kofi link
Used to be romanticsap-art but deleted my old art blog. This is a new art blog where I don't post (my own) art. I reblog a lot of art refs and posts about writing. I love trans people
[Image ID: screenshot from a social media site by iris @(acensusofstars.) Text reads: "i think it's nutritious for you as an artist to have an emotional attachment to something interesting that constantly wastes its potential. i think it forces you to understand both 1) what you find compelling and why and 2) how you'd like that to be executed on a craft level." End ID.]
also btw. if you start drawing and (physical limitations such as injury or illness aside) all your art is inexplicably feeling stiff or uninspired when you were fine before. the reason is not that youre suddenly just bad at art. its because youve just started drawing for the day/session. nobody wakes up and immediately starts sprinting around full speed to work out, theres a reason 'warmups' are a thing both in sports and art.
basically, dont quit just yet if your 'light jog' art isnt the same as your 'full sprint' art was yesterday. youll get back into it.
[Image 1 ID: An illustration of Klavier Gavin’s right side profile in black silhouette with a purple stylized moon behind him and three large prosecutor badges at the bottom of the image, overlapping each other. The background is black with stars. End ID]
[Image 2 ID: An illustration of Apollo Justice’s left side profile in an off-white silhouette with a red stylized sun behind him and three large defense attorney badges at the bottom of the image, overlapping each other. A nearly half circle of stylized eyes in gold wrap around the bottom half of the sun. the background is off-white. End ID]
More versions. This time with their correct colors/symbols instead of switched.
To all my lovely writers who haven't made it to that one specific scene yet. You know, the one that is the whole reason why you wanted to write this in the first place. Still not quite there yet.
🍖 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.
─────── ✦ ───────
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
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A gothic prompt pack for writers who love cursed universities, secret societies, and scholarly rot.✎ Write the Darkness ✎A 75-prompt horror
my main issue with making aus is that i will also make sub aus. like the au but theres some different significant change or addition to it. and ill keep making these in my brain until theres like an entire ecosystem of them
Writing Blind and Visually Impaired Characters: Tropes
Hmm, I decided to work on part three before I got to part two. Forgive me.
This is part three of a multi-step series I’m writing on how to write a good visually impaired or blind character. The master post with links is here: https://mimzy-writing-online.tumblr.com/post/185122795699/writing-a-blind-or-visually-impaired-character
The Master Post will include links to all parts. All posts of this multi-step guide and all guides I make in the future about blind characters will be tagged blindcharacter on my blog.
Disclaimer: I am a visually impaired writer and blogger who has written two blind characters thus far. I have been living with vision loss for two years, have had my cane for almost as long, and every day I strive to learn all there is to know about writing and living my life blind.
Part Three: Tropes and Cliches to Avoid, and Other Things You Should Avoid
politely requesting a breakdown of Arab wedding traditions for #research purposes if possible specifically Lebanese pls and thanq /nf :)
U REQUEST I DELIVER XD
first off there are a few things to keep in mind like regional differences, religous leanings and influence, cultural practices and traditions, and ofc the current state of things. enticing.
to set the scene well start with establishing that
weddings are huge here. literally the loudest most vibrant event u will ever go to lol or experience
culture and religion and traditions are all influencing factors and therefore differ greatly depending on when and where u are
it will be memorable for everyone involved lmao. its a very siginificant time in ur life to show up and be part of the community bc societies here are very family centric. *insert dom toretto meme*
this will undeniably be very me lol. i cant and dont speak for everyone, i have attended a grand total of like. 3 weddings lmao (very un-arab of me ik lol) hence im not the most knowledgable so pls pls pls if anyone would be kind as to share there own experiences or insight go right ahead!!!
this is going to be a long ass post lol pls bear with me im very scatterbrained and a yapper. sorry in advance
now that thats out of the way, mabrook to the couple lets get this party started. yes i wll be promptly seeing myself out lmao
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starting with jordan and the (muslim) traditions im familiar with, what u need to know is the distinction between religion and culture: in this case the cultural and community celebration that u associate with partying and dabkeh and the pearliest white dress is all AFTER the actual wedding contract ceremony XD buckle in buttercups lol
say im (re)marrying a moot of mine lol, (@sporadicallyanenthusiast hey bbg :3 care to practice for the big day with me hehe 😌🌺), the process starts with us meeting. and by us i mean our families lmao;
like i said societies here are family centric, and in accordance to islamic values (namely no intimacy between the couple till theyre wed and lawful to each other) so typically and regardless of how the couple end up together (which ill get back to) the families initiate the process and its kinda cute in that (this varies btw) theres several iterations of asking for the brides hand. allow me to explain lol
i meet my darling babs, our families get in touch, if a connection is established and both parties consent to continuing, the typical structure is as follows: tulbeh -> jaha -> khutbeh & katb kitab -> zaffeh & fardeh & waleema. translation and elaboration lol:
tulbeh from the word talab (asking, requesting) is the formal asking of a brides hand by the grooms family. so in this case my parents (and the entire village if u let them lol /j) would approach my beloveds parents/ family to be like hey can we make this work mayhaps. meeting greeting discussing etc ensues.
