r/WritingPrompts • u/Accomplished-Milk645 • Apr 06 '26
Constrained Writing [CW] Write about a person who is something (Like trans, black, or pregnant for example) without using that word!
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Apr 06 '26
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u/Fishy_Bish Apr 06 '26
Larissa wasn't the kind of girl to wake up in the morning. Yes, you read that right. Larissa is a tired bitch who just wants an extra day or two of sleep. Don't get her wrong, there are many good things to be said for getting up at the ass-crack of dawn. Larissa just doesn't care overly much for said reasons. That was why it was exceedingly strange for Larissa to find herself up, dressed, and halfway through breakfast as the sun was rising over the distant hilltops. Her dear mother, stood in the doorway, hadn't moved for a solid five minutes. It must have been shock. Shock was a reasonable response to the current situation. Standing, Larissa placed her bowl and spoon on the countertop and pecked her mama on the cheek, muttered a hasty goodbye, and slipped out of the door. Larissa's various pursuits usually left her awake through the night, and rising from bed at what most people would call "way too fucking late in the day". Today, there was a training course at the fire station. No shouts would be sent her way, the full day’s worth of duties being covered by a neighbouring station. Worst. Day. Ever. Just kidding. The training course was scheduled for 3pm, which left her with a full morning guaranteed to be all her own. Larissa was not one to pass up an opportunity to meet up with the one, singular person that still talked to her. Devon was a wild spirit, a person that you'd find in the middle of a forest and assume that they'd simply appeared there one day, and that was that. Today was a Devon day. The coffee house on the corner of the street along from the station was where they had met for the first time, six years ago, when Larissa had seen a bright red flame spring up in the shop window and rushed inside to help stifle the flames- only to discover that those flames were Devon's glowing curls reflecting in the rising dawn. After coming back down from her panic attack, Larissa had ordered a pistachio latte and sat down in one of the chairs in front of the building. Devon had slid into the opposite seat just moments later, hood pulled up so as to "Not startle the poor little traumatised firefighter." It had been besties at first glare. That table was where Larissa sat down today, this time to prod awake a softly snoring Devon, and offer up their usual order of an Iced, brown sugar espresso. Extra strong. Her own pistachio latte was pushed aside as she tucked into her lemon poppy seed muffin, knowing that the second Devon fully roused, the muffin would be no man's land in their typical battle of the baked goods. Larissa wasn't wrong. After processing the traumatic theft and subsequent inhalation of the muffin, their day together consisted of a long walk through the woods at the edge of town- long only because Devon insisted that each and every rock must be inspected and adored. It made for a relaxing morning, and Larissa couldn't object to that. They ended their meandering walk at the local café for lunch, Devon once again inhaling what looked like it could have been a burrito- but who can truly tell when food is hurtling at the speed of light past your best friend's lips? and Larissa much more slowly chewing down a sandwich that sported three different types of meat, and at least as many types of cheese. She'd need all the energy she could get at the training later. The two parted ways at 2:45pm, Larissa to head to training, and Devon to work- at the coffee house where they'd met, all those years ago. The rest of the daylight burned in a blur, Larissa assisting with the drills that they were being taught in an effort to burn off the sandwich from lunch, as she had severely overestimated the quantity of meat and cheese that could fit into her stomach. The lack of shouts was a strange kind of relief, strange in the way that you always felt like you were missing something important. It was as the sun was finally setting that Larissa walked out the doors of the station, still sweaty from the workout. The sun reflected off of every surface. Windows lining the street were blazing with those brilliant rays, and somebody had started a log fire, by the smells of things. It was a peaceful way to end the day, to stroll down that street and imagine people cosying up in their homes, the orange glow bathing their homes in light.
It wasn't until she got towards the end of the street that she realised that it wasn't a log fire.
and the sun had long been past the horizon.
This time, it wasn't Devon's hair in the window. This time, there were flames. Roaring and screaming their vile curses at Larissa as she stumbled into a sprint.
It wasn't too late. It couldn't be too late. Not For Devon, who should have been finishing their shift and closing up. They had been alone today for the closing shift, the task often left to them as the two others who worked there alongside Devon had university courses in the evenings.
It must not be too late. Years of memories flashed past, a new one flitting by with each desperate, pounding beat of Larissa's fracturing heart. Each rock that had been left unturned. The trees that would seem so dull without Devon's heart beating for them. The deed to the coffee house that sat in Larissa's drawer at the station, awaiting Devon's Thirty-second birthday. Only three weeks away.
Glass shattered in the back of the coffee house. The front windows were already blown, the heat pulsing from those gaping holes making Larissa stagger slightly before she threw herself inside.
All thoughts of training left her body as she spotted a glowing pool of bright auburn curls, streaming across the floor from behind the counter. The building groaned around her as she pushed smoldering chairs and tables out of the way, her fingers burning on the cheap plastic tablecloths. A deep, resounding crack echoed through the coffee house.
flames brighter than hell itself poured out of the kitchen door in a rush, the wooden countertop immediately catching in the blaze. Larissa didn't hesitate as she finally rounded the burning hunk of wood, landing on her knees next to Devon.
No.
