8.4.19

“I’m not supposed to talk with you.”

“Well that’s rude,” the Devil said, picking dirt off their immaculate white shoes. “It’s Saturday afternoon, we’re in a church, and I want to partake of the sacrament.”

“But you don’t ever confess. Why are you here?”

“It can work in reverse, father. Most come here, seeking to unburden their souls, to make them light enough to float to heaven. There is freedom, though, in knowing you’re damned, and treasuring the weight that brings you to perdition.”

The priest shook feebly. “I have sinned.”

“And I,” said the devil, “am here to listen.”

7.28.19

She sat in the back of the church, listening to the sermon. The preacher spoke of gays infiltrating bathrooms, of Muslims infiltrating the government. Somehow he never spoke about the children he raped. The fear and shame he enforced filled his congregation.  Each would transfer that suffering  to the weak and helpless. She scratched her arm, waiting for the worship to start. The music began. It was weak, inoffensive. But it triggered what She needed from their souls. Yearnings, pleas, grief and gratitude. Spilling from their hearts into Her Essence.

She stumbled out. A fix was a fix after all.

7.27.19

“Why is it anime for me?

I’ve spent 45 years watching this stuff, locked on to it before I even knew it was from somewhere else, for another audience. Maruki Trading company, Sandy Frank and Carl Macek had me primed for the years of untranslated Betas, the VHS subscription services, and the streaming video of today.

It’s not the color, or the style, or even the storytelling. It’s the emotion. This was always a place where a character’s emotions were present on the screen and the expressing of emotions was the point. Our hearts are as vital as our minds.”

7.26.19

Bruce Wayne sat glumly, looking over the details of the plan.

“Our R&D department is providing free municipal wifi across Gotham. Our chemical divisions are providing storage and recycling services for facilities such as ACE, The Wayne foundation is focusing on mental health, as well as addressing housing and food issues across the city. We’ve teamed up with STAR labs for renewable energy sources. In short, we’re making Gotham the place you always wanted it to be, with Wayne Industries as the engine of change.”

“I know, but…”

“Would it help if we added a bat to the letterhead, sir?”

7.25.19

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

Secrecy

7.24.19

“They’re just taking up space. And we’re running out of room.”

The meeting table was covered in paperwork. Ledgers and diagrams, projections and panels.

“We’re seeing if we can get the overflow to other countries, but no one’s taking us up on it. Even the ones we expected.”

“Even with removing beds and facilities, the space limitations are showing.”

“It’s not like they’re legal entities. Our country doesn’t recognize them.”

“We can’t release them; if they go back, they’ll find another way in.”

“There’s a solution, and it’s got historical precedent.”

The folder for a new facility simply said ‘de-lousing’.

7.23.19

Captain Trall sat in the sandbox, each eyestalk focused on a child.

“You -all- have guns?”

The children nodded eagerly. “We’re gonna battle soon. It’ll be great!”

The stalks recoiled anxiously. “What do your guns fire?”

“Mine squirts water!”

“Mine shoots bubbles!”

“Mine has lights and goes pew pew!”

“And if you’re shot, what happens?”

“We drop down, and we’re dead for a couple of seconds, then we get up and play some more. What does your gun shoot?”

He looked down at his flechette pistol and thought carefully.

“Ah..Nothing.”

“Can you say pew pew?”

“I think so.”

“Let’s play!”

7.22.19

The numbers matched. The tablet, the chalkboard.  She drew a series of rings.

“Each universe near our own is mildly different. The further you go, the more extreme the difference. Pulling an artifact from one universe to ours requires an intense amount of startup energy ;but the return on investment is exponential the further out you draw an artifact.”

The assistant frowned. “So wishes are possible…”

“You’re just pulling the desired result from a universe where it’s already  happened.”

“And that thing inside feeds off the power between the universes…”

The sealed bronze lamp sat on the table patiently. 

7.21.19

“I don’t need the meetings. I’m a social drinker.”

“Even a little is too much, do you see that?”

“But if they’re consenting-“

“They consent because they think you need it to live. We know that’s not true. –You- know that’s not true.”
“I do need it. I’m not –me- without it.”

“We’ve all said that. There’s no excuse you have that hasn’t been said a hundred times.”

“Then what’s the point?”

“The point is, you’re not alone. And together we don’t have to steal life to feel alive.”

“ I just have to take this step…”

“First of twelve.”

7/20.19

I miss breathing.

