*frantically takes notes*
I always find it kind of weird that matriarchal cultures in fiction are always “women fight and hunt, men stay home and care for the babies” because world-building-wise, it makes no sense
think about it. like, assuming that gender even works the same in this fantasy culture as it does in ours, with gender conflated with sex (because let’s be real, all of these stories assume that), men wouldn’t be the ones to make the babies, so why would they be the ones to care for the babies? why is fighting and hunting necessary for leadership?
writing a matriarchy this way is just lazy, because you’re just taking the patriarchy and just swapping the people in it, rather than actually swapping the culture. especially when there are so many other cool things you could explore. like, what if it’s not a swap of roles but of what society deems important?
maybe a matriarchy would have hunting and fighting be part of the man’s job, but undervalued. like taking the trash out or cleaning toilets: necessary, but gross, and not noble or interesting. maybe farming is now the most important thing, and is given a lot of spiritual and cultural weight.
how would law work? what crimes would exist, and what things would be considered too trivial to make illegal? who gets what property? why?
how would religion work? how would you mark time or the passage into adulthood? what would marriage look like? if bloodlines are through the mother, bastardy wouldn’t even be a concept - how does that work?
what qualities would be most important in a person? how would you define strength or leadership? what knowledge would be the most coveted and protected? what acts or roles are considered useless or degrading?
like, you can’t just take our current society and say you’re turning it on its head when you’re just regurgitating it wholesale. you have to really think about why things are the way they are and change that.
INKTOBER Day 14!
The world of Airth. Literally torn apart by an ancient war between the gods who created it, Airth is divided into 4 sections: 1. the Stratos, a chain of islands high in the sky where the Sylph people live 2. The Rimland, a massive ring of continents and giant islands where Most of the inhabitants of Airth live. Wake lives here. 3. The Abyss, a stretch of atmosphere filled with incredible cloud formations and tiny floating islands. Limberg and Grimm are from here. 4. The Core, an ocean covered rocky sphere filled with colossal caves. The Tengru, monsters and beasts, and the Dark Lord live down here.
There is a prophecy that the Dark Lord will regain his power and destroy what’s left of Airth to start a new planet with him as ruler. The only thing that can stop him is the Star Seed. It is the key to making Airth whole again and destroying the darkness forever. But is the Star Seed only a myth?
#inktober #inktober2015 #SkyHeartComic
*speechless* Damn it.
Personal GM challenge: write an adventure plot that does not involve a cult in any way.
I have no words. This saddens and angers me so much.
Today marks the 26th anniversary of the École Polytechnique massacre, in Montreal, Canada. A cowardly, misogynic act which left 14 promising women dead, simply because they were women:
Twenty-five-year-old Marc Lépine, armed with a Mini-14 rifle and a hunting knife, shot 28 people, killing 14 women, before committing suicide. He began his attack by entering a classroom at the university, where he separated the male and female students. After claiming that he was “fighting feminism” and calling the women “a bunch of feminists,” he shot all nine women in the room, killing six. He then moved through corridors, the cafeteria, and another classroom, specifically targeting women to shoot. Overall, he killed fourteen women and injured ten other women and four men in just under 20 minutes before turning the gun on himself.[1][2] His suicide note claimed political motives and blamed feminists for ruining his life. The note included a list of 19 Quebec women whom Lépine considered to be feminists and apparently wished to kill.[3]
After this despicable act, Canada adopted gun control measures. Since gun control measures were adopted there has not been another mass shooting killing more than 10 people in Canada. Since École Polytechnique there has only been 9 massacres in Canada; 9 in 26 years.
Please remember these women.
Tweets by the YWCA of Toronto
THE WHOLE MAP
How much of your map you draw depends on you and your story. Start with what is important to the story and when you have time, you can draw maps for other places as well.
When you draw the main area, whether it be an island, a whole country, or just part of a country, start with the outline and geography. Draw the main borders, add some geography, and figure out its climate based on its position. I would suggest drawing borders within an area after drawing the geography, as rivers are often used as borders and they can help give your world a more natural look.
If you’re making up the whole world with all its land masses and whatnot, I would suggest creating one giant landmass, cutting it up, moving the pieces around a bit, and then adding and taking away some coastal lands to change the shape a bit.
When focusing on an area and with a story in which characters travel, it’s a good idea to figure out the distance so you know how far and how long your characters need to travel. To do this, compare the map to a real-world map and come up with a conversion for distance (ex: 1 inch = 15 miles).
If you have trouble coming up with borders, coastlines, rivers, mountain ranges, and other geographical and political locations, grab some maps or an atlas and trace small parts of real world places for your map. Put them all together and you’ve got a whole new world.
Stuff to Include:
Compass rose
Names of geographical places
Symbols to represent settlements
Bodies of water
Geographical places such as mountains and deserts
Important major roads
A legend for these symbols
The trail that your characters travel on
SETTLEMENTS:
If there are important settlements in your story, it’s a good idea to make a map for your own reference. Some settlements are (in order of smallest to largest): hamlets, villages, towns, and cities. Of course there are other settlements, but the terms used and what they mean vary by region.
