In Honor Of Worldbuilding Wednesday... How Do You Present Your Worldbuilding To Your Audience Without

In honor of Worldbuilding Wednesday... How do you present your worldbuilding to your audience without overwhelming or boring them? What techniques do you use?

Thanks for the ask! To be honest, it's not really a hard and fast rule that I work with. It's sorta just a vibe? But essentially "explain as I go". I don't reveal anything that isn't relevant until it is. For example, if the story is about a trek in a fantasy land, I don't need to mention the currency/bartering system until they're actively making purchases or bartering. And even so, I try to refrain from full-on explanations.

So instead of a scene like:

She pulled out a dalc- a round gold coin about 10 centimeters in radius with the previous queen's face stamped into it- and made the purchase. A dalc was the highest form of physical currency in their country, and the previous queen, Queen Annie XIII, was so renowned for her economic advancements that she'd usurped King John IV for the honor of her face on the coin. Cassie won this coin by yada yada yada

I'd instead do something more like:

She presented him with a round gold coin. "Would a dalc suffice, or is that still not enough for His Royal Stingy-ness?" It'd better fucking suffice. She doubted even Jack had a dalc to spare.

And just leave it at that. Frankly, none of the other bits of information means shit to a reader, at least not in that moment. So if it REALLY becomes important at some point, I'll just wait until that point to explain the rest of it. It helps to keep in mind that, while this is a book, and the reader is new to the world, no one else in the story is (unless you made a character just for that). While you still need to explain things to the reader, it's just as jarring for them if the characters act as if they're in an educational show for elementary school students.

If you made a character just for this express purpose of having someone else who also needs the world explained to them, I think a good measure to keep in mind is the kinds of questions you (or someone you know whose personality is similar to your character) would actually ask in this situation. Would someone drop-kicked into fae-land ACTUALLY give a shit about whose face is on that coin? Would they care enough to ask? Would it ever actually occur to them to ask how their irrigation system works, or how the monarchy was established, while they're on a cross-country journey to save the princess?

Yeah so that's it, lol. Long-winded, but the TLDR is "context only as context is needed." Thanks again for the ask!

The idea of characters from other stories winding up in SVSSS has been stuck in my head for a while but I'm not gonna write abt it lmao so here's what's been rattling around in the ole noggin:

Toph:

Toph would be a genuine menace

Specifically on poor Liu Qingge, who hasn't the slightest clue how he wound up with yet another student

Earthbending should not be possible here. Earthbending is NOT possible here.

Toph invents earthbending here.

In fact, she only gets stronger. Because the cultivation aspects of the world means she's got even more qi and knows more about how to use it beyond earthbending.

She can now use qi itself to "see" (sensing others' qi, using it to sense movement, etc.) Not just earthbending

Lqg wants nothing to do with any more disciples. Especially not ones as annoying as yang yixuan

He gets a gremlin even more annoying than yang yixuan

He lies awake at night, regretting saving her life that one time on a hunt and kickstarting her path of being a Problem

Specifically, he saves her life one night while she's out trying to remaster earthbending, inspiring her to become a cultivator

She runs away from her noble family and their arranged marriage and stifling life that they've planned out for her and heads straight to Cang Qiong's Bai Zhan peak the first chance she gets

Refuses to take no for an answer, thus growing to become lqg's #1 menace

He both blesses and curses the day she was born

Lqg would sooner die than admit she's basically his other baby sister/daughter figure

Will outright refuse to fly on her sword When asked how she'll get around, the earth goddamn MOVES UNDER HER FEET and she causes several earthquake/mole monster sightings with these shenanigans

Is banned from this move

Begins to tunnel underground instead

She could arguably fly on her sword just fine, sensing the qi around her to navigate and shit, but it's harder and definitely uncomfortable and brings back bad memories of that one time in the volcano with Aang and Sokka

Luo Binghe wants her dead

She probably never gets strong enough to 1v1 him and win but she's definitely strong enough to become a genuine challenge

Especially when she reinvents metalbending

Rides for her shizun ong

Would probably fight lbh for lqg's honor after the SQQ corpse situation (he did not ask her to do this)

Aang:

The angel of Qing Jing peak fr

Or that monastery but we don't hear enough about them tbh

Has legitimately no idea how he got here, maybe too scared to question it actually

Like, did he really fuck up and end up getting ripped out of the avatar cycle orrrr????

