Anyone had a chance to read Queer Tales From The Inner Sphere?

[Shin Ji]

I just this moment found out about it, and it seems pretty neat! You can find it here as a free download: https://prideanthology.itch.io/2023

[Euphonium]

I didn't know this existed - thank you for sharing!

[Gorgon]

Oh cool, I didn't know about it. Thank you for sharing!

[glitterboy2098]

not yet. i do know it caused the biggest battletech reddit board to self destruct, and the creation of an official catalyst recognized reddit as a replacement.

honestly i like the new board better, much more vibrant.

[SteelRaven]

Heard about it from a friend, waiting to hear their review. Ether way, happy to see more BT fandom.

[Gorgon]

not yet. i do know it caused the biggest battletech reddit board to self destruct, and the creation of an official catalyst recognized reddit as a replacement.

honestly i like the new board better, much more vibrant.

Oh. Wow. Good on CGL and Stackpole. Also that must be up there with the dumbest homophobic fig leaves. As if the need to fight for gay rights and celebrate queer sexuality had only been invented in '89 or something.

[glitterboy2098]

Oh. Wow. Good on CGL and Stackpole. Also that must be up there with the dumbest homophobic fig leaves. As if the need to fight for gay rights and celebrate queer sexuality had only been invented in '89 or something.

we do need to be careful of rule 4 here. but i agree that those moderators were being real idiots. sadly that isn't exactly an uncommon thing right now. :(

[SteelRaven]

Why game sites are applauding how it was handled. Battletech is for everyone.

[Lorcan Nagle]

Yeah guys, let's not discuss the Reddit issues here.  It hits both Rule 4 and Rule 7.

[RazorclawXLS]

Hey, don't rain on other people's parades. People have the right to feel proud that they did something worthwhile in their lives, like having a reddit that was full of racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic and other kinds of bigoted behavior happen their on the daily basis, cleaned out. Anybody who has been on that reddit knows what I am talking about.

[SteelRaven]

Discussions have a tendency to wander so no harm reminding us to stay on topic.

Again: haven't read it myself but waiting to hear my friends review. I'm really behind on my reading, just happy to see more from the BT community at large 

[ColBosch]

I knew I came back at the right time.

[Greatclub]

Catalyst Game Labs’ newly minted community and marketing director Rem Alternis

New CGL peep? They have a handle here yet?

https://www.polygon.com/tabletop-games/23751545/battletech-reddit-lgbtq-fanzine-moderators-ban-toxic

[tassa_kay]

Well, this longtime gay BattleTech fan certainly appreciates something like this even existing in the first place. And I appreciate it even more because it's not rainbow capitalism. It's free. Who gets mad about free stuff? And who gets mad about free stuff that they can choose not to read?  ???

[ActionButler]

*Mod hat on*

Real quick, because the anthology is technically a fan work, this discussion does belong in the FanFiction section, which is why we moved it out of General. We are absolutely not trying to follow in the footsteps of the Reddit implosion, this is just standard practice for fan-created works.

*Mod hat off*

I am really excited to read this when I have the opportunity. This is an excellent way to continue making the Battletech universe accessible and open to all fans.

[Liam's Ghost]

Am I really so old that when I saw the title "Queer Tales from the Inner Sphere"  my first thought was that it was talking about strange or spooky or possibly supernatural tales?

Yes. Yes I am.

[CitizenErased]

Well, this longtime gay BattleTech fan certainly appreciates something like this even existing in the first place. And I appreciate it even more because it's not rainbow capitalism. It's free. Who gets mad about free stuff? And who gets mad about free stuff that they can choose not to read?  ???

Came here to basically say the same thing as you. Cheers! 🏳️‍🌈

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Hmm, the site seems to be down at the moment.  I'll have to check it later.

[Tyler Jorgensson]

Just took a read: it’s not bad fan fiction with the exception of ONE of the endings which to me face planted at the finish line.

The thing about fiction in general, or any book/movie/comic etc, as Tassa stated: if you don’t like it you don’t have to read it. But for those that want to read something with a character like them or that they can relate to, it’s great to have representation out there in the world. Worlds a terrible place, I’m glad that theirs some good in there somewhere.

