Surprise! An extra poll!
Added 2025-02-25 08:20:28 +0000 UTCFirst, a reminder that next month's Story Poll is almost over! Make sure to vote if you haven't yet, and don't be discouraged by the visible numbers. Not only is the poll weighted, but I accidently let everyone vote for a couple of hours instead of just the voting tiers. So the numbers you can see in the poll are somewhat off.
With that out of the way, I have another small poll for everyone. Originally, I intended to implement a poll right around now regarding additional members for the relationship in Displaced Hero. However, I've decided not to do so quite yet as one of the possible additions hasn't yet interacted with Izuku or Aayla. Most likely, that will happen in next month's release, so I'll put off starting that set of polls for now.
Instead, I have another thought I want to get opinions on. Note that this poll is very much just me seeking feedback for a possibility. An attempt to gauge interest, as it were. Meaning that the result doesn't guarantee anything, but will heavily influence my decision on the topic.
What topic, you ask?
Why, the smut/lemon content of my various works!
I've noted that quite a few people seem to want more of it (I'm not exactly surprised, the Internet if for Porn after all). I'm not willing to just jam it willy-nilly into the fics. All of my currently ongoing works are story-first, smut-a-distant-second. I don't want to lose the overall story flow and feel by forcing smut into every corner, as it were.
What I am considering doing is adding on a small monthly extra, subject to a similar poll as the secondary story, though likely without any vote weighing. This 'extra' would be some additional 'side-story' lemon/smut content for the fics that have ongoing relationships. Each extra would likely only be 2,000-4,000 words, and only the one winner each month. But it would allow me to show additional lemon/smut encounters for existing relationships without disrupting their main fics. Essentially, fun times that happen 'off screen.'
The downside is that it might cause slightly smaller updates for the main stories, in months where I'm particularly overwhelmed. Sometimes I have enough time in a given month to make small extras, but no way to really make use of that time. That isn't always the case, though, and if I make this a regular thing there almost certainly will be some months were one or another release ends up a bit shorter as a result of needing to spend time making the poll winner side-story of this proposed idea.
So, in the interest of gauging interest...some options to vote on!
1) Don't do it! The potential to not get as much content in the main fic updates each month is too high a risk/cost.
2)More smut! We want to see more sexy times and kinky shenanigans, even if it might occasionally mean slightly smaller monthly releases for the main batches of chapters.
3) Non-Smut side stories! We want to see more side-content, such as additional viewpoints that don't quite fit into the main fic, but we'd prefer they be world-building rather than smut. In example, seeing what Anash, Celeste, or Tholme have been up to in Displaced Hero, what the butterfly effect on other crews/individuals/islands are like in Halfway Broken, or what other Powers that Be in My Hero Automata think of all of Momo and Izumi's efforts. (Note: This comes with the same risks as the smut version. As it is still time potentially taken away from writing the main chapters).
Comments
I love me some extra, reactionary PoV’s. At the same time. I love your content and world building a lot more than random smut. So I’m in favor of extra PoV’s but same amount of story.
WhatAFungi
2025-02-26 02:35:34 +0000 UTCWell if the side-stories or the smut would just subtract from the "main" stories then I personally can go without 👍 My idea was if you would write the "extra" stuff like as extra you said in the post 2000-4000 words and could then use part of this word alucation in the "main" update for smut... but....if that means we ( I ) would have that amount less to read in the "main" update then please 🙏 don't 🥺(mh I think I just repeat myself.... oh well you do whatever you do best, giving us quality entertainment however you like😉)
Dominique Brassel
2025-02-26 02:11:13 +0000 UTCThe total word count isn't arbitrary like that. It's determined based on the amount of time I have available to write in. 15k per updated story is about all I can manage with the time I can spare currently.
Novus Peregrine
2025-02-26 00:10:12 +0000 UTCEh, most of the non-main-character-smut is sort of uninteresting. I mean, I suppose maybe Celeste or Fay in Displaced Hero if I could justify either of them having a relationship. The Halfway Broken side pairings aren't all that interesting, and I haven't established any in Automata.
Novus Peregrine
2025-02-26 00:08:13 +0000 UTCAnd that's why this is a feedback seeking poll :-). It's looking like most people agree with you.
Novus Peregrine
2025-02-26 00:04:43 +0000 UTCI rather not lose a chapter of the main story for a side story. As for if one of the two 'we want side stories' groups win, smut or not I do not care, but maybe alterning would be a good compromise.
Vick
2025-02-25 19:55:13 +0000 UTCYeah, I kinda thought those were your views, but didn't want to assume anything. And I actually joined your patreon, well *this* patreon after finding your other one first while looking for Final Error after seeing it mentioned somewhere in one of your authors notes or profiles. Since I couldn't find it anywhere else, stayed to finish reading it as the last chapters were being released, and have gotten hooked on the rest of your stories. If you're more interested in the world building and plot then I probably need to see about changing my vote. Initially was "no preference" but now leaning more towards "non-smut" side-stories. Though, might I bring up a possibility for side stories to have non-main-character smut? Not as a frequent thing, but as a possibility if side characters have their own relationships that become established? Luffy's crew has other couples so scenes of them having dates could lead to them having a steamy scenes, or Aayla and Izuku's relationship (and possibly the Corellian Jedi) could lead to some of the other jedi joining the war against the Hutts also starting relationships, particularly if they start interacting with the main cast. They're certainly not necessary for the story, or side stories, but it seems like it could be another possibility to consider showing in side stories- the side characters' relationships that is, not necessarily smut.
