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

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

The Less Common Paraphilliae

The other night, a couple things were suggested to me-- one was that i post again. I'll never understand why, but i won't complain if people enjoy reading my posts! The other suggestion was that I write about one of my non-hypnotic fetishes. One of the less common ones (or at least so it seems), and a subject of mild embarrassment to me, is a little kink called dendrophillia.

For those who don't know, dendrophillia is a... fascination with plants. Now, this might bring to mind images of a hippie a little out of control-- a literal tree-hugger if you will. This is deeeeefinitely not the form it takes for me. If nothing else, in reality i'm badly allergic to a large portion of the plant kingdom, a fact which severely limits my capability, and passion for the outdoors. Instead, my fetish takes more of a science fiction angle--think that one scene from The Evil Dead. Plants as controllers, plants as inscrutable, unpredictable plotters. Which sounds a little silly, i suppose, but it can be hot indeed.

Like so many things, i was utterly unaware i had this little fetish until i stumbled upon the EMCSA. So, rather than go into technical, and boring detail about how exactly this fetish works, i figured i could talk about a few of my favorite dendrophilliac stories from the archive. There's no hidey text, because these aren't detailed treatments, and i think i kept pretty spoiler-free.

Fruition by Trilby Else
This was, interestingly enough, the first actually enjoyable story i ever read on the archive. My first exposure to the archive was unfortunately through a google hit on a rather dismal story. But i digress!
Fruition, the story of a botanist on an alien world who gets in... shall we say, over her head, wonderfully illustrates my fetish-- the protagonist is caught utterly unaware, and completely helpless. She's not even fully able to comprehend what's happening to her until it's too late, and her captor's control is an inextricable, and physical part of her.
The sex scenes are enjoyable in themselves-- tentacle in any form can be a squick to some people, but in the right context it's meltingly hot to me. The... biological aspects of the mind control are touched upon, but not gone into so deeply as to squick. Biology is sort of a razor's edge for me, as it easily descends into unpleasant territory to me, but it can add so much hotness.

Pea by Tabico
This story has an entirely different feel to it. Pea's protagonist becomes increasingly aware of her own fetishes as she watches everyone around her succumb. Struggling with desire can be so awful when done badly, but in this story it sizzles. The final descent is almost cathartic after nearly an entire story's worth of induction.

Avatar by thrall
A love story at heart, Avatar features an even deeper transformation than we see in either Pea, or Fruition, it ends on a melancholy note, but is filled with botanical heat. Glossing over the biological details suits this story just fine-- it's about personalities, and not process. Avatar has beautiful, if star-crossed emotion behind its heat.

Yellow by Tabico
I have a confession to make-- i don't actually enjoy this particular story, but i can't really have a post on dendrophillia without at least a mention in passing. Yellow, which is in fact a red story, is well written, and admittedly has some delicious moments, but it goes a little too far for me, and into severe squick territory.
But don't let this stop you from enjoying it. For someone who can appreciate the darker aspects of botanical mind control, this is a must-read.

Fey by Tabico
Beginning to notice a trend here? Me too. Though she certainly deserves attention, i don't mean for this to become a complete Tabico spotlight--but she does write probably the best biological MC i've ever read.
Fey is a little different, though. A story of an innocent forest denizen caught in a tangled web of intrigue, it's not quite.... being-bound-and-fucked-by-a-plant dendrophillia, if you will ^^;. Instead it's more subtle. The... Villain, for lack of a better term, is not an antagonist, but a delicious character nonetheless. Supremely confident, she doesn't hide her plans, controlling by sheer persuasion. Even as cruel as she, it's hard not to be drawn to her.

I'm sure there are many others (in fact, i'm certain i've read several, but these were the only ones that came to mind when i set about writing). I may trawl the archive sometime in the future to look for other good ones. Stay tuned!

