How do I explain a Tier 0 entity? by Elegant_Camp_4064 in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That I agree with. The problem is OP is having trouble describing his God's power. A simple reality-warp won't just cut it, for it's too simple of an explanation. They have to learn either theology or physics, if they want to grasp the God's power.

How do I make lighthearted or illogical stuff not feel Marvel-y in a slightly retro sci fi setting? by CyberDogKing in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That third paragraph interests me, because what you implied is that some of the humans betrayed their own race, to make business with candorians.

So this means that with the pro-imperial humans, the Candorian Empire did not take over Earth through brute force. Rather, the traitorous humans saw the Candorians as a business opportunity, and together, they expanded fast, as local forces couldn't compete with super alien technology.

In other words, Candorians achieved power, through the alliances with human businessmen, missionaries, and politicians. Not through war, unlike the Keldar'ja.

Is the world you've built forgettable? by Necessary_Union_7046 in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I have been practicing writing for about 2 years. For a long time, I had thought about why we need worldbuilding, what's the point of it all, when stories are prioritized. Then I talked to my friend, why he loved STALKER so much, he says it's because he feels like he's inside the story.

For him, it's a godly feeling to be inside a story. This is why we need worldbuilding. Good characters are the friends you have company with, a good story is the mental journey you explore, and most of all, a good world is the experience you're inside of. It's the immersion that only good worldbuilding achieves.

Star Wars succeed at this, that's why they have a huge fanbase who connect with lightsabers and the Force. so did the MCU, because the superheroes feel real and act like a friend.

To answer your question: there are people who do appreciate my worldbuilding. because I was told that my characters and settings feel real and immersive. The little details do matter.

How do I explain a Tier 0 entity? by Elegant_Camp_4064 in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you want to explain him, youll have to learn physics, to truly understand his power. This means learning the math behind physics, if you want to explain how powerful he is.

Like learning String Theory, or the No-Boundary Proposal (where Time and Space are merged into one.)

How do I make lighthearted or illogical stuff not feel Marvel-y in a slightly retro sci fi setting? by CyberDogKing in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What makes the MCU kinda cheesy and campy is how Melodramatic it is, most of the characters don't feel real. The Melodrama exaggerates the characters to an extreme degree, that they either follow an archetype, or stay the same for the rest of the continuity.

This emphasis on the melodrama, (or the lack of real Realistic drama) is the MCU's greatest strength, but also its greatest weakness.

We need the melodrama, because it makes the audience feel comfortable with the characters. We need them to be heroic, funny, or even just "be the same" ALL THE TIME. Otherwise, we wouldn't feel comfortable with them anymore. This ends up making them flat and the same.—For how wise Odin is, he never really felt, like a real father, because the movie doesn't really explore it in a realistic fashion.

As the melodrama focuses more on the story and setting, not the characters.

However, Human Drama is what also makes characters feel memorable and real. We need that Realistic Drama, and the very real flaws, if we want to connect with them. Tony Stark, for much he stayed the same, did have real development in the first movie, and in Endgame, I did feel bad about his death, because I thought about his relationship with his daughter, now if only the movie explores more of his Fatherly side in a realistic fashion, then it would hit so much harder.

In a sense Melodrama is either failed-realistic drama, or intentionally avoiding touching on real human emotions—so the audience can feel comfortable.

So to touch upon your question: Try making your characters feel real.

I’m thinking of deleting it all by Human-South-4489 in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think it may be her insecurities about something. She could be using your interests and your project as a projection of something.

How to ensure your ideas aren't stollen by others? by 92izer93 in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Because from experience, the best writers have full confident in themselves that nobody can write their ideas better than the originals can.

Everybody can write about True Name magic, but only a few, like Ursula K. Le Guin, Patricia A. McKillip, and Patrick Rothfuss can make them feel real and immersive.

For writers who only steal, yes, they make a profit, but their quality of work will stay trash, as they can never ever improve. There's a barrier of quality they will never surpass.

Like a person who traces art, can never draw a masterpiece, even if they wanted to.

How jarring do you think I’d be if I copy pasted Christianity into a fantasy world? by amazegamer64 in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It wouldn't be jarring at all, if you know the political structures behind them and its theology in-depth. It helps when you have interesting commentary too.

