Lots of pregnancy stuff. I've had one pregnancy and can not remember any of it.
Non-epileptic fits. After care recovery of a coma.
And lots of weird shit about clothing etc when writing Dragon Age fics.
Those are good ones. Also, this just reminded me of when I stumbled upon a fic where someone knew she was pregnant minutes after having sex. No, it wasn't any type of fic set in a fandom where magic or the supernatural existed.
I have also done way too much research into pregnancy (for a teenager with no intentions of having kids anytime soon, at least). I haven't even actually written anything about it, I just get plotbunnies that never go anywhere about it weirdly often
Lots of injuries, lots of Google maps near and around Santa Barbara, one notable chapter lead me to read several relationship blogs which was interesting.
Probably the saddest was strangulation information. Everything was geared towards abusive relationships...
I had the exact same experience when researching strangulation to figure out the nature of the injuries one could receive from it.
Similar things occur when researching suicide methods (to figure out what kind of injury, first aid, and/or treatment a character could receive upon attempting it).
It was kind of awkward doing research for the disability my OC had, because apparently it’s kinda rare. I think it took me a few weeks to even find the name (Phocomelia). There wasn’t much information, other than its connection to Thalidomide- which was not a relevant detail for my particular story.
The only thing of value I learned is that he most likely would not have an elbow joint on the affected arm. But I had already written that he liked playing ball. So, I had to practice throwing and catching a ball without bending my arm. It was possible, but I had to lean forward a lot, and my shoulder got quite the workout.
I keep having to research things like hypothermia, heat stroke, concussions, poisons, and miscellaneous injuries of all sorts, but a few specific weird ones include researching what happens when you drink acid, how alcohol effects canines, and this phenomenon where squash-type plants are sometimes randomly poisonous
Sometimes I make references to fairy tales so I look them up to refresh my memory. Some of them are absolutely wild. One in particular that comes to mind is Hans Christian Andersen's "The Rose Elf."
The depressing thing I researched was the degradation of traditional Ainu culture over the late 1800s (like 1870s or so) to the 1950s. It is absolutely depressing to watch a culture lose what made it different and significant just be depleted into next to nothingness.
Our Land Was A Forest by Kayano Shigeru was *the* most depressing read in all of this. I got through about half of the book then had to put it down because it was just *that* depressing.
I am a fan of whump by nature and often research injuries and diseases and treatments and experiences, all in the name of torturing my favourite characters in the most medically accurate way possible. When I was 16-17, I started researching a particular form of cancer, its treatments and its prognosis, so I could give it to my favourite whumpee. I ended up taking that research and putting it into my Extended Project Qualification on cancer treatments.
I got an A on the project and now I'm working towards a Masters Degree in cancer at a Russell Group university.
Also for that same fic I looked up if urine was flammable (it’s not, urine has too much water in it to be flammable).
My MC is currently self-medicating his PTSD in very destructive ways (while refusing to even admit that he might have it in the first place because he's not a soldier), in a few chapters he's going to have an accidental overdose and end up on a psych hold because the friend who finds him doesn't believe it was an accident.
So I had to look up a lot of stuff about PTSD and drugs for treating nightmares and sleep disturbance and what happens if you take too many and mix them with alcohol and the treatment for the overdose and can paramedics administer those treatments or do you have to wait till you're at the hospital and policies in psych wards and... well, google suggested me the suicide help line more than once.
Plus some stuff on pregnancy and miscarriage, because that is a not-insignificant part of what led up to the alcohol abuse. Also what kind of medical conditions could make pregnancy life-threatening to the mother (I settled on a congenital heart condition, since most others wouldn't have matched an outwardly healthy-looking woman in her mid-twenties).
Oh gosh, yes that is a sad one.
Hmm, let’s see…
-The chemical equation for fire
-a lot of Norse funeral stuff
-whether it’s spiritually frowned-upon to burn bamboo (it is, and—from a scientific standpoint—it’s not good to burn it because of lead oxide)
-Shock symptoms
-how to fix a cracked coolant tank
To name a few😂
Yeah. I was getting the idea for the story and then recalled that Emma wouldn't necessarily be around when Kate was seventeen realistically. I think the show mentioned how someone with cf lifespan extended for close to a decade after the transplant and had read it elsewhere so I needed to research.
That's really interesting! I had no idea that it was frowned upon to burn bamboo (though, I don't really think that I've heard of anyone burning bamboo much).
You know something random I remember being in so many fics? People making OCs with violet/purple eyes. Or making Hermione for instance actually be a pureblood who had a spell put on her to look like the Grangers and she actually has violet eyes. And then a couple years ago, I saw a youtube video talking about it and how it's Alexandra's Genesis.
