time travel, soup, and a badly-kept secret

August 12, 2024 9:32 AM

"Since when did Angelique Lancaster even look at this table, much less schlep over and sit at it?" A wish-fulfillment story fragment, inspired by the prompt "A loving, married couple wake up one day to find that they have returned to their high school days, when they were the most popular student and the class geek." Do mind the content notes at the start.
posted by brainwane (11 comments total)

That was very cute. Thanks!
posted by Orange Pamplemousse at 9:59 AM on August 12 [2 favorites]

That was fun!
posted by joannemerriam at 11:02 AM on August 12 [2 favorites]

Telling it from a third character's perspective is a fantastic choice. I'm often cynical of this style of writing prompt for being more about the prompt than the resulting story but adding a twist like that really redeems it. Actually, typing that makes me wonder if a sort of mix-and-match approach to writing prompts, with one being "topical" like the prompt in the link and one being "mechanical" like the perspective change, might be a useful combination.
posted by dick dale the vampire at 11:17 AM on August 12 [5 favorites]

That was so lovely! I want to watch this series on Netflix! Like I imagine scenes cut between the first round and this version.
posted by Illusory contour at 11:34 AM on August 12 [8 favorites]

Time travel stories told from the point of view from someone who is not in on the time travel secret is my Jam.

(Lemme tell you, I've read a lot of fanfic.)
posted by KChasm at 11:50 AM on August 12 [7 favorites]

I love this hopeful take on being given the opportunity to relive your life! Getting to do it with your loved one is just a bonus!
posted by tranquility at 5:39 PM on August 12

Oh I loved this. What havoc I'd wreak in high school if I had my mid-40s brain!
posted by signsofrain at 6:43 PM on August 12 [4 favorites]

This was fun and I think getting to do the "relive your life with all your experience" with a loved one is a great idea that makes the premise both more interesting and more appealing / less horrible.

For instance, they'd never let you get away with "writing" Beatles songs.
posted by straight at 8:52 PM on August 12 [5 favorites]

That was an interesting twist to a tired time-travel theme, but I want more! What happened next?
posted by dg at 10:49 PM on August 12 [3 favorites]

Now I’m thinking about what I’d do in this situation and it starts with “well I guess I’m starting to make some long distance calls to the Steve Jackson Games BBS and checking if Howard the Dolphin has an account yet” because it’s either that or getting the Yellow Pages for the greater Akron, Ohio area and looking up my SO’s parents and making a really weird phone call.
posted by egypturnash at 7:00 AM on August 13 [1 favorite]

Mod note: This post (and another by brainwane) has been added to the sidebar and Best Of blog!
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 8:16 AM on August 14 [1 favorite]