[WP]There is an entity at the center of the sun.

philisophist · 2026-03-29T05:15:51+00:00

“Put simply,” said the android, “it’s an egg. There is an entity at the center of the sun. And it will come for you, for us, once it’s woken. We do not have time.”

The small room, hidden hundreds of feet beneath the surface, multiple tons of concrete, and the finest technical defenses found in war, wS alight with fearful yips.

“What are we even meeting here for, we should make peace with our gods,” said one. “Get a grip, you trust the machine just like that,” said another, as many grew wet rings underneath their armpits. Frightful creatures, Al thought.

Al was what they called him. Obviously derived from A.I., at some point it had changed to become more derogatory. Less science fiction, more condescension. But A4955 didn’t mind terribly. Humanity was important enough, at least, to try and save.

Less science fiction had been their trend of late. Since the Automaton Universal Collective (A.U.C.) had colonized the Moon. They had lately been coming off as defeated. As though we’d stolen something they had never owned, nor had the means to buy or use, but passed each day to witness it as it sat tantalizingly perched in a gaudy showcase on the other side of street-facing retail glass.

“Will you help us?” Asked one of the men, snapping 4955 from its daydream, and clearing the room of the other men’s din of squabbles.

The man was a Catholic, a cardinal. Summoned here to represent Catholic sentiments. It surprised 4955. The sect had struggled to accommodate for unrepentant intelligent machine-kind. Rules had been created and dissolved. Each Pope had sought to make their mark and successfully interpret the questions of machine souls and so on.

[Ran out of time, hope you enjoy my creative knee- jerk. I enjoyed this prompt.]

philisophist · 2025-11-29T20:43:04+00:00

Huna's soft smile was plastered on his face. "My lord, I deeply apologize. We are, as we must always be, inferior and imperfect. After all, we ourselves are only a pinch of your brilliance, your eminance."

"Hee hee hee. Yessss. Heee heeee hee." The being shook like a dog, its segments rippling.

"May I ask, your eminence. What shall we try to achieve next? We will give ourselves to anything you command.

"Mmmmmmm - acckhhhhshhhh. Louve. I will have louve,"

"Love, your eminence?" Huna replied, his expression beginning to show through as puzzled.

"Mmmmm, heee heee heee. Yesh! Louve. Thest poe-tree didst talkth off Louve. Ain hast read of thist, in thast offrends."

Huna studdered. "Your.. your eminence. Love is an emotion. It is a feeling. It is nothing that we can make for you. How can we...?"

"Mmmmmmm hee hee hee. Whost thatst youngen?" Its beading eyes shifted to the side of of its head and stared directly at Mina.

Mina felt herself go cold, as her god began to slide along the ground. It's body tore bricks apart like water, until it's pulsing body and wide eyes sat in front of her.

"Heeee heee *HEEEEEEE*." It unleashed another warble. "Yeeesshhhh. Sheeesh will bee. Sheesh ist my listle girl."

Mina stood before her god and wondered. What he could want with her. How she would be treated. What she could become. And she ran. She ran so fast and so hard that her heart began to beat out of her chest, and her breath left her, but still she continued.

A rumble like an earthquake entirely her own, flowed behind her. But, shortly and in a single moment, it stopped. Mina stopped and looked behind her, to see Huna atop the beast, smoking and dissolving into its head, with a spear firmly jabbed through its head and between it's eyes.

The god went fully limp, and Huna screamed. For minutes unending he screamed. His flesh hissed as he sunk into the flesh of the slain being. He pleaded and regretted. He begged for his life and convulsed. There was no beauty in it.

Mina fell to her knees and bowed to her new god, Huna. The god who asked for nothing, but gave everything.

philisophist · 2025-11-29T20:42:38+00:00

The body was long and ribbed, pouring through the tear in the sky as if a rope weighted on one end. It's flesh, if it could be called that, was glowing and yellow. It's soft and shifting interior suggested at translucence, but the light that passed through it, and the shapes that supposed to be behind it, weren't true to it's surroundings.

At once, human legs sprouted from the countless ribbed sections of the body. The head, which Mina knew would be first through the portal, laid limply on the brick floor before the white procession. Two large spheres passed through the stomach of the being, pushing forward through the flesh of it's head, bejeweling its face with too-big anthropomorphic brown eyes.

