Bronchitus

I bet you've been wondering why the silence . . .

Carin McLeoud isn't much good at being the Madam Kistulot when she had Bronchitus. Antibiotics took awhile to kick in. The cough comes and goes. Then my asthma conflicted with the bronchitus and I'm dizzy and feeling feverish. It's fun! Afraid I won't feel good by Monday but knowing it's best I actually get well.

The sexy I can muster is reserved right now for those nearest and dearest to me, so sorry, no MK for a bit till I heal. Then, we start the most epic crossover you've ever seen. Until then? You get this sexy picture drawn by Lola herself.

And then mangled by yours truly.

This!

Enjoy.

~MK

Bloggu, revenge of the blogazor!

Once again, I got the story done . . . a couple days too late! So, here you go . . .

Electrum Volume 12: The Lights at the End of the Tunnel

Tada! A little late, but still in plenty of time for everyone to read. I hope to maybe get Sylvia's next volume done for the weekend too, as they parallel nicely and lead to their crossover event quite beautifully.

Work has been a little stressful, but nothing I can't handle. Next week I get a four day week, but I will be busy on Christmas. I have half-plans with my mother to see sherlock holmes.

I can't wait to see it.

For now, at least you get another volume of electrum, and Nebula is hot on its tails. Wish me luck, comment, fanmail away, you know, the regular :)

~Madam Kistulot

For the first time, I say before Simon!

So my loyal fans, what is it, you ask, that makes the subject line of this post true?

Well, I was sick last week, and therefore was quite a bit behind writing schedule. Instead of making you all wait, and since Simon's new formatting makes it so we can't steal his source code anyway (yeah, we'd been doing that for awhiiiile) I personally took the time to update the site. Val stayed up late marking up Nebula, and I woke up, finished my edits on it, and then coded it up, put it up, added descriptions to fan art . . . voila.

It's not a lot of fun to go through putting

tags and

tags everywhere, but a chickies gotta do what a chickie's gotta do! You, my fans, deserved this on-time update.

Also, last night I found my long lost word count document and brought it up to date. I had to show off the results.

Silververse:
The Adventures of Silver Girl: 86,702
Silver Eclipse: 72,444
Nocturnal Interlude: 4,808
The Memory Remains: 66,797
Wherever I May Roam: 14,784
Dust High: 15,701
Misted Facets: 13,297
Informant: 4,560
The Argentum Project: 100,763
(Arc: 153,913)
Poetic License: 11,068
Ballpoint to the brain: 7,035
Ink Blots: 6,583
Blotted Lace: 5,794
Sealed With A Kiss: 5,512
Ink Bot: 9,176
Prequill: 7,814
Ink Soaked Penumbra: 74,818
(Arc: 127,800)
Obedience Over Matter: 2,299
Silver Gray Starlight: 11,844
Pink Candy: 4,493
To Serve and Obey: 58,605
(Arc: 77,241)
Red Moon Rising: 88,751
Scribe and Shadow: 15,519

Total: 689,167

Electrum:
Volume 1: Electrum Impulses: 19,478
Volume 2: Roadside Justice: 5,432
Volume 3: The Spiral: 3,204
Volume 4: Hope: 3,920
Volume 5: Hope and Family: 7,424
Volume 6: Spiraling Forward: 6,990
Volume 7: Unraveling Transmutation and Hopeful Tethering: 5,898
Volume 8: Company Loyalty: 13,286
Volume 9: Floral Engagement: 12,729
Volume 10: A Magical Evening: 11,979
Volume 11: Out of Time: 14,954

Total: 105,294

Nebula:
Volume I: The Soaring Phoenix: 19,337
Volume II: Free Will's Fermata: 5,452
Volume III: Song and Storm: 4,474
Volume IV: Nebulous Struggle: 3,739
Volume V: Obedience's Refrain: 2,838
Volume VI: Phoenix Coda: 4,313
Volume VII: Ballad of Justice: 7,484
Volume VIII: Galvanized Melody: 7,233
Volume IX: Searing White Siren Song of Glory: 4,773
Volume X: Symphony of Falling Glass: 5,994

Total: 65,637

Rose
Rose Petals: 6,490
Rose Miracles: 11,070
Rose Rejuvination: 5,301

Total: 22,861

Mariana
The Day After: 4,843
The Fourth: 2,979

Total: 7,822

One Shots
Never Far Away: 2,041
Coping Mechanism: 10,434
Landing On Her Feet: 7,182
I've Got a Fever . . .: 2,233
Unit 9: 7,043
Paradise: 3,503
Exvolensation: 1,705

Total: 34,141

Grand Total: 924,922

This of course neglects the latest tale that I have to add in after I'm done with this post, but am too lazy to do now. This means since I've been writing for the archive (Unit 9 and Coping Mechanism by the way only use the rewritten values) I have only 75,078 polished words, not counting Nebula Volume XI, until I break one million.

I don't know what to say.

I want to thank all of you that read the blot, that contributed fanart, that well, tolerated my sometimes sporadic updates. I want to thank everyone who was happy when I created the Argent Garden forum, and then everyone who kept reading my work after I left once, then twice. I know I'm a rather thorny person, attempting to be warm but then storming off and locking doors, but some few of you have tolerated it at least for the sake of my writing - and honestly that's what I care about most.

Events in the Silververse are heating up. Darksong, another contributor to the greater Midasverse as I call it, has another story going up that may lead to an actual Silververse-Omegaverse crossover. New technologies introduced in Electrum Volume 11 lead well to a crossover with Once and Future Kim's Wires.

I only wish Decker were still about for some fun Psyche and Fractal fun.

That said, I admit it would be fun to have a more expanded Midasverse. I've attempted to do that through varying my style between Electrum and Nebula, but that only provides a little bit more. More unique, distinct voices could be fun. Oh well, right?

My lovely erislave and I might work on a webcomic together, and it MIGHT be Midasthemed. Since she'll be doing the hard part, I want her to make the call on that. If it happens, I'll let you all know here.

Hrm, lets see, what else is there to tell . . . Holidays are approaching, and I'll be doing damn near everything I possibly can to get Nebula Volume XII done by the end of the year. The event to follow is one I don't want to push back, even if there's no way in hell I can finish it by the end of the year. Then, I see another set of stories panning before us, finishing out the Sisters' stories by the end of 2010.

I'm tempted to go about commissioning some art of Sarah, Lacie, Jacqui, and Leona all posing together, or all mind fried together. I think I just might.

Good writing does two things. It makes you want to read, or it makes you want to write. I've done both, and while after I finish my tales in Midas I intend to withdraw from posting actively on the archive, I hope my writing is still able to have the same effect.

Again, thank you all, and I hope you're having a lovely holiday season.

~Madam Kistulot

Right on Time

The blog post will be a lot more amusing once the story associated goes up. Trust me.

That's right - Electrum got done in less than a week! How? I have no damn clue. I was simply driven. Like some kind of formula one racer. Awesome, huh?

Some new art will be posted up on the site this weekend. I don't know when I'll get to collecting it all for Val, but more will be going up - including some of the first fanart of everyone's favorite inkblossom, Quillspawn!

Mentioning Quillspawn . . . something occurs to me off and on. Scribe and Shadow still needs to go up on my website.

I guess I could put it directly after red moon on it's page. It does belong there. I'll poke everyone's favorite robot to get to work on that too. Events are in motion that make it a fairly important story to read. That's probably vaguely nearing a spoiler, but it's more of a teaser. Imagine it said with drips of ink slowly splashing on a white piece of paper and spreading out to say something like "December 2009 . . ." drops coalescing oddly, and reforming into the words "Ink drips from the shadows . . ." or something.

It sounded cool in my head. If I could draw worth a damn, I'd probably animate it in flash - if I had flash installed on my computer. Still a program or two I need to get loaded back up . . .

Well, that's pretty much all for now since I don't want to spoilerize anything. Nebula Volume XI doesn't even have a working title yet, but it's going to be a special one, too. The twelves are going to be real turning points, and then . . .

Well, just count up how many pages there will be at that point, pages being volumes plus chapters of initial pieces. I think you'll see a pattern.

Until next time!

~Madam Kistulot

Late Update!

So, I have a lot to say, and frankly, this took me too long to get to. Sorry about that. Life isn't getting in the way, but how much it has been getting in the way I've been a little lazy when I've had the capability.

New Super Mario Bros Wii came out yesterday, and I spent a good long time playing through a majority of it with Val. Was lotsa fun. We'll need to finish it still, but i feel satisfied mariowise. Chucking people you love off of cliffs? its a great stress reliever. Trust me.

A very sweet fan, amusingly named the same as my first glittering heroine (Sarah, not Silver Girl, silly) granted me a legitimate key for Windows 7 Ultimate - so I'm finally off of the XP train. So far really preferring it this way. A thing here or there isn't doing just what I want (Paint Shop Pro 7 isn't very happy with me - maybe because it's not the only 7 anymore?) but overall it runs faster, feels slicker, and is preeeetty. So that's all that matters.

Got Valencia a new laptop, a Toshiba Satellite. You never notice how small a netbook is until you stack it on top of a real laptop. Wow. Sylvia is TINY. Sylvia, incase I haven't said it, is the name of my netbook as my old desktop was named Aurora.

Aurora is getting so very close to some very big plot developments. Its so hard to restrain myself, but this needs to be done right or it'll be pointless. There's so much right on the verge of "popping". Sylvia has some things coming her way, but differently.

Their crossover is getting closer and closer, too. If I focus a little, maybe it'll be a sort of winter-season present? I'm not sure if I'll be able to make that deadline for starting it off/finishing it, but it's what I'm mentally aiming for.

