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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.

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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

DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#16976: May 22nd 2020 at 8:36:33 AM

Silver is associated with the moon, which in mythological history is associated with dark secrets (specifically, moonlight reveals dark secrets). Silver is also associated with purity because it doesn't tarnish and if you polish it, it reflects so well you can see your image in it (again, it reveals "truth"). If you regard vampires and werewolves as "made of evil" (which according to historical folklore they are), then silver would be anathema to them.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
Nukeli Since: Aug, 2018
#16977: May 22nd 2020 at 9:32:05 AM

Would it be possible for an incompetent ruler in an absolute monarchy to cause a financial deppression (nearly) all by themselves?

~*bleh*~
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#16978: May 22nd 2020 at 9:38:23 AM

[up] It depends on what "by themselves" means. No ruler can make things happen without other people following their orders. The term "absolute monarch" implies such obedience, so if the question is, "Can an absolute monarch cause a nation's economy to go in the shitter by issuing stupid orders that other people follow," then the answer is absolutely yes.

See The Caligula for one form this can take, but in general, if everyone has to follow the monarch's orders, and the monarch tells them to invest the entire treasury in ostriches or something, then it's almost trivially easy for stuff to fall apart.

Edited by Fighteer on May 22nd 2020 at 12:39:36 PM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
DelphineTheDelphox I thought sharks were my friends. from The Alola Region Since: Jul, 2019 Relationship Status: Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!
I thought sharks were my friends.
#16979: May 22nd 2020 at 10:31:08 AM

[up][up][up] Thanks!

RIP KissAnime.
eagleoftheninth Shop all day, greed is free from a dreamed portrait, imperfect Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Shop all day, greed is free
#16980: May 22nd 2020 at 11:09:34 AM

Quickest way to do it is probably through currency shenanigans. Issue a decree switching from paper money to silver, or from silver to gold, or from gold to tulips or houses or Bitcoins, adding percent purity to taste. Let simmer as the whole kingdom loses purchasing power overnight and starts flopping around in contractionary spasm. Toss in some helpful public advices on which cake recipes to try in these trying times. Maybe start contacting friendly foreign monarchs to help bail you out before the peasants figure out how guillotines work. And you're good to go.

You don't need an absolute monarchy to pull this off, by the way. For a less extreme example, look up the 2016 Indian demonetisation crisis.

Of course, the problem with incompetent leadership isn't just the decisions that the leader makes personally, but also the rot that sets into the institutions that the country needs to run. Not pointing fingers, but let's say your absolute monarch appointed his son-in-law, an idle estate holder, to a slew of administrative positions he's wholly unqualified for. At best, you'd now have vital state institutions being run by a distracted amateur; at worst, a career nepotist is now all set to bring in his cronies to pillage every last cent out of them. Soon the kingdom will find its coffers empty; tax collectors will be hard-pressed to make up the shortcoming, especially with the new tax codes being suspiciously lenient on the rich magnates who are friends with the king; investors both domestic and foreign will start eyeing safer places to park their money. From there, it's only a matter of time until an insolvency crisis hits. Can't run much of an absolute monarchy if you're too deep in debt to pay your Faceless Mooks, after all.

Again, it's not all exclusive to absolute monarchies. A full-fledged nation-state is a complex machine with a lot of moving parts. A ruler with strong political mandate can break a whole lot of them at once if they so wish, but left without oversight, many of said parts will rot away on their own on account of human greed and complacency. The one consistent thing is no matter how much power a ruler holds, they'll always find it politically expedient to blame their underlings for the state's failings. As the old saying goes, the tsar is blameless; only his boyars are corrupt.

Edited by eagleoftheninth on May 22nd 2020 at 3:17:17 AM

One day, we will read his name in the news and cheer.
DelphineTheDelphox I thought sharks were my friends. from The Alola Region Since: Jul, 2019 Relationship Status: Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!
I thought sharks were my friends.
#16981: May 22nd 2020 at 11:21:23 AM

Would throwing silver paint on a monster to burn it be more funny, awesome, or just narmy? Again, this is a Gravity Falls fanfic, so either of the first two would work, but I'd like to avoid the latter.

RIP KissAnime.
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#16982: May 22nd 2020 at 12:06:09 PM

Historically, the fastest way a ruler could undermine their kingdom's economy was to borrow heavily to finance a war, and then lose the war. Lot of broke kingdoms back then.

@Delphine: If this fanfic is being written in the comedic tone of the original, I would go with something like:

[Dipper]: Oh no, I've dropped the silver paint down this shaft and I can't reach it!

[Mable]: Don't worry, I've still got my silver-based glitter! [Throws glitter at monster]

[Monster]: Ahhh! It burns! But is also makes me feel all sparkly!

Edited by DeMarquis on May 22nd 2020 at 3:12:42 PM

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
DelphineTheDelphox I thought sharks were my friends. from The Alola Region Since: Jul, 2019 Relationship Status: Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!
I thought sharks were my friends.
#16983: May 22nd 2020 at 12:10:41 PM

Hah, that could work! Thanks!

RIP KissAnime.
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#16984: May 22nd 2020 at 12:19:55 PM

:)

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
Nukeli Since: Aug, 2018
#16985: May 25th 2020 at 5:18:23 AM

I'm worldbuilding. The characters are divided in card-themed factions; The Diamonds (royalty), The Clubs (the army), and The Spades (the farmers/workers), and The Hearts. I'm not sure who the hearts should be. Suggestions?

~*bleh*~
eagleoftheninth Shop all day, greed is free from a dreamed portrait, imperfect Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Shop all day, greed is free
#16986: May 25th 2020 at 5:20:22 AM

Scholars? Artisans?

