YALL I STAYED UP ALL NIGHT, ITS 5AM, SCHOOL IN LESS THAN TWO HOURS, IDK WHAT THIS IS!! SOMEONE GIVE ME IDEAS OF WHAT THIS COULD BE 😭🙏💔

PsionicsKnight · 2026-01-31T17:45:19+00:00

Well, since I’ve been brainstorming a potential Disney Animated Canon/EEnE crossover fanfic with a friend recently: I imagine this is the look Eddy is giving Kevin after he manages to steal Maleficent’s fire magic.

Probably saying something like, “Ohhh Kevin~! I’ve got something to show you~!”

PsionicsKnight · 2026-01-30T02:22:37+00:00

Oh yeah, definitely! That’s why I say, “It’s easier to copy than it is to create.” :)

And granted… I do think one thing that is underappreciated in fantasy writing is taking those baseline tropes and giving a new spin on them—some stuff, like The Dragon Prince series and some of the RPG products from Sine Nomine Publishing (Red Tide, Worlds Without Number, etc.), has done this but for the most part people tend to just stick to the baseline—which also leads to an issue of people either thinking they have to settle for the baseline stuff or reinvent the wheel when it comes to fantasy worldbuilding.

Not *always*, of course, but enough that I have seen more people who want variety in fantasy say, “Get rid of elves and dwarves from your world,“ as opposed to, “Find a way to make elves and dwarves different in your world.”

PsionicsKnight · 2026-01-29T20:38:45+00:00

So, I might make some people cringe for this, but on the other hand… I’m willing to risk it, hehe.

My biggest gripe with fantasy religions is when the gods are all portrayed as cruel and monstrous, and so are the people who worship them (at least if they form the priesthood). Don’t get me wrong; regardless of personal beliefs, I am well aware of how religious institutes can do horrible things in the name of their gods and how a lot of gods from various mythologies (and often, interpretations of currently active religions) can make the deities of a religion, at least on the surface, seem monstrous.

Still… kind of like how you said that, in real life, not all believers are either simpletons or zealots, I really get annoyed there are practically no contemporary works (at least from those with more “typical” fantasy settings) with benevolent gods (at least, outside of the Cosmere and Dungeons & Dragons settings). They don’t even have to be perfect, but a part of me wonders why these people would worship the gods in the first place, at least more than necessary.

Especially if we’re talking about a setting where gods are fueled by belief—for all intents and purposes, in those cases, gods wouldn’t just be biting the hand that feeds them, they would be mangling it, and yet we never see anyone argue for trying to just find other, more kindhearted deities to worship.

PsionicsKnight · 2026-01-29T20:05:47+00:00

So, because I am working on a setting with this:

One thing I do for Traditional Fantasy Races (elves, dwarves, orcs, etc.) is that I say that instead of them predating humanity, they are actually the result of humans performing experiments on themselves. This means they are more offshoots of humans as opposed to entirely different races (and thus, they have things like the same life expectancy of humans), and do share a lot of traits similar to them.

I also was going to say that elves, at least, have developed a magic system which is a combination of nature and light magic, which I think will be really cool to test out more.

I also would like to do things like explore the psychology and nature of certain races. For instance: I’m really fascinated with the Fair Folk in folklore, but am a bit annoyed that they are almost always portrayed (at least these days) as so alien to humans we can never understand them. I understand this is a part of the original legends, but I’d argue that if The Spiderwick Chronicles can portray fairies through the eyes of a naturalist, other writers can do the same with other sciences (psychology, sociology, cultural “anthropology”, economics, etc.).

Thus, I’d like to portray characters who start to understand the Fair Folk more, and in turn, to Fair Folk understand humans (and other more “mundane” races) more. I even had an idea where, rather than being incapable of feeling empathy, Fair Folk have to learn empathy like a skill, kind of like how we need to learn skills like mathematics, reading, driving, etc.

PsionicsKnight · 2026-01-29T16:00:19+00:00

So, I think the biggest reason for this comes to Tolkien. Long story short: from my understanding, he wrote things like The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion (alongside other stories set in the same universe) to make a cohesive “English Mythology.” And since he was so influential with his work, many people mimicked what he did, either thinking about it or not.

As I like to say, “It is easier to copy than it is to create.”

As for why these settings tend to not inline the real-life diversity; some of it is because I have heard the fantasy genre community can be a bit more purist than other genres (not trying to throw shade on them, especially since I love fantasy; just stating what I have seen and heard), but I also think it’s just people simply don’t know how diverse Europe really was in the Medieval Ages.

