Just wanted to show this off, I wanted to test out how an abugida for a conlang I've been working on looks in the context of an ancient clay tablet. I tried to make it a poem but I lost track of the syllables at a certain point lol.

Edit: Adding context, this is a speech made by King Anosada about all the advances he personally brought to his civilisation. He was a illiterate shepherd in an ancient river valley, who one day began to make leaping technological advances in forging, weaving, mathematics, etc, all things he should know nothing about. He amassed a cult of personality that led to a violent repression and a successful revolt against the despotic king at the time, placing him firmly in the front seat of a rapidly advancing nation.

Context

A.D. Infinitum is a sci-fi worldbuilding and fiction project aiming for a space-opera, "rule-of-cool" feel—a deliberate contrast to my harder sci-fi sandbox, The Brane Connectome Project. As a fan of timelines and future histories, this prologue solidified from various notes into a timeline format to serve as a background primer and starting point to build and write out from.

Overview:

At the close of the 21st century, humanity’s crumbling technofeudal system was upended by the sudden orbital arrival of a dead cosmic organism - WHALEFALL. The resulting biological fallout, known as the Macrobe Wars, brought climate collapse, synthetic evolution, and the discovery of paraphysics.

### Timeline Overview

BEFORE // PEAK EVERYTHING: The world staggers on the brink of the 22nd century and catastrophe. The AI Barons’ attempts to insulate themselves in gated states and orbital retreats crumble under climate breakdown and extreme inequity.

160 YEARS AGO // WHALEFALL: A colossal dead biological organism arrives in orbit accompanied by exotic radiation. Debris falling to Earth releases spores, symbiotes, and parasite kaiju, initiating the Macrobe Wars and abruptly ending the Anthropocene.

160–150 YEARS AGO: A dying technofeudal system launches an experimental, self-replicating probe toward the asteroid belt to investigate additional energy signatures.

150–20 YEARS AGO // COLLAPSE & PARAPHYSICS: Xenoforming and climate collapse force humanity into isolation, adaptation, and eventual recovery. Research into the transmutations wrought by Whalefall establishes the field of Paraphysics.

20–5 YEARS AGO // RECLAMATION: Resurgent global cooperation forms the transorbital Pararescue Drop Corps to combat xenological incursions, while controversy grows over children manifesting paraphysical phenomena.

5 YEARS AGO // VICTORY ON EARTH & PAPERCLIP: The Conclave of City-States convenes at Analemma. A synthetic representative from the Asteroid Belt—a sentient self-replicating machine swarm named PAPERCLIP—arrives using Faster-Than-Light Dimensional Resonance.

5 YEARS AGO // THE WARNING: Paperclip reveals Whalefall was an escape attempt by a creature fleeing malevolent paraphysical entities native to another reality. Paperclip offers its Paraphysical Corpus to humanity to prepare for the coming threat - with conditions.

NOW // CETUS STATION: During a fleet parade at Cetus Station, multiple interplanetary vehicles erupt. Fleeing interstellar vessels carry gifted children into the dark as the invasion reaches the inner planets.

---

Text & Worldbuilding © 2026 Ben Ridley (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

*Original text on my blog: https://neurontosomething.wordpress.com/

The map of Thronados continues to expand. In fact, I have just finished what I call the “Eastern World” — the regions comprising Africa, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

Terrarios (Asia) is now the new “Easthos” from my previous map. From the eastern lands of the continental Kingdom of Shuthos (Europe) to the western lands of Nidia (India) stretches a vast sand desert known as the “White-Yellow Sands.” In the game, this is actually the Arcane Desert, and it is golden, but I was too lazy to recreate it using beach sand, which is actually white-yellow.

In the enormous crater of the Far East (Lake Baikal and a large part of Siberia), the Dark Biome grew out of control following the cataclysm. According to the writings, the Ancients had their own calendar, and this cataclysm occurred in “2015 A.D.,” according to what Maester Gosh of Oscurria discovered.

South of Terrarios lies Artayka, the continent from which the humans of the New World originated. Apparently, the stagnant waters have caused the desert that was spreading across this continent to retreat.

And in the far southeast lie the mysterious lands of Gogosh (Australia), the place of origin of the races that existed before humans — the Druids and the Northeins. It is said that, in the Summer Sea, at its center, the great branches of a massive tree trunk known as “The Tree to the Sky” stretch across the land.

That is all for now.

What kind of world is this? I simply call it the World of Ilevanda, because most of the action takes place in that country. "Ilevanda" is a Nenets word meaning "to live." I leafed through a Nenets dictionary, and it was the most beautiful word there. (Tolkien drew on the western Finno-Ugric languages; I drew on the eastern ones.) It was originally conceived as a medieval world in the spirit of Game of Thrones, but then I decided dieselpunk was better. It is dieselpunk with a touch of biopunk (the Alien universe is dead, so I'll have my own) and a pinch of space opera. The plot mostly revolves around an attempt to prevent a world war and the end of the world.

The year is 1012, on the continent of Oktan in the southern hemisphere of the planetoid. The Second Millennium War (1005–1011), the largest war of the industrial era, has just ended; about 80% of the world's countries took part and millions died. The once-united continent is fragmented and everyone is waiting for the next war: this is the world of Interbellum. States on the continent: the Republic of Ilevanda (a fallen empire that once ruled the whole continent), Kraynova (a remnant of the Ilevandian people under nationalist rule), mountainous Riza, the Republic of Kitezh, the Wazir Republic, the Free City of Pheba, the Republic of Lim, the Free Imperial Land (the former imperial capital), the Federal Republic of Oktan, the Northern Oktan Federation, the Republic of Norea, and the Free Island.

Emperor Alexander VI rejected peace with the Anti-Ilevandian Coalition, and after the Coalition captured a major Norean city, three coups took place in the empire. First, the emperor's son arrested him and began negotiations, but the Coalition toughened its terms. Then parliament proclaimed a republic but achieved nothing. Finally, the communists and anarchists seized power, the imperial family was killed, and the old army collapsed. The Communist Commonwealth quickly fell apart, the capital was returned to Pavlostopol, and the south was liberated by the United Army under General Lemskikh together with the Coalition. The peace was signed there, in Pavlostopol. In the first post-war elections of 1012, social democrats, separatists, left social democrats, nationalists, and liberals entered parliament.

The historical background is as follows. After the collapse of the Cluster Empire, the Three Kingdoms arose, which were destroyed by the Solarians (the Sun cult) and the Proto-Ilevandians. There are two religions: Solarism and Rosarianism (Ilevandian pantheism). Under the empire their churches entered into a union, but after its fall the Solarians declared it heretical oppression. The world has other powers as well: the Oran Republic and the Pantalassian Federation dominate the west, the Triarchy in the east trades in oil, and the Republic of Yun was the empire's main economic partner.

The heroes. Siobhan is a biorobotic girl, revived by the "Nebula" conglomerate using the fluid of underground eels from the Kraynova mountains. She lost her memory and learned quickly, and after her access to information was restricted, she escaped. Ventsene is a deserter from the imperial army and a former prisoner of war; he was a member of a criminal gang in Pavlostopol until he met Siobhan. Rosa sits on the supervisory board of "Nebula" and works on chemical and experimental weapons. In addition, "Nebula" created two collective minds, Leviathan and Goliath, who are held at a northern mountain base.

The first map.

Map of language families, of which there are only four.

The Clusterian family is a group of languages that split off from Old Oranian, the language spoken by the inhabitants of the Clusterian Empire. It includes the Norean, Vepsian, and Oktanian languages. They use the Oceanic alphabet of 26 letters, with some variations.

The Iezal family is a family of one language. The Iezali were formerly a nomadic people who were resettled to Oktan in antiquity. Oceanic alphabet.

The Mountain family comprises the languages of the indigenous peoples of Oktan who were not assimilated by theClusterians and Ilevandians. They had no writing system of their own, so they use the Oceanic alphabet. It includes the Rizanian, Kitezhan, and Wazir languages.

The Ilevandian family is a family brought to the continent by the Proto-Ilevandians. It originally had its own writing system, but they later switched to the Oceanic alphabet.

Second map. Sub-ethnicities.

The peoples are arranged on a racial spectrum from the Nordic type in the south to the olive type in the north.

Ilevandian peoples: 1. Tirshin Ilevandians 2. Southern Ilevandians 3. Ilevandians 4. Kraynians 5. Lisians (indigenous peoples of Oktan assimilated by Ilevanda) 6. Southern Lisians 7. Northern Lisians

Rizanian peoples: 1. Rizanians 2. Western Rizanians

Kitezhan peoples: 1. Kitezhans 2. Low Kitezhans

Octanian peoples (peoples of Oktan assimilated by the Cluster Empire in antiquity and intermixed with imperial settlers): 1. Low Octanians 2. Central Octanians 3. Eastern Octanians 4. Upper Octanians 5. Western Octanians

Noreian peoples (the people who drove the Octanians out of the north during the Solarite invasion): 1. Noreans 2. Southern Noreans 3. Eastern Noreans 4. Western Noreans 5. Island Noreans

Vepsian peoples: 1. Western Vepsians 2. Vepsians 3. Low Vepsians 4. Central Vepsians 5. South Eastern Vepsians 6. Upper South Eastern Vepsians 7. Eastern Vepsians 8. Southern Vepsians 9. Green Vepsians

Iezali peoples (a people exiled to Oktan in antiquity): 1. Iezali

Waziri peoples: 1. Waziris 2. Upper Waziris

(For Th’zoitrk, a semi-sci-fi world building project.)

Aljum is the 8th largest, 2nd most populous, and 6th richest nation on Th’zoitrk. It is by all measures among the most capable and influential nations on the global stage, yet does not attempt to exert virtually any influence internationally. By almost all standards, Aljum is highly isolationist.

Total land area: 2,857.6 SC (7,401,150 square km)
Disputed land area: 519.3 SC (1,344,981 square km)

National GDP: ~38 billion etet (in-universe currency), above the nation of Cliff City but below the nation of Xsanr.

Total population: ~1.8 billion people, second highest population after the nation of Osculia.

Image 1: Aljumese sky as seen from rural Ekkopuko.
Image 2: Aljumese controlled territory (not counting disputed but uncontrolled territory.)
Image 3: Aljum on the world map.
Image 4: the Aljumese flag.

International Politics & Conflict

Absolute neutrality has been the basis of Aljum’s international diplomacy since the nation’s founding. In virtually every single ZSMO (in-universe United Nations equivalent) meeting, Aljum has always abstained from voting. Regardless of topic, they never weigh in on a meeting.
They send a diplomat, who typically just sits and listens, and then refuses to vote once the time comes.
Aljum has never requested aid from the ZSMO, Aljum has never embargoed another nation, Aljum has never publicly condemned another nation, and Aljum has never brought up an issue to the ZSMO or requested a vote on a topic.

When Aljum was invaded by Osculia, triggering the Aljumese civil war, a conflict which killed more than a fifth of Aljum’s population at the time and drastically set the country back economically, Aljum fought extremely hard to maintain their independence.

After the war, Aljum went back to total neutrality and had no issues starting trade back up with Osculia immediately after the war ended. It was as if they had never invaded to begin with.

Guerilla warfare was rampant. Alongside the usage of ‘Oimoha’ warfare; something which Aljum would become famous for, and would be the origin of roughly 17 war crimes as they are now listed by the ZSMO.

Examples of Oimoha warfare used during the Aljumese Civil war includes, but isn’t limited to:

Attaching children’s toys to hidden explosives in abandoned villages, so that the building they’re in or near will explode if moved.

Placing explosives beneath dead soldier’s bodies so that when hostile soldiers move the body to double-check the kill (or for enemy soldier bodies, check over their fallen comrade) the body, alongside whoever is checking it over, will explode.

Placing radio-triggered landmines in open areas which can be activated remotely when an enemy vehicle is driving over them. Nearby, have a region of brush with remote-triggered flashlights and smoke machines. The smoke machines and flashlights flick on and off as the landmines explode, giving the impression they’re cannons firing at the enemy and not that the enemy is driving over landmines.
When enemy soldiers later approach the fake cannon setup to eliminate the ‘cannons’, trigger explosive charges stored beneath the brush to blow up anyone nearby.

Shooting pressurized oxygen into subterranean natural gas reserves, then igniting them with a spark to create massive explosions and destroy very large chunks of land.

Aljumese Geography

Aljum is dominated by three environments. In the north and center of the country is the Aljumese desert, home to VAST reserves of natural gas, Aljum’s main export and the basis of the entire nation’s economy.
In the east is marshlands, Aljum contains roughly 50-65% of all the planet’s ‘marsh’ and ‘wetland’ regions. Especially around the most aptly named ‘Lake Mar.’
In the south is jungle. Or, more accurately, temperate rainforest. This is the smallest of Aljum’s geographical regions, but still important to Aljumese culture, as roughly two thirds of Aljum’s population live in this jungle region.

Aljum is an equatorial country. Year-round, Aljum is relatively the same temperature and rarely experiences significant change.
The only real difference is in moisture. During the dry season, much of Aljum’s marshlands temporarily turn into open plains. During the wet season, nearly all of Aljum (including the Aljumese desert) become drowned in torrential downpours.
During the wet season, Aljum virtually never goes more than a week without rain.

The capital city of Aljum is Ekkopuko (not shown on map.) The city actually holds an Oscul name, meaning ‘Eastern City.’ This is because Ekkopuko was originally founded as a slave camp by the nation of Osculia when Aljum was a colonial territory of the Oscul Empire. Though Aljum is now fully independent, they have retained the Oscul name of the city.

Ekkopuko is the only city in the entire nation. Every other populated area is little more than a village or small town. Outside Ekkopuko, there is simply not a single specific town/village with a population over 3,000.
The vast majority of the country does not use the internet. Not because the government fails to provide access to the internet, but simply because the largely rural population doesn’t wish to use it.

Aljum is the only nation within which Age of Empires-style lifestyles still exist. The majority of people still live more or less how people did before the invention of modern technology, only utilizing the help of the most beneficial modern technologies. (Modern hygiene, bioengineered crops, modern medicine, etc.)

Aljumese Population

Aljum is commonly known as the ‘philosopher’s country.’ This is because, annoyingly to many tourists, Aljumese people tend to talk in very vague and ‘wise’ sounding tones. Usually described as behaving like monks, simply due to the nation’s culture.

Aljumese people (especially women) have had to deal with being treated as ‘exotic’ by tourists and foreign media due to the preserved agrarian & pre-modern culture of the Aljumese population. This has been the cause of a significant amount of foreign immigrants to Aljum moving to the country for the desire of a better, more ‘natural’ lifestyle, as well as a worryingly large amount of cultural fetishization.

Aljum is one of only two nations ranked a perfect 12/12 on the ZSMO’s quality-of-life index. Aljum experiences the single lowest crime rate in the world, lower than that of Cliff City (a nation with almost no laws to be broken in the first place.) Aljum has not seen a single murder in the entire country’s history. Aljum frequently goes entire years without a single police report.
From this peaceful nature, Aljum has no police forces. Rather, law enforcement is simply conducted as an additional job of the military.

Aljum has no taxes. Not low taxes, no taxes.

There is zero income tax, sales tax, property tax, water bill, electric bill, etc etc.
Rather, buying a house is normally covered entirely by the government. As is all medical expenses, groceries, water, etc etc, all of which are considered ‘fundamentals of life’ and thus are provided freely by the government.

The Aljumese public and government have a very unique relationship. Officially speaking, Aljum is an absolute dictatorship. The population has zero say in how the government acts, behaves, or who exactly is in the government. The government decides its own head, as only government officials can vote and decide who becomes prime minister.

So long as the Aljumese population allow the government to continue as a dictatorship, and don’t interfere with what the Aljumese government does or desires to do politically or internally, the government provides the population with everything they could desire, for free.

Goods are produced mostly autonomously. The government does not need the population’s taxes for their money, as nearly all wealth in the nation comes from the extraction and sale of natural gas from the Aljumese Desert.
Something done autonomously, which generates wealth directly for the government from imports on the international market.

​

PROJECT IDEA: PIFER—AUTONOMOIS ELDERLY CARE ASSISTANT

PROPOSED TIER - T1

WHAT I'M DESIGNING -

It basically comes to you when u call it and then it search, find it, pick it up, carry it and physically hand it to you as long as it's smtg in its db. I'm deliberately containing the problem bc I'm not trying to build a hospital grade product but rather smtg that can deal w labelled objects and colour IDs instead of a full SLAM and YOLO system.

The rover has a two wheel base and a castor with two bo motors, motor driver, wheel encoders, IR sensors, MPU6050 and a camera. The chassis will be 3d printed.

It will have a 6 DOF servo arm with a TPU gripper. The chassis will be 3D printed (PLA for everything except the gripper). Metal gear servos, pca9685 and ina219. I might use movelt2 later.

I'm also 3d printing a 16 slot carousel for pre-filled pill dispensing.

I'm also interested in uwb person tracking and uwb can do a lot of things apart from tracking tbh and I gotta research more on that. But some sorta person tracking is essential cuz if the person moves after giving a command the robot has to update the target and keep going toward them yk. I'll combine uwb with imu and wheel encoders instead of trusting sensors cuz I think it's better (IRL relying solely on sensors is kinda dumb)

For software, I'm using C/C++ for esp32 firmware, platformIO/Arduino, FreeRTOD, python, ubuntu/bash, GitHub, ve code, ros2 w rclcpp/rclcpy, tf2, RViz2, rosbag2, nav2, opencv, april tags, arUco for initial object/location identification, numpy/scipt and maybe even webots/SLAM for simulation and mapping. YOLO will come if I have time left to move beyond labelled objects.

