All Fall Down
This one's for you, anthropomor_fic. How dominos feel about one another. Written for the prompt 'dominoes' on story_lottery.
The domino sighed. It dreamed of being part of a line of dominos; simply being set down in a game would not do. That felt so empty… lying down with only the ends touching other partners. What a waste, when every one of them could be lying across each other, a massive linear orgy! And even sadder when another domino could not be played- then you were monogamous to a polyamorous partner, and oh, that was lonely.
Now it was the box again, when everyone was piled against each other every which way. That was fun, certainly, but it was dark and stuffy, and they could gossip as cheerfully as they could in the light and the air.
Someone shifted on top of it as the box was slightly tilted; the domino rubbed back lovingly, the slightest movement. It was facedown, a double-blank, which meant that it was smooth unlike everyone else, with only a groove in the middle to delineate its two blanks. Everyone liked the double-blank, true, but the double-blank was only pretty, and anything it said was really rather dull. No matter. A double-blank and a double-six together, smooth versus rough, was still fun.
The sudden chatter of human voices drew their attention; all the dominos hushed, and their clatter ceased- at least, as much of it as they could control.
“I think it’s wonderful that we’ll be able to join in on this effort,” someone said happily. “The world record for the most dominos lined up and toppled! Just think, our dominos will be part of it!”
“Don’t forget to label all of them, though, and the box too. I bought the stickers especially. There’s our names to be written, and address, and our registration number…”
How every one of those dominos thrilled to those words! The world record for the most dominos lined up and toppled! The greatest wish of all dominos, to be part of the longest linear orgy ever!
As the box was opened and fluorescent light shone down, the chatter of the dominos rose from thrilled to excited to amazed. Each domino disappeared from the box, removed by a delicate hand. The double-blank was last, quietly afraid; before the double-six had left it had told the other domino, “Don’t worry. We’ll all be in the same box.”
The slow stickiness of the label took the double-blank by surprise; the gentle pressure executed by a delicate finger, smoothing the label, only excited it further. Then another pressure, feather-light, came, moving in lazy loops and graceful lines; it was the marker, moving across the label with names and address and registration number. Such a thrill the double-blank had!
When finally it was placed with the other dominos, they were all in a different box, smaller, so that they could not be haphazardly lain about, thrown around by any jogs or tilting that might occur while they were carried. Instead they were all stacked in neat rows and columns, fitting the box neatly.
The dominos at the top and the bottom and the sides were slightly disappointed- they didn’t have as much tactile contact with the other dominos as the ones in the middle, who were very happy indeed. There wasn’t as much clatter, either, which meant that they filled the silence with their gossip. Someone mentioned nastily that the double-blank had gone last; the double-six defended it, saying that it didn’t matter, it had just been chance and there had been no order in the way they had been labeled.
At last they were set down, with a small bang. From the sounds outside the box, there were other people with other boxes of dominos. How exciting! New dominos, ones made of ivory and bone and plastic and polymer and everything else under the sun! Dominos with red or black or green pips, dominos of every combination of colours, with different backings, smooth, rough, plain or fancy!
The dominos were shivering in anticipation.
Finally, after a few days, their box was opened. They could see that there were already lines of dominos set up in a zigzag pattern, more than they could imagine- but then, it was a world record they were aiming for. They filled the great hall, and were beginning on the hall connected to it. The woman setting the dominos put each domino down just so. Careful, cautious, so that no domino toppled and set off the chain before the whole long line was ready.
They were so excited, so impatient, they could barely stand the waiting, barely stand at all. Only the knowledge that more were to join in kept them upright.
The halls filled with the excited chatter of the dominos. They shared stories, games played, lines they had been in, and more- all the stories told by their owners as they played their little blocking games. Here one told of a ghost haunting its owner’s home. There another spoke of birds crossing the ocean. Yet another spoke of midnight masses and church incidents. It was just a hugely massive hodgepodge of stories told by one domino to another, passing down the line and across its curves from piece to piece.
This was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to any of the dominos present. Oh, one or two might have met with mishaps involving the family pet or the inquisitive toddler. Some had even been lost in the streets of Whitechapel or Nottingham before being found by a new owner. But to actually see and speak to other dominos not of their own sets- how amazing was that?
At last the word came, passing from piece to piece to piece until everyone of them knew: the last box was being opened. The last dominos were being set.
Every domino was silent, straining in anticipation for the soft click indicating another piece set down. Minutes passed in tense silence.
Someone was counting down: 25. A soft click: 24. Another: 23…
A last click: 0.
And they were ready…
At the head of the line, having been given the signal to begin, the finger uncurled, then in one smooth motion flew open.
tak
tak
taktaktaktaktak
As the sound of falling dominos picked up speed, the double-blank tried to say something to the double-six, but was cut off by the double-six falling.
