They/Them This is a side blog for HowDoIStormSpiritâs writing. Writing blog for BorealLights on Ao3 Buy me a Kofi? https://ko-fi.com/borealstorm Have a request? Send me an ask! (Not all requests will be used)
Chapters: 2/2
Fandom: Naruto (Anime & Manga)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Umino Iruka, Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Characters: Hatake Kakashi, Umino Iruka, Team Minato Ensemble (Naruto)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Hatake Kakashi Does Not Have The Sharingan, Merperson Umino Iruka, MerMay, Not Beta Read, Pre-Relationship, Flirting, Flirty Umino Iruka
Summary:
It seemed like all Obito ever did was cause Kakashi trouble. If it had been his idea, how come Kakashi was the one suffering the consequences? Spending hours alone on a tiny guard tower in the middle of the ocean wasnât exactly his idea of fun.
But maybe he isnât as alone as he thinksâŚ
Written for thepromptfoundryâs Day 4: Sharks and Day 5: Tropical Waters of MerMay
And also fuck it, for @monstermarchevent Day 21: Merperson
⨠It's Thursday and that means it's time t- no. Wait.
It's Flash Fiction Friday and we are never wrong!
⨠New to FFF? Let us fill you in!
Flash Fiction Friday is a fun writer event thatâs meant to inspire, share and connect writings of all genres and writers of all ages. Itâs designed to make people want to write, especially if theyâre feeling blocked. Everyone and everything is welcome!
We always do our very best to keep the promptâs genre open, entertaining, positive and encouraging.
Write between 100-1000 words. It can be any genre, in any text format and 18+ is fine by us, just please tag accordingly.
Use this Fridayâs theme in your text. Any way you see fit. This means that your text is newly written for the prompt by you. We do not allow any contributions created or aided by AI/LLM.
Post on your tumblr blog and remember to tag us at @flashfictionfridayofficialâ!! So weâll see it, read it and reblog it!!
Deadline is 24 hours after the prompt has been issued (12 pm CET).
And then, next Friday, weâll mention your work in a showcase post on our main blog before our next prompt drops.
Please post your entries as regular posts, not screenshots â or provide the text as a regular post as well. Letâs keep everything as accessible as possible!
We ask you to tag your works with any appropriate content warnings and let the reader know what theyâll find before they get the chance to read your work!
If you have a question, check out our FAQ page! If your question isnât on there, donât hesitate to ask!
You donât need to ask for permission or need to get added to a list to join in. Just write, have fun and donât forget to tag us!
Tag your fandoms correctly and remember we now have an Ao3 collection (âFlashFictionFridayâ) â¨
We do not condone fiction, asks or comments that glorify: direct hostility, unconstructive critique, LGBTQIA+ hate, slurs, racism and/or general no-no behaviors.
If you want to be closer to the epicenter, you can come chat on our open discord: https://discord.gg/rUWCE8a
⨠We also introduced our very own Wishing Well, a place for you to whisper your prompt suggestions into. And weâll listen! Check everything about it out HERE.
â¨All your amazing works from last week can be found HERE.
Go check them out and consider supporting your fellow FFF writers with some likes and reblogs!
⨠And now, the new prompt!
[#FFF 359 The Wrong Sign]
This prompt was sent in by the one and only @cocoamoonmalfoy, thank you so much! You read the sign, but something went wrong! Now you're stuck at the other end of the galaxy, accidentally went into the wrong room or slightly misinterpreted the situation... Oops? Whether it's time to get your eyes checked or the fates were faulty, we want to know! So go and type and tell your story!
To hurry up and join us this Flash Fiction Friday!!
⨠New to FFF? Let us fill you in!
Flash Fiction Friday is a fun writer event thatâs meant to inspire, share and connect writings of all genres and writers of all ages. Itâs designed to make people want to write, especially if theyâre feeling blocked. Everyone and everything is welcome!
We always do our very best to keep the promptâs genre open, entertaining, positive and encouraging.
Write between 100-1000 words. It can be any genre, in any text format and 18+ is fine by us, just please tag accordingly.
Use this Fridayâs theme in your text. Any way you see fit. This means that your text is newly written for the prompt by you. We do not allow any contributions created or aided by AI/LLM.
