to see.

If you read the link the company does of course say they’re replacing the existing forums with new ones, and I’m sure no one would say the old ones didn’t perhaps need a lil bit of a glow up, some tech debt fixing… but there’s a few key notes in there:

They are NOT carrying over any history, data messages etc. from the old forums

They are NOT archiving, retaining or in any way saving the existing forums in any way

They have NOT provided any reasoning past ‘as part of continued efforts to support developers’

As an offhand, moderate read, this sounds to me like a desire for some change in the forums but deciding nuking everything is less expensive than rebuilding and carrying over info.

If I’m cynical, and likely realistic? Probably to increase sales of their latest GameMaker software by making it inherently more difficult for someone getting the older software for cheap pushing it to its limits. The amount of institutional knowledge on those forums is absurd.

And even if it is a benign reason, it’s still terrible because what do you mean you’re doing this with no recourse or potential for change? You sell software that runs on community goodwill? In an era where people are pulling away to open source software?? Crazy.

There are yeeeaaars of answers, plugins, suggestion, community built up on those forums - I’ve used the em to learn and grow my own skillet!!! And soon it won’t exist.

At the very least, they gave a ‘heads up’ - the deletion occurs mid December, so archiving by the community is possible from now. It’s just absurd that it needs to happen in the first place.

It’s just reflective of how the industry is right now - and why it’s so important for communities to grow and build up knowledge together, knowledge that is NOT reliant on a company that can pull the plug at any time in the very name of the very customers, users and supporters they are screwing over.

[eigwayne]

The good news is that other people are already starting external archival. Here's a couple posted on the r/RPGMaker subreddit:

https://web.archive.org/web/20260000000000*/https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/

https://rpgmakerchat.com/

https://github.com/imraf/rpgmakerweb-archive/

https://wiki.archiveteam.org/

[max-out-of-ten]

Bless the archivists of our time

[carlyraejepsans]

had a realisation the other day

except Stratt didn't need to do any of that, did she? she knew exactly who would be the replacement science specialist, grace having the coma resistance gene was a statistical miracle already and anyone else they would find would be unqualified and under prepared.

she's panicking. revisiting the list is a waste of time: she makes a panicked last ditch attempt to spare Grace's life and he calls her heartless for it

[hugsohugs]

i cannot find the screenshot for the life of me but there's one moment where kabbu scolds vi for being rude (common occurrence) and leif is like "YEAH vi. cmon 🙄" and it's such a prime example of leif and vi being remarkably sibling-like for people who have only known each other for a few days

[hugsohugs]

also this, which is from the very first dungeon. they have known each other for 5 minutes and leif is already pulling some "oh no gravity is increasing!" shit

[hugsohugs]

example of "siblings in bitchiness" from the tags on the og post

[hugsohugs]

ok i found the og conversation again and i was wrong abt it starting with kabbu but regardless you cannot tell me this isn't the most annoying ass sibling response ever

[somafalls]

[bulkhummus]

Project Hail Mary is in part about cowardice and inexorability and the philosophical quandary of whether or not the ends justify the means. In order to understand this, we have to understand both the character Eva Stratt and Ryland Grace, as well as their relationship. In embarking on this question, we must also account for the perspective in which the book is written. 

The book is written from Ryland's perspective, and that shapes the narrative by disregarding fundamental truths that lie outside of Ryland's opinion and personal reality. By his account, Ryland is a normal middle school science teacher, albeit with a doctorate in molecular biology he rarely uses. 

While this is true, Ryland is also set up to be an extraordinary individual. He is a leading expert in his field. He becomes the lead researcher on humanity's most important project after making the ultimate discovery. He becomes so woven into the very fiber of the project that he can no longer be removed. 

When the story arrives at the big, sacrificial ask, which is typically the point in most stories where the unwitting hero would accept his fate for the good of the people, Ryland says no. What normal, sane person would want to strap themselves to a rocket and be shot into space, with little to no training, and a conclusion of death by their hand or some other tragedy? We empathize. We understand. And yet. 

Ryland was never normal. By his own standards, sure, but not to anyone else in the book, least of all Stratt. 

Let’s look at his counterpart. Eva Stratt is a ruthless, effective leader with a morally dubious code only defined by preventing humankind from extinction. She was placed in this position by the powers that be, due to her ability to get results. She is, by all definitions, not a coward. She does not fear the choices she knows she has to make and does not avert her gaze. She goes to court. She paves the Sahara. She watches as a nuclear bomb blows up the arctic shelf. The debate of whether or not these choices were 'correct' aside, they were choices she made because no one else would. No one wanted to shoulder the responsibility or the blame. 

