M0th-b0nes - Hi :)

Build a fantasy religion

i didn’t see around a lot of indications about this, so i decide of making some short, direct and usefull indication based even on my experience. (feel free to add tips) 

Why create a religion for my world?: 

Religion is a big part of every culture that can influence the daylife of larg group of people so it’s important to define it if present in your world. The other thing is that is a good way for worldbuild, you can define the life of people, the way cities are built and the way of think of the population.

Where to start:

- Polytheist or monotheist: choose the type of religion that fit better your world, it’s important because polytheist and monotheist religions have some differencesthat have relevance when you write. (not only the number of gods but for example how gods are workship or how are build temples)

-Read about real religions: this is a good base and you are going to see a lot of aspect that you have to take count of. Reinterpret is a way of creating a new one, so you can take prinples for example.

-Decide the characteristics of the God/s: After have a clear idea of what you want to do (example: religion similar to Romans’ one or a mix between Egyptians and Greeks gods) you have to put cleare some poits:

Is you god/s good or bad? : so how is see by humans, what is famous for, which is their temper, is revengeful or their forgive, if it is feared or loved or both. If you create more gods then you can decide to make them represent somenthing.

Did your god/s in contact with humans?: The relationship with humans; so if they are between humans and if humans know about it. In this case when and how they do so. If they don’t meet humans you have to decide if they communicate with them and how.

Physical appearance: if they had a physical appearance describe it or describe characteristics that the god have when in physical form.

- Worship: While the poits before where about the poit of wiew of the God/s, you have always to define how humans venerate God/s. Some points:

Is all the population religious?: This is important because there you can determine the relationship between who belive and who not or between different religions. Or say if is imposed.

What role have religion in the State: So if religion have a political power, how much power have and if is used for good or for bad.

What are the religion institutions: There is a leader of the cult, what are the offices and how they are built, how much the istitutions influence the population. 

Where: where is workshiop God/s (temples or churches or at home)

HOW: this is probably the most important aspect but the more compless too. Here you need to define how people practice their own religion so if they only pray or do make sacrifices, if there are rules that influence the daily life, if there are festivity or particular ritual, if there are simbols that are workship.

The Name: The name can be 1 word or more but it’s better if not more than 4 because it have to be somenthing that affect. It can be a word or a period that describe a foundamental principe of your new religion, or somenting like “The believe of X” .

A thing that is always good to keep in mind is that religions tend to give a sense of belonging to the believers. This can be use in a lot of way and is a important specially if your new religion have political power or a big influence on population.

I hope it help someone. (feel free to add tips)

if i get too close and i’m not how you hoped, forgive my northern attitude, oh i was raised out in the cold.

if the sun don’t rise ‘til the summertime, forgive my northern attitude, oh i was raised on little light.

Whumper dialogue

“Darling, if you still believe in a god, get on your hands and knees and pray. Because if you’re lucky, and They decide you deserve it, They are the last person who can save you now”

Creating a Distinct World

@kaulayauwrites said:

what is, in your opinion, the best way to world build? how can you avoid writing a bland, archetypal universe or copying an already existing one? sorry if I’m not being clear, haha, and thanks so much!

Hey there, thanks so much for your ask! I honestly love talking about the world-building process, so I’m really glad you sent this; let’s dive right in!

Best Way to World-Build?

In my opinion, there isn’t a best way to world-build. The “best” process depends on what is needed and what you’ll actually need to know for your writing. What follows isn’t necessarily what I would call the best way, but it’s a good way to cover your bases and opens up a lot of options for going in-depth with details. (It’ll be a bit of a long list, but definitely worth it in the long run.)

