Cedar Sanderson

Week 14 of Odd Prompts

As the year edges onward, we are left wondering… What if this goes on?

Well, I’ll tell you what will happen.

More prompts, that’s what!

PrompterPromptPromptee
AC YoungA hero who doesn’t consider himself/herself a hero; who is brave and courageous, but doesn’t consider himself/herself to be brave and courageous.Becky Jones
Leigh KimmelYou hear a thumping from under the heating register, like there’s someone in the basement tapping on the ductwork. Except this house doesn’t have a basementFiona Grey
Becky JonesThe concrete cowboys were always a sight to behold.Cedar Sanderson
Fiona GreyThe city had a sudden rash of helpful acts of vandalism.Nother Mike
Nother MikeThe teenage berserker carried a sword in each hand, wore a wild boar head as his helmet, and nothing else, as he charged into the fray… (picture below.)AC Young
Cedar SandersonThe surly Tree Badger is arboeal in nature, but will come to earth to forage for food before retreating to their lair…Leigh Kimmel

And for those who can’t or won’t join the prompt challenge, there are spare prompts. Careful! They are bigger on the inside.

SpareThe scent of the moon
SpareA cat sat above the water, watching the ships come into harbor
SpareThe sound of horns blaring and brakes squealing echoed throughout the neighborhood. When you finally poke your head out the front door you see….
SpareOh, when the sky was green,
It was quite obscene,
When the sky was blue,
It was very true,
And if the sky was red,
We should stay in bed,
But when the sky was orange…
SpareThe man walked across the parking lot, with a mannequin under his arm.

See you in the comments, where we hope you’ll join in on the fun.

14 comments

  1. Nother Mike supplied my challenge for this week: The teenage berserker carried a sword in each hand, wore a wild boar head as his helmet, and nothing else, as he charged into the fray… (picture above.)

    In my mind berserker means Viking, so I constructed the character on that basis.

    [Story to come]

    Like

    Reply

  2. Arne was the youngest member of the 65-strong raiding crew. This was his first raid as a Viking.

    He had a bench near the bow of the longboat, with the rest of the berserkers. Every stroke was the same – lower the blade into the waves, lean backwards, tug back with the arms, raise the blade out of the sea, straighten the arms again, then lean forwards once more. The wind had been against them for the past half-hour and the routine was mind-numbing, but the rest of the crew kept going, so Arne had to too.

    Like

    Reply

    • The target of their raid was a monastery on the east coast of Great Britain. The journey across the North Sea from Scandinavia had taken some days, but they were on the final stretch now.

      Suddenly the longboat braked to a halt. The bow had grounded on the beach.

      Arne dropped his oar. It was time to get ready. He reached under his bench and extracted the bundle he had stored there. Inside were his swords and helmet.

      Arne was not a normal berserker. The rest of the berserkers on the raid belonged to the cults of the bear or the wolf. He was a follower of the Vanir, and the boar was his sacred animal. His helmet was suitably formed, his family had invested a lot of silver into having it specially shaped so that when wearing it he appeared to have the head of a wild boar. The boar’s eye sockets had been carefully placed so that Arne could see through them.

      His helmet went on his head, and he picked up the two swords, one in each hand. His cloak fell to the floor of the boat – he was wearing nothing underneath.

      He swung over the side of the boat, landing in the crashing surf, entered his battle trance, and charged up the beach into battle against the monks – who had swarmed out of the monastery to defend it against the heathen raiders, and were armed with staffs.

      The battle was short, but the monks had practiced after the last raid. About half the berserkers were knocked out, Arne being one of them.

      He woke up on the voyage back. The rest of the crew had followed the berserkers in, and had successfully raided the monastery. The treasures were to be divided amongst the crew – as the newest member Arne wouldn’t get very much, but he intended to remain a part of the raids and earn his way up the ladder. Next raid he’d earn more.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  5. Fiona Grey prompted…

    The city had a sudden rash of helpful acts of vandalism

    Hum. Let’s see. Why would the vandals decide to start being helpful? Or is it the vandals? Of course, it could be that someone finally figured out that leaving a bowl of milk for the brownies would make their tricks less antagonistic? Although the notion that someone talked to the vandals and changed their trajectory…

    Rough sketch… drat, I really need a character or six…

    It all started with the new mayor. See, he had this idea that gangs weren’t inherently evil, they just hadn’t gotten any guidance. So, he started the Good Deeds challenge, with prizes for outstanding tags or other acts of vandalism that helped the community. He got local businesses to sponsor prizes. They had brainstorming sessions in the public schools, and uniformed cops visited the gangs and challenged them to come up with something really cool, better than that other gang.

    When the Hard Nuts got paid a handsome sum in a publicized meeting with the mayor for the art work they did on the fire station wall, well, suddenly the other gangs started taking it seriously. And there were vigilante vandals out there, too. No one knew who planted flowers outside the police station, but when they bloomed, even the cops were pleased.

    Suddenly, the city had a sudden rash of helpful acts of vandalism. Oh, there were still tags that needed to be painted over, and some random damage. But more and more energy went into helpful acts, and there just wasn’t time, energy, or interest in destructive acts.

    As one of the gang members put it, “Hey, I can make a mess, and probably get caught, or make something good, and maybe win one of those prizes. Which one do you think I’m going to do?”

    So that’s why the city is asking for revisions to the laws, to recognize that not all vandalism is bad. Sometimes it’s really good!

    (Sorry, I’m running late this week… but at least it’s a start!)

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

Leave a comment