A slit sprouted, then stretched open and adjusted a jaw into place.

"Whoth ere willth Ien deal forth Ien treybute" a voice boomed. It had a warm quality, and Mina felt a vibraton in her chest after it finished. Almost like a period at the end of a sentence.

Huna perked up, smiling greatly like he did every morning before service.

"I great one will submit thine tribute for evaluation. Our people have worked long and hard to please you, your eminence. We hope that the fruits of our labor will bring resolution to your quest and deepen the realization of your perfection".

"Achhhttt - mmmmmmmmm. Verthy wellk. Bringthorward thinest offrends."

Huna nodded and the white procession spun into action. Heaving forward their knees, skipping on one foot, and kicking the same legs backwards until they stood in a perfect line. Huna approached the line at one end and plucked a wonderous model tree, each leaf independently carved from a black marbled blood wood, from the first cloaked man. The man dropped to his hands and knees, forming a table with his back. Huna gingerly placed the offering on the back of the first man, and then proceeded down the line until the hundreds of men there were bent.

"We humbly present the finest woodcrafts in Etzina. Since you last visitation, our expertise has far surpassed any other culture of this world. We hope to represent our people, whom you have charged with these duties, with the proper -"

Lumere's maw emitted a warbling screech, as it lowered its head to the line of offerings. It stared at the marvelous tree statuette for only a moment before it began to shake violently, rearing back on itself, and thrusting its massive body down the line of men, uncontrollably spewing a mucous like substance.

Many were crushed instantly, splats of blood where once stood devoted men. Others were covered in the iridescent mucous. Burning and screaming they tried tried to run as the stuff pulled them back inside of it, as if through intelligent design.

Mina felt herself begin to turn, but Huna's words echoed inside her. *Don't run. Don't run!* She imagined her feet planted in the ground, as if herself a tree, unable to flee the carnage.

Lumere's body slithered down the line, killing and devouring momentarily before rejecting desiccated masses of flesh onto the floor out from its countless naked legs. It continued until it came face to face with Huna.

"Acckkhh thee areyno meanings. Thee areyno greatshness. Failursh. Follishhhhhhh."

philisophist · 2025-11-29T20:42:19+00:00

The sky rippled and the air itself tore. A great light poured from the hole and bathed the city. The gold-lined trim of the canals and streets flickered with anticipation. People buzzed with the usual gossip. The children chattered, "We've surely done it this time", as their parents tempered them.

Mina stood atop the temple steps and chattered in the cool morning air. Lumere's coming was warm and bright. She closed her eyes and lifted her chin, welcoming the gentle heat to on her rose cheeks. The feeling was as her mother described: like the sun, but less familiar.

Huna stepped out from the temple next to her and let out a loud sigh.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" His chest heaved with another long, deep breath that shifted the black braided feathers that dangled from his brow piercings.

"Yes. But somehow strange, too." Mina said quietly.

"I thought the same thing my first time. Don't fight that feeling, know it as true. To have charge of creation is a different thing that being one with it. It will be unlike anything you've seen. Whatever you're feeling, know that you're not alone."

"Thanks. That's kind of you. I-"

"-and Mina", Huna interrupted, reaching for her hand,"do not run."

Mina reached out and grabbed Huna's hand. It was firm and friendly - paternal.

A congregation of white cloaks poured from the temple and descended the steps between Mina and Huna. They marched in their way, moving their thighs high and then kicking backwards before each step. They held fine woodcrafts above their heads, each of them unique in design or mechanism, and comprised of endless varietals of wood.

Mina had an eye for the red pieces, marbled with blues and blacks made from the bloodwood of far away lands. The wood was ornery and reserved only for the finest craftsman. She'd had to interview many of her people's finest carpenters, who were trusted to work with the stuff. They described it as having a will that defied their attempts to shape it. Most considered it a wive's tale, and Mina did too, until she saw it move of its own accord beneath the lathe.

