Thread: Writing Resources (Do Not Comment)

References Kissing References World building Questions Inkarnate Map Making Tool Havocscope.com Want to know how much cocaine cost by the gram? How much does a kidney sell for? How much does it cost to hire an assassin? Well, put down your I'm on the NSA watchlist for Googling bizarre shit but I'm just a writer! coffee mug! Havocscope is your one stop shop for searching for all those edgy, illegal topics through legal means! Recommended by Rudolph Quin Limits of the human body See more Recommended by Rudolph Quin Writing Hotter Kisses being unable to open their eyes for a few moments afterward one small kiss, pulling away for an instant, then devouring each other pressing their foreheads together while kissing speaking normally, then after the kiss their voice is hoarse guys furrowing their brow when kissing passionately staring at the others lips, trying not to kiss them, before giving in running their thumb over the others lips when they lean forward a fraction as if to kiss the other person, then realize they shouldnt and pull back to stop themselves ripping the other away - no we shouldnt - but when they kiss them again they moan and hold them close one sliding their hand into the others hair slowly their entire body freezing for a second when their love kisses them accidentally being forced inches apart from each other, staring at each others lips, and just before they kiss someone pulls them back apart when one stops the kiss to whisper Im sorry, are you sure you- and they answer by kissing them more a hoarse whisper kiss me then licks their lips and says please Table Top Audio Ambient audio for a variety of settings, plus a Soundpad to create your own. Sex Positions Not to be confused with sexposition. Has visuals and animations for MxF sex positions. NSFW GuidesMasterposts Pirate Resources Hair Care in the 19th century Hair washing and care in the the 19th century Hair washing is something that almost every historical writer, romance or not, gets wrong. How many times have you read a story in which a heroine sinks gratefully into a sudsy tub of water and scrubs her hairor, even worse, piles it up on her head to wash it? Or have you watched the BBCs Manor House and other historical reenactment series, in which modern people invariably destroy their hair by washing using historical recipes? Historical women kept their hair clean, but that doesnt mean their hair was often directly washed. Those who had incredibly difficult to manage hair might employ a hairdresser to help them wash, cut, and singe yes, singe! their hair as often as once a month, but for most women, hair-washing was, at most, a seasonal activity. Why? you might ask. Wasnt their hair lank, smelly, and nasty? And the writers who embrace ignorance as a badge of honor will say, Well, that just goes to show that people used to be gross and dirty, and thats why I never bother with that historical accuracy stuff! And then I have to restrain myself from hitting them The reason that hair was rarely washed has to do with the nature of soaps versus modern shampoos. Soaps are made from a lye base and are alkaline. Hair and shampoo are acidic. Washing hair in soap makes it very dry, brittle, and tangly. Mens hair was short enough and cut often enough that using soap didnt harm it too much and the natural oils from the scalp could re-moisturize it fairly easily after even the harshest treatment, but in an age when the average womans hair was down to her waist, soap could literally destroy a womans head of hair in fairly short order. Instead, indirect methods of hair-cleaning were used. Women washed their hair brushes daily, and the proverbial 100 strokes were used to spread conditioning oils from roots to tips and to remove older or excess oil and dirt. This was more time-consuming than modern washing, and this is one of the reasons that good hair was a class marker. The fact that only women of the upper classes could afford all the various rats, rolls, and other fake additions to bulk out their real hair was another. An average Victorian woman of the upper middle or upper class had more apparent hair in her hairstyle than women I know whose unbound hair falls well below their knees. Women rarely wore their hair lose unless it was in the process of being put up or taken downor unless they were having a picture specifically taken of it! At night, most women braided their hair for bed. Now that my hair is well below my waist, I understand why! The first modern shampoo was introduced in the late 1920s. Shampoos clean hair quickly and also remove modern styling products, like hairspray and gel, but the frequent hair-washing that has become common leaves longer hair brittle even with the best modern formulations. From the 1940s to the 1960s, many if not most middle-class women had their hair washed only once a week, at their hairdressers, where it was restyled for the next week. The professional hairdresser stepped into the void that the maid left when domestic service became rare. Washing ones hair daily or every other day is a very recent development. Thats where conditioners came into play. Many people have wondered how on earth women could have nice hair by modern standards before conditioners, but conditioners are made necessary by shampoos. Well-maintained hair of the 19th century didnt need conditioners because the oils werent regularly stripped from it. Additionally, the oils made hair much more manageable than most peoples is today, which made it possible for women to obtain elaborate hairstyles using combs and pinswithout modern clips or spraysto keep their hair in place. This is why hair dressers still like to work with day-old hair when making elaborate hairstyles. There were hair products like oils for women to add shine and powders meant to help brush dirt out of hair, but they werent in very wide use at the time. Hair tonicsmean to be put on the hair or taken orally to make hair shinier, thicker, or strongerwere ineffective but were readily available and widely marketed. If you have a heroine go through something particularly nastysuch as a fall into a pond or the likethen she should wash her hair, by all means. This would be done in a tub prepared for the purposenot in the bathand would involve dissolving soap shavings into a water and combine them with whatever other products were desired. Then a maid would wash the womans hair as she leaned either forward or backward to thoroughly wet and wash her hair. Rinsing would be another stage. The hair would NEVER be piled on the head. If you have greater than waist-length hair and have ever tried to wash it in a modern-sized bathtub, you understand why no one attempted to wash her hair in a hip bath or an old, short claw foot tub! It would be almost impossible. A quick rundown of other hair facts Hydrogen peroxide was used to bleach hair from 1867. Before that, trying to bleach it with soda ash and sunlight was the most a girl could do. Henna was extremely popular from the 1870s through the 1890s, especially for covering gray hair, to such an extent that gray hair became almost unseen in certain circles in England in this time. Red hair was considered ugly up until the 1860s, when the public embracing of the feminine images as presented by the aesthetic movement Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood gained ground, culminating in a positive rage for red hair in the 1870s to 1880s. Some truly scary metallic salt compounds were used to color hair with henna formulations by the late 19th century, often with unfortunate results. Hair curling was popular in the 19th century and could either by achieved with rag rolls or hot tongs. Loose sausage rolls were the result of rag rolling. Hot tongs were used for making the frizzled bangs of the 1870s to 1880sand frizzled they certainly were. The damage caused by the poor control of heating a curler over a gas jet or candle flame was substantial, and most women suffered burnt hair at one time or another. For this reason, a number of women chose to eschew the popular style and preserve their hair from such dangers! Permanents were first in use in the 1930s. US Millitary Masterpost RANKS Different services Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and different countries will use different names for their rank, but an E1 Enlisted First-rank will be roughly equivalent to an E1 in another, and the same all the way up the chain. The time in each rank is average time since joining the military its entirely possible to be in that rank outside of that many years due to being particularly good or bad at your job or for doing something notably good or bad. Enlisted handle the day-to-day tasks that must be done. Specialize in just one field and know virtually nothing about others. E1PrivatePvt 0-6mos. Brand new out of boot camp and thus not trusted. E2Private First ClassPFC 6-12mos. Has been around slightly longer than a private, can be trusted with basic tasks E3Lance CorporalLCpl 1-3yrs. the most common rank, trusted with most tasks, a senior lance can hold positions usually reserved for a corporal E4CorporalCpl 2-4yrs. in charge of training and leading a small unit4-12, usually E5SergeantSgt 4-6yrs. very senior member of platoon, will be given a lot of authority, generally unsupervised, in charge of 12-30. If just sergeant is said, this is the rank meant. E6Staff SergeantSSgt 6-12yrs. The senior enlisted in a platoon, advises the platoon particular officer called the 'platoon commander and interprets their orders. Intersection of weird, cool, and knowledgeable. E7Gunnery SergeantGySgt 12-18yrs. main job becomes technical knowledge and arranging training and logistics. valued more for knowledge than ability to work. After this rank, either become MSgt or 1Sgt. E8Master SergeantMSgt 16-25yrs. technical expert due to experience in field, non-command role, can advise planning of operations. E8First Sergeant1Sgt 16-25yrs. Does the company commanders bidding, very experienced, discipline oriented E-9Master Gunnery SergeantMGySgt from Master Sergeant 20-40yrs. Supreme technical expert, trusted as an advisor to anyone in the field, up to battallion and regimental leadership, more time in service than most troops have alive E9Sergeant MajorSgtMaj from First Sergeant 20-40yrs. No one knows what he does other than motivating speeches. Has no idea whats actually going on at the lower levels. Strangely likeable. Advises battalion commander and above. If you piss him off, you will pay dearly. Junior Enlisted E1-E3. Do what theyre told, generally not trusted with setting their own schedule, a senior lance can take charge but will usually be handled by a Corporal. Mostly do the hands-on work. Non-Commissioned OfficersNCOs E4-E5, charged with training and leading teams, squads, and platoons, generally knowledgeable. Mostly in direct command of junior enlisted. Staff NCOsSNCOs E6-E9, effectively equivalent to officers they advise, are technical experts andor make sure the enlisted carry out the orders of the officers. Mostly in charge of advising officers and passing on officers orders. Enlisted ranks only go to E9. People get weirder as they go higher in Enlisted ranks, starting noticably at SSgt, because theyve been immersed in the military culture for so long. People are also generally less in shape at higher ranks, starting noticably at GySgt, because there are fewer people wholl call them out for it and because they are no longer promoted based upon actual numbers. The LCpl Underground the grapevine of gossip spread by junior enlisted. Often DISTURBINGLY accurate at predicting orders from above. If someone isnt junior enlisted but is known to be connected to the LCpl Underground, theyre probably cool and can be trusted to help you out in a pinch. Officers coordinate resources between fields. Trained and charged with leading, organizing, and managing resources of large groups The only officer ranks you particularly need to know are O1Second Lieutenant2Lt called 'butterbars as an insult because of the way their rank insignia looks. Everyone hates them because theyre effectively E1s in personality and knowledge, but outrank E9s. O3CaptainCpt almost always good at their job and good at knowing what people need. Usually connected to the LCpl Underground. O5Lieutenant ColonelLtCol generally dickbags who are just trying to make themselves look good so they can get promoted. Unfortunately usually in charge of very large groups of Marines. O6ColonelCol rank looks like an eagle, so theyre called 'full birds, and considered a very prestigous rank. O7-O10 generals. You will never see them, but will hear about orders coming down from them. Warrant OfficersChief Warrant Officers WO or CWO, used to be SNCOs but became officers. pinnacle of knowledge in their field, but limited to command in that field only. Everyone loves them because theyre always knowledgeable, in touch with reality, and chill. EXAMPLE MISSIONS PROCESS THROUGH THE CHAIN OF COMMAND The general consults with his SNCOs and says to his LtCols 'youre going to take this city, and youre going to take this one The LtCol consults with his SNCOs and says to his Captains 'youre taking this neighborhood, and youre taking this one. The Captain consults with his SNCOs and says to his Lieutenants 'were taking this neighborhood on this day and with this many guys youre in charge of the Truck Platoon, so make sure the trucks are ready. Youre in charge of the Radio Platoon, so make sure the radios are ready. The Truck Lieutenant goes to his SSgts and say 'were getting this many guys and their gear on trucks on this day and getting them to this location. The SSgt goes to his cpls and says 'we need this many trucks and were going this far. Fuel Platoon will have the fuel ready on Monday. The cpls make sure the trucks and fuel and drivers and everything are ready. Theres a lot more to this process, but a junior enlisted will never see any of it except what directly affects his platoon STRUCTURE Buddy Team 2 junior enlisted. This term is generally only used by infantry, and to refer to two people moving forward alternately in order to provide cover to each other. Fire Team 3 junior enlisted1 senior lance or corporal. A single portion of work fixing a truck, monitoring radios, going on a patrol, etc. Squad 3 fire teams 1 cplsgt. A single portion of a mission clearing a building, a shift of office workers, etc Platoon 3 squads 1 sgtssgtgunny1 Lt. Company 4 platoons small staff section1stSgt, GySgt, and 3-4 othersCpt commander, Lt executive officer. Battalion 4 companies staff MGSgts and 1Sgts 1 sgtmaj 1 LtCol1 Maj executive officer a staff and support company. Also called a unit, and most people will ask 'whats your unit? when they want to know where in the military you work. BOOT CAMP Youre probably not making it dystopia enough. People in boot camp are called 'recruits, and are not allowed to use pronouns. 'I told him becomes 'this recruit told recruit Smith. If you accidentally use a pronoun, youre punished. Recruits are specifically told that this is because 'only people use pronouns, and you havent earned 'I yet. Recruits are pointedly dehumanized so that their concept of societal norms can be rebuilt from the ground up, making them more receptive to 'instant willing obedience to orders. Stockholm syndrome is actively fostered, although its called 'esprit de corps, and it makes it so that the vast majority of recruits - myself included - come out of boot camp talking about their drill instructors like they hung the moon and stars. This Stockholm Syndrome isnt just for their DIs its for the military itself, and makes it so most Marines will automatically side with the lowest common level of Marines in anything an infantryman will automatically side with another infantryman against an artilleryman, but against a civilian would even side with admin. Recruits live in squad bays - a large room with rows of bunk beds, an attached communal bathroom and laundry room and pretty much nothing else - in platoons of 50-120 recruits, managed by 4-6 drill instructors usually Sgts and SSgts, although occasionally Cpls or GySgts. Every second of a recruits day is intensely managed and monitored. Sometimes after a month or two into boot camp theyll start having an hour or so a day of free time, but during that time they cant leave the squad bay. Most of a recruits free time happens after lights out, and only then if they sneak out of bed to the bathroom or laundry room sneaking out of the building altogether is virtually unheard-of. Recruits go back to using 'I as soon as they arent around DIs, but will often slip up and call themselves 'this recruit. Marine boot camp is three months long. You learn some Marine Corps history, how to fire a rifle, marching commands called 'drill, rank structure, very basic survival skills, swimming, basic first aid, basic hand-to-hand combat, uniform regulations, Marine ettiquette called 'customs and courtesies, rappelling, how to cross obstacles, how to use a gas mask, basic combat maneuvers, and tons of running and working out. Its unconfirmed, but strongly believed by the junior enlisted that theyre given hormone suppressants in boot camp to make recruits less distracted by sex. During boot camp, most guys dont get boners and most girls