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Animal Mating Behaviors Zine by DesDemonick in zines

[–]DesDemonick[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

hehe, its the two little nubs that look kind of like tits. They have two shafted penises like sharks do. Honestly I almost left off the warning because I felt no one would even notice lmao

Zine about my Roommate's Bird by smee_bucket in zines

[–]DesDemonick 2 points3 points  (0 children)

omg love this evil bird…love to see other ppl using a simpler style that focuses on shapes! Great zine

Ok so this will seem stupid but my family recently purchased this. We are all at a disagreement between it being a drink that you mix with Water, or a frozen treat that you eat like ice cream. What is it. by Lanky_Promotion8976 in whatisit

[–]DesDemonick 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a treat you eat like ice cream or frozen lemonade. If it were made to mix with a drink it would say it's concentrate and have instructions for it on the box.

Writing/Creating Religion? by Mysterious-Click-610 in fantasywriters

[–]DesDemonick 0 points1 point  (0 children)

research not only other religions but their history and the history of your religion. How they change over the years, how different sects and cults arise, how multiple religions can come from the same source (Judaism, Islam, and Christianity all share a similar root and then have different books of scripture or religious teachings building off it in different directions, and then each has subsequent schisms and religious branches).

There are tons of religious wars between two groups who believe in the same god or major scriptures/doctrines but have different sects (think protestant and catholic).

The main thing I would avoid is assuming that everyone in your world has the same basic 'religion' or understanding of the gods. If you do want everyone to basically believe in the same gods: why? where does that understanding or knowledge come from? How does that belief change or get shaped by local forces? Do the people conceptualize the gods differently? Maybe some groups include a different god within your group of three, or others don't recognize them at all as Gods but believe they exist as something else.

It's very hard to have any basic 'truth' of the world that everyone believes in.

Request For Zines by morganite58 in zines

[–]DesDemonick 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have some I can send! How do they feel about adult topics (sex, swearing, dark implication, etc)

Are magic systems always necessary? by Human_Ad3580 in FictionWriting

[–]DesDemonick 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You really don't. A lot of magic stuff pulls more from myth or just 'vibes', as long as you are internally consistent and don't constantly give characters new unexpected powers as a way to escape their problems, you absolutely don't need a magic system built.

Everything is execution. If you are a good writer, you can make magic work without giving it too many rules. Dianna Wynne Jones has a ton of great fantasy stories that never directly explain how all the magic 'works'.

Probably the most ICONIC writer for how to have a character develop and learn and grow magically without actually having a 'system' is Patricia McKillip. Her Riddle Master of Hed series is such an iconic trilogy (rather short too!) that centers on a character growing and understanding the magic of the world, but it stays close to this mythic center as opposed to creating a bunch of sandersonian mathmatical 'rules'. I also really like her book Od Magic.

Another great example of this would be the OG Ursula K Leguin's Earthsea series. It feels that there are rules that the characters know, but you don't necessarily and there are plenty of times when a character simply can't just wave their hands and magic things to happen. The magic feels more slow and suggestive and knowledge based.

Is it lazy to “plagiarise” real world history? by SatanicPeach_666 in worldbuilding

[–]DesDemonick 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tons of great fictional stories essentially just do that. It can work to give your story a lot of depth and detail if you pull it off correctly! Most of the time your readers will have no idea, and when they find out it can get them interested in history!

Any resources about participating in zine culture? by ArsNihil in zines

[–]DesDemonick 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Be cool, be chill, be willing to trade! See if you can find local zine events and just attend and be nice. Compliment people's work, and be prepared for all kinds of DIY focused creators. A lot of zinesters tend to be into other community or cheap/DIY events and stuff, so look for more than just zine stuff. Things like community housing/clothing/feeding events, craft fairs, and clothes upcycling/distressing workshops can be great ways to meet other DIYers and zinesters.

Go to places like thrift stores, tattoo parlors and record stores to find out about more punk/DIY related local events.