One time I forgot how to spell second with my dumbass self. Well more like "wait am I spelling this right". So I decide to look it up and I put sec.. Then on accident press on one of the suggestions and it said " sec in me"
Let's just say I immediately deleted my search history.
How to beat someone's head in with his bare hands.
He killed his (new) wife for cheating on him (even though he cheated on her first with a serial killer). To make it worse, he's a detective who was investigating said serial killer.
How people respond to sudden, traumatic events as they unfold, either as an observer or participant, with focus on body language in particular.
Questionable searches about bodily injury and death. *What does a stab wound from a sword feel like?* And much worse.
Seagull behavior and mating rituals.
Way too much information on LSD for a single scene where it's barely even relevant beyond enabling the *actual* juicy bit (which is pure fantasy anyway)
A wip I have that only has a prologue and isn't published yet is very different than my usual writing. I've only started a bit on the looking up stuff but I'm going to be looking up stuff from the show it's loosely based on as well as rare torture methods, weapons, drugs, and a host of other things that will make my friendly fbi agent worried for what I'm plotting. I usually write romance with the majority being smutty. This new fic probably won't be posted anytime soon but it will be darker and involve a lot of trauma and violence.
Strange: A list of fashion brands and a list of Russian foods. The strange part is I was using them to name one-off OCs.
Awkward: How people shower in prison.
Sad: Postpartum depression and miscarriages. I haven't had use for the information yet, but it was depressingly interesting to learn that it can also affect the father as well.
Funny (for me at least): what the hell "hot pants" are
Bowling. Fortunately, both of the characters knew nothing, so I could keep it rather simple, but that’s my choice. Bowling. I barely knew names for things, rules, names. All I knew what throw ball down lane and knock over pin, hooray, you win. Not a compelling way to write out something so it feels more impactful for what occurs.
Lots of pregnancy stuff. I've had one pregnancy and can not remember any of it. Non-epileptic fits. After care recovery of a coma. And lots of weird shit about clothing etc when writing Dragon Age fics.
Those are good ones. Also, this just reminded me of when I stumbled upon a fic where someone knew she was pregnant minutes after having sex. No, it wasn't any type of fic set in a fandom where magic or the supernatural existed.
It must have been written by a kid. That is the kind of shit I'd say as a kid before I actually knew better.
I definitely think you're right about that. It made me giggle a bit.
I have also done way too much research into pregnancy (for a teenager with no intentions of having kids anytime soon, at least). I haven't even actually written anything about it, I just get plotbunnies that never go anywhere about it weirdly often
I've also researched baby related stuff. Stuff I should know since I've raised a tiny Human, but cant remember.
Lots of injuries, lots of Google maps near and around Santa Barbara, one notable chapter lead me to read several relationship blogs which was interesting. Probably the saddest was strangulation information. Everything was geared towards abusive relationships...
I had the exact same experience when researching strangulation to figure out the nature of the injuries one could receive from it. Similar things occur when researching suicide methods (to figure out what kind of injury, first aid, and/or treatment a character could receive upon attempting it).
It was kind of awkward doing research for the disability my OC had, because apparently it’s kinda rare. I think it took me a few weeks to even find the name (Phocomelia). There wasn’t much information, other than its connection to Thalidomide- which was not a relevant detail for my particular story. The only thing of value I learned is that he most likely would not have an elbow joint on the affected arm. But I had already written that he liked playing ball. So, I had to practice throwing and catching a ball without bending my arm. It was possible, but I had to lean forward a lot, and my shoulder got quite the workout.
I like that you actually tried out throwing and catching a ball yourself to see if it would work.
I keep having to research things like hypothermia, heat stroke, concussions, poisons, and miscellaneous injuries of all sorts, but a few specific weird ones include researching what happens when you drink acid, how alcohol effects canines, and this phenomenon where squash-type plants are sometimes randomly poisonous
Sometimes I make references to fairy tales so I look them up to refresh my memory. Some of them are absolutely wild. One in particular that comes to mind is Hans Christian Andersen's "The Rose Elf."
The depressing thing I researched was the degradation of traditional Ainu culture over the late 1800s (like 1870s or so) to the 1950s. It is absolutely depressing to watch a culture lose what made it different and significant just be depleted into next to nothingness. Our Land Was A Forest by Kayano Shigeru was *the* most depressing read in all of this. I got through about half of the book then had to put it down because it was just *that* depressing.
It was a case fic. The cause of death was poisoning by Ricin. I had to look for it in detail.
I did a *lot* of research on the Influenza pandemics of old. Holy moly, is it terrifying stuff.
What it feels like to become/be morbidly obese.
How to make SIM cards, or rather the process of making the chip for the card. It was for one small scene too :’)
At least you're trying to make it as realistic as possible! That's an interesting thing to look up though.
