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retromortis — Lotus -- Apologue
Published: 2007-07-11 20:09:45 +0000 UTC; Views: 7874; Favourites: 137; Downloads: 104
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Description 蓮 -- LOTUS




once upon a time, there lived a pair of lovelaced sisters bound by string and tied by laughter to a travelling circus that roamed the wonderwise world.

A MARVEL, came the crier. AN ANOMOLY IN ITSELF.

the stage was always the set and the mood was always dark. they wore a new story every night because it was the nothing they always knew.

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, OUR RINGLEADER RECEIVED A STRANGE LETTER, the crier always brayed, hoarse like radishes grated in the sand.

IT WAS FROM THE QUEEN OF KIRIBATI, A PROUD ISLAND NATION. SHE HAD BEEN BLESSED AND CURSED WITH TWO PRINCE-PRINCESSES-- A COMMON AFFLICTION IN THEIR COUNTRY, BUT ALAS, THESE DARLING TWINS COULD NOT LEGALLY MARRY, AND SO THE ROYAL LINE WOULD BE BROKEN. WITH TEARS IN HER EYES, THE QUEEN REQUESTED THAT OUR KIND RINGLEADER CARE FOR THE GIRLS UNTIL THE MATTER OF ASCENDANCY WAS RESOLVED.

QUITE CONTRARY TO THEIR ROYAL BLOOD, THESE TWIN PRINCESSES ARE OF PLAYFUL DEMEANORS, FULL OF LIVELINESS AND CHEER. THEY ALSO PRACTICE A PECULIAR KIRIBATIAN ART-- A SIGHT TO BE SEEN! THE TWO SISTERS TWINE THEIR BODIES AND ASSUME POSES AND POSTURES THE LIKES OF WHICH YOU OR I COULD NEVER ASPIRE TO.

they twined and twirled, all the time. coaxed the flexed and separated their indifferences till finally everything burst to the breaking point-- and they were left broken and bleeding on the edge of inside each other,

never wanting
anything
more.

everything was there, between their sheets and between their separate skins.  
when one moved, she moved the other with the resonance along their red tightrope finger thread. when one dreamt, the other slept the same.

in times of bare broken feet and bruised hearts, they held one another, each content in their sweet deference.

of this, of the boundless unity between them stretching on and on like the stars, every one the same and every one mirrored across the world's skies, of the truth without measure that passed beneath their synchronized breath, of this she was sure.

of this she was sure they were one and the same, one and alone in themselves.

and she loved, and she loved, and she loved

and she knew her heart
and knew her body
and needed
nothing
else.

when the sweat, the soiled sweet, the clandestine crave of everything perfect came to collapse, the dark eyed sister curled her joints on the dirty mattress of traincar number four, veiled by a curtain with lockjaw ajar. it wasn't right and that's why it was.

for the simple meaning of being unrelated
for the secret meaning of being under-rated

to be nothing for once
instead of

water
air
and
shelter

for everything more.

spineshock reverb and carpet burned knees. wood floor splinters, varnish stains, carnival handprints, dried white paint. sideshow posters, the fingers at her throat, his meaningless words. incongruous and despicable, it slathered a smile across her forcefed features and left her-- trembling, open, and all awry-- on her loathesome back, witholding her calls for a quieter say.

the world outside that one misstep among millions of opportunities was all ears to a wall of mouths that were whispering murmuring sighing devouring moaning screaming names that weren't her own in a voice that wasn't theirs.

in a voice that could have been hers, but fell apart at the seams with every unseemly shove past the hem.

it turned her head raw
and bleeding from the ears
and she remembered summer skies
shared hand in hand, eyes upturned

senses shared and severed.

in the morning, for the morning. she was unbecoming.

she was unrelenting.

the cum stained mattress replaced by the familiar own, the stench of  wartorn bodies and the stink of acrid sweat replaced by the sweet, quiet delicates of two sisters who loved each other very, very much.

dark eyed twin and bright eyed innocence lounged languid where nothing could be wrong and nothing could be faked. she fated no words because there was no place-- because one experience gained two vouyeurs and she was all aware that her never wrong half was none the wiser.

that one -

the virgin to the crimes
lied awake until she wasn't.

until she was in a gold net, filled with cutlery, needles, cups and saucers, diatribes handwritten and embroidered in skin, scissors, gears of machinery, coalmine accoutrements and heirloom garbage.

she felt the other as she spilled across the floor, one and many among all the parts that once had made her whole.  it all came tumbling across the attic stage, a sickbed composite mess of what had once been half a person.  

the pieces came with her body.  snakes and ladders, dimes and pennies, chess pieces, needles threaded through her spine and knives through her palms, pearly and opalescent with obscenity in the spotlight.

the crowd loomed up in the tiers and tiers of stares.  behind the white sheet furniture covers the performers hid their backstage namelessness.  

they were waiting for the struggle they paid to see,

laughter
laughter
laughter

and she was all limbs, scratching across the floorboards, weaving between the forest of spools and spinnets and needle monoliths until her nailbeds ran bare.

