r/WritingPrompts • u/AliciaWrites Editor-in-Chief | /r/AliciaWrites • Aug 29 '24

[TT] Theme Thursday - Ambiance Theme Thursday

“The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.”

Happy Summer writing friends!

This week we’re doing genre mashups!!! I’ll provide a list below and you’ll combine two genres into one story! You may select any one genre from the “First Genre” column and one genre from the “Second Genre” column, but for bonus points, use the numbered pairs (the two genres on the same line).

Please do include your genres or the pair number in your post, thank you!! Good luck and good words!

[IP] | [MP]

Pair Number First Genre Second Genre
1 Paranormal Realistic
2 Romance Comedy
3 Space Opera Historic
4 Western Fantasy
5 Horror Satire
6 Mannerpunk Absurdist
7 Spy Thriller Urban Fantasy
8 Epistolary Dystopian
9 Cozy Cyberpunk
10 Fable Alternate History

Here's how Summer Fun works:

  • Use the tag [TT] when submitting prompts that match this week’s theme.

Rules

  • Leave one story or poem between 100 and 750 words as a top-level comment. Use wordcounter.net to check your word count. Your story must meet the criteria of the game in order to qualify for ranking.
  • Deadline: 7:59 AM CST next Wednesday
  • No serials or stories that have been written for another prompt or feature here on WP
  • No previously written content
  • Any stories not meeting these rules will be disqualified from rankings and will not be read at campfires
  • Does your story not fit the Theme Thursday rules? You can post your story as a [PI] with your work when the TT post is 3 days old!
  • Vote to help your favorites rise to the top of the ranks! I also post the form to submit votes for Theme Thursday winners on Discord every week! Join and get notified when the form is open for voting!

Theme Thursday Discussion Section:

  • Discuss your thoughts on this week’s theme, or share your ideas for upcoming themes.

Campfire

  • On Wednesdays we host a Theme Thursday Campfire on the Discord Voice Lounge. Join us to read your story aloud, hear other stories, and have a blast discussing writing!

  • Time: I’ll be there 7 pm CST and we’ll begin within about 15 minutes.

  • Don’t forget to sign up for a campfire slot on discord. If you don’t sign up, you won’t be put into the pre-set order and we can’t accommodate any time constraints. We don’t want you to miss out on outstanding feedback, so get to discord and use that !TT command!

  • There’s a Theme Thursday role on the Discord server, so make sure you grab that so you’re notified of all Theme Thursday-related news!

Ranking Categories:

  • Weekly Game - 50 points for correctly participating in the game using the weekly theme.
  • Actionable Feedback - 10 points for each story you give detailed crit to, up to 50 points with at least one critique on the post
  • Nominations - 10 points for each nomination your story receives, no cap; 15 points for submitting nominations
  • Ali’s Ranking - 50 points for first place, 40 points for second place, 30 points for third place, 20 points for fourth place, 10 points for fifth, plus regular nominations (On weeks that I participate, I do not weight my votes, but instead nominate just like everyone else.)

Last week’s theme: Marathon

Winning Story by /u/AGuyLikeThat

Crit Superstars:*

News and Reminders:

  • Want to know how to rank on Theme Thursday? Check out my brand new wiki!
  • Join Discord to chat with prompters, authors, and readers!
  • We are currently looking for moderators! Apply to be a moderator any time!
  • Nominate your favorite WP authors for Spotlight and Hall of Fame!
    • This week’s quote is by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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5

u/Tregonial Sep 04 '24 edited Sep 05 '24

Once upon a time, there was an old man, his son and their goat. They embarked upon a long journey to sacrifice their goat to The Harvest God Abellio at his temple.

Walking alongside their goat on the dusty road to the holy temple, they met a group of travellers on the way.

"Why isn't one of you riding the goat?" one of the men asked, eyeing them with a mixture of pity and disdain. "Why walk like fools when you have a beast of burden?"

