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Tag: fairy tales

Drabblecast 453 – Trifecta: Modern Fairy Tales

On October 20, 2021

In Comedy, Drabblecast, Fantasy, Trifecta

The Drabblecast brings you three original stories this week (Modern Fairytales, if you will) from authors Alice Gauntley, Matthew Sanborn Smith, and Kevin D. Anderson.

Enjoy!

Our birthday was the first of March, and for two weeks beforehand it was all Caleb could talk about—cake, presents, and, most importantly, whom to invite. He would chatter about it as we did his homework, as we played his video games, as he went to sleep and I watched over him. Mom had him try different kinds of cakes, and even let me eat some and asked which one I liked best. I liked the carrot cake, but Caleb liked chocolate, so that’s the one she scheduled the kitchen to make fresh for the morning of the party…

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 228, A Fairy Tale of Oakland, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 228 – A Fairy Tale of Oakland

On December 27, 2011

In Drabblecast, Fantasy, Horror, Strange

In some parts of the world — Austria, Croatia, Hungary — they still remember. They understand. You can’t have something bright without having something dark to balance it. If you’ve got St. Nicholas, you also need the Krampus…

This episode of the Drabblecast opens with Norm’s reflections on the holidays, Santa Claus, and the origins of flying reindeer. In the drabble, the mayhem of a large family’s holiday dinner leads to a darkly humorous tragedy. In the feature, an unsavory petty criminal has a chance encounter with a dying old man who confides that years ago Santa bestowed upon him a miracle, a wish, to teach the true meaning of Christmas. Unfortunately, as they both learn, it comes with a catch..

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 225, Trifecta XIX, by Steve Santiago

Drabblecast 225 – Trifecta XIX

On December 5, 2011

In Drabblecast, Fantasy, Horror

Once, at the beginning, you asked why you were brought here. This is what I told you: your parents made a deal. I would rid them of their plague of rats, and they would pay me. I cleared the town of pests, easily done, and returned for my payment. They laughed at me and tried to send me away with less than they promised. Money is not important. Deals are.

The theme of this episode of the Drabblecast is fairy tale child abduction. In David is Six, David cannot wait to be seven. In his desperation, he strikes a bargain with a fairy that appears to him as a talking toad and is taken to the fairy queen. The Best Boy, The Brightest Boy picks up where the Pied Piper of Hamlin left off, following the children and the Piper into his kingdom under the mountain where after a series of cruel games and tests, only one boy remains alive. He becomes the Piper’s apprentice. In Broken, a father stumbles upon a fairy in the act of exchanging his disabled child for her own enchanted brood. A heart-breaking decision follows.

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 223, Bearing Fruit, by Alyssa Suzumura

Drabblecast 223 – Bearing Fruit

On November 20, 2011

In Drabblecast, Fantasy, Romance

This, of course, is what comes of being overly friendly with strange mangoes. One day you’re a wide-eyed virgin, with nary a care in the world; the next, you find yourself most unexpectedly and all but inexplicably burdened in a manner that afflicts virgins only once every two thousand years or so, to the best of your understanding. It isn’t fair, but folk tales rarely are to young maidens — this is the first thing that you really ought to have known.

This week’s episode of the Drabblecast podcast begins with Norm imploring listeners to chip in for the production of his highly anticipated second CD. The Drabble is Déjà vu, by Ben Parker, concerns old magics and old memories. The feature is a change of pace story, Bearing Fruit by Nikki Alfar, in which a naive lass learns of life and her burgeoning womanhood upon unexpected contact with the supernatural. The show closes with classic bbardle Radioactive Runaways.

Help support Norm’s New CD: The Esoteric Order of Sherman. Agree to contribute, guarantee yourself a copy – Pre-order the Order. Classic Norm Sherman penned and performed “bbardles,” done up proper with the full studio treatment, in a package featuring art work from man of mundane mystery Bo Kaier.

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 179, The Red Bride, by Skeet Scienski

Drabblecast 179 – The Red Bride

On September 10, 2010

In Drabblecast, Fantasy, Horror

You are to imagine, Twigling, the Red Bride to be a human, such as yourself, although she is in truth a creature of the Var...