I thought it would be my hands, or how I see the world, but it’s cool. There’s haptic responses on the gathering tools, so I can feel the dirt, and the sensor array gives me colors I didn’t have in life.

From the speed of light, and the relay bounce, it will be about ten years before you get this, along with the data from the soil and atmosphere. I’m not used to the color of the sky, or the position of the stars, but it’s okay. I’m glad I’m here.

It’s just odd what you miss.

7.19.19

As with many things in the city, it came down to architecture.

The prison was located on a hill, the center of the facility. Each was placed in a vault of marble, Sealed in bronze. Surrounding the prison in ring after ring were the wardens.

In life, they were the worst of the worst. Giancana, Nitti, O’Banion, and the Capones. With them there were the Genna brothers, Hymie Weiss, and their cruel associates. Enemies and rivals, now unified in death, forming concentric rings of power.  

And thus the souls of the Bishops of Chicago can no longer harm the city.

7.18.19

“It’s a simple concept. Four characters. The characters are each recognizable types, and their situations are ordinary; magnified by their personalities.”

“What kind of stories?”

“Well, anything! Rock Bands, Conspiracy Theorists, War Survivors. It can be comedy, drama, mystery. But no matter how outlandish, keep it in the world, the everyday. If it’s aliens, have the aliens sign up for drama club. If it’s war survivors, have them write letters to family. The goal is always to make the audience see themselves and their world. To see the -value- in themselves, and the world they live in. Four by Four.”

7.17.19

Every marine had been issued a container of Pervitin before the assault on the facility. He had been subsisting on them, scavenging the precious amphetamines from the soldiers’ rotting bodies. He wandered the labyrinth, seeing the four spectral forms of his cherished friends at every corner. They blamed him; Their wide accusing eyes chasing him through the halls, threatening to burst his heart with terror. Sometimes he would come up on the body of a medic, and swallow the container of the medic’s pack in one go, chasing the ghosts away in addled fury. “Paku…Paku…” he muttered into the void.

7.16.19

“I came out already.”

“The first time I came out, I was raped. I assumed that it was the wrong decision. I tried to be ‘normal’ for 15 years after that. It was awful. I hurt myself and others. But I got better. I found love, and I came out again.”  

 “I’ve gone through so much. I’ve changed. I’ve grown. I’ve collapsed and rebuilt my life multiple times. I’ve flown the flags. I’ve cared for my kids. At some point, there has to be an end to this.”

The woman in the mirror looked at me compassionately and said. “No.”

7.15.19

The succubus sat by the young man’s bed, looking confused.

“So there’s no…”

“Not really.”

“I could turn into another form! Male, female…Other…species?”

The young man shook his head. “Only if you really want to.”

“I’m good.”

The silence stretched. She stared at the purple and grey flag on his wall. He considered.

“You need passion to live, right? So what do I get?”

“Well, all your desires fulfilled, at the cost of your immortal soul.”

“Does it -have- to be sexual?”

Before his death the next day, the two had binged all three seasons of Firefly and its spinoffs.

7.14.19

Eamon, king of Autumn, walked idly through Rosehill cemetery, his shape barely visible in the light.

“I like the rabbits,” he said, passing by civil war memorials, their soldiers’ names long vanished.  “And the squirrels.  All the trees are filled with chattering birds. Back in the day, deer would wander through the dawn, climbing over the mortuary cellars.” He passed by statues, obelisks, all the great grieving stones, ignoring them.  I thought he’d take me to the necropolis, but he turned, going deeper into the remaining untouched forest. “Now we have joggers and the occasional picnicker. “Look!” he smiled, “Geese!” 

7.13.19

I heard the clack of the Devil’s white shoes over the sounds of my heart monitor.

“Have you come for my soul at last?” I wheezed through the mask.

The Devil walked to my side. “I took your soul years and years ago when we made the contract. It’s long gone, fed to creditors in dimensions where hunger is the only rule. You’ve lived without one nearly all your life. There is no eternity for you.”

“If it’s already gone, then why –“ I coughed my last in agony as The Devil grinned.

“I’m just here to watch you die.”

7.3.19

The wall of flags seemed to be without end. Countless bright colors stood out, bordered by flags that were variations of the core. Some were adorned with symbols, each representing a fraction of a broader experience. A man sucked his teeth disgustedly at the display.

“This waters down the whole experience. Is this what our elders fought for at Stonewall, so that any tumblr teen who thought being a catgirl was their true identity could be part of the family?”

He resumed typing on his phone, confirming the text on his profile.

