Story Non Star Wars One Sentence Challenge 2023 Story Thread

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Non Star Wars One Sentence Challenge 2023 Thread where Non Star Wars stories written for the 2023 One Sentence Challenge can be posted

We are excited to have you join the thread as writers, readers, and reviewers

As a quick reminder of the ground rules, please adhere to the following guidelines when posting your One Sentence Non Star Wars stories!

The Posting Rules It’s Super Important You Read Before Posting Your Stories:

Due to the unique one-sentence format of this challenge, there have been special posting rules made for this challenge as a courtesy to the fanfiction community to avoid clutter. That is why it is very important that all participants in this challenge read this section before posting and comply with these rules when posting their entries.

1. Once this challenge starts, I will post threads in both the Star Wars and non Star Wars sections of these boards for people to post their stories. The Star Wars thread will be for Star Wars entries, and the non Star Wars thread for all non Star Wars entries.

2. I will post the links to each of those threads in this one once the challenge begins so that it is easy for all readers and writers to find those threads from this one.

3. Writers are limited to one post per day with one sentence challenge responses, so if you wrote seven one sentence stories in one day, simply compile them all in one post, and post to the appropriate thread.

4. All entries for the One Sentence Challenge should be posted in those respective threads unless you already have a multi-story thread in existence in which you can post your entries.

5. The most important point is that no new threads apart from the Star Wars and non Star Wars ones I make may be created for this challenge.

6. If you believe your situation warrants an exception to the above rules (i.e. if you’ve made a longer story consisting of a bunch of single sentences you’d like to make its own thread), please contact me for approval prior to posting.

Thank you for your consideration! Happy writing and reading

 

@amidalachick - I am so, so sorry to say this, but George R.R. Martin is very much anti-fanfiction, so all Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire content is on our disallowed works list. (But I loved your sentences, and hated to delete them - especially your Sansa one. That's our girl. ) If you would like to edit your post with another sentence, please feel free to do so!

 

Title: Veela

Characters: Molly Weasley; Bill Weasley; Fleur Delacour.

Fandom: Harry Potter

Genres: Romance; Family.

Summary: Molly's thoughts on first realizing that Fleur is interested in her eldest son.

Veela

Molly felt a red-hot surge of disapproval as she noticed that blonde-haired Beauxbatons Champion, who surely must have Veela blood flowing in her veins as The Daily Prophet had so archly speculated, eyeing Bill’s fanged earring with interest, because no decent young lady could be attracted to such a hideous adornment that she had been urging her eldest son to remove for years.

Title: Dragons

Characters: Molly Weasley; Charlie Weasley.

Fandom: Harry Potter

Genres: Family; General.

Summary: Molly's second son is more interested in dragons than girls.

Dragons

Molly had always known that Charlie would never marry because he was too in love with his dragons.

Title: Law and Order

Characters: Molly Weasley; Percy Weasley; Audrey (name taken from the Weasley Family Tree released by JK Rowling).

Fandom: Harry Potter

Genres: Romance; Family.

Summary: Molly is satisfied that Percy has met his match.

Law and Order

Molly was delighted when Percy brought Audrey to dinner at the Burrow because in the self-possessed and eloquent barrister, Percy had finally found someone who was as passionate about maintaining law and order as he was.

Title: Yule Ball

Characters: Molly Weasley; Fred Weasley; Angelina Johnson.

Fandom: Harry Potter.

Genres: Romance; Family.

Summary: Molly learns Fred invited Angelina to the Yule Ball.

Yule Ball

Molly was so proud when Fred wrote to her that he had plucked up the courage to ask his Quidditch teammate, Angelina Johnson, to the Yule Ball.

Title: Wedding Tears

Characters: Molly Weasley; George Weasley; Fred Weasley; Angelina Johnson.

Fandom: Harry Potter.

Genres: Romance; Family; Angst.

Summary: Molly has damp eyes at George's wedding.

Wedding Tears

Molly had tears shining like diamonds in her eyes when Angelina and George exchanged their vows because not only was George getting married, but Fred was dead and buried beneath a lonely gravestone.

Title: A Good Influence

Characters: Molly Weasley; Ron Weasley; Hermione Granger.