Keht Jelicho
2025-02-25 14:45:00 +0000 UTCMh yeah if it doesn't "fit" it doesn't "fit" so it should not be there of course my immediate idea was to don't count the smut scenes to the word count but that would just be bad ... You could for more smut regardless of story count the words of a smut scene as 3/4 , 2/3 , 1/2 , 1/3 , 1/4 of the actual word count... this would not be as much smut as the side story idea but it would also not impact the stories that much I think .... Well these are your storys so you decide what's best of course.... In case of my idea if there is no smut the word count doesn't change if there is smut it could change a little at your discretion but not nearly as much as a dedicated side story
Dominique Brassel
2025-02-25 14:30:54 +0000 UTC*sweat drop* I brought this up in the first place since I keep getting called out as a tease for not writing more detailed/long lemons. I'm pretty sure I'd be lynched if I doubled down and started making even shorter ones...
Novus Peregrine
2025-02-25 14:18:15 +0000 UTCPandora's Box will eventually contain lemons, just like pretty much all the fics do or will. But Harry is years away from me being comfortable writing them with the characters, and it isn't exactly getting frequent updates. As to the rest...honestly, I write tons of smut content for my Adult VN Patreon Page every single month. There's very minimal appeal for me in writing more random smut content after running that Patreon Page for over 8 years. I think there's something like 150 short stories there? Well, short story entries, a lot of them are series. Not that I have anything AGAINST writing sex scenes, obviously, or I wouldn't include it. It's just honestly less interesting at this point than the world building. A lot less, given I still release an original erotic short story a month on that Patreon. Hence why all of my current fanfics are plot first and smut second, unlike the only actual finished story in Mass Effect: Final Error. Which, well, THAT fic actually started out as an extra reward for the Adult VN Patreon. Which is why it's so sex heavy.
Novus Peregrine
2025-02-25 14:17:08 +0000 UTCTo be honest, I have kind of thought that Pandora's Box would eventually become a more smut-prevalent story once Harry/others are old enough. Just based on Pandora's personality. Just thought it hadn't progressed enough to reach that point in the story for lemons to appear yet, at least more so for those reasons than for it being intentionally a more story focused/less smut-fic. That said, have you thought of having a fic with more emphasis on lemons/smut? I mean that in the sense of when you have introduced new fics over the last year or so, were any of the ones you considered but didn't choose smuttier, and if so what led you to choose to not go with them? If there is a reason you aren't currently writing any smuttier stories among your current ones, then is that reason one to consider in the light of this poll?
Keht Jelicho
2025-02-25 14:04:52 +0000 UTC*shrug* It's not really that I'm currently avoiding it. It's just that with the war they're going through and the differing perspectives complicating things, there's only so much that actually fits organically in the story. Expanding the amount of smut in the core updates comes at the cost of something else, since I shoot for specific word count goals.
Novus Peregrine
2025-02-25 13:51:11 +0000 UTCI would like some mini lemons in the main story. Something like a paragraph about someone having fun while hiding under a desk, or a qicky in the cockpit.
NovaBrain
2025-02-25 13:37:23 +0000 UTCI would like more smut ... But I like it organically in the story as part of the story... Also I do like your word building and technology explanation sooo I would personally prefer a tiny bit more in chapter smut but in a way the rest of the writing won't suffer and if that is not possible just do what you have been doing so far ...... .....as we are here paying you for your writing and your writing style and would probably not do so if we didn't like the way you write your storys
Dominique Brassel
2025-02-25 09:55:11 +0000 UTCI'd most likely still to main characters for the most part :-p. I'm not at all interested in writing what Sanji gets up to as a Simp either.
Novus Peregrine
2025-02-25 09:26:10 +0000 UTCCompletely fair. That's why I limit the amount I include in the core stories. Enough to show a relationship exists and to add spice for those that like it, without letting it take over or control the narrative :-).
Novus Peregrine
2025-02-25 09:25:11 +0000 UTCI’m kinda looking forward to a scene where sexy times are hinted at before fading to black, before immediately returning to find out they knocked each other out
Matthew Robar
2025-02-25 09:01:20 +0000 UTCI skip smut chapters as it is as I personally prefer actual content to it since it feels like filler to me.
Ototsu_Yume
2025-02-25 08:53:31 +0000 UTCI'm not terribly interested in smut side stories. If you do write them, at most, I'll skim through those featuring the main characters and skip the others altogether. For example, I REALLY don't want to know what Sanji and Nojiko get up to in their private time. Likewise for the other couples, albeit with a lesser NOPE NOPE NOPE factor. XD
Y. B. A.
2025-02-25 08:38:21 +0000 UTCDefinitely non smut side stories. Gimme that delicious 😋 world building 😍
Orchamus
2025-02-25 08:23:42 +0000 UTC