spicy--meatball

[spicy--meatball]

can't believe i was lucky enough to live at the same time as birds

[spicy--meatball]

A Workshop for Creating Magical/ Fictional Crystals: A Guide from a Geologist

Hi folks, its me, here to talk about fictional writing again! Today I'm just tackling the idea of magical stones/mana stones by looking at existing minerals today and some neat properties that they have, and how you can apply these things to a fictional world. The goal is mainly to help you if you are stuck trying to come up with a unique magic system, or a unique identification/characteristic of your mineral.

First Things First: Mineral Shapes

I am exhausted, petered out, down-right fatigued by seeing every mineral depicted with having the crystal structure of calcite and quartz. There are soooooo many cooler, more interesting crystal structures, don't you think you would stop and take a look at a perfect cube in nature? It is completely unsettling.

Second: Color

Color within minerals can either be really important, or not important at all! It is your choice to decide if color is going to be something that means something to your mineral. But what are some times when the color is important? Well.... there are some elements that are called chromophores, this classification just indicates that these elements, when present, will determine the color of whatever they are in. So, if you wanted to treat mana like a chromophore, you could say, "Oh everything that contains mana turns green!" This could mean that regardless of the mineral, if that mineral is a specific color, it means it contains mana. This concept is exciting because you can just stop here and use minerals that already exist! You can also use it as an indicator for a magical ore! Chromophores are typically metals, so if you are making a new metal weapon, making the ore of that metal a unique color would make a lot of sense!

However, your mineral can also just be every color of the rainbow like quartz and perhaps that's what makes identifying your mana stones elusive and create an illusion of scarcity that your character can solve.

There are other things that can change the colors of minerals, like radiation damage, and electron exchange, but I think that is beyond what would be helpful! So lets talk about some unique color properties that happen in nature that seem magical in the first place! Maybe you don't need to design a mana stone, but you want a unique gemstone that only the royal family passes down or something (IDK).

The first one is the alexandrite effect! This is where a mineral can change color in natural light vs. incandescent light. (the mineral itself is not changing, but the lights contain different amounts of different colors that then get absorbed by the stone). Even if you don't use electricity in your fictional world, you could have the colors change in the presence of light magic. This could create fun misunderstandings about what the mineral is reacting to!

Pleochroism

Pleochroism is something that most minerals have, it is frequently used to help identify minerals in thin sections, however minerals are usually not pleochroic enough for it to be visible to the naked eye! Pleochroism is just a fancy name to describe the change in how light is absorbed based on the angle of the mineral! So if you scroll up to the first image where I showed a lot of crystal shapes, most of them have angles where they are longer and shorter! This will effect the way light travels in the crystal. Tanzanite is a popular mineral that does this.

Photochromism

This is when a mineral will change color (in a reversible way) when exposed to UV light (or sunlight), I am not going to go too into the details of why this is happening because it would require me to read some research papers and I just don't feel like it. The mineral that is best known for this is Hackmanite!

Alright! These are all the really cool color effects that might inspire you or maybe not, but now I am going to talk about how you might find your minerals within a rock!

When I see a lot of magical caves/mines, typically I see them with some variation of a geode honestly, but most minerals are not found like that! Now I am sure most of you guys have seen a geode, so I will not really talk about those, but I will talk briefly about porphyroblasts which is when the mineral grows larger than the minerals around it, this happens in metamorphic minerals!

sorry random stranger, but this is an image of garnets inside a finer-grained rock at gore mountain in New York!

Another way you might find minerals is in a pegmatite! This is when all minerals are really large! This is a formed from really slow crystalizing magma!

But something else to think about is that your mineral might just be massive, it doesn't have to have distinct crystals, it may be similar to jadeite where small grains grow together which leaves it looking smooth and seamless! A note about all of these is that you would have to mine into the rock to find these, there would not be any natural caves in these rocks! Caves are only ever really formed in limestones and maybe marbles (rocks that react with acid).

How can your characters identify these minerals?

