…or, Cloak Of Delvin’ Kind
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It was lucky for me that I’d never been too sensitive to poison ivy, since we didn’t have any healing lotions with us. The bumpy red rash was just beginning to show when Iason pointed it out. I felt it as soon as I saw it. I was tempted to blame Iason for that, but he had enough faults of his own.
I was all for heading back and seeking treatment, but Iason was grumbling about his stomach and dipping my legs in the cool stream did help. Iason got the fire going and started cooking again.
“The ashes were cool,” he said once the blaze was going.
“Say what?”
“Back up on the hill,” he said. “When we went back to collect our things. The fire was out and the ashes were cool.”
I shivered. Suddenly the water was a little too cold. Iason had spread his cape on the ground, and I used it as a towel before getting back into my clothes.
“Let’s not go back there again,” I said.
“You don’t want to know what lies underneath the ruins?” he asked.
“I have an intellectual curiosity about it,” I said. “Doesn’t mean I want to get up close and personal with it. Anyway, who says there’s anything beneath it? I didn’t see stairs or anything like a trapdoor.”
“My theory is that there is an entrance beneath the altar stone,” he said.
“Why would they put the stairs under the altar?”
“For one thing, it is the merest supposition to call it an altar, or the whole structure a temple,” Iason said. “Though the available facts do seem to support that.”
“Yeah,” I said. “For one thing, you hardly ever run into cursed guardians of an ancient bakery.”
“But the building seems to have consisted of one large open room,” he said. “It seems likely that there would have been a basement to the structure, particularly with the way it sits high on the hill. There could have been storerooms, or a shelter of some kind, or any number of things below the ground. If the temple is now under some sort of curse, what we are calling the altar stone may have been moved from its original position in order to block off the lower level, or even erected in the first place for that purpose.”
“Sounds like a great reason to leave it alone,” I said.
“Iamie, you are speaking like a slow-blooded elf, not a hot-blooded human,” Iason said. “Why shouldn’t we take a look around?”
“For one thing, those guardians drove us off pretty easily,” I said. “And that was on the open ground. Can you imagine facing them in their lair?”
“They only drove us off because we ran away,” Iason said. “We didn’t even attempt to mount a defense.”
“It wasn’t exactly a conscious choice,” I said. “Running really seemed like the thing to do.”
“We just need to bring a little divine magic to bolster us,” he said. “Where is your spirit of adventure?”
“Where’s your common sense?” I asked. “Hiking through these woods was an adventure. Outrunning the lightning worms was an adventure. Meeting with the sidhe was an adventure. Even going to the bathroom in Treehome is an adventure, to hear you tell it. Disturbing a ruin that’s been sealed off since some time after the fall of Athanasia is just stupid.”
“But how often do you think you’ll have the chance to delve in undisturbed ruins, with the university so close?”
“If I was going to delve, I’d start with something a little easier,” I said.
“Very well,” Iason said.
I closed my eyes and breathed in the scent of wood smoke and roasting meat. It wasn’t a cigarette but it would have to do.
“In your mind, we just had another compromise, didn’t we?” I asked.
“This weekend is no good, as I have a skirmish match, but next weekend we’ll try our hands in one of the cave systems,” Iason said.
“I’ll think about it,” I said.
“What’s to think about?” Iason asked. “We have already vanquished one ravenous monster and evaded many others.”
“Sure, we evaded hundreds, if you count all the worms separately,” I said. “What are the caves like?”
“Natural cavern formations, with some alterations and expansions by the clans of savage humanoids that have taken up residence in them at various times,” he said. “They are now mostly home to various animals and fungal creatures.”
“Mostly,” I repeated. “Anybody ‘in residence’ these days?”
“It varies with the seasons,” Iason said, holding up his hand and making a see-saw gesture. “Many of the creatures are nomadic, or opportunistic. A decent set of caves cannot stand empty for too long.”
“What do we do if we find out the caves are occupied?” I asked. Sneaking around the homes of intelligent creatures was a whole different proposition from exploring caves full of weird animals and monsters.
“I suppose it would depend on what exactly we found,” he said. “There are many lesser races that are inimical to both of our kinds. Who knows? We may be eliminating a threat.”
“The thinking these days is that just because somebody lives underground and talks funny, that doesn’t mean they’re a threat that needs to be eliminated,” I said.
“But neither does it mean that they are innocent,” Iason said. “But this is why I said it depends. The situation may call for discretion or diplomacy, but on the other hand, we may find ourselves stumbling into a camp of bandits or a nest of ghouls. Either way, it is sure to be an adventure of some kind.”
“Why exactly are those situations on the other hand from discretion?” I asked.
“It will be fun!”
