#i was reading some webcomic where a plot point is about his health insurance doesn’t get transferred when he moved or smth

[limewatt]

jesus fucking christ learning anything about american healthcare makes me so sad and angry. what a fundamental failure to provide a vital service to a populace.

[comicteaparty]

May 2nd-May 8th, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from May 2nd, 2020 to May 8th, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

What are some of the weirdest things you've Googled while researching for your story?

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

For Whispers of the Past, the weirdest thing I googled was probably: "puncture wounds versus lacerations" and "chance of survival after getting stabbed." Pretty sure I also looked up: "treatment for arsenic poisoning," "lethal dose of arsenic," "arsenic in nature," "broken ribs symptoms and treatments," "pneumothorax," "can a horse kill someone by trampling them?" and "how far can you fall without dying?" Basically, just a bunch of medical questions. For another story, I think the weirdest thing I looked up was, "can you take antidepressants and sleeping pills together?" More medical questions

carcarchu

@ cronaj's answer "i swear i'm an author not a serial killer"

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Hmmm.

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I think for me was searching up symptoms of PTSD, eating disorders, and also victims of cheating

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Probably that time trying to research poisonous substances available in Victorian and earlier households with potentially fatal results if ingested but not immediate, and their symptoms/treatments

The answer, incidentally, is that most of them aren't treatable if you've had a high enough dose to get symptoms.

And non-lethal doses tend to have unpleasant long term effects

Deo101 [Millennium]

I don't remember all the crazy stuff I've looked up. What's popping into my head at the moment, though, is I did almost a month of research into time travel paradoxes for a plot that I ended up not using! So that's fun

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Also that Victorians kept arsenic (a white powder) in the same place as sugar (a white powder) in often unmarked containers since literacy was low and labels only work if you can read them

There was far more accidental poisonings from putting arsenic in your tea than I can count

carcarchu

what about having a picture of a skull and cross bones on the arsenic tin

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

I think it was arsenic. Maybe cynanide...

Ahaha

You'd think so wouldn't you?

That's not even going into the whole thing about green dyes for clothing being made from arsenic as well I think and being uh

Literally fatal to wear?

Well done, Victorians.

Let me grab y'all a source for that one

https://youtu.be/K2McemVuG28

Here you go!

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Oh my god what the

Them victorians are so morbid

Did you know that they have a garden of poison

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Welcome to writing historical!

Yes I did

I wanna go

But yeah go back a century or two

Literally everything seems to be poisonous

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Arsenic, radium......damn they don’t follow WHMIS

carcarchu

wasn't even that long ago when they were putting mercury in everything

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Including NORMAL FOOD

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

And toys

Kids were playing with them

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Oh the Bradford Sweets Poisoning was a whole thing!

Hang on

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1858_Bradford_sweets_poisoning

This one is uh

Definitely worse

carcarchu

bruh

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Yeah

There's so much of this...

It's amazing humanity made it this far

So yeah that's what I've googled

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Would that...even fly here nowadays

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

What the arsenic

Nooope

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Hooooo god that is mildly terrifying

Like I make sweets for a living

I don’t even want to think how I’ll feel if I accidentally poisoned 200 people

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

It did lead to modern food hygiene laws and much better regulations on chemists being responsible for their supplies

But yep

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I remember someone telling me “Behind every rule/regulation was someone who got hurt or died”

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Yeahhhh

Sometimes also where there aren't rules because hahaha some companies are shit

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Yeah it’s sucks and it’s even worse because you KNOW they’re just pushing the limits

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Capitalism has always been like that, it's just people can see it a bit more now

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Yeah, the age of information has really exposed the nasty side of things huh Hmmm I think I’ve studied something really different for my webcomic. I was looking into the justice system and how it treated minors

And I had to look up burn victims/homicides soooooooooooo

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

Whoops sorry for the ping, I thought you said mirrors not minors and was gonna ask

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Oh god that would be....completely different

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

I'm writing about vampires, mirrors are more common (concept and word)..

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Yes! I think it’s because back in the day silver was used in mirrors and that’s why you can’t see a vampire’s reflection

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

weirdest thing I searched so far is about er the male modeling industry and how they have to slap cheeks and junks to get the body to fill in clothing

and I wondered "do I need to do a deep dive in this or"

Nutty (Court of Roses)

I tried to look up what damaged vocal cords looked like, so i could show it when Count Bailey got poisoned, but I mostly got body camera shots inside a person's throat, so I had to largely wing it by darkening the veins in his neck lol Other than that, I have to look up Irish slang a lot, as Merlow slips into it more when he gets drunk.

