edit: this thread will now include bingos from the sixth anniversary as well (2025), and presumably future ones after that.
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hi! these are my drabbles for the fifth anniversary bingo! i specifically made myself take the challenge to practice casual, less-than-perfect writing, so they may be rough, but i do think they have neat ideas.
this first one's prompt was:
it's also the most gruesome of these with... well, i can't say without spoiling it. i will call it mature, though, so be prepared. it is about 900 words, so i guess long for a "drabble", per se, but not long for a story at all. enjoy!
Walking through the forest at night was always so invigorating for Stella. The darkness surrounding her and the calls of the nocturnal pokémon set off warnings signals in a primal part of her brain, something that was only thrilling to her higher self. It was the same as watching a horror movie, but better.
Of course, it helped to know she was safe. With her luxray Thundra by her side, no wild mon in this part of the woods would dare try anything funny. The large cat also took care of illuminating the ground underneath their feet with her yellow stripes, sparing them from any nasty trips on the roots snaking across the forest floor. Stella did still bring her flashlight along to be able to look at things further away in case she came across any wild murkrow or the like.
After a while of walking, Stella noticed Thundra slowing down.
“Ray…” the luxray growled. She stared at something a little to the left in the distance, her eyes lighting up as she used her special sight.
“What is it?” Stella asked, stopping. She tried pointing her flashlight at whatever Thundra was looking at, but she saw only trees and the forest path. Maybe whatever was there was hiding behind a trunk.
“Ray!” Thundra barked, her hackles raised.
Stella sighed, smiling. Thundra could get so serious about protecting her even when the threat was nothing but a murkrow. Though this probably wasn’t one, given how Thundra’s eyes were focused on something not too far off the ground. Maybe it was a buneary instead.
“It’s alright, you can come out,” Stella called out, not too loud, not too quiet. “We won’t hurt you.” Even if Thundra looked like she would.
It took a while, but eventually something peeked out from behind a tree. It looked like…
“That’s a… what was it? A phantump?” Stella said, her heart beating faster at the brand new discovery. “Don’t they live in Kalos? What’s one doing here?”
“Phan…” the little ghost wailed. And it was little indeed - Stella was sure the footage she’d seen of phantump had them be bigger than this, about forty centimeters in height. This one looked like it was only twenty. It must have been born recently.
“Don’t be afraid, little guy,” Stella said. “Come on. I wanna log you on my pokédex. Everyone will be jealous.”
The phantump hesitated, but soon found its confidence and began floating closer.
“Yes, that’s it,” Stella said, grinning. She slowly reached into her pocket with her free hand, pulled out a red device and opened it. The phantump paused, unsure of this development, but quickly continued.
“Aaalmost there…” said Stella as the pokédex’s camera flickered a frame around the phantump’s image, struggling to recognize it before it finally succeeded. It correctly identified it as a phantump, and the screen prompted the user to continue to see more information. “Yes!” she whisper-yelled and tucked the flashlight under her arm to free up a hand. She tapped on the screen to advance, and the summary of the species appeared.
Species: Phantump
Category: Stump Pokémon
Type: Ghost/Grass
According to old tales, these Pokémon are stumps possessed by the spirits of children who died while lost in the forest.
“Huh. Morbid,” said Stella, then shut the device and pocketed it to be able to hold her flashlight right again. “So what’s your story?” she asked the little ghost. “Did you get separated from your trainer?”
“Phan…” the mon wailed. It brought its nubby arms together and looked at the ground pensively.
“Do you… understand speech?”
“Phan…” the mon wailed again.
Stella didn’t get the impression that it understood. “Well… what should we do with you, then?”
The phantump started backing away. It turned around as it floated further, but it kept looking back, as if to say…
“You want us to follow you?” Stella asked. “Sure.”
She began to follow the phantump, and the phantump clapped its hands, though no sound came from it. Still, it seemed happy with the development. Stella was happy, too. This was exciting!
“Ray,” interjected Thundra. She took a few leaping steps forward, putting herself between her human and the phantump, and then continued walking. Stella snorted. Always so protective.
After a minute or so of silent walking, Stella noticed that Thundra was sniffing the air.
“Do you smell something?” she asked.
“Ray,” Thundra grunted. A ‘be on your guard’ kind of grunt. Huh.
Stella was, then, on her guard, though she saw or heard nothing out of the ordinary. It was only once they reached an opening with a worn-down shack that there was anything special to pay attention to.
“Is this where you live?” Stella asked. The phantump stared blankly at her, and she felt stupid. “Right. No point in asking questions if you can’t understand me.”
The ghost continued leading them through the opening, then around the shack. The moment Thundra turned the corner, though, she froze, eyes wide and focused on something on the ground.
“What?” asked Stella, the back of the shack still out of sight.
Thundra turned to her and barked. “Ray!”
“What is it?” Stella asked again, her heartbeat picking up. Thundra was clearly distressed. What could she have seen? The phantump seemed calmer, though… or was it… pensive?
Swallowing, Stella took the final steps and peeked behind the corner, illuminating the ground with her flashlight.
The light fell on the bloody, dismembered corpse of a child.
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hi! these are my drabbles for the fifth anniversary bingo! i specifically made myself take the challenge to practice casual, less-than-perfect writing, so they may be rough, but i do think they have neat ideas.
this first one's prompt was:
it's also the most gruesome of these with... well, i can't say without spoiling it. i will call it mature, though, so be prepared. it is about 900 words, so i guess long for a "drabble", per se, but not long for a story at all. enjoy!
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Phantump
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Phantump
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Walking through the forest at night was always so invigorating for Stella. The darkness surrounding her and the calls of the nocturnal pokémon set off warnings signals in a primal part of her brain, something that was only thrilling to her higher self. It was the same as watching a horror movie, but better.
Of course, it helped to know she was safe. With her luxray Thundra by her side, no wild mon in this part of the woods would dare try anything funny. The large cat also took care of illuminating the ground underneath their feet with her yellow stripes, sparing them from any nasty trips on the roots snaking across the forest floor. Stella did still bring her flashlight along to be able to look at things further away in case she came across any wild murkrow or the like.
After a while of walking, Stella noticed Thundra slowing down.
“Ray…” the luxray growled. She stared at something a little to the left in the distance, her eyes lighting up as she used her special sight.
“What is it?” Stella asked, stopping. She tried pointing her flashlight at whatever Thundra was looking at, but she saw only trees and the forest path. Maybe whatever was there was hiding behind a trunk.
“Ray!” Thundra barked, her hackles raised.
Stella sighed, smiling. Thundra could get so serious about protecting her even when the threat was nothing but a murkrow. Though this probably wasn’t one, given how Thundra’s eyes were focused on something not too far off the ground. Maybe it was a buneary instead.
“It’s alright, you can come out,” Stella called out, not too loud, not too quiet. “We won’t hurt you.” Even if Thundra looked like she would.
It took a while, but eventually something peeked out from behind a tree. It looked like…
“That’s a… what was it? A phantump?” Stella said, her heart beating faster at the brand new discovery. “Don’t they live in Kalos? What’s one doing here?”
“Phan…” the little ghost wailed. And it was little indeed - Stella was sure the footage she’d seen of phantump had them be bigger than this, about forty centimeters in height. This one looked like it was only twenty. It must have been born recently.
“Don’t be afraid, little guy,” Stella said. “Come on. I wanna log you on my pokédex. Everyone will be jealous.”
The phantump hesitated, but soon found its confidence and began floating closer.
“Yes, that’s it,” Stella said, grinning. She slowly reached into her pocket with her free hand, pulled out a red device and opened it. The phantump paused, unsure of this development, but quickly continued.
“Aaalmost there…” said Stella as the pokédex’s camera flickered a frame around the phantump’s image, struggling to recognize it before it finally succeeded. It correctly identified it as a phantump, and the screen prompted the user to continue to see more information. “Yes!” she whisper-yelled and tucked the flashlight under her arm to free up a hand. She tapped on the screen to advance, and the summary of the species appeared.
Species: Phantump
Category: Stump Pokémon
Type: Ghost/Grass
According to old tales, these Pokémon are stumps possessed by the spirits of children who died while lost in the forest.
“Huh. Morbid,” said Stella, then shut the device and pocketed it to be able to hold her flashlight right again. “So what’s your story?” she asked the little ghost. “Did you get separated from your trainer?”
“Phan…” the mon wailed. It brought its nubby arms together and looked at the ground pensively.
“Do you… understand speech?”
“Phan…” the mon wailed again.
Stella didn’t get the impression that it understood. “Well… what should we do with you, then?”
The phantump started backing away. It turned around as it floated further, but it kept looking back, as if to say…
“You want us to follow you?” Stella asked. “Sure.”
She began to follow the phantump, and the phantump clapped its hands, though no sound came from it. Still, it seemed happy with the development. Stella was happy, too. This was exciting!
“Ray,” interjected Thundra. She took a few leaping steps forward, putting herself between her human and the phantump, and then continued walking. Stella snorted. Always so protective.
After a minute or so of silent walking, Stella noticed that Thundra was sniffing the air.
“Do you smell something?” she asked.
“Ray,” Thundra grunted. A ‘be on your guard’ kind of grunt. Huh.
Stella was, then, on her guard, though she saw or heard nothing out of the ordinary. It was only once they reached an opening with a worn-down shack that there was anything special to pay attention to.
“Is this where you live?” Stella asked. The phantump stared blankly at her, and she felt stupid. “Right. No point in asking questions if you can’t understand me.”
The ghost continued leading them through the opening, then around the shack. The moment Thundra turned the corner, though, she froze, eyes wide and focused on something on the ground.
“What?” asked Stella, the back of the shack still out of sight.
Thundra turned to her and barked. “Ray!”
“What is it?” Stella asked again, her heartbeat picking up. Thundra was clearly distressed. What could she have seen? The phantump seemed calmer, though… or was it… pensive?
Swallowing, Stella took the final steps and peeked behind the corner, illuminating the ground with her flashlight.
The light fell on the bloody, dismembered corpse of a child.
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