“Fun,” I said. “Who else is coming along with us, in this scenario?”
“You don’t think we could handle a little cave crawl by ourselves?” he asked.
“You and me against the world?”
“Now you are getting into the spirit of things, Iamie. A rider and his stag!” Iason said. “A knight of the oldest elven tradition, born anew in modern times.”
“Have you ever been delving, Sir Knight?”
“I’ve poked around some of the caves before.”
“I’ll take that as a no,” I said. “I’m pretty sure the school has rules about these things.”
“I do not think the school has any say in how we conduct ourselves away from its grounds, on our own time,” he said.
“All the same, if the possible consequences already include ‘maimed’ and ‘killed’, I’d rather not add ‘expelled’ to the list,” I said. “If you want me to even think about this, we’re going to do it by the book. Register our expedition or whatever. We’ll need somebody who knows about delving, and somebody who knows at least a little magic. A healer would be good, too.”
“Do you have anybody in particular in mind?”
“Not really,” I said. “Marlot’s pretty good with the cantrips and force bolts, but I can’t really feature her tromping through the woods, much less crawling around a cave, can you?”
“I cannot,” Iason said. “So, in essence, you are placing these conditions upon the venture, but you have no idea how we can fulfill them.”
“I’m not asking the impossible,” I said. “If we can’t even put together a decent party, we’ve got no business cave crawling. I wonder if Alli’s any good at delving?”
“I should have brought your cigarettes along,” Iason muttered, fidgeting with his hat. “You are much more reasonable when you have access to them.”
“Yeah, you should let me wear pants when we’re in the woods, too,” I said.
“If you had stayed close, you wouldn’t have been exposed,” Iason said.
“After all the talk, I saw an opportunity to meet one of the folk and I took it,” I said. “You really going to complain about me taking initiative and doing some exploring when you’re trying to talk me into delving?”
“I don’t know what’s worse,” Iason said, “your refusal to be reasonable or your insistence that I do so.”
“Seems like your idea of me being unreasonable is me insisting that you be reasonable,” I said.
He laughed. I laughed, too. I don’t know why I thought it was funny. Iason was a jerk but I liked him. It wasn’t just that he was hot. That made up for a lot. I actually liked him, though, and that made up for more. He was a liar, but he was relentlessly Iason. There was a kind of honesty in that. At least, there was integrity.
He knew exactly who he was and what he wanted from life. I’d followed my best friend to the school she wanted to go to. I hadn’t even declared a major. His self-assurance was comforting. A little frightening, too.
And very sexy.
Iason’s idea of camp cooking was good. Some of the packets had chicken or rabbit in them, with a bit of olive oil and savory herbs. Others had mixes of onions, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, mushrooms, and bits of bacon. He let the meat heat through close to the fire, then started combining them so that the meat would finish cooking with the vegetables. Once they’d cooled, we ate with our fingers. It was greasy and delicious, like eating outdoors was supposed to be.
“That was good,” I admitted after we finished eating. We sprawled on Iason’s cape, leaning up against each other. “And probably more peaceful than eating in Treehome would have been. Less threat of castration and anal rape.”
“We could generate a little of that sort of excitement,” Iason said, shifting around as he fished his cock out of his pants.
“Yeah, no,” I said. “I don’t think that would be really comfortable under the circumstances.”
“I am going to require some form of attention before we ride back to Treehome,” Iason said, taking my hand and guiding it to his shaft. “Otherwise I will not be able to devote my full concentration to the task of guiding you through the perils of the woods.”
“If I give in, it doesn’t mean—”
“Don’t make this about more than it is, Iamie,” Iason said. “You’ve made your position clear to me, and now you may do what you want. Do what you like. Do what you do well. Do not be stingy with your gifts on my behalf.”
“I don’t want you thinking I’m yours to do whatever you want with,” I said.
“So you won’t do what you want?”
“What do you think I want?” I asked.
He put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me down along his body. He wasn’t wrong. I’d always loved the feel of a hard cock in my mouth. I liked his in particular. If he wasn’t shooting his own mouth out about how mine was “made for” it or suggesting that using my mouth to talk was a waste, we were on the same page there all the way.
So, I ignored the itches and my growing headache and enjoyed myself. He enjoyed it, too. We didn’t make a big thing out of it. After that, I’d had as much as I could stand of the great outdoors and deprivation. My eagerness to transform didn’t worry me because I wanted to get back to civilization, where they had rash cures and tobacco. I could feel the poison ivy in my other body, but it was like the same amount had been spread out over a bigger area. It didn’t bother me nearly as much. Any annoyance I felt disappeared in the joy of running and of being ridden.
