"why do you still bring up charlie kirk" because it's funny. his death is genuinely a running joke to me. you could say it's the greatest contribution he has made to society
realizing that the online sphere and especially tumblr is NOT a good sample for ‘what everyone thinks’ is so, so, so good for your mental health and moral OCD. i swear to god. realizing that you don’t have to live your actual life like you’re being hunted for sport because the average tumblr user will hunt you for sport for wording something slightly weird or engaging in the wrong stuff or whatever is so incredible. like no you’re actually not fucked up and evil for not donating or for watching that one indie cartoon or questioning a post that everybody is agreeing with. that’s just tumblrs georg making you feel that way
Never thought this would be a hot take in TTRPG space, but GM and player should always try together to fit player's ideas into GM's narrative. If GM doesn't have to allow characters that might not be 100% fit their vision of the railro...I mean, "their game", then they might as well just write a fanfic.
This is what's so fucked up about "nothing that requires the labor of others is a human right".
The labor is already being done under capitalism. The laborers are already being underpaid under capitalism.
When you propose removing the greedy profiteers and paying the workers a reasonable wage, people call that "slavery" while they have no problem with the current system.
The cops very clearly planted evidence on him because they had to make an arrest because all eyes were on them and whoever actually did the deed was making them look stupid.
Why would the real killer hero have kept the weapon on his person and traveled two states over while carrying it and a manifesto in his bag, conveniently turning the crime into a federal matter? The same guy whose bag they found in a park, filled with monopoly money? Why did the police turn off their bodycams, take Luigi's stuff, drive a block away, turn their bodycams back on, go back into the restaurant, and then arrest him?
From the moment of his arrest, even left-of-center media has been presuming his guilt without examining anything (e.g. calling him "the killer" instead of "alleged" or "accused") and then when I say he didn't do it, the nearest person chimes in with some quip that tells me they think he did do it but should go free anyway. Don't get me wrong, I would have the same attitude if he had done it. But he didn't. It makes me feel like the only sane person in the world, even among my staunchly leftist friends.
when i was a kid i decided that killing people was bad therefore war was bad therefore the military was evil. and adults would tell me it's more nuanced than that and i would understand when i grew up. well i'm a grown up now and idk i still think that killing people is bad and war is bad and the military is evil
Sometimes I wanna commit acts of incredible violence against fictional characters but I don't wanna write or draw them because they just don't deserve the love and care I put into stuff I do
I am skipping your ads as fast as I can. I'm skipping past your sponsor read. I'm muting the tv. I'm muting the tab. If they get too annoying I will simply stop trying to watch.
If advertisers can use every manipulative trick in the book to get me to buy their product, I am fully within my rights to do everything I can on my end to make their job impossible
This one's not a game! It's a tool you can use while running games. It's also a divination method. It's both. I've been using it for both purposes for a while, and the system has become very intuitive for me.
You can have this version too if you want, but the full system is also under the readmore:
WITNESS A storytelling supplement and divination tool. INTRODUCTION Witness is not a roleplaying system. It is a tool to employ while usin
Introduction
Witness is not a roleplaying system. It is a tool to employ while using a roleplaying system of your choice for inspiration and guidance in letting the narrative unfold. In identifying NPCs, new locations, plot twists, or any element of the narrative to which you would enjoy trusting fate and interpreting its decisions.
This system is written chiefly with adventurous genres in mind- dungeon fantasy, space opera, and so on. But it should apply reasonably to a wide variety of genres with different tone, focus, and sense of scope.
The system is also mainly intended for narrators and game masters- the inspiration and guidance below is provided with this specific game role in mind. But players who find a use for it in character creation, mystical meditation or divine communion, or other decision making should feel free to use the system to its full potential if they find it helpful. Witness can even be used in freeform writing too. No other game system or dice rolling is ever really necessary. All you need is a twelve-sided die, or “Witness die.”
