itsybitsybatsyspider

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This is who is leading the NYC mayoral democratic primary rn

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Talk shop Tuesday: what’s something you’re most proud of creating/doing/sharing?

Oof this had me ThinkingTM and going through my documents for sure. But i think one of the things im most proud of is this study i did a while back:

took me a While to map it out, practice, blend it just right, and adjust to get the colors and proportions where i needed it to be. (Like seriously this took me days and lots of breaks of stepping away before losing my mind)

No idea what possessed me to achieve this and i dont know when i'll ever be blessed by the Realism Gods to do something like it again but god am i proud of it.

and honorable mention:

this brings me great joy too

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For Talk Shop Tuesday: Do you have a song(s) that always makes you think about PeterMJ??

You bet your ass I do!!!

In no order (and applies to many versions of them):

Would You Fall in Love with Me Again from the epic musical

XO by beyonce

I’ll be seeing you by Billie Holiday

photograph by Ed Sheeran

Work song by hozier

Gravity by Sara Bareilles

Forever by Noah Kahan

Make you feel my love by Adele

How long will I love you by Ellie Goulding

the night we met by lord huron

wait by m83 (singlehandedly carried me through most of 2020/2021)

Poison and Wine by the civil wars

All I want by kodaline

And also about 30 Taylor Swift songs

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Me when mutuals with cool people:

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everybody give it up for female characters who are WEIRD and OFFPUTTING. maybe even LOUD and UNAFRAID TO TAKE UP SPACE. round of applause. NOW.

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a talk shop tuesday question if you're so inclined: What's your favorite piece (art, writing, whatever,) you've created from the year so far? Why?

Hey Journeys! that's a good question and i have so many answers for it kjdsfkjdfsl

haven't posted much writing this year, they're all WIPS in my poor docs folder, but i sure have done a lot of drawing! I think one of my favorites is actually this one i finished yesterday:

i wanted to try something different and work on painting a piece with minimal details. I wanted to get the impression of the suit and hair without falling into the rabbit hole of rendering, and try out a new visual trick with the smears and soft edges. But I'm really happy with how this has turned out! I like the simplicity of the colors and composition, and im really enjoying the gouache brush and smear tool. But the the hair was probably my favorite thing to work on honestly :)

Thanks a lot for the ask, bud! Appreciate yoou <3

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a talk shop tuesday question if you're so inclined: What's your favorite piece (art, writing, whatever,) you've created from the year so far? Why?

Hey Journeys! that's a good question and i have so many answers for it kjdsfkjdfsl

haven't posted much writing this year, they're all WIPS in my poor docs folder, but i sure have done a lot of drawing! I think one of my favorites is actually this one i finished yesterday:

i wanted to try something different and work on painting a piece with minimal details. I wanted to get the impression of the suit and hair without falling into the rabbit hole of rendering, and try out a new visual trick with the smears and soft edges. But I'm really happy with how this has turned out! I like the simplicity of the colors and composition, and im really enjoying the gouache brush and smear tool. But the the hair was probably my favorite thing to work on honestly :)

Thanks a lot for the ask, bud! Appreciate yoou <3

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i hope luigi mangione is proven innocent & gets to sue a ton of companies for slander and win & i hope he gets enough money to rebuild his life and get any help for his chronic pain that he needs & i hope he’s able to disappear from the public eye entirely if that’s what he wants

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sometimes self-care is consuming a piece of media for the 174th time

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i feel strongly about this

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:')

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Haven't drawn anything for Worldfall yet so here you go @mysterycyclone <3

I am once again on my Peter suit design bullshit and i'm having a great time :)

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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: