Random Thoughts Sechs: Eeeeehhhh...

[aimeeandbeatles]

I was reading a fanfic (go ahead and make fun of me if you want, I like fanfic) and suddenly there was an explicit sex scene with literally no buildup. I was so confused on what was going on. The fic wasn't rated so I guess I should have expected something like that.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I was reading a fanfic (go ahead and make fun of me if you want, I like fanfic) and suddenly there was an explicit sex scene with literally no buildup. I was so confused on what was going on. The fic wasn't rated so I guess I should have expected something like that.

A. There is nothing wrong with liking fanfic. It's a genre of literature that's been around for decades. You've written it, I've written it, and I'm in the midst of writing more of it. It's listed as one of the genres on the NaNoWriMo site.

B. There's a lot of fanfic that has explicit sex scenes. Sometimes it's there for a valid in-story reason, is true to the original source material (ie. Captain Kirk and any female guest character if the plot calls for it), and helps move the plot along or provides insight into one or more characters.

C. There's a lot of fanfic that has explicit sex scenes just for the sake of having explicit sex scenes (ie. most of the Borgias fanfic with Cesare/Lucrezia sex scenes; one author is so predictable that no matter if the story is set in the 15th century or modern times, it's written basically the same and gets tedious). That said, it's a guilty pleasure for the writer and some of the readers. I've never written any such scenes in my stories. When my characters are intimate, it's not explicit, and it is intended to move the plot along (as in those royal heirs need to get born somehow...).

D. Ratings depend on what site you're on. Fanfiction.net is stricter than AO3 (Archive Of Our Own). As always, read at your own risk and if you think something is misclassified in a misleading way, you can always drop a note to the site administrators to fix that.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

It was on AO3. The site actually warned me that it was unrated and that I should proceed at my own caution. I probably should have listened.

The fanfic was a pretty bad one anyways, so I'm not too scarred about it.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

I was reading a fanfic (go ahead and make fun of me if you want, I like fanfic) and suddenly there was an explicit sex scene with literally no buildup. I was so confused on what was going on. The fic wasn't rated so I guess I should have expected something like that.

Every once in a while a guy in a discord server I'm on will pick a fanfic and read it out loud to us, using different voices for each of the characters. As a narrator he's pretty good at it. The fanfics themselves have varying degrees of cringe, though he tends to pick ones that are either amusing for some reason or are so cringey that it's hard to even listen. Sometimes both.

I don't have any experience with it beyond that, but I suspect it's similar to how anime/manga has a huge breadth of ideas/content. Some with good-to-great quality, a ton of mediocrity, and then some stuff that just makes you scratch your head.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Years and years ago, I wrote a bizarre crackfic while on some heavy painkillers and half-asleep. On a voice chat on Discord, my friend read it aloud in a dramatic fashion. It was hilarious.

 

[EgonSpengler]

An Alien tabletop RPG is being published. I'm curious how they approach stealth. In other games I've played, stealth has always been pretty unsatisfying, because it's usually just a series of dice-rolls without much player decision-making, and because it's been so poorly integrated with combat mechanics. I used to GM Call of Cthulhu back in the day, and let's face it, Alien is basically an H.P. Lovecraft story in space, so I wonder if it might be something like that game. I don't know anybody who plays tabletop games anymore, though, so mine is just an academic interest these days, but I'd like to look under the hood if I can get a peek at the rulebook.

(Not a spoiler, an image)

Spoiler :

 

[rah]

I don't know anybody who plays tabletop games anymore,

Our group of friends play them a few times a month.

 

[Hygro]

but eggplants aren't usually what I associate with it.

Welcome to the new age, to the new age

 

[Arakhor]

Why do you call them eggplants rather than aubergines? They don't exactly lay eggs.

 

[Kyriakos]

Why do you call them eggplants rather than aubergines? They don't exactly lay eggs.

"Freedom fries"

 

[Synobun]

Why do you call them eggplants rather than aubergines? They don't exactly lay eggs.

How do you know? You an expert?

 

[EgonSpengler]

Our group of friends play them a few times a month.

Yeah, they've had a real Renaissance in the last 10 years or so. I've read that the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons is selling like crazy. They're doing special editions, like a Stranger Things tie-in set dressed up to resemble the 1980s edition. I managed to secure a pdf of the 5th edition D&D Player's Handbook, and it looks really good. Unfortunate timing on my part, my gaming social circle(s) dissipated years ago. I don't know how non-D&D RPGs are doing, outside of the traditional circles, but I think non-RPG boardgames are roaring. I remember listening to an interview with Kristen Bell, and she mentioned her "getaway weekends" with her friends and all their kids; once the kids are squared away, it's the adults who settle in with some beverages and Settlers of Cataan.

Why do you call them eggplants rather than aubergines? They don't exactly lay eggs.

I've always wondered about that myself. There's nothing "eggy" about them, to my eye or palate.

 

[tjs282]

How do you know? You an expert?

No, since this is Arakhor we're talking about, obviously he's an eggspert.

Jeez, don' you know nuthin'?

I've always wondered about that myself. There's nothing "eggy" about them, to my eye or palate.

I'd always assumed it was simply because the fruit looks like a big (albeit shiny and purple-black) egg. So now I looked it up in Wiki, and whaddaya know...?

 

[metatron]

Why do you call them eggplants rather than aubergines? They don't exactly lay eggs.

Yeah, but then there's also that whole ananas situation...

 

[Kyriakos]

Happy Walpurgisnacht.

 

[Cutlass]

Why do you call them eggplants rather than aubergines? They don't exactly lay eggs.

To annoy the people who call them aubergines.

 

[rah]

Yeah, I never got the connection before. Is there one?

 

[Arakhor]

Yeah, but then there's also that whole ananas situation...

Calling pineapples that is just bananas.

To annoy the people who call them aubergines.

Americans are good at being annoying, I'll grant you.

 

[Cutlass]

Calling pineapples that is just bananas.



Americans are good at being annoying, I'll grant you.

I used to know a girl with hair colored what she called aubergines on a different part of the net. I'd always tell her it was eggplant.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I don't know anybody who plays tabletop games anymore,

*raises hand*

It's been a long time since I played D&D in person, but I've played PBP and PBEM tabletop games. The original Civilization (pre-computer game) is fun, whether in person or via email (I was part of a Yahoo! group that had a game going for awhile).

I still play Fighting Fantasy; admittedly now it's more because of my ongoing NaNoWriMo game novelization projects. In 2016 my first NaNoWriMo (November event) win was for completing a novelization of Caverns of the Snow Witch.

I don't know how non-D&D RPGs are doing, outside of the traditional circles, but I think non-RPG boardgames are roaring.

People need to get over the notion that board games are for children. I do enjoy some of the online versions, but it's more fun to play with real people in person.

Yeah, but then there's also that whole ananas situation...

What do pineapples have to do with anything?