On sex and character development

 It still feels kinda weird that everything led to me writing a bad review of something so close to opening this blog.

 I mean, it's not like it was planned but it was mostly something that happened.

 Still, since as every artist I'm a creature heavily depending on the opinion others have of me for my self-validation, I do find it important not to leave it alone as a precedent and as some sort of...'indication' of things to come.

 Even because I'm not entirely sure how much I can keep up doing ranting reviews. They're fun to do, but I'm quite aware that I have a bit of an issue with commitments.

Me when nobody watches. Nakedness included.

But I felt I wanted to be positive more than negative, and boy can I be negative (as I already displayed in my review of Open House). So I wanted to do something about it.

 Let me introduce you to "I Roved Out in Search of Truth and Love" from Alexis Flower (here's the twitter profile) Now. Warning. It's DEFINITELY NSFW, but I meean, look at the title of this post. Y'all knew we were about to talk about some naughty stuff. Hell, some of you might be here just for that, and the fact I've found this probably says a lot on my take on the subject.

*

*Consume with moderation. Make sure to keep hydrated. Images depicted aren't a representation of real life interactions.
But don't let that stop you from trying to make it so. :3

 Now, why am I going to talk about this comic? Well, first because my upcoming book does entrench kinda in the same 'territory', but using it as an example sounded a bit too self-aggrandizing (and who knows me knows I'm really not a self-aggrandizing person).

 Second, because it's a good way to speak about something I do find important. Story in porn and porn in stories. Weird, I know, but I'm a big advocate for it.

 Third, simply because I enjoyed the hell out of all of it, the author has been so amazing to put it online for free, and it's awesome and hot, and even funny at times. Just look at the writing on the map! LOOK AT IT! *squeals*

The story so far

 The comic introduces a big number of characters, but the ones we'll be following more during the adventure are Cinder (or at least that's one of the names she uses) a buxom-y, very, very friendly and kinky elf working as a scout ranger for the local guild, and Maeryll, a silver haired, posh, lithe magically active elf with a taste for fine clothes, chess and boobs. The two enjoy thoroughly their time together and with various other people, and both of them are very reluctant and actively trying their best to avoid the BIG OVERARCHING QUEST™ looming over The Land menacing to suck them in, just wanting to enjoy life, go around, and basically pretty much fuck their way through their long, elven life.

I approve of this course of action.

  Of course, all good plans meet with reality eventually, and starting with the untimely demise of a Royal figure, the two will both take their path throughout the land with a lot of new encounters on the way, mysteries to solve, and raunchy, graphic, messy flings with a lot of people.

 And all of this with an absolutely delightful artstyle that is a feast for your eyes. The anatomy and the 'softness' of the bodies is portrayed delightfully, the colors are vivid and enticing, the details on some of the shots is astounding and the landscape as well! It's just lovely. The quality you see on the cover is the same sort of quality you can expect in the bulk of the books themselves.

 So, to top off this mini 'review' part, go, read it, enjoy it, share it around and support the artist !

GET ON WITH IT!

Ok, ok, put down the spears. Geez.

  So, the reason I wanted to talk about this comic it's because it's a perfect example of what I like to call 'porn with story'. Which, incidentally, it's what I tried to do with Tiogair (even if Tiogair kinda went the way of being a story with porn, but hey, I'm absolutely fine with it.)

  Now, I'm not saying everyone in their stories should have graphic orgies between twenty characters every few pages, but please, please please, if you're people who are writing for adults and want to tackle this sort of themes, don't be stopped by the thought that 'if I put a graphic scene into my work, my story will be lessened'. And at the same time, if you're writing erotica, don't be stopped from exploring deeper stories and character development because 'no, the two things don't mesh well'.

  We tackle mainly stories that have as protagonists people - sure, some might very well be not exactly people, but you get my point. In a lot of cases, not all of them obviously, sexuality is an important part of a person, and knowing how they act, how they flirt, what they like (even if it's not shown in the book!) can make a story so much more enticing, because it makes the character rounded. Your big, strong, brooding warrior perhaps likes softness in intimacy, and just him glancing  with a bit of a discreet, longing gaze to a happy, cuddly couple because he knows he has an image to maintain and won't be able to show that side of his if not in very private settings, can give us an idea that under that big chin, the broad shoulders and the big sword there's something more.

  And the comic I've brought here today as an example is an amazing testament to this, exactly for its erotic nature - while the sex is absolutely prevalent in the whole work of this artist, we don't lose track of the fact that these are all people. With their personalities, their ideas, their way of living, and so on.

  That they actually enjoy genuinely all the naughty bits, not being just a mean for pornographic images (nothing wrong with that either btw, as long as the work 'knows' that's its reason) and they have a deeper, more interesting story to look forward to after all the bodily fluids have been gushed out and the afterglow passes.

  In a society where sex, and people working in the sex industry, still is seen as something 'taboo' and 'weird', where people who enjoy different lifestyles are being shamed, normalizing and realizing that under the kink there are actually real people - in fiction and not - is a powerful thing.

  So go forth, my fellow pervs and pervettes. Find more works of this genre. And if there's none?

  Hey, we are writers for a reason, aren't we?

  If you feel like giving it a try, make some.

  Toodles!