Work has become stressful in a whole new way. People are leaving my contract. A lot. But still, we're "overstaffed." My hours have been cut back to 37 hours a week. To be honest? Any excuse not to be at work that doesn't get me fired or make me look worse. The job has become more exhausting, and I've actually recieved a pay cut for taking a "promotion."

So life is stressful. Val is happy. Mario is fun. Stories are moving forward.

Fanmail more appreciated than ever!

~Madam Kistulot

Four more years! Elect LaSilvas!

Okay, so work has calmed down, so why so slow now eh? Good question. This morning the max broke down, more details on what a max is at the Trimet Website, but previous to that? Exhaustion and writers' block. I've capped 55 stories in four years on the archive. Four years.

Its quality though, not quantity, but I'd like to think I've got that, too. Maybe not every story, and the earlier could use a rewrite . . . but I'd like to think they're worthy additions.

I'd have a mite fewer if I hadn't played with story conventions a little. Lead-ins were fun. After a nearing event, Nebula will revert to a more classic multi chapter story. Electrum seems to work best this way - but feel free to chime in if you dissagree.

Four years . . .

That's highschool. Thats a bachelor's degree. Thats longer than most marriages . . .

Sarah was born in June, so she's been four for awhile. Old enough to go to preschool, and get ready for kindergarden. She'll make an adorable school girl in a year or two.

She still has years before her chronological existence is jailbait, but we know how she'll turnout. Mmm.

Okay verge of creepy There. Sorry! Regardless, more should be coming, but I'm not promising as rigorous a schedule. I just can't keep up with it. I'm not going to purposefully go slow, but I don't know how well these deadlines are working for me or for story quality. So, apologies, but things might come a little slower. Probably not much than as of late, but hey . . . at least I'm posting, and rather regularly.

Gotta have something else in the update besides lisa teez in red, eh?

That's all for now,

~Madam Kistulot

Floral Engagement

Electrum Volume 9 is done and sent in!

It might be a little rough, but well . . . work, sickness, stress . . . I think I'm lucky I didn't have to start this one over from scratch. This one of course dives a little more into Flower Chylde, or Flora as she's known day to day. The next story will have a slightly Psiona based focus.

As for Nebula Volume IX, I've already started it. Some time back, and not very much, but it shouldn't be nearly as hard to write or take nearly as long for any of you to see.

The end of Volume 9 shows a hint of plans that I've had building up since a nightmare/dream I had some time back. It was freaky while having it, but it gave me some great ideas. I'm not sure what to call it, or what to call the new figure seen in brief, but I'll figure it out in enough time. I've known goals, inspirations, aspirations for some time.

I do make a lot up as I go along, but the little things I drop here or there, well, I try to know what my foreshadowing means. I admit a time or two I do lazy "this will be something eventually" like the light in Sarah's head back in tAoSG, but I try to do that less often.

It's also fun when you just write as you go, and yet foreshadowing creeps in anyway.

It's like your mind telling you where you're going.

Being a writer is strange . . .

~Madam Kistulot

Stress, or "This is the job I don't get payed for"

Well, this can't be good, right? Posting but not with a good subject line?

You'd be right.

Work has been hellish, and even though when I'm not fixing everyone else's mistakes (besides my actual right beside me co-workers!) there's plenty of time between calls . . . All this week I've been working overtime. I'll be working even more overtime come next week.

My employers hinted this is intended to run all of the way through christmas.

Ain't that just cute?

So, Electrum 9 is basically done, but needs an ending, and lots of polishing. Next update. Maybe.

I haven't really had a lot of time for MCstories lately. Two stories are currently open in my browser in different tabs, but I've been slow to even start on them. Life's just been a little too hellish.

Hope you're all having a better time.

Electrum experiment and nebulous update

So everybody, whaddya think of the experiment? So far the reviews I've gotten have been very, very positive on the new format for Electrum. This means, it'll probably stick. Nebula still works very well first person, but Aurora will at least be getting the occasional 3rd person story. It just works for having a larger cast like she does. Things can happen without her noticing. It's freeing.

Sorry no Nebula this update! :( I tried, but I just couldn't do it justice.

If I can finish it before the update, I'll post a pre edit version just to whet appetites. Or post if I can get it done quick enough. Time will tell! Either way, check back often, and thanks for reading!

~Madam Kistulot

Missed update, missed lover

Well, by now you've noticed that I missed the update. Sorry. I'll be trying to get both Sylvia and Aurora in to this sat/sun's update.

Reason? The lovely eri was visiting us from her lands far across the eastern horizon. Was somewhat occupied. She left portland last night, and I go back to work today. Feeling the smallest touch melancholy, but fine otherwise.

Also tired. Very tired. Couldn't sleep. I'll be awake for at least 26 hours by the time I get off work today.

I'll be sleeping well tonight.

~Madam Kistulot

Champions Online Closed Beta

So, I'm in the closed beta! :)

You can vote for Silver Girl here if you like the way I've captured her. Or not. It's up to you. I think I did pretty good considering my first spin at character creation!

I can't break the NDA, so I can't really talk about it. Sorry.

Still, you'll love it!

~Madam Kistulot

p.s. Nebula has been sent in, even if there's a Friday update it'll be ready. Electrum's latest is taking longer because it's interesting, as previously said.

Simon is an archival god

Beyond the obvious, the fact that he tirelessly slaves over a hot archive . . . remember my little typo? Nebula Volume II? If you check now, you'll see . . .

Tune in in two weeks for the experimental Volume 8, and next week for Nebula Volume VII. Sorry for sparse Blot updates, but expect more in the future, and new art on my website soon, too!

Which while accurate? I didn't do! It was my typo! So either Simon recognized my mistake later, or Mr Green Bastard (100% honestly meant in an endearing way, bar sinister and all) is a bit of a fan.

Of course, there's also a chance someone emailed him, but it wasn't me. If it was you, comment!

~Madam Kistulot

p.s. Nebula Volume VII already has a rough draft on a Sunday. Woo!

Nebula Volume II? What?

Hello there!

Any of you who have read through the latest story will see a typo. Next week, Nebula Volume II? Teh whatz? This is very easily explained as a typo. It should be Volume VII. That is the one big negative against roman numerals, and that I add my authors notes in last as a finishing touch.

Sorry for the confusion, and I hope you're enjoying.

Things next next week are going to take a bit of a different turn with Aurora getting a self contained third-person story. It's going to be a big departure, but I hope you'll all enjoy it.

Next week, Nebula gets a twist thrown in. Apparently the name for Volume VI I've heard is misleading. Phoenix Coda was referring to the Phoenix's Coda. Not Nebula's. Or John Bonham's comeback CD.

So, clarifications, and best wishes I suppose! I ought to do more of these, but the heat in Portland has been MISERABLE as of late. Mostly just trying to stay cool and alive. So, until next time!

~Madam Kistulot

Soooo I'm not good at keeping up with the blot!

Sorry about that!

I've been good at keeping current with updates, and that's what matters. The recent chapter was very hard to get out, and I apologize if it doesn't have the same kick you're used to expecting. It felt like it was missing something, but in the way where I could have spent five years not posting it and had it make no difference. Since the whole point of this writing exercise for me was to attempt more serial work, keeping up is important. Its tricky, but important.

Next week's Nebula is going to be a very interesting one, and I hope I can make it pack as much punch, eroticism, and foreshadowing into it as I possibly can. Both are getting very near the end of their introductory stories. After that, there will be another two extra-big volumes, which may not be posted all at one, may be, we'll see, and then there will be a crossover. Look forward to it, but I refuse to spoil any details.

Work has been a little hectic. People getting fired left and right due to being dumbasses. A guy at my job - a supervisor no less - was actually found in the bathroom with a needle full of heroin. Well, once full. Fired. One guy was hanging up on customers. Fired. My supervisor likes to joke in our team meetings that there's a bulletten to keep in track of every week: the new way to get yourself fired.

If you do your job, you will get paid and remain employed. Mayhaps, you will even be promoted as I might be - more news on that soon. Its pretty much a given, but I want to be sure before I blog it anywhere.

Regardless, things have been a little bit stressful, and after some less than fun people were met on the snappville site, I felt a little bit less like being public for awhile. Its just hard to believe the nerve of some people. If you want them to leave you alone, you block them, that doesnt mean try another account . . . but I digress.

More writing next week, a big one. I'm taking a vacation from work in august, but I think that I'll still get up stories on time. Anything more, well, you'll hear about it another time!

I leave you with pictures of my new computer, Atma Genji. Why Atma Genji? She glows blue like the atma weapon, and she has a dual core proccessor.

If you don't understand that, play more Final Fantasy Six.

*Atma
*Glowing Atma
*Atma breaking the Warp Speed Barrier

Until next time!

~Madam Kistulot

A little late, but more than Simons got!

I know, the guy works nearly year round - he deserves a vacation. Hell, I appreciate the slacking time. I have a backlog that admittedly will appreciate the extra work I'll be doing it, and the break. Breaks are nice. Unless they're broken computers, but that goes without saying.

When I get home, I'll take a shot or two of Atma. Atma Genji. Oh my precious computer. Way more than I need . . . but isn't that the whole point?

I'm on the new commuter train right now, the WES. For more details, go to www.trimet.org. Its a pretty awesome train, thats not actually run BY trimet, but for it. Which means it actually works, on time, and so forth. I think its the best thing trimet has ever made, even if it is at times a little bumpy. Awesome seats, no need to stand, and the chairs recline slightly! Plus? Free wifi, which I am using now to type up this blog post.

Game fuel is back again by the way. Stop by your local soda dealer and pick some up. Tell them MK sent you. They wont do anything special, but I'd appreciate it.

