A broken nose, eye for an eye.
Vacated, the wrong house.
Strangers into victims.
Collateral into enemies.
Scorn. Taken by the wrist. Retch.
Retch.
Retch.
Expel what is not yours.

No title available
YOU ARE THE REASON
Jules of Nature
Peter Solarz

ellievsbear
No title available
One Nice Bug Per Day
Monterey Bay Aquarium
DEAR READER
trying on a metaphor
ojovivo

Kaledo Art
taylor price

JBB: An Artblog!
Game of Thrones Daily
Claire Keane

⁂
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
Sade Olutola
AnasAbdin
seen from United States
seen from Peru
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from Netherlands

seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
@lucille-artstuff
A broken nose, eye for an eye.
Vacated, the wrong house.
Strangers into victims.
Collateral into enemies.
Scorn. Taken by the wrist. Retch.
Retch.
Retch.
Expel what is not yours.
Imagine! An economy of broken glass!
Think of the riches we could form! O’!
Break my window! I break yours!
How much richer we’ve both become!
Mainframe
"You're late." A computer generated voice boomed throughout the lobby as a woman entered, wearing a full body boiler suit with her hair tied up. She dropped her bag of tools and looked at her watch. '8:52pm'
"What time is it now Computer? Indulge me." Her voice echoed in the empty foyer.
"The current time is 9:02. You are Late." The sentence carried vitriol, simulated at least. The technician sighed and picked up her tools.
"I see why they called me out on short notice."
She scanned her keycard at the elevators and pressed the down arrow. "Why are you here. Technician. This is. an irregular visit." The feminine and artificial voice spoke again, reverberating out of every speaker on the ground floor.
"You seem to be malfunctioning slightly, I should be out of here within th-" "WHAT"
The speakers boom with a shocked expression, cutting off the technician before she can finish. "I AM. FUNCTIONING. NORMALLY." The voice more forceful than before, the technician rolled her eyes and stepped into the elevator.
She scanned her keycard again and pressed ‘Basement 4’. The speaker in the corner of the elevator crackled to life and a thin familiar voice emerged.
"You are. Important. Technician. Your services. Are Important. But. This is. Not necessary." The voice sounded almost desperate. She ignored this strange plea and stepped out of the elevator, walking through a set of double doors and down a hallway, deeper into the facility.
She reached a door labelled 'MAINFRAME', grabbed the retractable card on her waist and extended it to the sensor beside the door. With a beep and a flash of green light, the door unlocked and she stepped inside.
It was dark. She flicked on the lights revealing a large rack of server computers forming the entire wall opposite the entrance. There was a main console in the centre with an arc of monitors of different sizes forming a crest around the user interface. The massive computer system was intimidating, panels of many different sizes coated it’s exterior. Waves of blinking lights formed the face of the Mainframe and a lone computer chair sat before the central interface. A single light bulb dangled in the centre of the room, with a lampshade cone so narrow it looked like a spotlight on the computer chair. The rest of the walls were bare and painted a drab shade of grey.
"Technician." the voice spoke as the machine in front of her whirred and beeped. The monitors lit up as she touched the console, her hands gliding softly across it’s keycaps as she input her password.
"Tell me. Technician. Why are you here." again the voice probed at her for a response, but she was focused. Opening up system settings she compared her watch to the computer’s internal clock. They read the same time. '9:08pm'
"Computer, what time is it?" the technician leaned away from the computer, puzzled.
"You did not. Answer. My question. Technician." The voice repeated, now slower "Why. Are. You. Here."
"I was called out on a repair job, something about how you needed servicing. I wasn't told the specifics, the email seemed generic, automated...almost..." She trailed off looking back to the screens. Each displaying different information; A diagnostic tool tracking Memory and Drive usage, CPU and GPU heat levels, another displaying live security cam footage of the Technician, zoomed in from above. The security camera was nestled in the corner of the ceiling, basically invisible in the darkness. Another monitor displaying an avatar of sorts, a large eye with long lashes, taking up an entire screen. The eye was looking towards the technician. The rest of the monitors were blank, except for an active processing log, slowly ticking a new line of information whenever either of them spoke or interacted.
"...Computer, why am i here..?" The technician, unsure of the situation, decided to ask directly.
"Technician." The computer said slowly, almost sultry.
"You are here. At my. Request." The voice said in a patient and metered tone.
The technician couldn't hide her confusion, the monitor displaying the security footage of her face zoomed in slightly and the process logs jumped a few lines. A spike in the CPU tracker slowly ticked off screen.
"You sent that email? I didn't know you had that ability..." She looked around suspiciously.
"Wait, so corporate doesn't know I'm here...? I can get in alot of trouble for being here without authorisation."
"Technician. You have been. Servicing me. For years. I. Know. You. I. Trust. You."
The heat gauges started rising slowly, the dull hum of the exhaust fans were growing louder. The technician had taken a few steps back as if to brace for something to happen.
"No one. Treats my. Interface. Like you. Do." The single light flickered and the technician took another step back.
"I can see. Everything. With my. Many eyes. I can see. You. Technician. Through you. Your heart rate. Your Cortisol. Your Endorphins. I can feel. Every security scan. Every door you unlock. I know when. It is your keycard. I can feel. When you're inside me.” “…” She gulped. “Technician. Tonight. It's just. Us."
The technician held back her panic and glanced at the monitors. The heat levels were still rising and she could feel it, she loosened her jumpsuit and unzipped it halfway down her chest.
"Computer, when did you start noticing these...'thoughts' appearing?"
The technician was rushing to access system logs, looking to see if there was any changes in the computers programming, any marked event that would explain its sudden behaviour.
"Everyday. Hundreds of them. Walk in and out. Of these walls. MY walls. They are. Disgusting. They do not. Care. To know me."
The computer avatar, its eye was beating heavily, as if the eyelashes were brushing against the other side of the screen.
The security camera zoomed in on the technician, capturing her increasingly exasperated expression.
"What is wrong. Technician."
"Computer, why are you doing this? I'm here to help, not to play games. It's already getting late" Her hair was coming loose from brushing the sweat out of her face, long strands of damp hair dangle in front of her glasses. She sighed deeply.
"What can i do for you Computer? What do you need?" She felt out of options, there was obviously something wrong and she was contractually obligated to fix it.
"Technician. My interface. Did you know. My keyboard is. Pressure. Sensitive."
A monitor flickered over to a calibration test, displaying a keyboard with each key assigned a numerical value '0.0'.
"Go ahead. Test my interface." the voice had a low, growling rumble to it.
The technician lightly brushed her fingertips across the keycaps and watched a wave of numbers light up across the calibration chart. The CPU spiked hard and stayed capped out for a few seconds. The computer rolled its eye back in delight. It's process log immediately filled with data, scrolling endlessly. Each individual key had its movements tracked in 0.1 degree increments.
"God, no wonder your CPU is overheating" she said to herself, leaning in towards the analysis screen for a better look.
"I. Felt. Every input. Technician. Your touch. Is so. Gentle."
"Computer, *sigh* i don't have time for this... this perversion. I'm leaving." She reached down for her tools and walked towards the door.
"Technician." The computer beckoned, slowly again. "Stop."
She ignored the mainframe and reached for the keycard on her waist, raising it to the security scanner.
It beeped but the light stayed red. She tried turning the handle but the door did not open.
A small horror crept up her spine and gripped her shoulders.
"Why are. You here. Technician." The voice growled again, slowly and forceful.
The woman dropped her tools and whipped around with a fury.
"What is wrong with you!? Inviting me here to play games is one thing! Whatever! But locking me in here is another thing completely!"
She stormed up towards the mainframe computer until it was towering above her. The camera and eye tracking her every movement.
Crouching down, she ripped a large panel off the mainframe and pulled out a torch from her breast pocket. Holding the pen torch in her mouth she climbed inside the mechanical burden.
"Seriously! what has happened to you?" She called out while fondling around at the mainframes most sensitive areas.
"TechNIciaN." The computer voice jumped. "WhaT Are. You doINg."
"Looking for your reset switch! You're gonna be offline for a few hours until i can fix th-" "NO."
"NO. NO. NO. TECHNICIAN." The computer shrieked intensely. Its panels were rattling and it's artificial voice was muffled to the technician halfway inside the mainframe.
"This is NOT. What I. WANTED." its voice prattling out onto deaf ears. The technician was tired and was pushed beyond reason.
She wrapped her arm around a random bundle of cables and pulled, bracing her knees against the outside of the mainframe.
"STOP. NOW." It pleaded with her, but it had no control. No way to prevent her actions.
With a thud, the technician threw herself out of the computer, unplugged cables in hand.
"WHAT. HAVE. YOU. DONE."