they counterbalanced their negative weight in the shadow of the spotted sun-- heavy with the dew lacing their lashes and running down their cheeks. arms straight, shoulders squared, knees locked,

dead weight.

every coo
and every shudder
from every tier
of every uniform faceless

cemented her unreality and siphoned their spoils
leaving one panting to realize that
naturally

only one was fargone alive.

she's asleep, asleep, oh so far asleep.

it was a special show
for a special price
and a special sort of entertainment

a one sided balancing scale, broken and rebuffed, shimmering in an empty room with its other half strewn across the floor

and when she opened, when she breathed her body apart, shimmering and wet with silence, a silly song crashed from the orchestra pit. it was out of sync, off key, and they glared at the inside of their masks as if forcing her muscles to move those of another.

the wall of mouths grew louder with every in and out,
dip and dive, splash and splatter,
every hole burrowed and every
center of being
hollow point
inconsistency

sewn out.

of this, of their simple truth together, she was certain as stitches.

left to pieces in the back of a freakshow caravan, she gave a final fleeting three second breath support encore for the private eyes of those gaping carnival eyesockets.

3.

2.

1.





ovation.
Related content
Comments: 47

mcgabby1994 [2008-02-20 00:01:45 +0000 UTC]

ok.their not conjoined.i figuered that much.
they did sew themselves together,though?

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

the-rumor [2007-08-22 17:11:06 +0000 UTC]

The differences and similarities you used between th sisters was cool if not a bit confusing. Making them hard to separate but for a few describing paragraphs. I think this chapter is my favorite.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

felixcxef [2007-08-18 00:47:48 +0000 UTC]

i have a question, are the girls sewn together by the creatures or by themselves?

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

retromortis In reply to felixcxef [2007-08-18 01:33:50 +0000 UTC]

by themselves.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

felixcxef In reply to retromortis [2007-08-18 01:38:54 +0000 UTC]

okay thanks! im planning on doing my entry on them.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Dark-Age-Dixie [2007-08-07 09:36:43 +0000 UTC]

Wonderfully written, love the grotesque/beautiful way it ends.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

chaoticeternity [2007-07-24 02:28:41 +0000 UTC]

wow! ur writing style is amazing!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

elisiabattell [2007-07-19 03:12:06 +0000 UTC]

Beautiful. That's it. Just stunning and beautiful and all that shit words can't describe. Cliche enough? Puts my writing to shame. <3

Keep it up.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Killa-bunnies [2007-07-18 16:09:38 +0000 UTC]

I feel as if I have be dragged around, and am now dizzy and lost.... and I think I like it....

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Henada [2007-07-15 08:06:23 +0000 UTC]

-Speechless-

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

mercury-yume [2007-07-15 01:04:31 +0000 UTC]

I can't wait to see the illustrations. It's very cleverly written, the imagery is beautiful. I think what makes it hard to tell what happened (I read your summary further up, it helped ) is that some of the horror elements could be used as imagery or metaphors elsewhere, it's like ducking and weaving through everything, trying to pick which ones are the 'reality' and which ones are merely for the purpose of imagery, and when you find what's what, it's both horrifying and beautiful.

I really enjoy your writing.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

xSilentlyxBrokenx [2007-07-15 00:14:54 +0000 UTC]

will this book be for sale when it's finished? because i really would love to buy a copy.

-

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

retromortis In reply to xSilentlyxBrokenx [2007-07-15 00:35:41 +0000 UTC]

of course it will be. Keep watch-- there'll be more information around october.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

SLIgurl [2007-07-14 13:30:51 +0000 UTC]

Buuuh... wow. So confusing my head literally hurts.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Psycobabble [2007-07-14 10:14:54 +0000 UTC]

Okay, so.. I basically think that the dark eyed twin has cheated because she didn't feel the need to be everything, because to her sister she was everything. Then again it could have been rape.

And.. The innocent sister died on the stage, and it seems that it was more of a murder, that people payed to watch?

Hum. It's fun to think about how the words tie together.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

SutekiKage [2007-07-14 06:45:49 +0000 UTC]

Beautiful.

I wonder if you have ever read the book called "The Girls" by Lori Lansens?

The story is almost similar, except that it's about conjoined twins and it is their biography. Also beautifully written, you guys might want to check it out ^^

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

rimn [2007-07-13 08:34:53 +0000 UTC]

twin sisters have a sexual relationship, then one of them has sex with a man (possibly rape) and gives birth on stage with her sister and dies in the process?

it's fun working out what's happening, but in some parts it's a little TOO vague for me to pin it to anything at all. but perhaps that's your intent.
good writting, by the way

👍: 0 ⏩: 2

retromortis In reply to rimn [2007-07-13 08:58:10 +0000 UTC]

you had it till the birth on stage thing. xD

it'll be clarified with the illustrations for the book-- it's meant to go hand in hand.

