Null Prompts
The Walrein
Vicinal Dragging for the Truth
- Partners
-
Got started a little early this year!
2022 TR Anniversary Prompt Bingo Fills
Prompt 1
It was a relatively pleasant day in $PLAUSIBLE_ENVIRONMENT_FOR_SPECIES1. Ditto, who was currently transformed into a local species, was enjoying a pleasant $FORM_OF_LOCOMOTION around the area, when they happened to notice a newcomer. “Oh, hello there, $SPECIES1!” they said. “I sure don’t see too many Pokemon like you around these parts!”
“Yes, we are very rarely seen in fanfiction!” said $SPECIES1. “By the way, have you noticed my $EXTREMELY_ANNOYING_PERSONALITY_TRAIT yet?”
“I have, and now I’ve got a hunch why you guys are so rarely seen!” Ditto replied.
Suddenly, a $COMMON_SPECIES_FOR_ENVIRONMENT burst into the scene. “Guys, guys!” they exclaimed. “It’s an emergency! There’s a $HEAVILY_CONTRIVED_CRISIS_THAT_CAN_ONLY_BE_RESOLVED_BY_THE_UNIQUE_QUIRKS_OF_SPECIES1 going on right now!”
“This is my moment! Time to prove that I can be a protagonist just like a $POPULAR_POKEMON_SPECIES_,_PROBABLY_SOME_KIND_OF_EEVEELUTION can!” $SPECIES1 said, and got to work.
“Yes, but can you overcome the $SOMEHOW_EVEN_MORE_CONTRIVED_TWIST_THAT_MAKES_EVERYTHING_WORSE!?” asked Ditto.
“I can, actually, using $ZANY_PLAN_MAKING_CLEVER_USE_OF_SOMETHING_ESTABLISHED_AT_THE_BEGINNING_OF_THE_NARRATIVE_WHICH_THE_READER_HOPEFULLY_FORGOT_ABOUT_UNTIL_NOW!”
“Wow, we were so wrong to doubt you, $SPECIES1!” said $COMMON_SPECIES_FOR_ENVIRONMENT. “You really are a hero, just like $THAT_WEED_CAT_OR_SOMETHING_,_I_DON’T_KNOW_WHAT’S_POPULAR_WITH_THE_KIDS_THESE_DAYS!”
“You sure still do have $EXTREMELY_ANNOYING_PERSONALITY_TRAIT, though!” Ditto said, and the three all shared a hearty round of laughter, despite the existence of $OBVIOUS_UNRESOLVED_PROBLEM_THAT_THE_AUTHOR_OVERLOOKED_AND_THE_READER_REALIZES_FIVE_MINUTES_AFTER_FINISHING_THE_STORY.
The End
Prompt 2
The following image is an extreme close-up of the outline around $SPECIES_2:
Prompt 3
“Wow, I’m so excited to finally be going to Pokemon High School!” you say as you walk into class.
“Yeah, everyone behaves just like humans in Pokemon High School, so theoretically you could be a member of pretty much any species, and the narrative wouldn’t change in the slightest!” your best friend says.
You giggle. “Ha-ha, breaking the fourth wall is funny!”
“It’s also against the rules of this school!” the teacher says sternly. “That’s a detention for the both of you!”
“Aw, man!” you say.
At detention, you and your best friend sit around with a bunch of other local misfits. One of them is using a lighter to ignite a cigarette, despite being a fire-type Pokemon who could easily do so with her powers, because species is purely aesthetic here.
“This totally blows!” she says. “Us misfits should join together to rebel against society!”
You weigh her words carefully before making a decision…
>Say “You’re right! Let’s burn this place to the ground! With your lighter and not your powers, of course!”
>Say “Whoa now, I’d rather just play it safe and be a boring conformist! Although actually I’m just picking this option because I’m bored and want to see all the possible endings; nobody ever actually goes with this on the first playthrough!”