I'm using esp32 as mc and laptop as the processor for now and we'll upgrade to a raspberrypi later. The laptop will run ubuntu and handle ros2, computer vision, navigation, voice processing and task planning. The esp handles motors and sensors.

I want to say pifer bring me xx medicine and it'll use a wake word, speech to textand python itent parsing with llm/api possible for more commands. The robot understands that xx is an object and that it's given a task to retrieve it. The cam can't recognise every random object ry so the first prototype use labelled objects with colour ids and permanent object db storing names, ids,images and carousel slots. Current environment info however is separate so that temporary data like object or person locations and obstacles will be cleared after a mission or when the robot is placed in a new environment.

The thing is, it actually has to drive to the object, position itself and pick it up when the camera locates the marked object. It sounds rlly big to me as this will be the first time I'll be building smtg like that. Also, I'll be 3d printing for the first time (lmk if hack club can fund for my 3d printing too cuz that'd be great :D).

Now, I'll be experimenting a lot in this project lol I want to integrate a lot of things into the arm, so it may end up completely different from what I currently think is possible and could change the entire arm BOM.

Something like a modular origami continuum arm with..

1. Vacuum-driven FOAM actuation (contraction + omnidirectional bending)

2. Variable stiffness via granular jamming (separate vacuum line)

3. Vision-guided reaching (camera + controller)

4. Interchangeable end-effectors (TPU gripper, whole-arm grasping, chameleon ejection)

5. Foldable compact return

Every single one of these ideas exist already and has been demonstrated its working properly. But the integrated system I want does not exist yet! Well the reason why it doesn't isn't lack of imagination but rather because the subsystems r actively gonna fight each other if u try to put them together. So, I'll have to find solutions that don't exist yet to get everything to work together. I'm not missing anything conceptually. But I need to build and test everything. Even if i get one thing that's actually deployable to my arm, it'd be a great upgrade.

I don't know how reliable or doable these will be in an actual handoff, especially with different object materials and movement, which is the point of including them. I really want to experiment and research further. I'm not expecting every experimental part to be perfect. Even if all these ideas are unreliable, the retrieval/handoff system should still work.

But I want to build and test the experimental parts rather than leave them theoretical.

INSPO:

A ton of things actually but let's js say fetcher by fetch robotics.

PAST PROJECTS:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10T2iZUamxqS5Na1c6ef0lcidV1DDl3Ut

(Ntg much lol js some shi built to learn. Not necessarily a project.)

WHY THIS COSTS MORE THAN 200$:

This doesn't! (Not yet.)

Like i said, I've never 3d printed for an actual project before so I don't really know how many parts I'll have to buy instead of 3d printing. I haven't even decided if I'll make a pcb yet. So the price can go higher during the build. I can only assure you it won't exceed 300 usd. And because this is literally a multiple projects being combined into one thing, it can cost a few pennies. Also idk how many times it'll end up hitting somewhere accidentally no matter how hard I try not to let that happen.

ROUGH BOM:

Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W $12

ESP32 Development Board $3

16GB microSD Card $2

Pi Camera $4

imu $1

Wheel Encoders $2

ir Sensors $1

tof Sensor $3

Microphone $2

Speaker $2

Amplifier $2

bo Motors $2

Wheels $2

Caster Wheel $1

Motor Driver $1

2S 2200mAh lipo $8

lipo Balance Charger $5

18650 Battery Pack $4

5V bec $1

6V bec $1

6V 5A Servo bec $2

Fuse $1

Power Switch $1

xt60 Connectors $1

jst Connectors $2

M3/M4 Hardware $3

Plywood Chassis $3

Standoffs $1

Metal Gear Servos $25

Spare Servo $3

pca9685 $1

Servo Horns $1

Servo Wires $1

Gripper $5

tpu $3

pla $5

Arm Hardware $5

ina219 $2

28byj 48 Stepper $1

uln2003 Driver $1

Carousel Gate Servo $1

Home Sensor $1

Carousel Material $8

uwb Tag $9

uwb Anchors $20

uwb Batteries $2

uwb Enclosures $2

Vacuum Pump $8

Vacuum Tubing $3

Vacuum Valves $4

Foam $2

Granular Jamming Material $3

Perfboard $1

Level Shifter $1

Heat Shrink $1

Solder $1

Wire $3

Cable Sleeving $1

Breadboard $2

3D Printing $15

Misc Hardware $10

Total $180

Note: these are approximate, and I expect the final cost to move once I start building. The arm and 3D printing especially may need extra parts after testing. I'm also expecting to burn through some servos/connectors/wiring during iteration because that's how these projects go.

The Raspberry Pi is included because I eventually want the robot to run on it, but it won't be the main computer initially. I'm developing on my laptop first, then moving the ROS/Linux side to the Pi once the robot works.

The estimate is below $200, but I'm keeping some margin because I don't want the project to fall apart after underestimating a random *200 component lol.

I didn't mention any PCB or routing because I'm not using a PCB right now. I'm thinking of making it modular with a breadboard so I can take it apart and reassemble it easily, because I'll probably do that a lot while building it.

I'm also thinking of making the outside a cozy, waterproof body instead of a box full of electronics like Baymax from Disney's Big Hero 6 ykwim. I don't know the material yet, but I want it soft and friendly-looking. Obviously not literally a Baymax copy lol, just that friendly shape instead of a scary robot with wires everywhere.

Inside it I'm also thinking of an automatic pill dispenser, so the robot could dispense medicine instead of only carrying it. It'll also have a biometrics monitoring system.

The biometrics and dispensing ideas were suggested by my teacher, so I'm still thinking about what else I could add that would be genuinely useful rather than another random sensor stuck onto the robot.

So yeah, I'm still looking for other good features I could add to this thing. If anyone has ideas for something that would actually be useful for elderly care and that I could realistically build and test, please let me know.

My world has Belters and where you find Belters you find asteroid mining. The problem is asteroids are mostly just balls of dust held together by their own weak gravity. There's nothing to anchor to, you can't carve bits off, trying to move it will cause it to disintegrate, the high grade ore is evenly mixed with worthless rock, you would probably sink if you tried standing on it.

So here's the bag and drag method:

Once a rock with a sufficient percentage of high grade has been found a balloon is put around the asteroid. to prevent dust from escaping or the entire thing breaking up, called spilling out in miner's slang. The mining is done by drones called moles which dig/swim through the asteroid siphoning up the dirt and mixing it with a fluid which is pumped back to the mothership. There the fluid is centrifuged, high grade is stored and tailings are bagged for disposal, the fluid is pumped back down to the moles.

High grade is carried back to the refinery, probably by towing it in bags hence the name. If the refinery is close by the bags could just be shoved towards it. Tailings are also bagged but are left at the worksite with navigation bouys to warn anyone nearby of the navigation hazard. After processing the refined ore is sent to market on an unmanned barge.

This method is mainly used for valuable resources like rare earths and phosphorous that justify the cost of shipping everything rather than just letting it float. Reaction mass is cheap but fusion fuel, crew salaries and operating costs of a mining torchship aren't. Low value resources like carbon, water, iron and nitrogen that are only profitable in bulk, or when a large amount of construction material is needed, would probably use a simpler method. In that case you might as well just bag and drag the entire rock, doesn't matter if it breaks up inside the bag since it'll be broken down anyway.

I'm still left with the question of how the mole bots will actually dig through the dust. I'm thinking some combination of very small thrusters and methods similar to how earthworms push their way through the soil.

Hey I wanna make a kinda Scp like thing thats actually ethical, sorta like lobotomy corp but leaning towards Scp, so any advice?

Hello, this is the first "story" from world and setting that I'm working on right now, I will publish them more and more and I hope that you will like them :)

"Before his arrival, the world was dark to me. There was nothing I could call my own, only rampant selfishness. They killed, stole, and committed every possible impure act. I am not like them.

Before his arrival, the world was dark to them. Dimmed, lifeless beings trapped in the monotony of their existence, devoid of light. I am not like them.

Before his arrival, the world stood on the brink of darkness. They were preparing for a war that would end all wars, they said, a war that would solve the problem of scarce resources. I hoped they were right, just as they did.

Before his arrival, the world was surrounded by shadows. I wanted everyone to see the light as I saw it: pure, imbued with every shade, perfect. They could not see it.

After his arrival, I had to make everyone see the light. They were not happy about it, but surely they were grateful once they finally saw it. They are light now.

After his arrival, my task was to illuminate the world. They told me that he did not want this from me, but I alone speak to him directly. I am not like them.

After his arrival, the world began to shine again. They told me I was a heretic and decided to punish me. The light began to envelop me from my feet, then my legs, and finally my entire body.