This is a story told through Ryland's perspective. It is all the more satisfying when who Ryland believes himself to be is at odds with who everyone else believes him to be. Ryland is scared. His trust is betrayed. He has been put in an impossible situation and everyone is confused and disappointed that he is not willing to rise to the occasion. Ryland has told the audience, with unwavering certainty, throughout every flashback that he is replaceable and worthless only to be utterly confused by why people don't agree with him. 

Ryland relies on the safe guard, the guise, of being a regular, normal man only when it suits him. He leans into normalcy to protect himself. He downplays his own importance throughout the entirety of the book in the hopes that it will be enough to save him from amounting to anything great that could be knocked down in the future by failure. When Eva Stratt lays bare all his truths as she has come to know them, it is cruel but true. Eva never flinches and she never lies. 

The story is asking us to consider the cowardly person a hero and the person who does not flinch in the face of difficult, horrific choices as a villain. Typically the reverse is true. To what extent is inexorability favorable? To what extent is cowardice necessary? Cowardice is an integral part to the story and ensures that the emotional beats of it work. Without Ryland's tendency to flinch and flee, we would not feel the impact of Eva's choices. He is quick to pass judgement on her character, often describing it in ways that alienate her own humanity, as are we, because the book is his inner monologue. 

When she sends Ryland to his cell where he is to remain until the ship's launch, she avoids him for four days. She looks away. That is not a person unaffected by their choices. Ryland even comments on that being the longest time they've been apart since the start of the project. She was hoping he'd rise to the occasion so he would not have to be at the receiving end of a choice she did not want to have to make, but he does not. To her, she sees a man who is fundamentally good and capable of the job. A man that she hoped would help her shoulder the enormity of her responsibility after standing by her side for years. Being forced to go on this mission against his will was horrific, and there is no excuse for doing that to another human being. We empathize. We understand. 

And yet. 

Eva saw who he was before he did. What defined him as a person? Who was he willing to die for? To fight for? Even as the external audience, it seemed he did not know the answer to those questions even before his memory and life were taken from him. Eva made that choice for him. In fact, it was made by the person that made the same kinds of choices in some form or another over and over throughout the entirety of the book. The logical choice, the choice supported by all evidence presented to her, was that Ryland was the best candidate for the job. The difference is that this choice is up close and personal. It is because of our empathy we do not want Ryland to be sent to his death, but Eva Stratt cannot afford to act on empathy. 

Without cowardice haunting his own thoughts, we as the audience would not feel the impact of his own choices further down the line. Ryland's heroic moments stagger throughout the present day story, but are cemented by the end of the book. Ryland's 'hero moment', the moment, comes when he chooses to save Rocky. It is more impactful than the prior, similar choice, because we have seen this relationship develop in a meaningful way, and we have seen who Ryland is and the choices he makes when he is unburdened by past failures of who he once was. 

A good man, as Eva Stratt knowingly said. She was never a liar. 

Liking a character and empathizing with their situation does not suddenly absolve them of all the ways other characters in the book, including Ryland himself, view him. Nor does it disregard the context provided in the book that outlines how fear and low expectations have guided his choices throughout his life. He was a coward. Anyone in his situation would be a coward. The beauty of the story is that the importance of the life Ryland builds after he is disgraced from the academic community (the life he refuses to return to) is the life that ends up saving him.

To deny Ryland cowardice and to ignore Eva's burden is to flatten both of their characters, allowing no room for complex exploration of what it means to be a human struggling to do what is necessary in the face of right and wrong. To explore identity when juxtaposed by navigating a nonconsensual situation. 

The story ignores the idea that bravery is the only foil to cowardice. It ignores the idea that bravery is fundamentally good and right, and cowardice is weak and wrong. Ryland Grace being a coward allows the narrative to extend grace toward him. He is rewarded for his meaningful and well built bravery with a long life, and a relationship that defines his very existence. Eva Stratt saves the world, despite the irreparable damage she does to it, and all the judgment the world passes on to her in the process. These characters only work because they operate in contrast to one another, and draw attention to the way cowardice and bravery bleed into one another throughout the entirety of the story.

[annabelle--cane]

in defense of doug eiffel, he was literally on the hephaestus on remand, he was doing penal labor, he did not want to be there and any vague illusion of him having a choice in the matter was cancelled out by cutter threatening his daughter to get him to comply. in offense of doug eiffel, hera was also there as forced labor and she only fucked around maybe 30% as much.

