does this make sense or do I need to explain more?

[joy_of_cooking]

For context, "he" is an extremely sheltered, bookish person in a vaguely medieval fantasy setting.

"Are you saying," she asked carefully, "that not only have you never...but you don't know how? Mechanically, I mean. You don't know...?"

He nodded confirmation, his big blue eyes soft and anxious.

"Nobody ever writes it out. It's always, he entered her temple. He worshiped at her altar." Frowning, he added thoughtfully, "Not in that order, come to think of it."

It was that more than anything else which convinced her. Stunned, she sank into her chair.

Is it clear what these euphemisms mean and why it's telling that he's surprised by the order in which they happen?

 

[StillStunned]

Trust your readers to be at least as intelligent as you are.

 

[Omenainen]

It’s clear what the euphemisms mean. But since the guy in question is, I assume, in possession of tap B, are you arguing he doesn’t know female counterparts have slot A? I mean, it’s not that difficult to intuit what’s supposed to fit where, methinks.

 

[MelissaBaby]

For me, the one thing that might give me pause is “mechanical”. It made me wonder if that would be a commonly understood word in a pre-industrial society.

 

[StillStunned]

For me, the one thing that might give me pause is “mechanical”. It made me wonder if that would be a commonly understood word in a pre-industrial society.

It's been around since the late-Middle Ages.

 

[dirk2024]

For context, "he" is an extremely sheltered, bookish person in a vaguely medieval fantasy setting.



Is it clear what these euphemisms mean and why it's telling that he's surprised by the order in which they happen?

The euphanisms are good, the last sentence seems...clunky?

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

the last sentence seems...clunky?

Nawh, it's OK. Might need a bit of oil rubbing though.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

It works, and it's pretty easy to understand what you mean.

 

[MelissaBaby]

It's been around since the late-Middle Ages.

Been around doesn’t mean commonly understood, but whether it was or not, it struck me as too industrial for a medieval fantasy.

 

[Writer61]

For context, "he" is an extremely sheltered, bookish person in a vaguely medieval fantasy setting.



Is it clear what these euphemisms mean and why it's telling that he's surprised by the order in which they happen?

Has the poor sod never seen a rocket blasting off, a wave crashing on a beach, or a train entering a tunnel?

What a sheltered life!

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

For context, "he" is an extremely sheltered, bookish person in a vaguely medieval fantasy setting.



Is it clear what these euphemisms mean and why it's telling that he's surprised by the order in which they happen?

Been around doesn’t mean commonly understood, but whether it was or not, it struck me as too industrial for a medieval fantasy.

Mechanical is exactly the word I would, and have, used to skirt around such a topic with someone whose knowledge of the topic was unclear. And as a bookish individual, if it's late enough in the middle ages for Chaucer or the Divine Comedy, mechanical should be fine (full disclosure: learned from a google search and then validated against snippets of text).

I also think the euphimisms make perfect sense. However:

It’s clear what the euphemisms mean. But since the guy in question is, I assume, in possession of tap B, are you arguing he doesn’t know female counterparts have slot A? I mean, it’s not that difficult to intuit what’s supposed to fit where, methinks.

Here's where I think you could run into a problem. If he is aware of the tabs and slots, a bookish individual *may* have drawn the inferences if reading books about entering temples and worshipping at altars.

However - again going to younger ages - even those who *are* aware of the tabs and slots are often SHOCKED to learn the mechanics. "They do what?!" or "I thought that's what the belly button was for" are common responses reported by elementary school health teachers (I've known a few unfortunate souls tasked with teaching the birds and the bees to those who hadn't yet had that chat at home).


This may be especially true if for some reason or another he's never had the feelings and physiology of arousal explained to him and it therefore never occured to him that Tab B would be at all involved in temples and worship. It does, after all, have a very clear purpose (and I know grown men, and some women, who don't realize that women have more than one hole down there since they only get one. I've had to explain this to college students).



