Surprise 3-sentence challenge

[xfirefly9x]

Based on feedback from the last post, it's looking like a month-long prompt table challenge is going to be our next big challenge. Look out for that in September, starting on the 1st!

Meanwhile, here's another mini challenge - the same as the last 3-sentence challenge, only I'm leaving you with several prompts to choose from (using a table, so I can get some practice in with the HTML). And there's only going to be this post.

Guidelines:

♦ Write a 3-sentence story inspired by a prompt from the below table.
♦ You can write one 3-sentence story or write many (for different prompts or even the same prompts); it's entirely up to you.
♦ One story per comment please. This makes it easier for others to provide feedback.
♦ You can use the prompt with the exact wording, or in a way where it's clear you've drawn inspiration from it.
♦ There are no deadlines, and there won't be any follow-up post for this challenge.
♦ Enjoy the other stories and leave feedback if desired. ♥

001.	You're mine	002.	A last whisper	003.	Starting over	004.	Turbulent	005.	Distracting
006.	Birdsong	007.	Digging deep	008.	Self-destruct	009.	Lost in the wilderness	010.	Never let go

Table code in case anyone wants a copy (please link back to Worderlands):
<center><table border=2 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=2> <tr> <td>001.</td><td>You're mine</td> <td>002.</td><td>A last whisper</td> <td>003.</td><td>Starting over</td> <td>004.</td><td>Turbulent</td> <td>005.</td><td>Distracting</td> </tr><tr> <td>006.</td><td>Birdsong</td> <td>007.</td><td>Digging deep</td> <td>008.</td><td>Self-destruct</td> <td>009.</td><td>Lost in the wilderness</td> <td>010.</td><td>Never let go</td> </tr><tr> </tr></table></center>

Comments

010. Never let go

[guildrone]

“Remember this feeling—never let it go.” He barely spared another second before vanishing to whence he came.

If only he’d taken the wounds back with him…

Re: 010. Never let go

[xfirefly9x]

That last sentence!

003. Starting Over

[spaciireth]

She tears the page from the notebook, crumples it and throws it in the bin.

Her eyes dart to the computer; for a fraction of a second, she considers the easy way out, but she dismisses the thought as quickly as it arises.

This is her story, and she'll tell it with her own words, no matter how long it takes to get them right.

---

Please indulge me, I'm in a Mood^tm about gen-AI today.

Re: 003. Starting Over

[xfirefly9x]

*hug*

Please indulge me, I'm in a Moodtm about gen-AI today.

IKR? The mood of the year.

008, Self Destruct (School Spirits, Sandra)

[tellshannon815]

Sandra had never been meant to hear that conversation between Xavier and Maddie, but once she heard it, she couldn’t un-hear it: not only did ghosts exist, but her husband was one of them, trapped in the hospital where he’d been brought in alive but died a short time later, and Xavier, someone who’d never even met him when he was alive, had managed to see him and speak to him when Sandra had never had that opportunity?

Sandra had continued down her path of self destruction, getting drunk, getting behind the wheel of the car while she was still drunk; had she ever consciously understood that she was trying to create a situation where she could have that moment with Dave, the goodbye she hadn’t been able to have at the time?

She awoke in hospital, Maddie and Derek by her side, Dave at the foot of her bed, telling her it wasn’t her time yet, that Maddie still needed her, that an existence trapped as a ghost in the hospital was not what he would ever want for her, but was what awaited her if she continued down this self destructive path.

Re: 008, Self Destruct (School Spirits, Sandra)

[xfirefly9x]

Ooh, dark.

006, Birdsong (Sunrise on the Reaping, Haymitch)

[tellshannon815]

It’s the reaping ceremony for the 51st Hunger Games; even if it wasn’t compulsory to attend, given that he was last year’s victor and therefore District 12’s mentor, Haymitch would never have been able to get out of it.

