#musical delight (tallulah)

[crows-father]

Phil makes his way outside, sitting himself down on the edge of the wall. His talons hang off freely, the overcloak he always wore thrown lamely off to the side and his wings outstretched but limply hanging around him. Feathers scraping the concrete as he plucks and threads his fingers through them. It doesn't hurt. Not really. But it does make his wings look ugly, unfortunately.

He breathes out, guilt clogging up. Over Chayanne. Of course, Chayanne's thought pattern branches Phil's mind out to Tallulah. Then, the guilt from leaving without talking to Missa.

But he can't. If he faced the other, he was almost positive the building tears might pour in geysers. Phil managed to push it down now, aside from the few tears he shed making his way out, pressing the emotion down until the tears dried into nothing but an intense, pounding pressure.

His wings twitch. More than anything, he wishes he could push off and fly around. Just for a little while. Just until everything hurt a little less.

But when his feet brace the wall and he shoves himself off, wind snapping at clothes and messy, knotted hair alike, he doesn't go up. No matter how hard his wings beat, he can't.

So he plummets, then he glides. It's all he can do, working his wings our of muscle memory to ensure the tears don't return. While he turns those words over in his mind.

God. He wishes he could say coming to this island was a mistake, but he can't stomach the idea of not ever meeting that kid. His son.

His.... son....

--

The days pass. Phil smiles when Missa asks where he went, and he pulls the coat tighter over himself. His sword is back into its spot, no longer covered in the thick monster blood, and the night as passed again without an hour of sleep.

All he can do is apologize softly, and all is well. They're both ignoring their own fight. Phil, for the sake of Chayanne, ignores theirs as well.

All is well.

Tallulah isn't talking much, lately, either. She avoids looking at Chayanne, only coming out of her newfound shell when it's only Phil in the room. She shows him her new music, her art, the (admittedly confusing) stories she's been writing. He just smiles and ruffles her hair, braiding it in the mornings and before bed. In return, she spends her time pretending she can't see the bags under his eyes.

All is well.

Missa doesn't seem to notice too much is wrong as Phil tentatively returning to hovering over Chayanne. He doesn't want the kid leaving or doing too much labor, especially as he develops the cough directly after. Phil feared it may be another illness, but so far it seemed alright.

Exhausted, it's one night when he remembers the event going on. With a heaved sigh, he mentions it blankly, startling when both kids jump on the chance to get him out of the house. Tallulah insists on helping with his hair, Chayanne confirming it was a good idea.

Phil decided to go, in the end. Just for the night. Exhaustion bogging every step, misery in his joints, he goes.

He might as well try to have fun, for a little while.

(Somehow, seeing the others with each other makes him want to claw his hair out. So he takes another drink. Asks for something harder, stronger, and only then does he start to feel a little better, leaning on Quackity on the way out.)

(What a hellhole of an island, honestly. No matter how much he loved the people on it.)

[flemlem]

How long do you think the third egg that was in Tallulah and Pommes group lasted? Do you think it heard as people first started running around with their eggs? Do you think it heard the delighted shouts and became sad?

Do you think it heard the brazillians start running around? Do you think that it heard the music from casulonas?

Do you think it felt the vibrations of the French crashing into the wall? do you think it thought 'maybe this is my time'?

when do you think it lost hope? When do you think it stopped believing that someone would come for it? Was it within the first week? After the first month? Do you think when it was laying there, its life finally fading after who knows how long, do you think it lived up to its name? Do you think it held onto hope until the very last moment? Do you think that was the last thing it felt?

[bmaatuga]

School Days

Back before the pandemic closure, we were inspecting one of the films we received from the Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School (RGNS), a film made about the school in 1952 by the late John F. Cowart, a talented Atlanta filmmaker who had won several cinematography awards and later had a long career as a cameraman for WAGA-TV and WETV (now WPBA). Perhaps the school administrators had seen his ad in the newspaper:

and were inspired to contact him to make a film of their school. No matter how it happened, we are delighted that the film has survived in very good condition.

You can watch the film here:  https://bmac.libs.uga.edu/pawtucket2/index.php/Detail/objects/362958

Cowart made the film using his Auricon Cine-Voice camera. The kit for this camera includes a microphone and a turntable so you can capture natural sound or music from an LP playing directly into the soundtrack. This was a real boon for filmmakers.

While looking for more information on Mr. Cowart, we ran across mention of an earlier film made for another north Georgia mountains school, the Tallulah Falls School (TFS), by members of the Amateur Movie Makers of Atlanta club.

Articles in the Atlanta Constitution mention in May 1950 that Bob Stanley of the Atlanta club offered to make a film for the TFS, which is just down the road from RGNS.  The money to make the Tallulah Falls School film was donated by a patron of the school, and the amateur movie club members involved in production were Bob Stanley, Gates Dunn, and Dr. Hoyt Simpson (a dentist). The film was to show the students in their daily tasks over the course of the school year,  making handicrafts, studying in the classroom, cooking, and working on the farm, with the final scenes being of graduation.

A quick email to TFS led to the office of the President of the school who was excited by these articles and our interest. He located that film as well as another film about the school produced by the Protestant Radio and Television Center in 1959 (we also preserve the PRTVC archives). That second film is titled “The Light in the Mountains” and both films have been donated to us. Watch them here: https://bmac.libs.uga.edu/pawtucket2/index.php/Detail/objects/362995  (1950)

and here:  https://bmac.libs.uga.edu/pawtucket2/index.php/Detail/objects/362994  (1961).

We are so pleased to have more film coverage of an important part of the state of Georgia, the beautiful mountains to our north, and to preserve them for decades to come.

