#I’ve probably done it too... but dang do I wanna slap those people upside the head and tell them to take a break

[lilybug-02]

[the-nagakenny-archives]

The Break-In

((OOC: This is just a little piece I’ve been working on that takes place in the Batman: TAS universe. :’3))

Kenny Huggins whistled to himself in the passenger seat of his secretary's car and took note of the sinister-looking Studebaker that was parked in a shady spot away from his driveway as they pulled up to his home. He said nothing to Maddie, though; Maddie was a dependable but timid woman and would probably want to call the police. He was perfectly capable of handling unexpected visitors on his own terms.

"Thanks for the ride, my darling!" He leaned over and gave her a swift peck on the cheek. "You're a peach!"

Maddie blushed but gave him an adoring smile in return. "Y-You're welcome, sir. Aren't you ever going to learn how to drive, though? It would be a lot more convenient for you, you know."

"Nope!" Kenny declared cheerfully as he stepped out of the car and shut the door. "Besides, I have too much fun riding with you. I'd miss it terribly."

"Fibber." Maddie grinned bashfully, brushing a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear.

"Oh, almost forgot!" Kenny dug into his pants pocket and brought out his wallet. "Here you are. For the gas." He reached in through the driver-side window and handed her two crisp twenty dollar bills.

Maddie fumbled with the bills, a bit taken aback. "B-But--"

"Is it enough? If you want I can add another." He was already reaching for his wallet.

"N-No, that's fine, it really is!" It always startled Maddie how frivolously generous this man could be. "It's more than enough, thank you!"

Kenny waved to her as she pulled out of the driveway and drove down the private road, and watched her go with his hands in his suit pockets. He enjoyed the quiet atmosphere of near-evening for a few moments. It had been a long day at the office---not that he actually had done anything that could be considered work, really. He went to the office mostly to keep up appearances and morale, and to meet with Very Important People occasionally. He had gone to one such meeting today, and it hadn't gone well; at least not for the Very Important People that had came to see him. He expected that was why the Studebaker was here. Someone---and he thought he knew exactly who---had sent in their goons to do a little more negotiating with him in private.

He allowed himself a small smirk and started walking to the front door. Well, he had never been known to turn away unexpected company.

Ten minutes earlier, Eddie Kowalski was squinting out the window from his vantage point, watching the silver coupe pull into the driveway. "And here comes Mr. Sunshine himself," he muttered to himself gruffly. "Okay boys, get by the door and jump him when he comes through."

"The heck is this guy's deal, anyway?" Peanuts Zimmerman, the smaller and younger of the two remaining men, was poking around in the refrigerator. "There's nothing in this thing except raw meat and mineral water. Some fruit, too."

"Prolly some fad diet or somethin'," grunted Gil Foster from his spot near the door, arms crossed over his chest. He was an impressive slab of mountainous continent. He cracked the knuckles in each of his brick-like hands. "All rich fruitcakes are into that sorta thing."

"Peanuts, stop clownin' around and get in position," Eddie hissed. He took the brass knuckles out of his pocket and put them on his right hand. "He's coming to the door."

"Okay okay, don't have a cow." Peanuts darted in, arranging himself on Gil’s right flank. There wouldn't be much for him to do except maybe kick the guy in the kneecaps if he tried to get smart; Gil's size and strength was usually enough.

But not this time, however.

Even if Kenny hadn't seen the Studebaker, Gil would have blown their cover anyway; Kenny could vaguely sense the intruder's body heat emanating from the other side. A big man, probably just as big as himself, and at six foot five he was nothing to sneeze at. As soon as he stepped through the threshold that gorilla-goon would jump him, and was he going to stand for that kind of conduct in his own home? Surely not.

Whistling, he put his hands in his pockets and started walking.

"Wait.....what the--?"

When the front door failed to open, Eddie chanced a sideways peek out the window. Their target was ambling around the side of the house and out of sight.

"Aw, dammit! Come on, he's moving!" He motioned for them to follow him down the hall with an annoyed flick of his hand.

"Huh?" Peanuts blinked incredulously. "You don't think he knows we're here, do you? Do you think he--"

"Nah, I met this guy when the boss went to meet with him today. Typical billionaire pretty-boy. 'Bout as bright as a damp match." It was a little disquieting, though; had they not hidden the car enough? Could he have seen Eddie peeking out the window? If they screwed this up Eddie knew there would be hell to pay with their boss, and that was the last thing he wanted to deal with.

The three goons made their way through the huge, expansive house, convening at the back door, and waited. This time they’d get him for sure. 

Kenny hummed to himself as he nonchalantly climbed up the side of the house, moving with uncanny ease. He had had to take his shoes off; they were all wrong for climbing, and would have made too much noise scrapping against the siding. He wouldn’t be needing them anyway, once he got to the upstairs window. 

Within minutes he sidled into the house, chuckling cheerfully. By now his ‘surprise party’ would have moved to the back door, no doubt. He’d greet them eventually, but first he had to make himself presentable.

After a few minutes of waiting by the door with no results, the goons heard a strange noise upstairs----a slow, stealthy sliding sound. Immediately they all looked up, on the alert. 

“What was that?” Peanuts hissed. “Sounded weird. Like someone dragging their feet across the floor.” 

“What do you mean, ‘someone’?” Eddie snapped at him. “There ain’t anyone in here besides---”

“Fellas, we got a problem. He pulled a disappearing act on us,” Gil grunted gruffly from his post. “He ain’t coming to the door, as far as I can see.”

Anger and frustration seared Eddie’s brain like a grill-mark across a steak. This was quickly turning into a botched job, and their control over the situation was slipping through their fingers faster than he could think. “Okay, so he’s inside then,” he growled through gritted teeth. “I see how it is. Fine. We can handle it.” 

“Handle it?! What if he’s callin’ the cops right now?” Peanuts yelped, wild-eyed. 

“Oh, not to worry, I haven’t called anyone. I won’t have to.” 

The three goons looked in the direction of the cheerful voice, and they were stunned into silence by what they saw. Peanuts’ jaw dropped, his eyes bulging. Eddie took an unconscious step backwards, his face contorted in a mask of fear and disgust. Gil fainted dead away. 

Kenny was coming toward them from down the hall, hands folded behind his back, teeth shining bright in a toothsome grin. He was dressed only in his suit jacket and shirt, and under normal circumstances that would have been disquieting; unfortunately this detail was the least disquieting thing about him at the moment. He wasn’t walking toward them---they recognized now the sound they had heard upstairs. He slithered toward them with a gently winding mass of serpentine coils that trailed behind him for what seemed like forever. 

“He’s some kinda’ freak!” Peanuts shrieked hysterically. “A monster! Oh sweet Mother Mary, get me outta here!” He turned, making a run for the back door. 

A huge, thick tail whipped past Eddie, making him jump to the side with a gasp and stumble to the floor. It snatched Peanuts by the ankle and heaved him off his feet, dangling him upside-down while he wailed in terror. 

“Excuse you,” Kenny said slyly, flexing his tail muscles and bringing the man up close, gazing into his terrified upside-down face. “I take offense to those particular terms.”

Eddie stared in silence at the unbelievable scene for a moment, then seemed to come to his senses; as Peanuts babbled incoherently, pleading for Kenny not to hurt him, Eddie got unsteadily to his feet and made a run for the door himself. 

Unfortunately, he soon discovered escaping that way would be impossible for the time being. Gil had fainted right beside the back door, and his gorilla-like bulk was completely blocking it from being opened. Eddie cursed under his breath and knelt, giving Gil’s blocky face a few whacks to try to get him to come to. “Come on, wake up, you dang lummox...”

“Please oh please lemme go, I just wanna see my ma, I wanna go home to my ma,” Peanuts blubbered from where he dangled.

Kenny shushed him, shaking his head. “Not yet. So why don’t you just relax-ssssss while I get this all sorted out, hmm?” 

Eddie looked up from trying to slap Gil awake at the sound of Kenny’s gentle hiss, and then something happened that he couldn’t quite make out----something with Kenny’s eyes. He was too far away to really tell what it was, but it caused Peanuts to gasp softly and stop blubbering entirely; in fact, his dangling body slowly went limp. Eddie decided to hell with it; he’d charge him head-on with his brass knuckles while he was dealing with Peanuts and go for the front door instead. Gil and Peanuts weren’t his responsibility, they’d just have to fend for themselves. He didn’t get far with that thought, however; Kenny placed Peanuts gently on the floor and began slowly slithering toward him. 

“Hey, I recognize you,” Kenny said, cocking his head with a smile, his eyes twinkling with mirth. He had the air of a man greeting an old friend rather than an intruder in his house; it made Eddie extremely nervous. “You were there in that meeting with Roland this morning. Is that what this is about?”

