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 September Ficlet Prompts
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| M1795537OCVirn |
Posted on 31-08-2026 10:18
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 Admin  Posts: 15616 Joined: 14.01.22 |
Travisina sends us: September Ficlet prompts: 1. It's harvest time! But apart from the Harvest of Kairos, and the harvesting of organs on Chenga, what other harvests could our heroes encounter? 2. September is a time of new beginnings and fresh starts, in particular the new school / academic year. A time of new clothes, new stationery, new teachers, new intake at the Federation Space Academy... What fresh starts / new beginnings would our heroes contemplate - and how would it work out for them? And now I'm imagining what Vila and Avon could get up to at a Harvest Festival, among all that fruit and veg. Or perhaps there's a 'Biggest Marrow' competition. Perhaps we can revisit the time Tarrant managed to crash the spaceship simulator on his first day of Starfleet pilot training? If you haven't written a ficlet (up to 500 words max) why not have a go? We'd love to hear from you. "You're not sulking, I hope?"
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| littlesue |
Posted on 01-09-2026 06:19
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 Alpha Grade  Posts: 4194 Joined: 17.01.22 |
Thank you for posting this early as I am off on the high seas tomorrow and while watching the sea go by with me glass of white wine, I can think of a story or two. As for Prawn Cocktail Pringles...I don't think Fred. Olsen has them aboard...but I can find out when I get on! Cold! You don't know the meaning of the word cold! Cold is when you have ice on the INSIDE of your window!! Sue's Book Shelf https://www.mediafire.com/folder/z1xg...Zine_Shelf Rebel Run Video https://youtu.be/8prqS-XZtLo |
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| littlesue |
Posted on 19-09-2026 12:42
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Alpha Grade Posts: 4194 Joined: 17.01.22 |
Well I was a bit busy on the high seas and didn't have much time to sit down and write anything so I've scoured my old files and found a story from September 2015. Harvest of Memories His decision to join in the game had prompted much surprise; least of all from him. But Avon decided that he needed something to take his mind off their last foray in search of Blake. And so, he found himself seated on one of the forward couches about to play another game of Galactic Monopoly. It was a simple enough game, by anyone’s standards, but as it progressed Avon found his thoughts returning to past events in his life; his negotiations with the visa man; his seemingly innocuous relationship with Anna… …The dangerous game he had played then and the one he was playing now. All about wealth…and the acquisition of. This sudden awareness somehow made him reach into his mind; his memories. Each destination on the board seemed to revive those memories; ones that he had tried so hard to lock away. “Concentrate, Avon, or you could lose everything…” Was that Anna speaking or Blake? He tried to clear his mind… …but it returned to that moment when he was alone on board the Liberator and he had almost given in to his deepest, dearest desire…to take the Liberator for himself and leave the others behind. The Liberator… A powerful ship with unimaginable wealth; everything could have been his for the taking. But Blake had stepped into the equation. Another ‘throw’ of the dice. Another memory… …If only he had been more persuasive with Jenna. He could have left Blake on Cygnus Alpha and had no regrets. At least he would have been free of HIM; free of the impact that the man had had upon his life. Blake who had the unerring talent for putting all the crew in danger; Blake, the idealist, who had introduced so many new enemies into Avon’s life. ‘You really do hate me, don’t you?’ Blake’s unanswered question echoed in his mind. Avon smiled inwardly. Had he really never been involved with Blake’s dream? And as for caring? Well, he had never really understood the need to show that…no need at all. “Your move, Avon,” Dayna said. Damn this game. Why had he agreed to join in when all it did was harvest his mind for painful memories and throw them back at him? “Avon, if you’re not careful, you’ll lose it all…” Cally. Her voice reaching into his rambling thoughts. That pulled him back from the abyss; from a dark place where he had felt an overwhelming need to put an end to this torment and shoot… “I don’t think so,” Avon heard himself say. The ‘dice’ were ‘thrown’… “I win, I believe,” he declared. “What?” Vila said staring at the board in disbelief, “How? You were miles away.” “But obviously not far enough,” Dayna countered. “This reverie, Avon, did it include us?” Tarrant asked. “Unfortunately…” Cally was staring at him, “This daydream...did it yield anything?” “It yielded a harvest of memories…” “Any that you would like to share?” “Of course not,” Tarrant said, “Anyway, none that he would like us to be party to. Besides, he wouldn’t go far, he has too much to lose. Don’t you, Avon?” “Perhaps,” Avon replied, casually counting his winnings, “But don’t bank on it.” Cold! You don't know the meaning of the word cold! Cold is when you have ice on the INSIDE of your window!! Sue's Book Shelf https://www.mediafire.com/folder/z1xg...Zine_Shelf Rebel Run Video https://youtu.be/8prqS-XZtLo |