Witness is built to follow similar principles to real world divination such as tarot, tea leaves, casting dice or runes, or even magic 8-balls. Practitioners of any of the above should find this system’s principles of intuitive, attentive, and creative interpretation of readings familiar. In fact, Witness makes a solid system for conventional real-life divination if you’re so inclined.
Acts & Angles
Everything done though the Witness system is done on a special d12 called a witness die, and each number on the die corresponds to a specific symbol. The faces can be split into four different acts or three different angles, and every symbol is a unique combination of a certain act from a certain angle. So for example “direct fire” would point at the sword, explained below, while “indirect ice,” would point at the coin.
Acts are basic modes of change or states of being, defined in broad abstract terms.
🔥FIRE: The act of fire incites, commences, or escalates something. It’s activation or acceleration. When inspiring imagery, fire is burning hot, loud, colorful, or energetic.
❄️ ICE: The act of ice suppresses, suspends, or halts something. It’s stasis or stability. When inspiring imagery, ice is freezing cold, quiet, colorless, or calm.
☀️ LIGHT: The act of light gathers, organizes, or complicates something. It’s construction or consolidation. When inspiring imagery, light is warm, radiant, straight, or reassuring.
🌙 DARK: The act of dark banishes, separates, or simplifies something. It’s destruction or liquidation. When inspiring imagery, dark is cool, shady, winding, or weird.
Angles are approaches or modes by which a given act can take place.
➡️ DIRECT: Direct means immediate, blunt, and sometimes superficial. When inspiring imagery, direct often means tough and physical.
↪️ INDIRECT: Indirect means subtle, circuitous, and sometimes unexpected. When inspiring imagery, indirect often means adroit and tricky.
🔀 RADICAL: Radical means fundamental, transformational, and sometimes unintuitive. When inspiring imagery, radical often means clever and wise.
Most often and in most things fire leads to light, light leads to ice, ice leads to dark, and dark leads to fire. Instigation, development, stasis, entropy, and new instigation, with no beginning or end. In reverse order the acts can be associated with the seasons: light for spring, fire for summer, dark for autumn, and ice for winter.
SYMBOLS
As noted earlier, every unique combination of act and angle corresponds to one of twelve symbols, which are the basic outputs of any Witness reading, and each one corresponds to the numbers 1 through 12 on your twelve-sided die, or Witness die.
Whenever you roll your witness die to get one of these symbols, in system terms you are witnessing that symbol. After all, you aren’t choosing it, you’re simply seeing whichever one is being shown to you. Each symbol has a broad representation of changes or states of being, which can be interpreted in “good” or “bad” ways each time it’s witnessed. A symbol can also prompt specific people, places, or things rather than broad ideas.
Before you roll your witness die, that is to say: before you witness a symbol, you must declare whether you are witnessing the symbol itself (for a broad and abstract suggestion), or witnessing an item, person, place, event, or outcome. Each section on each symbol has suggestions for all of these, depending on what element of storytelling you need to witness. If several suggestions are listed, it’s up to you to figure out which one is most appropriate. You might come up with something not specifically listed, but if it aligns with the general idea that the examples represent then that’s fine.
If you only want to witness a specific act or a specific angle, simply roll and witness whatever act or angle the resulting symbol is attached to. You can do this for general imagery or tone, if you already have an idea you want to make more specific.
FOR EXAMPLE: Suppose you want to add a new character to your story. You declare that you want to witness a person, and roll the die. The result is 1 (the sword), so you witness either a hunter, a soldier, or a hated enemy. Suppose you choose a soldier, and want them to be on the way somewhere. You declare that you want to witness a place, and roll the die. The result is 6 (the cup), so you witness either a lake or river, a theater or musical hall, or a pub or tavern. In context you decide the river seems most reasonable. You wonder what kind of river, so you declare that you want to witness an act, and roll the die one more time. The result is 10 (the key) but you only meant to witness its element (fire) to characterize the river. Is it hot? Colorful? Loud?
