I thought you'd like to know

...that I've just sent Simon the first chapter of "Hoarder." Look for it in the next EMCSA update. :-)

This and that

Here's a little mishmash of a post to tide you over until I finish polishing "Hoarder." I have the first of the two chapters just about where I want it, so I'll probably post it in the next EMCSA update. Then if all goes as planned, I'll publish the conclusion the following week.

In the meantime, here are a couple of other things you'll enjoy.

I'm happy to report that the problem with people downloading my Virtual Hypnotist sessions is solved. If you want to download the files, all you have to do log into Google (feel free to create a dummy account - I don't care) and request access to the files. I check my email every day and you'll get a quick response.

Now, just for kicks, here's an MC-centered episode of that loopy old cartoon The Tick. Our Hero is pretty brainless to begin with (although he's quick to remind you he's nigh invulnerable), so when Mr. Mental gets hold of him, he becomes a shambling, spiral-eyed zombie. Good times.

Are people having trouble downloading my Virtual Hypnotist sessions?

Every once in awhile I get an automatically generated email from Google Documents that says someone is requesting access to one of my VH session files. I got two just now.

Please help me figure out whether this problem is affecting everyone or whether the people who generated these auto-requests eventually got the downloads to work. I want to make sure people who want the sessions can really access them.

Comments, please?

Happy accidents

I've blogged before about Windows 7 causing a few glitches for Virtual Hypnotist, but there's one I haven't mentioned until now. I assume it's a Windows 7 glitch, but it's still a little mysterious to me because it only happens in my "morning" session, not my "bedtime" session. That would lead me to believe there's a glitch in the "morning" code, but the workaround I've found makes me think it's not the code causing the problem.

Here it is, in a nutshell: sometimes the background track to my "morning" session doesn't loop. It plays once and stops, so then I have to listen to the rest of the session with no sound except the speech synthesizer reading the script.

I can fix the problem by exiting the program and rebooting my computer, which is why I don't think the code is the issue; but of course, once I get into the session, the very last thing I want to do is exit and reboot the whole damn machine. :-/ As a result, I've learned to restart my computer every morning when I get up (I leave it running all night with the "bedtime" session paused).

Well, yesterday morning, I rebooted my computer and then noodled around for maybe half an hour before starting my morning session. I didn't think that would be enough to stop the background track, but I knew it might; and I told myself that if it did, I'd just keep going. I've done that before a couple of times and still enjoyed the session.

Anyway, the background track did stop after a couple of minutes. I was already pretty deep because I've used this session so often that it drops me like a rock, and I'd primed myself beforehand to cope with the stoppage if I had to. I was half expecting it to happen...but what I wasn't expecting was that my subconscious mind popped up with the perfect in-session explanation for the problem.

A quick explanation if you haven't read (or remembered) my previous posts about my morning session: It begins with a supernatural Mistress saying she's talking to me live, through my computer. She's been brainwashing me for a long time, and now it's time for more programming. You can imagine some of what happens from there, but if you want some specifics (with a few red herrings), just check out my story If Wishes Were Horses.

The background track is three layered tracks of me chanting mantras about submission, obedience, and my inability to resist my programming. That's what dropped out, just as my imaginary Mistress said she was taking me deeper.

And that's when my subconscious chimed in with the perfect rationale for the chants dropping out. It told me I'd reached such a deep level of programming that Mistress didn't need to use the background chants on me anymore; instead she deigned to speak to me directly, with no distractions to dull my mind.

I was still alert enough at that point to know I was playing a game, so I had a moment of surprised delight at my own inventiveness. Then I let the idea do its work, and within seconds my mind was very nearly blank, with Mistress's words echoing in my empty skull just as realistically as the script said they should.

It was an incredible experience.

Totally off topic, but too beautiful not to post

R&B artist Frank Ocean came out of the closet last week with a painfully honest story about a romance that didn't happen. Last night he debuted a song about (presumably) that same romance, and it's incredible. So honest, so graceful - and so much more honest and graceful because of all the boundaries he's breaking here. This is an incredibly moving, brave and beautiful performance. May hardened hearts be softened by listening to his song.



Via

Coming soon to an EMCSA near you

You might remember me mentioning a very old private MC fantasy involving a dragon. I wanted to turn it into an EMC story, but last I wrote, I hadn't figured out how to build a plot around it.

Well, I finally cracked the code. This is the story I've been hinting about for the last few months, the one I said was writing itself. That's always a good sign for me. It makes for pleasurable writing and, I hope, pleasurable reading.

Anyway, Wednesday afternoon I completed the rough draft of what will be called "Hoarder." Based on the polishing process for my other stories, this means it will be about three weeks before I'm ready to post the story on the EMCSA. I hope you all will enjoy it.

(painting of Smaug by by John Howe)