Prince's Legacy: #10

#10: Controversy

Controversy dropped in 1981.  The title track is my favorite, followed by “Let’s Work,” “Do Me, Baby” and “Sexuality.”  I loved “Controversy” because it introduced me to concepts and ideas that my young mind could not fathom.  Also, the beat and synthesizers…come on now!  The song was about all the questions people were raising (or starting rumors) about Prince himself.   “Am I black or white/am I straight or gay…do I believe in God/do I believe in me…?”  

And my interpretation of the entire track is that Prince felt that it was no one’s damned business if he believed in God, if he was straight, gay, bisexual, or whatever.  We’re all human, we are who we are and in the end, what difference does it all make?  The extended cut includes a portion of the Lord’s Prayer, which people thought at the time was blasphemous…or, shall we say, controversial.  He ends the cut by saying we’re all just the same and basically, fuck outta here with all that human hypocrisy. 

Fic Update Alert: "Lovesick"

Chapter 6 of "Lovesick" is now posted on pinkelegance.  Please continue to enjoy.
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"Nedra took the weight of his words with the seriousness they required.  It was some time before she could speak.  She chose her words carefully because she needed to be firm and truthful with Victor, but she didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

“So you expect the same level of affection I give a man I served in the Marine Corps with, fought with, shared secrets with, nearly lost my life with…a man who, after I was honorably discharged, came looking for me because he decided he couldn’t live without me.  You want that and we’ve known each other less than six months and shared nothing but a night of great, great sex.  Think about what you’re asking for, Victor.  You want the reward of my heart but you haven’t done anything to deserve it.”"

Prince: My Top Ten Legacy

Actual Comic Book by Dwayne McDuffie

Now that I’ve recovered most of my emotional balance, I am in a better position to pay tribute to the legendary brilliant virtuoso Prince Rogers Nelson, who left us in April of this shit-tastic murderous year, decades too soon.  In fact, I have always been of the belief that Prince was otherworldly and not bound by the rules of us mere Earthlings.  He created music as easy if it were breathing, which for someone as prolific as he was, it had to be.  This man easily wrote over a thousand songs, and I'm being conservative in my estimate…in a world where some people have trouble dropping 1000 words, over a thousand songs is definitely not-of-this-realm-talent.  Prince was from fucking Saturn, Narnia or some planet orbiting Polaris.  He wasn't of this world and no one will convince me otherwise.  

Fic Update Alert: "Lovesick"

And the song continues.  Chapter 5 of "Lovesick" is up and ready for reading on pinkelegance.

It really feels good writing again.  I hope the Muse continues to sing for the next four months...
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“If you’ll forgive me,” Victor said, “I have to admit that our origins go back farther than that elevator.  I know your girlfriend.”

Jon put the menu down, curious. “You know Roxy?”

“I know her as Nedra.  Dr. Nedra Nix.  She’s a research chemist at the Baxter Building.  And a ex-Marine.”

“Former Marine.  Who are you?”

“Victor von Doom.”

Jon leaned back and folded his arms.  “Keep talking.”

“I’m the one Franklin Storm sent Nedra to recruit that night.”

“Oh. You’re the asshole that took her phone and hung up on me?”

Fic Update Alert! "Lovesick"

There is nothing more powerful than using art to handle grief.   My tears have dried up, but my heart hasn't healed.

Chapter 4 of "Lovesick" is now up on pinkelegance.  This one is taking some time because it's already way longer than I intended for it to be...but when the Muse speaks, I listen for however long she allows it.  Staring at photos of Toby Kebbell and Jon Bernthal does make the process easier...and to quote a former associate, "way more funner."  Using Prince's music as part of the soundtrack...bittersweet.
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"Victor had no intention of going home, but he’d say whatever she needed to hear to appease her.  Her creep comment got his attention.  “One condition.”

“Is it sex?  Kisses?  What?”

“It will be if you want that, but that’s not what I’m asking for.”

“What is it?”  She shook her sore foot, angry about the chipped polish and spied her stiletto over in the corner.  She wanted to throw it at him, if she knew where he was.

“I want to have dinner with you.  At your house.  In private.”

Nedra held the phone away from her ear and stared at it for about ten seconds.  A range of expressions swam over her face.  Did he just ask her for a date?

“Hello? Nedra?  Paging Dr. Nix?”

She said, “You want to do what?”

“You insulted me that night in the garage,” he said, his tone changing.  “You told me I was incapable of making you happy.  I beg to differ.”

Nedra thought back to the night of the thousand-dollar masturbation.  “You got me in trouble that night,” she replied."

Fic Update Alert! "Lovesick"

Chapter 3 of "Lovesick" is now available on pinkelegance.  Get you some.

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"Jon called for an Uber and a driver was waiting by the time they finished their drinks.  Fortunately, the car was a big Lexus with tinted windows and more than enough room in the back seat.  John tossed the driver a thousand yuan tip and told him in Mandarin not to worry about what happened in the back seat.  The driver nodded but that didn’t stop him from sneaking looks as he drove back to the hotel.  Nedra wasted no time mounting Jon once he closed the door.  Nedra’s dress was easily to manipulate and seconds later, she was riding him as they kissed passionately.  Jon held on to her ass.  They kept their sounds tight and contained, but any fool with a brain could look in the backseat of the ES 350 and know they were getting it, and getting it good too.  The driver took his sweet time getting back to the hotel."

