Ephemera & Tales

Here I feel warm and well-content by Alex Draven

2023-10-31T22:11:17Z

Each year between 2004 and 2018 I had a story to share for Halloween every year, because it's a significant date for me. This year, I have a soft wisp of a story for anyone who is still reading.

( Here I feel warm and well-content by Alex Draven )

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Sweets for my sweet by Alex Draven

2018-10-31T23:37:46Z

Each year since 2004 I've had a story to share for Halloween, because it's a significant date for me. By the skin of my teeth, this year's it's another Tawnholme story, for a little Halloween sweetness...

( Sweets for my sweet, by Alex Draven )

comments

Tricky treats by Alex Draven

2017-10-31T22:36:01Z

Each year since 2004 I've had a story to share for Halloween, because it's a significant date for me. This year's is another Tawnholme story, for a little Halloween sweetness...

( Tricky treats by Alex Draven )

If you're interested in reading the previous stories I've posted as Halloween gifts they are:

1) Dream Come True (2004)
2) Thirteen Kisses (2005)
3) All Souls (2006)
4) Favour ($0.99) & two free snippets Soar and Raining Cats (2007)
5) Tradition (2008)
6) Everything changes (2009)
7) It’s not the dead that haunt graveyards (2010)
8) Here Comes The Rain (2011)
9) Mellow Mists (2012)
10) Sunset Starts (2013)
11) Unexpected Callers (2014)
12) Energy (2015)
13) According to Plan (2016)

You'll find these and other seasonally appropriate snippets under 'seasonal : autumn' in the tags list

(If I was doing this as a promotional thing, I would have picked a less popular date, because there's an awful lot of fabulous fiction being released for Halloween - more of it every year - but I'm doing this because it's a significant date for me, so, thank you, everyone who reads this, and twice thanks to those of you who let me know that you did.)

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Riff Raff Faff - responses to the OneWord website

2017-04-16T19:48:01Z

Sunday, March 6th, 2005
1:55 am
mirror
shiny, slick, and a stranger looking back at her, bruises and smudges under her eyes that have nothing to do with makeup, and a rats nest of hair, and fingers that won't keep still.
(Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 9th, 2005
11:01 pm
wires
puppet strings, or maybe spiders webs, holding down, holdng up, holding tight and never letting go. Other people think of power flowing through cables, and I think of puppet strings that can't be cut.
(Comment on this)
Saturday, January 29th, 2005
12:12 am
ocean
it scares him, that expanse, all that power and life and death and emptiness and dependency. It scares him and when they walk on the beach he turns his eyes to the shore side, and focuses on the solidity of the sand.
(Comment on this)
Thursday, January 27th, 2005
1:34 pm
slept
blank and warm and calm and finally at peace, curled in on herself with the duvet pulled high against her face and only fingertips to be seen, a vague padded outine underneath, and finally she was home.
(Comment on this)
Monday, January 24th, 2005
12:07 am
gin
thin and bitter on her lips, and violent heat down her throat, tracing a hundred kisses and finger tips and pearls. Coctails and swing bands and skirts that brushed at the beck of her knees, and laughter and 2am smiles.
(Comment on this)
Friday, January 21st, 2005
7:43 pm
sweat
skin on skin, slow, eternal movements that made his breath catch and hold and everything else vanish. Sweat slick skin under his fingers and muscles moving underneath, and heat and fullness and perfection
(Comment on this)
Thursday, January 20th, 2005
12:00 am
rug
rough on her skin, crumbs and warp and weft and the hard slick patch where a candle had spilled wax that would not come away clean from the cotton threads.
(Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 18th, 2005
12:02 am
zoo
it was a zoo in the canteen as the upper and lower schools cross paths, chairs scraping and voices raised over hte hubbub in a tsunami of childish squabbles, the latest gossip, senior's scorn and inexplicable rivalries. Jake had never been so glad that he was almost a free man.
(Comment on this)
Saturday, January 8th, 2005
9:14 pm
lightening
the kiss came from no-where, just a peck on the cheak, low down, near his mouth, and when he blinked and opened his eyes, everything was different somehow, and the warm fingers on his arm meant something altogether else.
(Comment on this)
Thursday, December 23rd, 2004
12:31 am
designed
carefull and cautious, aimed and focussed, starting from the goal rather than growing from the materials, everything about his old life had been designed, and none of it had suited his soul like the messy, organic freedom of the present
(Comment on this)
Monday, December 13th, 2004
1:52 pm
punch
punch drunk and half hysterical, leaning against the corredor wall, catching each other's eye and howling with laughter. 2am insane, together against the rest of those slug-a-beds, and altogether perfect for the end of term
(Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 7th, 2004
1:16 pm
three
Balance is the tricky bit, sopending enough time one on one, and enough attention every which way when they were all three together, and carving out time for yourself as well. It's tricky. But then, triangles are strong as fuck when they're locked in, so that's ok
(Comment on this)
Friday, November 19th, 2004
1:14 am
stone
smooth and hard, worn to perfection by passing hands but enduring all of them, taking in each touch, changed by it but not in essence changing.
(Comment on this)
Sunday, September 26th, 2004
3:10 am
Less
Somehow the bar had become just a job. Something to bitch about when he woke up with his back stiff and his eyes blurry and had to roll up into the damp cold of his flat and pull on clothes and pull back the bolts and start cleaning up and starting over again and again.
(Comment on this)
Sunday, September 19th, 2004
4:51 pm
vague
the edges of everything were just - fuzzy. blended. grey. kinda soft. Or like they would be if you touched, only you can't really touch street lamps and people in the rain when there's cold misted glass in the way and only a burnt out bulb and an empty bed on your side of it.
(Comment on this)
Thursday, September 16th, 2004
11:33 pm
faint
she's passed out - any number of times actually - too much to drink, to many pills, not enough sleep, one one notable occasion coming so hard she'd smacked her head on the bed side table - but never fainted. Nothing like a proper lady.
(Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 14th, 2004
3:48 pm
stereo
duality. Except that would suggest an opposition of opinions instead of the steady stream of the exact same advice, suggestion, plans and projections that he was hearing from both friends, both lovers.
(Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 7th, 2004
4:58 pm
reach
stretching, rolling as far as he could with the edge of the mattress hard against his ribs and carefull not to slide away from his lover's resting hand or out of bed entirely, the very tips of his fingers snagged on the light pull, and one final tug brought blessed darkness.
(Comment on this)
Saturday, September 4th, 2004
7:36 pm
blanket
warmth and comfort and spurious security, but on a miserable afternoon with rain on the windows and his head feeling like it was stuffed solid with ill, he'd take that security, wrap every shred of comfort he could find around himself, and just hide for a while.
(Comment on this)
Thursday, September 2nd, 2004
4:52 pm
Dusk
It ought to be magic and mystery and romance and excitement, but what it actually is is half light and drizzle and nearly getting knocked off your bike by some tosser driving a silver ghost car and talking on a mobile phone, and coming home to an empty house.
[so that's Luke in a bad mood then .....]
Friday, July 2nd, 2004
4:39 pm
logic
green before red, blue before white, savory before sweet, love before pain, blood before sex.
(Comment on this)
Thursday, July 1st, 2004
11:49 am
giraffe
*blink*

