So, there's this drinking game I learned about in college...

...that you can play while watching The Lair of the White Worm. Just take a drink every time you see a phallic symbol, and you'll be completely shitfaced by the end of the film. Trust me, it makes this hugely enjoyable campfest even more enjoyable.

Seriously, folks, this is one deeply, deeply loony film. And Hugh Grant wasn't a big enough star yet to turn down the paycheck, so we even get to chug at him as he swings his sword like the foppiest of foppish heirs to an ancient Derbyshire manor house. Then there's that business with the airplane and the pencil in this dream sequence, which (sadly) isn't embeddable but is more than worth the time it'll take you to go have a look at it. So do. I'll wait. ;-)

There now, wasn't that a scream? And you'll like this next clip almost as well. I linked you to the dream sequence without offering any exposition because it's such a perfect moment of WTF that I couldn't bear to spoil it. But you really should come into the next scene with a bit of background, so here you go. Amanda Donohoe plays the, um, well, not a vampire, anyway (appearances to the contrary) at the center of the movie. Here, she's just picked up a hitchhiking boy scout and brought him inside to get warm...if not exactly dry. Poor kid's such a goober that he doesn't find anything odd about her dominatrix apparel, much less the fact that she'd come onto a pimply little twerp like him. Then again, he is a teenage boy. He's not exactly thinking with the right organ, is he? ;-) Anyway, here you go. Enjoy.

And last (unfortunately) but not least, there's this clip of some actual lesbian mind control action taking place in what I'd swear is the same grove where they filmed parts of The Princess Bride. Amanda Donohoe, of course, puts it to a much more sinister purpose. I just wish I could show you the aftermath, where she takes Eve home with her for a wee game of spot-the-virgin with a tanning bed (because, hey, this is an '80's movie) and a very scary dildo. That's the hottest scene in the movie for me, because Eve is still so deeply entranced that she barely reacts to the dildo at all. I sure would, and so would you. I know that even without knowing you, because I've seen that damn dildo.

Unfortunately, I can't find a clip of the virgin test on YouTube; so instead I'll just recommend that you rent the movie and settle in with some good friends and (optionally) a few of your favorite intoxicants for a night of laughter, horror, and oh-so-kinky sex. The MC doesn't hurt, either.

These are a few of my favorite things: Vizerskaya

At left is one of the first pictures I ever posted in this blog. It pretty much sums up all my fetishes in a single image. The photographer and digital artist is Vizerskaya, a.k.a. Kassandra. I found her first on Model Mayhem, then discovered several more stashes of her work in various places I'll link to below. As a matter of fact, her work shows up in a lot of the same places as Asya Arteyeva's photos, which is one reason I hinted that my previous blog entry about Asya carried the seeds of future entries. Several of Vizerskaya's pieces feature Asya, too, but I don't seem to have chosen any of those to show you today. It was hard enough to whittle this gallery down to its current size without adding in photos of a model I'd just talked about in my last post.

But anyway, let's get to the good stuff. As you can see, Kassandra loves the female form, is a fan of the classics, and has a great sense of humor. She also frequently photographs herself; in the images below, she's the lanky blonde with the dimple in her chin.

Vizerskaya's blog (in Russian) is here. Lots and lots of wonderful pictures, and you can always use Google Translator if needed.

Here's a great gallery of her work.

And here's another great gallery of her work.

She even has a YouTube channel.

Thank goodness I was born in this day and age. I so love digital art!

If you notice a puddle around your feet, it's just my drool

I have been a very, very busy thrall these last few days, and I have ohhh so may pictures to share with you! I'll space them out so I don't overwhelm you or myself. Let's start with the heavenly creature you see at left.

Behold the Ukranian goddess known, in her earthly incarnation, as Asya Arteyeva. I found her first on Model Mayhem, then discovered another stash of pictures here (Actually, Photodom turned up several great stashes for me, but all in due time!).

The picture above, left, and the two just below are by Retroatelier. Amazing how this photog can make Asya look good even with the suggestion of a unibrow. I have the same feeling I got watching Salma Hayek play Frida Kahlo. ;-)

Next up are one photo by Pautina (Be sure to note the tentacles in closeup!) and two more by Retroatelier.

And here are pics by Katarina Sokolova and Vizerskaya, a.k.a. Kassandra. As you can see, Asya poses in a number of different styles but has a definite preference for vintage fashions. And it suits her so very well, doesn't it?

You might not understand yet, not in full; but this post contains the seeds of several more posts to come. Stay tuned!

Pretty, pretty men

Want to see Jude Law feminized? How about Leonardo DiCaprio? Rob Lowe? Okay, maybe those three aren't that much of a stretch. ;-) But they're fun, anyway. And I, personally, would jump at the chance to make over the delectable Mr. Law.

Of course, Dani O has already beaten me to the punch. Dani's a cross-dresser and hypno-fetishist who wrote me yesterday to say thanks for recommending Virtual Hypnotist. She's already having lots of fun with it and looking forward to writing her own feminization scripts. Check out her blog; it's a lot of fun, too!

