Jedakk's Masterpiece

[Deleted member jedakk]

Don't I know it.

And why do I get ideas for what to post when I'm doing something else? Get it down before I forget it. More time spent. Like just now!

I know the feeling well as I get older! Thoughts fly in and right back out again if I don't stop and capture them.

 

[Deleted member jedakk]

As Ajax and Hercules finish tying her left foot to the cross, Lucilla's feelings of helplessness and panic increase. In the pictures you can see that she's pulled her right foot up protectively, as if she'll try to keep them from tying it too.



As she feels the ropes tighten she can barely contain her impulse to scream and struggle.



This will be the last update from me until at least next Saturday - off to Las Vegas tonight.

 

[Barbaria1]

As Ajax and Hercules finish tying her left foot to the cross, Lucilla's feelings of helplessness and panic increase. In the pictures you can see that she's pulled her right foot up protectively, as if she'll try to keep them from tying it too.



As she feels the ropes tighten she can barely contain her impulse to scream and struggle.



This will be the last update from me until at least next Saturday - off to Las Vegas tonight.

like the complexity of the manner in which they are binding her foot... great detailing!

Have fun in Vegas

 

[Madiosi]

As Ajax and Hercules finish tying her left foot to the cross, Lucilla's feelings of helplessness and panic increase. In the pictures you can see that she's pulled her right foot up protectively, as if she'll try to keep them from tying it too.



As she feels the ropes tighten she can barely contain her impulse to scream and struggle.



This will be the last update from me until at least next Saturday - off to Las Vegas tonight.

 

[thehangingtree]

I know the feeling well as I get older! Thoughts fly in and right back out again if I don't stop and capture them.

Most of my stories are written as I go with only a loose outline. Often the storyline detours but overall I know how it will end. I write in Word and often put notes 'ahead' of where I am so as not to points I really want to hit...

T

 

[william23]

Ok, got over 100 views for most of the pics in that last set and only 13 likes, which I guess means that about 90% of you don't like them. Artists like me receive no other payment for their work than your feedback, and it costs you nothing to at least click the "Like" button.

Moving on, with Lucilla's sedile set in place, Antius leaves it to the two Nubians, Ajax and Hercules, to rope her feet. Hercules bends Lucilla's left leg up and places the sole of her foot against the timber while Ajax skillfully binds it to the cross. Lucilla watches but does not resist; at least not yet. But her resolve is wearing thin as she feels herself becoming more and more helpless.



Sabina describes what she saw:

Although he had made it sound like the sedile was an act of mercy on his part, I saw that it was no different than the short sediles commonly used in executions, or even the one he had just used for the criminal Albanus. Had he truly intended to show her some mercy, he might have turned it upside down, with the wider edge on top. As it was, the sharp edge was facing upward.

The other Nubian, Ajax, was waiting with the ropes for her feet. As Antius moved out of the way, Hercules let Lucilla’s body swing back against the cross. He held her left leg for Ajax to slip a loop of rope around her ankle, then bent it up and positioned it with the sole of her foot placed flat and high on its crossbeam.

While he held it there, Ajax wrapped the rope several times around the crossbeam and her ankle, finishing with several wraps between the cross and her heel to make everything tight so that she could not work herself free.​

“Just like the way they do it in the brothels,” Verina said. “You want to tie someone up over and over again, you can’t have the ropes cutting into them.” She glanced at me, saw me staring, and said, “We get all kinds in my business, and there’s a fine line between pleasure and pain.”

Ajax completed the job with two wraps across the top of her foot to hold it flat against the timber.​

 

[william23]

Ok, got over 100 views for most of the pics in that last set and only 13 likes, which I guess means that about 90% of you don't like them. Artists like me receive no other payment for their work than your feedback, and it costs you nothing to at least click the "Like" button.

Moving on, with Lucilla's sedile set in place, Antius leaves it to the two Nubians, Ajax and Hercules, to rope her feet. Hercules bends Lucilla's left leg up and places the sole of her foot against the timber while Ajax skillfully binds it to the cross. Lucilla watches but does not resist; at least not yet. But her resolve is wearing thin as she feels herself becoming more and more helpless.