One day, we will read his name in the news and cheer.
C105 Too old for this from France Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
Too old for this
#16987: May 25th 2020 at 6:05:56 AM

The clergy?

Whatever your favourite work is, there is a Vocal Minority that considers it the Worst. Whatever. Ever!.
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#16988: May 25th 2020 at 12:48:51 PM

The idle young.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
Kickisan Since: Oct, 2019
#16989: May 25th 2020 at 6:30:45 PM

I agree with the posters, who suggested that Hearts should be scholars/clergy. But yes, what about the artisans then? Thus I suggest that one of the suits should be them and merchants instead of the royalty. And you can put the royalty above the four suits, or you can let every suit have their own king/leader.

Edited by Kickisan on May 25th 2020 at 12:47:49 PM

ChicoTheParakeet Since: Oct, 2019 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
#16990: May 26th 2020 at 2:27:52 AM

Got an idea for a fantasy series involving Norse mythology (the aftermath of Ragnarok and the residents of the Nice Realms in particular) but all I’m getting is Marvel stuff. Any places you recommend to do research on it?

Edited by ChicoTheParakeet on May 26th 2020 at 5:51:13 AM

Nukeli Since: Aug, 2018
#16991: May 26th 2020 at 5:11:04 AM

Wikipedia. Neopagan websites and school materials have a tendency to make up stuff when they don't know something (like the meanings of runes) or twist the facts (like claiming Loki turned into a stallion and impregnated a mare, while in the actual myth Loki turned into a mare and GOT impregnated by a stallion)

Edited by Nukeli on May 26th 2020 at 3:11:45 PM

~*bleh*~
Millership from Kazakhstan Since: Jan, 2014
Tarlonniel Since: Apr, 2012 Relationship Status: Tweaking my holographic boyfriend
#16993: May 26th 2020 at 5:51:15 AM

[up]x4 Or you could fold the royals into the military division, which was often where they ended up traditionally (e.g. "those who pray", "those who fight" and "those who work").

DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#16994: May 26th 2020 at 7:47:57 AM

Norse mythology: how about this site? I can't vouch for it myself, but it looks informative and interesting.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
ChicoTheParakeet Since: Oct, 2019 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
#16995: May 26th 2020 at 7:13:11 PM

Okay wish me luck. I’m planning to write a mecha series though I hope I’m not too much like Gurren Lagann or Star Wars.

Edited by ChicoTheParakeet on May 26th 2020 at 11:00:33 AM

Nukeli Since: Aug, 2018
#16996: May 29th 2020 at 3:13:27 AM

I'm drafting a 20 Minutes into the Future conspiracy thriller where USA has become a christofascist dictatorship. The main character, Carter, is fleeing towards Canada, but gets caught in a tangle of conspiracies, one of them headed by Marshall, a disgraced heir leading an underground band of "terrorists". The idealistic Carter is swayed by Marshall's charisma, and joins them. Marshall gathers a following by claiming to fight for liberty, while he's actually only in it for wealth and revenge at his brothernote , willing to lead his followers to their deaths to bring him down, and not actually caring what happens to USA at all. Simultaneously, FBI is closing in, traitors are everywhere, everybody has to go further and further to stay alive and free, the government officials conspire against each other, and the date of Marshall's endgame approaches rapidly. I originally thought titling it "And the republic for which it stands" as a reference to the pledge of allegiance, but it's obviously too long. Suggestions? Or would "The July 4th Plot" be a good name?

Edited by Nukeli on May 29th 2020 at 8:00:59 PM

~*bleh*~
C105 Too old for this from France Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
Too old for this
#16997: May 29th 2020 at 3:45:14 AM

[up] "We the people" ?

Whatever your favourite work is, there is a Vocal Minority that considers it the Worst. Whatever. Ever!.
indigoJay from The Astral Plane Since: Dec, 2018 Relationship Status: watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
#16998: May 29th 2020 at 11:19:08 PM

Does anyone have any resources on postal systems between 1880 and 1910? Specifically, I'm trying to estimate how long delivery would have taken for letters sent between rural Scotland, Cairo, Egypt, and a university in Zurich, Switzerland.

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.
eagleoftheninth Shop all day, greed is free from a dreamed portrait, imperfect Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Shop all day, greed is free
#16999: May 29th 2020 at 11:48:18 PM

Nothing too specific, but if you haven't come across it yet, check out this isochronic travel map from 1881, which documented travel times from London to various parts of the globe based on contemporary postal and shipping timetables.

One day, we will read his name in the news and cheer.
Nukeli Since: Aug, 2018
#17000: May 31st 2020 at 12:18:08 AM

Relating to the question i asked above, how long would it be plausible for them to stay off the grid after the government became aware of their existence? (It's set in 2022. They do minor sabotage, steal food and weapons, and eventually assassinate an official). The setting doesn't have any tech that our present time doesn't have, and Marshall's soldiersnote  blend in with the general population, hide their faces, and give their bests shots at discreetness, but only a few of them are real soldiers. They get support from Russian government and a Mexican cartelnote , spend most of the story hiding in a nunnery, and rely on suprise and civil unrest when they go for the final attack. A few members, including Marshall's second in command, are former soldiers (TIC was Navy SEAL) but most of them are civilians, victims, and would-be victims fighting for survival, and Marshall runs the group in a bit of a personality-culty fashion, trying to distract from their situation and losses and kind of wants to be seen as something sacred so that the others wouldn't question his motives and actions.

Edited by Nukeli on Jun 1st 2020 at 4:30:06 PM

~*bleh*~

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