Typically when you are out in the field you will look to see what type of rocks the minerals are found in (The overall texture of the rock will tell you how it formed). If you know how the rock formed, it will narrow down the amount of minerals you need to think about by quite a bit! Next, you are going to look closely at it and observe its crystal structure, does it have an obvious crystal? if so what is the general shape? If it is broken, how did it break? Did it fracture like glass or did it break along uniform planes. Some minerals have a thing called cleavage (breaks along planes of weakness). If a mineral exhibits this habit, it will again help narrow this down. Next we can look at color. Color can be misleading, because minerals like quartz can be any color imaginable, but minerals like olivine will always be green! The next thing your character can do is test for hardness, minerals all have a specific hardness that can help identify it as well.

After you go through all of this, your mineral might have some special property! This could be magnetism, fluorescence, reactions to acid, or any of the color changing effects I mentioned above! Other than that, your character can take it back to a lab and do a number of things to identify it, but the most typical thing would be for them to make a thin section (very thin piece of the rock) and observe it under a cross polarized microscope!

On that note folks! I hope this helped in some way in thinking of new magic mineral properties! I have other guides that explore some different fictional worldbuilding issues you might run into, but if you have any topics you would like me to cover please that I haven't mentioned already, let me know!

[spicy--meatball]

Fantasy Guide to Building A Culture

Culture is defined by a collection of morals, ethics, traditions, customs and behaviours shared by a group of people.

Hierarchy and Social Structures

Within every culture, there is a hierarchy. Hierarchies are an important part of any culture, usually do ingrained that one within the culture wouldn't even question it. Hierarchy can be established either by age, gender or wealth and could even determine roles within their society. Sometimes hierarchy can may be oppressive and rigid whilst other times, ranks can intermingle without trouble. You should consider how these different ranks interact with one another and whether there are any special gestures or acts of deference one must pay to those higher than them. For example, the Khasi people of Meghalaya (Northern India), are strictly matrillineal. Women run the households, inheritance runs through the female line, and the men of the culture typically defer to their mothers and wives. Here are a few questions to consider:

How is a leader determined within the culture as a whole and the family unit?

Is the culture matriarchal? Patriarchal? Or does gender even matter?

How would one recognise the different ranks?

How would one act around somebody higher ranking? How would somebody he expected to act around somebody lower ranking?

Can one move socially? If not, why? If so, how?

Traditions and Customs

Traditions are a staple in any culture. These can be gestures or living life a certain way or to the way a certain person should look. Traditions are a personal detail to culture, they are what make it important. Tradition can dictate how one should keep their home, run their family, take care of their appearance, act in public and even determine relationship. Tradition can also be a double edged sword. Traditions can also be restrictive and allow a culture to push away a former member if they do not adhere to them, eg Traditional expectations of chastity led to thousands of Irish women being imprisoned at the Magdelene Laundries. Customs could be anything from how one treats another, to how they greet someone.

How important is tradition?

What are some rituals your culture undertakes?

What are some traditional values in your world? Does it effect daily life?

Are there any traditions that determine one's status?

Values and Opinions

Values and Opinions are the bread and butter of any culture. This is the way your culture sees the world and how they approach different life hurdles. These may differ with other cultures and be considered odd to outsiders, what one culture may value another may not and what opinion another holds, one may not. There will be historical and traditional reasons to why these values and opinions are held. Cultures usually have a paragon to which they hold their members to, a list of characteristics that they expect one to if not adhere to then aspire to. The Yoruba people value honesty, hard work, courage and integrity. Here are some questions to consider?

How important are these ethics and core values? Could somebody be ostracised for not living up to them?

What are some morals that clash with other cultures?

What does your culture precieved to be right? Or wrong?

What are some opinions that are considered to be taboo in your culture? Why?

Dress Code

For many cultures, the way somebody dresses can be important. History and ethics can effect how one is meant to be dressed such as an expectation of chastity, can impose strict modesty. While other cultures, put more importance on details, the different sorts of clothes worn and when or what colour one might wear. The Palestinian people (من النهر إلى البحر ، قد يكونون أحرارا) denoted different family ties, marriage status and wealth by the embroidery and detailing on their thoub.