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

I have a twittee thread somewhere about mirrors and vampires

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Okay tuyetnhi I’m a bit more...disturbed yet intrigued by that idea. Nutty yes I noticed that! I liked that small detail actually And Eilidh, i would love to see that twitter thread

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

Yeah, I ended up making a deep dive and ho boi

it's darker than I expected LOL

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I tried to look up people getting crushed by cars or falling objects but the videos were very blurry and made me dizzy so I just went fuck it my comic's not realistic anyways I'm winging it

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

Probably an extensive search for all things occult? Its such a wide topic so it was daunting to sift through everything, but also really cool to see so many different cultures have been influenced by such things! Ive read some excerpts about the sixth sense and human capabilities too, very interesting!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!) That is the most splendidly weird research I have heard of

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I was trying to research for one of my characters and i'm just

the things they do

I scream everyday

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

lol tuyetnhi got me to look it up but all I can find is stuff about sexual assault

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

that's what I mean

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

OH

:(

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Whoa okay

That’s really dark

Like I had to look up abuse relations

DanitheCarutor

Oh geez, I've looked up a lot of stuff. Recently I Googled public bathrooms and backs of toilets because I'm too lazy to get up and look at my own toilet. SAECKs/SAKs, the price with and without insurance, how it works and if men can use them. (Which was kinda sad that I didn't know they could although the resource was surprisingly hard to find, all except one link I found were about women using them.) I've looked up medical stuff like the different stages of certain cancers, their symptoms, treatments and other things involves like their effect on the person's mental health, if things like physical therapy is needed and the effects of the treatment along with the types of treatment needed. Also the cost with and without insurance, as well as cancer treatment facilities for people with low income. Various mental illnesses/disorders, the different types treatment, the effects of the treatment, as well as cost and facilities that offer free/cheaper treatment for people with low income. Lactose intolerance, celiac disease, gaslighting, trauma brought on by abuse. Things like the mental effects of children taking on adult responsibilities early on, growing up with lack of stability and human trafficking. Types of physical abuse that doesn't leave obvious bruising/scarring, psychological abuse (outside of gaslighting). Court stuff, like legal charges for attempted murder, court procedures. Caregiver programs for family members caring for someone with a severe mental illness. What actions are taken when someone files a charge for being drugged against their consent and the steps that need to be taken if your ID and credit cards/debit cards have been stolen, as well as what the police need do in those situations. Gosh, I can go on and on, just go on forever about all the things I've researched.

Most of it is medical and mental health related.

I feel this is fitting for some of the subjects we've Googled.

DanitheCarutor

Wow, I didn't realize how much I looked at the cost of stuff. Like a good chunk of my research has been dedicated to what different insurances cover, how much, the base price without insurance and payment plans for people in the latter category. I guess the upside is I'll have some knowledge on the different insurance companies if I ever get to a point where I can get it, as well as payment plan options if I'm ever hospitalized.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Googling images of cadaver hands for reference was... not a pleasant experience

mariah (rainy day dreams)

Most recently I was looking for heart dissections. I had to take a break cuz I was making myself feel sick X')

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Searching up burn victims was not fun either

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

also this has made me realize that artists can be a very morbid bunch

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

yeah like dang ya'll lmao

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I know someone who had to look up (a bit gory) "can you strangle/hang someone with your intestines"

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Chances are the audience is not gonna know either so

dunno how much accuracy matters in this situation :p(edited)

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

I mean....unfortunately I know what it's like to see a drowned corpse So if it's accurate....I would...strangely appreciate it more?

Like you never know your audience

DanitheCarutor

When I was first starting to dabble in comics I was attempting this dark fantasy/mythology-ish story that would have some gore. I looked up stuff like "skull being crushed", "what does 'x' limb look like when being ripped off", "what does a corpse look like after sitting for 'x' many days". Most of my searched led me to the Best Gore site, which is totally recommended if you need references for your gory horror comic, but is NOT a site for the faint of heart. You will most likely get sick from the content... and the comment section.

Oddly enough, when I used to do the occasional stand alone gore-ish illustration I'd get 1-2 comments with people being grateful for the accuracy. It's... interesting that they would know what would and wouldn't be accurate with stuff like that.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Oh, I looked up burn victims before.... Yeah, I've looked up a lot of weird stuff.

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

I had to look up fresh and healed burnscar myself for a comic, a character survivived a housefire.

Most of the time I am googling history actually - and mostly tech-levels of a given time and what was contemporary with what - guns and knights for example co-existed for quite a few decades, that kind of stuff.

Deo101 [Millennium]

Y'know I'm thinking about it more, and I'm realizing why I can't recall the weird stuff I've looked up. I usually ask people for information! I know a lot of different kinds of people who are more than happy to talk about their experiences, so I can ask them for first hand experience with a lot of situations where I then don't really need to look up much other than to maybe fill some holes I have. It's a different kind of research

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Huh, the weirdest thing I’ve googled? Well, there’s the ever-uncomfortable ‘Googling certain body types for reference but probably looking like a creep to anyone who looks at my search history’. I’ve also googled very oddly specific things like ‘What is a 5-cube called?’ (It’s a pentaract). I’ve also watched videos that demonstrate how a bump key works, and to my FBI agent, I swear it was only for my comic. My search history gets pretty eclectic. I look up a lot of religious lore, and do lot of research into medieval times - mostly about the daily life of the average peasant. Also things like quantum physics, customs in other countries, and animal facts.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Just realizing that I once researched "medieval brewing." That was an interesting train of information.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

For a lot of gruesome or dangerous scenes, I try to aim the search toward movies and TV screencaps. Like, if you need to draw a crashing car, find a series with a dramatic car chase where they slammed a stunt car into a wall in high-def slow-mo.

kayotics

I think the weirdest thing I looked up was trying to figure out the answer to the question “is the gas released by decomposing bodies flammable? And if so how much gas do you need?”

eli [a winged tale]

now I’m curious what’s the answer

kayotics

The answer ended up being that if there was enough gas being created it was probably not enough to be flammable: aka it would not light up the room.

I ended up asking a friend who knows more about decomposition to figure out the answer, but I just wanted to make sure if a character brought a torch into a musty murder basement, it wouldn’t light them up like a Christmas tree

Mostly: it gets smelly and stale

eli [a winged tale]

Good to know!

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Hmm I think the wierd thing I looked up was whether Smile Therapy was a real practice? There are Photos too and I have a feeling it was real. Another thing I look up was; How would a real lady pirate dress in historical times? I did alot of extra research for some little visual hints.(edited)

I feel like Mob psycho nailed the creepiness of Smile Therapy because they were patients forced to pretend to smile, that's what I envision each time. That ep stayed with me(edited)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

oh my god

Miranda

What is that picture from?? it's creepy haha(edited)

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

mob psycho 100

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

smile therapy is terrifying. Imagine getting punished if you didn't smile

in the end you'll be smiling as a conditioned reaction to fear, not because it's genuine

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Yes exactly, the original one was hard to record so the Google was ambiguous about its existence but there's photo proof that it was a thing

[journeysintowebcomics]

Girl Genius Liveblog #111

UPDATE 111: Back to the Main Storyline

Last time Agatha had decided to come up with a plan to remove all control of the giant rabbits from the Weasel Queen by using a ton of garlic – metaphorically...maybe. I loved typing that whole sentence. Meanwhile, Othar is not dead yet because he is very resistant, so let’s continue from there.

Turns out Agatha sent the garlic through a pierogi, somehow. For those who don’t know, this is a pierogi.

Tasty! So, given that the general setting of Girl Genius is in Europe, I have been thinking the adventures take place in the Germany/Netherlands/Belgium area. This pierogi thing is from Poland. I’m not saying that the food seen around means anything, but still, given that Poland is in the general area...I’m not sure why I went in this detour about my theories regarding the setting of Girl Genius.

As soon as Ferretina notes there was a lot of garlic in the food, Agatha does her triumphant entrance into the scene, somehow...having blended among the rest of the rabbits until then? Agatha gets confident and ready to tell how exactly she has delivered her decisive strategy.

Well that’s too bad. Guess you blew your cover way too quickly, Agatha. Not that it stops her from telling all the details of her plan to stop Ferretina, ending with a ‘SURRENDER NOW!’, where she finally realized she screwed up. Badly. And here is where I say that I can’t see Agatha doing something like this in the main story. I really can’t see her saying everything about her plan without first making sure it went fine. I know this is meant to be a non-canon story, mostly focused in humor more than anything else, buuuuuut yeah, it still bothers me, to be honest. Agatha is many things, but I don’t think she’d be careless enough to do something like this.

Since these huge rabbits aren’t controlled through their sense of smell, then why are they doing what Ferretina says? Loyalty? No, it’s actually because she offers free health insurance. Hah! Krosp tries to curry favor – I suppose Agatha doesn’t offer health insurance – and Ferretina rejects him because she loathes hairballs. Hm.

Agatha announces it’s time for her ultimate weapon – at which point the fashion clank intervenes. You sure that’s your ultimate weapon? Ferretina expresses the same skepticism than me, while my skepticism turns into confusion when the dialogue starts chaining word after word of statements I’m very sure don’t make any sense at all. How does that end?

...well I for one am glad it’s over, and that’s that. Othar gets zapped, it’s a cut to Phil finishing the narration, they don’t seem to be about to escape like the last two times...and fade to black. And that’s it! We have finished the Weasel Queen intermissions! And boy was that...something. Okay, end conclusions:

It was tolerable. Nothing to write home about, but it was okay. I can’t say it’s something I liked – at least by the time I was at the third and last part. Compared to the rest of Girl Genius, I feel like the quality of this storyline wasn’t as good as the rest of Girl Genius. I can think of several reasons for that, the main being that the Foglios’ plans for this intermission is completely different to the plans for the webcomic itself, including this intermission’s focus on humor. This seems to be a hit-or-miss thing, so I’m sure there was a lot of people that enjoyed this. Who knows...maybe if I had listened to this in its original format I’d have liked it more.

Anyways, right now? All I’m feeling regarding this intermission is that I’m glad I’m done with it. So let’s go back to the main story, where Agatha had just fought Merlot and he had died – not her fault. Also Zola is trying to take care of Gil, much to Agatha’s disgust. It sure says a lot that the very first thing one sees in the page is Agatha taking a deep breath and calming down, surely so she doesn’t launch Zola away through the nearest window. She even brings up that Gil had hidden his true name from Zola – Zola doesn’t seem very affected by this information. Guess that the many times he has saved her life do count for something! I don’t trust Zola yet, but I’m inclined to believe these feelings are real.

Since Agatha has a lot of things to do that don’t include sitting by Gil’s side to play nurse, she makes clear to Zola that her new job is to take care of Gil and that she must behave. Oh, and she also almost chokes Zola to death. Huh! You’re really trying to keep the frustration bottled, eh, Agatha?

It’s hard to believe Zola is a threat anymore, not after a moment like that one. True, it’s not like Zola can reply ‘you almost choked me to death, crazy woman!’ but compared to how Zola tried to rally people to kill Agatha, well, this is very different from that! I doubt Zola will ever be on Agatha’s side, but it does seem to me that the danger has been defused for now. Congratulations! The sources of conflict left are Wulfenbach and the urgency to repair the Castle, which aren’t exactly small things. I suppose I can’t just ignore the possibility Zola will try to kill Agatha, but for now she’s not that dangerous.

Now that Zola has been defanged, Agatha can focus on more urgent things like the machine that was going to kill the Castle! It’s complicated and doesn’t seem to work like I thought it would, but it’s no problem for Agatha.

Hah! I like how you think, Agatha. But yeah, all that mattered was that the machine was destroyed and couldn’t be used. Personally I’d feel a bit better about this all if the machine was further dismantled than this, but what do I know, hah! It could be useful! You never know when you need more materials for any invention. Besides the machine wasn’t going to work, it lacked parts.

...the cistern had squid clanks. Electrified squid clanks. Okay, say whatever you want about the Heterodynes, but nobody can deny they were pretty damn creative with their deadly traps. I’m amazed anyone can survive in this place!

Unfortunately, I’m going to have to cut the update here, given that these days I have been rather busy. Still, the main plot of Girl Genius is back, and I’m excited for it! I’m guessing that trying to find a cure for Tarvek is going to be the focus for the moment. He can’t fix the Castle if he’s delirious and changing colors like some kind of Amazonian frog, after all! Will Gil know anything about medicine? Well, it’s not like Gil is in the best condition to provide medical care either.

...now that I think about it, things aren’t more hopeful than before. Oh well. That’s fiction for you, things are never easy. Thank you for reading.

