u/Halikarnassus1

still interesting and cool but I think im just interested in what we lost

also with women I have to tread the fine introspective line of understanding which ideas I think are cool and which ideas I think are hot. with men idc because I'm fine with them being goonerbait

You may recall (I hope not) a rather stupid post about a month ago where I explained my vague concept for a magic system based off of the interaction between two planes, conceptual and physical. I had the barebones, and was essentially asking people to make the system out of nothing lol. Now, I am back, and have the beginnings of an actual system. It's based off of truth tables, and using them to create spells.

• A living being’s existence is necessarily made up of two elements: 
• their existence on the Plane of Existence (physical world)
• their existence on the Plane of Concepts
• Both these planes interact
• The plane of concepts is more powerful, however is an extension of the realities of the plane of existence. It exists as an extension of “reality” or, the plane of existence.
• The plane of existence is ruled by the laws of physics. The plane of concepts is ruled by the laws of logic.
• Entirely physical things are inanimate objects
• Entirely conceptual things are concepts
• Concepts only exist as manifestations and connections between real objects.

-

• Can vary in how far they swing one way or the other
• On the almost entirely physical end are plants and non-conscious beings
• On the almost entirely conceptual end are Gods.
• The middle point are the Metamorfo, that exist equally on both planes.

-

• Consciousness and intelligence are measures of a creature’s ability to navigate the plane of concepts.
• Humans, and most sapient creatures navigate concepts without knowing through philosophy, critical thinking, and magic.

-

• Gods are almost entirely conceptual, except for worship by sapients.
• Gods are concepts that only exist in the mortal mind.
• While the concept of grass exists because there is grass, gods only exist because sapients dreamed them up.
• That is why faith makes them stronger.
• They have almost a total ability of manipulation on the plane of concepts, within the laws established by the plane of existence and those of logic.
• The belief that they are real, in combination with the strong sentiments spurred by genuine faith and veneration are (at scale) enough to make them real.
• The more that they are worshipped, the greater control they acquire of the plane of existence, to the point of near-omnipotence. 
• By obtaining this worship, they can shape the laws of the plane of existence and thus shape how concepts manifest within their plane.

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• Magic is given by the gods. It is the manipulation of the conceptual to affect the physical. This is not something most sapients can do by themselves (except Metamorfo), but is bestowed upon them by Gods in exchange for worship.
• Faith is the instrument through which magic is applied to the physical world. The feeling of faith, of bringing the conceptual mind closer to God is how you activate magic. Runes, words, praxis are aids to help guide the mind towards the magic, which is manifest through will and faith in a God.
• The way this works is it allows them to break down the walls between worlds, and treat concepts like objects and objects like concepts.

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• What this means is that faith can turn what is not real, real. 
• Faith in (a) God allows you to harness a part of his conceptual power and use belief to turn falsehoods into truth.
• Through faith it becomes true, because faith is a force not based on reality or physics, but is borne from the human mind’s conceptual element.

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• This manifests in the ‘two truths and a lie’ system.
• Through a series of methods, humans manifest their faith and are able to turn logically valid (but untrue statements) true.
• Only a fraction can be untrue, but greater proficiency and higher-level techniques like chaining spells can further magical ability.
• In the Empire, faith is channeled using ‘spells’, which are phrases that state the logically valid but untrue statement, and end with a prayer to channel faith into statement, making it true.
• With enough faith, can be said in any language. Made easier by using the liturgical language of Old Imperial.

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• The formal statement is 2-3 premises and a conclusion.
• Statement is composed of three variables (P,Q,R)
• Two variables true, one variable false
• It works as long as the conclusion is logically valid
• Faith makes the false variable true
• The conclusion essentially states the actual effect of the spell

I hope I made myself clear? If anyone who likes truth tables or logic wants to try it out, please do.

shitty metaphor hour: the human body.

The human body is like a landscape of hills, dales and depths*. At one point barren mountain, at another forested plain. No two landscapes are alike, but all are beautiful.

*(you aaaare what I need, to hear, so fill the air with memorised breathsssss, memorised breathsssss)

doing fine today actually just wanted to put together some memes of people being slightly sexually pathetic for some reason. if you have any please share.

Is this a historical sword? I couldn’t find anything online. It looks very strange. The author is pretty reputable though.

"The Guardian recaps the history behind Amir Salman’s inflammatory comment.

19/6/2026

Andalusia has been on the lips of every major mediterranean leader since Monday, when the hardliner Muwallad prime minister was quoted as saying “They’ll feel our barrels on their backs” when asked about what country’s response would be to an islamist victory in the Sardinian election later this year. 