The woods flew by behind us. If we traveled over the domain of wood monsters or lightning worms, we didn’t tarry long enough for them to be a problem. Iason rode me towards the river, and we were in the tunnel to Treehome before long. I had a moment of—not really worry, but heightened anticipation—when he took me into the stables, but he put his hand on my muzzle and I melted back into myself.
“I think I’ve given the rest of Treehome enough glimpses of your lovely body for one day,” he said, handing me back my clothes.
“Thanks,” I said. I started to get dressed. “I thought maybe you were going to stick me in a stall.”
“Disappointed?” he asked.
I didn’t answer. Having come right up to the threshold of it, so to speak, I almost was. That didn’t mean I wanted him to do it, though.
“You’ve made yourself very clear over the course of the afternoon,” Iason said. “So I’m going to be equally clear. If I am to speak with the perfect honesty you claim to cherish, then I must say that I do believe I should have the right to do with my mount as I will. That includes putting you into the form I choose and keeping you where I see fit. But,” he said, holding up a hand to stop me as I started to speak,” but I understand you disagree, and I know that I would risk losing you if I asserted those rights. It is not as important to me that you behave as a proper mount as it is that you are my mount at all.” He took my hand and bent low over it, kissing the knuckles. “I would have you beneath me, but if the choice is to have you beside me or not at all, I would walk beside you forever.”
“Oh,” I said. “Okay, then.”
“That is acceptable to you?”
“It works.”
Ook!
Mook!
And it looks like we might see more of the whole delving thing. Yay!
Major kudos on the early update, AE! I love it when this happens.
By the way, when exactly did Jamie transform? Did you miss something?
Wow. Iason figured it out. Nice.
My guess is it’s because Jamie finally figured out how to clearly communicate what he wanted to… awesome! Mook!
Did I misread something, or did Jamie just agree to let Iason walk beside him forever?
Sooni would certainly interpret “Oh, OK then” as acceptance and a promise. Does Iason think the same?
Oh Jamie, you are the epitome of wishy-washy! And even bigger self justifications than Mack. And oh does he not even realise what he just agreed to in that last little exchange, and after how very careful he was to mince words with the fae(does he not remember that elves are fae too?)
I know the delveing expedition I would like to see… Jamie deciding that the relationship needs to be equitable and setting out to conquer Iason’s cherry ass!
Wow. Jamie developed a spine, and Iason actually respected Jamie’s decision! That was… weirdly sweet.
While I realize the characters in a story certainly aren’t going to change for me, I’d like to quietly thank you, AE. Previously Iason’s breathtakingly self-centered arrogance had felt almost nauseating. Seeing Iason apparently actually trying to be considerate of another was… pleasantly surprising.
Jamie and Iason
Have reached a compromise on
Further Adventures
“What are the caves like?”
That’s a question into which it
May be worth Delving
“Somewhere nearby is
Colossal Cave, where others have
Found fortunes in gold…”
While I love that last paragraph, and feel like Iason is finally, finally, understanding what Jamie has been trying so hard to get across, I need to wonder about how long it will last. With a personality like Iason’s he could mean well, but still have it be something different of what Jamie imagined. Here’s hoping that either he does change, and lets Jamie walk beside him, or Jamie leaves him like the idiotic, chauvinistic pig we all know he is deep down.
For some reason that last little speach given by Iason really rubs me the wrong way. He clearly states that he wants to be able to treat his mount(Jamie)how he wants,but because he “respects” Jamie’s personal choice he won’t.For some reason that sounds like horse shit to me. To me it’s sounds similar to an asshole saying to his wife “Cleaning the dishes from the table is a womans job, but since I love you honey I’ll help.” Not very sweet is it.
If he really respected Jamies chocies why even bother to bring it up in the first place? To me it sounds like Iason’s trying to butter up Jamie so in the future Jamie will become more and more infatuated with him there by making him more willing to let Iason to do as he pleases with him.
I could be wrong, but it’s how it seems to me.
OOK!
Ugh Iamos. Why are you so incredibly irritating… The sooner he leaves this story the better. Jamie stop being a F-CKTARD.
I has spoken =P
“I think I’ve given the rest of Treehome enough glimpses of your lovely body for one day,” he said, handing me back my clothes.” – end quote not needed.
Smooth.
Hmm, Iason seems to slowly become a little more reasonable. But not too quickly, making it believable. Good work!
Also, small typo: “I started to get dress.”