“Don’t come any closer or I’ll knock your block off,” Eddie snarled, brandishing his brass-encased right fist. Now he was wishing he had brought something more lethal, like a gun; Gil had been the most effective weapon they had thought to bring, and he was currently still out cold. To be fair, none of them could have come close to predicting their current situation. 

“Hmm. Isn’t that funny.” A sly glint shone in Kenny’s eyes. One of his massive coils rose into a hill, and he rested his elbow upon it, leaning his face against his hand. “You break into my house, I don’t call the police, don’t even wish you any harm, and you threaten me. You humans are a strange bunch, to be sure.”

Eddie was more unnerved than ever by this, but a plan came to him then. He pointed accusingly at Peanuts, still laying inert on the floor. “Don’t wish us harm, huh? What’d you do to Peanuts, then?” 

Kenny smiled and turned around to look. Eddie saw his opportunity and pounced on it with dark enthusiasm; he wound up for a particularly heavy blow and let it fly. 

Eddie’s fist was snatched mid-trajectory, causing him to grunt in surprise, and he was lifted clean off his feet just like Peanuts had been. He had somehow managed to forget about Kenny’s tail; it had grabbed him and wrapped completely around his hand and arm. 

Kenny chuckled and looked back at him. “Why, he’s fine,” he said slyly. “He’s just very relaxed. You should follow his example, honestly. Maybe I could...give you a hand? Hmm?” Kenny waggled Eddie’s arm back and forth with his tail, laughing in his throat. Eddie growled in reply and started kicking his feet and swinging his free arm, trying in vain to get himself loose. 

“Ah, but seriously now.” Kenny lazily settled himself among his coils. Eddie suddenly found himself rolling in mid-air as thicker coils manipulated around his body, pinning his arms and legs. His head and stomach lurched uncomfortably. “Let’s cut to the chase. I know why you miscreants are here---Roland’s got a sore spot about how this morning went, so he sent you three to intimidate me a little. Maybe more than a little, judging by your unsophisticated weapon of choice.” Kenny slowly wagged his index finger, tsking to himself. “I regret letting him have that extra coffee and doughnut now.”

“Look, I---mmmph!” Eddie’s angry protest was stifled by Kenny’s tail draping over his mouth.  

“Please don’t try to talk your way out of this. You’ve embarrassed yourself enough already.” Kenny brought Eddie close so that they were eye level with each other. “I’m not gonna kill you, if that’s what you’re worried about. I like humans in general too much to do something like that to you.” Kenny leaned forward until their noses almost touched, his voice lowering menacingly. “But I also can’t let you leave here having seen what you’ve seen.”

Eddie’s eyes widened and he shook his head rapidly, trying desperately to communicate that he wouldn’t talk. He couldn’t even imagine what Kenny meant by that---torture maybe? Eddie’s stomach lurched again. 

Kenny’s menacing glare melted into an easy grin, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “Did that scare you? I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. Bad form, I know, but the opportunity doesn’t present itself very often.” He chuckled. “Now, I can’t just trust you to keep this to yourself, that’d be silly. I have to make sure of it.....myself.”

Eddie glowered darkly into Kenny’s face. He didn’t know what this screwball snake.....thing was playing at, but he was tired of being toyed with like some kind of child’s ragdoll. Maybe if he took a bite out of his tail, that’d teach him....

What he saw next would have made him gasp---like Peanuts had done earlier---but he was still silenced by Kenny’s tail against his mouth. Kenny’s eyes, normally a dark brown shade that was almost black, were now full of the most beautiful colors Eddie had ever seen, blooming from the pupils in an endlessly repeating pattern. Eddie’s angry glare softened, his eyes widening as he watched the colors, rippling and expanding over and over and over. He began to feel a peculiar sense of sinking into those colors, and he realized vaguely that this wasn’t right, and tried to resist. He grunted and shook his head, grimacing, attempting to tear his eyes away. 

“Relax-sssss, my iniquitous friend,” Kenny purred silkily, his eyes still rippling rainbows. “Regard me with those beady hoodlum eyes, listen to my dulcet tones, and you’ll feel like you’re on cloud nine in just a few moments.” 

Eddie’s struggles didn’t last long, and he found that Kenny was right; it wasn’t bad at all. He groaned softly as he let the colors in, seeming to fill his mind with warmth and fluff, his anger and scheming thoughts winking out one by one like tea candles in a gentle breeze. Kenny’s tail slipped gently from his mouth, which now hung half-open in fascination. A serene, empty calm had begun to come over him like a soft, heavy quilt. 