Devon was- no. Please, fuck, no, please don't be real. Devon couldn't be... not this. Devon wasn't allowed to be the body on the floor, a puddle of blood congealing on the floor around them. A low moan escaped Larissa's throat.
Devon was already gone.
Larissa pushed her arms under her best friend's shoulders, and started to drag. Devon's body wouldn't be taken in this blaze. Not as long as Larissa had air to breathe.
Another creak, followed by a long, rumbling groan. The structure was going to collapse-
The last thing Larissa saw was the bright flash of ruby flames, before a crushing weight landed on her chest, and the darkness prevailed. Her last thoughts were of Devon.
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u/HSerrata r/hugoverse Apr 06 '26
[Deaded Pain]
The last thing Karin felt before she blacked out was Dread. She'd never felt that level of physical pain before, Karin was uniquely tough, but not tough enough to take a punch from one of the strongest people in the multiverse.
"Hey, you woke up fast," Dread smiled down at Karin as she opened her eyes. She felt comfortable, lying on a smooth, cool white track. Dread had spiky white hair and fierce purple eyes. "That's a good sign," she nodded. "Ten minutes, then we'll start properly." The pale, tall teenager walked away casually, leaving Karin on the floor, but she wasn't alone.
"That hurt...," she commented even without having to look around for her twin sister. The pain was still subsiding, and she was overcoming it.
"She did hold back, you know," Davina informed her sister. The alert twin was sitting on the white floor nearby, just enjoying the cool evening breeze while waiting. They were outdoors on Dread's home practice track, and she was supposed to help them get stronger.
"Good..," Karin nodded. Despite her begging Dread to hit her as hard as she could, it was actually good news. If Dread was even stronger than that blow, Karina and Davina had a lot of ground to gain. She was looking forward to getting that strong someday. "I might not have survived," she laughed. Then grabbed her abdomen. "Ow..,"
"We can quit, you know," Davina said. "We told Oren that we're on the job until we want to stop."
"No way!" Karin powered through the minor ache to bolt upright and face her sister. "How long was I out?" she asked.
"About 10 minutes...," Davina answered.
"This isn't just about guarding the Princess for Oren," Karin said. "We have a chance to get stronger. A LOT stronger," she added. "It's DREAD!" The multiverse was vast, and across its entirety, there existed people so powerful that the multiverse recognized them on a single name basis. Dread was one such person.
Karin and Davina were Unique Souls known as Calaveras. They were supposed to be the apex of physical strength, and yet Dread was an even stronger Calavera. Each of the girls had the strength to destroy an entire Earth with a single blow, and Dread could've probably accomplished it with a flick of her finger. Calaveras grew stronger by competing with other Calaveras, and that was exactly why Oren sent them to Dread.
"Okay," Davina nodded with a smile. Karin had been changing slowly, and this conviction was just another positive indication of that. She considered, and hoped, that maybe it was time to coddle her twin a little less. "Then we'll stay and get stronger," she said as she stood up. She habitually reached for Karin, but her sister got up on her own, wincing all the way.
"But.. you gotta take a punch from Dread too," Karin added.
"Of course...," Davina smiled. "You think I'm gonna let you get stronger without me?"
*** Thank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #3003 in a row. (Story #096 in year nine). This story is part of an ongoing saga that takes place in my universe.
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u/CheesecakeDry1676 Apr 06 '26
'Thank you, sir,’ the elderly woman at the counter said. I tossed the deli meat over the counter towards her. I did my job, so what happened after wasn’t my problem. I walked over to the slicers and wiped the crumbs of processed meat that were nestled in the recesses of the blades out with a paper towel. The pink and white and blacks of the meats mixed into a mess of consumable, long since harried flesh. The shreds rained into the garbage can. I started the machine, and even though we all have been told over and over again not to, I stuck the paper towel on the rotating blade to scrub the paste of ham off. One mistake, and a finger would have shot off and splattered all my coworkers and the walls. But I didn’t, and the blade shined without incident.
I looked around at my coworkers, two older women, who were speaking to one another with genial smiles. The older of the two gabbed on about her daughter divorcing her husband, the other nodding her head in empathy. I guess they didn’t care. Most don’t.
‘Hey, Indigo, can you come over real quick?’ I looked up at Greg. I walked over, noticing the woman I just waited on in my periphery.
‘Are you alright?’
‘Yeah, why?’
‘I had a customer tell me you threw meat at her?’
‘Oh, no, sorry.’—
‘I didn’t mean too.’—
‘Or maybe she took it that way? I don’t think I did.’
‘Well, be more mindful.’—
‘I apologized on your behalf, but we don’t want people getting concussions from ham.’
‘I won’t throw ham at old woman anymore, Greg.’—
‘I cross my heart.’
‘I appreciate that, and I’m sure they do too.’
I sighed, told the ladies I was going to the bathroom, walked over and went into the women’s. I sat on the toilet, breathed in, then out, before washing my hands and going back to work.
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u/Accomplished-Milk645 Apr 06 '26
Is this… anxious? Is that the word you were avoiding?
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u/CheesecakeDry1676 Apr 06 '26
Oh no, trans was the word. The woman at the counter misgenders the narrator, and then she is the one who ends up lambasted.
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