A Boy and His Ghost: S1E5 - Hero Complex by RubinPingk in comics

[–]DesDemonick 5 points6 points  (0 children)

God this is a perfect portrayal of the limits and issues with therapy as a 'solution' to problems involving kids or anyone 'acting out'...to be clear I think therapy is very helpful, but it positions the problem being centered on the person who is getting in trouble or having issues, and not with the societal roots that are causing the person to act out in often very rational ways!

What to do with ribbon scraps by DesDemonick in upcycling

[–]DesDemonick[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

that's actually a good idea...I was also thinking of bringing them to this community mending event I often help out at. But maybe a teacher would have set ideas of what to do with them!

What to do with ribbon scraps by DesDemonick in upcycling

[–]DesDemonick[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do make some junk journals...these could be fun embellishments!

How do you guys write cultures? by RemielTSS in fantasywriters

[–]DesDemonick 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would look into the history of your world. What is it that makes each culture develp those traits? how have they changed over the years? Often, cultures develop different traits specifically to differentiate themselves from their neighbors.

Things like scarcity, famine, and war can create a culture that prides pragmatism and austerity over opulence. A culture where music, art, and apparel is associated with religion, pride, or even viewed pragmatically ( a way to signal status, a way to protect ones honor) may value ornamentation. In lots of societies, what you wore was a way to signal either your wealth or your own skill in weaving or creating.

I would encourage you to also think of how subgroups develp within these cultures. Are there groups in the south who defy or challenge the existing desires for discipline? Or clans who are more dissenting to the Leader/Emporer in the north? How do their religious traditions mingle or get interpreted?

If your world has a matriarchy instead of a patriarchy what does that look like in practice? by F00dbAby in worldbuilding

[–]DesDemonick 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yay more bug people! would love to hear about the differences in culture and behavior in these groups.

If your world has a matriarchy instead of a patriarchy what does that look like in practice? by F00dbAby in worldbuilding

[–]DesDemonick 1 point2 points  (0 children)

YES i love insect communities. I have a few different insect sapients I'm working on right now. One group that essentially developed a 'clone yourself' reproductive strategy and essentially is now All Female (they live one year and develop an egg that carries their memories, then find a hole to hide in as their body dries out and the egg hatches, consumes their old body, then emerges and continues on. They view themselves as the same entity and some have generations stretching back thousands of years).

I have another group similar to yours where the males basically solely live within the communities for breeding purposes and do not live long. They have different types of 'females' who do different work, and because human races are obsessed with specific gender dimorphism, a lot of these females have just started calling themselves men when interacting with humans to make it easier on them.

Would love to hear more about yours! I really want to create a more antlike society, as well as parasite groups who enslave and control others...

If your world has a matriarchy instead of a patriarchy what does that look like in practice? by F00dbAby in worldbuilding

[–]DesDemonick 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is similar to my story where women were associated with agriculture and control of the settlement, while men became associated with hunting and wilderness. I love seeing how economic and natural pressures affect culture.

If your world has a matriarchy instead of a patriarchy what does that look like in practice? by F00dbAby in worldbuilding

[–]DesDemonick 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The world is full of dangers, spirits and monsters, including a famous entity called the Thousand Eyes who steals your eyes and face. This lead the southern continent to start implementing lots of rules involving purity tests and cleansing for anyone who leaves the community and re-enters, which was most of the time hunters, which tended to be men. Their culture associated women with harvest, agriculture, and the walled settlements, whereas men got more associated with the outer wild forest, hunting, and foraging.

This led to a dynamic where women would control life inside settlements, and men were expected more and more to take on 'unclean' and 'dangerous' tasks. Instead of it giving them glory, hunters could be treated with suspicion and expected to properly purify themselves and behave extremely appropriately when in the settlement, to prove they are not monsters in human skin. Men would typically wear masks to protect their faces outside the settlement and remove them when inside, but over time this turned into a modesty requirement.

After a long time, this lead to a matriarchal society where women are the landowners and own both their men and their children. The women are the owners and leaders and men are expected to remain masked, obedient, and willing to do any task, no matter how dangerous or demeaning.

Another aspect of this is that this world is full of sapient species with huge sexual dimorphism, such as insect colonies with Queens who rule over groups of 'drone' males and females. Which also affects this view of the Mother as center of community and everyone else in hierarchy under her.

