A treatise on sexual aggression and dominance as a trait in newly acquired American slaves…

Oct23

…and how to bring them to heel, or how I learned to stop worrying and love their resistance.”(34)

An excerpt

…I had owned Robert for five days at this point. He had, just to remind you:
* Broken a window and bent a safety grate
* Burnt down the tool shed in the back
* Beaten up three other slaves
* Broken my nose (accidentally)

He had also withstood:
* isolation
* limited meals
* scorn and verbal shaming
* physical punishment, including the belt
* and more isolation.

We were now at the point where I was ready to do just about anything, just to make him listen. I found myself staring at him – chained in my wine cellar, panting, with his face and his feet bloody, the former from the police he had fought and the latter in my last attempt to make him listen. And it clicked.

“All right.” I pulled up a chair – a barrel, to be specific – and sat down. “Clearly, this is not working.”

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“Why are you being so difficult?” I admit, I probably sounded a bit petulant.

“I don’t want to be here.” He yanked against the chains. “I don’t want to be your little pet.” Another yank, digging the metal into his already-bleeding wrists. “And I don’t know what the hell you want from me.”

I have mentioned I’d never owned an American slave before. It was a bit of a revelation. “They didn’t explain it to you, in the market?”

“They told me to sit down and shut up. If all you wanted was ‘sit down and shut up,’ we probably wouldn’t be sitting in this dungeon.”

“It’s a wine cellar.” I waved my hand. “All right.” I made a decision, sitting there in that cellar. It wasn’t normal; it wasn’t in any of the advice books about keeping slaves. But slaves are, after all, people. And I was going to have to work with the person I had. “I’ll make you a deal.”

Written to [personal profile] kc_obrien‘s Prompt, also the title of this piece.

If you want more, oh, there’s got to be a lot more.

Just drop a tip in the the tip handcuffs:


This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/833936.html. You can comment here or there.

Wordcount Jan-September

Oct23

I was looking at my chart!
These are just raw numbers, words written each month & running total (2014):
Jan – 48,724
Feb – 37,665 – 86,389
Mar – 35,630 – 122,019
Apr – 40,584 – 162,603
May – 24,651 – 187,254
Jun – 29,451 – 216,705
Jul – 42,970 – 259,675
Aug – 33,408 – 293,083
Sep – 18,513 – 311,596

To date in October: 22,314

Whee!

2013:
Month Wordcount Running
January 38,615
February 28,822 67,437
March 58,837 126,274
April 37,323 163,597
May 47,941 211,538
June 57,215 268,753
July 44,447 313,200
August 25,426 338,626
September 30,178 368,804
October 41,476 410,280
November 89,730 500,010
December 29,491 529,501

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Thimbleful Thursday: A Piece of Cake

Oct23

“Okay, so, first we need to break into the Library…” Asha ticked it off on an invisible white board.

“Piece of cake.” Tonya didn’t even look up from burnishing her nails.

“Then we need to break into the Rare Books Vault…”

“Cake.”

“And then we need to break the spell on the book, which will include casting a ritual circle in less than a three-foot-wide space, and not setting off either the spell-based alarms or the motion detectors while doing so.”

“What, all of that while balancing on our heads? Come on, give us a challenge. Piece of cake.” Tonya grinned over her well-filed nails at Asha.

“…and, once we have the book in our hands, we need to get out of the Rare Books Vault, get out of the Library, get off campus and back to the apartment, and then we’ll need another ritual circle, which, at least we have, to get the information properly out of the the book. And then put it all back – though that’s the easy part.”

Tonya’s grin grew bigger. “I’m telling you, Asha. It’s a piece of cake.”

“And what do we get out of it?”

Her roommate gestured broadly. “The world’s best piece. Of. Cake.”

To Today’s Thimbleful Prompt, “Piece of Cake,” 204 words

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Romance Novel Readers: I have a question

Oct23

I am beginning to notice a trend, in the few books I have read where there is a woman In Charge, On Top – where that’s the whole concept of the novel – where she decides like 3/4 of the way through the story that she wants to be on bottom, or he decides he wants her to submit and she goes along. And all of a sudden she’s all submissive and … I signed on to read an Fdomme story.