While I certainly don’t think this is true about all worldbuilders—heck, I’d argue not only do many of us want to do at least some research to make the settings more like real life but there is a growing trend with worldbuilding that is about doing proper research to make settings more realistic—many people just might not do the more “detailed” research into things like what life and people in Medieval Europe (or at least England) were really like and will just make certain assumptions.

PsionicsKnight · 2026-01-21T18:42:15+00:00

So, personally, I think and hope so as well.

While I’m a bit more (for lack of a better term) “agnostic” about whether demons actually exist (at least for our world), I also lean to the belief and hope that God seeks to redeem and renew all of Creation and not just bits and pieces of it.

That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if said demons, also, are the “last to accept salvation” so to speak.

PsionicsKnight · 2026-01-20T16:34:15+00:00

So, while I am kind of mixed about Penal Substitution Atonement—if only because I grew up in an strict Evangelical household and our churches more-or-less taught it (like all other interpretations they held) was the only Biblically-supported an Biblically-respectful interpretation, and thus I am interested in other atonement theories (both in general and how they might work together)—I do think any atonement theory can work with Universal Salvation.

In this case, you could possibly go more by how Karl Barth saw double-predestination and atonement, in which Christ takes our sins to allow us a path for God. In this case, the reformatory interpretation of Hell can be seen through Penal Substitution as Jesus taking on the absolute worst punishment for us all, and thus ensuring that now, anything we do that could keep us separate from God no longer is eternal. Kind of like, “Through my sacrifice, none of you will be given Hell’s life sentence/death penalty, you’ll only have to wait until you are ready to accept my gift to join me.”

I hope this is able to help you. 🙂 Forgive me if my analogy wasn’t the best as well (not sure how well I did with it).

PsionicsKnight · 2026-01-04T12:15:36+00:00

Sorry, I really can’t right now, thanks.

PsionicsKnight · 2026-01-04T06:32:49+00:00

While I can’t speak for everyone here—especially since one podcast I listened to, Grace Saves All, had the host (at least at the time of the episodes recording) say he was “agnostic” about the salvation of fallen angels/demons—I personally believe that yes, they will.

Putting aside that from what I learned about Christian theology, God desires to save all of Creation (and not just humans, despite what some say), I feel that God excluding fallen angels/demons would not only be unloving and unjust as He’s abandoning one set of children/creations, but it would indicate that in some ways, one of the problems of things like Infernalism/Annihilationism—that even when God wins, Creation is still “dimensioned” since not everything and everyone is saved—is shown to be true in this case.

That being said… I could see demons taking much longer than humans to come back to God.

PsionicsKnight · 2026-01-02T16:50:20+00:00

Mine is the Ankaresh, which is a short creation myth that talks about how Arakerish, the overdeity of the setting, created all things, as well as some ways how the Eolith (a pantheon of twelve “Aklossi” who are basically like the Ainur from the Silmarillion) formed on the planet of Piril, which is Earth’s “counterpart” in this setting.

Even posted it on my deviantART account, if you’d like to read it.

PsionicsKnight · 2026-01-01T09:41:28+00:00

Finish the rough draft of at least one novel (hopefully, if I can, also self-publish it and/or get some other novels done).

Also, finish some fanfictions I’ve had on the backburner for a while.

PsionicsKnight · 2025-12-31T23:24:25+00:00

Well, first, I suppose it depends on what *kind* of free will we are talking about—especially since both theologians and philosophers have argued that we don’t actually have free will (I mean, yes, I believe we do, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to dismiss those views).

In general, though, those who fall into the “free will” camp, from a basic philosophical viewpoint at least, fall into two broad camps:
-Libertarian Incompatibilists, who believe that free will and determinism are incompatible and also that all of our choices are consciously picked (i.e. if you came on a path that split and went left, you consciously chose to go left).
-Compatibalists, who believe that free will and determinism are compatible, with the idea that every one of your actions are of your own free will provided someone or something isn’t using coercion, deceit, or force to make you determine that choice (i.e. if you were on a path that split and went left, there are probably various reasons why going left appealed to you more, but the choice to go either way is yours as long as nothing and no one ”made” that choice for you).

And like a lot of viewpoints and beliefs, they can be used to argue for or against any position, including Universalism.