The very definition of "va-va-va-voom"

Here's yet another instance of my finding a new picture on one of my favorite sites and being so blown away that I just have to share it. Immediately.

This is Morgana, a Spanish model/photographer/website designer/makeup artist, and who the hell knows what else. I wouldn't be surprised to hear she plays basketball for the NBA. Anyway, she's just updated her Model Mayhem portfolio, so go have a look.

Now, why do I suddenly find myself craving flan?

These are a few of my favorite things: Viktoria Modesta

I first discovered Viktoria Modesta on Model Mayhem, mostly modeling for designer Bibian Blue. I was struck (well, more like gobsmacked) by the exquisite beauty of her face and quickly moved on to her own Model Mayhem page - which, unfortunately, was very small. Thank goodness I finally found her on MySpace; that's where the real goods are.

There's something a little...unusual...about Viktoria Modesta, something you probably won't even notice at first (It took me ages). But all of a sudden, you'll be studying one of her pictures in closeup and go, "Hey, wait a minute. Is that--?" And the answer is yes, yes it is. Three cheers to her for not letting it get in the way of her success.

She's wearing Bibian Blue in the picture above, by Phantom Orchid. Below, left to right, the photos are by Dan Santoni, Marla Rutherford (where Viktoria is wearing House of Harlot), and Mark Barnfield.

The pictures at left and right below come from Bizarre Magazine, but I don't know the photographer. The picture in the middle is by Alex Leonhardt.

She also has an official website, which is where I found the picture at left. Unfortunately, the photos there don't come with any attributions, so I can't tell you who shot the image or who the other model is. Also unfortunately, she sings. You have been warned.

The worlds inside my head

I'm really, really lucky. My dreams are extremely vivid, generally more enjoyable than disturbing, and usually stay with me upon waking. In fact, I've repurposed many of them for EMC stories over the years.

If you buy the premise of Anathem (which is, of course, fiction), each of us carries multiple worlds inside our heads; and we access them not only through dreams, but also through every use of our imaginations. Neal Stephenson suggests that those worlds can become every bit as real as the one we take for granted, but his novel isn't the first to take this tack. H.P. Lovecraft wrote a whole cycle of stories about a man who enters a new reality via his dreams (In an amazing fit of creativity, he calls it the "dreamworld"). Then there are the aborigines of Australia, who went Lovecraft and Stephenson one better, building their mythology around a dreamtime that's actually more real than the waking world.

Well, like I said, my dream-worlds are pretty darn real, too. And I really wish I could share them with you as fully as I'd like. I try, in my stories, but there's just so much to my dreams - every single night - that I can't possibly hope to convey through words alone. In fact, sometimes when I realize I'm dreaming, I'll stop what I'm doing and just marvel at all the details my subconscious has cooked up: the sights, the sounds, the tastes, even the shockingly real feel of every surface I touch (For some reason, that's the bit I find the most amazing). The only sense typically missing is smell, but I don't miss it at all, considering the wealth of data my other four senses give me.

But don't assume I spend all my lucid dreamtime just gaping at my surroundings. Something I like even better than that is trying to fly. Forget super-strength or x-ray vision; that's the only superpower I've ever wanted. Unfortunately, it's also my biggest frustration in dreaming. 90% of the time, I can't fly as high as I'd like. There's usually a tree or a building or a mountain in the way: something I can't rise above. Then I start drifting lower and lower to the ground, and finally I'm right back where I started.

But that only happens most of the time. Every once in awhile I have a breakthrough, and I think I'm figuring out how to have them more often. I won't weigh you down with a lot of dream analysis (It's a subject I personally love, but I know not everyone else does). Suffice it to say that in my dreams, it's pretty apparent that my flying difficulties relate to my reluctance to cut loose more often in waking life. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I should go out and ingest a bunch of mind-altering substances, have a string of one-night stands, or do anything else that would be harmful to my physical or mental health. No, what I'm saying is that I need to get rid of some of the unhealthy mental habits I've already placed on myself - or had placed on me - over the years. I've been much too rigid in my ideas of right and wrong; good and bad; or even, dare I say, good and evil.

Again, don't get me wrong: I do believe evil exists. I see it every day in the hatred and persecution of all kinds of minorities around the world. I see it in the abuse of power, and especially in the abuse of power over people who have no way to defend themselves - children in particular. If there is a hell, it's full of child molesters.

But let me kick that soapbox under the computer table and get back to the point of this entry. There's a lot of I used to think was evil, that I now know is just a natural aspect of human nature. Variant sexual practices are the most obvious example, but I could give you others, if I wasn't trying to get back to my point. So, how does a truer knowledge of good and evil relate to my dreams? Well, back in my fundamentalist days, I thought that if I encountered a "demon" or similar creature in my sleep, I really was doing battle with evil forces on a spiritual plane (Ugh, that sounds so ridiculous now. Sorry for inflicting it on you.). But as my mind broadened and as I learned about dream analysis, I discovered that these sinister-seeming dream figures were really parts of my own personality that I had refused to acknowledge. They weren't really threatening me; they were challenging me.