Is this common, or just the stuff I’ve read?

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/833187.html. You can comment here or there.

Preparing for NaNoWriMo 2014

Oct22

It’s that time of year again. The time when I start doing everything to prep for NaNoWriMo except actually outline my story (or, in this case, stories). I’ve downloaded calendars. Lots of calendars. All the calendars, some of them from 2009. (For wallpapers, you see). I’ve figured out how to do my wordcount, what wordcount I want to do, and what days I’m going to assume I won’t get any writing done. I downloaded a new wordcount spreadsheet, took it apart into its component parts, and reintegrated parts into my own.

All of this is very fun, and most of it – the part that isn’t the wallpapers, at least – is rather useful. I have a plan for my numbers. But now what?

And that’s the question, isn’t it? What do you do before November, to make NaNoWriMo flow smoother?

Among my list of things (other than “play on the forums and put all sorts of lovely calendars in rotation for my wallpaper”) I can/will/should do to prepare:

* Set up a wordcount spreadsheet (See these; they’re lovely!) – this is definitely a YMMV situation, but I find having a tracker helps.

* Clean up other writing queue as much as possible. This is *cough* not the time to have a wildly successful prompt call. That being said, I’m going to get as much of said prompt call done before Nov 1., then pick up on Dec. 1. Or 2.

* Know what you’re doing. This can take a number of forms, but I can’t imagine stepping into Nov. 1st with no idea at all what my project was going to be.

For me in previous years, this involved notecards, outlines, scribbles – this year, it’s a bit more complicated. Step one is pick four projects, since I’m doing a series of stories for submission. Step two is coming up with an idea for, and then outlining, each story. And I’ve discovered, thanks to @Inventrix, beat sheets (here), so now I have a whole new thing to do.

* Make a work space. I have a workspace, but I’ve been working on making it more comfortable, more tidy, and more mine. If I’m going to spend an hour a night there for a month, I want it to be nice.

I even, thanks to a suggestion from @cluudle, have candles. Pretty flame & a nice vanilla scent! And I’ve been working on making the area as ergonomic as possible.

* Plan for the inevitable; plan for the family; plan for life. Last year, I wrote 84,000+ words – and nearly forgot Christmas. So this year, I’ve set a smaller goal, and am working hard at remembering important things like husband, cats… and Christmas.

What about you? What do you do to prepare for NaNoWriMo, or for any large project?

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/832801.html. You can comment here or there.

Soooo Close… Dungeon & Caves #promptcall $6 from goal

Oct22

The Dungeon & Cave Prompt Call is at $94!

That’s just $6 from the next incentive level and $26 from the rug! So if you’ve been sitting on an “oh I’d love a little more of that story,” now’s the time. $6 will get you 600 more words. $26 will get you a whopping 2,600 more words.



At $25, T. & I get take-out. Thai, I think, though it may be Indian. Reached!

at $40, I will commission a piece of character art from a crowdfunded artist Reached!

At $50, I will write an extra fic for everyone. One prompter chosen at random will get an extra 500-word story. Reached!

At $75, three prompters chosen at random will get an extra 500-word story written to their prompt Reached!

At $100, three more prompters chosen at random will get an extra 500-word story.

At $120, I get a rug for my cave!

As an extra incentive – if we get to $120 I will then, in December (Nano is coming), write an ADDITIONAL 2600-word story continuation, chosen by reader poll.

Looking for stories to see if you want something continued? Use the Giraffcall tag!

(The cuffs are the tip jar)

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/832554.html. You can comment here or there.

Learning the Arrangement

Oct21

Valeta’s nails were sharp on Ivor’s shoulders, and her breath was warm in his ear. “You want to be a good boy for me, don’t you?”

Ivor swallowed a protest. Good boy sounded so kidlike, so condescending.

He didn’t have to say anything. She chuckled anyway, her laugh stinging in his ear. “The options-” She pricked the side of his neck with those sharp, sharp nails – “are to be a good boy or a bad boy. You may answer me.”

Ivor’s mouth was dry. He licked his lips. “I don’t want – don’t want you to think I’m a bad boy.”

