insane that we aren't taught about sleep in school. like 75% of people in my country report poor sleep and we don't spend one biology class learning about it? here's what I've learnt from a variety of sleep courses:
your body does pretty much all it's physical rest and repair processes ('stage 4') in the first 4 hours of sleep, so if you've slept for four hours, congratulations the essentials of your physical health are taken care of
the part of the sleep cycle that takes care of your brain and mental health (REM) happens later in the night, hence why waking up too early makes you brain foggy, and why it's so helpful to train yourself to wake up about the same time every morning
we are evolved to wake up several times in the night; we don't usually remember it, but worry and fixation can make us more likely to remember these
sleep under the influence of alcohol is chemically altered and not effective no matter if it helps you sleep - it's fine to have a drunken night of course but don't use alcohol as a sleep aid to 'knock yourself out', being drunk unconscious is not sleep
the best thing you can do for your sleep is follow a routine; go to bed and wake up at the same time most days, and have a 'wind down' routine, preferably including writing down whatever's on your mind to clear it before sleep
for long-term sleep improvement, it's better to wake up at your planned time regardless of sleep quality than to get a full nights' sleep
missing a night of sleep is NOT the disaster certain scaremonger-y sleep 'experts' will tell you - 'slept debt' does NOT exist and you will recover from a missed night of sleep within a few days of normal sleep
meditation is the best alternative to sleep if you're either unable to sleep or feeling the urge to nap (napping is bad for sleep!) - guided ones can help you not to fall asleep, but literally just lying there with your eyes closed and thinking about something neutral is good
acceptance is the best way to alleviate insomnia; do something else, use meditation to supplement that rest, and accept that you aren't sleeping (often, ironically, this will cause you to fall asleep)
TL;DR: DON'T LISTEN TO THE FEARMONGERS! poor sleep isn't killing you it's okay to miss some sleep! just make sure you're resting when tired and trying to stick to a routine of night time rest
So meditation can be actively harmful to certain types of neurodivgerent people. Missing a nights sleep will destroy many people with chronic illness/neurodivergence/disabilities.
And idk ur country but my meth house of a country wouldn't dare teach it, cuz that's healthcare and u can fuck right on off getting that for free. A doctor let my hoar mother walk out of treating my obstructive sleep apnea age 8 and I didn't get it rediagnosed til 37 cuz again awful.
The machine Medicaid gave me died 2 mos after a year which means no new ones for another year less I got $8000 and a prescription. (gods bless Mexico it was still high for my crippled ass but a whole less digit).
And btw as someone who didn't get fibromaylagia diagnosed until 29 (despite first signs aged 4) everyone always told me I was too lazy to need that much sleep or literally fall asleep standing or sitting after 4hrs sleep.
People are mean bro. Btw I'm not even a snorer. Allll sorts of medical issues factor in to sleep (or can be diagnosed re sleep issues) but America would rather die than do that.
Btw as neurodivergents and some chronic illness ppl? No caffeine no wake or sleep. Sometimes even booze. Is it healthy? No. Buuuut look I can drink all day so no college classes for me u can have caffeine from my cold dead hands
being a kid and hearing adults say stuff like "woah 2011 was 4 years ago haha" didn't really convey the fucking horror of a youtube video crossing my recommended labelled "9 years ago" and it's from 2017. that's not true. 9 years ago is 2010 or something. don't lie.
Does anybody know how to make a good geographical world building? Like with maps, how rocky it is n everything. Also how do yall handle politics and law? Please help :(
It’s (political)
@thecomfywriter @the-ellia-west @elronthemage @s0ur-w4v3 @philanthropicalsundog AND everyone who knows
okay first of all--honoured that you tagged me in this. MWAH that means so much i can't explain why. i feel like im going back to my roots with this post LOL
welcome to a tcw toolbox post!
