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edited 11th Apr '18 6:31:51 PM by dRoy
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So...sorry to keep saying this, but it depends. When we say Kaiju, are we talking Godzillaesque, taller than local hills type thing where it's obvious to everyone that the only answer is to run? Or are we talking, somewhat bigger than an elephant, which a local lord might well imagine he could kill?
If the former, then at the point when they see it, they're going to break off and redirect. Probably to gathering everything and everyone valuable in its path and getting away (or, if the nearest actual force is an unfriendly neighbor, potentially opportunistic raiding).
So my expectation would be if its visibly unchallengeable, it appears. The locals see it and run, maybe with a few idiots taking potshots with bows. Most would likely automatically retreat to either a walled village or the nearest fortified location. Smarter people might look at the creature and go 'walls won't help, but there's only one, I'm running away from all these other tasty people.' I could certainly see a local lord making an attempt at killing the creature for his pride, though if he were smarter, not so much.
My expectation would be that you get a stream of people running away, which the Kaiju might follow to a nearby fortified location, which might do something stupid, or might just get cracked like an egg to get at the gooey people inside. As soon as they realize there's nothing they can do to harm it, this stops being a military conflict and becomes an unnatural disaster to escape from.
ETA: One thing being overlooked in the comments so far is that there's definitely potential for a nobleman to do something very stupid if faced with what looks like a martial challenge, as projecting strength and courage are going to be very important. If you want someone to provoke the beast, a furious nobleman is a pretty good bet.
Edited by ECD on Feb 3rd 2022 at 9:33:24 AM
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@ eagleoftheninth, De Marquis and ECD:
This is all extremely fascinating since it has turned from logistics into somewhat of a discussion about human nature when faced with insurmountable conflict and the practical/selfish mindset that can persist in the face of these things.
Definitely the former; it is probably around 196 feet/60 meters or a little taller/shorter than that. It mercifully has no flight capacity or any sort of breath "weapons" (apart from just knocking things over with its every exhalation Big Bad Wolf style).
So essentially Apocalypse Anarchy on a medieval stage? It's odd since I sort of imagined everyone would be unified in terror, no matter what sort of enmity they had in normal life.
Fear is a tyrant and a despot, more terrible than the rack, more potent than the snake. — Edgar Walllace
Not instantly and it would really depend on circumstance, but if raiders are present, they might take advantage of chaos. If a neighbor is feuding, they might decide to add their wrath to the wrath of god which has befallen their enemy.
But most likely the worst you see is folks fleeing chaotically, maybe stealing horses to make it easier and 'accidentally' grabbing other people's stuff to carry off.
On these characters
, would it be the best if i had the baron born in 1889 and his younger brother in 1890? Only a year's difference is possible, right?
The baron would need to be in the condition to put up some kind of a fight during the time of WWII, and the brother has to be old enough to be a spy in WWI.
Also, where should i stick the barony? What area could make sense in the way the real nobility's areas go?
Edited by Nukeli on Feb 4th 2022 at 1:46:27 PM
~*bleh*~Now a question of mine: I am currently worldbuilding a late-medieval-early-Renaissance style fantasy world with a bit of magic and humans as the only species of importance. Anyways, I thougt about the trope of Barefoot Poverty (pretty self-explaining) and turning it on its head with the cultural idea that bare feet are a sign of status, wealth and beauty. So the reasoning for that particular region is the following.
1. It's centered around a warm region where snow and cold weather are generally uncommon.
2. It's a city, so those who can show off their clean feet don't want to be associated with the "agricultural peasants" who have to do hard, dirty labour.
3. The city has a tradition of merchants who don't have to do heavy work in craftsmanship, at the harbour and so on, either. You're also not associated with soldiers, who the high society tends to look down on.
4. Having clean feet signalises that you can afford to wash them often (and have servants who do that for you), rooms that are warm enough so you don't have to freeze and are Too Important to Walk when you leave your house.
5. Having that much money means that you could afford shoes easily, but you are so wealthy that you don't have to show that you can.
Is this something that makes sense?
@ Mysterium:
It makes sense, no worry there. It just seems to be highly impractical. One of the reasons Barefoot Poverty is so effective of a trope is because footwear is essential to protecting one's feet from harmful or unpleasant elements like sharp rocks/broken glass and other litter, or just horse-droppings left in the street. Your wealthy upper class will either spend their time mostly indoors or otherwise will want to be carried around by servants on special chairs to avoid setting foot on the ground and risking such a hazard. It can be done; there is a history of wealthy and nobility being carried aloft by servants.
I
Fear is a tyrant and a despot, more terrible than the rack, more potent than the snake. — Edgar Walllace
@ Mysterium:
What I mean is that there is a point where it becomes so impractical that it (at least for me) strays into inflicting yourself with an intentional detriment for the sake of fashion.
