A drabble writing community. Write 100 words based on the weekly prompt.
Prompt #13: Taste
Hello from 100 Words!
This week's prompt is taste.
Your response should be exactly 100 words long. You do not have to include the prompt in your response -- it is meant as a starting place only.
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Title: Tea & Cider
Original
You used to be there, like a ghost. You'd show up at the weirdest hours, buzzing in my pocket. The firefly screen would spell out your message for me.
I'd hold those words next to my heart. Opening and considering them like a gift. I'd hope I would dream about them. The next day, I'd ponder them over my morning tea. Of course, you'd prefer the tartest ciders. And there it is.
You wanted something else, you said. Something new. Suddenly those words were sourer than ever. Then there weren't any more. And now I've just got this bitter tea.
This is so nice! Nice work 😁😁
What a lovely combination, one I never would have considered. Lovely use of contrast!
I love the subtle way you worked taste into this. Very well done!
I feel it
Title: Where There's Smoke
Fandom: Twin Peaks
Characters: Bobby Briggs/Laura Palmer
~*~
Bobby remembers how Laura Palmer's daytime kisses were made of mint and sugar, with a hint of strawberries floating somewhere in there, like a bright pink angel come down to bless his lips with sweetness. He remembers how her nighttime kisses tasted, of stale liquor, cigarette smoke and the bitterness of cocaine lingering on the back of her tongue.
He morbidly wonders what her kisses taste like now that's she's dead. Everyone is trying to pretend he can forget these things, but Bobby knows better than those hypocrites.
He loved Laura and Laura loved everyone.
Like fire loves the trees.
This is so poignant and beautiful. I love the detailed contrast between Laura's daytime and nighttime kisses, Bobby's morbid curiosity, and the simile in the last line. So well-written.
Thank you so much! Laura's duel nature was one of the best parts of the show.
The comparisons between the two (or rather three!) types of kisses... wow. Just perfect.
That last line is so perfect! And I loved the descriptions of the kisses. Well done!!
Title: Invaluable
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (RDJ verse)
Characters: Holmes/Watson
~*~
Watson is forever trying to get Holmes to stop putting evidence into his mouth. No matter how unhygienic the crime scene, Holmes' tongue is the second line of investigation, directly after his eyes.
"The information I gain is invaluable," Holmes declares, after Watson knocks yet another disreputable piece of something away from his lips.
The lips that he will later be kissing, so he might have a vested interest in their relative health.
"Why do you do these things?" Watson asks, clearly exasperated.
He's rewarded with a taste of Holmes mouth, which whispers, "Again, the information I gain is invaluable."
LOL! This is so apt!
But the ending... <3 <3 <3
Thank you! (See how much RDJ Holmes licks things? YIKES.)
Wow! I love this!
Thank you! :D
Lolol oh, Holmes. I love how Watson's exasperation & fondness comes through. This was funny and sweet, the perfect combination!
Fandom: Friends, set during 8.15 (TOW The Birthing Video)
Pairing: Joey/Rachel
Joey can't enjoy food as he once did. When was the last time he actually enjoyed a meal? Probably that steak and lobster dinner with Rachel. The red bagels Gunther prepared for Valentine's Day taste like cardboard in his mouth.
Joey could buy beer and try to get drunk enough to forget Rachel, but instead he drinks the expired orange juice she left. The bitter, revolting taste reminds him of his loss. He never imagined Rachel moving out, and that was before he fell in love with her.
These days, Joey can't eat. He's too busy starving for Rachel's affection.
I love how you use Joey's famous love of food to show just how heartbroken he is after Rachel moves out.
Thank you! I remember somebody pointing out how at the end of this episode it sounded like he was about to tell Ross he couldn't eat before Ross cut him off, so I got inspired to write this piece.
Oh, what a punch to the gut! Fabulous!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed that line.
Awww poor Joey! That last line is perfection. <3
Thank you! I'm glad you liked the last line.
Title: Forever
As I steer my BMX bike around a blind corner, the moving pickup truck looms large in my view. A metallic taste fills my mouth, strong, bitter, all-encompassing, as my eyes widen and my muscles tense. The truck screeches to a stop: too late. A new taste emerges, wet and sticky and coppery, in my mouth, in my nose, seemingly somehow even in my ears, accompanied by some strange ringing noise. I see the world now through cotton-wool, as gradually the world fades away: the light, the ringing, the distant voices. I taste the black of nothingness, and of eternity.
Ouch. Ouchouchouchouch. Well done!
Argh, what a gut punch. Beautifully written!
Original Work
Mystery meatloaf for lunch today; I didn’t eat any of it.
We start dinner when we get home from school. That’s our job. I cut the veggies, because I’m old enough. Sarah stirs the sauce.
The pasta smells amazing. My mouth waters.
We sit down with momma at the table. There are shadows under her eyes, a strain around her mouth. Her boss was mean again. We don’t say anything.
The screaming doesn’t start until daddy comes home. I keep my eyes on my plate. Stay quiet, I will at Sarah, don’t draw their attention.
The pasta tastes like ashes.
I can feel the pain and sadness!
Thank you!! <3
Oh, poor momma. Poor kids. :(
Oh man, the last line really packs a punch. I love the writing-style and how every sentence flows until it builds up to the final one. Beautifully done!
Title: Taste
Original work
Things don't taste right anymore.
I remember when every day had its own flavor to it. Some of them were mellower than others. Some were sweet, some sour, but most of them were filled with such rich and complex flavors, like a tuning orchestra. Citrus mixed with chocolate and a dash of basil or paprika!
But day by day, the flavors grew bland. First everything tasted half-digested, then plain like starch, until it had no flavor at all. I tried adding more flavor, but it all tasted like starch.
I wish I could remember the flavors of my life again.
This is so heartbreaking and yet beautiful in its simplicity!
This is so heart-wrenching. Beautiful work.
Fandom: Angel the series, set during 2.02 (Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?) with references to 1.22 (To Shanshu in L.A.)
Characters/Pairing: Angel and Cordelia, possible shippy subtext with them
Angel still isn't used to the fact that Cordelia gave him blood like it was the same thing as a sandwich. He was surprised then, but now he learns why the glass she just handed him has lumps floating in it.
"That's cinnamon," she declares. "What, like I can't try something?"
Angel focuses on the case, but her words linger in the back of his mind. She not only accepts his blood drinking; she tried to improve the taste.
Touched by Cordelia's thoughtfulness, Angel sips the drink and decides not to tell her that the blood tasted better without cinnamon.
I <3 this SOOOO much. Just like Cordy!
This moment is very indicative of her character, and I thought it would be really cute for this prompt.
Blood and cinnamon... why does that scream Cordy, somehow? :))
I'm not sure, but it does! Thank you for commenting!
Token Tribute
Source: Reunification
Though battered and bloodied, Mist volunteered for corpse retrieval after Firebird snapped the Skyhunter's neck and chaos became the dispatch of drones.
He'd paused long enough, debating internally, to see Frost claim the enemy for processing in the nutrient chambers. That was pragmatic, of course; and Mist knew their own dead would meet the same end ... which was exactly why he offered his services. Dirinalla's ways were not Pale Night's ways.
Firebird nodded, a reassuring touch ghosting across Mist's heart.
:Honour them, Bladesaint.:
And so he did; a single droplet, a single shred crossing his lips for each one lost.
So incredibly powerful. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! :3
I love your use of language in this!
Thank ye kindly :3
Original Fiction
Prompt: Taste
“Anguish has its own, unique taste, just like hopelessness and surrender. Lick the test subject on your left first, and then taste the one on the right.”
The voice waited as the trainees all leaned forward and licked. Various sounds emerged from the subjects on the left. Only silence from the ones on the right.
