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projectkarya · 3 months ago

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Gobbi's Lessons, Episode 1: The Theory of Reality's Creation

Well, hi there! Here's the first of my slideshows relating to my sci-fintasy setting, currently referred to as "Project KARYA". Along with the slides/images that will be provided as a quick notes of sorts, I also try to include narratives featuring my OC (Gobb'ola Mawwick, or "Gobbi the Loremaster") talking to you as a self-insert character.

In a previous post, we found you mysteriously transported to Gobbi's personal little dimension, far from Earth and even your own universe (link above). Uncertain of exactly how to send you back, Gobbi figured they would at least try and distract you by informing you about their own homeworld, Karya. This leads to today's post, in which their discussions turn first to the planet's prehistory - all of it; that is to say, they must go all the way back to the creation of everything.

I hope you enjoy the post, and thank you for taking the time to read it!

Sincerely,

A Goblin with a Problem

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Having settled from the small meal you shared with Gobbi, you both settle into cozy armchairs within their little study dimension; the energies from outside the sole window bathe the room in a subtle range of reddish- and bluish-purple hues among the fireplace’s light. Gobbi ensures to bring over a kettle to refill your cups while they prepare to tell you about this mysterious homeworld of theirs. They pull out a rather large tome, and in the flicker of flame and extradimensional space you glean the title: Karyic Prehistory; or, Tracing Our Planet from Nothing to the End of the Age of Reclamation.

“Now then”, Gobbi proclaims gently yet excitedly, “let’s talk about this world of mine, called Karya. Or, I guess, we should start with clarifying how it - and, in a sense, this ‘Earth’, as well - came into being in the first place. That’s why I think we should start with my favorite book’s first chapter, ‘The Origins of Existence’.” Flipping open the cover and past the needless introductory sections, they settle shortly in and clear their throat. “It seems the concept of ‘something from nothing’ is possible, at least from the evidence collected and research compiled by the Trandelian Society of Higher Scholars (TSHS). It’s currently theorized that, truly, what we know of as Existence was once only composed of the ‘cosmic force’ Nothing (High Trandelian Ţaxosa/Chahhosa).

“Then, the very essence of Nothing began to unfold, tear, twist, expand, and otherwise alter itself. Never stopping, always evolving, it would give birth to the cosmic force Change (High Trandelian Peliso/Peleeso). It’s unknown whether or not Nothing still exists, but what is known is that Change would become the dominant presence within Existence for untold eons afterwards, rendering everything conceivable into an eternal state of flow; nothing lasted forever. So powerful was Change that it manifested a mind of its own, and was capable of taking on a shifting, physical form - a “Personality”, as it were - anywhere within Existence. It could bring about Change on its own, and often toyed directly with the development of everything around it.

“Yet, it seems, Change became bored of the unending change, seeking to make something that would last forever. Based on information gathered by drone missions launched by the TSHS, at some point the Personalities of Change began to redirect the energies of Change inward. It’s unknown how many attempts were made. Estimates place that tens, if not hundreds, of millions of years were spent without success. The interesting paradox, however, is that its own nature dictated that something different was inevitable, even if that something is opposite of its own nature; the end of results of Change’s efforts - a lone, miniscule point in Existence known as the Singularity (High Trandelian MalÏsaa/Malaisaw) - was the source of a new cosmic force, Permanence.

"For the briefest moment in time, these two entities existed in perfect harmony, the remnants of matter and energy swirling around the Singularity like an eldritch galaxy as the Personalities looked on in awe and pride. Yet nothing lasts forever; based on energy readings obtained from drone-led explorations into the frontiers of Existence, it is theorized that the influence of Permanence expanded quickly from the Singularity to encompass a range of several thousand kilometers in less than a microsecond, and the expanse of an entire light year in the blink of an eye. Permanence kept altering Existence towards its own polarity; Change would lose its grip on Existence, as all of reality would start to lose individuality and blend together in uniformity."

"Now, one may suspect that, from its initial expansion, Permanence was bound to repeat history by replacing Change as the sole cosmic force dominating Existence. However, just as Change's nature ensured that the existence of Permanence was bound to happen, the nature of permanence ensured that both cosmic forces would remain. As much of the Personalities were ripped apart and scattered throughout Existence, others begun to desperately tear matter and energy from the Singularity; pressing on despite all odds, the advance of Permanence was slowed to a crawl then a halt, yet the Personalities would remain in a constant state of separation and struggle in order to maintain a place for Change in Existence.

"The resulting, never-ending torrent of instability coming from the violent clash between the two cosmic forces created the current nature of Existence, which is known as the Sea of Chaos. Both cosmic forces exist within this space even as their sources remain hidden from almost all attempts at exploration. Here, they remain in a state of unbalance, with one or the other having domination in any given space at any given time only to fall a moment later. Additionally, lesser entities, tentatively dubbed "Torrential Horrors" (High Trandelian tiţisulu/teecheesooloo), largely undocumented by modern science prowl through the Sea. While it's unknown how they form, what is known is that these entities seek out and attempt to consume the only stable parts of Existence - the aptly named Bubbles of Stability."