Fandom: Harry Potter.

Genres: Romance; Family; Friendship.

Summary: Molly is confident that Hermione will be a good influence on her last son.

A Good Influence

Upon first meeting her, Molly was convinced that Hermione Granger would have a good, steadying influence on Ron, because the girl seemed to have a sharp head on her shoulders and a no-nonsense demeanor that would make her a strong voice for reason when Ron was tempted to get his nose into mischief at Hogwarts.

Title: Chosen One

Characters: Molly Weasley; Harry Potter; Ginny Weasley.

Fandom: Harry Potter.

Genres: Romance; Family.

Summary: Molly has an instant urge to mother a lost boy.

Chosen One

When Molly first met Harry Potter, she didn’t know that he was the Chosen One because his unruly black hair concealed his scar, nor did she know that he would one day marry her only daughter; all she knew was that he was a polite boy who looked lost and in need of mothering.

 

I second everything Gabri said, @Pandora! That was absolutely DELIGHTFUL and I am smiling such a smile now! (I love your new avatar for much the same reason, as well. )

@devilinthedetails - Your Molly set was a fantastic look at a mother's love for all of her children.

 

For a first offering from me, I am happy to share (with thanks to @ViariSkywalker for the prompts! ) this little foray into the fandom of Once Upon a Time. (You can read these as canon compliant, or as part of a vague post-Season 3a AU, as they were most certainly intended. )

---

"True as It Can Be"
(Once Upon a Time)​

Offense

Snow fell, hushed from the pewter-grey skies above, and David Nolan was so taken by his wife’s flushed cheeks and glittering eyes – Snow in the snow – that he entirely missed her raised hand – armed and sweetly dangerous – before a shock of cold broke over his chest, stunning him completely.



Defense

Belle wasn’t entirely convinced that the spider was a bespelled former maid, but – just in case Rumpelstiltskin meant his jape true – she nudged the unfortunate creature into the palm of her hand, determined to find a corner of the castle where it could spin to its heart’s content.



Ripple

It was a different time and a different place – and the both of them different people, besides – but there was familiarity enough when Tink ordered the lone pirate at the bar another round and wryly toasted, “to happy endings,” once more.



Bruise

“You still spin?” his son asked, nodding at the wheel – awkward and guarded where, once, he’d been the boy’s entire world, even when he had nothing of that same world to give – and Rumpelstiltskin tightened his grip over his cane to hide the way his hands trembled, nodding mutely.



Wellspring

Henry Mills liked to consider himself an expert on fairy tales – and every story ever told said that the way his dad smiled at his mom, and his mom hesitantly smiled back, meant that happily ever after wasn’t quite done with their family yet.



~MJ

 

So glad to see this thread taking off

@Pandora Your sentence made me chuckle and put such a smile on my face I tell you. Well done!

@Mira_Jade Thank you so much for the kind words about my collection of Molly sentences! I really wanted to look at how Molly loved all her children (and those who became her children through marriages) because despite her temper she truly is a great example of the power of maternal love, and it was so nice to be able to offer a little tribute to that here!

I must confess that I have only seen a very scattered smattering of Once Upon a Time episodes over the years, so I am not super familiar with the fandom, but I enjoyed all your sentences anyway from my position of ignorance

In particular, I was drawn to the phrasing "Snow in the snow" and the mental image of Belle finding a corner of the castle where the spider could spin to its hearts content whether or not it is a bespelled former maid.

And the last sentence truly warmed my heart with a feeling of true love and happily ever after

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Title: Wet Blanket

Characters: Puddleglum; Eustace Scrubb; Jill Pole.

Fandom: Narnia

Genres: Humor; Friendship; Character Study.

Summary: Puddleglum doesn't see himself as a wet blanket.

Wet Blanket

Puddleglum never quite understood why Scrubb and Pole seemed to regard him as a wet blanket when among his own people he was considered almost indecently merry and frolicsome.

Title: Disappeared

Characters: Tumnus; Lucy Pevensie.

Fandom: Narnia

Genres: Friendship; Drama; Angst.

Summary: Tumnus in the aftermath of Lucy's disappearance.

