Flower of the Day – Pastel
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I think this might be a mum? Anyway there are lots of petals in pastel pink/purple.
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For Cee’s Flower of the Day:
https://ceenphotography.com/2022/12/30/fotd-december-31-gerbera/
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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️
© 2022 BS
Two Souls: Into the Fire # 87
warning … adult content
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“So, are y’all done traveling?” Terry asked.
“Yeah, for awhile, anyway. I got tired of all the driving, and Ghost couldn’t handle getting on a plane, yet. Guess we needed a break from our vacation on the road.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re back. Everybody’s always asking about y’all. Kinsey let us know where you were, whenever you called. Are y’all gonna arrange some gigs at the club, now?”
“Yeah, Kinsey said we could, but we’ll probably take it easy for a little while. Ghost is putting together a book about it all. Got some good pictures, and he’s writing stuff for it. We wrote a couple of new songs, too. Just need to get them polished up,” Steve explained.
“Cool,” Terry said, “maybe me and R. J. can sit in sometime.”
“Sure, I’ll let ya know,” Steve agreed.
They continued cleaning the house. Ghost came back in, lugging his duffle bag, back-pack, and Steve’s guitar.
“Hey, why aren’t you over here helping?” Terry asked. “It’s your house.”
“Y’all are doing it just fine, and besides, Steve told me not to,” Ghost said, then grinned.
Terry gave Steve a look. Steve nodded and smiled. Finally, they were finished, and each grabbed a beer, taking it out to the front porch swing. Ghost was still in his bedroom, writing on his memory wall.
“Y’all coming to the Yew, tonight?” Terry asked.
“Don’t think so,” Steve said. “I’m beat…probably stay around here. I need to feel like we’re actually home, again.”
“I hear that,” Terry said. “Oh, by the way, me and R. J. have been playing pretty regular at the club. We took on Calvin…you remember him? And a new guy in town, Zach…he does the singing. Lord knows I can’t sing very good. We’re calling ourselves Gumbo,” Terry laughed.
“I know…sounds dumb, but anyway, the kids keep coming back to hear us. So, y’all should come check it out. We’re doing a show on Saturday.”
“So, what are y’all playing different these days?” Steve asked, a sudden mixture of curiosity and jealousy flaring up. He knew there was no reason to resent a band playing at the club, other than Lost Souls?. After all, Kinsey had to draw in customers, but still…
“Uh, some of the old stuff, like we always did, but Zach wanted to add in some punk, and some goth sounding stuff, too. Kinda weird, but the kids seem to like it, so me and R. J. are okay with it.” Terry tipped back his beer, draining the can.
“Oh, another thing…we hired a guy as our manager. He says he’s been in town before, and saw you and Ghost play, a long time ago. Anyway, he said something kinda strange, too…said he wasn’t here to cause you and Ghost any trouble…said you’d understand.”
Steve frowned, thinking. “Sounds weird, Terry, and I don’t like how it sounds. Maybe we will see ya on Saturday, after all. Guess we should see what’s up.”
“Ok, then…guess I should get going; half the day’s gone already, and I haven’t even opened up shop, yet,” Terry said. “I’ll tell Kinsey y’all are back. Take it easy, man.” Terry went down the porch steps to his car. Steve watched him leave, the radio blasting as Terry went down the gravel drive out to the highway.
Steve sat there a while longer, thinking about what Terry had said. If that new manager guy was who he thought it was, it was bad news, all around. He needed to talk to Ghost.
When he got back inside, he found Ghost sound asleep on his bed. Steve shrugged, thinking he’d just tell him later. He thought a nap sounded good, too, so went into his own room. But, sleep was hard to come by…his mind would not stop going over and over the news he’d heard; who was this person and how did he know them. Finally he got up and paced around the house.
The only name that came to mind, was Nothing. He was the only one left of that mangy group of vampires, except maybe Twig and Molochai, and they were useless without Zilla. He hoped Nothing had done away with the both of them, himself…that kid was better off without those two.
Ghost had killed Zilla, plunged the jeweled dagger right in his brain…and he, himself, had killed Christian – didn’t mean to but, hey – a vampire dead is the only kind he wanted to deal with. Maybe Nothing still had a chance, being he was only half-vampire. He kind of felt sorry for him, but not enough to welcome him back into town…into their lives. And besides, Nothing had a burning passion for Ghost. Steve knew he’d kill him with his bare hands, if he ever made a move on Ghost.