As he hears the sound of birds loudly singing just as Drusilla’s about to go into her spiel, Haymitch doesn’t have to look at Merrilee to know that she’s thinking the same thing; even though they’re not the same birds, they can’t be, Haymitch can’t help but think of those candy-pink creatures programmed to target Maysilee, thinks of that every time he hears birds now.

He couldn’t save Maysilee then, and as Drusilla draws that names and the birds sing on, Haymitch thinks that the names she has drawn are names of people he won’t be able to save either.

Re: 006, Birdsong (Sunrise on the Reaping, Haymitch)

[xfirefly9x]

I haven't read this book yet, so going to skip in case of spoilers. But yay, HG story!

001. You’re Mine [Steven Universe; Lapis Lazuli/Jasper]

[lumiosecity]

There’s no denying the ties that bind them, not anymore. It’s a simple fact of their shared existence— the tides ebb and flow, planets orbit around stars, and Jasper will always find her way back to Lapis, back to chains, back to the only version of herself that feels right anymore.

She’d been created to belong to someone; she’d never anticipated it manifesting quite like this.

Re: 001. You’re Mine [Steven Universe; Lapis Lazuli/Jasper]

[pitchblackrenegade]

God, being Malachite was NOT good for them both, and yet that is the only way Jasper feels the strongest...

002. A Last Whisper [Original Fiction]

[lumiosecity]

The ghosts always have so much to say; the gentle thrum of their voices is a constant presence, a comforting white noise that’s followed her throughout her life.

When the voices start to fade, it frightens her, of course it does. The last thing she hears is a whisper, something closer to the scratch of fallen leaves against asphalt than any human voice— “it’s time to move on, cherie,” they tell her, but how can she?

003. Starting Over [Original Fiction]

[lumiosecity]

Your mind feels fleabitten, almost, an itch at the back of your skull like a warning— a warning that you dutifully ignore. No time for the worries of an old life, not when there’s a new chapter unfurling straight ahead.

Perhaps you should have listened, but who knows what would have happened if you did?

004. Turbulent [Arcane: League of Legends; Jinx]

[lumiosecity]

They say she’s chaos given form, that she can feel no pain, that has no idea of the havoc that she wreaks and the suffering she leaves in her wake.

Maybe it’s true, maybe it isn’t. Either way, it’s better to be a laughing-mad legend thriving in chaos than it is to be a girl with a turbulent, fractured mind, so she lets them believe what they wish.

005. Distracting [New Teen Titans; Dick Grayson/Joey Wilson]

[lumiosecity]

“You’re distracting me,” Dick gripes, leaning over to nudge Joey with an obviously exaggerated scowl. “Quit being so handsome— I can’t focus.”

Joey, serenely not doing much of anything besides resting by Dick’s side and being handsome, doesn’t stop.

006. Birdsong [Pokémon; Sawsbuck & Fletchling]

[lumiosecity]

Summer turns to autumn, and with it comes the dappled red and orange of both Sawsbuck’s new foliage and the head of the very persistent Fletching nesting within.

He’s not a tree, but there’s certainly no convincing the little bird of that. What else is there to do but admit defeat and enjoy his new companion’s lovely singing?

Re: 006. Birdsong [Pokémon; Sawsbuck & Fletchling]

[pitchblackrenegade]

So adorable! <3

007. Digging Deep [Original Fiction]

[lumiosecity]

It would be easy to just bury these feelings in the deepest part of you, wouldn’t it? Let them rot, let them fester as untended feelings always do— but then who will you blame for the consequences?

What is buried will eventually see the light of day again; this is inevitable.

008. Self-Destruct [South Park; Kenny McCormick]

[lumiosecity]

It’s not exactly a secret that Kenny has self-destructive tendencies; he’s always the first to fly into danger if it means no one else has to, always the first to suggest a plan where the risk is so much higher than the reward— and yet he always lives to tell the tale, somehow.

His friends worry, of course they do. He can’t stay untouchable forever, no matter how much he seems to be convinced otherwise.