The militaristic comment has sparked major backlash from leaders across the region, and prompted experts to ask: is this the beginning of an Andalusian backslide into autocracy? To understand the weight behind these remarks, we have to take a look at the last 70 years of Muwallad foreign policy.

The story begins in 1955, when tensions over the continued British presence in the country finally exploded. Great Britain had maintained a military and political presence in the region since the Napoleonic Wars, and the Caliph’s involvement with the Axis powers in World War 2 had made them wary of leaving.

Student movements had long been calling for the departure of British forces. African decolonisation and Cold War communist thought had swung many people over to the side of anti-British groups. Most, however, still supported the institution of the Caliph of Cordoba.

Finally, in May, the conflict came to a head when a British bureaucrat was killed during otherwise peaceful protests in the University of Granada. A group of British soldiers took it upon themselves to carry out a reprisal, massacring 31 Muslims and Jews at a restaurant in the city. 

The protests quickly turned to riots, which rapidly spread to most major cities in the country. At first, negative sentiment was concentrated against the British. However, after the Caliph’s guards shot dead 5 rioters in July, public opinion soured in regards to both. 

Much of the populace, and many key political figures from other parties, began to gravitate towards radical socialist elements of the revolution. As the riots continued into September, members of the HSM, Muwallad Socialist Party (Muwallad, a word which had evolved into being a catch-all term for the many inhabitants of Andalusia) began the final armed struggle to oust the British and the Caliph. 

British military presence was small, and public opinion back home did not support sending money and men to southern Iberia. As such, control over the country was steadily lost until the order was finally given to evacuate. On Christmas Eve, 1955, the Caliph Hisham VI and the final members of the British Advisory Board left the country.

The HSM and its leader, Anwar Reza, took control of the country. On new year’s day, 1956, they declared the establishment of the Muwallad Socialist Republic: a one-party authoritarian state modelled after the Soviet Union, only with ‘Muwallad Characteristics’.

Reza was famous for his charisma and culture. Despite well-versed in the classics of European and islamic literature, and studious in economic theory, Reza had studied translation in university and spoke five languages. Diplomacy was his true love, and he would carefully craft Andalusian foreign policy during his 40-year tenure. 

In 1957, he signed the Treaty of Cartagena with the Soviet Union, which declared that the USSR would consider any attack on the Socialist Republic an attack on them, and allowed them to station troops in the country. With this treaty, Reza secured his legitimacy in the eyes of the communist sphere, and inserted himself into uneasy peace between east and west, preventing any attack on his isolated western socialist society. 

With this security, he gained leverage to pursue a policy he dubbed ‘Maghrebization’. This consisted of distancing the image of the nation from that of capitalist, decadent Europe, and leaning into the Arab-Berber heritage of the country.

For foreign policy, this meant spreading the revolution to the nations of the Maghreb, in an attempt to create a multi-national group led by the ideals ‘Maghrebi Socialism’. To achieve this goal, Andalusia would embark on decades of military and diplomatic intervention against its neighbours.

The first to suffer major intervention would be Sardinia, which underwent a revolution against the colonial Italian government in August 1960. The Andalusian intelligence service (The National Military Intelligence Bureau) would fund and arm the Islamo-Socialist elements of the revolution, as well as attack and sink an Italian frigate in the harbour of Terranova, and assassinate Youssef, the Italian-installed Emir of the island. 

In Algeria, they covertly sent arms to the Communist Party during the independence war, through the port of Benisaf. After the French defeat, they directly intervened in the inter-faction civil war that followed, landing troops in Oran and Algiers. Over the course of three years, they pushed the nationalist FLN into the hinterlands of the country. The conflict would only be put to rest in the 90s, after democratisation. In 1982, they also assassinated Saâdi Yacef, 

In Tunisia, the NMIB supported the failed coup by Ahmed ben Salah-led socialist elements of the Neo Destour party, killing Habib Bourguiba. In January of 1978, Andalusian elements would arm members of general strike in Tunis, Kairwan and Gabes, sparking a the Tunisian Civil War. Muwallad Soldiers would land Sfax some months later to assist in the civil war, though a join Italian and French coalition repulsed them by the end of 1979.

In 1975, the Muwallad navy blockaded Gibraltar, demanding its surrender and incorporation into Andalusia. The blockade maintained itself for three months, during which a British fighter jet was shot down. The two countries came to the brink of war, until negotiation finally won out. Gibraltar stayed British, but was demilitarised. At the same time, impeding free and uninhibited passage through the Pillars of Hercules became illegal in times of peace.