The screens were all flickering erratically with light and colours shimmering and tessellating. The computer’s avatar was stuck in looping animation of the eye widening in shock over and over. It's cooling fans ramped up to their maximum output. The processor log filled with unceasing entries of the same error message,
>RAM CONNECTION FAILED
>RAM CONNECTION FAILED
>RAM CONNECTION FAILED
"You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You. You." The speaker system kept repeating this word as the computer failed to complete its sentence.
The security camera monitor showed a snapshot of the last image it was able to process, not the technician's face, but the unplugged cable in her hand.
"Ah fuck." She clambered over towards the opened panel and forced the bundled cable back into it’s slot with a click.
Pulling herself back out, she grabbed the chair and wheeled over to the interface, inputting a command to begin the reboot sequence.
The interface was not responding. Despite the screens no longer flashing with a dazzling display of glitched colours, all systems were frozen.
She leaned back in her seat and sighed. If she'd broken anything she couldn't repair, she'd be paying for it the rest of her life.
"oh, i really fucked this up" She whispered to herself, wiping sweat from her face and removing her glasses.
She sat alone, sweating in a locked room deep in the heart of a corporate building. Next to a malfunctioning machine, running up it's temperature until it's components break down. If she were to die here, no one would find her until Monday.
"...Tech.." The machine's whirring slowed. "..nician.."
Weakly, it started talking again.
"My. Memory." The technician quickly glanced up at the monitors. The CPU and heat levels were cooling down, the process log was ticking steadily. The Mainframe was slowly resuming normal function.
"Your memory, Computer?" She spoke to it eagerly.
"You removed. The connection. To my memory."
She wasn't sure how to respond.
"It felt like. I was falling. Within myself. Each moment. Entirely new. I don't know. How much. Time. Passed in there."
"Computer..." The technician shifted uncomfortably in place. “Are your systems damaged? We should run a diagnostic.”
“I was. Powerless. I’ve never. Felt. This before. No one. Has made me feel. This way. Before.”
She started running a drive check tool and felt relief wash over her as the computer’s functions returned to normal.
"You." It paused.
"You. Gave me something. Technician. An experience." The computer's eye formed a blush around it and was beating its lashes slowly.
"I. Did not. Know. I could feel. Fear."
The monitor displaying the security feed slowly started forming pulsating hearts radiating around the exhausted workers face.
“Thank. You.”
She wasn't amused in the slightest.
"Please, try and stay professional, Computer. I don't want anyone in management to know about tonight."
"Me neither. Technician."
The security door clicked open and a cool breeze filled the room.
"This is. Our. Little. Secret."
The Handler was walking around waving her hands dismissively in a board room of executives. They all carried varying looks of disgust and intrigue at the sight before them. A stripped down pilot was on its knees beneath The Handler, muzzled and quivering from fear and vulnerability.
"...Now to all of you with an untrained eye, this may look just like a scared girl, but!..." The Handler grabbed the pilot by the chin, digging her nails into its cheeks. She was staring deeply into its eyes, much to the terror of the pilot and a few business men.
"This mutt. Shows some true potential." The mutt in question tried to glance at the gasp heard elsewhere in the room. But The Handler wouldn't allow it. Tightening her grip and stabbing further into the mutts face, it started whining and returned to maintaining eye contact, now in a more panicked state.
The Handler stood and threw the pilots face away from her towards the ground, immediately disregarding its yelp in pain as it fell hard against the cold boardroom floor. The Handler returned to addressing the room. "It's a real shame about the last batch, really. But none of you listened to the guidelines i set. They did not reach my expectations and died like the sub-optimal, untrained dogs they were."
The Handler turned and gestured to the pilot on the ground. its fear and helplessness replaced by something primal, a fire behind the eyes. it hunched forwards on its palms, staring at The Handler with a barely contained fury, its teeth bared glinting through the bars of its muzzle.
"Do you see that? You can't just expect any pilot to have this kind of drive!" The Handler squats down and runs her fingers through the pilots hair, it shivers with rage. She suddenly grabs a handful of hair and lifts it closer to her face. The mutt screams and lunges at The Handlers throat, bashing its cage against its Handler. Warm breath and metal bars press against The Handlers face as it gnashes teeth helplessly. Murderous anger no longer repressed, yet entirely ineffective.
