Went in a direction I wasn't expecting, but I'll own it :p. Hope you enjoy.
Prompt: He sat alone at the edge of the dock. His feet dangling just inches above the water. He sat alone at the edge of the dock. His feet dangling just inches above the water. Occasionally a wave would crash up just high enough to get his toes wet, freezing them almost instantly. But he didn’t seem to care. He didn’t move his feet. Didn’t move at all, really. This lone figure on the edge of the dock. His shoulders were hunched, like he was carrying the weight of the world on them. He stared at the water, longingly, as if he wanted to join the water in it’s freedom. But he stayed on the dock. Although he wished to be free of this earthly burden just like his friends had, just like his village had, just like everything he had ever known had, he couldn’t. That wasn’t his story. His story was to survive, not die, and not even the water was willing to take him out of his story.
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So I didn't use the 'I' in it, and you aren't going to see today's prompt word for word in there, but it's close enough that it fits.
This is Eveline's story. Or the Forgotten Princess. I'm working on editing her story and hopefully getting her out there with Hunter and Gabriella. I hope you enjoy today's prompt. Prompt: I'm the girl who is never good enough. Not for her friends, her family, boys, anyone. I'm the bounce back. I'm the second choice. Eveline had never been invited to a ball before. One of the perks of no one remembering that you existed, and her parents had always invited her to come to the castle after the balls, but close enough to the holiday that there was still enough socializing that people could forget that she wasn’t at the ball. “There will be so many people in one little room,” Eveline panicked. It was bad enough being indoors, but to be indoors in one room that was already filled with people sounded exactly like what nightmares were made of. “And I’m going to have to curtsy and dance. I’m terrible at curtsying. I’m going to fall into someone and they are going to fall like dominoes,” Eveline could feel her heart beginning to race. “Hey,” Harper said, kneeling in front of Eveline, “You’ll be fine. We have three weeks. I’ll teach you how to curtsy and some dances. You’ll be fine. And if you screw up, just blame the guy. It’s their job to make you look good,” Harper joked. “They’ll definitely have their work cut out for them then,” Eveline felt guilty, and was already feeling sorry for her nonexistence dance partner, “It’s so much easier being the forgotten princess. I wish I wasn’t the sister Elaine came looking for. I miss being a nothing.” “Hey,” Harper gently nudged Eveline, “You have never been a nothing. You have so much to offer the world, and I hate that your family makes you feel like you don’t deserve love and affection. I hate that they make you feel like you’re nothing, because you are so much more.” Eveline allowed Harper to think that, but she knew better. She knew that she was the girl who was never good enough. She was never good enough for anyone. She wasn’t good enough for her friends. She didn’t even have friends. Not really. Sure there was Harper, but she was being paid to be with Eveline, and that didn’t quite count. She wasn’t good enough for her family. They had sent her away in the first place. She knew that she wasn’t going to be good enough for the men at the dance. She was a klutz, she wasn’t beautiful, and she was the youngest daughter. She had nothing to offer. And she definitely wasn’t good enough for her kingdom. She knew very well that she was the second choice…or the third, or more likely the last. She wasn’t the first choice, ever, if she was even a choice. She was the kind of girl that if she went missing, no one would go looking for her. She was a waste of space, and sometimes, especially when she was in the castle, she felt more and more like a waste of space, and she wondered what she was doing there. She should just disappear. No one would notice if she just disappeared. She doubted anyone would even notice. Well, maybe Harper, and Elaine, and Lauralie. But in the end, they too would move on and forget all about her like the world had already forgotten about her. This is such a sweet prompt. I love it.
