I screwed it up, but don't change it. It's funnier if he did kiss him.

Oh, and I would hardly say that Joseph "orders" Alexi. I try to write it as non-verbal looks, or in this case, it was an assertion and an offer to escort him. Joseph would never dare give his master an "order." :-P That would be completely inappropriate for someone of his station (yadda yadda yadda.)

And Alexi is still totally in charge. I did find that funny though.

Oh, I know that, and so does Alexi, and the only reason he doesn't say what he thought about Joseph bossing him around aloud is he knows how Joseph would likely react to his little joke. . . .Much like you did to reading his thoughts :P Alexi doesn't mind, in fact, he finds the 'orders' cute and adorable. *Wanders of to begin scribbling reply*

Nah, I found it funny. Unless he was sure that Alexi was being facetious, Joseph would probably be terrified that he had overstepped his bounds and beg for forgiveness. I'm no where near that submissive. :-P

Yay! A reply!

And I just finished the most well-written book I've read in a long time... the last 1/5th of it had me sobbing.

*Giggles* RL came up and bit me, so I won't be able to respond til tomorrow morning, but don't worry, this RP's top of the pile, so this RP will get done first when I get up! *Huggles* Tomorrow! G'night :P

Alright. Goodnight! :-)

Sorry for the little post, I just wanted to give Joseph a chance to react, and also, my post is tuck on page 5 :P This is one of the oddest forum glitches ever :P

Yeah, mine was too... they tend to fold over eventually, but it is really weird.

And it wasn't too small, especially since it was super important. Why is he hiding his pain from Erik so much? If anyone can help him learn to cope with these emotions, it's Erik himself.

Also, I'm sorry if the change seems too... sudden. Erik's own emotions are still there. He's still suspicious, upset with being trapped, and regardless of Alexi's intentions, he still hates himself for getting caught. That was the reason for that touch of melancholic sarcasm at the end. But the process of learning to integrate Alexi's emotions is partially overriding that. And it helps that trust bond that he realizes the potion is nothing like the hard breaking effects. He doesn't completely trust what's happening, but there's a part of him that realizes that what's occurring is not his submission.

I just hope you didn't find it unrealistic is all. :-/

It's fine, I like it actually. I has a funny conversation planned later with Mois about it, and he wasn't hiding it, not really. It just didn't really hit hum until he opened himself up in the laughter. He let himself feel for a moment, reflection on what is happening, and that little thread that was made when Erik drank, completely the circle so to speak, had an opening.

Alright, so long as you don't mind.

As painful as it is for Alexi, I do think it will be good for him to understand Erik's mind... just like it will do Erik good to understand Alexi. They come from such vastly different backgrounds, so I think it will be interesting to see how they merge. Understanding Erik will also help him understand both Mois and Joseph better.

Okay, ... So I need some OOC fill-in...

Joseph totally knows what Alexi looks for in a slave... the problem is that I don't. :-P So what does he look for in a slave?

Also, what does the e-card do?

Oh, and a moment of congratulations on doing Erik's emotion-echoes perfectly.

1. He look for unbroken spirit, intelligence, and ones that are either fresh(Just caught), or haven't been a slave long. The auction, since it's a high class one, would most likely have unspoiled, visually appealing slaves, no the drudgery or hard labor type slaves, and children. Children are at the top of the list for Alexi, wanting to get them young before being totally down trodden, however if it already looks like the youth's spirit is crushed, Alexi normally just reminds himself that they will all be free one day.

2. And e-card would be basically a signed permission slip from Alexi, allowing Joseph to act on his behalf, only ever given to slaves like Joseph who have either been hard broken, or serving so long that they no longer are at any great risk of rebellion. It would go into a wristband that would identify him as Alexi's slave and not only act as a promise that Joseph will behave, but also alert Alexi if anyone tries to lay hand on Joseph to either try and hurt him, or re-sell him. Joseph would just have to call for help and Alexi, along with the guard who scanned him in, would be alerted. It will also activate if Joseph falls unconscious, or doesn't return at his scheduled time, tracking him so the security people can find him. It's not fool proof, but it works fine for the high class auctions and exhibitions. Slaves are only in real trouble when sent out to the more skeevy sellers.

3. Why thank you *Bows*

1) Alright, that makes sense.

2) That's kind of what I figured, but I wanted to be sure I was right. I also had a less specific vision of it, just that it gave him permission to be there and to work on Alexi's behalf, hadn't gotten so far as the rest of it yet. So thanks for the clarification.

3) Well, credit where credit is due. :-) I'm looking forward to some good "war stories" about duty and the dangers of command. Something where I get to use the line, "If you make a bad call with your company, you lose money, maybe you have to downsize and some of your employees lose their jobs. If I make a bad call, people lose their lives, or worse, their freedom."

I just look forward to making the point that there are good reasons why Erik is so much more "angsty" than Alexi, even apart from Alexi's mild disconnect from emotion. Also, imagining conversations is fun.

*Kuuuuu* *Rolls around waiting patiently*

Working on it. :-)

I'm trying to articulate all of the exact reasons why Joseph despises slave auctions, before he tells Alexi that of course he will go. So it's taking a while to get it all down. Hopefully I'll finish before my significant other comes back from his Thai lesson and tries to convince me to go to an optionally naked pool party and potluck again.

. . . Go do the naked thing. Go, do it, it sounds fun *Points*

He says I've got about 10 minutes to shower and be ready.

I kind of don't want to go, because I'm a little uncomfortable being in a bathingsuit around strangers, even though I like swimming. Also, if I go then it will delay my reply by several hours.

But he'll be super-disappointed if I don't go (again, I don't HAVE to be naked, in fact I don't even have to swim), and it does sound fun.

*Points* Go! Get neki! Getting neki in public is good for people, I not kidding, trust me, I Psychologist :P Make him happy, I can always wait. RL first, OLL second :P *Waggles finner* Go! Has fun :P I will wait :P

Yeah. Im heading out. It would be kind if silly to fly across the country and then spend all my time doing stuff I can do at home. Social interaction is a good thing.

Are you really a psychologist? :-)

Yes I am, one of the youngest on record, not that they actually keep records of these things. . . . :P

Awesome. I'm an Electrical Engineering student, and certainly not the youngest on record.

Sorry I couldn't get back to writing last night. Party ended at midnight, then we stayed to help clean for an hour, and then we had an hour's drive back. I thought about at least messaging you but I was too exhausted.

Thanks for encouraging me to go, though. I had a great time, met some new people, ate great food and had several great conversations. :-)