#fictional research

[ghost-bxrd]

— sighting of Subject J16T following the incident at [REDACTED] Research Facility

Deaths associated with Subject J16T are steadily climbing into the hundreds. With the destruction of the [REDACTED] Research Facility, most data on this specimen has been lost. Attempts at neutralizing the threat have proved unsuccessful.

Attempts at recovering surviving equipment from the sunken remains have to be postponed due to a sudden infestation of predatory ocean life. Likely cause: personnel that did not manage to escape in time.

Subject J16T has been observed to primarily target vessels associated with research centers, hypothesis: negative associations with research facility, and subject’s first chance kill of [REDACTED] may have resulted in an insatiable blood lust.

We have awoken a monster from the depths. And it is angry.

File Notes:

Observations on the aftermath of the incident at [REDACTED] Research Facility

[reality-detective]

Stranger Than Fiction 🤔

[deoidesign]

Worry free, guarantee!

loved painting this one, I love illustrated advertisements

[shannonpurdyjones]

Historical fiction research: European style in-hand spinning

I'm in love with this beautiful gold Corriedale wool, so here's my latest progress on learning to spin in the in-hand or "twiddle" style spinning common in Europe in the 800s when my novel is set. I'm getting better at drafting with my left hand from the distaff (opposite from drop spinning, where you draft the wool with your dominant hand), and it's coming out quite nice and even for the most part.

I also definitely see the appeal of the distaff now that I'm getting better at using it. It allows holding a large amount of wool at once, and makes walking while spinning much easier than in drop spinning. Once you get good enough to stop clenching and relax into it I totally see how you could feasibly spin for hours by the fireside or walking without your hands getting tired.

At this point I could probably spin 50g of wool in a day, if I spun a fair number of hours between other things. Medieval women who were really skilled spinners must have processed an absolutely staggering amount of fiber per day by comparison.

[comfort-character-central]

What am I doing? Oh, I'm just doing some educated research, learning about topics that fascinate me.

*Goes back to my screen where there are 5 tabs on my computer, all different things related to the character I'm currently fixated on.*

[ahb-writes]

Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions (Society)

Society Worldbuilding Questions:

What is each society’s crowning achievement or proudest "claim to fame"?

What are each society’s greatest ills or challenges? (Do these differ depending on who you ask?)

Who garners the most respect in this society, and why?

Who is shown the least respect in this society, and why (what does it value)?

Where are hierarchies and power differences starkest between people in this world, and why?

Where are social norms and influences (such as laws) most stringently upheld in this world, and why (e.g., what roles do politics, ideology, religion, or competition for resources play)?

When did this society’s power structures emerge or change significantly, and why?

When did major societal beliefs or practices become entrenched? Are there any that have recently fallen away or started to disappear?

Why is living within this society challenging for your main characters?

Why does each character enjoy or appreciate this society, if anything?

❯ ❯ ❯ Read other writing masterposts in this series: Worldbuilding Questions for Deeper Settings

[orcelito]

showing off the commission i got from @ruporas for my fic, In the Next Life!

i'm still so incredibly excited about this. it's been some months since the story event that caused these scars, but i wanted SO BADLY to be able to see what they'd actually Look like... & Here They Are.

ruporas rendered the scars So Well, i just cant stop Looking at them... there's a Fresh & a Healed version, which ruporas was kind enough to give me without additional charge (Thank U Again😭😭) so i get to see what it looks like at different stages.

Lichtenberg Figures. in terms of actual scarring, lightning strikes that people survive don't tend to leave permanent scars, but the lichtenberg figures that they (usually temporarily) leave behind are just So Cool... Now, what happens when you get someone who can survive an amount of electricity/lightning that would be Frankly Lethal to any normal human person?

This :]

[thejewitches]

Need a Jewish sensitivity reader, particularly for fantasy?

With a degree in English (with a specialization in fiction) and a wealth of knowledge on antisemitism (including topics like historic antisemitism, blood libel, and mythologizing of Jews), we’re happy to consult and provide feedback.

Feel free to reach out via our website! Feel free to send this to your author friends.

Jewitches.com

[spirk-trek]

hii this is really random but i'm writting a paper on star trek fanfiction from the 60s/70s and i was wondering if there were any fics youd recommend? are there any like iconic, keystone fics that are really significant to the fandom? (i'm having a bit of trouble sourcing pre-internet fics)

Hi! I'll try to help the best I can but I am by no means an expert- in fact, many people who end up seeing this may have better/more information so I'll extend it to any of them to answer as well :)

Disclaimer: many of the following links contain nsfw content!!!

Here is page 1 and page 2 of what might be the first known k/s fanfic published in Grup fanzine (1974). Grup is credited as being the first Star Trek fanzine with adult content. This fic, A Fragment Out of Time by Diane Marchant was vague enough that it had to be clarified as k/s in a later edition, but the author did do so.