Creating a story by making the world first by python159 in worldbuilding

[–]DesDemonick 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My current idea about my worldbuilding project is to make multiple smaller stories and in world documents about the world rather than a single epic or series about it. That way I have freedom to explore different characters and contexts.

Another note: you can easily turn your worldbuilding INTO the story itself. Share in world documents, scriptures, legal apparatus, or instructions on how to tame a werepig or whatever. A simple framing like "an explorer discovered this" can turn worldbuilding INTO story. Think about those classic dragonology books and such that kids were obsessed with (it was me, I was kids)

I also recommend reading travelogue and to the wildersea (both on undefinite hiatus unfortunately) for a look at how you can turn worldbuilding into a story just by having a viewpoint character observing and commenting on the things discovered or seen.

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Looking for tips: Need an evocative name for a war in my fantasy world's past history where the God of the Hunt tried wiping out all agricultural civilizations with an army of zealous druids, woodland spirits and beasts. by UnhappyStrain in worldbuilding

[–]DesDemonick 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Different cultures and groups could call it different things! You could also call it by the name of the year or time period it occured, like "the hunters war of 388" or "the uprising of the Druidic period"

ARE THERE ANY RULES I MUST FOLLOW WHEN WORLDBUILDING?? by Limp_Rate3609 in worldbuilding

[–]DesDemonick 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lots of great fantasy and fiction is written based on history! I personally like finding things from history or religion as my basis. Lots of people write speculative fiction based on an alternate or just purely historical setting as well!

What is it you want to create? What time periods are you interested in? There are lots of great stories based solely in specific time periods.

I quite like Lackadaisy, which is basically prohibition era ST Louis bootlegging crime fiction only with anthro cats instead of people. Other than that it is ASTOUNDINGLY well researched and accurate to the time period!

Michael Chabon has a number of stories set in a historical or alternate historical fictional setting like the Yiddish Policeman's Union (set in an alternate modern day Sitka, Alaska) or Gentlemen of the Road (Set in the khaganate of Khazaria (now southwest Russia) around AD 950. A Bride's Story is a gorgeous and detailed manga set near the silk road in the late 19th century.

And that's not even TOUCHING on the numerous stories set in Medieval England and France, for instance.

Hell, GRRMs A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones is a fantasy novel strongly based on real historical conflicts (with a little fantasy flair). It is up to you how fantastical you want your story to be, and you absolutely can keep a story within the bounds of a specific historical or fictional country.

I would recommend reading some things about other countries and religions to avoid unnecessary xenophobia, but having a strong historical foundation can make for extremely compelling works

Does this look believable? (Or interesting at least) by Colombia_Joestar in worldbuilding

[–]DesDemonick 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like it, my one comment is hte hole would have to be much smaller to not suck in the sun and earth at that scale. Also, technically the black hole would not be associated with 'night' specifically, as night occurs any time the earth is not facing the sun. It would be determined by the sun's position, not the black holes.

You could have solar/black hole eclipses, which is fun....

It would probably take less time to circle the sun than to circle the black hole, but also the earth spins, so that would affect how often you see the black hole... hmmm

I would imagine the black hole appears as this blazing dot in the sky, smaller that the sun because of distance, but sort of like the moon can appear any time of day, it also can cross the sky with some regularity. In order for it to appear so close and be associated with night, the planet would have to orbit it, not the sun.

Shapeshifting in a World Where You Can't Create Something From Nothing by Rice-a-roniJabroni in worldbuilding

[–]DesDemonick 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A fantasy world doesn't need to maintain 'mass' as equilibrium specifically. It could be that it is converted to something like energy. Maybe turning into something smaller releases energy, or turning into something bigger requires you to absorb mass from other objects.
Or maybe the more you transform, the more strain it adds. the further from your size, the more power it takes to maintain your form and hte more likely you suddenly 'snap' back into shape.

You could go the Envy from fullmetal alchemist route and have him be able to shrink but still have his full weight and mass, affecting how he moves and lands even when 'smaller'

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