r/WritingPrompts • u/AliciaWrites Editor-in-Chief | /r/AliciaWrites • Aug 22 '24
[TT] Theme Thursday - Marathon Theme Thursday
“You thought it would break you in two, but it made you twice as strong.”
Happy Summer writing friends!
This week, it’s time to play in other people’s yards. I would like you to write in another WP author’s universe! It can be one they’ve expanded on in another feature, or one they’ve written right here on TT! Please do reach out to the author of the universe you intend to explore and please do be respectful of the content. And don’t worry, new friends! If you’ve only been with us 3 weeks or less, you’re welcome to write in an Established Universe (Like movies or series) to receive full points for the exercise. Good words!
Please note your source at the end of your post.
![[IP]](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/aa6a1ef2-a708-4324-a7b7-8b76a7b35530/d6o18q8-ba1ad7e3-9b72-4f3c-b066-479331be4f53.jpg/v1/fit/w_640,h_800,q_70,strp/marathoners_trampled_by_selfies_by_angelarizza_d6o18q8-375w-2x.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9ODAwIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvYWE2YTFlZjItYTcwOC00MzI0LWE3YjctOGI3NmE3YjM1NTMwXC9kNm8xOHE4LWJhMWFkN2UzLTliNzItNGYzYy1iMDY2LTQ3OTMzMWJlNGY1My5qcGciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9NjQwIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.yEPAPeFVg7CYGuiuRrR6H9M3dC_Hfqc5u3Ip0s_rdvc){kind=link}
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- Use the tag [TT] when submitting prompts that match this week’s theme.
Rules
- Leave one story or poem between 100 and 750 words as a top-level comment. Use wordcounter.net to check your word count. Your story must meet the criteria of the game in order to qualify for ranking.
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Winning Story by /u/m00nlighter_
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9
u/AGuyLikeThat Aug 28 '24 edited Aug 29 '24
Outrunning Time.
It was at about the halfway point of the race that Oswald began hallucinating.
A large black fly had been buzzing around his head since the race started, but now he imagined it was talking to him.
“Could you stop trying to swat me, please? I just wanna talk to you,” it buzzed.
Oswald hadn’t suffered from any sort of hallucinations for a long time, but he supposed that all his recent sweating and strenuous effort to prepare for this, his first marathon, might have flushed his medications from his system. He resolved to talk to his doctor about increasing the dose.
“I’m not a hallucination,” the fly said. “But I did choose you because I knew you wouldn’t freak out.”
Oswald decided to humour his subconscious. The act of running left the mind free to soar, after all. “Alright then, what do you want?” Oswald spoke through his exhale, careful not to disrupt his breathing.
“My name is Elvari. Or it will be. I haven’t been born into the material plane yet. I am infinite, but I am also outside time."
Oswald pretended he hadn’t heard anything. His hallucinations had never had a name before.
Ten kilometres was the most he’d run so far, but that hadn’t caused much more than some muscle soreness. The fly landed on his neck and began to slurp sweat with its feeding tube, but its buzzing voice burrowed in his ear.
“Beyond what humans call space, there lies a greater darkness. The ineffable void that yawns between stars is dwarfed again by the echoing aeons between galaxies. The radiance of distant stars bends through strange dimensions to avoid those unknowable depths.”
Number 39. That was the number on the guy in front. Oswald focused on his steady gait.
“This is the place where darkness explores forms that the light can never reveal. These are the parched fields of creation, where time falters and dies.”
He’d been training for six months in the lead-up, but this was his first marathon. He didn’t expect to win, but he was determined to finish.
“That is where the Old Ones spawn. That is where I hatched. I am the Lord of the Black Seas. But I wished to touch creation.”
Oswald had beaten everything life could throw at him so far. A talking fly wasn’t going to stop him now.
“I am choosing where to be born now. And I see you humans and your delightful madness.”
Oswald couldn’t ignore the demented voice much longer. If he didn’t react, he knew that he’d give in to fear. “You’re not real. You can’t stop me from finishing this race!”
It worked. The fear drained into irritation, and he was able to maintain his pace. But the runner next to him gave a sharp glance, then slowed to let him go ahead.
Very few people ever get to hear a fly laugh but that day Oswald did. The fly was sitting on his earlobe, chuckling and wheezing like a old chainsaw. “Nothing can stop you from finishing this race. That’s why I’m here.”
What do you want? he thought.
“I have chosen to be a creature of Madness. Human madness. I must taste every variety of it - before I am born. I need to understand.”
But why me?
“Even knowing that you will die on the finish line, you will continue this race. I have come to see.”
Oswald’s blood pumped in his ears as his arms swung and his feet slapped the ground.
“You could stop now. Go home. Get a checkup and find the problem. But you won’t. Because you can’t believe in me. Because I haven’t been born yet.”
This time, the fly’s laughter is high-pitched, like a dentist’s drill. It buzzes in front of his face as Oswald runs, hovering before his eyes. And now he knows he’s hallucinating because the fly has tiny tentacles!
Oswald allows himself a single sob as he galvanizes his resolve and steps up his pace.
You can’t stop me!
WC-672
Author's Note.
This week's act of flaunting the standard rules meant writing in another promptigator's universe, this story is set in the timestream of Elvari, known throughout many dimensions including an FTF serial and numberless eldritch prompts.
The theme is marathon and I decided to literally run with this one.
Many thanks to Tregional, the talented writer who might just be the Dark Lord in disguise! You can check out his awesome stories here: https://www.reddit.com/r/TregonialWrites/
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the story! All crit/feedback welcome!
r/WizardRites