“Good. Now....” Kenny smiled slyly and slowly rose up from where he lounged, his powerful torso towering above Eddie slightly so that Eddie was forced to look up into his face to catch the colors that held him spellbound.

“Sleep.”

“So, it’s all settled---me an’ Ma decided we’re heading out to California to live with my uncle. He could use a hand around the house, he’s gettin’ kinda old, ya know? And the warm climate’ll be perfect for Ma, too. She’s gonna meet me at the airport, you’ll get to say hello.” 

“Sounds swell. I’m headin’ up north myself. It’s always been my dream to get a glimpse of them whadayacallits, the ‘Rora Borealis. It’ll be good to get outta this town, that’s for sure.”

Eddie blinked in bewilderment in the backseat of the Studebaker. Gil was driving, Peanuts riding shotgun. There was a suitcase sitting next to him that he somehow knew was his. He couldn’t remember how they got to this point. 

“Hey, Eddie, where you movin’ to?” Peanuts turned in his seat to look at him, an excited grin lighting up his boyish face. “Rome? Bora Bora? China?”

“Uh...” Eddie frowned as he scanned his thoughts for an answer. He sighed in relief when he found it. “I’m goin’ to Amsterdam. Got a job with Greenpeace there.” How could he have forgotten? This was the biggest break he’d had in a while. 

Peanuts whistled, impressed. “Say, that’s really great! What kinda’ job?”

Eddie grinned broadly, a gesture that, for once, held not a single ounce of cruel malice. “Human Resources.” 

The Studebaker continued on its voyage to the airport, the three men inside looking forward to their particular journeys and new paths their lives were taking them, with no memory of what had transpired that day whatsoever. 

[comicteaparty]

May 2nd-May 8th, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from May 2nd, 2020 to May 8th, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

What are some of the weirdest things you've Googled while researching for your story?

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

For Whispers of the Past, the weirdest thing I googled was probably: "puncture wounds versus lacerations" and "chance of survival after getting stabbed." Pretty sure I also looked up: "treatment for arsenic poisoning," "lethal dose of arsenic," "arsenic in nature," "broken ribs symptoms and treatments," "pneumothorax," "can a horse kill someone by trampling them?" and "how far can you fall without dying?" Basically, just a bunch of medical questions. For another story, I think the weirdest thing I looked up was, "can you take antidepressants and sleeping pills together?" More medical questions

carcarchu

@ cronaj's answer "i swear i'm an author not a serial killer"

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Hmmm.

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I think for me was searching up symptoms of PTSD, eating disorders, and also victims of cheating

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Probably that time trying to research poisonous substances available in Victorian and earlier households with potentially fatal results if ingested but not immediate, and their symptoms/treatments

The answer, incidentally, is that most of them aren't treatable if you've had a high enough dose to get symptoms.

And non-lethal doses tend to have unpleasant long term effects

Deo101 [Millennium]

I don't remember all the crazy stuff I've looked up. What's popping into my head at the moment, though, is I did almost a month of research into time travel paradoxes for a plot that I ended up not using! So that's fun

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Also that Victorians kept arsenic (a white powder) in the same place as sugar (a white powder) in often unmarked containers since literacy was low and labels only work if you can read them

There was far more accidental poisonings from putting arsenic in your tea than I can count

carcarchu

what about having a picture of a skull and cross bones on the arsenic tin

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

I think it was arsenic. Maybe cynanide...

Ahaha

You'd think so wouldn't you?

That's not even going into the whole thing about green dyes for clothing being made from arsenic as well I think and being uh

Literally fatal to wear?

Well done, Victorians.

Let me grab y'all a source for that one

https://youtu.be/K2McemVuG28

Here you go!

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Oh my god what the

Them victorians are so morbid

Did you know that they have a garden of poison

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Welcome to writing historical!

Yes I did

I wanna go

But yeah go back a century or two

Literally everything seems to be poisonous

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Arsenic, radium......damn they don’t follow WHMIS

carcarchu

wasn't even that long ago when they were putting mercury in everything

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Including NORMAL FOOD

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

And toys

Kids were playing with them

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Oh the Bradford Sweets Poisoning was a whole thing!

Hang on

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1858_Bradford_sweets_poisoning

This one is uh

Definitely worse

carcarchu

bruh

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Yeah

There's so much of this...

