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S. L. Potts

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Dec, 2024

Stories (8)

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4 Followers

3 Following

8 Stories

130 karma pts

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Woke

S. L. Potts

Submitted to Contest #290

Accidentally posted in wrong prompt. Correct prompt: Set your story in a world where love is prohibited.Love fueled the race to the stars.Beanie Wallace-Mayhew looked out the window of the transport. Beanie’s shirt had a patch designating her X Æ W-M105, which was harder to remember for some reason. Beanie Wallace-Mayhew was named Beanie Wallace-Mayhew because she wore a black beanie signifying her rank and was from the Wallace and Mayhew lineages. These things meant nothing to her. Below scrolled the ELP, or Earth-Like Planet, a name which ...

7 likes

Solitaire

S. L. Potts

Submitted to Contest #286

It starts in school. You ask each other what five things you'd bring if you were stuck on a desert island. Then you grow up a little and the question transforms to hit closer to home, like it's real: what would you grab if your house was on fire? I wonder if the world was always been slowly preparing us for these moments. How many times has this scenario happened in human history? How many diasporas, house fires, evictions, what-have-you, have humans faced all told? Is this just part of our thing, like newborn sea turtles heading towards the...

7 likes

38,000 MPH

S. L. Potts

Submitted to Contest #285

The Voyager 1 Spacecraft was launched on September, 5th, 1977. Over its 47 years it has traveled over 15.5 billion miles from Earth and left the solar system in 2012. In September 2023, Voyager 1 went temporarily silent and then began sending gibberish some time later. This is some of that gibberish.Dear NASA, Of course you know this, but space is cold. It's not as empty as they say, but it is enough that I've felt alone for a long time. I hope you know I've always been here for you, we charted this path together, but I'm afraid it is one I'...

14 likes

Penguin on 34th Street

S. L. Potts

Submitted to Contest #283

It was going to be hard to explain the penguin walking around their living room dressed as a pirate, but Marco decided he’d give it a shot.“It’s a Christmas miracle,” he started calmly.SQUAWK“WHAT?” She was livid, and understandably so. Cap’n Jack Sparrow, or Penguin, was currently plundering their snack pantry and making a terrible mess.“A miracle, on Christmas, a Christmas miracle.” SQUAWK“I swear if you don’t start making sense, I’m going to—” Claudia was at a loss for an appropriate threat, given the situation.“Let’s go into the oth...

6 likes

The Long Goodbye

S. L. Potts

Submitted to Contest #282

They say that every time you recall a memory, the process of remembering destroys it and what you end up remembering is a reconstruction. A facsimile. The memories you hold so dear, the ones you think you could step into like real life, those are the ones you’ve thought of so many times that they aren’t real at all. A copy of a copy of a copy.That’s what life was like for a long time. And in a sense we were always on the same path. He, every day, a copy of a copy of himself. And me, every day, living the same day and simultaneously revising ...

5 likes

The Second Sleigh

S. L. Potts

Submitted to Contest #281

“Get a move on, pipsqueak.” The hoarse voice came from Belsnickel, towering over me. He grabbed the sack and threw it over his shoulder like it was filled with stuffed animals. I could barely drag it from where I’d been dropped off at the outskirts of the village. The shallow gully formed from dragging the sack faded in the white of the landscape only a few feet behind me. Belsnickel could have helped me and I’d have been set to go in a fraction of the time, but he never would do that. “Time’s a wastin’.”From the comfort of the workshop, we ...

7 likes

Table for Six

S. L. Potts

Submitted to Contest #280

“I’ve given this some serious thought.”“The Dinner?”“No.”“What are you talking about then? You can’t just start a conversation like that.”“I am, so I can. Besides, we’ve been here for hours and we’ve been talking.”“But we weren’t talking just now. Never mind, what are you talking about?”“I think I'm gonna go full pirate.”“I’m afraid you’ve lost me.”“Full pirate. I’m gonna blast Ride of the Valkyries from my minivan, paint the hood with a jolly roger, and end every sentence by saying ARRRR…ARRRR.”“Full pirate.”“Uh huh, ARRRR.”“...”“Can I get ...

3 likes

The Palace

S. L. Potts

Submitted to Contest #279

The pond in the atrium, in this atrium, is filled with common fish: bluegill, perch, catfish, bass even. Bluegill and perch, they’re dumb fish. Easy to catch. Barely a minute goes by and there’s something on the end of the hook. The real trick is, if there is a strong line around somewhere, to catch a bluegill and use it as bait for something bigger and better. Throw a bluey on the hook and weigh it down towards the bottom and then take a nap. He did this a few hours ago and now a catfish is on the end of the line. It comes up lik...

6 likes