This week: recognising partners in the dark, asking incessant questions,
the temple of Aphrodite, and protecting the innocent.
Are any of us innocent?
"Feel like your skin is burning,
 one too many many drops of rain,
 but it's doing nothing to me, 
 drowning in a sea of pain."
            -- Matthew Sweet and Delerium
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The missives below are merely opinions, publicly stated, but only 
opinions. Dragons may be immortal, but they are not infallible. Read the 
stories for yourself, and form your own opinions. Then, let the author 
know what you thought. Celeste's blowjob principle isn't smoke in the 
wind.
 - Crimson Dragon (dcrimson@yahoo.com)
http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Crimson_Dragon/www
http://members.tripod.com/files/Authors/Dr/wwwagon_Of_Crimson
Review Archives:
http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Crimson_Reviews/www
Thanks to Denny for checking over the reviews for obvious
bungles, though ultimately any errors herein are mine and mine 
alone.
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Story Summary:
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Sex in the Dark -- Night Hawk
    (MFMF Comedy)
    [9, 10, 6, 7]
Asking Questions -- Alexis S
    (Flash, oral)
    [10, 10, 10, 10]
Aphrodite -- Don
    (hist MF rom FF+ first)
    [7, 8, 9, 7]
Taking Out the Trash -- cmsix 
    (no-sex caution)
    [9, NA, 10, 10]
Reviews:
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Sex in the Dark -- Night Hawk
    (MFMF Comedy)
Our narrator has been fantasising about Mary for a long time. But
being a married man, and Mary being married to his best friend,
Doug, fantasy is where the sex remained. All that changes when Mary
gets a new promotion and drinks a little too much wine at her
celebration dinner. The conversation turns to sex, and how men
couldn't tell in the dark who they are fucking. I'll let you read
the story to determine if the women or the men are right.
This really amounts to an old fashioned sex romp. Sometimes, it's
good to read such things. Keeps the juices flowing. And I get the
feeling that Night Hawk is presenting this as almost a lark.
Don't expect deep messages or characters -- that's not what the
story is intending. Enjoy it for what it is -- silly, graphic sex,
and you'll be fine.
Technical       :    9
Eros            :   10
Character/Plot  :    6
Crimson         :    7
Story:
http://assm.asstr-mirror.org/Year2005/50408
Author's site:
http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/Night_Hawk/www/
Posted To ASSM: Mon, 7 Feb 2005 
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Asking Questions -- Alexis S
    (Flash, oral)
Did you know that magazines can sometimes dole out good advice? In
this case, some magazine article suggests that to ask questions in
conversation makes the speaker seem more interested, right?
Encourages honest and truthful discussions? Have you ever met anyone
like that? Someone who takes advice too far? Can't find that happy
medium?
Did you know that taking magazine advice into the bedroom (and other
places) can be hazardous to your mental health?
Character? Plot? Eros? All there?
Are you all here to find out how good this story was?
So, how good was this flash story?
Technical       :   10
Eros            :   10
Character/Plot  :   10
Crimson         :   10
Story:
http://assm.asstr-mirror.org/Year2005/50448
Author's site:
Posted To ASSM: Sat, 12 Feb 2005
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Aphrodite -- Don
    (hist MF rom FF+ first)
In the ancient land of Tiramasu and Kalimari (Did I read that right?
Now I'm hungry, dammit), Sofia is having trouble finding a husband.
The youngest of four daughters, and after her father passed on,
there is nothing left for Sophia's dowry. What man would want a
woman without a substantial dowry? Well, even if the men don't want
her, the temple of Aphrodite doesn't have any such requirements and
welcomes Sofia with open, soft arms. And so, Sofia joins the temple
as an initiate and learns the skills necessary to become a priestess
of Aphrodite.
Technically, the story isn't too bad -- just some missed typos and
inappropriate word usage. What struck me most, however, was the
complete lack of contractions in the text. To me, it seemed like the
characters were robots or androids -- the dialogue came across
unemotional and stilted. Nevertheless, it may have been an attempt
to represent the speaking cadence of the times. But if that was the
case, then I found some of the anatomy terms strangely modern.
Nothing particularly wrong with the style, I just found it
distracting.
I also found the story jumped around a lot without warning.
Sometimes we are pulled into Sofia's world, sometimes into the high
priestess' world, and sometimes Sofia's sisters. The story might
benefit from a touch of focus, but some people like the meandering
style.
Overall, I liked the story and what Don was trying to portray. It
seemed a fairly consistent attempt at telling the story of a young
girl who is struggling with her society's impositions and finding a
solution in the temple of Aphrodite. Lots of sex and pleasure
ensues.
Technical       :    7
Eros            :    8
Character/Plot  :    9
Crimson         :    7
Story:
http://assm.asstr-mirror.org/Year2005/50401
Author's site:
Posted To ASSM: Mon, 7 Feb 2005
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Taking Out the Trash -- cmsix 
    (no-sex caution)
Our narrator appreciates the female of the species. It isn't a great
leap to feel a certain protectiveness that shouldn't be limited to
only the young or beautiful. So when our hero, of sorts, is
confronted with a situation involving a switchblade and a young
punk, he doesn't have to think too much before taking appropriate
action.
This is a flash piece that does everything a flash story should. It
tells a story. It tells us something meaningful and consistent, even
if we, as readers, may not agree with the ultimate outcome. The
moral, as it were, has a certain violent, vigilante appeal.
I chose not to score Eros in this case. The story isn't meant to be
erotic, nor sexual in any way. Thus the "no-sex" and "caution"
codes. On one hand, I'd score a zero because of the intent of the
story, and on the other hand, I debated scoring a full ten due to
the humanity and emotion portrayed within. Neither seemed
appropriate, so I chose to abstain from scoring in this case. Read
the story and you'll understand my dilemma.
Overall, this is a powerful flash piece that certainly bears
attention. It may not be what you expect, and it might make you
think, but isn't that the essence of a good tale?
Technical       :    9
Eros            :   NA
Character/Plot  :   10
Crimson         :   10
Story:
http://assm.asstr-mirror.org/Year2005/50495
Author's site:
Posted To ASSM: Tue, 15 Feb 2005
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