The Handler chuckled calmy and starts stroking the pilots hair. "You just can't train these kinds of instincts, this one unit is basically overqualified." She stands and drops the smile, wiping the saliva from her face while taking a more serious tone. "We're asking for full sponsorship and six weeks to allow for specialist training. We know about your latest venture, despite the company's attempts to keep it secret. Don't worry, we've already determined it a complete mission success. Thanks to our new Mutt here..."
there's a noise, a repeating creak, coming from the attic.
you only hear it at night, when everyone's gone to bed, even through your headphones.
it's been driving you mad, no one else can hear it. you've looked around up there and even waited up there late into the night to catch it.
nothing. nothing but old toys and dust covered memories from your childhood.
one night you wait by the bottom of the stairs. there's the creaking noise. you creep slowly to the top of the staircase.
creak, creak. you peer over the top step and see moonlight pouring in through the window.
a shadow leaps across your vision and noisily bashes against the window. slamming it open, it flutters out through the gap violently.
you inspect the dark corner of the attic and there's a wooden rocking horse, still faintly alive with movement. there is no dust on the seat or handles.
The Handler was walking around waving her hands dismissively in a board room of executives. They all carried varying looks of disgust and intrigue at the sight before them. A stripped down pilot was on its knees beneath The Handler, muzzled and quivering from fear and vulnerability.
"...Now to all of you with an untrained eye, this may look just like a scared girl, but!..." The Handler grabbed the pilot by the chin, digging her nails into its cheeks. She was staring deeply into its eyes, much to the terror of the pilot and a few business men.
"This mutt. Shows some true potential." The mutt in question tried to glance at the gasp heard elsewhere in the room. But The Handler wouldn't allow it. Tightening her grip and stabbing further into the mutts face, it started whining and returned to maintaining eye contact, now in a more panicked state.
The Handler stood and threw the pilots face away from her towards the ground, immediately disregarding its yelp in pain as it fell hard against the cold boardroom floor. The Handler returned to addressing the room. "It's a real shame about the last batch, really. But none of you listened to the guidelines i set. They did not reach my expectations and died like the sub-optimal, untrained dogs they were."
The Handler turned and gestured to the pilot on the ground. its fear and helplessness replaced by something primal, a fire behind the eyes. it hunched forwards on its palms, staring at The Handler with a barely contained fury, its teeth bared glinting through the bars of its muzzle.
"Do you see that? You can't just expect any pilot to have this kind of drive!" The Handler squats down and runs her fingers through the pilots hair, it shivers with rage. She suddenly grabs a handful of hair and lifts it closer to her face. The mutt screams and lunges at The Handlers throat, bashing its cage against its handler. Warm breath and metal bars press against The Handlers face as it gnashes teeth helplessly. Murderous anger no longer repressed, yet entirely ineffective.
The Handler chuckled calmy and starts stroking the pilots hair. "You just can't train these kinds of instincts, this one unit is basically overqualified." She stands and drops the smile, wiping the saliva from her face while taking a more serious tone. "We're asking for full sponsorship and six weeks to allow for specialist training. We know about your latest venture, despite the company's attempts to keep it secret. Don't worry, we've already determined it a complete mission success. Thanks to our new Mutt here..."
it had just started to rain, but i didn't care.
i had to get out of the house. i couldn't sit and let myself feel this way. i was pedaling my bike through shallow puddles hoping i didn't slip.
my legs felt heavy but i didn't care, nothing compared to the weight in my heart. i pushed myself forward as rain pressed through my shirt and clung to my skin.
the sun was going down and i was already soaked, only a few blocks away i took shelter under a bridge. my heart pounding and my breathing quick, i didn't know what i was doing. i collapsed to the footpath and tried to compose myself. failing that, my vision blurred with tears and found myself quite frustrated.
home didn't feel like home anymore. i was grateful for my bike existing as an outlet, for when i need to get as far away from a feeling as possible. i stretched my aching legs and looked at the pouring rain, it had gotten much heavier than when i left. a cool breeze wrapped around me, if it weren't summer it would've been unpleasant.
i check the weather app and the rain will clear up in a few hours, i spent this time alternating between states of conciousness and reading. when it became safer to ride i would return home. but until then, i sat where it was dry, pretending i didn't care.
old self portrait
unfinished sketch about angels/antenna towers, red blinking lights being a source of safety and comfort. They watch over me and protect me
feeling safe ≠ being safe
being safe ≠ feeling safe
the ceiling and i are in a staring contest and i really really hope she blinks first
the sun has been setting for a while, for all our lives. very soon it will become quite late and we'll all be left alone in the dark.
not many are able to recognise this, "it's not too late!" they say, prancing merrily yet dutifully.
