Flash Fiction Challenge: It’s X Meets Y Again!

I did this challenge back at the start of the year and kinda adored it.

Therein I described it as follows:

I love that some writers describe their stories — usually in an elevator pitch or to sell the story to an agent, editor or reader — as “THIS STORY meets THAT STORY.” Right? “Oh,” the writer says, “It’s like CATCHER IN THE RYE meets SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS.” And you’re like, whoa, what the fuck does that even mean.

Today, we are going to find out.

Below, you’ll find two columns, each of 20 different fairly well-known properties.

You will randomly choose one from each column either by d20 or random number generator.

Then you will literally fill in the variables of the equation:

IT’S LIKE X MEETS Y.

And you will write the resultant story.

Note: your goal is not to literally mash these up in fan-fiction (though I suppose if that’s where your head goes, hey, I can’t stop you) — the goal is to take the idea, the spirit of the combination and make them into a story all your own. What is the theoretical mash-up look like and feel like? Diggit? So, what’s the story like if you get: “It’s like HARRY POTTER meets INDIANA JONES?” Or, “It’s like GAME OF THRONES meets SCOOBY DOO.”

So, get your random number generator or d20.

Pick one from each column.

Mash them together. See what kind of story squishes out.

You’ve got 2000 words.

Due by next Friday (5/1) at noon EST.

Post at your online space. Link to it here in the comments.

Ready? Steady? Go.

Column X

Paranormal Activity
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Terminator
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
War Games
Hunger Games
Batman
Goodfellas
Pokemon
The Wheel of Time
Robocop
Dracula
The Princess Bride
Dirty Harry
The Great Gatsby
Josie and the Pussycats
Ender’s Game
Guardians in the Galaxy
Twin Peaks
Dungeons & Dragons

Column Y

Pulp Fiction
The Silence of the Lambs
Toy Story
Die Hard
Pacific Rim
Back to the Future
To Kill A Mockingbird
Ghost In The Shell
Se7en
The Wire
Sherlock Holmes
True Detective
Monsters, Inc.
Doctor Who
The Matrix
Groundhog Day
The Lord of the Flies
The Stand
Mad Max
Minecraft