Before you make your map, you should consider the following:
What is the population? How many people make up a village or a city is up to you and it should reflect the population and the population density of the fictional region you’re writing in.
Where is it located? The first permanent settlements started small and sprung into cities while farms and villages popped up around them. These settlements were also near water and other resources, which brings us to the age:
How old is it? The oldest settlements will be near water no matter how much technology is available in the time period you’re writing in. Older settlements were not built with the technology needed to transport water to far places. How old a settlement is will also affect the architecture and the artifacts and structures found nearby.
What is the layout? Newer settlements will typically have an organized layout based on the geography around the settlement. Older settlements may be organized as well, but are more likely to have roads built around permanent dwellings and buildings rather than the other way around. If your settlement is organized, build the roads first. If it’s not, mark structures first and build the roads around them.
Roads & Buildings:
Like mentioned above, the layout of your settlement depends on geography, roads, and structures.
It would be best to start with the geography, such as hills, bodies of water, and forests. Once you have the general geography of the settlement, you can either put the roads down or the structures.
Organized settlements should start with major roads. How many you have depends on the population size. If there are only a few hundred people in the settlement, there may only be one or two main roads with several minor roads. The main road should lead people to important areas of a settlement, such as a government building, the roads out of the settlement, and other non-residential buildings or structures. However, there can still be residential dwellings. The minor roads should come off the main road(s) can lead to anywhere from residences to parks. To differentiate between the main roads and minors roads, draw the main roads as thicker lines.
Unorganized settlements usually, but not always, start with the structures and without a plan of what this settlement will develop into. While organized and pre-planned settlements are more likely to cut into geographical areas rather than work around them. If your settlement has less grid-like roads and more random placements, start by placing all the structures of your town before drawing the roads.
These types of settlements will still have some type of structure. For example, non-residential buildings tend to be in one area with the occasional stay building. This is usually where a main road ends up. Residential buildings are more random. How far apart they are depends on the type of settlement and what the people at that residence do. Farmers will have more land while those who don’t work off the land or who work outside of their home may or may not have smaller properties.
Draw the oldest roads in unorganized settlements first. The oldest roads usually end up being major roads whether they are straight or curved. The minor roads will go next or there may be no minor roads at all.
Now you have to name your roads and buildings. You don’t have to name all of them, but it can help for reference and it can help build your world.
If you are building a city rather than a smaller dwelling, there are more tips for that here.
GEOGRAPHY:
Climates and Ecosystems:
World Climate Zones
World Biomes
Tundra
Tundra Biome
Taiga
Grasslands
Grassland Biome
Chaparral
Savanna
The Mediterranean Biome
Forests:
Deciduous Forest Biome
Forestry Terms
Tropical Rain Forests
Temperate Forest
Forest Biome Regions
The Forest Biome
Sand:
Deserts
Anatomy of a Beach
Types of Dunes
Desert Biome
The Formation of Deserts
How Are Deserts Made?
Where Are Deserts Found?
Caves:
Caves
Cave Terms
Sea Caves
Solution Caves
Volcanoes:
Anatomy of a Volcano
How Volcanoes Work
Water:
Waterfall Classification
River Anatomy
Anatomy of a River
How Rivers Are Formed Animation
Freshwater Biome
Marine Biome
Lake Origins
Water Geography
Mountains:
How Mountains are Formed
Mountain Ranges
The Alpine Biome
Alpine
More:
Nations and Culture 2.1: Giving Land a Face
Fantasy World Maps
Glossary of Geography Terms
Fantasy Map Photoshop Resources
Fantasy Map Brushes
That’s Faery glen, in Scotland!
I want more :o
happy pokemon day be safe ok enjoy this very old drawing of some primeapes
I didn’t know she’s been deported...
Simone Veil aborde pour la toute première fois sa déportation lors de l'inauguration d'un hôpital.
Naziyah Mahmood is a woman of contradictions. She was a scientist for the European Space Agency, an artist and soon to be published writer/poet. Also, she is a deadly martial artist and weapons collector while being a peace loving woman of faith. Naziyah has overcome a tough upbringing and disability to become an academic of excellence……who can also kick your butt. (x)
WHAT A BADASS <3 <3
“I do get a lot of odd looks when walking around Glasgow, especially when I’m training. There is still that stereotype here that women dressed like me should just be in the kitchen. An old instructor of mine used to call me his ‘little ninja girl.’ I didn’t mind because it gave me an advantage. I was taken lightly and I routinely got underestimated, especially when sparring. I remember one male student who was well over 6ft reassured me by saying,
‘Don’t worry. I will go easy on you.’
He soon found himself on the floor.”
Hi there, have you ever heard the Gospel? If you haven’t, here it is: We have all sinned and deserve God's judgment. God, the Father, sent His only begotten Son to satisfy that judgment for those who believe in Him. Jesus, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that He died for our sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, was buried, and rose from the dead, thus defeating death for us. Check out "A Call for An Uprising" on YouTube, it'll help you in your awakening process. God bless you
For the last time mom, I’m a dungeon master, not a satanist!
Yet another geeky guy on the internet of Things. Plot-twist: is actually a feminist, expect some reblogs.
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