Forums » Art & Creativity » Official Contest: Short Story Challenge 2024

And by short story, we mean really short stories. The shorter the better. I loved what you all did with this one the last two years so much I decided to bring it back, but with a new set of theme words.

• One entry per user.
• Only users, no posts from characters will count.
• Roll a 1d10 in this topic. Whatever number it comes up on, that’s the theme or inspiration you need to write your story on. You do not need to include the actual word that prompted you in your story.
• Entries should not an exceed a PG-13 rating.
• Edit the post where you made your dice roll to insert your story into it when it’s done.
• Maximum 100 words! Here's a site that might help you: https://easywordcount.com/
• Your story must have a beginning, middle and end.

Themes:

1. Discarded
2. Blossom
3. Surprise
4. Defiance
5. Portal
6. Space
7. Hands
8. Voyage
9. Potion
10. Lesson

Prizes:

• 2023 RPR tote bag (Real life prize - we’ll ship one to you) Totebags won in contests have some surprises inside them!
• Greater Wand of Epicness - Grants 6 months of Epic Membership
• Wand of Epicness - Grants 3 months of Epic Membership
• Oil of Epicness - Grants 1 month of Epic Membership
• Dragon's tooth - 5 extra permanent character slots
• Box of Rocks - Contains 5 random pet rocks, including a chance for special color variants only available via a box.
• Your Choice of Walrus Pick any of the walrus types - classic, fancy, dandy, mecha, sabretooth, admiral, rogue, wizard, necromancer

The first place winner will get to pick any one of these prizes. Then second place picks from the remaining prizes, then third, etc. There will be FIVE winners. However, there are more than five prizes so the fifth place winner still gets a choice!

Deadline:
The last day to post a submission is May 27th

my favourite contest!! ^.^ entry coming, uh, at some point!

---

Discarded (72 words)
I never thought I would see Hopkins again. Years ago, my parents had made me throw him away. "You're too old for stuffed animals," They had said. "It's falling apart, anyway." (I was twelve. I had stitched up his rips and tears.)
I'm old now, and I know that my life is at its end.
The stuffed rabbit knows, too. With open arms, he welcomes me into the land of worn-out things.

"Surprise."

I'm tempted to be a little gremlin and claim that that just is my story, but nah, I'll try to write something up in time.

---

The entry:

After being joyously shouted at, Phil blinked are few times as he looked around at colorful streamers and smiling faces with glittering hats, then closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. "Glen... I said I needed some party supplies."

"Oh..." Glen's face and shoulders sank a little. A moment later, he was already grinning again. "Well, at least we can reuse these."

---

Almost forgot: 64 words.

Can’t wait for this! “Surprise”. 100 words


The father had always been tough, but he was always close to his son. His son grew up just like him, football, sports, girls. But then he had come out. And everything had changed. The following months had been difficult, awkward, and strange. They hadn't really spoken. The father didn't know what to say.

That day he had seen a boy shot. He was 18, like his son. Reality ripped through him. The father drove home, marched to his sons room and embraced him. They settled into comfortable, familiar warmth. Surprise, happiness, love, filled the room. His son was perfect.

Here we go

"Voyage"

Time to roll the dice!

Theme: Space

“It’s not you, it’s me. I just need some space,” said Devin, bringing a frown to Selinda’s face.
“Sure,” she replied, looking away.
Feeling uncomfortable, Devin left the cockpit, ostensibly to check the cargo.
“Awkward!” said Robot523.
Selinda’s attention was drawn to the controls by a frantic beeping and a blinking red light labeled “Proximity Warning”. A jolt accompanied by a thundering boom shook the ship, and the “Hull Breach” light came on. “Something hit us! Go check on Devin,” Selinda commanded the robot.
A moment later Robot523 returned. “You know that space Devin wanted? It seems he got it.”

Let's see

I will probably commit for a few days, and then totally forget so here's to hoping I get it done soon

I just remembered

My theme was: Lesson

99 words.



I talk to the room, and it silences.

At first, I feel like a king, his subjects showing respects – quieting as he speaks, but I wait for a reply and there’s none, and I think to myself, “I must be that important to silence a room!”

