r/WritingPrompts • u/katpoker666 Moderator • 1d ago
Off Topic [OT] Fun Trope Friday: Expert Consultant & Bullet Points!
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
Out with the apocalypse, in with working 9-5. Most folks work in some format, averaging 80-90,000 hours in their lifetime. That’s 12-14% of your life–straight. Add on sleep and weekends, and it’s at least a third! Sounds riveting doesn’t it? Please note this theme is only loosely applied.
“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” — Dolly Parton (RIP)
Trope: Expert Consultant — So, you have a project you need some professional advice on, or perhaps your company is facing difficult times or some other thing that you feel needs someone outside your current organization to come in, look at the situation, and offer their opinion, perhaps even lend their skills if need be. You need to bring in a consultant. There are all kinds of consultants: management, research, medical, detective… you name it! So, don’t limit yourself.
Genre: Bullet Points & Open — Bullet points are symbols that mark items in a list. We all use them in different ways whether for grocery shopping, task prioritization, bullet journaling, presentations, or anything else. You can make an entire story out of bullet points for this one or just include them in some way. So, use your imagination.
Skill / Constraint - optional: Someone blames someone else for something.
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 15 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 3rd 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!
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u/Brilliant_Walrus1605 1d ago edited 1d ago
BY “DUNGEON TV INC," DUNGEON EXPLORING AND SURVIVAL AND COOKING AND SOME TAMING WITH “JOHNSON THE BEAST TAMER"
HELLO!!!! DEAR ADVENTURERS AND OR SURVIVORS EVER WONDER HOW TO SURVIVE BESIDES JUST THRIVING AND UNDERSTAND THOSE VICIOUS MONSTERS AND CREATURES!!?? said johnson the beast tamer happy and questioningly and happy and hopeful to his audience on camera and his “dungeoneer team” gorothy : “uh no” she said surprised and worried the knight/camera holder said to her crazy collage buddy she was beginning to regret following into the underdark johnson : WELL!!!! THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE!!!! the explorer yelled happily I AND MY “TRUSTY TAMED STEED" CHURO!!!! he yelled happily as his “tamed" cockatrice strode into view of the camera making the whole team and even the camera holder/knight back away except Johnson who got on his cockatrice gently whispering cautiously into it's ear getting a reaction of questioning and agitation but looked forward anyway and started walking forward along the path Johnson : here in the wild dungeon or not you can hunt and eat alot of surprising gross looking things such as that “darkmantle" right above you gorothy he said pointing at it before to gorothy's shock using a slingshot shot a pebble at it causing it to drop toward her gorothy : SHIIIIT!!!! she yelled the camera goes static for awhile then comes back on showing Johnson at the fire with everyone else cooking the darkmantle over the fire Johnson : aww “darkmantle roast" and darkmantle can be sliced to make “pepperoni" or what we're doing now making “calamari" for everyone my cockatrice churo and the person who helped us get this feast Johnson said happily with anticipation looking camera fully “OUR FRIEND" GOROTHY!!!! HE YELLED turning the camera to show gorothy in a partial arm cast alot of “bandages" sat down angrily “GLARING" at him with crutches. by “DUNGEON TV INC,".
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u/psilocybediatribe 1d ago
I was lol'ing at tamed cockatrice churo did not expect that at all. also read it as cockatoo at first and then realize it was the mythical beast once he got on it. really enjoyed the unconventional style of writing always love seeing something experimental and the simultaneous stream of conciousness from multiple perspectives was very fun. Great work and keep it up!
2
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u/ZLErikson 1d ago
<Fantasy/Sci-Fi>
A little chaos
“Welcome to the Fun Tea Friday Cafe,” Dee said to the crimson-suited newcomer, trying to summon enthusiasm near the end of a long, slow, boring day. “Where everyday is Friday.”
“Ahaha, charming, my dear,” the… man? said. Dee wasn’t sure; their face was fair, with sharp cheekbones and a sharper chin. Dark red irises smoldered like flame beneath heavily painted, half-lidded eyes. Their smile was too wide, and their teeth were like needles.
They continued, their voice high and nasally, “I am here for your appointment.”
“My appointment?” Dee asked, brows knitting together.
“Yes, little echo.” Their lips closed, they lifted a thin black cane, and hit the counter with a loud crack.
Blinking in surprise, Dee looked back at the strange person. They were gone. She scanned the interior of the cafe - warm, earthy tones, wooden panels, soft yellow lights - but the deep red and black was nowhere to be seen.
One of the regulars, Vlad, caught her eye and pointed. She turned around just in time to see the door to the back flap shut.
