Works/Twenty-Six
From Eccentric Flower
Old readers (by which I mean readers who have been following my web site for a long time, not readers who are old, although we're all old these days) are aware of a "erotica" project which I worked on intermittently in the 1999-2001 vicinity called Twenty-Six.
The idea behind this writing exercise was that I wrote twenty-six sentences (below), one for each letter of the alphabet, and then I had to write a short smutty story for each. I also had to write the stories in order - this was a rule I imposed upon myself because I felt that if I skipped around, I'd never come back to certain ones and actually write them - a policy which bit me on the ass hard with the H story, but one which I do not regret.
In practice the quality varied widely, and as I go back (2009) and dust off my journal archives I find that I'm dusting off various bits of Twenty-Six along the way. Below, along with the original seed sentences, are the "where are they now" dispositions of these stories. Note that this page is still being updated as I go. Columbina 16:04, 15 June 2009 (EST)
Along the aisle of the abbey, among the alabaster angels, approach Amaranth at the altar, her aura Apollonian.
Communion is a very short vignette, not really a story, which I may reprint in the journal at some point.
Beatrice beckons to her bountiful bosom, beseeching me to behold her breasts.
Expanding on an Idea was reprinted in Best American Erotica 2001, to my surprise. More on that on its page. I suppose that makes it good enough to appear on the main story page.
Courtesan Cecilia carefully composes her clothing to casually cheat concealment.
My Dear Louis: was an experiment in epistolary style and period language. I don't know why I should have wanted to emulate Henry Fielding when I find him unreadable. Like Fielding, I was trying to tell a fun smutty story but was hampered by the necessary thicket of prose (which is why the film Tom Jones is a delight and the book is impenetrable). This one will never see daylight, although I may steal back the basic premise one day.
Deborah, delectable damsel, dreams of dominance but dares not decide among diverse distractions.
The dom/sub content in Unintended Uses is, to my eye, handled so inexpertly that it embarrasses me to read it. It makes a mildly entertaining point and may surface, either in the journal or reused, some day.
Emily's eyes express the effects of her erotic entrapment.
See Emily Play is a specialized ASFR-type story. If you don't know what that means, forget it. The point is that the story was interesting to the three or so potential readers with that specific kink, and not good enough to stand on its own without the kink. (If you would like an example of a special-kink story which nonetheless passes the general-interest test, try "Feedback".)
Frances fidgets furtively, fearing her favorite fantasies will be found out.
For Reference Only was deemed suitable for public view some time back.
Gaze upon Galatea, that graceful golem, and grant her a gift.
After Pygmalion, while it does not bear close scrutiny, is nonetheless pleasant enough to have reemerged into the light of day.
Hecate's hedonistic hexes hinder hapless humans.
The many false starts of What She Wants are documented on its page. Again, not as good as some of the others here, not so bad as to deserve oblivion.
Ingenue Ingrid was invariably ingenious in informing her infatuees of her intentions.
Casting Couch is not good enough for public view, but has relocated to my journal.
Jasmine judiciously juxtaposes a jolt of jungle into her joyous journeys.
The Jaguar's Wife is in my opinion one of the two best stories here, and also one of the two longest, and one of the two that got the least comment or attention when I badly wanted it. All these sets of two are the same two.
Knaves kidnapped by Kate know she'll use kindness in their keeping.
Change of Plan is a silly little story which owes a great deal to a man who wrote under the name Saki.
Laura, lady of leisure, lithe and leonine, likes her lovers limber.
Invertigogo has been bundled with "Double Bed" because the two stories go together, and resurrected as "Dewey and Her" in public view.
Melinda muses that most men seem to make much of her multiplicity.
Double Bed has been combined with "Invertigogo"; see above.
Naomi needs nurturing, and is known to nudge her nature nearly to the nadir of natality.
Little Big Girl will never see the light of day because, once again, if you don't have the specific fetish, it just doesn't work. Plus, it may actually be dangerous to reprint, in this hysterical climate. If the world can't tell (or doesn't bother trying to discriminate) ageplay fantasy material from child pornography, then this story doesn't get shown (even though there are no children in it). Stupid humans.
Obeisant Olivia often opts to observe the onus of an odalisque.
Outside the Palace is the other long story alluded to in the comments to "The Jaguar's Wife" above.
Pandora prefers plenty of passionate partners - preferably all present in one place.
The Party Line has not yet been reexamined.
Quarrelsome Quinn questions the Queen, without quite considering the quick consequences.
Merely the Queen has not yet been reexamined.
Rose's regular roles are rough, retrograde, rambunctious, and rarely romantic, yet she relishes them.
From Behind has not yet been reexamined.
That's as far as I ever got, as of April 2001. The rest of these were never written (and no, the last one was not about bestiality, so lower your eyebrows).
Susan says her sensual successes spring from a simple synthesis of sensations.
Tempest tends to triumph in her tumultuous yet tender trysts.
Undine utilizes unusual underthings for unsavory undertakings.
Vivacious Veronica's verbal vividness is her most valuable vice.
Wendy works her wiles, while her watchers wonder why their wants are waxing.
Exotically exposed, Xaviera exclaims in exquisite, excruciating ecstasy.
Yvette yearns to yield to a young yeoman.
Zöe's zeal for zebras is not just zoological.