Sabina describes what she saw:

Although he had made it sound like the sedile was an act of mercy on his part, I saw that it was no different than the short sediles commonly used in executions, or even the one he had just used for the criminal Albanus. Had he truly intended to show her some mercy, he might have turned it upside down, with the wider edge on top. As it was, the sharp edge was facing upward.
This great, really looking forward to the final foot being secured, please, do it quickly!
The other Nubian, Ajax, was waiting with the ropes for her feet. As Antius moved out of the way, Hercules let Lucilla’s body swing back against the cross. He held her left leg for Ajax to slip a loop of rope around her ankle, then bent it up and positioned it with the sole of her foot placed flat and high on its crossbeam.

While he held it there, Ajax wrapped the rope several times around the crossbeam and her ankle, finishing with several wraps between the cross and her heel to make everything tight so that she could not work herself free.​

“Just like the way they do it in the brothels,” Verina said. “You want to tie someone up over and over again, you can’t have the ropes cutting into them.” She glanced at me, saw me staring, and said, “We get all kinds in my business, and there’s a fine line between pleasure and pain.”

Ajax completed the job with two wraps across the top of her foot to hold it flat against the timber.​

 

[Wragg]

Count me among the happy 10%, Jedakk!

Though I'm only a muggle when it comes to Crux Art

But "Jedakk's Masterpiece" is always one of the first 'unread' threads that I hit, and I'm happy to admit it!

 

[Deleted member jedakk]

Most of my stories are written as I go with only a loose outline. Often the storyline detours but overall I know how it will end. I write in Word and often put notes 'ahead' of where I am so as not to points I really want to hit...

T

I don't usually use a written outline either - more like a general outline in my head. And I don't write the story from beginning to end. Sometimes I write the ending first, then other parts of it connecting up with the ending, and the beginning as the last thing. Sometimes I have to know what happens later in the story to be able to set it up that way earlier.

There's often story before and after the part that I write, just like in the case of Lucilla. That's one where I've given just enough of the back story to understand where Lucilla is and why she is there, and then we know what is supposed to happen to her afterward, i.e. crucified six more times, but that hasn't happened yet and maybe it never will, we don't know. Most stories are like that, a snapshot out of a larger story. You have to figure out where the beginning should pick up and where to stop it and call that the ending, even though there may be more.

Most of my writing is like that although I have had a few short stories that just spilled out from beginning to end without all those gyrations.

 

[thehangingtree]

I don't usually use a written outline either - more like a general outline in my head. And I don't write the story from beginning to end. Sometimes I write the ending first, then other parts of it connecting up with the ending, and the beginning as the last thing. Sometimes I have to know what happens later in the story to be able to set it up that way earlier.

There's often story before and after the part that I write, just like in the case of Lucilla. That's one where I've given just enough of the back story to understand where Lucilla is and why she is there, and then we know what is supposed to happen to her afterward, i.e. crucified six more times, but that hasn't happened yet and maybe it never will, we don't know. Most stories are like that, a snapshot out of a larger story. You have to figure out where the beginning should pick up and where to stop it and call that the ending, even though there may be more.

Most of my writing is like that although I have had a few short stories that just spilled out from beginning to end without all those gyrations.

I fear you and I may both have cousins from northwest Arkansas!!!

 

[Barbaria1]

Most of my stories are written as I go with only a loose outline. Often the storyline detours but overall I know how it will end. I write in Word and often put notes 'ahead' of where I am so as not to points I really want to hit...

T

I don't usually use a written outline either - more like a general outline in my head. And I don't write the story from beginning to end. Sometimes I write the ending first, then other parts of it connecting up with the ending, and the beginning as the last thing. Sometimes I have to know what happens later in the story to be able to set it up that way earlier.

There's often story before and after the part that I write, just like in the case of Lucilla. That's one where I've given just enough of the back story to understand where Lucilla is and why she is there, and then we know what is supposed to happen to her afterward, i.e. crucified six more times, but that hasn't happened yet and maybe it never will, we don't know. Most stories are like that, a snapshot out of a larger story. You have to figure out where the beginning should pick up and where to stop it and call that the ending, even though there may be more.

Most of my writing is like that although I have had a few short stories that just spilled out from beginning to end without all those gyrations.

I usually start with an idea... a situation ... then make it up as I go ... guess I am relatively undisciplined in terms of having a specific ending in mind ... somehow or other, though, I usually get there eventually.