stop their periods, and near the end of boot camp they come back. I personally think this is just a natural reaction to sudden massive stress and weight loss, but cant be 100 sure. There is absolutely no going home during boot camp youre there for the full duration, and if you have to leave because of a massive family emergency like your mom died, youll start over from the beginning when you come back. Officers and Enlisted go to seperate boot camps. Officer boot camp is very different from Enlisteds, and I dont know anything about it except that its HELLA hard. PUNISHMENTS The most common punishment in boot camp is called Incentive Training or 'IT-ing or 'getting ITd, it takes place on any clear space in open view of the rest of the platoon. The offending recruits will be ordered to do pushups, squats, planks, or some other stationary exercise for several minutes at a time while having their mistake screamed in their face by one or two drill instructors. Often this is done until slightly beyond the recruit reaching muscle failure, although other standard limits arent unheard-of one of my drill instructors had a rule called 'make it rain, which was that you werent allowed to stop until you were dripping sweat andor tears onto the floor. Other common boot camp punishments are repeating some self-depreciating statement at the top of your lungs until your voice gives out, or drinking ridiculous amounts of water. THESE DO NOT CONTINUE AFTER BOOT CAMP. After boot camp this is considered hazing, and is hella illegal and the person who instigated it will probably get seperated from the military for it - although some NCOs and SNCOs will still give you the option 'PT or paperwork when you get in trouble, which means either get negative paperwork andor a demotion or get hazed. Most will perform the hazing with you, to show that theyd be willing to take the punishment as well. Until a few years ago, beatings were common both in and out of boot camp, but those became illegal after the public realized how many recruits were coming out of boot camp crippled or dead. Beatings are now even more illegal than hazing, but some GySgts and above will still wax nostalgic about the days where hazing and beatings allowed. Its the worst-kept secret in the Marine Corps that beatings still happen in boot camp, both between recruits and also from DIs, but theyre not nearly as common or extreme as they used to be. Standing more than your usual guard duty both the position and the person who does it are called 'duty, as in, 'Ive got duty this weekend and 'look out, duty is coming up the hall! is another common punishment. In boot camp, a duty shift is two hours during your sleep shift, and after boot camp its a full 24 hours. The worst duty punishment after boot camp is Saturday duty - you cant drink alcohol within 8 hours of going to work, so no partying on Friday, your entire Saturday is taken up with duty, and your duty recovery semi-mandatory 12 hours after you get after getting off duty so you can sleep before going back to work is on a day youd already have off, so you lose your entire weekend. People have to be standing duty at all times, though, so sometimes you get Saturday duty even when you havent done anything wrong, which sucks. Standing duty two shifts in a row is technically illegal, but not unheard-of. Cleaning duties are also a common punishment sweeping, scrubbing, etc. There are four levels of official punishment, and except in extreme circumstances you wont see these during boot camp Counsellings are a form of paperwork, and can be used for recognition of positive things as well as a warnings about negative things. 3 counsellings for the same thing bumps the third and beyond up to a page 11. Showing up late for work might get you a counselling if youve got a hardass in charge of you and you dont have a good excuse. Page 11s are also a form of paperwork, and these and above are only used for negative things. Barely more than a slap on the wrist. Three page 11s for the same thing bumps the third and beyond up to an NJP. NJPs are a form of paperwork, including a quasi-trial made up of your immediate and further up supervisors. This usually comes with docking of pay, reduction in rank, non-recommendation for promotion, andor restriction. NJPs can also prevent you from re-enlisting. You get an NJP for drinking and driving, breaking the local liberty policy, getting into a fistfight, or things of that level. Court Martials are a full-on military trial. If convicted, you will have pay docked, be reduced in rank, non-recd for promotion, and likely put in military prison a.k.a. the brig. Its only for major crimes, generally involving endangering large numbers of people. LIFE AFTER BOOT CAMP Due to the intense culture shift of boot camp, most Marines come out of boot camp with at least mild PTSD. The first week or so after getting out of boot camp, theyll be excessively neat and precise and formal, and hoard food and sleep every chance they get. Theyll jump at anything that even sounds like an order, often catching themselves a few seconds later when they remember theyre not in boot camp anymore. They wake VERY suddenly and sometimes violently from sleep. Sleep disorders such as sleepwalking, crying or screaming while asleep, bedwetting, and nightmares are common. These all wear off fully after a few months to a year, but can take longer depending on the culture of the job field they go into for their next phase of training. The ability to sleep anywhere, any time, and in any position will remain with them the rest of their lives, and its a running gag to see Marines sprawled out or twisted up sleeping on top of each other and their gear. Before boot camp, you sign paperwork saying what job youll go into when you finish