Friday 16 December 2016

Late year, long nights, big moons

I’ve one of those unimaginable birthdays coming up next week, which perhaps explains why I’ve been on a Mary Wesley bender, re-reading one novel after another of hers which I so much enjoyed in the 1980s and 1990s, revisiting in a small way, a section of my past.

Thank you for your understanding of my dilemma last week! I have tried harder this week to rank them in some order. Each week the criteria shift a little, by process more of osmosis than logic, and this week I found the delivery of initially everyday scenarios which suddenly snap sharp teeth hit the winning spot. Jeffrey’s ‘Two nights before Christmas’, Antonia’s ‘Clean-up Brigade’, and Kai’s ‘Breaking Point all came into this category, but for me Patricia’s ‘A rare breed’ took the top spot.

Words for next week:  miracle spoon still

Entries by midnight Thursday 22nd December, new words posted on Friday 23rd


Usual rules: 100 words maximum (excluding title) of flash fiction or poetry using all of the three words above in the genres of horror, fantasy, science fiction or noir. Serialised fiction is, as always, welcome. All variants and use of the words and stems are fine. Feel free to post links to your stories on Twitter or Facebook or whichever social media.

56 comments:

  1. Congratulations Patricia, a clever last line that subconsciously pricked my emotions, because that would mean I'm dead too. Also well done to everyone for providing a splendid week of reading.

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  2. congratulations Patricia for being first, and many congratulations to Jeffrey, getting an honourable mention will boost your self confidence! Kai, expand that great idea into a bigger story.
    Everyone, thanks for a week of good reading, again.

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  3. I'm past most of the unimaginable birthdays but oddly am also indulging in nostalgia at the moment, Nevil Shute in book form, RF Delderfield on kindle, LOTR part read on kindle but finding the high fantasy a touch too much right now, when I seem to want the comfort of old familiar books. I fully understand Sandra's desire to slip back to a time when things were more - got to use the word again, comforting. What are all the rest of you reading right now?

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  4. Thank you for that vote of confidence, Sandra. Can't believe I stole top spot last week. I think I wrote "A Rare Breed" in less than five minutes. Isn't it funny how that sometimes happens? It ends up outclassing the very piece (or pieces) you agonized over for hours!

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    1. And brings an especial sort of joy, too. Yes.

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    2. Way to go Patricia, along with Kai and Antonia. The rest of you continue to aaze me with what a 100 word story can become, thank you.

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  5. Change of focus [214]

    By dint of long dealing with aggression, of exerting self-control beyond the scope of normal man, John Pettinger stilled the knife-blade well-short of castration; resultant blood flow barely sufficient to fill a salt spoon, despite the nervous shifting of the concubine beneath Cherriman, carefully motionless.
    ‘The baby?‘ Pettinger repeated.
    Tremulous, one of the already-used concubines, too soft-hearted for her own good, ‘Nursery, she’s –‘
    Cherriman’s vicious glance silenced her.
    From behind Pettinger, a muttered, ‘A miracle if she survives such treachery –‘
    ‘Take her with you. Fetch Valdeta’s daughter. Take them both to safety.’
    Unthinking, Pettinger gestured.
    Cherriman screamed, tightly.


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    Replies
    1. Nice continuation and I'm wondering if Pettinger is the father?

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    2. Jeffrey, this particular tale begins at episode 193 (August's 'Strong spells & tricky tales') and, with the exception of 186 and 198 continues to now, although Jake Cherriman has been around, on and off, since the beginning. An alternative way to read (if you should want to) is to go to my blog, lines of communication, and click on the 'Change of focus' tab just below the image.

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    3. this episode is particularly nasty! Excellent stuff.

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    4. Ouch! Such discomfort executed in so few words.

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  6. Hell hath no fury [Threshold 144]

    I stared at Raven’s grandmother, ‘What of my father’s papers?’
    Disliking my nudity she handed me a towel. ‘Cover yourself –‘
    Her eyes and mine went to Raven, still being spooned by Cathra, though neither of us believed the bitch responsible for his evident erection.
    Scornful in my disappointment, ‘Thanks to you, it’d be some sort of miracle if he acted like any normal man –‘
    Her laughter silver gilt, ‘You mean, like O’Bedrun?’
    O’Bedrun. A rogue well mitigated by his expertise in bed. She read my smug remembrance. Her sharp-nailed lunging at my face told me she’d been disappointed.

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    1. Laughter of silver guilt, loved that line.

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    2. oh intriguing stuff. Love that line, too, also love 'a rogue well mitigated by his expertise in bed.' That says so much more than is actually there.

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    3. As always you deliver, with "Still spooned by Cathra" and "Her laughter silver gilt"

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  7. UXBEX

    "Uxbex, you were correct about the Khrellian slave ring."

    "Uxbex glad information provided was as correct as he knew it would be, yet is thanks reason for visit?"

    "Good friend, why would I need a reason to visit your store?"

    "Imperator, visit to humble store not like breathing, more like thinking; still, reason created by thought, derived from thinking."

    "Uxbex, you over think."

    "Overthinking impossible, too much time thinking is probable."

    "A human male and a Veleusian female were found in a spoon position with a glass spear through their hearts. I need a miracle.”


    "Uxbex, investigate murders, he will."

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    1. Unsettling, otherworldly and mysterious!

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    2. the abbreviated dialogue worked really well here. An intriguing story, Jeffrey.

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    3. Interestingly I fell either Uxbex is a logical being or computer? The form does unsettle and give the feeling of an outer world where these characters exist.

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  8. Beginning tomorrow, I will be dog-sitting for a week (well, several pups to be honest) and likely to have limited access to the internet to say nothing of being short on leisure time. Therefore, it's probably a safe bet to say I'll not be submitting or commenting for a few days. That is, of course, subject to change dependent upon circumstances but regardless, I shall return next weekend. In the meantime, keep up the good work!

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    Replies
    1. And I'm off to Edinburgh in the morning, until Wednesday, so ditto re comments for me.

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    2. Good luck with the dog sitting. The stray I have mentioned before has taken up residence under my computer desk which is most uncomfortable at present. :)

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  9. Based on Antonia's suggestion regarding my poetry, here is a poetic submission for this week.
    The BOLD is symmetrical alteration. The italics is free style. I decided to combine these two styles after listening to some YouTube poems by Allen Ginsburg and Jon Kerouac, beatnik poets.

    TIME


    Sandman’s crystals falling through formed conduits stage.
    Crystals of spoon added sand, meander like and with the river carrying them.
    Conceptual force unseen and insubstantial always unmaking flawed creations.
    The force of dreams is invisible, non-corporeal yet miraculous and everlasting.
    Wisdom’s measuring stick, long of tooth, observes life stopping moments, wordlessly.
    Life is measured by time, wisdom is measured by life, and words are irrelevant to what is seen.
    Time is structure, inflexible, predictable; insipid, still impregnable tor.
    It’s a river, with branches and tributaries. It floods and dries up, splits and rejoins.

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    1. Your poetry references outwith my experience Jeffrey, but I'm entranced by "Wisdom’s measuring stick, long of tooth"

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    2. clever, evocative and so you, if you see what I mean, Jeffrey.

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    3. "Wisdoms Measuring Stick long of tooth" is such an interesting line. Intriguing form.

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    4. Jeffrey Yorio


      Thanks all for your comments. Though very new to poetry, I had never seen poetic styles mixed.
      I remembered the point-counter point on 60 Minutes and wondered how it would work in a poem and came up with this.

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  10. Hopeless

    "It's hopeless!" Portia cried, "I can't figure any of this out."
    Dante smirked. "Sorry lass, quitting ain't an option. You have power, you just don't know how to use it."
    He picked up the wine glass she had been staring at for over an hour, its contents was a deep red and tasty.
    "Let's try something you might be more comfortable with." Dante smacked his lips, picking up a spoon. "Make this disappear. Doesn't matter where. Just teleport it away somewhere."
    Portia sighed. "I'll try. I still think I'll need a miracle to get it right, but I'll try."

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    1. Lovely inventive scene here Kai, lessons on teleportation. Quirky and amusing -thoroughly enjoyed.

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    2. great fun! If a spoon suddenly appeared somewhere -oh hell. Just remembered. My spiritualist friend wrote to ask if I had any contact with spirit about a heavy silver spoon that had arrived in her cutlery drawer, one she had never seen before in her long life (she's 93) so... Kai... what did you do?

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    3. I used to collect little souvenir spoons from all over the place, but a heavy silver spoon is out of my area of expertise. It wasn't me. ;)

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    4. Jeffrey Yorio here on my phone.