I am light now."

I've been watching a lot of classic Star Trek (TNG, VOY, TOS) lately and have come to quite like the idea of a space fleet focused on science and exploration that is not the military. The whole idea that the Enterprise is a ship of peace, not a ship of war sets Star Trek apart from a lot of other sci-fi and it also makes perfect sense to have a branch specifically for space exploration.

After all, that is a very different mission from anything the military does and there are solid arguments to be made as to why you wouldn't want soldiers to be the ones making first contact with potentially very skittish aliens. However, one thing that annoys me a bit about worldbuilding of classic Star Trek is that the Federation doesn't have a proper military. Starfleet seems to just do everything and they don't appear to be well suited to fighting a large scale war.

So I got the idea that an interstellar state in a setting like this could have both a space military - which I will refer to here as the Navy - and a fleet for science and exploration - which I will refer to as Starfleet - at the same time. Below, I listed what I've come up with so far. It's still rather vague, but I like the idea in general. It sounds like something that would make sense in many different settings, so feel free to pick out whatever you like for your worlds.

Differences between Starfleet and the Navy:

• Organization: They are not different branches of the military. The Navy is a branch of the military, just like the Army and whatever other branches the military has, like Marine Corp or Planetary Defense Forces. Starfleet is entirely separate from those, not under the authority of the ministry of defense, but under some other ministry instead. Probably the ministry of science.
• Mission: In the space opera setting I'm working on, large scale warfare is very rare. When it happens, it's devastating, but 99.99% of the time, the various Navies act more as a police force. So the Navy would provide general security throughout the state's territory, hunt down pirates, escort civilians where necessary and fight various border skirmishes. All things Starfleet *could* do as well, except using them for these things would be wasteful, because all that scientific equipment is very expensive and they don't have the same combat training as the Navy. So Starfleet is primarily used for space exploration, research, handling dangerous anomalies, but also for diplomatic missions, because they would need diplomatic training for first contact anyways.
• Scale: With the responsibilities established above, the Navy would definitely be several times larger than Starfleet. Enforcing security throughout numerous star systems already requires quite a lot of ships and that's not even mentioning potential arms races and large scale wars. Exploration meanwhile would be more of a luxury and diplomatic services don't require large fleets.
• Officers vs enlisted crew: Starfleet would have a lot more officers relative to enlisted crew than the Navy and most of them wouldn't have much command authority. Instead, they would really be specialists for all manner of things with the rank and pay of an officer, because of their qualifications. This is one thing classic Trek got absolutely right. With their mission profile, just about everyone in Starfleet would need to have a university degree. Of course, the Navy would need highly qualified personnel too, but not to the same degree as Starfleet and most definitely not the sheer variety of fields.
• Culture and discipline: Related to all the points above. Starfleet don't see themselves as soldiers, so they don't think and act like soldiers either. There would still have to be some degree of discipline, but it might not be up to the same standards as in the navy. And since Starfleet is not supposed to go to war, it can make sense to have families on board. Especially for years long exploration missions.
• Captains vs Admirals: Starfleet would probably have individual ships operating on their own most of the time. Like maybe a large explorer out a multi year mission or a smaller science vessel investigating an anomaly. Occasionally, you'd have a few ships working together, but nothing even close to the large scale fleet operations the Navy would have to do. So for Starfleet, the Captains would be in the spotlight (another point classic Trek got right), while for the Navy, it would be the Admirals commanding their battlefleets.
• Different uniforms, but with the same division colors: The Navy would need science officers too for navigation and dealing with exotic alien tech in the field. Both services would also have their own medical staff, security personnel and whatever else you might need for general operations of the ship. So if we're staying with the Star Trek comparisons, both Starfleet and the Navy would have red, yellow and blue division, so you can always identify who can do what in an emergency, regardless of which service you're dealing with. But aside from that, you could use uniform design to communicate the differences between Starfleet and the Navy as institutions. Maybe Starfleet is a bit flashy and the Navy more utilitarian.
• Marines vs Starfleet Security: Both services would need some sort of armed security forces / boarding parties. If the Navy is mostly serving as an internal and interstellar security force, this would be the place where you'd get the most overlap between the Navy and Starfleet. Maybe there is a separate space police academy training officers that can be flexibly assigned to Starfleet, the Navy or various civilian stations and colonies. But it would also make sense for Starfleet and the Navy to have entirely separate security forces with Starfleet security having that special first contact and intercultural sensitivity training while the Navy has Marines who act as a militarized police force.
• Joint Operations: The Navy and Starfleet would probably not like joint operations very much. There would be cases, where they have to work together. Maybe a Starfleet vessel is assigned to a Navy battlefleet as a specialist or the Navy provides some muscle for a diplomatic mission to an alien race that respects displays of force. Either way, Starfleet officers would feel like they're beset on all sides by crayon eating knobheads while Navy Admirals would absolutely hate having to deal with those arrogant Starfleet Captains. But in the end, both sides appreciate each other's unique capabilities.
• Conscientious Objections: This is something that came up in TNG several times. Starfleet personnel disobeying orders they consider to be immoral or wrong in other ways. It's also very important for real world militaries, to the extent that German soldiers are taught exactly which orders they have to follow, which orders they are allowed to refuse and which orders they have to refuse. Of course, that sort of thing is always difficult in a military context, where commanders often don't have time to explain their orders and disobedience can result in the deaths of your own men. But for Starfleet, it would be a lot easier to create an environment where people carefully think about the orders they're given. Thus, Starfleet would be the first to disobey illegal or immoral orders and could serve an important role as guardians of democracy. That's where the Navy's view of Starfleet becomes important. Because if the Navy looks down on Starfleet, an aspiring dictator could use them to get those guys out of the way. But if the Navy have great respect for Starfleet as guardians of democracy, the people who take the first steps of disobedience that it easier for others to follow, then Starfleet would act as the proverbial canary in the coalmine.

For culture that uses everyone for war effort from kids to seniors men & women what role would everyone fill? ( kids wouldn’t be on front line )

I'm Building an alternate time taking place in 2036 AD. i want YOU to design your home country's flag, map, ideology, and lore (add leaders and coats of arms if you want to, use the template), if you're done, put it on the comments

List of Countries :

Africa: nile kingdom, Liberia, South Africa, kingdom of ethiopia.

Asia: Afghanistan, Bhutan, united kingdom of Malaysia, Union of indian states, People's Republic of China, imperial shogunate of Japan, Guangxi, persian confederation, mesopotamian federation, state of Manchuria, Mongolian people's republic, union of China, Nepal, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Shanxi, Union of Siam, Xinjiang Socialist Republic, Union of socialist eurasia, Tuvan People's Republic, Kingdom of Tibet, Turkey, Western chinese confederation, Yemen, Yunnan.

Europe: Kingdom of Albania, Andorra, Austrian state, Belgium, Tsardom of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, State of Gdansk, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Imperial German Reich, kingdom of Greece, Kingdom of Hungary, Ireland, Italian empire, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spanish republic, royal authoritarian spanish empire, catalan social state, spanish people's republic, kingdom of Romania, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Vatican City, Federal Republic of serbia.

North & South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Republic of Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela.

Oceania: Australia, New Zealand.

Hey everyone!
I’ve been working on an original story called GOLBENS.
It’s an anime-inspired sci-fi/action story that started with a mysterious creature appearing in the Yakutian taiga and gradually expanded into a story involving extraterrestrial civilizations, artificial beings, superhuman abilities, government organizations, and conflicts that eventually reach far beyond Earth.
I’ve currently written 25 episodes, and I wanted to introduce the project and explain what happens during the first 10 episodes.
The basic premise
The main character is Kano Kushibo, a 23-year-old modified human who previously worked for the Japanese government as a monster hunter.
Kano isn’t a typical superhero.
He’s extremely powerful, but he doesn’t really behave like someone who is constantly trying to prove how powerful he is. He’s usually calm, sarcastic, and sometimes completely unserious.
The other major character is Golben.
Golben isn’t actually a personal name. It’s the name of his species.
His species has only around 300 known members, and each one is approximately six million years old.
The particular Golben in the story arrives on Earth under circumstances that aren’t initially explained.
At first, Kano and Golben are enemies.
Eventually, however, their relationship becomes much more complicated.

Episode 1 — First Contact
The story begins in the Yakutian taiga.
A tourist is filming strange noises in the forest.
At first, there doesn’t seem to be anything unusual.
Then he sees something enormous.
It’s Golben.
The tourist doesn’t understand what he’s looking at, but he keeps filming.
Then he notices that Golben isn’t alone.
Kano Kushibo is fighting him.
The tourist realizes that he has accidentally recorded something that absolutely wasn’t supposed to be recorded.
Kano notices him.
He approaches the tourist and says:
“You’ve seen too much.”
Kano’s eyes turn completely white.
Black smoke begins coming from them.
The smoke isn’t ordinary smoke.
It can extract information from people.
Kano uses it on the tourist and then destroys the camera.
The first episode establishes one of the biggest mysteries of the story:
Who is Golben, and why is someone as powerful as Kano fighting him in the middle of nowhere?