Post on your tumblr blog and remember to tag us at @flashfictionfridayofficialâ!! So weâll see it, read it and reblog it!!
Deadline is 24 hours after the prompt has been issued (12 pm CET).
And then, next Friday, weâll mention your work in a showcase post on our main blog before our next prompt drops.
Please post your entries as regular posts, not screenshots â or provide the text as a regular post as well. Letâs keep everything as accessible as possible!
We ask you to tag your works with any appropriate content warnings and let the reader know what theyâll find before they get the chance to read your work!
If you have a question, check out our FAQ page! If your question isnât on there, donât hesitate to ask!
You donât need to ask for permission or need to get added to a list to join in. Just write, have fun and donât forget to tag us!
Tag your fandoms correctly and remember we now have an Ao3 collection (âFlashFictionFridayâ) â¨
We do not condone fiction, asks or comments that glorify: direct hostility, unconstructive critique, LGBTQIA+ hate, slurs, racism and/or general no-no behaviors.
If you want to be closer to the epicenter, you can come chat on our open discord: https://discord.gg/rUWCE8a
⨠We also introduced our very own Wishing Well, a place for you to whisper your prompt suggestions into. And weâll listen! Check everything about it out HERE.
â¨All your amazing works from last week can be found HERE.
Go check them out and consider supporting your fellow FFF writers with some likes and reblogs!
⨠And now, the new prompt!
[#FFF 358 One More Chance]
This prompt was sent in by the one and only @of-potions-and-blades-official , thank you so much! One more chance, but who's getting it and why? Do they deserve it or is it something they're expecting to get at someone else's expense? The breaking point of a relationship or someone trying something new; or even perhaps an interrogation where someone is holding back telling the truth for whatever the reason! We want to know your stories! Go, hurry, and write!!!
đ How to Build a Culture Without Just Inventing Spices and Necklaces
(a worldbuilding roast. with love.)
So. Youâre building a fantasy world, and youâve just invented:
â Three types of ceremonial jewelry
â A spice that tastes like cinnamon if it were bitter and cursed
â A holiday where everyone wears gold and screams at dawn
Cute. But thatâs not culture. Thatâs aesthetics.
And if your worldbuilding is all outfits, dances, and spice blends with vaguely mystical names, your storyâs probably going to feel like a cosplay convention held inside a Pinterest board.
Hereâs how to fix thatâaka: how to build a real, functioning culture that shapes your story, not just its vibes.
âââââââ ⌠âââââââ
đ Culture Is Built on Power, Not Just Style
Ask yourself:
â Whoâs in charge, and why?
â Who has land? Who doesnât?
â Whatâs considered taboo, sacred, or punishable by death?
Culture is shaped by who gets to make the rules and who gets crushed by them. Thatâs where things like religion, family structure, class divisions, gender roles, and social expectations actually come from.
Start there. Not at the embroidery.
âââââââ ⌠âââââââ
2.đŞ Culture Comes From Conflict
Did this society evolve peacefully? Was it colonized? Did it colonize? Was it rebuilt after a war? Is it still in one?
â What was destroyed and mythologized?
â What do the survivors still whisper about?
â What do children get taught in school thatâs⌠suspiciously sanitized?
No culture is neutral. Every tradition has a history, and that history should taste like blood, loss, or propaganda.
âââââââ ⌠âââââââ
3.đ§ Belief Systems > Customs Lists
Sure, rituals and holidays are cool. But what do people believe about:
â Death?
â Love?
â Time?
â The natural world?
â Justice?
Example: A society that believes time is cyclical vs. one that sees time as linear will approach everythingâfrom prison sentences to griefâcompletely differently.
You donât need to invent 80 gods. You need to know what those gods mean to the people who pray to them.
âââââââ ⌠âââââââ
4.đŤ Culture Controls Behavior (Quietly)
Culture shows up in:
â What people apologize for
â What insults cut deepest
â What people are embarrassed about
â Whatâs praised publicly vs. whatâs hidden privately
For instance:
â A culture obsessed with stoicism wonât say âI love you.â Theyâll say âHave you eaten?â
â A culture built on legacy might prioritize ancestor veneration, archival writing, name inheritance.
This stuff? Way more immersive than giving everyone matching earrings.
