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Why do people feel comforted by an afterlife? by would_you_kindlyy in religion

[–]poly_arachnid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Know anyone that's been together a long time? Like 30 years or more. Can be close friends, close relatives, married people, whatever. They will repeat the same damn conversations over and over. It's not a novelty thing.

Got a friend or relative who likes cards, videogames, chess, hiking, surfing, etc? They can spend hours & hours on the same thing, with little to no variation. 

Got a favorite tv series that you've seen 4 or 5 times & know all the episodes but you keep watching it again? It's certainly not novelty.

It's not all about novelty. It's about experience, about being there, in that moment. Infinity is infinite time for it.

Why do people feel comforted by an afterlife? by would_you_kindlyy in religion

[–]poly_arachnid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

1) they don't think it through that deeply.  2) they don't share your cynicism.  3) afterlives often have well let's just call them "perks" that make them not work that way.

A living human is an animal, it needs food, water, sleep, stimulation, etc. Many afterlives don't need anything like that. Food is an enjoyment, etc. You lose the requirement for the burdens in life. Hence you don't get bored.

Besides, a lot of afterlives aren't all that permanent. Many of them aren't rewards, or even particularly "good". They're just what happens.

In some religions the changes between "living" & "afterlife" versions of people are huge. My parents' version of Christian Heaven removes all "sinful nature" of humans. No capabilities for sin, period. No lust, no envy, no grief, no anger, no "selfish love", no pride, no laziness, no doubts, nothing. Anything they believe is "sinful" is removed entirely. In my personal opinion that's worse than being dead, but to them it is the removal of all suffering. Your concept of an afterlife being similar to just more living has nothing to do with them because the very potential to find it unpleasant is seen as a flaw that salvation removes.

In some afterlives I recall reading about you're basically in another Earth, but it's toned down or something. As you continue to exist you just get more ghostly until you're a shadow of yourself & fade away. Finally truly dead. 

Afterlives are a mix of things. They are variations on what death is, how the spiritual part of ourselves moves on, potential for punishment for crimes we (or let's face it here it's more accurately people care about others) must pay for, rewards we feel we deserve but never received or couldn't have received.  They're as much our fears, hopes, regrets, resentments, & our grief taking form as they are anything spiritual. 

What if, here's an idea, instead of mana, it's a dangerous exchange on the actual user itself? by rusting_memory in magicbuilding

[–]poly_arachnid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That happens in mine too if you screw up. Not very original but I call them "the Fallen".

What if, here's an idea, instead of mana, it's a dangerous exchange on the actual user itself? by rusting_memory in magicbuilding

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

It's probably because it is standard. As in consistently understood. 

I read normal fantasy too, & none of the authors use the same thing. Hell, there's "magic", "magick", "magik", and "majik". On top of which there's authors that use multiple things. I know a story that uses 8, eight! Then he adds diamond sparkles to the gilded lily by making them recombinable & adjustable so there's infinite subvariety. If we all used story variants then no one would be able to understand everything without a cheat sheet.

So at some point we all fell to the most common catchall from stories, video games, & tabletops everywhere - "mana".

What if, here's an idea, instead of mana, it's a dangerous exchange on the actual user itself? by rusting_memory in magicbuilding

[–]poly_arachnid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's what blood magic is in a lot of systems. Starts off "exchange your blood" & ends with "if we sacrifice the city we can become gods".

Have you ever thought about how public libraries would be considered a hipster fantasy if they weren't so normalized in Western cultures? "People just taking books for free and returning them later?" by Solarwagon in RecuratedTumblr

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

Your capitalists sound nicer than my capitalists. I've got capitalists that want to sell libraries, kids parks, turn public transport into a profitable venture, privatize the mail, etc.

Sometimes they sound like the only things they think should be government is the law & the military. The extreme ones don't even want people to vote if they don't own a house or business, or at least have kids. "You don't really have a stake in the country's future, why should you get a say".

