Challenge #1

  • September 17, 2014 10:30 AM EDT
    I, the Challenge Maker, the one and only, hereby challenge YOU to write anything you want using the rules and character given! You are completely allowed to add things to the character, whatever descriptions I haven't added whether they be traits, skills, or even super powers, but you must keep in mind that the character below, name and all, is definite. You do not have to add all elements that I specify into the writing you create, but you must keep in mind that the character is what I specify. Example - If I say he has brown hair you cannot put he has blue hair but you can omit mentioning the brown hair and you can also say short brown hair, wavy brown hair, long brown hair, dark brown hair, spiky brown hair, etc.

    Rules:
    Submissions must be less than 5000 words. Anything above this will be notified and if it is not changed will not be accepted.
    Deadline for submissions will be the end of the month.
    You can most certainly have as many submissions as you'd like.
    You must have fun writing it. This is absolutely necessary!
    Reply below with submissions and send me a PM if replies do not work.

    Required Main Character:
    The character is male, named Avery Blane.
    He is tall and thin.
    He often gets into situations which are too much for him.
    He is somewhat weak-willed.
    He genuinely wants to help.
  • Member
    September 17, 2014 2:21 PM EDT
    Avery Blane went to the store
    but what did he see as he came through the door?
    He looked to his left and eyed a man in distress.
    "Sir! Sir!" he said, "Do you need a rest?"

    "I'm okay. Really, I'm fine.
    But boy look at you! You're one of a kind!"
    This towering man just looked down at him,
    kind and concerned, dapper and trim.

    "Are you sure?" Avery asked helping him to his feet.
    "Oh yes, definitely, I just need a seat."
    Together they sat on a bench in the store,
    One nearly eight feet, the other five foot four.

    "So what caused your fall?" Avery wondered.
    Suddenly the clouds roared and thundered.
    "Unfortunately for me, I didn't watch where I was going."
    The man replied as the rain started pouring.

    "Speaking of going, I really must leave,
    before this weather gets worse than you see."
    He got up and rushed out and Avery rose too
    buttoning his coat, then tying his shoe.

    Avery Blane then started back through the store,
    but he slipped and he tripped landing hard on the floor.
    He opened his eyes and saw the sign at his head.
    The big bold letters -"Wet Floor" - it said.
  • September 19, 2014 3:22 AM EDT
    It was a cool autumn evening when Avery Blane decided to take his dog, Cooper, out for a walk. Just a quick one since it was quickly approaching dinnertime, and he and Cooper needed to eat before he tested his new cupcake recipe; Avery was pastry chef at the most popular bakery in town and everyone always liked the new creations he brought in each week, but he needed to make sure it was perfected before taking it in to his co-workers. So he hooked Cooper’s leash to his collar and they stepped out into the crisp, cool air.

    As they made their way down the street, Avery inhaled deeply and let it out on a sigh. He loved autumn; it was his favorite time of year. He remembered that as a kid, when the leaves changed colors and fell from the trees, he would pile them up and jump into them, and do it all day if his mother didn't call for him to come inside. Smiling at the memory, he almost didn't hear the voice calling him as he strode along with Cooper. Slightly shaking his head, Avery looked down the sidewalk and saw his good friend, Sonny, coming in the other direction. “Sonny! It’s good to see you.”

    “You, too. You’re just the guy I wanted to see. My job is having this charity bake sale and I know how you love to bake being a pastry chef and all. So I was wondering, if it’s not too much, do you think you could have five hundred cupcakes baked and at the office tomorrow morning? It would really mean a lot if you did. I’ll even pay you for the ingredients.”

    Avery’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. Five hundred cupcakes?! It wasn't that outrageous an order. Avery just had never had to bake that many in one night. He didn't even know if he could get half done before morning. He really hated to say “no”, but it just wasn't possible; not on such short notice. Just as he was about to decline, he took a look at his friend and the hopeful expression on his face. He couldn't say “no”. He and Sonny had been friends since grade school and they always had each other’s backs. No, he had to do this somehow. Sighing in resignation, Avery nodded. “Sure. I’ll do it. And you don’t have to pay me. I always have ingredients on hand since I always test new recipes.”

    Sonny sighed in relief and smiled. “Thanks buddy. I knew I could count on you! I’ll see you tomorrow.” With a wave, he continued past Avery and Cooper.

