dustydruid

[dustydruid]

Fresh cut daffodil flowers taken before the hailstorm.

#cottagecore #daffodils

[dustydruid]

Soon™

[dustydruid]

Reminder for artists and writers to OPT-OUT of Tumblr giving your posts to companies to train AI programs

Each of your side-blogs has to enable the "Prevent sharing" setting. It's not account-wide

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[dustydruid]

Fantasy Guide to Building A Culture

Culture is defined by a collection of morals, ethics, traditions, customs and behaviours shared by a group of people.

Hierarchy and Social Structures

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 matriarchal. 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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

[dustydruid]

[dustydruid]

I went back into Warrior Cats. Here are two of my favorites.

[dustydruid]

[dustydruid]

Lying on the sofa, in my robe, playing my violin... Then realizing its such a Sherlock vibe

#sherlock holmes #bbc sherlock #violin

[dustydruid]

The caduceus for doctors of makrotrichosology just dropped

hello mr strange do you like my new tattoo of my children, greg superglue fluoride and lady gregswife amadeus superglue

That is an INCREDIBLE tattoo!!!! Holy shit!!!!!

#makrotrichosology #nice tat

[dustydruid]

Sometimes on a cold winter night a girl needs a cup of cocoa... Others a cup of beef broth... But on this chilly night it's a cup of marinara sauce.

#girl dinner

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silliest girl award

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Instagram:

Reality:

[dustydruid]

Okay, so I was browsing Pinterest and I came across this post someone got (I assume) from Tumblr. It seems like an old post.

Here’s screenshots of the whole thing. Give it a read:

Well, this all seemed totes interesting, so I decided to indulge my inner grammarian and satisfy the greedy, compulsive, obnoxious bugger and add punctuation to this creative end ever of creating a new alphabet.

Here’s notes of my ideas:

Forgive my awful hand writing.

Also, if I may direct you attention to the blots on the paper next to exclamation sign, next to the word ‘exclamation’, and between the words ‘semi’ and ‘colon’ and any other scribbles you may see.

I think the sign for Dash and the Exclamation mark could be improved. Semicolon is a little weak too.

Aaaannnyyy way….

What do you think?

Reblog and add to this! It would be great fun to see how this alphabet develops.

Honorable mentions: @ceekari @catgirltoes and @theshitpostcalligrapher who were a part of this and whose contributions can be seen in the above images.

One cannot neither forget @kalanchoeblossfeldiana who started this whole thing, and is no longer here. A moment of quiet for this person’s goneness. 😔

[dustydruid]

Instead of saying [common, perfectly serviceable word] when you write, why not try one of the following synonyms?

[wildly differing connotation]

[five syllables where one will do]

[tonally dissonant formalism]

[misunderstood medical term]

[word that hasn’t been in regular use since the 1700s]

[actual typo]

[dustydruid]

In trying to learn a new instrument I drafted these levels... I'd like to reach level 3, with occasional twinges of 4 thrown in... A pleasant embarrassment.

#learning music #violin #guitar #flute #song #musician

[dustydruid]

It begins with Thriller and ends with dinner.

Dahlov Ipcar (American, 1917 - 2017) 

Cheetah & Antelope, 1995

Watercolor on paper

#thriller #michael jackson #michael jackson thriller