I like that Iason is finally saying something. he’s been silent a long time while Jamie’s been trying to have meaningful conversations. and I also like that Iason is so… I can’t find the right words! I don’t like it when people downplay other’s rights to exist and do as they please, but I really like it that Iason takes control and charge of things. kind of like Steff and Mack were talking about – the choice is there. I like to have choice, but it’s also nice when you can trust someone enough to let them take your choices away or vice versa. Iason’s just so forceful. I find that level of trust to be… sexy. hmm don’t quite know if that’s the right word…
Awwwww. That was kinda sweet. Maybe just because I remember fighting with my dad once where he told me that I had to walk behind him. In the meaning “obey without question”. I’ve never been so infuriated in my life but Iason saying that he wants to walk beside Jamie forever is just the opposite of someone wanting to exert authority to me.
Oh, and thanks for Star Harbor AE. It took me a bit to get into but Rhyme is now my very favorite ever. I’m totally basing my next D&D character on her =P
So, did anyone else notice Jamie’s growing headache when he went down on Iason? It’s possible that’s just the nicotine craving talking, but mayhaps it’s something more? A little gift from the sidhe, to remind Jamie when he lets Iason talk him into something?
Wow, Iason starting to show a little maturity. Bout time.
That, along with the aura of death that Iamie the Iacolope sensed, suggests that there might be a link to the negative material plane. It also suggests that exploring there or even lingering too long might be a quick way to end up dead, or undead. This is not even considering the possibility of meeting the “guardians” anywhere other than above ground. Sure, it might be possible for a two-man team to deal with them. It might even be the case that they’re just looking for a scratch behind the ears (and maybe the lightning worms were just hentai tentacle wannabes). >:=)> However, I personally would want to have a cleric or two behind me, and be sure that their signs and wards were effective against the creatures, before I tried anything fancy.
>:=)>
I think Iason is being overconfident, and could easily get them into serious (i.e. potentially fatal or worse) trouble. And I won’t even go into the politics and ethics of delving – Shiel and Oru have already summed that one up.
The dynamic between Iason and Jamie is going to run and run, I think. They both desire each other. Iason wants Jamie to be an obedient mount and compliant bum boy. Jamie can handle being these things some of the time, but doesn’t want to be “on call” for them all the time. Iason is going to push for these wants. Jamie is going to resist them. Iason will back off to keep the peace, and prevent Jamie from withholding sex. Lots of normal relationships have elements of this, and these elements are often not resolved to mutual satisfaction.
@12 Lillian:
Jamie is the narrator in this story. I have a strong suspicion that he won’t be going anywhere. I do sympathise, by the way. I find a lot of Charles Dickens’s characters to be irritating, so I don’t tend to read his books.
A few chapters back, someone responded to Iason being referred to as a Dom by implying that the relationship was not BDSM. Here we have Iason claiming that Jamie is his property, although he (Iason) will grant some semblance of autonomy. This issue will probably be the main dynamic of the story for some time to come.
ARF, MOOK, whatever
@10: How is that not sweet? He’s essentially saying to Jamie, “You’re more important to me than [this thing I want from you] and if it’s a choice between you and [this thing] then I’ll choose you.” He’s been saying “You’re mine” this whole time, and now he’s admitting — in a roundabout but very strong way — “I’m yours, too.” Maybe it’s just because I said something like that to my boyfriend recently, but I think it’s really sweet.
That said, it also plays into the bad romance trope of changing the bad boy into a faithful husband, and it remains to be seen whether it’s just so much talk.
Also, uh. Thanks Jamie. Glad to know that’s not just me on the cock thing.
Iason was being very sweet, in his own way.
Heh. I really like Iason.
I so loved this part:
It’a a very good thing that I didn’t have a mouthful of tea when I read it.
On the last bit, my initial reaction was that it was kind of sweet, but at the same time there are undertones of creepy. But it does sound on the whole like Iason is starting to be able to balance his fantasy relationship with reality a little bit better.
Oh, and my second-favourite interchange in this chapter:
Sigh… the sad part is, in an Exalted game we once really *did* run into cursed guardians of an ancient bakery. And then we were helped by a Fair Folk noble.
A good step for Iason, actually *talking* to Jamie and letting him know where he stands. Sometimes it seems men would rather die than communicate a little. Now he just needs to follow through.
Also, anyone who thinks this scene is BDSM needs to get out more. (now other scenes verge on BDSM, but that’s another story)
@21. That was me, that said it wasn’t a BDSM relationship.
@25. To your second sentence-ha! I agree. This doesn’t feel like a BDSM relationship. Lots of vanilla relationships have that possessiveness to them, but the BDSM possessiveness is a shade different.
Wait, 26 posts in and noone’s said a word about the absolutely terrible, horrendous, “Cloak of Delvin’ Kind” pun? I think it’s gloriously bad. DnD magic item name puns, hooray!