    Avery looked down at his dog and Cooper gave a look that said, “That was stupid. You know you can’t get that many done in one night!” Even though he knew the dog couldn't say a word, Avery answered anyway. “He’s my friend, Coop. I have to do this. He’d do it for me if this situation were reversed.” Cooper whined and turned away from Avery. He didn't know whether that was a good or bad omen…

    An hour later and dinner eaten, Avery stood at his counter where he was steadily mixing a batch of his famous white chocolate raspberry cupcakes. The recipe was quite simple really, so Avery was confident he could finish this by morning. Finally, he finished mixing the first batch and began pouring the batter into the lined cupcake pan, then in the oven they went.

    Everything seemed to go smoothly after the first four dozens. They were sitting on the cooling rack; ready to be frosted in a couple of hours, but Avery couldn't explain why he felt uneasy. Shrugging it off, he went on to place the fifth batch in the oven. While they baked, he checked on the cooling cupcakes and they were almost cool enough to frost, but not quite. He never did this; only in dire situations, but deciding to speed up the process, he made space in his freezer so they could sit for a few minutes and he could get the frosting underway.

    Turning from the fridge, he sat down and released a jaw-cracking yawn. He’d been up for hours, nearly nineteen, and he wasn't sure he could keep up… Avery shook his head. No. He had to. Sonny was counting on him. No to mention, it was for charity. How could he give up on that? Slapping his own cheeks, Avery propped his elbows on the counter, but before he knew it his head dipped and a second later, he was fast asleep…

    The next thing Avery knew, he felt a tugging at his pants leg and smelled a strange scent in the air. He jumped up and realized smoke had filled the kitchen. The cupcakes! Cooper whined and trotted out of the kitchen now that Avery was awake, and left him to deal with the aftermath. “So much for man’s best friend,” Avery yelled after the dog and shook his head.

    He quickly ran to the oven and shut it off, opening the door to release the smoke. It billowed out, almost choking him to death. He waved the fumes away and no sooner than he saw the burnt desserts in the oven, he remembered the cupcakes in the freezer! “Oh, my God. This isn't happening,” he mumbled as he hurried to the freezer and pulled out one of the trays of cupcakes. They were hard as bricks. Silently cursing to himself, Avery threw the cupcake at the wall.

    All that work, and for what? Sighing, he scrubbed his hands over his face and looked around the kitchen, his eyes lighting on a bottle of tequila. Well, since he’d already screwed up he might as well empty his head. Grabbing the bottle, he headed out to his living room, dropped down on the sofa, and cracked open the bottle. After a couple of long pulls from the bottle, he sighed and said to himself, “One of these days, you’re going to learn how to say ‘no’…”
  • Member
    September 19, 2014 5:13 PM EDT
    Avery Blane, Agent #OOPS - he didn't rate a number, just the OOPS designation. It didn't stand for special ops, just oops. A local gym was said to be the hangout of a Russian spy and his duty today was to go in under cover and find him. Unfortunately for him, he misspelled YMCA in his TomTom and ended up at the YWCA. He was so focused on the women going in and out, he didn't even see the sign.

    As he couldn't infiltrate from his car, he went inside and noticed at the time that it was very well packed, with women. Figuring it was some special occasion, he decided to get a disguise in order to fit in. There was a department store up the block, so he went there, picked out some gym wear for ladies, swimsuit, a bra ,falsies, butt pads and some duct tape to keep everything in place. Once dressed (in a dressing room at the back of the store), he exited to make his way back to the YWCA, completely oblivious to the glares coming from the store clerk who had never seen such a site before. Avery hadn't thought to shave and was showing a very defined 5 o'clock shadow in addition to his very hairy legs.

    At the gym, he certainly was the center of attention when he walked in. He thought it was due to the snazzy workout attire, and so, decided to mingle some and try to fit in. As his luck would have it, or maybe not, there was an aerobics class starting so he decided to join it. This way, he could watch each woman to see if perhaps one of them was the spy. The dossier had said it was a man but he could be in disguise or it could have been mistaken.

    Stretches went fine and he only fell on his butt once, which caused his butt pads to shift. No problem though, he adjusted them with hardly any of the women noticing. The real trouble came when the aerobics were in full swing. He was getting too hot in this get up and the duct tape was coming unstuck due to the sweat. This caused a series of misfortunes for Avery Blane.

    He was sure he had found the spy, during some particularly exhausting aerobics, and moved his way over to her. This caused his butt pads to sink down lower, around his thighs, and his falsies to pop up out of his shirt, slapping him in the face every time he jumped up. Women were moving away from this very odd sight and his “spy” was making her way to the pool, creeped out by this freak.