You probably won’t want to witness this many things in a row. You’ll probably only want to witness one thing, maybe two, but you can do so as much or as little as you need.
1: THE SWORD 🗡️🔥➡️ The sword is a weapon. A tool of violence. But not the mindless violence of fists or teeth, the sword necessarily has a deliberate purpose. It passes judgment, it enacts praxis, it makes a decision and commits that decision into irreversible action. Whether this deserves to be celebrated or condemned depends heavily on who’s holding the blade, and how much thought they gave to their choices before they crossed the point of no return. Will you be proud or regretful when it’s done? Are you done? A sword often necessitates another sword, after all. When it’s good the sword is righteous and brave. When it’s bad the sword is vindictive and spiteful.
(The number 1 is the sword because the numeral follows the length of the blade.)
Item: Martial weaponry, broken pieces of something, a knife or other cutting tool.
Person: A hunter, a soldier, a hated enemy.
Place: The site of a great battle or massacre, a den of vicious foes, a court of law.
Event: A battle or duel, an argument, restitution is paid.
Outcome: “Actions have consequences.”
2: THE SHIELD 🛡️❄️➡️ The shield endures harm to spare something more vulnerable. Sometimes it even deflects that harm back at the aggressor. The shield means protection, mercy, and standing up for something. But for that purpose it can still be turned into a cudgel. Caution can become paranoia. Devotion can become zealotry. Conservation can become regression. But it’s always possible to go the other way around; to forgive, forget, and turn conflict into peace. When it’s good the shield is calm and forgiving. When it’s bad the shield is stubborn and obtuse.
(The number 2 is the shield because it follows the sword.)
Item: Armor or clothing, a sheet or blanket, a toy for a child.
Person: A protector, a survivor, a parent.
Place: A serene place, a fortress, a place made for children.
Event: Defensive measures are agitated, a siege, where there could be anger there is understanding.
Outcome: “It will not yield.”
3: THE BOOK 📖☀️🔀 Knowledge is power. Understanding is control. A book is a tool for both. The consolidation of information, and from that consolidation, the emergence of patterns, laws, codes of conduct. The achievements and benefits of technology. The book is a manifestation of an impossible goal: for all things to be known and for all things to be under control. Most who read and write books (but not all) understand that this will never happen, but aim toward it regardless, intending to go on forever. But the more is achieved the greater one’s sense of control, and with it the comfortable inertia of conceit. When it’s good the book is adroit and altruistic. When it’s bad the book is arrogant and prejudiced.
(The number 3 is the book because the numeral resembles the curve of the book as it opens.)
Item: A piece of text, a delicate or precise tool, an exotic cultural curio.
Person: A writer, a scholar, a scientist or tinkerer.
Place: A school, a library, a tower.
Event: A puzzle or riddle to solve, a question that will take time to answer, what was guarded is shared freely.
Outcome: “Asked and answered.”
4: THE GRAVE 🪦🌙↪️ Everything dies sooner or later. Death is inevitable and always coming, and afterward is nothing but quiet repose. But death can also pull everything into its orbit and spread, in the case of rotting pestilence and cycles of tragedy. So paradoxically the grave means both comfort and fear, maybe even both at once. There can be tremendous relief in accepting certainty or recognizing a wider sense of perspective, but sometimes the truth hurts. What can you do when the universe won’t show you mercy? What do you feel when perspective reduces your relevance to zero? When it’s good the grave is resolute and peaceful. When it’s bad the grave is corrosive and haunting.
(The number 4 is the grave because four is often associated with death.)
Item: Religious materials, antiques and heirlooms, poison.
Person: A religious figure, a ghastly creature, an absent party.
Place: A tomb or cemetery, a place of worship, a dark and silent place.
Event: An inevitable future is made clear, a chaotic situation is bluntly resolved, faith is rewarded.
Outcome: “Won’t see that again.”