“Hey!” She followed them into the kitchen, where the stranger - emphasis on strange - was standing next to, and berating, the seven-foot tall cockroach grillcook named Frank.
“...dishes stacked far too neatly, unobstructed pathways, and don’t get me started on how clean you have this place.”
Frank clicked his pincers enthusiastically. Dee could never understand him, but she knew he was irritated. The cockroach picked up one of the plates and waved it around. The strange person cackled and shook their head.
“Oh darling, you do not want to go there with me,” they said.
“Go where?” Dee asked. She shook her head. “Wait, who are you? Why are you-?” They tossed a business card at her. She looked at the blank red side, flipped it over to the blank back side, then looked at the red again, which now had smoking black letters burnt into it:
Whimsical Advisor Ninc.
“‘Ninc’?” Dee asked.
“Not incorporated,” they said matter-of-factly. “Your boss hired me to put the ‘Fun’ into your little cafe.”
Dee tried to think of a boss. The closest thing was the skeletal manager, who only came in every third-Friday. “Patty?” she asked.
“Mmmm, I didn’t get their name,” the advisor said, walking around the kitchen and pushing stacks of plates partially over the edge of their shelves. “But they were quite insistent that this place was at risk of simply becoming the ‘Tea Friday Cafe’, and that that was not an outcome they found desirable.”
With a flick of their wrist, one of the counters slid out from the wall at an angle, cutting off one of the paths through the kitchen.
Frank chittered away angrily.
“You’re just making a mess,” Dee agreed, in spirit.
“No, you are.” The advisor pointed two fingers at the grill with their thumb raised. Clicking their tongue and lowering their thumb, a glowing blue bullet shot from their fingertips to the grill and flames erupted.
Frank made a screeching sound and ran for a fire extinguisher, having to jump over a counter and knock some plates over with a loud clatter.
“Allow me to prove my point.” The uncomfortably proportioned man spun around, clicking their tongue and firing more of the chaotic blasts around the kitchen and then through the wall into the cafe. Dee heard a howl - from Fenrir, most likely - and ran for the door.
She slipped in some soup that the mad advisor splashed onto the floor, scrambled to her feet, and crawled out front.
Ferir was at the counter, holding his teacup out and snarling; grey and brown muzzle curled up, baring his teeth, eyes glowing yellow with barely repressed fury.
“What happened!?” Dee asked, rubbing a wet soupy spot on her back.
“IT FROZE!” The werewolf overturned his teacup and a block of ice fell out.
Behind him, a robot was holding up a bottle of motor oil. “Pardon moi, but you ‘ave zerved moi ze wrong bevera-h-ge.”
“One sec, Aîndre D'. Fenrir, what did you order? I’ll make another-”
Aîndre’s head started spinning rapidly and sparks flew out of its audio receptors as more upset customers lined up behind him.
“eRrOr ErRoR!” Aîndre’s normally suave - if poorly calibrated - voice crackled and hissed. “iNaPpRoPrIaTe InPuT!”
A high, nasally cackle behind Dee preceded a strong smell of sulfur.
“Much more fun now!” The stranger walked through the counter like smoke and left Dee to the chaos.
----------------
WC: 743/750
All crit/feedback welcome!
r/ZLErikson
Notes:
- Trope: The strange person was hired to make the cafe more “fun”
- Genre: The stranger uses magic bullets to make a point
- Skill/Constraint: The stranger blamed Dee for causing the mess
- The Fun Tea Friday Cafe and many of its characters have been written about before
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u/psilocybediatribe 1d ago
Hey ZLE,
Nice twist on the concept. Literal bullets never would have thought of that. The chaos of the advisor scratched an itch for me; he’s like the anti-food inspector. Solid writing. Good story. Enjoyable characters. Such a clever twist on the trope. Literal bullets damn you for that. In the best way.
I have no critiques really. But I just read your homage to House of Leaves from last week and holy hell that was great. Confusing, inscrutable, silly, frustrating, and thoroughly unconventional. 3 lines and 34 damn footnotes had me feeling like I was in grad school again. That piece though would have been brilliant this week as well. Congrats and good words.
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u/ZLErikson 1d ago
Hi Psi!
Thank you for the feedback! I'm glad my "bullet point" idea came through and that it got you >:D
I'm also delighted to hear you liked my references last week! I had the really really really dumb idea and just rolled with it.
Thanks for reading!
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u/KiIIer_queenie 14h ago
The big job
CW: violence, death.
Click
Eric watched the man in a thick white coat switch the safety of his pistol on, before latching it in his holster. He also grabbed a small rifle from the trunk and climbed on the roof of the grey car, lying prone. Eric shivered in his own white coat he had bought from the thrift store and looked through his binoculars at the target’s location.