In Magrib, they intervened against the autocratic King Hassan II when he violently attacked strikers in Casablanca in 1981. In response, Magrib invaded the Andalusian Rif, sparking all-out war. Allied Algeria invaded Magrib in response. The year after, Andalusian soldiers landed in Rabat and Casablanca to assist the rising. After French military intervention and the assassination Hassan II in Fez, a peace was reached with his more moderate successor. Worker’s rights were reformed, as were electoral and censorship laws.

Amir Reza’s legacy today is one of authoritarian jingoism. He died in 1991, two years before the collapse of the USSR. His successor, Muhammad Asfar was a moderate. He worked to dismantle Maghrebization and democratize the system to better adapt to a post-communist Europe. In 1996, the first free elections were held, and the HSM lost to the centre-left HT, Renewal Party. 

In 2000, a new constitution was introduced, and the flag was changed along with the country name. In 2004 the Muwallad Republic joined the European Union.

In 2021, the HSM won elections for the first time in 25 years amidst economic trouble and new populist rhetoric. The party’s legacy has not been forgotten, and harsh rhetoric such as that espoused by Salman has many harkening back to prior days of dictatorship. "

That damn Salman! Tiny autocrat in the making.

In my world, mana is basically equivalent to pure energy. It’s in everything, every  single atom. You can harness it through multiple methods, using the power of the sun, or motion machines, or others. Humans harness it using massive mana furnaces, and then distribute it using specialised infrastructure made of metal, since metal attracts mana. Then, they use it in everything: weapons, transportation, powering long-distance communication devices, even entertainment! All you have to do is be creative in how you employ it. There are whole fields of science dedicated to figuring out how to use mana in new and useful ways. 

*A note, though. I used mana for clarity but I don’t call it that, obviously, that would be unoriginal. I call it electricity. It’s greek, but no-one will notice.

Two nobles from Shanameh, the first a warrior from the Shahdom of Kashan, the second the king of Gelebeda

WIP, missing labels, Manuel of Athosata's route, and some nice illustrations.

Periphery region in my world. What to change for realism, or anything you think I can add?

(don't diss the rivers, I just like them curvy)

Mi wile pona. Mi wile ike. Mi lukin ali la mi wile ala.

Mi lape kepeken poka la mi pilin ike. Mi lape kepeken poka ante la mi pilin ike.

Mi lape kepeken pilin pi mi lon la mi pilin ike.

Taso, mi pilin ike la lawa mi li pilin ike li suli nanpa wan.

Ni li suli tawa sona ali.

-

Tenpo pini la mi tawa musi lon poka ma Okosopo [oxford].

Mi lukin e weka poka lon poka nasin sike.

Tomo ma la suli pi tomo sewi li kama lon sewi.

Lawa mi li kama sona e sona pini.

Ni li sama e sike len. Sike len li ante len

Tenpo ni la sona li kama…

Mi tawa lon nasin la mi lukin e suli sewi pi tomo sewi.

Ni li ali sewi. Ni li awen e jan.

Mi kama e ma la suli pi tomo li suli pi tomo.

Suli li kama li ike nanpa wan.

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Jan li lon ma ala la Jan li pilin pona lon ma Oselija

this is the first thing I’ve done in toki pona! Posting it here so people can please correct me and give some advice 🙏

Of the many tales surrounding the figure of Marciano Celeuco, most involve, in some way, his sword, Dawn. It is, in its own right, a legendary figure. While any good yarn-spinner will describe it in flowery detail, little is known about the real sword.

  Most sources say that it was given to him in the episode of the old man in the woods, typically thought to have been the Sun in disguise, or a divine messenger. The dream in which he is given his famous task is similarly delivered by the Sun. When he is woken, he finds the old man’s bed empty, transformed into a far more luxurious form, with the sword lying on top of it. It was here that he named the sword Dawn, as it would be the instrument with which he would bring the light.

  Apart from this origin, the only generally agreed upon aspect of the story is that it fulfils Marciano’s prophecy, bringing the Dawn to wherever the night is long. This manifests in a variety of different ways. The first is, of course, Marciano being saved from the treachery of the night, but others include the relieving of the siege of Andria; the slaying of the sea-serpent Esquilla/Scylla; the clearing of the plague of Aetos; or the defeat of the Lich of Thymaria. The ultimate manifestation of this is, however, the saving of the Empire from the long night of the dark age. Most stories, following the lead of the Cantzon consider this (and the preceding birth of Arcibaldos) to be the final goal of the sword’s prophecy as envisioned by the Sun. They do not, however consider it to be the end of the sword’s prophetic power.