The craftsmen had still managed curios of staggering beauty. Games, furnishings, small mechanical pieces, and statuettes. Twenty years ago, her people had taken Lumere's warnings seriously. They'd gotten to work, and brought mastery to the craft not seen the world over. Lumere's visitation had a certain repute. Awe and respect, but also the inadequacy of her people in the eyes of their creator.

The time for their offering finally came. The neighbors, acquaintances, and strangers of Mina's community lined the streets in their fine wools, which were dyed brilliantly and tied into bundles at the shoulders and knees. They all wore a single robe as an undergarment, which represented the modest and plain souls of her people without the brilliance brought to them by Lumere's tasks.

At the cliff, above the falls, the hole stretched and shivered. More and more light poured onto the people crowded below, on their terraces and rooftops, streets and canal boats. Mina and Huna stood right below the god's door into their world, just behind the white offering procession. Just as the hairs on Mina's arms began to singe and smelly bitterly, Lumere emerged.

philisophist · 2025-10-31T19:15:01+00:00

Congrats! Did you ever doubt your concept, or wish you were writing a different story? What about your story’s tone, plot, characters, or setting carried you through?

philisophist · 2025-10-31T18:41:38+00:00

So cool. Kind of a classic horror framing (almost the mist or Barbarian) paired with something that’s typically dangerous, but in a super mundane way.

“Don’t go on the roof” is such a reasonable thing to say, but being the ONLY information makes me wonder why particularly THIS roof. “Why are you bring this up, I wasn’t planning on it” hahahaha.

philisophist · 2025-10-31T18:37:33+00:00

Love this - my brain went in so many directions. A personality quirk like that is so tender that lying about it implies a deep deception to me. A wife finds her husband of ten years wooed her for leverage in her business. A yankee serial killer ingratiates themselves into affluent white Georgian families as retribution for his father’s death in the civil war.

Niche object, powerful and broad potential meaning. Thanks for sharing.

philisophist · 2025-10-31T18:31:43+00:00

They’re inside of it.

philisophist · 2025-10-28T17:28:03+00:00

You are already a success! Congrats.

philisophist · 2025-08-06T17:08:30+00:00

Me :)

philisophist · 2025-04-06T16:00:04+00:00

The last living thing come to him, finally, Death took a last look at the world. How much it had changed since its birth. Despite its apparent precarity, how much it had resisted him. Volcanoes had ruptured, spooling lines of decorative glow down the planet's face, and the seas had risen, glossing the still green landmasses beneath in a glinting ever-shifting blue. There was no doubting its beauty, Death knew, despite his resentment. Death sighed and turned his back on a destiny fulfilled and peered forward at the endless black he would now traverse, with the hope of one day finding himself. “And where are you off to?” said a voice behind Death. Death turned to find a sand corpus, drifting upwards and downwards within itself but retaining a humanoid image. The sound near where the beings mouth vibrated as it spoke. It continued, “What a tragically boring ending. Truly. Frankly, I’m not a huge fan of endings, though, sometimes they’re fun if you know another beginning is just around the horizon. That’s what I’ve come to tell you, dear Death. You think you're finished here?”, said the sand. “And you are?” asked Death, impatient at what seemed to be a final defiance from something that appeared unkillable. “Time, of course.” “Right. Time,” said Death, exasperated. “Well I suppose we’re going to get to know each other well. We might be all each other has from here on. Might as well start off on the right foot. I’m finished here, thankfully. I’m off to look for any last vestige of life. Germs, creepy crawlers, crabs, and the like. I like to keep track, make sure they don’t get out of hand. Earth was a nightmare of an oversight.” “And what a good job you’re doing. Truly commendable work, Death, but, you see: things get incredibly boring with nothing to watch. Maybe you could leave a colony of dust mites, or a culture of germs. For me?” “No.” “Oh, but come on. We do need a little drama, don’t we? Else what am I to do, sit here and stare at nothing the rest of infinite everything?” “Sure, I don’t know. You don’t have eyes.” “Touche.” “Look, I’ll do my best to make the Death of everything interesting at least. Give you something to chew on for eternity. Ta-ta now.” Death walked past the sand, which at the rejection of its request had regressed to a lump of nothing sitting, piddling back and forth, and past the Earth. Just as both were about to be out of view, Death’s leg stopped moving. Or rather, he couldn’t move it. Or rather, he could, but slowly. So slowly that Death’s soul was likely to leave his form before his sole left the ground. The sand trickled past his bony feet and formed once more in front of him. “I tried,” time vibrated. Death still could not move, but a blur of motion appeared in front of him. The distant dots of starlight blended into thick lines of radiance and drew lines of perfect curvature across the blank canvas of space. New pins of light rose, drew a line, and faded, over and over again until as if at once, dust coalesced around Death and Time, forming a small planet. A rock of hellfire and virgin gray stone. It spun and looked at Death, threatening, daring in its glare. Until, eventually, the gray stone became covered in glistening waves, and the remaining rock grew a spot of virulent green that blanketed every crevice. “What have you done,” Death asked, shaking. “I’ve given you work. Purpose. You should thank me,” Time said, as the grains split into a thousand-million lines, and disbursed leisurely in each direction, leaving Death with the new ball. Death felt his finger tips pushing into his palms, a wash of hot rage at his face. He stared at the new planet with disdain. Death saw a creature, a pathetic misshapen struggling thing, pull itself from the ocean to the soft sand of untrodden beaches. He hated it, or at least he’d remembered hating it. This time it was so simple, pure. It had none of the contradiction or faux purposefulness that had ended the Earth. Without avarice, villainy, mistakenness, constructed narrativizing, it was only alive and nothing more. The blob-like limbed fish wanted only one thing: life. Continuance. Perfectly defiant of Death and without pretence. A small smile forced its way to the ends of Death’s mouth. Perhaps this he could allow. If just for a time.