*blink*

No - still there.

like a cartoon come to life, and so totaly out of place it couldn;t have been more sureal if he'd actually woken up in Twelve Monkeys.
(Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 29th, 2004
12:37 am
explore
it's kind of scary, looking out into the dark and the shadows around the edges, but he knows everything there is to know withing the narrow circle of the burners, so what else is he to do? Sit and fester, watching the elders die one by one, or head out into the darkness and try?
(Comment on this)
Monday, June 28th, 2004
12:40 am
seldom
rare moments of clarity - golden dust motes in sunlight or something - not like that but the unusual moments where the brain takes off down seldom taken byroads and ends you up somewhere you couldn't have expected.

*****

it makes me a little sad that they've had to resort to sponsorship - the farewell message now reads 'go check out the sponser links and then tell someone you love them' and - yeah. I liked that it wasn't a commercial zone.
(Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2004
9:13 pm
wash
dirty grey light coming in through dingy mylon lace curtains - the flat was a depressing dump. Flat. More like a room, furnished by a psychotic pensioner who hated students.
(Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 15th, 2004
11:36 am
grey
Grey - the word's spelt *grey* and that little bout of persnickety nitpicking has completley frozen my brain for anything more creative to do with it.
(Comment on this)
Sunday, June 13th, 2004
11:23 pm
moose
moose, moose, moose on the loose!

except that nursery rhyme chant is only hysterical if your five, and not when there's a couple of tons of bull moose standing in the middle of the road and ice under your wheels and FUCK!
(Comment on this)
Friday, June 11th, 2004
1:18 am
goo
oh god that's disgusting! No way. Who the *hell* think's babies are cute, with their grabbing hands and stinking daipers and mouthing rusks to pasty goo and spreading that all over with ting crawling fingers.
(Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 8th, 2004
12:26 am
ink #2
crawling over the skin like scratches, worms, maggots and corruption in ink and pigment-mixed blood, to summon and to bind, to call and to capture, liminal but without bounds.
(Comment on this)
Monday, June 7th, 2004
10:25 am
ink
The desktop is scratched, etched and tattoed with the minutie of school politics. Benton hearts Fran, maths sucks, Bill sucks dick. Blue ink and blond scarred wood.
(Comment on this)
Sunday, June 6th, 2004
6:56 pm
doctor
it didn't take much to fix the rsults the way she wanted them. Not too good, because nothing was more likely to make an admin assistant decide to cross check than a string of perfect 4.0's, but pretty damn healthy. If you're going to go to all the effort of hacking the computing dept to doctor your grades, it has to be worthwhile.
(Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 1st, 2004
1:38 pm
solve
He turned the puzzle box round and round in his hands. Smooth and cool and heavy - metal denser than he'd expected the first time he'd touched it. The pattern of interlocking blocks, slight shadings in steel on steel, slick ridges between the sections, and no closer to a solution than he'd been then.
(Comment on this)
Monday, May 24th, 2004
1:00 pm
sour
the sour little twist to her mouth was just the cherry on the god damned pie. You'd have thought he'd insulted her mother and tried to mack on her while her husband was holding her pretty little hand from the look of her, and when all he had done was say howdie, how's that meant to make a man feel welcome?
(Comment on this)
Sunday, May 23rd, 2004
2:01 am
After
there's a fault line in your memories. Before and After, and it's not even like it was such a big event at the time. If you'd realised that that was going to be your watershed maybe you'd have done thing's differently instead of being stuck now After the argument.
(Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 19th, 2004
1:34 pm
Barely
it's all about the posibility that things could have gone another way - barely graduated, barely made it, barely got one foot on the ladder - and it all makes you so aware of the other universes where you didn't, where you went out instead of studying, or where you kissed Darrel instead of Alicia. It makes you wonder about 'barely worth it'.
(Comment on this)
Monday, May 17th, 2004
6:00 pm
half
lost - that's all he can feel - lost without the other half of his soul, his world, his *self* and if he should have known better than to give anyone that much of his heart, well then he was stupid as well as lost, and he can accept that if he has too.
(Comment on this)
Sunday, May 9th, 2004
10:04 pm
grade
flour pushed through mesh after mesh untill it's soft like skin and dreams and scented with the purest oils and rubbed through linen and silk again to work out the lumps - only the finest cosmetics for my lady.
(Comment on this)
Friday, May 7th, 2004
4:50 pm
Daisy
daisy chain - not as easy as it looks. Nothing like it's innocent counterpart, which was all delicate concentration and cut grass and sunshine and skinned knees in his memory. No, daisychains these days were sweat and lube and come and loosing himself completely.
(Comment on this)
Thursday, May 6th, 2004
2:12 pm
return
"that's a key factor in deciding that, you know?"

she taps her cigarette ash out into the tin tray and takes a sip of whisky.