boot camp. Sometimes you say youll take anything, which is called 'going open contract, but its more common to know what job youll have. Immediately after boot camp, you get to go home for ten days. If youre in infantry youll go to three months of training in your specific job after that, and if youre in any other field youll go to a month of MCT Marine Combat Training which is a month of learning more survival skills and combat maneuvers, as well as a couple of the more common weapons grenade launcher attachment for a rifle, two different kinds of machine gun, throwing grenades. MCT is less rigid than boot camp, and youre considered a person again, but infantry training is almost as bad as boot camp. Infantry will go to their unit and start doing their jobs immediately after their three-month training after boot camp, but after MCT everyone else goes on to their training for their particular job. Some training like admin is only a couple of weeks long, others like translator can be as much as two years long. In job training, youll generally have curfews, will almost always be in uniform, and have limited time off-base, but otherwise youre free to do as you please outside of training training is 8-12 hours a day. Once you finish your job training, you go to your final unit. Getting to your final unit is called 'hitting the fleet, and is generally considered to be the time where youll be treated like a real person again. At your final unit, you can do pretty much anything you want when youre not at work. If youre in infantry, youll probably be still in a squad bay during your job training. If youre not in infantry, youll probably be in a barracks room, which is basically a crappy dorm room that houses 2-4 Marines, two being the most common. The barracks often loses power, water, and internet for as much as days at a time, and if you have both working heat and AC then you are considered blessed because most people never have one and most dont have either. Bathrooms and showers are generally communal, although if youre in a barracks you might have a private bathroom and shower. If your hot water is working at all, you have an unlimited supply. If youre deployed on a ship, youll probably sleep in a slightly-larger-than-coffin-sized space stacked with a bunch of other people, and 99 of your belongings will be in a chest that takes the place of your beds boxspring and is referred to as your coffin. Going home during job training is strictly rationed, and leaving training for more than a week for an emergency will likely mean that you have to start training over from an earlier point. JOB FIELDS Theyre called 'MOSs short for Military Operational Specialty and theres WAY more of them than just the guys who run in with guns. The military is basically its own little country within a country, and as such has mechanics, truck drivers, accountants, cameramen, translators, power-, water-, and sanitation-workers, cooks, priests, and all the other jobs that keep a society running. Basically, follow all the rules you would usually use for building a society when youre building your fictional military - its sort of connected to its countrys society, but largely self-sufficient. The military is roughly divided into two sections Grunts and POGs People Other than Grunts, pronounced 'pg. This is not a firm or official division, and everyone defines it differently, but generally falls between 'the people who shoot people and 'the people who dont shoot people. There is a LOT of animosity between the two groups, and calling someone a POG in seriousness is a major insult. YOU CAN NOT BE FORCED INTO RECON. Recon is a volunteer-only field, because the job requires a ton of physical fitness, mental stability, loyalty, and secrecy. It is an extremely prestigious unit and one of the few that is near-universally respected by the whole military. There are a lot of stereotypes about different MOS fields, and theyre just as true as any other societal stereotype. -admin the guys who file your paperwork will losemisfileshred your paperwork and are lazy. Literally everyone hates them. -grunts, truck drivers, and mechanics are stupid -POGs are either in pristine bodybuilder shape or fatemaciated, no in-between -POGs are lazy -translators are pompous dicks -cooks are useless -the band is an insulting joke and needs to be removed -officers are desk jockeys SEX AND RELATIONSHIPS Any non-work relationship friendly or romantic between people of different ranks is officially called fraternization, and so is any non-work relationship between people who are at different levels of the same chain of command regardless of rank. Basically, if someone could use your relationship as leverage to make you do something for them in the workplace, its fraternization. The only time your average person will care is when its a 2-rank-or-more difference, or if its affecting your work. Sex isnt supposed to happen in the barracks, but it does, and as long as youre not loud enough to be heard down the hall and youre accomodating for your roommates, no one cares. Its against military law to discriminate against someone based on sexuality or gender, and although officers and SNCOs thought this would be a REALLY big deal and put off repealing Dont Ask Dont Tell because of that, literally no one at the lower levels cares. Weve always known non-cis and non-straight people were here, and we care a lot more about how well they do their job than who theyre sleeping with or what pronouns they want to go by. About 25-50 of DFAB in the military are non-straight andor non-cis, and most are pretty open about it - higher percentages are found in jobs requiring heavy labor or higher intelligence vehicle maintenance, translators. There are vanishingly few non-cis DMABs, but