#suspensionofdisbelief

[plotandelegy]

Mastering Story Physics: Crafting Believable Magical Systems for Immersive World-Building

Photo: Standard License - Adobe Stock

Have you ever read a book with a magical system so captivating you almost believe it's real? That's where story physics comes into play. It's like everyday physics, but instead of dealing with gravity or quantum mechanics, the rules are for our fictional universes. The more consistent and logical the rules are, the easier it is for readers to suspend disbelief and get lost in a story. If you're dreaming up a world of your own, here's a quick guide on getting everything to line up smoothly for maximum reader immersion. 

Begin with the Basics

Foundation: Start by understanding the natural world's physics. It helps to know the rules before you bend or break them.

Consistency: Decide on the rules of your universe and stick to them. If magic drains energy in chapter one, it can't be consequence-free in chapter five.

Limitations: Every system, magical or not, should have its limits. This can create tension, obstacles, and more intricate plots.

A Dash of Reality:

Relatability: Even if your world is filled with flying pigs, there's gotta be something relatable. Maybe those pigs need sleep, or they're terrified of storms. Ground some aspects in reality.

Cause and Effect: If a character uses a spell, there should be a consequence. It can be as simple as being tired or as complex as altering the fabric of the universe.

Complexity and Depth:

Layers: Think of your magical system as an onion Peel back layers to reveal deeper secrets or complexities as the story progresses.

Evolution: Allow your system to grow and change. Just like technology advances, so can magical methods or tools.

Character Interaction:

Practicality: If magic or advanced technology exists, characters should use it daily, not just in dire situations.

Learning Curve: Characters shouldn't master the system overnight. Watching them struggle, learn, and adapt can be super engaging.

Stakes and Balance:

Consequences: Every action should have an equal and opposite reaction. If someone's saving the world with their powers, what are they sacrificing?

Power Checks: Ensure there's something to check or counteract powerful entities. Without a good reason, no one likes an invincible hero (or villain).

-Indigo

[signor-signor]

Hello!

I wanted to ask what sources you have about S3 of WOY from outside Tumblr. I've combed through @/ownerofwendys and @/suspensionofdisbelief, as well as Craig McCracken's blog a little bit, and watched a recent interview from him.

This is research for my fan project that takes place during a hypothetical early S3. It's in the ballpark of 40% complete.

I'm not sure when I can announce it-- or guarantee I'll finish it at all, of course-- but this would be a great help! I want to ensure I'm not missing links to info on social media platforms I don't have, if it exists.

Much love!

I’m glad you asked.

Regarding Star Force Enforcement Force, I uncovered the following details…

Back in January of 2021, just before S1 of Kid Cosmic debuted on Netflix, I checked out a CBR article of Craig McCracken answering questions regarding Kid Cosmic. Here, when he talked about Earth Force Enforcement Force (or as I call them, Power Rangers knock-offs), he had this to say:

“There was a version of it in some Wander episodes we were thinking of doing for a potential Season 3... ‘Star Force Enforcement Force...’”

The takeaway I got from his answer is that SFEF inspired the name EFEF. Later, I found these clues from his Tweets…

“In WOY S3 we had a team of space cops called Star Force Enforcement Force whose name I repurposed for Earth Force Enforcement Force.”

“…they were going to be called Star Force Enforcement Force and were an entirely different set of characters all together. Only the name was similar.”

“S3 was less about a new villain and more about an old ‘villain.’”

When asked if SFEF were going to play a big part in WOY S3, he replied, “Yes.”

And that’s just some of the info I picked up from outside Tumblr. If you’re looking for any other info, @fanfic-inator795 has an unofficial WOY guide somewhere in the archives. That’s where I discovered the plans for Sourdough (Evil Sandwich) having his own episode.

