A Bartender's Guide to Paying it Forward || ᴏɴᴄ 2023
  • Reads 6,386
  • Votes 1,236
  • Parts 19
  • Time 3h 13m
  • Reads 6,386
  • Votes 1,236
  • Parts 19
  • Time 3h 13m
Complete, First published Feb 04, 2023
{ ᴏɴᴄ ʜᴏɴᴏʀᴀʙʟᴇ ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴ & ᴀᴍʙᴀꜱꜱᴀᴅᴏʀꜱ' ᴘɪᴄᴋ }

Tate has been the bartender at The Imp's Bottle for years. The dive bar attracts a trickling array of unusual patrons, but due to his social anxiety, Tate avoids conversation and interaction.

...Until a random encounter with a beautiful girl causes Tate to open up in a way he never imagined possible. Unbeknownst to Tate, the girl's kindness plants a seed, inspiring him to abandon his wallflower nature.

The changes are subtle at first, but rather than hyperfocus on his beloved retro music and impulsive need to clean, Tate begins to converse and interact with the bar's patrons. He becomes more outspoken, engaged, and confident. And his positive changes inspire changes in those around him.

However, not everyone is thrilled with Tate's newfound confidence. Ali, the bar's prickly lone waitress, has a bone to pick with Tate. And she plans to come out on top of their little workplace rivalry, no matter the cost to her coworker.

|| A story about how the tiniest pebble can create the biggest ripples, this is my entry for ONC 2023. ||
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Turned Upside Down

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Evan Cole lived a normal life. He worked at a small marketing firm in the city, has a small group of friends he'd known for years - including his childhood best friend Mason - and enjoys spending his free time either hanging out with his friend or indulging in video games. He is tall and handsome. Evan has a slender but muscular build with thick, disheveled and untamable blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and sharp features. Standing over six feet tall, Evan isn't used to having to look up to catch most peoples gaze. But one random day, Evans life is turned upside down when he suddenly shrinks to just 5 inches tall. Follow Evans journey as he navigates his new and unexplainable life - will he figure out what is happening to him, and most importantly why? Or will he get caught up in a world that is now far too large for him to survive in on his own? *There is nothing sexual in this story. There may be a few awkward or uncomfortable topics but nothing too inappropriate. This story is rated SFW(Safe For Work), its a bit of fluff, fear/comfort, and adjusting to new perspectives* **This story was written through an online web browser called ChatGPT. All prompts are original and ridiculous amounts of editing, splicing, and sections that have been entirely rewritten by me are mixed I throughout the story in order to reduce repetitiveness and add details.**