percentages of non-straight DMABs are very difficult to determine because the military is INCREDIBLY apparently-gay. The Marines my main point of experience are the gayest heterosexual organization ever to exist - to the point we have the phrase 'its not gay if youre wearing bootbands, which means if youre in uniform, basically anything short of actual penetrative sex is considered not-gay. Groping anywhere not the crotch is considered completely acceptable with 90 of friends, both above and below clothing, though its always masked as a joke. Marines tend to be pretty good about laying off if theyre told its not welcome, though. COMMAND RANKS Officers are taught in their boot camp not to show open disdain to their troops. Theyll talk down to you, treat you like a child and insist they know better, but their words will always be honeyed and there will usually be a patient smile on their face as they tell you to suck it up and deal with your shitty situation they probably caused, because its for the best. NCOs and senior lances will talk to you like youre trash until theyve gotten to like you, and occasionally SNCOs, too. Above GySgt is effectively an officer. You will never see the officer whos in charge of the base. You probably wont talk to anyone more than two ranks above you unless youre in trouble or greeting them in passing. When you pass by an E4 or above that outranks you, you greet them with the time of day good morningafternoonevening and their rank or sirma'am and a salute, if its an officer, or risk a chewing out. Their rank is on their collar or shoulder, depending on what uniform theyre in, but some combinations of ranks and uniforms are basically impossible to see, in which case you guess and pray - guessing high is safer than guessing low. You only salute officers and only when youre wearing a military hat, so youll usually only salute them when youre outside. 'Soldier is only ever used in a disciplinary or sarcastic context, never a friendly or even neutral one. Calling someone by their rank is the standard between different ranks. 'that will be all, corporal 'aye, staff sergeant etc. officers are called 'sir or 'ma'am no matter their rank. Within the same rank you usually call each other by just last name, and if youre friends, by first name or nickname. You use rank and name when referring to a third party, 'gunnery sergeant gonzales, 'captain bowers, etc. If you call an enlisted 'sir or 'ma'am its considered a mild insult theyll usually respond with 'Im a rank, I work for a living. Very few people trust their superiors to have their best interests in mind. The further up the chain you look, the less trust there is - I trust my Sergeant pretty well, for example, but my LtCol very little. Usually its because of the higher-ups ignorance to junior enlisteds day-to-day life, but sometimes its because of their selfishness. When speaking to someone who outranks you, unless youre friends youll stand at parade rest. The more they outrank you, the more rigid the parade rest will be. Standing at attention is reserved for formal situations. No one would ever go to attention for a non-officer except as a joke its insulting to the person youre going to attention for, since enlisted dislike officers and youre implying theyre an officer. FOOD If youre on a base, youll probably be able to go to the chowhall cafeteria, and the food is pretty much the same as you ate in high school. Air Force chowhalls are MUCH higher-quality than the other branches. If youre going to the chowhall during peak hours, expect at least 15 minutes of waiting in line. You can eat as much as you want in the chowhall. If youre not on a base or are training on unpopulated part of the base called 'being in the field, but youre lucky, youll get whats called hot chow. Its a very limited selection of hot food prepared by the cooks that came with you to the field, and slightly lower quality than what the chowhall serves. Youre only allowed to eat a certain amount, but its pretty generous, and if you get really lucky therell be enough for yout to go back for seconds. If youre in the field, youre probably eating MREs Meals Ready-to-Eat, which are a large meals worth of food thats been designed and packaged to last basically forever. Generally, the only MREs you get are what you carry in your pack, so you have to balance weight versus need when you leave base. Theres a pouch of chemicals in each MRE that gets REALLY hot when you add a bit of water to it, and you an use this to heat up your food or keep you warm at night. The hot pack is toxic and gives off a lot of mostly-harmless gas, DO NOT MIX IT WITH YOUR FOOD OR USE IT IN AN ENCLOSED SPACE. The food has tons of calories and a decent balance of nutrients, and is designed to back you up so that you dont poop as much in the field, and each MRE also comes with laxative gum to counteract this if necessary. MREs have a lot of variety everything from maple sausage to chicken pesto pasta to vegetarian tortellini, and are better-tasting than you might expect but still not as good as hot chow. One MRE a day can sustain you pretty indefinitely, but two or three a day is recommended for most people. Because everything is so highly processed in an MRE, youll start seriously craving fresh fruits and vegetables after a week of eating nothing but MREs. MRE trading is a market that can buy you just about anything in the field, and the most sought-after parts are candy, dried cranberries, and chocolate peanut butter. In a mix of ranks, regulations state that the lowest rank gets served first, then the next-lowest, etc. This doesnt apply in the chowhall, but does in any other situation. OTHER STUFF Military time is said 'zero seven hundred or zero seven-thirty, not 'seven hundred hours People who get