[walterfilmmemorabilia-blog]

10 LGBTQ Performers in the 1970's

The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations by members of the gay (LGBT) community against a police raid that began in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. They are widely considered to constitute the most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States. Wikipedia

What followed in the 1970’s was a rising tide of LGBTQ performers that “came out” to express their unique take on music, theater and sexual (transgender) identity. Here are 10 of those performers and a brief look at what they contributed to the movement and to our culture. Click on the image to learn more about the performer.

JAYNE COUNTY

As rock’s first openly transgender singer, Jayne Rogers (born June 13, 1947), better known by her stage name Jayne County, is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer whose career spans five decades. While dressed in female attire from the beginning of her career, County transitioned to female in 1979, becoming Jayne (as the above poster illustrates).

She made her first performing appearances as Wayne County in Wayne County and The Electric Chairs. In 1969 she appeared in Jackie Curtis’ play Femme Fatale. County considered Curtis a major influence on her career and persona and County is widely considered an influence on David Bowie –– County’s Queenage Baby number was the prototype for Bowie’s Rebel Rebel. Even more notable was her play, World – Birth of A Nation, which was set in a hospital and dealt with male castration –– evoking both transgender surgery and her mixed feelings about men, both gay and straight.

After seeing the play, Andy Warhol cast her in his play Pork. She went on to appear in the film The Blank Generation (1976).  Back and forth between New York and London, she settled in Atlanta Georgia. In 2018, County debuted a retrospective show of visual art in the New York City gallery, Participant, Inc.

County’s life and art is considered an inspirational influence on John Cameron Mitchell’s transgender rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

JACKIE CURTIS

“Jackie Curtis is not a drag queen. Jackie is an artist. A pioneer without a frontier,” so said Andy Warhol. Andy was right. Jackie Cutis (1947-1987) was a true original. Long before he became one of the Pop master’s superstars. Curtis distinguished himself by appearing (alternately) as a James Dean-like male and a Jean Harlow-like female in Off-off Broadway plays of his own devise in which he and his friends appeared:

Glamour, Glory And Gold, co-starred Candy Darling, and Robert DeNiroin his first New York stage appearance;

Vain Victory, also starred Darling with Warhol and Jack Smith star Mario Montez;

Amerika Cleopatra featured a thin barely-known Harvey Fierstein;

Femme Fatale, starred Patti Smith, Jayne County and Penny Arcade; and

Heaven Grand In Amber Orbit toplined Holly Woodlawn. These were all makeshift, wildly tossed together affairs having little to do with plot and character but tons to do with exhibitionistic self-expression.

Outside of such Warhol films as Flesh (1968) and Women in Revolt (1972), Jackie’s most notable screen appearance was in Yugoslavia agant-gardist Dusan Makvejev’s W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism – a film about sex researcher Willhelm Reich, creator of the so-called Orgone Box. Makvejev felt Jackie presence in the film added a lot to his view of Reich’s sexual theories.

DIVINE

Born Harris Glenn Milsted in 1945, this life-affirming, overweight transvestite was re-named Divine (after the hero/heroine of Jean Genet’s Our Lady of the Flowers ) by the writer-director John Waters, who discovered her right down the block from where he lived. Through his films Waters turned a lonely overweight kid from Baltimore into one of the biggest (in every sense of the word) of all underground movie stars.

In Waters’ comedies, Pink Flamingoes, Female Trouble, Polyester and Hairspray, Divine redefined what it means to be a movie star. Waters called him The Most Beautiful Woman in The World and if you’ve seen Divine on stage of screen you’ll know why; for like his idol, Elizabeth Taylor, Divine was overwhelmingly sui generis.

While beloved for his films, Divine was a prolific LGBTQ performer on stage and in nightclubs. This above poster memorializes one of them . In this particular show — Vice— Divine appeared with many of the members of the legendary San Francisco drag troupe, The Cockettes.

Sadly, Divine (now a gay, transgender icon) died in 1988 of respiratory problems, days after the opening of his greatest acting success, Hairspray. Those lucky enough to see his club appearances also recall Divine for numbers like this —

CASSELBERRY & DUPREE

Mixing Reggae, Country and Gospel, Casselberry and Dupree are a dynamic lesbian duo who have performed with Harry Belafonte and Whoppi Goldberg, They appeared in the Oscar-nominated Art Is and the Oscar-winning The Times of Harvey Milk. The early 70s was a great time for Sapphic folk music, featured as it was at such venues as Lilith Fair. Jaqué Dupree and J. Casselberry offer a stellar example of it in: CASSELBERRYY AND DUPREE “TWO OF US”

CHARLES PIERCE

Charles Piece 1926-1999 was what might be called a female impersonator (he called himself a Male Actress) who found favor with audiences both straight and gay with his knowing impressions of Bette Davis, Mae West, Tallulah Bankhead and Carol Channing, Such impersonations were quite  traditional for a comic performer of this sort. But as can be seen and heard in this clip of his rendition of Katherine Hepburn, Pierce kept pace with the blossoming LGBTQ movement with many of his zingers evidencing a keen awareness of the difference the out and proud LGBTQ movement had made in  a straight-dominated world.

Headlining a production of Applause was a real tour de force for Piece as this musical version of All About Eve gave him leave to do Bette Davis (star of the original film) and Lauren Bacall (star of the musical remake) at the same time.

