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#writing worldbuilding
An Unexpected Loss
Published on October 10th in the obituary section of Paldea’s most important newspaper La Región
 Contains major spoilers for Pokemon SV |Read here on ao3
The National Paldean Institute for the Sciences (NPIS) issued a statement that Professor Arturo Turo, the scientist who revolutionized pokemon battling with the creation of Tera Orbs, has passed away at the age of 45. An excavation team found his body yesterday in the depths of Area Zero. The scene showed signs of an attack by an unknown pokemon.
Mr. Turo born July 15th 1977, in Sierra Blanca in the northern province, had an intense fascination with the wonders of the Great Crater of Paldea that dated back to childhood. He was described by relatives as having a natural gift for science, an insatiable curiosity, and having his nose constantly buried in Samuel Heath’s Ventures into the Depths: The Mystery of the Great Crater of Paldea. He attended the prestigious Uva Academy, where his teachers encouraged him to study pokemon science, and then went on to do his university studies at The University of Mesagoza, and postgraduate and doctoral studies at Le Ecole National des Science et Technologie in Kalos.
In 2003, Turo joined the Area Zero Expedition led by scientist Raoul Clavel. Fresh out of graduate school, Turo proved to be an asset to his team with his enthusiasm, innovation, and dedication to working in the Crater’s difficult terrain. Within a year, he had been promoted to lead researcher. It was around this time period that he began collecting data and carrying out experiments on the crystals of the Great Crater that held Terastal energy. His findings were published in various scientific journals in Paldea as well as in Galar and Kalos. In 2012, he invented and patented the Tera Orb; a device that allowed pokemon trainers to draw upon Terastal energy for use in pokemon battles. The Tera Orb became a sensation in the pokemon battling community and quickly became available to the public. Turo’s invention won many awards, including the NPIS’ prestigious Scientific Achievement of the Year. Turo continued to investigate the Tera Phenomenon for the rest of his life with the hopes that it could be used to advance human civilization into the future.
Turo leaves behind his son Arven, aged 17, as well as his parents Mr. and Mrs. Turo, aged 77 and 75, and a sister Mrs. Hernandez aged 47. A public memorial service will be held at Turo’s alma mater Uva Academy at 11:00 am this Saturday.
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(Masterpost)
Week 2: As Above, So Below
This title may be pretentios, yes, but it reflects well the main difference this AU has from canon "TAWOG" — floating islands.
In this universe, there exist three levels: Above, Below and Horizon. Each three are going to be covered, so strap in for the ride!
(Disclaimer: None of the material here is intended to reflect the real world. It is not metaphorical and should be taken at face value as a part of the worldbuilding. The Alternative Universe "Rolling Dice" is an amateur's work of fiction based on a semi-satirical animated kids' show, and any parallels with real world, including events and people, are coincidental.)
Above:
Ever since the Ancient Days, there have been witnesses of gigantic chunks of the ground rising up in the air, some taking buildings, people, animals and plants along their way. It became a material for mythology, claiming such events are the result of Gods' ways, of them building their homestead. The deaths of those attempting to climb onto the floating islands.
Nowadays, it is recognised that these rocks have different wind currants, temperature, etc., and the unprepared mountain climbers did not have the technology to stay up there for too long. However, due to these conditions, previously unknown chemical elements had developed. And so, a scientific interest has emerged. To accomodate long-time workers, multiple living areas with sustainable resource chain from the ground were built. Not long after, common folk found their way there too.
Currently, Above, as called by the public, is a place of residence for many people of working class and higher. If they manage to keep up with the industrial working pace and hadn't lost their documents in a heist done by infamous Pizza Family, that is... And if not... Another level awaits them.
Below:
The part of Elmore where the main events of the AU take place. Outside of the casino and the detective force standing up against it, there are vertical travelling outposts, vertical and horizontal post offices, convenience stores, train stations, etc. In other words, this part of the population can manage itself, unlike Above, that is dependent on the argicultural output done by Below.
Do not make a mistake, though. Due to most industrial complexes getting built on the floating islands, since the access to minerals is more convenient, Below is considered primitive by many, even by the government. As such, there is a problem in distribution of finances, lackluster working force (most of the youth is aiming for other, bigger towns, or Above, as more advanced option for education and work), resulting in criminal activity in some particular districts, mostly Shadow districts, placed directly under the islands, named as such for lack of sunlight.
Fun fact — casino's owners, before Corpeno's reign, were of lineage of Above residents. Samuel himself is a Below resident from birth, and changed many workplaces before the fateful night, including newspaper office, grocer's, butcher's, fish shop, cleaning service... And has worked on occassions as a medical assistant.
