William Miller
Gaylord Munck
for Gaylord Munck in StoryShuffle
Suggested by sepanta_kazemi
StoryShuffle is a serial anthology framed as bedtime. Henry Hemsely tells stories to his grandkids, Selene and Milo. He is a shaky storyteller, so he rewrites everything mid sentence. The kids interrupt and demand changes. Comedy swings into action, then into sudden drama. The twist. The characters inside the stories hear Henry’s narration. They argue with the voice controlling their world. Five rotating stories drive the series. The Knight and the Talking Tree Sir Alden Greyford gets an order from King Edwin of Bramblekeep. Kill the “monster” in the Blackwood. Alden charges in with a sword that keeps breaking. At the center, he finds Gravelroot, a kind talking tree who wants someone to listen. Henry tries to force a battle. The kids change the rules. Alden gets a ridiculous fire sneeze. Gaylord Munck appears to mock every mistake. Alden wins by listening, not killing. The Three-Day Sheriff Jack Miles enters a dusty border town and gets mistaken for a sheriff because of his huge hat. He teams with Claudia, his smart horse, and Rose Harper, the saloon owner. Billy “Three Fingers” Kane threatens the town. The kids demand a ten man duel and random chaos, including a giant cow in the street. Jack becomes a hero by doing the job while terrified. The Last Bus Sam Headley drives an old bus toward a bridge that closes soon. Every passenger creates a new problem. A cat rescue detour. A prank kid. A forgotten stop. A couple fighting in the aisle. Mad Tax narrating louder than Henry. Officer Baker chasing them for shifting reasons. Sam holds the group together and pushes through the chaos. Operation Teapot Occupied France. A resistance team must destroy an enemy radio station. They discover it under a bakery, surrounded by tea and pastries. The kids demand cake, so the team throws a tea party as cover. Messages hide in poetry. A cake loving enemy soldier becomes a weak link. The mission succeeds through distraction and nerve. Café Rain In a small town cafe, Ethan Parker and Claire Bertrand keep meeting. Every time they get close to honesty, it rains. The regulars вмеш. The musician scores the tension. The painter captures their moments. The kids demand upgrades, so the rain turns colorful and the cafe turns surreal. The rain stops only after they admit their feelings. StoryShuffle runs on one engine. Henry, Selene, and Milo reshape the plot in real time. The story worlds fight back. The bedtime voice becomes part of the action.
