Steven Universe designs for fun. Experimenting. Enjoy.🩷
art blog(derogatory)
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Aqua Utopia|海の底で記憶を紡ぐ

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Today's Document

shark vs the universe
dirt enthusiast
styofa doing anything
Claire Keane
Sade Olutola

JVL

Andulka

@theartofmadeline
we're not kids anymore.

⁂
Stranger Things
i don't do bad sauce passes

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wallacepolsom
seen from Brazil
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@grebelet
Steven Universe designs for fun. Experimenting. Enjoy.🩷
“But they forget”
somrethig really scary happened to hte gif
the lake monstrrs got him
When I was in my teens, I used to make an entire magic system with 900 unique spells, ordered in magic schools and categories, and it boggles my mind that I basically reinvented DnD mechanics, even down to metamagic.
I wanted to make a wiki about it but I don't have time for it.
The point was to try to encompass every "superpower" I could think of into a magic system.
I even got lore related to it all, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna simply reuse it all for OC worldbuilding. Ngl the fun part was naming all the spells, symbols and coming up with the logic of it all. Edit : Due to popular demand, I'm making the wiki now yay. There's even more sigils done now >:]
Writing Worksheets & Templates
will update this every few weeks/months. alternatively, here are all my tagged Writing Worksheets & Templates
Chapter Outline ⚜ Character- or Plot-Driven Story
Death & Sacrifice ⚜ Magic & Rituals ⚜ Plot-Planning
Editing: Sentence Check ⚜ Writing Your Novel: 20 Questions
Tension ⚜ Thought Distortions ⚜ What's at Stake
Character Development
50 Questions ⚜ Backstory ⚜ Character Creation
Antagonist; Villain; Fighting ⚜ Protagonist & Antagonist
Character: Change; Adding Action; Conflict
Character: Creator; Name; Quirks; Flaws; Motivation
Character Profile (by Rick Riordan) ⚜ Character Sheet Template
Character Sketch & Bible ⚜ Interview your Character
Story-Worthy Hero ⚜ "Well-Rounded" Character Worksheet
Worldbuilding
20 Questions ⚜ Decisions & Categories ⚜ Worksheet
Setting ⚜ Dystopian World ⚜ Magic System (AALC Method)
Templates: Geography; World History; City; Fictional Plant
References: Worldbuilding ⚜ Plot ⚜ Character ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs
all posts are queued. send questions/requests here.
Small fantasy worldbuilding elements you might want to think about:
A currency that isn’t gold-standard/having gold be as valuable as tin
A currency that runs entirely on a perishable resource, like cocoa beans
A clock that isn’t 24-hours
More or less than four seasons/seasons other than the ones we know
Fantastical weather patterns like irregular cloud formations, iridescent rain
Multiple moons/no moon
Planetary rings
A northern lights effect, but near the equator
Roads that aren’t brown or grey/black, like San Juan’s blue bricks
Jewelry beyond precious gems and metals
Marriage signifiers other than wedding bands
The husband taking the wife's name / newlyweds inventing a new surname upon marriage
No concept of virginity or bastardry
More than 2 genders/no concept of gender
Monotheism, but not creationism
Gods that don’t look like people
Domesticated pets that aren’t re-skinned dogs and cats
Some normalized supernatural element that has nothing to do with the plot
Magical communication that isn’t Fantasy Zoom
“Books” that aren’t bound or scrolls
A nonverbal means of communicating, like sign language
A race of people who are obligate carnivores/ vegetarians/ vegans/ pescatarians (not religious, biological imperative)
I’ve done about half of these myself in one WIP or another and a little detail here or there goes a long way in reminding the audience that this isn’t Kansas anymore.
🍖 How to Build a Culture Without Just Inventing Spices and Necklaces
(a worldbuilding roast. with love.)
So. You’re building a fantasy world, and you’ve just invented: → Three types of ceremonial jewelry → A spice that tastes like cinnamon if it were bitter and cursed → A holiday where everyone wears gold and screams at dawn
Cute. But that’s not culture. That’s aesthetics.
And if your worldbuilding is all outfits, dances, and spice blends with vaguely mystical names, your story’s probably going to feel like a cosplay convention held inside a Pinterest board.
Here’s how to fix that—aka: how to build a real, functioning culture that shapes your story, not just its vibes.
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🔗 Culture Is Built on Power, Not Just Style
Ask yourself: → Who’s in charge, and why? → Who has land? Who doesn’t? → What’s considered taboo, sacred, or punishable by death?
Culture is shaped by who gets to make the rules and who gets crushed by them. That’s where things like religion, family structure, class divisions, gender roles, and social expectations actually come from.
Start there. Not at the embroidery.
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2.🪓 Culture Comes From Conflict
Did this society evolve peacefully? Was it colonized? Did it colonize? Was it rebuilt after a war? Is it still in one?
→ What was destroyed and mythologized? → What do the survivors still whisper about? → What do children get taught in school that’s… suspiciously sanitized?
No culture is neutral. Every tradition has a history, and that history should taste like blood, loss, or propaganda.
