Hello, Literotica! I've been lurking on the site since 2005, and I love the place! I finally felt like it was time for me to contribute something to this wonderful community. This is the first chapter of a longer story, set in a community I've been developing over the last six months. If I get positive feedback on this one, I'll follow it up with more chapters at the costume shop, as well as exploring the rest of the town.
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Welcome to Anne's Harbor! Our little town has a wonderful variety of fun activities that can be found around every corner! As a new resident, taking a tour is definitely in order. After all, the sheer variety of opportunities for community building and strengthening relationships can be a bit staggering for newcomers.
Here at the Chamber of Commerce, we usually find it best to start with a little history. You see, in the not too distant past, our town was called Southport. How it was renamed, though, is a story for another day. For now, let's just start with how the Mayor of the town, Viveanne Malcolm, moved to town and got established.
You see, Ms. Malcolm was always interested in magic and clothing, as well as the interesting ways in which the two things could come together. So when she moved to our little coastal town, she decided to open a costume shop. A very special costume shop...
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I sighed in delight as I moved the 'N' from the hooks on the left side of my cute little sign to the right. Since the other three letters always stayed put, the sign could either read 'NOPE' or 'OPEN'. This was my first official day of being open, and I just could not wait to see what it would bring.
Of course, I already knew the general shape things would take. I'd planned for it, after all. After spending a lifetime wandering the multiverse, learning different kinds of lust magic, I'd decided to settle down in one of the more mundane worlds I'd come across. There was magic here, but it was hidden, secret. The general population had no idea about their neighbors who were witches or wizards or shiftlings.
That just meant that they had no idea they needed to be careful of lust magic. Which worked in my favor.
Each costume in my store was designed to have some effect beyond simple disguise or ornamentation. Take the harem girl outfit on the mannequin near the entrance. True, it would present the look of a courtesan from the crèche of a desert pasha. But it didn't only do that. It also instilled a mindset of calm, accepting servitude, as well as the knowledge of how to fulfill every desire a person might have by taking in the subtlest of clues at a single glance.
Each costume also called to the person who could wear it best. Temperament and inclination played a role in these things. After all, while you could force a fundamentally dominant person into a submissive role through brute magical power, they wouldn't be as effective as someone who was predisposed to such behavior. I couldn't wait to see which costume called the loudest and brought in its ideal wearer first.
Two hours later, the bell over the door finally chimed. I looked up from where I'd been perusing a spell book I'd found in a poorly attended library in a savannah nation called Argive. The woman who stepped into the shop was lovely. Perhaps 25, petite, with shoulder length brown hair and lovely blue-green eyes. Her body was the ideal balance of curves and fitness, exactly the sort of woman I loved. I smiled in welcome.
"Welcome to Viv's Variety! I'm Viveanne, the owner. What can I help you with, Ms..."
I trailed off, waiting for the customer to identify herself. Another wonderful side effect of magic being secret in this world: No one guarded their True Name. It made things so much easier. After all, onces you knew a being's True Name, you had a conduit to them that few anchors could match. It was the difference between shuffling your feet across the carpet to shock someone with static and sticking a live high voltage wire in the same person's hands.
"Carmichael. Wendy Carmichael. I was just..."
The young woman trailed off, looking around in wonder. I smirked as I watched the reaction. There were so many enticement charms and alluring enchantments working on her, it wasn't a surprise she was momentarily struck dumb. So many pretty things, trying to tug on her delicate strings. Which one would win?
"You were just what,
Wendy
?"