Lingerie, Spray Paint and unicorns

Last week, as is now a tradition, the Sip N’ Bite offered a new event, casually called ‘Pj Body Painting Party’. The event as always attracted all kind of residents, as it was seen on the outfits they wore: from simple pajamas to sexy lingerie, from absurd outfit combinations that barely covered their user’s modesty to full kid-like body outfits (including a unicorn and a puppy).

The night was a success, the club filling pretty quickly and the booze flowed… which was noticeable when one of the patrons, by the name of Haley, and wearing a pink pajama, went rogue under the alcohol’s influence and vandalized the club’s wall, using spray paint to paint a few heart colored shapes.

Soon enough the barman and the guards lead her out of the club and tried to fix the scenario, but it will probably need a costly repair that will surely fall on miss Hailey’s lap. We were far away before the problem began, but noticed Haley’s animosity toward Vivianna, the club’s owner. Meanwhile, the business woman seemed mostly amused by the whole situation, we believe she might not be so amused the next day when she discovered her vandalized walls, but one never knows with certain people.

After that the crowd slowly dripped of, but still, the night felt like a complete success, at least for the Sip N’ Bite.

Jiriel Fenix

End of Fall Banquet

The end of Fall Banquet was hosted last weekend at the Cliff View Inn as a cerebration of the summer that has passed and the fall that we are now entering. It was in all a merry occasion, although scattered with the occasional brawl, likely brought on by the free flowing drink and the generous buffet.

For the evening’s entertainment the evening’s host, the charming Doctor Lorenzo Evans of Lexington Memorial hospital put on a date auction for the benefit of the Tiny Hearts Fund for orphans and abused children. The lucky two up for grasp were Mr Kulvothreinmaar and Miss Laina Santos, and while we won’t tell you the sum of money that was raised for the charity, the assembled guests all made sure to see that these poor children will be well looked after.

Caspian Douglas

Humans of Clifton Forge

“[Who is Will?] I don’t know. I ask others around if they have seen him before… I get the same response back every time. He’s neither here nor there. Trying to find him is a lot like walking through a portal, I see the glass he last dropped and pick it up, and I can barely identify the face looking back at me. It’s just a stained crack in the mirror. A boring father.. widower… lacking substance in his day to day life I’ve been dealt a great deal of pain before. Nothing I would say is like the beast of anger. It compliments euphoria… it feels lovely when it seeps away like hot crimson I have many scars to tell a story. But hallucinations are just that… I figure. Stories desperate of narrative. [I’m afraid of] being put into a box with the same man I fear that I’m becoming. Over the years I’ve lost sense of who I am. The line between reality and a nightmare is thinning. My main concern now is waking up in a sea of people I don’t know… when I don’t really know myself either.”

Blair Stagger

Photo Clubbing at the Beach

Clifton Forge Camera Club is a well-established active club of photographers spanning all ages and skill levels. They offer a fun mix of opportunities, ways to participate and learn the Art of Photography. This meeting, Andonia, the club leader,held a Beach Themed club session where members got to sit on the beach and pose for some vacation-esque photos. Onlookers who didn’t reside in the club wound up participating in the fun, taking photos of their own. When asked about why Andonia had started the club, she stated, “I had a rather…awful event happen and to help myself recover I took pictures,” The warm bubbly girl smiled as she spoke about her passions. “It helped so much and I just…Fell in love. I don’t have a lot of friends in Clifton Forge yet and I thought that maybe there would be some other people who liked this new hobby. I put out a notice online and a flyer in the town hall.” “It went much better than I thought!” In regards to how she felt the club event went. Clifton Forge Camera Club will be hosting another event September 27th at 10 A.M.; this theme being Fantasy in the Forest. Come dressed in your best fantasy gear and get your picture taken, or take pictures with the Clifton Forge Camera Clubbers.

– Blair Stagger

Picture by: Andonia Featuring: Andonia, Blair, Jack, Drew, and Shantae

Dear Aunty Em

Auntie Em,
My sister divorced her husband of 15 years six months ago. About three months later, she started dating a guy- Potatoes, we’ll call him- as well as about 4 other guys at the same time. That didn’t bother me. She’d been married young, never got to experience stuff, so if anything, I was glad for her. I wasn’t a fan of Potatoes. I call him Potatoes because he has all the personality of unseasoned boiled potatoes. He’s nice enough, just boring and a bit of a braggart. Well, my sister came to me a week ago and informed me that Potatoes had proposed and she’d said yes after three month of dating. I think its way to fast and told her as much. She’d really upset that I’m not thrilled, but I feel like faking my excitement would be like lying to her. What do I do?
Concerned Sister

Dear Sister,
First let me start by saying that I can tell how much you love your sister. It is truly heartwarming. I understand that you want what’s best. That said, her life is not yours. Its a fairly uncommon occurrence for a sibling to back off of a love interest just because a sibling tells them to, so I’m not really sure what you expected. Perhaps you’re not thrilled about the marriage, but I am sure that you would want to support your sister. It could very well be that she is afraid of being alone, rebounding, or even truly in love and ready to be married again. You should be there for her regardless. My recommendation is have one last conversation with her. Tell her that you will get behind it as long as she promises you that if she has even one moment of doubt, she will call it off. So many people doubt their marriage before they get there, but follow through because they’ve put in too much money, or the invitations have gone out. Let her know that if she has a moment of doubt, that you will be there, not judging her, when she cancels. Give her the safe space she needs to admit and own the mistake, if that is indeed what it is, before she follows through.
Good luck,
Auntie Em

Beware the puppy that follows you home

The Pajama Event at the Sip N’ Nip would have been just another party for doctor Celeste Starseed, an interesting one, full of beef cake, yes, but just that. But as we have learned quite often in Clifton Forge, things are never what we expect.