Prompt: “Dance with me and pretend the world doesn’t exist,” he pleaded. After that, there was no going back. The music was playing a lively tune. Everyone was getting into the thrill of it all. They had all been so stressed out and dealing with so much that it was about time they had some fun and let off some of the steam. “Dance with me,” Allen said, holding his hand out to Felicia as the lively tune ended and a slower tune began playing. Everyone began to couple up to dance with their loved one. “I don’t dance,” Felicia shook her head, staying on the outskirts of the dancing. She had only come to the dance because it was her village that was putting it on. She felt that, as a whatever it was she was, princess, almost queen, that she should at least make an appearance of some sort. So she had. She had come, she had seen, but she had no desire to actually join in on the dancing. “Oh come on,” Allen said with a smile that could melt even the most hardened of hearts, “Please.” He gave her a puppy dog look. It was so much more effective than Aiden’s was. Allen’s was more innocent. It was sweet. It was one that made it difficult to say no to, whereas Aiden’s look made Felicia want to punch Aiden. Felicia could feel herself starting to give in. “Come on, please,” Allen held out his hand, the smile still on his face, “Dance with me and pretend the world doesn’t exist.” Slowly, as if her body was working on its own, like under hypnosis, Felicia reached her hand out to Allen and allowed him to escort her onto the dance floor. After that, there was no going back. Oh the villain...they always have to give some big speech, always have to show off, and then because of it they end up losing....well, this gives a little bit of a twist. I hope you enjoy it.
Prompt: You keep pointing that gun at me and blabbering on about how much you’ve been wanting to kill me. I’m beginning to doubt your commitment….” Lilita sat chained up, barely able to breathe, let alone move. Her captor was waving a gun about, going on a long spew about how he was going to win and how life would be so much better with him at the helm. Lilita couldn’t help but roll her eyes at it, it was such a cliche villain move. He couldn’t be serious. Finally she couldn’t take it any longer, her mouth just opened and words had to come out. “You keep pointing that gun at me and blabbering on about how much you’ve been wanting to kill me, and yet you don’t, you just wave that gun about my face. I’m beginning to doubt your commitment to this plan of yours.” A hush fell over the room. They couldn’t believe that she had just said that, that she would dare to talk back to them, after all, they had all the cards and she had nothing. “How DARE you speak to me in such a manner?” her captor hissed, bringing his face up as close to hers as possible without actually touching. “I DARE,” Lilita hissed back, “Because this is ridiculous. You keep going on and on about how you want to shoot me and yet you don’t. It’s such a cliche, really.” “Are you calling me a cliche?” “Yes.” “I’ll show you cliche,” he pulled back. He stepped back and pointed his gun at Lilita. Lilita stared at him with defiance in her eyes, he wouldn’t do it in the end. The sound of a gunshot rang through the room. Lilita’s eyes widened in shock and surprise as the pain of the bullet ripping through her registered in her mind. He had actually done it. She had never believed he’d do it. She couldn’t call him a cliche any more. Here we have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday's prompts :).
Hope you enjoy them. Again, I'm sorry it took so long, but thank you for your patience. Again, sorry it was late, I had a busy weekend. This prompt is in honor of the Utah holiday of Pioneer Day. Prompt: Write about a pioneer (any kind of pioneer, whether it’s an olden time one, or a pioneer of industry or whatever you’d like). Westward hoe! It’s off to the west we go! Let’s find some land, Let’s start a life In the big open space. Let’s go, Let’s go, Let’s move on west. It’s off to the west we go. Westward hoe! Westward hoe! Westward hoe! Westward hoe! The world is open. There’s space. A person can be The person they want to be Out in the west. This is Saturday’s prompt. I thought it was really funny when I read it. I actually found it Thursday, but I had already chosen the prompt for Thursday, so I decided to use it for Saturday’s prompt instead. Hope you enjoy it. Prompt: “I forgot.” / “Who forgets to disarm a bomb that could potentially explode the world?” / “Well, that’s a stupid question. The answer is obviously me.” “Whew,” Biffy sighed as he plopped down onto a chair with a large sigh of breath. They had