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The Cauldron
A Thursday Prompt story
© 2026 by Walter Reimer
Prompt: stir
“At it again, eh?” the Muse asked me. Physically I was out walking, while I was mentally poring over the latest ideas given to me by the Room of Infinite Monkeys. The red fox tod took a seat, keeping at least one eye on me.
“It’s all in the mind,” I replied as I circled the bubbling cauldron, paddle in hand. The paddle’s wood, and you can’t get it, you know. It’s repurposed from an old canoe paddle. I plunged the blade of the paddle into the contents of the cauldron and moved the contents around, causing a slip of paper to fly out. I seized it and read aloud, “Story about mad scientists driving up to Home Depot to get hunchbacks who are loitering outside, a la Mexican migrant laborers, for assistance in their experiments.”
“It’d have to be a Transylvanian Home Depot,” the Muse said, shifting Aspect to a tall reticulated giraffe femme and crossing her legs demurely.
I nodded, moving the paddle in an energetic circle before reversing the motion and causing another idea to slop out. “Hmm, here’s one with a bit of promise. Comedy, action, drama, and a magic fox.”
“Knowing your readers, they might like it,” the stocky badger femme observed.
“True,” I chuckled. I grabbed another slip and said, “Oh, this will cause certain folks to get a little hot under collar, fetishistically speaking.”
The Rottweiler mel snapped his fingers and held out a paw. “Gimme.” He read it and grinned. “Might be worth further development.”
“The Easter story’s a bit moribund,” I said, glancing at another piece of paper.
“Wait three days,” the Muse giggled. “It’ll come back.” The Kashlanin kam gave a short two-note wheeze of laughter. “What else have you got in there?”
“Dunno, there’s something stuck to the bottom.” I managed to get the tip of the paddle against whatever it was as it lurked in the depths of the cauldron, the flames of imagination flickering against the round bottom of the pot. It’s a nice round bottom, so nice, so firm, so fully packed, so easy on the draw, and I eventually succeeded in dislodging it.
Up it rose, past all the various art commission ideas and the things I have planned for my current stories, and it finally broke surface. I snatched it off the paddle, shook it out, and read it.
The Muse glanced up as I stumbled backward and landed on my ass on a seat modeled after a pair of furry breasts. It was a butt last year, but themes change. “What is it?” the rat mel asked, getting to his feet and walking over to me.
I gaped at what was on the paper before I showed it to him.
His eyes bulged almost comically, a true Tex Avery Eye Pop complete with ‘Ah-OOOOOGAH!’ sound effect. Eyes snapping back to normal so fast he changed Aspect, she put a paw to her chest and the opossum femme gasped, “Yog-Sothoth’s Runt of the Litter . . . what the hell?”
“Maybe I need to stop feeding the Monkeys weird internet videos.” I muttered, studying the story idea while the contents of the cauldron, unstirred, began to settle to the bottom and burn.
end
A Thursday Prompt story
© 2026 by Walter Reimer
Prompt: stir
“At it again, eh?” the Muse asked me. Physically I was out walking, while I was mentally poring over the latest ideas given to me by the Room of Infinite Monkeys. The red fox tod took a seat, keeping at least one eye on me.
“It’s all in the mind,” I replied as I circled the bubbling cauldron, paddle in hand. The paddle’s wood, and you can’t get it, you know. It’s repurposed from an old canoe paddle. I plunged the blade of the paddle into the contents of the cauldron and moved the contents around, causing a slip of paper to fly out. I seized it and read aloud, “Story about mad scientists driving up to Home Depot to get hunchbacks who are loitering outside, a la Mexican migrant laborers, for assistance in their experiments.”
“It’d have to be a Transylvanian Home Depot,” the Muse said, shifting Aspect to a tall reticulated giraffe femme and crossing her legs demurely.
I nodded, moving the paddle in an energetic circle before reversing the motion and causing another idea to slop out. “Hmm, here’s one with a bit of promise. Comedy, action, drama, and a magic fox.”
“Knowing your readers, they might like it,” the stocky badger femme observed.
“True,” I chuckled. I grabbed another slip and said, “Oh, this will cause certain folks to get a little hot under collar, fetishistically speaking.”
The Rottweiler mel snapped his fingers and held out a paw. “Gimme.” He read it and grinned. “Might be worth further development.”
“The Easter story’s a bit moribund,” I said, glancing at another piece of paper.
“Wait three days,” the Muse giggled. “It’ll come back.” The Kashlanin kam gave a short two-note wheeze of laughter. “What else have you got in there?”
“Dunno, there’s something stuck to the bottom.” I managed to get the tip of the paddle against whatever it was as it lurked in the depths of the cauldron, the flames of imagination flickering against the round bottom of the pot. It’s a nice round bottom, so nice, so firm, so fully packed, so easy on the draw, and I eventually succeeded in dislodging it.
Up it rose, past all the various art commission ideas and the things I have planned for my current stories, and it finally broke surface. I snatched it off the paddle, shook it out, and read it.
The Muse glanced up as I stumbled backward and landed on my ass on a seat modeled after a pair of furry breasts. It was a butt last year, but themes change. “What is it?” the rat mel asked, getting to his feet and walking over to me.
I gaped at what was on the paper before I showed it to him.
His eyes bulged almost comically, a true Tex Avery Eye Pop complete with ‘Ah-OOOOOGAH!’ sound effect. Eyes snapping back to normal so fast he changed Aspect, she put a paw to her chest and the opossum femme gasped, “Yog-Sothoth’s Runt of the Litter . . . what the hell?”
“Maybe I need to stop feeding the Monkeys weird internet videos.” I muttered, studying the story idea while the contents of the cauldron, unstirred, began to settle to the bottom and burn.
end
Category Story / Fantasy
Species Human
Size 120 x 92px
File Size 53.6 kB
Listed in Folders
Hahaha! Oh, now that is a lovely and funny way of looking at the process of coming up with and writing stories! I love it! My muse just baps me across the head with pillows and squeaky inflatable hammers >~_^< And it seems like your cauldron has a very lovely bottom as well... I may even have to steal that idea for Mewriam, haha! >^_^<
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