Don’t remember which prompts, but definitely drew inspiration from @writing-prompt-s, @gingerly-writing, and @givethispromptatry for this one!
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With a grunt, the lumbering guard swept the curtain to the side, allowing him entrance. He exhaled his relief and celebrated his minor victory, weaseling his way into the tavern’s back room. But as he stepped past his first obstacle, he had to remind himself that he hadn’t finished the game yet.
He’d only just begun.
The tables and chairs were less cluttered back here, spread out to allow ample room to waltz between interested parties. Or swing an ax, he thought. And by the looks of the scarred floorboards and nicked portrait frames on the walls, the room had definitely seen it’s fair share of barroom brawls.
The thought made him stand straighter. Confidence was key. He had to keep his composure. He had to fit in, because, in a way, he did.
His first few steps into the smokey room were more calculated than he would’ve liked, but eventually he found his stride. He began to scan the tables. To his left were a pair of twins, lost in their drinks and jests. To his right a lone sailor, staring circles into his meal, as if he couldn’t bring himself to touch it. Chatter pressed against the walls, pushing with all it’s might to escape the confines of the room for a breath of fresh air, only to instead be bounced back into the haze drifting above everyone’s heads. If there were minstrels back here, their music was easily drowned out by the shouts of excited gamblers who’s bets had paid off.
When his feet began to carry him towards the sounds of rolling dice, he finally saw her. The one he’d been sent to meet.
Her cloak was strewn over the back of her chair, the fabric a dance between navy and a deep purple that threatened to spill onto the floor at her feet. Brown hair hung loosely above her shoulders, fading into a summer’s blonde that curled just the slightest around her ears. A long, off-white blouse dipped off her shoulders and was cinched above her waist by an array of thick and thin leather belts, all sporting different colored metal clasps. Her legs were crossed, her ripped tights disappearing beneath worn out boots that laced up to her knees. One of her legs was bouncing to whatever tune seemed to be playing in her mind while her hazel eyes were trained on the coin being exchanged by the gamblers only a few tables away. She wasn't watching them with casual interest, she was watching them like it was a requirement. Like if she looked away she’d break.
He took a moment to compose himself before approaching the bar. He ordered two drinks -expensive as they were- and collected them as they were made. Then he turned and began the short walk over to her.
Getting in was just a warm up, like the tuning of an instrument. This was when the real game began.
The drinks settled in their steins as he set them atop the table. Immediately, her eyes flicked over, her dusty gaze raking over his combed black hair and vibrant tawny eyes. When they settled on his chest he got the sense that she wasn’t staring at him, but staring through him, measuring him up from the inside out. He had to remind himself that she couldn’t do that.
“So she’s a trickster,” he’d asked his kingpin after receiving a long-winded explanation on the very women that was staring him down now.
“Not quite,” his boss had replied. He wished they’d elaborated, but now, he understood why they hadn’t. There was nothing tricky about this woman. She was all mischief. And he had learned the hard way that they meant two vastly different things.
“Evening,” he found himself saying as he lowered himself into the chair across from her. Her lips turned down into the slightest of pouts, her expression crinkling as if to state I don’t know you.
“Evening.” Her reply was a hum, a test of the air.
Now that he sat across from her, he could see the shimmer of gold that adorned her eyelids and the smattering of freckles dotting her face. But it was the secondary flecks that caught his eye. The ones that trapped the light and reflected it back in an iridescent shimmer.
Glitter.
The pricks were all over her: her face, her arms, her fingers. This was the mischief she practiced. Though he knew she could dispel the pinpricks at a moments notice, she chose not to. There was no fun in that —no mischief at all.
“And you are?” she finally asked, her eyes settling on his now that she’d finished drinking him in.
He forced a smile into place.
“An enemy of your enemy,” he told her. “Which, I believe, makes us friends.”
“Friends,” she repeated sweetly, the word a puff of sugar on her lips. “Well, I already have those.”
“I don’t doubt it.” He kept his smile in place, his lips twitching as they grew tired. “We want to find-“
“I’m not a tracker.” She tipped her chin to the side, her eyes briefly flicking over his shoulder towards the betters who had begun another game of cards.
“We already have one,” he informed her and was granted her attention once again. “What we need is magic.” Magic, they could’ve gotten anywhere. What they really needed was her.
There was a moment of silence as she processed his words, reading between the lines. He would’ve given anything to know what thoughts churned behind her hazel eyes.
“So what is this?” she finally began, her words slow and thick like syrup. “Some ploy at recruitment?” Again, her eyes flicked to one of the tables behind him at the sounds of rolling dice.
