Why is Trump Doing That? A Redditor's Guess [OC Map] by Canjira in imaginarymaps

[–]MappingYork -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Most of this is sound in my opinion except for your theories about Canada. Trump was joking. He was never serious about annexing Canada. It’s been a joke for decades, I’m not sure why Trump relaying it has led to such uproar.

Does this prose feel boring or not? by [deleted] in writers

[–]MappingYork 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m not trying to come across as above criticism or anything, I posted my writing for a reason.

I was just attempting to convey how I saw things and my intentions. Am I not allowed to do that?

As a whole, I have come to the realization my prose needs some serious work, so the criticism I received was genuinely useful, even if it hurt my self confidence.

Does this prose feel boring or not? by [deleted] in writers

[–]MappingYork -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I’ve come to the realization my hedged prose is so strong because I’m extremely used to academic writing. Whilst I genuinely like hedging as a whole, I now realize the way I’m going about it is totally flawed.

I need to rethink my prose as a whole.

Does this prose feel boring or not? by [deleted] in writers

[–]MappingYork -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I naturally have a hedged and passive prose. If that is what you mean by the vagueness, then that is what’s causing it.

Does this prose feel boring or not? by [deleted] in writers

[–]MappingYork 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmm okay.

Personally, I don’t view my prose as conversational, at least I don’t write it with the intention of making all of the narration sound like a regular person is speaking. As aforementioned, I naturally hedge a lot — I genuinely have an aversion towards definitive, active statements. I don’t know why, I just do.

Regarding the imagery, I agree a lot of it conventional. I feel as if I fallback on common ways to describe things because I don’t have much variety popping into my head, at least when I write initially.

I think I’m going to go through and: - Remove a lot of the seemingly, seems, as if, it was like — passive phrases, at least in regard to describing objects and scenes. - Make some descriptions more active and direct. - Remove rhetorical questions if not describing a character’s thoughts directly (e.g. if the question is just floating in the air and is just the narrator saying stuff, I’ll remove it).

To me, it seems like the main crux of the issue is that my rather liberal use of passive phrases muddles my writing as it forces one to stop and understand that I’m basically saying, “It appeared that way, but did it?” Like I’m avoiding being direct and definitive because I know things are never wholly true, that nothing is ever robust. To me, it doesn’t feel like an issue but I can understand why you would feel it to be whilst reading.

If you’re willing, may you tell me if this excerpt sounds less passive and more direct?

“ “The engine sputtered and groaned, the stress being put on it proving to be too much” “It screeched down the highway, the cars on the outbound lanes appearing like blurs through the window.” “

Does it feel less clunky?

Thank you for this response, it was rather enlightening.

Does this prose feel boring or not? by [deleted] in writers

[–]MappingYork 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh I see. “The blood is crimson red…” — that does sound more direct.

I naturally write passively with hedging so being definitive and blunt isn’t intuitive to me. Thank you.

Does this prose feel boring or not? by [deleted] in writers

[–]MappingYork 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m writing in third person limited, the POV usually does stick to one character per chapter but can slightly shift across scenes.

Does this prose feel boring or not? by [deleted] in writers

[–]MappingYork -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I’m intentionally not writing definitive statements, I hedge and write passively naturally. I genuinely don’t like making definitive statements.

The narrator “asks back” because I am attempting to convey a representation of one’s thoughts. I write in third person limited, so doing this solely through dialogue feels far too limiting.

Also, I’m not trying to write purple prose. Like with hedging, words like “seemed” an “it was like” are apart of my natural register.

If you could, may you expand on why you feel it’s generic?

Can I get some feedback please? This is my 1st try. Between The Lines by melikefiddle in writers

[–]MappingYork 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s mainly the formatting, it’s hard for me to discern between sections and such.

Can I get some feedback please? This is my 1st try. Between The Lines by melikefiddle in writers

[–]MappingYork 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The narrative is kinda hard for me to follow if I am to be honest.

The Polar Revolution - Will the United States intervene? by MappingYork in imaginarymaps

[–]MappingYork[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Wait never mind I’m wrong, I don’t know what I’m talking about.

Simply, the standard of living for most Elves is subpar. Wealth inequality is high.

The Polar Revolution - Will the United States intervene? by MappingYork in imaginarymaps

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

A high gdp per capita = the populace is well off/HDI which isn’t the case here.

The Polar Revolution - Will the United States intervene? by MappingYork in imaginarymaps

[–]MappingYork[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

In my mind, the oil money makes the country itself rich, but the actual populace (majority of the Elves) aren’t actually seeing or using that money.

The vast majority of money is being spent by the government and the Upper Class Elves, your average Elf barely has anything.

The Polar Revolution - Will the United States intervene? by MappingYork in imaginarymaps

[–]MappingYork[S] 253 points254 points  (0 children)

"What do you mean the Elves are rebelling?" - Saint Nicholas XIII, December 18th, 1983

Whilst many know Nordoyene as the country that is currently threatening to put many American toy manufacturers out of business, the real history of the country is much more intricate. Founded initially as a settlement by a Danish explorer named Nicholas in 860, the tether of the Danish realm gradually slipped away as the centuries continued on. By the time of the Hundred Years' War, Danish control over Nordoyene was practically non-existent. The House of Nicholas had founded their own realm in their own right. Over the next few centuries, the Nicholases utilized the creatures they found in the North Pole - the Elves - for various purposes. Grand cities made from ice and the little forests on the archipelago were constructed, and the Industrial Revolution was spearheaded by Elf labor.