For each country you’re going to include or mention in your story, think about:

Name

Capital and major cities, and locations

Border shape

3 most common landforms

Historical sites or places that mean a great deal to the people living there

General economic scheme (ex. capitalist, Communist, Socialist, etc)

Most important laws

Major differences from the character’s homeland

Military setup (different branches, enlistment age, etc)

Climate

Relations with surrounding countries

Societal norms (gender roles, public & professional behavior, etc)

Stance on LGBT+ rights, and treatment of LGBT+ people

Most and least respected professions

Common religions

Stereotypes about this country (any and all)

Common pastimes and hobbies

Popularity of sports, movies, and other forms of entertainment

Genres of music (and possibly stereotypes of people who listen to them)

Language(s) spoken

Beauty standards and the commercialization of them

Commercialization that feeds off of the peoples’ insecurities

For each city you’re going to include or mention in your story, think about:

The “aesthetic” (think of it the way NYC’s aesthetic is taxis, skyscrapers, and nightlife)

Public opinion of street performers

Any recreational centers and common activities

Popularity of a town counsel or the idea of opening to the public for improvement ideas

How well-known the city is by everyone around it, or how much of a tourist attraction it might be

State of educational buildings

Percentage of unemployment versus those who are actively searching for jobs, and how this affects the city’s reputation

3+ popular businesses, maybe food or clothing stores

The way business is generally conducted

Opportunities for nightlife (etc. bars, night clubs, etc)

Usual daytime attire, usual nighttime attire

Any sort of tradition (ex. sharing dreams in the morning, praying before meals, etc)

Stance on more advanced technology

Treatment of different age groups

Again, cliches and stereotypes that might exist of people who live there

Most common architectural style (ex. modern, Victorian, etc)

Commonly seen colors

Any inflation that might exist, local economic troubles

People’s opinion on the government as a whole (then in-depth, if you want)

As you can see, these two lists are very open-ended. I can’t go too far in-depth with world-building ideas and explaining, because it’s all up to you to create this world. Every single item on this list here can be expanded into tons of different things, but if your goal is just to cover your bases and explore needed details then I think this would be a good place to start.

Making Your World Distinct

This can be pretty tough, honestly. There’s (almost) always a world themed around something out there that’s probably more well-known, famous even. Let’s start with everyone’s favorite wizarding world, that of the Harry Potter books. Your world can be as interesting and different as it gets but because it includes wizards, someone out there is always going to relate it to Harry Potter. So how can we avoid this?

There’s one proven way to this this, especially if you don’t want to change your world. Accentuate any and all differences that would set your story apart from a more well-known world. Maybe our wizards’ spells depend on a material transaction, or they won’t work. Maybe there’s some sort of wizarding god who must be pleased to cast a successful spell. Not so much like HP anymore, huh?

Just remember, there’s a huge difference between world-building through details and world-building through exposition. Both are acceptable, but both have their own appropriate time to be utilized. Take a break from telling the reader flat-out how this thing works, and instead reveal it through the world’s details. Not only does this help treat your readers like the competent individuals they are, it also immerses them so much in the world that there isn’t much of a chance to compare your world to others.

Tl;dr—World-building isn’t really something that can be explained for you by someone else. There are certainly questions that exist to help you, but following a guide that works for someone else might not work for you. Explore the details! (And let the reader explore them, too!)

Stay Quiet (Gaz/Price)

Day 3 of Gaz Week. NSFW part now with the prompt Stuck In A Small Space! More PriceGaz

Warnings: Hand Jobs, smut, Gaz calls Price "Captain" during sex

Word Count: 2k

"Stay quiet."

"I am quiet!" Gaz snapped under his breath, frustration growing. He was pressed back against a shelf, the harsh wood digging into his back. He couldn't move forward, because that's where Price was.

It was meant to be a simple mission, just a simple mission to retrieve intel from a small Ultranationalist hideout. He and Price were the only ones sent in. There wasn't meant to be any fighting and, even if there way, it was just a small hideout anyways...right?

Except that it wasn't. Both he and Price knew that their intel had been off the moment that they got to the hideout. The place was huge and certainly not something that Gaz would call a "small hideout." It had left him and Price to wonder if they'd been purposefully mislead, or if their informant Yuri genuinely thought that this was a "small hideout." Gaz wasn't sure which would  be the better option.

They had a decision to make though. Did they want to continue on by themselves or retreat and come back with the entire team for a better chance if they were caught? It was a hard choice to make and, ultimately, the decision fell on Price. They decided to continue forward with the plan.