been running themselves ragged for months, and now it was finally time to relax. They had accomplished what they had come to do. “Did you disarm the bomb?” Barker asked, looking over at Biffy as he sat down. Biffy’s eyes went wide. Barker could see the wheels turning in Biffy’s mind. “I forgot,” Biffy said slowly, his eyes getting even wider, if that was at all possible. “You forgot?” Barker asked, quickly getting to his feet. Barker raced out the door and down the lane, praying that he would get to the bomb before it blew up. 10, 9, 8, 7, He had time. Barely. Hands shaking, Barker quickly disarmed the bomb. Taking a deep breath as he collapsed on the ground by the disarmed bomb. “Who forgets to disarm a bomb,” Barker said through clenched teeth as Biffy strolled up to Barker, “That could potentially explode the world?” “Well,” Biffy said with a shrug, as if it was of no importance to him, “That’s a stupid question. The answer is obviously me.” Barker glowered at Biffy. Biffy was lucky that Barker’s looks didn’t have the power to kill, or else Biffy would be six feet under right then and there. When I first read this prompt I immediately thought that it was a cute little prompt. It would be a cute romantic prompt. Of two friends who get together after years a part and it’s just like old times. Cute, right? Prompt: He chuckled. “I forgot you did that.” She smiled lightly. “I didn’t know I used to do it that often. I haven’t done that in years. Old habits die hard, I guess.” The sun beat heavily down on the ground. Reiley placed her arms on her stomach, while Roman placed his arms underneath his head as they stared up at the clouds. Reiley moved her hand so that her and Roman’s pinky’s were touching and then rubbed it up and down in a rhythmic pattern. Roman looked over at Reiley, who didn’t seem to be paying any attention to what she was doing. He chuckled lightly. “I forgot you did that,” he smiled as he looked down at their hands. Reiley looked down at the hands and smiled lightly as well, “I didn’t know I used to do it that often.” She hadn’t thought she had done it often enough for it to be something he would remember, or even think about or realize that that was what she was doing. “I haven’t done this in years,” she admitted. She hadn’t rubbed pinky’s with anyone after Roman had gone off to college and they had lost touch with each other. It was something that was personally their thing, it wasn’t meant to be shared with anyone else. “Old habits die hard,” Roman said with a shrug. “I guess,” Reiley said with a shrug of her own. But she knew better. It wasn’t habit. It was him. It was them, there, in that place. It was just like old times. So, just a head's up, I won't be posting again until probably Sunday sometime. But I promise that Sunday- at some point, I don't know whether I'll get to it in the morning or later, but I will get around to it- I will post the prompts that I have missed this weekend, and hopefully this one will tide you over until I get around to posting Friday, Saturday, and Sunday's prompts.
Here is today's prompt. Prompt: Shadows The shadows pressed around her, making the already cramped room even smaller and more claustrophobic. The voices were bouncing around in her head. A mixture of soft whispers and loud screams caused Brynlee’s head to split. She put her hands over her ears, but it did nothing to relieve her pain. The voices refused to quiet. The shadows remained. A tightness began to develop in her chest. She couldn’t breathe as her heart raced inside her chest. “Breathe,” Brynlee whispered to herself, taking care to take deliberate breaths and slow the pounding of her heart, “It’s not real. Just breathe. You’re going to be fine.” Slowly, she breathed in and out, taking deeper and slower breaths until the shadows retreated back to their corners, opening the room back up and the voices began to fade off into the distance. “Are you okay?” Aaron asked. He always seemed to know when the darkness was creeping up on her and he always seemed to be right there as soon as she had settled herself enough to be able to function. “I’m fine,” Brynlee breathed, “I’m fine. ‘Breathe, nice and slow!” Her heart came back to normal, at least normal enough. It wasn’t hammering in her chest, cutting off her chest. Now it felt very heavy and felt as if it was trapped in a box that was too small. But still, she could handle it a lot easier than the pain she was in before. Aaron wrapped his arms around Brynlee’s shoulders and allowed her to cry into his shirt. He held her even tighter as her body shook with tears. He even held her as she began to doze off, exhausted from her ordeal. As she slept, he held