If you're writing anything involving cons, scams, heists, or morally questionable characters who are very good at lying, here are some free resources I've been using for research. Saving you the "why is this in my search history" anxiety.
1. The FBI's Famous Cases & Criminals archive (fbi.gov/history/famous-cases) has detailed breakdowns of real fraud cases, Ponzi schemes, and confidence operations. The language they use is clinical and precise, which is perfect for getting the procedural details right.
2. The FTC Consumer Sentinel Network publishes annual reports on the most common fraud tactics in the US. Great for understanding how modern scams actually work and what makes people fall for them.
3. The Smithsonian's American Art Museum has a free digital collection of forgery case studies. If your character forges documents or art, this is gold.
4. Court Listener (courtlistener.com) is a free legal database where you can read actual court transcripts from fraud trials. Want to know how a real con artist talks under oath? This is where you find out.
5. The Internet Archive's collection of old newspaper crime sections. Search for "confidence man" or "swindle" in papers from the 1920s through 1960s and you'll find incredible real stories that would feel too dramatic for fiction.
Bonus: The Psychology of Fraud section on the Association for Psychological Science website has accessible articles about why people trust, how deception works cognitively, and what makes someone a convincing liar. Essential reading if you want your con artist characters to feel psychologically real.
Reblog to save for later. Your WIP will thank you.
Rule 3: Any deviation from the restrictions imposed in rules 1 and 2 will require the necessary clearance or credentials in the absence of registered permission
I just blew my nose really hard, and suddenly unlocked 4k hearing resolution on one ear. 5 minutes later I blew it again, and got a 20% hearing debuff. Now it changes every time I swallow and I have the urge to rip my ears off.
I enter the tube at the same time as another woman a door further down. The seats at the right of me are at the end of the wagon, and a place where the drunk and high sit, so I turn left. 6 seats in a row, opposite of two at a 90 degree angle, to leave an open space between them. On one of the two, an older man with half of his teeth sits, so I turn further left, to the six seats. Two people sit there already, as far apart as possible. Apparently, the woman from the other door faced similar circumstances to me at her side, because she is standing opposite as me now. We donāt meet eyes, but are mutually aware of each other. Is she going to take the seat closest to her, or one of the middle two? If sheās going to take closer one, which is unlikely, because for that she would have to predict me taking the middle seat and take the chance shit will be awkward, I would get the furthest distance by sitting in the middle. If she sits in the middle aswell, my positioning doesnāt really matter. So, statistically, I chose one of the middle seats, further influenced by the manspreading happening on the seat closest to me.
I keep my momentum in a smooth motion, as does the woman across, and we sit down next to each other in the two middle seats perfectly synchronised, as predicted. Somehow, this is the only right feeling arrangement we could have ended up with.
This all happened in 2 seconds, and somehow, itās the clearest, most synonymous thinking process across all people.
rb with your name, orientations and gender, preferred pronouns, optionally some struggles or joy being LGBTQ has brought you, and some comfort/affirmations or whatever for the person before and after you!!!! why is this so detailed bruh. and tag peeps ig??
Hai! I'm Nyxon
I am transgender FTM, asexual, and omniromantic!
My preferred pronouns are he/they!
Being LGBTQ makes me happy. Despite being cloested, it makes me feel like what I am actually makes sense and I'm not just some weird ahh guy. I used to be a girl who was angry a lot of the time for no reason, which is ironic ngl
I am [sexuality has not been unlocked], asexual, and nonbinary!
My preferred pronouns are They/Them. :)
I have a bunch of friends in the LGBTQ+ society...*stares*
Person before me: *deep breath* GET GENDER-AFFIRMED NYXON! HOW HE/HIM OF YOU! THEIR SO AWESOME GUYS LOOK HE/THEY HE/THEY HE/THEY BOY BOY BOY! AHHH THEY ARE SO ACCEPTED AND SCRUMPTIOUS WOWZA! EVERYONE LOVES THEM THEM THEM RIGHT???? (I am. So sorry if this is overboard. ^^' You can burn me at the stake if you want.)
Person after me: You're so cool and amazing and I think you deserve everything you put your little LGBTQ+ friendly heart to. :)
Happy pride month everyone! Have a very safe month because I am going to run over all the homophobe-shaped speed bumps as a treat! :3c
@sacabambaspis-offical @ashelf66 @confused-cookie-blog @toaster-waffle-offical @bacone-official @britishtea-again @unlabelled-offical @genderqueer-offical + anyone else who wants to join! Yay! This was fun! ^^
hey, i'm genderqueer. (no real name yet... so nicknames are very welcome)
i am genderfluid, aegosexual, and abroromantic!