out of training because of injuries are pitied and envied for the first couple of days, but after that are generally looked down on as slackers and liars unless they have a very visible, time-locked impediment like a broken leg. If you want to skip training for a day, feigning illness is the best way, although that means youll have to at least look like youre going to medical - but you wont be scrutinized unless you do it more than a couple of times Standing in formation is when youre all lined up neatly in rows and columns and expected to follow drill commands, and this will happen for everything from morning roll call to retirement ceremonies. If youre not used to it, you can pass out from standing at attention for too long - usually at least one person out of 100 per hour, double or so in hot weather. It has to do with bloodflow and knowing how to balance, so new guys pass out more often. Most formations including over 100 people last at least an hour, with the highest-ranking person present speaking first and each lower-ranking person speaking after them and saying most of the same things. Anyone who passes out is usually either left there until the formation is over or quietly dragged off in either case the formation will go on like nothing happened. Haircuts and styles are strictly enforced in training men have to have a particular, short hairstyle, and women with long hair have to have it in a neat bun. Once youre out of boot camp and initial training, these standards relax slightly, but not enough for a civilian to notice the difference. When a woman isnt in uniform, she can have her hair however she wants. When one or the other person isnt in uniform, you arent expected to salute or greet someone of higher rank, but politeness is still required. Kissing is not allowed in uniform, nor is any physical affection that lasts more than three seconds. Its really disorienting to talk to someone not in the military for more than a few minutes at a time you have to re-train your vocabulary and body language to civilian, leaving out tons of swears and acronyms and in-jokes. Going out and interacting with people also involves suppressing all sorts of weird instincts hats and sunglasses indoors grate on you really bad, for example. Training areas cant be 'hogged whoever is in charge of the training will put in a request to use it during a certain period of time. Anyone of higher rank than can usually kick them out at will during that time if they were pissy enough, though. Booze is everywhere. If you arent ableallowed to buy it from a store all bases have at least one PXPost Exchange, which is sort of like a mini-Walmart that also sells military gear and alcohol then theres definitely a LCpl who knows a guy. Oversight is, hilariously, gratuitously bad. The main impediment to the smooth running of any military base is a combination of the officers in charge not knowing exactly how things work at the lowest levels, and people just outright not doing their jobs. For some utterly bizarre reason I cant understand, people who just dont do their jobs dont generally get in trouble for it, and officers are generally kept in the dark about how the lowest levels work. This leads to a LOT of waste and mismanagement. The US military is made up of roughly 90 males. Most females are found in non-physical jobs, but there arent any jobs that are exclusively male or female except infantry, but that very recently was opened to females or even stereotypically male or female. About 65 of the population is white, 20 is hispanic, 10 is black, and 5 is everything else. SNCO ranks and officers are only about 50 white, and officers are only about 80 male - this is due to those ranks being promoted on apparent ability, and non-white non-males visually stand out more in a crowd of white males even if everyone has the same actual ability. Not as many white males complain about this as you might think, but some do. A summary of how people die and don't in swordfights Causes of death from stabs and cuts massive bleeding exsanguination - most common air in the bloodstream air embolism suffocation asphyxia air in the chest cavity pneumothorax infection Stabbing vs cutting Stabbing someone actually takes very little force if you dont hit bone or hard cartilage. The most important factor in the ease of stabbing is the velocity of the blade at impact with the skin, followed by the sharpness of the blade. Stabbing wounds tend to close after the weapon is withdrawn. Stabbing wounds to muscles are not typically very damaging. Damage increases with the width of the blade. Cutting wounds are typically deepest at the site of initial impact and get shallower as force is transferred from the initial swing to pushing and pressing. Cutting wounds have a huge number of factors that dictate how deep they are and how easily they damage someone skill, radial velocity, mass of the blade, and the size of the initial impact. Cutting wounds along the grain of musculature are not typically very damaging but cutting wounds across the grain can incapacitate. Arteries vs veins Severed veins have almost zero blood pressure and sometimes even negative pressure. They do not spurt but major veins can suck air in causing an air embolism. Cutting or puncturing a vein is usually not fatal. Severed arteries have high blood pressure. The larger arteries do spurt and can often cause death due to exsanguination. Body parts as targets Severing a jugular vein in the neck causes an air embolism and will make the victim collapse after one or two gasps for air. Severing a carotid artery in the neck cuts off the blood supply to the brain but the victim may be conscious for up to thirty seconds. Stabbing or cutting the neck also causes the victim to aspirate blood that causes