5: THE STAR ⭐🌙🔀 Impossibly far away and out of your grasp, distant and abstract but powerful and sublime. A star is the pinnacle of naturally occurring magic and mystery, which cannot be tamed or understood. The undefined and unfamiliar are interesting specifically because it is undefined and unfamiliar. You can’t try to master it, but you can operate on its terms, and find out it’s not as scary as you might think. Or maybe it’s even scarier. You can’t really know in advance- that’s the entire definition of “unknown.” When it’s good the star is exciting and imaginative. When it’s bad the star is erratic and cruel.
(The number 5 is the star because the most commonly drawn star symbol has five points.)
Item: Something hidden in a box or package, an old or unidentified artifact, an intangible essence.
Person: A heretic, a loner, a stranger.
Place: A structure of unknown purpose, a dark pit or tunnel, a place with a full view of the sky.
Event: Uncontrolled forces emerge, someone enacts an unknown agenda, sense gives way to nonsense.
Outcome: “You don’t know what you’re dealing with.”
6: THE CUP 🍷❄️🔀 Cups are meant to be filled. And if the cup is emptied, fill it again. The cup means abundance and indulgence. It means revelry and merry-making, eating and drinking, making music, and doing absolutely nothing of high merit. It’s said that rest and relaxation are necessary for productivity in the long run. It’s also said that they can poison any resolve. Are both true? When it’s good the cup is affectionate and relaxed. When it’s bad the cup is lazy and feckless.
(The number 6 is the cup because the numeral resembles a cup or basin.)
Item: Food and drink, a musical instrument, a bowl or vessel.
Person: A cook, a musician, a casual friend.
Place: A lake or river, a theater or musical hall, a pub or tavern.
Event: A party, a holiday, a pause from advancement toward a goal.
Outcome: “Don’t worry about it.”
7: THE PEN 🖋️🔥🔀 An essential conduit of emotion and thought, and the bridge from the individual’s will and imagination to the external world. The pen represents the act of ideas becoming actions, and notions becoming material. This represents language, but it also means art, creativity, self expression, and even magic. But it can easily lead to self-absorption and narcissistic reverie, or become a runaway train that burns up the creator as fuel for the creation. Output often precludes input, and the mania of creation can be paradoxically isolating. When it’s good the pen is confident and joyful. When it’s bad the pen is manic and volatile.
(The number 7 is the pen because the numeral resembles the shaft and clip of a typical pen.)
Item: Jewelry, artwork, a rod or baton or other such object.
Person: A magician, an artist, a lover or confidante.
Place: A gallery, a bizarre place, a brand new point of interest.
Event: Unexpected beauty, a spectacular performance, an effortful transformation.
Outcome: “More than expected.”
8: THE BEAST 🐉🌙➡️ An animal, a dragon, a monster, a creature. A beast is something wild and uncivilized. It is in fact the antithesis of civilization, representing everything that is outside of society’s collective control. Instincts, impulses, and a simpler way of existing, that nonetheless is just as successful as your own more structured ways. This necessarily also means it represents a point of view outside oneself, and a reminder that no one, no matter how accomplished, is the center of the universe. When it’s good the beast is vigorous and free. When it’s bad the beast is mindless and hungry.
(The number 8 is the beast because the numeral resembles the wide eyes of an animal.)
Item: A living creature, a living plant, a beautiful thing not made by any hands.
Person: An outsider, a child, an animal.
Place: A forest, a mountain, a place with no road or path.
Event: A natural phenomenon intrudes on plans, extreme weather, a far-away destination.
Outcome: “Something else entirely.”
9: THE COIN 🪙❄️↪️ A coin is literal material wealth. It is the fruit of ambition, in all its forms: money, power, respect, authority, attainment. The monuments are built, the title is earned. The coin is a symbol of enterprise and labor, and the most refined and developed ambitions. But are ambitions ever really satisfied? When you get what you want will you rest on your laurels or just want more? And which one is worse? When it’s good the coin is tireless and industrious. When it’s bad the coin is selfish and rapacious.