“Good,” the voice continues. “Now cut a one inch square from each subject. Taste them again after 30 seconds.”
The trainees follow the instructions.
“Trainee 127, analyze the results.”
Trainee 127 answers, “The taste of pain augments the anguish, but cannot hide the hopelessness.”
Ooh, this is really eerie and uncomfortable. What could they possibly be training for? Powerful writing!
really interesting
This is so clever and disturbing and... everything!
Fandom: Hannibal
Pairing: Hannibal/Will
Will eats like he does everything else: with insouciant, unschooled intensity.
A greasy burger from the local drive-through, or a filet mignon with oak-aged balsamic glaze, prepared by Hannibal’s own sanguine hands. None of it matters, because all of it does. Too much.
Will drinks Château Lafite the same way he drinks in Hannibal’s fascination. A careless wipe of fingers across his mouth, a flutter of lashes over pellucid eyes. A dare, and a promise.
I don’t have your appetite, he’d said. But his gaze said something different.
Alone in his bare cell, Hannibal licks his lips, tasting the memory.
Creepy and oh so right!
"I have to wake up form this nightmare", this is the first thought I had after my mind came back, I would like to say "after I opened my eyes" but, I wasn't able to see at all. Was I blind? Souds, I heard indistincted sounds. "Taste me", a whisper. I needed oxygen desperately, I opened my mouth and I found a kiss that tasted like the whole world, from hate to passion, from sea to rust, from London to remote islands, feelings and images in a endless falling, now i can breath again, now I can see again.
Great use of stream-of-consciousness! And the ending is perfect. <3
thank you! I really appreciate you had time to read this little stream-of-consciousness!
Oh, I love this. Very nicely done!
Title: Youth - Original
You looked at me like I knew your secrets.
When we kissed, I tasted the hope of a new life. Now, looking back, I cannot remember if you were real, or if the hope was my imagination.
When you're young, life plays out in film reels, somehow you convince yourself nights are never going to end. Romantically, you think an infatuation could save you, maybe validate your dreams. Time passes, the heart learns it's not so simple. You have to validate yourself, you have to save yourself.
It's fun for a while though, isn't it? To dream of being saved.
I love the nostalgic-yet-pragmatic tone of this. I especially liked these lines:
Wow, very powerful. I particularly loved:
Title: Bitter
(Original work)
I always put the water in my mouth first, then the pills, so I can swallow and not have to taste them. But today I let them linger. Maybe because they were hard to swallow, all 8 of them, the last 8 had been too. And the 5 before that. Or maybe because I thought I should taste one last thing before I went. Because today, I tried to commit suicide. And they tasted bitter; the pills. Bitter, like the ground down remains of my emotions. The dregs at the bottom of my cup of hurt.
Please let me die.
Wow, I hope no one ever feels this way in real life.
You really capture the feeling of depression and suicidal ideation in this drabble. Amazing work.
(Sidenote: I might consider putting a suicide trigger warning before the drabble.)
:(( Your prose is really powerful and evocative in this, well done. <3
Oh wow. Just wow.
original, superhumans military
Morning tastes like ashes on her tongue. She drags herself out of the hostel bed, feeling aches and burns through every muscle, with every movement, head still unclear from whatever they'd drugged her with.
Skylight. Silver light spread through the molecules of a wooden door. Her hand moving to the right and she could see right through. It's worth remembering whatever it was she'd seen and they thought she'd only heard.
A serving girl where she didn't belong. Drug her, beat her, your secret's safe.
She's an intelligence operative, and she smiles as memory returns, slowly, surely. It tastes sweet.
Oh, very well played indeed. Nice!
Thank you!
Your little snippets into this world are so intriguing!!
Thank you!
Fandom: The Fosters
Characters: Ana Gutierrez
It’s not that she’s forgotten the taste of loneliness— she hasn’t.
After having swallowed it like aspirin for so many years, she’s not sure she ever can. It’s embedded in her palette almost as deeply as regret is, though regret tastes twice as bitter.