The domino sighed. It dreamed of being part of a line of dominos; simply being set down in a game would not do. That felt so empty… lying down with only the ends touching other partners. What a waste, when every one of them could be lying across each other, a massive linear orgy! And even sadder when another domino could not be played- then you were monogamous to a polyamorous partner, and oh, that was lonely.
Now it was the box again, when everyone was piled against each other every which way. That was fun, certainly, but it was dark and stuffy, and they could gossip as cheerfully as they could in the light and the air.
Someone shifted on top of it as the box was slightly tilted; the domino rubbed back lovingly, the slightest movement. It was facedown, a double-blank, which meant that it was smooth unlike everyone else, with only a groove in the middle to delineate its two blanks. Everyone liked the double-blank, true, but the double-blank was only pretty, and anything it said was really rather dull. No matter. A double-blank and a double-six together, smooth versus rough, was still fun.
The sudden chatter of human voices drew their attention; all the dominos hushed, and their clatter ceased- at least, as much of it as they could control.
“I think it’s wonderful that we’ll be able to join in on this effort,” someone said happily. “The world record for the most dominos lined up and toppled! Just think, our dominos will be part of it!”
“Don’t forget to label all of them, though, and the box too. I bought the stickers especially. There’s our names to be written, and address, and our registration number…”
How every one of those dominos thrilled to those words! The world record for the most dominos lined up and toppled! The greatest wish of all dominos, to be part of the longest linear orgy ever!
As the box was opened and fluorescent light shone down, the chatter of the dominos rose from thrilled to excited to amazed. Each domino disappeared from the box, removed by a delicate hand. The double-blank was last, quietly afraid; before the double-six had left it had told the other domino, “Don’t worry. We’ll all be in the same box.”
The slow stickiness of the label took the double-blank by surprise; the gentle pressure executed by a delicate finger, smoothing the label, only excited it further. Then another pressure, feather-light, came, moving in lazy loops and graceful lines; it was the marker, moving across the label with names and address and registration number. Such a thrill the double-blank had!
When finally it was placed with the other dominos, they were all in a different box, smaller, so that they could not be haphazardly lain about, thrown around by any jogs or tilting that might occur while they were carried. Instead they were all stacked in neat rows and columns, fitting the box neatly.
The dominos at the top and the bottom and the sides were slightly disappointed- they didn’t have as much tactile contact with the other dominos as the ones in the middle, who were very happy indeed. There wasn’t as much clatter, either, which meant that they filled the silence with their gossip. Someone mentioned nastily that the double-blank had gone last; the double-six defended it, saying that it didn’t matter, it had just been chance and there had been no order in the way they had been labeled.
At last they were set down, with a small bang. From the sounds outside the box, there were other people with other boxes of dominos. How exciting! New dominos, ones made of ivory and bone and plastic and polymer and everything else under the sun! Dominos with red or black or green pips, dominos of every combination of colours, with different backings, smooth, rough, plain or fancy!
The dominos were shivering in anticipation.
Finally, after a few days, their box was opened. They could see that there were already lines of dominos set up in a zigzag pattern, more than they could imagine- but then, it was a world record they were aiming for. They filled the great hall, and were beginning on the hall connected to it. The woman setting the dominos put each domino down just so. Careful, cautious, so that no domino toppled and set off the chain before the whole long line was ready.
They were so excited, so impatient, they could barely stand the waiting, barely stand at all. Only the knowledge that more were to join in kept them upright.
The halls filled with the excited chatter of the dominos. They shared stories, games played, lines they had been in, and more- all the stories told by their owners as they played their little blocking games. Here one told of a ghost haunting its owner’s home. There another spoke of birds crossing the ocean. Yet another spoke of midnight masses and church incidents. It was just a hugely massive hodgepodge of stories told by one domino to another, passing down the line and across its curves from piece to piece.
This was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to any of the dominos present. Oh, one or two might have met with mishaps involving the family pet or the inquisitive toddler. Some had even been lost in the streets of Whitechapel or Nottingham before being found by a new owner. But to actually see and speak to other dominos not of their own sets- how amazing was that?
At last the word came, passing from piece to piece to piece until everyone of them knew: the last box was being opened. The last dominos were being set.
Every domino was silent, straining in anticipation for the soft click indicating another piece set down. Minutes passed in tense silence.
Someone was counting down: 25. A soft click: 24. Another: 23…
A last click: 0.
And they were ready…
At the head of the line, having been given the signal to begin, the finger uncurled, then in one smooth motion flew open.
tak
tak
taktaktaktaktak
As the sound of falling dominos picked up speed, the double-blank tried to say something to the double-six, but was cut off by the double-six falling.