May the Fourth (Be With You)

So, back in October I was pretty well lost and confused about "what the fuck do I do now?" And several people scattered around Lit, and many here in the AH encouraged me to keep writing. So, while I was working on something for the Winter Holiday's contest in November, I more or less gave myself the goal that I would get an entry into each of the special contests for the entire year.

(* I wonder how many of those people who encouraged me have read my recent April Fools entry and decided they'd made a mistake! )

Any road, I did get something done for the April Fools contest, although it was a bit of a stretch for me (and probably any readers who stumble into my little prank on potential readers). And I got to looking and the next official contest isn't until Nude Day.

Well, despite common sense telling me I should get started now to give me plenty of time to not suck as bad as I did for this contest, that's just kind of far away for me to feel a serious push to actively work on it.

Back a couple of years ago (I think) Golden_Maia had an idea for an unofficial contest for May the Fourth (Be With You).
I had actually fully intended to participate and even started on a little something before we lost electricity and internet for a month or two.

So, I figured I would give myself a goal of writing to the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Category for May the 4th.

And possibly a horror tale for Revenge of the Sixth if I have time.

It's probably foolish of me since normally I don't post intentions until I've got something complete, but I figured posting this would motivate me and give me a goal so I don't sit around like a lump between now and May or June for the Nude Day debacle.

And, maybe if the 4th is moving someone else to try their hand at setting a hobbit to swinging a dilithium-powered dildo at an orc after reading my own little ill-thought plan, then maybe so much the better.


May the 4th be with us, always!

Does it have to be Star Wars-related? The only thing I could think of involves Kylo Ren, young Anakin and Jar Jar Binks and a couple lightsabers in VERY unpleasant orifices...

If generic Sci-Fi is allowed, I think I could come up with a tasty one-shot before May 4th.

Blind_Justice said:

Does it have to be Star Wars-related? The only thing I could think of involves Kylo Ren, young Anakin and Jar Jar Binks and a couple lightsabers in VERY unpleasant orifices...

If generic Sci-Fi is allowed, I think I could come up with a tasty one-shot before May 4th.

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I would think pretty much any sci-fi/fantasy piece would fit. At least that was what I sort of half remember about the fun little thing Golden_Maia came up with (and the rest of us agreed to).

ETA; Found it! It wasn't where I thought it would be. Or titled what I thought it was either.

But, yeah. Our little impromptu challenge was to do anything for the Sci-Fi/Fantasy category any time during the month of May. Not necessarily just from the Star Wars universe.

PuckIt said:

I would think pretty much any sci-fi/fantasy piece would fit. At least that was what I sort of half remember about the fun little thing Golden_Maia came up with (and the rest of us agreed to).

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I'll probably won't win, but I'm at least up to the challenge. Any limits? Word count? Maybe a few random plot points to make it a real challenge?

Heh. I sort of suck at the whole challenge/contest thing. Mostly I was just after a goal to make myself get up off the bed and do a little something other than wait for my four-footed roommates to make a demand. Maybe GoldenMaia will happen by and take over hosting duties since it was originally her idea I'm resurrecting anyway (see link in edit to above post).

But, until and unless she does, what were you thinking might make it a little more challenging? I admit I was just going to do my usual "dive headlong into a blank screen and see what the fuck happens," except I was going to give it a little SciFantastic flavor.

I'm writing a kinda sexy space opera at the moment anyway, so anything to nudge me out of my groove would be fun. I was thinking maybe a plot point or item or device around which to write the story. Nothing ultra-specific, but maybe something along the lines of:

"Write a story containing _____ and ______, which takes place _______."

Three lists with items, creatures and locations, some random draft method and off we go. Unpredictability ahoy.

Plant-Woman hybrids, plasma pistols and a ski resort. That kind of deal.

Or would that be too weird?

Got kidnapped by an enthusiast, force-fed half a barbecued cow by another enthusiast, forced to watch the college basketball game by the first enthusiast, then had to relive the whole fucking game, play by play over the phone with yet a third enthusiast.

So, yeah. Just escaped their evil clutches and came back to see the response.

