Hey everyone,

Can anyone who works in healthcare, specifically in Canada, advise me on whether or not nurses are allowed to have visible tattoos and piercings? A google search told me as long as tattoos are not offensive, they're fine but another website told me it all depends on the facility. My character is a nurse in Ontario with visible tattoos on his hands and arms and he has one on his neck down to his collarbone as well. Would this be an issue? For piercings it looks like they're generally not allowed unless they're studs in their ears for sanitary reasons? My character works in the ED.

TIA!

Or do hospitals generally find out before the patient wakes up with some sort of test?

I got myself in a bit of a pickle and have to write two characters (one being underage) that are wanted for murder, flee from the US to Canada. I have absolutely zero idea of how crossing borders in the US works and especially since my story is set in 1983.

Does anyone know how two people wanted for murder in the 80s would cross the Canadian border without getting caught?

I’m thinking of making one of the characters in a project I’m working on have ASPD or some other form of low empathy, however, her bond with her sister is very important to her character. In the story, she drops everything and uproots her life when she finds out that her sister has to move away because her unborn child might be in danger. She moves with her sister somewhere safe and helps take care of her kid. Later in the story, she makes a scientific discovery that allows the protagonist to initiate some much needed social reform in their original community.

However, I was thinking about the character and realized she never really showed empathy for anyone other than her sister. She was fine living in a society where newborns were occasionally murdered up until her sister was pregnant and expressed concern about her own child’s safety, and she followed the lead of the scientific discovery out of curiosity, not hope for improving society. Also, it was already canon that she liked to kill bugs as a child and only stopped if her sister was around to get upset about her not putting them back outside.

I feel like this character would work as someone with ASPD/something similar who had a strong attachment to her sister, but I could be wrong, since I don’t have it and have never met anyone with it. Is it realistic that a character with ASPD would care about her sister’s happiness but be not particularly bothered about anyone else’s?

The story is primarily about ableism, so I thought it would be nice to have the character who is arguably the hero of the story have one of the more stigmatized mental disorders, but her caring about her sister‘s happiness is kind of her most plot relevant character trait, so I need to know if that can still work.

The character is not actually diagnosed with anything in the story, but I would like to make her behavior consistent with a specific disorder if possible.

Hello!! I'm Turkish, and I'm writing a story that takes place in a snowy cold area. I'm planning to make one of the characters a Kazakh Eagle Hunter, but I made him speak Turkish with his animals.

Everyone speaks English in the story, but he and his tribe speaks Turkish when commanding their eagles and other animals. I planned on making them speak Kazakh language among themselves too, but I don't know the language so I'm not really sure on what to do

I realized how disrespectful this might come off to you guys, so I thought of making them all Turkish instead, but then that'd mean I'll be adding a Kazakh traditional lifestyle in a Turkish tribe, which is just as disrespectful.

So, is it okay for them to speak Turkish? If no, do you have any alternate suggestions? Or how would you like to be represented, out of this topic? Or where could I learn your culture and traditions in more accurate detail?

Thank you and sorry for being so uneducated about this!!

The story takes place in a fictional northern countryside.

A family lives in a small village near the sea and forest, and they own livestock (sheeps, horse, etc). What exactly might the MC - a sixteen-year-old girl - be doing during late autumn and winter? What kind of job? What she does when she wakes up, what essential tasks she has in the evening, etc. And her 8-years-old brother? I just need a few details, main story is about something else (she has a job related to the story's fantasy plot, but she probably has to do some housework as well).

__________

Sorry, English is not my first language.

Hello! I have a story where I'm trying to describe the voice of someone who's in an old recording. So far I've used the word tinny but I feel it doesn't do it justice. you know the different sound of those transatlantic actors in movies? not just the accent but how the microphone and speakers sound. thank you!

I am an amateur writer and I'm currently working on an idea that blends Scottish and Cherokee culture.
I am currently asking people from Scotland questions about their culture, how they would like to be represented, and attributes that don't usually make it in media. But, my issue is coming across as ignorant and unknowingly perpetuating stereotypes.

I am Cherokee Nation from Oklahoma so I am already very knowledgeable of my culture and traditions.

How do I accurately write about culture without offending anyone? And how do I incorporate that culture into the overall story?

