Tuesday, February 07, 2006

St. Valentine's with a twist - a meme

Warning: Open ended meme and potentially disturbing scenes in this post. Proceed with caution.

St. Valentine’s day is near, and to honour this remarkable celebration of capitalism, marketing genius and herd behaviour, Yuan Harng has found a new game to play.
Write a short romantic excerpt of a facist/ dictator/ neo-imperalist leader [e.g.] George Bush, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, etc.

Click here for Yuan Harng’s nifty excerpt.


***

Vlad the Impaler (1431-1476)


“I heard rumours of your dealings with the Ottomans.”
“My lord, that is not true! I have always been loyal to you!” Razvan pleaded for mercy.

Vlad nodded slightly at his men, and a few men grabbed hold of Razvan. As he was led away, the prisoner did not flail about, but continued pleading his innocence.

From the crowd of villagers that had formed, a woman erupted forth.
“Spare him, please. He did no wrong,” Catalina urged.
Vlad cast an indifferent glance at her, and continued watching Razvan being prepared for his execution. Razvan appeared to have given up his dishonest appeals and was anticipating his agonising death with fear.

A stake was erected firmly in the ground with its sharpened end pointing skyward. With the help of a few horses and some guiding hands, Razvan was lifted above the stake.

Razvan was then lowered onto the pointed end of the stake, the wood driving into his back, rupturing his stomach, spleen, diaphragm and left lung before piercing through his rib cage to emerge from his chest. He lost control of his bowels; faecal matter, stomach contents and blood mixed in a disturbing mixture on the ground. In great pain he hung in midair, only supported by the same stake that ruptured his innards.

Catalina went to Razvan’s side, stroking his forehead, whispering to him, kissing his cheeks. She did all she could to make his long death slightly less horrible.

The punctured lung, intruding stake and ruptured diaphragm made breathing difficult for Razvan. His breaths were shallow and rapid, barely sufficient to make up for the effort to merely take in the air.

Death by impalement is particularly cruel because the victim does not die from ruptured organs, but mostly due to exposure to the elements or dehydration. In the mean time, the victim suffers from great pain.

“Please, die quickly,” Catalina pleaded to Razvan’s already inert ears, cradling his head to her chest.

The crowd started to disperse and by sunset, only Catalina remained with Razvan.

The first villagers to walk by the next morning noted that Catalina had died in the overnight blizzard with Razvan in her arms.


***


I am passing this game to Yvy (the self proclaimed meme-magnet), plink, and anyone else interested.


I think I forgot to mention that St. Valentine’s Day is also a celebration of love.


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