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Hello, fellow writers! Got any question that you can't find answer from Google or Wikipedia, but you don't think it needs a separate thread for? You came to the right place!

Don't be shy, and just ask away. The nice folks here, writers and non-writers, experts and non-experts, will do their best to help you.

The folder below contains links for special interest threads, mostly at OTC, but also from Yack Fest and Troper Coven.

    Special Interest Threads 

Also take a look at Useful Notes on various topics. They can be pretty useful.

Now, bring on the questions, baby!

edited 11th Apr '18 6:31:51 PM by dRoy

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#6201: Nov 25th 2012 at 10:29:47 AM

I suppose yes, if that group isn't associated with terrorism.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
MorwenEdhelwen Aussie Tolkien freak from Sydney, Australia Since: Jul, 2012
Aussie Tolkien freak
#6202: Nov 25th 2012 at 2:19:14 PM

[up] This.

The road goes ever on. -Tolkien
Night The future of warfare in UC. from Jaburo Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
The future of warfare in UC.
#6203: Nov 25th 2012 at 3:31:50 PM

Only to a point. Any time you're going to get asked for ID you'd have to take it off, which would limit the activities you can engage in, the places you can go, and the jobs you can take.

edited 25th Nov '12 3:32:34 PM by Night

Nous restons ici.
CrystalGlacia from at least we're not detroit (Living Relic)
#6204: Nov 25th 2012 at 6:25:46 PM

I asked this question a few months ago, and I'm reposting it because the only answer I got was akin to 'get some IV tubing and weights and see for yourself'. That's why I'm asking here- I can't readily obtain IV tubing, and I doubt my parents would approve.

At one point in my work, I've planned to have a side character starve himself, then commit suicide via hanging with IV tubing or other tubing easily found in a hospital room. Is it possible for someone to hang themselves with IV tubing, or would it be too short/weak/slippery? If not, is there anything else readily available in the average hospital room for him to do the deed, or am I going to have to rethink this?

"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
alethiophile Shadowed Philosopher from Ëa Since: Nov, 2009
Shadowed Philosopher
#6205: Nov 25th 2012 at 6:44:26 PM

I've dealt with rubber tubing that's at least similar to IV tubing before. It likes to stretch, so hanging someone with it is not going to be a quick neck-break affair, it's going to be a long-drawn-out-strangulation affair, and that's assuming it'll hold the weight. (We never put it under human-weight strain, so can't say if it will or not.) I'd expect a different means of suicide to be more practicable.

Shinigan (Naruto fanfic)
TeraChimera Since: Oct, 2010
#6206: Nov 25th 2012 at 7:23:55 PM

If you don't need tubing and the room has a window, they could smash the window with something in the room and slit their wrists with the glass.

CrystalGlacia from at least we're not detroit (Living Relic)
#6207: Nov 25th 2012 at 7:34:25 PM

[up][up] That's what I thought.

Given the type and severity of terminal illness I plan on giving this guy, it would probably be easier for him to just keep a cord or rope or something hidden in his stuff until the day came.

[up] That could also do, and it creates the strong visual that I want.

Thanks, that cleared it up. Wow, I'm morbid.

edited 25th Nov '12 7:36:27 PM by CrystalGlacia

"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
kassyopeia from terrae nullius Since: Nov, 2010
#6208: Nov 25th 2012 at 8:10:08 PM

Would western society (mostly) tolerate a group that covers their heads with hoods and full face masks?

Unless the group is recognized as a religion, there are straightforward laws against fully obscuring one's face in public spaces. Think driving without a numberplate, applied to people, and with pretty much the same motivation behind the regulation.

I'm not sure how that meshes with things like carnivals, where doing exactly that is the whole point - perhaps there are official exceptions for those, or perhaps it's still officially illegal but there is an understanding that the law just won't be enforced.

Anyway, in some places, it would most definitely not be tolerated, unless extenuating circumstances apply.

