Friday, October 21, 2011

Flash Fiction Friday 10-21-11: "Aural Sex"

(Source image: unknown title by Beau Monde; website link broken)

“Just listen,” he said. “I think it's the best I've done yet.”

She put the headphones on, and...

...was lost, utterly, swept away and undone. Bass throbbed in her bones. Panoramic strings of notes curled around, holding her close. Point-counterpoint bore her along, synth waves buoying her up, steadying. Images flared in her brain, slow-sweet moans, lisping sounds of bodies locked together, slippery with sweat, fumbling towards ecstasy, cramped with desire, rigid in pained delight.

“Well?” he asked.

She couldn't speak. She just nodded.


Your challenge for today was to use the picture above and write a flash fiction of 38-98 words. Additionally, I provided a key phrase I wanted to see used somewhere in the submission:

"...pained delight..."

Nobody's checking word counts, or for the key phrase, but you're only cheating yourself if you break the rules. Unless you're doing it to earn a spanking (in which case, see me after class).

Special Bonus Director's Commentary Track:

No, I don't have any idea where the key words for this week's challenge came from. They just jumped into my head unbidden and refused to leave till I put them down as part of the challenge. I hope they weren't too much of a burden for the rest of you.

I've been musing over the idea of music as a sexual experience. There have been times when the song I was listening to was so transcendent, the notes so just right, the environment so enveloping, the power and wonder of it all so extreme that it was almost a religious thing. Quite a trick, for an atheist. And it occurred to me that with very little alteration, what is religion to some could be sexual for others. Music gets a lot of people horny, but what would music sound like if it was the very representation of the sexual experience? I tried to capture some of that in this very short piece, and think I succeeded. Opinions may differ.

If you are playing along this week, please leave your link below using the widget. It will appear in the text of the post itself, not in the comments, so everyone that's playing will be listed here. This frees me from having to chase people down to find out if they're playing or update the Friday post several times for late entries. Your cooperation is appreciated.

In any case, the participants list is below. Go check them out, and thanks to all who played along.



Check back here on Monday for the next challenge! And if you have any photos or artwork you'd like to see in a future challenge, please send them my way. 

-- PB

9 comments:

  1. Ours will be posted in ten minutes (midnight Pacific time) at http://frisky916cpl.blogspot.com. I note with some chagrin that your story has the same title as ours - I thought I was so damned clever and original! - though our stories are quite different.

    -Jack

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  2. I love the link of music with sex. I was thinking along the lines of words, but you are quite right, music can arouse such a wide range of emotions.

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  3. Yes, the image of her wrapped and rapt in aural pleasure, nicely done! Happy FFF

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  4. "fumbling towards ecstasy" ... That's what my life has often felt like!!

    Glass can shatter with high pitch tones, so yes, why can't we orgasm with the right chords? Ah, maybe one day we will. :)

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  5. For some reason, the word 'rigid' brought the climax (of the writing) home. Indeed, she could be curled up in that tension of the muscles. Great image you conjure up with your words :-)

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  6. i loved your take on it. Anne McCaffrey wrote a short story called, i think, Coloratura, that bordered on this idea, tho strictly vanilla.

    i loved the word challenge, in point of fact...my story coalesced around the words!

    Thanks for another great week of FFF, Panser...

    nilla

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  7. A symphonic adventure. Beautifully done and I agree with the premise that music can be a sensual or sexual experience. Thank you Panser!

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  8. Beautiful flash fiction Panser! I very much enjoyed it.
    I love aspiring to the imagery you are able to capture in such few words ;)

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  9. Umm... I'll have what she's having. ;-) Beautifully written.

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Thanks for chiming in! I will always read and respond to comments here; if you don't feel like using the "email responses" link, feel free to check back for my replies!
-- PB