Still, with every call she receives on her birthday, every holiday invitation that is extended to her, and every reciprocated ‘I love you’, her familiarity with the taste fades.
It fades until it is no longer significant, leaving behind room for the sweetness of intimacy that has been missing from her life since she left home.
I love this. It's so optimistic!
Thank you! Thought I'd end on a positive note for a change.
The compare and contrast in this is heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. Thank you! <3
Aw, you're welcome! And thank you. I'd been wanting to write about Ana gaining back what she'd lost.
Beautiful! I really liked this line:
Thank you so much! I struggled with the phrasing of that line a bit, so I'm glad it turned out to make sense.
Fandom: Tiger & Bunny Title: I learned to make fried rice.
Kotetsu made Barnaby fried rice for dinner after a tough night. It stuck with him as something Kotetsu liked.
The first time Barnaby tried to cook it himself was after the Jake Incident. His first attempt was bland; his second had burned. He tossed the third attempt after one taste. It took two weeks to make the dish correctly.
Once he'd perfected the recipe, Barnaby hesitated to invite Kotetsu for dinner.
He didn't realize he'd waited too long until he held Kotetsu in his arms, watching his partner fade rapidly .
"You can't die Kotetsu. I learned to make fried rice"
I love how that last line says so much with so few words. Lovely!!
Awwwwwwwwwww. I want to hug them!
Title: Wine, Whiskey, Beer Reviews
Judgments and descriptions of the complex tastes of wine and whiskey are studies in snobbery and obfuscation; ie, bullshit.
A wine review, for example: “Lightly medicinal scents of plum and raspberry, lemon peel, and a dusting of cinnamon with forward notes of black plum, cherry and berry.”
And, a whiskey review: “Interwoven notes of toffee, molasses, creamy vanilla, and candy corn, layered over fruit, cinnamon, and fresh mint, with tantalizing hints of oak, dried barrel drool, warm dried corn, tobacco barn, and teaberry.”
Medicinal scents, dried barrel drool and tobacco barn?
Beer review: “Cool amber color, has suds.”
'Nuff said.
ROTFL! Wonderful! Cynical but with a light touch indeed.
hahahha I love it!! :DD
Fandom: Angel the series, set during the opening scene of 3.14 (Couplet)
Pairing: Angel/Cordelia
After Lorne leaves, Angel closes the closet door. Always the pathetic, desperate fool, Angel swiftly reopens the door and holds his jacket to his face. He inhales the scent of Cordelia's perfume and closes his eyes as he recalls the ballet. He can still taste Cordelia's mouth, her neck, and the sun-warmed skin of her stomach. He can still hear her gasps and moans of arousal.
Angel opens his eyes and reminds himself that it wasn't real. They were possessed, and Cordelia is home with the Groosalug. He stuffs away the jacket, but he can't avoid the memories so easily.
Poor, poor Angel. Well done, and so very sad.
Thank you! I felt so bad for him in this episode.
Title: The Two of Us Fandom: The Flash(TV) Pairing: Westallen (Iris West and Barry Allen)
“What even is this Iris, oh why did I say that you could make us dinner when we both know that we are more suited for takeout?” Barry said with a small laugh, but he knew that he was right neither of them were cut out for cooking anything.
“It is spaghetti and meatballs, and at least you could taste it before you judge me and say it’s bad.” She also knew that neither of them were cut out for cooking, take out always.
Heeee! I love that they both know takeout is the answer. 😉
Haha at least she tried! ;))
Title: The Block is Hot Original Work
I am walking as fast as I can. As the air in my chest seems to be pulling away with every step that I take, slowly, beads of sweat begin to trickle down my face. I breathe a little slower in hopes of cooling down, and I wipe away the beads of sweat from my forehead as others get caught on my upper lip, I lick them away.
I see it in the distance, gripped by familiar hands, and I run. Playing on the block, on a hot summer day… The only salvation I know, a vanilla ice cream cone.