"how many times you go back to someone, and how many times after than he comes to you and keeps coming when you never let him in."
(Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 5th, 2004
4:36 pm
crisis
oh if only you knew! Whch you won't, because I'm doing quite scarily well at locking the screams and the tears in with the headache and smiling and sounding fine. The thing about crises? They pass. Like fever breaking. If they don't break you first.
(Comment on this)
Monday, May 3rd, 2004
6:26 pm
raise
it's been something to watch it go up - progress almost every day - even over night sometimes, with the arc lights going and three teams of workmen, and it's like a phoenix, somehow, sleek and golden and vibrant out of the ashes and dust, and it seems kinda wrong that it'll still be 'just' the Heisman building.
(Comment on this)
Sunday, May 2nd, 2004
11:10 pm
synthetic
fake and bright on her tongue, sweeter than sugar and a texture not to be found anywhere in nature - perfect cotton candy, in fact, folding like air into temporary sticky wads at the back of her mouth and dissolving into chemicals and silliness as she swallowed, eager to lick the last threads from her lover's lips.
(Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 20th, 2004
11:48 am
click
Clean and sharp and dispassionate. The click of a thousand keys under tens of fingers, and nothing in the steady clatter gave any clue to the occasional men who walked through the pool about the emotions that filled the room.
(Comment on this)
Friday, April 16th, 2004
12:05 am
clever
Clever ought to be a compliment, but somehow ... no. Not in that tone of voice, not with that look, that tilt to the shoulders.

"You're a clever lad. You'll figure things out."

threats heavy in the air, and he still didn't know.
(Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 14th, 2004
11:32 pm
raise
He felt helpless in the face of the seemingly effortless asscent his one-time colleague made through the ranks, year on year, always the youngest, the most-decorated, the most golden, and by his side everyone else was as in shadow, and yet still he could not find it in his heart to hate the man.
(Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 13th, 2004
5:04 pm
Copy
It's a careful act of artifice and observation.

Hours of practice to get the line of the eyeshadow just so, to match the shade of the gloss, touch up the hair to the perfect shine and style. The walk, the hand motions, the little scrunch of the nose when she knows she shouldn't be laughing.

Just like her.

It's a careful act of worship.
(Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 6th, 2004
12:32 am
brand
The logo was white, clear against the weathered tan and raised veins of the back of his hand, his wrist. The other mark, the one that had stayed an angry red for so long, blended cream into cream unseen elsewhere.
(Comment on this)
Friday, April 2nd, 2004
4:48 pm
PLAYGROUND
sitting on the swings at night, once the drunks are long gone and the air is col and damp with dewm and there's nothing but the very distant burr of traffic and the odd bird that's forgetten that streetlamps don't make a dawn - that's where there is peace and space to think.
(Comment on this)
Thursday, April 1st, 2004
1:30 am
complete
worn smooth by the years of water rolling over it, the stone is smooth, pale dove grey against the cold chapped redness of her hand. Smooth and round and solid, filling her palm, like the waves and the wind and the gulls filled her ears, like her memories filled her heart.
(Comment on this)
Thursday, March 18th, 2004
12:09 am
green
bottle glass washed soft and milky with salt water and sand.
(Comment on this)
Monday, March 15th, 2004
12:26 am
Flight
with the lights flashing and sweat burning in her eyes, muscles screaming in acid and the beat driven the roiling bodies around her, nothing could reach her, pull her down, pull her back, force her to remember.
(Comment on this)
Friday, March 12th, 2004
12:53 am
orchid
Silver and blue, harsh bright colours and an elegent sweep - unnatural, fixed, and an act of beauty, every element in key, every aspect spot on to create that impace as she stood carefully framed in the door and let the room fall sient and notice her.
(Comment on this)
Friday, March 5th, 2004
12:26 am
Nails
The clean slick slide of new nailvarnish under her fingertips was a neat sensation. Almost as neat as the play of shine off the metalic shine and the colours that refracted like rainbows from the spinning lights.
(Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2004
4:59 pm
Charm
On the surface it can be sleazy. A slick coating that's meant to ease things and only leaves a grimy reside. But when it's sincere and whole - that smile or that moment of connection, then it can light you up and the sheen is like wood varnished with a thousand touches of hands on a newel post
(Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2004
11:40 am
continue
Pick up the toys, collect up the plates and the mugs, rinse out the bottles, check in on the sleeping babes under their warm fleece blankies. Whipe down the kitchen surfaces, empty the bin, dig the lego out from the sofa cushions, listen to the kidlets breathing deap and even.
(Comment on this)
Monday, March 1st, 2004
11:10 am
Worthless.
If someone's yelling abuse, at least they've noticced you. Even a punch, red with rage and blood, is better than a casual back hander or a body-block between you and whatever it is that is worth their attention, thier desire.
(Comment on this)
Sunday, February 29th, 2004
8:20 pm
withdrawn
She could make out five different colours in her nail vernish, like archeological layers where it had peeled, or where she'd picked at it. That was only on her left hand. Seeing her right would mean unwinding from her little curl of misery on the wrinkled sheets.
(Comment on this)
Saturday, February 28th, 2004
2:05 am
crept
he wasn't really paying attention, so the whole think pretty much crept up on him, tiny little changes day in day out that meant that all of a sudden he was facing the fact that his friend was licking his neck and he wasn't *expecting* it and he couldn't quite fathom all the concequences, but no doubt about it, he liked it.
(Comment on this)
Thursday, February 26th, 2004
12:21 pm
Union
His eyes locked on yours, not even the tiny glances flicking to his lips, your tongue, the point where the light catches his piercing, none of that breaks the totality of gaze.
(Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 25th, 2004
12:00 pm
Reaching
Nothing is ever easy, and the few thing that do seem to fall into your lap are never the things that you actually really wanted, coming to you too easy to just hold you down when you should be stretching for the real prize, the true and real and perfect things.
(Comment on this)
Monday, February 23rd, 2004
1:50 pm
minimum
It's the least you could do!

No - really - this is.