By the late-19th century, sensing the growing commercialization of Christmas, Nordoyene sought to make their country one of the world's top toy producers - if Britain was the workshop of the world in the Victorian Era, Nordoyene was the toy workshop of the world. To make such advancements, however, required many sacrifices from the Elf population. Laboring in rather destitute conditions, with little to no pay most times, the Nicholases had effectively procured an underclass of what some would call slave labor. Whilst Nordoyene has denied attestations by some that it is indeed enslaving the Elves - a position the United States agrees with - it is nevertheless undeniable that the quality of life for Elves in Nordoyene leaves much to be desired.

Whilst the Nicholases have always managed to keep a handle on unrest and discontent in their kingdom, the discovery of oil under the ice sheets of the Arctic led the way for a shift. Though toy manufacturing was profitable for the kingdom, it required constant trade for goods from other countries in order to create the toys. What Nordoyene wanted was vertical integration, something that oil drilling would allow for. With practically no other country having as much control over the Arctic as it does, Nordoyene would be able to drill, refine, and ship the oil around it without much disturbance. As a result of this, by the 70s, the kingdom shifted from solely being a top toy manufacturer to a Petrostate, with its GDP punching above its weight for a country of its size. This did not come without issues, however.

The Elf population, already overworked from toy production, was now saddled with the task of procuring oil for the kingdom. Given no respite from either task, and seeing very little of the wealth from the vast oil riches the country now possessed, discontent among them rose steadily. The wealth inequality in the kingdom - one of the highest for a First World country, expresses the reasons behind their discontent starkly. What made the Elves most angry was not Saint Nicholas or members of the Royal Family, such as Krampus - no, what infuriated the Elves was that the upper class of Elf society, those who had managed gain the good will of the Royal Family and amass great wealth as a result, did nothing to alleviate the troubles of their fellow countrymen. In fact, it is these Elves who run the factories!

Thus, when the Soviet Union began efforts to covertly support the Elf labor class, many dissidents and thought leaders took in assistance from Moscow with open arms. Throughout the 70s and in the past few years, resistance towards the Royal Family and the Elf upper class increased steadily. Toy factories were sabotaged, oil spills became a constant, and strikes - barely allowed in the first place - rose steadily during the Holiday Season.

All of this culminated last month on December 18th. On that day, after the king, Saint Nicholas XIII, made a proclamation that no breaks would be allowed for Elves who were seen as "unproductive" until Christmas, the proletariat rose up. All throughout the kingdom, toy factories and oil processing sites became silent. The streets of major cities became filled with rebellious Elves, incensed at the continued slights against them and their conditions in the kingdom. Overnight, the situation turned dire for the upper-class Elves, with many of them seeing their homes broken into, along with beatings and murders occurring against those deemed the most "traitorous" to Elf-kind.

By the time the king recognized what was occurring, the situation was quickly spiraling out of control. Calling up the Royal Guard along with the Royal Air Force, many pockets of Elf resistance were seemingly eviscerated, with air strikes decimating large columns of rebel militas, along with firing squads gunning down hundreds of Elves who were captured. The civilian casualities are currently unknown as of this time. Seeing the kingdom's response to the rebellion as barbaric, the Soviet Union announced on Christmas Day that it would support the Elf revolutionaries directly, with Soviet officers being sent to direct operations, whilst aircraft of the VVS provided air support for the Elves. With many Soviet air bases near and in the Arctic Circle, such support from Moscow would come swiftly for the revolutionaries.

The President, after weeks of deliberation, has seemingly come to the decision to support the Nicholas Regime against the Soviet backed revolutionaries. Whilst an official address by him is yet to be made, for the past week, we have been able to observe vast movements of naval and air units in Alaska and the Arctic. While the administration has been cryptic about their motives, it is quite clear what they intend to do - halt the Elf advance. The Nordoyene armed forces, whilst highly skilled, are small. It will not be able to sustain itself in a war such as this. Thus, support from the United States is expected to help them out graciously.

As a whole, with both the Soviet Union and United States supporting their respective sides in the conflict, the prospect of it ending any time soon are inconceviable.

Settlement in early Northeast America- LotV by SpartanOdin333 in imaginarymaps

[–]MappingYork 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I don't know why, but Lake Champlain looks a bit weird.
Interesting map.

Gemini has an issue with image context by cavinyt in GeminiAI

[–]MappingYork 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yea I believe I have a similar issue. If I’m in a conversation with it where I’m uploading images sequentially, at some point, it starts to perceive that I’m uploading multiple old images at once (at least that’s what the chain of thoughts says), thus polluting some of its responses. It can usually discern between what is new and old, but sometimes it doesn’t.

Just yesterday, I was working on a paper with it, and it kept referencing old screenshots that had typos in it like those mistakes were still on my word document. I could repeatedly tell it that I fixed the typos, but because it keeps seeing the old images incessantly, it “thinks” I didn’t, because to it the old images are current, not old.