Yay for ice cream! 😁 Very nice bit of drabbling!
So much lovely urgency in this! And the ending is perfect, lolol. <3
Title: Curry
Original Fiction
"Here, try this," Neela says, holding out the flatbread and spiced meat. The scent of it burns Kirsi's nose, reminds her of the fish stews her aunt made sometimes, of meals she'd not yet learned to cook on her own and will now never be able to recreate.
She takes the flatbread and bites into it; lets the flavor wash over her, familiar and unfamiliar. It reminds her of her mother, of her childhood, of kissing her first sweetheart in a storm.
"It's not bad," she says dismissively, passing it back to Neela before moving to the next market stall.
I love the ties between taste and memory that you set up here. Well done!
Thank you! granted, there's not much that doesn't tie back into old memories for Kirsi, but when I can make it happen smoothly, I'm happy. :)
So many emotions packed into so few words! Absolutely lovely. <3
thank you very much!
"Tastes of pine, with notes of apricot and honey."
"Man, you don't know shit. You go visit one winery upstate and now you've got an elephant's nose."
"I went to Zeigler's downtown too. They had a beautiful Merlot."
"Look, you've got fourty bottles of wine downstairs, and this is the second time we've opened one. Chrissakes, you still pronounce Cabernet like it rhymes with Bobba Fett."
"Well I ain't French, but I know my wines. See, you're doing it all wrong--you gotta smell with your mouth open, let it aerate."
"Uh huh. Smells like grapes."
"You have no taste."
LOL! Hilarious! :D
//laughing// And multiple plays taste, too. :D
Hahaha I love it!!
Fandom: Lewis
Pairing: James Hathaway/Robert Lewis
A crime scene, a murder, always tastes like loss and regret. They chase it away during a case with cups of stale caffeine, after work with pints of ale, in the wee hours with touch and scent and sounds. James is yielding, even paler than usual in the dark of night. He smells of the river, of rowing and clean water. He is guttural and incoherent as Robbie draws forth wave after crushing wave of kisses. Loss and regret will have no home in their bed; Robbie makes sure of it. Only the surety of want, the certainty of love.
A wonderful reflection on the effect seeing so much of the terrible side of humanity can take on characters. It makes me reflect on my own canons where characters investigate crimes or solve murders.
This is lovely!! I especially liked this line, the imagery is gorgeous:
I love how descriptive this is, and I especially love that second line. It really sells the feeling. (Also, I didn't know surety was a word!)
Thank you!
Fandom: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series
Pairing: Kirk/McCoy
The satisfaction Jim feels when Bones’s mouth opens under his surpasses the pleasure of kissing, or the wonder of having Bones in his arms.
Jim has known for years how Bones looks, whether bleak at rock bottom or glowing with triumph. How he sounds, from sarcastic snaps to huffs of laughter. His scent: sour with booze and pain, then shampoo-sweet. His touch: gentle with an injury and sharp with a rebuke.
But taste was missing. Jim imagined that even before he imagined them together. Maybe that should have told him something.
It doesn’t matter, though. He’s got it all now.
Aw, boys! <3
I love all the contrasts of Bones' character in here!
Title: Seasons Passing
Original
In the corner of the café that we love, I sit in waiting. Watching leaves on trees outside fade through shades of orange while pattered by the autumn rain. Soft melodies fill this space, our little getaway, a place where drowsy eyes exchange what words cannot.
Slipping through the door, scarf and threads adorned with pearls from the sky, cheeks flushing in welcoming warmth, embracing the shelter and pause from the concerns of the day. Gliding to the table, smiles growing as distance ebbs.
In our little corner in the café that we love, we can taste the seasons passing.
Lovely all around, but I particularly like:
Bravo!
Oh, this was lovely. <3
I love the imagery in this! Especially loved that last bit:
Beautiful!
Fandom: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Pairing: Steve/Danny
Warnings: NSFW, oral sex
Link here
The list of things that he loves to taste... perfection!