It's a stupid sit-com come back, but really, a few minutes just alone, please? Alone without people and responsibilities and 'ought to do's and questions and just a base line minimum of imput.
(Comment on this)
Sunday, February 22nd, 2004
5:19 pm
wick
Candle light, all butter and warmth, a hazy glow licking over skin and fur and silks, and then with focus, with attention narrowing down to a tiny spark of pure white heat dancing on a blackened speck of string.
(Comment on this)
Thursday, February 19th, 2004
12:22 am
North
It's like a loadstone, a constant awareness of where home is. Not where he's living, of course, although that would be more usefull when he's three sheets to the wind and the fucking earth is showing off it's curvature, but to *home*. True north to his heart, or some such bullshit.
(Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 17th, 2004
12:51 am
Switch
Just like that she changed. The yeilding agreeable flirtation morphed into sound and furry and sharp beating hands and a kick to the crotch that left him breathless, eyes burning, bent over and able only to hear the clatter of heels on concrete as she ran.
(Comment on this)
Sunday, February 15th, 2004
11:53 pm
cracked
"you're crazy" seems to be something she's hearing a lot lately. "You nuts?" Lots of other variations on a theme, and really, truly? All she wanted was the same as anyone else - to do something that would make her happy and keep a roof over her head, some gas in the tank, and a little bit over for toys and treats.
(Comment on this)
2:43 am
candy
Cotton candy, gritty and pink-sweet on your tongue and sticky fingers catching on hair in the wind, with the lights swirling in the dark and the music filling the fairground
(Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 11th, 2004
4:45 pm
Bike
Two of my guys are big with the bike love - pedal bikes. Luke for the exercise as much as the freedom, Tom because that's just who he is - he'll probably never get a car as long as he lives in London. Probably neither would Luke and I've only just realised how similarn they are in this.
(Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 10th, 2004
10:10 am
Anniversary
It's all about the memories, and to be honest he finds it kinda scary, trying to remember who he used to be and knowing how long it's been by the way that everything's changed but without him ever noticing.
(Comment on this)
Monday, February 9th, 2004
10:51 am
Coaster
Once the coasters were neatly alligned with the corners of the ironed embroidered runner, the flowers - an iris for Lily and a rose for Beth - turned to face them, the clock ticking was loud in the room.
(Comment on this)
Saturday, February 7th, 2004
12:39 am
repeat
Sometimes it's the only thing that sinks in, that eventually gets under your skin and into your bones and gets you to trust that it's really real. Simple repetition, over and over, the slighest variations to keep you from boiling anger, and endless reaassurance that it's true.
(Comment on this)
Thursday, February 5th, 2004
12:35 am
Formal
There'sa grace to her movements that it's rare to see, nowadays. Even in her most relaxed moments she is aware, not only of the shadings of ettiquete, but of their principle, the concern for the comfort of others. She is a true lady.
(Comment on this)
Thursday, January 29th, 2004
2:51 pm
Camera
The cameras were a way to be someone else, a way to heat-seal the edges of the masks with lights and business. A way to show the surface and keep the rest of himself safely hidden in plain view.
(Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 28th, 2004
11:03 am
Least.
Least is a meak and vicious word. The least you could do, the knife edged whine of suburbia. At least it's not worse, right? At least you're not actually a hooker, an addict. At least you're still in school. It's the least you could do.
(Comment on this)
Sunday, January 25th, 2004
11:34 pm
Branch
Bare branches against the sky. Connections and divisions, a spiralled, spidered map of friends and aquaintences, lovers, feuds, tribes, family, users and usees,world without end, amen.
(Comment on this)
1:43 am
Aside to self
I need to figure out when the oneword site is updated - it's faintly disatisfying to see the list of words-that-I-missed after having checked back once or twice and found the same word, unchanged. And yes, i could do them anyway, but somehow that seems wrong.
(1 Comment |Comment on this)
1:43 am
Used
The handle fits his palm, worn wood like satin, warm and almost alive, transmiting the blade up into him though every practised motion.
(Comment on this)
Thursday, January 22nd, 2004
11:56 pm
clarity
Sharp clear mountain air and time to step outside the whole situation, literally and metaphorically. Come back with the music blazing and a plan of action, tired in the muscles and awake in the brain.
(Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 21st, 2004
3:20 pm
Flight
soaring or running? towards or away? Figuring that out is always the tricky part.
(Comment on this)
Monday, January 19th, 2004
11:14 pm
Burn
music like lightening and chemical thunder, driving him on and standing every hair on him edge up and sparking against the smoke and the neon. Burn bright, burn hard, burn out.
(Comment on this)
Sunday, January 18th, 2004
10:39 pm
Curtain
net curtain's twitching - that ultimate symbol of working class suburban conformity, but curtains draped in decedent richness conceal and reveal, seven veils, the decadent also.
(Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 13th, 2004
4:52 pm
Weakness
Having that soft point always worried him - that people would see it, and worse see it as weakness, as the potential for being hamstrung that he could never quite forget about. Kindness. Weakness. Not the same, most of the time.
(Comment on this)
Sunday, January 11th, 2004
12:03 am
Haunt
Memories made it hard to stay - memories so clear they were more like ghosts of people who might not have died yet, but certainly were no longer who they had been then. So hard to stay here in this club with the corners full of whispers and no one to shake the memories away with laughter and vodka.
(Comment on this)
Friday, January 9th, 2004
5:12 pm
logic
there's no reason to assume that just because I'm a woman I'm not logical. Not only can I code round you with one arm tied behind my back, mr, ignoring the 'logic' of your rules makes a lot of sense. Got me you didn't it?