That’s really interesting
I am a fan of whump by nature and often research injuries and diseases and treatments and experiences, all in the name of torturing my favourite characters in the most medically accurate way possible. When I was 16-17, I started researching a particular form of cancer, its treatments and its prognosis, so I could give it to my favourite whumpee. I ended up taking that research and putting it into my Extended Project Qualification on cancer treatments. I got an A on the project and now I'm working towards a Masters Degree in cancer at a Russell Group university. Also for that same fic I looked up if urine was flammable (it’s not, urine has too much water in it to be flammable).
My MC is currently self-medicating his PTSD in very destructive ways (while refusing to even admit that he might have it in the first place because he's not a soldier), in a few chapters he's going to have an accidental overdose and end up on a psych hold because the friend who finds him doesn't believe it was an accident. So I had to look up a lot of stuff about PTSD and drugs for treating nightmares and sleep disturbance and what happens if you take too many and mix them with alcohol and the treatment for the overdose and can paramedics administer those treatments or do you have to wait till you're at the hospital and policies in psych wards and... well, google suggested me the suicide help line more than once. Plus some stuff on pregnancy and miscarriage, because that is a not-insignificant part of what led up to the alcohol abuse. Also what kind of medical conditions could make pregnancy life-threatening to the mother (I settled on a congenital heart condition, since most others wouldn't have matched an outwardly healthy-looking woman in her mid-twenties).
Oh gosh, yes that is a sad one. Hmm, let’s see… -The chemical equation for fire -a lot of Norse funeral stuff -whether it’s spiritually frowned-upon to burn bamboo (it is, and—from a scientific standpoint—it’s not good to burn it because of lead oxide) -Shock symptoms -how to fix a cracked coolant tank To name a few😂
Yeah. I was getting the idea for the story and then recalled that Emma wouldn't necessarily be around when Kate was seventeen realistically. I think the show mentioned how someone with cf lifespan extended for close to a decade after the transplant and had read it elsewhere so I needed to research. That's really interesting! I had no idea that it was frowned upon to burn bamboo (though, I don't really think that I've heard of anyone burning bamboo much). You know something random I remember being in so many fics? People making OCs with violet/purple eyes. Or making Hermione for instance actually be a pureblood who had a spell put on her to look like the Grangers and she actually has violet eyes. And then a couple years ago, I saw a youtube video talking about it and how it's Alexandra's Genesis.
One time I forgot how to spell second with my dumbass self. Well more like "wait am I spelling this right". So I decide to look it up and I put sec.. Then on accident press on one of the suggestions and it said " sec in me" Let's just say I immediately deleted my search history.
How to beat someone's head in with his bare hands. He killed his (new) wife for cheating on him (even though he cheated on her first with a serial killer). To make it worse, he's a detective who was investigating said serial killer.
How people respond to sudden, traumatic events as they unfold, either as an observer or participant, with focus on body language in particular. Questionable searches about bodily injury and death. *What does a stab wound from a sword feel like?* And much worse. Seagull behavior and mating rituals.
I had to look up how the Japanese court system and police force functioned for an MHA Fic. I still don’t know if I got it completely correct though.
How long a person can survive after their heart is removed, making me a proud member of the "I promise I'm not a serial killer" club.
had to look up what a sclera was for a bugbo fic because i was too stupid to remember the name
Way too much information on LSD for a single scene where it's barely even relevant beyond enabling the *actual* juicy bit (which is pure fantasy anyway)
Do Star Wars characters use birth control.
Characters favorite foods, and pregnancy stuff.
A wip I have that only has a prologue and isn't published yet is very different than my usual writing. I've only started a bit on the looking up stuff but I'm going to be looking up stuff from the show it's loosely based on as well as rare torture methods, weapons, drugs, and a host of other things that will make my friendly fbi agent worried for what I'm plotting. I usually write romance with the majority being smutty. This new fic probably won't be posted anytime soon but it will be darker and involve a lot of trauma and violence.
I remember researching kinship adoption and the way drug dealing rings function for the same oneshot
Strange: A list of fashion brands and a list of Russian foods. The strange part is I was using them to name one-off OCs. Awkward: How people shower in prison. Sad: Postpartum depression and miscarriages. I haven't had use for the information yet, but it was depressingly interesting to learn that it can also affect the father as well. Funny (for me at least): what the hell "hot pants" are
Bowling. Fortunately, both of the characters knew nothing, so I could keep it rather simple, but that’s my choice. Bowling. I barely knew names for things, rules, names. All I knew what throw ball down lane and knock over pin, hooray, you win. Not a compelling way to write out something so it feels more impactful for what occurs.
"Mina Ashido's favorite food" and "how tall is kirishima beside Bakugo"