I have held back no water in its season

Found on DW's Metafandom comm, An entry about naming muses and nicknaming fics, I have decided to open a discussion about the subject here on IJ.

Do y'all name your muses? Do you have nicknames for your fics?

( And stuff!! )

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2493789.html

place: U. of Illinois, time: 3 years ago, google: quantum physics research

Our Hero is a professor of quantum physics, at U of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign (because they apparently have a good quantum physics department). I need to blow him up, or at least blow up something in his lab in a way that could reasonably kill him. But I need someone else in the same lab to survive, because he knocked her out of the way or whatever... (Think Heroic Rescue. It doesn't have to have been normally survivable for *him*, he's got a god looking out for him).

But I can't seem to figure out what a quantum physicist actually does, day to day. Lots of information on what topics/concepts they research, or on famous past experiments, but no mention that I saw of buying a new graviton floculator or whatever [g]

What, in a quantum physicist's lab, could reasonably blow up or otherwise try to kill people, in a way that one person could save another from it?... it doesn't have to be probable that it'd blow up (or otherwise catastrophically fail), it can be due to sabotage/manufacturing glitch/lightning strike/etc. I just need to mortally wound my character saving his grad student from the 'splodey.

If there wouldn't be anything in his lab, is there anything in another physics lab he might be visiting that'd do the trick?

I don't need to actually show/write the incident, I just need at least a vague idea of what it actually was.

Thank you. Sorry I've been posting so many questions lately.

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2493569.html

Setting: 1920s Mississippi
Googled: Abuse laws in 1920s America, adoption in 1920s Mississippi, adoption in 1920s America, and looked up "sexual abuse" and "abuse" on Wikipedia.

My questions:

1) I got a little information about this. Would an abusive father be jailed in 1920s Mississippi?
2) Upon the mother remarrying, how easily would the stepfather be adopt to his stepson?
3) Can the little boy's last name be changed fast to match his stepfather's?

So I am using this one because it is fun. :3 :3 ;3

Dear Muses,

Now that I'm starting on the Zero Princess Saga/Void Space Saga/Whatever the hell you want to call this series, Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, turn this into Viceroyverse done Kairi/Rinoa Style.

Please. I don't care how well it works, I don't care that it works on a multitude of levels. I don't care if it'd be cute (and about a quarter as creepy as Quistis/Kairi is!). I don't care if it makes a lot more sense than any other Kairi pairing in existence, Sora/Kairi included. But the Nonsense of Sora/Kairi is another show rant. Aaaanyway, no one would read it.

Even if it is a really good idea--

No. No. If you try and steer it in that direction, and we know that the one-sided Rinoa/Kairi in Braceletverse is enough, I will turn this brain around and write...umm...

I WILL MAKE US WRITE MPREG. SORA/KAIRI MPREG. HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES!?

No love,
Jordi.

Refreshed self on Yuletide source yesterday, and was reminded of how much I love it. Love also gives me wings. Today, fighting with the denouement of my Yuletide story. Either my recipient will like it, or ze'll learn to embrace the details field and Yule letter tradition next year.

Has anyone actually submitted the suggestion to the AO3 pantheon that the character limit on the pairings field be extended? Also, I am pondering wuzzle wrangling. I might not have the spoons, on the one hand, but on the other, I have a *koff* decent knowledge of some, ah, obscurer fandoms. Also, I just like saying it. Wuzzle wrangler. It's kinda like speaking Welsh.

No Nuna Exchange stories so far, but I suspect that'll change at the end of the month, if this year is anything like the last two. Also, I have been sounding off a bit in nuna_fans so as not to blast the dbsg comm with my special blend of "you people are stupid," "damn kids get off my lawn," "vive le revolution," and "would you like some self-absorption with that entitlement?" Tl;dr version: three members of DBSK are suing their management company for, frankly, unspeakably vile terms of contract. Cue mass freakout by kids afraid they'll break up and inclined to blame the three members for bringing it up rather than the company for, y'know, pulling shit. Cue Rana wanting to reach through the screen and beat a whole lot of people with her keyboard. Or just tell them all to grow the hell up before they interact with the rest of the human race.

Returning to writing, because it calms me, or at least allows me to channel my severe misanthropy in ways that won't get me arrested: my Broken Toys story is in fragments that nearly equal 3K words, none of them anywhere near a climax. So I guess I know what I'll be doing once the Yuletide is drafted.

This entry was originally posted at Dreamwidth. Please comment there using OpenID. messages in bottles recovered.

