Thanks Rufus, it's nice to see a fellow dumpster fanrufusluciusivan wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2023 11:33 am I agree. The dumpster is a classic too.
Well, I thought I'd address the elephant in the room once, and be done with it.I know I don't feature bondage in my stories and that won't change. I like the idea of using sedatives or high tech means of rendering the women unconscious for very long periods of them as it removes the need for bondage, and enforces the theme of detachment in my stories. I never been much of a fan of bondage, even though it features in three of my stories. If there is to be bondage, then I prefer it to be improvised, it is more realistic that way. The idea for skilled operators to lug around rope to tie someone up is unrealistic. And not an essential part of my US experience. But I hope the humour and diversity makes up for the lack of bondage.![]()
Plus, there are already so many stories featuring bondage elsewhere on the board - in that context your stories bring more diversity.
I find it interesting to discuss and compare the different expectations we each have as readers. Personally, more than realism, I look for plausibility / internal consistency. The story can feature unrealistic elements (like bondage in the context of an infiltration or over-the-top comicbook-style characters), but as long as the universe is internally coherent, I accept it. I guess it's one of the reasons why I chose to have my stories take place in constructed fictional universes. I think it makes it easier to accept the unrealistic elements - like some sort of tacit agreement between the reader and the writer.

As they say variety is the spice of life. For my SI stories I have always aimed for consistency across the board. I started with lethal but shifted to non-lethal, but I was never afraid to throw in a little diversity. For instance in "To Free a Nightingale" Miranda(Nightingale) and Nadja(Vesper) escaped from Darkwatch custody by overpowering their guards, stealing their uniforms and leaving tied up naked in chairs, because they didn't have their gear with them. That to me is a scene, where you can apply bondage as it is improvised and necessary. I
The Blood series was my first entirely fictional universe, where I introduced the idea of mind control and it proved popular. I may decide to revisit Darala with entirely new characters
As a reader I tend to prefer strong characters, a strong setting and like you said consistency. I tend not to like implausible or silly scenarios, for me I relate more to gritty harsh realism and the complete detachment of my characters towards their victims. I also like my heroines to be morally grey, as whiter than white heroes are boring. Humour is also a key factor in my stories as is romance, as it adds spice and charisma to my MCs. I also like a mixture of lethal and non-lethal depending on the context of the story.
With my later projects I will seek to maintain this high standard of diversity that I have already achieved so far.
I appreciate your support