It was only the two of them, so they moved as slowly as they possibly could through the area. It was a matter of stealth and trust. They both had to be quiet, quick when need be, and slow when need be. But that also had to trust the other. They had to trust that the other was giving them correct call outs, that they could stay quiet and not get them caught. Gaz trusted Price and Price trusted him.

All had been going perfectly well until they'd reached the computer room where they were meant to plug into the system and allow Laswell access. It was a simple thing, just a thumb drive then five minutes of protecting it while Laswell's software scraped the computer for anything important.

Of course it couldn't be an easy five minutes for them and, during the last minute, they received word from Laswell that someone had caught on to her scraping and that a group of ultranationalist soldiers were headed their way.

They managed to hold out for the last minute of the clock, but by the time Gaz yanked the thumb drive out of the computer, they could hear the soldier faster approaching them and they didn't have anywhere to go.

Price had acted quickly, grabbing Gaz's hand and dragging him over to a small compute closet in the room. The threw the door open and shoved Gaz inside before squeezing himself in after. He'd given quick and quiet word to Laswell that they were going dark before flipping off his communications and reaching over to do the same for Gaz.

So now they were here, crammed in a tiny computer closet together, trying to wait out the men that they could hear so clearly on the other side of the door.

It was difficult to keep quiet, especially with Price so close to him. The man was pressed right against his body and, due to the lack of space, one of his thighs was pressed firmly between Gaz's legs, brushing against his cock with any move from the other man. It was overwhelming and Gaz was trying his hardest not to focus on it. The last thing he wanted or needed was to get hard from this.

Of course, that wasn't exactly something he could stop from happening. Especially when Price was jolting forward to press his ear up against the door. The movement caused his thigh to push forward, grinding against Gaz's cock and pulling a short gasp from his lips. It felt too fucking good and he needed to get a hold of himself.

"You good, Gaz?" Price asked him carefully, turning to peer at his face through the darkness of the closet. Gaz was grateful for the darkness as it meant that Price, hopefully, couldn't see the flush of his skin or the way that he was practically panting through slightly parted lips.

He nodded his head rapidly, "Perfectly fine, Captain." He winced a bit at how high his voice sounded to his own ears. Price seemed to pick up on his sudden change in tone.

Price leaned toward him, concern clear on his face even through the darkness. The move caused his leg to grind against Gaz once again and a squeaked-out moan escaped his lips at the feeling, freezing Price in place. There was a long moment of silence and Gaz wanted to throw himself into the sun. He'd just fucking moaned in his Captain's face and now he was sure he was going to be in trouble for not controlling himself better.

After a long second of pause, Price moved, shifting his leg forward again to grind against Gaz's quickly filling cock. "Sir," Gaz managed to choke out, his own desperation filling his words, "Wait, don't- oh god." His head tilted back against the shelf as Price moved his leg against him again. Surely his Captain understood what was happening by now? But surely his captain wasn't doing it on purpose.

Price hummed and brought a finger up to his mouth, motioning for Gaz to stay quiet. They were still on a mission. His leg bounced up again and Gaz jerked forward, grabbing tight to Price and using the man's vest to muffle his moans. Price didn't stop moving his leg, he just kept bouncing it in steady movements, grinding it slowly against Gaz's clothed cock.

It wasn't long until Gaz was a panting and whining mess against him, gripping tight to his vest for some sort of support as his hips jerked down to meet Price's leg. His skin felt hot and the air in the little closet was stifling to him as pleasure started to build in him slowly, creating a low buzz under his skin.

"Price," He pressed closer to the man, desperate for more. Desperate for anything that the man would give to him. A hand landed roughly on his chin and, with a tight grip, Price pulled him forward to slam their mouths together.

"Stay quiet," Price growled against him, still working his leg over him in slow massaging movements. Gaz whimpered at the words, but the sound was muffled by Price's lips slamming back against his mouth.

Gaz wasn't exactly sure what was happening and part of him wondered if he was dreaming. Perhaps there wasn't enough air in the room and his mind was providing him a fantasy for comfort as he slowly suffocated. Or maybe there was some sort of gas slowly seeping into the room, making his mind hazy.