Thank you! I like to tie my drabbles into canon whenever possible (even when they take a sharp turn to the left, like this one did).
Title: Poison
Original work
As I sit on my bed with my eyes closed, I breathe in the scent of grass and oak trees.
It is almost as if I'm there again, with you leaning over and our lips meeting. You taste of cinnamon and honey, melted together.
Many years ago, we reserved our unique taste only for the other person.
I don't know where it went wrong. I don't want to know what went wrong.
But I can taste her on your lips like this poisonous liquid seeping from within.
I want no more poison so this is goodbye. Never to taste again.
This is so sad and evocative. Well done!
Thank you :)
So sad, so hopeless, so very well done indeed.
Thank you so much!
Fandom: Hawaii Five-0 (2010), episode tag for 7.02
Pairing: Steve/Danny
Danny doesn't know what he's doing to Steve when he licks salt from his lips. He doesn't know Steve wants to lean over the booth and kiss him until he knows the taste of Danny's lips and tongue, intimately and thoroughly.
"Why are you looking at me like that, babe?" Danny asks. Shit. Steve's dazed expression must have given him away.
Steve nervously looks down at his plate of fish and chips. "Nothing."
Danny scoffs. "Nothing, huh." Danny's shaky breath ghosts over Steve's lips. "I don't believe you."
Danny kisses Steve, and Steve is grateful Danny knows him so well.
Oh, the boys coming together! Bravo.
Thanks!
Fandom: Friends, set during 8.16 (TOW Joey Tells Rachel)
Characters/Pairing: Joey and Ross, Rachel/Joey
Ross is surprised when Joey says he doesn't have beer. Once she left, Ross thought Joey would immediately buy the food and drink he couldn't have when Rachel lived with him. Food has always been important to Joey.
Joey offers Ross a green melon drink that evidently disgusts him, but it tastes fine to Ross. As he talks, Joey casually mentions that he's in love with Rachel. Ross looks up at him, shocked. "You're in love with her?"
"I thought you knew," Joey says, like it's obvious.
Ross listens to Joey's anguish and contemplates how to respond. This changes everything.
I'm really enjoying all your Friend's drabbles! Joey is so cute in them!
Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying these.
Ross needs a boot to the head.
::ahem:: Sorry, my bias is showing. ;)
Haha, it's not like I don't share your bias! I was, however, grateful to see Ross eventually acting more mature in this episode and wanted to write something about the moment his view of the Joey/Rachel situation changed. Sometimes, Ross does need a boot to the head, but I like when he realizes he was wrong.
Fandoms: Angel the series, set in a slightly altered version of 3.13 (Waiting in the Wings)
Pairing: Angel/Cordelia
Warnings: NSFW, oral sex, dubcon for sex while they're both possessed
Link here
Ah, I wish they weren't possessed! Still, enticing!
Yeah, I wish they weren't possessed either (or that Angel didn't have that pesky clause to his curse). Thanks for commenting!
Fandom: Friends, set post-canon
Characters/Pairing: Monica-centric, Chandler/Monica
Warnings: Childhood obesity, eating disorders, self-esteem issues
Monica never shows favoritism. She won't let Jack or Erica feel how she did. She won't let them cry and secretly stuff themselves in the middle of the night because they're lonely.
Her kids seem happy. Monica is the one crying in the middle of the night.
She's gained weight since menopause despite a healthy diet and regular exercise. The ancient taste of self-loathing coats her tongue as she stares at the scale.
The taste abates when Chandler finds her and holds her closely.
"Balloon up, shrink down, it's okay. Remember?"
Monica wipes away her tears, looks up, and remembers.
What a wonderful take on this prompt and the future!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed this drabble.
I was going to join this thread late but now I'm blushing because everyone else is posting fiction and mine is so personal. Well thanks for prompting me to write a one hundred word love letter! 😊
Awww. Hopefully you'll feel like sharing for the next prompt! :D