7th of March to the 12th of March

So this week has been great. I did another run of another antibiotic and I believe I am finally free from whatever grabbed hold of me or my throat for like 4 weeks straight or so. Still have a little bit of eye gunk in the mornings but otherwise, all is well. I was able to read, I did work and got a lot of things done and I watched the fourth season of the Handmaid’s Tale. It’s bleak, it’s weird and good. I also stocked up on some books. I am really looking forward to House of Leaves, but before that, I will finish some complementary books in the Nier universe. If you don’t know what that is, then please play the games and don’t be afraid that there are half-naked anime girls, because that pushed me away at first and then became one of the greatest stories in gaming ever told and probably the most profound experience I ever had while playing a game. Here we go with the writing prompts of the past week.

7th of March: “Edison liked that liminal state between waking and sleeping”

I did not need to try that out. Apparently, Thomas Edison held a bottle in his hand while sitting and about to fall asleep. When the bottle hit the table or floor he was in that liminal state. I experimented with that state a lot when I was about 20 years old. I did read tons of books on lucid dreaming and was able to control my dreams a couple of times. That works in a similar fashion. You first relax your body, concentrate on your breathing and welcome the sleep paralysis that hits you eventually. Then trying to dig deeper and control your dreams eventually. It’s great but also very tiresome and I fell asleep more often than not. I remember the best experience after a hardcore concert where my body was just bruised and done with the day and then I drifted into this bright void that felt like a little death (this is what the French like to call orgasms). A warm feeling. Complete relaxation and the mind more active and in control than in waking life. It’s great. Try it!

8th of March: “The deadly sins part 1 - 80-year-old woman consumed by lust”

She felt that tingling again. It became more frequent. The twenty-year-old caretaker made her juices flow in places that haven’t been working that way since she hit menopause. Every time the doorbell rang she moved as swiftly and elegantly as possible to the door and opened her red bathrobe ever so slightly. Her legs were still amazing and her skin blushed with life. Every step someone took in her tiny flat was greeted with a gaze of a predator luring prey and getting ready for the play, before the kill. Every time someone brushed her robe ever so slightly she hungered for something to be put between her legs. A tongue, a finger, a few fingers, a dick or a thermometer. Everything kicked her mind into overdrive. She became lust. Nothing but writhing naked bodies entangled, sweaty, she couldn’t even make out how many limbs or people were involved. No idea what amount of genitals was involved and what constellation. And why would she care? Soon the door would ring again and there is no stopping these thoughts. In dreams or in a waking state all that she could think about were bodies. Skin. Orifices. Nothing could stop her thoughts. Not even the bedpan that had to be changed. Nothing. Only her body and mind hunger for touch.

9th of March: “The deadly sins part 2 - a woman petrified by gluttony”

It was the third year of her YouTube career. She started out with her girlfriend. Skinny back then. Both of them vegans. That has changed quickly. You can only do so many mukbang videos that involve no animal parts whatsoever. The viewers demanded more and both their bodies were able to receive. From massive soup bowls to massive paellas to platters fit for a queen they ate and enjoyed and their bodies grew. They ate to the point of their bodies revolting but their stomach stretched and with them their biggest organ. Ungodly amounts of food found their way into their bodies. Her girlfriend cheering her on in every video. The respiratory machine that she has to wear at night found its way into their videos. It made her sick a bit to show so much of her private life, but food comforted her. The machine and her girlfriend kept her going. Every video had their blouses soaked in fat, drool and pieces of the meal. Her fingers were coated with an oil film and food escaped her grasp and which made her angry. Sometimes she would scoop up the residue of dropped mush that landed somewhere. As she and her girlfriend grew so did their views. So did the size of the food in front of them. They were disgusted but kept on going. What’s dignity if you have fatty food and followers and a stable, nah, growing paycheck?

10th of March: “The deadly sins part 3 - a ten-year-old awakening to his greed”

He had everything hidden away in the closet. The shiny buttons that he stole from his fellow students. The glittery stickers that he traded in the sticker book for worthless ones when his friends weren’t looking. Now the little safe in that closet filled with lunch money. His and that of his friends. They were so dumb when they left their wallets in his reach when they went to pee. He stripped them of everything valuable and stacked the coins and bills neatly in that tiny safe. It was much harder to rid his parents of valuables, but there were ways. Every week the piggy bank grew a bit lighter and the closet got a little heavier. Like a crow, he took everything shiny. Everywhere. Last week’s trip to the dentist yielded almost a full set of gold teeth. What a dumb-dumb to leave him waiting in the room with all these valuables for so long. Every time his mom tucked him in at night his mind was racing and picturing how he strips her hand and wrist of all the jewellery in one swift motion. He had to work on that. He loves watching videos of professional thieves ridding their victims of everything. His favourite was the guy that asked people about the way while nipping their tie, watch, wallet and belt. That will be him one day and someday he will have a room full of valuable to dive in. Taking everything. From everyone.

11th of March: “The deadly sins part 4 - a day trader with secret sloth”

1 pm the alarm clock rings. There is no need to rush. The days on the actual trading floor have long been swapped for virtual trading floors on 2 monitors in my own home. It used to be three steps towards the alarm clock but I decided it would be better to have the snooze button at arm’s length. I reached for the bottle of coke that I keep right there in my bedside drawer. It wakes me up enough to carry my body the four steps it takes to my chair. The chair that is home. My throne. Where I control and shift numbers while food orders arrive and I can lean far back to be as comfortable as possible. I am good at my job. The handicap of missing the first few hours of my local market is not giving me enough of a disadvantage for my colleagues to notice. I am just good. Food gets delivered. Sleep comes easy and is invited whenever he wants to take me. I love going with the flow. Everything in my flat is optimised. Automatic. My job basically programmed and automatised that I just have to course-correct once a week. I sleep. I eat. I consume. I relax. No one will ever notice. As long as there are no weird smells from my apartment no one would know I even exist. With a physical body. Soon it’s going to be Christmas. Good times. I just subscribed to a YouTube channel with two girls ding mukbangs. I donated so they eat a turkey each. I will be here on my throne. Leaning back. Laughing. Enjoying life and sharing their joy without leaving my flat. At all. It’s been 2 months so far. No weird smells.

12th of March: “The deadly sins part 5 - bookstore clerk that is channelling wrath”

Lisa put the counter back. Zero days without complaints. The last outburst was quite intense. Stefan is a nice guy. He dresses well. Comes in a suit. Comes with great and not overdone aftershave. But he also loses it pretty frequently. Yesterday some poor girl was asking for a book with a white cover and red letters. That took him over the edge. He burst out screaming profanities with never-before-seen agility he slid over the counter and got in her face. “Do you expect me to guess the book you are looking for with just colours? Of the fucking cover? I don’t sort books by cover colour! You fucking people!” His head beet-red, swivelling from left to right. Eyes bulging out. The girl started to cry. It’s time. Lisa took careful steps toward him. Deescalating while not looking directly at his bloodshot eyes. She looks at his forehead, slightly above the eyebrows. His breathing normalises. “Stefan it is time. We hired you because of your talents. The course will start tomorrow. Every time we don’t have a book signing or guest here you will have to do the course for our fellow readers.” - he loosened his tie a bit and swallowed almost audibly. “Wrath channelling, eh? I think I can do that. Let it out while teaching others to let it out.”. That sounded like a win-win. A lot of readers struggle with expressing emotions. Anger is a good and simple one to start with and who better than Stefan could show them in a more authentic way what it means to let out steam? No more counselling. No more anger management. For he is anger. He is wrath and others will learn.