And now that I've accepted some of those challenges, my dreams have changed. For instance, last week I dreamed that I and a bunch of other women were taken over by an "evil" force that, truth be told, was really more of a "rebellious" force. I felt so free and powerful, and I could fly just as high as I liked. After playing around for awhile, I flew up behind one of the other women who'd been taken over, grabbed her around the waist, and kissed her long and deep just because a) I liked the look of her - from the back alone, and b) I liked the freedom of being able to do that in public, and with a complete stranger no less (For the record, she was a small, narrow-waisted young woman with a two-tone punk haircut).

Then Monday night I dreamed that I was part of an X-Files-like team that rooted out supernatural menaces.We were going after a vampire-like mind controller (nothing like ours, Jukebox! ;-)) who would drain her victims with a succession of bites that brought them increasingly under her power. I got bitten once, which still left me with plenty of free will, but I used that free will to decide to join her rather than fight her. Everyone else was against me now, as well as against her; but she turned out to be an alien with amazing knowledge and power, and I realized I was on the side of right and my ex-colleagues were on the side of wrong. I also understood that the alien and I would win in the end.

Well, that's some pretty obvious symbolism in those dreams, isn't it? And doesn't it make a lot more sense to interpret them as symbols rather than as demonic forces? ;-P I'm on the right track now, and I know it, down to my deepest unconscious core.

P.S.: The image above is by Kire1987, via Deviant Art.

This is not the post you were looking for

I decided to save the post I had planned for today until Wednesday, because something happened last night that needs to be shared: Jukebox and I finished the rough draft of the second part of our vampire collaboration!

We're at the point now where we know each other's styles and writing methods well enough to turn them easily to the story's advantage. He's the quick ideas man, and I'm the OCD polisher. So, for instance, while he's writing a paragraph, I'm coming along behind him, smoothing things here or tweaking things there. And while I'm writing a paragraph, he's coming along behind me, adding more details and being generally clever. Okay, honestly, we're both enjoying our cleverness right now. ;-) I can't wait to hear the comments after people finish reading the second installment!

We've also both been able to spot potential plotholes and discrepancies. For instance, last night, at the very tail end of this chapter installment, we realized we had two very different ideas about the top floor of our villainess' home. That was a funny moment, considering how much action had already taken place in the building. But now we'll have the chance to make everything gel as we edit the draft. And, of course, we'll also begin work on the finale.

We're hoping that Jukebox's schedule will be more open now, for a number of reasons, and that we'll be able to write two nights a week instead of one. That's to be determined, but keep your fingers crossed. And in the meantime, know that the rough draft is resting in the cool, dark wine cellars of my hard drive - and aging beautifully.

Oh my goodness gracious

This is Mosh, photographed by Nick Saglimbeni.

I have another entry planned for later this weekend, but when the image at left popped up in my  Deviant Art mailbox, I just couldn't keep it to myself.

I'm not completely sure what's going on here, but I can't tear my eyes away

It would be hypnotic even without the metronome.

Under other circumstances, I'd happily share a link to the blog where I found this video. Unfortunately, I found that blog at a time when its owner is going through some serious heartache, and I'm sure she doesn't want a bunch of new visitors coming by right now only to witness her pain. So just spare a kind thought and/or say a prayer for her as you enjoy a video that seems to be helping her get her mojo back. It's doing a lot for my mojo, too!

Robophiliacs, today is your day

The funniest thing about today's Questionable Content is that when I got to this panel, I wasn't even sure if the pink-haired robo-woman was supposed to be Marigold's AI-equipped doll Momo, or Marigold herself. You have to admit, both of them probably really want to look like this. ;-)

MC fetish nirvana

Look what I just found on Deviant Art. If this doesn't feed your mc fetish fantasies, you'd better check your pulse.

Oh, and for the record: a) the models are Darenzia and Jade Vixen, and b) I did not alter Jade's eyes. She did that all by herself...in response to a command, no doubt. ;-)

I always keep my promises

So...that artist I teased you about last Wednesday? The one I'd just discovered, who likes a whole lot of the same things I do (i.e., lovely ladies, altered eyes, Cthulhu, and all kinds of supernatural shenanigans)? Well, her name is Bethalynne Bajema, and she runs a number of interconnected websites, all chock full of fetishy goodness.

First there's The Scriptorium, which is a combination blog, portfolio, and gift shop. Then there's a shop on Etsy that she manages along with her fiancée, Myke Amend. There's also The Miskatonic Archive, which any self-respecting Lovecraft lover could make a good guess about. And lastly, there's the delightful labyrinth of Bajema's Web, where a click on any of the dozens of links (some clearly visible, some quite deviously hidden) scattered around the pages will take you who-knows-where...and you'll like it.

Now, Bethalynne Bajema makes it very clear on her sites that she doesn't want her artwork posted elsewhere without her permission. So let me make it very clear that a) I e-mailed her and got that permission, and b) you shouldn't repost any of the art in this blog entry.

And now, on with the show!

Pretty fantastic, eh? And if you take a close look at the tattoos on the "Ophelia" model in the middle row above (and a few of the other pictures on Bajema's sites), you might recognize her as Zoetica Ebb.