Disappeared

Tumnus grieved when Lucy and her siblings disappeared on a hunt for the mythical White Stag near the same lamppost where she had first arrived in Narnia as a little girl.

 

@Pandora - I am unfamiliar with your fandom, but between the title of Ooops and the sentence itself, that gave me quite the dark little chuckle.

---

And for a few replies . . .

Aw, thank you!

You know, that always means just as much to me, knowing that you're ready to dive into a fandom you're unfamiliar with! (And OUaT is so much fun - even if I tend to check-out midway through Season 3, myself - and something I bet would be right up your alley. )

And, speaking of approaching fandoms from a position of ignorance, Narnia yet remains quite the gap in my nerdy wheelhouse, but I have to say that I loved Wet Blanket. I needed no prior knowledge; that was just a great bit of universal story telling all on its own!

Right??

Because she would! Belle is my favorite Disney princess anyway, and I just loved her in OUaT before things got . . . weird - bad weird, you know, and not campy-good-weird.

I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIP, I SWEAR I WILL

RIGHT??? I just wanted everything from TPTB about this very large, very complicated family tree (and Rumple and Neal, in particular) learning how to be a family, and then go on crazy family adventures together as a family . . . apparently, that was too much to ask.

*ugly cries* we could have had it aaaaaaaaaalll . . . */cries*

Maaaaaaybe . . . is it working?


Now, for a few more sentences from me . . .

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"Down Below and Up Above"
(Hadestown, post-finale)​

Reap

That year, she walked barefoot through the fields until the last days of summer – coaxing seed to sprout for harvest and sickle and table – and hummed an old song as she worked, letting her own heart crown with gold, ripe for the reaping to match.


Life

As the autumn neared, her song was joined all the more so by an echoing refrain – rumbling through the ground that still connected them to kiss the soles of her feet, and pulsing like a shared heartbeat, alive to continue the cycle once more.


Death

A chill whispered through the air, but instead of threatening with winter, it merely promised a season of rest for the earth – and rebirth for its daughter in the cold and dark and deep – so much so that Persephone quite agreed: “Soon, lover; soon, I’ll be home.”



~ MJ

 

This made me chuckle, I just love it!


And today's humble offering from my pen . . .

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Title: "like a force to be reckoned with"
Fandom: Firefly

Ma Cobb had raised her boy better than this: and that’s why Jayne thrust out the brightly colored hat he'd knit for the addlepated moonbeam River and gruffly said, “here; ’is for you.”

 

@WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Thank you so much for reading and commenting! I believe that Tumnus cared deeply about his friend Lucy and so would have been devastated and grief-stricken when she and her siblings disappeared so unexpectedly. It must have been hard for him to lose her without a chance to say goodbye, and her friendship with him is indeed how it all started. And their meeting at the lamppost is one of the most iconic scenes and moments in Narnia Puddleglum is indeed a merry fellow by Marsh-Wiggle standards, but Marsh-Wiggle standards tend toward the very bleak and dour

And, yes, Bilbo's adventures do indeed prove the truth of that adage about being careful what you wish for

You also do a great job building the sense of trust and respect between Audrey and Jim in a single sentence that is very sweet to read

@Pandora I love the "Oops" and the Bank of the Black Monks of St. Herod does indeed sound like an institution one would not want to be indebted to. Oops indeed! Well done

@Mira_Jade Once Upon a Time would indeed probably be right up my alley since I love fantasy and fairy tales and creative twists on fairy tales! And I'm so flattered that you enjoyed "Wet Blanket" even though you aren't familiar with the Narnia fandom and found it to be a great bit of universal storytelling all on its own.

And with your Hadestown sentences, you did a fantastic job evoking the vibes and feelings of autumn and harvest time. "Coaxing seed to sprout for harvest and sickle and table" was such a magnificent description and painted such a vivid picture in my mind. In "Life," I can really hear the song, which sounds hauntingly beautiful to me. "Death" does a great job of capturing that feeling of the chill in the air but associates that chill with a needed period of rest and rebirth.

And with Ma Cobb, I could get such a strong sense of her character and how she thinks and feels that I was truly in awe. You gave her such a powerful voice.

