Hmm. That looks tricky.

Is That For Real? Take a guess (Game Thread). by Hardric on 2018-05-18 09:31:00 UTC Reply

So, Iximaz has been regaling the Discord with quotes of the worst passages of Xanth lately (glad I only read the first one some years ago), and it decided me to implement that little game, also inspired by another game about prompts posted here, and where people had to guess if they were real or not.

So, the game: You post a quote/line on this thread, and people have to guess if it's a line from original fiction, fanfiction or just plain made up. For instance,

'The King professed no love for the Queen, and governed that temperamental woman with a subtly iron hand that amazed those who had known Iris before her marriage. Yet she thrived under that discipline. Those who knew the King well understood that not only was he a more powerful Magician than she, he was also a stronger person.'

Is unfortunately very much Original Fiction, Xanth.

So, I'll begin with tis one line: 'Each artifact was unique, which means there was only one copy in all the simulation.'

Feel free to post the most outlandish lines you can find or think about.

Two lines. by Maxewell on 2018-05-20 19:46:00 UTC Reply

One: "You are educated evil, and might have to kill the evil ONE teaching educators before you can learn that 4 corner days actually do exist"

And, the other: "Death wobbled meretriciously, erring on the side of butch with a strong scent of whiskey on their jaw hinge."

First one's from Time Cube. (nm) by 61516 on 2018-05-21 04:48:00 UTC Reply

Correct! But where is #2 from?... (nm) by Maxewell on 2018-05-21 05:25:00 UTC Reply

OT: Does Timecube count as fiction? by Tomash on 2018-05-21 18:59:00 UTC Reply

On the one hand, it's clearly false and made-up, but on the other hand the author (from the looks of things) thought is was true and meant for it to be taken seriously.

This seems like an interesting edge case in the "fiction" category.
I'm guessing you made that up. (nm) by Snowy the Sane Fangirl on 2018-05-21 05:42:00 UTC Reply

here's one by 61516 on 2018-05-20 01:07:00 UTC Reply

As 700 rounds per minute blazed across the bombed-out no-man's-land that used to be the city's most exclusive club, all that Corporal Allen McCormick could think was: "Did I leave the stove on?"

Published (nm) by Thoth on 2018-05-20 02:25:00 UTC Reply

I made it up on the spot. (nm) by 61516 on 2018-05-20 03:13:00 UTC Reply

I've got one! by The Good Mod Addict on 2018-05-19 03:23:00 UTC Reply

Here's the sentence:

She wanted me to play out the string, to find the place where she had stopped and was waiting for me, to follow the bread crumb trail until it dead-ended into her.

So: Published, badfic, or something I made up?

Hmm. That looks tricky. by doctorlit on 2018-05-19 04:08:00 UTC Reply

I think it's a little too structured to be badfic. The metaphors are all so random, but somehow, it doesn't seem like something you came up with off the top of your head. So I'm going to guess it's from published fiction.

My own contribution:
"Beyond where you can see, there's—there's an island, and it's a very special island. I left it a long time ago. I never thought I'd see it again. It's called Great Britain. And the most beautiful part of the island is Scotland, and that's where your daddy's from. There's mountains and glens and monsters in deep lochs, and... and it's where your mummy and daddy... fell in love."

—doctorlit, running out of time to pack tomorrow's lunch

Correct! by The Good Mod Addict on 2018-05-20 03:27:00 UTC Reply

The book is Paper Towns by John Greene.

I propose that your line is from Original Fiction. by Snowy the Sane Fangirl on 2018-05-18 23:06:00 UTC Reply

And I'll add one of my own: "It was the only dream she was allowed to have and in truth it was the only dream she wanted to have. After twenty-four years she'd come to learn that there was a certain kind of alleviation achieved through the act of taking another's life."

And you were right. by Hardric on 2018-05-19 08:14:00 UTC Reply

I got it straight out of Ready Player One, the book. More or less, I only have a French version, so I had to translate. And I swear, this sort of line where the reader is considered as dumb as a brick abund. Might be because the chracters are on that level too. Movie is much better.

And for the sake of giving a shoot, I'll tell fanfiction for th line you gave.

Your guess is correct! by Snowy the Sane Fangirl on 2018-05-19 21:10:00 UTC Reply

I haven't seen the movie, but it looks interesting. Anyway, it's probably a lot harder to get that sort of sentiment into a movie.

That sounds like published fiction to me. (nm) by The Good Mod Addict on 2018-05-19 03:20:00 UTC Reply

It's actually from fanfic. by Snowy the Sane Fangirl on 2018-05-19 21:09:00 UTC Reply

I haven't got far enough to decide if this Avengers fanfic is a raging 'Sue or just tiresome, but in any event that's a poor use of the word "alleviation".