The Manticore

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Nov, 2020

Stories (7)

7 Stories

462 karma pts

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“En Mission” by The Manticore

Submitted to Contest #105

Darin was not the sort to cry.When he’d stubbed his toe as a child, he’d never bawled nor even whimpered. As a teenager, heartbreaks hadn’t drawn a single tear from his eyes. He'd always closed his heart to things he knew would potentially break it in the future. His mother was positive that Darin had been born without tear ducts, and had even taken him to the doctor to examine him.She was wrong.Today, a beautiful sky-blue summer day, his nineteenth birthday, Darin cried.He staggered through the narrow streets, cluttered with old rags and de...

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“Mythology” by The Manticore

Submitted to Contest #96

cw: murder, implied abuse, mentions of suicideEidos had been left alone before but this was probably the first time there was a locked door involved. And she didn’t know when she could unlock it. She didn’t know when she could be safe.She stood stricken in the middle of the floor, damp from the last time it had been mopped, hands by her side. Her hands were stinging, the fingernails close to the quick and beaded with pearled blood. Eidos finally moved. She took two steps backward, hit the wall, and slid down into a crouched, defensive s...

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“A Villain Arrives at Vorotyntsev Station” by The Manticore

Submitted to Contest #90

Roday Rostovich Ranovichi sits on the metro, alone and happy as usual. He is only happy when he’s alone, when there’s no one else around wearing weird smelly clothes and offending his eyes and nose. Roday does not consider himself to be lesser than anyone, nor does he see himself as superior. He knows himself to be superior. First, he’s good-looking, but he’s also learned to use that to his own advantage. He is not a man you’d want on your bad side, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to get on his good side. Roday is wearing his ...

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“Warmest Hearts ❤️” by The Manticore

Submitted to Contest #81

It was blizzarding again and Seb was worried. He woke up at one in the morning (without needing to go to the bathroom, for once) and stood in front of the glimmering window with his hands in his pockets, head down, lips folded underneath his teeth. Berean rolled over off her silently pulsing SmartPillow; her head smacked the mattress and she opened her eyes. It was white outside. That was the only way to describe it. It was pure, burning white. Snow cloaked the big oaks outside, dusted the screens on the windows, blanketed the wind...

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“The Box” by The Manticore

Submitted to Contest #80

Nassia got off work in seven minutes. She counted down the seconds as they ticked away on the clock behind the counter. Seven minutes until she could close the little green door, walk out of the bookshop, and head to her favorite place in the world. She cracked her knuckles against the counter and rolled her eyes as the last few customers came in through the doors. A kid wearing yellow overalls and a baseball cap, followed by his parents. The kid’s father nodded towards Nassia and she nodded back. He clearly wanted to leave as much as...

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“🌻Keep Me Steady🌻” by The Manticore

Submitted to Contest #73

I stand in the exterior wings of the stage, wishing I had wings myself. It’s so incredibly hot, this little tiny extra space behind the stage, and the outfit, too tight around the ankles and too loose in other places, doesn’t help. I wish I could fly away from all this. It's unbearably hot. I can’t wait -- literally, I feel like jumping away and escaping -- for this tour to be over. I shouldn’t be this nervous. I’ve been here a million times. I’ve worn the too-tight pants and the too-loose shirt and the bright white smile every night for mon...

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“Darius: Eccentric and McDonald's Eater Extraordinaire” by The Manticore

Submitted to Contest #72

The morning is a little too cold to be comfortable, but I’m not thinking about that. I’m not thinking about the fact that I’m hungry and haven’t had my McDonald’s coffee yet. Not even thinking about how I’m wearing ankle socks in huge hiking boots. Instead I’m thinking about Uncle Darius. Darry the weirdo. Darry the black sheep. Darry, the guy who lives way out in the woods, much too far from any McDonald’s, probably without a workable toilet. I don't know. I've never met him.“Hey, kid, I haven’t seen you in a while.” My uncle’s voice r...

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Author bio

Last name "Manticore," first name "The". We are an eloquence of writers from Arkansas, Central Texas, East Texas, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Favorite authors include Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Oscar Wilde, Brandon Sanderson, and Edgar Allan Poe. Trying to mush, It all together, And worrying, About the weather, Balancing four moods, Instead of one, Community writing, Is fun fun fun! 😴😷👾🌻 The Manticore has written the following stories: "Darius: Eccentric and McDonald's Eater Extraordinaire" A teen walks through Ottawa Falls Trail to collect an inheritance from his crazy actor uncle. "🌻Keep Me Steady🌻" A young backup dancer makes friends and drinks mochis with the mean girl, who needs to break up with her boyfriend, after a catastrophic injury. "The Box" A quirky bookseller joins a meeting of grieving people at her favorite place in the world, the museum where she and her best friend bonded. "Warmest Hearts ❤️" Two cute old folks watch movies together in the near future, where the globe has become colder rather than warmer. "A Villain Arrives at Vorotyntsev Station" A heroic-looking villain argues with a villainous-looking hero in the only park in town. "Mythology" A girl realizes the harpies she reads about for fun are not just old myths after all -- her mother's one. "En Mission" A tragedy told from three different perspectives, with each character finding and dealing with grief in their own way. 🤩🦋❤️🌻 Let's see how long this lasts. PSA: the mad hatter has cute teeth and we need a better PR team. Here is an link if you're interested in joining us, let us know and we shall review your application! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4kfMo9WU-TQWEOP6hxSxJX6aUOl5wV99GhyHnOazP4RlCFw/viewform?usp=sf_link