And now with this - I'm going back to hiding from the forums. I talk too much and have been trying to stop (and for now, that has meant not posting because my ability to filter the babbling has broken) but this one was too tempting to not respond to, especially since I want to see where this story is going once it's published. If you share when it is here, I'd be very glad to read it (I assume he's about to get an education).

 

[Writer61]

For me, the one thing that might give me pause is “mechanical”. It made me wonder if that would be a commonly understood word in a pre-industrial society.

Shakespeare had six rude mechanicals in A Midsummer Night's Dream, although at the time, the term described skilled manual labourers.

 

[Britva415]

Is it clear what these euphemisms mean

yes

and why it's telling that he's surprised by the order in which they happen?

uhh...

you lost me.

It's telling, of what, now?

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

It's telling, of what, now?

If I'm reading it right (and I want to provide this from a reader perspective to help @joy_of_cooking ) - he talks about how the books put things in the "he worships at her temple" before "he entered her temple" when if you think about those literally and non-sexually - you'd have to enter the temple before getting to the altar.

@joy_of_cooking Let me know if I got that wrong.

 

[Writer61]

If I'm reading it right (and I want to provide this from a reader perspective to help @joy_of_cooking ) - he talks about how the books put things in the "he worships at her temple" before "he entered her temple" when if you think about those literally and non-sexually - you'd have to enter the temple before getting to the altar.

@joy_of_cooking Let me know if I got that wrong.

I think you are right, but it is the wrong way around.

What's the point of a temple if you worship before entering it? Perhaps it is the logic of that which confuses the poor fellow.

 

[YmaOHyd]

I think you are right, but it is the wrong way around.

What's the point of a temple if you worship before entering it? Perhaps it is the logic of that which confuses the poor fellow.

Perhaps it's like the Kaaba, which is worshiped at but rarely if ever entered, or St. Peter's Basilica, where liturgies are given in St. Peter's Square.

 

[TheLobster]

To echo what was already said, this is perfectly clear and also quite amusing.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I think you are right, but it is the wrong way around.

What's the point of a temple if you worship before entering it? Perhaps it is the logic of that which confuses the poor fellow.

I'm very happy to have my temple worshipped manually or orally before it's entered! The point for tab B owners is they get to enter it.

I hear some tab B owners are confused, but soon comprehend the concept of an entry fee.

 

[Writer61]

Perhaps it's like the Kaaba, which is worshiped at but rarely if ever entered, or St. Peter's Basilica, where liturgies are given in St. Peter's Square.

I had never thought of there being something inside the Kaaba, but a great solid lump of stone is unlikely.

Makes me think of the monoliths from 2001.

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

Perhaps it's like the Kaaba, which is worshiped at but rarely if ever entered, or St. Peter's Basilica, where liturgies are given in St. Peter's Square.

Were they during the medieval time period? Could he, perhaps, think this might be the case in a literal sense as a way to try to explain this to himself?

 

[Writer61]

I'm very happy to have my temple worshipped manually or orally before it's entered! The point for tab B owners is they get to enter it.

I hear some tab B owners are confused, but soon comprehend the concept of an entry fee.

What troubles me is that my understanding has always been that one puts Tab A into Slot B.

 

[TheLobster]

What troubles me is that my understanding has always been that one puts Tab A into Slot B.

For a more illustrative metaphor, I prefer to think of it in terms of bat A () into slut B.

 

[SmilingLez]

For context, "he" is an extremely sheltered, bookish person in a vaguely medieval fantasy setting.



Is it clear what these euphemisms mean and why it's telling that he's surprised by the order in which they happen?

FWIW, his dialogue is more coherent than hers. She sounds introverted or she is talking to him like a parent would talk to a child about sex. Disclosure - I am not a fan of dialogue. YMMV

 

[SmilingLez]

For a more illustrative metaphor, I prefer to think of it in terms of bat A () into slut B.

Slut -

 

[Kumquatqueen]

What troubles me is that my understanding has always been that one puts Tab A into Slot B.

It's a matter of perspective and whether the manual writer is a tab or a slot owner.

Though some assembly instructions make me think the author was an alien tentacle creature.