Are there traditional clothes for your world? Are they something somebody wears on a daily basis or just on occasion?

Are there any rules around what people can wear?

What would be considered formal dress? Casual dress?

What would happen if somebody wore the wrong clothes to an event?

Language

Language can also be ingrained as part of a Culture. It can be a specific way one speaks or a an entirely different language. For example, in the Southern States of America, one can engage in a sort of double talk, saying something that sounds sweet whilst delivering something pointed. Bless their heart. I have a post on creating your own language here.

Arts, Music and Craft

Many cultures are known for different styles of dance, their artwork and crafts. Art is a great part of culture, a way for people to express themselves and their culture in art form. Dance can be an integral part of culture, such as céilí dance in Ireland or the Polka in the Czech Republic. Handicrafts could also be important in culture, such as knitting in Scottish culture and Hebron glass in Palestine. Music is also close to culture, from traditional kinds of singing such as the White Voice in Ukraine and the playing of certain instruments such as the mvet.

Food and Diet

The way a culture prepares or intakes or treats certain foods are important to a culture. In some cultures, there is a diet yo adhere to, certain foods are completely banned. With Jewish culture, pork is prohibited along with fish such as sturgeon, along with shellfish and certain fowl. Meat must also be prepared in a certain way and animal byproducts such as dairy, must never be created or even eaten around this meat. This is known as kosher. The way one consumes food is also important to culture. In some cultures, only certain people may eat together. Some cultures place important on how food is eaten. In Nigerian culture, the oldest guests are served first usually the men before the women. In Japanese culture, one must say 'itadakimasu' (I recieve) before eating. Culture may also include fasting, periods of time one doesn't intake food for a specific reason.

What are some traditional dishes in your world?

What would be a basic diet for the common man?

What's considered a delicacy?

Is there a societal difference in diet? What are the factors that effect diet between classes?

Is there any influence from other cuisines? If not, why not? If so, to what extent?

What would a typical breakfast contain?

What meals are served during the day?

What's considered a comfort food or drink?

Are there any restrictions on who can eat what or when?

Are there any banned foods?

What stance does your world take on alcohol? Is it legal? Can anybody consume it?

Are there any dining customs? Are traditions?

Is there a difference in formal meals or casual meals? If so, what's involved?

Are there any gestures or actions unacceptable at the dinner table?

How are guests treated at meals? If they are given deference, how so?

[spicy--meatball]

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 1 2 ⚜ 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

[spicy--meatball]

You should start a detailed worldbuilding project

Explore fascinating biomes!

Observe wonderful little critters!

Dive into a diverse range of cultures and their practices!

Develop detailed historical events!

gplates

Put together cool technology!

Dot the world in interesting settlements!

[spicy--meatball]

"We're gonna be talking about the BOOBY! We'll be talking about the WOODCOCK! Do you think that's FUNNY, Butthead? Do you find it AMUSING that we'll be talking about the SWALLOW? Yes, we're also gonna be talking about the DICKCISSEL, the BUSHTIT, the COCK-OF-THE-ROCK, the SHAG... and we will DEFINITELY be spending a LOT of time talking about...GREAT TITS!!"

[spicy--meatball]

it’s crazy how a double bacon cheeseburger is probably the single healthiest thing a human can eat

[spicy--meatball]

[spicy--meatball]

5-25% off is a discount, 30-50% off is a deal, and 60-90% off is clearance. I'm TRUELY SICK of being lured to a clearance section for a measly 20% like please be serious

[spicy--meatball]

you guys made luigi mangione trend for days and I need to see the same energy for brianna boston. she is a 43 year old mother of three who ended a phone call with blue cross blue shield (after being denied a claim) “delay deny depose, you people are next” and is now being held under a 100,000$ bond and could face FIFTEEN years of prison if charged. she has no weapons, her record is clean, and yet she is being held behind bars. they are afraid of the public and are trying to subdue. do not let them!!!! be outraged that our freedom of speech is being threatened!!!!! deny defend depose! free brianna boston!

[spicy--meatball]

ranking 550+ music genres: PART 5

been very exhausted lately so the next few posts might be shorter.