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 107, The Alchemical Automaton Blues, by Josh Hugo

Drabblecast 107 – The Alchemical Automaton Blues

On March 20, 2009

In Drabblecast, Fantasy

“How often does it do that?” the faun asked.
“Most of the time. The poor thing’s totally neglected. They never speak to it or interact with it– except for when the kids are throwing rocks at it…”

This episode of the Drabblecast begins with a Drabble News story about an employee finding a Brazilian wandering spider in the bananas at a Whole Foods in Oklahoma. In the Drabble, a little girl plays hide and seek with her friend, Rex. T-Rex. In the feature story, The Alchemical Automaton Blues, the good intentions of a kind-hearted couple concerned for the welfare of their ogre neighbor’s badly neglected and constantly crying guard golem have unexpected and disheartening consequences for the creature in question.

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 104, The Food Processor, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 104 – The Food Processor

On February 25, 2009

In Drabblecast, Fantasy, Strange

Though the boy’s birthdays occurred weeks apart, Mother combined their gift to please Father.
“You may choose your present this year, boys,” said she. “Something to fulfill your destiny, perhaps.” The boys were born to change the world…

The winners of the Drabblecast People’s Choice Award are announced: Best Drabble “Please Allow the Door to Close” by John Medaille (episode 89) and Best Feature Story, Floating Over Time by Robert Reed (episode 83). In the Drabble, gods get whatever they can afford at a marketplace of souls. The feature, The Food Processor, is a coming of age story about two brothers who use their birthday gift, an industrial food processor, to break free from the expectations and control of their formidable chef father.

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 101, Bemused, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 101 – Bemused

On February 4, 2009

In Comedy, Drabblecast, Drama, Fantasy

My Muse is the life of every party. He does keg-stands and plays beer-pong like he was born to the game…

This episode of the Drabblecast podcast opens with a DrabbleNews story about immortal jellyfish, jellyfish that under certain circumstances can reverse the aging process. In the Drabble, a stalker cheerfully greets, drugs, and kidnaps the object of her desire. The feature story, Bemused, is a hack-to-riches-to-hack tale about a mediocre, rejected writer who discovers his muse and a catapult to fame and fortune. The only problem: his muse is a real jerk.

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Cover for Drabblecast 99, Sarah's Window, by Philip Pomphrey

Drabblecast 99 – Sarah’s Window

On January 21, 2009

In Drabblecast, Drama, Fantasy, Horror

The shadow lingered at Sarah’s window, balanced on air, certain to fly away the next step I took. Another moment and it would be gone. Another moments and I would call the police, report my daughter missing, and spend the rest of my life convincing myself I’d imagined it…

This episode of the Drabblecast opens an announcement introducing the Drabblecast Archive CDs, featuring episodes 1-79 in a 3 disc set. In the drabble, a sleep-addled God himself cannot (or will not) provide a reason for why the world ended. The feature story, Sarah’s Window, explores the familiar theme of children leaving our world for one of fantasy, with the twist of a distraught parent serving as protagonist. A single father tries to convince a trespassing, morally ambiguous shadow creature to return his apparently kidnapped daughter, Sarah, amid its assertions that it is innocent of wrongdoing since “not all lost things are stolen.” An otherworldly realm seduces with magical delights.

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 98, The Graggleberry Thief, by Matt Wasiela

Drabblecast 98 – The Graggleberry Thief

On January 14, 2009

In Comedy, Drabblecast, Fantasy

“Mark my words Monkey,” said the chicken. “If you’re up to no good, Felonious Peck will find you out…”

This episode of the Drabblecast revolves around birds. It opens with a Drabble News segment about a bald eagle that caused a power outage in Juneau, Alaska by crashing into transmission lines while carrying a deer’s head. The Drabble features ever-vigilant pigeons performing an important job for the good of humanity. The feature story, The Graggleberry Thief, is a humorous tale about a thieving monkey who outwits the grumpy bird in charge of Graggleberry, Inc.

