Prompt: 070. portrait ages so subject doesn’t

1. Taking a page out of The Picture of Dorian Gray, they had the family portrait commissioned.

A. Taking a page out of The Picture of Dorian Gray, they had the family portrait commissioned. And under the light of the fullmoon the spells were cast, to pour all of their aging into the paint so they could avoid the indignities of growing older.

The painting followed them as they moved from town to town, always leaving before anyone recognized that they were different. That all the years they lived never touched them.

2. Hidden in an attic, wrapped in stiff paper, there was an old painting. A moment caught in time, though the subject–a young man with fine features–continued to age until he was a withered old man.

A. Hidden in an attic, wrapped in stiff paper, there was an old painting. A moment caught in time, though the subject–a young man with fine features–continued to age until he was a withered old man. He’d been easy prey to the monster that lived in the house.

Captured and locked in oil paint, he felt no pain as the life was drained out of his trapped soul. And neither did the 200 other men and women transformed into paintings and hidden throughout the countryside, their screams silenced to dull lassitude, so that they could sleep through their decades-long deaths.

But he was special. He was the first. The one true beloved that had turned a loving heart into a sucking pit of hate and rage.

3. Jealously guarding her beauty, a witch began capturing young women in paintings. Once she had them under her power, she began draining them of their youth and beauty.

A. Jealously guarding her beauty, a witch began capturing young women in paintings. Once she had them under her power, she began draining them of their youth and beauty, pouring it into perfume bottles.

Depending on the women that produced the scents, her perfumes ranged from spicy to divine. With every spritz she gave herself, she would become more beautiful and alluring, and her power continued to grow.

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Prompt: 069. teddy bear

1. The four-year-old wailed with all of the despair of someone that had lost a lifelong friend. Clutched in sweaty hands was the decapitated head of a teddy bear that was missing one plastic eye.

A. The four-year-old wailed with all of the despair of someone that had lost a lifelong friend. Clutched in sweaty hands was the decapitated head of a teddy bear that was missing one plastic eye. The body was spread out across the lawn behind him, torn fabric and stuffing everywhere.

“Oh no. What happened?”

“My bear! My bear! He’s dead!”

2. The nanny robot was called a “teddy bear” and served the purpose of comfort and confidante to its human owner.

A. The nanny robot was called a “teddy bear” and served the purpose of comfort and confidante to its human owner. Programmed with thousands of scripted responses to every conceivable situation and able to adapt to its human’s needs, the nanny bot grew with the human child.

By the time the human was ten-years-old, Teddy had expanded from two-feet-tall to just over five feet, remaining a few inches taller than its charge. It was able to provide a thorough grounding in both philosophy and fun, molding the child’s mind to the standards set by the parents.

3. The last thing she expected to find in the rubble was an intact teddy bear, but there it was. Fuzzy and brown with expressive features formed out of thread.

A. The last thing she expected to find in the rubble was an intact teddy bear, but there it was. Fuzzy and brown with expressive features formed out of thread. A child’s plaything had survived the end of the world when its owner had not.

She stuffed the bear in her pack and moved on, nearly forgetting that she was carrying it until two nights later when she was searching for something else. And then, crouched next to her campfire, she pulled the bear out of her pack and clutched it to her chest as she cried. She’d felt tired and helpless for too long.

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Prompt: 068. stuffed animal comes to life

1. It was the eyes she noticed first–they looked so alive and real–followed by the changed texture of the fur under her hands.

A. It was the eyes she noticed first–they looked so alive and real–followed by the changed texture of the fur under her hands. It was when the furry chest expanded with a breath that she began screaming and threw the thing as far away from her as she could.

Even before it rolled over to get its stumpy legs under it, she was already running as fast as she could back down the hallway. She’d seen enough movies featuring possessed toys to know that she didn’t want anything to do with it or its murderous plans.

2. The day the stuffed animals came to life was a day no one was ever going to forget. It changed the world forever.

A. The day the stuffed animals came to life was a day no one was ever going to forget. It changed the world forever. And not just because of the stories they had to share about their previous owners.

Society was forced to change after the Supreme Court declared the stuffed animals to be sentient creatures deserving of rights and consideration. There were protests, riots, and several human on stuffed animal hate crimes, but eventually humanity was forced to accede to the strange new normal.

3. The spirit that entered the stuffed animal was a glowing flame of Living Energy. The button eyes blinked and opened as real eyes.

A. The spirit that entered the stuffed animal was a glowing flame of Living Energy. The button eyes blinked and opened as real eyes in a fabric face.

“Hello,” the spirit said, the voice high-pitched and seemingly very young. “Why have you bound me to this form?”

“I have a task for you, spirit. There’s someone that needs to be punished.”

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Prompt: 067. cheese and crackers

1. Lounging on the couch with a plate of cheese and crackers.

A. Lounging on the couch with a plate of cheese and crackers, she finally felt the tension in her shoulders releasing. There was a bottle of wine and a half-filled glass on the coffee table. It was a relaxing night in, something she needed after a terrible week at work.

Zoe sighed and relaxed further into the couch, wriggling her toes against the cushion. She figured it was going to be a night in with the three episodes of the show she’d been saving on the DVR.

She was just reaching for the remote control when there was a knock at the door.

2. “The food at this party is disgusting. All I’ve eaten is the cheese and crackers. I didn’t trust anything else.”

A. “The food at this party is disgusting. All I’ve eaten is the cheese and crackers. I didn’t trust anything else.”

She’d held her tongue through everything else, but she’d finally had enough. “Yeah, I guess they didn’t lay out any food for bitches.”

“What did you say?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to any bitches that felt like they were too good for the food my brother is providing them.”

3. The code phrase “I hope you like cheese and crackers” was harder to work into conversation than expected.

A. The code phrase “I hope you like cheese and crackers” was harder to work into conversation than expected. Especially as they’d run into each other in a public restroom.

There’d been some awkward maneuvering around the sink before he’d finally just given up on subtlety and leaned in close to the other guy. “Man, this event is kind of a drag. When they sent out the invites, they should have included a postscript that said something like ‘I hope you like cheese and crackers, because that’s all we serve.'”

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