Mmmm. The thing is, I was thinking about revisiting the whole brain in the jar idea I had that I didn't get completed in time. Although, I was thinking about trying a little different ending than Cylons with piston driven dual dildos...

Although the Unicorn and Dragon deciding to make love, not war has a certain appeal too...

I dunno. I'm open to suggestions. I just don't want to limit it too much, if that makes sense. Since the Scifantastic genre just seems open to so many more possibilities that a couple of hairless apes bumping uglies under the banana tree.

No problem, it was just an idea

Would Lit suspend the “no snuff” rule for a Jar Jar story?

If not, there’s no point.

Voboy said:

Would Lit suspend the “no snuff” rule for a Jar Jar story?

If not, there’s no point.

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I'd like to see the entire series snuffed out.

The original three (bullshit they were meant to be 4-6) were iconic, classic, damn magical if you were a kid when they came out.

The next three cashed in as prequels, the latest three were pure money grubbing. Now there's a Han solo movie in the works, another series was announced with the director of Iron Man at the helm

I've never seen a movie beaten into the ground and rung for every nickel as bad as this.

also...there's a snuff rule here? Try telling that to to the non human section.

Voboy said:

Would Lit suspend the “no snuff” rule for a Jar Jar story?

If not, there’s no point.

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Poor Jar Jar Binks never gets any love.

lovecraft68 said:

I'd like to see the entire series snuffed out.

The original three (bullshit they were meant to be 4-6) were iconic, classic, damn magical if you were a kid when they came out.

The next three cashed in as prequels, the latest three were pure money grubbing. Now there's a Han solo movie in the works, another series was announced with the director of Iron Man at the helm

I've never seen a movie beaten into the ground and rung for every nickel as bad as this.

also...there's a snuff rule here? Try telling that to the non-human section.

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Admit it, LC. It was the "Revenge of the Sixth" comment that made you decide to take notice! Or should I call you "Darth LC?"

But, I don't know. For me, personally, I wasn't really going to stick to the SW universe. Not that I'm afraid of Darth Mouse, mind you. But, eh. I guess I'm just too fickle. I love me a good space opera. But, I love me some "ye olde sword and sorcery" too. (And, no. Not just because I'm dying to have a level one buxom adventuress go into the graveyard to fight skeletons and end up getting boned.)

I guess if I were to be somehow responsible (which anyone that makes all this fabulousness [*belch* - excuse me] responsible for anything more complicated than a wet paper bag just hasn't been paying attention), I'd keep it simple and just make it a single shot submission (meaning no series or chaptered works) to the SciFantasy category trying to target May the Fourth.

Hmm. Which I guess wouldn't really be in the spirit of "May the Fourth (Be With You)" since I think Disney may be trying to buy the copyright.

Considering this is an erotica site (or in my case, cheesy comedic porn), maybe I should have titled this "Feel the Fourth!" or "Use the Fourth!" or something.

Ooh. Jedi mind tricks for the orgasm!

I think about fourths a lot. And thirds, and fifths, and sometimes sevenths. "I got four on the floor and a fifth under the seat." And I sometimes think about unconceivable forces. That's tough. Who wraps force-fields around their stories?

Geek Pride Day!

Wow! I was doing some picking at the problem because everything I was bumping up against pretty much said May the Fourth (Be With You) was specific to the Star Wars universe.

And 'lo and behold, May the 25th is gaining recognition as Geek Pride Day!

My people! Let your freak flag fly!

Any road, I got to thinking... (Insert pause for groans at another Pucked-up thought.)

I think that actually fits better what I had in mind since I didn't really want to confine my own efforts, much less anyone else's, to Star Warped. (Having three extra weeks to get something going didn't really enter into my thought process! Honest!)

@PuckIt: One deadline is as bad as any other deadline, at least for me I can do Geek Day too. *waves his dice bag around*

Also, have you heard of "Spelljammer"? During the golden days of Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd edition, then-TSR tried their hands at a "magical space setting", with elven butterfly ships and orcish doomsday weapons and the like. It was a fascinating idea, trying to tie all the different D&D settings together with a kind of "D&D in space". It had TONS of problems (too many "furry" species, i.e. humanoids with animal characteristics, game balance) but also tons of potential as well. When they switched to 3rd edition and got eaten by Wizards Of The Coast/Hasbro, such wild ideas got nuked in favor of more "mainstream" classic fantasy settings. (As if pen-and-paper RPGs ever were mainstream, ha!)

