I love the anticipation of 'imminence' ... great prompt, Miguel. And a generous dose, thank you.
I'm a little late but ...
The Night Before
Battle-scarred fingers dripped with pork fat as men scrabbled for the juiciest cuts. Rival warriors glared across the table, united for now in their quest for basic pleasures. Food first. Strong ale spilled as drinking vessels fashioned from the horns of beasts met roaring mouths. Greasy fingers stroked huge beards and prodded willing flesh as serving maidens were selected in anticipation of the next pleasure, fucking. For tomorrow shield walls would echo to the sound of iron. Swords would clash and crimson blood would flow as the Viking warriors fought for their Lord’s honour and a seat at Valhalla’s table.
I was waiting, weighing up, how to start, what to do.
Staring through glass not smudgy but also not spotless, my view pixelated into a thousand tiny windows by the flyscreen, beyond, I see a chorus line of trees dancing in the wind.
I hope to see some other sign of life. Wait long and enough you always will. Birdcall, a buzz or bark. But this day has no sound other than the wind; the birds are not here, and dogs are asleep, curled up warm.
Lacking entertainment, I return to my canvas to begin, but I see I already have.
He stood out on the balcony, watching the throng of protesters outside the palace’s fortified gates. Soon, he surmised, they would be great enough in number to push the iron barricade open and slice through any security detail who had not yet succumbed to cowardice.
“It was all worth it,” the dictator reflected, as the sound of the rifles’ bursts drowned out the rioters’ screams.
“Every ounce of blood, every butchered child and wailing widow, it was all worth it.” He said, his gaze now transfixed upon the gold foil Tyler the Great Warrior card nestled snugly in his hand.
The imminence of the 2024 solar eclipse is in full, eerie, anticipatory mode through a succinctly measured swath of America. It is a fast-approaching ghostly phenomenon. Its essence will be fleeting and beyond unique. It is more than an unavoidable lumming darkness merely seconds away and lasting a minute or so. The solar eclipse lurks with potential and imminent danger if your eyes are unprotected. The overcast skies will grow darker. Then brightness will return as the skies recover and regain their expected brightness. Inevasible. Inescapable. Illumination. The lovely sun regains its illustrious eminent role as ruler of the heavens.
At first there was no threat of rain, the sky was clear; but in the Brazilian jungle the frogs would not stop croaking during the day and night. There was the imminence that they knew dark ominous clouds would form and torrential monsoon rains would arrive that would last for a month. Frogs like elephants know when disaster of rain, earthquake, or tsunami would arrive. They warned people and animals to seek higher ground. Awareness of
the environment, noticing animals warnings is survival. But the frogs didn’t for-tell the megalithic dam across the wide Anaconda River would imminently break.
I love the anticipation of 'imminence' ... great prompt, Miguel. And a generous dose, thank you.
I'm a little late but ...
The Night Before
Battle-scarred fingers dripped with pork fat as men scrabbled for the juiciest cuts. Rival warriors glared across the table, united for now in their quest for basic pleasures. Food first. Strong ale spilled as drinking vessels fashioned from the horns of beasts met roaring mouths. Greasy fingers stroked huge beards and prodded willing flesh as serving maidens were selected in anticipation of the next pleasure, fucking. For tomorrow shield walls would echo to the sound of iron. Swords would clash and crimson blood would flow as the Viking warriors fought for their Lord’s honour and a seat at Valhalla’s table.
I was waiting, weighing up, how to start, what to do.
Staring through glass not smudgy but also not spotless, my view pixelated into a thousand tiny windows by the flyscreen, beyond, I see a chorus line of trees dancing in the wind.
I hope to see some other sign of life. Wait long and enough you always will. Birdcall, a buzz or bark. But this day has no sound other than the wind; the birds are not here, and dogs are asleep, curled up warm.
Lacking entertainment, I return to my canvas to begin, but I see I already have.
The Dictator
By Phil Rot
He stood out on the balcony, watching the throng of protesters outside the palace’s fortified gates. Soon, he surmised, they would be great enough in number to push the iron barricade open and slice through any security detail who had not yet succumbed to cowardice.
“It was all worth it,” the dictator reflected, as the sound of the rifles’ bursts drowned out the rioters’ screams.
“Every ounce of blood, every butchered child and wailing widow, it was all worth it.” He said, his gaze now transfixed upon the gold foil Tyler the Great Warrior card nestled snugly in his hand.
Cool story. Paints a vivid picture while setting up some intriguing questions.
This gives me the same vibes as this story I read on Reddit called The Story of her Holding an Orange. I need to know who the woman is!!
Mine was supposed to be some embodiment of death itself I guess
I love it. I really enjoy your more sinister stories. But I guess you probably knew that lol
The imminence of the 2024 solar eclipse is in full, eerie, anticipatory mode through a succinctly measured swath of America. It is a fast-approaching ghostly phenomenon. Its essence will be fleeting and beyond unique. It is more than an unavoidable lumming darkness merely seconds away and lasting a minute or so. The solar eclipse lurks with potential and imminent danger if your eyes are unprotected. The overcast skies will grow darker. Then brightness will return as the skies recover and regain their expected brightness. Inevasible. Inescapable. Illumination. The lovely sun regains its illustrious eminent role as ruler of the heavens.
At first there was no threat of rain, the sky was clear; but in the Brazilian jungle the frogs would not stop croaking during the day and night. There was the imminence that they knew dark ominous clouds would form and torrential monsoon rains would arrive that would last for a month. Frogs like elephants know when disaster of rain, earthquake, or tsunami would arrive. They warned people and animals to seek higher ground. Awareness of
the environment, noticing animals warnings is survival. But the frogs didn’t for-tell the megalithic dam across the wide Anaconda River would imminently break.
Oooo creepy. You should share this with the Macabre Monday crew too!
Also, thank you for the 100mg. This is a generous dose for a Monday.
Thank you! I did hoping MM crowd will like it :)