But having people point this out balances things a great deal, so in the end it really isn't that much of a problem as a reader. It would only seem odd if it was just framed as part of the setting without anyone drawing attention to the drawbacks or those drawbacks being completely absent.
Fear is a tyrant and a despot, more terrible than the rack, more potent than the snake. — Edgar WalllaceTLDR: Protagonist's family is struggling with the impact of an unexpected new addition. This relative chaos is negatively affecting everyone. How to portray this without stepping over the line into abuse?
More Detailed Explanation:
I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on how to portray my main protagonist's family situation prior to the start of my story as difficult and stressful without making it abusive.
At the start of the story, his family is dealing with the unexpected addition of a new sibling which has caused all sorts of tension. They have less money than before and arguments and fights are common, and he himself is not dealing with any of it in the most mature or upstanding way.
I really want to ensure this doesn't cross the line of a toxic environment, since one of the big aspects of his character is his desire to protect his loved ones, and it only gets stronger as time goes on. An abusive home life would sour that...plus, abusive family dynamics are already the Evil Counterpart to his own family in multiple instances anyway.
Edited by Swordofknowledge on Feb 4th 2022 at 10:41:25 AM
Fear is a tyrant and a despot, more terrible than the rack, more potent than the snake. — Edgar Walllace@Mysterium: Let me add another voice saying that I think that it works, as you've described.
I don't quite agree with Swordofknowledge that it's utterly impractical, at least for those sufficiently rich that they can afford litter-bearers whenever they're out.
I will say that I would expect that there would still be those too poor to have shoes—which might produce an interesting contrast, and perhaps some interesting quirks to the local culture. Especially if bare feet are seen as elements of beauty...
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I would add some scenes showing how well this family was getting along, despite the stress. Possibly also some flashbacks or character remembrances from something moderately recent (just before the news about the new sibling) that firmly confirm this is a loving and close-knit family. Finally, you could have the characters internal monologue including this while acknowledging the current stressful situation.
I know it kinda sounds obvious or overly vague so I don't quite know how helpful I am.
Edited by C105 on Feb 4th 2022 at 12:01:12 PM
Whatever your favourite work is, there is a Vocal Minority that considers it the Worst. Whatever. Ever!.How strong is household bleach? A character just sprayed some in a villain's face to get away in a tense moment. Will he have chemical burns, or would the real danger be breathing it in?
Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall...Well then. Dude'll be burned pretty decently then, though she only got one good spray off before running for it because it was more about stalling for time than hurting him. But, ya know, good to know.
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Bleach isn't that bad for meat unless it's really concentrated. On the skin as in a spray it can cause minor burns, and on the eyes it'll temporarily blind (for a few hours), but bleach which hasn't had anything done to it won't cause much damage. It's keeping it in contact for long periods that causes problems.
What something can do to metal has no real relevance on its effects on meat. Two very different substances. Take a sheet of iron and leave it outside in a damp climate with temperature variation, and it'll rust to uselessness. Put an alive person in a damp climate, they might overheat if it's warm but otherwise their muscle and skin won't develop holes and flake off. (beyond normal skin flaking).
Edited by Florien on Feb 4th 2022 at 9:46:38 AM
To be fair, while it was a small spray, it also happened when he ambushed her in a place where he couldn't just immediately clean his skin off (she basically took it just in case she needed it as pepper spray, because this is NOT the first time she got ambushed). So while I don't think he'll have massive burns, it probably still lingered long enough to create some noticeable redness. Long enough for his allies to mock him for it, at least.
Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper WallI know how ridiculuosly specific this is, but imagine the following: A late medieval-style, but fantasy battle happens in an area with huge farmlands-wheat, rye, barley,something like that, and one of the armies decides to burn the fields as a tactic of destroying the nearby area and of course distracting the enemy with this. So, what would burn better: The crop plants, or the already reaped left-over straw?

Depends on the time and place, but 15th century European settlements were often fortified to various degrees. Towns had stone walls, country nobles ruled their estates from castles, even ordinary farming villages might have something as simple as a palisade or a moat to keep attackers out.
That would dictate the cost-benefit calculus of any neighbouring noble or official who might organise an armed response. Will the monster come for me if I just hole up in my castle, or will it be satisfied/dead enough after tearing up that village over yonder? Do I care enough about the guy who owns that land to want to keep his peasants from getting massacred by a flying hellbeast? Would it affect me if the dragon kills a bunch of peasants and burns down farmlands, thus putting pressure on the economy at a time when the world was still recovering from the aftermath of the plague? And so forth.
The people living near the ground zero would, in all likelihood, try to make their way to the nearest fortified town or castle and organise their defences there. Might or might not work entirely, but it sure beats trying to face the thing out in the wild, without a home field advantage. And if you're the local ruler, that'd probably be where you already had food stockpiled and troops ready to muster in case of emergencies.
One day, we will read his name in the news and cheer.