It’s absolutely great to see Iason show appreciation and understanding of what Jamie’s been trying to get through his thick elven skull. He’s made his ‘ground rules’ and, even more importantly, his willingness to bend clear. I’m in with the folk that think this a positive step forward for Iason, rather than some sort of sinister plot. Of course there’s going to be more tension in this relationship, that’s part of what it’s about. But it’s now a bit more understandable why we see them together still a couple weeks down the line in Mackenzie’s story.
Likewise, it’s nice to see Jamie admitting that, assholery and smoking elven hotness aside, he actually likes Iason. I’m slowly starting to see Iason’s snarky point when he tends to do things like point out that Jamie’s being silly for withholding sex and pleasure for both of them to make some sort of philosophical point about something.
I’m looking forward to future delving experiences–it seems like the sort of thing elven middlings would be getting up to fairly often, actually. With nearly a whole century of the adolescent mindset, you’d have the time to develop the skills and stay foolhardy enough to want to do that sortof thing. Probably the majority of elven delvers are in their first century, I’d bet.
It seems like Iason really needs Jamie. I’m sure Jamie is attractive, but there must be more to it. Indications are Iason’s had his own difficulties fitting in as a hybrid in elf society. Now he’s found someone who won’t judge him for being part human, yet who also understands elf culture.
We can has moar Violet, you can has donation.
-lolcat
So… 2 updates a week, now?
Small mistake…
That includes putting you into the form I choose and keeping you where I see fit. But,” he said, holding up a hand to stop me as I started to speak,” but I understand you disagree, and I know that I would risk losing you if I asserted those rights. It is not as important to me that you behave as a proper mount as it is that you are my mount at all.”
Quote mark before “but” is facing the wrong way and there’s a space between ‘em
AE- You’re a superb writer but you have little control over the timely use of your skills, no tragedy control, and no discipline over your life. Your shakey schedule would be understandable if this were just a hobby but you write for a living.
You aren’t the only person in the world with anxiety and sleep disorders but you notice it doesn’t control our careers as it appears to control yours? When you comment on how you are hardly generating enough income and we should donate more? Well you’re making your readers feel pinched, its not our fault you chose to follow a financially tragic dream career.
And the worst is your censorship which is ridiculous. My biggest hate and the reason I’m out of here. Have you deleted Minnow’s comment yet? . Finally whatever technological difficulties you have, your system is unstable and investing in a more user-friendly interface might be worth your while. It seems to me most of your absences are computer related. So either fix your biggest problem or plan out a greater variety of excuses.
If a tragedy has happened in your life at this time I am really sorry but if you weren’t tardy /constantly/ you would find more sympathy. And in other career fields you would have to call in for bereavement.
@Pretty Kitty:
There are three things that are flat out incorrect in your post.
The big one is about “censorship”.
Do you understand what the note at the bottom of the field means?
That means when minnows posted, and when you posted, and any time somebody posts for the first time (or the first time in a while, or from a new IP address, or whatever) those comments went into a holding queue until I looked at them and approved them. If I didn’t do this, there would be four or five spam comments (as in, advertisements for herbal Viagra and porn and the like) for every real comment.
If I didn’t want comments like minnows’ to show up, all I’d have to do is not click to let it through. That’s all. Not only did I not delete it (and you had to know I didn’t delete it because you read it before you commented!), I chose to let it through. It wasn’t a hard choice, because I don’t censor disagreement.
I never have. I never will. You can go back looking over all fifty chapters in this and all 280+ chapters of the original Tales of MU and find ample evidence of that! I’ll sit here and respond to people I disagree with, sure, and to be honest, that speaks to what you’re talking about with my time use. It’s not an effective use of it.
I don’t know how you think the comment system works here, but minnow’s comment was obviously on your screen when you commented… why would you ask if it was deleted when you can see it? Most blogs out there that allow commentary have way stricter standards for moderation than I do.
The only comments I delete are from trolls, and then only when they’re becoming disruptive to other people who want to comment. I’ve blocked five people from commenting… five people out of thousands… and that was only after protracted attempts to get them to stop wasting bandwidth, time, and space.
Two, I don’t do “this” for a living, if by “this” you mean More Tales of MU. I could stop updating this completely, I could put a sign up at top saying, “This story has ended. These 55 chapters are only an archive.” and keep going with regular Tales of MU and not feel too much of a pinch. The audience is about double over there what it is over here, and the original what I first made my name doing. That’s why it’s more apt to fall behind than regular MU. Yes, I missed a regular MU update last week… call it trying to find a balance, as both serieses have their fans.
If the consensus is honestly going to be “Look, don’t miss any updates or don’t do this at all!”, then the solution is obvious: bye-bye Jamie, bye-bye Iason, bye-bye Violet. I think most people would prefer me to update what I can during my rough patches.