“It’s a start.” Her nails raked down his back, leaving sharp stinging behind. Ivor gasped, which only served to make Valeta laugh. “You’ll learn,” she assured him. “You’ll learn why you want to be my good boy.”

He’d signed the contract. Ivor straightened his back and nodded, short and sweet. He’d wanted to learn.

Written to Sky’s commissioned continuation of An Unusual Arrangement.

If you’d like to see more of this story, there is definitely more to be written! Just drop a tip in the the tip handcuffs:

Next: Getting Into the Arrangement

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/832377.html. You can comment here or there.

Prince Rodegard Visits the Imperial Capital, a story for the Dungeon & Cave Call

Oct21

Written to [personal profile] lilfluff‘s prompt.

“I’ve always wanted to see the Imperial Capital.” Prince Rodegard bounced in his seat, ignoring the armed guards surrounding him and acting not nearly the age Edora had been assured he was. “Is it as shining and bright and tall as everyone says it is?”

He was a hostage, technically. The entire railway car was filled with people devoted to getting him – and, by proxy, Edora – back to the Imperial Capital, where he would remain as assurance of his royal mother’s good behavior. But the young prince had volunteered, and, from the looks of things, hardly understood the situation he was in.

Well, it was Edora’s job to instruct him, as well as to protect, guide, and direct him. “Well, as with anything, your Royal Highness,” she replied, in the language of the Capital and of her childhood, “there are many facets to the Capital, and some of them shine more than others.”

The Prince blinked at her. “What was that?”

“The language spoken in the Imperial Palace. It is called Eskembion by those who speak it, your Royal Highness.”

“I thought the whole Empire spoke Cetechlain! It’s the language of trade, isn’t it? It’s the universal language!” The boy looked panicked.

Edora smiled. “The Empire is large, young princeling. And it was once many small kingdoms, with many small cultures.”

The boy – the Prince – leaned forward. “That was a different language.”

“Very good. That was Telirienan, spoken in the far South and in parts of the East-“

“-where the Imperial Consort came from.” Rodegard nodded slowly. “How many languages do you speak, Dame Edora?”

Time to explain her actual title to him later; he likely thought he was being polite. “Seven fluently, five more functionally, and I can swear in three more. By the time I am done with you, your Royal Highness, you will know at least three of those.”

“Done with…” He was turning a bit grey. Good. Edora smiled.

“I have six months to prepare you for Her Imperial Highness. We’re going to have to do a lot of work.”


Edora Begins to Explain Life to Prince Rodegard

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/831779.html. You can comment here or there.

First three answers to p*rn m*me

Oct21

“I… Oh… My.” Regine let her head loll on the pillow and shut her eyes. “This is not at all what… oh!… what I meant when I suggested we discuss your behaviour.”

“I know.” Between the Director’s legs, Ivette paused in her work just long enough to purr. “But this is what I meant. I’m a succubus, after all.”

“…Quite true.” Regine grabbed the pillow and tried, unsuccessfully to stifle a moan. “Quite the… oh… specimen, too.”

~

“Do you think maybe is we put this tube here…” Kailani frowned over the machine. “It’s quite an invention, but I’m not sure if it will work.”

“Well.” Tairikie found a wild grin on her face, the same one that she’d felt when she climbed the mountain. “I can think of one way to try it out.”

“One way to…” The redhead – what a wild color, speaking of wild! – took a moment, but then she began to grin. “I suppose the way to test sexual aether would be this way, wouldn’t it?” She slipped out of her shirt.

Redheads, Tairikie was fascinated to learn, had pink nipples.

~

“Kneel.” Aviv studied his new Kept – slender, fae-looking, dark-haired, and not his normal type. Male, for one. Addergoole was all about the not-normal, though. He unzipped his fly. “The first thing you’ll have to learn is to serve without argument. Addergoole will -” He fell silent as his Kept’s mouth wrapped around his cock. “You’ve done this before, haven’t you?”

Dark eyes rolled up to look at him, and a noise in the back of the boy’s throat trilled against Aviv’s cock. Aviv groaned. Questions later. He tangled his hand in the boy’s hair and let him do what he so clearly wanted to do.

Meme here – http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/831348.html

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