asphyxiation and death. Severing a major abdominal artery or vein would cause immediate collapse, but this takes a fairly heavy blade and a significant amount of effort because they are situated near the spine. Abdominal wounds that only impact the organs can cause death but they do not immediately incapacitate. Severing an artery in the interior of the upper arm causes exsanguination and death but does not immediately incapacitate. Severing an artery in the palm side of the forearm causes exsanguination and death but does not immediately incapacitate. Severing the femoral artery at a point just above and behind the knee is the best location. Higher up the leg it is too well protected to easily hit. This disables and will eventually kill the victim but does not immediately incapacitate. Cutting across the muscles of the forearm can immediately end the opponents ability to hold their weapon. Cutting across the palm side of the wrist causes immediate loss of ability to hold a weapon. Stab wounds to the arm do not significantly impact the ability to wield a weapon or use it. Cuts and stab wounds to the front and back of the legs generally do not do enough muscle damage to cause total loss of use of that leg. Bone anywhere in the body can bend or otherwise disfigure a blade. The brain can be stabbed fairly easily through the eyes, the temples, and the sinuses. Stabs to the brain are more often not incapacitating. The lungs as targets Slicing into the lung stops that lung from functioning, but the other lung continues to function normally. This also requires either luck to get between the ribs or a great deal of force to penetrate the ribs. Stabbing the lung stops that lung from functioning, but the other lung continues to function normally. It is significantly easier to stab between ribs than to slice. It is possible to stab the victim from the side and pass through both lungs with an adequate length blade. It is very unlikely that this will happen with a slicing hit. Death caused solely by pneumothorax is generally a slow process, occurring as much as several hours after the wound is inflicted. Lung punctures also typically involve the lung filling with blood, but this is a slow process. The heart as a target Im just going to quote this paragraph outright with a few omissions and formatting changes for clarity because its chock-full of good info stabbing wounds to the heart the location, depth of penetration, blade width, and the presence or absence of cutting edges are important factors influencing a wounded duelists ability to continue a combat. Large cuts that transect the heart may be expected to result in swift incapacitation stab wounds, similar to those that might be inflicted by a thrust with a sword with a narrow, pointed blade may leave a mortally wounded victim capable of surprisingly athletic endeavors. Essentially, the heart can temporarily seal itself well enough to keep pressure up for a little while if its a simple stab. The arteries around the heart, while they are smaller and harder to hit, actually cause incapacitation much more quickly. Travel Times fair weather, flat terrain, roads foot 20 mday forced march 30 mday unsustainable for long periods horse 40 mday fast carriage 60 mday horse relay 80 mday changing horses at each town fair weather, hilly terrain, roads or flat terrain, bad weather foot 14 mday forced march 20 mday horse 25 mday fast carriage 30 mday horse relay 70 mday fair weather, mountainous terrain, roads or hilly terrain, bad weather foot 9 mday forced march 15 mday horse 20 mday fast carriage 40 mday horse relay 60 mday fair weather, wooded terrain, off road foot 8 mday forced march not here youre not horse 20 mday fast carriage see forced march horse relay ditto fair weather, mountainous terrain, off road foot 6 mday forced march dont do it horse 10 mday fast carriage ur not getting a carriage up here m8 horse relay theres nowhere to relay ur horse up here fair weather, experienced sailors decent-sized merchant ship 80 mday brigcarrackcog type fastunladen ship 100 mday caravelclippercorvette type o in peak conditions, you could comfortably get up to 150 mday o these boat speeds include some margin for days when little progress is made vs days when lots of progress is made for bad weather, just add on a day or two i guess other modes of transport horse cart 10 mday fully laden soldier 15 mday rowing 3 mhour quite fast, 1 mile can be covered in anything from 15 to 45 mins depending on how experienced you arewhat type of boat youre using things to note walking speed 3-5 mhour on average walking for 7-8 hours a day riding speed 25 mhour gallop 13 mhour canter 9 mhour trot 4 mhour walk o obviously its unsustainable to ride at a flat gallop all day, unless youre changing horses at each town riding for 10 hours a day 1 knot 1.15 mhour Apocalypse Survival Guides Godchecker.com - a resource for checking what gods and goddesses across different continents, cultures, and religions do and their stories. Great if you're writing supernatural fiction and want to base things off of real lore and mythology. Recommended by Rudolph Quin Famous works of classical music Generators Baby Name Wizard -the go-to resource for names, it is useful for not only looking up names meanings and origins but it also has a reverse name lookup and even includes on the name pages popularity by year and relatives names - like popular names that parents choose for that name's siblings. A lot of people who name their kid Wendy, for instance, name her brothers David and sisters Amy. Recommended by Rudolph Quin Name Generator My personal favorite. I love that it has hundred of categories for potential names, from fantasy to sci-fi to realistic. Vulgar - Language generator. Mob Nickname generator City generator