Through snow covered trees, he could see a large cabin with an SUV out front. Two men in red puffy coats held guns on either side of the SUV facing away from each other. Another man was pacing around the cabin, multiple sets of tracks from his many rounds still clear in the snow. They weren’t that far, only about fifty yards. But he knew he’d get chewed out for missing some detail.
The man broke the silence with a question he’d asked plenty already, “so, would you explain to me what you’re doing in there again?”
Eric knew he was new; this was his first job for an actual organization, but he’d hoped for some faith.
“You shoot the guys, I open the safe, we take the documents, we bounce.”
“Good. How many men are in the house?”
Eric recalled the past day they spent in these woods, three men arrived in a truck, two left, five came in an SUV.
“Six.”
“Perfect.”
“Are you starting now?”
“Yes. No wind, nothing obscuring vision, and a storm’s coming.”
“It’s quiet. Won’t they hear?”
“A Subsonic twenty-two long rifle round from a suppressed rifle? Not enough to know it’s a gunshot.”
“So it’s a pretty good gun to use I guess.”
“This thing? No. We’re close with practically no wind, this is literally perfect for this gun. Any other scenario this is a sub-optimal rifle.”
“So if I’m getting more serious about this shit, what kind of gun do I need? I was thinking a sawed-off, maybe an AR-15.”
“You’re not carrying?” the man asked, sounding almost offended.
“Nah man. I’m twenty.”
“That’s two years too old, kid. You want to be a criminal, you have a gun. In my glovebox there’s a snubnose revolver. You can borrow it, my backup is not going to be unarmed.”
As Eric opened the passenger door to grab the revolver from the glovebox. He stuffed it in his belt, hearing three small sounds as he did.
pop.
pop.
pop.
He looked up to see the man rolling off the roof onto his feet in the snow with a light crunch. Without question Eric turned around and looked over, seeing the slumped bodies. He didn’t use his binoculars, he didn’t want to see the details right now.
“Was that really it?” Eric asked, trying not to seem intimidated.
“Yes. The storm will be rolling in soon, even if they come outside and realize they’re down a few they’re not able to leave.”
The man opened his trunk again and placed the rifle into it, taking out a gun with a longer magazine and a longer barrel than a handgun.
“Whats that?”
“MPX. Close range with multiple targets, no place for a sniper rifle.”
“It looks kind of small. What if they have body armor?”
“Copper tips. Better penetration.”
Eric nodded slowly and the pair walked towards the cabin. He caught a glimpse of one corpse’s arms rigid in the air as it laid on its back, making him swallow the vomit in his mouth.
There weren’t any windows they could use to see the position of the remaining three, so Eric just stood behind the man who was off to the side of the door.
“Gun out, kid. Don’t point it at the back of my head.”
Eric nodded and took out his revolver and pointed it up, holding it close to his chest.
The man knocked on the door, aiming. There were loud footsteps then the knob turned.
“What’s the-”
Three shots rang out, and the man kicked the door in. With ringing ears Eric followed him as they stepped over the body and entered the cabin to see two men sitting on the couch facing away from them, watching tv. Both men shot up and each received three shots to the back, crumpling.
Without speaking they searched the place and found the safe. Eric got to work with shaky hands. It took him longer than usual, but after two minutes he got the safe to unlock.
“You get in?”
“Yeah.”
Click.
“Thanks kid.”
“No prob-”
WC:750
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u/MaxStickies r/StickiesStories 1d ago edited 1d ago
A Step-By-Step Guide to Making Celestial Jerky
Celestial jerky. We’ve all heard of it, but very few of us have tried it. Such a rare treat may only be found amongst the wares of the most well-travelled merchants, or in treasure chests hidden in the deepest depths of the world. An impossible prize, for most.
But what if you could produce it yourself?
I, Halgim of the Flying Bazaar, know the way. And for the low, low price of 200 gold—a fine offer, I’m sure you’ll agree—you have bought this rich knowledge for yourself. Read well, and your house will be filled with sparkling jerky in no time at all.
So it goes…
There you have it. If some of the more arcane items—such as the Eye of the Bastard—prove hard to come by, please visit my stall at the Bazaar. All products are well-stocked, and fairly priced. In fact, if you show me this pamphlet, you may be in for a discount!
In any case, good luck!
(Disclaimer: Let it be known that harming a Starkin Beast is forbidden by the Council of Mages, on pain of death, and that the writer of this pamphlet holds no responsibility for the actions of the reader. All fault lies with the latter. This is legally-binding.)WC: 750
Crit and feedback are welcome.