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The Corner of My Memory

@writingbarnes / writingbarnes.tumblr.com

Nadine. 30. Marvel fics and stuff. All stories are mine. DO NOT repost/copy.
@jeonminhao for fic reblogs @svtwonhao for fics
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More often than not I’ll crack into a sprawling fantasy series and, while I appreciate the luscious descriptions of furniture, landscapes, and clothing, all I’m focused on is that I don’t actually know how this world works. I only know what it looks like.  

Including some functionality to your universe can add to immersion and give your reader a strong foundation on which to build their mental model of your universe. 

You certainly don’t need to use all of these questions! In fact, I recommend against that, as all of these certainly won’t make it into your final draft. I personally find that starting my worldbuilding off with 5 to 10 functional questions helps pave the way for glittery and elaborate aesthetic development later on.

  • How is the healthcare funded in your world?
  • How does healthcare functionally differ between the wealthy and the poor? (i.e. can only the wealthy go to hospitals? do poor families often have to rely on back-alley procedures?)
  • Where are health centers (i.e. hospitals, small clinics, etc.) organized in your cities?
  • Does it differ in smaller towns?
  • How does this affect people’s ability to get healthcare?
  • Is healthcare magical, and if it is, how does that affect the healthcare system? 
  • If healing is instantaneous, how does that affect people’s views on injury, illness, and chronic ailments?
  • If you have both magical and physical healthcare, which one is deemed superior and how does that affect society? 
  • What illnesses are common in your world? 
  • How does this affect daily life? 
  • What do the people in your world think illnesses are? 
  • Is it a miasma theory? 
  • Humor theory? 
  • Demons? 
  • Do they know about biological viruses and bacteria? 
  • How does this affect healthcare?
  • How do people get water? 
  • Is the water sanitary and if not, how do they sanitize it?
  • How does agriculture work? 
  • Is it large corporations or individual farms?
  • What sort of agricultural technology exists in your world and how does it affect food production?
  • Are farmers wealthy or poor?
  • What sort of natural resources does your world/country(ies) have and how are they obtained?
  • How does this affect the average wealth of the country?
  • How does this wealth affect the culture? 
  • What livestock or beasts of burden are most valued? Least valued? Why?
  • What is considered a luxury good vs. a regular good?
  • What forms of transportation does your world have?
  • What classes use what forms of transportation?
  • How far has the average citizen traveled, given your transportation limitations?
  • Which cities are the most accessible and which are the least? Why?
  • How do popular transportation methods change how cities/towns are laid out?
  • Does your world have public transportation? What is it?
  • Is there a coming-of-age aspect to travel?
  • Describe your world’s postal system or whatever equivalent there is. 
  • Who pays for it? 
  • How reliable is it? 
  • Are there emergency methods for transporting information?
  • How does your world keep time (i.e. watches, sundials, water clock, etc.)?
  • Does your world have a currency system, barter system, or something else? 
  • If you have multiple countries, do different currencies have different values across said countries?
  • How does this affect travel?
  • Do you have banks in your world and if so, how are they run?
  • Who owns the banks? Government? Wealthy? How does this affect the economy and/or class system?
  • How does credit operate in your universe?
  • Does your world operate more on big corporations or small business? Something in between?
  • How are workers/labourers treated in your world? 
  • Are there workers unions and if so, what are common views on unions? 
  • Describe your tax system. If you don’t have a tax system, explain why and how your world is affected by that. 
  • Can certain social classes not own property, certain livestock, certain businesses, etc.? Why?
  • How are business records kept? Are business records kept?
  • If your world has technology, does your world prioritize developing entertainment tech, communications tech, transportation tech or something else entirely?
  • What does this say about your world?
  • How does this affect your economy?
  • To the closest approximation, what type of government does your world have? 
  • How are rulers/presidents/nobles put in place? 
  • How much power does an individual ruler have? 
  • Is there a veto process? 
  • If you have multiple countries, do they have different types of rulers?
  • Describe any large-scale alliances (i.e. countries, factions, etc.) that are present in your world. 
  • How did they come about and how are they maintained? 
  • Are they strained or peaceful? 
  • How does it affect the greater politics of your world?
  • Describe how wars are fought both internationally and nationally. 
  • Do methods of war differ between countries/races? 
  • What about philosophies about war?
  • If there is a military, what is its hierarchy structure?
  • How does the military recruit?
  • Is the military looked upon favourably in your society?
  • What weapons are used by each country/type of people during warfare, and how does that affect war strategies?
  • Describe the sentencing system of your world. 
  • Is your accused innocent until proven guilty, or guilty until proven innocent?
  • How are lawbreakers punished? 
  • If you have prisons, describe how they are organized and run, and who owns them. 
  • Does differing ownership change how the prisons operate?
  • What are the major ways in which laws between countries vary? 
  • Do laws between cities vary? If so, how and why?
  • How does citizenship work in your world? What rights and privileges do citizens have that others do not? 
  • Can certain classes or races not become citizens?
  • Are there certain taboo subjects or opinions that artist/authors/musicians are not allowed to depict (i.e. portraying the official religion in a negative light, explicit sexual material, etc.)? What does this say about your society?
  • How do people get around these censorship laws?
  • What is the official hierarchy of duty in your world? (i.e. is family the most important, or patriotism? What about clan?)
  • How many languages are there in your world, and how many languages share a common origin? 
  • How many people are multilingual? 
  • Which language is the most common?
  • How is multilingualism viewed?
  • How are different languages viewed? (i.e. is one language ugly/barbaric while another is romantic and sensual?)

