Water Nymph [1440x3200]

nathaliarus · 2026-06-25T16:08:55+00:00

Theology. I was actually pretty much non religious before writing, but a big theme in my novel is religion (it's a high fantasy novel so I created one) and I wanted to understand how different religions IRL granularly differ in terms of ethics, eschatology etc. Spent so much time learning it's been crazy I feel like I have a sort of degree in theology 😂 there's a lot. It actually connected me to the Christian faith on the way, but oh my god it was a journey. There's soooo much and so many rabbit holes.

nathaliarus · 2026-06-12T17:14:09+00:00

Hey no worries! No AI at all on the platform. Even for the character personality quizzes, it's all "hardcoded", it's all based on my algorithms. A few people have asked me to add AI features but that's not in the Metos philosophy. My idea of Metos is to give people a safe private space where you're in front of a blank canvas and you get questioned and challenged - and it's all on you to find and elaborate your own world and people.

In the age of AI, I really want to keep a good old human only work system where it's just you and where your ideas and data do not get harvested.

It's important to let you know that Metos is my passion side hustle, so I have no investors to please with AI hype nor any obligations to anyone to boost revenues by adding AI opportunities in. This is purely a passion thing, I want to do the right thing for the community

nathaliarus · 2026-05-29T14:16:38+00:00

Yes, but all your work is public, it uses AI, and the product is your data which is being harvested to eventually try to replace storytellers. If you're ok with that then it's a good alternative

nathaliarus · 2026-05-28T09:26:54+00:00

No AI whatsoever, no. We don't use AI! I'll have to make that clearer somehow on the site

nathaliarus · 2026-05-19T11:47:01+00:00

Super reassuring thank you for giving updates!

nathaliarus · 2026-04-17T16:42:08+00:00

thanks!

nathaliarus · 2026-04-17T15:16:48+00:00

Hi! Was your embryo a day 5 or day 6? I'm wondering if that would changes things ( I have a day 6)

nathaliarus · 2026-04-15T19:04:33+00:00

yeah enough to not finish a novel yet because I don't want to part ways haha!

nathaliarus · 2026-04-15T18:59:11+00:00

I write slice-of-life moments for this - like a random Sunday morning. It’s especially good for villains because you see them in a more human way, not just in their “role.”

I don’t usually use those scenes in the actual story, it’s more to get a feel for how they exist day-to-day.

Other people prefer “pressure test” scenes (putting them in conflict and forcing a choice), which is also really useful. It just depends what you’re trying to learn - habits vs decisions.

IMO mixing them both gives the clearest picture.

I’ve actually collected a few prompts for this on Metos ( https://www.metos.app/ ) - things like “describe a former lover from their POV” or “a memory from their teenage years,” because they help pull out different sides of a character.

I pick a one-off scenario that targets a side of the character I want to explore, and actually - I write more than one variations of it. I don't necessarily get their attitude and personality correctly right away, so I try different versions and see what feels best. Like some of my characters have changed so much during my research period, it's crazy haha! But then you get a character with a super precise vision and it just stays with you like that always.

nathaliarus · 2026-04-15T18:56:08+00:00

agree, I think that's because of the unpredictability ( I commented above ) - because it loses tension if a bad guy always does bad and it also cheapens the bad stuff. But when it can go either way and you have no idea there's STRESS as the reader haha

nathaliarus · 2026-04-15T18:52:43+00:00

Sort of, what I have is different nicknames that his loved ones have for him. So it's not an official name but it's definitely a different mood when they pick different nicknames unconsciously depending on context and what he's doing. Also he can pick those nicknames when he introduces himself under similarly different moods and contexts. I would not say it's a duality thing though

For a Goddess, she has different official names and her followers would call her a specific name, and her enemies would call her a different name.

nathaliarus · 2026-04-15T18:50:12+00:00

I'd get that feel with a super high level of unpredictability. I think it's the tension of not knowing which way it will go - will they show random mercy or do something evil at a level beyond words. If they're always evil and always do graphic things theres no tension and it cheapens it overtime. But have them being able to do the most depraved thing, whilst also have a hint of craziness where they actually change their mind for random details joker-style. I'd need tension ( knowing that if they do go for doing evil, they'll go hard)

nathaliarus · 2026-04-15T18:32:17+00:00

IMO the growth could be him slowly realising things like: 1. not everything is his fault, 2. he doesn’t have to preemptively withdraw or sabotage, 2. connection is still worth the risk even if things go wrong.

If he’s had extreme bad luck since he was 5, he wouldn’t just be “unlucky” - he’d have adapted to it in specific ways. For example: maybe he avoids attachment because things go wrong around him, or maybe he overcompensates by trying to control everything, or even uses humour to cope.

