As someone who writes almost exclusively morally gray characters, I feel obligated to comment. Not to defend the mainstream use of morally gray characters, who are mostly just buttholes who happen to be shooting at socially designated bad guys, but in defense of complex, flawed characters.

The truth is that most people, even Christians, are or…[Read more]

@anne-of-lothlorien

I know this reply is coming two years late, but… thank you for the hug.

@miller

You’re very welcome! While this topic is normally about technical or clinical subjects you don’t want showing up in your search history, it’s absolutely expected that queries will branch off into tangents as knowledge is shared. If you have more questions about world-building, history, politics, psychology, whatever random questions you…[Read more]

@miller sorry I forgot to tag you in my reply

If you want an example of how to brainwash children and young adults, look no further than the Army. Not to speak negatively on the brave soldiers who volunteer to serve and protect, but hear me out. Your average middle class American Joe Schmoe is not that violent of a person, nor that mentally tough. Part of the reason casualties in disaster or…[Read more]

@erynne

A random aside, horses love the taste of beer, as it essentially resembles pre-digested barley / wheat / hops, their preferred feedstock. Horses also have an extremely high alcohol tolerance, even accounting for their comparative size (3-8x the weight of an adult male human), as their gastrointestinal tract is specialized in digesting…[Read more]

@Erynne, No worries! If anything, writing about the negative effects alcohol had on my life is a healthy reminder of why I stopped drinking and why I don’t want to drink alone again or ever walk back into that position of dependency. I’ll still drink with friends, who can watch me and keep me from having too much, but I will never keep alcohol in…[Read more]

Pneumonia is a significant possibility due to aspirated water – that is, if he inhaled any water during the initial splash, or if he was under water long enough that he involuntarily gasped for air and inhaled water instead. Natural water isn’t purified and there isn’t really any telling what…[Read more]

@skylarynn

Yes! Midwives have known for thousands of years “the kiss of life” to revive newborns who weren’t breathing well on birth. While some overly academic physicians might have “interesting” ideas about resuscitation (such as covering the body in hot coals or pouring hot tea down the throat), your average barber surgeon / village healer…[Read more]

@erynne Howdy! Nice of ya to stop by.

So, it’s been a while since I drank – I quit a couple months ago, as alcohol was just making me depressed, less productive, and draining my wallet – I had stopped drinking for fun, and had by that point just been drinking as a crutch for mental pain. But that’s its own story.

I cannot say I’ve been black out…[Read more]

@skylarynn

So, you’re probably aware of this, being stabbed in the back is not healthy. The torso in general doesn’t have a lot of “good” places where the injury would not be too severe or long lasting. It may be counter intuitive, but the best place would be on the victim’s right side and upper back, piercing the lung. Particularly since you…[Read more]