JUDITH ANDERSON

Stage and screen star Judith Anderson (1897-1992.) best remembered by the general public for playing the sinister lesbian “Mrs. Danvers” in Hithcock’s Rebecca (1940) and “Ann Treadwell” the socialite who’s keeping Vincent Price’s “Shelby Carpenter” in Laura  The latter was quite low-key in that the character was straight, whereas “Mrs. Danvers” was a full-force lesbian.

Despite the obvious she was married twice. Her first husband was an English professor, Benjamin Harrison Lehmann. They were married in 1937 and divorced  in 1939. Then, in 1946, she married theatrical  producer Luther Greene. They divorced in 1951. Of these marriages Anderson said. “Neither experience was a jolly holiday.”

While Sarah Bernhardt had famously performed  Hamlet in the late 19th century, few actresses have ever tried it. Taking it on at an advanced age, as Anderson did, was quite novel. Doing it when she did, put Anderson in league with the avant-garde gender-benders of the early 70s like Jackie Curtis and Holly Woodlawn.

CRAIG RUSSELL

Craig Russell, born Russell Crag Easie in 1948 in Toronto Canada, this female impersonator carved out a considerable career for himself doing such stars as Bette Davis, Tallulah Bankhead and Mae West — having come to know the last-mentioned personally as he briefly worked as her secretary in Los Angeles. Many LGBTQ performers of this genre did impressions of these stars. But there was an edginess to Russell’s work clearly influenced by the rise of the gay rights movement.

He toured widely, appearing in Las Vegas, Hollywood, San Francisco, Berlin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Hamburg and Sydney, to the delight of a variety of audiences. But he won a special place in the hearts of the gay ones, as shown in the 1977 comedy-drama Outrageous in which he plays a character largely based on himself.

Interestingly, Russell — who always identified himself as gay — was bisexual. He fathered a daughter, Susan Allison, in 1973, and in 1982 married his closest female friend Lori Jenkins. The marriage lasted right through to the end of Russell’s life in 1990 when he died from AIDS complications.

SYLVESTER

Sylvester James Jr. (1947-1988) was born in Los Angeles, but first came to public attention when he moved to San Francisco and joined the legendary gay hippie performance troupe The Cockettes. A genuinely original singing talent  Sylvester showcased a high, shimmering falsetto and a variety of styles encompassing gospel, disco and cabaret. His look was utterly androgynous. While he sometimes appeared in “drag” he most often sported ensembles suitable to both genders.

Wildly popular in San Francisco he performed solo shows at the city’s opera house. When he died from AIDS complications the entire city mourned, along with everyone else who came to know the man and his music.

STEVEN GROSSMAN

Steve Grossman (1951-1991) a gay singer-songwriter of the early 1970s whose album Caravan Tonight (1974) is distinguished as being the first album dealing with openly gay subject matter released by a major record label, Mercury Records.

He died from AIDS leaving his Joni Mitchell-inflected songs, recorded much in the style of singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, opposed to the then-current glam Bowiesque fashion of openly gay artists. Among them, “Out” is a deeply moving coming-out song directed to his Father mother and brother.

OUR GUEST AUTHOR

DAVID EHRENSTEIN

Born in 1947, David Ehrenstein has been a film critic and political commentator since 1965, writing for such publications as Film Culture, Film Quarterly, Cahiers du Cinema, and the Los Angeles Times. His books include Open Secret: Gay Hollywood 1928-2000,  The Scorsese Picture: The Art and Life of Martin Scorsese and Cahiers du Cinema — Masters of Cinema: Roman Polanski .

Blog is originally published at: https://www.walterfilm.com/10-lgbtq-performers-in-the-1970s/

It is republished with permission from the author.

[whitetrashphilosopher-blog]

Top 5 RTD Multiparters

5. The Stolen Planet/Journey's End: This episode is so indulgent, and I love it to bits. I would liken the rest of the episodes in this list to a hearty meal, but this is a decadent dessert. It is pure fanservice and I eat it with a spoon. My favorite companions all back? Check. Awesome cameos by beloved characters from the spinoffs? Check. Funny callbacks? Check. Everyone gets to showcase why they're incredible? Check. Killer one-liners? Check. If only RTD hadn't done Donna dirty. Also, why didn't Martha and Mickey join Torchwood?! C'mon. "Tell the Doctor that he chose his companions well." Yes, he most certainly did.

4. Aliens in London/World War Three: God this episode is fun. And what an amazing cast. Harriet and Margaret are GEMS. Also the Doctor owes Mickey about a thousand apologies. Mickey is a superstar. Manages to compile piles of information about the Doctor. Faithfully watches street corners waiting for Rose to come back. He's loyal, brave and a freaking genius. Mickey Smith is the man. Also Jackie is number one mom. Yes she also did Mickey dirty, but she SLAPPED THE DOCTOR. She slapped the oncoming storm. I love Jackie Tyler so much. The characters make this storyline, but the plot it also really great. It's clever and well paced. The whole thing is oodles and oodles of fun. "Prove it, stitch this mate." I adore you Jackie Tyler.

3. Utopia/Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords: I love Donna, but can you imagine season four with Martha, Jack and Ten as the team? Wow. The chemistry of this trio is in-freaking-credible. This is the storyline that keeps on giving and every moment is full of entertainment. There's a perfect balance of fun and humor compared to tension and dread. The Master is a brilliant villian and a delight to watch. The stakes are so high and we never lose sight of them. And the dialogue, this arc has such great dialogue, especially from the master. Except for that dumb demographic boxes comment. That was beyond stupid. But this finale beats all other finales for me because the characters sacrifice so much. They suffer for the world and they do so willingly. Martha chooses to undertake her pilgrimage. Jack surrenders his chance to escape. The Doctor bares the indignities inflicted upon him. They are tormented for a year, but they come out the other side with the world intact. They earn their happy ending. "It's like when you fancy someone and they don't even know you exist. You too huh?" He doesn't deserve you Martha, Jack.

2. Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks: I love every single thing about this story SO much. I love the mystery. I love the complex plot. I love the social commentary. I love Tallulah with 3 Ls and an H. I love the showcase of the best and worst of humanity. I love the capacity for change even within a creature as deplorable as a Dalek. I love Martha Jones. I loved her from her first episode, so clever and brave even under the worst of circumstances, saving the Doctor and saving the world. But this episode is where she truly comes into her own. She takes charge when the Doctor is with the Daleks, coming up with brilliant solutions and leading well in a crisis. She is brilliant, but so much more than that she is kind. Her empathy is her greatest strength and it is showcased so well here. Her friendship with Tallulah is beautiful, and I wanted more of it by the end. I also love how the Time Lord attribute given to the hybrids that saves the day isn't mercy or compassion, but curiosity. It's not that they abhor violence, but they demand to know why. They don't want to take orders but decide for themselves. That's VERY the Doctor. Free Will saves the day is hardly a brand new idea, but damn it plays out so well here. Lazlo is a gem, and his romance with Tallulah is precious. I do wish the hybrids had survived and been allowed to start a civilization on a new world, but you can't have everything in life. "It plays music. What's the point of that? Oh, with music, you can dance to it. Sing with it. Fall in love to it. Unless you're a Dalek, of course. Then it’s just noise."

1. The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances: This episode was when I fell in love with Doctor Who. Was it because of the charming Captain Jack played by the fantastic John Barrowman? Was it because of the amazing anti-war pro-welfare message? Was it because of the incredible chemistry between Jack, Rose and Nine? Was it because of the fascinating storyline that kept you hanging onto the edge of your seat? Was it because of all the amazing one-liners? I mean yeah, all of those things, but most of all it's because of Nancy. Because the world is cruel and so unkind, but Nancy's not. Nancy cares for the children even after losing her own. Nancy braves the horror and the danger. Even when she has no hope. Even in the pit of despair. Life has been so unkind to Nancy, but she never lets it make her unkind. When faced with monsters she sings to them. Soldiers are useless and only worsen the situation. It's Nancy that saves the whole world with just a single hug. The philosophy behind this episode is so good and it bleeds through in every interaction. There's a banana grove where a weapons factory used to be. A screwdriver is more valuable than a gun. Forgiveness is more persuasive than force. It's all so beautiful. Even the most bitter misanthrope couldn't help but fall a little bit in live with humanity after seeing this. I should know. "Everybody lives! Just this once Rose, everybody lives!"

[ebayclowns]

Latest edition to my nest of clowns, they play music. Please identify them! ☆🤡☆

the Marvellous Tallulah Bye, a bard who used to open for DJ Dot Jpeg. they accidentally signed over all the rights to their voice to Dot, and now cannot speak for fear of infringing on her intellectual property. they have compensated by only producing music with the rest of their bodily functions, and the gurning and contortions they have to go through to do so delights courtly audiences even more than the heavenly harmonic squeal of porcelain on porcelain does.

faction: Jesters of the Court

[sserpente]

Condolescence (Chapter VIII)

Pairing: Adam (Only Lovers Left Alive) x OFC Language: English Rating: M

Read it on AO3!

One week went by. A week where Tal would frantically search the Internet on Adam’s laptop to find a new job, a new accommodation, anything to stop scrounging from him as fast as possible. The vampire didn’t seem to mind, even if his beautiful face distorted every time she shyly spoke of all the money he kept offering her.

“I have enough of it, Tallulah. Please, just take it.” He would say strictly, his blue eyes glaring at her in a taunting manner. And then, Tal would shrink on his old couch, nodding mutely as if to accept her lucky defeat.

As promised, the brunette girl had managed to adjust her sleeping schedule to Adam’s. Although she would still fall asleep around three am in the morning, she fought hard to stay awake for as long as she could, night after night to talk and get to know the man who had saved her life twice.

She found out that he loved music of any genre and history, science and all kinds of instruments. Despite he still refused to play her his very own compositions, he told her about his favourite artists and even allowed her to explore the house with him—apart from the cellar, that is.

Tal was entranced by everything he said to her, rapt by all the unusual, old or self-made things she spotted in his home. He figured that she was one to be easily entertained and delighted, happy with the simplest things and so unlike any other zombie he had ever encountered. She valued friendship, nature, love and life, her biggest dream was it to travel the world and learn the most beautiful languages and although she had struggled so much with making a living as of recent, she tried to live life to the fullest, to enjoy every second of it.

“Life is so short,” She had told him one night, her enchanting eyes already closed, beaten by tiredness and exhaustion. “Way too short to be wasted. That’s why I want to try and live every day like it was my last.”

Adam found himself more intrigued by the girl with every hour they spent together. Her cordial attitude reminded him of Eve, of her lust for new things and her appreciation for what others, especially ungrateful zombies, never even paid proper attention to. None of what had happened to her had she deserved. Not an abusive and drug addicted boyfriend, not a cunning beast of a boss, not an unrelenting landlord.

The more he was around her, however, the more his eerie blood lust increased. Whenever he closed his eyes, ravishing a glass of blood in the cellar before going to sleep or after waking up day after day, he would imagine Tal’s soft and pale neck, her hot skin against his lips as he sank his sharp fangs into her sweet flesh, tasting the powerful life essence in her bluish veins as she panted from pain and pleasure, digging her nails into his shoulders.