>Say “Maybe the real scourge we should be rebelling against is the lack of hot steamy teenage romance between the two of us!”
>Say “Perhaps we should compromise. You can burn down the eastern half of the school, and then we can continue to conformingly attend whatever classes were being held in the western half, and also we can have a moderately steamy teen romance, and-
Suddenly, the teacher bursts into the detention room! “Interactive narrative is extra against the rules!” he snarls. “You’re all expelled!”
You gasp. “But… but… what I am going to do if I’m not going to Pokemon High School!?”
“You can go out into the real world and get a job!” the teacher declares. “A job which, since you have exactly zero experience or practical knowledge, will probably require you to leverage some sort of comparative advantage derived from your species’ particular Pokemon abilities!”
“Oh, right, those! Of course!” you say, sweating nervously. “I guess I'll just become a… uh… um….” You attempt to say some sort of generic variable representing what job a member of your species would have, but that would require a dollar sign, and as an unemployed high-school teenager, you’re flat broke!
“What’s wrong, student who’s name I never bothered to learn?” the teacher says, grinning wickedly. “Why, it’s almost as if you’re some sort of featureless cipher who’s trying to cover up for your author’s blatant disregard of the spirit of the Thousand Roads Third Anniversary Drabble Bingo event’s rules!”
Now everyone’s glaring at you angrily. “Yeah, I bet this so-called ‘drabble’ isn’t even exactly a hundred words long!” your best friend exclaims.
“We’re mostly likely being written by the sort of hack who thinks that just posting a giant black square for a prompt fill is some sort of clever joke instead of just being extremely lazy and an act of blatant disrespect for all the actually good artists who worked hard on their submissions!” the fire-type rebel shouts.
“I… I…” Tears are streaming down your face. “I’m actually a human!” you suddenly blurt out. Everyone gasps. “Yes, it’s true! I’m a PMD protagonist who used to be a human in a previous life and got reincarnated here as a Pokemon, but I still consider myself to be a human so what species I am exactly is irrelevant, but I’m still putting that species in the tags of this fic anyways to get more exposure!”
Now everyone else is sobbing too. “I’m so sorry, Pokemon – no, human who’s name I never bothered to learn!” your best friend says. “I can’t even begin to imagine what you must’ve been going through!”
“Yes, it’s been so hard seeing my entire human culture reduced to a mere collection of cliches to serve as a thin backdrop for shallow teenage romance plots!” you cry, gesturing at the Pokemon High School before you.
“You’re right! It’s time to burn this place down!” the rebel says, pulling out her lighter. Then, she snarls and throws it to the ground. “No! I’m doing this the proper way! Using my fire-type moves because I’m a Pokemon, not a human!” She immediately begins unleashing Flamethrowers and Fire Blasts upon the school, engulfing it in flames. Everyone cheers.
***
You and your best friend sit on a scenic cliff overlooking the charred remains of Pokemon High School. “So, what are you going to do now?” your friend says as they stare off into the distant horizon. (The horizon represents the future, a clever use of symbolism proving that the author definitely isn’t a hack.)
“I don’t know, best friend,” you say, gazing wistfully upon the ruins. “I guess I’ll go wherever the road takes me, sharing my authentic human culture wherever I travel, learning the wise and humble ways of the local Pokemon in turn.”
“That’s so beautiful,” Best Friend proclaims, wiping a tear from their eye. “By the way, this is one of those PMD settings where humans are hunted down and persecuted, so I’m going to have to push you off this cliff now.”
“I know, friend. I know.” You share one final, tearful embrace, then your friend ruthlessly shoves you over the edge. As the wind whips against your body, you reflect on how the ambiguity of your species lends a tasteful open-endedness to this tale. Maybe you can fly or glide. Maybe you can’t. The reader will just have to decide for themselves how the story ended!
“By the way, although your species might be undefined, mine isn’t! I’m a Dusclops and I just used Gravity, so you’re definitely gonna pancake into the ground!” your friend calls after you.