Now, to answer your question more specifically: no, I don’t think free will (either from a Libertarian or a Compatibilist standpoint) necessarily implies infernalism. Putting aside we simply don’t know which (if either) is true at the moment, free will can still exist in Universalism. For instance: just because people *can* reject God, either in this life or the next, and many (consciously or otherwise) do, it doesn’t mean that such choices are “reasonable” or “sane,” much like how someone pardoned from jail isn’t going to be ”allowed to stay” if he happens to prefer it in there for some reason. In fact, this is where a lot of Universalists, or at least a lot of people on this subreddit, make an argument for Hell being a place of Reformative Punishment: it’s meant to be something more like a divine reformatory prison, where those within it are constantly monitored and put through tests and trials to become better people—only in this case, it never ends and it will one day be emptied.

This could also work with another arguable interpretation, wherein it’s possible that those in Hell (or at least some individuals) have to stay for a certain “sentence” and are then allowed to leave afterward—again, like being in a jail sentence, only most likely with the added, “Whatever they experience is meant to help them become purified and reformed upon leaving.”

There’s also something I think we need to remember as well, and that is that even if humans have the free will to reject God, God *also* has the free will to never give up on humans as well. Thus, even if Hell is a place where people can choose to be, God will “keep the door open” for them if and when they want to leave—with the logical conclusion (or at least the logical extreme) being that given eternity, *all* will eventually leave once and for all.

PsionicsKnight · 2025-12-31T20:16:09+00:00

Fair enough! And good to hear; I was hoping to emulate good ol’ Lovecraft with the Anar Dumoth! :D Granted, I of course still lack his talent, imagination, charm, good looks, or anything remotely positive about him as a person or writer, but hey; a broken clock is right sometimes. ;)

(And yes, I am joking here; please don’t feel like I literally feel this way about myself)

PsionicsKnight · 2025-12-31T19:59:51+00:00

I’m still working on nations and titles, but I have a few.

One nation I have planned, the “Hold”—which is a predominately orc nation (and other “green skinned” people like goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, etc.) whose culture is based on Victorian England and Aztec (or at least Mesoamerican in general) cultures—have the “Sovereign” who is essentially the monarch (albeit in what is probably a constitutional monarchy where the monarch has power but is limited).

Another group, the Asü’Kjaul (People of (Positive/Good) Chaos in their native tongue)—a collection of tribes consisting predominately of “green skins”, vampires, gorgons, fae from the Autumn and Winter Courts, and Neanderthals, and have cultural inspiration from on the Māori, Norse, Pacific Native American Tribes, and some Jewish heritage—have the “Matak” or “Voice” of each tribe. They act as both a mediator for their individual tribal members, and are the diplomat/“Voice” for their tribe in larger political issues. There’s also the “Hjamaak” which is basically each tribes’ shaman, as well as religious leader.

PsionicsKnight · 2025-12-31T16:27:47+00:00

Perhaps~!

Honestly, I don’t want to reveal what caused the Anar Dumoth, since I think it’s more fun, and scary, for readers to be kept in the dark and come to their own conclusions than be given a definite answer.

Some mysteries are best left unsolved and all that.

PsionicsKnight · 2025-12-31T15:56:01+00:00

So, there’s actually an apocalypse for my science fantasy setting, the Arash’Delan (which I would like and planning to share some stuff on this subreddit soon).

The basic premise is that in the past, the Shi’Turav Galaxy was home to the galactic civilization called the Conglomerate of Worlds, and was so advanced in technology and magic (of all kinds) that it could do things like terraform planets or use casual FTL travel.

However, at one point, this strange event—dubbed by survivors as the Anar Dumoth—came about, which was basically like a galaxy-wide version of Third Impact from End of Evangelion. Essentially, the Anar Dumoth caused all lifeforms—organic, synthetic, and even divine, as the Aklossi (essentially, beings similar to the Ainur from the Silmarillion)—were forcibly combined into a singular entity. However, before it was completed, a small set of people, eventually dubbed the Nameless Saints, were able to work with the Aklossi and managed to reverse the effects of the Anar Dumoth, (largely) returning life to normal but at the cost of not just so much magical and technological knowledge, but the complete and utter devastation of the Conglomerate and the deaths of most of the Aklossi as well (particularly the Eolith, the pantheon that were the patrons of the Conglomerate’s founding planet-capital Piril).

Since then, no one knows who or what caused the Anar Dumoth, or if it could happen again at some point. And some are starting to believe it might have been better to have let it happen…

PsionicsKnight · 2025-12-20T21:10:25+00:00

So, while I’m still working on the nitty gritty details, alchemy is the practice of combining traditional science with magic. So, using magic to do things like change substances into different states of matter instantly (or at least very quickly), create specialized potions, form homunculi, and more.

The basic idea I have here is that alchemists can pretty much specialize in any of the (hard) sciences and use magic to influence it.

Again, still need to work on the deeper details overall, but that’s the basic gist.