(The number 9 is the coin because the numeral resembles a coin or treasure lifted in one’s hand.)
Item: Money, precious treasure, an icon of authority.
Person: An aristocrat, a pauper, a rival.
Place: A big city, a castle or mansion, a mine or quarry.
Event: A challenge or contest, a game of chance, hunger becomes a problem.
Outcome: “What did you expect?”
10: THE KEY 🔑🔥↪️ A key opens a door. It is strictly a tool of access. We use a key to arrive somewhere we could not otherwise be, to free something contained, or to do something we’re not necessarily supposed to do. It embodies liberation and the transgression of barriers, for better or worse. Sometimes we have no way to know if something is a good or bad idea until we do it. Sometimes we do know, and we do it anyway. When it’s good the key is curious and intrepid. When it’s bad the key is covetous and reckless.
(The number 10 is the key because the numerals represent a key and a lock.)
Item: Keys and locks, contraband or forbidden material, a tool of observation or recording.
Person: A thief, an explorer, a crafter of things.
Place: A maze, a threshold or passageway, a secret hideaway.
Event: A barrier breaks, a new route opens, a total surprise.
Outcome: “The cat’s out of the bag.”
11: THE CHAIN ⛓️☀️↪️ A strong sturdy length of line that holds two ends to one another. Ropes and chains are universal necessities for people in all corners of labor to hold fast to one another, navigate treacherous terrain, or bind something loose. Sailors and artisans rely on rope to hold their worlds together and to travel freely. Guards and jailers rely on chains to trap the wanted inside and the unwanted outside. The chain embodies both the connections between people and the threads of necessity and duty, both transit and restriction- whatever purpose it needs to reliably serve, or whatever obligation it is made to fulfill. When it’s good the chain is reliable and trustworthy. When it’s bad the chain is stifling and restrictive.
(The number 11 is the chain because the parallel numerals align to one another like lengths of chain.)
Item: Chain or rope or thread or twine, a cage or manacles, a machine.
Person: A sailor or angler, a handler of a steed or vehicle, a family member.
Place: A crossroads, a prison, a place that touches the ocean.
Event: A reunion between those separated, a long journey, a meaningful gathering of people.
Outcome: “They come together.”
12: THE STONE 🪨☀️➡️ How many colossal wonders of the world are made out of stones? One stone on another on another, each one insignificant, but in such great numbers that they add up to something enormous. Even a tiny increment of progress adds up to completion over enough time and labor. The progress is real, no matter how slow, but so is the cost. The job of any given stone is to endure and withstand. To bear constant strain, and be battered by the elements every day. It’s completely constructive, completely passive, and completely self-sacrificing. In being kind to others, one can be cruel to oneself. In putting others together, one can break oneself. Was it worth it? When it’s good the stone is dutiful and patient. When it’s bad the stone is pyrrhic and meek.
(The number 12 is the stone because it’s the last and largest number in the set.)
Item: A rock or stone, medicine, a timepiece or tool of measurement.
Person: A healer, a mason or carpenter, a spouse.
Place: A farm or garden, an empty field or lot, a small community.
Event: New life, an unfinished project, an act of benevolence with a cost.
Outcome: “Wait for it…”
Split Symbols
You can pair your twelve-sided witness die with a “split die” and roll them at the same time. A split die can be any traditional shape, it just has to have an equal number of odd faces and even faces: on the split die, “odd” means “act,” and “even” means “angle.” By doing this you can subdivide every symbol into two aspects that represent its two sides. One leans more toward the symbol’s associated act, and one more toward its associated angle.
FOR EXAMPLE: Suppose you want to witness a split symbol, so you take your twelve-sided witness die, and a six-sided split die. You roll them both together. The witness die shows 4 (grave), and the split die shows 3 (odd, or act.) So you have witnessed “the open grave,” as the grave leaning more toward its act.