Decides some things are better left unknown

The only struggle he really has is not being bald anymore

Honestly???? Might still shave his head and just stick to a wig

Would inevitably get caught or ALMOST caught and eventually gets used to growing it out (would probably become the inventor of extensions or wig glue though lmao)

Would make the spoiled qing jing disciples better just by being around them tbh

Star student probably, would be a menace in a cute way

One of the few men allowed on Xian Shu (for visits/messages)

Would probably befriend demons ngl

Loves flying on his sword

Prefers his staff though, and eventually figures out how to make/get someone to make one for him

No one knows how he does the air scooter. They are scared.

No one asks about the tattoos either.

Or how he's controlling all these fucking elements.

He doesn't have an avatar state anymore, but that doesn't seem to stop him from being wildly more dangerous than anyone expected

Possibly unlocks permanent cultivation-blocking? Like sealing off your core

Demons don't take note

Until he learns how to do the same for demonic cores

Exorcist Aang

Possibly becomes a rogue/wandering cultivator

Wandering rogue exorcist Aang????

He's either a god descended upon the earth or a heavenly demon in disguise, according to critics

He thinks it's all silly

Until he meditates too hard and communes with a god or something who tells him they may or may not have bargained to snatch his corner of the avatars soul for a reason

Uh oh

Sokka:

Does not know how he managed to get spiritual energy or cultivate

Actively chooses not to think too much about it

The head disciple of An Ding 😭

Absolutely salty about it

Shang Qinghua is endlessly grateful though

Does not know what to make of the long hair thing; probably tries to keep his hair in a half-pony still, as an ode to the water tribe

I've seen some fics where Qiong Ding is headcannoned as the bureaucratic peak; in this case, he might be able to sweet talk his way in if fate and Yue Qingyuan is kind enough

Either way he's grateful he gets to do sword stuff again

Especially now that he can FLY on them?!

He hasn't completely forgotten his skills, so he's got a whole different style no one's seen before and it's Weirdly Good Actually

He finally works his cultivation up enough to get his personal sword

Then he finally gets to summon his and he cries

It's space sword

No one knows what the fuck to make of this weird ass sword but he doesn't care, it's his and he loves it

Known as the best ever manager of An Ding peak

Katara:

Would have one (1) argument with her brother and march up to Xian Shu

Frequent visitor of Qing Jing and Qian Cao

Mu Qingfang mourns every day that she didn't choose the medicine peak

Katara maintains that she's too ready to beat some ass to ever be a full doctor and vow to do no harm

Never quite learns to be comfy with a sword but can still handle her own

During the demon invasion on Cang Qiong (assuming she's there at the time), she bloodbends Hualing right off the mountain

The demons do NOT stick around

The cultivators are too scared to ask her what the fuck that was but they're nicer to her than before

The xian shu peak gains a fearsome reputation of possibly teaching blood magic

No One gets how she does the waterbending stuff. Outsiders assume it's some Xian Shu ancient secret technique. Or she's related to Mobei Jun. Real members know Kataras just Like This.

Keeps the hair loopies. No matter what people say.

Wears a blue necklace similar to her mother's heirloom; a gift from her shizun probably

Genuinely enjoys the sisterhood on Xian Shu. It reminds her of the better days of her home, before the southern raiders came back

Zuko:

Could've chosen from several peaks, but chooses Bai Zhan

Something about the bamboo on Qing Jing reminds him of his uncle though, so he likes to visit. But not for too long. It hurts.