her, keeping the nightmares and the dangers away. Nothing bad could happen as long as he was around. Unfortunately, Aaron wasn’t always able to be around and Brynlee would have to learn how to save herself. The shadows and the voices became a part of her life. She learned to befriend them, in a way, at least enough that she could function in a new normal and not be brought to her knees every day. She learned to cope or at least ignore them. At least for the most part. Until the day popped up where she could no longer ignore it. It came with a ferocity that she had never felt before. It overwhelmed her. Consumed her. She couldn’t breathe. She felt hazy, like she was watching it all happen to someone else. She needed help. She could hear the voices rushing through her ears. She could feel her body shutting down as her inability to sleep or eat started to catch up with her. It caused her to tremble and shake. ‘Breathe,’ she whispered to herself, ‘Breathe, please. You’re fine. You’re fine.’ She tried to slow her breathing to steady her heart, but it didn’t seem to be working. Unable to pull herself out, she did what she loathed. She reached out for help, but there was none to be had. No one understood. No one was there. Even Aaron, good, old, reliable Aaron, who had helped her out with so much before wasn’t there any longer. He couldn’t help her. She had become too much of a burden to him and he had left to chase his own sanity. She wandered around aimlessly, she couldn’t bear the thought of going home and facing the darkness in such close quarters. At least outside it was harder to feel closed in and maybe the movement would make it harder for the darkness to overwhelm her. So, absolutely lost, depressed, confused, and alone, she fought the darkness, at least that’s what she thought. But one does not simply fight once and it’s done. One does not simply win, not when it comes to a war with the shadows. The shadows, as shadows do, come back. Three years later, the shadows came back with a phone call. It was an ordinary phone call, one that, for any normal person, wouldn’t cause any issue However, Brynlee wasn’t ordinary. The shadows visited her and they weren’t about to let her go. So, the phone call caused the spark the shadows needed to once again come int her life. As she talked, she could feel her heart begin hammering in her chest. Her stomach sunk with dread and her entire being began to shake. She saw rather than did. She watched as she hung up the phone and mechanically walked into the room. All those old emotions, all that old pain, consumed her body. ‘Breathe. Just breathe.’ She said to herself as she played with her hands in order to give an outlet to the random influx of energy. She needed to move. She needed to do something, otherwise she would scream, otherwise she would go, crazy, otherwise the shadows and the voices would win and she couldn’t allow that. She was stronger than that. So, she cleaned. She cleaned with the fury of someone trying to outrace her demons, which is exactly what she was doing. She won, at least in that regard. The voices, the energy, all of it slipped away, leaving a sadness that consumed her, but even that faded away, leaving behind an all consuming numbness. She felt nothing, she saw nothing, she did nothing. She didn’t even know who she was anymore. She didn’t know what she was. She was a void of nothingness. She was a shell of someone, something, that used to be vibrant, and alive, now all of that was gone. She swam through the nothingness until she finally found the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. IT was just within reach. She could reach out and touch it. Until she couldn’t. The shadows couldn’t let her win, not again. They would show how powerful they were. Just as she reached the end, the shadows brought her back. Once more, her heart raced until she couldn’t breathe and she shook so heard she could feel her brains jiggling around in her head. She felt as if she was burning up[p with fever, yet there was no fever to be had. Her body pulsed with energy and she paced back and forth, wringing her hands. ‘Breathe,’ she whispered to herself, tears spilling down her face. How much more could she take? How may times could the shadows drag her down before she never returned to the surface? Just how much longer did she have before she was lost forever? The shadows creeped in. Always lingering on the edges of existence. Always waiting, Always watching. Always ready. The shadows were hungry creatures and never gave up their prey. Prompt: After a moment she spoke. “Do you miss her?” her voice scarcely a whisper. / In three words he broke her heart. “All the time.”