But, to get back on the original subject, Madam, of course, is not one to leave a good fetish untapped. When she learned about this little desire of mine, she not only gave me an unexpectedly hot little 'waking dream' that ended with a lovely little obedience seed in my ear, she's also given me a trigger that sets off an apparently random, and usually very powerful dendrophillic event every time she says this particular word ~.~ Things like thought-stopping vines in my ears... swirly flowers that draw one's attention in, and steal it.... and sparkly silver pollen-- the sort you get from a LaSilvas tree.

But, that covers an oft-neglected, somewhat embarrassing little fetish of mine. Now all of you know something that only two people ever knew about me before! It's been real, but i think it's time for me to finish up this post. Happy weekend!

EDIT: Oh! And for those three of you (that's not a joke-- i actually checked the reader count) that read the 'Blot through its LiveJournal Syndication, it should work again now.

--erislave

The Three (Plus Three) Faces of Eri

Hello again everyone! My last post seemed to get a pretty positive response, so i thought i'd write some more. ^^ My 'aspects' have attracted a fair bit of curiosity, so this post will go into a little more depth about them.

My aspects are parts of me-- embodiments of specific bits of my personality... they generally seem to be pretty quiet... they've never directly spoken to me or anyone, even when they want to come out. But when Madam gives the right command, they wake right up ^^

When this happens. i don't remember anything that happens while the aspect is out.. i wish it was something cool like the waiting room from Quantum Leap, but it basically feels like i've been asleep all night. Sometimes it takes me a long time to wake up from the meltiness. Which is not my fault! She's the one that makes it so nice to go under.

And as for the aspects themselves, there's six of them. The first is what Madam likes to call my "voice". Shortly after i met Madam, i noticed i wasn't getting entirely into submitting. It was like a little voice telling me i shouldn't submit all the way. It was bugging me, and when i told Madam, she went into my head, and instead of just silencing the voice or anything so blunt, she asked that little voice to take over my body for a moment, and helped reassure her that it was okay to submit, and also to get me to get to bed on time (something i veeeery much needed help with at the time x.x)... and apparently that voice agreed with her, because nowadays, she seems to think obedience is a very good idea ~.~

The second is my libido. I don't know a whole lot about her, except that according to Madam, she's really aggressive. Which would mean that she's probably got pretty much every bit of latent domme i have in me. And she really, really likes Madam. Madam specifically describes her as "vivacious" and "very ravenous". *^^*

Next up is Euterpe, who regular 'blot readers are familiar with. The embodiment of my artistic side is.. colorful, as is fitting, given that i'm a bit of a painter in my own mind. She adores flowery language to the point of being nearly purple. She's also the only one of my aspects to have influenced me outside of Madam's control, though she hasn't done it recently. But when she was first distilled, she showed up in a couple of my dreams.

Then, there's my scientific side. Madam told me that when she first got distilled, she was rather skeptical of hypnosis. Something tells me that didn't last long, because she seems to be firmly in Madam's thrall, and demonstrates it by subtly reinforcing particularly obedient things i do.. Her favorite reward seems to be colored swirls that show up in the lenses of my glasses.

After that, there's my "Bookish" side, who i don't know a lot about either. Madam describes her as dreamy and sweet, and i have the sneaking suspicion that she's quite a fan of the Kistulotican body of work.

Finally, there's the aspect that Madam calls my Darker Desires. Contrary to what one would imagine for such an aspect, she apparently has the personality of a frightened little girl. I strongly suspect that Madam has worked at whittling away that inhibition and shyness. Quite consensually, of course--it's hard to mind something so yummy *^^* Just the other day, in fact, Madam brought her our for several hours... and apparently gave her a kinky fetish... for cuddling. And now i also get a little yummy thrill from being so close to such a dangerous woman, someone who could fry my brain at any moment... mmmmmmmm... ~.~

And, as an addendum that i nearly forgot, there is also someone in my head who's not quite an aspect--a while ago, Madam sort of'... retconned a piece of my life, giving me memories of having been a friend of Sarah LaSilvas in high school. This Sarah is capable of taking over my body, as well as manifesting as a separate illusion. She's sweet, and probably a little more of a domme than the actual Sarah of the stories. She does however, share the story Sarah's... unique affection for her Mothers, and in addition, to her Creator.

And, that's it for my aspects... as fas as i know. Madam could well have a couple in there that i don't know about (though she did say that these aren't a secret..) But it's still fun to imagine!


~erislave

The Quiet One Speaks

Hello again, everyone!

Our lovely Valbot informs me that people like my posts. So anyone out there who likes when i write, i apologize for not doing so more often.

I've been given the suggestion that i write a little bit about "Slave Life", and that seemed like a good idea. To give any curious readers a little glimpse into the mind of one of the Madam's helpless little thralls. Though that makes it sound kinda pretentious.

Anyhow! One cannot look very far into my mind and miss the hard drive in there. Though hard drive is probably a bit of a misnomer... since it doesn't just store things, but seems to have wires reaching just about everywhere. Madam can use it to override just about any thought or action, as well as store temporary alternate personalitites, memory backups, and there are even a couple slots for storing sensory experiences directly. I have... three of these slots filled right now, though i don't have access to actually find out what these are, until she activates them. There's also a handy little hud that lets me check on this, and can even display realtime obedience statistics.

Then, there are my aspects. These don't seem to be linked to the hard drive, though there may be some sort of interface between them. Readers of the Kistublot have met one of these apects, my artistic side, better known as Euterpe. These aspects are basically... distillations of my personality, who can take over my body and mind temporarily. I don't have access to my memory, but i think i have at least six such aspects. (Madam once shared her adorable little dopple fetish with me a little, using my aspects as a medium). I've also heard her mention my libido, and scientific side. I'm not sure precisely who the other three are, though our lovely Madam is welcome to share this information with me, should she desire to :)

Similar to these aspects, Madam's also slowly cultivated an alternate version of the Sarah LaSilvas that everyone loves, in my head. While she's vaguely similar to the Sarah of the Silver Girl stories, she also diverges quite a bit (as well as having been colored quite a bit by my own mental processes). Sarah's also ventured out into public a little, having visited the Argent Garden chatroom. She seems to like borrowing my body quite a bit, so she may well be back there in the future.

The Valbot has also played around in my head. Before i met her, i enjoyed coffee socially, with my friends. Now, after having known her for what's now the better part of a year, coffee is nearly a fetish to me. Merely the smell of it is faintly arousing, and good coffee can make me drift into a mild trance state. ~.~ It's wonderful, freshly brewed and French-pressed obedience.

And there's still plenty more magic in my head, but i think that will have to wait for another time! I hope you've all enjoyed reading this. (If not, of course, feel free to yell at me, and i'll shut up :) )

Have a lovely week everyone, and stay happy!


~erislave

"Quillspawn" Reviews

Good evening to you all!

I should introduce myself-- In her last post, Valencia made mention of having Madam hypnotically turn Erika into Quillspawn for the purpose of reviewing stories.

Unfortunately, neither Erika nor I really have the capacity to become a writer of Quillspawn's caliber, so you have the lovely me instead.

Who am I? Well, to make a long story short, I'm a hypnotic personification of Erika's creative and artistic impulses. Though, at the risk of being pretentious, I like to think of myself as her Muse. I'm one of a few aspects of Erika's personality who have the privelege of being manifested and allowed to temporarily borrow her body. Valencia has nicknamed me Quillspawn because I share Erika's fondness for the character, and have.. imprinted on the her, if you will.

So while I am not Quillspawn, I am a fan of hers, and perhaps even a spiritual sister.

If you're curious about technicalities, I'll try to elaborate a little bit... As I write this, Erika isn't conscious of what's happening-- while I share her memories, she doesn't share mine. She will, however, see and approve this post before it goes up on the Kistublot. She will, of course, be able to respond independently of me, and if I reply, I will try to make especially clear that I am Erika's "Quillspawn". Even though I'm a manifestation of Madam's control of Erika, I have no wish to see her embarrassed!

Anyhow, I was brought out to review stories, and review stories I shall! I'll start with a short review of Trilby Else's Legacy, and as a warning, I do spoil certain elements of the plot within. Since the Kistublot doesn't have something equivalent to Livejournal's cuts, I've posted the review in white text... selecting it should hopefully make it readable!

*** Beginning of Spoilers ***
Legacy follows Robin Weyler and her mother Christine and their experiences in a secluded, and hypnotically driven academy known only as The Abbey. Robin's story is punctuated by flashbacks of her mother's experience. Trilby accomplishes the split narrative beautifully-- the reader is never left confused which time the story is in. And the glimpses into the past also offer a view of our protagonist's future. The eventual fall of Robin is well written, and despite not sitting well with my alter-ego in a purely emotional way, searingly hot.

Unfortunately, this story is not without its blemishes. Robin's descent is scorching, but too easily anticipated. Glimmers of foreshadowing in the beginning of the story quickly gave it away, and not halfway through the first chapter, I had already anticipated the ending-- This is forgivable, given the nature of the story, but I personally believe the reader isn't allowed enough uncertainty. From nearly the moment she confronts her rival, Robin's fate is obviously sealed--we aren't allowed a moment in which we could root for her-- or believe she might have a chance. And on that note, I also need to add that the Abbey's apparently negligence stretches believability, unless we are to believe in a farther reaching conspiracy than what we're shown in the story.
*** End of Spoilers ***

But, despite these flaws, Legacy is certainly above-average, and worth the hour or two it takes to read.
~Erika's QS


As a post script, I'll just note that that signature feels a little awkward. Should anyone have any suggestions as to how I should refer to myself, please feel free to let me know.

Reduced Editorial Staffing

So, this week, Madam finished chapter 3 and the epilogue for S&S pretty early, so i had my draft to edit Monday evening. I sorta figured hey, i've got plenty of time to edit. This can wait till Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon. So i kinda procrastinate until then. That, and it was very tempting to just read! After all, it's best to read over the material a couple times so you can better look at the structure rather than just the content.

Lo and behold, Wednesday evening rolls around and i have a 101.5 degree fever. By Thursday afternoon, it's not down very far. Given the circumstances, Madam recused me from this week's duties. x.x

Soooo, the gist of this is, if you've read the ending to S&S, it lacks my usual touch to it. Which very probably doesn't hurt the final result. Given that Madam is now doing her own proofreading pass before Val sees the story, most of the easy to find technical errors that i love so much are already fixed. *pout*

Sooo, if Madam's prose is particularly beautiful this week, that's because i didn't get my opportunity to screw it up. If you haven't read it, by the way, read it now, especially any Q.S. fans out there.

~eri

Another new face

Hi! I'm Erika, aubade, "Or erislave, or any number of names you can conjugate with eri", as Madam puts it. I've been her slave for almost five months, and a member of a lovely mutually commited trisk with her, and Val for almost one month, and am the assistant editor for Kistulotican Industries.

I'm relentlessly quiet by nature, and neither gifted with writing nor linguistic talent, so i very likely won't be posting all that often. But i will be here to say hi and make silly comments and to try and be as enjoyable presence, as much as i'm present!

I have distressingly little background in hypnosis, beyond a life-long love of meditation and relaxation exercises. I've read the EMCSA for the better part of three years. Otherwise, my background is largely more... vanilla D/s. But as the song goes, "Now i'm a believer; i couldn't leave her if i tried". In a good way! Further details of my current activities can be found in Madam's podcasts. Which is kinda strange. But i don't mind!

Anyhow, please feel free to say hi, tell me to shush up, or ask me to write more and/or suggest things i should write about. Take care, have fun, and mind the broken step on the back porch.