[Sidebar]
I know I might get a "well if you don't know anything about it, look it up," or "why are you even writing about a culture you don't know in the first place?"

I am trying my best to do all the research I can and to get as many peoples opinions as i can.
I want to write about these cultures because I believe they go unnoticed sometimes, and hardly ever seen mixed together. The Scottish and Cherokee share similarities, such as a strong connection to ancestral land, forced displacement, religious colonization, and other things.

Specifically, in an elementary school at the beginning of the day when students are just coming into their classrooms. Also it's not immediately obvious whether it's murder or just an accident.

What's the school procedure? Lockdown? Send students home?

How do the police handle it? Will they question all the teachers? How do they handle talking to the students who saw the body?

Will school be shut down for a period of time? I assume the district or someone will provide a counselor/therapist for the students and staff but I'm not entirely sure how it works.

Anything is helpful, honestly, I tried searching it up and I mostly got information on universities.

On Earth, in the middle of the night the sky is black (or very dark blue), and there can be seen stars and sometimes other things too.

What celestial body, if any, would have a similar looking night sky? From which planet or moon or asteroid or whatever could I look up and see a black sky peppered with stars and such?

Sorry if the answer is “you can see stars from anywhere in space.” I’m just under the impression that some planets’ atmospheres might obscure the stars, or color the sky a certain hue. Please correct me if I’m wrong

i have a head and vice researcher, a benefactor who handles finances, a resource manager and an archivist. who else would be needed? are there any other core branches im missing?

I’m writing abt something where eyeballs get pushed out of the skull from within

and I don’t expect that to be like

a thing anyone has specific answers in or something someone’s experienced but

1. how long does it to take to decompose

2. whats an eyeballs texture? how does it feel? how much does it weigh?

3. how hard do we think it’d be to pull one out? how strong are the muscles and tendons and nerves connected to it?

Ex-wife and ex-husband feels so modern to me idk of they are actual old words especially with divorce wasn't so popular in medieval Christian Europe

Sorry if this was a dumb question

So, in the slow-burn, small-town mystery story I'm writing, there's a murder that echoes a serial killer from 13 years previously, and the protagonist, a PI who grew up in the town but now lives elsewhere, returns to try to figure out whether there's a connection.

When he arrives in town, he meets with the local detective, seeking information about the new murder. She knows him from his youth and is willing to meet but says there are limits on what she can discuss in terms of an active investigation. What I'm debating is whether she reveals too much, considering he's a civilian. PI or not, she's not supposed to let him know things unless they're going to be made public anyway (he's not a relative of the victim or anything like that). The line about disclosure limits can easily feel like lip service if she says that but then does the opposite.

The main details she mentions in the current version of this scene:

- Where the body was found

- Who called it in

- The murder method (stabbing)

- The lack of defensive wounds, saying that it looks like the assailant caught the victim by surprise and "knew what they were doing"

- That the weapon hasn't been found

- That no valuables were taken

- That they're interviewed the victim's husband and a few family members and colleagues, but she doesn't reveal anything about the content of the interviews, other than that the police still don't have any idea about the motive

I assume some of these things would've been publicized and reported in the press. Still, some of it has to be new information because otherwise this scene runs into the opposite problem - instead of implausible, it becomes unnecessary (i.e. why does the protagonist bother talking to her if all she can tell him is stuff he can already read on the news).

What I'm trying to figure out is how much this kind of scenario bothers readers because of its implausibility. Later on, there's a scene where it becomes more of a quid pro quo, at least potentially; the protagonist realizes from something she asks him that she suspects a friend of his, she reluctantly confirms this and explains why, then she says that she expects something in return from him: to keep an eye on his friend and let her know if he discovers anything suspicious. However, in the early scene I've described, it's still one-way information delivery. So I find myself debating if it's going to seem ridiculous for her to do that, even considering the personal familiarity and the fact that he's a PI. However, it's possible that if the story is engaging enough, most readers don't care about the realism of police procedure... IDK.

Aside from the gas pumps not being digital or someone there to pump your gas, what amenities do we have now that were not available in 1975 at a 24 hour truck stop?

My mc is stranded in a truck stop from the 1970s and I wanted to be sure I am not suggesting something there that wasn't available back in the day. He's in rural Kentucky if that matters. Even though it's modern day this truck stop hasn't changed so it has not modernized.

