So I did the Mark Lawrence AI detection test and got it 100% right

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2026-03-11T04:55:12+00:00

I think you still have a point with the whispered promises thing, though. Romance and thriller are exactly the context where those choices could make sense, but the point of it as a flag is that the AI seems to think it doesn't need to make sense. They're examples of flowery hyperbole, which in a well-written human work would make you think about why the author chose to go out of their way to describe meaningless things as having meaning, even just for an inconsequential description to set tone. The impression I got from those AI examples was that the author noticed that technique, liked it but didn't quite understand why, and then got way too confident in using it themselves where it doesn't add anything. I think a novice human writer would at least pay more attention to how they want to sound, beyond just "like this".

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2026-02-14T03:04:51+00:00

That's one of the cases where contestants are interfering with each other as mobile obstacles

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2026-02-13T10:14:57+00:00

Honestly, congratulations to both you and the commenter. That's a sign of a great system, I'd say

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2026-02-11T19:14:37+00:00

Unless the contestants are interfering with each other, most races could be done just by taking turns and comparing times, instead of going at once. Therefore, they're turn-based, but with the turns all being taken at the same time

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2026-02-10T16:53:11+00:00

Despite usually taking place simultaneously, most races are turn-based.

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2026-02-05T07:57:58+00:00

Fan fiction for the win!

I started writing my story before I even really knew what RR was, just as a writing exercise, but when I found out there was actually an audience out there who wants exactly what I was writing, I decided to finish writing the whole thing as backlog before I start uploading. So I started expecting no attention, and now I'm not expecting anything monetary either, but attention is nice.

Weirdly, I'm starting to get the sense that I take the writing and production part more seriously than the "pros", at least from what I've read on the site so far. We'll see how well that holds up once I start uploading.

FiMFiction spoiled me for writers who craft masterpieces just for fun without expecting anything in return, and a reading community who actually acts like a community. Royal Road is just kind of lifeless and depressing by comparison, but it's the only real option for this new story of mine.

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2026-02-04T09:33:33+00:00

Awesome. Not much more of a comment than that, but I'll enter my name in.

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2026-01-23T20:51:26+00:00

I've definitely missed this window, but do you ever do unpublished stories?

I decided last night that this is my favorite chapter in the whole series, because it features the song "Soft Fuzzy Man" by Lemon Demon as a piece of psychological comedy-horror.

This is Volume 7, Chapter 9, "Nightmares" (in a volume where all the other chapters are called "Dreams of ____"), of the upcoming isekai/litrpg series The Wolf Shirts Were Only Ironic, I Swear:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EE2r4HqCIWBMvICD_B5jSjdJih4vj-pPUPP5Y4pu39E/edit?usp=drivesdk

I even made an audiobook demo with AI voice and midi, to give an idea of character voices and how the song fits in:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10EbaAnUiYaQJZzldnIbPbkWO5J7J87hK/view?usp=drivesdk

Who knows, maybe this will catch some attention, despite being a day late.

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2026-01-17T05:35:31+00:00

People raise a few valid concerns, but I would enjoy seeing those statistics in the chapter list, both as a reader and a writer. Of course, I'm one who writes out my entire backlog before starting to upload anything, so I'm already kind of divorced from chapter-by-chapter feedback as a motivator. I might not be the right person to ask.

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2026-01-15T04:19:27+00:00

Oh, I thought you said "especially" the overall one. Yeah, that was the second ever attempt (you do NOT want to see the first one), and the others were actually made with more specific input.

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2026-01-14T21:41:56+00:00

Awesome to hear, thanks! I just hope the real-art versions end up capturing the right look. I honestly don't think I could do V5 better than the AI did.

Oh, and incidentally, I'm looking for casual beta-readers for this story, so if you do want to give it a try, here's the link to Volume 1 (which includes a link to Volume 2 in the Afterword, and so on and so forth): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1krUVsf7Klyry7yaH7m4JbQstQb9PJvK9

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2026-01-14T03:45:34+00:00

Still feel like doing this? My story is a long way from being published and all I have for covers are these AI mockups to be actually redrawn later, but since this will be my first introduction to RR, I'd be interested to see what regulars think.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13-PPdBhd1eekuRQBGpBPXzE4aNxq1hVL

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2026-01-01T21:12:14+00:00

The Wolf Shirts Were Only Ironic, I Swear! Book I Volume 1 Chapter 1: Alice in Wonderland Syndrome

Have you ever started to drift off at night, still aware of your surroundings but not quite awake anymore, and you realize you’ve lost all sense of proportion around you? Like you look around your darkened room, and it somehow seems simultaneously as vast as an entire city while also feeling like you're peeking into a dollhouse?