Ich bin gerade über folgenden Blogeintrag gestoßen, den ich gerne weitergeben möchte:

Blogeintrag auf 'Grober Unfug'

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2493297.html

Setting: Modern-day, USA.
Google terms: calligraphy pen, calligraphy tools, what pen to use for calligraphy, calligraphy
Results: a lot of websites discussing the importance of certain types of pens, but not using brand names. amazon.com and other sales websites. tutorials about how to actually use a pen or start calligraphy.

My character does calligraphy (western, not Japanese/Chinese/Islamic/Persian/Tibetan characters).

What is a reasonably versatile set for him to own? A modern-style pen - I don't want my character making his own out of feathers, thanks - and one of the type with replacable ink cartridges, as opposed to a "dip" pen. Interchangeable nibs, also. These features won't play a big part in the story, but I want to know what brand/kit it would be likely for a serious hobbyist to use, so I can describe the pen itself in detail and be realistic.

As far as I can tell, Brause is "The Best Brand Evar" but it also seems to be rather expensive? But on the other hand, not the $20 sets you can buy at any crafts store.

Thanks for the help.

Help & writing resources

In an untitled post, bridgetmkennit explains the tags system and the four different types of warnings at the Archive Of Our Own, and how to use them.

lore: BloMo18: Tis the season of saving stories....: tips on saving fanfic stories "in a format that can be easily transferred to most reading devices without losing the author's intended passages of emphasis".

There have been a few posts on BDSM, community rules and terminology, intended as resources for writers and to clear up some common misunderstandings. In Hi! My name is Minxie…, the_minx_17 talks about general rules and some stereotypes. irana wrote On BDSM, Part I to explain the abbreviations SCC and RACK, and to talk about consent. On BDSM, Part II covers negotiation (both Scene and Relationship negotiation).

InsaneJournal

An InsaneJournal Holiday Sale just started. Self-Committed (i.e. paid) accounts and Extra Userpics will be available at reduced prices until November 27th. Friday the 27th will also have a short sale on Permanently Insane accounts.

das_dingsi: Updating habits: "The interesting part is how it made me view the update page more closely than usual and I consciously noticed all the things I don't use [on InsaneJournal]."

Other

bitterfig: where do they make subtext?: "I always wonder where stuff like (i.e. homoerotic and/or incestuous subtext) this comes from, is it intentional or just a quirk of chemistry?"

lilithilien: Why do we do it?, a short commentary on an AfterElton.com article titled "Why are Women Interested in Gay Men? It's Not Because They Want to Sleep With Them!", with discussion in comments.

novembermond: has a question about friending meme[s]: "[W]hat are the dos and don'ts ... ?"

[Supernatural] ep. 5x10 meta-ish reaction posts - SPOILERS galore!
the_shoshanna: Supernatural 5.10, "Abandon All Hope...": "Thanks SO MUCH for making women just the underbrush to be cleared away before the real stuff happens."
musesfool: lacrimae volvuntur inanes: "I would like to be able to talk about the episode on its own merits, because I thought it was a fantastic episode emotionally and a great way to go into hiatus, but I am SO FUCKING SICK of the way this show treats female characters."
yourlibrarian (in mind_over_meta): SPN 5.10 - A sign of hope: "There's nothing there right now for an audience to cling to, any more than a clear plot direction for Sam and Dean."

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2493007.html

Previous Searches: Read Wikipedia articles on blood in the forensic category, Googled "how to clean up blood" and related queries, Googled variations of "how to counter luminol spray blood test." Found a lot of interesting, semi-related things along the way (this bit on How Stuff Works made for good reading), but nothing that really answered my question.

Setting: Modern day, present time

Question: Okay, this feels like a stupid question because I'm sure the answer must be so obvious, but I couldn't find a source to really confirm any sort of answer for me. My question is - how does one effectively clean up blood stains (on any surface, table, carpet, wood, metal, linoleum, etc.) so that it's completely gone?

C.S.I. on TV, for example, has had episodes where the murderer or whomever attempts to clean up the crime scene, washing the sheets, using bleach, whatever - but the forensics team just sprays something at a surface and if there's blood, presto, it glows under a dark light! A wiki search says the spray is luminol, and this post about luminol sprays seems to state that luminol reacts to anything with iron in it (or something, I skimmed it).

That How Stuff Works article mentions hospital grade bleach and hydrogen peroxide - in fact, most of my searches reported that - but I just want to be sure - does that just remove the stains, or does it also completely wipe out the blood so that spraying luminol solution at it wouldn't turn up anything?

ETA: Wow, thank you everyone for raising awesome discussion points! I have a lot of choices of where to go now and will definitely be exploring them further.