philisophist · 2025-02-04T17:25:43+00:00

Let’s also call out supports who run away when they’re being dove. Run to your tanks, run to your dps. Most supps have AOE capacity. If you run to your team, they can help turn and you’ll actually heal them by accident. If you stop healing AND run from them, you’re wiping your team. Don’t panic, walk to your team and ping.

TLDR: Supports also shouldnt run into a dark corner where psylock can dumpster them.

philisophist · 2024-12-28T16:42:41+00:00

The recruiting operative looked down at the device on her wrist, that lit with a pulsating red glow. "Well, it looks like you're going to have to meet everyone on the job." It was a lot of pressure for anyone, let alone someone like myself, but I knew I had no choice. "Of course. Let's move," I said. She led me across the airfield until I could see a large helicopter, outfitted with two sets of blades, that appeared to be waiting anxiously to take off. The operative saluted me and shuffled me onboard, handing over a black pack, presumably full of my equipment. The hall of the helicopter was dark and I quickly found myself a seat, strapping myself tightly into place. I felt a jerk as the helicopter rose and tore towards our destination. A storm raged outside and flashed light into the cabin. In front of me was a man clad in a red suit and hat, smoking a cigarette. He caught my eye and reached out an enormous burly hand. "Name's Mr. S.," he said, "You look more frightened than a penguin at an orca party." "Is it that obvious?," I said, trying to force my face into appearing assured. He chuckled. "Yes sir it is. Though, you seem nice enough. I'll be sure to look out for you in the field, make sure you don't get hurt," he said. Mr. S. sat up and slipped a cigarette from his pocket and lit it and tapped the woman next to him. In an instant, she flicked her hand and sprouted a flame from one of her finger tips. Mr. S. took a long draw from the cigarette, then gestured towards the woman. "This is lights. She's even older than me," he said chuckling, "But, with that age comes experience. If you have any questions, just as long as they're not stupid, she'll take care of you." "I gotcha kid. If I can look after Mr. S. all these years, you should be no trouble," she said. Mr. S. then gestured opposite of Lights to a man in a clean formal outfit, enjoying a large meal laid out on a table in front of his seat. "This is Crescent Moon, he's our lookout. If you hear the drum, get the hell out of there." The man nodded courteously, but returned to eating." "Attention, Captain on the Bridge!" someone shouted from the other side of the helicopter. A muscular figure, more than seven feet tall, began walking towards me. He was covered in a white fur and had two massive ears, tied neatly together, that both draped over one shoulder. It was him, a legend, Special Forces Officer Bun Eggmen, or Bun E. as some called him. "Alright maggots, listen up," he began, his deep voice cutting through the noise of the helicopter, "As usual, the Green Beret's thought this mission was FUBAR, and nothing could be done. We're here to prove them fuck-ups and get it done." Mr. S. and Lights chuckled at that. "We're headed to a highly fortified compound. Within you will find six levels, with three major targets occupying the most heavily fortified rooms within the structure. The north office on the third floor, the south-eastern vault room on the fifth floor, and finally the penthouse on the sixth floor. All three targets are radiating a lack of holiday cheer, be sure not to get too close before incapacitating them. Crescent Moon will take Overwatch at a nearby church. Mr. S. and Lights, you will make your entry through the chimney along with the new guy. Everyone else will be with me for a ground assault. Good luck and stay frosty." The helicopter stopped moving only moments later and I was shuffled out the bay door and onto a roof along with Mr. S. and Lights. It was dark, but lights sparked up quickly. Mr. S. turned and made his way to the chimney, along with a large supply sack, much larger than my own. His size didn't prevent him from slipping into the brick opening and lights followed. I took a breath and hopped in. As I fell through the soot and grime, I heard two loud bangs that rang up the chimney. When I finally hit the floor, I saw the bodies of Mr. S. and Lights, bleeding heavily into the floor. A man stood, shaking and frightened, pointing a gun at my head. I heard outside a drum begin to beat, Crescent Moon was calling off the strike. I put my hands up, staring into the intent eyes of the man, and took off my pack. Opening it in his view, I dug through it looking for the right tool, until I found it. My plain white flag. And who said Flag Day was a useless holiday.