(13) Afro Funk

yes. this is already much better than the last three genres. thank you afro funk.

as a kid (middle school age?) i listened to a lot of disco and funk, but i dont think i specifically listened to afro funk. the sort of disco and funk id listen to were the really mainstream stuff like the bee gees. nothing wrong with them but i enjoy this departure from the same 20 or so songs you regularly hear or think of when hearing the term "funk".

once again i am hit with interesting rhythms. these songs are groovy but still lax enough that i can chill out while listening to them. overall a pleasant and relaxing experience, but some of the songs were a bit boring. going to put this in "hit or miss".

Afro Funk song recs

(14) Afrobeats

im hearing two conflicting definitions of afrobeats; one is what i would expect to hear on a car speaker as someone drives by (this flavor of afrobeat tends to sound very similar to one another). the other flavor is a lot more interesting in my opinion, and the flavor i will be judging this genre based on.

this genre is reminiscent of the afro funk that i just listened to. these songs seem to be a bit of a higher BPM than afro funk, or maybe just more upbeat.

the last song is closer to the first afrobeat definition i heard. "acceptable" tier.

Afrobeats song recs

(15) Afro House

some of the songs what similar to the first "flavor" of afrobeats i was hearing, and others are closer to the definition of house music that i had in my head going into this.

i feel like i have slowly climbed the liveliness ladder during the duration of listening for this post. these are definitely the liveliest songs ive listened to today. i have basically no energy right now despite the caffeine ive had, but these songs give me a little bit of that energy back. afro house is going into "acceptable", as something im happy to hear but probably wouldnt listen to regularly (as with most house genres nowadays).

[spicy--meatball]

ranking 550+ music genres: PART 4

we have left the acid realm (sadly)

(10) Acoustic Blues

i take it that acoustic blues differ from Blues because they primarily focus on the guitar. interesting. despite these riffs being reminiscent of whatever aimed-at-conservatives show my parents are watching at any given time (used to be duck dynasty, glad i dont walk up on them watching duck dynasty anymore lmao), this shit is RAW.

i found a grand total of one playlist with acoustic blues, so if youre a hardcore acoustic blues fan, my song recs are probably going to be ones youve already heard billions of times.

despite the fact that i cant see them playing their guitars, these guitars sound expensive [not a guitar expert by any stretch of the term]. its probably partly due to the intentional sort of sound quality they tend to use, not sure what the more specific term for that would be.

this is going in "hmmmm". these would probably go hard around a campfire though.

Acoustic Blues song recs

(11) Acoustic Guitar

another vague genre title, which im going to assume means guitar but no vocals based on what came up during my search. these songs remind me of the historical drama (?) sort of shows my parents sometimes watch. i dunno that i was ever in the living room while they were watching Yellowstone and heard someone shredding their acoustic guitar in the soundtrack, but it would fit right in probably. idk. i know nothing about the show Yellowstone. i think these songs would also fit right in in a farming sim game.

two of my song recs for this section are by a fella named calum graham. now if that isnt the name of someone who would pick up an acoustic guitar and live in the middle of nowhere idk who is.

going in "not really my thang but thats ok".

Acoustic Guitar song recs

(12) Adult Contemporary

my hopes for this one were not high. turns out this music is just what i consider(ed) yacht rock. i used to listen to this shit unironically in like 9th grade.

i cant take this one seriously now that i know Just The Two Of Us is considered adult contemporary. it is also slightly nostalgic though.

the third song rec is kinda groovy ngl

"hit or miss" tier

Adult Contemporary song recs

added "lmfao" with the intention of putting adult contemporary there but i changed my mind. who knows if this tier will stick around.