And so he paced, and thought, and worried, and looked in on Ghost, to see if he was awake yet. And another thing…that other new guy in the band. Terry said his name was Zach. Never heard of him, but if he was in with Nothing, then he didn’t like him already.
And, why would Kinsey let scumbags play in his club, anyway? Well, Kinsey didn’t know about everything that went down in New Orleans, or about Ann. He could never speak of it again, afterwards. Neither could Ghost. Didn’t want to think about it now, either, but how could he not?
“I need to find out!” he said out loud. “I need to find out and deal with it.”
Just then, Ghost came into the living room. “Find out what, Steve?” he said as he rubbed his forehead, and ran his hand through his hair.
“Ghost!” Steve yelled, startled. He’d not seen Ghost come in, he was so worked up. “Guess who might be in town, that we haven’t seen in a long time…that we never, ever wanted to deal with again?” he paused a second, waiting to see if Ghost would answer.
When Ghost only shrugged, Steve said, “That fucker I said I was gonna kill if I saw him again!”
Ghost looked confused. “I don’t know who you’re talking about. Just tell me already, I’m not in a mood for guessing games.”
“Use your magic powers, and just go on and guess…I’ll give you a hint – it’s not a good surprise.”
Ghost squinched up his eyes and tried to think, but just couldn’t. “I can’t, Steve, my head is hurting. I can barely see, and I can’t think right now.”
“Dammit, Ghost, fine…it’s your favorite little vampire, Nothing. That’s who.”
Ghost gasped, and went to sit on the couch. He was shaking. “How…how do you know?” he asked.
“Terry told me, well, he didn’t say it was him, but said this strange kid was in town, and he hired him as their manager. Said he knew us and wasn’t here to cause us trouble. Sound familiar? Yeah…just like last time…wasn’t here to cause us trouble, and look what happened! We both almost died, and Ann did die. Now, he’s back to finish the job. What’d’ya think of that?”
Steve was almost hyperventilating. He stopped to catch his breath. “I swear, Ghost, he’s not getting anywhere near you. I’m fixing to put an end to this…and to him…for good!”
Ghost’s head was pounding, and he held his hands over his ears to try and block out Steve’s ranting. “Stop it, Steve,” he cried. “Stop yelling. If it’s Nothing, he’s not gonna hurt us…he promised…and he saved us from Zilla, that one time.”
“God! Listen to yourself, Ghost! Don’t be taking up for a damn spawn of the devil! He’s just as evil as the others. Why can’t you see that?”
“Steve, please…I can’t even see you right now; leave it alone, leave me alone…stop yelling!”
“Ok, fine, but it’s not over. You will see the truth!” Steve said, then stomped out the front door, slamming the screen behind him. Ghost just sat there stunned, and tried to will his head to stop hurting, and his eyesight to clear.
He could still hear Steve stomping around outside. He laid his head back on the couch and tried to breathe evenly. That’s what he was doing when Steve finally calmed down, and came back inside.
He looked at Ghost, sorry he’d made it worse. “Still hurting?” he asked.
“Mmm-hmm,” Ghost murmured.
“Can you see me, yet?”
Ghost cracked open his reddened eyes, and shook his head, no.
“Damn, I’m sorry I got so worked up. It don’t do no good anyway.” He brought a cold, wet cloth, for Ghost to put over his eyes.
“Steve, Nothing don’t mean nothing to me. I just feel sorry for him, ya know,” Ghost said quietly.
“Yeah, I know, but he’s obsessed with you. And I can’t let it be.”
“I know, but trust me Steve. I can shut him down, any time.”
“Ok, Ghost…but he better just watch himself…and get outta town, before…before…” Steve trailed off. Ghost reached out and took Steve’s hand, squeezing it.
~
By the next morning, Ghost was feeling better, and so they worked on their new songs awhile. Ghost wrote copy for the book, to go along with his notes from the graveyards, and captioned the pictures. He’d get them printed up, soon.
It had turned chilly and rainy, so being inside gave them the time and rest they needed to get back into a familiar routine. By night, however, they were both getting restless.
“I’m going into town, maybe have a beer, see Kinsey…ya wanna come?” asked Steve.
Ghost had a couple of stray thoughts run through his mind, so was hesitant to say yes. Steve didn’t have to be a mind reader to see what Ghost was thinking, this time…his expression said it all.
