Category Archives: Fiction Short Stories

A Language, Little Known

Posted on January 15, 2025 by Ryn PB

The steps led down, down, down—far away from the sun, where no flowers should be able to grow. And yet— “She said the Third-Eyebright would be here.” The angry red scratches on Trev’s face had only gotten worse since the … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories | Tagged amaranth, bees, betrayal, botanist, botany, bugs, contest, eyebright, floral, florist, floristry, flowers, friends, geranium, journey, LGBT+, life lessons, nyc midnight, quest, search, secret society, write, writing, yellowjackets | Leave a comment

I Want an Alien Sighting for Christmas

Posted on December 15, 2024 by Ryn PB

December 2014 Dear Santa, I like aliens but my sister told me aliens aren’t real. Can you prove aliens are real? Merry Christmas. -Tally P.S. I also want a sonic screwdriver. I think it will help when my dad tries … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories | Tagged alien, aliens, astrophysics, bar, christmas, christmas gift, christmas story, cookies, eggnog, elf, elves, extraterrestrial, family, gift, grief, holidays, holly, loss, north galaxy, north pole, outer space, planet, reindeer, santa, siblings, sister, space | Leave a comment

The Soup-Port Group

Posted on November 15, 2024 by Ryn PB

“Okay, everyone, welcome to the group. I’m Holden, this is my brother Harry, and we decided to put this thing together for people who’ve had similar experiences to us.” Holden’s effeminate voice pierced the air like the rainbow flag pin … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories | Tagged anxiety, colin mochrie, comedy, food, group, humor, jokes, LGBT+, pun, puns, saturday night live, snl, stereotypes, support group, therapy, whose line, whose line is it anyway, writing | 1 Comment

Hooked on Books: An Oral History

Posted on July 15, 2024 by Ryn PB

Hello and welcome to my blog, Poor Unfortunate Stories! My name is Ursula, and I will be your captain on this voyage into reading. Today, however, I have some co-navigators—my arch-nemesis Terry and his grandkid LJ. Every week, we will … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories, LGBT+ | Tagged age, ages, blog, book, book blogs, books, booktube, fish puns, generation, generation gap, generational gap, generations, grandkid, grandparents, LGBT+, librarian, library, life lessons, nemesis, nonbinary, old, oral history, podcast, puns, reading, student, the little mermaid, transcript, writing, young | Leave a comment

Consequences of a Con

Posted on May 16, 2024 by Ryn PB

Cornhusker Cons: Psychics, Clairvoyants, and Mystics in the Heartland. Fran had never actually read the book in which their father’s scams had been made public. An entire chapter had been dedicated to him and his two partners. “Just put that … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories | Tagged anxiety, barn, blog, book, books, bookstore, camera, cat, cats, cemetery, clairvoyant, con, crime, family, fiction, ghost, graveyard, ice cream, illegal, jail, LGBT+, life lessons, mental health, photography, psychic, seance, spirit, spirits, statue, stories, supernatural, writing | Leave a comment

Friends, Alone

Posted on March 15, 2024 by Ryn PB

Content Warnings: underage drinking and smoking, homophobia, violence/bullying, mild domestic abuse Even though she had a key to the house, and even though the Raneys usually kept their door unlocked anyway, Allison wasn’t in the habit of entering their house … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories, original writing | Tagged art, arts school, batman, batman the movie, books, cigarettes, friends, friendship, gay, high school, hot chocolate, LGBT+, movie, movie night, painting, photography, popcorn, queer, queer lit, reader, reading, robin, school, shark spray, siblings, smoking, twins, vivian maier, writing | Leave a comment

The Clairvoyant Cashier

Posted on February 15, 2024 by Ryn PB

Ernest Kowalski just wanted to pick up some potatoes for his pierogis, but Ziggy’s market was closed on Sundays. Two of his daughters and their kids were coming for dinner that night, so after Mass he’d ventured out to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories | Tagged aging, anxiety, brain, cashier, clairvoyance, class, community, death, elderly, esp, family, family stories, fiancee, grief, groceries, grocery, LGBT, LGBT+, life lessons, marriage, mind, neighborhood, old man, polish, psychic, queer lit, shopping, store, sunday, voodoo, wife, writing | Leave a comment

JJS: An Interactive Story

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Ryn PB

Content Warning: transphobia, misgendering, queerphobic slurs, doxing, bullying *How to read, interactive version: The first article has links to the other “sites.” These are also color-coded. *How to read, static version: Everything is presented in chronological order except for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories, LGBT+, original writing | Tagged anxiety, breaking news, bts, color, company, creative writing, death, doxing, fandom, friendship, global, hallyu, hypertext, idol, idols, instagram, interactive, k-pop, korea, korean, kpop, lgbt lit, LGBT+, lyrics, magazine, mental health, mixed media, multimedia, music, music industry, music news, news, online, online bullying, queer lit, red ink, short story, social media, songs, trans, trans experience, trans lit, trans stories, transgender, transmasculine, transphobia, united states, website, worldwide, writing | Leave a comment

A Christmas Cookie Contest

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Ryn PB

As he set down the cats’ food bowls, Benji’s phone buzzed insistently in his pocket. His parents had promised to check in when they landed, but they’d only left a few hours ago. When the phone had been wrestled out … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories | Tagged books, christmas, christmas eve, christmas romance, christmas story, cookie decorating, cookies, eggnog, family, fiction, fireworks, friends, holiday romance, hot chocolate, kittens, LGBT+, magic, mental health, merry christmas, movies, party, queer lit, romance, santa claus, santa hat, scotland, sister, snow, straight no chaser, sweater, ugly christmas sweater, winter, writing | 1 Comment

The Tale of the Cat, the Witch, and the Traveler, as Told by a Black Cat

Posted on November 16, 2023 by Ryn PB

The biggest victims of the Salem Witch Trials were black cats. And I know this may sound melodramatic coming from me, but it’s true. Witches have recovered their good name and get killed much less nowadays. I bet you even … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories, stories | Tagged black cat, cat, felines, forest, history, legend, myth, mythology, witch, woods, writing | Leave a comment