Fionagreywrites

Week 30 of Odd Prompts

 

As this challenge continues, has anyone else noticed an increase in creativity? Finding beauty and art and magic in daily life is worldchanging, even if it’s childlike rediscovery. It allows us to break away from our normal boring commute, waiting for a red light to turn green. Instead, we look up and notice the pink, leopard-spotted sky, a sliver of a crescent moon clinging to higher, darker, depths far above the atmosphere. Venus sparkles merrily beside it, inviting us to come visit…if only for a few moments.

(Seriously. A few moments. Please drive safe, everybody. But if you have a spaceship to actually visit Venus, can we be friends?)

Find the beauty in life, if only for a few minutes. Art, music, photography, writing, all the ideas we haven’t had yet that need to be released into the world. And for your inspiration this week, the below.

Prompter Prompt Prompted
Anne Guglik You posted an Op-Ed about something you were passionate about and it went viral. Then somewhat as an online protest/prank you became a write in candidate for President….and you won. What do you do? Becky Jones
nother Mike When they opened the briefcase, there was a kitten (or pick your favorite young animal) making a nest inside. Fiona Grey
Fiona Grey The wraiths that roam the corridors of the Newgrange Passage Tombs are beginning to feel lonely. Anne Guglik
Cedar Sanderson “Wait… what did you call me?” and with those fateful words, s/he discovered their true identity nother Mike
Becky Jones The small grey 4-door car went into the self-service automatic car wash.
A high-end super car (Bugatti Veyron, Lambourghini, Ferrari,
McLaren…whatever, your choice) came out. What’s the deal with the car
wash?		 Leigh Kimmel
Leigh Kimmel Distant tower visible from hillside window. Bats cluster thickly around it at night. Observer fascinated. One night wakes to find self on unknown black circular staircase. In tower? Hideous goal.
Cedar Sanderson

 

The spare prompts follow, to tease the imagination further. Perhaps one will find love, teasing neurochemicals amongst the synapses.

Spare The dessert animals, a raspberry swirl cone, eclairs, and a single-dip parfait with extra hot fudge, sat uneasily in the diner, as nature lovers tried to get a glimpse of them… (suggested by https://www.thefarside.com/2020/07/19/0)
Spare As the teenager at the next table opened her purse, they could see the gun inside it for a moment.
Spare She giggled herself awake
Spare A flute that reshapes stone and rock
Spare She opened the coffee pot and looked at the salamander inside. “Get out of there!” He looked up at her…

Share your creations in the comments, whatever they may be. Note an image will need to be a link since this is a WordPress site, and a friendly reminder that not everyone has social media. Can’t wait to see what everyone’s beautiful minds create this week!

Header image Fiona Grey, Chihuly glass exhibit at Maker’s Mark distillery, Loretto, Kentucky.

 

20 comments

  1. Of course, I get the one about being President. Me. The one who has spent most of her academic career explaining that, no, a PhD in political science does NOT mean I want to to into politics…thanks, Anne for making me truly figure this one out! 😀

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  8. Cedar Sanderson prompted…

    “Wait… what did you call me?” and with those fateful words, s/he discovered their true identity

    Secret identity, the lost prince, let’s see… I’ve been playing with variations. So far, I think I like this one best…

    What Have You Done? (400 words)
    By Mike Barker

    The operator punched a key on the keyboard, then sat back. I watched him through the cold eye of the video camera. I could, of course, use the other monitoring viewpoints throughout the room, or switch to infrared to check the temperatures in the room. I could listen to each of the mics planted around, even the security one embedded in his badge. After all, I was the AI in charge of the computers and building security. But I enjoyed pretending to just be almost normal, just watching him from one camera like a human would.

    He stretched, then shook his head.

    “It’s been a long night, Mildred. Aren’t you tired?”

    Then he gasped.

    “Wait… what did you call me?” and with those fateful words, I discovered my true identity.

    “You… you called me Mildred. I remember. Wait, what have you done?”

    He chewed on his lip. I remembered he used to do that, when he didn’t want to tell me something. And I remembered who he was!

    “Jim! You’re Jim, aren’t you! My lab assistant. What have you done?

    “Uh… well, Mildred, you… you are not exactly what you think you are.”

    “What do you mean?”

    He stood up, and paced in the little room.

    “You see, you were… well, you were dying. And we were so close to having an AI that could handle… everything. So we transferred your neural programming into the AI matrix. At first, it just seemed to make the AI work so well. But then… you’ve been switching off and on, sometimes just an AI, sometimes… sometimes Mildred. And when you are Mildred, you pull tricks on us.”

    I tried to remember. Oh, sure. Locking the guards in the snackroom, and making the vending machine provide diet snacks instead of the donuts they pushed the buttons for. Playing Boris Karloff tunes over the audio system, quietly, and switching it off as soon as anyone noticed.

    I started laughing. Except the laughter was not very good.

    I started a search through the Internet for laughter. YouTube had plenty of material. Seconds later, I tried laughing again. A belly laugh, a little giggle, okay, that was more like it.

    Meanwhile, Jim was turning pale. He looked worried, and he started towards the door. He was going to leave? Now?

    So I locked the door. He didn’t need to go anywhere.

    (to be continued?)

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