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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 – 52 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 – 29 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 Plutonians Are Coming

Submitted to Contest #134

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 line rang so many times I nearly hung up, but just as I wa...

24 likes 18 comments 18
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Floating

Submitted to Contest #134

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 noted to be forty-five minutes earlier at exactly 6:00am. This deviation possible cause of sudden erratic behavior. SCRAMBLE. Gravitational Reading – Base Normality, in spite of accelerated heart rate 8:00am – Subject ...

23 likes 17 comments 17
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Twinkle, Twinkle

Submitted to Contest #134

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, preferred pronouns for my hands. No longer left and right, ...

22 likes 11 comments 11
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The Seed Sown

Shortlisted for Contest #134 ⭐️

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 alone on a desert island, with just his plants to keep him company. But now he was on the verge of losing his plants, his on...

22 likes 6 comments 6
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Where the water meets the sun

Submitted to Contest #134

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 above...

21 likes 10 comments 10
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Walterisms

Submitted to Contest #134

“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 binoculars down and turned...

21 likes 14 comments 14
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She's Coming Home

Submitted to Contest #134

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.          &nb...

21 likes 13 comments 13
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Eggs

Submitted to Contest #134

    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 was his destination; I was on a stop-over before returning home to...

21 likes 15 comments 15
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The Swan

Submitted to Contest #134

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 were white as snowf...

21 likes 16 comments 16
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Life Inside A Red Balloon

Submitted to Contest #134

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.”The woman behind the desk looks at me and without hesita...

20 likes 10 comments 10
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Falling Down

Submitted to Contest #134

***Author’s note*** as with all of my stories, this one can be read as a stand-alone; however this one fills in a gap in my Falling Forward story. It’s also related to Falling Apart. He had outdone himself this time. She thought. The deep red of the dozen roses were all blushing his shame. A brown plush teddy bear sat leaning against the glass vase. Unable to sit on its own, it drooped to the right. Ethan’s guilt was evidenced in the eyes of that teddy bear because despite its sewn on smile, they both knew wh...

19 likes 10 comments 10
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The Diaps

Submitted to Contest #134

Luke carried his backpack out of class.“Yo!” Wally called as Luke walked to his locker,“Hey, how was class?” Luke asked, towering over Wally.“Sucked. Ms. Bitchovic gave us a fuckin pop quiz on horizons.”“She did?“Yes! And I frickin bombed it!”“THAT SUCKS! What is wrong with that woman?!”“I don't know.”“You have physics tomorrow, right?”Wally groaned and brushed his brown, curly hair back. “Yes, and don’t remind me!"Luke watched as two boys with black leather jackets walked by with their spiky hair all gelled up. “Hey! I have an idea!""What?"...

19 likes 32 comments 32
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Green Gremlins

Shortlisted for Contest #134 ⭐️

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 invi...

19 likes 9 comments 9
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Help, I’ve broken time.

Submitted to Contest #134

Broken corkscrews pile up in the well-decorated, glass jar besides me. They overspill and jump out the jar, rolling onto the stained carpet. Red stains. Red stains everywhere. The lit cigarette burns me as it kisses my fingers. I let it go. It can join the corkscrews on the carpet. Shakily, I try to push myself out of the sofa which sucks me in. As I find my way to my feet, the world spins. A humming in my ears starts chanting a death song and my vision taunts me with a fake reality. My head lolls forward and I’m propelled through diffe...

19 likes 10 comments 10
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Trapped Between Two Worlds

Submitted to Contest #134

Sila was exhausted. He walked into the galley, stretching his arms high over his head, then bringing them down to rub his eyes. All he wanted to do was curl back up in bed and pull the covers over his head. His eyelids were still heavy, and he swayed a little as he reached for the coffee. But even more than being sleepy, he was just plain tired. He could feel it deep down in his bones. His legs and arms felt heavy and ached, as if he had run a marathon.Yanti took one look at him. Her voice sounded muted to him. “Let me guess, my crystal ball...

18 likes 13 comments 13
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