Horizon:
Finally, there is a level unnoticed by many and often unmentioned. These islands are placed in between the two levels, but were given such name, as some have mistaken the placement for one on the horizon.
It is rather mysterious place, with residents rumoured to all be members of Amphibos cult. Not many bothered to investigate it, though... Other notable figures are fortune tellers, with urban legends saying they disappear at the sunrise.
Amphibos used to recruit their new members, blending in on both levels and earning trust of people they see as worthy. Nowadays, such activity died down, to get rid of suspicions. It does not mean it was entirely eradicated, though, and one particularly faithful, albeit naïve, member thought of doing such work in "Rolling Dice". It was unsuccessful, but attracted attention of the owner.
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sylvies-kablooie · 4 months
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i do unironically think the best artists of our generation are posting to get 20 notes and 3 reblogs btw. that fanfic with like 45 kudos is some of the best stuff ever written. those OCs you carry around have some of the richest backstories and worldbuilding someone has ever seen. please do not think that reaching only a few people when you post means your art isn't worth celebrating.
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prompt-heaven · 3 months
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a list of 100+ buildings to put in your fantasy town
academy
adventurer's guild
alchemist
apiary
apothecary
aquarium
armory
art gallery
bakery
bank
barber
barracks
bathhouse
blacksmith
boathouse
book store
bookbinder
botanical garden
brothel
butcher
carpenter
cartographer
casino
castle
cobbler
coffee shop
council chamber
court house
crypt for the noble family
dentist
distillery
docks
dovecot
dyer
embassy
farmer's market
fighting pit
fishmonger
fortune teller
gallows
gatehouse
general store
graveyard
greenhouses
guard post
guildhall
gymnasium
haberdashery
haunted house
hedge maze
herbalist
hospice
hospital
house for sale
inn
jail
jeweller
kindergarten
leatherworker
library
locksmith
mail courier
manor house
market
mayor's house
monastery
morgue
museum
music shop
observatory
orchard
orphanage
outhouse
paper maker
pawnshop
pet shop
potion shop
potter
printmaker
quest board
residence
restricted zone
sawmill
school
scribe
sewer entrance
sheriff's office
shrine
silversmith
spa
speakeasy
spice merchant
sports stadium
stables
street market
tailor
tannery
tavern
tax collector
tea house
temple
textile shop
theatre
thieves guild
thrift store
tinker's workshop
town crier post
town square
townhall
toy store
trinket shop
warehouse
watchtower
water mill
weaver
well
windmill
wishing well
wizard tower
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whereserpentswalk · 2 months
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daisywords · 7 months
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One of my biggest nitpicks in fiction concerns the feeding of babies. Mothers dying during/shortly after childbirth or the baby being separated form the mother shortly after birth is pretty common in fiction. It is/was also common enough in real life, which is why I think a lot of writers/readers don't think too hard about this. however. Historically, the only reason the vast majority of babies survived being separated from their mother was because there was at least one other woman around to breastfeed them. Before modern formula, yes, people did use other substitutes, but they were rarely, if ever, nutritionally sufficient.
Newborns can't eat adult food. They can't really survive on animal milk. If your story takes place in a world before/without formula, a baby separated from its mother is going to either be nursed by someone else, or starve.
It doesn't have to be a huge plot point, but idk at least don't explicitly describe the situation as excluding the possibility of a wetnurse. "The father or the great grandmother or the neighbor man or the older sibling took and raised the baby completely alone in a cave for a year." Nope. That baby is dead I'm sorry. "The baby was kidnapped shortly after birth by a wizard and hidden away in a secret tower" um quick question was the wizard lactating? "The mother refused to see or touch her child after birth so the baby was left to the care of the ailing grandfather" the grandfather who made the necessary arrangements with women in the neighborhood, right? right? OR THAT GREAT OFFENDER "A newborn baby was left on the doorstep and they brought it in and took care of it no issues" What Are You Going to Feed That Baby. Hello?
Like. It's not impossible, but arrangements are going to have to be made. There are some logistics.
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authorisedgardian · 2 months
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I probably put way too much thought into it but I do enjoy making a more in depth story rather than winging it. I like to actually think about the worldbuilding, make sure things actually connect and make sense. I am a big history nerd and I feel like it's the closest I can get to writing my own history.
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nunyverse-scribe · 5 months
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Worldbuilding Questions for Writers #2!
At what ages are certain expectations put onto members of society? What are the labels someone would get if they don’t fulfill those expectations (whether willingly or not)?