[pebblegalaxy]

Journey Beyond Reality: Exploring Suspension of Disbelief in Storytelling Across Cultures

Journey Beyond Reality: Exploring Suspension of Disbelief in Storytelling Across Cultures #StorytellingMagic #CulturalImagination #SuspensionOfDisbelief #GlobalNarratives #CreativeArts

Suspension of Disbelief: Willingly Accepting Improbabilities in Storytelling All forms of storytelling and creative works require the audience or reader to willingly suspend their disbelief and accept certain improbabilities, contradictions, or physical impossibilities within the boundaries of the story or narrative world. This suspension of disbelief is what allows audiences to immerse…

[arkadiaasks]

Why is it up to the readers to apply suspension of disbelief when the authors could simply make their works not require it? A bit of research here and there, maybe a bit of alterations to the story to focus on the more exciting side of believability and bravo! The readers won’t have to put away their disbelief in order to enjoy the story.

Because most authors don't want to be restrained by the frail, childish, dull placid limitations of reality, Anon that rigidly. Like Detective Stories are one thing, but a Shonen Jump Supernatural Horror Action Mystery Thriller like Yu-Gi-Oh!, reality is more of a vague guideline at best.

A fair number do the research, then throw it in a rubbish bin if it doesn't suit their purposes, or simply decide to amp the story up to more absurd levels (often times to legally protect themselves). Plus a lot of people LOVE larger than life stories, and want to shoot believability in the head. They don't come to media for that al the time.

And most people are normal healthy human beings who don't hype fixate on technical minutiae or economic models when reading or watching stuff because they understand the caveats.

Like for example, Kazuki was FAR well aware what he was writing about because he was a Magic: The Gathering player. Seto Kaiba was a lampoon, a parody of a guy, he knew who had deep pockets and a lot of rare overpowered, undercosted cards, who of what I know he was on good to decent terms with but was kind of a cheeky dick.

Magic & Wizards, Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, were drawing off of his life experience as a card gamer who played Magic: The Gathering, except he was turbocharging it and simplifying the game for a 20 page weekly comic.

And readers at the time who read Yu-Gi-Oh! in the 1990s would know exactly what he's writing about. This was the era of the overpriced first edition comic book market, of the heavily overpriced, impossible to get collectibles, of the Beanie Babies being able to get you a small fortune.

Kazuki was entirely writing something that while not 100% grounded, his geekier fans within the CCG market could point to things and go:

Like an entire house? 4 copies of a card in the world? Parody, but Kazuki was making a point of the difficulty at the time of getting The Power Nine, the over inflated market of collectibles, and the lengths to which collectors would go. He was speaking to a lived experience.

[asiambknight]

#SuspensionOfDisbelief https://www.instagram.com/p/CehosAtF2AT/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[yellowsmg]

Dreamt of researching, developing and beta-testing Deus Ex Metaterial: Advanced Programmable Realities for MacGuffin Incorporated. . . #dailydreamcast #developing #research #randd #researchanddevelopment #betatesting #beta #test #deusexmachina #deusex #meta #material #MacGuffin #McGuffin #Incorporated #Inc #suspensionofdisbelief #wombodream (at MacGuffins) https://www.instagram.com/p/CYaL54Al32w/?utm_medium=tumblr

[probike]

by #probike #probikeroma @cannondalemountain - Single-sided, single crown - it's a suspension of disbelief. Lefty Ocho is simply the most advanced XC fork ever made. #SuspensionofDisbelief

[vynsp]

Watching #HusbandInLaw and found the story demanding a whole new level of #SuspensionOfDisbelief. A serious #miscast, perhaps? . Who would fall for an #obnoxious #spoiltbrat with mediocre looks when a caring #gentleman with the countenance of #PrinceCharming is courting? . #PKob on any given day, please! . #Thai #Lakorn #ohmkanin #CitiSketcha #Divinylties #Makanism #urbansketch #urbansketcher #foodie #audiophile #music #sketching #doodling #food https://www.instagram.com/p/CHjJo0ZhGSE/?igshid=jfr17pm0n9t2

[suuresh]

[ghazibaker]

Part of the summer collective @markhachemgallery now , check them out 😊🖼. “Wall street” & “Apocalypse Now” . . #painting #yearofrembrandt #neoexpressionism #acrylicpainting #beirut #ghazibakerart ##markhachemgallery #gallery #solo #suspensionofdisbelief #movies #lebanon #newyork #art #artist (at Mark Hachem Gallery - Beirut) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0lQna6BJRC/?igshid=1niocolchcido