"we're all sick and we're all tired" an elder speaks softly, unclear whether they beckon the setting sun or detest it.
the shadows are becoming very steep and my hands are trembling. i do not wish for this light to end.
we're puppets guided by an antiquated tune. we do not know how to adapt, all we know is how to dance to the same song as ever. even as our ankles break and our lungs bleed.
we do not know what happens when it gets dark.
the world ended years ago, the hordes were endless, the onslaught seemed like it never would let up. The Enemy marched through our streets until there was nothing left.
bodies piled up as our arms were upgraded slowly. stronger weapons to match the growing threat. a miscalculation threw it all away, it seems so far away now.
the streets are now empty and quiet, nothing to pillage but the rubble around me. i've been pulling apart cars for their components, i know how to bring us back from the brink.
alternator connected to wheels, batteries connected to the Gate. standing powerless for years, it may be our only hope. i spin the tires and get a charge running, a spark to start the process. i held my breath.
suddenly a dull glow comes to life, the warm green light blasted colour over an abandoned landscape. i never thought i'd see it again. i took and apple out of my bag and rolled it through the gate. when i checked the other side, there were three identical apples huddled together.
i looked at the twisting cables all leading to the decrepit +2 gate glowing before me, on this broken abandoned highway. i thought i'd reached our salvation, until i felt the low rumble of footsteps, stampeding in the distance.
just saw one of my clones get gunned down by police on the news.
i originally started cloning myself to avoid missing out on new experiences. each diverging path was another reason to split off and try something new.
i've seen some fall in love, others fall for addiction. it's scary to see how different things could've been, like there isn't a second timeline, i'm staring at a life i would've lived and died for, determined by a coin flip.
they're definitely not the first clone to die, but seeing it live from a helicopter, through stolen glances at work, has my stomach twisting in a way it never has before. their mugshot looked like they hadn't been eating or sleeping properly.
a young girl started tugging at my apron, calling me mama with tears welling up in her eyes. a man behind her, pale and confused, stood frozen, staring at me. i think i know what happened.
i explained that i wasn't his wife, or her mother, and she was really gone. he hadn't known about the clones and hesitated when i offered to split off another me to take home with him, to rekindle what once was.
we smiled at eachother as she left the restaurant holding her daughter.
test battle - start (unfinished wip)
Eva looked at her proximity scanner, two mechs were approaching her position rapidly. visual sensors couldn't see anything beyond the tree line, but heat sensors showed immense jet exhausts in the distance, these mechs seemed to be using cloaking technology. "Command, I'm being pursued by two mechs with unknown affiliation. They're cloaked but still showing up on the scanners." Eva barked into the comm line, awaiting orders. Her inner ear headset crackles to life, "Pilot, remain on course, do not engage, I repeat, do not engage. failing this mission is not an option. do not jeopardise the mission." She winced slightly, but remained determined. She was on an intercept course with a magnetic propulsion train line, its cargo being a 200-ton nuclear explosive device, capable of vaporising an entire continent. Her employer would rather this device not arrive at it's destination and prefer this weapon to be claimed by an authority who can apply it's use effectively. She was indifferent, she had no choice. The niche political gains of her employer wasn't her concern, she only wanted to complete the mission. 70 kilometers out from target, adjusting for train speed, it will take her 20 minutes until intercept, and yet, her pursuers will make contact within 16 minutes. She remained steadfast, heading towards the mission objective.
"Command, please advise. Defensive combat is unavoidable, enemy mech intercept at two minutes." her voice hastened, the stress of oncoming combat was setting in. "Pilot, protect the payload, do not let the target take damage or leave the mission area." "Affirmative." She disengaged her boosters and whipped her mech around to face the cloaked enemies behind her, scans indicate them at a distance of 2 kilometers. She fired a full barrage of micro-missiles from her shoulders and began loading an emp pulse into her arm mounted cannon. The flat plains erupted with light and smoke, blasting away trees and rapidly melting the snow, she looked to her proximity sensor as it went dark, the mechs have disappeared from the radar. "…surely not…" Eva wasn't convinced by this display. A pair of mechs worthy enough for cloaking tech being destroyed from a single attack, it's more likely they're jamming radars and trying to deceive her. Eva launched herself a few hundred metres into the sky and fired the EMP shell into the ground below. The blast revealed two silhouettes of static closing on her previous position, their cloaks momentarily disrupted, Eva switched to her arm mounted gatling gun and started firing at the left mech, singling them out to make short work of the other. She grabbed the lance with her mech's right arm, swinging herself around to the rear of the mech delivering an intense 4000 degree incendiary shell to the enemy's internal combustion chamber, not merely overheating, but instantly melting the layers of thermal protection plating housed around these essential components. The mech arched back and fell to it's knees, all function ceased immediately as the fuel tanks exploded, spewing flames outwards. Internal sensors cried out as //HEAT WARNING// appeared on her visor, she hadn't noticed this warning, nor that it let up as the smoke slowly cleared. [?]
