The argument can easily be made that I am being entirely arrogant and precocious in assuming that anyone truly cares what I have to say about anything outside of my stories, poems, or forum postings here on Lush. You'll be pleased to know that, in many corners of my mind, I am the first to make that argument! But as a fellow author of the many other very talented authors on this site, I simply thought it would be interesting to put my thoughts out to everyone at Lush in a manner far more detailed and open than something I would normally attempt in the forums. Combined with the fact that I currently find myself unable to directly visit Lush, I am strapped for means of discussing much of anything with everyone here. Besides, a little essay on mutual interests never hurt anyone willing to read it.
And what exactly are you reading about here, besides the musings of someone wasting work hours on typing fantasies? Nothing besides, really...only, more specifically, you're reading about why I, and the rest of you, indulge in these kinds of things, or at least why I think we do; you can comment below on whether you agree or simply think I'm full of shit. At least for me, I find that a little (or even a lot) of fantasy is essential to all of us, so long as we desire a stable mind along with our raging libidos.
Human beings have lived on fantasy for the entire length of human history; even the early barbarians told stories on cave walls to inspire those around them or create a respite from the harsh conditions of the ice age and early hunting-gathering. As years have passed ever onward (and we silly homo sapiens have stumbled along with it) depending on your theological and philisophical points of view, every single culture on the planet has created a mythology, and mythological figures to go along with it. The greeks gave us Mount Olympus and its pantheon of gods. The aztecs, completely seperately, followed a similar pattern, and the list continues ever onward. And is it any wonder that every one of these myth-making cultures (yes, even the arguably most chaste belief structure, christianity) involves sex several times over? Forget, for a second, mythology's inevitable use of the proverbial nasty to forward their narratives through procreation: humans form their own mythologies, and the characters and stories there within are filtered through our collective mind's eye. Hence, sex plays an enormous role in the way we have formed our cultures, sub-cultures, and religions. And yet, even into the modern, supposedly more accepting age, the subject of sex is still such an unforgivably subject that it only drives humanity's hypocrisy on the subject that much more into the realm of comedic tragedy.
Everywhere you go today, especially here in the states, you can't walk five minutes without seeing an attempt to sell through sex, especially towards the male market. Walk into a grocery store sometime for nothing but a gallon of milk, and within thirty seconds you'll see a girl clad in next to nothing on the cover of Shape or Cosmo or any of the other fifty "how to please your man" mags. And still, parent groups wonder why we have so much trouble with underage pregnancy and STD's. Newsflash: your kids are seeing those covers, too. Little Peggy Sue looks at those magazines and starts formulating the kind of self-respectless slut she wants to be by 14, and Little Johnny, looking at the same mag, starts formulating the kind of self-respectless sluts he'll want to bone, marry, and cheat on with other self-respectless sluts for the rest of his life. And this, my friends, is how our society moves forward. But notice how any time someone puts forward notions that would create healthy environments for sexual expression and/or gratification, such as porn or even sites like Lush, the notion is immediately followed by gasps of shock and some bible-thumping 80-year-old woman (who hasn't seen a cock since poor Edgar passed thirty years back) screaming for a lynching of such value-less offenders, with their porn and their fast cars and loud music. Try convincing such morons that watching consenting and paid people get it on in a film might divert the raging hormones of horny teenagers into perfectly healthy masturbation instead of plundering themselves on mindless sex that only produces situations they were far too young to deal with.
Lush has provided a wonderful field for just this kind of escape, and it is nearly universal. One of the reasons I personally love to read so much is that you are given immediate permsission to take the words of the author and let your imagination take you the rest of the way. I love sci-fi stories that give you just enough description of a star ship or alien world that, as the reader, you can fill in the gaps of such cool and wonderous places on your own. This is true of any genre, and I would argue that erotica is the best of all for this kind of fantasizing. Give a reader a hot enough situation with just enough visuals and plenty of emotion and passion in the piece, and you'll have your readers panting for more just as they unwind themselves from the daily grind, the grind itself in a lot of cases even extending to home. And this is why Lush Stories and, with respect to personal taste, just about any other form of literary erotica is about the best form of fantasy mankind could have given itself.
How do you immediately escape a life of singlehood, or, on the flip-side, unhappiness with a home sex life that has become tedious or muddied with too much emotional turmoil? How do you do these things without physically betraying anyone in real life? Or, on the other extreme, say you're a dirty little slut on either side of the gender fence and you want to share your experiences with others without comprimising yourselves to the unsuspecting in your inner circle. One easy answer to all of this, as all reading this piece have already discovered for themselves, is simple: become an author, if only just once, and fulfill any of the above. Most readers are supportive, and you'll most likely find plenty of alternate material to feed you own inhibitions with. I'm certain I'm not alone when I say that following this path here on Lush has done wonders for me.