âââââââ ⌠âââââââ
5. đ Culture = Daily Life, Not Just Festivals
Sure, your MC might attend a funeral where people paint their faces blue. But what about:
â Breakfast routines?
â How people greet each other on the street?
â Who cooks, and who eats first?
â Whatâs considered âcleanâ or âproperâ?
â How is parenting handled? Divorce?
Culture is what happens between plot points. It should shape your characterâs assumptions, language, fears, and habitsâwhether or not a festival is going on.
âââââââ ⌠âââââââ
6. đŹ Let Your Characters Disagree With Their Own Culture
A culture isnât a monolith.
Even in deeply traditional societies, people:
â Rebel
â Question
â Break rules
â Misinterpret laws
â Mock sacred things
â Act hypocritically
â Weaponize or resist whatâs expected
Let your characters wrestle with the culture around them. Thatâs where realism (and tension) lives.
âââââââ ⌠âââââââ
7.𧟠Beware the âPretty = Goodâ Trap
Worldbuilding gets boring fast when:
â The protagonistâs homeland is beautiful and pure
â The enemyâs culture is dark and âbarbaricâ
â Every detail just reinforces who the reader should like
You canâand shouldâchallenge the aesthetic hierarchy.
â Let ugly things be beloved.
â Let beautiful things be corrupt.
â Let your MC romanticize their culture and then get disillusioned by it later.
âââââââ ⌠âââââââ
đ TL;DR (but like, spicy):
â Culture is not food and jewelry.
â Culture is power, fear, memory, contradiction.
â Stop inventing spices until you know who starved last winter.
â Let your world feel lived in, not curated.
The best cultural worldbuilding doesnât look like a list.
It feels like a system. A pressure. A presence your characters canât escapeâeven if they try.
Now go. Build something real. (You can add spices later.)
ârin t.
// writing advice for worldbuilders with rage and range
// thewriteadviceforwriters
Sometimes the problem isnât your plot. Itâs your first 5 pages. Fix it here â đ¤ Free eBook: 5 Opening Pages Mistakes to Stop Making:
⌠A free (and actually helpful) guide to leveling up your first 10 pages âŚIf you're unsure whether your opening is â¨doing enough⨠to hook re
đŻď¸ download the pack & write something cursed:
A gothic prompt pack for writers who love cursed universities, secret societies, and scholarly rot.â Write the Darkness âA 75-prompt horror
I was really excited to do MerMay but instead of writing anything worthwhile I have 2 finished things of decent quality, 1 finished terrible thing, and like 5 half finished pieces of trash đ
And I guess a half finished thing of okay quality. And Iâm so tired.
Flash Fiction Friday is a fun writer event thatâs meant to inspire, share and connect writings of all genres and writers of all ages. Itâs designed to make people want to write, especially if theyâre feeling blocked. Everyone and everything is welcome!
We always do our very best to keep the promptâs genre open, entertaining, positive and encouraging.
Write between 100-1000 words. It can be any genre, in any text format and 18+ is fine by us, just please tag accordingly.
Use this Fridayâs theme in your text. Any way you see fit. This means that your text is newly written for the prompt by you. We do not allow any contributions created or aided by AI/LLM.
Post on your tumblr blog and remember to tag us at @flashfictionfridayofficialâ!! So weâll see it, read it and reblog it!!
Deadline is 24 hours after the prompt has been issued (12 pm CET).
And then, next Friday, weâll mention your work in a showcase post on our main blog before our next prompt drops.
Please post your entries as regular posts, not screenshots â or provide the text as a regular post as well. Letâs keep everything as accessible as possible!
We ask you to tag your works with any appropriate content warnings and let the reader know what theyâll find before they get the chance to read your work!
If you have a question, check out our FAQ page! If your question isnât on there, donât hesitate to ask!
You donât need to ask for permission or need to get added to a list to join in. Just write, have fun and donât forget to tag us!
Tag your fandoms correctly and remember we now have an Ao3 collection (âFlashFictionFridayâ) â¨
We do not condone fiction, asks or comments that glorify: direct hostility, unconstructive critique, LGBTQIA+ hate, slurs, racism and/or general no-no behaviors.