[spicy--meatball]

i hate that every time i look for color studies and tips to improve my art and make it more dynamic and interesting all that comes up are rudimentary explanations of the color wheel that explain it to me like im in 1st grade and just now discovering my primary colors

[spicy--meatball]

ranking 550+ music genres: PART 3

(7) Acid Rock

i know people rave about this genre, but frankly i dont know much about it (there seems to be major overlap with psychedelic rock, im not sure theres really a difference?). i gotta say... i can see the charm of acid rock, but compared to all the other "acid [X]" music ive heard, this is pretty underwhelming. are my dopamine receptors fried? oh sure, absolutely. not only do i have adhd but ive been sitting in front of screens ever since i was like 8.

i will give them this though, if acid rock didnt exist, i dont think all the other "acid [X]" genres i like would exist either. i can respect acid rock musicians for being pioneers of their time. i will also give them props for generally having colorful, intriguing album covers.

all that being said, i would not ask someone to change the music if they were playing acid rock, it is alright. it is going into the "plausible" tier. (i know "plausible" is not a grammatically correct way to describe a song or genre of music, something that definitely exists and cannot be disproven. but i dont care. it is the embodiment of the "Plausible" image from mythbusters.)

Acid Rock song recs

(8) Acid House

cant go wrong with a house beat. as for the rest of the elements of each acid house song, its hit or miss. it took me listening to several songs before i found one i liked, which is a surprise since i used to like house music in general more.

i love the fact that, sometimes, you can instantly tell when a song is going to be house music or house music adjacent because the album cover is a disc or vinyl record that includes the song being played. and you know the beat is going to go hard as shit.

some people dont like a repetitive song, but im not one for lyrics. if its a repetitive song with minimal or no lyrics, im down. not all repetitive songs are built the same though. theres a certain amount of repetitiveness with no change that im not interested in, and house music often walks the line between what i fw and what i dont.

new tier for this genre, "hit or miss".

Acid House song recs

(9) Acid [Techno]

"acid" is a vague genre title. it seems "acid" is generally known as "acid techno", so thats how i will be judging it. in the back of my head this will also be acidcore since acidcore is not explicitly on this tiermaker.

is a song really acid/acid techno/acidcore if you cant picture yourself in an old racing game while you listen to it? hop in your nickelodeon slime green dodge viper and hit the gas type shit? crunchy graphics? theres a certain continuous forward motion to each acid [techno] song that keeps you going, helped by a relatively high BPM compared to that of many genres. additionally, this is one of the only genres i dont mind having risers.

im disappointed i havent been listening to more acid [techno]. this shit goes immensely hard. the iconic liquidy synths, buzzing, and kick drums that mean business are hard to upstage. this is the type of music that i would exchange for some temporary hearing loss afterwards. i be blasting ts. the last song rec is a little more chill than the rest if thats more your speed (or lack thereof).

fellas, im proud to announce our first "🗣️️‍🔥️‍🔥" tier genre!

Acid [Techno] song recs

[spicy--meatball]

friend: are you not worried about your finals?

me: whatever happens, happens

me when whatever happens does indeed happen: surprised pikachu face

[spicy--meatball]

AMAZING ANIMALS BIOLOGY FUN FACTS

”Jesus Christ, what is that?”

”How is it alive?”

"What does it want?"

”Will it hurt me?”

”Will it hurt my children?”

It's only natural to ask questions like this when encountering such a disgusting creature, but rest assured- it's quite harmless!

Meet the hampter.

Hammers are Europe's largest species of insect. They are mostly found in plains, mountains, parking lots, underpasses, the savannah, landfills, trees, and shurbs. They are heavily endangered because they are too stupid to drink water if it's not in a water bottle manufactured for small animals. But evolution has produced a remarkable solution: a female hamper can lay thousands of eggs every day! Most of her young will die of dehydration, but the sheer numbers of hamspers makes it inevitable that at least some will find a water bottle and thus survive to sexual maturity.

Hapster biologist Dr. Lexapro Beaufort said in an interview, "I know of them. They like to sniff around in the dirt for seeds and grass and discarded cigarettes. They like to dig holes in the ground. They were not created by the same God that created everything else."

They can even be kept as pets! One proud hamser mommy had this to say. "Yeah, mine is named Keith and he fucking sucks. He just hides in a hole and only comes out when he hears me rattling my adderall prescription."

Wow! Truly the hater is the fascinating creature of planet earth.

[spicy--meatball]

Me showing my mutuals from one fandom a blorbo from another fandom knowing damn well they dgaf: