Satire and Shadows
You are reading a collection of incomplete scenes, narrative threads that have been cut short to provoke thought. These unfinished tales avoid easy answers, presenting instead a situation or a dilemma that requires the reader to determine the outcome. It is an exercise in active imagination rather than passive consumption.
This project is an exploration of applied artificial intelligence research within the realm of human creativity and interdisciplinary arts. It demonstrates how digital tools can serve as partners to writers, enhancing digital literacy and opening new avenues for storytelling and scriptwriting.
Today’s mix includes the sharp wit of Satire, the grit of Neo-Noir, and the relatable themes of Contemporary Fiction and Coming-of-Age. The authors responsible for these works are Jamie F. Bell and Leaf Richards.
Take these stories as a challenge. We invite you to read the setup and decide for yourself how the punchline lands or how the mystery unravels.
Today’s Unfinished Tales and Short Stories
Engage with our dynamic short stories that mix Satire, Neo-Noir, and Superhero themes with the grounding of Gritty Realism. By incorporating Boys Love (BL) and Journalistic techniques into Contemporary Fiction and Fantasy, we are redefining the standards of publishing. Our commitment to digital literacy drives us to use creative technology and AI-assisted narrative to craft memorable Coming-of-Age experiences.
A White Blanket of Lies
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Journalistic | Genre: Satire
Anna Breadley, clad in layers that still felt inadequate, wrestled with a stiff zipper on her parka, the metal teeth resisting the frigid air with stubborn defiance. Around her, Ponderosa Creek lay suffocated under an impossible depth of snow, each drift a testament to the colossal failure of the very project she was sent to investigate. The cold bit, sharp and uncompromising, smelling of frozen earth and something metallic, a faint, almost imperceptible thrum that seemed to vibrate in the very air itself.
A Gust of White Laughter
Author: Leaf Richards | Category: Boys Love (BL) | Genre: Contemporary Fiction
The wind howled a raw, untamed symphony across the frozen landscape, tearing at the edges of everything, clawing at the flimsy barrier of the snowmobile’s windshield. Snow, whipped into a frenzy of crystalline daggers, blurred the already fading light, painting the world in shades of blinding white and grey. Below the roar of the engine, the world felt like a suffocating, churning void, testing every sinew, every resolve.
Where the Powder Horns Lie
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Boys Love (BL) | Genre: Coming-of-Age
The air shimmered, thick with heat and the acrid tang of burnt gunpowder. Below a sky bruised purple at the edges, a field churned with the mock-violence of men in wool and linen, their muskets spitting fire and smoke. The distant thud of a cannon vibrated through the dry earth, a rumble that settled deep in the chest.
The Rust of Applause
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Gritty Realism | Genre: Neo-Noir
The alley behind ‘The Velvet Coffin’ smelt of stale beer and desperation, a perfume Shiro had become intimately familiar with. Rainwater, iridescent with leaked coolant from the wheezing air-conditioner unit above, collected in the cracked asphalt. Each drop was a tiny explosion in the oppressive quiet between bass thumps bleeding through the fire door. He leaned against the brickwork, the rough texture a familiar anchor, and watched his breath plume in the damp air, a ghost of a ghost.
A Sprouting Secret
Author: Jamie F. Bell | Category: Superhero | Genre: Fantasy
The spring air in Winnipeg held a specific crispness, a promise of warmth that hadn’t quite delivered. Down Corydon Avenue, the usual city hum—a blend of distant traffic, snippets of conversation from sidewalk cafes, and the metallic clang of a passing streetcar—created a familiar, if somewhat dull, soundtrack. Simon walked with his hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched against a breeze that still carried winter’s bite, oblivious to the subtle shift beneath his feet that would soon irrevocably alter his carefully constructed reality.
About the Project
By design, these stories have no beginning and no end. Many stories are fictional, but many others are not. They are snapshots from worlds that never fully exist, inviting you to imagine what comes before and what happens next. We had fun exploring this project, and hope you will too.
The Unfinished Tales and Short Stories collection is part of an experimental, creative arts and research program by The Arts Incubator Winnipeg and the Art Borups Corners collectives. Each chapter is an interdisciplinary arts and narrative storytelling experiment focused on two key areas: AI-Assisted Scriptwriting, where researchers explore using AI to generate story ideas, plot structures, and alternative story arcs to enhance creative development; and Talent Development and Training, where the project studies the necessary skills for creative professionals to manage AI and immersive technologies in production, helping to inform future training curricula. The project was made possible with funding and support from the Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects program and the Government of Ontario. We thank them for supporting the arts, digital transformation research and innovation in Ontario.
About the Author