    He adjusted his various items and followed her to the pool room and entered the changing room to get into his swim suit he had purchased. She was, of course, mortified to see him enter and even moreso when he went into the changing room. What came out of that room was beyond belief. There were bumps where none should exist and tape stuck out from the sides of his suit. His hairy back, well it matched his hairy legs and chest.

    His falsies, a bit too large for the swimsuit, were squished into it, making them look oddly shaped, almost cone-like. His butt pads had to be put on a certain way as they had an upper area that was smaller than the lower area. He, unfortunately, put them on upside down, making a huge upper butt tapering down to nothing.

    Avery hadn't thought this out too well and just before he got into the pool, he thought of the tape. That had been a mistake to put on as it would just come unglued. He decided to just observe his spy from the edge of the pool as she was acting very suspiciously and he was now certain she was the spy.

    An older lady came in to do her water aerobics and at first hadn't noticed Avery. When she turned and saw him, she was startled and fell into the pool. Shocked by her sudden submersion, she flailed about. As her girth was wide, the “spy” couldn't help and so Avery, always wanting to help, jumped into the pool.

    As soon as he hit the water, a few things happened. The tape came unglued and dislodged from the swimsuit and proceeded to float through the pool. His butt pads shifted to the front somewhat, in a rather embarrassing manner and absorbed water, making them much larger than they originally were. His falsies also absorbed water and came out of his swimsuit, hitting him in the face yet again and obstructed his vision.

    Throughout this scene, the women stared, mesmerized and horrified by this awful man in their pool. It was all they could take when he started flailing in the water and moving toward them so they screamed for help. This is how Avery Blane found himself in jail, in a pink swimsuit, and on the local and national news.


    #writing
    #challenge
  • Member
    September 20, 2014 6:18 PM EDT
    Decided, what the heck, I'll join in. :) I tend to write more paranormal things, so I put a paranormal spin on it. Hope you enjoy my first submission lol.

    His breath fogged the glass as he tried to peer through the window to the street outside. How one simple errand had become such a mess, he wasn't sure. It always seemed to happen to him though. The crazy old lady who lived above him had asked if he could look for her cat. His mom had raised him right, so even though he'd actually had things to do, off he went into the night searching for the cat that answered to the name Boo.

    He didn't want to even guess at how stupid he looked, peering into alleys and crevices, shouting "Boo!" at every turn. Trudging onward, he sighed in exasperation. How far could one cat go, really? He rounded the next corner, hands in his pockets, his lanky shadow stretched out beside him. It'd be his only company tonight, of that he was certain. Something made him pause though, instantly wary. Had there been a sound that seemed separated from the rest?

    Hearing a plaintive meow from further down, he rolled his eyes at himself. "Avery Blane, you need to get a hold of yourself. It's just a dark alley." Groaning, he patted his pocket to make sure he had his phone. GPS was on. This was usually where the horror movies started. All the people watching were screaming at the blonde heroine or skinny nerd, as it was, not to go any further. So what did he do? Well of course he went further, he'd heard Boo, his trial was almost at an end.

    Yet as he hurried to where he thought he'd heard the cat, he froze. The cracking nose was definitely not normal. Nor were the hisses and growls emanating from the darker edge of the alley. Taking a hasty step back, everything went silent except for a shuffling sound. His eyes wide, he tripped over a broken piece of pavement as the creature moved into the narrow beam of illumination given off by the cracked streetlight.

    Its shape was eerily human, yet there was no mistaking the feline characteristics. It looked mid-transformation, so that's what the cracking had been. The yellow eyes focused on him as its lips drew back into a snarl. "B...b...b... Boo?" Scrambling backwards as Boo advanced, he dragged himself upwards, skinning his knees in the process. Taking off, he ran like the beasts of Hell were after him. Which, made sense since one clearly was. He'd ran until the stitch in his side had made breathing almost unbearable, then ducked into one of the decrepit warehouses that littered the docks downtown. He hadn't even realized he'd traveled this far.

    And that's how he found himself curled in an abandoned warehouse that stunk of mildew and fish. Surrounded by spiders and choking on dust. Every time he thought it could be safe to try to get home, he imagined those piercing eyes boring into him, those sharp fangs rending flesh. So, he stayed. He swore he heard the crazy cat woman calling for Boo and the softest purr. Which was stupid, it's not like they had a reason to actively target him. They couldn't be here, so far from the apartment block. Could they?