Wait, wha-
The End
Death.
2022 TR Anniversary Prompt Bingo Fills
Prompt 1
It was a relatively pleasant day in $PLAUSIBLE_ENVIRONMENT_FOR_SPECIES1. Ditto, who was currently transformed into a local species, was enjoying a pleasant $FORM_OF_LOCOMOTION around the area, when they happened to notice a newcomer. “Oh, hello there, $SPECIES1!” they said. “I sure don’t see too many Pokemon like you around these parts!”
“Yes, we are very rarely seen in fanfiction!” said $SPECIES1. “By the way, have you noticed my $EXTREMELY_ANNOYING_PERSONALITY_TRAIT yet?”
“I have, and now I’ve got a hunch why you guys are so rarely seen!” Ditto replied.
Suddenly, a $COMMON_SPECIES_FOR_ENVIRONMENT burst into the scene. “Guys, guys!” they exclaimed. “It’s an emergency! There’s a $HEAVILY_CONTRIVED_CRISIS_THAT_CAN_ONLY_BE_RESOLVED_BY_THE_UNIQUE_QUIRKS_OF_SPECIES1 going on right now!”
“This is my moment! Time to prove that I can be a protagonist just like a $POPULAR_POKEMON_SPECIES_,_PROBABLY_SOME_KIND_OF_EEVEELUTION can!” $SPECIES1 said, and got to work.
“Yes, but can you overcome the $SOMEHOW_EVEN_MORE_CONTRIVED_TWIST_THAT_MAKES_EVERYTHING_WORSE!?” asked Ditto.
“I can, actually, using $ZANY_PLAN_MAKING_CLEVER_USE_OF_SOMETHING_ESTABLISHED_AT_THE_BEGINNING_OF_THE_NARRATIVE_WHICH_THE_READER_HOPEFULLY_FORGOT_ABOUT_UNTIL_NOW!”
“Wow, we were so wrong to doubt you, $SPECIES1!” said $COMMON_SPECIES_FOR_ENVIRONMENT. “You really are a hero, just like $THAT_WEED_CAT_OR_SOMETHING_,_I_DON’T_KNOW_WHAT’S_POPULAR_WITH_THE_KIDS_THESE_DAYS!”
“You sure still do have $EXTREMELY_ANNOYING_PERSONALITY_TRAIT, though!” Ditto said, and the three all shared a hearty round of laughter, despite the existence of $OBVIOUS_UNRESOLVED_PROBLEM_THAT_THE_AUTHOR_OVERLOOKED_AND_THE_READER_REALIZES_FIVE_MINUTES_AFTER_FINISHING_THE_STORY.
The End
Prompt 2
The following image is an extreme close-up of the outline around $SPECIES_2:
Prompt 3
“Wow, I’m so excited to finally be going to Pokemon High School!” you say as you walk into class.
“Yeah, everyone behaves just like humans in Pokemon High School, so theoretically you could be a member of pretty much any species, and the narrative wouldn’t change in the slightest!” your best friend says.
You giggle. “Ha-ha, breaking the fourth wall is funny!”
“It’s also against the rules of this school!” the teacher says sternly. “That’s a detention for the both of you!”
“Aw, man!” you say.
At detention, you and your best friend sit around with a bunch of other local misfits. One of them is using a lighter to ignite a cigarette, despite being a fire-type Pokemon who could easily do so with her powers, because species is purely aesthetic here.
“This totally blows!” she says. “Us misfits should join together to rebel against society!”
You weigh her words carefully before making a decision…
>Say “You’re right! Let’s burn this place to the ground! With your lighter and not your powers, of course!”
>Say “Whoa now, I’d rather just play it safe and be a boring conformist! Although actually I’m just picking this option because I’m bored and want to see all the possible endings; nobody ever actually goes with this on the first playthrough!”
>Say “Maybe the real scourge we should be rebelling against is the lack of hot steamy teenage romance between the two of us!”
