Darkniciad

The decision isn't trending so well thusfar. That's the day they decided to nuke the category. And that's today, almost a month later. Quite the steady nosedive. Lit in the meantime has trended upward. The movement is smaller, but it's always going to be on the top end of the scale. The closer you get to the #1 ranking, the slower you move. That's why SOL has such wild fluxuations near the bottom of the scale. I use asstr as the classic comparision here, because they've been steady in about the same range for as long as I've been writing, despite the site being unstable, outdated, and lacking in user-friendliness. It looks to me like Lit is benefitting greatly from Lush's decision. What remains to be seen is whether Lush can stabilize and rise again on pure quality. The rules and restrictions at Lush mean that a lot of edgy kinks simply aren't viable there. I've had to make changes to even my fantasy world stories in order for them to post there, and some of them are only up because they were specifically allowed by senior moderators. The thing they've got going for them is a higher quality of writing due to minor errors being edited by moderators and major errors never seeing the light of day. The moderation team is large enough to read every story closely, catching most of that. We'll see, I suppose.

I appreciate it Believe me, it bothers me as much, if not more, to have it sitting there unfinished.

I have a couple thousand words of the next chapter written, but I keep stalling every time I open it. Just checked, and it's 2019 words exactly. That's after umpteen revisions, cuts, and rewrites. I probably have three times that much saved in cut-scene files, and five times that much completely abandoned with backspacing. Looking at where I left off is almost making my fingers itch, but not quite. I'm on a important scene with Meckataur, which leads into a important scene with Danica and Marlena, and one with Celes, Andrea, and Ashley, and one with Zoraster and Ebonar... I'm at a critical juncture, and It just doesn't want to come out right. This is the first time I've looked at it in a while, because obsessing on it only makes it worse. I'm slowly beginning to realize that, though every time I have a spurt of creativity and hit a wall, I end up fighting it -- at least for a little while. It will never be abandoned, so long as I'm breathing and can get words into the computer somehow. I started writing it for my wife, and she'd hate me not finishing it.

Lit has increased the number of stories posting per day, in order to bring down the long lag between submission and posting. It did cause the main New Stories list to become even more difficult to navigate, though. Especially if you're looking for specific categories or authors. The solution is to switch to the category hubs, which have been expanded to show more new stories. http://www.literotica.com/stories/index.php Scroll down to "Erotic Stories", and then click on the link for whatever category floats your boat. You'll get targeted results going back at least a couple of days, so you don't miss anything. Of course, you can keep track of my stories by following me here, on twitter, facebook, or signing up for my newsletter, but I'm probably not the only Lit author you're fond of, so this is the way to find the stories of others.

YES! http://www.thecinemasnob.com/74/post/2014/05/midnight-screenings-the-amazing-spider-man-2.html I'm sitting here watching this right now, and they're covering most of what I think is wrong with this movie. Brad might not even be offended by a pr0n writer linking to him LOL As I said in the shoutbox, if you're thinking about going to watch this, and you're determined to go out to the movies, go watch Captain America The Winter Soldier again.

Latest quarterly track is up. http://www.darkniciad.com/hotlink_pics/All_3_Names_05_02_14.htm It's time for the annual roundup since last May, which is: 132,207 words in new stories, 20,093 votes, 1,897,276 views, 294 public comments, 1017 story favorites Another big jump in Dark favorites Almost as many as RR, which is saying something. Added another little section this time that tracks the word count of stories that are exclusive to one site or another. Adding all those exclusive stories to my Lit word count brings me up to 1,979,044. If I can get my act together, I could very well surpass 2 million words soon. If I counted the ancient stories from the "Genesis" section of the "About Me" page, and the "Lost Work" section of the "My Work Extras" page, I would be over that 2 million, but I consider those "unpublished" even though they're available here, and some are complete stories.

*Sigh* Epic fail #3. Biggest part of the problem was trying to start with an established relationship and having the proper amount of tension without one of them coming off as dickish. And, I have to admit, part of the problem for the last three years has been the insults and accusations thrown at me on the Lit forum every time I even consider posting a story in this series. It sucks the life out of me, and makes it difficult to write. I'm not finishing the one I was working on. That's for certain. I haven't written a word on it since the day I posted in the shoutbox that I was still working on it. Once I put it down for a "few minutes" shortly thereafter, I haven't even felt like opening it. I may turn my attention to a story I've been building up to for years now. I've been putting pieces of it in place for the last several stories, and the timetable is right for it to roll out soon. In fact, I have a limited window where I can actually write the thing. Maybe if I start on it now, I'll actually have it ready by August. My current thought is to have a summer backdrop for it, anyway. The ending scene sort of excludes Halloween, Winter Holiday, and Valentine's. Nude Day's the right season, but despite the casual nudity of the series, that doesn't meet the bar of what qualifies as "on theme" in my mind for that contest. So, it's pretty much Summer or Earth Day.

