π β divider by: @cafekitsune
π¦ β icon by: εη·ε―ΏεΈ on picrew
π β banner art by: γ€γ«_ill on picrew
π¦ β about me:
hi! you can call me hazel, they/any! i'm a 21 year old author writing for fun! :) i'm nonbinary, a-spec and polyamorous! i'm also disabled and neurodivergent.
you can find all my links on my linktree!
my writing is primarily posted to ao3 and then posted to tumblr when i remember/have time.
my ask box is very much open! please feel free to send me anything! dms are open to mutuals! feel free to tag me in anything!
reblogs and stuff unrelated to me/my writing can be found on @hazelthesilly!
π β masterlists:
my fanfiction masterlist
my original works masterlist
β₯ tag list
rambles: text posts!
writing: posts regarding my writing!
reblogs: reblogged posts!
not my writing: writing that is... you guessed it, not mine!
β₯ other information
i write fanfiction the most at the moment but original stuff has definitely snuck in here before!
i have another blog on this platform, if you know me from that blog or somehow find it, please do not comment about it on either blog.
i block freely, no huge dni list!
i use a lot of tone tags. this isn't a reflection of you, it's a reflection of me.
i have a cdd and it impacts my writing & ability to be active online a lot.
constructive and kind criticism is always welcome on my works!
π How to Build a Culture Without Just Inventing Spices and Necklaces
(a worldbuilding roast. with love.)
So. Youβre building a fantasy world, and youβve just invented:
β Three types of ceremonial jewelry
β A spice that tastes like cinnamon if it were bitter and cursed
β A holiday where everyone wears gold and screams at dawn
Cute. But thatβs not culture. Thatβs aesthetics.
And if your worldbuilding is all outfits, dances, and spice blends with vaguely mystical names, your storyβs probably going to feel like a cosplay convention held inside a Pinterest board.
Hereβs how to fix thatβaka: how to build a real, functioning culture that shapes your story, not just its vibes.
βββββββ β¦ βββββββ
π Culture Is Built on Power, Not Just Style
Ask yourself:
β Whoβs in charge, and why?
β Who has land? Who doesnβt?
β Whatβs considered taboo, sacred, or punishable by death?
Culture is shaped by who gets to make the rules and who gets crushed by them. Thatβs where things like religion, family structure, class divisions, gender roles, and social expectations actually come from.
Start there. Not at the embroidery.
βββββββ β¦ βββββββ
2.πͺ 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?
β What was destroyed and mythologized?
β What do the survivors still whisper about?
β What do children get taught in school thatβsβ¦ suspiciously sanitized?
No culture is neutral. Every tradition has a history, and that history should taste like blood, loss, or propaganda.
βββββββ β¦ βββββββ
3.π§ Belief Systems > Customs Lists
Sure, rituals and holidays are cool. But what do people believe about:
β Death?
β Love?
β Time?
β The natural world?
β Justice?
Example: A society that believes time is cyclical vs. one that sees time as linear will approach everythingβfrom prison sentences to griefβcompletely differently.
You donβt need to invent 80 gods. You need to know what those gods mean to the people who pray to them.
βββββββ β¦ βββββββ
4.π« Culture Controls Behavior (Quietly)
Culture shows up in:
β What people apologize for
β What insults cut deepest
β What people are embarrassed about
β Whatβs praised publicly vs. whatβs hidden privately
For instance:
β A culture obsessed with stoicism wonβt say βI love you.β Theyβll say βHave you eaten?β
β A culture built on legacy might prioritize ancestor veneration, archival writing, name inheritance.
This stuff? Way more immersive than giving everyone matching earrings.
βββββββ β¦ βββββββ
5. π Culture = Daily Life, Not Just Festivals
Sure, your MC might attend a funeral where people paint their faces blue. But what about:
β Breakfast routines?
β How people greet each other on the street?
β Who cooks, and who eats first?
β Whatβs considered βcleanβ or βproperβ?
β How is parenting handled? Divorce?
Culture is what happens between plot points. It should shape your characterβs assumptions, language, fears, and habitsβwhether or not a festival is going on.
βββββββ β¦ βββββββ
6. π¬ Let Your Characters Disagree With Their Own Culture
A culture isnβt a monolith.
Even in deeply traditional societies, people:
β Rebel
β Question
β Break rules
β Misinterpret laws
β Mock sacred things
β Act hypocritically
β Weaponize or resist whatβs expected
Let your characters wrestle with the culture around them. Thatβs where realism (and tension) lives.
βββββββ β¦ βββββββ
7.π§Ό Beware the βPretty = Goodβ Trap
Worldbuilding gets boring fast when:
β The protagonistβs homeland is beautiful and pure
β The enemyβs culture is dark and βbarbaricβ
β Every detail just reinforces who the reader should like
You canβand shouldβchallenge the aesthetic hierarchy.
β Let ugly things be beloved.
β Let beautiful things be corrupt.
β Let your MC romanticize their culture and then get disillusioned by it later.
βββββββ β¦ βββββββ
π TL;DR (but like, spicy):
β Culture is not food and jewelry.
β Culture is power, fear, memory, contradiction.
β Stop inventing spices until you know who starved last winter.
β Let your world feel lived in, not curated.
The best cultural worldbuilding doesnβt look like a list.
It feels like a system. A pressure. A presence your characters canβt escapeβeven if they try.
Now go. Build something real. (You can add spices later.)
βrin t.