Spockanalia is always a good source for early fandom. It is the earliest and best preserved example of fanzine content (beginning in 1967 before the second season had even aired). I'd definitely say that makes it influential! So much more can be found on the internet archive and on fanlore. Copies of Spockanalia found their ways into the hands of many people involved in the show, including Roddenberry himself.

Gayle F is a prolific fanzine artist (one of my favorites) for k/s and is also influential to k/s writing. She was behind the Cosmic Fuck Series (yes really lol) which begins with Desert Heat (1976) in which Spock prematurely enters his second Pon Farr with only Jim available to him. This is the first mention (that I know of) of Spock's "double ridges" which are still a fanon element of his anatomy today (fanlore link here).

Alexis Fegan Black is another name to know, but is actually the pen name for author Della Van Hise. She did a lot of her work in the 80s and beyond, so I'm not sure how helpful this will be, but I think she's very influential. You may know about her licensed trek novel Killing Time (1982) because the first edition was recalled for being way too gay (changes between the two versions are best documented here imo).

Jenna Sinclair was very influential but again, a lot of her works came a little later than what you're looking for (note: ao3 does NOT have the correct dates, you'll need to find those separately).

A few more links to throw at you:

List of Star Trek Fanzines

List of Star Trek SLASH Fanzines

Captain's Log (1968)

The Crewman's Log (1967)

Spock's Showcase (1968)

Spock's Underground (1968-71)

The Sensuous Vulcan (slash zine, 1977)

Thrust (slash zine, 1978)

I hope all these links work and at least something I mentioned is helpful for you!! Good luck! I'd love to hear about your research if you're so inclined to share :)

[ghost-bxrd]

Conclusion pertaining previous research topic:

Motor boats not viable for mer infested waters.

Eight out of ten incidents occurring within parameters of high noise and water pollution. Casualties resulting from ensuing shipwrecks unsustainable over prolonged period of time. The last two years have recorded a total of sixteen researchers either missing or confirmed dead.

Sailboats may traverse mer territory unaccosted nine out of ten times. Percentage of casualties resulting from ensuing shipwreck equal to that of the previous category. The last two years have recorded a total of five researchers either missing or confirmed dead.

Amount of casualties within the local populace remains unconfirmed.

Further research required on electric motor boats, current data implies promising results.

Recommendation:

Cessation of motor boat usage for expedition purposes. Gradual conversion to electric motors if hypothesis and data results prove true.

Researcher: [REDACTED]

ID: 20X1215XX

Department: [REDACTED], mer related incidents

Clearance level: 4

File Notes:

Research result on the topic of mer related incidents during expeditions. Research papers missing, presumably destroyed during the sinking of the [REDACTED] Research Facility. Research hypothesis proved to be correct, resulting in a reduction of at least sixty percent of the casualties per year. Researcher status: deceased.

[reality-detective]

An unusually large eruption of one of Yellowstone’s geysers occurred at Biscuit Basin moments ago. 🤔

[imaginebetterfutures]

Useful (not AI) Tools for Writing

For years I've been compiling a list of useful tools for writing (fiction and non-fiction) and I thought it might be fun to share it.

What am I missing? What do you use and love? I'd love to keep building this list!

Historical Research

General plug: Librarians!!! They want to help you.

Search for words/signs in Brooklyn

Encyclopedia of Hair

Underwear, a history

Newspapers.com

Historical (and modern) meeting minutes

Find a grave

Political TV Ad archive

Oral Histories

Columbia

National Archives

MoMA

Archives of American Art

The Oral History Review

Words

Wordnik

Dictionary of American Regional English

Scrivener built in name generator

Lose the very

Scene Setting / Images

Animals & Plants by geolocation (also good for general scene setting)

Flickr world map

Past weather by zip code

Google Maps streetview / Google Earth

General Inspiration

Oblique Strategies

Worldbuilding

Tarot decks (my personal favorite is this one)

The Thing from the Future

The Picture Game

Misc

Data is Plural -- a newsletter full of interesting datasets

[seraphinitegames]

Hi! I hope yall are doing great! I was watching supernatural, and DMB was mentioned, and I thought, "Where have I heard that before? 🤔" and then remembered that DMB is also part of the wayhaven lore (I have a terrible memory). It made me wonder if you based Dead man's blood and other supernatural substances/beings in old series/movies :)

It was actually based on a super old legend for vampires! I love looking at the very original myths for supernaturals and seeing what could be used or adjusted for Wayhaven. Though some of the very old legends are…odd, lol! They make for good reading during research though, hehe :D

So yeah, dead man's blood is a super old legend for vampires, but I didn't want it to be just what it said, which is where the idea of having it as some kind of form of poison from a flower came about!

