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Dialog Prompts: Creature Culture Clash!

Aliens, shifters, and monsters live among us. Perhaps they have since the dawn of time, or perhaps they’ve recently arrived from the stars or found themselves the owner of a shiny new fur coat during the last full moon. However long they’ve been around, and whatever their reason for being here, one thing’s for certain: when human and creature lives become entangled, shenanigans are bound to happen. Here are some fun prompts to inspire stories about the messy, sometimes hilarious, and always intriguing ways alien and creature lives can collide with our own.

  • “So, my grandpa has this story he tells at family gatherings without fail … it goes like this … … so now he’s convinced aliens/monsters really do exist.”

“Well, about that … funny story…”

  • “I thought you knew! I told you at the club on your birthday. I’ve been open about it ever since.”

“I thought you were joking!”

“For four months? All of these conversations and you thought it was a joke and went along with it for four months?!?!”

  • “When you said not to worry, you just had a few legal troubles to sort out, I didn’t expect to end up in a cell on a starship two-thousand light years from Earth.”
  • “All right, I’ve had enough. It’s time you show me what you do out there in the woods every month. No more secrets.”
  • “Why is that person looking at me like I’m a piece of meat. Like, literally, a piece of meat.”

*coughs* “Oh, well, you know, they’re a…”

  • “I’ve always been drawn to the stars.”

“Perhaps there’s a reason. There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you, but you might want to sit down first.”

  • “So… this is what you really look like in the morning? I…uh…think I can get used to it.”
  • “Wait, the penalty for doing that is what where you come from?”

“It’s death, obviously!”

“But they hardly did anything wrong!”

“Uhhhhhhh.”

  • “You are going to tell me right now why you stole my identity and…uh…my face.”
  • “Local cryptids need love too, so I made a dating app for them.”
  • “Wait, so humans can hide their extra eyelids too?“

“What do you mean, humans?!!?“

  • “Ugh I hate when I have these dreams where my [alien/monster feature] won’t go away! Wait. This isn’t a dream!”
  • *Growls* “I very carefully planted all those myths and legends to scare folks so they’d leave me alone.
  • “You’re under arrest for breaking interstellar code 327.25 section B subsection 12. You have the right to…”
  • “That is the most ridiculous alien costume I’ve ever seen. Aliens don’t look anything like that!”

“How would you know?”

  • “Why [name] what big ears you have…”

“You know, that joke is getting old.”

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There’s so much potential in confusion between people of different species. These are just some ideas – we hope you loved them!

Now, go forth and write some things!!

*

Prompts by @owlishintergalactic, @alessariel, @unforth, and @ramblingandpie

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Dialog Prompt List: Queer! at the Beach

It’s Pride month, and (at least where Duck Prints Press is based) incredibly hot, so here, have some some dialog prompts for stories set at the beach!

  1. “I know this is kinda personal, but I’m here solo (and you’re hot)…can you put sunscreen on my buttcheeks for me?”
  2. “When I said ‘spike it,’ I meant the volleyball, not the punch!”
  3. “Shit, this sudden storm is pretty bad…I know my beach umbrella is small, but if you stand closer…no, a little closer…liiiittle…closer…there, see? We both fit! Snug and comfy!”
  4. “You know what? I’ve had it. This time, I swear – this time, my sandcastle will be better than theirs, and if it’s not…I’ll just keep building until it is! If it takes me all night, I. Will. Win.”
  5. “I noticed you’re reading the same book as me! Or rather, I noticed you just finished reading the same book as me. Please – please, no spoilers, but tell me – promise me – it does get better, right?”
  6. “Don’t you dare complain about how hot the sand is. These horseshoe crabs need our help – they’re not gonna flip themselves, and the same sun that’s baking the sand is baking them! – and you are getting over here and helping until they’re all back in the water.”
  7. “When you said we were going to the beach, I expected there to be more sand, and less…ya know…rocks. But, I suppose we might as well make the best of it. Rock lobster, anyone?”
  8. “This whole ‘re-enact the scene from From Here to Eternity’ thing seemed like a great idea until I got sand up my nose, and in my mouth, and in my ears, and just everywhere. Next time, let’s make out in the shower together. Same end result, way better process.”
  9. “Oh…oh, thank God…it’s just…phew…when you said you had crabs, this is really really not the first thing I thought of…don’t get me wrong, it’s a very nice tidal pool!…just. What a relief.”
  10. “So, not to be rude or anything, but that’s my beach towel, and my sunscreen, and my beer, and my spouse.”
  11. Cough, cough – no – no, I’m okay – I can breathe – thank you for saving my life! Holy shit, that riptide is powerful. But now that I’m okay…maybe don’t stop kissing me?”
  12. “Cowabunga! Gnarly! Hang ten, my swell dude! Man, I am so stoked to…fine, fine, I’ll stop with the surfer talk, on one condition…”
  13. “Hey! Stop! I found that shell first! It’s mine, I tell you – mine – you won’t surrender it? Fine, then you must meet me for a duel at noon sharp. Water guns at ten paces. Winner gets the shell.”
  14. “If I told you I brought this metal detector, not because I was trying to strike it rich on lost wedding rings, but ‘cause I think it makes me look cooler…what would you say? Did it work? I mean…you’re talking to me…”
  15. “With a sunburn that bad, you really shouldn’t be walking. Here, let me carry you. Free beach taxi service out of the sunshine – just tell me where you want to go.”
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Dialog Prompts: Proposals Gone Wrong

We were in the mood for some silly fluff, so we cooked up the most awkward wedding proposal prompts we could think of.

  1. “Why is my face on the jumbotron? Why are you on one knee? Oh God, can the whole stadium hear me right now?”
  2. “This didn’t go at all like I planned.” “Which part – the downpour or the alligator?”
  3. “No.” “But I haven’t even–” “Stop. Just no.”
  4. “Oh my god – oh my god – does anyone here know the Heimlich maneuver?”
  5. “Why did you drive me to a church? We’re engaged? We’re getting married? Since when?”
  6. “Hey, you’re cute. Let’s get drunk and see if those Vegas chapels are as good as they say.”
  7. “Before I can be wed to thee you must answer me these riddles three.”
  8. “Okay, so…um…I really appreciate the whole song and dance…literal song and dance, wow…like, this was really something, but uh…no…I actually don’t want to marry you…ummmm…sorry?”
  9. “Grandma’s will says I can’t inherit unless I marry someone by the end of the month… wanna go for it?”
  10. “You could have warned me that marriage doesn’t grant citizenship in this country before I said yes…”
  11. “Wow, that was a really sweet proposal… I would LOVE to spend the rest of my life with you…but…technically…I’m kinda already married…?”
  12. “Darling…I love you…but we both know you’re clumsy as fuck, and maybe you should have considered that before pulling out a ring while kneeling beside the La Brea Tar Pits.”
  13. “Marry you?? We’re in high school! I want to go to college, get a job, and at least travel to another country before I marry the first person I’ve ever dated!”
  14. “How dare you?” “But…I proposed? I want to get married? To you?” “YES. THAT. HOW DARE YOU?”
  15. “What’s this?” “A list.” “Of…?” “Challenges you’ll need to complete before I agree to marry you.” “…what does stealing from a gnome have to do with marriage?”