If you want to be closer to the epicenter, you can come chat on our open discord: https://discord.gg/rUWCE8a
⨠We also introduced our very own Wishing Well, a place for you to whisper your prompt suggestions into. And weâll listen! Check everything about it out HERE.
â¨All your amazing works from last week can be found HERE.
Go check them out and consider supporting your fellow FFF writers with some likes and reblogs!
⨠And now, the new prompt!
[#356 Into The Mirror]
This prompt has been brought to you by someone who wishes to remain anonymous, thank you very much! Take a step forward, and look into the mirror. What do you see? What surrounds you? Perhaps it depends on who is looking, perhaps it changes with the mirror. Is it even a mirror? What is telling you? What is hiding from the rest? Donât be afraid to put your characters through a challenge today, should they face something none of us expect. Write and tell us all!
CW: Cannibalism, Character Death, Hallucinations/Madaraâs steady descent into madness
đđ
âThey say that the Silver and Gold brothers were monsters. After they killed the Second Hokage they tore out his heart with their bare hands. Nobody ever found it⌠I bet those freaks ate it.â
The bundle of flesh in Madaraâs hand was still warm, with the occasional drop of blood splattering on the floor of the cave. The gore that covered his grisly prize was starting to dry. It was almost the same color as the eyes of the man whose chest he had ripped it out of. In fact, Madara could swear that blood-red gaze was on him the longer he stared at the heart in his hand.
âDonât look at me like that,â he crooned to the ghost of a man who wasnât there. âIt was always going to be like this. Me, outliving you,â invisible eyes stared back, accusing, âif I didnât kill you, someone was going to, you were always too selfless, sacrificing yourself for your brother, your clan, the village⌠your students.â
Nobody responded, and yet the silence felt heavy with unspoken words. Madara pressed the heart to his lips, tilting his head to the side as he fluttered his eyelashes.
âI wonder how much you would have sacrificed for me, if I had let you. What would you have given to keep me in the village?â It was a pointless question, but one he asked himself often. With a sigh his eyes slid shut, Tobiramaâs lifeblood painting his lips like rouge. With a deliberate slowness he opened his mouth and took a bite. The last of Tobiramaâs chakra spread across his tongue like mint and ice and water with every bite, and Madara didnât bother to wipe away the tears running down his face.
âIdiot man.â He whispered into the silence of the cave before he sits and waits for the change. Because there must be one. There was one after Izuna, and there was one after Hashirama. Surely Tobirama will bring one as well.
There is nothing. Nothing about Madara changes. It is both the ultimate insult and the ultimate payback all at once. Tobirama was not special. He was just a man, a man who took everything from Madara, a man who had nothing and yet everything.
Flexing his hand, the dried blood on his glove cracks and flakes away. Madara presses his hand to his stomach where the only bit of Tobirama he ever let himself keep rests.
âTake comfort, then, in knowing you accompany a god.â The words sound hollow and empty, even to him. Madara rises and heads deeper into the cave. He strips his bloodstained gloves off and seals them away. There are only two other items in the scroll, and Madara values it almost as much as his own life. He can feel the weight of Tobiramaâs gaze still on him, but the man cannot blame this on him, not when he was the one who set it all into motion, and who came up with this jutsu.
Oh. Thatâs why there was no change. Madara grins. Tobirama was the catalyst, the start of this all. The change had already happened. He reaches down to touch his stomach again.
âJust sit back and watch it all unfold then, Tobirama. Right here with me. Forever by my side.â
@ people in the notes saying things along the lines of "no I'm not": INCORRECT. you ARE. finishing it slowly is still finishing it and I BELIEVE IN YOU.
@ people in the notes saying things along the lines of "yes I am": CORRECT. we are GOING TO GET THROUGH THIS.
@ people in the notes saying things along the lines of "I am also capable of starting them": CORRECT. you absolutely ARE. and THEN you are capable of FINISHING them.
@ people in the notes saying things along the lines of "this but it's my art": CORRECT. I BELIEVE IN YOU and I APOLOGIZE for not being more INCLUSIVE.
Flash Fiction Friday is a fun writer event thatâs meant to inspire, share and connect writings of all genres and writers of all ages. Itâs designed to make people want to write, especially if theyâre feeling blocked. Everyone and everything is welcome!
We always do our very best to keep the promptâs genre open, entertaining, positive and encouraging.