Split symbols are more specific than whole symbols, so they’re much easier to interpret freeform. Each of these is written as an elaboration on the symbol in the section above, and can be taken similarly to how one would take a tarot reading. Ideas separated by commas, like story prompts from the symbols above, are separate ideas and examples of the whole. Witnessing a given split symbol means interpreting what particular facet of it is at play for your specific question.
1: THE BURNING SWORD 🗡️🔥 Provocation, impatience, perceived need for change.
1: THE BLOODY SWORD 🗡️➡️ Consequences, punishment, forseeable cause and effect.
2: THE TOWER SHIELD 🛡️❄️ Stubbornness, rejection or exclusion, something unaffected by outside influence.
2: THE CRESTED SHIELD 🛡️➡️ Forgiveness, vigilance, nurturing or coddling.
3: THE CLOSED BOOK 📖☀️ Expertise, arrogance of presumption, something securely under control.
3: THE OPEN BOOK 📖🔀 Collection of information, completion of a set, infinite progression.
4: THE OPEN GRAVE 🪦🌙 Mortality, inevitability, the end.
4: THE SACRED GRAVE 🪦↪️ Peace, faith in something unseen, reflection on the past.
5: THE FALLING STAR ⭐🌙 Ignorance, random happenstance, cruelty with no deliberate actor.
5: THE RISING STAR ⭐🔀 Risk and uncertainty, hidden elements, a fresh start.
6: THE EMPTY CUP 🍷❄️ Idleness, rest and recuperation, no expectations.
6: THE FULL CUP 🍷🔀 Fun and games, simple joy, sex or sensuality.
7: THE RED PEN 🖋️🔥 Infatuation, mania, focus on an imagined future.
7: THE BLACK PEN 🖋️🔀 Art or creativity, unexpected inspiration, something from nothing.
8: THE WISE BEAST 🐉🌙 An outside perspective, something foreign or alien, hidden in plain sight.
8: THE HUNGRY BEAST 🐉➡️ Brute force, basic impulses, lack of agency.
9: THE IRON COIN 🪙❄️ Theft or greed, lack of mobility, the powers that be.
9: THE GOLD COIN 🪙↪️ Consolidation of power, achievement of stated goals, ongoing abundance.
10: THE SILVER KEY 🔑🔥 Curiosity, calculated risks, unforeseen consequences.
10: THE SKELETON KEY 🔑↪️ Secrets, exposure, lack of security.
11: THE SILVER CHAIN ⛓️☀️ Freedom of movement, deliberate transition, valuable relationships.
11: THE IRON CHAIN ⛓️↪️ Restraint, entrapment or imprisonment, promises or obligations.
12: THE WHITE STONE 🪨☀️ Generosity, self-sacrifice, a zero-sum exchange.
12: THE BLACK STONE 🪨➡️ Patience, incremental work, the constant passage of time.
The use of split symbols is especially useful to divination for its granularity compared to the whole symbols, which are broad enough to only be useful for simple questions and prompts. Witnessing split symbols can communicate a more detailed narrative.
The most useful reading in my experience, for both divination and storytelling, is to witness two split symbols in order: first ask your question, then witness two results in order as: “[first result] becomes [second result].” For example, “the burning sword becomes an empty cup.” What or who is being referred to as the first, and how it becomes the second, is often intuitively clear in the context of the question that was asked.
For example the first symbol might clearly refer to a specific person who embodies its nature of motive. They “become” another symbol as their motive changes. Or if the first symbol seems to refer to an event or situation, the change signifies how that situation will develop. The results might point at almost anything within the scope of your question, so be open to whatever they suggest.
If you experiment with other rolls, formats, or even alternate materials like forming a deck of cards, please tell me about your experiences and thoughts.
People will be like “this movie is evil and gross because it depicts a predatory relationship” and then you watch the movie in question and it’s about how preying on young women is bad and impacts their lives negatively
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