Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Word from Middle-Urth

Have you heard about it yet? The joint Iago/Tabico/Callidus project that finally went live last weekend after much teasing from the various participants? If you're an EMCSA regular and/or a regular on either the MC Forum or MC Garden, then you probably already know what I'm talking about. If not, let me fill you in.

Iago and Tabico are two of the best-known F/f writers on the EMCSA. They've collaborated on a few stories set in the fictional world of Middle-Urth - which is, as you can probably guess, a bizarro version of Tolkien's Middle-Earth. Sauron has become Sauriann, and there's a Witch-Queen who makes her debut in this new collaboration, but all the other characters are original. No messing with Eowyn or Frodo or any of your other sacred icons (though I can tell you where to go if you do want to see those folks messed with ;-)).

Well, now Iago and Tabico have joined with MC photomanipper and fellow blogger Callidus to produce a multimedia series called The Witch-Queen of Ashur. There are four short prose pieces about the descent into slavery of various characters including a schoolgirl and an Elf warrior, and then there's a photo series about a group of captives being brought before the Witch-Queen herself. Both halves of the project are quite delicious, featuring all the lush prose and immaculately selected, ordered, and captioned images you'd expect from these three artists.

My only complaint, and it's a small one, is this. Being a person of (very liberal) faith, I was made uncomfortable by a few passages in the prose section where ideas and invocations from real religions are perverted into the worship of a being who pretty clearly represents capital-E Evil. I'm sure this just adds to the enjoyment of most folks who read MC erotica, so it shouldn't bother too many others besides me. And, as you can see, it wasn't enough to keep me from enjoying the collaboration overall. ;-)

This is the Queen's thrall, and I approve this message.

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