But alas let us not stray too close to any of the rules in general because remember: we love big stompy robots!

[CitizenErased]

Just took a read: it’s not bad fan fiction with the exception of ONE of the endings which to me face planted at the finish line.

If you mean the one I think you mean, yeah, that ending was a little on the nose for me (or at least, more like the setup for some high-end wish fulfillment smut), but what's a fan anthology without a little bit of cringe? :))

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Well, it was interesting.  A couple of those stories really could have stood to have an editor clean them up, but overall not bad for fanfic.

[DOC_Agren]

Am I really so old that when I saw the title "Queer Tales from the Inner Sphere"  my first thought was that it was talking about strange or spooky or possibly supernatural tales?

Yes. Yes I am.

sadly make that 2 of us

[tassa_kay]

Why don't we have a Scary Tales to Tell in the Dark-style anthology for BattleTech? I'd pay to read about a Canopian exploration mission finding creepy fish-men on Frobisher.

[SANSd20]

From my understanding, this is fanfic, correct?

Also, tassa_kay, I love your avitar.

[glitterboy2098]

Why don't we have a Scary Tales to Tell in the Dark-style anthology for BattleTech? I'd pay to read about a Canopian exploration mission finding creepy fish-men on Frobisher.

there have been a few short stories, like the black marauder stories, but nothing really intentionally done for a collection.

[ColBosch]

From my understanding, this is fanfic, correct?

Correct. While folks affiliated with CGL have shared it, it's not an official product.

[tassa_kay]

there have been a few short stories, like the black marauder stories, but nothing really intentionally done for a collection.

I wasn't necessarily gonna read the Black Marauder stories before, but I learned from one of the RecGuide notable pilot entries that there's a Snow Raven involved, and that intrigues me. Are they good?

Also, tassa_kay, I love your avitar.

Thank you! A dolled-up Karianna Schmitt because why not?  ;D

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I wasn't necessarily gonna read the Black Marauder stories before, but I learned from one of the RecGuide notable pilot entries that there's a Snow Raven involved, and that intrigues me. Are they good?

If you like horror stories, especially ones where the supernatural elements are done in a "maybe real, maybe not" manner. Most of the stories are collected into the anthology Marauder, but there's at least one that isn't (in Shrapnel #10).  The stories start during the Jihad but stretch into the Dark Age/IlClan era.

[tassa_kay]

If you like horror stories, especially ones where the supernatural elements are done in a "maybe real, maybe not" manner. Most of the stories are collected into the anthology Marauder, but there's at least one that isn't (in Shrapnel #10).  The stories start during the Jihad but stretch into the Dark Age/IlClan era.

I actually have that Shrapnel issue and I just this second bought the Marauder anthology. Yay, bedtime reading!

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I actually have that Shrapnel issue and I just this second bought the Marauder anthology. Yay, bedtime reading!

:thumbsup:

[Greatclub]

. Yay, bedtime reading!

Yay, getting chased by a kaiju in your dreams

[veoviscool12]

Overall I liked the stories, though some of them would have benefited from an editor. It was one of my first steps into BattleTech fiction beyond the stories included in the box sets and rulebooks. I think if I was more well-versed in the fiction (via the novels and Shrapnel) there may have been errors that stood out to me, but as a newbie I simply enjoyed the stompy mech action.  ;D

If anything, I am eager to jump into more fiction, as this whetted my appetite.  :thumbsup:

[Trace Coburn]

Why don't we have a Scary Tales to Tell in the Dark-style anthology for BattleTech? I'd pay to read about a Canopian exploration mission finding creepy fish-men on Frobisher.

  How about some Creepypasta?  JA_Baker/Starbug (RIP) and his co-contributors came up with some intriguing pieces....

