Half-Cocked Ideas

How much of the 16 (or so) square miles is farmland? Is any kept as wilderness/parkland? Is there open water? The population density (and potential for eavesdropping) isn't too high unless we squeeze them into an urban area of under 2 square miles, but if we do that gives them quieter areas to escape to for their clandestine meetings.

Noteworthy points if you're going for hard sci-fi: if you're not handwaving artificial gravity, most of the ship will be zero-g and will be unsuitable for long term use (on the space station, astronauts lose approximate 1.5% of bone and muscle density per month without multiple hours of specialized exercise each month to simulate gravity). The most plausible explanation is going to be rotational gravity, where a part of the ship rotates to simulate gravity with centrifugal force - the most common designs being an outer "ring" around the shuttle that continuously rotates, connected to an inner gear that connects to the main body of the shuttle.

Hydroponics (plants) can be grown in zero-G, specifically lettuce, potatoes, cabbage, onions, bok choy, and wheat. Fruit is a much harder sell than vegetables and likely has to be included in the centrifuge because of the increased vascular system necessary in the base plant.

Likewise, astronauts in space are likely to be rotated on a regular basis through hydroponics, both for psychological benefits and to ensure cross-training on the most vital part of the ship. There's likely a greenery officer that is either constantly out of stasis (however that's implemented, or even if it is) to make sure no plant contracts blight, or a certified rotation, just in case.

Open water is generally a terrible idea, but if there's a storage tank where water is diverted after being purified, it probably doubles as a makeshift bathtub or pool simply because no one would be able to resist it. Just make sure everyone purifies it again afterwards. Immersion in water has tremendous health benefits, not least because swimming is a full-body activity that works all the muscles neglected by zero-g.

Population density is going to be high in the domicile area just because you want people sleeping in regular-g if possible, out on the rotator ring, rather than having them sleep in 0-g and then having to go out to rotator for several hours to counterbalance the effects. That said, the ship proper is likely to be much more empty, so people can take long moonwalks down empty parts of the ship without interruption.

Of course most of my speculation here is reliant on actual space physics. If you handwave gravity, then you have no reason not to have those things, though any parkland / water is going to be highly isolated; water and soil strata is fertile ground for microorganisms to flourish, and bacteria / virus cultures in space behave very, very strangely.
 
I'm not sure I can write it at the moment, I've got a serious case of block in my SRP story (I only do one at once).

I looked at that, nice concept but: a) see above paragraph; b) I'd only be able to interact with Kassie.

All fine. Just putting the thread idea here too so pretty much everyone sees it. I can over sell myself sometimes. :D

Hoping you get past your writing block. I often use music myself to get past it. It sucks when you got it though.
 
Five mile long, ½ mile radius, O'Neill style generation spacecraft.

Noteworthy points if you're going for hard sci-fi: if you're not handwaving artificial gravity, most of the ship will be zero-g and will be unsuitable for long term use (on the space station, astronauts lose approximate 1.5% of bone and muscle density per month without multiple hours of specialized exercise each month to simulate gravity). The most plausible explanation is going to be rotational gravity, where a part of the ship rotates to simulate gravity with centrifugal force - the most common designs being an outer "ring" around the shuttle that continuously rotates, connected to an inner gear that connects to the main body of the shuttle.

Hydroponics (plants) can be grown in zero-G, specifically lettuce, potatoes, cabbage, onions, bok choy, and wheat. Fruit is a much harder sell than vegetables and likely has to be included in the centrifuge because of the increased vascular system necessary in the base plant.

Likewise, astronauts in space are likely to be rotated on a regular basis through hydroponics, both for psychological benefits and to ensure cross-training on the most vital part of the ship. There's likely a greenery officer that is either constantly out of stasis (however that's implemented, or even if it is) to make sure no plant contracts blight, or a certified rotation, just in case.

Open water is generally a terrible idea, but if there's a storage tank where water is diverted after being purified, it probably doubles as a makeshift bathtub or pool simply because no one would be able to resist it. Just make sure everyone purifies it again afterwards. Immersion in water has tremendous health benefits, not least because swimming is a full-body activity that works all the muscles neglected by zero-g.