He knew this wasn’t just hunger, a need to satisfy his inner monster. No. He was falling in love, ever since he had first kissed her and felt her smooth and warm lips against his. Not in the literal sense, he had tasted blood and now, he wanted more of it. He needed more of it.

It was a dangerous game he was playing, a game he had unwillingly started without wanting it and yet, he would not trade it for a second. Tal was giving him what little joy he had left. She gave him what only Eve had been able to give him all those years ago.

Years ago, where the only thing keeping him alive was the promise he had given his beloved wife before she had died—that he would not follow her into death, that he would not end his life and throw it away because of her ceasing presence.

Now there was Tal. She needed him. He could help her, care for her, despite she was human and a mortal. In a few decades already, if she stayed with him, she would notice he did not age. She would notice he never actually ate the food she left him to warm up in an old microwave before she went to sleep and she would come to understand that he avoided the sun on purpose. But until then, he would be there for her.

“Ow! Shit!” Startled, he turned on his heel, approaching the kitchen with but a few quick steps. Tallulah was facing the counter, offering him a seductive view of her back. Her right hand dropped a knife she had been using to chop vegetables, the handle black, the blade silver and sharp and… covered in blood.

Instantly, the alluring scent of it crawled towards him, embraced him and urging him to taste it. Adam swallowed thickly, gnashing his teeth as he closed his eyes for a moment to calm himself. It was then Tal turned around, her lips parting when she spotted him.

“Adam, could you please get me a band aid real quick? I put them in the bathroom, on the shelf next to the shower.”

“Yeah,” He moaned out of breath, barely able to speak as he did what he was asked to. “I’ll be right back.”

He could feel his head spinning when he found the small package Tal had spoken of and then rushed back to the kitchen to help her stop the bleeding—if not the way he preferred to do it.

What would he give to taste that delicious red liquid, to lick it off her petite fingers? Everything. The answer was everything.

Agitatedly holding back a hiss when he spotted the small cut on her left index finger, he aided her in wrapping the clean band aid around her finger. When a few drops of her blood smudged onto his fingers, he felt his gums pulsating, his fangs growing and pressing against his lips.

Stop, no! His eyes flew to the wooden floor, focusing hard to find invisible rats and mice to concentrate on. Even if he did get to drink from her, her blood was most likely contaminated. As a zombie, living in this fucked up world or what it had become, she would be venomous to him, deadly.

Clearing his throat, he attempted to speak. “Can you manage?”

“Yes, thank you, Adam.”

The vampire nodded in response, swallowing once more in an attempt to ban the thought of the sweet taste of her blood on his tongue. Hastily, he returned to the bathroom and closed the wooden door behind him, panting loudly as he did.

His haunted gaze found the lack of a reflexion in the mirror but he knew what he would have seen had there been one. Blue eyes, turned to a frightening mixture of brown and gold, sharp and dangerous canines, a hungry vampire ready to pounce on his prey. Shaking, he stared at the small trickle of Tal’s blood on his fingers. He brought them up to his face, inhaling the sweet scent of his sustenance and then, quickly and before he could change his mind, licked them clean. A few drops could not harm him, even if she was contaminated but right now, he did not care. Her blood tasted like molten gold, sweet, rich and numbing, so unlike anything he had ever drunken before. Nothing compared to the feast his taste buds were enjoying and his eyes closed with relish as he sank against the nearby wall, presenting his fangs to the thin air.

This was not what contaminated blood tasted like. This was how vampires used to enjoy their meals. Fresh, healthy and sweet blood teasing their tongues, hot hunger surging their veins like electricity luring them into drinking more and more and more.

Tal was beyond delicious and all he could think of right now was how badly he wanted to bore his fangs into her neck, yanking her towards him and firmly grabbing a fistful of her hair as he pressed her close to his cool body, feeding on her until she went limp in his arms, exhausted from both the blood loss and the consuming pleasure it would give her.

Instantly, he forced his eyes open, staring at the white sink which had a long crack in its valuable porcelain and digging his nails into the black carpet underneath him. No. No, no, no. He could not have her. Way too much was at stake.

And yet, so he knew, he needed more of her sweet, sweet blood.

➡️ Find all chapters on my masterlist!

[artificialqueens]

Touch-A, Touch Me (Trixya) ,- Palace

A/N: Hey, I’m back, finally haha! It feels really good to be writing again so let’s hope I can keep this up :P Anyways, heres a Trixya high school au Rocky Horror one shot type thing :) I hope you all enjoy it!

It all starts when their school announces the musical that year will be The Rocky Horror Picture Show. How the theatre group managed to convince the head teacher to let them do Rocky was still a mystery to Trixie, but hey, she wasn’t going to complain.

Considering that their theatre group only consists of thirty people parts were given out fairly easily. Courtney was Janet, obviously, Aaron had been cast as Brad, and Willam had threatened to destroy anyone who tried to take Frank away from him. Roy had reluctantly agreed to be Dr Scott, but that was mainly to please Courtney who he’d been trying to make fall in love with him for around three years now. Danny was looking forward to being ‘killed’ in his role as Eddie and Justin was just glad his countless years of being Riff Raff for Hallowe’en were finally going to pay off. The teachers had managed to rope some guy from the football team, who was in need of extra credit, into playing Rocky, but no one was complaining because, hey, the guy looked good in tiny gold shorts.

The problem begins when Trixie and Katya are inevitably cast as Columbia and Magenta respectively. Of course, when they are initially cast it isn’t a problem at all, this is a dream come true for both of them, and who better to roll around with one another during Touch-A-Touch-Me?

