Fionagreywrites

Week 12 of Odd Prompts

 

Encouraging things go here.

You know, that was a placeholder, but I’m leaving it because it’s true. Ultimately, that’s what this whole prompt challenge is about: encouragement. I don’t know about you, but I certainly need encouraging these days. The prompts give me something to chew over in my mind when I am trying not to think about the stuff I can’t change. It gives me a way to create, and motivate myself to write when I might otherwise be able to justify just curling up and doing nothing productive. It’s also encouraging to see the great stuff everyone writes every week. It’s a privilege to be a part of a group this consistently good. 

Prompter Name Prompt
Promptee Name
B. Durbin Feral kitties, railroad tracks, and a trail by the creek. And something unusual in the water. Brena Bock
Cedar Sanderson “Not a Candidate for Reanimation.” nother Mike
nother Mike In the want ads, you see someone looking for wranglers for a butterfly roundup… B. Durbin
Fiona Grey Hidden amidst the wildly patterned mosaic tile was…
Cedar Sanderson
Becky Jones Walking along the river path you look up and see a dragon sailing lazily through the air heading up river. Not an unusual sight in these parts but what makes you stop in your tracks is you notice a rider on the dragon’s back. Dragons don’t allow anyone to ride them! Fiona Grey
Brena Bock You keep hearing Elvis Presley songs, and they’re appropriate to the situation. What’s going on? “You ain’t nothing but a hound dog…” Leigh Kimmel
Leigh Kimmel Peculiar odour of a book of childhood induces repetition of childhood fancy. Becky Jones

 

A visual spare prompt: What might come out of one of those branching side halls in this place? (digital art ‘Corridors’ by Cedar Sanderson)

A different kind of visual spare prompt: Go to https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/webcam/ocean-voyager/ ​, pick one of the live webcams, watch… and tell us what you saw!

spare You open the closet because your child is scared, and… there is a monster inside!
spare You’ve finally been hired for that spot in a movie that you dreamed of. As the boat pulls into the island, the director explains that they shoot all their movies on scene, with live action. This time, it’s a kaiju monster movie, with Godzilla and all the rest! Rowr!
Spare There is a planet where it rains iron. There is a snail that eats metal and then extrudes it as armor. What can you make of this?

See you in the comments.

Let’s make this week a fun one, in spite of it all! 

Header image by Fiona Grey, The Flume, Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire.

 
 

25 comments

  3. The title picture reminded me of a flume I was at recently. Here’s a photo. The trail is a two-mile water ditch for mining that was converted about a decade ago into a wheelchair-accessible trail, though it’s probably muddy as heck for that purpose. It’s at the South Yuba Ricer State Park.

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  5. The prompt this week at was pretty simple, just

    “Not a Candidate for Reanimation.”

    Which reminded me that I hadn’t had Gil, the chef for the monster hunters, visit HR and fill in forms yet. So…

    Paperwork in HR. Or is it Inhuman Relations?

    Most of the paperwork that HR wanted Gil to fill out was ordinary stuff. Direct deposit, tax forms, a nice little retirement savings setup, health insurance… but Gil wasn’t really expecting the ones about next of kin and so forth. The HR lady had explained everything as they went through, making sure he understood before he signed anything. And then…

    “What’s this one? Reanimation release? Huh?”

    You can read the rest at https://mbarker.dreamwidth.org/232251.html

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  13. Obliquely inspired by the covered bridge photo, and more by my recent walk on my beloved Powder Valley Trail.

    ***

    The arrow struck, quivering the in the sod, a yard in front of the lead traveler’s foot.

    The traveler’s froze in place and waited. They didn’t wait long.

    The man who glided out of the woods was slim and fair, dressed in died green leathers. He bent to pull the arrow from the dirt, paused to examine the blade, then stuck it into the quiver he wore. Only then did he look towards the travelers.

    “Greetings,” he said, and bowed.

    “There are seven of you,” he observed. “More than twice that of us, although you’ll have to take my word for it–you don’t see any of my men, do you?”

    He didn’t wait for an answer, but went on. “That was not a lucky shot. We fill our bellies with our bows, every day. We hit what we’re aiming at.”

    A pause that stretched a bit, then the stranger in green smiled. “We’re not averse to visitors taking the Good King’s Road through our lands, of course. But we get curious when a band of armed men with the look of sellswords journeys in company. Your destination, sirs?”

    The travelers looked to their leader, who nodded. “We make for the Iron Hills, woodsman.”

    A raised eyebrow. “Goblin territory it is now–or hadn’t you heard?”

    “We’d heard.” the leader said.

    The woodsman waited, but no more information was forthcoming. “Well, I don’t need to know what business you have with goblins–so long as you don’t bring any back with you.”

    A chuckle. “Not that you could induce any to enter our lands save you dragged them in chains. We’ve schooled them well not to cross our markers.”

    “May we pass, woodsman?” the leader asked. “We’ve a long road yet before us.”

    “Aye, certainly,” the woodsman said. “To make the Iron Hills you stay on the King’s Road and take the Northern Fork at the Hill Of Stones–you’ll not miss it, the forks are well marked.”

    “And I do mean–stay ON the King’s Road.” The woodsman’s tone was light, but his meaning was inescapable. “The woods can be quite treacherous to outsiders. There is peril even but a few yards from the road markers.”

    “I thank you for the caution, woodsman,” the leader said. “I will be sure that my men heed it.”

    The woodsman nodded in return, with a slight smile. “You’ll cross four streams along your path, all with good bridges. At any stream there will be room for you to fill your skins without leaving the road, and the water is sweet and clean.”

    “That is good to know.”

    “And I am sure such canny men as you brought food enough for your journey, but should you grow tired of dried fare and crave some fresh game, just call out and one of my men is sure to hear. We’re always happy to trade a cony or partridge for a few coins. And we’ll almost certainly be close by.”

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