An Empire At War

The empire went to war the same way an insecure dog picks fights, erratically and for unknown cause. Was it to assert dominance in an uncertain universe? Or maybe to protect resources of little worth and questionable appeal to her adversaries? Who can say? The whims of the empress were unpredictable and perhaps more than a little self-destructive.

The reasons mattered little to the soldiers of the empire. They were just unfortunate strays caught up in affairs beyond their ken, with only one concern: hope that their lives, and their deaths, would somehow satiate the inscrutable monarch.

They rarely did.

Stage Fright

Peter replayed the conversation in his head endlessly. He had been such a fool. Every moment of his life the past 20 years, he prayed to have that moment back, and every moment for the rest of his natural life he would do the same. But nothing, no amount of pleading, no arguments, no appeals to the law or common sense, could ever get that moment back.

It had been such a simple question, and Peter had totally fucked it up.

"If you were innocent like you say, why'd you plead guilty?"

"I just don't know, Bob, I just don't know."

The Daily Theme from Figment for February 7, 2012

On occasion, we all accidentally say something stupid/awkward/insulting enough that we replay the offending conversation in our heads again and again, agonizing over our own doltishness. Write about a character who is currently being plagued by the recurring embarrassment of such an incident.