Might be worth investigating if you're looking for a mix of space and fantasy. Or you could go all-out grimdark and give Warhammer 40k a spin for inspiration. The races there have other names (in most cases, except for Orks!), but it's basically Space Humans versus Space Elves, Space Robot Undead, Space Lizards-folk and bio-organic Borg

Blind_Justice said:

I'm writing a kinda sexy space opera at the moment anyway, so anything to nudge me out of my groove would be fun. I was thinking maybe a plot point or item or device around which to write the story. Nothing ultra-specific, but maybe something along the lines of:

"Write a story containing _____ and ______, which takes place _______."

Three lists with items, creatures and locations, some random draft method and off we go. Unpredictability ahoy.

Plant-Woman hybrids, plasma pistols and a ski resort. That kind of deal.

Or would that be too weird?

Click to expand...

How about a witch and a ghost on the moon Titan? A rough idea, but I bet the witch’s nipples are cold as fuck... hahahaKant

I doubt there’s many stories out there that mix outer space with the supernatural or paranormal.

Kantarii said:

How about a witch and a ghost on the moon Titan? A rough idea, but I bet the witch’s nipples are cold as fuck... hahahaKant

I doubt there’s many stories out there that mix outer space with the supernatural or paranormal.

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Lol. You are prescient - I'm writing one right now.

Blind_Justice said:

@PuckIt: One deadline is as bad as any other deadline, at least for me I can do Geek Day too. *waves his dice bag around*

Also, have you heard of "Spelljammer"? During the golden days of Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd edition, then-TSR tried their hands at a "magical space setting", with elven butterfly ships and orcish doomsday weapons and the like. It was a fascinating idea, trying to tie all the different D&D settings together with a kind of "D&D in space". It had TONS of problems (too many "furry" species, i.e. humanoids with animal characteristics, game balance) but also tons of potential as well. When they switched to 3rd edition and got eaten by Wizards Of The Coast/Hasbro, such wild ideas got nuked in favor of more "mainstream" classic fantasy settings. (As if pen-and-paper RPGs ever were mainstream, ha!)

Might be worth investigating if you're looking for a mix of space and fantasy. Or you could go all-out grimdark and give Warhammer 40k a spin for inspiration. The races there have other names (in most cases, except for Orks!), but it's basically Space Humans versus Space Elves, Space Robot Undead, Space Lizards-folk and bio-organic Borg

Click to expand...

I think Paizo's recently-released "Starfinder" covers similar ground to Spelljammer, though I haven't bought a copy yet.

40K is probably the biggest "magic in space" setting, give or take Star Wars. Fantasy Flight did a RPG adaptation of 40K; as usual with FF it was beautifully produced, but the rules were clunky and GW yanked the license so it's been discontinued.

Bramblethorn said:

40K is probably the biggest "magic in space" setting, give or take Star Wars.

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I think the Hindu cosmos beats that. [/me considers Zelazny's LORD OF LIGHT] Scientology has lotsa planets too.

Happy 17th everyone!

Captainnumnuts said:

Happy 17th everyone!

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I think I can play a 17th on 'uke. That's two octaves plus a whole tone. [/me tries on a soprano] Yeah, but I must bend that top note. It's easier on a tenor.

Meanwhile, it's Saint Paddy's Day, but the snow's too deep for us to hit the local Irish pub for traditional victuals. We shoould be able to drive out tomorrow when the corned beef will be discounted. The Fourth-Off will be with us then.

Bramblethorn said:

I think Paizo's recently-released "Starfinder" covers similar ground to Spelljammer, though I haven't bought a copy yet.

40K is probably the biggest "magic in space" setting, give or take Star Wars. Fantasy Flight did a RPG adaptation of 40K; as usual with FF it was beautifully produced, but the rules were clunky and GW yanked the license so it's been discontinued.

