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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#134: Look Up

This Friday, the 18th of February, marks the 92nd anniversary of Pluto being discovered — and though it’s no longer considered ‘big enough’ to be an official planet, it will always have a big place in our hearts. With it’s hot-to-cold cycles and snow-capped mountains, this almost-planet almost looks like home. (That said, we still wouldn’t recommend it for your next vacation!)

To mark the occasion, this week’s prompts are a love letter to our favorite forgotten planet, and the spirit of discovery in general.

This week's prompts

Your character, by chance or habit, peers through a telescope. They see something unusual — what is it?

Dystopian – 53 stories

Set your story beyond our own world.

Science Fiction – 50 stories

Write about a character who has a ‘hot and cold’ personality — or is affected by someone like this.

Character – 30 stories

End your story with a character looking out on a new horizon.

Narrative – 63 stories

Write from the POV of someone, or something, that experiences gravity differently.

Science Fiction – 27 stories

Stories

“The Cannonball Run” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #134

Wednesday A few hours after dinner, Ashley barged into my room without knocking, as usual. At this point in our cohabitation in the tiny two bedroom far East Village apartment I couldn’t even be upset, she correctly assumed I wasn’t doing anything private or interesting. She flopped down on my bed with a dramatic sigh, demanding attention. Turning away from the biochemistry I was reviewing for my midterm the following morning was not a great s...

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“To the Moon ” by Lucy G

Submitted to Contest #134

That night we sat outside for hours, listening to the rain as it fell softly on the rooftop, watching the simple motions of life play out before us, absorbing every second into our memory. Family members danced along to songs blasting from my tio’s heavy-duty outdoor radio. Pure joy emanated from everyone as they rejoiced at the start of the monsoon season. There wasn’t a frown in sight. I allowed myself to participate in the celebration by laughing, dancing, and enjoying those final moments. I allowed genuine happiness to flourish through m...

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“Space Force One” by Bill Soest

Submitted to Contest #134

Space Force One As the hangar doors slowly parted, a hot dry wind blew in from the desert around Area 51. But even the hot air was not enough to prevent the goosebumps from forming on his body at the sight of the magnificent ship in front of him. Feelings of apprehension, nerves, fear, and excitement all washed over him as he walked into the hangar. He smiled at himself as he recalled having these same feelings twenty years ago on his first steps into the Air Force Academy. Only here in this hangar, there was no one yelling at him, no one b...

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“A turn to the Side” by Delfina Barbiero

Submitted to Contest #134

Nelly was a normal six-year-old by all accounts. She liked dolls and trucks. She likes to kiss her younger brother. And sometimes bite him. She will do her nightly prayers and slept with her stuffed bunny. All was right as rain until one day, Nelly could walk on the walls. And only the walls. Just a normal day when her father stirred her from sleep to get her ready for school. But unlike most mornings when Nelly's fuzzy socks will touch the cold floor and stand from her bed, Nelly fell. Fell straight to the fl...

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“Yamaraj” by Hiren Dusara

Submitted to Contest #134

Part 1Alice was sitting in an emerald-coloured armchair in front of a fireplace that gently crackled. She knitted using two silver needles attached to a thread which unfurled from a purple ball of yarn. Alice was a lady in her sixties, with neatly trimmed short grey hair, dressed in a flowery nighty and a beige cardigan. Her slight frame barely filled the armchair. She faced the fire and the warm glow lit up her pale complexion. She stopped knitting, her melancholy blue eyes looked toward a wooden table, and she laid the needles down with tr...

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“Touchdown” by Jeanne Lejeune

Submitted to Contest #134

“Strap in, everyone. Touchdown in T-minus 20.”The expedition leader, (what is her name?), floating just below the cockpit’s hatch, spins and surveys the mismatched group of researchers and mercenaries. “Alrightee, you heard the pilot, if any of you’s go flying, you’ve only got yourselves to blame!” Her gaze sweeps around the pod, pausing on you just long enough to wink at your flustered visage, before she swings herself into the remaining seat and straps in.You double-double check your harness, rolling your eyes as Jia smirks at you from her...

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“Fulcrum” by Colin Strivelli

Submitted to Contest #134

The world lingered upside down in her gaze. In a society of super powers, soldiers and spies- this was not her life, for Junko Watanabe wished only to perform. Some scientists surmised her power manipulates fields of gravitons, the reason for her impeccable balance and the potential limit of her could be made into a perfect weapon. The truth of the matter, however was far simpler- she merely could isolate and control her own center of gravity giving way to incredible feats of agility, perfect for a performer; a paragon of form and finess...