 

[Eulalia]

Yes, if I can get into a character and a scary situation, 'she' often comes to life in my mind and seems to pick up the story and run with it, I find myself having to hurry (getting up early or staying up late at the keyboard) just to keep up with 'her'.

 

[Deleted member jedakk]

I fear you and I may both have cousins from northwest Arkansas!!!

The place where the toothbrush was invented! Anywhere else and they'd have called it the teethbrush.

 

[Deleted member jedakk]

Yes, if I can get into a character and a scary situation, 'she' often comes to life in my mind and seems to pick up the story and run with it, I find myself having to hurry (getting up early or staying up late at the keyboard) just to keep up with 'her'.

I find the same thing. Even though the characters are coming out of my mind, they seem to do things on their own and I write it down.

Diana Gabaldon said the same thing about some of her characters in her "Outlander" series, that they seemed to go in directions she didn't foresee when she planned the story. It's really all about what happens when we, as writers, have to get down to the specifics of what a character we created will actually think, say and do in the situations we create for him. That's when you see the opportunities for all kinds of things to happen from comedy to tragedy and everything in between.

 

[old slave]

Great to read all these varied yet similar approaches to writing a long story.

I've been reluctant to try a long one because I could never fit a whole story in my brain at once. Now i see it isn't necessary. I'm beginning to feel a little inspired. But don't hold your breath.

 

[shannonb100]

As an FYI to everyone: I've known shannon online for more than ten years, and she is one of three women who had great influence on the development of Sabina's character.

 

[admihoek]

I find the same thing. Even though the characters are coming out of my mind, they seem to do things on their own and I write it down.

and we, most of us, are happy with that

 

[Tom Tom]

Well, I don't think the PDF that Admi posted is actually one I released, although it might be. It has the right number of pages, but the file size is different from my version and I think someone may have pasted the chapters together themselves to create this. That being said, it looks like it's all there.

I posted the story of Sabina a long time ago, back in 2007 or so I think. Then over a period of years, I expanded the story and created all of the illustrations. There are about 200 pics in the story and I have probably a thousand or more that I didn't use. There were stories within the story that I wanted to address, such as Lucilla, condemned to be crucified twelve times, and Salonina. who visited Sabina in her cell on the eve of her crucifixion; what do you say to a person who is facing the cross? I had to write it, and I might write it a little differently now.

The Serpent's Eye is the story of a young girl who is crucified. It is told from different perspectives - the narrator switches from the victim to her domina to the executioner. It's hard to write that way. You have to decide which character is best to tell different parts of the story, and you have to figure out where the transitions from one narrator to another should take place, at the same time avoiding re-telling what the reader already knows. If I did it correctly, no one will notice the breaks and transitions.

But getting back to the story itself, Sabina is not what she seems, and neither is her domina, Julia Lepida. There is a surprise ending which , according to people who have read the story, no one saw coming. There are some subtle clues that no one is likely to see unless they go back and look at the story carefully.

I had hoped for some discussion of this story when I posted it about a year and a half ago on the Foundation, but I was greatly disappointed. I eventually deleted it from the site and pretty much withdrew from sharing anything further. I rarely post anything now, but I'd be happy to discuss this story if anyone should wish to.

That was an incredible story Jedakk. I just signed up here yesterday, clicked on your story, and I could not stop reading. I haven't even had a chance to explore the rest of this site. Just wanted to thank you for sharing this masterpiece! I can't imagine how anything could compare to the The Serpent's Eye - I'm thinking I found the best of this site with my first click. I am just blown away. I did not see the twist at the end coming - that was brilliant. Thank you!!

 

[Eulalia]

Jedakk's masterpiece(s) are certainly among our finest treasures,
but be sure we've plenty more
Welcome to the Forums, Tom Tom, enjoy exploring!

 

[Tom Tom]

Jedakk's masterpiece(s) are certainly among our finest treasures,
but be sure we've plenty more
Welcome to the Forums, Tom Tom, enjoy exploring!

Thanks, I'll probably spend way too much time here. I've always had a crucifixion fetish - how to describe - like Sabina! The horror of the whole ordeal I find erotic. But it's taboo to mention such things. I talked to my girlfriend about this fantasy after finding this forum and to my surprise - she was into it! This path could dangerous - I'm just going to look at the pretty pictures for awhile.