// writing advice for worldbuilders with rage and range
// thewriteadviceforwriters
Sometimes the problem isnβt your plot. Itβs your first 5 pages. Fix it here β π€ Free eBook: 5 Opening Pages Mistakes to Stop Making:
β¦ A free (and actually helpful) guide to leveling up your first 10 pages β¦If you're unsure whether your opening is β¨doing enoughβ¨ to hook re
π―οΈ download the pack & write something cursed:
A gothic prompt pack for writers who love cursed universities, secret societies, and scholarly rot.β Write the Darkness βA 75-prompt horror
I love that the DCA community is still alive and well and we haven't fucking moved on from this ugly character. Hope we're still here ten years into the future. I'll open the game and kick their stupid little cylinders for them to clean up in your honour, dca friends. Clean up clean up indeed
big fan of domestic dca aus. oh okay so we're just stealing and running away with our multi million dollar robot boyfriend(s) now. maybe from our place of work too. how did you get him out of there. im intrigued, thats why im asking
βI want to write a fic about this but I donβt think anybody will be interested in itβ ummm hello excuse me maβam what do you mean you donβt think anybody will be interested in it??? YOU. YOU ARE INTERESTED IN IT???? write it because YOU are interested in it and YOU want to write about it. fanfic writing should always be first and foremost about YOUR enjoyment, not other peopleβs.
a bunch of posts have been edited! posts where i just used to have the ao3 link have now been edited to have the text from ao3 and navigation between tumblr posts!
My Memories with Her is, most importantly, an AU of my own AU (found on tumblr and ao3). It focuses on the reader-insert character, canonically named November, and their developing relationship with Reymond (an original character created for the original AU).
read on ao3
can also be read on tumblr! links beneath the cut!
My Memories with You is a series of of stories (and AU) set in a faintly dystopian universe inspired by the Portal series. The protagonist is a gender neutral reader insert and will eventually pursue a romantic relationship with Sun and Moon from Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach.
You wake up in an abandoned research facility, immediately forced into testing by an unsettling animatronic that introduces itself to you as SoLAR. You're unable to remember anything from before you woke up. Hunger pains, dehydration, and the strange tests performed by SoLAR torment your body and mind. Time passes in a hazy, uncomfortable blur⦠until the entire facility shuts down without warning.
With the shutdown of the facility, you meet Moon, another AI lodged inside SoLAR's body, who helps you escape and escorts you to a hospital, becoming a close companion during your recovery. SoLAR is revealed to have originally been named Sun, who you also befriend during your recovery.
As your recovery continues and life moves on, you get closer with Sun, Moon, and Reymond (a sleep deprived robot enthusiast whom Sun and Moon befriended). You discover what makes you happy, who you are, and make new memories with your closest friends and partners. This isn't without hardships, however... your time spent in the facility has consequences.
read on ao3
can also be read on tumblr! links beneath the cut!
Anamnesis: the remembering of things from a supposed previous existence or a patient's account of a medical history.
You wake up in an abandoned research facility, immediately forced into testing by an unsettling animatronic that introduces itself to you as SoLAR. You're unable to remember anything from before you woke up. Hunger pains, dehydration, and the strange tests performed by SoLAR torment your body and mind. Time passes in a hazy, uncomfortable blur... until the entire facility shuts down without warning.
a/n: i am not just posting this now for the first time! this has been published on ao3 for over a year! however, i've added all of this fic to tumblr & for consistency's sake wanted to give the epilogue its own post.
You look at yourself in the hospital mirror, thumbing at the hem of the hoodie Sun had gotten you from the gift shop. Sun said the color looks nice on you and that Moon agreed. You're absolutely swimming in the garment, but you find that you like the fact that it's a bit too big on you.
Today's the day you're being discharged. You've been prescribed some hefty multivitamins and are on strict orders to not engage in intense exercise. You've also been given referrals to a psychiatrist and a nutritionist, both to make sure you make a full recovery both mentally and physically.
The face in the mirror splits into a yawn. You're still not sleeping well, but the nurses believe it's because of the hospital environment. Moon's music box has been helping soothe you enough to allow you to sleep, so you allow yourself to hope for easier sleeping with a change of scenery.
They've taken your IV out, which is something you're incredibly grateful for. You'd been incredibly paranoid about what was being dripped into your veins, even though you'd been reassured it was just a saline solution multiple times.
Shaking your head, you pull the sleeves of the hoodie up to your elbows and turn on the faucet. Your gaze lingers on your weaker arm. Your bruises have faded a little, but they're not entirely gone. The water is cold against your hands, and even colder against your face as you wash it.
Once your face is washed, you slowly make your way back to your bed and plop down onto it, pulling your notebook into your lap and grabbing a pen from your pencil case. You're unsure what the date is, you've never bothered to ask anyone. You instead label today's entry as "Discharge Day" and leave it at that. In the few days since you've gotten the notebook, you've been writing down everything you remember about your time at the facility. You know your memory isn't the best, and you can't let the events that happened in the facility be forgotten. You just can't.
Your handwriting is slightly messy, but you're happy to know that you still remember how to write and read. The exact parameters of your memory loss are still unknown to you, but it seems you retained most of the skills you would have learned when you were younger.
You take the time to write down how you're feeling as well. You're nervous, but not more than your usual amount. Tired, but not exceptionally so. A small amount of excitement simmers just below the surface of your emotions, and you take note of that. You wonder what Sun and Moon's place looks like. You're nervous, but excited to meet whoever Rey is and thank her personally.
You're really looking forward to what the future holds for you, you think.
Chell is a woman with a routine. One she follows every day, without fail.
Wheatley is a man who can't follow a routine if he tries. Which he does try, desperately.
When Chell enters a new coffee shop for the first time, she finds her routine interrupted by a clumsy, yet oddly charming mess of a man.
