Four votes, three different choices, so congratulations are due to David, Terrie and Jim – which nicely illustrates my weekly dilemma, but sincere thanks to those of you who made that small extra effort. Apologies for my absence but it was impossible to find the necessary mental space. Nigh on as impossible as it was to pick a winner this week, but eventually I settled on Perry's 'House of Cars.
Words for the coming week: effluent pearl support
Entries by midnight Thursday 29th
July, new words posted Friday
30th
Usual rules: 100
words maximum (excluding title) of flash fiction or poetry using all three
words above in the genres of horror, fantasy, science fiction or noir.
Serialised fiction is, as always, welcome. All variants and uses of the words
and stems are fine. Feel free to post links to your stories on Twitter or
Facebook or whichever.
'House of cars' was a perfect choice Sandra. Well done Perry.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Terrie.
Deletesuperb story, Perry, thanks for the pleasure you bring.
DeleteYet another great entry from you, Perry!
DeleteThanks Antonia and jd - I'm sure I get more pleasure from reading the gems from the company here AND from actually writing than I give.
DeleteGoing Green
ReplyDeleteThe noxious effluvia of decaying oysters wasn’t entirely lost on the pearl divers, especially Eliza. Why waste a perfectly good lifeform just for the slight possibility of hidden treasure?
“Ultrasound,” she said. “Scan the little guys first. No pearl, throw them back.”
“Incredible idea,” said Amos, stroking his support goat. “I’ll start collecting money from everyone’s pay until the machinery is paid off.”
“We could always eat them,” said Chloe.
Collectively, eyebrows rose.
Wanting to scratch the inside of her throat with a toilet brush, Eliza contemplated her unknown shellfish allergy. Stupid oysters, she thought.
What a great opening line John. Smelly oysters, the hint of pearls followed by subtle hints of twists and plot lines galore. I chuckled and winced at the same time at the thought of a toilet in the throat too.
DeleteThose three words, "Collectively, eyebrows rose" adds so much to the scene!
DeleteJohn, you had me laughing at 'stroking his support goat' and the toilet-brush comment. Good stuff!
Deletemercenary people, grabbing the money for the machinery when it has only just been mentioned... but that makes it even more real, that is what would happen!
DeleteNicely done, John. And told with your customary dose of healthy amusement.
DeleteI've finished work for the summer and the college is closed so I'm on a roll this week.
ReplyDeleteThe Secret Armadillo Soldier (SAS) Diaries - entry 158
With the weasel brothers gone, remaining rats fled back across the dry bank leaving the gerbils to the mercy of the victors.
The attack plan resulted in swift success.
Much paw shaking and swaggering talk came from the pangolin pilots.
‘Definitely the air support won the battle,’ prattled one rowdy pilot jubilantly.
Cinereus, tending an injured ‘Dillo paw, looked up, ‘I’ve learned that pangolin effluent is usually present at most occasions,’ he muttered.
‘Thanks, ’replied the pangolin, oblivious to the insult.
Grinning, Armi joined Tosca who guarded the prisoners. Pearly-white teeth chattering, the dishevelled gerbils were agitated, huddled, and tearful.
An action packed episode, as well as clever. Very enjoyable.
DeleteGreat post-battle scenario.
Deletedefinitely on a roll, this is good!
DeleteYou've certainly been on a roll with your entries, Terrie! So enjoyable!
DeleteAlways with something of a little sympathy for the underdog, I kind of feel for the abandoned gerbils. As always, action-packed and rife with marvellous details.
DeleteI liked the word nebulous so incorporated it into this instalment
ReplyDeleteThe Secret Armadillo Soldier (SAS) Diaries - entry 159
Nebulous clouds drifted across a star-speckled bowl of sky and masked the pearly-hued moon as Atlas picked up tracks left by his friends.
It was the mission support he preferred, for such a night created dark hiding places, shadowy undergrowth and the chance to move swiftly. Head down, chasing the trail, he ran quickly and quietly.
Before dawn, he found the clearing of Vark and Pangolin effluent and broken wine pots. Holding his breath, he hurried through it, following the trail leading south.
He was nearing the dry riverbed when the scent of blood wafted in on the breeze.
Atlas is quite the stud. Smooth writing, Terrie.
DeleteA lovely, contrasting vignette of Atlas in silent and solo action.
Deletethis has everything going for it, including the scent of blood... does a dillo's sense of smell match humans, or is it entirely different?
DeleteThe scent of effluence and then the scent of blood. I don't envy Atlas during this mission. Such lovely contrast to the previous episode this week.
DeleteThe Secret Armadillo Soldier (SAS) Diaries - entry 160
ReplyDeleteSarg recognised the disappearing ‘Dillo as one of Digger-Dillo Pearls many offspring. Despite the dirty fur in her mouth she grinned, ‘Yung ‘uns.'
Denzil's dangling body rhythmically hit her armoured flank as she moved so she stopped to support his head more comfortably on her shoulder. It was then that she caught an even stronger whiff of blood and the effluent stench of rat-shit rising from the dormouse’s fur.
She reasoned he’d escaped by crawling his way through the mounds of rat droppings deposited through the shit-hole in the Rat-Trap-Inn cellar.
‘Brave little bugger,’ she whispered through fur-filled teeth.
Sarg certainly has her tender moments.
Delete"the effluent stench of rat-shit rising from the dormouse’s fur" - wow!
Deletethe dillos live in a world of smells...
DeleteLovely round-out for this week's 'dillo adventures. You certainly were on a magnificent roll, Terie.
DeleteSorry....spelled your name wrong. :(
DeletePRESTI-DOONEY-TATION
ReplyDelete‘How the hell did he get out there?’ Colm hissed.
Dooney sat in a world of his own, apparently oblivious to rats and busted sewer adjacent – thankfully merely dusted with desiccated effluent of the Before Time.
Sally could only stare mystified at the spot where the boy had been sitting – seemingly only an instant previous.
Caolin appeared equally bemused, but raised a finger as prelude to a theory.
‘Never mind your pearls of wisdom,’ Colm cut him off. ‘Rhetorical.’
There was a shuffle and bump and suddenly Joanie was there.
‘Thanks for the support, folks – but Dooney as distraction? Drastic!’
Loved "raised a finger as prelude to a theory" (I'm especially noticing these this week, too aware of how hard I find it to incorporate them in my own writing.)
DeleteBefore Time is definitely intriguing. Is Sally seeing things or are people coming and going in a flicker of light?
DeleteNow this, in a word, was intriguing. What a fascinating serialization this is turning out to be.
DeleteSome magical things happening, it seems. Or maybe an illusion? I liked the mention of the Before Timw.
ReplyDeleteNah, John, Dooney's just kind of uniquely slippery and the shuffle and bump were the tail-end of Joanie's dash for home bought by the distraction.
DeleteClever image of the 'desiccated effluent'. You also conveyed the bemusement of the characters really well.So much so, I am actually asking the same question ... How the heck did Dooney get out there so quickly and un-noticed? He is indeed a slippery young chap.
DeleteThe comment about being silent was meant for another entry, Perry. I'm baffled as to how it got under yours. Sorry for the confusion.
DeleteAlmost as slippery as Dooney, those wayward comments. :)
DeleteAt times being silent is the best thing you can say.
ReplyDeleteGathering magic- 18
ReplyDeleteDays became weeks and still they saw no one.
Batt guessed the girls innate abilities were at work subtly protecting her through this time of change.
He had not fully grasped how much the magic in the stone tower had held her unchanging as time passed but now the effluent stench and darkness of its foul charm-casting was all but spent.
He watched her as she strode ahead of him. Taller now and almost full-grown, she used a staff to support her progress through the deepening snow.
No soft name such as Daisy or Pearl would suit this unpredictable firebrand.
Sighing in admiration and appreciation of this.
Deleteso emotive and visual at the same time.
DeleteCool opening line. An unpredictable firebrand she is.
DeleteHow delightful to witness the Return of Batt. Your plume and inkpot are unstoppable this week, Terrie. (Spelled your name right, this time...!!!)
DeleteStamina of man [Threshold 358]
ReplyDeleteWined (red and a little rough) and dined, bathed (water warm and cloudy, with an iodine tang ) followed by satisfactory sex on a bed proven sturdy enough to support all manner of antics, we now lay stickily pearled with the life-giving effluent Raven had, at the last-possible minute decided to deny any chance of procreation.
I would have appreciated prior warning, but chose to keep my silence. Got out of bed, returned next door and ran a second bath.
The thundering of the ever-deepening water effectively screened all other noise.
Turned off, I heard female giggles. Raven's non-protesting groans.
Quite the Don Juan, this Raven. At least the sex was satisfactory.
Deleteyou can never predict what Raven will do in any given situation, which is what makes this serial so entertaining.
DeleteI was wondering if anyone would use pearl in this way. A very entertaining episode, Sandra. You are the queen of parentheses.
DeleteSometimes, I'm not sure what to make of Raven. A fascinating character without doubt, but not the most faithful apparently. Yet another intriguing episode...and the 358th to boot. I don't know how you maintain such excellent week after week.
DeleteChange of focus [435]
ReplyDeleteCSI Kate Rivers arrived with half a dozen SOCOS. Banning DI Pettinger and Henry Moth to beyond the taped periphery, they made initial deductions about what had befallen Annie Moan as they circled, filmed and photographed the gore-greased scene; examining and sifting the thick and glistening effluent for pearls of forensically incriminating evidence.
Pettinger, aware the familiar and occasionally beautiful ballet of their white-clad circling, to the accompaniment of murmurs and photographic flashes, masked the gruesomeness of their task, and remembered to be similarly appreciative of the numerous agencies – digital and DNA – which further supported and enhance their initial findings.
love the description of the forensic people in their white suits - clever and eye catching.
DeleteYour writing talent is showing, Sandra. How brave is Kate, banning Pettinger from anything, let alone a crime scene.
DeleteHard to imagine an entry that could be more visual than this. AND this time, it's episode 435. I have nothing more to say...!!!
DeletePOST ENCOUNTER
ReplyDeleteThe drive was short but nice. Anna snuggled against me as I drove, her hand tantalizingly close to my groin.
At her place she made us Vodka Gibsons with pearl onions. Not a favorite of mine, but I wasn’t about to complain.
I came to slowly, my head in dire need of support and an effluent of vomit and vodka streaming from my mouth. I tried to move but couldn’t, as I was securely tied to a chair.
Before me, Anna danced, her veils a swirling Aurea Borealis of color.
“See, Randy?” she giggled. “You have me all to yourself.”
Creepily nightmarish. And the pearl onions an uncomfortable reminder of a better-forgotten incident involving drink in my youth.
Deletevery much a nightmare!! oh my, tied up or tied down, none of that is going to be fun...
DeleteA little groin tease does it every time. An enjoyable tale, Jim.
DeleteAnd. I might add, my comment was meant as a compliment.
DeleteThe stuff of nightmares indeed. To me, I think the giggle reference was the most spine-tingling.
DeleteThe comment about being silent was meant for another entry, Perry. I'm baffled as to how it got under yours. Sorry for the confusion.
ReplyDeleteStop The Week…
ReplyDeleteBeing on an island has its drawbacks, apart from gridlock when ferries aren’t sailing for whatever reason. Exhausts sending fumes into the air… then there’s the rotting seaweed, the council is not good at getting it taken away... and of course effluent waste … so far this year we’ve missed this, in exchange for flooding, gales, damage and lockdowns… we have all needed support and only now, looking back over the lockdown times, do I see the pearl in the oyster, the time spent working with the new imprint. The shop ticks on, would Gravestone Press interest you more?
So island living isn't all glorious vistas and continuous walks on the beach?
DeleteYou accurately hit many of the drawbacks of island living, Antonia. Thank goodness for boats and planes.
DeleteI've never been to the Isle of Wight and to be honest, had rather imagined it being idyllic for the most part. I believe I heard that the Red Squirrel is still be to be seen in abundance with no pesky Grey Squirrels invasions. I hope that's true. Squirrel Nutkin is such an impertinent and delightful little fellow.
DeleteSilver linings aren't always easy to spot.
DeleteThe Mad Italian 211
ReplyDeleteOne could, if one were so inclined, consider the sounds issuing from MPs mouths to be like the effluent which flows through rusted pipes into the Solent, waters we know harbours no pearls. It does, however, have large ferries which carve their way through the waves, carrying their burdens of many cars, lorries and idiotic employees. One leapt overboard to rescue a kitten from the Solent waters… delaying the traffic for an hour… sometimes it is good, sometimes it is a foolish thing to be so soft hearted… now if the ferry companies could lose an MP or two overboard…
Always impressed by the Mad Italian's observations. I'm pretty sure I'd be one of those leaping overboard to rescue the kitten, by the way.
DeleteThe Italian certainly knows how to emphasize a point.
ReplyDeleteNo tales this week but hopefully back tomorrow with comments. In the meantime, keep that plume waving...!!!
ReplyDeleteMuch to my dismay, I have found inspiration sadly lacking of late in the departments of both serializations and stand-alones. While I await the return of my wayward and fickle muse, I shall continue to keep any eye on the comings and goings of The Prediction and delight in the plethora of pearls (hey, used one of the prompts) always on offer and provide what support (hey, used another) I can by way of comments, effluent (and there's the third) in substance as such utterances might prove to be.
ReplyDeleteObviously you are cleverer than you believe, Patricia (and I am reassured it's not my choice of prompts that is causing the hiatus.
Delete