Isn't really bothered by the long hair thing; while cutting hair isn't forbidden in the fire nation, long hair is common practice, especially for nobles

Keeps the standard topknot until Toph calls it ugly

And then he remembers toph cannot see his topknot

Starts doing ponytails anyway

Also a star student of Bai Zhan, especially after he busts out the firebending forms

Yet another nuisance for poor lqg

He and Toph are the only two that can keep up with each other

Known as the Twin Stars of Bai Zhan

Aka the Twin Headaches of Liu Qingge

Has a small red birthmark near his eye, on the side that used to be burned

The fact that there isn't a massive burn is mildly uncomfortable to him at first. Doesn't feel like himself

Again, No One knows how all these kids with weird qi abilities are coming from

They're beginning to suspect they're all part demon

Neither he nor Toph ever defeat the demon heritage allegations

Especially not with the way they fight. And allegedly have a Past that no one else knows about

Would also fight Binghe for his Shizuns honor

Weirdly chill for Bai Zhan actually

Has probably made leaps and bounds from his avatar hunting days already

Most expect him to have gone to a quieter peak, it's baffling

Until he beats the shit outta somebody

And then goes back to being gentle and chill and forgiving

He wonders if uncle Iroh is watching over him here too

He can only hope his uncle is still proud of him, wherever he might be

Lqg isn't his uncle, but he's still a kind presence that Zuko looks up to a little, even if the guy is a little too punchy

Thus takes it upon himself to ride or die for him

One of the few dual wielders around

His curved blades are also a source of curiosity for the others

But he's good with them so no one complains

In a bingliushen situation, Zuko, Toph, and YYX are feral protective gremlins that somehow make things better AND worse for the development of the bingliushen courtship process lmao

I'll probably make more at some point but that's all for now. If someone wants to make a fic of these PLEASE let me know, link me I'm desperate

I was thinking about my characters recently and I got worried for a bit that one of my stoic characters wouldn't get mad at anything! Then I realized, "Nah, there are SOME select situations.." It was really fun!

SO! Pick a character of your choice (probably a more put-together character but it doesn't have to be!) and think about their Anger TM.

What would make them mad but would also be really funny and amusing to them?

What would send them into a wild rage? A tirade? Violence, if they're so inclined?

What would make them the kind of cold anger that would lead to months of plotting revenge?

What would make them "not mad, just disappointed"?

No pressure but I had fun with it, so I gotta pass it along!

Sorry for the wait! Holiday season is nuts, especially with finals and suddenly not having a source of income lol. But thank you for the ask!

I was going to go with an Asteria Heights Character, but then I figured that I should try writing one for a WIP I haven't really talked about yet. So I'll be using Teddy from Teddy and Finn (working title).

"What would make them mad but would also be really amusing to them?"

To be fair, Teddy's pretty chill, but mostly because he barely understands what's going on half the time and is just happy to be there, lol. This would probably be the most achievable kind of anger for him, because it'll likely be over something seemingly very simple in human society that he simply Doesn't Get. Like bowls of glass fruits and fake potted plants that grandmas have in their houses. Or paperweights.

I can imagine him being very fascinated by a fake banana, only to grab it and realize it's inedible and being very frustrated while Finn tries to explain why, exactly, his grandmother has fake fruits. But it would also make him very amused, because he finds humans very amusing, so after the initial betrayal, he'd probably start laughing. He'd eventually write it off as yet another interesting little idiosyncrasy humans display.

"What would send them into a wild rage? A tirade? Violence, if they're so inclined?"

I wouldn't say Teddy is inclined to violence, per say, but he's definitely accustomed to it. Being a demon, it's part of his culture, essentially. Rage (especially manifested as violence) is part of everyday life to him, though he's seen as kind of an oddball for not being so hungry for it. I think it'd be difficult to get him visibly angry (it's difficult in general to get him to subconsciously visibly emote), so it'd probably have to be something very over-the-top dramatic. Like hurting his favorite human, Finn. Or his pet demon-mole (that he should not have in his apartment).

If caught mistreating his pet, the offender would likely be thrown off the property (literally - via fifth floor window). If caught mistreating Finn, reactions would range from Asking Very Nicely to leave, to forgetting his strength and accidentally hitting them hard enough to kill them. However, Teddy's very dedicated to being a cheerful, kind, model member of human society, so he'd probably smile widely the entire time. He's not very eloquent so he'd smile and very kindly apologize after having thrown someone through a wall for stressing out The Mole.

"What would make them the kind of cold anger that would lead to months of plotting revenge?"