"how to write geographical / political worldbuilding?"
i'm not going to waste too much time on an intro. without further ado... let's get into it.
okay let's start politics. mini crash course for sociology so we can delve into political structures and the things to consider when creating a political structure.
so many people default to the governemnt style that they live under. makes sense, since--ye know, write what you know. but there are more government styles than just an aristrocracy or monarchy, or the US's version of a democracy.
first of all--define your society. what types of institutions are at play: do they value education for all or select; how does the family structure look like; how integrated is religious practise and doctrine in the structural basis of society; DO THEY HAVE A RATIONAL AUTHORITY or do they follow more traditional, implied rules?
does this sound like jargon? cool--lemme explain.
prior to trying to worldbuild your place as a PLACE, think of it as a collection of individuals. this Society is now your character, and your character has a name, a backstory, motivations, history, idealogies, systems, routines, practises, relations, etc.
what is Society's values? what do they define morality as? what is their moral compass? answering this question echoes throughout all your government structures, since most governments work to institutionalize and standardize moral structures into formative laws. the "rational authority" i mentioned earlier is a written set of laws. not every society has an actual constitution or "law book". so many people assume they do because that is what they are exposed to, but if you want your government structure to fr be some authoritative figure who "what they say, goes. their word is law," YOU CAN DO THAT, AND THAT IS A DOCUMENTED GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE.
quick dot jots on different government styles:
rational legal authority: legal rules and regulations documented in formalized structure in which all institutions must function
traditional authority: traditions and customs are what act as the framework for government. how has it always worked? we can't break traditions. this is how we function.
charismatic authority: a persuasive figure who retains power via logical or charming arguments
when it comes to how control is relayed / given out:
aristarchic governments: a small group of elites retain decision making power, with no authority from the public (these are your aristrocracies or mentocracies)
autocractic governments: a singular person OR a small group of people retain absolute power over decisions (i..e dictatorships or facist governments)
monarchist governments: a singular or group INHERITED authority with absolute decision making power (can be absolute or constitutional, where absolute is the 'their word is the law' vs constitutional places them within the bounds of formalized laws)
now consider the election process (authoritarian/totalitarian processes, democratic processes via direct or representative democracies; or oligarchic governments. you could even include theocracies acc)
i could continue to yap about this OOP SORRY, so let's move onto how this plays into writing.
choose a government style that aligns with your Society's views. why? because if they are in opposition, then unless you have a revolution as your plot or in the background, how tf are they still in power? they can be, absolutely, but this adds tension that would definitely aid in providing substance, lore, and general immersion to your story. say, for example, the majority of a population is a minority group without your story set in an absolute oligarchic government. these people do not have enough power to revolt against the elites that have power, despite contributing the most to society and having the most manpower. they create culture; they act as the voices of the public; they are how and why society is ACTUALLY running. their values are the hidden implicit values and culture of society. but they do not have power, and therefore, they do not hold government.
see, now that's interesting!
if you want to have a society that contrasts its fundamental values, just know and value the fact that that decision adds automatic tension to your world. tension that should ripple through the way of life or decisions your characters make. you don't have to outright acknowledge it if you don't want to (i'd honestly find it so much more interesting if a story just went, "ah shit i have to avoid going outside now, the patrols are out" and everyone local nodded as if they understood but someone from another district or province goes, "ah patrol for what?" because WOW you just told me so much about your world in that small exchange).
ANYWAY SORRY IM YAPPING AGAIN.
the point is--prior to formalizing how political exchanges, court decisions and conspiracies go (i could do a separate post on how to write a court room scene or a debate / petition / hearing, etc.)--consider firstly how your society is structured, what it values, what institutions are upheld to reflect and reinforce those values, and who holds power in your society (+how it is distributed/elected/maintained/etc.)
--
NOW LET'S TALK GEOGRAPHY! :D
okay, some general ecological regions you might benefit from knowing:
mountains
buttes
deserts
plains
fields
praire
plateau
savannah
grassland
glacier
tundra (not always arctic btw)
hillside
volcanic
hot springs
island / tropics
rainforests
forests
woodlands
coastal
beaches
ponds (artifical or natural)
coves
grottos
lakes (fresh or salt)
sea
ocean
strait
rivers
streams
waterfalls
valleys
canyons
bay
bayou
okay that's all i can think of on the top of my head rip 👹
the point is, each of these places are characterized by: the topography of the land (that's the landform / surface features; how flat/hilly/ridged/rocky/etc); the water bodies / hydration levels; the CLIMATEEEEEEEEE (sorry but this is IMPORTANT); and its habitability.
when i was younger i was extra asf. i drew maps based on the tremor of my hand (i would close my eyes and let my hands shake until i created what felt like a land mass to myself, and then connected the horrid lines and called it a day). from there, i drew a compass; the equator; defined the laws of physics in my world; and then based on its positionality around the globe (if my world was a globe and had a sun), described the climate features of the region.
for example, albridor is significantly above the equator, so they tend to have colder climates and more defined seasons. as a result, their weather has more extremes vs mildness, and because they're close to the coast, not only do they have access to different water bodies (for trade, travel, war, etc), but those water bodies also influence their topography over time. there is a mountain range in a region where two prehistoric islands theoretically collided to form those structures, but as a result, they are prone to more earthquakes and avalanches for the more northern appalanchians. meanwhile, berna has milder weather, but because it lies near the trades and a valley, the landmass almost acts as a wind tunnel, resulting in highly windy, hurricane-prone regions.