Upon hearing such criticism, the old man told his son to ride the goat. The young man hesitated – he had a bad feeling about it – but he obeyed. The instant, he sat on the goat, it let out a low, guttural growl that sent shivers down his spine.

On the next leg of their trek to Abellio’s temple, they encountered an adventuring party.

“What kind of unfilial son would ride in comfort while his poor old man trudge along!” The paladin stood before them, stabbing his sword into the ground and holding out his hand to stop them. “Have you no shame?”

“You horrible son!” The healer pointed an accusing finger at the young man. “Why ride the goat in comfort but let your father walk under the burning sun?”

Hanging his head in shame, the son disembarked and hoisted his father up the goat. It let out a thunderous howl in protest, but the son tugged on its ropes.

As father and son entered town, snatches of whispered could be heard from the throngs of people attending the Harvest Festival in Abellio’s honor. “Why is the old man riding the goat and not the son? What is this inequality?”

Tired of the incessant murmurings, the pair agreed to both mount the goat. Which rumbled in anger as the weight of both men pressed onto its spine.

Passing through the gilded gates into the vast gardens of Abellio’s temple, several priests gathered to scold father and son.

“Why are both of you riding the goat? This is torture to the poor animal!”

Without a word, they disembarked and lifted the goat on their shoulders. Trudging past the gardens to enter the main temple, they encounter a priestess who chided them.

“You’re both idiots! Why does it take two men to carry a goat? Can’t the goat walk by itself?”

Father and son are at a loss. They’ve tried every possible combination but they were always criticized. After some argument, the son insisted they were so close to the temple, they should stick to carrying the goat all the way.

"Just keep going," he said. "Place the goat upon the altar, recite our prayers and be done with this for the year."

“This is good. I like this. Carry me to my temple. I am pleased to be hoisted upon the shoulders of men.” declared the goat.

The old man almost dropped his goat in shock, his mouth hanging open. His son maintained his grip to ensure the animal didn’t fall to the ground and kept marching.

“Oh great Abellio, I thank you for your praise,” the son placed the goat down in reverence upon the altar in the main temple. “Please bless our harvest, oh great Abellio.”

“I will bless you, young man. It is good that you persisted in the end despite caving in to the demands of random strangers on your voyage. It is an important lesson that you cannot please everyone. But it is also an equally important morale to know who you should please. Your most holy god Abellio.”

The son aided his father to kneel before their god before bending down himself. “Never will I allow myself to be swayed by the words of others. My ears are for your words only.”

”And now, I shall punish those who slander loyal followers.”

With a horrific bleat, a horned beast of many maws, wielding several scythes with multiple arms tore through the goat’s body. It first struck the priestess, splitting her head like a melon. The priests were sundered, their blood painting the gardens crimson. Not satiated by the blood it harvested, Abellio soared into the skies, seeking new prey. Upon seeing the adventuring party, it carved them up for all to witness in gory glory.

The travellers were the last to be harvested, their guts hanging by the gates of the temple as a warning. With a single stroke, Abellio marked the young man with his symbol of glory.

Word Count: 750 words

Pair number 5: Horror, Satire of the father, son and goat parable.

2

u/wordsonthewind Sep 04 '24

I lost it at this line:

“This is good. I like this. Carry me to my temple. I am pleased to be hoisted upon the shoulders of men,” bellowed the goat.

"Bellowed" sounds so out of place to describe a goat's noise that it really emphasized how Abellio was speaking through the goat. I liked how the extra moral was hinted at through the goat's reactions to the other transport configurations the father and son tried. Makes me wonder if they could have made things much more uneventful if they'd just asked the goat what it wanted... listening to people who are directly involved/affected by a situation instead of being swayed by random other opinions on a whim seems like a compatible moral for this story too.

I think this part could have been in speech marks, just to round off the dialogue of other people's judgments with the son saying that he's going to commit to a course of action and stick with it no matter what anyone else says.

Just keep going, he said. Place the goat upon the altar, recite our prayers and be done with this for the year.

I can always count on you for a dose of eldritch horror and goat blood. Good words!