Gobbi takes a moment to read clear their throat, and takes a swig from a strange-looking flask they produce from inside their vest; you hear no sloshing yet a pull is plainly seen. Capping it before you can ask any questions, your host's attention is turned back to the tome, and their gracile fingers seemingly caress the next page to the right. "Forming and lasting over unfathomable amounts of time, these Bubbles are all believed to each house a unique balance between Permanence and Change - a unique universe. Given the size of Existence itself, it's believed a nigh infinite amount of Bubbles and corresponding universes exist, each with its own set of rules for reality. The likelihood of any two Bubbles of Stability having similar balances between Permanence and change seems to be dependent on how close one forms to the other; many of these realities have proven to be quite deadly to Karyic sophont life, based on footage acquired by drone-led expeditions into foreign Bubbles. Indeed, the only reason such expeditions were successfully launched in the first place was due to the formation of temporary Tunnels of Stability, both natural and artificial, which allowed for safe transport from one reality to the own without fear of harm from all but the smallest of Torrential Horrors.

"Now," Gobbi addresses, "I would hazard, given how strikingly similar to humans on my own world you appear to be, that your universe and mine might be composed of very similar things; so much of this might sound repetitive and dull to you. However, I wish to be thorough, and so I'll ensure you're familiar with the makeup of my own Bubble of Reality." Gobbi takes a moment for you to absorb the information you've already taken in. They reach back into their vest, and pull out the same flask you'd seen before. Noticing you eyeballing it, they smile softly and shake their head in warning. "Trust me, you won't wanna try this. While the people of my hometown like a good drink of hūsam, almost all outsiders complain it's too sweet. Better to not upset your stomach!" Taking a quick swig, they savor the taste and rest their throat a bit; a brief pause, then they begin flipping through the next several pages of the tome.

"Our reality, then, was one that led to the conditions for Karyic life to even occur, seemingly thanks to the almost perfect "neutralization" of either cosmic force's presence from our Bubble of Stability; as such, we recognize that mundane matter and energy behave as they do thanks to the Mundane Particles of Reality (MPRs), and almost all of the universe within our Bubble is comprised solely of MPRs. Yet Change and Permanence still exist even if in a comparatively minute form, with the presence of Anomalous Particles of Reality (APRs) that have yet to be found in other universes than our own; such anomalous matter comprises approximately one percent of known matter in our Bubble of Stability. And it's thanks to this anomalous matter that the phenomenal pseudofundamental force we know as qama ('result' in High Trandelian) - otherwise referred to as 'magic' or variants thereof in other cultures - exists as it does.

"To the understanding of physicists, it’s the anomalous scalar bosons known as the delta and inertial bosons that carry the effects of Change and Permanence, respectively, within the universe; they, in turn, are believed to be responsible for the properties inherent of the delta and inertial quarks. When quarks of opposing 'cosmic charges' are within close proximity with each other - or, forbid it so, directly interact with each other - it generates multiple qamons, subatomic particles that carry the force qama; depending on the ratio of quarks used and the presence of other anomalous particles known as almegons, qamons will impact the physical universe differently.

“Much as some mundane quarks contribute to the formation of matter that most people regularly interact with, so too do the delta and inertial quarks. However, where neutrons and protons each are comprised of three quarks apiece - two downs and one up or one down and two ups, respectively - it instead takes four, with one being anomalous, to form either a metabon or a menon; the difference between the two being the presence of a delta or inertial quark, respectively. These menons and metabons form part of the basis for anomalous atomic nuclei, along with protons and neutrons as they are in mundane atomic nuclei; and with almegons acting in place of electrons within the nuclei’s orbital clouds, these thus form the periodic anomalous elements, which are discussed further in Chapter 2.”

Gobbi, done with their long-winded reading, gently closes the ridiculously large book and then turns towards you. "I'll give you some time to process what I've read to you today. I know it was probably a lot, and I don't want to overwhelm you all at once. After all," they sardonically acknowledge, gesturing to the sole room around you both and the mauve maelstrom outside the window, "we've got nowhere else to be and all the time out of the world".

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childofaura · 2 years ago

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Ok... I swore to myself I wasn't gonna make another negative MAWS post, that I was just gonna leave it at the Twink Slade disappointment post.

But apparently there's this trend that's been happening on Twitter, where people are trying to bring up the 2004 "The Batman" designs to try and defend the designs of the MAWS rogue gallery. And that was the territory I CANNOT let go, as someone who is a fan of Jeff Matsuda and his character designs.

SO FIRST, LET ME CLARIFY: I'm simply making ONE post about ONE factor of MAWS that irritates me. I'm not here to just sit and constantly bash on the show. I wouldn't do that, I have a personal close friend of mine who enjoys the show and I'm happy for her and I want her to enjoy the show. I have SO many gripes and reservations but I recognize those are personal.

I'll be putting this under a Read More and tagging it as Anti-MAWS so MAWS fans don't have to read/deal with this post. Probably just don't read my tags as well.