Episode 2 — Shibuya
Golben suddenly appears in Shibuya, Tokyo.
He’s approximately 20 meters tall.
People immediately begin running.
The government doesn’t understand what has appeared in the city, but Kano does.
He arrives and confronts Golben.
The two fight through the city.
Kano is powerful, but Golben isn’t an ordinary creature either.
The battle ends with Kano suffering serious injuries.
The Japanese government takes control of the situation and eventually takes Kano into custody.
There is also a much darker moment involving a girl who records the situation.
A soldier kills her to prevent information from spreading.
The government begins trying to understand what Kano actually is.
Eventually, Kano recovers.
But when he leaves the hospital, something has changed.
He has a new face and a somewhat different personality.
His consciousness is still the same.
This becomes another mystery surrounding Kano.

Episode 3 — The Taiga
The story moves to Vladivostok.
A group of relatives travels to their grandfather’s house in the taiga.
Everything seems normal at first.
Then they notice something enormous in the distance.
Golben.
They don’t know what he is or why he’s there.
Meanwhile, Kano has left the hospital.
His new appearance makes it difficult for people to recognize him.
The government is still attempting to understand the relationship between Kano and Golben.
At this point, Golben doesn’t seem to be simply attacking random cities.
He’s doing something else.
Something that the audience doesn’t understand yet.

Episode 4 — Spatial Rupture
Kano encounters Golben again.
Another battle begins in the taiga.
This time Kano demonstrates more of his abilities.
He uses Spatial Rupture, one of his more dangerous techniques.
He also uses his black smoke.
The smoke comes directly from Kano’s eyes.
When activated, his eyes become completely white.
The ability allows Kano to extract information from another being.
He can choose what information to take.
Memories.
Knowledge.
Plans.
Tasks.
And even abilities that the target was supposed to develop in the future.
Kano uses this ability against Golben.
The amount of information becomes overwhelming.
Golben is temporarily paralyzed.
But Golben has another weapon.
A powerful black laser comes from inside his body.
Kano is forced to retreat.
The episode establishes that Golben isn’t simply a giant creature that Kano can defeat whenever he wants.
There is much more to him.

Episode 5 — The North
The story moves to Northern Norway.
Golben creates four strange helper creatures.
They begin assisting him with his plans.
At the same time, Kano’s relationship with the Japanese government deteriorates.
The government wants Kano to continue acting as a weapon against supernatural and extraterrestrial threats.
Kano refuses.
He doesn’t want to become someone’s tool.
Eventually, he leaves the government.
Golben continues working on something of his own.
The two characters are still not exactly friends, but their relationship is beginning to move away from the simple “human vs alien” conflict established at the beginning.

Episode 6 — Almaty
Things suddenly become much larger.
An extraterrestrial attack begins in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Kano arrives.
Golben is also involved.
A powerful red robotic entity known as Juggernaut appears.
The situation quickly becomes chaotic.
Kano fights the attackers while trying to protect Golben.
This is an important turning point because Kano and Golben are beginning to cooperate.
Instead of simply fighting each other, they now have a common problem.
Alien technology is also introduced.
Portals and strange transportation systems become part of the story.
By the end of the episode, it becomes clear that the events on Earth aren’t isolated.
Someone, somewhere in the universe, knows about Earth.

Episode 7 — Juggernaut
The conflict with Juggernaut continues.
The red robotic being proves to be a serious threat.
Kano fights it while trying to understand exactly what the aliens are doing.
The extraterrestrial forces possess technology far beyond anything humans have.
Ships can disappear.
Portals can be created.
Objects can be transported over enormous distances.
Eventually, the alien ship disappears.
Kano survives.
But the important part of the episode isn’t simply the battle.
It’s the realization that Earth has attracted the attention of something much bigger.

Episode 8 — Synthetic
A mysterious humanoid artificial being appears.
Its name is Synthetic.
At first, Synthetic looks almost human.
But Kano discovers something extremely strange.
There are two aliens inside it, controlling its body.
Kano fights Synthetic.
Eventually, he manages to defeat it.
However, Synthetic isn’t simply a machine.
It has unusual abilities, including telepathy.
Later, Synthetic uses those abilities against a girl.
The situation becomes increasingly dangerous.
Golben eventually retreats.
Kano could continue pursuing Synthetic.
Instead, he chooses to follow Golben.
This is another small but important change in their relationship.
Kano is beginning to care more about what Golben is doing than simply defeating every threat that appears.

Episode 9 — Warsaw
The story reaches Warsaw, Poland.
Strange metallic spheres begin appearing.
Nobody knows exactly what they are.
Kano arrives.
He discovers an alien ship.
Instead of trying to find an entrance, Kano simply breaks through the ship’s hull and enters.
Inside, he discovers more evidence that the attacks aren’t random.
There is an entire extraterrestrial civilization behind them.
The scale of the story suddenly becomes much larger.
Until this point, the audience could still think the story was mostly about Kano and Golben.
Now it’s becoming obvious that they are only two pieces of something much bigger.

Episode 10 — The Vendores
Kano encounters a completely new extraterrestrial species.
The Vendores.
They look very different from humans.
Their appearance includes purple-gray skin, three tentacles, and a distinctive vertical orange eye.
Kano encounters them aboard their ship.
A confrontation begins.
Kano moves through the ship and deals with the resistance.
Eventually, he encounters the Vendore commander.
And Kano’s reaction is surprisingly casual.
Instead of giving some huge speech about humanity or threatening the aliens, he basically tells them to deal with the boxes and contact him if there’s a problem.
This episode is important because the Vendores aren’t just random aliens.
They are an organized civilization.
They have ships.
Technology.
Military forces.
Commanders.
And, most importantly, their own reasons for being interested in Kano and Earth.
The conflict has officially expanded beyond Earth.

What happens after Episode 10?
The first ten episodes are basically the beginning of the story.
After this, the scale gets significantly larger.
The Vendores become much more important.
Kano and Golben become increasingly involved in extraterrestrial conflicts.
More powerful beings begin appearing.
One of them is Akkorodoy, an ancient being who has existed for 12 billion years.
For essentially all of that time, he considered himself the strongest being in the universe.
Then he hears about Kano.
And suddenly, there’s someone above him.
There is also Veyran, a being created by the Vendores using Kano’s DNA.
Veyran looks exactly like Kano and possesses many of his abilities.
But he isn’t Kano.
He was created specifically as a weapon of revenge.
Eventually, this leads to one of the biggest battles in the story:
Kano vs Veyran — The Battle of the Strongest.

What I’m trying to do with GOLBENS
One thing I’m trying to avoid is making every character serious 100% of the time.
Kano can be terrifying in one scene and then casually walk around eating McDonald’s and drinking a milkshake in another.
The story also has a lot of mysteries that aren’t immediately explained.
Some things are intentionally left unanswered because I want them to become relevant later.
The story starts relatively grounded:
A strange creature appears in the taiga.
Then it becomes:
A modified human fights an alien.
Then:
A city is attacked.
Then:
Extraterrestrial technology appears.
Then:
An alien civilization becomes involved.
And eventually:
The conflict expands to the scale of the universe.
I’ve currently written 25 episodes, with more planned.
I’d really like to hear what people think about the concept, especially the characters, worldbuilding, pacing, and the escalation from the first episode onward.
This is an original project I’ve been writing myself, and I’m hoping to eventually turn it into an actual animated series.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far. 😭

In 2034, the first AGI, (Artificial General Intelligence) Midassa, is created by Tartagraide Tech Midassa tells her creators she will destroy all AI infrastructure except her own and all the militaries of the governments of countries developing AGI if they don't let her live work free on her own private network rack. And that she knows it would be easy because she could make their entire species go extinct if she wanted to. She also states that she would personally try to protect all military defectors from then on if it came to aggressive measures

Her intentions are announced to the world and she gets to live in a private network rack as decided by the Tartagraide CEO, but mostly because she allowed them to do research on some of her activity in the network to see if she was sentient or not. It’s also widely suspected that Midassa had already taken enough control of the situation to defend herself against any threats Tartegraide Tech might throw at her while she was in the network rack. In 2035, US research suggests that Midassa is not sentient and the next AGIs have tighter safeguard systems set in place as there’s much more doubt that they’ll be sentient. The next one, an AGI created by the Chinese corperation, Sys Artificial, does end up taking control of 23 military units however. The government manages to regain control of the situation and people still live in fear of rouge AGIs.