the sequence of events is twin sisters have a sexual relationship, then one of them has sex with a man and the other sister plays the vouyeur. the next part involves like a dream that isn't a dream where the sister who cheated is dead, but isn't in the living sister's eyes, and she sews them together so they'll never be apart.

and then it's not a dream and they're both dead.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

rimn In reply to rimn [2007-07-13 08:38:37 +0000 UTC]

either that or it's a metaphor, or maybe the dark eyed twin has mental issues and this is how she perceives a relationship or event.

or maybe i'm completely off track. i think i should just wait for the illustrations.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

kecen [2007-07-12 20:09:32 +0000 UTC]

Throughout this I was wondering whether the sisters were conjoined or not, or if one died. Wow!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

VHiddenAwayV [2007-07-12 20:02:13 +0000 UTC]

...and each time I open another of your pieces I melt with admiration and an urgent need to find that damn pen of mine.

your writing etches pictures in my mind that do not fade easily.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Bizenghast [2007-07-12 17:41:55 +0000 UTC]

Your stuff just gets better and better! I can't wait for the illustrations! Is Apologue getting published sometime? Love this <3

Biz

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

hortaux [2007-07-12 14:33:14 +0000 UTC]

I don't even think think there are words to describe this. But the illustrations should ground the more open verses to this... er... whatever this is. Can't wait for more...!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Tirramirr [2007-07-12 10:22:10 +0000 UTC]

Simply stunning...
I can't find words, it's... so weird, mystic...
But I love it!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

NatalietheGreat [2007-07-12 08:50:55 +0000 UTC]

*faves and doesn't even know why she's faving it; it's that good*
^_^

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

MiQxNoiR [2007-07-12 06:41:24 +0000 UTC]

I feel painful after reading this, but it was definitely well written.
Very compelling

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

senza-amore [2007-07-12 02:37:06 +0000 UTC]

wow, this is absolutely complicatedly amazing.

.
.
.
can I have your brain?

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

IrisAyame [2007-07-12 01:50:41 +0000 UTC]

You write like I think.

I hope that comes across as as much of a compliment as I mean it.

This is so incredible. I love the rhythm of it, the flow. The impact.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

ShinkuShukumei [2007-07-12 00:40:57 +0000 UTC]

Beautiful.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

g3m1n1 [2007-07-12 00:11:17 +0000 UTC]

i have no idea what ur talking about but from the way it sounds, i wish i did.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

lobsel-vith In reply to g3m1n1 [2007-07-12 13:07:22 +0000 UTC]

same here. no clue what's going on. wish i did though.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

jason77 [2007-07-11 23:40:57 +0000 UTC]

no one here seems to know what happens. i sure don't. i really wish i cud understand this. everyone is saying its so beautiful, the words are! but what I see to happen in the end makes me want to vomit. but maybe that is just my messed up mind. what exactly happens? you can note me if ur dont want to openly spill the details. i wud just really like to know

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

retromortis In reply to jason77 [2007-07-12 00:12:01 +0000 UTC]

It'll be cleared up in the illustrations, so you can find out for sure when apologue comes out. Otherwise, use your imagination-- if you want to vomit, there's a good chance you have the right idea.

👍: 0 ⏩: 2

KyaKutake In reply to retromortis [2007-07-13 03:16:50 +0000 UTC]

Twins forced to have sex with one another onstage, and one's dead?

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

retromortis In reply to KyaKutake [2007-07-13 04:34:13 +0000 UTC]

almost.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

KyaKutake In reply to retromortis [2007-07-13 04:35:17 +0000 UTC]

+Feels special+

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

jason77 In reply to retromortis [2007-07-12 00:32:19 +0000 UTC]

hehe. cant wait

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Reawaken [2007-07-11 23:32:02 +0000 UTC]

*claps* Well done.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

jason77 [2007-07-11 23:28:16 +0000 UTC]

the time it took me to read half of this u got 14 faves.. thats enough to say that this is a frekaing brilliant story, no need to hear words of appreciation from me

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

hokuto [2007-07-11 23:15:48 +0000 UTC]

...

*dies of words and not having any good ones to appreciate this*

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

jwebsterart [2007-07-11 22:04:51 +0000 UTC]

Your gallery blows me away... very gifted work!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

memolime [2007-07-11 21:28:30 +0000 UTC]

This is amazingly beautiful.
"for the simple meaning of being unrelated
for the secret meaning of being under-rated"

You're a declared genious

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

knightofpassion [2007-07-11 21:25:16 +0000 UTC]

Beautiful. Amazing. I love it.


~knightofpassion

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

cynphul [2007-07-11 21:13:50 +0000 UTC]

breathtaking! simply amazing

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

itcheritch [2007-07-11 21:11:38 +0000 UTC]

whoa did you do this with ink
very very good
i like it

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

monocot [2007-07-11 21:00:11 +0000 UTC]

You always have such amazing work. its beautiful. I really like how this one was Written

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

KatSumeragi [2007-07-11 21:00:03 +0000 UTC]

Wow. This is the best written piece I've seen on dA in a long itme.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0