The SST AlterNet
Arc dates: September 6, 2021 – June 5, 2022. Collection and publication dates remain separate from fictional time.
Toku-high
Writing prompt The secret agent has dragged you along, blowing up buildings and flipping cars, because they heard you graduated at the top of your CIA class. But what could a secret agent want with a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America?
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Writing prompt "That is, without a doubt, the stupidest thing I've ever seen. What could we possibly be fighting that we need a platform of artillery pieces with silencers," you ask the grim-faced general.
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"Fog rolling in, Sir!" a private shouted. All three heads turned to look out at the countryside. The sun was completely out now, though not very high. But, the fog bank seemed to be moving towards the base with purpose.
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Writing prompt "You see those shining dots on the night sky? No, those aren't stars, that's a barrage of non-nuclear ICBMS coming your way."
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Writing prompt You found the book, did the ritual, and the demon came out of the portal you made- All according to plan! You even prepared a contract and everything! So... Why won't they take your soul?!
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Writing prompt You become the hero the city deserves, but not the one it needs.
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Writing prompt A device was created meant to allow the user to see anything, anywhere. It was considered a failure because it failed to produce any image at all. That is, until it became apparent that the universe is very big, and much of it empty. The device's lens simply required a little bit of focus...
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Writing prompt An underwater expedition to find Atlantis was a complete success! However instead of having mermen and Greek statues, the lost city bears an eerie resemblance to a metropolis of modern day.
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Writing prompt Write a short story containing these three words or elements in it: midnight, terrace, murder.
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Writing prompt In the multiverse, there is a universe where a watch was invented that can pause time for all but the wearer. Tragically, the wearer used it to take a nap, but had a heart attack and died in their sleep. Now every time a traveler enters that universe, they get stuck in temporal stasis.
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Writing prompt Everyone wakes up tomorrow in a random bed.
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Writing prompt "Home seems so far away now..."
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Writing prompt Someone walks up to you acting like they've known you for years, you have never met this person.
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Writing prompt With Valentine's Day fast approaching, you've been scrambling to get a date. You decide it's time to really put yourself out there, so you sign up as a volunteer to colonize and populate Mars.
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Writing prompt You went on a journey with the person you love the most to a new imaginary world where everything is serene and happy.
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Writing prompt You're a normal person going about their day, when you run into a man running around in underwear with what appear to be... machine guns? When asked 'what the hell he's doing' the man responds with "speedrunning the game, not that an npc would understand that though."
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Writing prompt The world as you know it has ended. There was a massive war that wiped out most of the world's population. You took refuge in an abandoned house deep in the woods, living off the surrounding land. One night after not seeing a soul for a year, you hear a knock at the door.
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Writing prompt You wake up and a mysterious entity tells you that all major events that happened and will happen in your life are directly influenced by the speaker. Your life isn't too bad, but not too good either, which makes you ask that entity why it has an eye on you.
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Writing prompt You knew the company you signed up with for your WFH gig was in a different time zone, but you've just realized that their present is two years in your past.
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Writing prompt After walking into the wrong orientation you find yourself working for a spy agency. The boss knows you shouldn't be there but they can't afford another mistake on their record or they will lose their job. As such they have partnered you, a normal citizen, with their best agent.
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Writing prompt The apocalypse won't stop Joe's Pizza from fulfilling its "30 minutes, or It's Free!" guarantee.
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Writing prompt A mediocre wizard searches for items to boost their power. He/She finds a strange hut which has a 'special goods for sale' sign. They enter... "What's this hideous thing?" "It's an item you can use without incantation... it's called a gun and there's much more I can show you."
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Writing prompt Countless adventurers have attempted to get the relic you guard, all have failed. But now this wimpy bard seems to be trying something else.
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Writing prompt You're the last player of a long dead MMORPG. You've played alone for years. Today, a new player created a character.
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Writing prompt Wizard duels are highly formalized. You state what spell you are casting, so your opponent has a chance to react. This makes it a battle of magical power and wit, rather than reaction speed. Your magic has always been weak. But you discovered a curious spell called simply: "Gun".
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Writing prompt You're back from a tour, and now you and your girlfriend are just chilling.
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Writing prompt It's just a normal day at the market. No, seriously, it's just a normal day. There's no twist.
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Writing prompt You have the ability to see souls. One day, you walk by someone and notice that their soul is missing.
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Writing prompt In the distant future, kids of a certain age have their "Potential" values checked by machines, and it determines their lives. It's your turn this year and all you get is "Error".
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Writing prompt A regular person with a regular life is stopped in their tracks by a couple Time Agents who appeared out of nowhere with accusations of "Temporal Crimes Against Humanity".
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Writing prompt Almost immediately after the invention of the time machine, one guy said he would go back in time to kill his own grandmother. He never returned. Nobody knows exactly how time travel paradoxes are resolved because anybody who creates one never comes back.
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Writing prompt You keep finding heart drawings left for you in your room. The thing is, you live in a remote research station and the nearest human is on a different continent.
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Writing prompt Regardless of genre or context, write scene where a character has gone days without food and sleep but has to keep going.
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Writing prompt The HERO slams into the Dark Lord's throne room, ready for battle! And finds a nondescript man sitting at a large table covered in paperwork. "School budgets... school budgets.. Where are the..Ah! Oh, another hero. Could you wait to fight? I need to get this done before the end of the month."752 words.
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Writing prompt Your sibling is the chosen one, upon learning this, everyone started to spoil them. But the thing no one else seems to notice is that they're utterly incompetent, so you decided to train, learn, and gather resources, to get the attention of your parent (oh and also to save the world.)
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Writing prompt "A special place in hell." Usually this saying is for the most vile and wicked people to be specifically tormented by what they've done. However, you're in line looking at your waiting ticket: "#267,822,000: Interview for 10th Circle Admission" The sign is currently serving #267,821,998.
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Writing prompt Somewhere in nevada...
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Writing prompt The Hero that saved the Princess except it's a bandit who took a wrong turn in his forest.
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Writing prompt You are known as the great oracle your prophecies have never been wrong. The only problem is you have been making them up this whole time and you don't know why it keeps working.
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Writing prompt You're walking down the street when suddenly a stranger dressed in weird clothes stops you and asks: "excuse me, could you tell me what year is this?"
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Writing prompt "Ohh yeah yeah I totally get what you're saying!" You did not get what they were saying.
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Writing prompt As a supervillain, you don't usually receive requests for personal appearances. So it comes as a surprise when you are contacted by the Make A Wish foundation.
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Writing prompt For years, you've been going up the mountain, visiting the beautiful woman sealed in glass, bound in chain, seated within runes upon runes. Now, you've found a way to free her.
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Writing prompt You've always hated dating and never got any hits. To switch things up, you join a dating app for mythical creatures and gods, you are the first human ever to join and inundated with offers.
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Writing prompt You just died, and the 12 demons, 7 faeries, 3 gods, and even Satan himself that you sold your soul to have all come to collect.
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Writing prompt There are various villainous expies of Superman, including Hyperion, the Homelander, Omni-Man, Brandon Breyer, the Plutonian, etc. Introduce your own villainous expy of a mainstream superhero(ine) other than Superman.
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Writing prompt A super intelligent AI killed all of humanity, now years later said AI is wondering if that was the right thing to do.
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Writing prompt You are watching the last sunset go down with someone you care deeply for. Not wanting to waste this moment, you try to figure out what to say to and do with them as the sun goes down.
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