this is followed by whats called al fatiha, where the first chapter of the quran (al fatiha) is read to basically establish intentions. which i for some reason find funny lol. nothing has happened yet, were just here to verbally confirm were interested in pursuing this relationship further.
jaha is the tradition wherein the families meet again after the initial yes to dance dabkeh and eat yummy stuff to further solidify the union between families aw :> here (jordan) jaha is what the men of the family go to.
henna party!! now that i think of it ig u can say its the corresponding event of a jaha lol
btw im like half sure the jaha coincides with or comes right after the formal engagement where the couple are now husband and wife but i could be wrong. assuming that im right tho lol;
the marriage contract ceremony is called katb kitab (literally writing the book) and now legally and religously the couple are married. ie the husband can visit his wife anytime now (and she doesnt wear a hijab around him anymore or her father in law etc) but the moving in together happens after the wedding <- culture thing but they can consumate the marriage right after. bc theyre married. anyway
even tho theyre married now, the couple are called engaged till the big fancy wedding lol, called a zaffeh (verbal celebratory event?)
the engagement is called khutbeh. u also have to go to get civilly married last i checked. so u have muslim contract and also wedding certificate i think.
the fardeh is when the cars on the way to the venue honk their souls out and wake up everyone and fill the streets lol. the grooms car is decorrated with flowers and stuff and its really cute. always makes me smile
the waleema is the wedding feast! womens side typically have mezzes that in all fairness are a million times easier to eat in full glam than mansaf lol. tho i have sulked about it before XD
the wedding (ores عرس) is seperated btw so as to give everyone the space to enjoy themselves, but theres a part towards the end where the men of the brides family go to bid her farewell one last time (very emotional) before she leaves. forever. ooh im going to cry
so to recap. me and babs' families are the parties that approach each other on our behalves to both initiate and settle the details after. the period between the first yes and the ceremony is establishing the connection between the couple and ensuring their compatability etc, bc so far nothing has been signed no commitment has been made yet. assuming all goes well, mabrook, the contract is signed, the wedding date and details are decided at some point lol and up until then the preparations commence. now for the obligatory tangent:
in islam the husband is the breadwinner and guardian of the household and part of the wifes marital right is the mahr, or dowry. wont bore u further bc u can look it up lol, but the important thing is that dowries arent meant to be burdens!! this is sadly the reality that weddings can be extremely expensive and exploitative and that sucks and is reflective of the industry and corruption and capitalism etc and not the religious practices. bc its supposed to be not a burden and not showing off :(
the tldr is that its a sum of money for the bride in the case of divorce to provide her with financial security. this is all part of the talking stage before the signing, so everyone is aware and in agreement beforehand. and to reiterate its her legal right in islam, this isnt a culture thing
back to the wedding. the fardeh is the trip from the brides house to the venue and i think thats the third time asking for her hand (now ft giving her away lol) which as u can tell is a formal ritual based tradition that serves to strengthens ties between the two now connected families and maintains that bond between them. kinda cute lol ive never thought of it before.
ALSO THE HENNA NIGHT/ PARTY HOW COULD I FORGET XD my uncle got married in february so its the most recent one in my mind. anyway my aunt is palestinian so her henna night was a really beautiful blend of jordanian and palestinian tradition, it was very special and essentially a girls night full of dancing and having fun XD i think we had something of a dance off with the playlist being half palestinian songs and half jordanian lmao. palestinian thobes were the clear winner of the night lol everyone looked so radiant <3
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so thats all pre wedding (woof XD) what happens at the wedding? well from the womens side i can tell u a few things:
theres no such thing as upstaging the bride. the more ur dress and make up are visible from space the better lol
loud. so loud
lots of dancing and zaghareet (ululations) and more dancing
heels hurt omfg im not built for this
food <3
u might cry. its pretty emotional (the couples entrance can be pretty dramatic lmao but the farewell will def make u sob)
weddings are typically no kids allowed (for sheer number lol not for lack of love for kids and their shenanigans) the exception is the immediate family of the bride and groom. no guest kiddos tho
wedding invitations are really pretty have i mentioned that yet
CAKE!!!!! AND BIG SWORD!!!!! >:D!!!
more dancing lol. ur here to dance and celeberate the beginning of a new life (and the end of an old one now that i think of it :'))
im sure theres honeymoon and post wedding stuff but i dont know the first thing about either lol. did read something abt the couple like giving back to the family kinda by hosting and inviting family members over. its pretty interesting to know its like a tradition i never thought of it as anything outside of regular family visiting stuff. but it makes sense to congratulate the couple again on the marriage and visit the marital home (when ppl move in to a new place theres a visit thats specifally for congratulating the move lol). so theres that :)
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okay thats everything off the top of my head. of a muslim jordanian wedding. lebanon as u know has a very rich and diverse tapestry of faiths and customs so itll vary but i think weddings in the region have a similar vibe (esp in regards to family involvement). other than that idk much else forgib me, the most ive seen mentioned online was costs being split between bride and groom (brides family pays for engagement and grrom pays for wedding i think? but even then religion and even sect differed. so depends on what ur going for)
wkjeekw its late and my braincells are out of juice so fogive me if this is all over the place :') goodnight and good luck writing lol <3
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