ETA: Sorry, I meant to say "there are straightforward laws against it in some Western European countries", but seem to have forgotten to put in the second part. smile

edited 25th Nov '12 8:18:01 PM by kassyopeia

Soon the Cold One took flight, yielded Goddess and field to the victor: The Lord of the Light.
kassyopeia from terrae nullius Since: Nov, 2010
#6209: Nov 25th 2012 at 8:15:12 PM

I've handled IV tubing, and mostly agree with 4[up]. My guess would be that it wouldn't break under the strain, but that it might stretch enough to become completely ineffective, by virtue of either letting the "victim's" feet reach the floor, or for the noose to enlarge to the point at which it puts pressure on the lower jaw rather than the throat, which I imagine is highly unpleasant but no immediate threat to survival.

Soon the Cold One took flight, yielded Goddess and field to the victor: The Lord of the Light.
Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#6210: Nov 26th 2012 at 12:29:07 AM

Keep in mind that achieving asphixiation doesn't require suspending the whole body off the floor.

kassyopeia from terrae nullius Since: Nov, 2010
#6211: Nov 26th 2012 at 4:10:50 AM

Hmmm, good point. And I guess that if the person were to, say, lose consciousness and slump in just the right way once their feet do reach the ground, even a significantly distended noose could become dangerous again. So maybe this is possible, after all, with some ingenuity and/or "luck".

Soon the Cold One took flight, yielded Goddess and field to the victor: The Lord of the Light.
CrystalGlacia from at least we're not detroit (Living Relic)
#6212: Nov 26th 2012 at 8:28:48 AM

I want this to seem very deliberate and premeditated, not at all like it was an accident, as well as visually striking to the protagonist, who is stuck watching the scene. Either slitting himself on a broken window or hanging will do it, but thanks.

"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
GameSpazzer The Beta Male from Against! The! Wall! Since: Jun, 2010
The Beta Male
#6213: Nov 26th 2012 at 11:29:35 AM

Just announcing my existence so when I suddenly appear and start answering questions, it doesn't confuse anyone or anything. I may post a proper inquiry later. Depends.

...Please let this be the right thread this time. Brain am not work good with mouth words. Hyudeswfhejus.

MY SOUL IS DARK BUT MY HAIR IS COLORFUL — Brahian Pokémon Alchemist
CrystalGlacia from at least we're not detroit (Living Relic)
#6214: Nov 26th 2012 at 11:35:23 AM

Hi! Feel free to answer or ask as many little questions as you want; you don't need to 'warn' us that you might want to help someone. We won't be confused about someone wanting to help (unless you were posting troll responses, but that's beside the point). This thread is for anyone and everyone to use.

edited 26th Nov '12 11:37:22 AM by CrystalGlacia

"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
GameSpazzer The Beta Male from Against! The! Wall! Since: Jun, 2010
The Beta Male
#6215: Nov 26th 2012 at 11:40:54 AM

Got it. Thanks.

MY SOUL IS DARK BUT MY HAIR IS COLORFUL — Brahian Pokémon Alchemist
Ringsea He Who Got Gud from Fly-Over Country,USA Since: Aug, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
He Who Got Gud
#6216: Nov 26th 2012 at 5:22:37 PM

Now for something completly different: How can I show that a nuclear war and a rebellion that destroyed a city, created a country in the region, and left the Eastern US occupied in a way that makes sense in-universe?

The most edgy person on the Internet.
Night The future of warfare in UC. from Jaburo Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
The future of warfare in UC.
#6217: Nov 26th 2012 at 6:04:55 PM

I'd argue you pretty much can't, so your best option is to move past that part of the setting real quick and tell the story.

Nous restons ici.
MorwenEdhelwen Aussie Tolkien freak from Sydney, Australia Since: Jul, 2012
Aussie Tolkien freak
#6218: Nov 26th 2012 at 7:46:23 PM

I have two politicians' wives in my story. One is the First Lady, Marina, who is very snobbish and kind of a backstabber, but is great at playing on people's sympathies and acting convincingly nice. She's a high-maintainance, manipulative Rich Bitch. The other is the heroine, Eva, who is her friend only because Marina gives highly-paid political positions to her friends. Eva is head of the broadcasters' union, in charge of broadcasting propaganda.

Marina's one of the main antagonists, who like Eva is attempting to get someone (not her husband, but a close confidant, namely her brother) into the Presidency, because she's sick of playing second fiddle to her husband. Her rationale is that since she and her brother are so close, she can find a way to get power through him, since her husband is losing popularity and people are desperate for change, and then eventually remove her brother through an "accident".