Fic Update Alert: "Lovesick"

Chapter 2: "Thermite" is now available for reading on pinkelegance.

A/N: Writing keeps me from crying...

She felt it, all right, as her teeth clamped down on her bottom lip.  Her climax was brusque with a sweet, painful edge.  She was grateful that the Bima’s alignment was exquisite because her hands were everywhere except the wheel and she had been driving with her knees.  Her lip started bleeding and to her dismay, she saw flashing lights behind her.  Nedra looked at the speedometer.  She was driving over 120 miles an hour with her hand in her panties, a swollen, bloody lip, smelling way too much like her secret self with King Bey’s sexy jam on repeat.

Fucking Victor fucking von fucking Doom.  That fucking bastard!  She wanted to kill him.  She never got speeding tickets!

The lily stared at her with its broken stem and shredded red bow; its ends red and raggedy just like her emotional state, bringing forth the real truth in all its glory. 

He’s a bastard all right, but one that you want, no matter how much you try to fight it.

Nedra slowed down and pulled over, looking for something to wipe her wet fingers with and coming up short.  Quickly she turned off the iPod.  She hadn’t yet outfitted the Bima with necessities such as tissues…or a damn towel, in this case.  Fuck.  She’d have to clean the seat when she got home.  She wiped her hand on her dress after sucking the tang off her fingers and did the best she could to straighten her face and lick the blood from her lip.  Nedra was grateful that the windows were open and maybe the cop couldn’t smell her that much.  She put her hands on the wheel as the trooper walked towards her car and asked for her license and registration.

Prince Rogers Nelson, 1958-2016

Rest in Power.

Y'all already heard the news about Prince Rogers Nelson being found dead in his Minnesota home at age 57. There will be a formal post honoring his memory coming in few days, but right now I'm just raw.  My heart aches and I can't stop crying.  My nose is full of snot and I got "Call My Name" on repeat and wishing I had a bottle of wine to go with.  I'm still not over the passing of His Pimpness David Bowie and now 2016 done fucking took His Royal Badness too?

I went through a similar experience when Michael died in 2009. The grief is real, yo, because my first experience with Prince was Controversy, but I didn't fall in love until 1999.  We been together for decades and then he had to go and die on me, y'all!  We purified ourselves in the waters of Lake Minnetonka and he still left me far too soon...I can't take anymore of 2016's bullshit!  

To say that The Purple One was a powerful influence is the understatement of the millennium. Prince changed the game early on, then changed it again and again.  Creatively, he was about 20 years ahead of everyone else and the most beautiful thing about him was the lack of fucks he gave about what folks thought as he sold over 100 million albums.

As the Dark Dilettantes know, I was in the process of writing another fanfic and I was using Prince's music as part of the soundtrack.  I listen to a lot of his music when I write anyway, but the songs chosen for "Lovesick" were particular favorites and now I just don't even know if I can do it...

With most artists, there's usually some sort of scandal that taints their careers and/or legacy. Somebody tell me if that ever happened with Prince.  

I'll wait.

Photo from http://consequenceofsound.net/artist/prince/

We have lost a true virtuoso and visionary.  May his legacy live on. Travel well and godspeed, Prince.

love, 

A heartbroken fan...

New Fic Alert: "Lovesick"

Well, the Muse is still speaking.  You can read her latest conversation over on pinkelegance, "Lovesick."

I'm just happy to be writing again.  It's so liberating and it makes me feel better.

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"Victor Von Doom was casually posted up against the passenger side of her brand new car, in a suit—an unheard-of concept, according to many—holding a large black calla lily.  It was an absolutely stunning bloom; the leaves were a deep green flecked with white and there was a thin red bow tied around the upper stem.  She wondered how much it cost.  Normally, Nedra wasn’t into flowers, but she’d never seen a black lily before, and this particular flower was a showstopper.  It rivaled the beauty of its holder.

She uttered five quiet words: “How did you find me?”"

Fic Update Alert! "Otherside of the Game"

Last chapter of "Otherside of the Game" is now posted on pinkelegance.  Do enjoy!

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He stood in front of her closed front door, staring down at her with a myriad of emotions in his expression.  “I’m nuts about you, Nedra Nix.  You say I’m crazy and you’re absolutely right.  About you.  I needed this weekend; needed this kind of time with you.  You shouldn't be mad—or surprised—if I start courting you for real.”

Nedra’s hands were on his chest and she couldn't look him in the eye.  What was in them was more than she could handle. “I said you couldn’t do that, Victor.  I’m in love with another man.”

“I can do better,” he said.  “There is something to be had with me, Nedra, and you know it.  You do.  You feel it too.  You can't even look at me”

She nodded and stubbornly looked in his eyes.  “This is a good foundation to build on, but I am in love with Jon, Victor.  We have a history.  We’ve been together since the Corps, and that’s 18 years.  My heart belongs to him.  You can't compete.”

“I don’t care,” he said.  “We can make our own history.  It can be done.  I know what you need, and more importantly, I'll never deny you.  And don't ever tell me what I can't do...that's dangerous.”