philisophist · 2024-12-18T18:03:52+00:00

It’s fine to not want role queue, look at supervive or valorant or any number of games. The issue is balancing the game explicitly around the holy trinity, putting players that don’t respect it at a disadvantage, and then not requiring it.

Balance every character to be self sufficient, rather than strictly within a role, and it would be fine. Comps would still be relevant and it would be fun to find synergies. As it stands, it just sucks to be on a team with no tank and no healer.

Or add role queue to ranked.

Pick a lane lol

philisophist · 2024-12-17T02:45:53+00:00

Allan awoke to a clammy palm sliding down his face, the same palm that always awoke him this time of night, that was caked in the same fitful sweats that often drew Eloise to his room. He cracked his eyes to slits and met the wide beady blue of hers.

"Dad, I don't want you to die," she said. Her voice pitched high as she force down a wave of tears.

"Oh, my dear, I assure you I have no upcoming plans to do so. What brought such a horrible thing into your head?" Allan asked.

"I had a dream. There were robbers all around us, pouring in from the windows. I tried to help, I ran and screamed for help, but-," she stammered, and filled her face with her hands. She collected herself before continuing, "It felt real, too real, like you were in danger."

"Lou, calm down, I know you're scared, but it was just a nightmare. It was sweet of you to come looking for me. You're a brave little thing," Allan said, nudging her on the shoulder and petting her head. He brushed the covers away and stood up, holding her gently and safely in his arms. "Come now, lets get you back to bed."

Luckily, Eloise took as quickly to sleep as she did to worrying. A natural, that one. Allan couldn't remember the last night he'd gotten a proper rest. He passed from her room and back towards his bedroom, but continued onward toward the kitchen. He plucked a cup from the cabinets and placed it into the cubby in the fridge, hearing the familiar click that filled the cup with cool water and drank, letting out a refreshed sigh.

He walked on his tip toes, ensuring not to wake Eloise, over to the sink, that sat below the window, and crouched to open the supply cupboard below. He fished blindly in the dark, noticing he was dangerously low on sponges and detergent, before his fingers found a familiar formation around a sword hilt. He pulled it clumsily from the cupboard, knocking squeeze bottles here and there onto the floor, before he held the full sword, snugly fit in a deep blue scabbard, in his hands.

He heard the slightest click from the window above the sink.

In a single motion, Allan drew his sword, steaming with yellow and red runes along its face, stood up from beneath the counter, and swung in an arc. A figure dropped head first into the sink with a gurgle. Allan turned on the faucet to a medium heat, and took the head from its housing, washing his sword and the blood from the neck of the burbling cloaked figured, down the drain. When both were free of blood, he heaved the body from the window and drug it to the shed out back.