Population density is going to be high in the domicile area just because you want people sleeping in regular-g if possible, out on the rotator ring, rather than having them sleep in 0-g and then having to go out to rotator for several hours to counterbalance the effects. That said, the ship proper is likely to be much more empty, so people can take long moonwalks down empty parts of the ship without interruption.

Of course most of my speculation here is reliant on actual space physics. If you handwave gravity, then you have no reason not to have those things, though any parkland / water is going to be highly isolated; water and soil strata is fertile ground for microorganisms to flourish, and bacteria / virus cultures in space behave very, very strangely.

For those of you unfamiliar with O'Neill spacecraft, they are long rotating cylinders. Gravity is produced by the spin and has magnitude r*(2π/T)^2

....that's radius times the square of (two pi divided by the rotation period).

Messing around with the equation gives (approximately) 18π seconds for 1g inside a ½ mile radius tube. That's good, because if T goes below 20 seconds our crew get dizzy from the coriolis effects. Of course, we might want to fiddle. Say 0·85g, perhaps?
 
All fine. Just putting the thread idea here too so pretty much everyone sees it. I can over sell myself sometimes. :D

Hoping you get past your writing block. I often use music myself to get past it. It sucks when you got it though.

Over two weeks. I just can't find a plausible way to describe the current scene. Beyond it, the story arc is long and glorious and I have loads of ideas.....

Go to 'The Amateur Players' if you want the background.
 
Over two weeks. I just can't find a plausible way to describe the current scene. Beyond it, the story arc is long and glorious and I have loads of ideas.....

It might break the feel, but how about you just ask your writing partner for some input or to just move your character for that one scene. You can always go back and edit the post if it turned out to be a miss step.
 
See, when I looked it up all I got was Starcraft SG-1 references to the O'Neill class battleships and assumed you were talking about that. Fair enough.

Most suggestions I've seen go from .4g to .8g, the former being Martian gravity and the later being a safe estimate of what would be sustainable long-term. There isn't a huge body of evidence on the subject, obviously, but slightly below normal gravity is a good rule of thumb in case of mechanical failure. The less active stress on the system, the better - if you can get the same health benefits from less force being exerted on the system, you would set everything up for the lower value of gravity, to reduce maintenance needs.

As for your other questions, population density is always going to be an issue in space because you want a craft as small as possible, in almost all cases. Granted, a ship that large is going to have some other purpose for the room - is this a colony ship headed for a garden world somewhere else? In that case all the extra room could be for supplies useful for starting a new foothold on an alien planet, and the vast majority of the ship would be storage / production space.
 
It might break the feel, but how about you just ask your writing partner for some input or to just move your character for that one scene. You can always go back and edit the post if it turned out to be a miss step.

We have exchanged thoughts. It's like insomnia, trying harder just makes it worse. Happily she's cool, the pressure is internal.
 
See, when I looked it up all I got was Starcraft SG-1 references to the O'Neill class battleships and assumed you were talking about that. Fair enough.

Most suggestions I've seen go from .4g to .8g, the former being Martian gravity and the later being a safe estimate of what would be sustainable long-term. There isn't a huge body of evidence on the subject, obviously, but slightly below normal gravity is a good rule of thumb in case of mechanical failure. The less active stress on the system, the better - if you can get the same health benefits from less force being exerted on the system, you would set everything up for the lower value of gravity, to reduce maintenance needs.

As for your other questions, population density is always going to be an issue in space because you want a craft as small as possible, in almost all cases. Granted, a ship that large is going to have some other purpose for the room - is this a colony ship headed for a garden world somewhere else? In that case all the extra room could be for supplies useful for starting a new foothold on an alien planet, and the vast majority of the ship would be storage / production space.

Helps to be a member of the British Interplanetary Society. ;) Yes, that crazy bunch who designed a capsule to fit a V2 and were going to send a test pilot suborbital in 1949 if the government had let them.
 
Over two weeks. I just can't find a plausible way to describe the current scene. Beyond it, the story arc is long and glorious and I have loads of ideas.....

Go to 'The Amateur Players' if you want the background.

I’ve read a lot of that thread. It’s really good! I’m looking forward to keeping up with it once you figure out the next scene. You will.