The problem arises when they’re doing just that, rolling around and laughing whilst singing backup to Courtney’s ever perfect vocals. Katya jokingly pins Trixie to the ground, her hands held above her head with Katya straddling her middle and smiling manically down at her.

Trixie finds herself staring up at Katya in awe, as if she’s finally seeing her. Of course, this kind of behaviour isn’t odd from them, Trixie and Katya are always all over each other. However, this time around there’s something different. Maybe it’s trying to convey the undeniable chemistry between Columbia and Magenta, or maybe it’s seeing Katya in that damn maid outfit, but all Trixie knows for certain is that she’s never been more attracted to her best friend.

When she brings it up to Courtney during their third week of dress rehearsals, one week away from opening night, she has to all but clamp her hand over the girl’s mouth to stop the squeal that begins. Courtney soon composes herself and apologises to Trixie for overreacting.

“I’m sorry Trix it’s just… Well… Can I be totally honest with you?” Trixie fixes Courtney with a puzzled look and encourages her to continue. “Okay so this was supposed to be a secret, but, like, all of us have kind of been dying for you two to get together for years.”

At first Trixie is shocked but after the initial surprise fades and she actually thinks about what Courtney is said, she realises that she isn’t actually all that surprised. She and Katya are closer than close and have been mistaken for a couple more times than the two can count on four hands, Trixie reasons that it is only natural for her friends to be thinking along similar lines.

“Oh, Trixie I’m sorry I didn’t mean to upset you, did I upset you? It’s just a bit of a joke really. You know the same way we say that Danny is in love with Roy.” Courtney laughs in an attempt to relieve some of the tension which has settled between them. Trixie attempts to join in with the laughter but falters horribly as unfortunately she is the only one who Danny has confided in about the fact that he actually is in love with Roy, she wasn’t about to tell Courtney that though.

“It’s fine Court, honestly, I expected as much to be honest. I just I don’t know what to do. It’s driving me mad, and I think there’s a chance she could feel the same way, but I don’t want to ruin our friendship.” Trixie takes a shaky breath and Courtney looks at her with concern clear in her eyes. “She means so much to me I can’t lose her.”

Courtney places a hand on Trixie’s back and rubs slow comforting circles in an attempt to calm the girl.

“Okay I’m going to give this to you straight, I think you should go for it. There’d be absolutely no harm in telling Katya that you have feelings for her. She’s your best friend for crying out loud. She isn’t going to disown you. If anything, I think it’s far more likely that she’ll jump you the second you tell her.”

With Courtney’s advice and her feelings for Katya weighing heavy on her mind Trixie continues with the last full week of rehearsals, enjoying getting to run through Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me over and over just a bit too much.

She tries to ignore her feelings, pushing them to the back of her mind and attempting to forget that they’re there, but every time Katya smiles at her with those perfect white teeth or wheeze laughs at something she says her resolve fails entirely. Yes, thanks to Rocky Horror Trixie could confidently say she was head over heels for her best friend.

Despite her inability to suppress her feelings nothing actually happens between them until the wrap party. Party in this case meaning that everyone had gathered at Katya’s house to watch the original Rocky Horror.

Katya notices that something is up when Trixie chooses to sit on a single chair, rather than squishing in on the couch beside her like she normally does. The second warning bell comes when Katya attempts to get Trixie out of her seat to dance to Rose Tint My World with her and the girl refuses.

When Rocky finishes and they all disperse into the kitchen or to the bathroom, before another musical they have all seen too many times is inevitably put on, Katya spots her chance challenge Trixie’s strange behaviour and asks the girl to help her find something in her room. Trixie, of course, follows.

“What is it we’re looking for?” Trixie begins, moving further into Katya’s room. Before she can get a response the door to the room is shut and Katya stands in front of it, a mischievous glint in her eye.

“Alright Tallulah, tell me, what’s going on?” Trixie audibly gulps but chooses to feign ignorance.

“What are you talking about?” Katya rolls her eyes and approaches her best friend.

“You’ve been avoiding me Trix, don’t try to deny it. What’s going on?” Trixie looks down at the ground, avoiding Katya’s eyes. “What’s wrong Barbie? You know that you can tell me anything.”

Taking a deep breath Trixie finally meets Katya’s concerned eyes. In that moment, her mind is made up, she acts without thinking. Surging forward she connects their lips in a heated kiss.

Although surprised at first Katya soon relaxes into the kiss and accepts Trixie’s advances gratefully.

When they finally break for air Katya smiles brightly at Trixie. “God, I thought you were never gonna do that.”

They fall back on Katya’s bed, Trixie pinned beneath Katya whose hands are roaming all over Trixie’s body. She brushes teasingly past Trixie’s nipples, taking delight in the gasp it elicits from Trixie.

“You were driving me mad in that costume Trix. Your perfect tits looked so damn good.” Trixie gasps again as Katya removes her top and finally touches her.

Katya sits back on her heels, still straddling Trixie, and smiles down at the girl. “C’mon Trix, touch-a touch me.” She snorts at her own joke but is promptly silenced by Trixie flipping them over in an attempt to take control. “You’re not that sly Tracy.” Katya leans forward to suck a hickey into Trixie’s neck while reaching around and working her bra off.

As soon as her breasts are free Katya moves away from Trixie’s neck to blow cool air over Trixie’s hard nipples. The shudder that runs through Trixie’s entire body is enough encouragement for Katya to continue. She runs her hands up Trixie’s sides and slowly over to her breasts cupping them in her hands. Trixie is about to go mad when Katya finally leans down to lick softly at her nipple, her hand rubbing the other in teasing circles.

