'What's the weirdest thing you've researched for a fic?' (r/FanFiction)

Whether you're writing fiction, nonfiction, or fanfiction, chances are that you'll eventually need to do some research. Here are some fanfic authors sharing some of the more interesting and strange things they've researched.

(Some comments shown in this video have been edited for length)

[briannawarren]

I once read in an author's note that they had signed up for a CPR class so they could realistically write out the scene and I think about that everyday. Imagine having a heart attack and the person who saved you knew how to do so because they wanted to write realistic hurt/comfort.
You know what, if that's my life that gets saved I am okay with that. 😂

[SarahAbramova]

This is just the life of a writer: Being on every single FBI watchlist.

[ForeverFallingCrescent]

Not a fanfic writer but I did research to find out how much blood a vampire would need to consume if they need the same calorie intake as a human. The answers is just under 2 liters.
Also you know how in vampire fiction they'll commonly say: 'The bodies were completely drained of their blood.'? The capacity of a stomach is 3-4 liters and the human body has around 5 liters of blood in it, so their stomach should’ve ruptured.

[ilovelouie]

Not a fic, just a book. But I was ✨ traumatizing ✨ a character and wanted to do it properly. My search history was:
'can a child get evicted?'
'what exactly can CPS do?'
'who can call CPS?'
And
'what colors go well with dark skin tones?'

[sndragonfan]

I swear the FBI agents that watch our history have an internal crisis everytime this happens wondering if the person they're watching is a writer or a serial killer

[TotalPKMN]

Probably the two oddest things I've discussed with a friend of mine for the sake of accurate fanfiction have been whether or not Arkham Asylum would have liquid soap for a fic based on one specific episode of the Harley Quinn animated series, and whether or not a contract tattooed on someone's body would be considered legally binding in Japan for an Ace Attorney fic that may or may not even end up being done. Nowhere near as odd as some things people have looked into, but still not the most normal conversations to have with a friend.

[Amethystzaalien]

I simply searched "What was the worlds view on homosexuality in the 80s" for a fanfiction. that led to spending 5 hours researching LGBTQ+ history, events, etc. from the 50s all the way to current times. It was very helpful for my fanfiction though

Edit: I'm surprised this is getting likes lmao

[organizer.spaztasticc]

I once helped a friend determine a cause of death for a character in a fic she was writing. We decided the best way to do it would be as a result of medical malpractice, and narrowed it down from there to a mistake from improper anesthesia administration. We then debated addressing the consequences of said character's death with something like a court scene or whatever, but ultimately decided it wouldn't add to the fic in a way that would advance the plot, since the character was getting resurrected anyway and the paperwork alone would be a headache to research.
We had this cavalier conversation over lunch. At school.
*In seventh grade*

[wildcatntgd]

I once had to look up what the penalty was for throwing someone off a bridge in Japan. This also included looking up various penalties for odd crimes, and also how fast broken bones heal in various places. All for an mha oc fanfic.

[abyssofinfinitevoid]

i love being able to recognize a fandom from a very bare bones description of a species and one single other word of context

[LyndsayChan]

It really isn’t too bad, but I’ve looked up how to easily dispose of blood without being caught and how not to leave traces of blood

[zeethezebra]

Okay so here are some of the things I've researched:

-How switching for people with DID works and how it can affect them.
-Countless amounts of obscure Youkai.
-What does tearing metal sounds like?
-Several different mythologies
-What does it feel like to be somewhere that's burning?
-Different parts of a computer
-What does an out of body experience feel like?

[hiiroakuma]

I swear, a03 authors scare me. Currently reading a fanfic where the author posts chapters with 1000 or so words *daily*, and I honestly dunno how they keep up the pace.

[YouveBeenMegged]

"Are deer antlers made of bone?"
"Are deer bones more fragile than human bones?"
"Could the average person stab through a human skull?"
"Could an 18th century dagger pierce the skull?"
“Old timey terms for PTSD”
“History of PTSD”
“Chionophobia”
“Astraphobia”

The first two were part of me trying a roundabout way to find out the two after it before giving up and just googling it straight-out.
I'll let you guess what fandom this is for.

Edit: I’ll give y’all a hint: it’s an animated show.

New edit: Screw it, it’s Tangled the Series. It’s also a murder mystery fic, hence the concerning stuff. 😅

[ToroFox]

I can imagine the one time they were serious and the FBI agent would be like "Oh there they go, writing their fan fiction again."

[NocturnalDecay]

Oh, I have a lot of these.

I've googled how long a human can survive in freezing temperatures (depends). If oxygen bleach can get rid of bloodstains (yes). If preventing a lawful burial (ie hiding bodies you didn't directly kill) is a crime in Japan (no).

Edit: For those asking, the fics were a "Bruce lives" AU for Punishing: Gray Raven (for those not in the know, Bruce is a backstory-exclusive character who died after being mauled by a machine in the snow), a FE3H modern AU where Count Varley gets mcmurdered, and a DRV3 UTDP-verse fic that I have long since stopped working on and have forgotten the context for respectively.

[heartofthewild]

I once had to ask on quora “what kind of bulletproof vests are issued to FBI agents and can they stop an arrow?” I was very careful to include the the fact that I was writing an isekai fic in the question.

[orwellianwiress]

Horror content creator here, a lot of experience with this kind of stuff. Final Fantasy x Pokemon fanfictions lead to some pretty wild searches:
- elevator breaking and falling
- animal attack sound effects
- abandoned factories near me
- glow in the dark hallucinations
- psychedelic glow in the dark
- pokemon gore art ( this one's actually really awesome)
- how much does it cost to buy an abandoned factory


Recently got into Devil May Cry which gave us such gems as:
- who is nero's mother
- cult beliefs
- am i in a cult quiz
- religious sacrifice
- how to start a religion
- when does a religion become a cult
- healing crystals
- healing crystal deaths

For context, I wanted to flesh out the character of whoever Nero's mother/Vergil's love interest is, she's a cult leader.

[DouniaBedboudi]

Being a doctor who loves writing fanfiction (where guns and violence are a prominent theme) im glad i can find the answers rather quickly

[feffer-.]

I had to look up how to be a therapist so I could write a scene in a fanfiction. Now I can be my own therapist