[heartmindtuning]

#facts #factsarefacts #truth #illusions #suspensionofdisbelief #poeticfaith Fact or illusion? We believe in what we know as facts. We forget that our point of view can be nothing but an illusion. We get caught in suspension of disbelief. Suspension of disbelief for the moment constitutes poetic faith.” “Poetic faith,” encapsulates what our brain is doing. It isn't that we stop disbelieving—it's that we believe two inconsistent things. We accept that we are sitting and reading or watching a movie. We also believe or, more accurately, feel that what we are reading or viewing is happening. Action is the key. When we are reading a story or watching a movie, we know that we cannot or will not act to change what is occurring, a phenomenon philosopher Immanuel Kant called disinterestedness. Yet because we are not going to act, the brain economizes. We turn off the neural processes that tell us we might need to do something about what we are seeing. The prefrontal cortex does not try to assess the reality of what we are seeing, nor does it trigger motor impulses. That is why when we are sitting in a theater, we do not jump out of our seats to save the blond starlet even though we know she is about to get chopped up by a chainsaw. Losing ourselves refers to another element of poetic faith, when the audience is, in the psychologists' term, “transported.” We cease to be aware of our body, our posture or our environment. No longer are we able to see the cinema's glowing exit sign. Our limbic system causes us to feel emotions—anger, disgust, jealousy, desire, fear—about the stories we are watching or reading. Being transported emotionally into an alternative reality helps us to invest more completely in a piece of fiction, no matter how unbelievable. Sometimes that movie is our life. We forget what we believe might be just an illusion and get trapped in suspension of disbelief. We accept what is without questioning it and stop taking any actions. And that is nothing but a trap. There are many factors that take away the truth in our life and replace it with illusion and the biggest factor is fear. Isn't that interesting? (at Hollywood Boulevard) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwzKmmhg8Jf/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1h3fmoq9u76sw

[michaelandrewlaw]

Sometime , u got to believe in your own bullshit #suspensionofdisbelief © 2017 Michael Andrew Law / Law Cheuk Yui . #hkig #painting #originalart #羅卓睿 #love #instagood #me #cute #followme #photooftheday #happy #beautiful #girl #selfie #like4like #instalike #igers #fashion #instadaily #smile

[inthespiritofthemind]

WORD FROM THE LORD, 2/3/19, SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF

Theater term – “suspension of disbelief” – seeing a play on a proscenium stage – believing it is a home or street or field.

We accept what is portrayed as temporary reality knowing it is not real.  We agree to believe the lie.

In our souls, unbelief is a spirit, many spirits, a stronghold.  It is also a lie, but we accept it because the demonic has painted another reality which has become more real to us.  It has short circuited the truth.  

The truth that we are holy and righteous. That knowledge that God has given through His Spirit which threatens darkness.  We are worthy.  And clean! Deserving of health and riches.  Deserving of fellowship with God!  A total gift!!

We must suspend (definition – to stop something from being active, either temporarily or permanently) the unbelief permanently!

2 Timothy 3:7 – always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

[waterfireheart]

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Hot off the presses. Clarity. The illusions that come crashing down like an intricate and complicated dominos display or a time consuming house of cards set up on a wobbly old vintage table -that at first glance looked beautiful and shiny but at closer look was a little bit rusty and full of holes. #stories #suspensionofdisbelief #unraveling #timelapse #illusions #timelines #convergence #fullmoon #fullmooninlibra #energy #transmute #shifting #otherworlds #death #birth #life #photoart #collageart #mindart #zoomin (at Middle of Nowhere) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwduDrBlBuA/?igshid=f2d938ka6vl7

[ledicoladellapenisoladikamcatka]

“Non voler dire, non sapere ciò che si vuol dire, non poter dire ciò che si crede di voler dire, e dire sempre, o quasi, ecco cosa è importante non perdere di vista, nell'ardore della stesura.” 

[hammercitycycle]

As seen in the wild. Lefty Ocho. F**k yea. #suspensionofdisbelief #forthosewithseriousissues #lefty #ocho #cycling #mtb #bikesuspension #thefutureisnow