I personally have faced a ton of emotional and, of course, sexual turmoil with my wife of just over six years. One large help in overcoming my own anxieties through it all has been the release (in all manners of the word) given me by reading stories here on Lush. Part of what spurred me to write this piece, however, is a story I just read by a Lush author I admire on several levels. "The Cabo Connection" by Dancing_Doll is one of the hottest, most primal pieces of eroitca I've read in a long while, and if you haven't read it, get to it fast because you're missing out (and, Doll, if you're reading this, I'm waiting eagerly on a sequel ;)). What struck me most about it about a third of the way through is how much I was able to read myself into all three (or does DamonX/Mystery Man technically make it four?) characters in the story, given my own experiences and even fantasies. My wife revealed to me, several months back, that she cheated on me with a guy she has been visiting in another state frequently as well as chatting with online nearly every day. This immediately caused me to sympathize with Ashleigh's boyfriend. On the other hand, the Mystery Man and DamonX (another, in RL, very talented author on Lush) seemed to channel everything I've ever fantasized about being with a willing, beautiful woman: seductive, interesting, sexually arresting. But Ashleigh was the character tha completely stole me, and not simply for the fact that she was depicted as a hot blonde throwing herself into the most extreme of sexual abandon. I found not only myslef, but my wife as well in this character. Anyone who has ever been in a serious relationship for any extended period of time is the darkest of liars if they try to tell you they've enver considered even the idea of cheating. How far you take it is an entirely different story, and in Ashleigh's action's, trepidation, and ultimate surrender, I could see why my wife did what she did. On the other hand, I am also reminded of why my end of the relationship had dropped temperature in recent times: because it has been long and ago since my wife even attempted to break monotony the way Ashleigh was trying with her business-man-sloth of a boyfriend, and that is not without suggestion on my part. So while I know I have not wrought the kind of passion I maybe should have, I never made any secret that I was more than willing to try. It was the reciprocation, or lack thereof, that canceled me out.
These stories, both in reading and in writing, appeal to all of us, and it is somewhat appalling to me that they should be looked down upon with such disdain. Isn't it just slightly better that those of us unhappy with our sexual lot should choose to channel those primal lusts into well-written literature rather than, say, breaking up happy homes or entering into dangerous sexual situations? What one or many do behind closed doors is their own business, but if more people were made to feel unashamed about exploring their sexual tastes and fantasies in written word, or any other form of self-contained media, I guarantee you there would be considerably less issues in the world. It is nearly proven fact that the majority of the world's great and bloody wars, if you study their origins, were driven by repressed, testosterone-driven anxieties. If you don't believe me, read up on Adolf Hitler sometime, and all the sexual skeletons in his closet.
I'm not going to pretend that sexual media hasn't also gotten out of hand in recent years, especially considering the internet. But just think of all the good that could be done if people simply felt more free to express themselves on such matters in healthy, non-offensive ways. For the time being, I suppose all of us here should simply be content to read, write, and learn from each other on Lush.
If nothing else, The Cabo Connection has ceratinly educated me on how to make a woman blush. Thanks, Doll.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my tedious diatribe. I'd love to hear your reactions and comments. I'll have more stories myself very soon!
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The Root of All Lust: Why Lush Stories is a Great Convenience
Alpha Blonde
Wow... Konrage! Thank you so much some of the best (if not, the best) feedback I've ever gotten as an author. I'm really humbled by your post on many levels. I think, as many of the fine 'story authors' on Lush try to do is capture more than what I call "word porn" or random sexual moments in time. Sometimes a story can really reflect on something you're going through in your own life, or create a fantasy that takes you into the "what ifs" in an otherwise mundane life. I think people can get stuck in a rut in relationships or marriages, and erotica transports them into another reality, and maybe makes them question what they might do in a certain circumstance, or, as it did in your case, see things from your wife's perspective.
I think Lush, as an erotica site, titillates on the story level, but also heightens the possibilities and the 'what ifs' with the social networking level. Whether things stay as a fantasy, or transport into one's reality is each person's individual choice. But through all the sexual possibilities, concoctions, fantasies and explorations, it hopefully brings a certain vitality to a reader's sex life (or fantasy life). And we learn a lot about motivations through different characters and maybe see things through the eyes of the opposite sex, or see ourselves in a certain character that validates what we are feeling... We are all human. We all have lust, desire, and hedonistic tendencies that we all try to harness, hide or subjugate because of what real life determines is "right" or " ." It doesn't make any of those feelings go away. It just makes us seek release through reading, writing, or viewing porn. I see it as completely natural.
Just my thoughts on things... But thank you again for the great response and the kudos! Honestly, it's feedback like this that makes writers want to write! And speaking of, I really should get back on the writing bandwagon too... You may have just inspired me to write a sequel to this one.
