Take the long way home...

  Prompts: A different bed Closed curtains with light shining through A messy room left messy After a long walk A person got lost, disappeared, went away I woke up rested, with no idea where I was. The light was filtering warmly through the closed burgundy curtains (mine were green(), and my bag was resting on the floor next to the unfamiliar but unbelievably comfortable bed, wide open, its contents strewn around the room as if someone had been desperately looking for something in there. I yawned and stretched. Hadn't had a good sleep like this in ages. If it wasn't for the nagging thought of how on Earth had I ended up here, I'd have called it a perfect start to a beautiful day.  I looked around the room: besides my belongings carpeting the floor, a small desk, a chair. A little stool with an electric kettle on it. I sat up, shook my head and stretched my hand towards the curtains. Outside, the morning was shining in its full glory. Trees carefully groomed and equally spac...

  Darkness Oct 6, 2022 Prompts: The call of adventure Aloneness Subtle fuzz of alcohol Sleep Being lost Someone meets a person or creature that is an embodiment of these characteristics Nala was on the bridge watching the boats go under it and reappear lazily on the other side. She would have liked to jump, land onto one of them on her feet, knees flexed, hide in some safe storeroom and just be gone from there. – You wouldn't do it.  A voice teased here from nearby. She turned around and saw this teen hovering on a bathroom carpet right across the handrail. He was holding a flask and briefly sipped from it before repeating: – You wouldn't do it. And that's a pity, because you know what you're missing. And yet… – And who might you be, kiddo? – she grinned. – Oh, I'm no kiddo, darling! 542 years I've been traveling the land, seen it almost all. – 542, yes, sure, and what would it be that I wouldn't do? – Jump in the darkness. Easy to dream about it, but would ...

Quiet is the eve in this old town Shadows grow long and echoes far Gone is the frantic hammering of blacksmiths Fletchers do not sharpen arrow tips Quiet is the eve in this old town done are many battles, the fallen burned spells are collected, troops asleep Bright is the full moon on elves and humans Songs are being sung in undertones Still we remember the tension growing Still we remember the cries of war Bright is the full moon and quiet we are But we will rise again, and shine in gold To the new ones and those gone I raise my flagon of tears and I bow

 A themed, timed writing exercise. Everyone wrote down 5 traits of their culture and exchanged notes. I picked these from the pile: - Know too much about each other and have our noses in people's business; - Hospitable, giving, helpful; - Reserved/not open to different people; - Everyone knows what's cooking; - Don't know how to enjoy silence/may think of it as offensive The first prompt with these traits was: “Write about how this culture came to be.’’ It's a matter of windows. And eyes are windows on the soul. Ours were all blue. Yes, it is a matter of windows. When there's not a lot of sun, you need to make them wide, and can't afford covering them with curtains. Our people came to this valley seeking refuge from persecution, and the tall mountains surrounding it gave us the right shelter, and little daylight. So looking into each other's home is normal, and smelling each other's cooking too, and commenting on it, of course. There's always this fe...

A themed, timed writing exercise. Theme: A self-destructive trait. A recurring thought caused by it. A behavior caused by it. A feeling caused by it. Plus, a word given to you by the person sitting to your right. Here's the one i randomly picked from the pile:  Trait: The one who gives up Thought: "Nothing is worthwhile". Behavior: Stays in bed. Feeling: Feels lethargic. Word: Apocalypse  1st prompt: Someone created this trait with good intention. (20 mins writing) Amy had a sense this world was not the best place to be. After all, that was what her mom had been repeating to her since she was able to understand spoken words. And even before that, when she would rock her to sleep with a sad lullaby about unicorns losing their horn, without even a rhyme in it: Sleep my sweet child for the Apocalypse comes Lay in your crib, nothing is worthwhile, Rest in your dreams like a sad unicorn who lost its horn to a foul decay Her mom had made it so clear to her that fighting was use...

A writing exercise about plants. First plant is Stinging nettles, with 3 characteristics: "1. It stings. 2. It grows in packs 3. It leaves a mark on your skin." 1st Prompt: How it got to be the way it is. Life is tough. It puts you in weird places mostly, and doesn't ask whether you like it or not. It rarely leaves you alone, in a blissful quiet spot where nobody bothers you. If you don't want to be with others, it puts you right next to a crowd of them. And if you don't want to be touched, it will put you in a very busy spot, with crowds passing by and brushing on you, ruining your day. So that's why I sting. You see, I need to defend myself, you come too close? I sting! And I'll leave my mark on you, but don't make a fuss, it only lasts for a short time, while what you do to me stays with me forever. Somebody even says that if you hold your breath, I'll be totally harmless, but honestly I wouldn't try. Don't say I didn't warn you! Y...

A writing exercise. Prompt: "A person who turns bright red and glows when they're angry" - Lawrie you did it again! - You made me! - Shush, mom is going to see it, she's going to wake up and you know she won't be happy. Lisa was looking at her brother shaking her head. - Here, get under the blanket! - I can't, it's going to be too hot. - But she'll see you! You'll wake her up again. She needs to rest! Mother was resting after her shift in the factory. Only 4 hours allowed, then back to work. Mother was sensitive to light, and she would wake up, and scold him. She was working hard for them, to allow them to have shoes on their feet, clothes on their skinny bodies. Work in the factory was hard, and the boss was mean, and there were plenty of people ready to take her place, and then there was going to be no food on the table, and no shoes on their feet. Lawrie knew, and that was just what made him angry. He couldn't help it. He would try to sleep,...