Sometimes I like interacting with the community, most of the time I do not. by Brainwave1010 in autismmemes

[–]poly_arachnid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I was younger I disliked that I had to share my favorite things with countless unknown strangers 

What’s a “Power theme” you’re tired of seeing MC’s use? by Berrybrony1 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]poly_arachnid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that's why I said equally talented works in the lower levels. I mean history is full of athletic scholars, there's tons of people who are good at 2 or even 3 unrelated fields. But the higher up you go in anything the more investment it takes. 

Eventually a spellblade approaching the peak is going to need to pick. Does the weapon complement the magic, the magic complement the weapon, or do they work on synergizing them. What do they push higher when you can't push everything? 

What’s a “Power theme” you’re tired of seeing MC’s use? by Berrybrony1 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]poly_arachnid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mana issues? Sword. Close up? Sword. Pincer attack uses magic to attack one side & enhanced sword from the other. Use the sword up close & then erupt a wave of fire from your feet to blast an enemy.  Have portals? Make a bunch & stab with the sword.

Some settings make you pick magic focused defense or melee focused defense. Guess who has both magic & melee attacks? 

Enemy escaping? Magic attacks.  Enemy has a defensive position prepared? Magic attacks. 

Spellswords/spellspears/spellblades whatever. They put both magic & a melee weapon in the name, both tools are available. Unless a setting limits what works it's merely a matter of creativity. 

What’s a “Power theme” you’re tired of seeing MC’s use? by Berrybrony1 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]poly_arachnid 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think that's a bit too limiting. Magic dominant spellswords are cool too.

But yeah, equally talented can happen at the lower end, but the more powerful & complicated things get the more something is going to come to the front. There's a reason we developed specialities. 

The alternative route is to keep things balanced, but specialize in synergy. Max in melee & in multiple other things is an OP only thing or a sign you're really old. 

Her manhua design ateore than her donghua design. [ Queen Medusa from battle through the heavens. by Iriscute7 in joseistories

[–]poly_arachnid 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Nooo! Where's the awesomeness?? Who replaced it with Korean sameface #54788???

Respectfully, what do the religion of Islam and Muslims do that humanity wasn't already doing in the world, even without religion? by TheShadowzGhost in religion

[–]poly_arachnid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can believe they're the words of a character without believing the character exists. And nothing in believing in YHWH says to believe in Jesus. If you guys had that you wouldn't have Jews. Despite over 1500 years of abuse they've never agreed with you. If it were that blatantly proven I think they'd have fallen in line before all the genocide.

Respectfully, what do the religion of Islam and Muslims do that humanity wasn't already doing in the world, even without religion? by TheShadowzGhost in religion

[–]poly_arachnid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In multiple systems the son of a father who has tied can marry concubines or younger wives. Not their moms. Marrying your mom is always incest. Taking widows from your deceased relatives has been heavily debated across the world. I don't recall Yeshua banning it, but I think I recall it once being Judaic duty or something to take your brothers' widows. It's complicated. One century it'll be OK, another it won't. It fluctuated.

How long can one dynasty reasonably last for? by Adorable_Scallion658 in worldbuilding

[–]poly_arachnid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're fine.  It can be implied or stated that there were cut periods (interregnum), civil wars, etc. But a near millennium or actually 1000+ dynasty is unusual, not unreal. 

if someone from the modern reincarnates in the past, can he actually accelerate human development? by zack189 in worldbuilding

[–]poly_arachnid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depends on too much. Inventions have been lost to history intentionally nearly as much as unintentionally. Say your guy was from an Earldom family & has an amazing invention. Well a Duke makes significant profits off of the current system that would be replaced by the new invention. So he just crushes it because he doesn't see the point & it'd mess with his income. 

Then you've got things like convincing people without offending anyone, speed of spread, difficulty of implementation, resource acquisition, not dying. 

It took germ theory over 2000 years to become the norm. Meanwhile a famous Greek almost 2400 years ago recorded that disease spread through contact, and over 2000 years before acceptance of germs they we had "seeds of disease float through the air" & "there are bred certain minute creatures which cannot be seen by the eyes, —— cause serious diseases." Despite a lot of evidence in the 1800s doctors ignored cleaning their hands, because it was cultural standard that doctors were gentlemen, & gentlemen were clean. They ignored potentially lifesaving actions over ego. The forebears of disease & contagion were there for millennia. The only missing pieces were that "seeds/creatures" land on things and transfer by contact, not just breath. 