I think Lush, as an erotica site, titillates on the story level, but also heightens the possibilities and the 'what ifs' with the social networking level. Whether things stay as a fantasy, or transport into one's reality is each person's individual choice. But through all the sexual possibilities, concoctions, fantasies and explorations, it hopefully brings a certain vitality to a reader's sex life (or fantasy life). And we learn a lot about motivations through different characters and maybe see things through the eyes of the opposite sex, or see ourselves in a certain character that validates what we are feeling... We are all human. We all have lust, desire, and hedonistic tendencies that we all try to harness, hide or subjugate because of what real life determines is "right" or " ." It doesn't make any of those feelings go away. It just makes us seek release through reading, writing, or viewing porn. I see it as completely natural.
Just my thoughts on things... But thank you again for the great response and the kudos! Honestly, it's feedback like this that makes writers want to write! And speaking of, I really should get back on the writing bandwagon too... You may have just inspired me to write a sequel to this one.
Matriarch
Great post (s) =d>
Her Royal Spriteness
Quote by Dancing_Doll
You may have just inspired me to write a sequel to this one.
i have an idea, Doll... Vacation in Vancouver - might even think about adding a third character for that one, hmm?
You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.
Artistic Tart
That's publicity that you couldn't deserve more, Ashleigh. 
@Dancing_Doll:
First off: you're welcome, Doll
Second: if the sequel is half as hot as the first, I'll be more than satisfied.
Third: You have no idea how much I truly and completely agree with you. The pastor of the church I occasionally attend said a line I'll never forget, especially given the environment in which he spoke it: "God put the desire in us, and so long as we respect those we share ourselves with, let us not be ashamed of our most basic humanity." That was honestly one moment in which I saw more than ever that honor and goodness of being can exist side by side, or even homogenously with sexuality and, yes, even lust.
Within the far reaches of international philosophy and theology, there is obviously a wide range of views on the subject. However, if you notice, outside of flat out adultery or pregnancy out of wedlock, even the oldest founding religions of the world embraced sex for everything it is and says about humanity. For pleasure, procreation, or both, gods and godesses were forged to represent and be worshiped for fertility and erotic nature. It is only when governments and religions have gained too much power with a will to supress the people that these ideals were more heavily repressed. Though, on the flip-side of that discussion, read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley sometime (if you haven't already), which gives awesome insight into how governing bodies could potentially control the populace far more efficiently and with far less thought of rebellion by giving people their sexual freedom. A very interesting and somewhat frightening notion, but that's a whole other tangent to discuss.
But I sincerely appreciate how well you've absorbed and understood what I was getting at, Doll, no ass kissing involved (...ok, that's a lie, I admit. There's a little ass kissing in there. Just a little). There are so many factors as to why each of us congregate here, and for me, I see it as actually being several steps above your average porn. Porn at the end of the day consists of paid performers, no matter the scenario or production value, or God help me, the performers' acting talents. Stories told in literature by good writers, however, bear weight and realism and that raw undercurrent of the author's deepest, all-too-human desires. Their hungry animal of lust is allowed to come tearing into the open, ripping into each of us with the most primal of admissions, through either true story or fiction, and at the end, the real world substantiality of the described events doesn't matter; what matters is that we were all briefly exposed to someone's most inner truths, and we all of us got off to it in one way or another. That's primal. It's cathartic, to connect with people in such a way, and to enjoy yourselves guiltless and within yourself if even for just the half hour it took to read the piece. It's almost a religious experience. It was for the greeks, anyway.
I'm rambling again, and I apologize, but thank you again for your praise, Doll, and you're welcome again for yours. Your understanding made writing this piece worthwhile; as you said, praise goes a long way toward a writer's motivation.
First off: you're welcome, Doll
Second: if the sequel is half as hot as the first, I'll be more than satisfied.
Third: You have no idea how much I truly and completely agree with you. The pastor of the church I occasionally attend said a line I'll never forget, especially given the environment in which he spoke it: "God put the desire in us, and so long as we respect those we share ourselves with, let us not be ashamed of our most basic humanity." That was honestly one moment in which I saw more than ever that honor and goodness of being can exist side by side, or even homogenously with sexuality and, yes, even lust.
Within the far reaches of international philosophy and theology, there is obviously a wide range of views on the subject. However, if you notice, outside of flat out adultery or pregnancy out of wedlock, even the oldest founding religions of the world embraced sex for everything it is and says about humanity. For pleasure, procreation, or both, gods and godesses were forged to represent and be worshiped for fertility and erotic nature. It is only when governments and religions have gained too much power with a will to supress the people that these ideals were more heavily repressed. Though, on the flip-side of that discussion, read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley sometime (if you haven't already), which gives awesome insight into how governing bodies could potentially control the populace far more efficiently and with far less thought of rebellion by giving people their sexual freedom. A very interesting and somewhat frightening notion, but that's a whole other tangent to discuss.