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3.🧠 Belief Systems > Customs Lists
Sure, rituals and holidays are cool. But what do people believe about: → Death? → Love? → Time? → The natural world? → Justice?
Example: A society that believes time is cyclical vs. one that sees time as linear will approach everything—from prison sentences to grief—completely differently.
You don’t need to invent 80 gods. You need to know what those gods mean to the people who pray to them.
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4.🫀 Culture Controls Behavior (Quietly)
Culture shows up in: → What people apologize for → What insults cut deepest → What people are embarrassed about → What’s praised publicly vs. what’s hidden privately
For instance: → A culture obsessed with stoicism won’t say “I love you.” They’ll say “Have you eaten?” → A culture built on legacy might prioritize ancestor veneration, archival writing, name inheritance.
This stuff? Way more immersive than giving everyone matching earrings.
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5. 🏠 Culture = Daily Life, Not Just Festivals
Sure, your MC might attend a funeral where people paint their faces blue. But what about: → Breakfast routines? → How people greet each other on the street? → Who cooks, and who eats first? → What’s considered “clean” or “proper”? → How is parenting handled? Divorce?
Culture is what happens between plot points. It should shape your character’s assumptions, language, fears, and habits—whether or not a festival is going on.
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6. 💬 Let Your Characters Disagree With Their Own Culture
A culture isn’t a monolith.
Even in deeply traditional societies, people: → Rebel → Question → Break rules → Misinterpret laws → Mock sacred things → Act hypocritically → Weaponize or resist what’s expected
Let your characters wrestle with the culture around them. That’s where realism (and tension) lives.
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7.🧼 Beware the “Pretty = Good” Trap
Worldbuilding gets boring fast when: → The protagonist’s homeland is beautiful and pure → The enemy’s culture is dark and “barbaric” → Every detail just reinforces who the reader should like
You can—and should—challenge the aesthetic hierarchy. → Let ugly things be beloved. → Let beautiful things be corrupt. → Let your MC romanticize their culture and then get disillusioned by it later.
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📍 TL;DR (but like, spicy): → Culture is not food and jewelry. → Culture is power, fear, memory, contradiction. → Stop inventing spices until you know who starved last winter. → Let your world feel lived in, not curated.
The best cultural worldbuilding doesn’t look like a list. It feels like a system. A pressure. A presence your characters can’t escape—even if they try.
Now go. Build something real. (You can add spices later.)
—rin t. // writing advice for worldbuilders with rage and range // thewriteadviceforwriters
Sometimes the problem isn’t your plot. It’s your first 5 pages. Fix it here → 🖤 Free eBook: 5 Opening Pages Mistakes to Stop Making:
✦ A free (and actually helpful) guide to leveling up your first 10 pages ✦If you're unsure whether your opening is ✨doing enough✨ to hook re
🕯️ download the pack & write something cursed:
A gothic prompt pack for writers who love cursed universities, secret societies, and scholarly rot.✎ Write the Darkness ✎A 75-prompt horror
Writing Notes & References
Alchemy ⚜ Antidote to Anxiety ⚜ Attachment ⚜ Autopsy
Art: Elements ⚜ Principles ⚜ Photographs ⚜ Watercolour
Bruises ⚜ Caffeine ⚜ Color Blindness ⚜ Cruise Ships
Children ⚜ Children's Dialogue ⚜ Childhood Bilingualism
Dangerousness ⚜ Drowning ⚜ Dystopia ⚜ Dystopian World
Culture ⚜ Culture Shock ⚜ Ethnocentrism & Cultural Relativism
Emotions: Anger ⚜ Fear ⚜ Happiness ⚜ Sadness
Emotional Intelligence ⚜ Genius (Giftedness) ⚜ Quirks
Facial Expressions ⚜ Laughter & Humour ⚜ Swearing & Taboo
Fantasy Creatures ⚜ Fantasy World Building
Generations ⚜ Literary & Character Tropes
Fight Scenes ⚜ Kill Adverbs
Food: Cooking Basics ⚜ Herbs & Spices ⚜ Sauces ⚜ Wine-tasting ⚜ Aphrodisiacs ⚜ List of Aphrodisiacs ⚜ Food History ⚜ Cocktails ⚜ Literary & Hollywood Cocktails ⚜ Liqueurs
Genre: Crime ⚜ Horror ⚜ Fantasy ⚜ Speculative Biology
Hate ⚜ Love ⚜ Kinds of Love ⚜ The Physiology of Love
How to Write: Food ⚜ Colours ⚜ Drunkenness
Jargon ⚜ Logical Fallacies ⚜ Memory ⚜ Memoir
Magic: Magic System ⚜ 10 Uncommon ⚜ How to Choose
Moon: Part 1 2 ⚜ Related Words
Mystical Items & Objects ⚜ Talisman ⚜ Relics ⚜ Poison
Pain ⚜ Pain & Violence ⚜ Poison Ivy & Poison Oak
Realistic Injuries ⚜ Rejection ⚜ Structural Issues ⚜ Villains
Symbolism: Colors ⚜ Food ⚜ Numbers ⚜ Storms
Thinking ⚜ Thinking Styles ⚜ Thought Distortions
Terms of Endearment ⚜ Ways of Saying "No" ⚜ Yoga
Compilations: Plot ⚜ Character ⚜ Worldbuilding ⚜ For Poets ⚜ Tips & Advice
all posts are queued. will update this every few weeks/months. send questions or requests here ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs
haymitch seeing a bunny: "how could I possibly kill a creature that brings to mind my girl?" 🥺
snow seeing mockingjays:
Ive hired 2,000 finches to eat your freshly sown lawn seed
*dusts off blog*
oh buddy it’s only monday monday
this analogy is sending me
You're sacred and they're starved And there you are to tear apart
november art dump
teeheeheee i can't recommend making your own stickers enough
no more gravy no more basting it is freedom we are tasting