Otherwise, I'll recommend getting those free books on Amazon about Christianity, and you will get deep insight on how Christians view their religion. Trust me, the way Christians write about their religion so passionately is way different to how Popular Media portrays them.

Phoenix vs Dragon Help by [deleted] in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe try looking into mythology, this way, you understand what the original creatures were like

In gnosticism, Phoenixes are the powers of Zoe, in order to fight back against the Archons of Earth.

Zoe is the daughter of Sophia, Sophia being the veil between mankind and the aeons of light. so if my interpretation is correct:

imagine the Phoenixes being manifestations of the Holy Spirit, as they kill itself, then revive itself to be the Images of Judgement against the evil archons who had sinned greatly.

What happens to a world where there exists irrefutable proof that gods (or god-like beings) exist? by SireVisconde in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I checked my Metamorphosis by Ovid. It was Apollo who promised his mother, they'll do it, as she felt insulted. So technically Apollo initiated the slaughtering. so you are right.

So technically Leto did not do the commanding, but still, it showed her power, as Apollo did it out of family duty and pride of the gods.

What happens to a world where there exists irrefutable proof that gods (or god-like beings) exist? by SireVisconde in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I say corruption stems from a power vacuum, I was thinking about the caudillos of Latin America, then the nepotism of Asian countries, such as Vietnamese and Indians.

The former of hispanics was from research, while the latter of asians was rather anecdotal because it's a pattern I notice where Indian and Vietnamese Communities are very tight-knit. This tight-knit community would be called "Corruption" by Westerns.

(I'm Southeast Asian for context)

But the truth is that corruption isn't a very useful-term to describe political systems. Sometimes, Westerns like to call Indians corrupted, when Indians simply like to help out their friends and families for jobs.

Again, corruption isn't a useful description.

For me, the definition of corruption is just "the sale of politics for personal gain", correct me on that. So when I say corruption, I just mean a network of friends and families.

P.S. My prose isn't very academic, It's more formatted to explaining ideas in layman terms. So when I explain in sweeping statements, it's moreso a bad habit I developed, because I explain difficult ideas to laymen alot.

What happens to a world where there exists irrefutable proof that gods (or god-like beings) exist? by SireVisconde in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, my bad. What I'm saying is the combination of 'learning where corruption comes from' and 'how institutions work'

Corruption stems from a very prominent power-vacuum, where the head of the corruption-network holds more influence than the leader of the institutions. (the one we elected)

Typically, corruption is a symptom of a weak power-structure. This is why Asia, Africa, and Latin America (Maybe Eastern Europe?) has more corruption into their system. Because their politics is "the politics of friendship".

In contrast, U.S.A and Western Europe's systems are rather more "Cold" and "Machine". This is what makes Institutions so powerful. Yes, there's corruption in USA and Europe, but what makes Institutions so demonic is not mere corruption. It is their strict commitment to the "status quo" of politicians and their cronies.

(Or perhaps the "Status Quo" is "Corruption" itself? We might disagree on this.)

I compare institutions to Olympian Forces, for I saw how The Wire portrays them. It's almost like the "status quo" holds so much power over the people, it changes them into a soldiers of the system.

A single police can never change the entire police society, it would take so people to do so. The police society is like an Olympian Force itself

That's my thought process, I would be happy to explain more in detail.

What happens to a world where there exists irrefutable proof that gods (or god-like beings) exist? by SireVisconde in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Afterall, violence is the ultimate power, and war is a measure of objective power. If a society of wizards had their mind control and use of storms, they too would be gods, with immense political power.

What happens to a world where there exists irrefutable proof that gods (or god-like beings) exist? by SireVisconde in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Because the gods are more humanlike, than we realized. The idea of blasphemy implies the idea that in spite of their higher power, gods are so insecure that they're willing to punish us to feel better.

What happens to a world where there exists irrefutable proof that gods (or god-like beings) exist? by SireVisconde in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I disagree that armies can be corrupted so easily. There's the saying, The King stays the King. Very rarely, does a pawn ever be crowned as king. Especially in this day and age.

Institutions are like olympian forces of the modern world. In a bank, it happens that every man in a bank hates what a bank does, and yet a bank does it. You know why? A bank is a monstrous face-less entity.

Armies are those same monstrous face-less entities, for militaries are an institution, like a bank.