009. Lost In The Wilderness [South Park; Stan Marsh & Kenny McCormick]

[lumiosecity]

“Dude,” Stan says after a moment of contemplation, sitting down on an overturned log with a long, drawn-out sigh, “I think we’re lost.”

Kenny doesn’t say anything at first, instead opting to give him an irritated glance—it was Stan’s idea to try and explore the hiking trails without a map in the first place—but he can’t hold back for long.

“You know we’re lost, dumbass.”

010. Never Let Go [Original Fiction]

[lumiosecity]

You want to hold her forever. To be one with her heartbeat and her flesh, so enmeshed and entwined that you are no longer two bodies, but one— to never be separated from the one you so adore.

Beneath you, peaceful, she sleeps, as if this is where the two of you were always meant to be.

001. You're mine [Pokémon]

[pitchblackrenegade]

"I'm glad you're mine," Lucian breathed against Shauntal's neck, admiring his lover.

She had fallen asleep rather quickly not even ten minutes into the train ride, exhausted by the day.

Lucian let himself wonder what she dreamed of before he, too, allowed sleep to embrace him, exhausted by the day.

002. A last whisper [Pokémon]

[pitchblackrenegade]

A yawn threatened to escape Shauntal, but now was not the time for sleep: she was so close to finishing the audiobook of Sinnohan poetry Lucian had gifted her for Christmas.

Alas, the last whispers of the narrator's soothing voice had gone unheard by the novelist. Sleep had claimed victory.

003. Starting over [Pokémon]

[pitchblackrenegade]

"Life in a new region will be good for you," he assures her, noting his fiancée's barely-touched dinner. "It will give you a chance to experience new and wonderful things."

Starting over had always been so daunting, but if Lucian was there beside her, things would be all right ...right?

004. Turbulent [Pokémon]

[pitchblackrenegade]

She knew the destructive potential of psychic powers but never imagined it from him.

But books were turbulently tossed off shelves, papers fell like autumn leaves onto the library floor, and chairs were hurled to barricade the doors...

Shauntal opened her eyes to find Lucian's arms lovingly wound around her.

005. Distracting [Pokémon]

[pitchblackrenegade]

"I hope you're aware of how distracting you're being right now," Shauntal says, breaking their pleasant minutes-long silence.

Smirking, Lucian looks up from the book he'd only pretended to read, so arrested by the authoress beside him working on her next bestseller. "Oh yes, I am very aware, my dear."

006. Birdsong [Pokémon]

[pitchblackrenegade]

The songs the Starly sing every morning are so different from those the Pidove sing—Shauntal would be lying if she said she missed the Pidove's chorus.

The Starly chirped so merrily every morning, eager to awaken with the world.

She could get used to living with Lucian in Sinnoh.

007. Digging deep [Pokémon]

[pitchblackrenegade]

With every novel Lucian read, he'd learn a little more about the woman he would call his wife, all through the characters she favered more than the rest.

For instance, she was utterly fascinated by the concept of latte art.

Through her stories, he would dig deep into her soul.

008. Self-destruct [Pokémon]

[pitchblackrenegade]

She hadn't meant to read the words Lucian had scrawled on that tiny piece of torn paper she'd found while sweeping the floor, but curiosity had won over wisdom.

She wished she hadn't read it at all, because that curiosity had only grown hundredfold.

"Shauntal CANNOT witness my continual self-destruction."

009. Lost in the wilderness [Pokémon]

[pitchblackrenegade]

"So, what did you think of the beginning of the second act?" Shauntal asked, smiling.

"It's good, but what if you raised the stakes by getting the Piplup and her friend lost in the wilderness for a few more pages, allowing Litzy to wreak more havoc?"

"What a wonderful idea!"

010. Never let go [Pokémon]

[pitchblackrenegade]

In the mirror, he drinks in the sight of the lipstick stains she had left on his neck just an hour before.

He now possessed the memory of their first intimacy, a treasure he would never let go. How could he when Shauntal had fundamentally changed his view on love?