So if there's one thing that has irked me the most about MAWS, it's the redesigns and rewrites of Supes' rogue galleries. Mostly the redesigns though. MAWS took a bunch of colorful, diverse, and fantastical designs and made them monotonous, bland, and simply not fun at all. And yes, while the in-universe explanation (Being that they're all mechanically enhanced rather than freak accidents or born that way) makes sense, it still makes the villains incredibly un-appealing. EVERYONE is in boring black, white, and gray armor (aside from Parasite and while I think his physical design is neat I have issues with his character rewrite too, I'm just not here to discuss that). Everyone who had incredibly fun or creative designs was horribly washed out. Silver Banshee went from being a literal ghostly wraith to a boring motorcycle-looking chick. Livewire went from a vibrant blue lightning motif (that SHE herself created) to boring merc armor. And yes, I have issues with Slade's armor, the head was promising but the overall design has color-balancing issues.

Now let's look at the redesigns of the rogue gallery for the 2004 "The Batman" show. These are mostly drastically different from their original design counterparts, just like MAWS. But the massive difference is that most of these designs are still colorful (where it applies, obviously not to Penguin), recognizable, and push the borders of imagination; They're so ludicrous and exaggerated in their design and their physical features. Even if I was disappointed in some of the character rewrites (Like Mr. Freeze having only a small cameo to Nora in the flashback, but mainly being another selfish thug), the designs are still great. You can look at The Batman villain designs and easily recognize them because they follow the basic structure of their original designs.

Joker:

Is still in his green, purple, and orange color palette, with his trademark freakish grin. The design takes creative liberties with the spiked hair, the more athletic physique, and the actual clothing style of his outfit, but this is clearly meant to be Joker.

Mr. Freeze:

Is now essentially a cryomancer thanks to his mutation, but this is still obviously Mr. Freeze. Some kind of helmet (in this case encased in his own ice) wearing a thermal freeze suit, and his red eyes invoking the red goggles he wore in his original iteration.

Catwoman:

The design exaggerates a lot of features of the OG outfit, like the ears and the goggles (though the OG design really just has eye spaces), and uses shades of crimson and purple, but you look at the black bodysuit and the whip around her waist and she can clearly be identified.

The main argument I'm making with the 2004 Batman designs is that they're A) recognizable to their original counterparts by invoking the same color scheme and basic design points, B) Colorful and pushing the lunacy of a world full of supervillains, and C) Completely stand out from each other, no two villains look as though they're of similar origins (besides obvious pairs like Joker/Harley Quinn and the two Clayfaces, the latter which was a guy who took concentrated serum made from Ethan Bennett's Clayface DNA). The Batman designs are good because while they ARE drastically different from their original counterparts, they honor the original designs.

Whereas in the MAWS redesigns, none of the redesigns are reminiscent of their original counterparts (besides the obvious Brain and Monsieur Mallah, kind of hard to fuck that up), and lack the fantastical element that The Batman redesigns (And the original Superman show, where it applies) had.

Livewire:

Looks nothing like her original counterpart. The armored clothes, the lack of lightning motif, lack of color to her outfit (I'm not here to talk about the race-swapping), none of it is supposed to tip you off to being Livewire, especially when her character is written so drastically different. You should be able to tell who Livewire is BEFORE you see her powers.

When OG Livewire looks like this:

Silver Banshee:

Is just a regular human in drab clothing. There's some kind of attempt to give her the hint of a ghost motif with the bone legs, but then that disappears in her later costume design. Same later costume that tries to half-ass a skull motif on the helmet but it doesn't work with the helmet's angles.

When this is Silver Banshee's original design (going with a still from Batman Unlimited)

And if they wanted to stray from the whole "supernatural" aspect, they could have compromised like they did in Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay:

Which I mean I still don't like that redesign as much as Silver Banshee's OG design, but it's still recognizable and it's still cool.

The bottom line is basically this: You don't have to justify liking this new Superman show and its take on new characters. But to try and say the character designs on MAWS are like the 2004 "The Batman" cartoon redesigns is such an unequal and imbalanced comparison. The thought process for the character designs in these shows are so drastically different from each other, and the execution of said character designs aren't comparable.

#discourse #Anti MAWS #Anti My Adventures with Superman #Listen I'm not saying any other gripes publicly about the show; Again I have an irl friend who watches it #and I'm absolutely not about to drag her down or just rag on the show; so I get it #But if there is one thing that can really make or break something for me it's character design #And the one thing I'll openly criticize MAWS for is how basic their character design process seems to be #The showrunners FROM THEIR OWN MOUTHS said that they purposely made Lois look like Luz from Owl House #So there is NOT a lot of creative thought process going into these redesigns #And to compare that to Jeff Matsuda who is an industry veteran and who's worked on MANY shows with incredibly kick-ass designs #Well that is a stick in my craw that I can't let slide #'BUT AURA DON'T YOU LIKE THE 3D HE-MAN SHOW AND THEIR DESIGNS?!'#Yes I do but A) I'm not out here claiming that they're faithful designs to the original characters (Because Duncan and Teela clearly aren't #B) Nor are they badly designed characters that I'm trying to compare to a whole different level of character design #The Batman 2004 show was an incredibly fun show that captured the dark and melancholy nature of Batman; and the villain designs were fun #MAWS isn't on the same level as The Batman

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