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I'm having an eye on Starfinder, but I'm a bit hesitant to splurge on a new campaign book which I would probably only mine for some ideas, if at all. Our home campaign is vast enough as it is already I'll check out the parts which will become OGL eventually.

I've seen the 40k roleplay rulebook in a store a few years ago. It was a gorgous tome, but expensive as all hell. Sad to hear the rules weren't up to snuff. Adapting 40k to something akin to D20 wouldn't quite work - D20 (D&D3e/Pathfinder/D20 Modern) characters are way too tanky for that and the rigid levelling progression makes it rather tedious. Maybe something like R.Talsorian's Cyberpunk 2020 rules or even Call Of Cthulhu would work much better.

Blind_Justice said:

I'm having an eye on Starfinder, but I'm a bit hesitant to splurge on a new campaign book which I would probably only mine for some ideas, if at all. Our home campaign is vast enough as it is already I'll check out the parts which will become OGL eventually.

I've seen the 40k roleplay rulebook in a store a few years ago. It was a gorgous tome, but expensive as all hell.

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A friend of mine died last year. He spent his last few years going through his money because he knew he didn't have long. Among other things he had the entire 40K roleplaying line - must've been thousands of dollars worth of books, especially at Australian prices. We ended up giving them away to another friend's gaming club because trying to eBay that stuff is more trouble than it's worth, and his mother just wanted to make sure it went to somebody who'd appreciate it.

Sad to hear the rules weren't up to snuff. Adapting 40k to something akin to D20 wouldn't quite work - D20 (D&D3e/Pathfinder/D20 Modern) characters are way too tanky for that and the rigid levelling progression makes it rather tedious. Maybe something like R.Talsorian's Cyberpunk 2020 rules or even Call Of Cthulhu would work much better.

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The 40K RPG rules published by Fantasy Flight (Rogue Trader/Deathwatch/etc.) are basically an adaptation of the old Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying game, for those of us who remember the 1980s. WFRP was a classic in its time, but by the time I picked up some of the 40K stuff it felt rather dated. I think I heard that a lot of that was imposed on FF by GW; given what I know of both companies, that seems like the most likely story.

It was still playable, but character creation especially was more complicated than it needed to be, and it had some weird quirks. For example - power fist. Iconic 40K weapon, right? The Deathwatch rules made it less powerful and more expensive than using a power drill as an improvised weapon, so stats-wise it was never an effective choice.

Bramblethorn said:

The 40K RPG rules published by Fantasy Flight (Rogue Trader/Deathwatch/etc.) are basically an adaptation of the old Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying game, for those of us who remember the 1980s. WFRP was a classic in its time, but by the time I picked up some of the 40K stuff it felt rather dated. I think I heard that a lot of that was imposed on FF by GW; given what I know of both companies, that seems like the most likely story.

It was still playable, but character creation especially was more complicated than it needed to be, and it had some weird quirks. For example - power fist. Iconic 40K weapon, right? The Deathwatch rules made it less powerful and more expensive than using a power drill as an improvised weapon, so stats-wise it was never an effective choice.

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*laughs* That's sad indeed. I guess playing a Space Marine alongside normal humans was as painful as playing a Jedi in the old Star Wars rules? In regards to Games Workshop: After my friendly local game shop owner had given me his stash of old White Dwarf magazines, I tried my hand at playing 40k tabletop. Back in the early 90s, with my puny allowance, buying those minis was prohibitively expensive, and when my brother broke my prized Ork Dreadnought after I kicked his humies off da planet, I called it quits and stuck to reading the fiction instead

Have you ever played Harnmaster? There is detailed character generation (as in CP2020, which I enjoy) and then there is OCD-levels of overkill. The system has stats and tables for everything. And people complain that D&D overstats everything (Granted, haven't tried 5e yet, I'm still trying to forget 4e) My favourite system besides Cyberpunk has to be the original Mutants&Masterminds. It's mainly built for superheroes, but we've houseruled it to work with everything from sword&sorcery to starship battles. It's very cool that, as the game master, you can actually run large-scale encounters without the speed of the game session crashing to a halt and as a player, your character concept is rarely limited by "hard" archetypes like "fighter" or "healer".

... and I'll stop nerding now.