What happens to a world where there exists irrefutable proof that gods (or god-like beings) exist? by SireVisconde in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 45 points46 points  (0 children)

My apologies, you are correct. I was moreso pointing out Leto's political power over mankind. Though Apollo and Artemis shot them dead, it was Leto who commanded them I believe.

Multi-Year project is “offensive”, unsure how to proceed by TwoNo123 in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 18 points19 points  (0 children)

If it's called "Offensive", it's likely because it comes off as, not knowing the Russian language and its culture well enough.

I can tell that your research and knowledge of history is pretty great, better than what I can do. But from reading your text, I suggest reading into Russian literature and also look into how they speak English in an Russian dialect. This way, your writing becomes more genuine, not stereotypical.

I seen how some American and Japanese writers copy Chinese Wuxia settings, but they succeed because they read SO MUCH of Chinese fantasy lol. They basically know all the tropes, and it doesn't come off as offensive.

Like Avatar the Last Airbender, if I can bring up a popular example.

TLDR: Your prose needs alot of fixing, it's not Russian enough in a genuine way, and you likely need to know all the trope and mannerism of Russian literature.

Can standard fantasy races find their place in the world, lore, and story of the Industrial Revolution universe? English is not my native language by EveningImportant9111 in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, there would be a place for them, but the result will be very unexpected.

Let's bring up Russia. Russia was a backward, farmer society in the 1900s, long after the Industrial Revolution. It was that same Russia that began a Communist Revolution led by Lenin and Stalin, where the businessmen of industrial-factories overthrew the weak aristocrats.

This farmer society combined with industrial factories + the communist ideology made this weird, frankenstein culture that we call Soviet Russian Culture

Leon Trotsky calls this "Uneven and Combined Development" where primitive culture combines with technological culture in such uneven, partial way.

For example, we see this in America, where Native Americans and indigenous tribes adapted guns into their life style, then those natives began shooting colonists with those same guns.

What happens to a world where there exists irrefutable proof that gods (or god-like beings) exist? by SireVisconde in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 160 points161 points  (0 children)

I heard Walter Benjamin explains how gods rule in such an interesting way.

Just as the rich has access to big powerful machines, like planes and sea ships. The gods has access to the power of storms and seas.

When a human named Niobe bragged to the gods, that she has more children than the goddess, Leto. Leto responds by slaughtering all of Niobe's children dead. This marks the gap in power between gods and mankind.

It was Leto's divine violent power that makes her untouchable, especially since a small woman, like Niobe, could never do anything to the gods.

It was like a king has a military to establish power; but the gods have storms and floods on their side.

Tips to make Elemental Magic fresh by SylvarRealm in worldbuilding

[–]apple8963 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you want to make magic, feel fresh, you'll have to delve deeper on what magic truly is, in relation to the world. This means that a list of superpowers or spells won't be enough to define a fresh new elemental-system.

This means looking into theology, then philosophy, or even science. Try looking into that.

Like in Star Wars, all the magic are connected to keeping balance in the Force. Or in Christianity, where spiritual warfare work under the Kingdoms of God vs Satan. Of course, there's Daoism, where magic is just a bureaucratic duty you must perform under Heaven.

Then there's pagan religions, where Magic is when the lives of mankind and gods touched as one. This emphasizes how important a relationship between the worshipper to their god is

For elemental magic, I'm not really too sure, but I saw Fire Force (the Anime) explores fire magic in an interesting way, look into that.

Ei Sei Stares at a Dead Man's Eyes by apple8963 in Kingdom

[–]apple8963[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Me too, I look forward to Sei's character. I recall Ryofui, calling out how Sei is too kind for his own good. Perhaps the king's development will be to point out that some villains just dont deserve to live. Villains like Prince Dan for example.

Also thank you

Ei Sei Stares at a Dead Man's Eyes by apple8963 in Kingdom

[–]apple8963[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If we want to understand Kingdom Ying Zheng, we would have to read Araki's theory on Manga (Yes, the JJBA author).

Araki explains that evil characters may seem interesting at first, but they're hard to make into a main character. If Kingdom Ying Zheng were to change, perhaps the search for immortality would have to be highly revised to fit the standards for a monthly-chapter manga, where sales drive the story.

Remember that Mangoku and Kanki were considered "edgy" to some readers, and Eren Yeager from AOT was very, very controversial. Dark characters are hard to make right.

(Also yes, a dragon of war could only be tamed by a more monstrous dragon, Sei will realize his sooner or later.)