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| Cygnus Bazza |
Posted on 20-09-2026 14:53
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 Alpha Grade Posts: 7169 Joined: 14.06.22 |
BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST AND OTHER SHORT STORIES WARNING! CLASSIC ROCK ZONE! Strictly OFF LIMITS to lovers of inferior music (i.e. all other music)! “Who the f*ck is Barclay James Harvest? He sounds like the eponymous founder of an Amish farming cooperative.” “Not a ‘he’, Vila. A ‘they’. According to my cursory researches, they were a prog-lite band from some god-forsaken conurbation called Oldham.” “Oldham?” “Imagine Stoke-on-Trent without the glamour.” “Blimey, Avon. That’s desperate. Oldham. Must have been embarrassing to ask for directions to. ‘Can you show me the best way to…’ ” “That’s quite enough of that, Vila. Barclay James Harvest peaked creatively in what were widely known at the time as the 1970s. Not that anyone really noticed. Big in Germany. Not so much elsewhere. Much like white asparagus.” “And this was their third album?” “Released on the legendary Harvest label in November 1971. ‘Barclay James Harvest and Other Short Stories’. Naff title. Should have called it ‘Barclay James Harvest and Other Ficlets (Max. Length 500 words)’. Anyway, we’re wasting time. Let’s go and give it a quick spin on Blake’s trusty old Dansette!” “It sounds a bit boring, to be honest, Avon. What else was in that box you found in the lock-up in the Upper Middle Lower Hold, with the words ‘Classic Rock Elfies’ scrawled on it in felt tip?” “Nice bit of plot exposition there, Vila, by the way. But I said ‘LPs’. Not ‘Elfies’. Apparently, the format of choice for music fans who loved nothing better than to buy a copy of ‘Tales from Topographic Oceans’ by Yes one Saturday and then have to take it all the way back to the shop the following Saturday because the needle got stuck, or the REALLY helpful, VERY HIGHLY motivated record shop assistant, in between eating a bag of Wotsits, filing their fingernails and muttering “not a bleedin’ customer…”, forgot to stick half of the double-album in the record sleeve. But to finally answer your previous question, there was a whole tranche of eye-catching LPs by a band called Free.” “Free? Free what? Free Willy? (I see Cally’s ears have just pricked up. So to speak.) Free Lunch? Free Nelson Mandela with every purchase?” “Just Free, Vila. In fact, I already gave their records a crafty spin while Blake was in the Depilation Pod, before it ejected him for being ‘too far gone’. Yes! Free! Classic stuff. Perfect musical accompaniment if you want to Sail On in your Magic Ship with the Moon on your right, the Sun on your left, the World behind you – only one way to go…” “That's straight ahead? Wow. I think I need to have a butcher’s at these Elfies myself…” [Later, That Same Evening] “Hey. These look intriguing, Avon. By three blond lads called The Police. They must have worked for the Federation. Let’s have a shufty at the actual discs. Ah, that’s a shame. LP records. And they’re all scratched. I'm depressed now. I can’t see the point of another day.” “Well, nobody listens to a word you say. Wait, Vila! You’re not going to believe this but I’ve just found a striking-looking LP by some bloke called Pink Floyd, entitled ‘Animals’”. “Now that IS a real find. Because we haven’t even DONE that episode yet. Does it look interesting?” “Hard to tell. The cover’s quite damaged and some of the writing’s obscured. But it seems to include tracks called ‘igs’, ‘eep’ and – get this – ‘ogs’.” “Ogs? That’s some weapons-grade foreshadowing right there.” “Isn’t it just. And what about these, next in the box. No fewer than four copies of an album called ‘The Wall’. Actually, looks like the first, second and third copies have been smashed.” “No worries, Avon. We’ve still got the fourth ‘Wall’. And it’s still very much intact.” “Sh*t. Bad news, Vila. I think we've broken that as well.” |
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| Lorna |
Posted on 20-09-2026 16:51
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 Alpha Grade Posts: 3004 Joined: 16.01.22 |
Crafty way to mix your love of classic rock and Blakes 7. 😀😀But to please Paula you should mention The Moody Blues!!