I've resisted myspace, but I can be found on hypnotize me! a social networking site for hypnosis. Its honestly better to poke me by instant messenger, but I know I'm not always on. Also, I am migrating to madamkistulot@live.com as opposed to my ancient hotmail that no longer works for email anymore, anyway.

There is lots more planned for Aurora and Sylvia, but I find myself more and more wanting to do something more visual with them/other characters. Maybe I just need to write something else and more often, but maybe also my visual artist friends and script writer friends are rubbing off on me. Both are equally likely as far as I can tell.

In other news, the flash cartoon that I am essentially co-creator of is all but finished. After some menus are action scripted, and I finish the subtitles, it'll be finished. Its about 22 minutes, which is about the same ammount animated of a half an hour cartoon. Its "The Legend of Link: Oh god yes, and spiders". The title is amusing as hell, and so is the actual comic. I only have one line, two words, but I am responsible for lots that has been done for it, including the originam remade theme that I'll need to link to here some day, even if its less Madam Kistulot and more Carin McLeoud. Under the Cowl is fine time to time I hope, as it tends to kill people just like it killed batman. Poor batman. poor batman superman from the planet of the capes.

I havent had any more trips to the comic store, mostly because I realized I am a highly impressionable writer, and those comics were not good for me. Especially not with some of the things going on. The Dark Reign, the Blackest Nights . . .

And people complained when I killed Olivia.

Another thing worthy of note, is that today is my first day going to work completely without the aid of crutches. This might not be interesting to you, but I've been on them for nearly half a year.

Goddess, do I hate crutches.

So, until next time, aka tonight . . .

~Madam Kistulot

p.s. god damn it, Batman is dead and the Phoenix is coming back to life. Does anyone see a problem here?

Still not dead!

You know how you remember to do things right after you save them/send them? There's no "next week!" Teaser. Bah. Oh well! Electrum Volume 5 will be out next week even if I'm a space case.

Speaking of space casery, the first two stories of my comeback have no editing but my own. Honestly. Stresses caused me to want to do it on my own, and Valencia along with several others lead me to well . . . take that thought under advisement, and I ended up deciding I could use an editor after all, even if just type editing, which honestly is very very important.

Very.

So, I have my new computer. Atma. Pictures will surface soon. she's dual core, and has a very double theme to her case design, so I am calling her Atma, with the last name genji. If you know why you're awesome.

So, more will come. Realize it. Accept it. Embrace it. Eventually it may become something you don't want, but I hope not. Their stories are honestly going differently than I intended, though the moment of reentwinement remains the same. I figure somewhere around their collective volume 12s is where I'll bring them back together agfter a single story from neither of their perspectives.

It all depends on how things go, I guess!

Thank you everyone who has shown your support. I'm exhausted, and still setting up my new computer, so I'm going to leave you all now to your own ends, and wish you a wonderful week!

Not dead. Yet.

So, if you're reading this, you probably saw the update to mcstories.

If you're seeing this before the update, sorry to ruin it. Nebula Volume III should be at least vaguely worth the wait. I have heard some criticism that its panning out too much like Silver Girl - but that's not where its headed. I know, a writer needing to explain their work is the first sign that something isn't going well, but I hope you'll disagree.

Anyway, as posted before, work has been exhausting. What with over 75% of the people I used to work with quitting or being fired, and then being slapped with customer surveys that were meant for other agents . . . work has been a lovely hell. Tech support isn't very fun when you work for companies that care one hundred and fifty ten percent more about their customers than their employees.

On top of that, I have tuberculosis. Don't worry, apparently I've had it for . . . two years? I'm on pills for months. They aren't bad, but it is very third world level frustrating. So yes, I'm a carrier for a very deadly disease. The state of Oregon is paying for my treatment.

Early January, well before my medical kicked in, I was on a bus that sped off before I could finish sitting down and my knee popped out of place. Wound up on crutches. Once I was down to one, ready to ditch it... something popped, literally, out of the other knee. So back to two. Down to one again, we'll see how that goes, but being mobility impaired is very difficult. Nothing makes stairs better than ramps, but there are no fucking ramps into my apartment building, or complex. Damn Oregon for being at a forty-five degree angle.

So, sans a lovely visit from Erika back in March, this year has been a difficult one so far. Good thing is that suffering leads to good writing. A calm in the storm often helps this granted, and I admit that I don't really see any especially close, but I'm not doing anything like giving up.

Just realistically expecting next week to more or less mirror this one, sans next week I get paid.

Lastnight my desktop computer died. The harddrive should be fine, and everything from it should be rather well backed up, but even a generous donation from the Raine foundation it'll still be a month or two before I can afford a new computer... So I'm a little depresssed over that. Aurora, the computer, was named before the character. She was the first major purchase I made with my first job. When I turned on her screen, it was the rising of the sun.

I'm a little dumbly emotional, I'll admit, but she has a lot of value and meaning and now she's dead. It happens.

The good news, is that I have up to volume 5 and V written. They need a little more editing, but I should be able to keep up the pace neccessary for frequent updates. Stress from work, home, health, and honestly a little worry in living up to my own name exhausted my ability to reliably write. I took a hiatus, and I should be back at least until I can finish their stories unless life intervenes again.

After Sylvia and Aurora finish off, I plan on trying to find a sellable premise and fight tooth and nail to finally achieve my dream. Odds are against me, but I've never been big on trusting the odds, anyway.

So, for now, keep checking the updates. Check here via RSS. More to come, in time.

~Madam Kistulot

P.S. - Rather recently to try and aid my writing I decided to actually indulge the genre I've been dancing in further, and have been a regular visitor of the local comic shop Things From Another World, which you can also find online. Thanks to a friend's reccomendation I've been tearing through TPB of Ultimate Spiderman, and have been enjoying it sans some of issue five. Was going to get back into the x-men, but guess who on my third issue is comming back to life again. I'm going to sidestep that, and enjoy pieces of Batman's "Death", pieces of Dark Reign, and miscellanious TPB, though for now thats on hold until I get my new box. More on that as more surfaces.

Disillusionment

Perhaps I should break my silence.

EMC has steadily lost its allure for me over the past year. Posting here and interacting to what little extent I do with the community feels more like a chore than a hobby. I lost interest in new writing some while ago, and the media and discussion I encounter on the forums never held much allure. I still have a mind control fetish, but that isn't enough to make me want to post here or interact with the community.

Nothing has changed about my interest in hypnosis or my loving D/s bond with Madam. I would continue posting about slave life and hypnosis were they not so connected with MC given the context of the 'blot. Those themes are already covered extensively by others in the community, and I don't think I have anything novel to contribute. Teaching about hypnosis when those with training are already doing so feels pointless. I also feel much less comfortable posting about my personal experiences given some of the ignorant and dehumanizing responses I've received. My primary audience for those posts has no conception of loving D/s and is unlikely to view anyone writing about it submissively as more than mindless entertainment. I don't want to put my experiences on display for this audience. I'm sick of being viewed as not even a person.

This entire milieu of concepts and activities is supremely disheartening.

More accurately, the MC community and most of the material available has lost its allure, but that feels rude to say.

Believe it or not, I agree with those who think Madam's spin-off series is redundant, tepid, and in need of a twist (she does, too). I think EMC lost some allure for her, as well, at least writing-wise. She still enjoys trancing just as much as I do.

If I get a whim, I'll post here, but don't expect much from me in the future.

~Valbot

New job burnout

Heya everyone!

You'll notice by now I haven't had anything in the last two updates, nor have I contributed to the blog in awhile. Sorry. Not so much intentional, as I've been horrifically burned out, and I've needed a break from my personal deadlines - and writing has been very difficult. I have a four hour commute each day, and my handwriting is atrocious, so I've recently ordered a new notebook and I should have it by... Tuesday? At the latest. And then, I intend to write during my commute.

Five and a half hours of battery life? Mmmm, battery life.

So I just wanted to give everyone an update, and apologize. I really haven't had time to barely do anything at all besides unwind as of late, and try to de-stress which has worked with varying amounts of success.

I haven't really even had time to pay attention, but I admit I am getting a giggle out of the return of Sara H. I'm glad to know she's well, but going from bashing everyone's work and saying you're the best writer in the world who doesn't write according to cliches, then only writing cliches, demanding to be known as a new name, then taking back your old title... I have to admit, this is petty to post, but I did get a kick out of hearing about it. I don't pay attention to the forums, or most stories, but I listen to some that do.

So, I hope you're all well, and I'm sorry that Nebula and Electrum hit an update snag, but I have plenty planned for them!

Happy Reading!

~Madam Kistulot

Closing off Tabico week!

Honestly, did you chose your pen name just to ruin this for me? So not fair! I kid of course, but if I didn't, I'd be old!

Please, imagine that you clicked here after I said that.

There are still a lot of good Tabico stories, so to end this week I'll look through the list and grab out a few more to point out as must reads. Tabico is another author whose work deserves to be devoured completely, so don't think less of stories I don't recommend.

Community

This is a story I've read several times, and enjoyed each time. A cop finds herself a part of a very special new community, and is shown the ropes by the lovely "D" as she is converted for it's use. There's just something I always loved about the way her clothes were removed by scalpel and the back and forth as she loses her mind to her new life. Hot, sizzling, read it.

In the Back of my Mind

This is a story that like Sweet Oil comes off with a young, innocent and adorable feeling. Two girls stumble upon something best left alone, and wind up servants to its whims. Their reactions to finding it, and as they begin to tread closer and closer to the end of their independence, is so delicious to savor.

Kaleidoscope Mind

I like to think of this tale as an MC story mixed with a good ol' slasher flick the likes of Friday the 13th. I choose that one due to it's setting. Camp councilors, pre-camp, wind up receiving a lovely little gift that has so much fun with helpless minds. The way they're taken down one by one until all of them are helplessly lost has such a hot, fun feeling to it, and I find myself coming back to this story often hoping one day to write something in a similar vein.

Lord May

I only happened upon this story rather recently, and it was an unexpected pleasure. A chance encounter leads a couple to meet their paralyzed next door neighbor who has mastered an exquisite process allowing one to control another's pleasure or pain via remote control. There's so much more to that premise, but there's where it all begins. The protagonist this time is male, and not who Lord May is after. A twist, huh? A most unusually happy ending, and hilarious outtakes frost this hot yummy cake of a story. Dig in!

Rewired

This is a yet another delicious story. Without going too far, or even saying much at all, I will recommend this story for its line of "fucking home appliance" if nothing else. Honestly. I think that's all I need to say. Read it.

Wrach

Another story that takes place like a horror story - only this time there is more gruesome attached to the sexy side of things. something long since buried is unearthed, and one by one . . . well . . . it gets just what it wants. Another one I read more recently than the rest of her work, and it definitely deserves a read. Very yummy.

This closes off Tabico week then, and I hope you're all looking forward to Iago week! Othello sure isn't.

~Madam Kistulot

Tabico Week Part Deux

Hello everyone! This time around to make sure every entry get's up on the right day I've decided to write them all ahead of time. If this starts a trend, hey, you'll be able to rely on me like a webcomic.

As I mentioned in Monday's post, Tabico doesn't pull back from raw, squicky, powerful stories. While Monday also showed she doesn't need to, today will show that not only can she, but she can - amazingly.


Adaptation

Let me start my praise of this story with a simple fact: I am deathly afraid of wasps. The cutest non cartoon bee comes anywhere near me, and I scream. I will hide from bees, or sit/stand incredibly still. It's not going to far to say they scare me to my very core. Even with that said, this story is hot. Her slow response to the fate that befalls her is amazing, and it's defense for her resistance makes it all the more delicious. This story hasn't made me less afraid of wasps, but it is still so amazingly hot. Does have a squick warning, but I think it's worth it.

Allegiance

Another story set on a distant world like Adaptation (in fact, due to a similar curse used I believe them to be in the same universe, more similarities to follow) this one with a more romantic tone to it. Old lovers meet anew to talk about what happened between the last time they've seen each other. One of them has a very hot yummy evil mc insect filled story to tell, that leads to a sweet happy reunion. Sounds unbelievable? Read it. Maybe not as squicktastic, but it fits to mention after Adaptation.

Bitch

This is probably a story you've heard mentioned before. It's the classic "I don't find bestiality even vaguely hot, but . . ." story. I have another, but that's going to have to wait until after Iago when I get to arclight. Anyway, this story really is fairly legendary amongst the EMCSA. MC device owes a nod to Eye of Serpent, and from there Tabico hits the ground running and doesn't stop. Twisted, messed up, and yet somehow very hot. Definitely, give this one a read.

Herd Instinct

A story that unknown to me at the time helped inspire part of "Silver Eclipse", Herd Instinct is another story you've probably heard of. If you haven't read this yet, you're missing out. It is extreme, with a business woman - the owner of a paper plant if I remember correctly, being more or less turned into a cow. Not to a level one would associate with the story above (no grafting horns for instance), but still extreme. Even better is when she has one more use after you think she's finally been made into just what they want her. An awesome story.

Riders

Tabico describes that this makes her "Mind Worms" story seem like "Horton Hears a Who" and recommends you read Sweet Oil if it doesn't appeal. This story is definitely unashamed, raw squick. Slime, ugly slug parasites, but yummy betrayal and re purposing of humans. Not including this on this list would be remiss. There are other stories of hers involving parasites, but this one works best for an extreme, and is a yummy read none the less!

Yellow

I've had this up as a pick on my site during the first listing of picks, so this one shouldn't come as a particular surprise. Definitely a rather extreme story, and even based on something from D&D lore! A powerful wizard buys slaves, but just what does she use them for? I wouldn't want to ruin it, nor the delicious epilogue scene. Its all just so delicious. There are a few details that are less than overflowingly sexy, but make it more real and intense for me. Not for the faint of heart, but otherwise, this is one everyone should read.

It feels good to have this post done early, as I'm sick of feeling like I'm scrambling to give good authors the feedback they deserve - even if they never actually read the blot. After I cover enough authors, I am tempted to email links, but that sounds so silly to actually do.

So, another full list of stories to read if you haven't gotten to them already! Enjoying my reviews? I hope so! Nebula Volume 3 is going slowly, but I'm excited for November! Are you?

Happy Reading!

~Madam Kistulot

What else is left? The last trilby post!

Truth be told, this post should be "for now."

I hope in a year or so, I'll be able to go back and have a few stories left to go over, or some new insight . . . or something. trilby is an awesome writer. I don't consider myself in his league, and that means I still have a lot more to learn from how he accomplishes what he does - and I hope he has more stories to give us!

So, to finish off trilby week (a day late you'll forgive me, but I'll be posting tomorrow too to start thrall week so sue me) we have a fist full of one shots to give you something to read on this weekend without an update!

Held

I remember when I first read this story I kept waiting for the dark twist to come... and itended up romantic and yummy instead. A good example of a story where what qualifies it for the EMCSA all really happened beforehand. This is divulged - and hotly so - but I enjoed it for the present more than it's past.

Sleeper

To ballance Held, here is a story just flowing with all of the things a yummy dark MC story is made of. Trish is a secret agent ryng to bust a dangerous woman, and she knows going in that she'll be subjected to mind control . . . is her training enough to resist succumbing to the villain's wiles? No. Is her decent to devoted love slavery delicious? Yes.

Taker

This story is one I adore for it's candid dialogue, and the reveal and how it's handeled. I don't want to ruin anything with this one if you havent given it a glance yet, but it's hot dark, with a very sweet ending.

Dark Forest

This story in turn influenced my favorite thrall story, so it's only appropriate that I list it last for trilby week. A visit to a fetish store ends up goinga lot dfferent tha the visitors planned, and just as the owners desire. Another one I feel you just need to read, enjoy . . . then read Willing Subject. . .

Which I'll be talking about tomorrow!

For now, happy reading!

~Madam K

more trilby, what else?

Another pun. Sorry. I couldn't resist.

As with the last blog post, you are warned in advance: there are spoilers here. These stories have been around for awhile, and discussed to some length, but still you deserve the warning - I just won't be pulling details for the sake of mystery. Nothing here will make it so you can't still get something out of reading though. You need to give them a glance or three.

We're nearing the end of trilby week! Since tomorrow I want to cover some stories that link up to thrall, and some stand alones, it felt appropriate to touch on another awesome trilby story with a few sequels under it's belt.

Trinkets.

This story follows Kerry and her trip on the Queen Like-- I'm sorry, Queens Lines Resort, and the Isle Dormignonne. An awesome name, isn't it? I don't know if it's real, but it would be a nifty little detail were it, or if not, I'd be interested to know the inspiration for the name. Anyway, it starts off on a cruise ship, and a very special cruise ship, with delightful hypnotic entertainment for the QLR guests.

This is a trilby story, so its not exactly story ruinin to tell you this entertainment is not without ulterior motives. Interactive entertainment usually does much to keep the mind working, but a working mind isn't exactly what they're aiming for.

Control, lust, pleasure, so forth. Its delicious, but reading it would be better than me going on about it. Then we get to the Isle Dormignonne, where the girls get back to nature in a way much deeper than most resorts. Instead of participating int he wilderness as interlopers, they are turned tribal, and given a new slave society to belong to as their minds are further co opted.

Queue up more of the above, deepening, programming, lust, sex, control. Traditions. A yummy induction involving, you guessed it, trinkets.

The ending is where this story stands out to most people. It seems to be one of those you love it or you hate it sort of endings. When I read a story, if its for the sake of masturbation or not, the story is important. I don't care if its disrupted by the hottest induction ever followed by yummy mc and even sex if well done, if it breaks the story I will roll my eyes and just end up with a sore wrist. Trinket's ending is not the kind of ending that's meant to be overflowing with heat. The story is dripping with it already - the ending has a different purpose all together.

Character death is something a lot of people hate to read. MC a character, incapacitate, make them comatose, anything, it allows for the reader to imagine them okay in the end. It is also often used as a cop out. Trinkets doesn't pull that punch. A character saves the day in death - not ala Olivia though I'm sure in ficticious character heaven they'd get along - and its sad. Its emotional. It leads to a happy eding off in the distance, but the "now" is sad. I guess I am pulling some spoiler punch, but being the purpose of this post, makes sense.

After Trinkets, there are two tales not directly related (unless I'm missing a detail or two) though introductory author blurbs give a timeline none the less, so starting with what comes first . . .

Recovery

Tara is in recovery, as the name suggests. At the end of Trinkets, the scene before last, she was even on the phone though her side of the conversation was silent. A deeply programmed phone drone of the QLR, Tara is amazingly free willed for all that she' gone through, especially compared to the others that don't display nearly as much self. She is crippled with regret for what she did, sending out as many women as she could to their final destination as the QLR was being taken down. She tried to resist, but after being that controlled for that long, not exactly something you can bame her for failing.

Lucky for her she has a doctor assigned to her case that is very, very devoted to helping her make a recovery, along with a nurse who takes a special liking to her. Not so lucky for her, just because the QLR as an organization is in remission doesn't mean a cell here or there isn't still metastasizing - and it wouldn't be much of a story if they weren't heading right for Tara.

This story explores the limits of various forms of control, long term, temporary, drug induced or not, and has a bittersweet ending. Our Tara does indeed get to recover, but at what cost?

Following shortly after Recovery is . . .

Dreamtime

Dreamtime interweaves Kerry and Tara's stories in a most delightful way. This story feels sort of like a reward for both of them, the hug from the author saying "you can relax" and a gift to us readers in a story with loving mind control and happiness all around with only a hint of sorrow that in itself brings the four women in this story together.

Definitely not one to read out of order, but even with it's lack of strong conflict it remains a must read.

Changeling

Amusingly thrall mentioned this story not long after I'd actually read it for the first time. Was a rather "whoa, talk about weird" moment! She only touched on it in brief, but still, her mentioning it ought to be a bump in it's direction if nothing else! Changeling is post the crumbling of the QLR empire that came at the end of Trinkets. It couldn't last forever - nothing really does. Nancy is one of the women found before they were shipped off to their final destination, and has been through a recovery program, and she remembers everything that happened.

But like a certain protaganist of mine, she still savors the memories. They get her going more than anything else, and she has to find some way to recapture what she had there. Even if it was hypnotic, it was real, and it was what she wanted - and wants, post "recovery".

She has a wonderful girlfriend, Beth, but what Beth wants for her isn't what she wants, and she'll even go further than before to get what she feels she needs. Definitely worth a read even unfinished, and maybe fanmail can persuade! Never hurts to try.


I know there's another series of interlinked trilby stories, includng "Watering Hole" and "Wetrun" and though I've read the former I havent yet gotten around to the rest. I'll need to correct that as I rather enjoyed Watering Hole. Still! Next post will cover some stand alones, and a pair of pieces that sweetly link us over to thrall - who will be thoroughly covered next week.

Until tomorrow, happy reading everyone!

~MK

trilby beyond

WARNING: Possible spoilers ahead. Nothing story ruining (in my oppinion) but you're warned in advance.

Okay, no more bad puns... But for some reason the cartoon "Batman Beyond" came to mind, and that my friends is where you get the name for this blog post.

I said three this week, so I guess that means one today, one tomorrow, and one Friday. No trouble by me, I just had forgotten I'd meant to do more this week. I'm not used to keeping a schedule for this thing - which anyone who reads can tell you I'm sure.

We're still on trilby else, and I would be remiss if I didn't cover trilby's recurring Domme, Joss. She is powerful, sexy, and most importantly knows how to manipulate people - not just slaves.

The most infamous story Joss's presence fills is without a doubt Bridesmaid. As the synopsis suggests, Bridesmaid follows Tegan as she worries about her best friend's new lover, Joss. Over the course of the story we see that these worries definitely have a basis in reality, not that this realization does much good for Tegan. It isn't much of a spoiler to say that by the time she might have any inkling of what to warn her friend about, she's already far too caught up in the Domme's web. This story has one of the most yummy heavily vocal and hypnotic inductions in the archive, and is worth a read.

Tegan's surrender is not instant, however, and she can also be found in Bait, again as our protaganist, struggling (or perhaps merely putting on a show?), and of course failing to resist being used for serial recruitment - a thing trilby does often and very well.

Joss first chronologically appears in Underling. This doesn't give us a lot of backstory for her so much as for characters who appeared in the first story, Depth. Both stories are yummy, full of heat, and show a deliciously calculating mind. It can be so very delightful to watch a delicious character at work, and Joss is most definitely one of them.

My favorite of Joss's tales is Bond, a story with a strong emotional edge. trilby is not one to shy away from emotion in his erotica as I've said before, nd it serves him especially well here. I don't want to say any more than this: You need to read Bond eventually. I'd reccomend sooner than later.

Lastly, I believe (if I'm missing one, comment or email to let me know so I can edit this post!), Joss appears in Falconry- though well hidden until her reveal. Another one I don't want to say much about, sans to reccomend it glowingly.

We might not know a lot of facts about Joss, but what we can take out of these stories is more than enough to feel a familiarity, and keep a pair of fingers crossed for her next appearence.

Here's to the delicious dark domme, Joss!

Hmmm... what trilby else to write about . . .

Lately I have been awful with this, and I apologize. Not just lately, but since its creation.

Recently my fellow Midasverse contributor J Darksong sent me an email telling me I really don't need to post about anything important. Just more often would be nice. So, I'm going to try to force myself to a vague schedule. I had tried before, but when I found that reviewing updates for awhile would have consisted of "nothing worth reading" or another rant about how I'd like some literature to go with my mc fanservice, that got distorted.

Also, this weekend I WILL update my recomended reading, as I will once a week. I'm sure it won't be hard, and if it ever becomes so I'll start just adding obvious stories and going on about why!

I'll start this post though, by mentioning that I've been reading a little bit of the unread portion of one of my favorite MC writers, trilby else. For awhile, I have to admit, I had to take a break from his work. He writes great MC, and shares the feeling that copious ammounts of sex is dull. Copious ammounts of MC is where it's at!

I've never had a problem with his quality, or his style - merely that too much of his work can have a repetative feeling to it. Each story taken on it's own? Amazing. Awesome. Thigh clenching. All of them taken together right at once? The first set will feel awesome, and over time, you might start to feel frustrated at each prostitute metaphor that at first fit its use perfectly.

Every writer is writing themselves out onto the page. Not that he is an evil lesbian mc conspiracy - but every writer pours a part of themselves into their writing unless they're writing formula as oringly as can be - and even then some if themselves will peek through. With my writing, I've found that incestuous relationships, and comming to terms with one's taboo side are things that permiate my writing. I'm sure there are others. There have to be.

Still, not about me! Just going into my own side of this to show my own lack of immunity to such things. Still, even with that, I always come back. With the exception of one story, every one I've actually started (many were tabs in firefox that fell the wayside with a reset or a crash) I've savored. I havent touched on them all yet, but that's just a matter of time.

trilby often uses real forms of mind control, such as hypnosis, drug aided or not, and obeys their limitations. Characters will not be drooling slaves after a single trance. A night of backed up suggestions? They'll be pretty messed up, but even then, it's not unlimited. But at the same time, you don't have any "deep yearlong mc is beaten by a single tear from a lover" going on. There's just a variation in strength you don't seen in all - or most - MC. Usually, it's all or nothing, or level varying depending on the story. An alien laser should be stronger than hypnosis, unless not properly configured.

One aspect of his use of hypnosis is one I adore pointing out for its eroticedge, and for its warning one. Hypnosis can't make you do something you don't want to do, but it can make you want something. Then what?

Women betraying eachother and getting off on it, serial recruitment, long drawn out conditioning, resistence, even the story here and there where MC is overcome . . . that's how awesome trilby's writing is.

I'll go into more specific pieces soon.

~Madam Kistulot

44 Posts Already?

That's the number blogger showed when I logged in! Not sure if that44 counts the pending post I have or no, but hey, if it doesn't, that's still a lot!

Less than I promised to have, but still something.

Besides, I have so much writing done! Not really, but I can pretend. It's not like you can check.

Anyway, I know it's a bit late, but if you haven't read Tabico's latest, Ronin, you need to. I won't ruin anything, but I did fan mail her, and her response has me waiting for this update quite eagerly! That means something.

I actually grew up spending a fair amount of time on the back of a bike - a shovel head actually. A lot of people argue that was after Harley's hay day, but that bike was a beaut. She was gorgeous, she purred loudly, and I loved her. She was also one of two things my father cared about more than me and my mother, but I try not to think about that too much. Growing up, Easy Rider was my first glimpses of porn.

My mom is oft to go on about how Easy Rider was better back when the women were real, and I bet she's right. You can find the sexiest picture of a porn star, a model, and she can be gorgeous . . . but there's something special about a woman who isn't that stretched out along the back of a bike.

American, of course.

I know, Sarah's bike is Italian. I don't remember the exact model, but I found it doing some research on Ducati's website. They're good bikes, really good bikes. Specifying is more to discount crotch rockets. You wont earn any respect on a hyundai or a kawasaki if you ask me.

A bike is a horse of the modern day. It's if you make a horse out of metal and give it an engine. It's a thing of raw power. Give it to a hooligan, and you get a black knight. Give it to a man or woman of virtue? You get a paladin. Ironically enough, my dad had a biker friend named Paladin. There are some pictures of him holding me as a baby. He looks like he was super nice. Never met the guy myself.

Still, it's a symbol of power, of raw sexuality, of force, of movement, of friction against the world, of air resistance, areodynamicism . . .

To me, a motorcycle is the closest you can get to giving a character a heroic mount, or a villainous mount a the case may be. Cars are just . . . they're not the same. They're shields as much as transport. Fiction has given cars magical bullet deflecting/absorbing powers. Sure, you can shoot a car and it'll explode, but a motorcycle? It's you and the road. There is nothing else. My father only survived long enough to take part in my creation due to a monkey wrench in his ass pocket.

Ice might take drinks stay cool, but it also tears flesh apart if you have a motorcycle's weight on the other side of you as you slide.

Plus, in a car, the person next to you might be on the other side of a gear shift in no way close. Bike? They're at your back. Intimate. Or in a side car, which can be it's own kind of awesome. Plus, saddle bags!

But yes, why are bikes coming to mind sans Ronin? You'll need to read in November to find out.

Speaking of reading on, I intend to in the next couple of days update my "reccomended reading" list heavily. It's far past due. I intend to add stories by the t-trio, some archive.org stories if need be by other authors . . . at least one. An old story by miketheFable, at the time mikez was lost due to identity discovery. I helped write it. Well, edit it. I intended at one point to write the sequel to it, and even with it less absurd than your average mike story, I'm just bad at following others' ideas.

What else would be interesting to say?

Ah!

The new Metallica CD? It's awesome. You need it. Death Magnetic. I have nicknamed it Rereload, because it feels like the third load, or second reload. It's that awesome, and it makes Aurora flow amazingly, as well as the last Evanesence CD makes Sylvia flow.

You get some priceless lines, like . . .

You crawl back in/but your luck runs out!

and

Like a bullet/keeps on bleeding/to remind me not to think!

It's just awesome. You need it.

So I'll leave you with that for now, best wishes till next time!

Overdue, APU

It should be no surprise to anyone when I'm a little, or a lot late on a post.

So, what is this post late for?

Last week, one of the best MC stories on the whole site popped up. Maybe I'm a little more mature in saying this, but well . . . enthusiasm never hurts, does it?

I've been reading mc stories for a good . . . six years now? seven . . . I know I already knew the site freshman year in high school . . . I was one of those latch-key kids, so I had plenty of time to get away with things I wasn't supposed to. I actually remember times when I would stay up extra late to catch the update to uhm . . . peruse before my mom woke up, then crash and sleep in late.

Anyway, I've been reading for a long time, and I've developed strong preferences and a strong knowledge of the site. At least I think so. There are a lot f stories that I enjoy - something I need to update on the main site - but honestly thrall's Mirrored in Your Eyes hit on everything that makes a good story, and good mc story. There was hot yummy mindlessness, sweet sizzling romance. . . doubt that whets ones curiosity, conflict, twists that make you doubt what you've been thinking all along about the characters . . .

I might not go into long diatribes, but perhaps I should? I don't think it would particularly hurt, but honestly I enjoy just giving little blurbs of how these things affect me and what I reflect on most. I don't do my best long winded descriptions as myself. Need character voices for things like that!

But yes,read Mirrored in Your Eyes. Its everything you could ask for, and more! once again showing that thrall is one of the finest names in mc fiction! Really need to add her and my favorite of her works to my recommended reading section.

Right off the top of my mind, Tenpack of Trixies, Willing Subject, Solitare, Softbots, Inc., and Love in a Silver Socket would rate very highly and should be required reading if you enjoy f/f. Really. Salvation too no doubt, which is a co-op... and the other co-op, Goldilocks.

All amazing stories, those.

Speaking of character voices, I decided that time to time I would write movie reviews. . . but that doesn't fit this blog, does it? Nope! But I thought it up when I saw Dark Knight the first time, last week, and it occurred to me... what would Olivia and Sarah think of these movies, all cuddled up on a movie night? Written in scrip format, it could be pretty fun.

Sarah: I give it five and a half sparks!

Olivia: I think its only supposed to go up to five . . and what am I suppsed to give it, golden thumbs up?

Sarah: Well lots of you is golden, I'm sure we can think of something . . .

A-hem, appears we've interrupted a private moment . . .

Still, would that be something people would like? Work on the continuing Midasverse and rewrite of tAoSG continues, just so you all know!

Happy reading!
~Madam Kistulot

New Blog and New Content

Welcome to the new and improved Kistublot!

My fellow contributors have already posted, and I've meant to several times, but oh well right? We all know I can take a little extra time time to time, but that when it comes down to it I . . . sometimes get things done . . . Oh wait, none of you actually knew me in high school. I can lie about that? Hooray!

One random factoid: The first novel length story I completed was originally written starting in the summer of my freshman year of high school. It would grow, expand, be given in total about five drafts, and the final of which to current date was written mostly at the end of my senior year. The school I went to had slowly become more and more strict since it was built, canceling upper classperson off campus privileges the year before I began attending...

However?

Once you were 18, you were able to sign yourself out with no scrutiny. So a few times I signed myself out of my last class, Graphic Design (the other block day's class, Creative Writing, was the class I looked forward to all day to get through the other crap) and would go to a park to write. Excuses included medical, dental, familial, and once I think I might have slipped and mentioned the truth in a not to clever way.

But I didn't really care anyway by that point. Not that I didn't care about graduating - I did - but freshman year alone had ruined my GPA to the point where having some absences at the very end didn't really matter to me much. Some of those park-writing-sessions took place at the park where - listening to The Servant's song "Cells" I wrote the introduction to "The Adventures of Silver Girl."

One thing I miss about writing Silver Girl, and the stuff before, was that I would often write it in wordpad so I couldn't see how long it was getting. Now a days, even if I were to do that due to well... experience... I'd know. I can't go back to the things I miss about the beginning of this era of my writing, which makes me wax nostalgically for them.

Oh well, huh? It happens!

That brings another thing to mind: tAoSG is horrifically well . . . not up to par with the writing of the later stories. Have I talked about that here on the blog before? I'm honestly not sure. So much comes up. and I don't pay nearly enough attention to me own blog. Mostly, honestly, because I didn't foresee this writing slump... and its a little depressing.

So anyway, have I asked this here? How would people feel if Silver Girl got a THX makeover? The original would remain, fully intact, this would be sort of... a digital remastering, a director's cut... the story we all know and love upgraded to suit the fact that I no longer suck.

How does that sound to everyone?

Not because I wont do it if you dislike it, but well, some support would help me get off my ass about it. The original will still exist and be distributed, just not on the EMCSA. It would be kept on me sitey. For people's benefit, I would even zip file it and be like "Tada!" or I could steal the HTML from the way back machine . . . and be like "as it originally looked!"

The latter sounds cooler . . .

Lastnight I wrote a story just over the length of Exvolensation. I think it's a better idea, and story, overall. I think I'll write another two stories of about equal length, and include them as an anthology.

Also have a new idea about a psychic detective. Its not lame as it might sound, promise. Its actually very, very cool. You'll all have to wait to see how that turns out, because I like the idea I'm working on currently. I'll preview the first story soon as I have them all written and give them twice overs.

I end this post with a little bonus: here.

Enjoy!

~Madam Kistulot

Le Sigh

Hullo again my loyal minions!

I haven't been posting as much because well, I've had other story ideas than just the spin offs . . . but I can't really manage to write them. I tried several ideas, and the closest I came was my little vampire story this update, that well, lets just say has been a little bit of a depressing nightmare.

The Secret Origins series is being delayed indefinitely, sadly. In a small part I think we can all blame the late Olivia, but I'm not going to suggest a bunch of people start blaming a dead character. That would just be preposterous.

I'm actually tempted to try to write the secret origins series again.

I finally have more momentum for Sylvia, and Aurora all ready to edit (her first story), and I'm wanting to do that THX remastering of tAoSG i've been promising... not to mention the first of the secret origins series.

What tempts everyone the most? Let me hear your thoughts. Probably won't affect much, but hearing that people care might make my muse stop frigging for a bit and assist.

Where was I going with this?

Madam is finally going to rewrite the first three Silververse stories! Don't worry, the originals—typos, waffle continuity errors, and grammatical mishaps—will be preserved on her site. She is only rewriting for polish and clarity, not to change the plot. I remember reading The Adventures as she wrote it; she posted it on DeviantART before sending it to the Archive months later. I think I mentioned proofreading would be a good idea. But, Madam being Madam, she took a while to break that write-and-hit-send habit.

I had no clue I would eventually fall in love with her (let alone that I would move from Florida to OREGON to live with her), and that I would get to edit these stories. She didn't know there would be stories after the original. I'm astonished by how elaborate and lengthy this series ended up and, speaking honestly, I'm surprised this series got so popular given how muddled the first story is on a technical level. Let alone how LONG it is. Those who suggest new authors should post shorter stories as their debuts raise a very good point! Perhaps people were less scared of new authors two years ago. Either way, I'm proud of Madam for creating something so gorgeous and elaborate, and I'm overjoyed that she's finally going back to apply the polish these earlier stories deserve. I think her series deserves to be popular, but I'm just a bit surprised some of her more intelligent fans were willing to read through it when she was a new author and they had no basis upon which to have faith in her storytelling ability. Apparently these are good stories, and I'm not the only one who saw that!

Our relationship is only slightly older than the Silver series (we met on May 22nd, 2005; she sent the first three chapters to the Archive in November of that year). I'm still trying to get my head around that, and around the reality that I'll be editing what was my first exposure to the world of MC fiction. As much as I bitch about the community, it really has changed my life in unexpected ways. Meeting and bonding with Carin; Doublefine moving here and becoming a wonderfully close in-person friend; another woman I truly hope will become a close friend if only for how much I enjoy geeking out with her; Erika meeting Madam through her podcast post; the various people I've been able to explore hypnosis with from the hypnotist side. Even my earlier time in the Garden was mostly positive. I wouldn't have discovered some of my MC sub-kinks or so quickly grown comfortable talking about this with anyone but Carin had it not been for my encounters there.

Whoops. I didn't mean to get sentimental! Our third anniversary is close, and the Silververse is closely laced with it. Carin is what drew me to this community, and she is what helped me to branch out reading-wise beyond her work while helping me to get over so many of the squicks being sheltered had given me regarding fetishes and sexuality. She is what inspires my life overall.

Writing and editing of the spin-off series is going better than she makes it sound. Writing is slow, but she's broken a new tier of quality and nothing will be posted until November, anyway. Some of the arcs she has planned . . . One infuriatingly vague but yummy hint I can give is Massive's song "Dissolved Girl." I have a shivery, painfully erotic music video in my head of Sylvia and Aurora to that song, and it's definitely not just sex.

Anyway! Madam really does need to post more, preferably when she's awake. I keep bribing her with ice cream. At least make a review post? You did read and enjoy some things in the past few updates. Erika should post, too.

Madam keeps teasing me about having a fetish for semicolons. What can I say? They're cute.

~valbot

Future for the Kistublot

Well, hello again everyone.