SEEEEE HOWWW CLIMATEEE AFFECTS A LOTTTT???
because now this changes their way of life! are they flood prone and coastal? you bet they should have a system in place now in case of a next flood. otherwise, overthrow that foolish government omg.
what about landmarks? ive lived close to a valley before and it was so stunning that there were 'seasons' when it got crowded because of how gorgiena it was. as a result, the city invested in a park and maintenance, and that drove the economy.
OH MY GOODNESS I FORGOT TO MENTION THE ECONOMY--
okay, so this is my basic tangent so far. pls let me know if you want a follow-up or have questions. both my inbox and reblogs are open.
Recently, some people I trusted IRL said some things to me in relation to my gender that left me feeling really low. So, as I like to do, I decided to process my emotions by drawing these two. (QPR)
HYPED
HYPED
THERE'S A SOUTH AMERICAN ANIME IN THE WORKS MADE AND FOR SOUTH AMERICANS
Its so rare to see southam animation let alone one that has mythos!!!!!!!
HYPED
It looks like it is made from a studio based in Peru name Ninakami. The anime takes a lot of inspiration from the indigenous Quechua influences and other Andean and regional cultures. It even uses the indigenous language in its tittle!
🔥"APUKUNAPA KUTIMUYNIN- El Regreso de los Dioses/ Return of the Gods "🔥
You can watch the trailer here!
Las leyendas del pasado regresan a Sudamérica. De las ruinas, criaturas se levantan a reclamar lo que fue suyo. El peligro, el misterio y la
Hibi
5. Do they like to sing? Are they good at it?
6. Left handed, right handed, ambidextrous?
10. Do they need their hands occupied a lot? If so, what do they do?
13. Any food they avoid for reasons other than taste?
Yoan
3. Do they have unusual speech patterns?
16. Do they prefer to eat alone or with company?
17. Are they good at cooking?
20. Light or heavy sleeper?
Suzka
11. What's their favorite food/least favorite food?
18. Morning person or night owl?
19. Easy to fall asleep or insomniac?
20. Light or heavy sleeper?
2. Is their voice quiet or loud?
Alim
6. Left handed, right handed, ambidextrous?
3. Do they have unusual speech patterns?
22. Are they used to sleeping around others or alone?
12. Are they a picky eater?
15. Do they rather eat too much or too little?
19. Easy to fall asleep or insomniac?
so many asks, wow!
Hibi
he kind of likes to, even if he often has trouble really singing. he's most comfortable with humming, but sometimes he can sing softly.
he's ambidextrous
my man loves to tinker with stuff, needs to especially when he's anxious. he prefers to have something easy to access and not bulky, since he also needs his hands to write speaking. sometimes it'll be bracelets, accessories on the collar of his tops, his feathers of own fingers.
he can't digest most mammal meats, and seafood has textures he doesn't like
Yoan
they tend to search for their words mid sentence, which can get both them or the people they're speaking to lost in the conversation
Always with company
he's a pretty good cook all things considered
he's a light sleeper, but falls asleep pretty fast so it doesn't impacting him as much
Suzka
fav : crab / least fav : anything too crunchy
somehow both, though she's never opposed to a lazy morning in bed when the occasion rises
she doesn't take too much time to fall asleep, but once she's awake it's pretty hard for her to fall back asleep.
heavy sleeper mostly
her voice is average, but she often makes it louder than it usually is, especially since she struggles with some sounds. sometimes though it's only because excitement takes over her volume control
Alim
he's right handed
nope
he's more used to sleeping around others, being alone makes way too restless and on guard to sleep confortably
he's not picky, but you better have some good arguments to be able to make him eat anything viscous
he tends to eat a bit too little, just enough to be sure he's got the energy needed in case of a fight or flight scenario
insomniac, he has never learned to relax in his sleep except in the comfort of his home (and even then it's sometimes not enough). he usually sleeps in short consecutive naps
stormborns
ellievsbear
areudirty
janainaart
pixelskylines
discoholicmusic
origamiaround
snowghoul
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