[Mal speaking to Neo, I think]
(Comment on this)
Thursday, January 8th, 2004
4:27 pm
Clean
Clear and simple - that's how things should be, right? Clean lines. No clutter or mess or tangles or ties. The more he throught about it the more it sounded like 'cold and hard and lonely'
(Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 7th, 2004
4:29 pm
Ready
set, Go! summoning memories of school sports and girl guides, and otherwise stalling my brain, apparently.
(1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, January 3rd, 2004
12:57 am
note
worthy - and also ephemeral, be it pen and skin, pencil and paper, chalk and board, or a souring sustained vocal joy.
(Comment on this)
Thursday, January 1st, 2004
10:16 pm
precision
obsession. Care and control. Neat, without the nifty. It ought to be souless, but a robot can be precise. Precission is soul-driven. focussed. channelled and trammelled and building and one day breaking.
(Comment on this)
Monday, December 29th, 2003
4:05 am
stream
The tug of water running around his ankles was enough to draw the anger out of him, the steady stream of muttered curses ebbing in the tumble of the current.
(Comment on this)
Monday, December 15th, 2003
11:13 am
Elements
If you keep disecting then you end up with nothing except pure hard elements of cold heavy events, and she wasn't ready to bury the living fluttering emotional synthesis of it all just yet.
(Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 9th, 2003
11:40 am
Discontent
Itchy in her skin, picky and fussing and unable to settle to anything. Not music, not code, not even a whole three minute video on EAM. In the end she threw the remote across the room and grabbed boots and her car keys and headed for the door.

[note : EAM is the Eden Alternative channel, and this snippet is Mal - the word chimed so strongly with her muse space right now.]
(Comment on this)
Monday, December 8th, 2003
2:04 pm
Regard
it's a calm cool thing, regard, like viewing the blood tooth and nail action from behind a safety glass screen, and yet somehow the kiss of it is worth more, in some twisted way, than the smack of closer observation.
(Comment on this)
Thursday, December 4th, 2003
10:55 pm
Constant.
Iit's not a flashy virtue. It's not heroism, or charisma, or besting someone in combat or saving the day. It's not great art or a voice that would hold a songbird spellbound, but it's something. Being constant.
(Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 26th, 2003
11:46 pm
Depth
That's what he's alway's worried he doesn't have - what he was attracted to in other people, and what he maybe drowned out by trying too hard. Depth of character - reserves - something that would make you think 'yeah - there's a guy who could cope in a crisis - someone who knows who he is.
(Comment on this)
Monday, November 17th, 2003
11:45 am
Orchestra
think music,

think power,

think emotion,

think class,

think money,

think alien,

think more than the sum of it's parts,

think talent and years of work and beautiful ephemeral things.

Think joy and tears and the way the hairs on the back of your neck lift in the presence of beauty.
(Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 11th, 2003
10:59 am
skills
hard won or innate? Warp and weft of identity - skills and character.
(Comment on this)
Thursday, November 6th, 2003
9:37 am
bank
mounds of money - how's that for two in one? Safety, surity, defence, obstruction, walled in and walled out, like a maze of burial mounds.
(Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 5th, 2003
12:40 am
Foundation
That's strength - not height but roots. Perminance, strength; the unseen unsung that enables the soaring glory.
(Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 28th, 2003
3:11 pm
Scout
Honour - at least on the surface, but really it's all about the reconnoitring, looking out for your group, keeping the way clear and safe so that they don't even know there's anything that they needed to have worried about. Clearing the path, literal or metaphorical.
(Comment on this)
Friday, October 17th, 2003
6:31 pm
Final
Heavy and definite and complete. Unlike it's architectural bretherin, then. and yet 'Fin' is not 'completed'. and thein lies pathos.
(Comment on this)
Thursday, October 16th, 2003
1:05 pm
Forward
shiny dynamic 50's robots and space sheeps[1] and it's sleek and hard and cultural MSG, when really, incrimental baby steps, day on day, inch on inch, and just don't *stop*.

[1] I meant ships, but on reflection : the freudian typo can stay.
(Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 15th, 2003
5:38 pm
Dedicate
It's got to be something heart and soul to count - not a paper whisper thin dedication, dry ink and limp linen inscription, but hale and hearty and bleeding with truth and trying.

comments

According to plan

2016-10-31T22:14:39Z

Each year since 2004 I've had a story to share for Halloween, because it's a significant date for me. This year's is another Tawnholme story, wherein things do not go ( According To Plan )

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Energy - 2015's Halloween story

2015-10-31T23:13:01Z

Each year since 2004 I've had a story to share for Halloween, because it's a significant date for me. This year's a taste of Tawnholme, with a twist. Let me know what you think?

( Energy, by Alex Draven )

comments

Unexpected callers - 2014's Halloween story

2014-10-31T17:20:51Z

Each year since 2004 I've had a story to share for Halloween, because it's a significant date for me. This year's a taste of Tawnholme sweetness, although as it turned out, my weather forecast was completely wrong! Many many thanks to A, for helping me get this ready to share - all mistakes and misunderstandings that remain are my own sweet fault, especially as I have changed things since she saw it.

Happy Halloween, and happy reading!

( Unexpected callers, by Alex Draven )

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Sunset Starts - 2013's Halloween Story.

2013-10-31T08:17:31Z

Each year since 2004 I've had a story to share for Halloween, because it's a significant date for me. This year's is a short sequel to last year's Mellow Mists , although it can also be read as a stand-alone short. Thank you to A, for helping to tidy this up: all remaining mistakes are my fault.

( Sunset Starts by Alex Draven )

If you're interested in reading the previous stories I've posted as Halloween gifts they are:

Dream Come True (2004)
Thirteen Kisses (2005)
All Souls (2006)
Favour ($0.99) & two free snippets Soar and Raining Cats (2007)
Tradition (2008)
Everything changes (2009)
It’s not the dead that haunt graveyards (2010)
Here Comes The Rain (2011)
Mellow Mists (2012)

You'll find these and other seasonally appropriate snippets under 'seasonal : autumn' in the tags list

(If I was doing this as a promotional thing, I would have picked a less popular date, because there's an awful lot of fabulous fiction being released for Halloween - more of it every year - but I'm doing this because it's a significant date for me, so, thank you, everyone who reads this, and twice thanks to those of you who let me know that you did.)

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Nine Worlds / Riverside Regeneration

2013-08-15T21:53:11Z

So, as anyone who follows me on Twitter is no doubt aware, I spent last weekend at Nine Worlds, a 3 day geek-fest convention thingumy. It was good. I approve. Would do again.

