#battle tested

[theinconvenientlifestyle]

[aewriting]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

It’s here!  The WIP meme lit a fire under me yesterday, and I felt really motivated to finish this up.  Please note the tags, and please enjoy!

[scifi-fantasy-horror]

by  Evgeny Nif

[aewriting]

Battle Tested :)

Here’s a little peek for you:

[Alex] Oh, no. Um, I’m not gonna answer that. Have to keep some things private, you know?

[Michael] Our first time was amazing. I was living in an old Airstream at the time, and we practically broke the goddamn bed.

[Greg] I mean, I don’t know exactly when they got together, after the shoot, but it was fast, really fast. Believe me I know, because Isobel and I had a bet going about it, which she won and never lets me forget.

[Isobel] Don’t bet against me. Just don’t do it.

[aewriting]

For my earlier Anon, here’s a little more of “Battle Tested.” Enjoy!

Warning for brief mention of rope play.

***

[Michael] Do I remember the first time I met Alex? Fuck yeah. We’d already talked on the phone, remember, and I was about to get in a van with him and let him tie me up, so it was kind of a big moment, you know.

[Alex] Oh yeah. I remember that first meeting with Michael. He sat next to me, in the van.

[Michael] We were in the way back of the van, the bench seat. Not a lot of personal space.

[Greg] He looked like a real cowboy. Which I guess he kind of was, back then. Rancher, anyway.

[Leona] I could see it on Alex’s face, that he thought this guy was hot. There was just, like, an ease to Michael, you know? So of course that got Alex all uptight.

[Michael] I thought he didn’t like me, on the way to Truth or Consequences. Thought he was having second thoughts.

[Alex] Look, I’m gay. Of course I find men attractive. Like, a lot of different men. But this was just next level, and it’s sinking in that I’m going to have to play it super cool and professional around him in some... pretty compromising situations, and he’s right up on me in the van, so yeah, I’m sure I did come off as a little on edge.

[Michael] Next level? He said that?

[aewriting]

WIP guessing game: knot. ;-D

Haha here you go - nice long sneak peek 😉

Warning for sexual content, rope play.

***

[Michael Guerin, Head of Product Testing for Battle Tested] I remember Is called me up and was like, “Hey, would you be okay with getting tied up for a video for my boyfriend’s website? They’d pay you.” And I was like, “Sure.”

[Isobel] [Shrugs] I knew he’d be down for it. I arranged a phone call for Michael and Alex and sent Michael’s picture along to Leona.

[Leona] It’s like 11pm on a Tuesday when, out of nowhere, Isobel texts me a picture of some sexy cowboy and goes “Can you work with this?” And I’m like, um, yeah.

[Alex] Even after seeing the pictures and talking to Isobel, I was a little wary. I mean, I knew nothing about this guy, and what we were asking him to do, it’s a little, um, intimate, you know?

[Michael] Look. My upbringing wasn’t the best. I’ve had a lot of shit jobs in my day - sometimes involving literal shit, like on the ranch. Of course I said yes to this. Easy money. [Smiles] And that was before I even met Alex.

[Alex] It was supposed to be about a thirty minute phone call, but we ended up talking for almost an hour. Like, it was still very professional, but it definitely put me at ease. Soon as we hung up, I told Greg I’d do the video with him.

[Michael] He has a good voice, you know? And by the time I had the call, I’d talked to Isobel a little. She told me about him, that he was nice, but kind of uptight. Told me he was gay, experienced with rope play, responsible. Ex-military. I saw his picture on the website, too, read his bio.

[Isobel] I knew they’d hit it off. I knew this would work.

[Michael] During that phone call I just, just tried to be me, you know? Like, I let him know I was bi. I... I know that’s a problem for some guys, and I figured legally he couldn’t just come out and ask me about it, you know? Told him I hadn’t really done any fancy rope play before, just tried out some different knots and stuff with a few exes. Said I was open to it, though.

[aewriting]

OG Battle Tested

Hi everyone!  Thank you for your kind words about my latest fic, “Battle Tested: An Oral History.”  @foramomentonlywas asking about my writing process for this fic, and it was a twisty little journey, so I thought I’d share the original version of the fic I wrote in standard format before I decided to rewrite and expand it as an oral history/interview format.  I’ll put the original version below the cut for spoilers, or you can read it here on AO3.

This thing, the whole thing, had been Alex’s idea.

 “What if it was a guy?” he’d said suddenly, looking up from his laptop.

 “What?” Greg had asked with a slight frown.

 “This shoot, this casting... what if it, the model I mean, what if we used a guy?” Alex swallowed, gestured to his screen. “I mean, you know our demographics.”

 Greg looked thoughtful. “I do.” He leaned back in his chair, looked at Alex. “What do you have in mind?”

 Alex pursed his lips. “We stick with the rope theme. Like, we already agreed that would be the fall theme for the editorial, and we know the vendors we want to showcase.”

 “Right,” Greg said quickly.

 “Right,” Alex repeated. “Well, um, I was driving on 380 the other day, just a whole bunch of nothing, you know? Just thinking about the shoot, and it came to me. Ropes. Lassos. Wild West. Cowboy.”

 He saw Greg smirk a little. “Go on.”

 Alex laughed, a little self-conscious. “I dunno, man, just got the idea in my head. This, like, hot, rugged cowboy, just doing normal cowboy stuff first - riding a horse while holding the rope, maybe doing the whole,” Alex raised his arm, circled it in the air, “yeehaw lasso thing. All macho cowboy swagger shit, you know?” He swallowed. “But then...”