Writing has finally been progresssing again. Gimme a gold star, because I havent been doing nearly enough to deserve a silver.

I wrote out a long blog post basically detailing my feelings on the issues (cowardly anonymous posters, politicing for no real reason, people who can't stand differences in opinion, so forth) but I just don't see any use in actually posting it.

I chose not to participate in the commenting snafu because while I don't think Valencia's comments were all great (and was upset myself) I didn't exactly find the other side guiltless either, and nor did I see the point in posting just to say that.

Differences in opinion are the whole reason for blogs, for forums, for conversation . . . fuck, for about anything. If it didn't exist, focus groups could consist of one person.

Shortly, we will be creating a section specifically to throw comments that we believe are simply to "call us out." Call that what you will. I don't care. While I do not find Jo's (Flibinite's) comment outrageous for the reason that Valencia did/does, I'm still going to say this: this blog is for voicing our thoughts and opinions. Posting just to specifically bitch is getting seriously annoying, especially when it's done by the same old people, aka our lovely friend anonymous, and Jo.

I don't know if the 'blot will be around forever. But I know this: if you can't stand opinions that are the antithesis of yours so much? Do not read this blog. Do not read any blogs. Do not have human contact. Shoot yourself now. Please. Because I will always be disagreeing with you.

It's one thing to post a comment with a suggestion or a constructive criticism, but smirking, acting like your opinions simply must be represented in a place not at all yours, and generally antagonizing behavior is just not polite. Treating my girlfriend as lesser because she is my slave, is not right. She is her own person who has given me the gift of her submission. Outside of fun, I do not control what she does. Her thoughts, and her actions, belong to her. Tempting as it is, I've never controlled her or sternly told her not to post something. I have suggested it wasn't the best idea in the world, but it was still, and will always be, her choice.

Just felt the need to cover that.

So, let me end with this. Sara, if something I have said has truly hurt you, I apologise. That was never, and has never been my intent. Nothing either of us has done here was meant to attack or "destroy" you. Though our opinions are not glowing, I do not find you subhuman, and I truly wish you the best. I enjoyed "Tock" and almost nominated it. If I'd had four slots, I would have. I recently read through "Mindfield" for a taste of CB, and while I took issue with some of the ways you did things, I was pulled long well enough to get through the end of what was posted.

I hold no ill will towards you, and if anything admit that my strong opinion is no doubt partially a result of a feeling of rivalry. We share at least a few of the same fans, and having the same things said about both of our works when I view parts of yours as lacking makes a part of me cringe. This does not mean the necessarily are, that is just my opinion. It makes it no less how I feel, but it specifies that I can see why people would feel otherwise.

My writing has plenty of problems. tAoSG was rushed out the gate, same with Silver Eclipse. It took me way too long to get serious about polishing, and the tense issue I've had with you is in many of my pieces because I was simply too lazy to fix it. There was a reason Mike coined the term "A Madam Kistulot" and I think that shows I have my own purple side.

The things you hate about other people are the things you hate about yourself, so I guess I'm saying that while this doesn't change how I feel about your writing, it is only due to my own insecurity in my work that I react in such strong ways that make people think I don't know what an opinion is.

So, I can't promise you'll never be mentioned again. I can't promise I won't bitch or reference or who knows what, but I promise that you as a person have my respect, and I respect that you are able to draw in the readers that you do.

Well, I guess that sums up what I wanted to say.

I haven't read this version yet, but I heavily recommend Undertow by 8-bit. I still hope to win that Spiral, but if The Happily wins over me I admittedly won't be shocked.

I'd also like to give out another shout out to Melted Music by Frustrated. It was a great story, and you should all vote for it, because it was awesome. Maybe I'll give it a full review soon. Suffice it to say, Fru has a talent with poetic prose that I envy greatly.

That's all for now folks, and don't forget to vote for the Spirals!

~Madam Kistulot

Preview!

Hello everyone, The Madam here again, and today with an extra special treat.

Though I've been told by the Valbot to postpone showing this off until I got an edit back . . . its a preview. You can all deal with a little bit of grammatic imperfection, right? Yay! Thats really the best way to go about these things, I'd say.

So, I didn't get as many comments as I wanted - honestly I just hoped for half. Damn, you're not supposed to say that . . . oh well! First, news! The Spiral Awards finalists have been revealed, and I am amongst them - twice! If you ever sent me fan mail or the like you already know this as I sent out my spiral awards newsletter.

So what now? Go to www.spiralawards.com and wait for it to magically update . . . or go: HERE and check out the nominations. Personally, I'd just recommend voting for my Ink Soaked Penumbra and the collaborative Go Team Porn, but that's just me!

How to vote? Well, you can't email Flibinite or Darkmind - They're both nominated! So, that leaves Rinky Dink, Topaz, and Nab. Now, Rinky Dink disappeared for no apparent reason, don't know Topaz very well, but if I remember my MCF history right Nab started these things and was upset when due to laziness and a hugely ugh technical snafu the spiral awards didn't get a chance last year, so I recommend emailing him at nabsq001@gmail.com with your nominations.

So, what're you waiting for? Vote! I needs me an award! And now, without further delayment!


Working Title: Electrum Introduction

Introduction:

The sensation of her nails clawing along my ass feels like heaven. We’ve fucked a thousand times but it still feels as intense as the first time. I used to think it was the thrill of how bad it would be if we got caught, but her lips wetly sucking on my neck dispel that theory. My thigh presses between hers as my nails dig into her hips, and my teeth close around her ear before giving a tender tug.

Raw, but restrained: that’s how she likes it so that’s how I like it.

I nip along her ear and slide my fingers roughly along her thighs to grasp behind them. Her body shakes as my fingers curl into her and I grind my body into hers hard enough that it feels like the whole world is shaking around us. My breasts mash into hers and I groan at the feeling of her hard nipples pressing against me. Her skin is soft and warm, but what I love about her body most is the way it glistens and shakes as she moans.

My lips trace a path to hers and I savor the feeling of her perfect lips against mine. They feel soft the way chocolate icing feels soft, but they yield so much less. Her taste makes me burn and soak against her thigh even more than the shaking of her leg.

Her nails dig into my thighs and tease more tender places, and I shake hard as she does. Nothing feels closer than this. Nothing feels better than her body and mine quivering as if we were joined at the clit.

It’s more than that. I rake my nails around and up her thigh, drawing back my leg just enough to cup my fingers around her sex. She clenches around my hand and I slide a fingertip up her slit before slipping inside. She clenches again, and even more when the second finger joins in. With each movement I start to memorize how her warm folds feel as she shudders and whines.

Her eyes almost look like they’re tugging themselves shut but can’t quite manage it, just enough open for me to gaze and dream of swimming in their depths. My thoughts are never this poetic when we’re not fucking. When we are I can’t think any other way.

Shaking fingers move from my thigh to my pussy, and I cry out as her fingers curl inside of me and start thrust in rhythm with her harsh breathing. It’s savageness makes my body burns hotter as I grind my whole body into my fingers. Her cry tells me just how deep she feels it and my fingers soak in the rewards of their continued vigor. A third joins them as my hips start to quiver.

The tips of her fingers start to heat up, feeling like electricity and a warm breeze rolled into one, and my eyes melt shut as I buck into her hand. The feeling spirals through my body, and I can feel it tugging my nipples against her breasts.

When she heats up like this, it’s like her body is a magnet and I’m made of metal. Its funny how true that can be sometimes, but right now I’m just flesh and sex. I whimper her name with each thrust and try to match them with my own. I’m in better shape, more toned and tight, but she’s got fingers that were born for grace and music. I can last longer, but she makes it so hard to last.

She cries out my name and it almost feels better than my fingers. It means that she feels more than jus the pleasure – she feels me. I nibble the place where her neck meets her body through the moans her fingers push out of me, curling my fingers more.

Her heat sizzles hotter, but she keeps it just cool enough so it won’t burn me away. She’s done it before and I love it, but this isn’t one of those times where we can afford the extra risk. If it were my fingers would be sizzling just like hers. My nipples shudder as her heat tugs them harder and I latch on to the other side of her neck. I find her clit with my thumb, and move my fingers faster, rougher, firmer. I can’t be graceful as she can, but I can make her feel every touch.

Our thighs are shaking quicker by the second, and I want it to last forever but it won’t. Her moans are too loud, and mine match, muffled in her flesh or not. My thighs clench harder around her hand and hers clench tighter around mine. I love it when she matches my movements, or I match hers. Something about it makes what should be wrong about this so much hotter.

The flood of pleasure is too strong, and I can’t fight it any more. Every barrier put in place to lengthen our pleasure melts away as we soak each other’s hands, and our screams have to be near the volume that breaks glass.

Our silence is even louder.

Slowly, our fingers that aren’t pruned move along each other’s bodies until they meet and slide between each other before squeezing tenderly close. My lips kiss their way to hers, and I savor her other lips’ exhausted clenching around my fingers. I love her so much. She’s always been in my life, and I never want that to change. I never want us to change. She was my first kiss, my first fuck, and I want her to be my lasts, too. It’s probably impossible, but that doesn’t make me crave it any less.

“We need to shower, or you’ll be late to work and I’ll be late to choir. This was risky enough with Sarah out on a day patrol . . . she could come back at any time . . .” Her voice makes me smile, even if her words make me sigh and fold up inside. “Hey, they’ll be gone tonight, we can cuddle more then.”

“Promise? If I’m looking forward to that all shift and you end up going out with your friends after choir I’ll be upset.” The look in her eyes screams that she knows she could get away with murder. She could go out with her friends and stay gone for a week, and I’d still be overjoyed to have her back. She would never do that, but if it happened I’d roll over for her like always.

At least tonight isn’t one of my special nights with mom. I love her training, but I love cuddling even more. At least I love cuddling more when it’s with my favorite cuddle partner. She’s so soft . . .

She laughs her musical laugh, the one that almost sounds as its set to a tune she could make me hear if she willed it hard enough, and her lips press to mine one last time before she starts to pull away. “I promise. Besides, it’s a big day tomorrow and I don’t want to be out all night. I’d much rather spend the night in here with you.”

“Hooray! My shift is going to feel like it’s taking forever, but it’ll be worth it. Plus, I love watching you all wet and soapy.” I grin, and she grins back. “Too bad we can’t have a quickie in the shower.”

I blow her a kiss with my wet fingers before starting to suckle them dry. Her pussy tastes so good a shudder rocks down my spine. No one could ever taste good as her. I don’t need to test that to know it’s true. Some things you just know deep inside of your heart.

I guess my earlier thought was wrong – I’m only poetic when it’s about her. Nothing else makes me open up like she does. With her it’s okay for me to be me. With everyone I have to hold back something.

Only she knows everything.

“Come on, Aurora! I’m not kidding – I really don’t want to be caught with my pants down if Sarah gets home. At least Valerie has a normal job that if anything will give her more hours not less . . . Sometimes I think you just like the thrill of getting caught.” She’s already halfway to the bathroom, and I rush to catch up. I can only imagine how Sarah would react . . .

“I know, Sylvia. I know. Trust me, the last thing I want is that.” I don’t tell her the thrill isn’t nearly as amazing as just being with her. Sometimes I think if she knew just how much I felt for her, she’d be afraid. I don’t want to lose her.

We slide into the steam of the shower, and wash away the evidence of our forbidden lust. Our love is encouraged, but our lust is not. It’s too cruel.

It makes me wish I were simple as most people think I am. There is one secret I keep from even Sylvia, so I guess that thought was wrong too. There’s so much wrong, and I’d love it if more things were right.

Our eyes lock through the steam, and I let myself enjoy the glistening of her silver and amethyst swirled eyes. Her irises are like twin yin yangs without the little dots. They used to be brown like mine, like our mother’s, before she grew into her gift. Her long, elegant hair is much the same, silver and amethyst weaved together in the most beautiful way anyone could ever imagine.

“I love you, sis.”

“I love you, too.”


And there you have it, the introduction to the first in what I'm calling Silver Girl: The Next Generation playfully in my head. Once I finish Sylvia's introductory story (both shaping up to be short chaptered stories, which I hope to follow with one chaptered stories sans for big sections) I might have a better name for the series, but yes, Aurora and Sylvia are both getting their own stories! Most of you likely already guessed that. Oh well!

Well, that's all for now, best wishes, comment . . . so forth! Tada!

~Madam Kistulot

I am a Lesbian, and I Read Cyan!

Blame a lovely woman named Virginia for this post.

Cyan deserves more attention as literature if not as sex appeal.

Read "Making Jeremy", a touching first-person narrative that twists blunt description and purple phrasing to hilarious effect. I think this is Nexis’s most approachable work, despite the graphic male/male sex, given its lighthearted humor and pathos. Saying this story is cleverly constructed is almost a spoiler. Read this as a good piece of short, piquing literature. Looking at it this way should make the sex scenes less squicky.

"Before I Forget" is a tech-centered story with glimpses of detailed conditioning and a creepy conspiracy. This one diverges from humor and clever wordplay in favor of a minimalist narrative with a trilby-esque flavor. I can't say much about this one without spoilers, either. "Before I Forget" is a succinct take for this niche of the genre. Usually these stories are redundant or serpentine; even trilby frequently writes into that trap. What little "sex" there is in this piece shouldn't squick any who read it as literature.

"Mac's Vacation" could be read as stroke, but it’s good stroke. This is a great, nicely paced sci-fi piece, succinct where it needs to be and obsessively detailed where the target audience would likely most appreciate it. This one really isn’t about the sex either so much as the kinks: tickling, teasing, freezing, drugging, milking, massage, technophilia, and androids. This probably won’t be enjoyable at all to non-cyan readers unless one is looking for a story to read only as mind control through physical manipulation. The entire point of Mac’s trip is to experience orgasm after orgasm with detailed play in between.

These stories are worth reading purely for the quality of their construction and content. “Making Jeremy” and “Before I Forget” were two of my cyan nominations for the Spirals. My other was A Dark and Stormy Night. A literature professor reads several stories from a student with subtle (to him) hypnotic ability. There’s a hilarious, intentionally awful writing assignment starting this piece, a detailed and emotionally engrossing account of Holmes and Watson as a gay couple, and an alluring vampire. This one is a little creepy and sexually graphic. Nexis has a thing for biting! This one is also worth reading purely for the story.

Nexis understands writing. All of his stories are distinct in tone. All of them are solidly constructed. He actually uses literary devices masterfully, and his attempts at wordplay are actually clever. His fetish writing is obsessively elaborate. His characters are poignant and believable. He writes strong, natural dialogue. He already writes better than all but the Archive's almost universally agreed upon masters. Based on some of what I read from last year while looking for Spiral nominations, he stands among them.

Nexis does write good sex, at least what looks to me like good sex for those who enjoy male/male sex. He can write tender or rough, sappy or dispassionate, tailoring the language expertly to the type of situation and personalities involved. Sex is the vehicle for mind control, or an adjunct to other methodology; sex is not the destination or the bulk of the stories. He enjoys underwear, biting, massages, and slow hypnotic patter. His enjoyment of the themes he covers is evident from the obsessive detail and the seamless way in which he interlaces them into narratives often unrelated to them.

Nexis's characters are always poignant. Thought processes, visceral reactions, minor quirks, distinct voices: this writer understands people and knows how to vividly write them! Character voice varies magnificently from story to story and within each story. He knows how to incorporate natural dialogue. The social dynamics threaded through many of his stories feel organic; these could be case studies as easily as they are stories. Nexis isn’t afraid to be blunt, but he’s good at being subtle and eerie, too.

Nexis writes better short stories, I think, but what glows in his longer stories makes me think he’ll eventually master that style, as well. I didn’t get far with Brighton Rock, but I’m extremely picky with comic book stories, and this was his first EMCSA posting. His recent work shimmers. Those who don’t mind arrogance in writing might be able to appreciate his reality-based writing. He does explore his interest in writing as an art in fascinating ways. I read those stories as case studies, which is pretty much what they are since Nexis is speaking clearly as and about himself.

I advise avoiding Nexis’s stories about writing. Nexis gets downright masturbatory in an extremely unflattering way when he writes about the craft itself. "A Story for Mathew," "Whatever Happened to What's His Name?": these works paint him as disgustingly arrogant and a touch sardonic. One of these stories details an unappreciative fan who may or may not be a real person being trained to, well, appreciate him. As much as I adore this man’s talent, I find this side of his work appalling. He’s great so long as he’s not writing about himself. These stories explore fascinating points, but the tripe and arrogance makes them extremely difficult to appreciate. Edit: An e-mail exchange with Nex leaves me rather ashamed of this assessment. He really is disturbingly good at intense characterization! These stories are not based in reality; they are merely explorations of a different kind. If anything, my reaction is a reflection of his talent as a writer and of my lacking talent as a reviewer.

A smaller flaw is his minor technical errors. Missing particles, tense errors easily attributed to typos: these things are hard to catch without a proofreader. Sometimes his writing gets a bit gimmicky (obvious twists, verbatim repetition of an earlier scene to show hypnotic change, scene arrangement itself used to pull a story along), but not nearly so gimmicky as most of the stories I snark. Nexis has enough talent for me to notice these things more than I would in most stories on the Archive. I think he will attain the level of skill for which he is obviously striving. He improves dramatically from story to story, sans the ones about himself, and even those (he tends to place full, shorter stories within longer ones to show various points) sometimes contain good shorter stories.

Some other stories to consider:

"The Magic Words" This is a beautiful, short, well-spun D/s exchange. Nexis writes particularly interesting submissive characters!
"Dreamwork" Not all of his writing-about-writing stories are bad. This one has a turning-the-tables slant, and I think Nexis might be a switch (this would explain his ability to write so well from both sides).
"Dear Robert" This gets a little pompous, but the twist is done well enough to make this a good read. Nexis really does seem to have a thing for turning the tables. This one gets a little creepy.

I'll post from time to time about good cyan finds. I read this color purely as literature. Some of Nexis's stories would probably turn me on to no end if they were red. Erotica rarely turns me on in anything but an engrossed intellectual way, so this, to me, truly says something about Nexis Pas's ability to tell a good story.

* * *

Also: visit #argentgarden on bondagenet! Madam's IRC channel is growing. This is really a geeky hangout where the geeks happen to enjoy EMC, or at least erotic hypnosis. We play Scrabble, give ourselves headaches by discussing temporal mechanics, share hypnosis experiences, geek out over D&D and video games, and discuss the weekly updates. #argentgarden is busiest in the evening (PST). Darksong and his infamous Shelley were there earlier tonight. Some of the regulars don't even visit the forums: one doesn't need to be aware of community politics or events to fit in with us. Why not visit our odd, geeky corner of IRC? (One doesn't need to be a geek, but the Madam is a touch insane. Beware!)

Madam's first Silververse spin-off story is sizzling. She is much better now at tightly braiding heat with complex plot, and her worry about Aurora sounding too much like Sarah is a silly one. Aurora's first story is dark in a way Madam hasn't explored previously. This series will be readable without knowledge of the previous series. Please comment on her post below, if you haven't already, so she'll post a preview! She's going to make everyone wait until November for the entirety of these stories (but they'll be much more thoroughly edited, at least).

~Valbot