      Kai, a very nice continuation and one that I personally identified with. The this is hopeless/try something you're more comfortable with. Thank you.

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    5. This week has been most spooky with the word spoon turning up, I had a new kitchen installed last year by the chap that installed Uri Geller's kitchen. I jokingly said I bet he had a big cutlery draw. Not found a heavy spoon but I have lost one, A Serving spoon that had ESPN stamped on the back.

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    6. Very much enjoyed this piece, great use of the prompts to move the story along.

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  11. Ok, here's the stand alone for this week - the Captain's serial is building slowly in my head...
    Reminiscences of a serial killer -
    The miracle is he’s still standing; thought he’d have gone down on the floor by now. That’s a better way to let the blood flow than it steadily working its way through his clothes instead. But then there’s no accounting for men. They’re all different in the way they give in, but the one constant is they all bleed out in the end. They have no choice really. This one’s entertaining; it’s been some time since the first cut and still he stares defiantly at me. It’s nearly time for the ultimate act, taking his eyes out with a spoon.

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    1. Jeffrey Yorio here on my phone.

      Antonia, a rather curdling story and well familiar creepy with the spoon and eyeballs, yet very enjoyable.

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    2. Oh Sh!t. not the eyes. I'll probably not sleep tonight thanks to that last line.

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  12. and:
    Infinity 178:
    Tis said you need a long spoon to sup with the Devil. Methinks the Devil will need a spoon of his own to sup with this new cook. Sometimes tis a miracle what emerges from the galley in the way of food, other times it be so strange it be best tossed over the side and the crew go hungry. My worry is, the thing below decks is still these days and that be down to what it’s being fed and we're being fed the same food. What be it doing to us? Dare I find out?

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    1. And once again, a swing from rare contentment to near-constant suspicion. Love that you brought in the long spoon/Devil reference.

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    2. Jeffrey Yorio here with my phone.

      Me thinks that desperation is an ingredient created by the devil. This is a marvelous story of which even Machiavelli would find humor in.

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    3. Love the reference to the using a long spoon to eat with the devil and the clever way you played upon this. Brava!

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  13. Finally work is done for the year and managed to get to write my entry for this week

    A Fresh Beginning

    No more still night
    No more wonder left to shine
    Concern has turned to fright
    and all but the aggressive are left behind.

    Let’s hope for a miracle in the coming year,
    to cure a world thats led by anger, as others quake in fear.
    Who will spoon oil upon these troubled waters, and protect the innocent?
    Not the leaders of this world who remain ambivalent.

    Let us empty out our hearts of any hatred that remains
    and learn this lesson well that it’s compassion that sustains.
    A new year is soon dawning
    Let’s heed the dead years warning.

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    1. Jeffrey Yorio using my phone.

      William, this is one damn beautiful poem about hope and faith in your fellow man. Thank you very much.

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    2. Thank you Jeffrey for your kind words, not sure where my words came from, other than I have closed down my office for the year. Unless the Bat Symbol appears in the skies above my home town that is. ;)

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    3. What a clever, perfect opening line, evoking (at least for me) the innocence of childhood Christmas and the purity of carols sung in a winter's night.

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  14. Their Last Chance

    "That's it, we are out of ammunition."

    The ragtag group had been reduced to just the two of them; he never thought that he'd be facing his imminent demise like this. Not with... Larry.

    "I've still got my miracle spoon!"

    He closed his eyes, sighed, and waited for the end. It couldn't come too soon.

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    1. Jeffrey Yorio using his phone

      This was a good laugh and light hearted. Definitely in contrast to the other entries.

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    2. I wasn't going to write this week, the prompts didn't do anything for me, and my other daughter said, "I've still got my miracle spoon!" How could I resist?

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    3. Glad you were prompted into writing this sweet piece Bill.

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    4. Excellent piece, and a valid reason why you should always keep one in the chamber.

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  15. The Adventures of Rosebud, Pirate Princess #56
    A Taxi-Yurt Picnic Lunch


    It’s a miracle! I’m finally home! I’ve been out all day ferrying people about. There are still five or six things left to do today. I don’t care, I’m going to sleep … right after I wash the lunch spoons.

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    1. Jeffrey Yorio

      An enjoyable short, what else would a pirate princess do with her silver spoons.

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    2. Short and even sweeeter than Bill's - thank you Rosie,

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    3. I love that title "A Taxi Yurt Picnic Lunch" An Exceptionally fun piece.

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