When I asked who at The Cantab had ever had a terrible boss, every hand shot up. I can't fathom what that says about the state of capitalism in the 20th and 21st century.

My own experiences with bosses is varied from Slightly Flawed Human Being Trying Their Best To Survive Financially to Rich Incompetent Jackass With No Understanding Of Accountability Or Others' Humanity Making  A Profit Off The Rest Of Us Desperately Poor.

I offer a choice of prompts this week. As always you can slightly alter the prompt to fit your desired outcome.
Without talking about your current job (please, don't even tempt fate by  talking about your current job), explain to a former boss how they could have improved their business , your happiness, and the world at large by heeding your adive. -Or- Apologize to your past self for not protecting them from the aforementioned horrible work/life situation.

Have you even been reading a really beautiful poem or section of prose and been totally enamored with how well the author is expressing their passion for their country/a bird/the ocean/a slice of pizza/probably the moon, only to have the poem turn and really be about how much they totally want to bone some beautiful human being? Maybe, like me, you audibly groan and put the book down, feeling cheated for the potential that an author is capable of loving something that is unlikely to give them a satisfying sexual experience.

If you haven't had this experience, you aren't reading enough, or this sort of thing doesn't bother you.

Try and find a piece of writing that stumbles over objectification (or somehow makes the act of  objectification seem lovely) and let it inspire you to write about something you are passionate about. Express this without mentioning a person in any way.

Have you ever ha a great idea for a story or a poem or The Greatest American Teleplay Of All Time while you were sleepy, so sleepy? You consider the important parts of it over and over, focusing so hard you dream about it.

Or maybe there was no conscious thought. Maybe you had an intense dream that was clearly the answer to the plothole in the novel you've been working on, or something you could say to your unrequited love interest that would totally reveal to them that you're a perfect match? Only to wake up the next morning and wonder what "Rat king flavored ice cream" is supposed to mean?

It's time for you to take back your semi-conscious ideas. Purposefully wait until you are completely exhausted and write down some key lines, or an outline for a piece of writing.

For the easy version of this prompt, be satisfied with what you wrote down, and then wake up the next day and use it to produce art.

If you're up for challanging yourself, stay awake and finish your piece of art. Then hide it. When you wake up the next morning, use the outline or key lines and rewrite the piece without looking at the previous night's version. Find out if one version of you is better at making your ideas come to fruition, if you're eually talented in different ways, or if Sleepy You and Fully Awake You need to start collaborating. 

I had a prompt in my head this week, but it disappeared when Cantab Chlo-host, Chloe Cunha, mentioned that she was late because she was busy being "a gay mermaid" at a standup gig.

I need you, writer in search of ideas, to explain to me "Why is the gay mermaid late?"

I was doing an interview about scars, and mentioned a lifelong scar on my forehead. After the interview, I looked in the mirror and realized that I have TWO scars on my forehead, and no recollection how the other one got there.

Explain a phsycial scar you don't remember getting. I guess it can be fictional if you're one of those people who know where all of their scars came from, you perfectly memoried creature, you.