[castingpods]

OP you cannot leave these in the tags they are the most accurate character descriptions I’ve ever seen

[jetix]

2026-05-30

[its-funnytwittertweets]

[dragonpyre]

[sevastiel]

[thatrabidwolf]

Questions to ask yourself when creating a magic system

I have more questions for you!!! :D

As there are no real-word examples for this one, I’m going to be talking a lot about my own magic systems, and those of the medias I enjoy! There will be a list of all the things I referenced at the bottom!

What does magic DO

Exactly the title. What does magic do? (Can it make potions? Cast spells? Animate things? Transfigure things? Create things? Kill things? Cast hexes or charms? Multiple of these?)

What does magic have an affect on? What does it not?

How strong is magic? What are its limits? How do these differ from person to person, or place to place? 

Does magic do different things for different people?

How does a magic caster’s intention for a ‘spell’ affect it? Is magic entirely reliant on a mental image of what is wanted, or does it need to be casted a certain way to work, like a recipe?

How is magic casted? (Note- I recommend being creative here! It doesn’t have to just be waving a wand. It can be through making pottery, it can be through sewing certain patterns, or dancing a certain dance, etc etc etc)

How can spells be used for something that is not their intended/common purpose? How are new uses of magic discovered? Which uses are most common, and why?

How does societal standards affect the use of magic? Will less people know about more harmful or taboo spells? Will it be less common for, say, a woman to use/be trained in magic?

Source of Magic 

Where does magic come from? (Do the gods give access to their most devout followers? Is it handed down in one’s blood? Does it come from the earth?)

Is magic learnt, or are people born with it? (E.g does magic work through potions that can be made by anyone with the right ingredients, or is it only possible if one has magic already in their blood?)

Can someone who logically shouldn’t know magic learn/possess it by alternate means? (E.g. Luz from The Owl House learning magic  via ‘glyphs’ despite not being a witch) how would people treat this? (Is it seen as ‘lesser’ or somehow not ‘real’ magic?)

Can magic be harnessed through a wand/staff/etc? Can it only function through this conduit, or can it be done without? How does magic function if it does not have the aforementioned conduit? (Is it harder to manage? Is it more dangerous? Is it simply lesser?) 

Another dot-point because the last one was far too long; how is the use of ‘magical aides’ (wands, etc) treated? (Is it seen as something only a child would use? Is it very common? Is not using one seen as dangerous and bad?) How does the function of magical aides affect this? (Note- a very good example of this is the string in A Marvellous Light, which functions via ensuring a magicians cradles [hand movements one does to cast a spell] are more precise. It is only used by those with little magic, so it is looked down upon.)

How would one learn magic? (Is magic taught in schools? Are there books on it?)

Can magic be done/enhanced if multiple people cast it together? How would this be done? 

Is magic a separate entity from it’s user? Is it an entity at all? Can it react without instruction/ disobey it’s user? Is it a possession of it’s user? Is this different/ perceived differently for different people?

Can magic be mistreated/ abused? (Note- here I do not mean an ‘abuse of power’ I mean abuse in the way one could abuse a pet) what are the consequences of this? (Might magic stop working, or turn on it’s user?)

Affect on Culture/the greater world

Who has magic? Who does not? Who knows about magic? Who does not? Is it a secret? How is this secret kept? Who enforces that it must be a secret? What is the punishment for letting the secret be known?

Can people have more or less magic? Can people have more or less knowledge on it, or skill with it? Does this cause any power imbalances or issues for either side? 

How do the uses of magic impact the way things are done? (E.g. if there is a spell used to dry things, people may not use drying racks.) would the skills of those with more magic be useful in a work setting? (E.g. if some people know the aforementioned drying spell and some do not, might those who do know it work as something close to a washerwoman because of their skill?)

Is magic regulated at all? Who regulates it, what are the regulations, how strict are they, and what are the punishments for breaking them?

Is magic seen as normal? (Keep in mind: if magic is possessed by a majority of people, it very well may be. Because of this, characters may be less likely to be impressed by magic. Think about how this will affect the language surrounding magic, and how people treat it.)

How will different people view or interact with magic? (E.g. a rebellious teen, a businessman and an elderly woman are not going to have the exact same view or uses of magic. Try to explore this!)

How will those with a great deal of magic view those without/ without a great amount, and vice versa? How does this affect the world and it’s prejudices?

Consequences

How can magic hurt a person if misused/overused/ used at all? (Is the damage physical, mental, physiological, all three?) (E.g. my own magic system causes people to actively unmake themselves as they use their magic, leading to sickness, insanity, derealisation, hallucinations, etc etc etc)

Is this damage known? How does the knowledge of it affect the treatment of magic? (Are people terrified of it? Do they not care, and see it as a worthy risk? What might lead  someone to push through the damage?)

