Muse Ariadne
week of sept 9th: write about something monstrous. what does it mean for something to be a monster? is it a judgment of character, something inherited at birth/creation, or something else?
There was something wrong with Griver. Maybe it was in the way he walked, or in the dirt underneath his fingernails, but you always got the sense that he was looking at you when your back was turned. He had that gleeful grin that only nonexistent goblins should have, who knew how wonderful it was to ruin someone's life completely. "What a nuisance," Mr. Barkley muttered. Though he was some well-to-do respectable grocer, there was always some need for assistance, and God help him, it always seemed that it were only the most detestable sort who would come to work for him. Lazy, thieving, wastes of cash, every one of them! Grumbling, Mr. Barker tolerated the help he could manage, manage being a very important word. His grumbling seemed to grow from his belly as if his dissatisfaction had settled there firmly, esconced in his growing gut. Regardless, the latest in a line of ne'erdowells was a man named Griver, who evidently slept in the gutter and made friends with the rats, if only appearances were so deceiving. He couldn't understand why a man couldn't keep himself respectable like that. But, the man had been good in his work so far, a rare quality for which Mr. Barker was willing to compromise. Walking down the soup aisle, he felt the eyes of a goblin behind him making shuffling noises, as he turned to face the yellowed Griver. He had a habit of never appearing unless he was behind you, and always did precisely so when the heavyset grocer went looking for him. "Well!" the grocer harrumphed. "Have you stocked the shelves?" "Yessir" "Swept the floors?" "Yessir" "And how about the cooler?" At this Griver squinched his eyes in a measure of disgust; he loathed the cooler. "Yessir!" he roused in a weaselly voice. "Good!" the grocer bellowed, obviously satisfied. "Keep it up and there'll be a nickel for you! With a few men like you I wouldn't worry a bit! A business is like a clean ship, you see, all fine and tidy with a good few men," he said, slapping Griver's back and proceeding to furtively wipe off his hand on his apron. "You haven't seen any of those joo-venile delinquents, have you?" "No sir," the goblin beamed, standing as straight and proud as he could. "Good then. I'll be going make a 3 P.M. delivery for Missus Susan. I'll be right back in a few." And with that, Mr. Barkley grabbed a package from the deli and headed off into the afternoon sun, the goblin just slightly sniggering as he left. What Mr. Barkley had failed to notice was a few small fingers peeking out from the bottom of the cooler, which Griver did not miss, cooing to the naughty fingers as he tucked them neatly into the dark.
"week of oct 14th: tell a story you want to tell to future generations to come-- whether through a poem, a short story, an essay, a myth-like retelling, or something else"
*Message in a Bottle.
Everything is balance. That's all you really need to know. I want to tell you everything. But it's not yet time to understand. I do love you and care for you, you are my descendant, even if we don't know each other. My advice? Fall in love. Fall out of love. Make peace. Make war. Eat well, really well. Travel. Read. See things that make you think. Understand the world is meaningless, and so full of terrible meaning you will never understand. Don't psych yourself out of the good times. Be a man. Be a woman. Be kind. Be cruel. Know that judgment is in your hands, and remember its value. Be as great as you can be. Be as small as you want. Be wiser than me (we all died for you). You only get one second, and it goes so fast.