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I love it when fantasy stories compare and contrast different cultures that have developed different kind of approaches to the same supernatural phenomena that has the exact same mechanics everywhere.

Like there's one culture where there are Nine Types Of Mages and they all have different sprite familiars - there are nine types of sprites, hence the division. When an apprentice first tries to summon a familiar, they have to have an expert in attendance to see which kind of sprite the apprentice is summoning, and cut the ritual to sever the connection immediately if it seems like the summoned sprite is not a match to the apprentice's type - kind of like how blood types work. If the match is not right, the sprite will just kill the apprentice instead of imprinting. And then there's also a type of demon that might show up in stead of a sprite, and they just always kill the summoner because fuck you.

Then these people encounter a different culture, who also have mages - though they call them wizards, who are far more rare, feared and revered than mages back home, and they have no different types. And when asked about their sprite summoning, they have no idea that there's different types. They don't even make a difference between sprites and demons, they just call them all "spirits". And then someone's just casually like

"Yeah you summon yourself a spirit and fight it to do your bidding, and if you lose it just fucking kills you. Young wizards die nine times out of ten but that's just a risk you have to take."

"...you do not."

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Nothing more embarrassing than accidentally using a big word wrong because now I'm simultaneously both stupid and pretentious, the worst combination of all time

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refseek.com

www.worldcat.org/

link.springer.com

http://bioline.org.br/

repec.org

science.gov

pdfdrive.com

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The Magnus Protocol Episode 49.

Case Names in Common:

✓ - Elias Bouchard: appeared in TMA as a recurring character, this is the TMAGP version of him.

Case Locations/Companies in Common:

✓ - Elric Capital Investments: Elric companies have been mentioned in episodes 35, 36, 46, and 49.

These updates have been made to the Masterdoc.

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AUGUST IS OVER??????

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Katabasis is genuinely so fun

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i know it's not exactly a New take, but god i really do adore how smoothly the environments of horror-hostile cities (i am in eskew, house of leaves, tenement) are able to blend with stories about abusive relationships. like, obviously not every story with an endless liminal cityscape in it is secretly about abuse, but--

cities are supposed to be built for us. uniquely, among any enviroment humans can occupy, they are built By and For Us. they are supposed to be spaces that are Ideal for human habitation. and so if the arctic kills you, or the dead centre of an ocean, you can at least console yourself with the thought that that environment was never meant for you. it didn't hate you as you died, it simply killed you because You Were Not Meant To Be There, as impersonal as gravity.

but if a city kills you? if a city is so hostile, so unsurvivable that your mere presence there is a struggle -- that's intentional. that was designed in. and it feels like a betrayal.

this is a place that is supposed to be hospitable, and isn't. this is a place that is supposed to be a home, and can't be. and you could leave, sure, but-- you live here. you work here. you exist within the context of a place that hurts you, but you do exist within it, and leaving would be a scattering of yourself across foreign land, a place that won't be home to you. and no matter how hostile your city is, it's still a place you can live.

right?

whether the city itself loves you or not, whether it intends or not to cause you pain -- and in all of my favourite stories about this, it's always a little unclear -- it's going to keep hurting you. no matter what face it puts on, this isn't an environment you can live in. cobbled streets don't make the arctic any less cold.

so leave, or stay. the city isn't going anywhere.

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listening to horror podcasts is so silly because ill be having the worst day of my goddamn life and ill be like.. you know what i need? to listen to this sad wet cat british man have an even worse day and ya know what it actually helps

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Holy Trinity.

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have you ever considered that maybe the solution to all your problems is a soggy whimpering british man

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?????????????????????

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Sneaking around your property whilst stealthily performing lawn care

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affirmations for writers: i know how to write. i have seen sentences before, and i know how to make one. i can identify up to several words and their meanings. i am not afraid of semicolons.

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EVERY INSTANCE OF DPHW IN TMAGP (up to ep 43)

ep 1

ep 2

ep 31

ep 36 (says later that bonzo has the highest wrongness)

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tmagp smirke’s 14 just dropped holy shit

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🍖 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.

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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

Sometimes the problem isn’t your plot. It’s your first 5 pages. Fix it here → 🖤 Free eBook: 5 Opening Pages Mistakes to Stop Making:

🕯️ download the pack & write something cursed:

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If Your Character Doesn’t Want Anything, The Plot Can’t Start

so. here’s the thing. if your main character is just kinda floating through the story like a passive sad bean™️ with no real goal or drive, then the plot? is not plotting.

this isn’t a ✨you suck✨ thing. it’s a common first draft curse. but if you’re 30k words deep and your protagonist is still just reacting to stuff with vague concern and inner monologues about The Past™… we need to talk.

📍what even is a character “want”?

your character’s want is their external goal. the thing they’re trying to get, do, or change.

avenge someone

win a trial

run away from their cursed bloodline

steal the crown

get through one (1) normal semester without summoning a demon by accident

it’s tangible. it’s active. it’s visible. other characters should be able to argue with it, get in the way of it, or try to stop it.

💥without a want, your character is just:

wandering

reacting

monologuing about their feelings

getting dragged into scenes by external forces

waiting for the plot to happen to them

and honestly? same. but also: no.

readers need to feel like your character is making the story happen, not being passively pushed along by fate and side characters with better motivations.

⚠️ want vs need (aka: the emotional trauma part)

quick breakdown:

the want = the external goal (win the throne, survive the week, kiss the hot villain)

the need = the internal arc (heal the grief, learn to trust, accept their identity, realize kissing the hot villain is a bad idea)

your character should want something that will eventually lead them to what they need. but the want comes first. the want is the engine. the need is the crash landing.

plot starts with the want.

character arc ends with the need.

🎯 signs your character doesn’t want anything (yet):

you keep skipping scenes because “nothing is happening”

you’re relying on vibes or worldbuilding to carry the tension

side characters are doing all the heavy lifting

your protagonist spends more time reacting than deciding

your outline says “stuff happens” for 8 chapters

🛠️ how to fix it:

Make them want something that’s wrong. they don’t have to want the right thing. they just have to want something strongly. wrong goals lead to better tension. and failure. and chaos. (yay!)

Put something between them and that goal. wanting something isn’t enough. they need to pursue it, and get blocked. by enemies. allies. their own self-sabotage. this is where conflict comes from.

Tie the want to survival or obsession. if it’s not urgent, it’s background noise. raise the stakes. why now? why does this matter? why can’t they walk away?

Let them choose. at some point in Act 1, they need to make a conscious decision to pursue the goal. even if they get manipulated into it. even if it’s a bad idea. it needs to feel like a choice.

📦 examples:

✨bad✨: “she’s just trying to get by and see what happens”

✅better: “she’s trying to disappear, but someone recognizes her from the war and now she has to fake a new identity while hunting them down before they ruin her life”

see the difference? one is vibes. one is a whole plot engine.

the story doesn’t start until your character wants something badly enough to make a move, and risk breaking something.

give them a goal. a plan. a terrible idea. and then go ruin their life.

P.S. I made a free mini eBook about the 5 biggest mistakes writers make in the first 10 pages 👀 you can grab it here for FREE:

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