Three, what you read as me commenting on hardly making enough income and asking people to donate more? I think, due to your imagined insight into my life, that you are projecting an emotion there that isn’t. When I remember to, I put a reminder up around midweek, because that frequently makes the difference between hitting the goal or missing it. That’s been true whether I’m doing five updates a week before 6 o’clock or three-four updates after midnight.
It’s not me asking for more money. It’s simply a fact of life, it’s a fact of human nature. It’s hard to make a living on a per-donation basis if you’re not willing to suck it up and ask people. It took me years of writing (Star Harbor Nights and other earlier projects) to figure that out. If it offends you, don’t donate. It’s that simple. I don’t require that everybody who reads does it. If I wanted to do that, I’d just go to a pay-per-view basis.
Do you think I’m utterly shameless in asking for money when I’m falling behind? I can tell you, I’m not. You can look back at my rough weeks and notice that for a while I didn’t put up reminders very often at all. I felt self-conscious about it. Part of pulling myself out of that, part of getting myself back on track, is getting over all that. I’ve been sick… as in, physically ill… for a while now. Nothing life threatening, but lingering.
No, I’m not saying this because I want your sympathy. It’s an explanation. I haven’t updated my blog in a while because I don’t have anything to say except “Oh, I started getting better, but then I got worse, and then I thought I was getting better, but then I got worse.”
Oh, and a fourth thing: you’re right, most people have the option of calling in bereavement. Most people have the option of taking sick time and most people have health insurance through their employers. I don’t have any of that. I’m not complaining. This was my choice. It’s the career I chose, and certainly my job has flexibility that other jobs lack. You have to understand, though… this is what happens when I get laid up. Luckily it doesn’t take much in the way of physical exertion to do what I do, so I’ve been able to muddle through.
All that having been said… I really do think I’m doing better, health-wise, and I’m eager to get things done again. When I’m down, reading comments like minnows “So two updates a week now?” are disheartening. I’ve said a dozen times, I’ve never understood the impulse of people to look at the way things are going at the moment and assume it’s going to be that way forever, that it’s a new status quo. People do it with arcs. They do it with characters who are in focus. They do it with update schedule. I don’t understand it. But whatever. I’m not going to let it affect me.
The wonderful thing about the internet is artists can connect directly with their fans. A drawback of the internet is that artists can connect directly with their fans.
@ anyone who complains about AE’s update schedule (or lack thereof) You have been spoiled by network tv programming for the last 50 years. For the most part your television is updated on a regular basis. We are being given a front row seat to a raw feed from AE’s pen. When the ink flows on that pen will likely never be like clockwork due to the nature of inspiration and the devastating effects of interuptions on an artistic endevor.
I work in graphics art. I have deadlines. I also have someone clearly defining the requirements and boundaries of my art. They leave me alone to do my work. I do not have 5 people let alone 500 people that even know I am the one responsible for it. They do not comment on things I have free reign with until they are complete. AND STILL sometimes deadlines have to be pushed back.
A long time ago (the moment I quit reading the comments) I read someone comparing MU to a webcomic and that webcomics update regularly and on time. I check 9.2 on a daily basis and for the most part they all update on thier schedule. 3 of them are writer and graphic artist teams they are the most regular. The remaining 6.2 are done by one person and only one of those has not had a missed day since I have started reading them. The “.2″ strip is a webcomic by an awesome artist. He has had more than one month (since 2000) where he has updated the strip 3 or fewer times in that month. If I were to complain to any of the artists I would complain to him but that would just make me another braying jackass.
When MU and More are not updated I am disappointed (lets all pray she doesn’t take/need a Sopranos hiatus). There has been nothing in her demeanor that has led me to believe that she doesn’t care about her fans or doesn’t feel responsibility towards them.
If I was managing artists or producing a brand online I wouldn’t let them read forums either good or bad about their work due to the fickle and selfish nature of the internet forum. Penny Arcade’s “shitcock effect” is the distilled example.
IF you are REALLY that angry about how long it takes her to update. Just leave. Don’t give her the hits. Don’t use her bandwidth. The web-comic I love/hate BC of its lack of updates I boycott (silently braying to myself not foisting my negativity on other people) for a while and then go back and read up on it after some updates build up.
Posting angry stuff in someones forum is often a money maker for the person you are complaining about. It boosts their hits and gets them ad revenue so even if you are meaning them harm you are only helping them.
@ A fricken E
I love your work. Do as much as you can for me as fast as you can
I didn’t WANT (so and so from the next installment) to be “looked after” but it’s your show and I’m still enthralled. I didn’t wish them harm but they were harming their self. I don’t want my opinion to alter your vision that’s why I don’t comment ever.