Specifically, I got to hang out with fab people, both people I know and don't get to see often enough, and people I don't know who were shiny and interesting, and go to All The Things.

The sheer abundance of sessions was kind of overwhelming, in a good way, and I'm really appreciating people's write-ups of sessions I didn't get to go to - so many threads full of so many interesting things, but I don't regret choosing any of the things I did in the end go to (not even the slot where I didn't go to any of the five different things that I wanted to go to, and instead got a foofy coffee and ate a protein bar, and sat and chatted to friends, because that was good too.)

I do kind of regret not taking time off work, which means I missed several sessions that I would have liked to go to on Friday, and had to leave mid-afternoon on Sunday to get home. Note duly taken for next year.

The only thing I did get to go to on Friday was Tony Keen's session on Writing Fantastic London - part discussion of his list of key texts, running from Charles Dicken's Christmas Carol to the Rivers of London ~~trilogy~~ series*, part writing exercise, and part reading / discussion of some of the participants' writings. We had about 15 mins of writing time, which left one of the participants with an impressively polished and vivid short inspired by Crossrail, and generated lots of discussion about how the transport system ties in to the fantastic-ness of the city.

I was thinking about my own stuff, and Everything Changes is, I think, my London-est story with supernatural elements. The area around Kings Cross is both inspiration, symbol, and plot element in that one, and a lot of the session discussion brought up transport and transience, and migration and crowds as aspects of London that engender fantastic fiction, so - yes.

My own writing exercise results? ( under the cut tag )
_____
*<strike>I can type up if anyone wants it - I have a couple of new things on my to-read list from it., personally. </strike>
The reading list is online now: http://tonykeen.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/writing-fantastic-london-reading-list.html

<b>ETA - Shiny! - Bedlam, a story by Catherine Taylor, aka the nifty Crossrail story has been posted! text or Audio Go, read! </b>

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Favour back in print

2013-08-08T00:04:29Z

I had an email from a reader earlier this week, who was looking for Favor, one of my Halloween stories that had long-since gone out of print, which was the kick in the pants I needed to get it polished up and up on Smashwords. (The cover may not be the ultimate cover, but the book is *there*, which is probably more important.)

You can now find Favor (now with British spelling restored, so it's Favour again) at Smashwords from whence it will - eventually - find it's way to Kindle, Kobo, Apple etc.

Bonus for loyal readers - use coupon CF85T for a free copy of Favour good for the next couple of days at Smashwords.

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Mellow Mists - 2012's Halloween story.

2012-10-31T18:23:40Z

Each year since 2004 I've had a story to share for Halloween, because it's a significant date for me. This year is no exceptions, despite the best efforts of non-writing life to get in the way.

This is another Tawnholme story, but a very different mood from last year's - this year is more about sadness and stillness and the potential inherent in the turn of the seasons at this time of year.

Mellow Mist by Alex Draven

"So, hey."

Karl kicked desultorily at the fallen leaves, lying in damp, sodden drifts. It was cold, and damp, and the mist hadn't lifted even though it was mid-afternoon. The trees the far side of the clearing were soft-focus, and the far side of the valley a ghostly rumour.

"I came out here. I don't know what I thought that was going to achieve, but - here I am."

The trees didn't say anything back.

It wasn't exactly silent - the wind moving the branches, the distant thrum of traffic, the odd thump and crackle as birds launched themselves from branches or ripe crab apples hit the ground - but it was a lot quieter than Karl was used to. ( read on )

If you're interested in reading the previous stories I've posted as Halloween gifts they are:

Dream Come True (2004)
Thirteen Kisses (2005)
All Souls (2006)
Favour ($0.99) & two free snippets Soar and Raining Cats (2007)
Tradition (2008)
Everything changes (2009)
It’s not the dead that haunt graveyards (2010)
Here Comes The Rain (2011)

You'll find these and other seasonally appropriate snippets under 'seasonal : autumn' in the tags list

(If I was doing this as a promotional thing, I would have picked a less popular date, because there's an awful lot of fabulous fiction being released for Halloween - more of it every year - but I'm doing this because it's a significant date for me, so, thank you, everyone who reads this, and twice thanks to those of you who let me know that you did.)

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slightly sad news

2011-12-04T20:37:09Z

'Tis the natural cycle of these things, but over the last five weeks, two of my books have gone out of 'print' : Favor and Stay Tape are no longer for sale.

I must admit, it's a little sad to get the email saying that their time is up.

I'm not 100% sure what's going to happen with them - I'm toying with the idea of self-publishing them, Stay Tape probably on it's own, or with another Tawnholme story, Favor as part of an anthology of Halloween stories. Lord knows when I'll have the time to spend clambering up the learning curve to be able to do them justice, though!

Mostly, I really need to finish more things and submit them places, so my publications list is replenished and there are more stories out there in the world!

Rather than the better year I was hoping for, real life has found several news ways to dent my word count this year. I have actually written more this year than last, but a) that's a lot less than the year before that and b) 'written' is not the same as 'finished'. Must do better. *Will* do better.

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Here Comes The Rain, by Alex Draven

2011-10-30T15:43:29Z

Each year since 2004 I've had a story to share for Halloween, because it's a significant date for me. This year is no exceptions, although I'm posting a little early because circumstances will prevent me from getting online on the day, and I'm determined not to skip.

This year's tale is a Tawnholme story, which means it's a contemporary, roughly 'real world', story set in a fictional UK town, and I think it's a little smoky and a lot sweet - a good pair to 2007's Favour, in fact. Many thanks to Pen for last minute editing services; any remaining mistakes are entirely my own fault, especially as I've worked on this since she saw it last.

( Here Comes The Rain, by Alex Draven )

If you're interested in more, here's a list of the past stories.