>Say “Perhaps we should compromise. You can burn down the eastern half of the school, and then we can continue to conformingly attend whatever classes were being held in the western half, and also we can have a moderately steamy teen romance, and-
Suddenly, the teacher bursts into the detention room! “Interactive narrative is extra against the rules!” he snarls. “You’re all expelled!”
You gasp. “But… but… what I am going to do if I’m not going to Pokemon High School!?”
“You can go out into the real world and get a job!” the teacher declares. “A job which, since you have exactly zero experience or practical knowledge, will probably require you to leverage some sort of comparative advantage derived from your species’ particular Pokemon abilities!”
“Oh, right, those! Of course!” you say, sweating nervously. “I guess I'll just become a… uh… um….” You attempt to say some sort of generic variable representing what job a member of your species would have, but that would require a dollar sign, and as an unemployed high-school teenager, you’re flat broke!
“What’s wrong, student who’s name I never bothered to learn?” the teacher says, grinning wickedly. “Why, it’s almost as if you’re some sort of featureless cipher who’s trying to cover up for your author’s blatant disregard of the spirit of the Thousand Roads Third Anniversary Drabble Bingo event’s rules!”
Now everyone’s glaring at you angrily. “Yeah, I bet this so-called ‘drabble’ isn’t even exactly a hundred words long!” your best friend exclaims.
“We’re mostly likely being written by the sort of hack who thinks that just posting a giant black square for a prompt fill is some sort of clever joke instead of just being extremely lazy and an act of blatant disrespect for all the actually good artists who worked hard on their submissions!” the fire-type rebel shouts.
“I… I…” Tears are streaming down your face. “I’m actually a human!” you suddenly blurt out. Everyone gasps. “Yes, it’s true! I’m a PMD protagonist who used to be a human in a previous life and got reincarnated here as a Pokemon, but I still consider myself to be a human so what species I am exactly is irrelevant, but I’m still putting that species in the tags of this fic anyways to get more exposure!”
Now everyone else is sobbing too. “I’m so sorry, Pokemon – no, human who’s name I never bothered to learn!” your best friend says. “I can’t even begin to imagine what you must’ve been going through!”
“Yes, it’s been so hard seeing my entire human culture reduced to a mere collection of cliches to serve as a thin backdrop for shallow teenage romance plots!” you cry, gesturing at the Pokemon High School before you.
“You’re right! It’s time to burn this place down!” the rebel says, pulling out her lighter. Then, she snarls and throws it to the ground. “No! I’m doing this the proper way! Using my fire-type moves because I’m a Pokemon, not a human!” She immediately begins unleashing Flamethrowers and Fire Blasts upon the school, engulfing it in flames. Everyone cheers.
***
You and your best friend sit on a scenic cliff overlooking the charred remains of Pokemon High School. “So, what are you going to do now?” your friend says as they stare off into the distant horizon. (The horizon represents the future, a clever use of symbolism proving that the author definitely isn’t a hack.)
“I don’t know, best friend,” you say, gazing wistfully upon the ruins. “I guess I’ll go wherever the road takes me, sharing my authentic human culture wherever I travel, learning the wise and humble ways of the local Pokemon in turn.”
“That’s so beautiful,” Best Friend proclaims, wiping a tear from their eye. “By the way, this is one of those PMD settings where humans are hunted down and persecuted, so I’m going to have to push you off this cliff now.”
“I know, friend. I know.” You share one final, tearful embrace, then your friend ruthlessly shoves you over the edge. As the wind whips against your body, you reflect on how the ambiguity of your species lends a tasteful open-endedness to this tale. Maybe you can fly or glide. Maybe you can’t. The reader will just have to decide for themselves how the story ended!
“By the way, although your species might be undefined, mine isn’t! I’m a Dusclops and I just used Gravity, so you’re definitely gonna pancake into the ground!” your friend calls after you.
Wait, wha-
The End
Last edited: