Congratulations to Jenny Dreadful for winning last week's Friday Prediction with Slim(e) wa(i)ste. And to runners-up Aidan Fritz and Pixie J. King with The Time Traveler's Hawker and Glass Slipper - well done.
This week's words are:
- Revolution
- Stitch
- Mistake
Rules
The rules are: 100 words max flash fiction or poetry using all of the words above. Please add your entries in the Comments box below. You have all week until 9pm UK time on Thursday 7th April to enter.
Winner will be announced next Thursday or Friday. If you can, please tweet about your entry, using the #fridayflash hashtag, and blog if you feel like it.
I look forward to the beauty (or not) of your words...
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Heavens!, am I the first? Oh well, here 'tis
ReplyDeleteBoob job
“Whoops!”
Probably the most frightening word ever to overhear one’s cosmetic surgeon using. Especially when accompanied by an empty whirring and a frantic arm-stretch leap for the piece of bean-bag shaped flesh that flew up, in a dramatically beautiful spray of bloody droplets.
And especially when you paid a small fortune for him to sculpt ‘the most beautiful boobs in the world’
A small mistake – but just one revolution too far and the damage was done – and one that no amount of stitching would mend. The words ‘crewel embroidery’ came to mind.
He suggested she consider becoming an Amazonian Princess
The Last In Line
ReplyDeleteThe revolution would be foolproof; a tightly woven plan. It was I who dropped the stitch; I made the mistake that cost everyone their lives. I will soon join them all on the scaffold.
I am the last in line, so that the enormity of my miscalculation can sink in. Those who were brave enough to oppose the regime will all be dead. Anyone who may have considered resistance will certainly reconsider. The regime will stay in place to torture and enslave subsequent generations.
They say that when good men do nothing, evil wins.
Sometimes it wins, regardless.
Sandra, that's outright scary
ReplyDeleteMimi, deep thoughts here and I like it, a lot.
Sandra OUCH!!!You really hit the fear factor with Boob Job. I could perfectly visualise (gulp) - everything. I just wish I hadn't been eating my re-hydrated pepper rice with red bits in it at the time. Seriously though, very powerful writing.
ReplyDeleteMimi there is immense energy here too, even though the subject is tragic and seemingly hopeless. You evoked such a sense of despair that it makes me afraid. I can smell the smoke in this eternal twilight. Excellent.
She’ll Be Spinning
ReplyDeleteThey’re peddling wishes in the graveyard, penny a kiss from the old skull’s lips.
“You next.”
Kirsten smiles and slots the coin into hallowed ground. As she probes the thing with the end of her tongue something rattles behind its teeth. Mistaking the bite for affection she pulls back. Billy strokes the bleeding lips.
“That’s gonna need a stitch.”
She sucks, but not before a single drop falls red and fresh onto the headstone. Under their feet, Kirsten’s mother spins. Twenty rpm; twenty revolutions a minute for every sweet second she’d lived, new baby Kirsten in her cold arms.
Nothing Is Real
ReplyDeleteShe staggers along the depression between the white-humped strawberry fields' unaccustomed to the disk's centrifugal force. Ragged stitches pinch her sundress.
I take her hand. "Let me take you down." The mellotron strums in B-flat.
She slips in the mud. "Must be a mistake. Where am I?"
My fingers close her eyelids. "Living is easy with eyes closed."
The flap of skin struggles until the fight dies. Cradling her, we circle towards the laser sun's glare.
"Is this a dream?"
The stanza ends. I await another soul sucked into this reality as the needle skips to begin a new revolution.
Aidan, this is lovely - just lovely. Right from the give-away title. You know what? That's all I'm going to say. Mmmmnnn...
ReplyDeleteSandra Definitely cut deep with this. I thought at first that it was an implant. Not so, huh? Nice reference to the amazon warrior!
ReplyDeleteMimi When the evil is "inevitable", it's infinitely worse. The sadness in this is profound.
Lily This is gorgeous. Having the graveyard antics echo through the soul of the lost loved one - especially a mother, is so powerful.
Aidan Overwhelmed by the imagery here. The alternate dimension / world is stunning with the light and music and the confidence of your guide/guardian.
Had to re-do... I was missing a prompt word!!
ReplyDeleteMa petite homunculus
Stutter. Stutter. Stop.
The tiny flywheel sticks again, frozen in mid-revolution. For the thousandth time! What does it want from me? Blood?
Blood. Why not? In my midnight desperation, it seems right.
With the merest caress, the little circle cleaves my finger, and a single drop of blood flows into its secret brass crevices.
Stutter. Stutter. Hum.
I wait five seconds. Five minutes. It's working.
Quickly now. Careful. No mistakes. Small, perfect stitches seal up my miracle.
She's smiling. My eyes well up at the sight of tiny, perfect fangs.
"Father."
"Child."
"Feed me."
"Soon, love ... soon"
not to be taken seriously ...
ReplyDeletethis week's entry from me.
Mistake
A stitch in time saves nine – well, it would have done if I had not made the mistake of tearing at the flap of skin which dangled down my face. It was dripping blood in my eye. I wanted to pull it off but it wouldn’t give.
A&E reception is boring, watching nothing but the hands on the clock making their u slow revolution around its pristine face. No blood there. Not like mine.
Gives me to time to wonder what the nurse will say when I walk in.
It isn’t every day of the week they treat a zombie.
OK, two major tasks done this morning, an article and my entry for the Prediction ... now to the comments. Startling stuff already!
ReplyDeleteLily, graveyards, always good for a tale, and this had a sorrowful ending.
Aidan, imagery again, wonderful stuff.
Chris, cold shivers for that one!
How weird that ”revolution” should turn up this week. I´ve been thinking a lot about the concept lately and right now I find it really interesting to explore it in a disillusioned/blasé kind of sense.
ReplyDeleteFunctional Liar
I´ll stitch you up and send you on your way if that´s what it takes.
But you always hesitate, and then we´re back to square one again.
Why would one drink red wine and talk about the revolution when red wine hasn´t been the cheapest drink in decades and there´s nothing to protest against?
But ah, I forget, my mistake! If this is going to be interesting you need some drama.
I lick your cunt, fill it with objects too large and you like it, so much, through waves of pain.
There you go; it works even if I lie.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
If I Stand On A Rooftop In Brooklyn And Throw A Coin It´s Bound To Hit A Writer
”On a good day I´m depressed by stuff that upsets me,” he says, a troubled frown on his face.
”Yes,” she sighs, and then, sneering; ”It´s the post-structural apocalypse. Such a mistake, this whole revolution idea.” She flicks a crumb from her black silhouette.
”I´m done with it,” he continues adjusting his glasses. ”I´m finishing the emo-era, wrapping it up! Neat little stitches!”
”You always say so,” her sneer´s a permanent feature, ”but you never do. Just be a dear and finish one of the thousand books you´ve started.”
”I hate New York!” he states, sipping his soy milk Frappe.
Mimi - I like the solidity of this, and conjunction of stitch and scaffold for some reason
ReplyDeleteLily - there's something so believable about kids kissing skulls, less so when they bite back!
Aidan - tune well and truly in my head now, with the feel of summer
Chris - 'tiny, perfect fangs' - sort of kitten-like, but NOT
Antonia - from domestic to zombie in a clock hands revolution, impressive
asqui - yikes.
Chris Ma petite homunculus is my kind of horror. Love the whirring clunk of construction as he builds his 'child'. Fleshed out, this would make a great audio-cast.
ReplyDeleteAntonia, a highly effective zombie tale. I just knew that flap of skin really was a full-scale flap and not some small scrap. Great fun.
Asuqi, no such thing as coincidence. :)
Functional Liar is a bizarre drama that I confess I'm not sure I understand but I really like the writing. "...fill it with objects too large..." makes me wince.
#2 - fantastic title! A clever summary of pretentious types; however, I am intrigued by them and want to know more. She's Audrey Hepburn.
Any more from anyone?
FYI, this is the real name behind the Melenka curtain. I thought I should own my words when I play here. :)
ReplyDeletePatterns
I hate making wedding dresses, but like the money. Tense brides begging to be worthy of white hear promises I don’t make.
One bad stitch, a single mistake, and my clumsy fingers will ruin the enchantment of their day. You’d expect them to use better magic, stronger, to bind a man forever. Those with the proper spell rarely divulge the price for casting.
Our mothers started a revolution, organic wisdom of the self. We tried to swallow it, but candy-coated romance tasted so much better.
A tiny drop of blood mars a hidden seam. I do my part for freedom.
Melenka/RR - your name is still a lovely mystery! This is a perfect little write with cynical and sinister undercurrents. What is the bride's veil if not her intact virginity? What is the white she wears but (perceived) purity waiting to be spotted by that drop of blood.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I've done a lot of design-work - ball-gowns, corsets, basques, medieval costumes, tutus, 50/60s dresses... If I don't prick my finger by accident, spilling blood onto the fabric - then the design doesn't work. Not superstition - fact.
Lily - the first R is for Rebecca, but you have one of those. I go by Reba as well, so that will do. :)
ReplyDeleteI made costumes professionally for 17 years, specializing in renaissance gowns, and I really do hate making wedding dresses. That would be why I didn't make my own (and possibly why my spell worked). If it was costumes and not wedding attire, I also found them more popular if I bled on them - or if my late, great, satanic cat fell asleep on them mid-project.
Wonderful Reba!
ReplyDeleteYes, the cats have the power. I am trapped beneath my namesake as I type.
Sandra: I hate having dentists work on my teeth for just this idea, one simple slip easily becomes permanent. Yes this tweaks one of my fears.
ReplyDeleteMimi: Nice deep message in the piece that speaks well with what is happening in the world. I like the way that you used consistent images throughout the piece, woven, stitch, and therefore the end of the line felt like a piece of knitting as well.
Lily: “penny a kiss from the old skulls lips” has a lovely sound. I love this concept of the kids playing with things that don't quite understand and create strong images of the skull.
Chris: I get strong feelings of Frankenstein's monster mixed with Audrey from The Little Shop of Horrors. The detail of brass crevices creates an intriguing robotic quality to this.
Antonia: I like the squeamish description of pulling little flaps of skin that don't give. Ending with the zombie creates interesting questions.
Asuqi: Liar, there is a lot of strength exuded in this voice and I like the way it captures an undercurrent of malevolence. Throwing, the ending line is nice with his switch of topics. There's gold in these characters.
Reba: I enjoyed the premise here of spells underlying the sewing of the dresses. I'm not much of a costume maker, but I used to help with the creation of my dance costumes. Your story gives a more magical concept to the good luck of spilling blood on the costume. The voice carries across the put-upon attitude of the protagonist.
Mending the Broken
ReplyDeleteOne revolution.
They came to rest at the side of the deserted road.
One revolution, through one mistake, that’s all it took.
6-year-old Emily mooched through her mother’s handbag, found the little travel sewing pack that her mother always took with her wherever she went.
Emily's tongue glistened in the fading sunlight; folds of concentration darkened her brow as she attempted to thread the needle.
Her mother’s expression remained impassive. It had been hours since the accident. No one came.
No matter. Emily stood on the shattered car seat and began to stitch her mother’s head back on its shoulders.
Wait for it...I'm breaking tradition...you can blame AJ for that...
ReplyDeleteFLIGHT OF THE ARROW
One mistake. That’s all it was. One bloody mistake.
I was blinded by the sulphur, the full impact of the revolution unfolding beneath my feet.
My people were against me, the Realm spiralling out of control.
I swooped and pirouetted out of the arrow’s way, my heart almost bursting through my tiny ribcage, my wings pulsing as hard as they could.
I heard a tear, felt an excruciating pain in my back, tumbled to the ground.
They attacked me like wolves…
***
‘You need to be more careful, Julio,’ my mom said as she stitched up my wing.
No shit…
AJ - how do you manage to twist the needle into our most vulnerable of places - always? This vision of a child - not much younger than my own - labouring to save Mommy is truly upsetting. A brilliantly crafted piece of writing.
ReplyDeletePixie - what a dance! The motion of 'pirouette'and 'spiralling' together with the well-described 'tiny ribcage' define the fairy realm so well. The tear of the wing is heartbreaking, but I adore Julio's teenage reaction to Mom's warning. A wonderful vignette.
Sorry I'm late had a tough week what with trips to that Manchester and the like. Had loads of ideas but this is the only one I had time to finish
ReplyDeleteFranks games
Frank had caused a revolution, introducing Ecstasy to the residents of his retirement home. It turned the Wednesday afternoon whist drive into a wild hedonist orgy no one had a stitch on, even the matron got into the swing of things, after Frank had spiked her coffee.
It made them more receptive for his twisted deviant games that he played with them when they were really out of it.
Today’s game is called human soup, two of them sat there like lobsters without shells in his giant cooking pot.
Adding Stilton to the first batch was a major mistake though.
And with William's cheeky blast at the elderly (and the excellent use of 'hedonistic' - one of my favourite words) - I declare this week's Prediction challenge Closed.
ReplyDeleteNo more entries please.
Results shortly.