Its about a brilliant scientist sent to study the sudden expansion of the supermassive black hole in the galaxy's center.

Sweet! Is it really mystery-sciency stuff, or is it pew pew starfighter adventure?

(Or both)

Mystery-sciency

A tested solution for modern living

So it's about Disney?

One of these days I should get around to making the "HD" remake of Steal The Bottle

Then he should be a blackhole scientist, duh

I mean, I wouldn't send a chicken sexer to study a crazy blackhole

True but he’s an omnitist. He studies all fields of science.

Is he handsome and a good shot and a great pilot? Is his name Mary Sue?

Lol. Other people on other forums have critiqued my “perfect” character. He’s far from perfect.

“polymath”

Oh no

Yes! That’s the correct word

Hello!

Sometimes, when I get stuck on a certain idea, I look at my potential story from other angles, even if you feel you already know those other angles. Checking those other angles can be helpful with the gaps you're looking to fill.

Some angles to consider:

• Do you have certain themes you're considering?
• Are there particular styles you're aiming for? (narrative, descriptions, etc.)
• What characters are the focus of the story, and what sort of choices are they faced with?
• How does the context shape the story?
• Could there be something that would easily slip into the story that you DON'T want to do?
• Who are you writing for, and what would they want to see?
• Is there anything from your personal experiences you can draw from?

If you're moreso just stuck on ideas, allow yourself to brainstorm for a structured time without shooting anything down. Easier said than done, of course, and if you manage it, you might generate ideas you wouldn't otherwise have considered, or at least get a stronger sense of what you wouldn't want.

To actually answer your question, given the general Star Wars context, I'd think something transportation-related could be pretty interesting, with maybe the black hole forces changes in the hyperdrive lanes). To bounce off some other chatter, maybe the remnants of the Empire/fledgling First Order find a way to tap into Force Mind Control and are threatening the New Republic from within, and the black hole is somehow Force-tied with that. Or maybe the scientist finds out this black hole is more threatening to the galaxy than thought but has difficulty getting the powers that be to take the threat seriously enough -- draw your own climate change parallels here.

That climate change issue is pretty cool. Some people may think the black hole isn’t expanding like some don’t think the climate is changing

I think that's a little off. I think most people believe in climate change. People just don't agree on the causes, how important it is, and what, if anything, to do about it. If the climate change analogy intrigues you I think all of what I just posted offers some possible approaches. Gebohq's post reminded me of a Next Generation episode in which the Federation agreed to limit warp speed to prevent harming some alien species that lived in subspace.

Ah yes, I'd certainly not want to encourage writing like that episode. Unfortunately, even if it had been written well, that's a huge challenge to handle from a storytelling perspective, which I'm pretty sure is why they abandoned it. My suggestion was merely meant as a starting point, and I'd hope if you went in that direction, you'd handle it with more consideration. Truth be told, I don't think that sort of story works best alone in the Star Wars setting, which is very much more myth and opera and pulp than something like Star Trek (largely) is. It might combine well with the other ideas, though, to strike more that balance? It definitely has more room for the mystery angle at the very least.

Yes

I’m looking for something cool he can study long term. I originally thought asteroids but that’s boring.

How about the sudden appearance of ghosts? According to Lucas force ghosts were a very new "invention" by Qui-Gon Jinn. So maybe their more or less sudden appearance is measurable. At least that would fit into the time frame and would be a quite new field with an air of mystery.

Nah that’s too spiritual I’m going about this all wrong when it comes to asking what idea I want. I’m looking for a science thing that my scientist could study. On Steven Jackson games forum, someone suggested the migration patterns of Purgills. It would have been perfect except for the fact that it might lead someone to Ezra and Thrawn. That story will be told in the future. I want something unique but also a science that my scientist can study as his main work. Not an invention.

You're putting a lot of conditions and exceptions and whatnot on your choice, and other people's suggestions. The idea that something as mundane and open-ended as studying the migration patterns of Purgills (whatever that is) would, in a story, necessarily lead to someone finding Ezra and Thrawn or whatever, seems weird. Just have that not happen in the story! Or if you like the idea of studying migratory fauna, have it be something else and not Purgills.

You don't have to chase down every conceivable objection to what is overall a solid idea. If something appealed to you, and you think you can get mileage out of it in your story, go for it.

The idea of synthetic coaxium intrigued me but I decided not to use it because coaxium is rare and I want it to stay rare.

That being said, what In the Galaxy occurs naturally that a scientist could try and make in a lab? They’ve already done synthetic kyber crystals and synthetic tibanna gas. Also synthetic Stygian crystals are a no-go as cloaking should be rare and synthetic cortosis is a no go because it should be rare as well. Bacta is already synthetic as is kolto.

Are you looking for a science macguffin to motivate plot events, or literally any scientific project whatsoever?

In reality, most labs are producing research which makes only minor improvements. Such as maybe discovering a new additive which makes your fuel 2% more efficient, or a new method of making solar panels which saves 5% of your material. Science tends to be very gradual.

In my mind, Star Wars scientists would be doing things like trying to find better spaceship alloys which lets them save a bit of material when making starships.

Obviously this fails if you want a science macguffin. Then you're looking at someone on the cutting edge of something new. Most often, big scientific breakthroughs are more about a new theory which helps explain previously unknown phenomena, like the photoelectric effect or relativity, along with experiments to prove it. Science tends not to produce "new objects" so much, that's for engineers.

He can be an alcoholic mycologist of questionable morels

He can be studying how to use mushrooms and bugs to travel through space

Seems to me like an anthropologist or psychologist would stand a much better chance of meeting Thrawn than some mcguffinologist. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yeah I think I’m looking for a MacGuffin project or at least a really big idea.

If I were writing a Star Wars fanfic where an out of water character has to confront thrawn, I’d make them an unambitious art history grad who wrote their kindly-leave masters thesis on some obscure podunk planet nobody ever heard of. But then it turns out that planet is strategically important. The people mount a surprisingly effective insurgence, and Thrawn has the art history major abducted from his coffee shop job so he can learn about the culture and psychology of the insurgents. The only person who can save the planet from imperial oppression is a witless academic in a battle of wits against a strategist legendary for his wit.

But, like, I’m sure some force powered superweapon would work too.

That's the plot of every Jack Ryan book, movie, and TV show.

He can be studying wookies to find a cure for male pattern baldness in humans

You guys are not taking this seriously.

Invisible lightsabers using ultraviolet light

[Never mind]

Traditional torpedos since Star Wars apparently can't into kinetic weapons.

thank you

Seriously though, one grapeshot and a Jedi is dead.

Maximum7, tell us about your audience this fanfic is for. I think that would help us narrow things down for you, because I could be suggesting something like traveling to different asteroid fields to studying the difference in myknock species. Or if I should be suggesting a giant hyperspace net that can predict the path of a traveling fleet and come at them sideways, knocking them into subspace and squeezing the everyloving raspberry jam out em'.

Maybe explain what your intentions are with the story? Because if we don't have much of an outline I would wonder if you didn't have any ideas and were just trying to create a patchwork based on the suggestions a handful of randos from a decrepit forum.

This is for an adult audience and I do have an outline. I intend to have him investigate the sudden expansion of the supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy.

This forum is decrepit?!

Hyperspace net sounds interesting but I think they have Interdictor cruisers for that.

I'm not bald. Really!