Dream Come True (2004)
Thirteen Kisses (2005)
All Souls (2006)
Favour (2007) (for sale) & Soar and Raining Cats (2007)(free sketches)
Tradition (2008)
Everything changes (2009)
It’s not the dead that haunt graveyards (2010)

You'll find these and other seasonally appropriate snippets under 'seasonal : autumn' in the tags list

(If I was doing this as a promotional thing, I would have picked a less popular date, because there's an awful lot of fabulous fiction being released for Halloween - more of it every year - so, thank you, everyone who reads this, and twice thanks to those of you who let me know that you did.)

comments

alexdraven @ 2011-09-30T17:38:00

2011-09-30T16:41:32Z

Pick a genre, and a location, and share some of your favourite books

Seven London Fantasy Favourites, in a roughly chronological sequence by setting:

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Sweetmeat by Luke Sutherland
61 Nails by Mike Shevdon
Kraken by China Mielville

And you? Where would you pick? What would you pick?

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First of March

2011-09-11T16:48:46Z

jjhunter issued a speculative fiction fest challenge, to write a short story describing an ordinary day in the life for an ordinary woman and her family coping with illness somewhen in the future. It's quite a specific set of prompts, but it sparked off with the song I was listening to, and turned into this, which I post as it stands, as a rough sketch.

(It's a stand alone, although it could be the same world as these snippets, not least because it's inspired by music from the same source - thank you Deathboy, for your music as both band and individual!

*****

First of March

"So, here we are - the first of March and the sun's shining." Kal tilted the camera towards the viewscreen behind her, and smiled. The automatic polarisation on Ella's bedside viewer abruptly killed the contrast, but she could still see the light burst bleaching out most of Kal's viewscreen. "We made orbit right on schedule." Kal returned the camera to dock, and the light levels settled back down again. "I love you, lady. Have a good day." Kal touched two fingers to her lips, and blew a kiss to the camera, and then the screen went dark.

"Love you, too," Ella whispered, and flopped back in the unmade bed, allowing herself the luxury of a minute or two's silence to feel herself missing her wife.( Read more... ) so - what do you think?

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Brief Encounters British Fortnight

2011-03-20T22:08:40Z

The folks over at Brief Encounters Reviews - a review site exclusively for shorter M/M reads, of up to 20,000 words - are celebrating British authors and stories, with a series of interviews and reviews, and some generous give-aways.

I've contributed a couple of books to the swag bag, and answered my interview questions, and now I'm looking forward to seeing what their reviewer thought of whichever book they pick, as well as hearing more from my fellow authors in the UK.

Come on over and see what they're up to?

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It’s not the dead that haunt graveyards, by Alex Draven

2010-10-31T18:48:11Z

Every year since 2004, I've posted a story for Halloween, because it's a significant day for me. This year's offering is an idea that's been rattling around in my subconscious for years, which sparked against a recent visit to a local civil cemetery, to become this story.

It’s not the dead that haunt graveyards
by Alex Draven

( Read more... )

If you're interested in previous years' stories, here's the list:

Dream Come True (2004)
Thirteen Kisses (2005)
All Souls (2006)
Favour (2007) (for sale)
Soar and Raining Cats (2007)
Tradition (2008)
Everything changes (2009)

(plus, there are the two zombie stories. They are seasonally appropriate, but they do come with a 'you click on the link, you take responsibility for your own sanity' warning - the titles are terrifyingly accurate on these two - Zombie Incest Wrongness and the infamous necrophiliac plushy gangbang story)

(If I was doing this as a promotional thing, I would have picked a less popular date, because there's an awful lot of fabulous fiction being released for Halloween - more of it every year - so, thank you, everyone who reads this, and twice thanks to those of you who let me know that you did.)

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A drabble for a Dragon's Tale journal

2010-10-21T17:15:34Z

I'm a member of a book-swapping service called BookMooch. As well as helping books to find readers and readers new books, it's also spawned a collection of collaborative journals, sent around the world and filed with words and images and thoughts and notes by anyone who wants to take part. I've added to a few, and not documented them, but this afternoon I decided to write a drabble for this one - A Dragon's Tale. A drabble means a hundred words, which means typing the words so I could count them and tweak them to get the perfect century.

I also remembered to take a couple of photos.

*****
Nothing like you imagined.

*****

Smoke in the air, carbon staining anything that touched the rocks, and - there! A flicker of distant flame? A glint of reflected light? Reflected from scales or gold? It barely mattered - she stumbled forward, further into the dark of cave, straining to catch a second glimpse, and then froze as the cave floor vibrated under her feet. She felt as much as heard the bass rumble of the dragon shifting, sighing. A clatter of something falling against rocks - gold, or more rocks? She smiled, imagining the dragon stretching, and curled asleep on his horde, like a house cat.

*****

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Fall - now in a range of ebook formats

2010-06-12T23:43:09Z

I was lucky enough to get an ebook reader for my birthday a couple of months back (an Elonex 5" e-ink model, should you want to know that), and I love it!

It's really made me aware, though, of the benefits of having stories available to read in a variety of formats - I always used to jump for .html or .pdf files for reading on my pc or for printing out, but now I love the flexibility of epub goodness, and I imagine Kindle users feel the same way about .mobi

This weekend, I've been experimenting with using smashwords.com to convert my centaur short story, Fall, into a range of ebook formats. It seemed like a good candidate - long enough to be worth the effort of downloading for your device, and a story that's close to my heart, and that I'd love to get into as many people's hands as possible (which is why it's been a free read here for a while).

It's now available in epub, html, PDF, LRF (for Sony Reader), PDB (for Palm reading devices) and .mobi for Kindles, as well as here, under the 'centaurs' tag

It's free, and perfectly legal to pass around, although I'd love it if, should you want to give it to a friend, you'd give them a link to download a fresh copy, so I get some download figures to let me know that people are reading. http://bit.ly/FallDraven

As always, I love to hear from readers - comments, or twitter messages, or email are all good - so let me know how that works for you?

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just marking time

2010-05-16T22:17:09Z

Someone posted a plea to authors - wow - that's a month ago already? Anyway - a plea to authors, namely

"Please, if you have a website or blog, please keep it updated. There is nothing more frustrating than having a favorite author and finding their website or blog, only to find out that the last time it got updated was May and it's now October."