How does this damage manifest, and how noticeable is it? (E.g. Are there physical scars or other warning signs, or is it entirely unnoticeable until it is too late, like magical rabies?)

Can damage from magic be reversed or healed? How? Can potential damage be avoided? How? 

Can one’s magic turn on oneself? How would this happen, and what are the consequences of this? 

Can magic be hurt/diminished? How does this affect its users? (E.g. silver and werewolves)

When an attempt at magic fails, how does it fail? Is it like baking, where at worst it’ll ‘taste good, but be a little dry’ or is it like mixing volatile chemicals, where at worst you die?

Appearance

How does magic look? (I highly recommend finding a metaphor or motif for magic, as this really helps flesh out its appearance and makes it easier to describe!!)

Can its appearance look different for different people? Can it change over time?

Does magic manifest itself via means other than visual? (One of my characters has very strong nature magic, and thus he grows flowers when he is happy, and always smells floral)

Does magic have a physical effect on it’s users? (E.g. the dark magic in The Dragon Prince)

Is one able to tell when magic has been cast upon something? 

Every piece of media I referenced in this, in order of appearance

The Owl House, a TV show on Disney written by Dana Terrace

A Marvellous Light, a novel written by Freya Marske (this series is a wonderful example of how to make a magic system. It is very well thought out, and the varied experiences and views of magic for each magician character is so, so good. 10/10. If you want a good example of magic please read this!!! (Granted I might be a little biased because I just love this book series))

The dragon prince, a TV show on Netflix

[mckitterick]

V.E. Schwab's advice for creating memorable characters - works for both protagonists and villains

source post: X

[dduane]

This is really good advice.

It also ties neatly into the simplest version of the formula for getting people emotionally engaged with your characters: or how to build the moment in which your character starts moving from their initial state to the state in which they'll start changing their own lives.

First, you figure out the one important thing the character believes that they're wrong about. There's usually a core misperception that they haven't examined. Once they're forced to engage with it, it'll start to change everything about their perception of the world they're inhabiting and/or the people in it.

Then, as V.E. says, you identify the character's great desire and their great fear: the thing that character wants more than anything, and the thing or situation that terrifies them, and that they'll go to any lengths to avoid.

And having identified these two objects or situations, you build a situation in which the two forces will be in close, direct opposition to one another... then drop the character down in between them, and squeeze. Those two opposing forces become the jaws of a vise... and you crank the vise more and more tightly closed until the character has no choice but to acknowledge those opposing forces, and start (even in a small way) to deal with the pressure being exerted and push their way through.

This does not have to be, initially, a great climactic moment. In fact, it works better if it's not. It's more effective if your character has a brief low-intensity brush with these conditions-in-conflict early on. That way, when your big resolution scene comes along about two-thirds or three-quarters of the way along through the story arc, you'll have set up a resonance between that earlier hint or intimation of what's to come, and the really big blowoff. Your readers will recognize the resonance—the throb of tension between the two occurrences, like the vibration of a plucked string—and will find satisfaction both in the true resolution having been partially telegraphed earlier, and in how it's now being experienced and resolved in full.

This approach also allows you to set up more minor resonances between the realization of the conflict and its final resolution. These can serve to bind the structure of the work more closely together: to make it look (and be) less like a series of loosely strung-together plot events, and more like a unified whole, in which ripples of story business flow backwards and forwards, interpenetrating and influencing one another, and hinting at the big one to come.

But none of this can happen until the paired and opposing what-do-they-most-desire, what-do-they-most-fear axes have been defined. So that's a subject it's smart to spend some while thinking about (and for all your characters, not just the major ones), to be sure you're getting it right.

It's not unusual to get the wrong answers, or merely superficial ones, while you're still working out what's actually going on with the characters. So take your time. Eventually you'll find a set of answers that feel unquestionably right... and you can then nail those down in your notes and get on with making the kind of "good trouble" for your characters that will see them made complete.

[babblingfishes]

In my ravenous search for some unheinous thing with which to play my vast and ancient music library, I've discovered beautiful FOSS creatures feasting upon the corpse of WinAmp

And what this means is I can now play music with an interface made up of pixel art old enough to rent a car

The internet is beautiful forever

[babblingfishes]

Also i highly recommend getting a gaggle of friends together and scrolling through the piles and piles of archived winamp skins together. Peak experience.

[dovvvvv]

this is how charli xcx sounds to straight men