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2492746.html

Setting: Modern day, United States. New England, say New Hampshire or Maine maybe?

If a person dies and has no family, none at all that can be found to come forward to claim the dead body; and there was a autopsy performed on the person with the results being 'no foul play' so let's say they simply died of old age, or heart attack; not something contagious. Can a close friend or former fiance accept fiscal liability for the body and make funeral arrangements; have the body picked up from the medical examiners, etc and hold a memorial service for the departed?

Have asked the local Medical Examiner this, and their response was that the friend would need written permission from the family. Which makes no sense, because for the purpose of this story there is none.

It's rather confusing to me.

Second question; what if no family member comes comes forward to take the body, is it cremated and put into a local grave, some sort of a pauper's grave? Who would have the record of where this body was laid to rest? How would someone go about getting that information, and from who?

I have asked hospital employees, made phone calls, googled funeral rites, family laws, etc. What am I not googling correctly here?

Summary: Maes heard the two words as he entered their bedroom.
Genre: Angst/Romance
Pairing: As stated, MaesxRoy
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: To think I'd ever own FMA...but dasly, I don't. *sighs*
Warning: Yaoi, Mpreg, UNBETA'D
AN: Hi! My first post in IJ. And hello! *waves* Now, about the fic, it's mpreg. Didn't explain how the pregnancy happened- didn't need to for a ficlet. I hope you guys like it. Please, baptise it with all your comments. Thank you. :D


X-posted in LJ.

Word Count: 399

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2492577.html

Googled: police procedure assualt defendant uk, PACE code C, as well as checking the Ask the Police and the Thames Valley Police websites and back entries of this comm

Setting: Oxford and Cheltenham, UK, present day

OK, I've been hunting around the above, but what I've found is to do with either the victim or assuming the defendant has already been arrested. Which is not as far as I've got. I seem to be at the stage where I just have to ask someone, and I'm hoping you all can help.

The situation: the suspect is, well, suspected of committing assualt and battery upon a young woman. Due to her being attacked in the dark area of the street, she's not certain about a visual identification, but the probability is it's this particular man. However, she fought back and as well as giving him a good kicking, she gashed him across the face with her car/house keys, so there's likely to be DNA evidence involved.

The assualt took place in Cheltenham, but the defendant lives in Oxford. Also, the victim's older brother is with the Oxfordshire/Thames Valley CID and was present at the interview of the victim, although not taking an active role in the questioning.

The defendant has agreed to be interviewed at the station on suspicion, although it's not a case of "I dunnit, guv, I'll come quietly." The expected line he'll take is to say "You can't prove I was thare and I took a punch in a rugby game.

The interview will be conducted by the senior of the pair, the Detective Inspector: the victim's brother will be standing in the background and Being Tall. There is, incidentally, precedent within canon for a relative of a victim of crime to deal with a defendant; in the last season, the pair interviewed a conman who turned out to have killed the Detective Inspector's wife in a hit-and-run, although the majority of the case and the interview was handled by the Detective Sergeant.

So, what I need to know is:

1) Would the interview of the suspect be handled by the Thames Valley *cough* Oxfordshire Police or the Gloucestershire Police? For what it's worth, the DI with the Gloucestershire Police was a uniformed officer with Thames Valley and worked under our DI when he was DS, and because of his respect for the officer and his personality isn't likely to get into a territorial dispute. Unless it really is against procedure and his Superintendent starts breathing down his neck.

2) After the interview, given that the defendant is holding to the line of I-wasn't-there-and-you-can't-prove-I-was and the DNA results won't be back for a few days, would he be charged, held on suspicion, or released with a caution not to leave Oxford? There is at least one other likely suspect, or it could be a random stranger -- as I said, the victim is aware that her visual identification isn't likely to hold up in court.

Thanks in advance for any help, suggestions, etc.

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2492212.html

So... I've got a hebephrenic character. As of now his symptoms aren't very severe as the disease has begun recently, but I plan to show him in the future, with the disease more developed - about 5-6 years from the start. The guy has received no treatment at all.

And, well, there my problems start.. Many sources of information I've come across contradict eachother or are very imprecise. I'd like to know the following things:

- Would it be possible to interact with the patient? I've read that after longer time without treatment, they would become completely demented. Other source has stated that the disease vanishes after puberty, but that seems really strange to me.
- Would the disease have any impact outside of mental health? I've read that the patient has got a constant fever and theyr'e prone to infections of any kind. Why would that happen?
- I've read that the patient's behaviour becomes aimless and "empty of purpose" and that they don't have much determination for anything. To what extent? What would a 'typical' hebephreniac's day look like? Let's say they live in a large house in the coutry, with one person to take care of them at most.

