Random Questions Thread

@ Trainbarrel:

. I didn't even think of something like that, but it really is true. It's funny because he's basically only known among a certain percentage of the supernatural community, so in essence he's basically a cryptid for cryptids.

I can see how, like Mothman, his various exploits could be seen as tall tales or legends of a mysterious figure who appears, performs some absolutely impossible and near-or-outright-miraculous feat and then disappears as fast as he showed up.

Want to vet the following idea for a story I may or may not write in the Future ahem.

It is Twenty Years In The Future a tech company's heads had realized that they had unleased nigh unstoppable killer robots that threaten the end of humanity as they knew it. Rather than do something sensible like collaborate on a project to save humanity and the biosphere in the abstract, these "geniuses" decided the best course of action is to host a clandestine death game where the losers are transformed into these machines themselves in the hopes that humanity may survive in that form.

How stupid would this plan be and what would be the thought processes behind such a course of action?

Edited by MorningStar1337 on Apr 1st 2024 at 7:53:26 AM

In-verse on a scale between 1 and 10 on the "stupid-scale", that plan strikes a solid 100.

And the thought process would be "If you can't beat them, join them."

Edited by Trainbarrel on Apr 1st 2024 at 5:00:59 PM

Wait, why are the losers transformed...? If the intention is for some of humanity to survive as killer robots, surely it would be the winners that would get to go on...?

As for the plan overall... let me say only that I think that there are a bunch of problems with it.

As to the thought process, I could see it being something to the effect of: "You can't stand in the way of progress! This is the future, it must be allowed to happen—and we're going to enable that future by taking an active hand in it!"

If they turned the winners into robots, there's a significant chance that they would be even more killer-y killer robots, if you'll pardon my syntax. Assuming the robots are not inherently and absolutely primed to murder, producing them from people who would be statistically less likely to see murder as acceptable could be seen as a sort of long-shot at nullifying the robots' forces as a whole.

But... the original killer robots would still be out there, presumably able to kill, would they not?

Adding more robots—even if less kill-y—wouldn't nullify the extant 'bots. It would just bolster their killing less.

In which countries/regions does the Throat-Slitting Gesture mean "cut throat", and in which ones does it mean "shut up"?

Wikipedia wasn't helpful at all.

Russia: Thumb across the throat = "I've had enough"

What do you guys thinks of this quote used by an Alien antagonist of my story to a White American?

"You claim to represent the hard-working American, one who spent their sweat and blood to reach a glorious life... Yet you still used others to do the rest of the jobs, even construction. Perhaps because you think you're so deserving and superior, that you don't want your image being associated with messy jobs, which is why the other Humans or 'non-Americans' take them instead of spoiled cowards like you."

From what I recall, your aliens are Darwinists of a sort, aren't they? I might imagine them seeing him instead as dominating lessers to do the work of lessers.

But then, I don't know the specifics of the philosophy held by your aliens, so I may well be off in that!

Yeah, they're esoteric darwinists.

So then the question is: Why do they not approve of his actions?

Since they grew in a different environment and achieved a greater amount of space exploration, they think divisions and discriminations based solely on skin color, religion and sex are "meaningless shakcles holding someone back".

Then why are they not criticising the character on those grounds, rather than on the grounds of using others?

They are subtly criticizing them on that, but this one focuses on the double standard itself.

Okay, I think that I see what you're driving at.

I might suggest not weighing on the idea of using others—as I said, I would imagine that Darwinists might well be in favour of using "lessers"!

Instead, they might state that it is the supposed "lessers" that are truly the strong ones, as they do the actual work.

(If that's in line with the specifics of their philosophy, of course.)

Edited by ArsThaumaturgis on Apr 2nd 2024 at 7:05:13 PM

I'm wondering if this character's reaction and the amount of anguish he feels makes sense. This concerns a scene that marks a major shift in the story, so I wanted it to be done well.

My main character spends much of the story trying to return to his hometown and resume living his life, to escape the supernatural world and just go back to being an Ordinary High-School Student. He's very much about I Just Want to Be Normal.

He eventually does return to his hometown, but the conflict isn't even close to over yet, and in fact he knows he can't even stay there long since he needs to leave to both rescue some of his family as well as solve the much bigger looming issues.

However one of the other protagonists tries to cheer him up by pointing out that at least he's home right now and should just enjoy that simple fact. Here is where I wonder about his reaction:

He proceeds to cut her off and insist that his hometown isn't a "home". It's just a "safehouse", a place his grandfather used to hide from people who wanted to wipe out his entire bloodline. Nothing more than a temporary shelter.