“Ghost, look…I’m not going to go looking for Nothing…really. Maybe he’ll be there, maybe not. We can’t just hide out here at the house, waiting for something to happen. It makes us look like scaredy cats…besides, he knows where we live. So, coming or not?
“Guess so,” said Ghost. He grabbed his Army jacket. The only place to go on a Friday night in Missing Mile was the Sacred Yew or the record shop. Everything else in town closed early. They knew the club would be full – no band tonight, though – Saturday’s were band nights.
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Next Part Coming soon
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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️
© 2020 BS
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This is a work of “fan fiction” based on the novel, “Lost Souls” by Poppy Z. Brite. All credit for the original characters, places, and some backstory mentions, belong to Ms. Brite and her publishing affiliates. Only newly introduced characters, places, and original elements of this story are entirely from my imagination. Character descriptions are a blend of the original book descriptions and my interpretation of them.
All songs included in this work will be solely owned by the original performers/writers and will be credited. Creative license is taken in including them in this story.
No harm is intended toward author, musicians, or people and situations to whom there may be a resemblance.
warning warning warning warning
The content herein is rated by me as being at the high end of MA (Mature Audience). It includes strong language, violence, sexual themes, including same sex pairings, religious themes, and fantasy horror.
Fibbing Friday 
https://pensitivity101.wordpress.com/2022/12/30/fibbing-friday-30th-december-2022/
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Here are the fun questions from Di! To join in and also see other entries, just click the above link. It’s all in fun to think up wrong or silly answers. 🙂
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Your alternatives on these please!
1. What is a dentist?
A professional ‘den mother’ for the Cub Scouts Organization
2. What is a paralegal?
A French Follies gal who performs with a parasol in her act
3. What is a Nanny?
a member of the rock band ‘Nanny & the Welding Goats’. (actually a long local true story)
4. What is an auditor?
An ear/hearing specialist doctor
5. What is a programmer?
An English professor who dwells mostly on correct grammar
6. What is a cartographer?
A person who builds wooden pony carts
7. What is a musician?
A writer’s scam – buy a muse in a can for yourself
8. What is a cordwainer?
An old fashioned slang way of saying this will be a ‘cold winter’.
9. What is a taxidermist?
A mobile spa treatment business.
10. What is a penciller?
A person who plays pencil puzzle games like crosswords and find a word and uses only a pencil, never a pen.
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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️
© 2022 BS
Flower of the Day – Friday Smile
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Red and white flowers by a brick ledge. I placed my painted rock on the ledge for someone to find. The rock is painted yellow with the word ‘smile’ painted in black. This was several years ago.
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For Cee’s Flower of the Day:
https://ceenphotography.com/2022/12/29/fotd-december-30-goji-berries/#like-66773
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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️
© 2022 BS
Earthquake
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December 16, 2022 – 5:45 p.m.
I meant to write about this then, but got busy with other things.
Anyway, we had an earthquake here. They say it was a 5.4.
I was sitting here at my computer desk when it started shaking. It lasted about 30 seconds maybe.
When my husband came in from the garage I told him I think we just had an earthquake. He said he didn’t notice! haha
Then the local news and social media sites were swamped with calls and texts.
It’s not unheard of that we’d have an earthquake here, but it’s sure not common. When we lived in Japan we got used to them happening almost every day. Mostly small ones, but enough to shake the house and make our hanging lights sway back and forth.
So, that’s about it. Strange thing about earthquakes, you never know when one will happen. Not like tornadoes and hurricanes and typhoons, where you are having storms and some kinds of warnings. I’ve been in all of those, too. 🙂
Have any of you been through these kind of experiences?
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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️
© 2022 BS
One Liner Wednesday 
https://lindaghill.com/2022/12/28/one-liner-wednesday-temporarily-out-of-order/
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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️
© 2022 BS
Flower of the Day – Holiday Colors
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Maybe a little late, but here’s a nice idea for your holiday decorations. White chrysanthemums, red berries, pine cones and red candles with some greenery.
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For Cee’s Flower of the Day:
https://ceenphotography.com/2022/12/28/fotd-december-29-dahlia/
https://ceenphotography.com/2022/12/27/cffc-holiday-colors-2/
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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️
© 2022 BS
Two Souls: Into the Fire # 86
warning … adult content
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Inside the tourist stop restaurant, they ordered their usual big breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon, and hot coffee. Ghost had molasses on his, and was oblivious to anything else, as he ate. As Steve finished his, and sipped a second cup of coffee, he watched Ghost.
Ghost kept getting dribbles of the sticky syrup on his fingers, then licking them off. He’d flip his hair back out of the way, then go in for more. Steve was entranced… flip hair, lick fingers, eyes closed, flip hair, lick fingers, eyes closed… The more Steve saw of this, the more turned on he got. “This is not the time or place for this, but…oh, my God…” Steve was breathing hard now. He reached over the table and grabbed Ghost’s arm.
“Stop that! I can’t take anymore, Ghost.”
Startled, Ghost jumped. “What? Stop what?”
“Stop turning me on with all that licking and flipping, or I’m gonna have to take you down right here,” Steve groaned.
Ghost grinned, “Like this?” He did it again.
“Yeah,” Steve barely whispered, and licked his lips, “like that.” Then he shook himself. “I need some air. It’s time to go, c’mon.” He got up and went to the door. Ghost took one more bite, then followed Steve outside.
As he came out the door, Steve grabbed him, giving him a big, sloppy tongue kiss, tasting the sweet, rich molasses, still on Ghost’s lips.
He breathed into Ghost’s ear, through his long strands of hair, “I have to have you now, Ghost.”
“Ghost nodded, took Steve’s hand and led him back to their room. They began tearing each other’s clothes off as soon as they’d closed the door. Flinging themselves across the bed, they touched each other in all the right places.
Ghost was being the more aggressive this time, and as he leaned over Steve’s bare skin, his long, silky hair draped over Steve, like a waterfall, Steve felt like he was falling off the edge, into total abandon.
Afterwards, as both were sated, they lay entwined in each other’s arms, listening to their breathing slow, falling asleep.
~
As the afternoon grew later, the sun slanted across them, through the window, and they slowly awakened. “We should get going, again,” Steve said. “There’s still a lot of driving to do.” He got up, pulling Ghost up, too. They gathered their things, both smiling and relaxed, now.
Driving down the twisty mountain road, they sang songs to each other. Then, Steve asked, “Ya want to stay at the haunted house again?”
“No way, just keep going,” Ghost said, and shuddered, as they passed by.
They kept singing whatever songs they could think of, along the way, to pass the time.
“Uh, Ghost?” Steve asked.
Ghost looked over, but he could barely make out Steve, it was so dark out. Only the dashboard light lent a blue glow, inside the car.
“What is it, Steve?” Ghost asked, a little concerned at Steve’s more serious tone.
“Um, the other night, when I couldn’t sleep, I kinda thought of a new song. It just kinda came to me, and how I could play it, too.”
“Cool, sing it for me,” Ghost said.
“Well, it’s kinda about how I feel about me and you, and it’s kinda mushy, ya know…so…it’s like I want to do it, but maybe it’s too…ya know…?”
“Did ya write it down?”
“Yeah, here…but, don’t laugh if ya think it’s dumb, okay?”
Ghost reached for the paper Steve handed him, from his pocket. It was crinkled up, but readable. Before he read it, Ghost asked Steve how the music went, so Steve hummed how he heard it, in his head. Ghost began to read the lyrics. Steve kept darting his eyes over to see Ghost’s reaction.
It was hard to tell, though. Ghost had turned on a tiny flashlight, only the page was lit up, and the car was making everything jiggle around. Ghost’s face was in darkness. It was taking him a long time to read it, Steve thought.
“Guess you don’t like it, huh? Just say it…”
“It’s beautiful, Steve,” Ghost said, through his falling tears. “It’s so real…it’s about us.” He sniffled and wiped his face on his sleeve. “It could be both of us. Thank you for writing this.”
“Ghost, it’s just what I feel.” Steve said, happy that Ghost liked it, after all.
“Sing it to me, now, would you?” Ghost asked. “I’ll try to follow along.”
Steve had named the song, *”Perfect”, and they sang it together, only a few times, not wanting to jinx the magic they both felt.
~
And so, they drove on through the night, getting closer to home. Ghost watched the stars, as the Earth revolved on toward dawn. They pulled into their gravel drive, just as the sun sent pink streaks into the sky. They got out and stretched their cramped limbs, and just stared at the old familiar house. It was good to be home, again.
“Don’t see Terry’s car here. Guess he didn’t stay here last night,” Steve said.
Ghost was already opening the front door. Standing on the threshold, he stopped first, to sense what the house held. Steve waited for the ritual, before entering. Ghost would smell, listen, and push his mind into all the rooms, and be aware of everything that had happened…good or bad…in there, since they’d been gone. Satisfied, Ghost called it okay to go in.
They could see right away, that Terry wasn’t much of a housekeeper, as there were unwashed dishes in the kitchen, and clothes strewn around the house. An ashtray was overflowing with cigarette butts, and ends of joints, too small for the roach clip, laying nearby. Beer cans were left on the coffee table, along with CDs, and car magazines.
“Well, he wasn’t expecting us,” Ghost’s voice trailing off, as he looked around.
“That asshole…he’s gonna clean this shit up! Don’t touch anything, Ghost. We didn’t come all the way home, just to clean up Terry’s mess.”
“But, Steve, it’s a mess.”
“Yeah, and we’re gonna go find him right now, and drag him back here…c’mon.” Steve headed for the car, with Ghost following, but looking back as he closed the door.
Terry’s real home was behind the Whirling Disc record shop that he owned. So, that’s where Steve went, driving around to the back parking lot. He and Ghost went up to the door, and Steve began banging on it.
“Terry, get out here, now!” He kept pounding and yelling, until a bleary-eyed, hung-over Terry opened the door a crack.
“Hey, hey, hey, stop all that racket. Why y’all here?”
“We’re here ’cause we came home, but we couldn’t hardly get in for all the crap you left all over the place. We’re here to drag you over there to clean up your shit, man,” Steve said.
“What, what? I can’t go anywhere right now. I can barely stand up. Maybe later, Dude,” Terry said, as he tried to close the door.
Steve pushed the door fully open, then, and pulled Terry out. “Naw, you’re going with us now. You don’t go trashin’ Ghost’s house, then get to say later.”
“Fine, let me get my shoes, and I’ll follow y’all out there,” Terry mumbled.
“Hurry up, then,” Steve yelled at Terry’s back.
Ghost was peering into Terry’s front room, his nose wrinkled up. “This house smells bad. It’s got scary old crap in there,” he said.
“Yeah, I know. Don’t go in, Ghost, you might not ever come out.”
Ghost backed up and headed for the car. Finally, Terry came out, with his keys in his hand, and gave Steve a put-upon look. “Well, let’s get this over with, then.”
They headed for their cars, and drove out to Burnt Church Road. As they entered the house, they all just stared. It looked worse, this time around.
“Dude, what the hell went on here?” Steve asked. “I ain’t never seen such a mess. What’d ya do, invite the whole town over to party?”
Terry shrugged. “No, man, not the whole town, just some of the guys…just partied a little.” He looked around, not even knowing where to start.
“Well, that’s the last time I ask you to look after the house,” Steve said.
“Yeah, sorry, man…I was gonna clean it up, before you got home, but you didn’t give me no warning,” Terry explained.
“Fine, whatever…guess I’ll help ya,” Steve said, as he went to get garbage bags.
Ghost had disappeared into his bedroom, checking to see if there was a big mess in there. He saw that the bed had been slept in, but not much else had been wrecked. He came back through, and saw Terry and Steve picking up stuff, and kept on walking.
“Gonna get my things from the car,” he mentioned, on his way out. He took his time.
~
*Fuckin’ Perfect” , by Pink, released December 14, 2010, Woodshed Recording, on the label La Face RCA, on the album “Greatest Hits So Far”, written by Pink – Max Martin – Shellback.
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Next Part Coming soon
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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️
© 2020 BS
***
This is a work of “fan fiction” based on the novel, “Lost Souls” by Poppy Z. Brite. All credit for the original characters, places, and some backstory mentions, belong to Ms. Brite and her publishing affiliates. Only newly introduced characters, places, and original elements of this story are entirely from my imagination. Character descriptions are a blend of the original book descriptions and my interpretation of them.
All songs included in this work will be solely owned by the original performers/writers and will be credited. Creative license is taken in including them in this story.
No harm is intended toward author, musicians, or people and situations to whom there may be a resemblance.
warning warning warning warning
The content herein is rated by me as being at the high end of MA (Mature Audience). It includes strong language, violence, sexual themes, including same sex pairings, religious themes, and fantasy horror.
Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge – Letter W or V 
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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️
© 2022 BS
Flower of the Day – The Yellow Bunch Bouquet
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Bunches of little yellow flowers in a bouquet
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For Cee’s Flower of the Day:
https://ceenphotography.com/2022/12/27/fotd-december-28-parrot-tulip/#like-66733
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Thanks for visiting! Peace ☮️
© 2022 BS
teleportingweena 