#either a phd-level thesis or the fanfic equivalent of ‘idk man i just work here’ | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

maelstrom-of-emotions · 25 days ago

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There are two moods when writing fanfiction about something that needs to be researched:

Going to the absolute nitty gritty, double checking everything, going through articles, maps, videos, research papers just to make sure that one bit is correct and ties in correctly.

Going fuck it and making up something that sounds right and praying no one who actually knows the subject calls you out.

#historically accurate vs. vibes-based storytelling #google scholar or sheer audacity‚ no in between #someone out there is writing an 80k masterpiece with meticulously researched 18th-century seamstress techniques #someone else is bullshitting their way through quantum mechanics with nothing but a star trek episode and a dream #you gotta respect the duality #either a phd-level thesis or the fanfic equivalent of ‘idk man i just work here’#‘i spent three hours researching medieval sword fighting for one paragraph’#vs.#‘i made up an entire legal system because i couldn’t be bothered to check’#one tab is an academic journal the other is ao3 #‘actually according to my research—’ vs. ‘shhh don’t worry about it’#← friend texted me that and I had to agree #when in doubt add more adjectives and hope for the best #if they say it with enough confidence the readers will believe it #listen if it sounds plausible it is plausible #someone is going to tell me about a secret third thing too‚ aren’t they?#fanfic writers #fanfic writers of tumblr #writers of tumblr #writers of ao3

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