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#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 – 54 stories

Set your story beyond our own world.

Science Fiction – 51 stories

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

Character – 32 stories

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

Narrative – 64 stories

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

Science Fiction – 27 stories

Stories

“Beyond The Silver Line” by Echo Sundar

The trees dance in the wind. Their pale purple leaves fall off of long golden branches whose roots stretch deep beyond the pale bluegrass and deep into the core of Ziniriya. The trees sing their songs and whisper secrets in your ears, the soft melody filling you up. Birds with long silver tail feathers fly over cotton candy skies, their chirps echoing like ringing bells and laughter making you wish you were in on the j...

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“Who Let the Dogs Out?” by Kathleen Fine

Chandra Lal peers through his telescope at the deep, ebony sky. It’s a clear night, his favorite kind of night for star gazing. Although he’s in an attic and not outside like he would prefer, he’s pushed open the window to get a clearer view above him. He focuses the lens to get a better look at two of the four Jovian moons which rotate around Jupitar. As he turns the tube towards Saturn to see if he can get a glimpse...

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“Footprints on the Edge” by ROBERT Ellis

The most rational of men, Josh Rowbotham founded an entirely new scientific field which he named “Astro-Biochemistry.” When Astronomy magazine, in a four-page puff piece complete with photos of Josh and his lab, asked him to describe Astro-Biochemistry, he poetically responded, “Seeking the footprints of life at the edge of the universe.” Josh used telescope spectroscopy to identify the building ...

9 comments 9 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“The Plutonians Are Coming” by Maggie Gibbs

TW// Mental HealthI found him. I peered down the alley and saw the man digging through a dumpster. I didn’t recognize him in the visual sense of the word but as he turned and looked toward me, my heart recognized him. I felt a flood of emotions. Some went through me so quick I might’ve missed them. Sadness was at the forefront.I picked up my phone and dialed mom. I know it’s him. What if I can get him to come home? What if I can get him help? What if I can get him back to normal? The l...

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“Floating” by Hannah P. Simmons

Study Log Subject: Human Female, locally known as MITSU 6:45am – BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Subject awakens. Looks at ALARM CLOCK. Heart rate has rapidly increased. Subject is exhibiting signs of distress. (CONSULTS LOGISTICAL STATISTICS) Deviation in pattern detected. Previous beginning time stamp was repeatedly...

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“Show's Over” by Poppy Jackson

My coffee is too hot to drink. Across from me, Nadia unloads the contents of another sugar packet into her tea before tossing the wrapper onto the table, adding to a growing pile. She stirs her drink too fast and the spoon clanks against the edge of the glass in a way that makes my teeth hurt. Liquid slops out of the glass but she says nothing. I blow on my coffee. ‘We need to talk about what happened.’ I say....

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“Walterisms” by Maggie Gibbs

“Judy! Judy get in here! You have to see this!” Walter had his 1944 vintage Nash Kelvinator binoculars pressed firmly into his eye sockets, while not so discreetly looking out the window of his study. The leather strap that once was new and sturdy was now coming apart at the studs on the ends and was filled with warped cracks all along its length. Those binoculars had seen so much in their 78 years, and so had Walter.Judy screamed something inaudible from the kitchen amongst the banging of pots and pans. He put the binoc...

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“The Seed Sown” by Dan Goff

The farmer was a proud and solitary man. Though his neighbors were nothing but kind to him, the farmer had always held them in a sort of contempt and rejected all forms of friendliness, until he gained the reputation of an unlikable hermit obsessed with his crop of corn and nothing else. The farmer was fine with the verdict; he would have described himself this way, too. He often entertained an unspoken dream of living ...

6 comments 6 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“Twinkle, Twinkle” by John K Adams

Sterling put the finishing touches on his gift for Astrid.‘Truly cosmic,’ he thought. ‘She won’t believe it…’She would arrive at any moment and he wanted everything to be perfect.Hearing the doorbell spurred him to stow scraps of wrapping paper and ribbon. He poured wine into the crystal glasses, and placed them on the table next to her gift.He faced the door, and said, “Yes!” He opened the door to the love of his life, looking beautiful as ever.She said, “Hi! I now have non-binary, pre...

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“The Swan” by Michele Duess

Once upon a time, there was a swan. And a rather famous one too. You probably know the story, everyone does. What you might not know is the aftermath. Because there always is one. Happily ever after is, at best, a finite place of being. Things change, and trouble comes back. That’s the way of the world. This is what happened to Swan after the end. The one everyone called the most beautiful of them all. Of course, he found a mate, as princes do. She was the one they called Beauty and for good reason. Her feathers we...

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“Eggs” by Clyde Laffan

Eggs wasn't his name; I made that up after we had gone our separate ways, never to see each other again. From this distance - and time here is the geography; this story is 30 years old - some details are scant; pieces are missing, and I appear as a stranger even to myself. I remember the boy on the beach, the girl in the pink skirt and the sugar. Those parts of the story are clear.We had caught the same flight from London to Bangkok. For Eggs, Thailand...

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“Where the water meets the sun” by Aerin Diem

The open sea unraveled itself like the most luxurious silken blue fabric. It’s waves rolled and tumbled, as if pulled and shaken out by unseen hands on the horizon. The moon reflected on the water like a radiant woven tapestry, one of brilliant silver string. Every breath I took in, I felt the curl of the sea in my chest. Filling me up and rolling through me like a wave itself. The wooden boards beneath my feet creaked and groaned with every sway, sounding like a chorus of desperate and unwavering spirits. I stood and stretched my arms ab...

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“She's Coming Home” by Ekta Garg

Luna stood at the stove mixing the oatmeal, watching so it wouldn’t burn. She’d offered Kion a steak to celebrate. She’d even planned ahead, spending time at the market to pick the finest cuts of meat and scrutinizing the potatoes and beans. Berries, she thought as she moved to the fresh fruit. Kion loves berry pie. We can have that for dessert tonight. ...

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“Life Inside A Red Balloon” by Kathryn Gabrielle

I could tell you why I am inside this red balloon, but you wouldn't believe it! I recall driving to the party supply store to get some extra red balloons for a birthday party. The weather is stifling hot outside and I welcome the air conditioning inside the store. I pick up six bags of red balloons, when I notice that one of the bags is torn open. Walking over to the customer service desk, I hold up the bag of red balloons and say, “ I don't want this one, it is already torn open.”

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“Green Gremlins” by Bettina Karpathian

It’s my last day of gazing up at the blue sky, spring foliage and blossoms. Instead of a grassy meadow, I am lying on a hard, cold steel table which could belong in a morgue. The only sound is the whirr of the machine. No birdsong or spring breeze here. Every now and then the tech’s disembodied voice reverberates with instructions. Move, don’t move, hold your breath, breathe. She is safely ensconced somewhere out of sight. I picture the malignant cells in my breast as little green cartoon gremlins, squealing and running for cover as the i...

9 comments 9 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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Title: The Hovering Age

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