Did you know that a polar bear’s skin is black underneath its fur? Or that bell crickets can only hear through their feet?
Neither did I, until today! And it’s all thanks to the Japanese “Unfortunate Animals” book, full of “unfortunate” facts about a whole variety of creatures.
During the last stream, we opened up to three random pages in the “Unfortunate Animals” book, and chat voted for one to inspire a story that we’d write.
We voted between the polar bear one, bell cricket one, and ladybug one, but in the end it was the ladybug fact that chat overwhelmingly decided on.
You can read the story we wrote by just scrolling down,
or watch a quick video of us writing/reading it here.
“Hey Sebastian,” said Stefan the Sparrow. “You should like, totally eat that bug over there.”
There were three sparrows sitting on the electric wire, staring down at the tiny red bug on the leaf below. Two of them, Stefan and Sasha were old pals, but Sebastian was the newcomer to the flock.
“I dunno,” Sebastian said, eyeing the bright bug warily. “I’ve never eaten a bug like that before.”
“Oh, then you’re missing out!” Sasha squawked. “Ladybugs are the best. They’ve got all the crunchiness of a beetle with the savoriness of a juicy worm.”
“Really?” Sebastian asked, ruffling his feathers in anticipation.
“Yeah, totally,” Stefan said. “They’re like, totally tubular. And this one’s all for you, since you’re new to the flock. You know, as a welcome present.”
“Oh wow,” Sebastian cawed, bouncing up and down on the wire. “Thanks guys!”
Sebastian swooped down to the leaf and caught the ladybug in his beak. He flapped his wings, flew back up to the wire, and perched down next to Stefan and Sasha. With a smile on his face, he crunched down on the struggling bug.
Immediately, a yellow liquid spewed out of it, filling his mouth with a bitterness more intense than any bark, root, or leaf he’d ever tasted.
Stefan looked on with wide eyes, ready to start chirping with laughter. Sasha could barely contain herself, feeling a bird turd ready to slide out as soon as Sebastian spat out the bug.
But Sebastian didn’t spit it out. He clenched down on it even harder, spilling out more yellow juices, and then cocked his head up to the sky. He thrust his head back and forth, and swallowed it down with a hearty gulp.
Stefan and Sasha both looked at him in horror. Sasha’s bird turd slid right out of her from shock.
“You… you liked that ladybug?” Stefan asked.
“It wasn’t too… bitter?” Sasha piped in.
Sebastian cooed in response and licked up some yellow slime that was left behind. “Oh yes, it was delicious! Its bitterness wasn’t nearly as bitter as my soul, so it tasted pretty good actually.”
Sebastian extended his wings and wrapped his feathers around Stefan and Sasha, both of them frozen with fear at their new flockmate.
“Thanks guys,” Sebastian said, squeezing them in even tighter, so close that the putrid ladybug goo was rubbing against their faces. “We’re going to be the best of friends.”
When bird pranks go bad.
Writing this was a lot of fun. It’s always a great challenge to take a random fact and make a story out of it. But I always enjoying doing it because it shows how you can find inspiration for writing anywhere, even from “unfortunate” animal facts.
If you’re having trouble or you’re stuck on what to write, you could do worse than just opening to a random book page and then going from there!
After that, chat voted that we write this prompt created by NofriendoLand: Everyone has an image of what will kill them tattooed on their arm. For most it’s just a skull, representing old age, but some have a person or a gun. You have… a refrigerator.
If you want to join us and help write a story by trolling in chat, or share your own writing for feedback, then we’d love to have you. We stream on Twitch every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 7:30pm-11:30pm (U.S. Eastern Standard Time).
And you missed the stream, you can still watch them on the YouTube channel or watch the full stream reruns.
Hope to see you next time, friend!
Scott Wilson is the author of the novel Metl: The ANGEL Weapon,
forthcoming December 2018.
Featured image: GAHAG