This is actually the kind of anger that I think he'd be more likely to come across. He isn't the type to get angry very easily, so once he's actually genuinely upset, it's usually a situation in which he's past the point of calming down and moving on. His next step is to ruin this person's life.

Cold anger would probably be a result of something equally dramatic. If you somehow managed to survive mistreating Finn or The Mole the first time, repeated offenses would probably result in this kind of reaction. Surprisingly, his family being under threat wouldn't elicit this kind of response; his siblings and parents are more than capable of returning slights tenfold.

"What would make them 'not mad, just disappointed'?"

Learning that some rumored human custom or convention isn't actually as ridiculous as he'd expected. Like interpersonal/relationship drama not being "as seen on TV". Or the average person's daily attire. Or pancake stacks. He'd honestly be so sad that people don't, in fact, get up to wacky shenanigans while learning the class' lesson of the day, which is "the Power of Friendship". Or that humans don't actually burst into song and dance randomly throughout their days.

I think the thing that would disappoint him the most is is food didn't look or taste as good as advertised, at least the first few times. Those cartoon pancake stacks would have him depressed for a week, lol. (And don't tell him that red velvet is actually just chocolate.)

Thanks again for the ask, @amaiguri!

Credit: @pet_foolery

Not a villain song tag game

Hello, everyone! Welcome to the not a villain song tag game! (Does this exist already? If yes, then excuse my ignorance) (Am i allowed to make a tag game when my blog is 2 days old? Hopefully!)

Rules: Pick a song for the antagonist/ villain of your WIP, but the twist is that it can't be obvious that it is a song for the villain. As in: if someone listened to the song and didn't know it was about the villain, they couldn't guess!

I'll start:

For Odette: Cost of the Crown by Mercedes Lackey

Ah, yes, Odette!

"A friend, a love, a child--- it matters not, I know indeed 

That I must sacrifice them all if there should be the need 

They know and they forgive me--- doing more than I require, 

With willing minds and loving hearts go straight to grasp the fire."

I'll tag some people who said they wanted to be tagged in @athenswrites tag game masterpost (but only if you want to do it):

@overdecorated-furniture @willtheweaver @pandoras-comment-box @anyablackwood

And I know I didn't see you in that post, but just in case: @illarian-rambling

And obviously, anyone who sees this is free to play!

Smash or Pass OC Tag

SO SORRY FOR THE LATE RESPONSE! Belated thanks to @athenswrites for the tag! I used picrew for the first time just to give you guys a reference. It's not 100% the way I envision her but it's close enough!

Rules: "Include physical descriptions or pics, and propaganda. The “other” label can be used for “sexuality misalignment” (You're not attracted to people of that gender expression, you're not attracted to people at all, etc.)

Princess Adrasteia (previously Kairi)

She/her, cis female (allegedly), early 20s, usually femme-presenting too (but not always)

Asexual, romantic orientation up for negotiation

One of the most powerful mages alive

Was previously a college girl before she got hit by the Isekai truck and woke up in the world of a novel she didn't finish reading

In the body of (as you might guess) the book's main antagonist

the youngest (and only) princess in a royal family of mages who must fight to the death to earn the title of heir

went from average modern citizen to dark fantasy YA antagonist overnight and isn't coping AT ALL

Constant identity crisis (esp after gaining OG Adrasteia's memories)

master of gatekeeping, gaslighting, and girlbossing - both to stay in-character and also to survive this new life

syncretizes surprisingly well with the canon antagonist's personality actually

has taken lives and would do it again

homesick 🥺

her homesickness manifests in obsession and taking over the empire

technically engaged, but for political reasons. Is neither interested in her fiance as a person nor in keeping him around for longer than necessary to get what she wants (ergo: open relationship in a "this isn't a real marriage anyway" way)

just a sad lil baby 🥺 (who is also mentally unstable, extremely volatile, and prone to violence & cruelty beyond measure)

cold & calculating, partially to bury her aching desire to go home

very charismatic when she wants to be, aka around people she thinks she can get things out of

very conventionally attractive (and uses it to her advantage)

Eager to see where this goes! (gently) tagging: @theunboundwriter, @amaiguri, @paintedbutton, and anyone else who wants in!