I'm a Pretty, Pretty Panda

So I took the bait and cleared room on my hard drive to install the beta of Mists of Pandaria. I even, against my better judgement, made myself a panda monk. Why? Because I'm an idiot.

SO MANY PANDAS! Seriously, my computer couldn't take it -- and that was with the graphics on low. I froze and reboot twice. I did get my hand-wraps equipped, but never was able to make it to a training target. Because I care enough, I'll try again on Monday morning when American kids are at school. Of course, the German and Russian kids are in a different time zone, so I'm probably equally screwed but with less English. 

Die frau macht der fussball.  Yep, I remember my 7th grade German enough to be annoying.

Anyhow, my panda. She's cute. People with furry fetishes are going to be all over panda chicks. I assumed she'd be about as sexy as a Tauren, but she's much better -- more on the same level as when Bugs Bunny was in drag.

I have a friend and fellow blogger who plays WoW. She has had a couple kids and struggled with her weight. She enjoys being hot in game. Pandas are not hot unless you have really diverse tastes.

As for me, I'm hot in rl so I don't need my avatar to help me fantasize. In fact, I look just like my blood elf (I'd say a ne, but I don't have the Popeye arms and man hands). That being the case, I wonder why I don't have any dwarf, tauren, or undead toons?

No Photoshop used in this image. None. Zip.

And, just for fun, here's a very pixelated Snickers commercial from a few year back that pops to mind whenever I think of pandas. Enjoy.

Not in the Mood

 I've been charting religious practices, social strata, names, holidays, traditions, etc... in world building within my United Factions, the Allied People's Republic, and the neutral cities of Seraph and Selph within the world of Azuramer. I've also been continuing to work within my two works in progress, Control and Surrender.  I've become a hybrid planner/pantser and I like it.
The problem I'm having is that I'm at the BIG sex scene. You know, the genre required scene toward the climax (he he) of the story where the couple realize it's true love, etc... These scenes have never really been a challenge. Once I get my writing groove on, the scene flows. Yes, I have some tidying to do, but in all the scenes are well written and get the intended emotional content across. And, I shouldn't have to mention, they're hot.

This is my problem right now. My real world influences have been decidedly not hot. Life is, well, life. I've been sick with an upper respiratory thingy (not hot), I'm broke (not hot), and work is crazy. To top it all, I recently watched Bridesmaids. While I really enjoyed the film, the residual imagery it left with me has made sexual content really laughable. I am not able to suspend disbelief long enough to allow a mood to establish.

So I'm stuck on my w.i.p., unable to finish the scene. Since a big part of my process is seat of my pants, I can't just write the last scene and be secure in the knowledge it will be the organic extension of their sexual moment of clarity.

To add insult to injury, I Googled "romantic imagery" for this blog, and this was the 2nd image suggested.  WTF? Thanks Google, I needed the help to be not turned on.

Nothing New Under the Sun

Laura Kaye's Hearts in Darkness is one of my favorite books, with Caden one of my favorite heroes. I have since read her other works. I just finished In Service of the King. Though I'm not into vampires, I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys erotic paranormal romance. It threw me, though, because in her created vampire lore, when vampires mate they get a mark, a tattoo, as a visible sign of the spiritual connection.

I did the same thing in my novella, Mind, Body, and Spirit.

As soon as I read that, I put down my Kindle and checked the publication date. Her book came out a month after mine which means there was no way I could have copied that detail.

I had another moment of panic a month or so ago when I read Zoe Archer's Rebel. In the big, meaningful sex scene where they both realize they are meant to be together (one exists in every romance), it is from behind with some hair pulling involved. Slightly animalistic (which makes sense since Lesperance is a shifter). My final big "You are mine" scene had a very similar choreography.  This bothered me a little, but not too much since, in sex, there are three basic positions and the chances of having the same sequence of events are high.


But mating tattoos? What are the chances? I really thought my story device was original. I happen to really like ink and carried that through into my story. Kaye must like it too (Caden). I just have to tell myself that great minds think alike, right?  The only thing that irks is that she did it better than me. :)

Seduction

Vent and chat give you a mask of anonymity. There are no lasting repercussions to what you say and do. That woman who sounds hot lives hundreds of miles away. You are safe to be your honest self. Free to say whatever without fear or real rejection (you can always transfer servers, right?). Playing the gentleman is for rl.

Not entirely.

As a woman, there is also a feeling of security in WoW that does not exist in rl. No expectations or obligations, just the potential to have a really great time. That faceless voice could belong to anyone, and the potential for fantasy is thick. Unfortunately men (boys) blow it by being idiots.

Women want the seduction, the romance. They want to feel beautiful and alive; they don't want to hear about chili dogs or rusty trombones (look them up, I'm not even going to link them for you). It's just not sexy.  If you are a male interested in online flirtation, the best thing you can do is make a woman feel desirable. Subtlety is in order. Suggestions of soft caresses, simple things like wishing you could feel the texture of her hair, can make her breath catch. What would her skin feel like if you were to brush your lips along her neck? Would your hand feel hot against her back? Little things. Let her imagine. And, just for the record, asking a woman (out of nowhere) what makes her pussy wet is NOT seductive. RL is full of assholes, don't be one online (in this regard -- in a raid, fine).

Who knows? Being a bit more gentlemanly online may help you develop more finesse in rl.

RL vs the Fantasy

In rl I have a penchant for slim men. I have never dated a man more than 2 inches taller than me, then again I'm fairly tall. I am attracted to beautiful features rather than rugged. I prefer Lokki over Thor.

Of course, the fantasy world is different. I surprised myself as I wrote the first erotic encounter between my druid and warrior. Malcinno, my warrior tank, was more like Chris Hemsworth. As the scene progressed, his strength and proportions became a definite asset. The anime ideal of the small woman and the ginormous man gained a little more clout.  I mean, if both partners were similarly sized some of the things that progressed in my scene (which almost wrote itself - it's certainly not what I had planned, but I'm not complaining) would have been physically impossible.

I'm rl I'm an assertive, modern woman. But in my scene Evanesse just wanted to be taken. Dominated. Yes, it goes against everything in regards to women's equality and I should be ashamed, but there must be some basic mammalian instinct involved because it was just hot.

I look forward to posting samples once I'm done with my editing.