Write between 100-1000 words. It can be any genre, in any text format and 18+ is fine by us, just please tag accordingly.
Use this Fridayâs theme in your text. Any way you see fit. This means that your text is newly written for the prompt by you. We do not allow any contributions created or aided by AI/LLM.
Post on your tumblr blog and remember to tag us at @flashfictionfridayofficialâ!! So weâll see it, read it and reblog it!!
Deadline is 24 hours after the prompt has been issued (12 pm CET).
And then, next Friday, weâll mention your work in a showcase post on our main blog before our next prompt drops.
Please post your entries as regular posts, not screenshots â or provide the text as a regular post as well. Letâs keep everything as accessible as possible!
We ask you to tag your works with any appropriate content warnings and let the reader know what theyâll find before they get the chance to read your work!
If you have a question, check out our FAQ page! If your question isnât on there, donât hesitate to ask!
You donât need to ask for permission or need to get added to a list to join in. Just write, have fun and donât forget to tag us!
Tag your fandoms correctly and remember we now have an Ao3 collection (âFlashFictionFridayâ) â¨
We do not condone fiction, asks or comments that glorify: direct hostility, unconstructive critique, LGBTQIA+ hate, slurs, racism and/or general no-no behaviors.
If you want to be closer to the epicenter, you can come chat on our open discord: https://discord.gg/rUWCE8a
⨠We also introduced our very own Wishing Well, a place for you to whisper your prompt suggestions into. And weâll listen! Check everything about it out HERE.
â¨All your amazing works from last week can be found HERE.
Go check them out and consider supporting your fellow FFF writers with some likes and reblogs!
⨠And now, the new prompt!
[#FFF355 A Curious Connection]
The prompt was submitted by @cocoamoonmalfoy, thank you very much!
You wouldn't think these two things are connected. You wouldn't guess how they are connected. And yet! And yet there is a thread that links them, a curious thing, as fine as a spiderweb and just as strong. It came to be organically, and most would look right past it - but not you. You noticed it, so shed some light on it. We're dying to hear all about it!
Written for @thepromptfoundryâs MerMay. Thank you for running this event!
I went over my self-imposed word count but Kakashi had lots of thoughts to have. He could have (should have) had more but ehhhhh. I finished it at like 12:45 last night but auughhhh. So you get it this morning. Youâre welcome.
A continuation of this (yesterdayâs)
Prompt: Day 5 | Tropical Shores
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: Implied future KakaIru
Rating: G
Tags: Merman Iruka, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies (though that isnât relevant), Sharkteeth Iruka
Other Notes: This exchange was actually gonna go in yesterdayâs fic but it ended up too long. Since Irukaâs tail anatomy is a little more like an actual sharkâs, itâs hard for him to sit like a human, hence why heâs lying down. He can do it, his spine and hips bend and move in ways a humanâs canât, but it isnât the most comfortable position for him, and heâd rather flop. Not at merfolk are like that though, some are more how we think of merfolk. It isnât relevant to the story though, just some â¨loreâ¨
âSo⌠why am I watching forâŚâ Kakashi trailed off, staring at the half-man, half-fish who had hauled himself up onto the platform at the bottom of the watchtower. ââŚsharks.â He eventually added, rather lamely. The manâs smirk widened into a sharp-toothed grin.
âOur pod was up north for spawning season. Uzushio likes knowing when we get back.â The man propped himself up on one elbow, his tail flicking to the side. For all that he was half shark, Kakashi got the impression of a large, pleased cat; one that had just found a new toy. âYou donât dress like them, so if they set you up to watch for our pod, they must trust you an awful lot.â The manâs eyes narrowed into slits as he looked up at Kakashi. The impression Kakashi got of a large cat only increased.
Being relegated to watch for âsharksâ hadnât seemed like a show of trust, but⌠Never, in all his reading, had Kakashi ever heard a word about these⌠beings. Not even in myths or legends. The closest he could think of were ningyo, with their human heads and fish bodies, but they werenât⌠like this. Beautiful, and deadly-looking. So if Kushina-nee and the people of Uzushio were, in fact, trusting him with a secret, then⌠maybe heâd gotten the better end of the deal. Maybe.
âIâm Hatake Kakashi.â He said, instead of following that thought farther.