[Moonsword]

Overall I liked the stories, though some of them would have benefited from an editor. It was one of my first steps into BattleTech fiction beyond the stories included in the box sets and rulebooks. I think if I was more well-versed in the fiction (via the novels and Shrapnel) there may have been errors that stood out to me, but as a newbie I simply enjoyed the stompy mech action.  ;D

If anything, I am eager to jump into more fiction, as this whetted my appetite.  :thumbsup:

If you're looking for a smaller, more limited offering, you might enjoy Shrapnel.  I keep meaning to get back to it, but I quite enjoyed the first iteration of the Fox Patrol stories in issue #5.

For the novels, there are much better choices of an authority than I.

[SANSd20]

Correct. While folks affiliated with CGL have shared it, it's not an official product.

Thanks. With it being fanfic, i.e. not official, then I think I will pass on this.

[Critias]

Thanks for the positivity and the feedback, y'all.  I'm Russell Zimmerman, longtime Shadowrun writer, finally getting to write some BattleTech writer (I've had a few things published, lots more in the works), one of the guys y'all are gonna see around Reddit, and the guy who wrote the last story in the anthology.

We knew the Pride Anthology, while for everyone, might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it was a fun chance to throw together a little quickie 'deleted scene' for my in-the-pipeline work, and a great chance to get lots of eyeballs on some cool writing from some cool folks.  I know the ending of Milla's story, in particular, hasn't quite hit for everyone, but I, for one, think the anime-esque meetcute was just fine for fan work, and made for a nice moment of silliness and lightness compared to some of the heavier, more grounded, stories we told (like Robin's, the first one, which has already had at least two people reach out to her to talk about how it aligns with their feelings of 'holy-crap-I-might-be-trans').

Even ignoring all the Reddit drama for a minute (god I'd love to ignore the Reddit drama for a minute, after the week I've had), I really think this little fanzine anthology that Detocroix (Milla Koponen) put together can only be called a success, even if only because of the community support it's received and how great it's made a lot of our fellow queer BattleTech fans feel seen and included.

[DOC_Agren]

Why don't we have a Scary Tales to Tell in the Dark-style anthology for BattleTech? I'd pay to read about a Canopian exploration mission finding creepy fish-men on Frobisher.

well we did have JA Baker Spooky stories of Battletech...
RIP JA BAKER.  :'(

[veoviscool12]

If you're looking for a smaller, more limited offering, you might enjoy Shrapnel.  I keep meaning to get back to it, but I quite enjoyed the first iteration of the Fox Patrol stories in issue #5.

For the novels, there are much better choices of an authority than I.

Thanks for the recommendation; the Kickstarter included a copy of Shrapnel so I'll check that out next!

[Frabby]

Read it and put up plot summaries on Sarna.
I was very impressed with the second story, Small.
The last story, Old Wounds, Old Words, isn't much of a story (more of a scene imho) but I thought the writing was still notably good.

[Quiaff]

As a new user to this forum, THIS IS WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR.  I have been reading BT stories since I was 11 years old, and my paperback copies of the Warrior Trilogy and The Blood of Kerensky trilogy have literally been read so many times that I had to buy digital copies to avoid them falling apart. 

But I always wanted queer characters.  In fact, I've always been a Victor x Hohiro shipper (shun me now), so to see queer fanfic is GREAT!

[ColBosch]

As a new user to this forum, THIS IS WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR.  I have been reading BT stories since I was 11 years old, and my paperback copies of the Warrior Trilogy and The Blood of Kerensky trilogy have literally been read so many times that I had to buy digital copies to avoid them falling apart. 

But I always wanted queer characters.  In fact, I've always been a Victor x Hohiro shipper (shun me now), so to see queer fanfic is GREAT!

A second volume is in the works! I'm hoping to get a story into it.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

There's also been a noticeable amount of queer characters showing up in the canon fiction in the last few years as well.

[tassa_kay]

I'm hoping to get a story into it.

Your old queer friend here hopes so too because he would love to read it.

[Gorgon]

A second volume? That's good news. Best of luck, ColBosch!

[Quiaff]

A second volume is in the works! I'm hoping to get a story into it.

indecipherable com static that sounds like shrieks of joy

Yessss! Give me all the goodies! I can't wait!