Then I remember, I am not a king, and no one owes me such respect and it hurts, so I speak up.

They say, “Oh, it was just the timing – everyone’s busy!”

“No worries,” I say.

But I am worried – because it happens every time I speak.

So, I learned to stop speaking.

I'd like to try


Theme: Space


Nothing changed, and yet – a lot. A year ago, in pain, she wrote those words to herself. I am nowhere. She struggled to see a path forward. She left the note tucked into the corner of the mirror’s metal frame and saw it every day when she looked at her face.
Then one day, on a whim, she took the note out and crumpled it. Dropped it in a trashcan. Nothing changed, and yet – a lot.
Today she wrote the note again, with the smallest of differences. She tucked it back. There was a path. I am now here.

---

It was a good day for studying. He would admit, he found himself distracted easily. The birds outside, the students gossiping in the other room, footsteps nearby.. He tried to ignore it, but failed. He set his ink pen down, and looked out the window once more, sighing.

Maybe he would listen to the phonograph and lay down for a minute and study later?

He approached the phonograph, turned it on, then wandered to his bed and laid down.

He would soon learn a lesson about slacking on studies.
Because he fell asleep. And stayed asleep past the due date.

Rollin~
Edit: "Voyage"

Let us see what we have here...

Edit 1: "Lesson" is a good theme. I can make something out of this for sure!


The Entry:

Titled: "Lessons of Patience: Hunting Struggles."


Hunting was never an easy feat for Katarin. Ever since the fall, food was constantly hard to come by, especially with the once lush ecosystem dead and gone. Taught by Duane, Katarin endured a lesson in hunting, learning all he could teach.

Silence was key, she was told. It was an important lesson in discipline, as well. As she crouched in the war-torn Mobliz fields, Katarin nocked her arrow and prepared to fire. From the string to the arrow tip, and tip to her target, she released, watching as it met its mark. The children would eat tonight, thank goodness...


Little note for this: it was actually a bit hard to figure something out for this, so I pulled from FF6 and the possible struggles to find food in the World of Ruin. I tend not to include dialogue in my entries as well, since stories don't always need dialogue to be good.

Edit 2: oh!! a note, this is exactly 100 words.

And the results are... Surprise. Well, I do like a challenge.

Oops! Wrong forum. Lol

Let's see! Placemarker for later!

Ooh, Defiance. Love what you guys have written so far btw!! I'd totally read these in a short story book haha

Alright, sure! Let's give it a go!

Theme: Surprise
(Word Count: 100)

---

Something is whispering in my closet.

Crawling out of bed, I open the door to investigate. I find nothing. The whispers only get louder the further I step into the darkness.

I flinch as the door slams shut behind me. I claw at it, yet it doesn't open.

Whispers turn to growls. I squeeze my eyes shut as they draw closer, and then-

"...Surprise!"

A light turns on. My closet is littered with decorations. A dozen eyes look at me with glee while it holds a cake in its many claws.

The monster in my closet remembered it's my birthday.

rolllll

Lets see what we get 0-0

"Voyage".... I can work with that. Now to make a short storyyyyyy:

Setting their bag down, the child with bright eyes turns towards the large mountain in the distance. An oppressive weight bears down on them as they look at the terrain they have yet to cross. What is on the mountain? They don't know. Only that its calls to them; compels them to walk the distance. Sand dunes, hills, forests, and valleys. The edge of the valley is where they are now. With a sigh, they shrug the bag back onto their shoulders and work their ways down the snowy slope. Even as they slide and trip, they will make it.

Y'know what, shake it up, I'mma give this a try!

DEFIANCE He had to do it. Eyes glossy with a glimmer of uncertainty, Felix beheld the goblet. Its crystaline edges glittered in the dimdark, tempting him. He had no choice. This goblet had to go. He gulped, circling his target. What would his Servant think? She loathed it when he broke her trinkets. He took a deep breath, and submitted to his instincts. With a thundering crash, the goblet shattered in the abyss. Then, a faraway voice bellowed: "Kitty, not again!" A grin teased his lips. His fur was graying, and his mind dulled. This was exactly what he'd needed. Defiance!