Word of warning: If you DVRd the latest episode and haven't watched it yet, ask yourself these questions. Have I seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier? ( Do see it. Excellent! ) Do I plan to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier? ( Didn't I just tell you to go see it? ) If you answer "Yes" to both of the above questions, do NOT watch tonight's episode of Agents of Shield until you do.

Absolutely ( Moved your post here, as it would be more likely for others to find it here, where the answer could help them as well ) http://www.darkniciad.com/danica_chrono That page is a chronological timeline of the world, listing all the stories as well as some other significant events.

Here's a quick preview of a Christi Crimm story from even earlier in her life than "Casting Off Convention" called "All the Fuss" ==================== “Two of three touches – blades only?” he asked. Christi nodded, as it was a fairly standard set of rules meaning no kicks, fists, or wrestling. The reason for the oppressive humidity announced itself with a rumble of thunder a moment later. A storm was rolling in, and it was doing so rapidly. He looked toward the lightning-streaked clouds and said, “That could make things interesting.” “If it takes that long,” Christi said confidently as she strode over to where she’d observed the men sparring earlier in the day. Jorfal laughed and pulled off his shirt before taking up a position opposite her. She couldn’t help but look. Though he was much older – closer to her father’s age than hers – he had a broad, muscular chest peppered with scars. His muscles working beneath the skin as he extended his sword toward her set off a chilly tingle between her legs. But, there was a battle to be won. She crossed her sword with his. After a tap, they both dropped into fighting crouches. Christi knew he had an advantage in both reach and strength. That meant she had to use her speed to overcome it. It was nothing new, as that was the case with her father and brothers as well. He attacked first with a stab toward her mid-section. She cleanly deflected the blow and danced to the side, not letting him close with her. Before she could counter, he launched a swipe at her arm, and she batted it away. This time, she was able to take a slash at him, stealing the momentum of his first assault. Back and forth they went – wooden swords cracking and hissing as they traded blows. Sweat soon poured from both of their bodies in the humid air, but he was a seasoned veteran, and she was hardly a novice. Though she’d never seen real battle, she’d been tested time and time again by her father and brothers. It wasn’t one of them she faced this time, though. Mingling with the adrenaline of battle was something else – quite unexpected. It began as the faintest of hints, and rapidly swelled as they continued the dance of combat. Christi was aroused. The first blast of wind from the coming storm hit them, raising gooseflesh on their sweat-soaked skin. Dust and grit rode on the powerful gust, joining the sweat already stinging Christi’s eyes. She saw the thrust coming, and brought her sword into line, but it was a fraction of a second too late to resist his strength. Christi grunted as the tip of his sword jabbed into her shoulder. “Point,” he declared as he withdrew the weapon. “Point,” she agreed. If it had been a real fight, the cut would have certainly slowed her down. “Got the dirt out of my eyes a little quicker,” he said as he stepped back toward the starting position. A tickle arose between her legs when a fresh rush of wetness gathered there. The arousal that had bubbled up within her wasn’t ebbing in the slightest. Her heart raced from the combined excitement of battle and desire as she watched him lift his sword. The wind continued unabated – gusting even more powerfully as the storm drew closer. The first sprinkles blew in as Christi took her place opposite her opponent, and increased to a downpour when they crossed their wooden swords. Once again, the battle was joined. Christi danced on light feet, deflecting his powerful blows and seeking openings to make her own attacks. The driving rain soon made the footing treacherous, but she compensated and kept the pressure on. Within a minute, her clothing was saturated, and her shirt grew transparent – clinging to her like a second skin. His eyes focused on them for only a moment, but when he glanced at her all-but-bare breasts, she was ready. The point of her sword darted in toward his chest, and his parry was too slow. Exaltation welled up within her as the wooden weapon stabbed into his shoulder – almost a mirror blow to his that ended the previous round. “Point,” he said, and then laughed. “Caught me out there.” Christi smiled and pushed a lock of sodden hair away from her forehead and eyes, making absolutely no effort to conceal her attributes. A chill shot up her spine when he openly admired them. Before they could prepare for the deciding round, a deafening crack of thunder sounded, startling them both. The brilliant flash drew their eyes to where the bolt had slammed into the earth – far too close for comfort. Shouting over yet another roar of thunder, Jorfal said, “Why don’t we call this one a draw for now, before the gods get in the game?” Christi nodded, and he yelled, “This way.” She jogged at his side, once again catching his eyes gravitating toward her bouncing breasts. He led her around the barracks to a smaller building in the back and jerked the door open to let her in. Christi dashed in out of the rain and took in her surroundings. The place was small – consisting only of the room she was standing in, and a bedroom without a door beyond. It was sparsely furnished, but decorated with martial trophies. Jorfal shook the water out of his hair and tossed his wooden blade on the table. “Have a seat. It may be a draw, but I’ll buy you a drink anyway.” “Works for me,” she said as she put her sword down and pulled out one of the plain wooden chairs. “You can scrap, that’s for sure,” he said as he retrieved a jug from a shelf. “Not afraid to say I’m glad it was pissing and pouring so nobody saw me lose that point to a girl, though. Your brothers have been the only other ones to give me a workout in ages.” Christi chuckled and grabbed the cup he sat down in front of her. His clothes were clinging to him as well, and with him standing next to her, she could see a rather intriguing silhouette beneath his pants. He poured a small amount of clear liquid into her cup. “They call this White Lightning. Fits that mess outside. It kicks like a mule.” She knew the corn liquor well, as she’d been sneaking it from her father’s stash for some time. The momentary flash of shock on his face when she tossed back the potent brew changed to one of respect as she sat the cup down. “Well, damn me. You fight and drink like a man, even if you damn sure don’t look like one.” He laughed and poured his own drink. Christi’s arousal reached a fever pitch. She knew there was supposed to be a kind of dance to the whole thing, but she was in no mood to wait. The ache between her legs was screaming for attention now, and she had a man right in front of her who seemed to be interested in helping her with that. It was time to find out what all the fuss was about. When Jorfal downed his drink, she stood up and said, “Think I’m going to get out of these wet clothes.” “If you don’t wait out the storm first, you’re just going to get wetter.” His voice trailed off and his eyes widened when she pulled her shirt over her head. She was positive that she couldn’t get any wetter. She was practically dripping.