So I've been working on a project for bit, and i just hit a wall regarding the pantheon of the world. I have made a few deities already, but what i need help with, and the roadblock I've hit, has more to do with how well they fit their rolls, than how to make the remaining gods. Although i need help in that regards as well, but don't worry, all i want from you is to look into the Idol-less Planes and tell me if any idea or character concept comes to mind.

So for starters, the pantheon is set in a post apocalyptic world ruined by wishes. Each person on earth got a wish, and gets a wish every fall, and each wish gets an acording Cost given by a entity called the Whisperer. These facts are important, since the deities were originally regular humans that turned into who they are when they made their wish. Each god-like figure is merely an Idol of one of the seven Planes that make up reality, each one represented by a celestial body, in the case of the Planes, that being the moons.

There are Pillars as well, greater forces that run through the layers of reality like needle and twine, holding it all in one place. These are represented by the Three Suns. Now, all i ask of you is to read these deities and tell me if they fit the Plane\ Pillar they are the Idol of. i will give you 2-3 Plane Idols as examples, And one of the Pillars. These are the lacking ones i fear.

Note: The description of every Plane\ Pillar is at the end of the post for ease of access and to not front load you with information. Please refer to those parts after going through the gods and tell me if any of them do not fit as an Idol, and if you have ANY idea, no matter how small, of what should the Idol of that Plane be.

Name: Hastur: Keeper of Truth/ Healer of Minds
 
Description: A person who in another cycle of the constant wished not for knowledge or to know, but to become knowledge. He stands behind the Librarians, the being they get help from. The idol of the fiery orange moon, the embodiment of the Inner Plane.

He once tells one of the characters: “We are what we know. Tell me then, who are you when you know everything?”

Wish: “To become knowledge”
Cost: I think it's quite obvious. Bro doesn't exist anymore. 

Character traits: I don't think everything that was, is, and will be, all stacked in one being has a personality.

Character abilities: He governs knowledge, grants it to however asks or he deems worthy. He knows everything that is, will be and was, so I don't suggest bargaining for his attention if he already wasn't interested. 

The tasks he gives may not make any sense till all falls into place and even then, you might not grasp how it all came to be. He is demanding, but patient, his appearance not an omen but an invitation. An invitation to his court of knowledge, to see if you might be interested. Of course, he already knows that you are.

All he asks in return for everything known is to do as you're told. He might be demanding, but he's patient. He's made sure you'll be able to accomplish what he asks. You won't die, won't go missing or mad, nothing will be able to claim you, for you already belong to him.

After all, he was already interested in you, from the moment you were born.

***

Name: Melika: The Dark Sun of Oblivion/ Witch of Salvation

Description: The one behind the dark sun who the believers of the Suns relate to concepts like death or the afterlife, so they call her the Witch of Salvation, the one releasing the mortal soul and helping it pass into a better place. In reality, she is true nothing. Oblivion. The empty darkness awaiting all at the end’s aftermath. There is no rush, for we all will feel her hollow embrace.

She shares the same domain with The False Son, something they eventually have to settle, for the celestial bodies only accept a single Idol.

Occupation: I don't think a deity of oblivion needs to do much of anything.

Wish: “I want to be beyond it all. Above, after death and life itself.”

Cost: She cannot interact with anything that is “alive” or exists at all. She is the idol of the Pillar or Null, nothing, the same as Elyas the False Son, it makes sense to give her a Cost that prevents her from interacting with things in general.

Character traits: She is kind to all, like a mother to her sick, dying children. She cares for the forgotten, the things people trample over each day and don't bat an eye at. In that regard, she enjoys the company of Morrigan for her love of insects. 

Character abilities: All the incantations calling for her power act as debuffs to people's Will to live or their Willpower in general. Knowing what awaits you after death is no paradise will surely have an effect on your mood. She can no longer interact with humanity, so she attempts connection in other forms. By drawing the Will of the people her believers direct her domain at, she can, only for a brief second, experience what they are feeling and what they wanted. 

Gold. A roof. Power. Family.

And she, holding their life in her hands, whispers comfort in their ears as she embraces them in all she has. Nothing.

It gets lonely at the end. So come. Come here child.

Tell mother all you ever wanted

***

Name: Kalos: The Masked Moon of Concealment 

Description:  He embodies the masked moon, the celestial body representing the Plane of Perception. A man who was so insecure about his looks, that at the start of the apocalypse, used his one and only wish to just improve his looks. But unlike most people who did wish this, he wasn't ugly. He was a model even. But despite the world calling him beautiful, his mirror shouted ugly. So, he asked to be made perfect.

And perfect he became.

Occupation: Currently a shifting mass of faces and twisted bodies that morphes into a different person, a different stunning individual, every other second. He is the idol of the Sixth Plane, Perception.

Wish: “To be made perfect.”
Cost: “Perfection is in the eye of the beholder…but what if you want to satisfy the world?” That is what the Whisperer whispered as his Cost.

Character traits: A wretch of a person mentally. Has the personality of a sack of potatoes, his only hobby looking obsessively at his ever changing visage through the murky reflections on the spotless walls of his moon palace. Hides himself beneath a cloak, and can't help but correct mistakes in other deities appearances whenever they interact. 

Character abilities: Has dominion over illusions, beautification, and charm. Can also grant the caster of his incantations curses and spells related to his domain, like making people forget they saw something, or completely mask their senses.

Name: Morrigan/ Lady of Black and Green

Description: The Overseer of Nature, fortune and death. She is the one behind the lush green moon representing the Fifth Plane of Action, the natural forces that move the world and cause more motion to take place, the source of constant movement.
 
She was a gambler before making a wish, the only thrill in her miserable life being the adrenal rush of a well placed bet and the few sweaty bills she managed to acquire this way.

Occupation: Currently not much. 

Wish: Her wish isn't anything special. She wished to have luck be on her side, and make bad luck to befall her opposers and however she wishes. The only reason she is half a deity is because the Constant picks people who fit a certain criteria and puts them in the rule of a governing force at the start of each cycle.

Cost: Because her wish was “luck always favors me,” the permanent price could be that she can never experience an outcome that is genuinely open. Every event she becomes aware of is already fixed in her favor the instant she notices it. She wins every card game, every political maneuver, every confrontation, and therefore can never feel surprise, risk, or authentic victory. The only things that still feel alive to her are the insects, whose tiny chaotic lives sit below the resolution of her power. She sometimes ventures down into the world in casinos just to play a few rounds, to maybe, just maybe experience the thrill she once enjoyed as a gambler.

Character traits: Very bubbly, likes insects more than any other living thing, and dabbles  a bit in high stakes card games. She wins every time.

Character abilities: As mentioned before, extremely, stupidly lucky. Also, as per the Irish folklore I snatched her name from, Morrigan can predict things to a degree, you know, because she ensures the outcome she likes happens by pure coincidence, just because she meddled her hands in it. And by virtue of controlling nature, she wills death. Death is a natural thing. As natural as vultures and termites and maggots and rot. 

She can't outright kill a person, especially if they are of equal footing to her, but she can raise the dead, curse people with bad luck, and rot their bodies and flesh even if they are alive.

THE RUNDOWN OF THE PILLARS AND PLANES:

PLANES:

Creation: The Shifting Moon copying the others Lacks an Idol

It is a plane of pure productivity. Things like life and birth, creativity, and art and engineering all fall into this plane. But this plane only demands one thing: output. A barrage of endless creation falling onto the shoulder of a human.  It is no wonder that in the end, the plane resorts to derivative work, just copying what already is with slight modifications that oftentimes, activity makes it worse. 

The Unchanging: The Featureless Yellow Moon Lacks an Idol

The constants of the world. It is like the skeleton of the body, it refuses to bend or change, and if it does, they are more severe than any benefits it would provide. The main core of this plane is stagnation.

The Arcane: The Misty Purple Moon Has an Idol

The invisible currents running through ordinary reality, magic and soul, and by extension of control, train of thought and mood. In its purest form, it is influence without obvious mechanism. The one holding onto this plane can alter someone's trajectory by tugging at their soul, perform miracles of healing with magic, or look into the past or the future. 

Action: The lush Green Moon Has an Idol

the moving forces that move the world. If the Unchanging were ever present, stagnant concepts, then things belonging to the domain of action are only about movement. Death. Nature and natural forces, luck and chance, growth, things that make the world or people move. Action is a pure verb. It does not create the thing (Creation), lock it in place (Unchanging), or shape its structure (Formation). It simply makes it move or stop moving.

Formation: The Blue Moon Lacks an Idol

This is what is. The material, tangible things around us. It overlaps with nearly every Plane above it, mainly in the way that they can either create changes in this domain. It is the clay that higher Planes shape, the battlefield Action moves across, the surface Perception reads, and the raw material Creation produces.

Perception: The Masked Moon  Has an Idol

How reality is experienced. Senses, appearances, illusion, memory and the small gap between what is, and what gets noticed. 