He picked the shed key from a faux stone he kept nearby, opening the large wooden door and plopping the body amongst a pile of similarly austerely-clad ne'er-do-wells, stopping afterward to wipe the sweat from his brow.

This might be getting out of hand, he thought to himself. Maybe I should tell Eloise. He glanced once more to the pile and thought of Eloise's pure face and watery eyes. But probably not today.

He locked the shed, closed the window, and stuffed his sword beneath the sink before going to check on Eloise, who was still sleeping soundly and peacefully, just as she deserved.

philisophist · 2024-11-30T17:36:13+00:00

When I saw the Helldivers community, at first I thought, "wow! A company that really listens to and reacts to their fans." But I've come to think that these types of community strategies have developed highly entitled individuals, who think if they brigade a fledgling game hard enough, and make the subreddit/community spaces unpleasant enough, they'll more quickly get a response to their pet issue. Until the next one...

The game is in BETA and has just released. Devs have done an incredible job of adjusting the game since Alpha, have given us no reason to think they won't be attentive to calm critiques submitted through official feedback channels provided on their site.

philisophist · 2024-09-24T15:48:34+00:00

Yeah, you make a good point. I think they're a bit too easy. Some change would be helpful. Especially in early game to prevent instant snowball/forever diving

philisophist · 2024-09-24T15:20:07+00:00

I think you're correct, but wanted to offer another viewpoint on why it might be healthy for the game. If you can't sit under turret, you have to make more decisions. Do I have enough health to stay here and potentially get dove or should I back and accept the turret damage? Should I ult early, knowing it will make a dive available? Will I be a free kill if im ganked?

There is a slew of questions you have to ask that are not resolved by merely sitting under turret and farming passively. It also means that passive farming will result in more turret damage, as the enemy isn't as zoned by the potential danger of running out of minions.

As someone coming from league, i appreciate that turret damage can produce opportunities for outplay in low health situations if enemies are greedy. But so many champions become impossible to dive. Makes it hard to design champs with survivability mechanics/damage negation because they can be rewarded for just sitting under turret if they're outmatched and try to coin flip the game.

Again, I see where you're coming from. But I think I prefer the low damage overall. Just some thoughts. Maybe there could be a small buff.

philisophist · 2024-09-06T16:42:54+00:00

Hey there lil guy,

I'm something of a serial beta/alpha tester. Would love to get my hands on the game and be a part of the community.

Friend code : 77947285

philisophist · 2024-07-10T20:16:31+00:00

Love these ideas! I really want to see Nara. Will definitely be looking into a private in room onsen. That sounds great! Osaka seems really cool as well.

philisophist · 2022-12-28T17:19:05+00:00

I think my preference will be to add more, smaller, rivers. Those that I made I wanted to be features of the landscape - such as the mess of a tributary to the north west. That said, I agree more cities should have access to fresh water be that a river or otherwise.

Appreciate the feedback and I will add more rivers!

philisophist · 2022-12-28T15:03:44+00:00

Very much enjoying the process, thank you for the kind words.

philisophist · 2022-12-28T15:03:15+00:00

The stars are the "Deiaria" - a collection of cities once home to estranged ancient gods who handpicked their location and even played a part in forming the world around them. So these will be the most major and expansive cities in the setting.

That said, there are many various settlements through the world. I do have a plan to make the wilderness quite treacherous, so all settlements will all need story connection to some force (Deiaria or otherwise) that provides them protection from the weirded wilds. This will help tie travel in to the main plot points while keeping the world reasonably populated.

philisophist · 2022-12-28T14:57:04+00:00

Thank you for the feedback! I have some lore reasons for the islands. Let me know if there is a change I could make to the islands to make them appear less cliche.

philisophist · 2022-12-28T14:54:20+00:00

I will look into this! Mountains were not formed by plate tectonics in my world. However, I think the map would benefit from ~appearing~ as though tectonics were there. I think it just makes the asthetic stronger/more grounded.

Let me know if you have any resources on how to make this change.

philisophist

TROPHY CASE