WIWAW: Our 6-Level Orgy

Last year, some writers here participated in a challenge called "What I Wrote and Why," built around non-fiction explanations of fiction stories they had published. Essays like these, carrying the acronym WIWAW, continue to be posted. This, I hope, provides a means for me to explain myself.

I may have made a mess of the stories I've written under the overarching title Our 6-Level Orgy. Not the content of the stories, but the order in which they ought to be read. I hope that this essay will help clarify the situation.

I haven't referred to this as a series, and I don't want it to be thought of as having a steady through-line that heads for a clear end-point. It's a shared universe. (Not a cinematic one. Yet. You want to buy the film rights? Send me a PM.)

I use the acronym OSLO for this project. This is not to be confused with the capital of Norway. The stories are about Americans who have orgies, not Norwegians who have orgies. No Norwegians orgasmed in the writing of these stories. Maybe while reading them, but I have no data on that.

My way of showing how the stories connect is to give each story a title that is both general and specific. For example, the first two stories are titled thus:

Our 6-Level Orgy: The Newbies

Our 6-Level Orgy: Level 4 Heat

There are eight published OSLO stories, and while they are mostly sequential, and involve the same characters, each story stands alone. I haven't given the stories part or chapter numbers. To me, numbers would indicate not only a reading order, but when/if the story collection would end. There's no end point for the collection, and no cliffhangers between stories. I hoped to add new stories as they occurred to me, while not making a reader feel obligated or committed. (I am, in fact, trying to write what would be the ninth story, but I'm not yet convinced that it will be worth publishing.)

I think, however, that this isn't working too well. Even I, the author, have trouble remembering the order in which the stories happen. So, if I finish the newest story, I'd add to the title a number in parentheses, but not the word 'part' or 'chapter' or 'episode.' Ideally, I would also add title numbers to the other stories, but that would entail a request for edits. I shouldn't ask the site folks to do an edit that's this trivial.

Also, I have to admit that some of the stories depend a little on what happened in other stories. In every case, however, the 'previously' is very quickly mentioned, and doesn't require the reader to refer to anything else.

I'll address the standard WIWAW stuff, on the content and what I hoped to accomplish. But I think it's more important to do this first: Provide the list of the OSLO stories in 'chronological' order. Sometimes a story covers a few months, and a story might start at a time before the previous one ends, and another might end after the next one starts.

FIRST: The Newbies

SECOND: Level 4 Heat

THIRD: Lady Love?

FOURTH: Bonnie's Turn

FIFTH: When Not To

SIXTH: Beyond Swaps

SEVENTH: About Jealousy

EIGHTH: Leave Early?

OSLO is about a bunch of married F-M American couples who get their freak on roughly once a month, at the large house of an older-than-forty couple called 'Jack' and 'Sally.' Those are in single quotes because they are their noms de polywhoopee. Every story is a first-person entry in a presumed blog, which is intended to inform other group-curious folks about what's been learned through their adventures. The first stories were by the hosts (first Jack, then Sally), but other participants have also contributed. All of the names are fake, and while there is nothing said about how these people maintain their privacy and confidentiality, it is stated simply that this works as intended.

The six-level thing is how the event slowly ramps up. Not everyone in this crowd wants to bang beyond their marriage, but they're willing to push the envelope a little: Flirt, mess around, and then go home and work off their arousal as a twosome. Many other participants go the limit, to penis-in-vagina sex with somebody who isn't their spouse. Maybe several somebodies. These people are all friends in their non-sexual lives, and at the orgy they have uncomplicated fun. Which means, for some couples, leaving early to avoid the complication of full-swap sex.

The first level is casual, fully-dressed socializing and conversation. Level Two adds the opportunity for making out, still fully dressed. In Level Three everyone sheds outer clothes, keeping covered what can't be revealed in public, and the making-out becomes more intense. In Level Four, genitals, butts, and breasts are exposed, and the making-out can advance to mutual masturbation and other types of orgasm assistance. Oral sex can be added in Level Five. In Level Six, PIV.