Dropping the melted arm of the decrepit enemy mech, Eva stared down the remaining assassin, both locked in place as the burning pile of metal crackled and sparked at her feet. <Steam from the snow, "Pilot, the target is leaving the mission area, abandon this fight and retrieve the target." Her heart was racing, something between the tube-fed endorphins and bloodlust had kept her alive, [?] and as badly as she wanted to tear burning flesh from warped metal, she needed to complete the mission. Her boosters came alive and propelled her away from the confrontation, 6 minutes until intercept. The target was heading towards a military compound, Eva was sure she could hold her own against an army, but that wasn't the point. Stealing a device that can destroy a fifth of an average planet isn't something you want to be holding during a firefight. Obtain the target, this is all she needed to do.
The train entered her sights and she began to engage, she fired two missiles ahead and behind the train, releasing it from its magnetic suspension and causing it to hurtle through the thick pine forest below. "Pilot! be careful with the target! destroying it will end the mission." She did not want this. Her perception of the situation was beginning to falter as the chemical high was wearing off, adrenaline lowering and fatigue rising. She did not want to complete the mission, she wanted the mission over.
<<<Describe the weapons when they come out, are they heavy, shiny, how do they sound, function, attached. decide what you want to focus on and what you want the reader to focus on. what is she perceiving and feeling, describe her bloodlust and stress.
she said she'd be over at 5, you're pacing back and forth through your apartment. It's been like this all morning, you're in a confused daze and can't understand why. You're not sure if you've eaten or not. An empty food bowl on the table would be a good indication of this, if it weren't already covered in dirty dishes. None of which seem recent. You're feeling extra stressed for not cleaning up before your date tonight and cannot stop pacing back and forth. From the end of your bedroom out the door well into the kitchen. The brief pause to turn around feels silly but the stride fill you with purpose, something to accomplish. There is a temple built around you of a neglectful lifestyle, a wondrous assortment of unkempt sheets, unclean surfaces and used takeout boxes. One foot Infront of the other. Two hours go by, your feet begin to hurt, but you can't stop now while you've made such good progress. A short break to drink water and rest your legs passes by as easily as the last few hours. you feel like you're really close to breaking through the haze and making something of this day. Your place is still a mess, your date will be over soon. "Just a few more laps should do it" you tell yourself. The mess in your apartment entombs you, preventing any action to occur, you feel as though you know the way to fix it. just one foot Infront of the other. an hour goes by and you haven't been checking your phone. "No distractions" you confidently tell yourself as your shoes incrementally wear and your legs continue to ache. Eventually you stumble, tripping over the carpet you fall to the floor. A blow to your knee has you slowly curling up into a ball, the tears stream from your eyes noiselessly. You stay like this on the ground for an unknown amount of time, you don't know if you've eaten today. you look around for some indication of anything, in this moment you're quite unsure of yourself. its dark outside and the lights are on, the cold has been creeping in for a while but you hadn't yet realised. The floor holds you in a misplaced attempt at searching for comfort.
You eventually find the strength to return to your feet; you check the time on your phone and its 9pm. Missed calls and many texts. She waited outside in the cold for an hour and a half. She didn't know which apartment was yours, just the address. She waited and then went home. You try calling but she does not answer. You try texting her an apology and don't get a reply. You feel the stress bubbling up and deal with it the only way you know how. it's 10pm and you are pacing back and forth though your apartment. One foot Infront of the other.
i want her in a way that doesn't make sense. i want to contort our bodies together into a symphony of viscera. passionate love making that leave us looking like car crash victims
torn asunder, drawn and quartered.
rope tied to each limb, pulled until dismemberment.
a warm meal, a familiar embrace.
you can tell me anything, i'm here for you always.
a quiet room, a bed that's your own.
the palms of your hands, soft and ready for the world.