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This came across my Facebook feed, felt I’d share it.
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maude-ivory · 7 months
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Given the definitions I think this Story—which after a year I still don’t have a good title for—falls squarely in the Fable category given that all the people are animals—or rather that all the animals are people—and lack of magic (unless you count things like lying and breaking promises exacting a physical toll… but that’s feeling in this case less like a magical thing and more like… some kind of moral/parable thing… even though it’s actually the Autism gnawing on my ankle going HEY (LISTEN) what if lying was as awful for everyone as it was for us? And me going baby you know that wouldn’t stop people and it going but what if we could punish them for it and me going you vindictive little monster what about lying to the bad guys to save someone oh snap that would make a fascinating worldbuilding mechanic tho like what are the cost of your convictions and are you willing to pay it…
No closing parentheses today I’m in full ramble mode
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inky-duchess · 6 months
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Fantasy Guide to Building A Culture
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Culture is defined by a collection of morals, ethics, traditions, customs and behaviours shared by a group of people.
Hierarchy and Social Structures
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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?
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sirobvious · 2 months
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“You just wrote your medieval fantasy setting to have medieval gender roles and homophobia and prejudice because you secretly fantasize about being able to be sexist and homophobic in a land with no PoC without any pushback! It’s fantasy, there’s dragons and wizards, it doesn’t have to have prejudice unless you, the writer, want it like that! In *my* D&D setting, there’s no sexism or homophobia, so that gay transgender women of all races can be holy knights fighting to protect the good kingdom from the endless hordes of the evil dark race that has threatened its borders for a thousand years!”
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elodieunderglass · 4 months
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Horror isekai where Perceiving the Weird Eldritch Thing gets you catapulted into a nightmare labyrinth of puzzle-solving.
I.e Those Who Perceive The Hunt of the Goblin King Must Partake In The Labyrinth and Can Only Be Freed If They Complete It In One Day and One Night. By Fae Law. For Reasons.
But the definition of “perception” clearly needs to be updated because some normal guy simply films the Hunt of the Goblin King Behind Arby’s, and puts it on Facebook -
No, not instagram or TikTok, it’s important that it be Facebook -
Because the rules are pretty clear, “the rules are the rules” as is carved ominously in elvish runes above the grim gate, and the Contract is Sealed. and so therefore the guy and 25 of their most random real-life acquaintances must run the gauntlet together. It’s Some Guy, their immediate neighbors, their first partner’s mom, their friends from hobby Facebook groups (oh this poor guy and their hobbies; the elderly birdwatchers from Facebook and the young up-and-coming drag king community), their random teen kid niece, college friends, a dog who also watched the video, a couple consisting of a woman who is the guy’s Facebook friend and showed her husband the video, and the husband doesn’t even know Some Guy, so he’s in the labyrinth and absolutely furious about being forced to be involved, and they proceed to break up over the course of the puzzle.
It’s important that the narrative keeps trying to be a sexy dark horror isekai! but within this the comedic reality of Catherine, 52, the guy’s horse-riding instructor, being passionately involved in escape-room-style puzzle solving and grappling with minor goblins. They are in fact speedrunning the gauntlet.
The Goblin King finally has to say: all right, actually, I only really set all this up to fuck with one (1) guy at a time, thanks for your willingness to participate, but I think all 25 of you can consider the gauntlet fully run.
And the group would be quite hurt by that. The rules are the rules. We have a contract, actually. Let Catherine cook.
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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
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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).
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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.
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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!
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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!
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whereserpentswalk · 1 month
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Reblog to curse your followers and mutuals.
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heavenlyraindrops · 2 months
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World Building Checklist
Have you ever started writing a story and realized your world has a bunch of unexplained shit and you have to fill in the gaps as you go? Me too, buddy. Me too. Here’s a checklist so that you can fully flesh out your world to the max. (I’m dying)
How does Time work? (Minutes, hours, days, the daylight cycle, years, ect.)
Species (if Fantasy. Will probably make another post on this.)
Countries, Nations, Tribes, ect. (nationalities/ races. Will probably make another post on this.)
The geography of the world (draw a map. Doesnt have to be good. Just for a general idea.)
Rivalries between races (includes prejudice, racism, ect.)
Religions
Technology
The Magic system. (Will probably make a whole other post on this.)
animals, plants, ect.
The sky: Sun, Moon(s), Stars, Constellation, Are there rings? (If the planet has rings)
Educations system
Government system
Politics
Methods of transport (Vehicles)
Medicine
Can’t really think of anything else. If you have more to add then reblog and add to the list! :) bye bee
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