Either way, it didn't matter. What mattered was that Gaz felt good. So fucking good. The steady pressure against his cock was delicious and the feel of Price's hands moving down his body, squeezing and groping as they went...it was almost too much for his hazy mind to handle. If this was a dream, he didn't think that he wanted to wake up.

Eventually, Price's hands found their way to the front of his pants and, with a quick flick of his thumb and twist of his wrist, Gaz's pants were undone and a hand was roughly shoving its way past the waistband of his pants and underwear.

Price pulled away from Gaz's mouth and encouraged him to bury his face into his shoulder with a hand on the back of his head. "You have to stay quiet for me, okay? Think you can do that?"

"Yes," Gaz whined at the feeling of Price's hand wrapping around his cock.

"Sorry," Price gave a few torturous slow strokes of his hand, "Yes what?"

His hand tightened and the slow strokes were replaced with fasts jerks of his wrist that had Gaz's legs going weak and his mouth latching on to Price's shoulder to disguise his whines. "Yes! Yes, Captain!" He managed to get out finally, "Oh fuck, fuck, fuck, please- oh god!" He muttered curses into Price's shoulder, trying to keep himself quiet.

Price gave a low chuckle, still stroking over his cock at a quick speed, hurtling him quickly toward his end. "So good for me, Kyle, so fucking good. You like this? Like my hand on your cock?"

Gaz gave a whimper before nodding his head, "Yes, yes Captain, love it. Oh- please, sir!" His hips started moving, meeting Price's hand with every move.

"Do you," Price pressed a kiss to his cheek before slowly moving lower, littering every piece of skin with nips and kisses, "know how long I've wanted to do this?" Gaz shook his head wildly, trying to take in deep breaths as his might grew hazy and his air grew sparse with the never-ending moans and pleas. "I've wanted you since the very beginning, you're just too fucking tempting. I managed to hold out, but this? You grinding against my leg like a dog in heat? I can only handle so much."

"You," Gaz gasped as Price ran his thumb over the head of his cock, stroking along his slit for a moment before continuing his quick jerking movements, "oh god- you should have said something. Could have fucked me sooner."

Those words pulled a low growl from Price and soon Gaz found a hand shoved under his shirt and vest to tweak at his nipples, sending his hips jolting forward with a desperate whine.

"You just wait," Price growled low in his ear, "as soon as I get you alone," he kissed his neck, "and into a proper bed? You won't be able to walk properly when I finish with you."

Price continued muttering filthy words into his ear as his hand stroked along his cock. It was quick and filthy and Gaz was fighting down every part of him that just wanted to moan out the man's name and let everyone in the nearby vicinity know how well his Captain was treating him.

"Fuck, Captain," he muttered after a long moment, his voice high and his hips stuttering in the other man's hand. Price seemed to understand what the words meant, even if he didn't say them.

"Gonna come? Gonna finish in my hand like a good boy?" Gaz nodded his head rapidly, gasping as the pleasure in him built higher and higher until he was right on that edge. "Go on then, come for your captain."

And just like that Gaz was spilling into Price's hand, his eyes rolling back as Price worked him through it, running his fist over his cock in ever-slowing strokes. The pleasure of it all was enough to have Gaz's knees weak and, later, he would come to the conclusion that the only reason he hadn't fallen was because of Price's body pressed against his own.

When he managed to slowly pull away from Price's shoulder, confident that he'd no longer make any noises, he met the older man's eyes. "Alright?" Price asked carefully, watching his face for any sign of discomfort.

"I'm good, Captain," Gaz answered him quietly, still mindful of the possible men outside of the room. He waited until Price had pulled his hands out of his pants and started to redo them for him before speaking again, "How much longer do you think we'll have to wait?"

Price gave a low hum, his lips quirking up as he did, "As long as you think it will take you to recover. The men outside left around the time that we started."

Gaz blinked wide at him, a flush slowly going over his face. "So you- we-?"

Price chuckled at his reaction, "Sorry, I just couldn't help myself." he leaned forward to press a kiss to Gaz's cheek and whisper in his ear, "Being this fucking close to you, I don't know how anyone would be able to keep themselves from it."

Gaz was fairly certain that he was still blushing bright red by the time they made it back to the base.

Visit Norway!

Slaves who escaped were breaking the law. Literally. Outright.