“NO FATS NO BLACKS NO FEMMES NO ASIANS”

7.2.19

I remember a cough.

I had been holding on to the intake from a vaporizer, filling my lungs, and there was a cough.

Silence. No time, no thought, no presence.

The first sensation that returned was touch. I desperately reached for any handhold. I felt the texture of a sofa on my grip. I assumed I was returning to reality.

But there was a beautiful woman in front of me. A sunlit goddess was rubbing my chest, forcing me to wonder if I was back in the world.

“Weed isn’t supposed to kill you, dummy,” she giggled. “Let’s try edibles.”

To: Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos @ etsy.com/fatesloom

Re: Ravelry ban.

After much deliberation and careful consideration, we regret that you are banned from Ravelry indefinitely, due to the following posts:

6.18.19 YOUR PATTERN IS BAD AND YOUR BIOPSY IS POSITIVE.

6.22.19 IT’S NOT THAT THEY DIDN’T LIKE THE SWEATER; THEY’RE LEAVING YOU FOR YOUR BEST FRIEND ON THURSDAY.

6.28.19 HOW TO KNIT A SCARF THAT KNOWS WHEN YOU WILL DIE. PATTERN INCLUDED.

We read your response on 7.1, and from experience, do not feel your argument of ‘truth telling’ makes for a positive environment in the fabric arts.

Sincerely yours,

Cassandra.

6.30.19

The day was clear. None of the park-goers by Loyola University expected the rain that fell. A gathering remained, surrounding an adoring couple. The pair knelt, as an elderly woman spoke to them. They sipped sake as onlookers applauded. When the rain cleared, the couple walked off together, changing back into foxes in the park’s shadows. The woman rose, gathering the shawl that disguised her nine tails.

A young fox, disguised as a bicycle courier, took her hand.

“Beautiful wedding, my grandmother.”

“Rogers Park is kind to newcomers. I expect more foxes soon. We should paint one of the benches.”

6.27.19

“I like to think of it as the ‘Duh’ factor.”

 We spent the evening talking about everything and nothing, waiting in the car for the train that would take me home.

“Explain.”

“Say you’re ill and need my kidney. My response is ‘Duh, of course.’ No thought at all. That is family to me. If you ever need anything from me, my response is always going to be: ‘Duh, you’re my sister’.

I didn’t know those stray words would change so much. My family is now so very large, and she was the first of my found brothers and sisters.

6.26.19

 “You have to believe me-“

“I –do- believe you, Chris. But there’s a better way. .”

Chris stared at Ryan in horror. He had found Chris’ secret space, and had locked himself in with Chris, on this night of all nights. The growl built in Chris’ throat, as his body rippled in the moonlight spilling from the basement window. Soon he would-

The tap on his nose was sharp.

“No.”

Ryan’s gaze never left him, one finger raised, and the other pointed at the floor. The werewolf sat down, whimpering, as a treat was balanced on his nose.

“Good boy.”

6.23.19

After the Szechuan Sauce debacle, the executives knew there was going to be a problem. Being executives, they proceeded regardless.

In the short term, it was a success. Adding the McRib sandwich to their permanent menu brought customers back, swelling their profits past reason.

Within a week, their supply was depleted.

In a month, there were no pigs left to be had.

Beef and chicken were reconstituted, and the people demanded yet more.

The scales tipped in Hammond Indiana when a tub of sauce fell on a doomed employee.

The smell of barbecue fills the air. The hordes are coming.

6.19.19

I don my armor.

Polyester and spandex to keep me cool and limit the impact of contact.

Lacing and steel to protect my core and provide a posture that looks confident and unafraid.

Two layers of leggings to hide the damage and scarring.

My gauntlets are thick, warm and soft. Easy to touch, impossible to be touched.

My helmet turns down the noises and limits my vision to only that which I need to see.

Thus armored, I enter the arena. I have no weapons, other than my skills and my courage.

“Welcome to the stage, Lei Lei the panda!”

6.16.19

Archangel Raguel, Sixth Prince Of Heaven, drew its sword. “I am His Justice,” It spoke in a voice that carried the unyielding power of the first Flood.  “Washed in sin, by what right do you summon me? Are you a Prince of Rome? A Caliph? A particularly holy Rabbi?”

“I’m from the Maryville School for Boys. Class of 82.”

Raguel dropped its blade, afraid to meet the man’s unblinking gaze. The man effortlessly caught the sword that would cleave the seals of Revelation, and placed the point against the angel’s throat.

“Tell your boss, his children would like a word.”