âUmi no Iruka.â Was offered in return, and Kakashi eyed Irukaâs very obviously not-dolphin-like features with one eyebrow raised. Was it supposed to be a joke?
âMaa, not to be rude, but why are you named âdolphinâ if youâre a shark?â He found himself asking.
âWhy are you named âscarecrowâ if youâre a human?â Iruka shot back with a snap of his teeth. Which, okay, fair. Shifting uncomfortably, Kakashi looked around for something else to say. It might be good to⌠not offend Iruka more than he already had. And, Kakashi will admit, he was curious. Not curious enough to come closer, though.
âDo you⌠does your pod live around here normally?â Because Iruka had mentioned they had traveled north.
âMm-hmm. The warm, tropical waters around here is where we live most of the year. Weâve been living alongside the people here for generations, supposedly. Trading, being friendsâŚâ his dark eye flashed as his lips curled back into that satisfied-cat grin, ââŚtaking mates.â
The sun felt much hotter all of a sudden. âOh.â Kakashi gulped, feeling heat crawl up his spine.
Iâm starting late because I forgot it was, yâknow, MerMay. My goal is to write around 300 words for the prompts I do (hopefully all of them, but no pressure on myself!) without worrying about editing and such. Some may be connected. Most will not be.
Prompt: Day 4 | Sharks
Fandom: Naruto
Ship: Gen, but implied Kakashi/Iruka
Rating: G
Tags: Everyone lives/Nobody dies, merman Iruka
Other notes: This will (hopefully) be continued tomorrow. Also Iruka is specifically a Sandbar Shark.
It was, quite simply, not fair, Kakashi thought, staring mulishly into the water. Obito was the one who swore up and down he had seen Minato-sensei use that jutsu before, that it was perfectly safe. Since he was the one with the sharingan, Kakashi had, stupidly, trusted him. And yet when the whole thing blew up in their faces, Kakashi was the one who got in trouble. So while Rin and Obito got to run around Uzushio with Kushina-nee, Kakashi was stuck staring out into the ocean. On watch. For what? Sharks, apparently.
What was he supposed to do when he saw a shark? Nothing. It was the most useless watch heâd ever been on, and he wished heâd just gotten yelled at instead. Then at least heâd be doing something productive with his time.
It took Kakashi far too long to realize there was a dark shape circling the deeper water around the little tower he was watching from. So. Shark spotted. He glared at it, as though it was the fishâs fault he was stuck up there for the next few hours.
âHow about you fuck off.â He cursed at it, not in the mood to have a curious, possibly man-eating predator around him.
âWow, you don't need to be a dick about it.â A voice called up from the water, and Kakashi nearly fell over the low railing. Looking back down at the clear water, he made eye contact with a man whoâs head was sticking out of the water. Long brown hair floated around him like seaweed, and a distinct scar bisected the darkly tanned skin of his face. Clawed hands clung to the wooden support, and Kakashiâs eyes traced the scar-covered tanned skin down, watching it give way to smooth brown and white scales, and a vertical finned tail tipped with black.
âAh.â He said, his mouth suddenly dry. âShark.â
Dear diary this list came to me in my dream! Looks like AU-gust 2026 is here...
What is AU-gust? It stands for Alternate Universe August, and it is a creative challenge for everyone. Writers, artists, fans; anyone can join! Be sure to check out our FAQ for more answers! Join us on BlueSky, AO3, Discord and under the tags #au gust and #au gust 2026.
Special thanks to @yaoyorozoops for creating our wonderful graphics!
[ID] 31 days challenge prompt list as follows: 1 Steampunk, 2 Roommates, 3 Boogyman, 4 Hero, 5 Farmers and Markets, 6 Magic Realism, 7 Long Lost Relative, 8 Alternate Timeline, 9 Seamstress, 10 Arthurian Mythos, 11 Small Business, 12 Reality TV, 13 Cults, 14 Isekai/Reincarnation, 15 Fourth Wall Broken, 16 Only One Bed, 17 Time Travel Fix-It, 18 Sirens, 19 Animal Trainer, 20 Graveyard Keeper, 21 Glitch in the Matrix, 22 Technopunk, 23 Midlife Crisis, 24 Post, 25 Monster Hunter, 26 Soul-bound, 27 Virtual Reality, 28 Bad End, 29 Survival, 30 Earth Two/New Planet, 31 Two of the Above. You have four Jokers: Not Related, Daemons, Furry, TTRPG Players.