Feel free to add your own questions in reblogs or in comments!

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Favourite Vincent van Gogh quotes (part 3)

  • “There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.”
  • “Normality is a paved road: It’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it.”   
  • “La tristesse durera toujours. [The sadness will last forever.]”
  • “The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has its pearls too.”
  • “If you don’t have a dog–at least one–there is not necessarily anything wrong with you, but there may be something wrong with your life.”
  • “We spent our whole lives in unconscious exercise of the art of expressing our thoughts with the help of words.”
  • “In my view, I am often immensely rich, not in money, but (although just now perhaps not all the time) rich because I have found my metier, something I can devote myself to heart and soul and that gives inspiration and meaning to my life.”
  • “Do not quench your inspiration and your imagination; do not become the slave of your model.”
  • “There was a sentence in your letter that struck me, “I wish I were far away from everything, I am the cause of all, and bring only sorrow to everybody, I alone have brought all this misery on myself and others.” These words struck me because that same feeling, just the same, not more nor less, is also on my conscience.”
  • “What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?” 
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“Many people seem to think it foolish, even superstitious, to believe that the world could still change for the better. And it is true that in winter it is sometimes so bitingly cold that one is tempted to say, ‘What do I care if there is a summer; its warmth is no help to me now.’ Yes, evil often seems to surpass good. But then, in spite of us, and without our permission, there comes at last an end to the bitter frosts. One morning the wind turns, and there is a thaw. And so I must still have hope.”

— Vincent Van Gogh

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notthegrouch
“If I am worth anything later, I am worth something now. For wheat is wheat, even if people think it is a grass in the beginning.” 

- Vincent van Gogh

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allsadnshit

I'm in a phase of constantly having to learn I need to be able to live my life with my choices and perspectives not being understood by others, even sometimes people I love and want to have on my side for everything I do.

It's so exhausting to try and make yourself digestible to the world around you, even when it's people you truly yearn for understanding from

Like if my choice to take rest can't be understood by my loved ones who won't give themselves rest I need to be able to see that for what it is and not take it personally

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really strange how you can be almost at peace with something that happened to you but it will continue to be a defining moment of your life for the rest of your life. you wont think about it much anymore but in a conversation about a film someone will mention the year it was released and you’ll think to yourself, “that was before it happened” and you’ll see an old photo and think how strange it is to have existed before it happened and somehow it’s like living a life in two acts

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mongreldyke
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nothin' quite like how a dog loves

let dead dogs lie - silas denver melvin // red dog - elizabeth frink // how to be a dog - andrew kane // domestication syndrome - dhole b // no origin found // for your own good - leah horlick // pleasure - beth cavener // it will come back - hozier // i am a dog. i have blood all over my teeth. - sciencedfiction // same poem as directly previous

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peachyyykat

kaveh akbar, 'calling a wolf a wolf' // doc luben, 'love letters or suicide notes' // @/nutnoce, tumblr // 'my body's made of crushed little stars', mitski // @/ojibwa, tumblr // 'spring', mary oliver

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marvinorjack

Made this design based on the work of Carl Golden for whoever may need a little help with their character’s development

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stuckinapril

I could get over anything as long as I have something new to be obsessed with

girls when they don’t have a new obsession that helps them dissociate from their problems and they’re actually forced to face their thoughts

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tablonotes
I don’t have enough room in my heart to like everything.
20150918 Blonote
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tablonotes
If you’re going to cry, at least cry in front of someone
20151015 Blonote
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tablonotes
It could be that, the deeper they lie inside your heart, The harder it becomes to reach out to them.
20151112 Blonote
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I have a feeling this will become iconic in due time.  

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moonblossom

I’ve watched this for like a dozen loops and I still crack up every time

[Singing] T-Birds: Well-a, well-a, well-a– Tell me more, tell me more, did'ya get very far? Pink Ladies: Tell me more, tell me more– Jules (in time, astonishingly): Does he look like a bitch?

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