Woo hoo!

Thus far, have only read Jukebox's I'm Coming 4 U. Highly recommended. I do love me some brainwashed Haley. Some nice callbacks to the original I'm a Slave 4 U story as well.

EDIT: For those of you who enjoy stats and things, Crossing the Rubicon is now the second-longest story on the Archive at 525,404 words.

(Tim still reigns supreme at 1.3 million)

More bottoms-up reviews (wait, that sounds wrong... anyway!)

Kallie's Subroutine sees our two protagonists on very different paths, one still trying to solve the mystery and escape slavery, and the other now sinking fully into her new life as a four-digit robot. And the number of robots continues to grow! I liked the dark turn here as, after being so eager to get to the bottom of things at the start of the story. Then again, she seems happier now...

Speaking of mysteries, there's more latex/robot/mind control fun going on inOut of Mind Control 2. The induction via smoke detector was creative and (quite possibly) a first for an EMCSA story? I enjoy stories with brainwashed moles and betrayal, so I'm looking forward to the next installment.

The Internship opens this week with a scene that reminds me of "Attack Angels," with a character brainwashing herself at home, after a long work day. Of course . Nichole certainly is a fast learner. I'm not sure how you'd put these skills on a resume, but then again, I get the feeling that her internship is going to end with a job offer she can't refuse.

Bob's on a roll in Flightback. A free upgrade, a hot flight attendant fawning over him, and then a chat about erotic mind control stories leads to sexy (dare I say romantic?) fun. And we haven't even reached Germany yet! MetaBob does a good job here with making us care about his characters, and wanting to know more about them. It'll be interesting to see where this plane goes.

More comic book fun awaits in Issue #3 of Cape City Chronicles! Our brainwashed heroine is just starting out on her new, re-aligned career path, while Lieutenant Alvarez continues to chip away at the case. If only she knew what was going on behind her back! This feels like a good setup for the next installment!

Meanwhile, poor Gene continues to juggle his girls in Blizzard. I love the character development here, as Gene and his girlfriends all struggle with their emotions and feelings. They all get some sage advice that could very well determine the outcome of the story. Also, they may want to think about cleaning those boots. They've gotten a lot of use lately!

(I still need to read through Black Swan and a few others before Simon's newest update hits today...)

Thank you, Shadra.

I will take a wild guess and say the stories diverge considerably in the end.

Rounding out the week with Flightback, just before the next update. Knowing the inspiration for the story, it's nice to see the idea grow into a proper story. Not sure I would have the confidence to write anything with myself as the main character.

As I've mentioned to Mɛta, he has great skill with his writing that I admit I'm a bit envious of. The story is well written with a sweet opening scene with a cared focus on the induction. Those that like pleasant tales will definitely find something to enjoy in this.

Thank you, Shadra! I'm very happy to have received the inspiration for this piece on your (and Carefully Random's) Discord server!

And thank you to 321 (plus one other inspiration, who I wish I could recall) for the question there: "I'm curious, though, if anyone has ever written an EMCSA story about an EMCSA story writer"

I cited br0adband in reply. And Wiseguy. I even included a somewhat inevitable Wiseguy homage in my chapter 2. I felt honored to do so, and still do.

A buzzer-beater for Day-Old Thoughts, and it's for Dead of Night.

Here's my progression going through this story.

While the ending might not have floated my particular boat, overall I was pretty riveted. The characters all rang very clear, and the prose really flowed. I liked it almost as much as I liked Kat and Mouse, which I liked a lot, though I didn't finish it in time to give timely feedback. Both had me on the edge of my seat.

Since I mentioned Kat and Mouse, just wanted to say (again) that it was a phenomenal story. It felt super grounded and the tension was so thick it was actually nauseating for me at times. Which is a good thing, I think. Well done. I really want sequels where Kat and Marisa become consultants or PIs and solve mind control cases for the FBI, or something like that. That would be dope.

And speaking of both stories, the biggest issue I have with both of them is that both are very lacking in eroticism to me. Dead of Night moreso. The hypnosis rarely comes off as sexy, seductive, or titillating. It's a device that supports the plot and the tones of uncertainty and fear. Supports them very well, I'll readily admit. Even in Kat and Mouse, where the two characters have an erotic relationship with hypnosis to start, the plot twists and perverts it, and not in a fun way. Compelling, but not in the sexy way I come to this site for. It very well could be that forcing more erotic elements into either story would have compromised the overall vision, but I'd love to see one that includes them organically.