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Cover for Drabblecast 097, Daydream Nation, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 97 – Daydream Nation

On January 7, 2009

In Drabblecast, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi

From a small, dusty box similar to a contact-lens case, she took a fresh iDreams bindi, a self-adhesive circlet displaying the iDreams logo: a stylized human head wreathed in fluffy clouds and displaying a Third Eye…

This episode of the Drabblecast explores the relationship between technology and romance. In the Drabble, cryotechnology brings new dimensions to love, loss, and grieving. The feature, Daydream Nation, is a post-modern fairy tale exploring how the development of an iDreams caster, a device allowing users to broadcast crafted or purchased iDreams to one another, might affect courtship and relationships. After the story, Norm waxes poetic about the effect of our instant message society on “good old fashioned cheesy flirting.”

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Cover of Drabblecast episode 95, On Dasher, by Matt Cowens

Drabblecast 95 – On Dasher

On December 28, 2008

In Action, Drabblecast, Fantasy, Strange

Seen from a hundred feet up–if one could see any of this meeting, which they can’t – Saint Nick and his reindeer are red and brown dots standing on a potmarked gray island spanning hundreds of feet, lapped by waves…

Norm begins this Christmas episode with musical satire of the “Night Before Christmas” poem, twisting it into an explanation of the subprime derivative collapse: “We Don’t Have to Liquidate Christmas.” Jonathan C. Gillespie, a veteran of the podcast “Variant Frequencies” among others, focuses on those unsung worker heroes of Christmas, the everyday average reindeer, who pull a heavy load (and toys too) across the skies. As it turns out not even these mythic creatures are immune to office politics. The titular Dasher is given a chance to prove himself, and keep his day job, amid a desperate sky race around the world.

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 57, The Tiger Fortune Princess, by Caroline Parkinson

Drabblecast 57 – The Tiger Fortune Princess

On March 26, 2008

In Drabblecast, Drama, Fantasy

“Your daughter will die unborn unless she rides the dragon’s tail…”

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Cover for Drabblecast 55, Circe's, by Mary mattice

Drabblecast 55 – Circe’s

On March 12, 2008

In Drabblecast, Drama, Fantasy

Feliks Duda has eight weeks left in the country on the morning the letter from the Home Office arrives. They tell Feliks he has to go back to his country. That Feliks can not do…

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Cover for Drabblecast Episode 47, The Silver Ring, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 47 – The Silver Ring

On January 16, 2008

In Drabblecast, Fantasy

“What have you got there, Dell?”
Lars twisted his hand painfully to get a look at the ring.
“Where did you find that?…”

Norm introduces all and sundry to his latest favorite, real-life monster animal: the four-inch “Giant Water Bug,” which sucks out its prey’s innards. It can fly and also play dead in order to sucker unwitting prey. The author of the feature story has been published in “Art and Prose,” among other places. A desperate sex slave’s world changes with an unexpected gift and a magical means of escape. Feedback for Episode #41, “Set Another Place at the Table, I’m Bringing My Pimple,” was mixed, and often rather disgusting, like the story itself. Norm reminds the listeners that voting for “People’s Choice” and the contest for “Nigerian Scam Spam” remain open.

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 6, The Frog Prince, by Matt Schindler

Drabblecast 6 – The Frog Prince

On March 28, 2007

In Comedy, Drabblecast, Fantasy, Romance

Nikki’s looking for a Prince…

Episode 6 of the Drabblecast brings us The Frog Prince, a story exploring the transformative potential of frog smooching. Norm recommends his favorite podcast Escape Pod, and invites authors to submit their weird stories. He closes by asking the fans to spread the word about the Drabblecast.

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Cover for Drabblecast episode 2, Longing for Love A Unicorn's Story, by Bo Kaier

Drabblecast 2 – Longing for Love: A Unicorn’s Story

On February 28, 2007

In Drabblecast, Drama, Fantasy, Strange

Not your average fairy-tale about an obese squirrel and a unicorn with back acne….

In episode 2 Norm brings us the quirky story of Gregory, a unicorn cursed with bad health and worse luck. This is also the first episode in which Norm introduces the show as: “strange stories by strange people, for strange listeners.”

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