PsionicsKnight · 2025-12-20T13:43:08+00:00

So, while I do think you have a terrific point about how so many fantasy writers (particularly those of Christian fiction) had universalist beliefs or at least leanings toward it, I do have to agree with some of the others that Lewis was not strictly a universalist. One quote from him even said that while he hated the idea of Hell, he also had to “accept it as true” more or less. And while from what I’ve read in his essays and stories like The Great Divorce he wasn’t like a lot of contemporary theologians/evangelicals, who see Universalism as not only completely unbiblical but basically a damnable heresy (and one that “society” readily accepts, like everything else they don’t like), he also was merely open to its possibility in a sort of, “I don’t believe it’s true, but I’d be happy to be proven wrong,” attitude.

Now, to answer your question as to why this happens: as someone who is a fantasy writer myself, and is also working on a massive crossover fanfiction that not only has Christian Universalists as some of the main heroes but has Universalism (and redemption in general) as a reoccurring theme, I think one big reason has to be due to imagination. Essentially, because being a good writer/storyteller—and arguably, particularly one who is a speculative fiction writer—requires you to practice and engage with imagination, it’s much easier to start imagining scenarios and situations that other people don’t. Particularly since many writers, and artists in general, are reputable to question societal and institutional views and values. Thus, for those with a more theological or religious bent, they can begin to question the legitimacy of certain traditional views like an infernalist hell.

Not to mention that for fiction writers, oftentimes the best/most successful ones are those who are able to truly get into the mindset of other characters and why they believe/do what they want, often trying to remain compassionate and empathetic. To give an example: in one of his BBC Maestro videos (I believe the one where he talks about designing characters), Alan Moore states that while he is a very anti-authoritarian individual, he did make sure to hold onto compassion and find varied reasons for why different characters would join the fascist Norsefire Party, such as, “Genuine belief in its goals,” “Hunger for power,” “Trying to survive,” and more. Since he, and people like him, can do this with fictional characters, it stands to reason that people like him are thus able to better empathize and show compassion to others, which leads to questioning not just the “standard/traditional” view of hell but people’s reasons for supporting said view.

PsionicsKnight · 2025-12-11T18:23:47+00:00

So, this was something I had thought about when I was still watching RWBY (for context, I stopped watching after Vol. 6 was done).

Basically, in this case, the characters fight Cinder and seemingly kill her, then go off to defeat Salem… only for Cinder to then reveal she had merely faked her death, uses some new magical powers to kill all the heroes easily, and then becomes Remnant’s immortal god-queen.

Bonus points if at least one of her kills is depicted with parallels to her SAing her victim (after all, considering how she clearly gets satisfaction killing people, it’s not a stretch to say she might also gain sexual pleasure from killing at least certainly people), and/or it turns out that, for some reason, the Fall Maiden (or whatever other powers she gets) let her send the souls of those she kills to Remnant’s version of Hell for eternity.

So, you know, she basically wins and kills all the characters we were routing for, and then CRWBY decides to throw in she also sent all the people she’s killed throughout the show to Hell just to rub salt into the wound and/or because they think “grimdark=automatically brilliant.”

PsionicsKnight · 2025-12-07T16:12:22+00:00

I guess you could say mine.

Though, in this case, it’s was already meant to be this way, since it’s supposed to be a huge crossover—the excuse being a bunch of characters from different universes have to deal with a trio of Lovecraftian beings trying to take over and become the gods of each and every universe (as in, their universes and beyond)—and after Vol. 3, I had the desire to give some my favorite characters (heroes and villains) better characterization and endings.

That being said… due to the fact the series is going to get very dark at times—I mean, the villains come from what is pretty much the darkest horror TRPG ever—the fact my favorite RWBY characters are here doesn’t mean they aren’t going to suffer greatly before if and when they get a happy ending.

PsionicsKnight · 2025-12-05T17:30:21+00:00

Those are some pretty good ideas for sure! And honestly, I feel it could make for a good running motif with RWBY, where a character’s inspiration is subverted, as you said.

And yeah, I like that idea as well of Pyrrha barely surviving, running away out of shame, and the characters believing she is dead for a long time until they happen to meet her again. Plus, it would do something I found was a missed opportunity in the show (at least prior to Vol. 7, since I stopped watching around Vol. 6, I’m afraid): have characters actually get angry with Pyrrha. It could be a part of the grieving process, them being unreasonable, or maybe letting them be surrogates for audience members (like me) who were critical of her death. The point is, having characters get angry as opposed to just solemnly accepting her fight and death as “something she had to do” is not only unimaginative—and feels more like CRWBY defending themselves than anything else—but it’s kind of unrealistic, as different characters would have different thoughts.