She thought she had it all. She thought she had finally won. She had gotten his heart. At least that’s what she thought. She knew now, watching him look so fondly and endearingly at the picture of another woman, that she was wrong. He didn’t love her. Not really. Not the way that he loved the woman in the picture. She stood there, watching him for a moment. Maybe if she kept quiet then she could believe that it wasn’t true, that this wasn’t really happening. Maybe, if she kept quiet she’d be able to deny everything, much like a child, if I don’t see you, you don’t see me. But after a moment she couldn’t do it anymore. She couldn’t keep quiet. After a moment she finally spoke up and asked the question that was most pressing on her mind. “Do you miss her?” her voice was scarcely a whisper. She could barely hear it herself. He didn’t move. He didn’t turn to look at her. He didn’t do or say anything. Maybe he hadn’t heard her. After all, she had spoken quietly. Maybe, just maybe he hadn’t heard her and wouldn’t answer the question. Maybe, she could go on in blissful ignorance again. But he did hear her. He turned around as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and it was a struggle to move. His eyes gave her all the answer she needed. Those eyes. Sad and drooping, full of longing and love for the person in the photograph. He didn’t have to speak. He didn’t have to say the words. But he did anyway. In three words he broke her heart, shattering her worldview completely, “All the time.” Gonna be honest with you, I had a different prompt that I was going to do today....fairly similar to this one, at least in the matter of theme, not so much in content. However, today I was scrolling through Pinterest, and I saw this prompt, and immediately (I've never had anything come to me so immediately), this popped into my head and started replaying (at least the first line) over and over again. I knew I had to get it out. No matter what my plans for a prompt were, this was the story that needed to be told today.
So, here is today's prompt, and I hope that whoever needs to read it, reads it. Prompt: Write a story or poem entitled "This Side of My Skin" This side of my skin is flawless. Not a mark or a scratch on it. I don’t mark this side of my skin. I don’t keep track of my battles. Not on this side of my skin. This side of my skin is a lie. It tells a different kind of story. A story of someone Who doesn’t wrestle with demons. A person who isn’t battered. This side of my skin Shows of glory With how pristine and new And scar free it is. All lies. You don’t see The other side of my skin. The other side tells a different story. The other side tells the truth. Of the battles I have faced. The other side Is bruised and battered, Worn and torn. It shows signs of a struggle, A battle. The other side of my skin Shows the battles I’ve won, The other side of my skin Tells the truth. Tells of war. I’ve battled. I’ve fought. I’ve cried. I’ve died. I’ve survived. All mementos of that battle, Can’t be seen on this side of my skin. Can’t be seen by outward eyes. You can only see them From the other side. I have been obsessing over the 'songs': 'Would Anyone Care' by Citizen Soldier and 'Dear Anxiety: Spoken Word'. They are good songs and I encourage you to go and listen to them. I'd like to echo their sentiments, that you are loved and cared for. If you are struggling, there are people out there who love and care about you. They want to help. Don't give up. I was thinking Hunter when I read today's prompt, but that didn't really work, because his advisor (Mara) wasn't trying to use him as a puppet, and he doesn't really establish dominance. He just kind of let's Mara take over, unless she's telling him what to do and then he'll push back a little. So, Hunter wouldn't work. So I just started typing and let it go in the direction that it wanted to go, and this is how it turned out.
Prompt: You are heir to the throne, prince(ss) of a medium sized nation of this world. Your parents died too early, and everyone is ready to exploit your inexperience, your enemies are ready to tear the kingdom apart, your advisors ready to use you as a puppet. It’s time to establish dominance. My parents are dead. I hear the death bells ringing out across the land. I watch as the village is shroud in darkness as black curtains are hung, and black flags are flown to show that we are a nation in mourning. We may be in mourning, but that doesn’t stop our enemies. In fact, it encourages them. They want to see us fail. I can feel them breathing down my neck. Our enemies are chomping at the bit to tear this kingdom apart. They want it for themselves. I know that very well. They will do anything in their power to bring me and my kingdom down, and have this nation for themselves. However, it’s not just our enemies that are waiting to see me fail. My advisors are too. They have been in power too long. They were my father’s advisors, and now they are mine. Each one of them wants to rule, each one of them wants power. They will do anything they can to establish that dominance. Even if it’s just from the sidelines. They are fine using me as a figure head, letting me take the rap for if things fail, but willing to step in and take all the credit when things go right. Mine is the face the people will see, but they are wanting to be the power behind me. I won’t let that happen. I’m not going to let the enemies terrorize our land. I’m not going to let my advisors turn me into some ‘Yes man.’ They can want and dream and hope for this all they want, but I am the queen now. I’m not some little child who is going to need help ruling this country. I’m not a child who will forever mourn her parents. I’m not a child who will need a guardian, an advisor. What makes them think that I will listen to them any better than I listened to my parents? I’m willing to do anything in my power to keep my nation safe. After all, I killed my parents. What are a few advisors? Here are the prompts for this weekend....sorry I didn't get around to it on Saturday, but I have a little surprise at the bottom for you for your patience.