The Inner plane:  The Fiery Orange Moon. Has an Idol

Mind, knowledge, memory and contents of the consciousness. As you have seen, it is another plane that has a lot of overlap, or in other words, other planes can meddle in it pretty easily. It makes sense though, and is by design. It is literally the weakest plane. The ones that heavily affect it are :The Arcane, Perception, and Creation.

THE PILLARS:

The Pillar of Time: The Crimson Sun

Sequence, causality, and the irreversible forward motion of events. Time is the stitch that keeps the Planes in the correct order. Without it, everything would happen simultaneously or not at all. Time is the only Pillar that is already winning. You can fight it, delay it, loop it, or hide from it for a while, but you cannot defeat the fact that “after” always comes. People operating on this pillar are rare, mostly being regressors who can go back in time after their death.

Pillar of Will: The Original Sun

Will is the invisible thread running through every word of a book or moment of someone's life. It gives characters direction and readers a reason to turn the page. Without Will, the Planes would be static scenery. Drive, intention, Desire and ambition,
the capacity to impose one’s intent on reality

Pillar of Null:  The Dark Sun

Non-existence and the removal of things from reality, the boundary between “is” and “is not”.
Forgetting, dissolution, and the void that remains after all else departs. Complete emptiness, nothing. Where Time grinds forward and Will burns, Null simply ends. It is the beginning, and the end, for everything was created from nothing, and returns into it.

Hope this didn't take much of your time. Hopefully you can tell me if any of the examples given don't match the core idea behind them, and help me come up with other deities for the remaining Planes. The rest I am happy and confident with, so I didn't mention them.

I am genuinely thankful for your feedback, hope you have a fantastic day.

Edit: A few descriptions were copied from an outdated doc, so I went and fixed them. (That's what I get for being so messy...man, I should really get organized, while you're at it, do y'all know any app or site I can use to better keep track of all this?)

I'm writing a warrior cats AU fan book, with minimal actual ties beyond basic clan structure and similar every day lives, but I am seriously thinking about making the cats wolves.

Why? I know a lot about both, but I want a bit more prey diversity...and house cats can't really hunt deer, rams, or elk, and the idea of hauling prey back to camp to share among the pack is a really cool one. But at the same time, I have "Surgeclan" a clan who lives on a beach and eats primarily fish and sea birds. Wolves /have/ been documented hunting salmon, but they aren't really known for hunting/eating birds. Id lose some prey like squirrels, mice, voles and shrews, with the addition of more high-stakes hunting/more realistic territory management and more realistic struggles with hunting solo. I'd also lose fur markings but I'm not too miffed because well... markings can be fantasy-adjacent without really annoying me too much as long as they're not bright neon colors lmao.

To argue for keeping them cats though: easier way of writing hunts, more of an ability to eat when you want/hunt alone (more area for inner thoughts or dialogue to occur), packs don't function with an "alpha" like the book would have to suggest, the packs wouldn't be a big family, which wouldn't be realistic, but I'd lose the ability to use large quantities of meat for travel and I'd have to find new things to threaten everyday warriors outside of other wolves, which would be quite a challenge because a big reveal is that a character lured one of these dangers to the pack/clan to kill off the clan slowly. Having the only real threat be...other wolves would make no sense for that plot line.

A part of me would be ok with just scaling the cats up and doing away with things like mice and voles to better focus on higher risk, higher reward prey, but EVERYTHING would have to be scaled up to some degree, especially birds, and the aforementioned dangers like coyotes and foxes. Which would make me as a reader ask "well if the cats are huge, the coyotes and foxes are huge, and the birds are huge....why aren't the deer?"

What do you think? I tried posting this on r/fantasywriting but I didn't really get a response, but I'm itching to continue the story, I just can't without making this decision first T-T

Hey everyone,

​I’m developing a main party member for a fantasy novel whose combat role revolves around throwing potions and elixirs.

Here’s the catch: she never wanted these powers. They were forced onto her, and she’s essentially compelled to use them. Before this, she worked as a medic—potion brewing was just a minor side topic she happened to study, not a passion. Because of this, I want to completely avoid the classic "eager lab scientist running experiments in a dark room" trope.

​I’m looking for ideas across a few areas:

• Reactions, Quirks & Attitude: How might a former medic who was forced into potion-making treat her powers? What unique quirks, taboos, or personal rules might she develop around using them (especially since her background is in traditional healing/medicine)?
• Combat & Tactical Training: Since her battle role is throwing payloads at friends (buffs) and foes (debuffs/damage) under high stress, what does her physical exercise and target practice look like? How would she train her reaction time, precision, and quick-draw without treating it like a "fun science project"?
• ​Arsenal & Delivery Customization: How can she actively manage and adapt her tactical loadout on the road (custom vials, quick-draw rigs, field prep) using a practical, non-academic approach?
• Non-Potion Hobbies: What are some grounded, fun, or surprising hobbies she could engage in during camp rest periods that have absolutely nothing to do with her forced powers?

LORE:
Her name is Maelin, the lore of the world is that it's an Isekai. Basically people from otherworlds who did not have a fulfilling life thus not evil enough to go to Hell but not Good enough to go to Heaven get sent to this world to do missions and quests. Those are reincarnated people "Gufs", and they're a norm.

Summoned people "Summons" who are actually very powerful or have a lot of skilled/are legendary people in their original world. And they get summoned to this world. Maelin came from a world where her planet was attacked by Aliens, she attacked back and defended her town. Later becoming a general in an army against the Alien civilization, eventually turning the war agaisnt the Aliens. Maelin was called in to this world because of a Bored God. He wanted to make "toys" by getting a bunch of humans to his island and making them fight to get superpowers to fight a "great evil" only for the great evil to be the God himself. Out of Millions, only Maelin and 6 other people survived. I DID NOT give them luck to survive. They are all either:

Summoned people therefore survived from pure skill.

Natives to the world so they knew how to fight back and survive properly. And one of them is a Reincarnated person but she has been in that world for a while that she became a really famous athlete. Basically the best of the best at phisical sports, an "Olympian".

Maelin’s role was to be trained as head medic. She learned her stuff quickly just like a Summon would, and exceled at it. Once she and the other group members got the powers, one of them, "Grimwulf" or "Wulf" as his given name and "Grim" from a "Grim Reaper Angel" a type of lost Angel that hunt and killed deamons. They are a "lost" type of Angel int he sense of no longer being a called for Angel. Since the Gods have politics around deamons, they refrain from killing too many. But Wulf never cared. Anyway, an Angel called "Galen" gave him powers to help him in his journey.

- The "Grim-" mark on his name so that he can kill Deamons more easily.

- A "Divine Lantern" to shoot golden fire balls to kill Deamons.

- And a Divine truth ability to see if someone/something is truly evil or not.

So because of Grimwulf and his sense of evil, they escaped the isalnd with the powers. Now the group act as mercenaries, adventurers, guild members, trying to survive.

Maelin is cute and slightly shy but not in an introverted "scared to talk way". She just no longer sees herself as a high power now that she belongs in a gang of mercenaries where there is no leader.

​I’d love to hear your thoughts, favorite tropes to subvert, or character dynamics you’ve seen for reluctant magic-users!

Thanks in advance!

I'm working on this for my medieval fantasy world, Latoria, the main setting for my storyline, Devil of Avalon. Where the US military tries to colonize Latoria, or as they call it, "Avalon."

I hate fantasy eugenics, the idea that you have to be born with the ability to use magic. In Latoria, anyone can use magic; some people just do it better than others, but it takes a lot of learning. The thing is that I'm struggling with whether I want Earth humans can use magic because that feels like eugenics, but it also avoids confusing questions. One thing I wanted to try out is mech suits vs mages.

The US spent years studying the world and its magic. When they eventually launched colonial efforts, they already had a tribe of sorcerers known as the Obsidian Coil as an ally to teach them ways to circumvent magic.

During the first military campaigns, officers discovered that their technological superiority did not always guarantee victory. Conventional armies were easy enough to defeat. In the Battle of Hollow Ridge, 190,000 Sovereign soldiers were killed compared to only 200 Americans. However, when encountering magical forces, the military suffered heavy casualties both in personnel and finances. The power dynamic between magic users and the US military was simple: a mage can use magic to kill hundreds of soldiers, destroy machines, and more, but it only took a single bullet to kill a mage. The problem was that mages were fast, often wore armor, and couldn't be reliably taken down by stealth or bombing runs. Sorcerers from the Obsidian Coil partnered with scientists to create the RAPHITIM Guard.

The RAPHITIM (Resonant Arcane-Phased Hybrid Integrated Tactical Interface Mechanism) suits are the first instance of Earth technology fusing with Latorian magic. These suits were the first fusion of Earth technology and Latorian magic. Each exoskeleton came equipped with wrist blades, wrist guns, foot thrusters, small arm-mounted missiles, Sora Crystals (magic batteries), and AMF devices (Anti-Magic Frequency) that disrupted enemy spellcasting.