  Even after the restoration of the Empire, stories related to the sword’s prophetic power maintain itself, it does not go into a slumber after fulfilling its goal. The Cantzon and history tell that Dawn was given by Marciano to his son, and that it would go on to be used by Arcibaldos all throughout his campaigns over the Imperial Sea. It seemed very close to becoming an integral part of the revived Imperial Regalia. However, in 876, the greatest tragedy imaginable struck. The Emperor’s father, the greatest swordsman of the known world, the first herald of the Sun’s Chosen, Marciano Celeuco died. The tales all vary on the date of his birth, however he is thought to have been in his 40s or 50s at the time of Arcibaldos’ coronation. This would mean he was granted an extraordinary longevity, especially for a man who had suffered so many wounds and so much strain across his life.

  The Emperor seems to have been greatly affected by his father’s death. Historical record by this time is still somewhat hazy, however this can be deduced by a number of well-documented facts. When he received the news, he returned from his campaign in Gasra and declared that an entire year of mourning should be observed. Upon his return, sources around his actions dry up until his death fifteen years later in 891, also being granted an exceptionally long lifespan. It seems he never truly recovered. The Cantzon, and other legends tell little of this time too, typically ending around Marciano’s death. In reference to his son’s grief, however, they do seem to agree that it was tremendous. 

  Finally, on the topic of Dawn, it too drops out of the historical record at the time of its original owner’s death. Legend, however, tells a different story. The versions differ, but most agree that the Emperor buries the sword with his father, in a grand ceremony in the style of old Emperors (it would also be a revival of old fashions, since cremation is thought to have been the primary tool for the disposal and treatment of corpses during the dark age). A great mound of earth was said to be placed over the tomb. This was, however, before the reestablishment of the Cemetery of Emperors, at the Nekros Hill in Tarrasuna. The stories vary wildly over where he was buried, however the Cantzon states that he was buried on the island of Tarasultina, hidden somewhere in the mountains, supposedly in the unknown village of his mother.

- Marciano and Arcibaldo Keleukos, Aniketos of Sykia, 1385, chapter 20, On Dawn

Shitty metaphor hour: love

love is like poetry. Sometimes it’s shit, sometimes it’s the most delicious thing, a juicy, sweet, succulent fruit that drips down your cheeks each bite. It fills yourself head, pulls you into the clouds and puts the most wonderful outlandish ideas up there. A good poem, like love, is buoyant. It elevates you, keeps you floating weightless, and keeps your head above water.

the difference is I’ve read a good poem :(

anyway what I really wanted to say is that since being in love with a lesbian my taste in women have become significantly more “lesbian”. the problem is I’m a straight man. i will die alone.

I'm trying to develop a magic system that is based on the concept of two planes: Physical and Conceptual. Hang in for a sec,

The important parts are:

• Entirely physical things are inanimate objects

• Entirely conceptual things are concepts

• Living things exist in both

• Laws of physics apply to objects

• Laws of logic (mathematical logic) apply to concepts

• Consciousness and intelligence are measures of a creature’s ability to navigate the plane of concepts.

• Can vary in how far they swing one way or the other

• Humans, and most sapient creatures navigate concepts without knowing through philosophy, critical thinking, and magic.

• Gods (almost entirely conceptual), through worship, can shape the physical world and it's laws.

• Gods bestow this power upon sapients through magic (in exchange for worship). The way this works is it allows them to break down the walls between worlds, and treat concepts like objects and objects like concepts.

Does this... kinda work? I'm not familiar enough with metaphysics and mathematical logics to know what kinda shenanigans you could get up to using this (if any). How can you use this (or something like this) to then create magical effects?

I neeed to know I need to know what their society was like how they standardised brick production in an area half the size of pakistan in 2000 BCE

What I feel is my main hindrance in making my maps feel realistic is how I do topography. I just don't understand how do draw simple elevation. How do you do it?

I know mountains are formed at continental boundaries through uplift and folding, or horsts and grabens etc. but how do these wide yet still mountainous and rugged regions form?

shitty metaphor hour: life

we're starting off with a big one,

life is like being in a restaurant, and there's only two people inside: me (or you), enjoying a delicious meal and a kid walking around rasping a fork on a plate.

sometimes he's closer, sometimes he's further away. what i gotta decide is how good is the food and how close for how long does the kid gotta be before I get up and leave