Showtime

~ Cakeordeath
Sammy Slabbinck
Sammy Slabbinck

Al the Angle, poised, (as always, naturellement), high stylin’ but low ballin’, to strike, spiels his riff,
“Up, down, turn-around, edgeways or sidelined; every fucker has an angle to get the juices flowing until they flood. Do you feel me…?
“Yes? … I thought so. Very, very” (very is slowed to a hypnotic dragged down drawl, then a lull, an insinuating pause… …), “very good baby.
‘You know if you handle the cards that I deal right I might just let you, only might, mind you, I haven’t quite yet decided, come for me. Soooooo tell me my love, is it now time for that cunt to get eaten? I want to watch in the mirror every motion, absolution and devotion.”
SHOWTIME…the ever eager, devouring mouths merge momentarily before separating again, revolving and hovering in the absolute stillness until the lips shape the same word…SHOWTIME.
The Ingenue blinks on the stage trying to remember her lines. The audience can barely contain their restlessness. The words fail to form in the Ingenue’s mind and even worse she can’t for the life of her recall the part she is meant to play. Earlier in the dressing room mirror she had stared long and hard at her reflection before saying, “I know who I am, but who the fuck are you?”
The Melancholy Lieutenant, after travelling through a multidimensional shit-storm and worn down by horror zonal conflicts finds he is infra dig, even in Interzone, resorts to disembodiment; becomes the ghost in the machine, the flickering shadow at the intersection of alleys, the image fleetingly glimpsed in the corner of mirrors.

34 thoughts on “Showtime”

  1. First of all, love the photo in all its impossibility. It’s perfect for the prose/poem which actually feels like two joined together. The switch from speaking directly at the start to then reporting on the state of the ingenue and the lieutenant (welcome back). What a trip this is. As for the erotic part – have mercy! Now a question: what is infra dig? Did you make that up or is it a thing?

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    1. Infra dig is a real thing… it means beneath dignity… a shortened form of a Latin phrase…I had a dream about a lamp, a stage, the phrase Showtime and infra dig and those figures from my unconscious The Ingenue and the Melancholy Lieutenant, plus a new figure, Al the Angle, who really liked talking and is quite cynical. My head is a strange place.

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      1. How about that… I’ve never heard it before. What a poor education I’ve had. Your head is a strange place, but really interesting. Al the Angle – he’s quite salacious!

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      2. Always working the angle but then isn’t everyone? It would be a British phrase, quite a snobby one as you would say oh someone is infra dig or I am not doing that it’s so deeply infra dig. Interzone I borrowed from Willian Burroughs (thank you Mr Burroughs), seriously the Melancholy Lieutenant must have a hard time if he is infra dig there.

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    1. Well I hope not. The Melancholy Lieutenant and the Ingenue are two old friends of mine who find themselves in all kind of situations. They come and go, though I am always pleased when they do visit.

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  4. Your writing reminds me of that of an old friend of mine. He was a genius at wordplay too (horror zonal) . I researched Slabby and Showtime because I am OCD. This is a thinker. The erotica thrown in doesn’t hurt. Enjoyed the trip.

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    1. Thank you very much Miss Heart… I trust your old friend was incredibly talented (only joking). You picked up on horror zonal, you are an attentive reader. The whole piece is a combination of wordplay and dream. I try to be sparing with wordplay as it can be overdone (even my beloved Surrealists can tire in this respect) but it is something I think a lot about. OCD can come in useful then.

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  8. Dear Mr. Cake, this reads like a fevered dream: noir by NyQuil. Al the Angle has a less than charming but charismatic sleaze-appeal, by any chance would his hair be slicked back? The Interzone, feels much like being lost in a dark underground garage with no way out, spending time with the grease slicks, the smells of gasoline and the occasional odd trench-coat clad body sleeping between the gray-green angles of concrete and the car stops. I adore the Ingenue saying, “I know who I am, but who the fuck are you?” as she gazes into the mirror, a super deep personality trait of a powder-puff… but then again in the Interzone just maybe mirrored reflections have their own identify. Of course Sammy Slabbinck offers much to think about, terrific choice. This is a fabulous 1st installment in what proves to be a fantastic story. (Is this the first piece in the series?) SHOWTIME! ~ Miss Cranes

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    1. Thank you Miss Cranes…yes he definitely has slicked back hair. Unfortunately the Melancholy Lieutenant is infra dig in Interzone, quite an achievement. His further adventures are to be found in Eden Falls. The Ingenue can be found attempting to leave the Uneasy City, while the Angle is next found in Territory and then Oblique Angle. Glad you are enjoying so far.

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  9. “I know who I am, but who the fuck are you?” Love that line. Excellent mix of dark noir characters in a surprisingly short space of time . . . dig it.

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      1. Yes, that sounds like a plan. Send me the links as you write them. When I check in, I’ll pop by and give them a peek . . .

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