He tearfully goes on to say that there never was an "ordinary life" to go back to, because the life he lived before was just a delicate facade that could have easily been shattered just by leaving the shelter of the town. His entire goal of escaping the supernatural world was pointless and stupid, and he asks her almost pleadingly just how to escape it.

As I said, I want this rant/breakdown to make sense, not just because I want a clear narrative but because this represents the first little baby-steps towards his eventual apocalyptic aspirations.

Edited by Swordofknowledge on Apr 2nd 2024 at 2:24:57 PM

It does seem a bit disproportionate, especially since his stated motivation is to go home, and then when a friend points this fact out he yells at them. I'm assuming the other friend didn't know about the whole angsty backstory beforehand - in that context they had good intentions.

If I, personally, were to receive that sort of reaction from a friend after trying to cheer them up, I would reconsider my friendship with that person. Stress and personal issues are certainly a factor, but the reaction to something like that being aggression and then asking someone else how to "fix it" that speaks to a lot of personal issues that he's expecting his friends to manage (or worse, just put up with).

I assume "seek therapy" isn't an option because you want this character to be the BBEG, but that seems like an appropriate response from a friend who cares about someone, but also doesn't want to take on their emotional burdens.

@ Altris:

You bring up a lot of good points, so thank you for that. I did have to laugh a little at your "seek therapy" comment—-There Are No Therapists is a big issue in this story, and I've realized several times that so much could have been avoided if a lot of the characters actually looked after their mental health.

It's a little complicated. She knows all about him trying to escape the supernatural world and the struggles he's facing in terms of going up against a lot of powerful people who want to use him as a weapon—-she's largely responsible for both of these issues. But no, she didn't know anything about the situation with his grandfather and the group trying to snuff out his family.

Ultimately her response to the whole thing (especially his last question) is just stunned silence since she wasn't prepared for his sudden outburst after being so melancholy and near-emotionless for a long period of time.

Edited by Swordofknowledge on Apr 2nd 2024 at 3:34:02 PM

Well, I aim to please . I should note that if you want to Say Things about therapy it's not the panacea that it's often treated as in fiction (speaking from my experience, for example, transference is often difficult when approached in the context that it is to "fix" yourself). But I digress.

Huh, that is complicated. I guess in that case she is a little culpable for the situation he's in, but if she didn't know about that part then it still feels reasonable for her to make that comment.

Interesting. How long has she known him, and how well? If they're besties or similar, then it's likely that she would have seen how he reacts to stress before. If you really want to sell that he is having A Moment, maybe have him react to a more mundane stressor differently earlier in the plot, so this moment comes across more as him not coping well rather than lashing out at her (regardless of whether or not she "deserves" it, since you've made it clear that the situation is not entirely her fault).

@ Altris: Sorry I didn't see this.

Oh no, it was just a bit of personal amusement at the concept, but nothing I really intend to address in-story. The lack of people addressing their mental health occurred to me back when I was writing the original draft to this story long ago and I realize is still very much an issue no matter how drastically things like the plot and even characters themselves have changed.

I'm glad it makes sense. If I can explain it a little more—-she knows he's fighting overwhelming odds and that she is responsible for the conflict. Yet she also knows how dearly he wanted to be home and she was trying to get him to focus on that small silver lining even if his homecoming is less than ideal.

At the time of this incident, they've known each other for around two years (the entire story takes place over the course of four years—-with a Distant Finale taking place 20 Minutes into the Future). I know I use the word a lot but they have a very complicated relationship; it's a mutual mixture of fondness and abject hatred. But yes, she knows him quite well.

Thanks. I have his overall personality well-fleshed out by now so this should be a pretty simple thing. His reactions vary of course, but he tends to actually freak out quite a bit a times a times although he gets better about it as he becomes more used to fighting and being in danger. This stands out because he just...shuts down, no panic no nothing; up until he has this outburst he's just been nearly an Empty Shell.

Are names like "[blank]born" overdone? In my story, there are rare individuals born with a unique condition that makes them alive and dead at the same time, allowing them to traverse the worlds of both. Right now, the go-to name I have for these people is Phantomborn, but I'm worried names like that might be considered cliché or overdone.

Personally, I think "(X)born"is tethering on the border between cliche and not at the current time after its usage.

If you need an alternative then how about "The Phantomcrafted" instead?

Or "Phantomsouls"? Kinda reflects the duality.

I don't particularly like either of those, to be honest. "Phantomcrafted" implies these people were made artificially, when it's a genetic condition. Meanwhile, "phantomsouls" just sounds redundant, as those are both words for spirits.