Does this make any sense?

[jaF0]

No comment on post 31 adding more insight? Still a no go?

 

[Spencerfiction]

Specific time

'Sometime between Midnight and the middle of the night ... '

What does it conjure up for you?

I wrote a short story about a wake held at night with the mother and father (a bishop) of the recently deceased were invited to attend by the grieving widow, as this was her family’s tradition of fasting until the Wake was scheduled to start in the ‘middle of the night’. When the Bishop enquired why it was gone midnight and the food and drink had not been brought to the ballroom, he was informed that ‘midnight’ was an arbitrary time imposed by governments and varied according to summer-time changes, the actual ‘middle of the night’ was something that was the true mid-night between dusk and dawn, that varied with the season of the year and the east-west orientation of the venue and, on this day in September the mid-way point was due to fall on 7 minutes past 1 (or something like that, without looking up the story). It turns out it was a Vampire wake, with the parents invited as one of them was destined to be a necessary sacrifice. Of coirse there was a plot twist in there somewhere.

So, yes, the above statement made perfect sense in the context of my story and no doubt similar plots

 

[LoquiSordidaAdMe]

Sometime between midnight and the middle of the night in the dark of the house, not a creature was stirring .... almost. A faint glow began to cast shadows across the room gradually becoming more intense. The orb that had been placed on the mantle also began to emit a soft hum as the glow increased and it lifted itself gently into the air, beginning to explore the house.



Or something like that.

No comment on post 31 adding more insight? Still a no go?

To me, something about the phrase "middle of the night" is just too mundane for the kind of eerie vibe you're going for. Those five syllables somehow hit an awkward spot between "concise" and "poetic".

I'd either try something shorter like "between midnight and moonset" or something more drawn out like "between midnight and the chill pre-dawn hours when sleep deepens nearer to death."

But that's just my take. As EB so eloquently put it, "style is such a personal thing."

 

[KeithD]

OMG, I am 100% here for the romance of this - writing and writing while the world sleeps. Maybe I'll try it one day...

Much of my writing occurs in the quiet time between 1:00 and 4:00 a.m. I haven't been to bed yet then, although I'll occasionally to to bed around 2:00 and be up again in an hour to do a little writing. Most of my story ideas descend when I'm coming back out of sleep in the morning, sometime between 9:30 and 10:30.

 

[AlexBailey]

Sometime between midnight and the middle of the night in the dark of the house, not a creature was stirring .... almost.

Or something like that.

It works here since you’re aiming for a vague sort of time, though I think it might pull me out enough to consider it for a moment. The slight tip of the hat to ‘twas the night before Christmas’ helps to smooth it a bit. If you’re into dropping references like that, by all means, keep it.

 

[LAHomedog]

I'm ashamed to admit that I actually enjoy taking the piss out of you.

This post cracked me up. I think you were trying to insult Keith, but what you wrote is you enjoy "drinking his urine." That is what "taking the piss out of you" implies.

Hey, watersports?! Different strokes for different folks.

Maybe, you were trying to say, "pissing you off?"

 

[LAHomedog]

I still hold to my original thought that it sounds like something you'd hear in the opening voice over of a late '40s film noir movie.

The camera pans slowly across the city. It's dark, the moon casting its deep shadows across the canyons of steel and concrete. We hear a tin can rattling upon the pavement as a cat hisses and scurries away.

Mitchum V.O.

It was sometime between Midnight and the middle of the night. I knew she was up to no good. A broad like her never is, but what choice did I have? She was married to my best friend. I followed her...​

 

[Tio_Narratore]

This post cracked me up. I think you were trying to insult Keith, but what you wrote is you enjoy "drinking his urine." That is what "taking the piss out of you" implies.

Hey, watersports?! Different strokes for different folks.

Maybe, you were trying to say, "pissing you off?"

From Merriam-Webster online:

Definition of take the piss out of
British, informal + impolite
: to make fun of or laugh at (someone or something)
// He took the piss out of me about my tattoo.

 

[KeithD]

Whatever. I think I gave it the attention and concern it deserves, especially considering the source.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I still hold to my original thought that it sounds like something you'd hear in the opening voice over of a late '40s film noir movie.[/CENTER]

Agree. As I noted above, this thread has neatly identified the engineers (I know we've got a few) and the literalists from the poets and romantics.

 

[rackofdawn]

A much sense as anything else

Since the world has gone crazy there are very few things that make sense.

In this case, the "Mid" in "Midnight" stands for middle. So between middle night and middle night makes about as much sense as saying the POTUS has a clear mind.

 

[LilyWaters]

Agree. As I noted above, this thread has neatly identified the engineers (I know we've got a few) and the literalists from the poets and romantics.

One of my key motivations to take up writing erotica as a hobby was the implicit understanding that I would not have to do math.

 

[jaF0]

I wrote a short story about a wake held at night with the mother and father (a bishop) of the recently deceased were invited to attend by the grieving widow, as this was her family’s tradition of fasting until the Wake was scheduled to start in the ‘middle of the night’. When the Bishop enquired why it was gone midnight and the food and drink had not been brought to the ballroom, he was informed that ‘midnight’ was an arbitrary time imposed by governments and varied according to summer-time changes, the actual ‘middle of the night’ was something that was the true mid-night between dusk and dawn, that varied with the season of the year and the east-west orientation of the venue and, on this day in September the mid-way point was due to fall on 7 minutes past 1 (or something like that, without looking up the story). It turns out it was a Vampire wake, with the parents invited as one of them was destined to be a necessary sacrifice. Of coirse there was a plot twist in there somewhere.