@Petty Kitty, yu don’t like the schedule on which Miss Erin updates, you know your choices: stop reading or deal with it, harrassing the Lady is NOT the way to make things better. As for cricket, i love the characterization and the interaction between characters and will keep coming back even when there aren’t new updates for a long time (still hoping for a new tribe btw). Cricket would mention that most non web authors put out a book every two or three years at MOST, so a chapter every few days is great in her perspective, the wait isn’t nearly as long, and in cricket’s opinion the writing is just as good as Miss Lackey or many of her favorites. Miss Erin has cricket’s full support, financial when she can manage it, and as a reader and a fan the rest of the time.
Here’s what people who don’t write for a living need to understand: It’s not like making widgets at the factory, kids.
I will never understand these “I can’t take a day off at MY job” posts. AE gives this illusion of just popping these things out like batches of cookies, but it doesn’t really work that way. I question her very crammed update schedule, but it’s not my muse; if it works for her, she should go for it. Personally the most I can crank out is 3 updates a week, and I do this nearly full-time. There are times when I beat my head against the wall trying to get an update out and it’s just not coming. Am I not working? Oh hell no, I am definitely working. Sometimes nothing (nothing readable, anyway) comes no matter how hard I work. That’s called “working in the arts.” And sometimes stuff happens and you’d have to take care of that stuff first and your job second no matter what you did for a living.
This is the first and possibly only time I will comment on this website. I didn’t plan on it, until reading the comments towards the end here.
I would like to say I agree with Pretty Kitty wholeheartedly. People have said “if you don’t like the lack of updates, leave and don’t come back”. If you read her comment, she had already said that’s exactly what she was doing. That’s a shame, because she’ll be missing some wonderful stories, but I can see her point regarding lack of updates.
AE, if you can’t cope with your current update schedule, then reduce it to something that you can cope with. There’s nothing to stop you posting extra “bonus” updates if you can manage extra, but people won’t be disappointed if they come in expecting an update and don’t have it because you’re tired or have computer difficulties or whatever else.
If you bought a pack of six eggs at a supermarket every week, but you got home and there were always only three in the box, would you say “Oh well, despite paying money for these, harassing the business won’t sort anything out”? But if the egg company said the box would have three eggs in, and you bought a box and it DID have three eggs, you’d be happy, right?
I’m not going to leave, because I do enjoy reading the story. You’re a fantastic writer! But either sort out the issues preventing you from updating the story, or cut down your schedule to something that you can cope with. Either option I’d be happy with, and if I was getting what was advertised, I would definately be more inclined to donate something every month.
@Benjy:
Was there anything in Pretty_Kitty’s comment that suggested he or she was a donor? If there was, I missed it. Pretty_Kitty, if you’re reading comments, feel free to speak up on that score. I’m just curious.
As for you personally, you’ve pretty much said that you’re not a donor (yet). See a pattern here?
Now, I’m not complaining that you’re not donating… as I told Kitty, my model doesn’t assume that everyone will. In fact, I write with the assumption that most people won’t directly contribute a thing.
And that’s where your analogy falls apart: you aren’t buying eggs at the supermarket.
You’re reading a free story.
It cost you nothing.
If you like what you read, you’re free to donate. If you don’t… or if you don’t have money… or if you just plain don’t feel like contributing for any reason or no reason, you still got the story!
That’s the bottom line: you, long with Pretty_Kitty, and more than 90% of my readership, are getting entertained for free. I don’t resent this fact… it’s factored into my assumptions. If I ever screw up too badly and lose my audience… well, you’ll know that happens because I’ll stop updating and put up a blog post explaining that I’m answering phones at the reservation center up the street or something until I’ve got a nest egg built up.
But the bottom line is that despite Pretty_Kitty’s misinformed comment about “financially tragic”, or however they put it, that’s not happening.
I can’t read the minds of the people donating, but I’d imagine most of them are giving money to show appreciation for what they’ve already read and to make sure that there’s more to read in the future. That’s the way this sort of artistic endeavor works. It doesn’t matter what happens in my life or whether I’m able to update or not, I still need the money. If it doesn’t come, I need to look for something else to do. Whether or not people choose to support me when updates are slow is their choice, as I have always said, but I still have to eat and pay my bills.
Now, parsing out your comment, Benjy, you seem to be saying I should only guarantee what I know I can deliver. No matter how rarely or how often that is, whatever the minimum I know I can deliver for a fact is all I should offer. Okay. Here we go:
Updates Whenever.
That’s it. That’s a private, personal guarantee, from you to me. I await your donation with glee.
Oh, and I’ll add that you two chose to air your “butthurt” (as they say dans la belle internet) on the day I woke up early, feeling fine and full of energy and ready to write.
