Chapter 2.5 | Uncovered
-o-
“Hmm.”
“Well, going over the results this is a very extraordinary case, it’s not everyday a moe as fark girl comes in with nekomimi features.”
“Please excuse me, but what do you mean with “moe” and “nekomimi”?”
“Alright, I can sense that you’re not that kind of guy, and that's probably for the better, anyways “moe” refers to something cute, and is a word stemming from japan, “nekomimi” refers to someone with catlike features, such as cat ears and tail, this word also hails from japan.”
“...”
“Well, we put her through an MRI, nothing unusual was found really, well except for her new cuddlyness catlike appendages, and a growth in her amygdala, though not life threatening this growth in the brain is a bit puzzling, as the lab can’t figure out why this is happening, and as you probably know, she has a new tail which basically is an extension to the already existing tailbone and new ears, which sit further up and has caused some minor changes in the brain..”
“Mhm, Did you take a blood test though? Forensics identified an unknown agent in the green stuff that she was suspended in, and something tells me that the unknown agent is what caused the change.”
“Lab is currently trying to work it out, apparently it’s a sort of genetically modified virus, though not airborne, and can’t replicate itself.”
“Any guesses on where it might have come from?”
“Aside from the big players within research and pharmacy, I don’t have any clues.”
“Well, the test tubes are linked to Rollycrunch, that’s very much confirmed at least, and the documents mentioned something about creating super weapons and genetic enhancers? You think any of the large corporations could be doing this?”
“Hmmm, rubbing temples no, I don’t think there would be anyone daring enough to do this, especially in a place such as that shabby storehouse.”
“True, but do you know anything about the test tubes? I don’t remember Rollycrunch having them listed in their latest products category.”
“Nope, haven't heard anything about it.”
“Alright, I’ll let you know if I can get something out of it doc.”
“Sure, you best solve this quickly, detective.”
End of chapter 2.5
I'm like 50% done with chapter 3 lol
Be careful when being technical. Real cat ears don't work like that: https://icalmpet.com/wp-content/uploads/ear-anatomy-human-cat-dog.jpg
That being said, it's not like you need to follow established biology since nekomimi don't actually exist.
@punchew It's not like not being 100% anatomically correct is a bad thing, but the more you gloss over details and keep technical things you don't personally know well vague, the easier it is for the readers to also skim past those sorts of things.
It's kinda like magic. You just have to say magic exists in your world, and as long as you don't bring up any questions about how it all fits into the greater scheme, a lot of the time readers won't even ask (though it works much better in a fantasy world rather than a world based on Earth).
@Lunatix
@punchew Yesyes! Lunatix knows what they're talking about, but this is actually extremely important in science fiction as well. When you are talking about aspects of the universe that aren't real, it's best to give very little detail that doesn't directly lay groundwork for future plot-points. If a character isn't going to make use of a fictitious science detail, then ask yourself if you can leave it out entirely while still allowing the story to be coherrent.
Some exceptions of course, but basically you want to minimize the extent to which the reader may realize you are fudging reality. Inevitably your readers are going to know more about specific things that you write about, even if you research really well, because human knowledge is just that extensive. So if you just leave the detail blank with enough around it to stimulate the readers imagination, then the reader will fill in the blanks with what they believe are plausible explanations. The human imagination is very powerful, and the way the human mind works, we're less likely to reject BS if we come up with it through our own thought processes.
Personally, even though I lacked the knowledge necessary to object to your depiction of the shape-shifting, It seemed unnecessarily detailed and my intuition said BS.
It's not really unusual to use too much detail on this stuff. Most authors are doing it. The great ones don't though.
@MarSprite More. Knowledge. Gained. Beep. Boop.
@punchew It's just as MarSprite said.
More than any other media, writing is actually a contract between the author and the reader. The author creates a framework, and the reader fills it in with their imagination.
Imagine the author's writing is nothing more than the guiding hand, and the reader is a blind person figuring out the lay of the land. You make the path, the reader figures out on their own what the parkland is actually like through their own work.