[id: i am genderfluid, aegosexual, and abroromantic!]
my preferred pronouns depend on the day or situation... but i use she/her and he/him separately, or sometimes interchangeably. currently i think i'm going by he/him right now...
being queer is a very mixed experience for me. romantically, i absolutely love that i am able to feel attraction towards the beauty of every gender (albeit, sometimes at different times), however, for sexual and gender orientations, it can make me quite frustrated. because i'm afab, my gender dysphoria can be insane when i'd rather be male, which makes it irritatingly hard to be alone with my thoughts. secondly, the only reason i'm aegosexual (asexual) is due to the fact that i am not amab. when i'm feeling more male, i have a tendency to fantasize (not going to say it explicitly, but you know what i mean) and have it immediately tamped down because i don't have an amab body. it can get really fucking annoying.
person before me: hey pen, thanks for tagging me! you seem really cool and i'm very grateful that you're running over all the negativity :) have a safe and happy pride month!
person after me: though i haven't read your post, all of you experiences are valid. if you aren't already, you are going to be okay, things are going to work out, and everything you've done will very soon pay off. thank you so much for reblogging this post and sharing part of your life with us! have an absolutely gorgeous day, and an even better pride month <3
i'm choir, not sure i really have any other names here yet ^^
i am non-binary, asexual and panromantic!
my preferred pronouns are they/them
being queer is important to me. there are so many labels that you can find and sure it may take a while before you find the right one, but the community is so accepting most of the time. i feel like i have a chance to be free in my identity, even if i'm closeted to my family and even though i struggle every day with nearly being outed.
person before me: thank you for tagging me, genderqueer!! i've always admired genderfluid people - even if you don't really choose how you feel and when, i've always gotten the kindest vibes from you. i think you're strong and brave in sharing about your identity and the reasons for your sexuality, a lot of people would never share that. have a fantastic day + pride month!
person after me: thank you for reblogging! you are loved, you are worth it, you are allowed to be whoever you want to be. nobody else can stop you from being whoever you are, even if it's just for yourself. happy pride month everyone!
i'm trans agender, aroace, and experience alterous attraction. my pronouns are they/he etc.
i'm very lucky to be surrounded by people for who the most part accept me for who i am. i know not all queer people get that so i try to be grateful every day. i love being trans, i love being genderqueer, i love loving my friends without romance, i love being part of such a large community of loving people. i'm proud to be who i am and i think over the years i've become a lot more accepting of myself and more eager to be loudly who i am
to choir: thanks for the tag! it's great to know another enby ace person, and obviously the actual choir thing is a huge plus for me. i haven't known you for very long but i think you're great and i wish you nothing but happiness. happy pride month!!!
to the person after me: somedays life is going to be hard, but i'm rooting for you! if you're happy with who you are now, i'm happy for you. and if you're still working on acceptance, i'm here to say that you are valid for who you are. love you!
@whatifiwasmadeofbones @drumsticks-offical + open tags! i don't know that many people to tag since i'm a very new blog
thank you for the tag!! hello call me bones. or donāt. iām not a cop.
i am some kind of transmasc not really sure lmao. considering genderfaun, boyflux, and boything as labels. iām biromantic and either asexual, or homosexual and fraysexual. I use any pronouns other than she/her with a preference for he/him and they/them!
i love being queer. i find myself in a community with so many lovely people where we understand what each other are going through and thatās really beautiful to me :) also canāt imagine what i would do were i limited to being romantically attracted to one gender lmao. everyone is too pretty for that. iām very grateful for being trans so that i can really make a conscious choice about who i want to be if that makes sense!
to tenor: hi!! you are such a lovely person and iām very glad to have met another choir enthusiast on here. tenors are super rad and you are no different. happy pride month!
to the next person: know that i am so proud of you, wherever you are in your journey. whether you have everything figured out, youāre questioning a lot, or youāre anywhere in between, you have made it through so much to find your true self. that is so much to do and i am so very proud of you.
npts: @not-linkachu @11-1366559937 @touch-tone-collective (any of yāall) @duckofmisfortuneoffical @lilspark-offical @gold-offical @grisha-offical + open in case i missed anyone!