I look behind me, what do I see? A pair of golden wings seem to be attached to me.
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| Lorna |
Posted on 20-09-2026 16:53
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Alpha Grade Posts: 3004 Joined: 16.01.22 |
By the way I was playing the latest BJH with John Lees this morning while I was cooking lunch!!
I look behind me, what do I see? A pair of golden wings seem to be attached to me.
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| Paula |
Posted on 20-09-2026 19:33
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 Moderator  Posts: 5430 Joined: 15.01.22 |
Crafty way to mix your love of classic rock and Blakes 7. 😀😀But to please Paula you should mention The Moody Blues!! LOL Justin! Resist the Host
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| Cygnus Bazza |
Posted on 21-09-2026 06:37
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Alpha Grade Posts: 7169 Joined: 14.06.22 |
By the way I was playing the latest BJH with John Lees this morning while I was cooking lunch!! Fantastic! Very handy album. Relativity-ly speaking. And I trust you had a Sip of Wine while you were cooking.  |
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| Cygnus Bazza |
Posted on 21-09-2026 06:41
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Alpha Grade Posts: 7169 Joined: 14.06.22 |
Crafty way to mix your love of classic rock and Blakes 7. 😀😀But to please Paula you should mention The Moody Blues!! LOL Justin! Would that be Justin Wayward??? That is the Question!  |
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| Lorna |
Posted on 21-09-2026 12:22
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Alpha Grade Posts: 3004 Joined: 16.01.22 |
By the way I was playing the latest BJH with John Lees this morning while I was cooking lunch!! Fantastic! Very handy album. Relativity-ly speaking. And I trust you had a Sip of Wine while you were cooking. Of course!!
I look behind me, what do I see? A pair of golden wings seem to be attached to me.
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| Lorna |
Posted on 21-09-2026 12:23
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Alpha Grade Posts: 3004 Joined: 16.01.22 |
Crafty way to mix your love of classic rock and Blakes 7. 😀😀But to please Paula you should mention The Moody Blues!! LOL Justin! Would that be Justin Wayward??? That is the Question!
I look behind me, what do I see? A pair of golden wings seem to be attached to me.
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| M1795537OCVirn |
Posted on 21-09-2026 14:03
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Admin Posts: 15616 Joined: 14.01.22 |
The first day of term The Forthright Progressive School for Girls was the most prestigious education establishment on the planet. Only one entry qualification: if you didn’t have money, you didn’t attend. It was a lovely early autumn morning as the school began to reassemble after its long summer break. A cluster of worried little faces hanging about in the hallway announced the arrival of a new cohort of pupils. One of them, slightly older than the rest, stood out. This new girl began by refusing to sleep in her assigned dormitory, because, she said, if she had to cohabit with other girls, there would be Trouble. The teachers heard the capital letter and engaged with it. After a short but animated conversation, the girl took sole possession of a room which formerly housed a staff member. Shortly afterwards, school security reported interference with the door control, which no longer responded to the listed code. When questioned about the girl’s demand for extra storage space, it appeared that her interpretation of the school uniform was somewhat…lax. Matters came to a head at dinner, when this same child energetically enforced the school rules with some older pupils whom she caught wasting food. Staff members present considered her methods a little too direct, but outstandingly effective. By the end of the day, two girls required medical treatment after teasing the new girl over her unusual name. Four had asked to leave. Several pupils and a sports teacher were diagnosed with acute anxiety while the rest of the school stood back, watching with interest. One tutor organised a sweepstake on how soon their newbie would make Head Girl. Most predicted an early departure, as had happened at her previous school. The Headmistress had been in post many years. One didn’t achieve longevity like hers by overreacting. She said nothing: the Sleer family had readily agreed pay the additional fees. No doubt things would settle down eventually. My prequel to some ‘school reports‘ Ficlets from September 2021: here: https://www.blakes7online.com/article...cle_id=204 "You're not sulking, I hope?"
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