In response, he simply pushed one of the steins towards her, one of many peace offerings he had prepared.
She stared at the free drink for a moment, her lips pursing as she said, “I don’t drink.”
“A meal, then,” he offered as she pushed the stein away.
“Not hungry.” She slid back in her chair, threatening to stand. To walk away. To cause him to fail.
“A bet,” he blurted out next.
Immediately, he’d caught her attention. Her eyes narrowed and she settled back into her seat. Again, her stare seemed to pierce through him, studying his inner workings with incredible precision. He wondered what she saw --if there was even anything to see.
“I don’t gamble.” Her words weren’t sweet anymore. They were like glass, like they needed to be treated with care lest they shatter into shards at her feet. Yet, her gaze told a different story, one of longing. Of temptation. She didn’t have to decline, she needed to.
He shifted in his seat, tracing her stare back to the gamblers behind him. “Could’ve fooled me.”
That earned him a smile, a delicate flash of teeth. She leaned forward, the pinpricks of glitter gleaming on her fingers while she casually dragged them through the air. As she did, the air shifted and a miniature specter manifested on the tabletop. It shimmered as it twirled and waltzed towards him before vanishing in a puff of glitter and light.
“Didn’t anyone warn you not to bet against an illusionist?”
“They did,” he confessed with a nod, “but, as you said, you don’t gamble.” At least, not anymore, he thought. This was news.
She tapped her fingers against the table for a moment, watching him again. Then, in a surprising turn of events, she laughed. She tossed her head back and a gentle spray of glitter flitted through the air.
“An enemy of my enemy,” she mused, the stolen phrase light on her lips. “Maybe you’re a friend after all.” She propped her elbow up onto the table and let her chin rest in her palm. “What would you need from me?”
He felt his pulse quicken. It wasn’t a yes, but at least it wasn’t an outright no anymore.
“An illusion.”
“Obviously.” With a flick of her wrist, an iridescent card appeared between her fingers. A woman adorned the front, laced in golden glitter and light. It was her. “But if you needed a plain ole illusion, you could’ve gone to someone else.” She twisted the manifested card in her fingers and he saw a glimpse of the other side. Black hair, yellow eyes. Him.
He forced himself to remain calm, hiding just how impressed he was with the self proclaimed glitter wizard.
“So,” she drew out the word, pulling it taut like it was taffy. She wanted an answer and would wait patiently until he provided one.
“Your -ah- calling card,” he managed after watching her twist the card repeatedly. Each time the sides flipped, the faces were wearing different expressions. He was trying his best not to get lost in the, well, magic of it all.
Again, she smiled. “People don’t usually like leaving glitter behind.”
“Good thing we’re not just people,” he replied.
“No,” she laughed, letting the card fall from her fingers and dissolve into a small heap of glitter on the table, “we’re friends.”
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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“...these CDs...unquestionably belong in the record collection of anybody with the most remote interest in psychedelic and/or experimental music.” - Doug Pearson
BLACKJACK RECORDS CATALOG
page 36
Winter 1997
SCOTT DERR, Cruise Director
For those of you living under a rock, The Black Editions reissued Tokyo Flashback, Volume 1 in 2017, with more to come!
From The Black Editions site: “Tokyo Flashback is a defining statement of late 20th Century Japanese psychedelic music and an essential primer to the world of P.S.F. All tracks are exclusive, this edition features the first time translation of the original liner notes. Black Editions’ deluxe edition is entirely re-mastered and marks the first release of Tokyo Flashback outside of Japan and it’s first ever vinyl issue.– Remastered at Infrasonic Sound and pressed to high quality vinyl at RTI. Newly created artwork and design expanding on the original by SEEN Studio.– Housed in custom printed deluxe Stoughton gatefold jacket and slipcase, including full color printed inner sleeves and inserts with soft touch and spot UV gloss finishes.”
DOUG PEARSON has played synths and keys for rock bands with names like International Hello, Liquorball, Mushroom, Spirits Burning, Sternklang, Vocokesh, The Terminal Waste Band, Glitter Wizard, Hot Lunch, and...Monoshock!
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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GLITTER WIZARD Conjure The Metal Witch In New “She’s A Star” Video
GLITTER WIZARD Conjure The Metal Witch In New “She’s A Star” Video
It’s your classic ‘guy gets kidnapped while playing a board game and thrown into a cage to see his favorite band’ kind of story,” laughs GLITTER WIZARD bassist KANDI MOON about their new video for “She’s A Star.” Inspired by ’70s and ’80s grindhouse horror films, comic books, video games and fantasy board games (In this case the classic Dungeon Degenerates), the video releases today alongside…