I am totally one of those authors, and I apologise, so this is my 'not dead, still plugging along' post. Specifically, my day job is trying to take up all 26 hours of the day every day, which isn't leaving a lot of time or mental energy for writing.

The ideas are still coming, though, and I'm making lots of notes and scribbled pen-sketches that hopefully will come together into actual stories as soon as the pressure's off a little. I wish I could tell you when that would be, because that would make everything less stressful, but the available evidence suggests that as soon as I say 'work will get less busy in x days' the law of sod will roll into effect and make me a liar.

I don't want to lie to you, so I'll make you no promises about the timing, just that I'll keep on keeping on, and eventually there will be more stories for me to share with you.

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alexdraven @ 2010-04-01T23:06:00

2010-04-01T22:28:07Z

Nifty things #1 - Torquere Press are having an April Fool's 2-day sale - 15% off with the code 'nofool' on checkout. This is particularly nifty as I've just become the lucky owner of a dedicated ebook reader, so it's perfect timing for me to stock up on some of the titles from my wishlist :D

Nifty things #2 - the ageofsteam blog are throwing a Steampunkapalooza all month, and start things off with a bang with this interview with Gail Carriger, which includes all sorts of nifty things, including the fact that she had one of the costumes from her cover art made for her in real life, which is an idea that is so totally going on my 'you know you've made it when' list!

Nifty things #3 - sticking to the steampunk theme, I've been tempted into playing Echo Bazaar: Fallen London, which is a really nicely done steampunky alternative London story-adventure type game. Anyone else playing? (It ties into Twitter, but while there's a little bit of game pressure to involve any of your Twitter followers who are already playing, they are - so far at least - doing the decent thing and not posting things without your active consent.)

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Hard as iron

2009-12-25T17:29:42Z

A short Christmas ghost story, written in response to a challenge at Just_Writing

*****

It was bitter cold this year. The snow that brought the city to a halt earlier in the week, which made the solstice celebrations glitter and shine in the darkness, has gone. The iron grey that was left had Col cold to the bone, and it wasn't surprising that everyone else who had a warm cosy place to be chose to be there instead. It left the Christmas woods deserted. Just him, and the drip of water slowly rolling together on a leaf, the sharp rustle as a bird took wing. Col thrust his hands deeper into his poachers pockets, and hunched his shoulders, trying to shield his heart from the cutting wind. ( Read more... )

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the Angels Sing

2009-12-25T16:04:29Z

Just sneaking online to wish all of you who celebrate Christmas a wonderful celebration, and all of you who don't, a wonderful day.

Also, 'tis Christmas, and what better time to be thinking about beautiful (male) angels? So I've been photo hunting:

Angel by Nicolas DARQUÉ

(the rest are 'all rights reserved' so I'm linking instead of posting - they're worth clicking through to, though.)

Un Ange Blue

Dawn

bent angel

demons fall for an angels kiss

goth angel (not sure that this is the original, as I've seen this picture a bunch of places, but it is beautiful)

MythMag Angel

The Angel Waits - maybe my favourite of the lot - the light and shadow, the *intent* and the *patience* implied by the pose... isn't it beautiful?

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Staytape - rereleased!

2009-11-14T16:42:14Z

My corset-boys novella, Stay Tape, has been re-released today as a Torquere Single Shot Classic. That means that you can, once again, get your hands on it, if you haven't already.

Stay Tape is about Kit and Dirk, eyeliner and photography, kilts and corsets. It's about love, and trust, and doing the things that scare you because if you never get scared you're not growing.

Dirk loves his life. He has his partner, Kit, and he has a wonderful job at the local fetish shop, working behind the scenes. Panic sets in when Dirk's boss, Sukie, asks him to model some of the wares in the next catalog. He's not sure he wants to be on the front lines, where everyone can see him.

Kit is more than happy to help Dirk get over his case of nervous jitters. In fact, Kit might just be uniquely suited to the task. He sets out to make sure Dirk can do the job, helping Dirk ease his fears. Can they prove to Dirk that it's not so bad to be in the spotlight after all?

You can read an extract, reviews, and a bonus snippet over at Stay Tape's page on my website, and you can pick it up for your Kindle at Amazon, in a range of other ebook formats from your preferred distributor, or direct from the publisher.

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Blessed Samhain and Happy Hallowe'en! - Everything Changes by Alex Draven

2009-10-31T19:12:09Z

Every year, I post a story for Halloween - a tradition that's important enough to me that I stole a few minutes away from my dear friends' wedding reception to post this one!

Many thanks to the fabulous Ms Mana for eleventh-hour assistance with this - all remaining flaws are entirely down to me, especially as I changed things since she last saw it.

Everything changes
by Alex Draven

*****

11pm finds me stepping off a train. I haven't been back in London for years and the area around King's Cross has changed almost beyond recognition.

You've still got the station, of course - stations are always good for an emotional smorgasbord, although personally, I tend to use airports these days. But the streets around the station? These days there are students and clubbers and cocktail bars mixed in with the porn shops and all these neon-plastic chain places; the teenagers that crowd them are junk food for us, just like the burgers are for them, all those candy-bright hyper-real emotions.

Used to be that dealers and hookers, and the dealers and hookers' clients, were the most regular items on the menu outside the station proper. That's why I moved on in the end. All that thin desperation and hopelessness sits sour in the stomach, and I never did have Z's taste for shame.

( Read more... )

If you're interested in previous years' stories, here's the list:

Dream Come True (2004)
Thirteen Kisses (2005)
All Souls (2006)
Favour (2007) (for sale)
Soar and Raining Cats (2007)
Tradition (2008)

(plus, there are the two zombie stories. They are seasonally appropriate, but they do come with a 'you click on the link, you take responsibility for your own sanity' warning - the titles are terrifyingly accurate on these two - Zombie Incest Wrongness and the infamous necrophiliac plushy gangbang story)

comments