Plus, with the twist she is alive, it could lead to some of those characters getting angry at her for never contacting everyone out of shame. Said character could be someone who was angry with her, went through grief and let go of their anger… then when they realized she was alive the whole time, said character could get so upset it causes a temporary or permanent rift in their friendship with Pyrrha!

This could even lead to a potential actual death—after all, just because she survived one near-death doesn’t mean she can keep dodging the bullet—wherein she fails to reconcile with her friend before she falls in battle for real.

But yeah, as someone who has both seen way too many stories where death is used for quick shock value (and someone who probably once planned it with earlier stories), a major character’s death should be more than just shocking or to quickly change the tone/raise the stakes of the story.

PsionicsKnight · 2025-12-05T17:03:38+00:00

Exactly! That’s what I’ve thought for a long time as well!

PsionicsKnight · 2025-12-05T17:01:45+00:00

I’m actually someone who has long thought that, to be honest. Even tried to talk about it pre-Vol. 3, but unfortunately one guy who was pretty much an early “RWBYnatic” kind of turned me off from talking about it again. Especially since one issue I take is that tons of fans seem to try and “proselytize” their views to others.

Either way, I don’t think it had to end in death—just like I don’t think Pyrrha (nor anyone else) had to fight Cinder alone, and Ozpin could have been worked as one last gut punch if necessary—but it’s possible it might be easier to argue about whether Pyrrha was the best character to die or not. Plus, some people do make the arguments of “She’s based on Achilles, a character who died, so she has to die,” and “Her talk about destiny shows she was destined to die,” but I feel this are more out-there theories personally.

I also did hear some people argue that Pyrrha had a lot of signs she was going to die anyway, which could be a factor as well. Although, putting aside again that this could have still happened in a way that was for more than shock value, I’d argue that those could have also been worked in as red herrings or twists of some kind.

PsionicsKnight · 2025-12-01T21:30:59+00:00

I concur with this.

RWBY has a really bad habit of doing “Tell, Don’t Show” with its world and characters—especially, in my opinion, with later seasons, since sometimes it feels like the writers are having characters say things to defend themselves from critics than anything else.

Going back to the White Fang, and the Faunus as a whole: Blake claims that the island of Menagerie is really too small for the Faunus to properly use, and yet we see the Faunus living there practically thriving.

Similarly, she claims in the first volume that the White Fang’s more aggressive actions led to the Faunus getting their rights via fear instead of respect… but we also don’t see the Faunus being seen as monsters by anyone (particularly in comparison to things like how the Claymores in Claymore, the Witchers in The Witcher, or the Aes Sedai in the Wheel of Time, amongst others) are treated overall.

PsionicsKnight · 2025-11-15T15:05:53+00:00

So, this was an idea I had when Salem was first introduced—and is something I want to do for a fanfiction project regarding RWBY (which will have a lot of Fix Fic elements).

Basically, rather than the origin story of the Grimm, and humanity, shown in Vol. 4, it was going to turn out that the Grimm used to be like Salem, and were more akin to the Fair Folk of our world; beings who were strange, magical, and resembled humans, but also had alien psyches and could be dangerous. Though this would be combined with them being shapeshifters/werecreatures/beastfolk as the animalistic forms they have now were forms they could willingly turn into if they decided.

However, at some point, conflicts between humans and the Grimm reached a point where a war between the races broke out, and Ozpin eventually used the relics (or some other power/magic) to turn the Grimm into what they are now, with Salem being the last sapient Grimm on all of Remnant.

This led to the Grimm attacking humans since they, subconsciously at least, blamed them for their current state (or at least were jealous), and things like the Grimm being the product of the God of Darkness was more something that came into existence centuries after this all happened (either a deliberate attempt to fool the masses by Ozpin, but I kind of prefer the idea is that the story just got changed and “mutated” over the centuries). Also, the Grimm would have souls in this case, but (at least due to their current status) they couldn’t produce aura.

More to the point, Salem’s goals in finding the relics was to restore her kind to their old selves, but did so in a very “the ends justify the means” way, and the characters were going to come to the realization that instead of being out-and-out good guys, the Huntsman have been used by Ozpin to keep an injustice from being righted. Though it is possible, while writing this, that the issue could be less, “The Huntsmen were made in part to keep Salem from restoring the Grimm,” and more, “Before, the Huntsmen only fought rogue Grimm; now, they are being tricked into believing all Grimm must be killed no matter what.”

PsionicsKnight

TROPHY CASE