But I sincerely appreciate how well you've absorbed and understood what I was getting at, Doll, no ass kissing involved (...ok, that's a lie, I admit. There's a little ass kissing in there. Just a little). There are so many factors as to why each of us congregate here, and for me, I see it as actually being several steps above your average porn. Porn at the end of the day consists of paid performers, no matter the scenario or production value, or God help me, the performers' acting talents. Stories told in literature by good writers, however, bear weight and realism and that raw undercurrent of the author's deepest, all-too-human desires. Their hungry animal of lust is allowed to come tearing into the open, ripping into each of us with the most primal of admissions, through either true story or fiction, and at the end, the real world substantiality of the described events doesn't matter; what matters is that we were all briefly exposed to someone's most inner truths, and we all of us got off to it in one way or another. That's primal. It's cathartic, to connect with people in such a way, and to enjoy yourselves guiltless and within yourself if even for just the half hour it took to read the piece. It's almost a religious experience. It was for the greeks, anyway.
I'm rambling again, and I apologize, but thank you again for your praise, Doll, and you're welcome again for yours. Your understanding made writing this piece worthwhile; as you said, praise goes a long way toward a writer's motivation.
I couldn't agree more Konrage, it's so much more satisfying when you let your mind take control of the situation being presented to you, rather than watching a video like a zombie. Every one of us is a problem solver and would think differently when presented with the exact same scenario. This is exactly why I personally prefer to read sexually exciting literature and stimulate not only my body but my brain as well, rather than letting it be eliminated from the equation.
Disseminator of decadence.
Konrage said " Stories told in literature by good writers, however, bear weight and realism and that raw undercurrent of the author's deepest, all-too-human desires. Their hungry animal of lust is allowed to come tearing into the open, ripping into each of us with the most primal of admissions, through either true story or fiction, and at the end, the real world substantiality of the described events doesn't matter; what matters is that we were all briefly exposed to someone's most inner truths, and we all of us got off to it in one way or another."
I could not agree more !
I've been following this thread of yours Konrage with great interest. Personally, let me thank you for all your positive feedback on my own work. Not only is it very encouraging and keeps me working but it makes me damn happy - I can't put it more simply or honestly than that. Thank you for having the patience to read my long, multi chapter stories. I honestly think you are one of the few readers here that are capable of lasting the distance.
With regard to Dancing-Doll's "The Cabo Connection," I can do no better than to repeat the comment I made after first having read it : This story embodies everything that this site is about; cool, creative, sexy, sophisticated and articulate.
Enough Said !
I could not agree more !
I've been following this thread of yours Konrage with great interest. Personally, let me thank you for all your positive feedback on my own work. Not only is it very encouraging and keeps me working but it makes me damn happy - I can't put it more simply or honestly than that. Thank you for having the patience to read my long, multi chapter stories. I honestly think you are one of the few readers here that are capable of lasting the distance.
With regard to Dancing-Doll's "The Cabo Connection," I can do no better than to repeat the comment I made after first having read it : This story embodies everything that this site is about; cool, creative, sexy, sophisticated and articulate.
Enough Said !
Love Is Blind | Lush Stories - A poem of love and pain...
Alpha Blonde
Thanks Piquet! Again I am humbled, especially coming from an accomplished writer, such as yourself.
There are many very talented authors on this site that deserve to be mentioned in this thread, but as Piquet said... the greatest motivation and inspiration to create a memorable story comes from people like Konrage and all the other readers that have taken the time to step into our dirty minds and share in our fantasies and stories for a moment. I know I speak for every other author on this site when I say that the comments and feedback that we get mean so much, and we are always grateful for them. Like Piquet says, it encourages us to write more and it helps us understand what works and what doesn't work in an erotic story, and also what readers want to see more of. Even if you aren't an author on this site, never underestimate your importance in motivating and directing what gets written and posted on page one.
So thanks to the writers who create such delicious tales of lust, but an even more special thanks to Lush and Nicola for giving us a platform to share our prose, and to the readers, without whom a story would be rendered just a lonely document on an anonymous hard drive.
There are many very talented authors on this site that deserve to be mentioned in this thread, but as Piquet said... the greatest motivation and inspiration to create a memorable story comes from people like Konrage and all the other readers that have taken the time to step into our dirty minds and share in our fantasies and stories for a moment. I know I speak for every other author on this site when I say that the comments and feedback that we get mean so much, and we are always grateful for them. Like Piquet says, it encourages us to write more and it helps us understand what works and what doesn't work in an erotic story, and also what readers want to see more of. Even if you aren't an author on this site, never underestimate your importance in motivating and directing what gets written and posted on page one.
So thanks to the writers who create such delicious tales of lust, but an even more special thanks to Lush and Nicola for giving us a platform to share our prose, and to the readers, without whom a story would be rendered just a lonely document on an anonymous hard drive.