Thank you so much for the ask! :)

[mendingbone]

i keep seeing people in their late teens/early twenties having a "[X] content intended for younger audiences does not feel satisfying to me anymore but i don't know where to start to branch out into adult fiction" moment and i thought i would give some recommendations for adult fiction for my fellow creepy crawly queer people. all or at least a LOT of it will be on the darker and more fucked up side bc i primarily engage with horror and thriller media personally but feel free to add on with more or recommendations from other genres :)

edit: i am continuing to add to this list so there might be new recs (highlighted in pink) in here every once in a while! also want to add that there's a variety of POC, queer, and disabled authors in here as well, i am also all of the above (asian, aro lesbian, poly, disabled) and tried to incorporate as many wickedly talented, compelling narratives as possible. that's all, happy reading!

A Certain Hunger, Chelsea G. Summers

A Darker Shade of Magic, V. E Schwab*

A Dowry of Blood, S.G Gibson

Animal, Lisa Taddeo*

A Ripple of Power and Promise, Jordan A. Day*

Bunny, Mona Awad*

Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi*

Cursed Bread, Sophie Mackintosh*

Dark Places, Gillian Flynn

Dead Girls Don't Say Sorry, Alex Ritany

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, Olga Tokarczuk*

Eileen, Ottessa Moshfegh*

Fruiting Bodies, Kathryn Harlan*

Goddess of Filth, V. Castro*

Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn

House of Leaves, Mark Danielewski

If I Had Your Face, Frances Cha*

Into the Drowning Deep, Mira Grant

Iron Widow, Xiran Jay Zhao

Jackal, Erin E. Adams*

Juniper and Thorn, Ava Reid*

Kindred, Octavia Butler*

Manhunt, Gretchen Felker-Martin*

Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Ninefox Gambit, Yoon Ha Lee*

Rabbits, Terry Miles*

Scorched Grace, Margot Douaihy*

Sharp Objects, Gillian Flynn

She is a Haunting, Trang Thahn Tran

Slewfoot, Brom

Sorrowland, Rivers Soloman

Summer Sons, Lee Mandelo

Supper Club, Lara Williams*

The Centre, Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi*

The Change, Kirsten Miller

The Death of Jane Lawrence, Caitlin Starling*

The Dreamer Trilogy, Maggie Stiefvater

The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson

The Hollow Places, T. Kingfisher*

The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter, Soraya Palmer*

The Jasmine Throne, Tasha Suri

The Locked Tomb, Tamsyn Muir

The Luminous Dead, Caitlin Starling*

The Red Tree, Caitlin Kiernan*

The Unfamiliar Garden, Benjamin Percy*

Vicious, V. E Shwab

Wake, Siren, Nina MacLaughlin*

We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson

What Moves the Dead, T. Kingfisher*

[theoutcastrogue]

So who invented science fiction, anyway?

Dream blunt rotation, sci-fi edition (dead people only): Lucian of Samosata, Cyrano de Bergerac, Mary Shelley, Jules Verne, Alexander Bogdanov, Kurt Vonnegut, Philip K. Dick (if there's only one of those in the rotation, it's fine, just don't get surrounded by them), Ursula Le Guin, Douglas Adams

First of all, that's a dumb question. Literary genres aren't "invented" by single individuals. Nothing exists in a vacuum, there's no virgin birth in art, and culture is a conversation.

Second, there's no single rigid definition of science fiction. That stuff is loose and fluid and in the eye of the beholder. And depending on how you choose to define it, even The Epic of Gilgamesh can be considered a sci-fi story.

Third, for most intents and purposes, it's Mary Shelley. Science fiction as a genre begins with Frankenstein, that's not complicated at all.

Fourth, before Frankenstein, there are TONS of stories with elements we recognise now as belonging or at least adjacent to science fiction, but they're incidental to the narrative so nobody cares. Lucian wrote about inhabited planets and space battles in the 2nd century. But it was a satirical story, and if it took place in a land of magic mountains instead, it wouldn't make a lick of difference. Scores of people wrote utopias and/or adventures set on the moon, the sun, the stars. So what. It could have been on an imaginary island or the Fairy Realm, and nothing would change. All it says is "we set the stage Elsewhere".

Notable exception to the Fourth: Kepler's Somnium. That story is set (via dream) on the moon, and couldn't have been set anywhere else, because the whole point is to explain how the earth would look when viewed from the moon. That was what Kepler (that's the astronomer, not some random dude) wrote first and what he cared about, the rest is just a narrative framework added later. So it's not really science fiction because it's not really fiction in the first place, it's science with frills.

More exceptions to the Fourth: there are tales written in the late 18th / early 19th century that are, by now, recongisably science fiction. But they weren't novels, they were poems and one instance of prose-poetry, and they didn't make a genre. Frankenstein did that.

Fifth, mayhaps the correct word isn't "invent". It's "kickstart".

[kindfrog]

depths of the bayou

[click for better quality]

close up of Alastor-

as well as the line art- while I think it looks better without it, I worked too hard on it for it to not be seen lol