It's amazing humanity made it this far

So yeah that's what I've googled

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Would that...even fly here nowadays

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

What the arsenic

Nooope

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Hooooo god that is mildly terrifying

Like I make sweets for a living

I don’t even want to think how I’ll feel if I accidentally poisoned 200 people

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

It did lead to modern food hygiene laws and much better regulations on chemists being responsible for their supplies

But yep

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I remember someone telling me “Behind every rule/regulation was someone who got hurt or died”

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Yeahhhh

Sometimes also where there aren't rules because hahaha some companies are shit

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Yeah it’s sucks and it’s even worse because you KNOW they’re just pushing the limits

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Capitalism has always been like that, it's just people can see it a bit more now

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Yeah, the age of information has really exposed the nasty side of things huh Hmmm I think I’ve studied something really different for my webcomic. I was looking into the justice system and how it treated minors

And I had to look up burn victims/homicides soooooooooooo

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Whoops sorry for the ping, I thought you said mirrors not minors and was gonna ask

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Oh god that would be....completely different

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

I'm writing about vampires, mirrors are more common (concept and word)..

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Yes! I think it’s because back in the day silver was used in mirrors and that’s why you can’t see a vampire’s reflection

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

weirdest thing I searched so far is about er the male modeling industry and how they have to slap cheeks and junks to get the body to fill in clothing

and I wondered "do I need to do a deep dive in this or"

Nutty (Court of Roses)

I tried to look up what damaged vocal cords looked like, so i could show it when Count Bailey got poisoned, but I mostly got body camera shots inside a person's throat, so I had to largely wing it by darkening the veins in his neck lol Other than that, I have to look up Irish slang a lot, as Merlow slips into it more when he gets drunk.

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

I have a twittee thread somewhere about mirrors and vampires

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Okay tuyetnhi I’m a bit more...disturbed yet intrigued by that idea. Nutty yes I noticed that! I liked that small detail actually And Eilidh, i would love to see that twitter thread

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

Yeah, I ended up making a deep dive and ho boi

it's darker than I expected LOL

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I tried to look up people getting crushed by cars or falling objects but the videos were very blurry and made me dizzy so I just went fuck it my comic's not realistic anyways I'm winging it

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

Probably an extensive search for all things occult? Its such a wide topic so it was daunting to sift through everything, but also really cool to see so many different cultures have been influenced by such things! Ive read some excerpts about the sixth sense and human capabilities too, very interesting!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!) That is the most splendidly weird research I have heard of

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I was trying to research for one of my characters and i'm just

the things they do

I scream everyday

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

lol tuyetnhi got me to look it up but all I can find is stuff about sexual assault

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

that's what I mean

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

OH

:(

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Whoa okay

That’s really dark

Like I had to look up abuse relations

DanitheCarutor

Oh geez, I've looked up a lot of stuff. Recently I Googled public bathrooms and backs of toilets because I'm too lazy to get up and look at my own toilet. SAECKs/SAKs, the price with and without insurance, how it works and if men can use them. (Which was kinda sad that I didn't know they could although the resource was surprisingly hard to find, all except one link I found were about women using them.) I've looked up medical stuff like the different stages of certain cancers, their symptoms, treatments and other things involves like their effect on the person's mental health, if things like physical therapy is needed and the effects of the treatment along with the types of treatment needed. Also the cost with and without insurance, as well as cancer treatment facilities for people with low income. Various mental illnesses/disorders, the different types treatment, the effects of the treatment, as well as cost and facilities that offer free/cheaper treatment for people with low income. Lactose intolerance, celiac disease, gaslighting, trauma brought on by abuse. Things like the mental effects of children taking on adult responsibilities early on, growing up with lack of stability and human trafficking. Types of physical abuse that doesn't leave obvious bruising/scarring, psychological abuse (outside of gaslighting). Court stuff, like legal charges for attempted murder, court procedures. Caregiver programs for family members caring for someone with a severe mental illness. What actions are taken when someone files a charge for being drugged against their consent and the steps that need to be taken if your ID and credit cards/debit cards have been stolen, as well as what the police need do in those situations. Gosh, I can go on and on, just go on forever about all the things I've researched.

Most of it is medical and mental health related.

I feel this is fitting for some of the subjects we've Googled.