The doctor was wearing a green aqua pajama, looking cute, and maybe a bit prude, considering that most of the patrons at the club were almost naked with a few exceptions. One of those, was one of her patients who was dressed like a puppy. The patient, which we would call Mr. Puppy for legal purposes, approached Dr. Starseed, and all seemed well in the world. They talk, they drank, but things never crossed any dangerous line that might endanger the doctor-patient relationship.

Close to 4:00 am, when most of the customers had left the club, the doctor, a bit tipsy, headed back home, but decided to stop at her office first. Unknown to the doctor, Mr. Puppy was following her.

I was on my way home when I got a message asking for help. Someone had taken my pants by accident but I decided to make my way to the clinic. Inside Dr. Starseed office, Mr. Puppy babbled agitatedly, looking in the border of turning hysteric. Dr. Starseed herself looked calm, but a shiver in her hands betrayed her real emotional state.

I opened the door and told the doctor I came looking for her for a midnight snack (our night version of brunch). I was sure I was being subtle, but Mr. Puppy was farther into he rabbit hole than I thought. He become hysteric, talking about dark lords and blood, and attacked the doctor aiming for her throat.

But as the doctor might say in a moment of clarity: fear, while it is a primordial emotion, in the right quantities is also a survival mechanism.
Fear made the doctor step away from Mr. Puppy so his hand missed her, an instead of strangling her, he only ripped her pretty pajamas.

Things would have gotten out of hand if it hasn’t been for two fortuitous situations: I had my Taser with me and ready, and Jack P., a friend of Dr. Starseed, arrived to check on her. Things happened fast, and while we are told not to become the news, sometimes you just react. Tamer in hand I entered the room and stunned Mr. Puppy long enough me to push Dr. Starseed out of the office and Jack to turn off the lights and close just as we came out.

We waited a long moment for Mr. Puppy to try to break the door, but we only heard sobbing from the inside, apparently the worst of the ezquizophrenic episode (as the doctor assumed and confirmed days later) had ended. We left soon after while the personel in turn went for Mr. Puppy to get him into observation.

The night had ended in a mixture of lows and highs for the doctor and after a couple days under observation Mr. Puppy went back home under a friend’s supervision. All in all, a night to remember.

Jiriel Fenix

Dance, Cosplay and Drama

The month-long LARP event based on the Tears of Blood series by the prominent author T.E. Johns came to an end with a grandiloquent Vampire Ball, where guests and organizers appeared not only in their best clothes but cosplaying characters from the ToB novels and other series around the existence of vampires.

T.E. Johns, who kindly took the time to sign a few books, appeared in the role of her character Embry Penrose and was accompanied by Clifton Forge Mayor Vishaal Kuran, who was cosplaying as Raven Cromwell another of John’s main characters appearing in “Vampire Republic”. Other characters personified during the party were Lincoln Pierce, Betty the Swamp Witch, Kace Halifax and many more, making the whole night a complete success for the author and the organization behind the event.

Author T.E Johns Aka Haley Carlisle and Major Vishaal Khuran

John’s looked a bit tense and tired, which we attributed to the long event probably taking its toll on the author after a whole month. Still, when interviewed about her next work, she graciously answered that it would come out soon; and that in the meantime, she is working in a deal for a movie. So, we might see Emily Penrose, Lincoln Pierce, Sir Cadmus Pierce, Lolth Okami and all the others soon on the big screen. Hopefully, faithful to the source material.

Later in the night the real reasons for the tension was revealed when a woman, identified as Coira, confronted the author, apparently in what seems like a casual banter, but T.E. Johns was having none of it. The offended author’s reply revealed that, following with the influx of crime in Clifton Forge, she had been attacked recently. The fight was quickly defused, but it showed the underlying tension and that things might not be as good in paradise as our famous author would like to make us believe.

Still, we celebrate T.E. Johns work and will be waiting for her next book and, hopefully, a movie. Meanwhile you can check her latest work “a Rose Among the Wilten,” which you can find in your local bookstore or you can buy online.

-Jiriel Fenix

Therapy, The Effective Kind: Wolff Psychiatric Services

Imagine that a close friend of yours has been suffering from a longstanding psychological condition.Their symptoms are severe and agonizing; damaging their work and intimate relationships. The most effective treatment for their disorder has been known for over three decades, so you would reasonably assume that they would obtain it from any licensed mental health professional. Your assumption would likely be wrong. Meet Dr. Wolff. Dr. Wolff, MD helps show you that balancing your mental and physical is not only a science; it’s an art. He’ll help you evaluate your specific concerns and work with you to develop a clear and practical plan; supporting you through the process of improving your life. He specializes in trauma, mood disorders, developmental disorders, PTSD, addiction, domestic violence, and medication management. Getting help doesn’t mean crisis, it means you’re taking your life back. Let Dr. Wolff help you take your life back by scheduling an appointment with him today.

https://forms.gle/E8sVyKucphFcPyfM7

Presenting: Humans of Clifton Forge

It’s well known that we all come from somewhere. Some of us are born right here in Clifton Forge while the rest of us come from all over the country… Maybe even all over the world. Regardless of where we come from, we are all part of the same desire to be seen, be known, be loved. Clifton Forge Telegraph presents it’s new running articles called Humans of Clifton Forge; a book of street portraits and interviews collected from all walks of life on the streets of our city – modeled after Humans of New York. This will allow us to experience others in the way we never thought we would. Read the stories, connect with one another and maybe make some new friends. Blair Stagger will be cruising up and down the avenues; collecting stories from Clifton Forge citizens as she sees them. Feel free to leave a submission that you would like an interview to be featured in this new series of audaciously private, inspiring, and raw stories