Dive on into this exploration of merfolk, their world, and all the watery wonders that come along with them!
Feel free to combine different daysâ prompts with each other, or combine them with other events, like our MerMay 2024! Draw, paint, sculpt, sing, write fiction, write poetry, write academic analysisâuse your OCs, your favorite characters from media, your own experiences, whatever tickles your fancy.
If you use this list, please tag me here @thepromptfoundry, Iâd love to see what you create!
Respond to as many prompts as you want or as interest you, donât worry about missing or skipping any, or posting your work after the day the prompt is assigned to. Remember, this is supposed to be fun!
If you have any questions or musings, check our FAQ, and if you donât find your answer, shoot me an ask.
Plain text list below the cut:
1 Clear Blue Waters
2 Love Below the Waves
3 Beneath Arctic Ice
4 Sharks
5 Tropical Shores
6 Underwater Hunting
7 Inter-Ocean Travel
8 Octopus and Squid
9 Rivers and Waterfalls
10 Children of the Sea
11 Wave-Beaten Cliffs
12 Dolphins
13 Stormy Seas
14 Seafloor Sports
15 Hidden Coves
16 Whalefalls
17 Leviathans
18 Deep Sea Darkness
19 Bioluminescence
20 Black Sand Beaches
21 Siren Songs
22 Underwater Cities
23 Seahorses
24 Harbors and Bays
25 Sailors
26 Shipwreck Graveyards
27 Rogue Waves
28 Sunlight on the Water
29 Crustaceans
30 Sparkling Surf
31 When Sea Meets Shore
Flash Fiction Friday is a fun writer event thatâs meant to inspire, share and connect writings of all genres and writers of all ages. Itâs designed to make people want to write, especially if theyâre feeling blocked. Everyone and everything is welcome!
We always do our very best to keep the promptâs genre open, entertaining, positive and encouraging.
Write between 100-1000 words. It can be any genre, in any text format and 18+ is fine by us, just please tag accordingly.
Use this Fridayâs theme in your text. Any way you see fit. This means that your text is newly written for the prompt by you. We do not allow any contributions created or aided by AI/LLM.
Post on your tumblr blog and remember to tag us at @flashfictionfridayofficialâ!! So weâll see it, read it and reblog it!!
Deadline is 24 hours after the prompt has been issued (12 pm CET).
And then, next Friday, weâll mention your work in a showcase post on our main blog before our next prompt drops.
Please post your entries as regular posts, not screenshots â or provide the text as a regular post as well. Letâs keep everything as accessible as possible!
We ask you to tag your works with any appropriate content warnings and let the reader know what theyâll find before they get the chance to read your work!
If you have a question, check out our FAQ page! If your question isnât on there, donât hesitate to ask!
You donât need to ask for permission or need to get added to a list to join in. Just write, have fun and donât forget to tag us!
Tag your fandoms correctly and remember we now have an Ao3 collection (âFlashFictionFridayâ) â¨
We do not condone fiction, asks or comments that glorify: direct hostility, unconstructive critique, LGBTQIA+ hate, slurs, racism and/or general no-no behaviors.
If you want to be closer to the epicenter, you can come chat on our open discord: https://discord.gg/rUWCE8a
⨠We also introduced our very own Wishing Well, a place for you to whisper your prompt suggestions into. And weâll listen! Check everything about it out HERE.
â¨All your amazing works from last week can be found HERE.
Go check them out and consider supporting your fellow FFF writers with some likes and reblogs!
⨠And now, the new prompt!
[#FFF354 What is the prompt?]
What is being prompted? Who is prompting it? Is it an action, an idea, or a push towards something? Have lines been forgotten on stage or has a rebellion being sparked? Or perhaps, someone is simply trying to think what to write! You hold the answers, so start writing and let us know!!
PSA to fan creators who don't have a lot of regular contact with children: They are almost always bigger than you think. A 1-year-old baby may already be walking. A toddler is likely already hip-high. A 10-year-old may already be taller than at least one of their parents. A 14/15 year old may already have reached their adult height.