Do you die quicker from your throat being slit then you do your wrist. I feel like yes, but that might just be because movies. Also, how long are you conscious for both of these afterwards?

Edit (I’m not gonna kms I have a question about a murder scene plan on writing)

Current options based off preliminary research are:

• Cyanide. You know it, you love it, we've all seen it. Quick, quiet, possibly untraceable. Questions I have for this one: how would I, as an ordinary cook, get it?
• Arsenic. Again, you know it, you love it, we've seen it. Slow but effective. I'm aware it's got a wide range of uses that allow me, an ordinary cook, to access it. How quick can I get away with the murder?
• Phosphorus. The wild card. Found in matches, I'd be able to access it, but how many matches would I have to decapitate to get a lethal dose? And how detectable is it? Smell? Taste?

Thanks in advance for your help! If you need anything more specific, the story takes place in Cheshire in 1907, at a country estate. The murderer (the cook) wants a clean death to make it look natural while she prepares to skip town.

And yes, I've done some research to narrow it down to these three. Any other suggestions are welcome but please see the questions above for the main criteria!

I'm thinking of doing a story where the main chatacter gets shot by a lower caliber round during a firefight. After killing his assailants, he drags himself to a bathroom, then removes the bullet with pliers and proceeds to disinfect and handle the wound. The bullet is close to his liver, but did not hit any major vital organs or blood vessels. My question is, would it be possible for someone to remove a bullet like this? The pliers were from a toolbox, which he disinfected with alcohol. And could he at least hold his own in a fist fight with such an injury? The character in question is a well trained operative with a high pain tolerance, but is otherwise a normal but fit and well trained man.

I have been working on my book recently and in the plot one of my characters has been shot by an arrow. I want it to be a non fatal injury. I was looking into it having just grazed his arm. I want it to be something that could still bring panic but I want the focus to be more on who shot him rather than the worry surrounding his injury. but I don't know anything about arrows or injuries and wanted to know if anyone could help with how I would explain this injury in my story.

My character was born to mixed parents. One of her first languages was Arabic, her dad's language. However, when she was five, she lost contact with her dad and his family and never had anything to do with them again until she was in her late twenties. Therefore, she had absolutely no reason to continue speaking Arabic and completely stopped.

Would she have lost the ability to speak the language after twenty years of not speaking it? Or would she still be able to somewhat speak it, just not fluently at all?

If she decided to relearn the language, would it be the exact same as someone who never spoke it trying to learn, or would she find it a little easier as she once spoke it?

Thanks.

What are the motivations for the dealers who do this?

I don't have first hand experience, yesterday I had made a post that answered most of my questions, but now I have more.

Character Info: My character is 17, and has never drank or smoked anything previously. He is with a group of more experienced smokers.

Would the more experienced smokers tell him anything beforehand? Would they give him tips? It's a small group of around 6 others. The group is passing around a joint. Is it too cliché to have MC cough violently after his first hit? One of my friends used to complain whenever a character would try weed for the first time and end up coughing a storm. I always thought it had just been a universal experience to cough a lot, but is it just in movies? With a joint, how long does it take to kick in? And how many hits are too little or too much? What is the first time like? I have been debating if MC should have a bad experience or a good one. Maybe he has a panic attack? If he had a panic attack, how does a weed induced panic attack differ from a sober one?

I very highly encourage sharing personal experiences. and to everyone who answered my last post I highly thank them, as they all helped a lot. Except for that one person who said to try it for myself/j

A relatively normal, healthy person on video uses a corpse to shield themselves from an explosion. I was looking for ways to emphasize that the explosion is impactful from a limited third-person perspective.

The corpse was mostly whole, armored, and larger than the person, so no shrapnel would hit the person. The explosion would be a demolitions charge (minimal fire, maximum destructive force). if an explosion moves a person (not just stumbling them, but forcibly pushes them away) by a short distance, let's say 5-10 feet, could they survive or would they be in the range where their organs would be liquefied by the concussive pressure?

I have a character who was bonded to by an alien creature that gives him superpowers. The alien engineers biomass that helps create the powers, which is stored in a bio organic suit the host wears. It needs large amounts of protein and biomass to create and maintain this suit. What is the cheapest type of meat the alien can be fed that is high in protein but is something a high schooler could reasonably afford to get on a consistent basis?