Next update: two updates

[ylizam]

As I stumble and fumble through a complete inability to write (I am trying to take to heart this advice and get words down, but mostly I keep getting distracted by: cats, Eve Granger, coffee, Eve Granger’s terrible taste in men, cats again, maybe I’m hungry, etc.), I’ve managed to waste time thinking about TV straddling the 1990s, for example (it got loooong so I’m sticking it behind a cut): 

the only Roseanne reboot I’d ever want. Dan fakes his own death because it was the only way he saw out of his marriage that might help take care of Roseanne and the kids (@summervillen and I came up with a whole backstory wherein Becky doesn’t come back after running away with Mark, but Roseanne starts bringing home women from work that she calls Becky, it’s all very tragic and whatnot, but Dan makes sure he has life insurance and that it’s set up right and divorce would only cost everyone more money he thinks, so), ends up in Oregon where he does cash jobs, grieves his marriage to Roseanne and eventually meets a biker (her name is Gretchen, goes by Sally, owns the local garage) and is just really starting a serious relationship with her after years of being friends when who should show up at the bar where he’s tending bar but JACKIE!, Jackie who is “finding herself” now that Andy’s grown and off being a hairdresser in Oakland (he crashes with DJ, who is working for a tech startup)(Darlene’s in Chicago where she and David are divorced but friendly coparents; she manages a comic book store that she’s gearing up to buy and still writes and she and David co-write a divorce webcomic and she plays rec basketball)(Becky’s happily married with kids in Florida)(Fred’s super sure that Andy’s gay and keeps trying to make him come out, only Andy’s actually straight)(Roseanne’s getting the mental health help she needs), Jackie who sidles up to the bar and after she gets over her shock yells “Dan Connor, that boy you left me for was FIFTEEN” until he shushes her and pulls her into the back so he can explain, Jackie who ends up in the same small Oregon town, Jackie who is actually bi and doesn’t want to be in a relationship and who only sleeps with people out of town (she finds that Tinder + Portland works for her and she is very happy), anyway the plot is basically Dan and Jackie living their best lives and Jackie getting Dan back in touch with his kids and it is all very wonderful, also everyone rides motorcycles the end.

Kerry Weaver and how much I love her and how many stories about her I want to exist that don’t (as far as I know: I wasn’t in ER fandom and I’m definitely not well-read there--I’ve read a fair bit of Kerry/Susan but that’s really about it--and I’m absolutely afraid to go wading for the good stuff). Because, honestly, I want fic about her being friends (actual friends, not gal pal friends) with Jeanie Boulet (them getting in touch after the end of the series, them emailing and trading gossip and Kerry donating to Jeanie’s HIV clinics and trying to keep it anonymous) and just both of them having happy lives and being friends and maybe at some point Kerry visits Jeanie or vice versa. 

Or Kerry being friends with Serena Campbell because apparently they need to be friends in my head. (And then I was like, “okay, and then Kerry plants the idea that Serena maybe would be happy not returning to the hospital where her daughter died, just a thought, but that doesn’t mean she can’t go back to England and be with Bernie but also not work at the hospital where now she’s the woman whose daughter died there (whose mother died there) because honestly Serena hates being gossiped about and also no one wants to be the person who is known for Terrible Tragedy and so she and Bernie end up living together halfway between Holby and wherever Serena ends up working and kicking ass and eventually they both leave Holby and end up somewhere else in England (because Bernie’s finally got her kids both talking to her at this point, and Serena has Jason who is a part of her heart) and it is much better for both of them also they both continue to get lots of therapy because therapy is good the end.”)

The idea of working somewhere she's just Serena Campbell: Bloody Brilliant Surgeon and Hospital Administrator (nothing wrong in knowing your worth, and as the surrealism of grief slowly shifts she's more and more secure in her acknowledgment of it), and not Serena Campbell: Tragedy is--Her entire body relaxes around the thought, like maybe she'll be able to sleep tonight after all--well it's practically revolutionary. She hadn't realized how much that was weighing on her until it suddenly wasn't the only option. Not the only door. She could return to England (to Jason, to Bernie) and find a job in another hospital.

(Or, yes, I would in fact read some post-series Kerry/Jeanie or Kerry/Susan or look I just really love Kerry Weaver and femslash so of course I would read any of these things.)

In conclusion, I am really not ready for the weekend to be over, but practically over it is. At least the coffee’s set up for the morning and I’ve oatmeal in the fridge and there’s comfort in that.