You might notice the link for the next chapter is active. Yes. Even though Monday’s off the schedule, even though it’s not yet 10 in the morning.
In case you’re wondering? THIS is why I didn’t change the update schedule when I had two weeks in a row of like two updates in this section. Because it was TEMPORARY.
Maybe you should have subscribers. Give them benefits like a 30 minute headstart on the installment they are supporting and guarantee 2 a week. For a small monthly fee. While keeping the rest of your “pricing” the same. The subscribers could also have logins for the forums so you could know who was “supporting you but is fed up and leaving(LMAO)” for real.
but I’m just talking out my ass.
personally I think ppl that don’t understand what they are getting here should GF themselves.
Oh AE, you don’t need to keep writing these long explanatory missives at the complainers. You’re not going to change anyone’s mind – those who feel they’re owed the promised number of updates per week will still feel cheated, and those who kiss the ground you walk on and sing your praises no matter what will continue to do so. These long rebuttals just come across as snarkily defensive.
You say it doesn’t bother you, but you (appear to) spend quite a bit of time and energy responding to criticism of your work schedule. The defensiveness tends to come across as an acknowledgment of your own insecurity/guilt about the lack of consistent updates (and I’m not saying that’s what it IS, that’s just how it reads to me).
So please don’t even waste your time responding to this. You’ve got better things to be writing.
I think my comment came off the wrong way. It came out of worry and a touch of (temporary) disappointment.
As things are, I know that AE is writing a very entertaining story, and I know that the muse can be a moody creature. I just hope that AE can get to a point in her life that’s more stable, where she can afford health insurance (as someone else who doesn’t get any from her employer I know the pinch), and where she can update as often as she wants to. Good luck, AE. I’ll be donating when I can spare a dollar. Until then, I’ll be contributing to your ad revenue with the rest of the “free” readers.
Thanks for the quick response. Although I wouldn’t consider my comment “butthurting”. I only commented because I felt that it was a little unfair people just saying “if you don’t like it, quit complaining and leave”. Pretty Kitty wasn’t particularly rude in her criticisms, she could have just left a comment like Minnow’s or something.
With regards to the eggs, the point that I was trying to get across is that people (like me) won’t buy eggs from your company if they know they’re only going to get three eggs when they’re expecting six. You’ve always said “If you don’t want to/can’t afford to donate, tell a friend about the story” but why would people want to spread the word if they’re not getting what they expect?
And ignoring the sarcasm, I honestly don’t know why you don’t have “Updates Whenever” or something similar already. People couldn’t complain, you wouldn’t have to explain away missed updates (because you couldn’t miss updates anymore!), and you’re not bound to a set schedule. You’ve seen how it’s worked out for R.K Milholland at Something Positive (I found this site from an ad on S*P and I’m sure you mentioned him when you talked about writing full-time) so maybe you should try it.
All that said, I hope your lack of updates was temporary, and I look forward to seeing more regular chapters in the coming weeks. When I do, I’ll happily donate!
@Benjy: Sorry for the overwhelming sarcasm in my previous reply… the fact is, your comment’s a lot more valid on its own than it is taken in context with Pretty_Kitty’s. You say that comment wasn’t rude, but the fact is a lot of it was off-base. Accusing somebody of censorship when the comment you’re using as an example is right freaking there… well, it’s weird, and it’s the sort of accusation that doesn’t speak of good faith.
I’ve considered putting “Updates Whenever” up on my “side projects” (i.e., the ones that don’t generate money directly), but the fact is, like many people, I function better with a target. “Updates Whenever” isn’t helpful to me. I still might do it on my projects with ultra-tiny followings like Tribe and 3 Seas, that I just don’t have the time to update on a schedule right now, but More MU has more potential than that and I’m not about to let it languish because I had to backburner it.
And you can look at it as buying eggs all you want. It isn’t, but you can look at it that way. If you want to say that looking at it that way leads you not to donate, fine. I’m not going to spend a lot of time trying to convince you to see it my way.
The fact is… and this is nothing against you because I don’t know you… I assume people who say “Well I’d donate if only you’d do this and this.” aren’t going to donate, anyway.
I have to. Otherwise I’d be constantly changing things around in a chase after money that may or may not ever show up. I can’t do that. I can’t live my life based on the idea that you might donate if I do something.
You’re seeing this as a commercial transaction where you put down money and you get product. I say I’m an artist, producing work for the enjoyment of the masses. You can give me money in appreciation of that fact. You can give me money to make sure that I am able to keep doing it. If you’re not interested in doing that, I don’t begrudge you a thing. Just go ahead and enjoy the stories… it isn’t like I don’t enjoy writing them.