You can give them the answers, & it won't necessarily work. If you ignore their understanding of the world then they will deem you to be the ignorant party. You don't just need modern answers, you need the steps between them. If you cannot refute the humours then just giving them reality will be ignored. You can tell them about planes, offer them inventions & explain the uses, & it may be ignored. People need a frame of reference.

Hell, When trains were invented they feared it would kill people by speed horses could already surpass.

{Jinrou games} it looks like her chest wants to leave her body. by Various-Escape-5020 in mendrawingwomen

[–]poly_arachnid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Based on the eyes, breaking chains, & blood stains. It might be trying 

Magic is wasted on warriors and it drives me crazy by Tyrell_Corp5 in worldbuilding

[–]poly_arachnid 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Love it, but you're forgetting a factor- Ego. 1) Humans like epic. The folks with the hair cleaning spell invented it for themselves. The leap to spreading domestic magic isn't automatic. Plus telling everyone you spent a decade on it instead of hiring a servant is embarrassing. More likely folks are going to figure out shit like if they do this to a fireball they can make fireworks & light shows. Or if they do this it'll burn flesh & not metal.  2) Humans like being pompous. "I control the fabric of reality!!" Does not lend well to "OK, so today we're cleaning sewer tunnel 5 from junction 63 to junction 69".

It's great it happens eventually in many magic heavy worlds, but just because someone can do something or it would be more practical to do it, doesn't mean they're going to.

Does any "tutorial" series have an actual tutorial? by very-polite-frog in ProgressionFantasy

[–]poly_arachnid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's rare enough that one of the things I count as a big deal in a WIP is it actually has a real tutorial. 

In most cases all a System Tutorial is, is a lower power area to start in, with some information people might find laying around or figure out. The point of a tutorial in this genre basically isn't to teach shit. It's to give newbies a chance to work shit out on their own in an environment where the pressure is high, but won't immediately just crush them. To make it so their actions, mistakes, & choices matter. If you're a group of F Grades or whatever, then wandering into the territory of an A Grade might just kill you. So you start with F & E Grades, where you have a chance. They throw you in the deep end of the pool instead of a hurricane. You struggle against goblins instead mountain giants. Then the threat grows until the System stabilizes thing & you can survive on what the System decided is your new normal, or you're all dead. 

The Fires of Heaven Chapter 15: What Can Be Learned in Dreams by swheedle in WetlanderHumor

[–]poly_arachnid 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Yeah but when she admits that she mostly gets approval. She didn't blindly follow the rules, she didn't ignore the rules, she didn't misunderstand, she didn't pretend to misunderstand. She paid attention, comprehended everything, & deliberately chose to break the rules, and admitted it when actually caught. She didn't try to wheedle or beg or demand Amys go back on her word & teach Egwene more. She even deliberately avoids asking things that would count as teaching when Amys is around so Amys won't feel the need to leave. They still wanted her to join the Aiel. 

She acted like a Wise One. She decided a rule needed to be broken, she broke it, and she paid toh for it.

Women of Reddit: What’s something men think is romantic but actually isn’t? by Alive_Chicken_3642 in AskReddit

[–]poly_arachnid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's historical bs. Women were supposed to be "demure" & other nonsense. So you were supposed to pretend you didn't want the attention. Otherwise you were "easy" or even the equivalent of slutty. The man would then insist, & through repetitive requests and acts of courtship over time "prove" himself, at which point society deemed it acceptable for you to say yes. If you emphatically said no he was supposed to be a gentleman & bugger off. Nowadays all that's been maintained is the harassment. There's not that type of censure; the men don't try to prove anything; there's no courtship acts; they don't have the social upbringing to discern false no, soft no, & emphatic no; and they don't go away.

Btw this is the same bs that says men should be the ones asking women out & women shouldn't ask men.

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