Wednesday February 10th, 2021

The exercise:

Write about: bob and weave.

Which, really, just sounds like names. So, alternatively, write about: Bob and Weave.

2 comments:

Greg said...

No updates on the commute? I was expecting to see you starting to tabulate your starting time and journey length and then maybe an Excel workbook and.... ;-)

Well, Bob and Weave to me sounds like an excuse to parody the Wheel of Time a little more :)

Bob and weave
"The Loom of Doom," said Bob. He looked around the expectant faces, waiting for the inevitable question, and after thirty seconds gave up waiting. "Doom is another word for Fate," he said. "The Fates famously weave our destiny on their loom, creating the rich tapestry that is the past. The one thing that remains constant throughout life is the Loom of Doom: it weaves as it wills and there's nothing we can do about it."
A hand raised in the small audience, and Bob felt the chill touch of relief. "Yes, Egwater?"
"Can the Fates do anything about it? Or is it fully automated?"
Bob's smile faltered just a little at the second question. "The Fates can intervene when they choose," he said. "There are three of them and they prefer to be referred to as Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, though they naturally have different names in different cultures. Some are less flattering; in Murgyny-speech Atropos's name loosely translates as 'snippy-bitch' as she has the task of wielding the Scissors of Doom that cut off threads when they are done in the tapestry."
"So where is this Loom then?"
Bob frowned. He was used to his classes being free-thinkers but these questions were heading in a direction he didn't much like. "Why?"
"It seems like being able to look at his tapestry, even if we can't modify it ourselves, would be a good idea." said Egwater. Bob sighed, and she looked peeved, her narrow face pinching in on itself and her slightly hairy forehead creasing into a frown.
"That's the heresy of Tarmon," he said. "If we were to start even looking at the tapestry we would be playing Creator-Lord and that would cause problems. The basic theory starts with the world being destroyed around us and then gets worse."
"OK boomer, but it's a theory, right?"
Bob's smile was oddly tight. "So is the idea that Bleakfire burns you out of the tapestry as though you'd never been," he said. "Using Bleakfire on a person is so dangerous that there are no punishments that are considered unreasonable, too cruel, or too unjust for using it. So before you go looking at the tapestry, how about we Bleakfire you and test that theory first?"
Egwater sat back, shock visible on her face. Her hands, neatly placed in her lap, started shaking.
"That's not quite what I meant," she said, her voice now hesitant and stammering. "It's just... there are some cosmetic alterations... I mean...."
"Everyone has some changes they think would be for the better," said Bob. "You're all wrong. I'm wrong. Hell, even Lachesis is probably wrong, and it's her job to be right. So: the point of this lesson is that the Loom of Doom exists, it weaves your fate whether you like it or not, and if you try going near it you will be made to suffer and an example will be made of you. You will wish you'd been Bleakfired instead, or my name's not Bob."

Marc said...

Greg - hah. Well, this prompt actually came to me during the commute, so there you go. (I think I dodged around a chunk of snow/ice that had fallen off another vehicle)

This is... quite the lesson. I feel as though the point has been made, and quite effectively at that!

And I'm not sure if that last line is a catchphrase of sorts, but I certainly hope that it is.