Out of curiosity... [go go fandom history!]

[imagines]

[I'mma make this one public 'cause why the hell not. Do what you will.]

Who else remembers the terms "lemon" and "lime" as applied to fanfic content? (A "lemon" being a story including graphic sex scenes; a "lime" being the fade-to-black sort where you know it happened but the story doesn't describe it. At least that was how I used the words.)

Comments

[kohl_eyed]

pfff oh man, I remember those words. and "kumquat" occasionally...

[imagines]

Kumquat?! That is a new one to me. What on earth is it? A very short PWP?

[kohl_eyed]

I have no idea!! I remember thinking, "Well, if kumquats are orange..." and still not really understanding. This was eons ago, in internet history. THE AGE OF GUNDAM WING AC FANDOM!

[blindmadness]

OH GOD, GUNDAM WING FANDOM. My first-ever squick was from there, back in the days when I thought slash was icky. It still makes me wince a little to recall.

[luna_manar]

Me! I remember! I never wrote one, but I read a few.

[lovesongwriter]

Lemon and lime
Lemon features explicit sex stories, and they sometimes fall under the broader PWP distinction (see above). The name derives from a term which comes from a Japanese slang term for "sexy" that itself derives from an early pornographic anime series called Cream Lemon. The term lime denotes a story that has sexual themes but is not necessarily explicit.

[cresselia]

Oh my god I remember those. I was so underage when I first started reading them too ajdhgljsagd I distinctly remember one time when I was co-writing one with a friend, and this other guy was like "you're too young to even be reading lemons, yet alone write them".

iirc they were used liberally in Ranma 1/2 fandom, alongside the term WAFF which I never ever see used anymore. Now it's just like... fluff. NOSTALGIAAAA

[sleepherealone]

I remember lemons and limes well, because I was reading DBZ fic while REAAAAAALLY underage. I think I went back to read some a few years later and then realized how badly they were written. Though it's funny because I've been poking around Sailor Moon fandom these days and I haven't seen those terms used for fic anymore. Maybe it marched on?