Jewish people who escaped the Nazis were breaking the law. Literally. Outright.

The law is a horrible judge of morality.

a comic about friends

in preschool someone read us the story of the red oni and the blue oni and it still gets to me a little

“stars as you know them” — ghostsoap

731 words

WARNING: non-descriptive mentions of blood, and a bullet wound! dying??

“I’m Your Man” - Mitski

“Soap, do you copy?”

The sky is beautiful tonight. Can’t remember the last time he’d bothered to just look up, just to admire. Just to enjoy.

He didn’t know much about the stars, but he could find the dipper if he stared long enough. Easy enough to find the one that actually looks like a spoon.

He tries.

It’s getting harder to focus.

“Johnny, report!”

The voice in his ear is loud, and somewhere in the back of his head Soap knows he should respond. It isn’t that he doesn’t want to— but his tongue feels so heavy in his mouth, clumsy. The words just don’t want to form, mouth opening and closing around sounds and syllables that don’t actually make it past his lips. He feels like a fish on land.

Maybe it’s getting harder to breathe.

Tastes like copper, for sure.

He can feel his heartbeat like a drum.

Thump, Thump, Thump. Against his chest, again and again.

If someone were to find him, would they be able to hear it just as loud?

The world is strangely quiet now, and he thinks; finally, a break. His eyelids threaten to close, and he so badly wants to sleep. He deserves to sleep, after all this time. It isn’t so selfish, is it?

“Johnny— Johnny, you have— … talk to me … — are you?”

I want to. He says, but doesn’t really say at all. I want to, can’t you see I’m trying my best?

He can’t lift his hand to check, but he feels the warm sticky texture of blood between his fingertips. Coating his palm where it weakly holds against the wound in his stomach.

He can’t remember how it happened, now. Like it was so long ago, just a distant irrelevant memory to hold onto. Too much work now for his brain, for his body.

His fingers feel numb.

He gurgles out a strange, sort of laugh, at the thought. They don’t quite feel like anything, then, do they?

“Sorry.” Is all he manages to get out, tongue stumbling over the singular word. He isn’t quite sure if it came out at all. “M’sorr—“ the clumsy word is cut short by a sharp gasp, and a shaky exhale. “Sorry.”

He’s met with silence, which only further convinces him that the words he’s hearing coming out of his mouth aren’t really at all.

“Don’t apologize, don’t— don’t do that, Johnny.” Comes the harsh response.

Soap feels his lips form some sort of smile.

“You’re gonna be …” Soap doesn’t hear the next part, thinks maybe he’s missed it. Ghost starts again, “Fine. You’re gonna be fine. We’re gonna find you, we are. We’re gonna find you, and get you help, and you’re gonna be fine.”

Sounds an awful lot like Ghost is trying to convince himself, rather than Soap.

He thinks he hears other voices, a back and forth conversation, it’s muted. Somewhere in the background. It takes him a moment to realize that they’re coming from Ghost’s end of the comm, not him. Not him. No one else is here but him.

He had never thought dying would feel so lonely. Always thought it would come to him fast, that he would be one of the lucky ones that didn’t see it coming before it struck.

Never thought it would be so slow.

“We have you now. We have you, Johnny. Now you’re gonna wait— you’re gonna keep your eyes open.”

Quietly, Soap thinks this might be the kindest voice Ghost has ever directed at him. Soothing. Thinks that maybe he can keep his eyes open after all, if that’s what’s wanted of him.

There are so many things he’s wanted to say.

Always thought he might have had a little more time to say them all, or maybe just some. Never thought he wouldn’t get the chance. What a silly thought to have, in their line of work. Soap should have known better than that.

“Gh—“ his voice cracks on a gasp once again.

“We’re so close, Johnny.”

I love you.

I love you, I love you.

You have to know that.

He should respond, he should. Sleep is creeping up on him, now. Too fast. The sky seems so full of stars now, there hadn’t been that many before.

He can’t find the dipper anymore.

Can’t remember if it was ever there at all.

“Johnny?”

He thinks it’s a nice way to go, hearing the sound of his name of Ghost’s tongue one last time.

The world finally falls quiet.