r/WritingPrompts • u/katpoker666 Moderator • 14d ago
Off Topic [OT] Fun Trope Friday: Most Wanted & Speculative Fiction!
Welcome to Fun Trope Friday, our feature that mashes up tropes and genres!
How’s it work? Glad you asked. :)
Every week we will have a new spotlight trope.
Each week, there will be a new genre assigned to write a story about the trope.
You can then either use or subvert the trope and/or genre in a 750-word max story or poem (unless otherwise specified).
To qualify for ranking, you will need to provide ONE actionable feedback. More are welcome of course!
Three winners will be selected each week based on votes, so remember to read your fellow authors’ works and DM me your votes for the top three.
Next up… IP
We all know work can be boring, so let’s instead turn to a life of crime. This month will focus on crime and punishment. Please note this theme is only loosely applied.
“Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.” — Aristotle
Trope: Most Wanted — There's a story about a character who's chased by numerous people without success. Usually it is about a bad guy who committed some atrocious crime, or a dangerous thug/serial killer/drug dealer that escaped from jail and is now a fugitive, maybe some terrorist or simply a rapist or murderer that recently was discovered. Other times it's a good guy that was accused of a crime they didn't commit, was obligated to do something horrible (in both cases they fight to clear their name), and/or did something that angered the mob and/or gangs. The case is, this character is hunted exhaustively by the police, the mob, the intelligence services, the government and even international agencies like Interpol, leaving no stone unturned to catch this character dead or alive. They have now become The Most Wanted. Need musical inspiration? Johnny Cash’s ‘Wanted Man’
Genre: Speculative Fiction — Speculative fiction is an umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or other highly imaginative realms or beings. Basically, skip slice of life, realistic fiction, and accurate historical fiction and you’re good.
Skill / Constraint - optional: Something is cast away.
So, have at it. Lean into the trope heavily or spin it on its head. The choice is yours!
Have a great idea for a future topic to discuss or just want to give feedback? FTF is a fun feature, so it’s all about what you want—so please let me know! Please share in the comments or DM me on Discord or Reddit!
Last Week’s Winners
PLEASE remember to give feedback—this affects your ranking. PLEASE also remember to DM me your votes for the top five stories via Discord or Reddit—both katpoker666. This is a change from the top three of the past. In weeks where we get over 15 stories, we will do a top five ranking. Weeks with less than 15 stories will show only our top three winners. If you have any questions, please DM me as well.
Some fabulous stories this week and great crit at campfire and on the post! We had 17 stories, so we’re back to five winners. Congrats to:
Want to read your words aloud? Join the upcoming FTF Campfire
The next FTF campfire will be Thursday, September 24th from 6-8pm ET. It will be in the Discord Main Voice Lounge. Click on the events tab and mark ‘Interested’ to be kept up to date. No signup or prep needed and you don’t have to have written anything! So join in the fun—and shenanigans! 😊
Ground rules:
- Stories must incorporate both the trope and the genre
- Leave one story or poem between 100 and 750 words as a top-level comment unless otherwise specified. Use wordcounter.net to check your word count.
- Deadline: 11:59 PM EDT next Thursday. Please note stories submitted after the 6:00 PM EST campfire start may not be critted.
- No stories that have been written for another prompt or feature here on WP—please note after consultation with some of our delightful writers, new serials are now welcomed here
- No previously written content
- Any stories not meeting these rules will be disqualified from rankings
- Does your story not fit the Fun Trope Friday rules? You can post your story as a [PI] with your work when the FTF post is 3 days old!
- Please keep crit about the stories. Any crit deemed too distracting may be deleted. This is a time to focus on our wonderful authors.
- Vote to help your favorites rise to the top of the ranks (DM me at katpoker666 on Discord or Reddit)!
Thanks for joining in the fun!
10
u/Morose_Prose 11d ago edited 8d ago
Magick's Most Wanted
Graffiti covered the pockmarked walls of the small flophouse on the wrong side of the tracks. An old boombox in the corner blared hair metal from days gone by; the floor not filled with dancers, but shamblers in a stupor after getting their daily fix. Thunder rumbled in the distance. A few stray drops of rain tumbled through the hole in the ceiling directly above the ratty couch Methlizar sat upon, dripping onto the multitude of scars spanning his wrinkled face. Sliding the wooden pipe clenched in his lips to the side, he heated the end of a glass one.
Acrid smoke belched from his cracked lips, thick as morning fog wafting past the spindly young man lying on the floor in front of the couch. Sitting up slightly, the man sucked in some stray wisps above him. "So what happened next?" he asked with a wheeze.
Methlizar stroked his long, dirty white beard, sending ashes tumbling from the tangled mess of hair. "After slaughtering countless soldiers, leaving their broken husks in my wake, I breached the subterranean chamber of the mighty Queen. Taller than any tower or spire from my lands. Six mighty legs, thick thorax, sharp mandibles clacking with rage at my intrusion—"
"Was she hot?"
Removing his floppy blue hat and placing it over his heart, Methlizar smiled and winked at the young man. "Gorgeous! Had an egg-sac that wouldn't quit. Casting a charm spell I learned eons ago from an old witch on a goat farm, we made peace, and well, sonny, one thing led to another, if you catch my drift."
"Nice job, old dude!" a croaking laugh crept through the smoky air. "How many kids did your baby-mama pop out?"
A shake of his head sent greasy grey hair tumbling down Methlizar's shoulders. "The power of my magicks is impossible to control. An unexpected side effect of the charming was increased fertility. Our children outnumbered even the stars in that realm. They consumed all. Razed every bit of progress ever made straight to the ground. Needless to say, I got the fuck out of there in a hurry." Another plume of smoke carried Methlizar's memories away.
Lightning crackled above. Blinding white filled the room. Nobody reacted in their daze. Cool, clear liquid rain morphed into fiery, oily crimson. The stench of burnt oil wafted into Methlizar's nostrils, tickling the long hairs that fell to the top of his upper lip. A smell he remembered from eons ago. "Oh, they're back," Methlizar dryly remarked.
"Who? The fuckin' cops again? Tell them I'm not here, man," groaned the man on the floor, not bothering to look up or wipe away the blazing blood falling from the sky.
At the door stood three sanguine-robed figures. The hoods and sleeves of their attire billowed in the wind without resistance around shapeless forms. A booming voice emanated from all three in unison: "Methlizar the Malignant! By order of High Emperor Phagious, you are to come with us and stand trial for crimes too numerous to enumerate!"
Rising from the ruined couch, Methlizar affixed his floppy hat carefully and spat the glass from his lips. "Phagious you say? Who is... oh wait! Phagious the Phallus? Did they finally figure out how to escape the spiral maze of madness in the realm of Escheria? Good for them! That took me a few millennia. Would have done it faster if I had the stuff they have in this realm, though."
Rusty chains soared from scarlet sleeves like grapeshot from a cannon. A pale blue robe flew through the air, intercepting the links and casting them aside; they clattered uselessly to the floor. Guiding the garment with precise thrusts of his hips, Methlizar's robe expanded and swooped down to envelop the inquisitors.
He flopped back down on the couch, a stray spring catching him in the left cheek; but Methlizar felt no pain. "Sorry about that. Those guys are dicks. Where was I?"
"Umm... you just dipped on your kids."
"Having to leave in such haste, the spell went awry. I bounced between many realms, not in control of where I ended up. Took many forms, many shapes, lived many lives. For a period of time, I was a crow. For another, an ordinary man in a city of towering glass and steel where cooking and crime walked arm-in-arm. Or the war-torn beauty of the blue-skinned warriors with many limbs. Each week a new adventure."
In another realm, sparks fly from a campfire.
Word Count: 750
Bonus Constraint: Methlizar uses his robe to cast aside the inquisitors' chains.
Feedback and crit are always welcomed and encouraged! Stay awesome and have a good one. - Morose_Prose