Tried searching for: many variants of 'disorganised schizophrenia' and 'hebephrenia', both in English and my native language.

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2491919.html

Setting: 2002-2006 Massachusetts
Googled: journalism minor massachusetts, college journalism massachusetts

I need my character to be a Psychology major/ journalism minor at a college either in Massachusetts or close. Most schools seem only to offer the major in journalism, but I need this because she later does a 180 on her plans and becomes a journalist, but only after starting out with this combination of major/minor.

I guess she could double-major, but I'd prefer not.

So tell me, where does my character go to school?

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2491799.html

I've checked the Tokyo Metropolitan Police's website (the English version, at least), the Wikipages for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and law enforcement in Japan, entries here at LD (those with Japan-related and the Exciting Careers and Job Opportunities tags), and those over at ask_a_cop (which contains info about US policing, though that didn't really surprise me). I've also searched various combinations of "(standard issue) + Tokyo Metropolitan Police + equipment/ranks/routines." Most of the results I got led me to things I already found or news stories that were interesting but not terribly helpful.

1) So, I have a male character, A, in modern Tokyo. He gets accepted the TMP out of high school/college, depending on what would help get him in (I'm thinking the latter; on the other hand, he's got some connections to get his foot in the door) and at the present he's in his mid-thirties. So I'm looking for any and all information I can get about the working life of a Tokyo cop. I'm not sure how policing differs in Japan from the US, so I'm trying not to make assumptions with my coming questions, but I probably will.

2) Same character, A, is divorced and lives by himself. Where would affording housing in Tokyo be located? I realize that 'affordable housing' is relative, especially in a city like Tokyo, but I'm not ever sure where to begin looking for information like this. I'm familiar with the process of getting a place, reikin and the like, so that's not an issue.

GOD FINALLY. This was suppose to happen on the 15th! But instead, I sit on 40k for six or seven days idek and THEN write 10,000 words in two days and I, I don't know. I just don't know.

This story is so not over but jeez. At least I officially won NaNo, anyway. Second time EVAR, yes!

This post originally made at Dreamwidth.

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2491478.html

time: 1923, place: US, probably East coast, within a state or 2 of New York.
search terms: gall bladder death (history OR historical OR ww1 OR "turn of the century")

I'm trying to kill my (roleplaying) character's mother. Mom died when my character was 8. Her family is very wealthy, so lack of medical care, or doctors generally considered incompetent (at the time), aren't likely to be an issue. I'd prefer a death that would predispose my character to becoming a surgeon--that is, a death that a competent surgeon could probably have prevented. The mother is 26 at the time of her death, and wasn't in particularly ill health until her actual death, though she was thin and not very active.

The ideal scenario, overall, is about thus: she's "feeling poorly", a doctor is called, the doc examines her, and basically says "It's probably just female troubles, call me if it doesn't go away in a few days", but then she dies the next day (or possibly later the same day, or 2 or 3 days later, I'm flexible on the exact time within that range). I also want her talking to my character shortly before her death (as in, within minutes, or at most an hour)

A friend suggested her gallbladder. Rupture from gallstones, I presume, unless there's something else your gallbladder can do that would kill you fairly suddenly. Unfortunately, the websites I'm finding are assuming that you're, you know, getting surgery or other appropriate medical care for your about-to-explode gall bladder, rather than just dying.

What I'd like to know is:
1. Could a competent doctor of that era misdiagnose gallstones as "female troubles", and if not, what relatively harmless diagnosis would fit better? (I'd like her to die at home, unexpectedly)

2. What would my character, who was 8 at the time, likely remember (medically speaking) about her mother's death? (keeping in mind that my character is interested in medicine, and thus might remember things other kids wouldn't) Other than "She was in a lot of pain" and (if I understand correctly) "It got better for a bit, just before she died".

Also, if her gall bladder won't kill her the way I want, what would?

As a minor side question, I need a necklace.
search term: victorian children's jewelry
My character has a necklace that her mother gave her. It's one that her mother was given as a child (I'm assuming Victorian-era jewelry will be the right age for my character's mom to have owned it as a child), though it needs to be large enough that an adult can still wear it. I suppose I could have her switch the pendant to a larger chain, if necessary, however. It needs to be the kind of thing one might actually have given to an 8-year-old child--I'm not entirely clear on what would and wouldn't have been considered suitable, in terms of styles and materials. But I am talking fine jewelry, not costume jewelry or anything. It also needs to be durable enough to last for at least 40 and change years, including about 17 years of nearly constant wearing, with occasional last-memento-of-my-dead-mother clutching.