DanitheCarutor

Wow, I didn't realize how much I looked at the cost of stuff. Like a good chunk of my research has been dedicated to what different insurances cover, how much, the base price without insurance and payment plans for people in the latter category. I guess the upside is I'll have some knowledge on the different insurance companies if I ever get to a point where I can get it, as well as payment plan options if I'm ever hospitalized.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Googling images of cadaver hands for reference was... not a pleasant experience

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Most recently I was looking for heart dissections. I had to take a break cuz I was making myself feel sick X')

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Searching up burn victims was not fun either

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

also this has made me realize that artists can be a very morbid bunch

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

yeah like dang ya'll lmao

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I know someone who had to look up (a bit gory) "can you strangle/hang someone with your intestines"

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Chances are the audience is not gonna know either so

dunno how much accuracy matters in this situation :p(edited)

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I mean....unfortunately I know what it's like to see a drowned corpse So if it's accurate....I would...strangely appreciate it more?

Like you never know your audience

DanitheCarutor

When I was first starting to dabble in comics I was attempting this dark fantasy/mythology-ish story that would have some gore. I looked up stuff like "skull being crushed", "what does 'x' limb look like when being ripped off", "what does a corpse look like after sitting for 'x' many days". Most of my searched led me to the Best Gore site, which is totally recommended if you need references for your gory horror comic, but is NOT a site for the faint of heart. You will most likely get sick from the content... and the comment section.

Oddly enough, when I used to do the occasional stand alone gore-ish illustration I'd get 1-2 comments with people being grateful for the accuracy. It's... interesting that they would know what would and wouldn't be accurate with stuff like that.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Oh, I looked up burn victims before.... Yeah, I've looked up a lot of weird stuff.

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

I had to look up fresh and healed burnscar myself for a comic, a character survivived a housefire.

Most of the time I am googling history actually - and mostly tech-levels of a given time and what was contemporary with what - guns and knights for example co-existed for quite a few decades, that kind of stuff.

Deo101 [Millennium]

Y'know I'm thinking about it more, and I'm realizing why I can't recall the weird stuff I've looked up. I usually ask people for information! I know a lot of different kinds of people who are more than happy to talk about their experiences, so I can ask them for first hand experience with a lot of situations where I then don't really need to look up much other than to maybe fill some holes I have. It's a different kind of research

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Huh, the weirdest thing I’ve googled? Well, there’s the ever-uncomfortable ‘Googling certain body types for reference but probably looking like a creep to anyone who looks at my search history’. I’ve also googled very oddly specific things like ‘What is a 5-cube called?’ (It’s a pentaract). I’ve also watched videos that demonstrate how a bump key works, and to my FBI agent, I swear it was only for my comic. My search history gets pretty eclectic. I look up a lot of religious lore, and do lot of research into medieval times - mostly about the daily life of the average peasant. Also things like quantum physics, customs in other countries, and animal facts.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Just realizing that I once researched "medieval brewing." That was an interesting train of information.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

For a lot of gruesome or dangerous scenes, I try to aim the search toward movies and TV screencaps. Like, if you need to draw a crashing car, find a series with a dramatic car chase where they slammed a stunt car into a wall in high-def slow-mo.

kayotics

I think the weirdest thing I looked up was trying to figure out the answer to the question “is the gas released by decomposing bodies flammable? And if so how much gas do you need?”

eli [a winged tale]

now I’m curious what’s the answer

kayotics

The answer ended up being that if there was enough gas being created it was probably not enough to be flammable: aka it would not light up the room.

I ended up asking a friend who knows more about decomposition to figure out the answer, but I just wanted to make sure if a character brought a torch into a musty murder basement, it wouldn’t light them up like a Christmas tree

Mostly: it gets smelly and stale

eli [a winged tale]

Good to know!

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Hmm I think the wierd thing I looked up was whether Smile Therapy was a real practice? There are Photos too and I have a feeling it was real. Another thing I look up was; How would a real lady pirate dress in historical times? I did alot of extra research for some little visual hints.(edited)

I feel like Mob psycho nailed the creepiness of Smile Therapy because they were patients forced to pretend to smile, that's what I envision each time. That ep stayed with me(edited)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

oh my god

Miranda

What is that picture from?? it's creepy haha(edited)

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

mob psycho 100

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

smile therapy is terrifying. Imagine getting punished if you didn't smile

in the end you'll be smiling as a conditioned reaction to fear, not because it's genuine

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Yes exactly, the original one was hard to record so the Google was ambiguous about its existence but there's photo proof that it was a thing