Sci-Fi Vs Fantasy Elements in stories

[CaptiveDan]

Hey y'all, reading the discussion about bondagefreak's Drow story as well as the "how to make fiction stories realistic" topic got me wondering...

Where does everyone stand in terms of fantasy and sci-fi elements in a story?

I feel like they all exist on a spectrum.

At one end there's realistic fiction stories, no magic or special tech. Physical needs and limitations are taken into account for bondage positions/situations/durations.

Then there's lighter sci-fi (drugs that have perfectly predictable effects, vr doing things it can't do yet, not-yet existent machines that catch or immobilized someone automatically) and lighter fantasy (hypnosis that acts like magic, certain stuff with dreams, people being able to stay in incredibly restrictive/airway-blocking positions for super long periods of time).

And at the other end there's the full sci-fi and fantasy stories as a genre. Simulated Realities, magic ropes and chains, demons & vampires, transformations! On the M/M side it's stories 'Shadow of the Mountain' (a personal favorite), charlie and the kink factory, captain radulla, shelter from the dust, and now the drow story.

What do y'all prefer? A little fantasy in your bondage fantasies? Strictly believable and realistic? Totally speculative stories complete with worldbuilding and more apostrophes than usual? Some other step in this spectrum I completely missed?

[bondagefreak]

Hey @CaptiveDan. Great idea for a discussion thread! I feel like this is a poll where the option to change our votes should be checked, as some of us might change our opinions along the way.

Your question is really hard for me to answer. I love sci-fi and fantasy, but in TUG stories? Ehh...not so much. This may seem a little hypocritical, seeing as how I'm writing a tale that is very much full of fantasy, but in general, it's not really my go-to as far as kinky reading goes. I generally prefer very realistic and grounded tales.

That being said, my preference is not set in stone. I really like the Viking era and the Drow-side of D&D, specifically because both of them lend themselves so well to drama-romance/bdsm-erotica. But then, is that really TUGs? Again, this is pretty hard for me to answer. I strive to keep my mind open, even though I generally prefer forum stories that are grounded in reality. Still, exceptions can and do pop up.

[Tsuhaya]

Well, what an interesting topic. In my daily life, I'm an avid reader, I really enjoy adventure and science fiction. In the BDSM setting, I'm into almost everything. Technology and machines aren't a problem for me, and medieval adventures or similar themes don’t bother me either. My only issue is with heavy magic use, in a bondage context, it kinda kills part of the appeal for me. Not because I dislike magic-themed stories, but I feel that in BDSM stories set in fantasy worlds with magic, authors tend to rely too much on it, taking away something important to me: the actual act of tied and gagging. I'm not a fan of stuff like 'spells that restrain someone' or 'I waved my hand, and a gag appeared on their mouth.

[bondagefreak]

@Tsuhaya
Looking at your comment, you and I are definitely on the same page. You've verbalised my own position quite well.

[gag1195]

This is a really difficult answer! Both Sci-Fi and Fantasy offer a lot in the way of varied bondage and restraints, and that is sometimes refreshing to read/write, especially given the mostly grounded and realistic/historical fiction nature of a lot of the stories here on the forum. But, like @Tsuhaya said, committing too hard can work against it. A lot of the TUG stories include elements of escape, overpowering, switching, and the struggle. If you can handwave and have inescapable beams of pure magic energy instantly wrap around a character, you have the potential to lose some of the tension and struggle. It's fine every now and then, but has the very real problem of perhaps robbing the payoff and catharsis of TUG stories. Done well, these fantastical elements really heighten things.

That being said, for your poll, I do think the full commitment is best. Because done well, a full fantasy or full sci-fi is going to examine and think about how the magic/technology functions within the world. I did vote for fantasy because I tend to prefer fantasy over scifi, but I definitely prefer "Hard Magic" systems, where the magic is clearly defined, and you can't rely as much on handwavy magic nonsense. Plus, it is hard to ignore the trope of gag the magic user and bind the spellcaster's hands. The existence of magic means that there are a bunch of lovely restraint items tailormade to stop magic users.

[CaptiveDan]

Hey @CaptiveDan. Great idea for a discussion thread! I feel like this is a poll where the option to change our votes should be checked, as some of us might change our opinions along the way.

Good idea! Changed it.


I definitely agree with y'all about how hand waving the process of tying / keeping a prisoner can take away from a lot of what I enjoy in stories (people being physically restrained and trying to break out / suffering consequences of being tied up).

The fantasy / sci-fi stories I've really enjoyed tend to actually keep the bondage / restrains realistic. Shadow of the Mountain has a bunch of nature magic and sacrifices and talking deities, but as far as I remember the restraints the protagonists find themselves in tend to be very mundane (rope, chains, straitjackets, sleepsacks, etc). There was another story about a demon that kept people tied up and pleasured/tormented for centuries, and while the magic they used to keep their victims alive was obviously fantastical, the actual restraints were described like any other real life restraints.

Sometimes I can get behind magic/tech being used to capture someone. Animated vines grabbing someone, subliminal hypnotism messages, machines/robots that snag people, perfectly safe knock-out drugs that do absolutely no brain damage (as opposed to incredibly risky IRL ones) can definitely be fine with me depending on the story... But once the prisoner is apprehended I want them back in regular run of the mill restraints.

All that being said, while there's definitely been some sci-fi / fantasy stories I enjoy, my preferred genre is realistic fiction. Regular guys tying each other up is my bread and butter and the extra stuff is definitely fun, but absolutely not needed for me to enjoy a story

[bondagefreak]

@CaptiveDan
Unfortunately, I think it's safe to say there is little interest in these elements on this forum. It's really very niche here. @Charmides' Shadow Of The Mountain managed to garner some impressive reviews, but the reviewer pool was quite modest (more modest than it should have been), and most of those reviewers have sadly left the forum years/months ago.

@Darkmagi521 published four long, multi-chaptered (M/F) fantasy tales on the forum 9 months ago. All four tales combined managed to garner exactly one single sentence comment. The author left the forum a couple of months later.

August has typically been a quiet month on here, what with summer and all. But even so, you can tell there is absolutely no interest in this thread (or in the D&D one I opened a few days ago). The thread is addressed to the whole board, and yet no one outside our tight M/M circle seems at all interested in saying a peep.

The Drow/D&D thread also failed to garner even a single response outside of those users who were asked to check it out. The thread was addressed to M/F, F/M and F/F fans as well, yet not a single one of them deemed fit to comment, even though they easily make up 80% of the board. The rest of this section, however, is very lively.

Bottom line is, fantasy/sci-fi is definitely very niche on here.
I sort of suspected as much, honestly. The lack of responses here and the timid reception on concerned stories pretty much confirms that.

Archive Of Our Own and Fanfiction.net are definitely better options for such stories.

[Ovi1]

I usually like stories with fantastical elements, sci-fi not so much, but when it comes to this forum I am an insanely lazy reader. Where if I have to go through the slightest trouble to comprehend the world building, I just quit reading.

That being said, I think a lot of people are here to read about real-world experiences, or fictional stories that could take place in the real world. And are therefore, on average, not interested in any fantastical story. Do correct me if I'm wrong on that.