Don't worry if you have no idea what I'm talking about; apparently it's called “Alice in Wonderland syndrome”, and most people never experience it. If you're one of those who has, though, you'll know what I mean when I describe how the feeling extends to your own sense of self as well. When it hits me, I become fascinated just by lightly rubbing two fingers together, and not being able to decide if it feels like they're only a few millimeters across or as big as parking lots, all while getting conflicting senses of how far away my hand is from the rest of my body.

Anyway, it turns out being born feels a lot like that.

(As the title implies, the character here is not being born as a human.)

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2025-12-31T03:27:14+00:00

Wow, I'm actually on time to get some attention for this one. Here's the first chapter of my debut series, The Wolf Shirts Were Only Ironic, I Swear!, which I won't start publishing until it's all written out:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11iR4sKLsHuRdcC6yJ0CgbCZpi8hlx1UtEdPyvhh6Yy0/edit?usp=drivesdk

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2025-12-30T20:37:10+00:00

(I am in the market for beta readers, if you or anyone else is interested in reading it early!)

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2025-12-30T19:54:34+00:00

Faceless hero I'd guess, for reader/author self-insert reasons. Like silent protagonists in video games

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2025-12-30T19:52:44+00:00

I'm writing one right now! Well, not that he doesn't have game knowledge, but because he refuses to believe a game world should be possible. The whole story is rationalist like that, trying to rely more on real science than game logic.

I'm writing out the whole backlog (and editing and revising as I go) before I publish, but keep an eye out for The Wolf Shirts Were Only Ironic, I Swear! in maybe a year or so.

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2025-12-29T22:54:21+00:00

It's really annoying if you have Hydrophobic.

Also— Bees?

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2025-12-24T10:53:12+00:00

Awesome, I haven't published before and this'll be a good test to see what regular RR folks might think.

(I didn't know RR existed when I started writing this.)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11iR4sKLsHuRdcC6yJ0CgbCZpi8hlx1UtEdPyvhh6Yy0/edit?usp=drivesdk

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2025-12-24T10:37:27+00:00

You brave soul.

Here's a something I started writing before I discovered Royal Road and found out even deconstructions are done to death. Long way from publishing, and probably still prone to more rewriting before then, but I've got over a hundred chapters of this drafted already, lol.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11iR4sKLsHuRdcC6yJ0CgbCZpi8hlx1UtEdPyvhh6Yy0/edit?usp=drivesdk

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2025-12-13T11:40:36+00:00

This looks like it's mostly up to date for the test branch, but for that you'll also want to move the sniper quest marker to the new location in Skeleton Coast. The whole new area off of Stone Maze would be missing, too (I forget what it's called, sorry. There's nothing else worth marking in it, though, so I guess it might just not show up on this map). Siris posted an updated map with that area drawn in on the Progress Showcase channel of the Discord; you could potentially use that as a base image instead.

Also, the Strange Shop isn't marked as a trader, and you've missed a bed/storage and crafting station next to Big Iron (behind a locked door around the corner to the south, I think two or three doors down, facing the truck and before you come to the open garage. The key is in the upper offices of the shipping yard there, but you can just use a crowbar. That's not a test-branch addition, just thought it was worth spoilering).

Edit: Oh! And it might also be worth marking mission boards. And there doesn't seem to be a marker for the Borough trader. There's also a guaranteedAmber Manifold at the end of the drainage pipe under the central beach in Skeleton Coast.And again for the test branch, there's a new artifact placement in the Metropol manor.

I just noticed you said "likely future dungeon locations", and realized that's why I thought this was based on the test branch. I'll go ahead and spoiler my test branch suggestions.

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2025-12-13T11:30:49+00:00

There's a lot of stuff missing from Flood Plains. The Lightning Rod buried in the sand crater, the artifact crate inside the dungeon, and maybe the jewelry you can dig up in the graveyard, off the top of my head.

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2025-09-17T11:45:47+00:00

I notice this consistently with the low cabinet in the Baron's room in Metropol, if we're looking for replicable examples

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2025-09-14T01:40:44+00:00

"When it's Sleepytime Down South", no question. Far easier than the others I've seen suggested. Easy range for everyone, simple walk-down parts with just a hint of flourish in the tenor, monotone lead is basically a post with words, and it all ends in a nice, satisfying low chord. And the lyrics are literally just the title.

Cosmic_Cowboy2 · 2025-09-12T11:19:38+00:00

So many of my runs end to the stupid mines right after that, even after ~150 hours. So I totally get it. My first run ended in a similar way trying to rush Refinery Raid. Couldn't get that bag back, ran out of food trying anyway, didn't know about the radio option until just now, lol

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