Participation in each level can be limited, and it is never coerced, but nobody can just hang back and watch at all levels. Sally explains this to Margo in "Level 4 Heat:"

In a recent orgy, Margo approached me while we were still in Level One, which is just normal conversation, fully dressed. She had me join her on a loveseat, so we could drink our coffee, and chat, in quasi-privacy.

"What would we have to do," she asked me, "to stay for Level Four?"

"Strip all the way," I said. "It's only fair. Everyone else shows everything then, warts and all. Literally. We don't let anyone treat this like a peep show."

"Do we have to make out, naked?"

"No. It's okay to stay out of the action then. But you can't sit all scrunched up, or hide your goodies with your hands. You have to be visible."

In Level Five, the action can't be avoided that way, so Margo and her husband George leave before then.

Nearly all of the action happens in the hosts' vast living room, furnished with many sofas, loveseats, and large cushions on the carpet. There's a bar, but the folks here drink very little, if at all. Even in Level Six, people have different preferences. Some are okay in a fully visible sex wallow, while others try for some seclusion on a sofa. Sally and Jack also make their guest rooms available for folks who want nominal privacy.

The activities that are allowed during the six levels has actually evolved a little from one story to the next. This means that anyone who's new to the series should probably read the stories in 'order,' to catch on to this. I will say, however, that the sex described in the stories is what most people would call vanilla. There's some true group sex (daisy-chaining of multiple Fs with Ms), but no apparent indulgence in fetishes, BDSM, etc. What happens outside the described events might be a little raunchier, but details are sometimes sparse. In "Lady Love?" two of the women discover their bisexuality. In "Level 4 Heat," it's stated that one of the women has prepped herself to receive anal sex, and she entertains gentleman callers in a guest room.

I've posted quite a few items in the Group Sex category, including three series (all completed). What makes OSLO unique, for me, is that the stories are first-person accounts by several participants. (First: Jack. Second: Sally. Third: Steffi and Bob. Fourth: Bonnie. Fifth: Louie. Sixth: Jack and Sally. Seventh: Fiona and Larry. Eighth: Conchita. If there is a Ninth: Dan.) Thus, ten characters have written (or will write) about their OSLO experiences, from their different perspectives.

Those perspectives have something to do with why some story time-frames overlap. I think that, for somebody reading all of the stories in 'order,' this shouldn't pose a problem. A reader should bear in mind, though, that a perspective influences what a blogger chooses to write, and how. If you think there's too much sweetness and light, wait until you get to "Bonnie's Turn."

The stories are all fairly short, by Literotica standards. The shortest is about 4k words, the longest a little more than 11k.

I suppose I could dig into the specifics of each story and describe my process in detail. But, y'know what? I doubt that this would be a good use of anybody's time. If you're interested in the stories, you could just read them. They're pretty straightforward. If, after reading, you have questions, you can PM me. (With your offers for the film rights.)

I should probably address the last 'W' in WIWAW: Why have I written OSLO this way? Especially, why is the sex so tame, and why is everyone (mostly) happy-go-lucky in their polysexuality?

On the first point, sex that isn't tame doesn't appeal to me very much. A few times, I've gone outside my storytelling comfort zone, but I haven't done that in OSLO (so far). I won't try to impose my likes and dislikes on anyone, but if you open a story of mine, you enter a realm that I have created. As I draw back the gate for you, I simply request, "Please consider this."

On the second point, I'd like to believe that a poly group like this is possible. My real-life experience with this kind of thing is nowhere near as extensive as what these characters enjoy, but I've had some fun with a few other people, based on the notion that Nobody Gets Hurt. That included people who weren't involved in the sex. We always made sure that every significant other knew in advance what was planned, and if there was a problem, plans were canceled.

Even if the current attempt at a ninth story doesn't pan out, I hope that I can return to this Not-The-Capital-Of-Norway. After all, George and Margo have never stayed past Level Four, despite everyone else yearning to bang them. Also, nobody has yet blogged about what Hugh does when he goes to a guest room with a lady friend. His wife surely knows (or does she?). His lady friends must know (but does he do the same thing with all of them?). These aren't cliffhangers, but they are matters that have never reached closure. At my age, I won't promise that everything will be resolved neatly. But you're welcome to enjoy what's already written.