I'm not exactly sure what my sexuality is. I may be aromatic, but maybe I'm lesbian or bisexual? or something in between. idrk yet. (it's my first time actually talking about it on the internet so be nice pls)
My pronouns are she/her
Even when I'm still questioning, I am surrounded by queer people (both online and irl) and I must say that all of you are the nicest people on earth. I am happy to be with you and ily all.
to Bones: ty for tagging me in literally the best tag game rn. I hope your day as well as the rest of your life will be full of happiness and everything and anything you may want from life.
to the next person: uhh..... *hugs you* i love you SO much.
tag list: @gus-offical @ihavenoconsistentinterests @mossinmytea @coffee--spill @nelly-rebellyyyyy @playlist-offical @timelinesjwriter @random-indian-girl @ashyd-shy @the-one-and-only-piper-offical @lovesflourmorethananything @crows-are-cool09 @rainbowkessem @imightbeafaerie-official-offical @wesperfaerie @queerbookbitch @sicklyvicktorianboy @algae122 @carthyanstar + anyone who feels like joining
I use any and all pronouns (If someone has had their pronouns go missing, my bad. In my defense they are tasty :3)
I don't fully know what I am yet but I think I am a demi-romantic gray sexual and I guess I am gender queer or maybe pan gender, the flag is more pretty lol
I love being gay so much, it has allowed me to make all sorts of different flavoured friends (lgbt+ wise, not flavour flavour wise lol) and I can be weird and people won't judge me for it!
It does suck when questioning my gender and sexuality tho š
Like I am supposed to be studying, why are you thinking of this now?? But whatever lol
Uhhh grisha, I don't really know you that well on a personal level but I love being tagged in whatever u tag me in, especially tag games. It's nice to think that a person I don't even know thought about me (sorry if that seems kinda selfish, I promise I don't mean it in that way! I mean it in I am grateful you do that kind of way!!)
To the next person: we most likely don't know each other in real life. And that's ok. One thing which I think is underated is care from strangers.
So from one stranger to another, I hope you have a wonderful, fun and happy life surrounded by people who love and support you no matter who you are <3
(also how are you guys getting colourful text?? I want colour ;-;)
I'm aroace (there's probably some microlabel that describes what specific attraction I feel at any given time, but it's just aroace for now) and some mix of apagender and genderfluid cuz sometimes I feel more of a gender at any given time but most of the time I'm just existing. And I use all pronouns :)
A joy from being part of the lgbtq+ community is there are definitely words that describe me and people who understand me and that's very nice :) A struggle is the opposite: sometimes it can be very isolating to be queer :(
To @crows-are-cool09, thank you for the tag. You're very right that being caring towards strangers is underrated. It's unlikely that we'll ever meet in person, but I'm very glad to be able to know at least a part of you in this haven of weirdos known as Tumblr <3
To whomever comes after me, I hope you find your community, wherever that may be. I understand the pain of isolation. I may not be able to relate to everything you experience, but you have a friend in me, if you want.
hello i'm rose and i am pan and prefer she/they! still figuring some stuff out in regards to gender but rn i still consider myself a cis woman :)
@collageoffandoms, tysm for the tag and kind words! i love getting tagged by you in these types of reblog games and getting to know you better, you are one of my favorite moots <3
to whoever reblogs this, i hope that even if you are still struggling with coming to terms with your identity, you know their is a community of people out there who love and support you for being who you are. and if you are like me and still haven't 100% figured yourself out yet, you are not alone in that journey twin! we'll figure ourselves out together even if it means we end up right where we started or even if its miles and miles away from the start. please feel free to dm me even stupid stuff, i love making new friends <3
@rara3swhimsy @ladystrman @ode-2-the-mets @the-moon-and-the-starr @shelookedlikestarlight + open tags!
I am aroace (maybe some sort of sapphic too idk I'm still figuring it out) and I am cis-ish and my pronouns are she/they ig but I don't really care
being queer has been great for me because I live in a very accepting area and no one in my life has been rude to me about it (I also don't really tell people that much though) but figuring out my sexuality and gender is a huge struggle and I am still so confused
whoever sees this, your identity is valid even if you aren't sure what it is yet. it is ok for it to change a lot or only make sense to you, because it is your identity, not anyone elses. <3
I use any pronouns, sometimes I have preferences but most times Iām fine with them all! Sexually Iām just a bit of a mess that hasnāt figured itself out yet lmao, so lets skip that for now.
Hello my dear friend before me, whom I have enjoyed supporting from the beginning and am loving the journey of! I hope you will be having a great time, and that someday, sometime, in 1 or 20 years weāll be able to hear āIf youāre happy and you know itā together without sharing knowing glances. I love you, and I will always love you /pl
Despite Imposter Syndrome rearing itās ugly head every time I enter a lgbtq+ space, I have noticed just how much more save I feel at pride events. The rainbow flag upon my shoulder feels like a shield to the world and an umbrella in the rain. There is not a single person Iāve interacted with in such spaces that didnāt make me feel like I belonged and was save to talk and interact and just be. Thank you all, for that.
No futher tags from me, since every one of my mutuals was already here lmao.
theartofmadeline
gracieabrams
stormborns
germansingergirl