At least in terms of necklaces, I'm finding mostly pictures of lockets or cameos. I'd prefer something more like a fairly simple pendant with a precious (or at least semiprecious) gem in it. I'm kind of picturing a gem surrounded by that filigree kind of stuff (maybe a bit like this or these or these), though I don't know if those would really fit the setting/era/etc.

Bonus points if it has any connection to Egypt, and/or the goddess Isis, by the way. (The character is for the game Scion, Isis will be her divine parent, by adoption, and she's going to make the necklace into a relic. If you don't understand this bit, don't worry, it's not important to the question.)

So, if anyone has suggestions of either good sites to look at, or probable descriptors (gold vs silver vs other, what gem, etc), I'd appreciate it. But this is just a side note, I wouldn't ask if I wasn't already asking the gall bladder thing, so just what occurs to you...

Answers or period-appropriate resources both appreciated.

Edited to add: Would she have been autopsied? I can't seem to find out how typical autopsies would've been at the time, especially considering her family's wealth. (if I don't get responses because of the question's age, I'll repost as a separate question...)

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2490978.html

I'm working on a piece of fanfiction for Supernatural, and I have some questions about the interior.

1) Are there seat belts?
2) Is there a map light or any kind of interior or overhead light that can be turned on while driving?
3) Is there an interior light that comes on automatically when the door is open?
4) Did it come with both bucket and bench seats?

Thank you for the help!

http://community.livejournal.com/little_details/2490701.html

I’m writing a fantasy fic set in a fictitious empire, based on ancient China. Even though it’s fantasy, I hope that the empire mirrors ancient China as closely as possible. I prefer to borrow details from the Tang, Song or Ming Dynasty, and I’m worried that I might include any detail that is exclusive to pre-Tang Dynasty China by mistake.

I googled “宫廷宴会”, “imperial banquet”, “Forbidden City”, “Forbidden City AND banquet”, “Hall of Preserving Harmony” and “Versailles”. I downloaded the Virtual Forbidden City, but I thought that it wasn’t very helpful.

1) The Empress will be hosting a banquet for her officials and their families, so what is the ideal number of guests? I suppose that there should be enough guests to fill the entire hall up. However, if there are too many guests, say, 1000, then the Empress’s reputation for thrift might be ruined. According to a website, an emperor once had 200 tables for a banquet, but many guests had to sit outside the hall. I don’t want any guest to end up outside.

2) I’ve based the hall on the Hall of Preserving Harmony in the Forbidden City. Is it okay if I write that the entire hall is painted in red, inside and out? According to some websites, within the Forbidden City, some halls’ ceilings are painted with dragons. Is the Hall of Preserving Harmony one of them?

3) My sister, who had visited the Forbidden City years ago, told me that most of the halls didn’t have windows. If she’s telling the truth, won’t the halls be really dim? The banquet will begin at noon (in summer), and I wonder how dim the hall will be. If halls don’t have windows, then how does light enter? I think that the hall will be locked throughout the banquet.

4) I’m puzzled. Some sources say that you’ll have to enter the Forbidden City through the Meridian Gates; other sources say that you’ll have to enter through Tiananmen. Isn’t there a contradiction? Most sources state that you’ll have to cross many bridges. However, they don’t specify the number and location of bridges in the Forbidden City. Is it true that all the bridges and steps are made of marble? A source says that they’re made of ordinary stone, not marble.

5) If you’ve visited the Versailles and the Forbidden City, in your opinion, what is the greatest difference between these two palaces? I’ve only seen online photos, and I think that the Versailles seems more welcoming because of cushions and so on, but I might be wrong.

Thanks!

Title: At Once Our Time Devour
Characters: Reborn, Colonnello
Summary: When you don't have a lot of time left, it's funny what matters and what doesn't anymore.
Notes: Adult! Set pre-curse, I guess. I'm a manga-only girl, so this isn't going to square with the Arcobaleno stuff that's coming down the anime pipeline. Smut, swearing, Colonnello and Reborn being asses to each other, 1706 words. Dedicated to wolfy_chan, whose smoking hot Reborn and Colonnello art that inspired this.

( Colonnello blinked once at the news, and then said, 'Bet you're going to miss fucking, huh?' It was a refreshing change from the wide-eyed looks of sympathy mingled with relief at not being the one chosen, so when he pulled his gun on Colonnello, Reborn didn't bother shooting to kill. )