 “But then?” Greg prompted.

 “Then we turn it on its head. Next few shots are just cowboy, like, presenting the rope. And himself.”

 “This...” Greg started, “this is good. I’m writing this down.”

 “The pictures get more explicit from there, you know? Maybe he’s on his knees, hands tied behind his back.”

 “Hat still on?”

 Alex chuckled. “Sure, yeah, why not? Hat still on. Boots, too.” Greg was nodding enthusiastically, so Alex kept going. “Maybe, maybe we showcase the desert a little, get a little more elaborate with the rope work. Could end with a shot on a bed with the guy naked and tied up. Not even full-body necessarily, but obvious what’s gonna happen, you know? Or he is naked but with, um, just the hat over his... you know.”

 Greg was just staring at him.

 “I mean, we don’t have to though.”

 “I love it,” Greg finally said.

 “Really?”

 “I do! Like, the way you described it, I can practically picture it.” He grinned. “And, I mean, it’s kind of gimmicky, but that’s a good thing, right? All the cowboy stuff? I mean we are based out of New Mexico. Might as well showcase it a bit, maybe give us some buzz. You write the casting blurb, okay? I’m actually gonna call it a day. I’m having dinner with Isobel.”

 Alex quirked an eyebrow. “Isobel again, huh?”

 “Yes. Isobel,” Greg said.

 “Just dinner?” Alex asked, mischievous.

 “Shut up,” Greg said, then smiled. “But don’t wait up, either.”

 Alex laughed. “I see. Need to borrow any inventory?” Alex he asked with a smirk, gesturing to some neatly stacked boxes of restraints in the corner of their shared office.

 “No need,” Greg said wickedly. “She has her own.”

 “Well she better have bought them from us!”

  ***

 So yes, it had been Alex’s idea. But this was not what he’d had in mind.

 “Alex, come on, at least be polite and give the guy a chance.”

 Alex rolled his eyes. “You serious? What are the chances that Isobel’s... what? Pseudo-brother?”

 “Something like that,” Greg affirmed.

 Alex rolled his eyes. “Fine. What are the chances that Isobel’s pseudo-brother is the right fit for this job?”

 “At least check out the pictures she sent over, okay? Like, he’s apparently a legit cowboy. Works on a fucking ranch and everything.”

 Alex frowned . “I’m not gonna cast him just so you can get laid, okay?”

 Greg smirked. “Trust me, I’m gonna get laid whether we use Isobel’s brother or not. At least look at the guy? I trust your judgment on something like this. Just say the word and we go in a different direction, okay?”

 “All right,” Alex agreed, pleased that Greg wasn’t going to push this too hard. “Let’s see him.”

 “Just gimme a sec,” Greg said, fumbling with his phone. “Okay,” he said finally. “Just forwarded you the email. Isobel attached a couple pictures. Said they were his ‘peak cowboy’ looks.”

 Alex nodded, saw the new email at the top of his inbox: FWD: Michael cowboy pics.

Clicked the attachment.

“Holy shit.”

[aewriting]

WIP WEDNESDAY

Here’s some more of my AU where Greg and Alex run an online gear review website.

Warnings for mentions of rope play.

***

[Greg] After Alex got on board, the next step was talking to Carlito. I think of all Alex’s partners, back then, he was probably the one he’d been with the most, was the most comfortable with. I assumed he’d do the tutorial with Alex.

[Carlito] It was like one thing after another. And I would have made such a good cowboy. Seriously. I even have chaps, which I don’t get to wear nearly enough.

[Alex] Once we decided this was going to happen, we were kind of on a time table.

[Isobel] The tutorial would be a great way to generate passive income once they actually rolled it out on the website. But a huge key to a successful introduction of this kind of content is timing, the promotion.

[Greg] We wanted to release the video over Veterans Day weekend. You know, cause of the whole Battle Tested theme. We’d have some free content, basic stuff, but some other videos that were a little more advanced that people could pay to view, along with product recommendations. The thought was, we would tease it a little on our other social media platforms leading up to the release. We also hoped that maybe people would watch the videos, with their partners, and maybe that would fuel some additional holiday purchases through our affiliate links.

[Isobel] It was a good plan, if I do say so myself. But first we needed a damn video.

[Leona] I could only shoot and edit on weekends, so I know that limited us, and Carlito, oh my god...

[Carlito] It was seriously the worst timing. The worst. I had my mother coming into town, I was going to a music festival, then a bachelor party weekend. [Pauses] Look, if I’d known then how much it would take off, and, and that Alex would be off the market after that, I’d have told Mom to go visit her sister up in Denver that weekend.

[Alex] I’d just assumed that I’d be filming with Carlito. God, to this day it still feels crazy to say - “filming with.” Like, this is so outside anything I imagined myself doing, you know? Making a fucking... instructional bondage video. But anyway, Carlito... I think he really tried to make it work, with his schedule, but he just couldn’t. And that put us in a bind. [Pauses] I just realized how that sounded. Anyway, Isobel was really focused on the whole Veterans Day release. [Pauses] Oh man, again, that sounds bad.

[Isobel] Oh my god, don’t get me started on that whole situation. I mean, clearly it all worked out in the end, but Alex - look, I love Alex, and he’s great with whatever behind the scenes coding stuff that goes into running a website, but he has no concept of online marketing. We had to hit this deadline. I was about ready to send an email blast out on the Brunch N’ Munch website myself to find someone we could hire for him to tie up, and then I was like, oh my god, what about Michael?