So, yes, the above statement made perfect sense in the context of my story and no doubt similar plots

Interesting reference I may incorporate.

 

[LoquiSordidaAdMe]

Agree. As I noted above, this thread has neatly identified the engineers (I know we've got a few) and the literalists from the poets and romantics.

Engineers can be romantics, too. Just sayin'.

 

[holliday1960]

Since the world has gone crazy there are very few things that make sense.

In this case, the "Mid" in "Midnight" stands for middle. So between middle night and middle night makes about as much sense as saying the POTUS has a clear mind.

I've got to agree with the basic premise of this and Abbafan. Midnight was essentially 'middle of night'. Acceptance of midnight as a specific time has evolved over what I'd guess has been centuries. 'Between midnight and middle of the night' to me is redundant. I didn't read this as ambiance/setting. Of course, it wont come across exactly the same to any two readers, so keeping in mind that preferences vary from person to person, I's say it sounds a bit amateurish when I read it aloud. Hope to read the full length version in the near future.

 

[LAHomedog]

From Merriam-Webster online:

Definition of take the piss out of
British, informal + impolite
: to make fun of or laugh at (someone or something)
// He took the piss out of me about my tattoo.

Yes. Thank you. I now understand the meaning. Sounded goofy to my American ears.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Engineers can be romantics, too. Just sayin'.

You're the exception that proves the rule, Loqui. Plus, I got my hooks into you with our collaboration .

 

[ElectricBlue]

Yes. Thank you. I now understand the meaning. Sounded goofy to my American ears.

Stick around an Australian long enough and you'll learn the true meaning of the expression. It's pretty much a default position.

Literotica, the international cultural learning centre .

 

[PBAnnie]

Sometime between midnight and the middle of the night in the dark of the house, not a creature was stirring .... almost. A faint glow began to cast shadows across the room gradually becoming more intense. The orb that had been placed on the mantle also began to emit a soft hum as the glow increased and it lifted itself gently into the air, beginning to explore the house.



Or something like that.

Taking a suggestion someone else offered earlier, how about something like...

"Sometime after midnight, during the witching hours, in the darkest reaches of the house, not a creature was stirring...almost."​

The extra reference to "witch" may add an additional bit of eeriness.

 

[XerXesXu]

I wrote a short story about a wake held at night with the mother and father (a bishop) of the recently deceased were invited to attend by the grieving widow, as this was her family’s tradition of fasting until the Wake was scheduled to start in the ‘middle of the night’. When the Bishop enquired why it was gone midnight and the food and drink had not been brought to the ballroom, he was informed that ‘midnight’ was an arbitrary time imposed by governments and varied according to summer-time changes, the actual ‘middle of the night’ was something that was the true mid-night between dusk and dawn, that varied with the season of the year and the east-west orientation of the venue and, on this day in September the mid-way point was due to fall on 7 minutes past 1 (or something like that, without looking up the story). It turns out it was a Vampire wake, with the parents invited as one of them was destined to be a necessary sacrifice. Of coirse there was a plot twist in there somewhere.

So, yes, the above statement made perfect sense in the context of my story and no doubt similar plots

If you cut out the romance and get down to the sex, how would, even a vampire, locate the middle of the night at a time, except on the hour, unless their watch was running fast/slow?

https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/sunearth.html?iso=20210810T2244

PS: I looked in your trunk. 5*. Hilarious, and so topical.

https://www.literotica.com/s/the-trunk-1

 

[MillieDynamite]

If you cut out the romance and get down to the sex, how would, even a vampire, locate the middle of the night at a time, except on the hour, unless their watch was running fast/slow?

https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/sunearth.html?iso=20210810T2244

PS: I looked in your trunk. 5*. Hilarious, and so topical.

https://www.literotica.com/s/the-trunk-1

In order to know your exact middle of the night, you'd have to know the exact second of your longitude, who'd want to be that precise? Perhaps a Vulcan.

 

[XerXesXu]

In order to know your exact middle of the night, you'd have to know the exact second of your longitude, who'd want to be that precise? Perhaps a Vulcan.

Hornblower. Therein lies a story, but it's been written.

However, for the less fastidious, you'd be correct.

 

[PBAnnie]

PS: I looked in your trunk. 5*. Hilarious, and so topical.

https://www.literotica.com/s/the-trunk-1

That was fun. Good job, Spencerfiction.

 

[NotWise]

Hornblower. Therein lies a story, but it's been written.

Horatio? But of course he of the steely grey eyes would have a plan in which the exact time of night and the position of the moon would give him a surprise advantage.

I loved those stories.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I tells me you're losing your link with the natural world. Midnight is the middle of the night, just a noon is the middle of the day.

Not during daylight savings though! If you're in LA, currently your sunset is about 7:44 pm and sunrise 6:12 am, so you have a couple more hours of darkness after 00:00 than before it.