An impressive set of very smoothly-executed prompt-insertions this week, which brings accolades for
Antonia, and a dead heat between Terrie, for her
'Small marauders' and Perry, for 'Snark loves company', a truly
delightful pair. Thank you all for the rich entertainment.
Words
for the coming week: cable lime protect
Entries
by midnight Thursday 17th February, new words
posted Friday 18th February
Congrats Antonia, Terrie & Perry!
ReplyDeletethanks very much, Sandra, and congrats to Terrie and Perry!
ReplyDeleteSo many excellent offerings last week. Well done Antonia and Perry.
ReplyDeleteSEWING LESSON
ReplyDeleteHe stood behind, watching her work, ‘Did I teach you nothing? Use over and under for this kind of work, not cable stitching.’
Silently, the girl got up and viewed her handiwork.
The corpse lay with hands protectively covering his missing genitals. Mottled purple, its mouth and cheeks bulged where she had expertly stuffed and sewn them.
‘Now you know how it feels, you dirty bastard,’ she whispered hoarsely.
Throwing a dirty lime-coloured, sex-stained, bed sheet over the carcass she turned and, walking through the fading fabric of his ghost, shredded his waning form into a thousand cottony wisps.
Ooh - loved this - so vividly described! (But am curious as to the role of the watching stitch criticiser.)
DeleteSomebody got exactly what he deserved. Graphically beautiful, Terrie.
DeleteVery nice, Terrie. A top notch story.
DeleteSays a lot about the ghost that he'd comment on her stitching versus his corpse. Loved the imagery of the final line with 'walking through the fading fabric of his ghost, shredded his waning form into a thousand cottony wisps.'
Deletevery cold, sharply written and taking no prisoners. Loved it.
DeleteConflicting Details
ReplyDelete“He forgot my lime,” Linda said. “What’s a margarita without a lime?”
The detective raised his substantial brow. He’d like to protect her, such a beauty. But she’d gone too far… in front of witnesses. Just one detail to firm up.
“About your companion,” he said carefully.
“Yes, thank you for dinner,” she said. “Am I in trouble?”
He stared. “I was not your companion. You must name someone else.”
“Maybe it was the cable guy,” she said. “It’s all a little fuzzy.”
The detective nodded. “Very good.”
“He forgot my lime,” Linda said, her hands trembling.
With women, a fellow must be very conscious of details. Nice, John!
DeleteIt's fascinating what seemingly small thing can sometimes set someone off. Loved the smoothness of the dialogue when the detective was asking about her companion.
DeleteFor all his intelligence-signifying high forehead, sounds to me he's on a rocky path.
Deleteso carefully and cautiously done!
DeleteMersey Beaten
ReplyDeleteThe cable arrived at Liverpool Lime Street.
“The Beetles Are Coming!”
Kitchener was lost for words when he saw the enormity of the mighty mechanicals. Multiple limbs clattering against the tracks, pistons hushing, swathing their bulky forms in ghostly mist.
Sirens began to wail. A biplane roared in, machine gun raining lead. It was swatted away like a fly. He watched the smoke trail as it tail-spun toward the Mersey. When he saw a train engine crushed like paper beneath the iron weight of one of the menacing cogwheel bugs he knew he could not protect the city .
Sounds like a nightmare gone bad. Nice, David.
DeleteIt's time to fight fire with fire, Kitchner (or beetles with beetles). Build some bugs of your own!
DeleteA vivid and memorable scene! Loved the description of the mechanical beetles. It'd be hard to fight them off without something equally as large.
DeleteVisually vivid. Kitchener needs something more impressive than ranks of men.
Deletecreepy and militant at the same time, can these things be real, can there be true victory...
DeleteSTIRRING THE POT
ReplyDeleteThe massive ship sailed high above Earth, invisible within its cloaking device. On the bridge, Fleet Admiral Jaeul-Alp stared disgustedly at the view-screen. “Look, Dwol-Int,” he said to his Weapons Master, “the human fools litter their planet with feeble windmills and sunsheets. They believe those worthless gadgets will protect them from what they call climate change.”
Dwol-Int rubbed his lime-green hands together. “And Earth’s leaders meet only to insult and blame each other. Pathetic, isn’t it?”
“Let’s stir the pot again, Dwol-Int. Scramble earth’s cablegrams, create a hurricane over Florida and raise the temperature 20 degrees in the northern hemisphere.”
Very entertaining, Jim. This is fiction, I hope. 20 degrees would really stirvthe pot up.
DeleteAn imaginative story! I'm really curious what their objective is, to annoy (not that we'd find it very funny!) or destroy?
DeleteThis feels more threatening for its not-quite impossibility.
Deletesome scary thoughts there ... all too real!
DeleteQuesting for Quests [4]
ReplyDelete“I take it back. Rach’s friend is not nice.” Felicia scowls as the mohawked goblin ties her hands together.
“It’s a bit like birdliming,” the second one says. He’s turning our gem beneath the lantern light, back and forth. “Dangle a quest in the adventurers’ faces, then collect their rewards!”
Rach’s face is purple. She’s straining against the thick cable around her arms and chest. “I’ll murder you, Erd!”
“Oh Great Eressa, protect me!” The goblin laughs and winks at Vera, who’s gagged and glaring daggers. “Sorry, gals. I win this round, but I’m sure you’ll land on your feet.”
The threat, I fear, is in the nature of the landing - where? and in whose company?
Deletenow there's a whole load pf nastiness¬ brilliantly done!
DeleteSomething tells me the gals will come out of this on top. An entertaining writing style, Holly.
DeleteA conflict with a goblin is indeed frightening. Perhaps the girls have a savior in the shadows.
DeleteChange of focus [460]
ReplyDeleteOnly one way to celebrate that: bed again. Tight clutch of her legs around him, head thrown back in ecstasy, sinews of her throat like cables – and no protection.
Both open-eyed, each observing the other. Philly smiled: 'Did you know your eyes lose their milkiness in orgasm?'
'No –'
'Take on the sharpness of a lime.'
'Aleks would tell you limes are good for scurvy. Come to which –' a glance at the bedside clock 'Where is Aleks?'
'He said some after school club – '
Pettinger scrambled off the bed, ''Til ten past seven?'
'A friend's house?'
'What friend?'
Oh my, I sense trouble afoot! Great use of the prompts, Sandra.
DeleteOh the fun of parenthood and tricky kids! Mine are both under 10 and already making me sweat lol. Loved the comparison of Pettinger's eyes with 'Take on the sharpness of a lime.'
Deletesharp pointed dialogue carrying the story ever onward and taking us with it, to a tantalising last line.
DeleteThese two are just settling right in. I think Stepcart would be quite a catch.
DeleteHorizon in sight [Threshold 383]
ReplyDeleteMore sluggishly than I hoped – cable driven rather than fizzing lime-green speed of light – my inner compass reasserted itself. I fixed my eyes on a three-peak protuberance on the horizon and aimed that way. Raven followed without demur bringing to my mind the phrase 'mind my back' (by which I meant 'looking out for me' and not about to shoot me.) My hope was to find a place where we could recuperate. Find a place to reassess and rediscover what we most valued in each other. Make plans for a future, rather than continue to be blown hither and thither
I hope they get a breath to settle down, though it doesn't seem to be in the cards for them with their adventures so far. Loved the phrasing of the first line.
DeleteThese poor characters won't get a rest from endless questing when there is so much for them to do. I can almost hear their struggles to breathe from this distance...
DeleteI wish I had an inner compass. I get lost driving around my own town. I sure hope she finds the spot she seeks.
DeleteStop the Week:
ReplyDeleteShould be retitled ‘Let’s get the week going’; we need to protect our livelihood! Nothing but nothing going out, plenty coming in, very stylish beech shelving, chest of drawers, bedside cabinets, probably at any other time they would have sold by now but times are so hard… at least the useless bunch working upstairs cut the cable which hung down below our shop sign, very annoying! It’s cold in here; it’s telling us there’s a way to go before we can relax with cool lime drinks… and plan our future. Until then, we have to be patient…
Make my cool lime drink a margarita. I'm sorry your week isn't great... yet. I hope the guys working upstairs don't follow this site.
DeleteAnd with today's threatened storm I doubt thing will get much better very soon, but finger crossed for you, Antonia.
DeleteThe Mad Italian(S)
ReplyDeleteWe could spend the days with lime laden alcoholic drinks but there are many still seeking guidance, comfort, even a hint of where the future is taking you… I am here this week with friends. You tugged on the cable which connects us and we have responded. The truth is… there will be disruption for possibly another year, but it will return to a semblance of normality for most of you. Some prices will ease as the need for drivers is fulfilled, there will be less waste food and more sensible buying… a good start, we think. Hold on.
I could order another margarita, but itvwould bd redundant. So much stuff going on in the world. Could it be mankind prefers it that way? I hope not.
Delete'less waste of food and more sensible buying'... now wouldn't that be nice!
Delete