Random things you've learned thanks to Roleplay Research!

[Diana]

Ò,Ó Greetings minions.

I like to roleplay a wide variety of settings and timelines, and I like to be at least mostly accurate about real lifey facts. It just makes things better and more realistic, especially if I ever get around to trying to write a damn novel. Sometimes I fall into a google research hole for hours over something as stupid as a single line of dialogue or things like "when did pizza delivery get popular". Ò,ú I end up finding COOL STUFF that turns into inspirational material and potential future plot goodies.

Most recently it was a research adventure learning about ancient clans in England/Scotland/Ireland. How their naming conventions worked, how clans and tribes worked. One of the random facts I learned was the mining of cobalt and how workers were essentially treated like slave labor and you could get murdered if you tried to get out. O:

Do you go on research benders for your roleplays? What are some cool random things you learned along the way?

 

[Kitti]

Yes ;__; So much time researching some random nonsense. One of the weirdest rabbit holes I barely even actually used was like... bedding of the 1600s or something along those lines. As for interesting, I learned a pretty good amount about the history of garrote for @The Mood is Write ;p

 

[Applo]

I go on the occasional research bender. It normally happens when I'm stuck and I tell myself I need to find out more about this subject to proceed but really it is just procrastination I suspect.

Of the things I have learnt, the one that sticks in my mind the most is that in ancient Rome, to dye their hair black, ladies would ferment a mixture of leeches and vinegar for two months before applying it to their hair and sitting in the sun to bake it in as it were.

 

[fish-writer]

I know so much about illegal drugs. ;___; And the topic comes up in conversation a lot, and I have so much knowledge but I can never share without seeming like a drug addict. xD;

But most of the time my RP researching is on foreign language and culture. If I have a character that doesn't have my regional accent, I spend a lot of time figuring out how they talk and what slang or idioms they use. I've been listening to Scousers talk on YouTube for about an hour now. :)

 

[Nemopedia]

I love doing research for anything, really. Roleplay is just another excuse. 8D;;;

Once upon a time I somehow ended up on a cult page for vampirism and from there I somehow ended up in the rabbit hole of species dysphoria. Interesting read, makes for really weird YouTube recommendations, however.

For most interesting tangent I had with roleplay research; The Alnwick Garden and its poison garden. It is on my bucket list of places that I want to visit one day.

 

[The Mood is Write]

I've learned about the Red Yao people, baby farms (they aren't what you think), a variety of supernatural creatures and mythologies, what kinds of damage humans can take before they break, lots of stuff about pregnancy in both humans and cats... so much.

 

[PoetLore]

I've learned a lot about medical procedures and fashion. I'm sooo not a fashion plate in any way, so I have to go find out what's appropriate and stylish but yeah...one thing that stands out is that in Victorian England they thought migraines were caused by demon possession.

 

[The Mood is Write]

Oh! I also learned the visual signs that a person is a victim of being choked. 8D

 

[Quetzal]

Sometimes I get weirdly technical about how things happen within a setting. Like a medieval setting for instance. I ended up looking up stuff about manor systems and other stuff about how Feudal economies functioned. And how they transitioned away from the manor system.... Or like the time I looked up how they made herbal medicine back then. How they would realistically applying it. Or zoning out watching blacksmithing videos. Or even how they would cook or what kind of provisions they would carry.

not that I can remember half that stuff with all the other factoids rolling around my head about Rome and the World Wars and 1860s Europe or the Napoleonic wars. Partly because I enjoy reading about that stuff. Partly because I like authenticity in my alternate history RPs.