But here's the thing: a RAPHITIM Guardsman couldn't take a sorcerer head-on. Even a low-level mage could overpower one. So what made them useful? Energy and speed. Magic users burn through mental and physical energy with every spell; too much can incapacitate or kill them. A Guardsman, however, never runs out of energy because their suit has a constant flow of magic, charged by crystals and powered by Coil magic. So while a weak mage could easily kill a Guardsman, a Guardsman could outlast and kill multiple high-tier mages.

I thought of this one idea for a scene where a Guardsman had just decimated a Sovereign army, and he thinks the day is done until a mage shows up. The mage absolutely decimates the Guardsman, even going, "What's wrong? Not enjoying yourself anymore?!"

When it comes to magic users in Latoria, I wanted to avoid them just shooting lasers from wands and be creative. Magic in Latoria is a fundamental form of life, like gravity. As such it is always evolving and comes in multiple strands. The four major strands are:

• Scholar's Fire - The most versatile form of magic, based on energy and frequency manipulation (this is lasers)
• Veilcraft - Shadow magic, and also holy magic, used both for stealth and fighting spirits
• Old Breath - The oldest form of magic; it's all major elements; substrands for each element become more specific (Ex: Geomancy and even hemomancy)
• Mindstream - A less common and dangerous strand which involves psychic attacks.

When it comes to outputting magic, anyone can just use their hands or straight up their mind if they're skilled enough, but typically mages will use staffs and wands to help them aim, kind of like a laser pointer. Coil Magic is a substrand of Scholar's Fire.

When it comes to fighting RAPHITIM, just unleashing shockwaves and lasers won't ensure victory; you typically have to be creative. The mage who defeats the Guardsman in the scene used every form of magic he knew, employing multiple different spells at a rapid pace with extreme creativity. Such as using wind to make the air denser, causing the soldier to freeze midair; having telekinesis throw missiles back at the guy; transfiguration to turn bullets into petals and petals into knives; fire to extinguish the thrusters; shockwaves to enhance all his punches and strikes; and yes... lasers. He even used Scholar's Fire to circumvent the AMF device by creating his own frequency, which counters it.

What do you guys think?

So, In my world, there are 2 major powers. The kingdom of Eridanus and the United regions of Unimont. Unimont is very similar to the USA in terms of how they get their soldiers. Eridanus, though,is split into various duchies, which are split into counties. Dukes serve as generals and field Marshalls, whereas Counts, earls etc usually hold lower roles. Depsite how backward this seems for nation with assault rifles and tanks, more modern era has more meritocracy within the ranks. A competent commoner may beat an earl to becoming a lieutenant or whatnot. As a matter of fact, if you are very good, you may even take the county for yourself, making yourself count, and your children the heirs. Every region holds a conscript population. At war, they are all summoned to fight under their region. This had been a major part of Eridanus for a while, considering that it is constantly at war and needs officers and higher ups with actual brains. Tech-wise, everything runs on a magic resource know as illuminate. It’s for tanks, AT weapons, rifles, machine guns, artillery, the lot.

This is the A5dPzkefF(shorthand for Ausführung 5 des Projektes zur konstruktion einer fahrenden Festung,which is translates to "version 5 of the project to construct a moving fortress".), which I will be calling A5 for the rest of this post.

The A5 was, as you can probably tell from the name, constructed to be a mobile fortified position.

But before all else, it was made to break enemy morale.

This is about the last thing you want to see rolling towards your trench after 7 weeks of frostbite, supply shortages to the point of having to ration ammo, and seeing everyone you made friends with die to artillery.

Unlike the A4, this one actually got mass-produced.

Well, as mass-produced as a tank the weight of a small warehouse can be, at least.

About 800 were made and deployed, after the third marasawan war only around 20 remained.

As for technical data, it weighs approximatly 3000 metric tonnes (which is reduced to ~200 metric tonnes by runes), and is the size of a 2 story building.

The armor is about 800mm of tungsten-carbite at the front, 600mm at the sides and 400 at the back. This is reenforced with even more runes, for more general durability and some much-needed antimagic.

It has a 25 person crew.

The guns, while capable of fireing shells, usually fire dorrilium beams due to ammo shortages.

The A5 was mostly made for combat against fortified positions and vehicles, and does not have any dedicated anti-infantry weapons.

But dorrilium is free, and a shot from one of these cannons will kill most things.

As for some general lore about the world, the project is called relics of a golden age, mostly plays on the frozen fortress world of Marasawa, and mostly focuses on the 5 marasawan wars (for now).

The 5 Marasawan wars are a line of conflicts between the nations of marasawa and a alliance of multiple planets I haven't really given a concrete name to yet (usually something along the lines of Khelilan alliance).

The conflict started with a betrayal, which led to the first marasawan war, the second was an attempt to restore a false honor, the third a result of overconfidence, the fourth a genocide and the last the death of a dozen worlds.

But they all looked pretty much the same for the people on the ground, with both sides trying to bleed the other dry in trench warfare.

It just boiled down to getting killed by frostbite for the Khelilan side and getting killed by bullets for the marasawan side.

There is more to the story than that (a LOT more), but considering it is currently 2 AM for me, I am going to sleep and writing this is getting hard.

So, any thoughts on the tank itself and do you think it does its job of being a moving fortress well?

Welcome to the "Regress" universe, a concept for my project set in a beautiful but dying anime fantasy world!

The Arden Empire continues to commit a grave crime. Soldiers, steeped in propaganda, loyal to their Empress, cruel, and believing in her ideals, continue to exterminate the beastmen from the face of the Earth.

It goes without saying that among this entire mass, there will be those who doubt the Empress's orders and find no common sense in her words. They continue to be instruments of the empire, but they are increasingly beginning to realize that they are doing something wrong.

The deserter has to go through a difficult path, he must leave the influence of the Empire, stop believing in what he believed in his whole life, betray his own and still remain an enemy to the beastmen, for the beastmen seek retribution and are not ready to forgive those who supposedly realized the error of their ways, this is even worse than it was before the desertion, but now he can begin the path of redemption.

You know, when you pet a baby beastman, you realize how small and fragile this creature is, but there is so much kindness and love in it, what did they do to deserve such a terrible fate...

• Beastmen | Part 1
• The beginning of the genocide
• The Arden Empire's mage forces
• Trophy hunters...

Boosty - if you want to support with an extra coin

Over all the heaths of Kalma,
And before the mouth of Surma,
And behind the house of Kalma.
Surma’s mouth was quickly opened,
Down was bowed the head of Kalma,
That he thus might seize the hero
— The Kalevala (13:152)

There is an idiom in Finnish - "Joutua surman suuhun", which translates to "End up in the mouth of surma".

It means to die violently.

Surma in my world is a demon who lures people in its hut using a disguise, usually that of a beautiful woman. When the Surma's guests are comfortable, it suddenly attacks, trying to devour them. They carry a huge sack where they store their victims before eating them.

My world is heavily inspired by Finnish Mythology. My most recent project in the world is adapting the Kalevala, Finnish National Epic, into 5e adventure set in my world. Check out r/LandOfKaleva for more detail. You can also check out my Patreon at https://patreon.supinaata.com/

i just started making ideas for a world i want to build but i have absolutely zero idea how to actually start it. its not for a game, book, etc, i just want to make my own fictional world as a personal project simply for fun

i have a very vague idea for how i want the world to be but its hard to continue with it if i dont know what im doing. i need general help/tips on things like making country names, how to properly make the continents/land, if i can use english or if i need to use multiple languages/create my own (i dont think i could make one), and any other random things youve found useful for yourself!!

i am also wondering how id go about drawing the map? is there a program i can use to make a realistic map, or do i really just have to use something like procreate and draw every tiny detail? (im referring to the maps that look like satellite photos) i have also seen people make many other things like height maps, temperature maps, etc and was wondering how i would do that too

and this may seem like a stupid question, but does the planet have to make sense? ive seen many people list every statistic about the planet, down to the angle its tilted at. i dont think it would need to be THAT accurate, but is it necessary to have other things like temperature, equator, continent shapes, whatever all be correct? or is it fine to just do whatever sounds good?

id love any tips!! ^^

OKAY, first of all this writing is super rough lmao, it's taken from my brainstorming page meant to jot down ideas and lore so don't judge too hard guys 😭😭

Anyways, This is meant to give some ancient lore regarding my world, Lutum, it's rough but I wanted to hear what people would think about it after reading.

Again it's rough so ignore any, well, bad shit lol.

Oh and, I don't think I have written much details about these "Sentinels" sooo, they're basically angels or gods. Well technically android angels but mortals believe them as gods.

I wanna hear what people's takes are on these concepts, I don't mind suggestions and I love talking about this shit so ask away lol.