I know you already said you’re SRP monogamous, but the best way I’ve found to get past block is writing multiple things. Other stories, other worlds, other characters: these have given me ideas that got me past what I was stuck on before.
 
I’ve read a lot of that thread. It’s really good! I’m looking forward to keeping up with it once you figure out the next scene. You will.

I know you already said you’re SRP monogamous, but the best way I’ve found to get past block is writing multiple things. Other stories, other worlds, other characters: these have given me ideas that got me past what I was stuck on before.

Ya, both ways to go about it are fine. Like, whatever makes you feel the most comfortable right?

I can for sure say, I'm not SRP monogamous. :D For one thing, this place just fills me up with WAY to many creative ideas for me to just focus on one. For another thing, I don't really see writing with my current writing partners as flirty(both bankbabe13 and Emstar303 are great!) cause a lot of me does see this as just a very fun, and creative writing process. I know that's maybe just a me thing, but whatever.
 
I haven’t written with bankbabe, but Emstar is amazing. I always have so much fun, not only writing with her, but planning in PMs.
 
Ya, both ways to go about it are fine. Like, whatever makes you feel the most comfortable right?

I can for sure say, I'm not SRP monogamous. :D For one thing, this place just fills me up with WAY to many creative ideas for me to just focus on one. For another thing, I don't really see writing with my current writing partners as flirty(both bankbabe13 and Emstar303 are great!) cause a lot of me does see this as just a very fun, and creative writing process. I know that's maybe just a me thing, but whatever.

No, I entirely get that. I realize that a lot of people are here just for the smut, but I write on E-Lit for the freedom to include smut or violence or what have you without some fuckin' admin peering over my shoulder and telling me that's against the TOS. Flirting doesn't have a lot to do with the writing process for me. I just want to be free to do what I want to do, whatever that happens to be.
 
I’ve read a lot of that thread. It’s really good! I’m looking forward to keeping up with it once you figure out the next scene. You will.

I know you already said you’re SRP monogamous, but the best way I’ve found to get past block is writing multiple things. Other stories, other worlds, other characters: these have given me ideas that got me past what I was stuck on before.

Ya, both ways to go about it are fine. Like, whatever makes you feel the most comfortable right?

I can for sure say, I'm not SRP monogamous. :D For one thing, this place just fills me up with WAY to many creative ideas for me to just focus on one. For another thing, I don't really see writing with my current writing partners as flirty(both bankbabe13 and Emstar303 are great!) cause a lot of me does see this as just a very fun, and creative writing process. I know that's maybe just a me thing, but whatever.

OK, let's give it a try. One bastard horny demon coming up. Get Kassie to wander off exploring.
 
Probably been done, but.....

Lecturer/student. She's struggling and asks for private tuition. He helps and she passes, but she remembers his kindness and when her boyfriend cheats she seeks him out for solace. Comfort turns to romance and loving relationship.
 
I like it, WB. I could see a lot of initial resistance on the teacher’s part, and I like that
 
Science tutor could be written with brain disengaged. I'd need an intelligent lady who writes fluently and descriptively and who knows what sort of little teases, flirts and glimpses of flesh would draw him in without being ridiculously flagrant.

Slow burner, but when they finally become intimate it's explosive.

Anyone want to chip in with twists, turns or observations?
 
Maybe right as he’s almost ready to become intimate with her, she needs a specific credit to graduate and he’s the only instructor, so she becomes his student again and he feels like he can’t pursue her because of the conflict of interest?

Or another female student is interested in him and tries to make a stink about an instructor and student spending time together?

Or she turns out to be brilliant, he feels like she wouldn’t want mundane him anymore and she thinks he’s pulling away because he’s intimidated?
 
Maybe right as he’s almost ready to become intimate with her, she needs a specific credit to graduate and he’s the only instructor, so she becomes his student again and he feels like he can’t pursue her because of the conflict of interest?

Yes, I like that one.
 
Seed of an idea:

Sex Wizard

Magic that is not just powered by sex or used to get sex, but either controlled by the flavor of sex involved and/or used to create new and exciting sexual possibilities.
 
That is... actually brilliant.

... I'm not sure how well it speaks of me that now I'm considering the nuances of how that would work and trying to work them out in my head, but still brilliant.
 
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