What is something she could convince him to promise (that she knows he supports- they are very conservative, while Eva is a populist, almost fascist? It should be something that provides some benefit to people but provides opportunity for government corruption.

edited 26th Nov '12 8:47:32 PM by MorwenEdhelwen

The road goes ever on. -Tolkien
MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#6219: Nov 27th 2012 at 10:14:37 AM

What are the respective opposites of the emotions of Acceptancenote  and Fearnote ?

And can pure Ambition unchecked by any morals serve the Evil Counterpart to the emotion of Hope?

edited 27th Nov '12 10:22:32 AM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
CrystalGlacia from at least we're not detroit (Living Relic)
#6220: Nov 27th 2012 at 10:30:43 AM

Well, depending on which usage of acceptance you're using, it could be either intolerance (if you're talking about accepting others) or denial (if it's acceptance of a truth or oneself).

A Google search reveals that the opposite of fear is something that can't be summed up in one word; some have proposed knowledge- associating fear in general with fear of the unknown -or faith/hope.

edited 27th Nov '12 10:33:47 AM by CrystalGlacia

"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#6221: Nov 27th 2012 at 10:39:46 AM

Well, depending on which usage of acceptance you're using, it could be either intolerance (if you're talking about accepting others) or denial (if it's acceptance of a truth or oneself).
Yeah, I'm talking about acceptance of a "truth" (or what is stated to be so), "destiny", and so on. The opposite should be what drives the trope of Screw Destiny. It can't be anger or hatred, because you can be angry at or hate something while still resigning yourself to its apparent inevitability, just as you can be not angry or hateful towards something, but still refuse to accept it as inevitable.

A Google search reveals that the opposite of fear is something that can't be summed up in one word; some have proposed knowledge- associating fear in general with fear of the unknown -or faith/hope.
Wouldn't ignorance and despair be the opposite of knowledge/wisdom and faith/hope, respectively?

edited 27th Nov '12 10:41:57 AM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
CrystalGlacia from at least we're not detroit (Living Relic)
#6222: Nov 27th 2012 at 10:48:40 AM

Each of those proposals for the opposite of fear focused on an aspect of it, since it's such a complex emotion. The person who proposed knowledge/wisdom associated fear in general with fear of the unknown, as I said. The people who proposed hope and faith basically extrapolated further on the previous reasonings for knowledge being fear's opposite- people fear what is unknown, knowledge dispels that unknown, from that knowledge springs the faith that leads one to believe that all will be well in the end, and hope follows.

Hey, that's what these people said, not me.

"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#6223: Nov 27th 2012 at 10:59:35 AM

Well, I don't think they are using "opposite" right; what they're looking for is "countermeasure", which always depends on the cause(s). Fear born of ignorance ("I don't know what that is, but it doesn't looks friendly/safe!") is cured by knowledge; fear that is born of knowledge ("I know just how threatening a thing is, and that while it has a weakness, we do not have the means to exploit it!"), however, would require a different solution.

Now that I think about, the closest thing to an opposite of fear is boldness or audacity — the daring to fearlessly do or face something that you should be afraid of. That's different from actual bravery/courage, the overcoming of one's existent fear.

edited 27th Nov '12 11:02:31 AM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
kassyopeia from terrae nullius Since: Nov, 2010
#6224: Nov 27th 2012 at 11:15:23 AM

The "Five Stages of Grief" employs the terms "Denial" and "Acceptance" verbatim, so I'd definitely go with that.

It doesn't cover quite as broad a semantic range as "Fear" does, but might "Longing" work?

Ambition seems more like the proactive counterpart to Hope as a passive emotion to me. "I hope they will live happily ever after" works, but so does "I hope they will suffer eternal misery and torment". Doesn't that suggest that Hope itself is neutral rather than good?

Soon the Cold One took flight, yielded Goddess and field to the victor: The Lord of the Light.
kassyopeia from terrae nullius Since: Nov, 2010
#6225: Nov 27th 2012 at 11:22:20 AM

4[up] In the Screw Destiny sense, "Defiance" might work better than "Denial".

[up][up] Nnno, I don't think so. Audacity is the counterpart of Timidity, which is related to but not the same thing as Fear.

Soon the Cold One took flight, yielded Goddess and field to the victor: The Lord of the Light.

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