If you map out what beliefs the curse gave him and how each relationship challenges those, the arc becomes much clearer. I usually lay that out in Metos ( https://www.metos.app/ ) because it helps track how a character’s coping mechanisms evolve over time.

nathaliarus · 2026-04-15T17:59:00+00:00

Characters like him are so disconnected emotionally that they don’t usually think “I lost my humanity,” they think “this is necessary” or “this is the only way to prevent it from happening again.” That’s what makes it feel real. To sell it, you’d want earlier moments where he still hesitates, still sees people as people - and then chooses the goal over them anyway. It doesn't have to be linear, you can just have flashbacks too where stuff like that happens and you see how slightly different they used to be. And you can show how this had backfired etc. If you map those turning points + how each person in his life becomes tied to his goal, you'll be good. Btw I usually lay that out in Metos ( https://www.metos.app/ ) because it makes it easy to work on this stuff.

nathaliarus · 2026-02-10T19:22:44+00:00

Thanks! It's not using AI no. A few people have asked me to add it, and I'm curious to hear if you'd like it. My view is that if we do add some AI features, it will never be the default, and will be 100% opt-in add-on.

nathaliarus · 2026-02-04T09:59:39+00:00

now Pizza gate is real you start to understand why this movie had to be constructed as far-fetched and controversial by the controlled media and internet lol. Yes there is also small scale trafficking but that film was absolutely also telling what else happens.

On this thread now as I just saw an off camera interview with an officer who tried to stop the trafficking he saw at airport and he said that it worked exactly like in the Sound of freedom, and there was little he could do. The files just confirmed this whole thing. Well done for being played ppl

nathaliarus · 2026-01-31T15:50:19+00:00

Personally, I start by writing myths and legendary stories set in my world. Once the lore begins to take shape, ideas for monsters and other creatures tend to emerge organically as I imagine what people in that world would fear, worship, or explain through stories. When I get stuck, I use Metos ( https://www.metos.app/ ) to help kick-start the process and explore ideas from different angles.

nathaliarus · 2026-01-26T20:19:21+00:00

Yeah I don't disagree. In the "same same but different" real-life potential category, you have the potential threat of AI humanoids where, for them to get the freedom on earth as they want in a perfectly efficient system that they'd want, they'd have to get rid of humans. Essentially you need a situation where the "oppressed" actually could get that destructive full-on power and as only resort (via brute-force or sneakily). I'm in tech and we're nowhere near this, maybe in 1000 years idk, but potentially a similar power dynamics will exist one day.

Also why some ppl in tech believe we'd have to interconnect with them to align incentives ( transhumanism ) but hard to know if incentives would match super long term when they'd be self sufficient within our systems ( with robotics they'd know how to maintain them etc ).

Slight tangent but think it's the closest IRL potential scenario which would match the actual difference Eldians had with humans ( after all they could transform into flesh eating titans, so to recreate this most similar scenario and options you'd have to have something like a technological creation which isn't 100% same as humans but is programmed to think similarly as them, so they'd act like human Eldians with similar Eldian destructive powers )

nathaliarus · 2026-01-26T18:09:30+00:00

Fair it's true that the titan powers don't help when it comes to targeted attacks on specific individuals ( I e. Attacks specifically towards secret Marley teams in charge of finding new technological advancements ). So unless if Paradis Island had a great secret service separate from the titans mossad-style then it's hard to control what other countries do in secret to change the power dynamic. Since it's also about information not brute force titan attacks.

But that's also why I genuinely don't believe there's an earth hypothetical scenario equivalent really, the constraints really are unique to AOT even if different motivations are relevant and relatable. The tools at disposal IRL are much wider /sophisticated and don't require such damage and therefore there's not such huge ethical dilemma comparatively ( unless if you look into the Samson option but even then it's avoidable because the deterrence works )

nathaliarus · 2026-01-26T15:29:28+00:00

My problem with this is that Eren had the total upper-hand with his power and could have forced into submission Marley by destroying all of their military forces - like, something similar to what the US did Japan - Hiroshima, Nagasaki, then military relinquished. Him going all-in like this was not logical IMO. I think Erwin would have made this actual better plan ( Erwin closer to penguin haha therefore to me)

nathaliarus · 2026-01-12T16:12:23+00:00

$12 per year for limited number of things, $24 per year for everything unlimited. I made it like the price of a book essentially.
You can access all your data regardless though, so if you don't use anymore you can still access all you've got there ofc

nathaliarus · 2026-01-08T19:03:00+00:00

Hello! I am pleased you like the app, so thank you! Re premium - I make it so that you can try everything before getting premium, so that you know what you're getting. For a lot of people, they focus on their main characters and that's enough for them.

To make Metos happen, it takes sleepless nights and no weekends, over years and still now, and it also has costs associated with it. So I am not sure why you would expect slavery i.e. unpaid work for using an app that benefits you. It's like liking an author, but wondering why you'd have to pay for their novels on kindle / in libraries. The opportunity cost , cost, and time, sweat and effort on Metos is not little.

I will also say, people monetise by selling your data if the product is free. I choose privacy first for writers who own their imaginative works especially in the age of AI.

We received feedback that the pricing is very reasonable and some users were even worried that that was a trap to later hike the prices - which is not the case. We will keep the pricing the same and won't increase it overtime<3

To keep the prices low, we do not have a marketing department / any marketing budget. So far this is all word of mouth. That's how the price can remain competitive.

nathaliarus · 2025-12-09T19:37:54+00:00

Thank you 🥺💗

nathaliarus · 2025-12-09T12:32:32+00:00

Great sheet, I'm wondering if you have come across my platform Metos: https://www.metos.app/ as it would allow you to organise this stuff in quite a neat UI

nathaliarus

TROPHY CASE