@Jordan1Kenobi What a poetic description of a romantic moment! You were able to say so much in one sentence

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Title: Lucy

Characters: Susan Pevensie; Lucy Pevensie; OC.

Fandom: Narnia.

Genres: Family; Drama.

Summary: In which Susan names her daughter.

Lucy

When Susan married and gave birth to a daughter, she named her Lucy in honor of the sister she had lost in a train crash years ago.

Title: Train

Characters: Susan Pevensie; Lucy Pevensie; OC.

Fandom: Narnia.

Genres: Family; Drama.

Summary: In which Susan is a protective mother.

Train

Susan never permitted her daughter to board a train because she was terrified of her child meeting the same fate as her namesake.

Title: Golden Age

Characters: Susan Pevensie; OC.

Fandom: Narnia.

Genres: Family; Mush; Fluff.

Summary: In which Susan tells her daughter bedtime stories of Narnia.

Golden Age

At bedtime, Susan told her daughter stories of Narnia’s Golden Age and the triumph four siblings had attained over the White Witch until both their faces shone bright as Aslan’s mane.

Title: Faun

Characters: Susan Pevensie; OC; Mr. Tumnus.

Fandom: Narnia.

Genres: Family; Friendship; Drama; Fluff; Mush.

Summary: In which Susan’s daughter draws a picture of a faun.

Faun

Susan felt such a surge of pride and sorrow as she hung a drawing of a faun her daughter had sketched based on descriptions of Mr. Tumnus from the refrigerator door with a ladybug magnet.

Title: Countryside Romp

Characters: Susan Pevensie; Lucy Pevensie; OC.

Fandom: Narnia.

Genres: Family; Drama; Fluff; Mush.

Summary: In which Susan remembers countryside romps in Narnia with her sister.

Countryside Romp

Whenever Susan picked a rainbow of wildflowers in a meadow or splashed with her daughter in a river, she would remember the countryside romps she and her sister had once enjoyed together in Narnia.

Title: Lipstick and Nylons

Characters: Susan Pevensie; OC.

Fandom: Narnia.

Genres: Family; Drama; Fluff; Mush.

Summary: In which Susan’s daughter takes an interest in lipstick and nylons.

Lipstick and Nylons

As her daughter grew, Susan did not reproach or shame her for taking an interest in lipstick and nylons; just taught her how to properly apply lipstick and assured her she looked beautiful with or without lipstick and nylons.

Title: Wardrobe

Characters: Susan Pevensie; OC.

Fandom: Narnia.

Genres: Family; Drama; Fluff; Mush.

Summary: In which Susan’s daughter has a question about wardrobes.

Wardrobe

When her daughter asked why she had never found her own path to Narnia through the back of a wardrobe, Susan explained that you could never predict how you would get to Narnia and that you could never reach Narnia the same way twice.

 

A friendly general reminder: there are two more days left to post your single sentence non Star Wars stories, everyone, as we come into the home stretch of this event

@WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Thank you so much for reading and commenting! I'm so glad that you found the single sentences glimpses into Susan as a parent so excellent! It felt right for me that Susan would name her daughter after her lost sister Lucy, and that Susan would have fears about her daughter boarding trains given all the loved ones she lost in a train accident, but at the same time, I could imagine Susan finding many lighter moments of joy as a mother, and I am so glad both those aspects resonated with you!

@gizkaspice Thank you so much for reading and commenting on my Narnia sentences despite it being a little while since you visited Narnia I'm so happy to hear that you found the entries on Susan's daughter so interesting, and that you felt Susan showed good parenting skills! I like to imagine that Susan the Gentle could one day make a great mother to her own daughter!

What a wonderfully nefarious scheme that had me cackling

What a marvelously ironic ending!

This was perfect and made me grin such a grin!

 

A Very Important Announcement from Your Friendly Challenge Hostess:

It is now past midnight on November 15th, 2023. The deadline for submitting your single sentence Non Star Wars stories has passed.

This thread will, however, remain open for reading and for offering glowing reviews to all our magnificent authors.

When you have finished reading and reviewing the single sentence stories in this thread, I highly recommend that you cast your votes for your favorites.

For full details on how to vote for your favorites, please consult this post in the main One Sentence Challenge thread over in Resource. Thank you!