Trixie is heavily panting, overcome by the pleasure Katya is giving her. Desperate for friction she grinds down on Katya, finally getting a response from the girl below her. Realising what gets her a response Trixie smirks and grinds down again, taking delight in the breathy moans coming from Katya.

Gaining confidence Trixie pushes Katya back so that she is lying down on the bed. She slowly works her way down the length of the girl, undressing and caressing as she goes. When she finally gets Katya down to just her panties, the girl now a writhing mess beneath her. “Whose sly now?” Trixie smiles triumphantly before finally sliding her panties off.

Truthfully Trixie doesn’t exactly know what to do now, she was being brave in taking control but she’s only read about the part that comes next and quite honestly, she doesn’t know what she’s supposed to do.

Before she has time to panic Katya is sitting up and pulling her in for a slow kiss. “We can take it slow. It’s okay. Don’t feel like you need to rush into anything for my sake.” Trixie nods slowly and kisses Katya again.

“What did I do to deserve you?” She asks smiling sweetly at the perfect girl in front of her, who she is most definitely in love with.

They fall onto the bed kissing again, slowly things get more heated and before long Trixie is begging for more. Katya, being the loving and giving person that she is, gladly complies with Trixie’s wishes, taking two fingers she moves her hand down between Trixie’s legs and makes slow circles on the other girl’s clit.

Trixie all but screams out before Katya silences her with a kiss. “Shh, I know I’m amazing but try to remember that all of our friends are still downstairs.” She giggles and continues to rub Trixie, the soft pants and moans coming from her is like music to Katya’s ears. Trixie comes with Katya’s name falling from her lips, the sight is enough to make Katya follow her shortly after.  

They lie beside each other on the bed panting for a while, Trixie moves to cuddle up to Katya, slotting into the other girl’s arms perfectly.

“So… That was fun?” Trixie says after a while with a small laugh, Katya joins in and before long the two are laughing hysterically with one another.

“Yeah, fun is one way to describe it Trix.” They lie together in silence, content just to be in each other’s presence.

Their quiet is disrupted when the door to Katya’s room flies open and Courtney storms in. “Guys!” Trixie squeals and dives off the bed in an attempt to hide herself while Katya laughs hysterically at the look on Courtney’s face. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realise.” She turns on her heel and walks out shutting the door behind her with a bang.

“See, I told you they were fucking.” Comes Willam’s voice from the hallway.

As if Katya wasn’t already laughing hard enough she cackles even louder and falls off the bed because she’s flailing so much. Trixie climbs back on the bed, bright red with embarrassment.

“How are you laughing right now?” She says, shoving Katya’s shoulder when she finally gains some composure and climbs back up on the bed. “Courtney just saw us naked!”

“Exactly! It’s hilarious, did you see her face?!” She falls into hysterics again leaving Trixie to roll her eyes. “C’mon Trixie literally nothing can make me unhappy right now, I am the happiest I have ever been. My best friend, the girl I’ve been pining over for years, finally made a move! I’m on cloud nine!”

Trixie’s resolve breaks when Katya smiles at her, all big and toothy with the most adorable look on her face. “Yeah, okay, I suppose you’re right. Besides, it’s not as if we’ve never seen Court naked before.” They both laugh at that one. Let’s just say that Courtney Jenek and a bottle of wine can lead to some hilarious and strange situations.

“So… You’ve liked me for a really long time huh?” Trixie swears down this is the first time she has ever seen the other girl blush. With a smirk Trixie crawls over to her. “Well, I can’t say I’ve liked you for years, maybe I have and I just didn’t realise, but I’ve wanted to kiss you for at least two months now.”

“Oh really, so pretty much around the time we started Rocky rehearsals?”

Trixie smirks. “Yes, you and that damned maid outfit.”

“My maid outfit, wow, I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

After some more kissing Trixie and Katya get dressed and head down stairs to face their friends. To say that they’re all excited would be the understatement of the century. When the initial onslaught of questions finally dies down the group settle in to finally watch that second movie.

Katya sits on Trixie’s lap and rests her head on the crook of her neck. In that moment, surrounded by her friends with the girl of her dreams in her lap Trixie realises that Rocky Horror might’ve been what they needed all along.

[sweaver19]

In Birmingham, Michigan and had a really good meal at Tallulah. Snapper entree with this delightful Burgundy from France. Nudant Jean-Rene 2016 Pinot Noir was fresh and balanced with soft berries and a light finish. Not a powerful bottle of wine, but a nice compliment to the meal. The restaurant has a very comfortable and cozy ambiance. On Thursday nights the have music and tonight it was NIcole New, who pleasantly filled the room with her soft and deep voice. A really nice dining experience! (at Tallulah Wine Bar and Bistro) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvAydzxgQ42VEVl1ELyBGjGa4PSDj40PBBz9NM0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1dgs44zre98ty

[iuniverseblog]

iUniverse’s Guy Franks tells us about new book, “A Midsummer Madness”

Veteran author Guy Franks discusses his new book, A Midsummer Madness, along with his literary interests, writing approach, and passion for baseball!

A Midsummer Madness was born out of my love for William Shakespeare and baseball. To me, the music of Shakespeare’s metered verse, his cutting wit, his insight into the human soul, pairs nicely with the perfect distances of baseball, with its theatrics and homespun wisdom. When I listen to Giants manager Bruce Bochy I hear Prospero. When Coriolanus offers his services to his enemy Aufidius it reminds me of Jeff Kent, the great Giants second baseman, choosing to sign with their archrival the Dodgers. The famous actress Tallulah Bankhead understood the parallel when she said, “There have only been two geniuses in the world — Willie Mays and Willie Shakespeare.”

  When I watch a game of baseball, preferably with a cold beer and a bag of salted peanuts, I see a Shakespearean play unfold before me. There is a beginning, a middle and an end, and it’s filled with great characters, surprises, and twists of fate. It can be a thrilling triumph like Henry the Fifth, a Comedy of Errors, or, depending on one’s fortunes in the bottom of the ninth, a tragedy like Julius Caesar. But comedy or tragedy, all the ingredients of any one of the Bard’s plays are there to enjoy on a baseball diamond. It was the great baseball writer Roger Kahn who first drew the analogy between a minor league ball club and an Elizabethan acting troupe traveling from town to town plying their trade. In A Midsummer Madness, I’ve attempted to take the great themes and elegant poetry of Shakespeare and blend them with the dirt and grass of baseball to make a savory tragic-comic stew spiced with music and wordplay.

  My stage is set in 1986 Connecticut during the great renaissance of minor league baseball, and my acting troupe is the New Britain Kingsmen of the Double-A Eastern League. The Kingsmen are managed by Shakespeare Louis Glover. “Shake” Glover is my focal point. As the Bard-quoting skipper of the Kingsmen, he is meant to embody the harmony that is Shakespeare and baseball. He’s an ex-ball player turned successful minor league manager, but he’s also Leontes in A Winter’s Tale, as well as Henry the Fourth with a little bit of Prospero thrown in from The Tempest. The story follows the Kingsmen from opening day to the championship game, and along the way I’ve woven in characters and subplots from such Shakespeare plays as Hamlet, Othello, Henry IV, Much Ado About Nothing, Cymbeline, Twelfth Night, and As You Like It. 

  I’ve been a baseball fan all my life. My dad took me to my first game when I was a boy to see the San Francisco Giants play at Candlestick Park. Some of the greatest players of all time where there—Willie Mays, Juan Marichal, Willie McCovey—and I’ve been hooked ever since. It’s the finest game ever invented, and the fact that it has remained relatively unchanged for a hundred and fifty years and has survived the vagaries of time gives me solace. The poet Sharon Olds put it best when she said, “Baseball is reassuring. It makes me feel as if the world is not going to blow up.”

  Like most of you, I was formally introduced to Shakespeare in high school. I think it was Romeo and Juliet in Mrs. Burns’ English Class. Once I got to Cal Berkeley as an English Lit Major, Shakespeare was an inevitability, like Haley’s Comet, and I hopped on that comet and have been riding it ever since. I have read all of his plays, some multiple times, and my DVD movie library contains many of the best adaptations of his work—movies like Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet (the one with the sublime Olivia Hussey), anything by Lawrence Olivier, and Kenneth Branagh’s Henry IV. I also enjoy movies or plays that have fun with Shakespeare (Theatre of Blood with Vincent Price comes to mind), or ones that entertainingly update his plays like Ten Things I Hate About You, which is a rendition of Taming of the Shrew set at a high school. It was movies like these that were the idea behind A Midsummer Madness.

  A Midsummer Madness is my third novel. Beggar King is an historical fiction novel set in Ancient Greece that was published in 2008. Railhead is a western novel set in 1869 Wyoming and was published in 2012. Historical fiction is my preferred genre, and I think that each of my literary influences—Hemingway, Faulkner, Twain, Steinbeck—all wrote historical fiction novels in one way or another. Certainly Dickens and Tolstoy did, and in terms of more modern influences I would point to Steven Pressfield and Charles Frazier. During my research for A Midsummer Madness, I experienced the added delight of discovering some wonderful baseball writers like Roger Kahn, W.P. Kinsella, and David Lamb.

  When I sit down to write a novel, it has to have a subject that grabs me and keeps me motivated through the months of research and writing. Whether it’s the myth of Odysseus or the old west or Shakespeare and baseball, the passion for my subject matter has to be there. And I hope that this passion comes out in my work. I try to write the same way Clint Eastwood directs—straight forward, moving the story along, not wasting scenes, and keeping the viewer engaged. If I can accomplish that, I’m happy. And along the way, if I can impart a little about my philosophy or the power of myth, without hitting the reader over the head with it, I’m even happier.

  I’m planning something of a launch party for my book here at the local library. My wife is also working hard on social media to get the word out. Signed copies of my book are also going to Larry Baer, CEO of the San Francisco Giants and to their manager Bruce Bochy. I’m hoping to use their positive feedback on my new website that iUniverse is designing for me.

  This is my first run at self-publishing, and I have to say that iUniverse delivered on everything they said they would in a timely and professional manner. I’ve also recommended them to other author-friends of mine as an alternative to trying to crack through the granite monolith that is traditional publishing. One of my favorite experiences was working with the iUniverse folks in designing my book cover. And, of course, nothing beats the kick you get when you see that book cover for the first time on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com.

  My advice to aspiring writers would be directed to a very select group of authors who, like myself, are trying to write a book while at the same time working a full-time job and raising a family. Find a way to carve out the time. That’s all I can say. I wrote my first novel when I was a middle manager in a major corporation, with a wife and two kids, a home mortgage, and bills to pay. But I found a way to carve out an hour or two, here and there, sometimes at home and sometimes at work, and over time, little by little, brick by brick, I finished the book with my family and job still healthy and intact. It might take years, but what the heck. What else do you have to do?

    Make sure to check out the iUniverse site for more advice and blogs, as well as iUniverse Facebook and iUniverse Twitter. For a FREE Publishing Guide, click here!