Transferred my Magic of the Wood cheat-sheet over to an Excel spreadsheet last night. The main thing it helps me do is keep the ages straight, because I have formulas that automatically calculate it based upon a birth year and a year for the story. If you're curious, I arbitrarily set Daniel from "Steward" as being born in the mythical year 1900. Doesn't really matter, because time more or less stands still around the characters in the Wood universe *laugh* Every other character's birth year is calculated from there. In the process, I sat down and figured out a couple more things. Mara and Wade are only going to have one daughter, and she's going to take her real name from the Naiad side of the family, beginning with L' instead of Xan. She's going to be fun to write when her turn comes around. Chase and Dara are going to have a daughter and a son, and they don't waste any time getting around to it. Their daughter is conceived on the very next Earth Day after "Beauty". Melinda and Glen may have careers, but they're making time for each other. They have a daughter and two sons, all born exactly two years apart. If everything works out with this year's Earth Day story, there's going to be another bun in the oven on this Earth Day as well.

Just did some programming to create backend tools and modded the story entries on "My Work" to provide links to the Ebook downloads. It will be straight Dark tales added as Ebooks for a little while. All of my existing Les stories are up, and new ones will go up once they pass the two week embargo period I've decided upon. After a story has been up on every site where I'm going to post it for two weeks, I'll convert to Ebook and upload. Diamond Valentine and Pink Slip-pery Slope haven't hit the end of their embargo period yet. I need another Lush exclusive short and another website exclusive short to combine with "Wash Away the Blues" and "Breasts to Go" for compilation volumes. Already have ideas for both of those, a cover mocked up for one, and a partial mock-up of the other. "Of the People" and "The Beast Within" will go up later today. I'll finally be caught up before long and only releasing new stuff. Then it's time to go back and start updating some of the older Ebooks to the new format... Ugh... *laugh*