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“Scopaesthesia” by David Scheckel

Submitted to Contest #134

Scopaesthesia: a supposed phenomenon in which humans detect being stared at by extrasensory means. I return the dust cap to its place and collapse the legs of my roommate’s telescope. Nothing to see tonight, or any nights really. It has always confused me why he wanted one while living in Manhattan, mecca of light pollution. On 99.9% of the nights, the skyglow which obscures the stars, the planets, the Milky Way, and whatever else is out there is too pronounced to see anything else...

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“Another World” by Hannah Martin

Submitted to Contest #134

We don’t have names on our planet. In my head I refer to my mother as “The One I Came From”. It would be a mouthful if we spoke, but we don’t. We communicate through our thoughts. It brings us closer than your planet, which is full of wars and prejudice. On our planet, everyone is connected. We have no differences and we are at peace. That isn’t to say we are perfect. When the transmission came through, some of us thought it would be best to retaliate. I was not one of them. The transmission ignited a curiosity within me and I only wanted to...

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“The Planet Volatile” by Hail Ryder

Submitted to Contest #134

The planet of Volatile was a globe of red and black stripes against the inky black expanse of the universe. It was small from my window on the shuttle, like a grain of sand getting bigger and bigger with every jump into hyperspace. When close enough, I could make out barely-there blues when the red clouds move around and some greens when the black lifts just a bit. The Planet of Volatile was one of three sister planets that traveled around the same star. It was the only livable one, though its sisters were accurately ...

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“Quietus Kiss ” by Sheena Cureton

Submitted to Contest #134

“William!” Where are you?" I tried to respond but strained to gain enough air. I could hear him tossing debris from the ship around. "We need to go... now!” Gaining enough strength, I pry open my eyes to find him me now. I began the struggle to sit upright. We need to find Brian and Cara, make our escape before they arrive. Mike pulls me to my feet before I can offer him my assistance. I’m fine now. offered to him, “Let me go, save your strength.” Still grasping me tightly, he slowly slid...

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“Men on Saturn” by Holly Jane

Submitted to Contest #134

After the explosion last year in Skoll, not many Skollians survived. The catastrophe caused a hole in the center of the world, basically right into the middle of Skoll. Jasper Valentine wakes peering into a bright, cold room. He sits up looking around and sees a heart rate monitor. Jasper thinks to himself, “Why am I in the hospital and why is it so quiet?” He gets out of bed and walks over to the hospital room window and sees the gaping hole in town. The hospital building is right on the edge of the explosion site, slightly leaning over int...

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“Elegy of the First Pioneers ” by William Wong

Submitted to Contest #134

Jorim Callan drifted at the threshold of the big, blue planet of Chloris. Five-thousand kilometers closer and he’d be in the kill zone of the Terrestrials’ orbital defense platforms and surface-to-space missiles. He was certain that his very distant nieces and nephews were holed up somewhere in the crater-cities of the Malina Chain. That great, domed ribbon of shattered ice taunted him as it entered and left his view with each revolution around the planet, reminding him of what he and his people were denied. If anyone by t...

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“See Ya Later” by Tewfik Shiffa

Submitted to Contest #134

“See ya later,” I say to Nuha as I lug the heavy duffel bag over my shoulder. “Be good to your mom for me, okay?” Nuha nods her head, and I give her one last hug before she runs over to Fay. “Can we go now?” she asks Fay. “It’s so boring here.” I smile. The dimly lit corridor is pretty boring. For an organization that prides itself on employee satisfaction, STAG sure doesn’t have a lively atmosphere. “We can pick baba up later.” My smile wavers. She isn’t grasping how long I’m gonna be gone. For her, this is just a regular ol’ trip. ...

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“The Power We Wield ” by Carolina Barros

Submitted to Contest #134

I shapeshifted last night. At least in my head, I did. The red iron taste of blood is even now present in my mouth. I still remember the wind tousling my hair (fur?) back as I moved skillfully down the hill, my elongated body slipping under branches and roots. Everything else is…a blur. I found you in the same spot as we started, alcohol on your breath and a pile of vomit next to you, the only thing keeping you company as you snored, naked, on the ground. Quite a sight, really. I had to backtrack, butt naked, my own unshod footsteps. ...

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$250

Prize money

223

Contest entries

128

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 25, 2022 EST

Won by Story Time 🏆

Title: The Hovering Age

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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