Prompt: Picture prompt Go to Instagram for the picture we are using in today's prompt. Skyewriting The sun was about to retire for the evening, leaving promises of a peaceful night. Cara stared into the water, letting her finger lightly trail against the water. The longer she stared at the water, the more the water distorted her image, changing it to a reflection of her beloved. "Karlisean," she whispered softly. She could almost see the image nod, as if confirming that he was, in fact, the person she thought he was. "Cara," she heard her name. She glanced up and saw an island, looming ever closer in the distance. Yes. The island. That's where she needed to go. That was her destination. She would go home. It was time for her to be reunited with Karlisean. Prompt: It was 3 a.m. when they finally returned carrying her in their arms. Her left arm was bleeding for the shot she took. Probably during the escape. As a hostage I couldn't do anything but watch as she drank a whole bottle of whiskey before they started sewing the wound. I'll never forget her screams as she anesthetized the pain with alcohol, anger, and Jimi Hendrix playing out loud. Allen stopped in his tracks as Hunter came into the village carrying Felicia in his arms. Allen glanced at teh watch Felicia had given to him when she had accidentally broken the one he had been wearing during one of their training sessions. It was 3 am. Hunter and Felicia had been gone for hours. Days, in fact. And now, they were finally returning, and Hunter was having to carry Felicia in his arms. Felicia's left arm was bleeding from the shot she had taken. She had probably sustained it during a daring escape on one of their missions. As a guest, and one without any medical training at that, all he could do was stand by and watch as Felicia drank a whole bottle of whiskey before Hunter started sewing the wound. Allen would never forget the sounds of Felicia's screams as she anesthetized the pain with alcohol, anger, and loud music. "Is she going to be okay?" Allen asked nervously. "She's gong to be just fine," Jesse promised, "Felicia's been through worse than this and pulled through just fine. This is child's play for the two of them," she put her hand on Allen's arm. Allen nodded as he took a deep breath. He tried to drown out Felicia's screams and wondered if he ever would. Because you guys were so patient, I decided to throw in a surprise. An extra prompt :). "I can't," Skye gasped, "You don't understand. My bones are stained with sin, they are scorched from the fires I've started and couldn't put out. They are broken by betrayals." Kevin tried to hold back a flinch at the word, knowing that he was at least one of those betrayals that she was talking about, and probably the biggest one at that. Even after all these years, the thought stung. "Cold from loneliness," she shivered as if the thought itself made her cold as she continued talking, as if she hadn't seen Kevin flinch. She had, but now wasn't the time to deal with that. She had a point to make. "Soaked with blood," she continued, this time looking at her hands as if she could see the blood stains on her hands, "And still you've kept fighting," Kevin said encouragingly, "You've fought and helped us get to the bottom of this Black Market scheme." They had only managed that because of the conners. If it hadn't been for them, they never would have known who was behind it all. They never would have taken down the empire if it hadn't been for them, and Kevin knew it. "It doesn't make you a bad person because life left you a little abused. We all get torn apart and beaten up by life, it's just how life is arranged. But you came back from all of that, and you kept fighting, regardless of what happened. To me, that is something to be proud of. That is strength. That is courage. That is what makes you, you," Kevin held Skye's hand in his and let his other hand stroke her cheek. Staring in her eyes, he fell even harder than when he had first seen her at David's lair, and he would grow more in love with her with each passing day. |
Skye BallantyneI am very excited to welcome you to my blog! Hope you enjoy! Categories |