📚 Short Stories From The Immortal Quill – Issue #57
A Pinch of Salt, a Lot of Sass, and a Sticky Situation
It started like most mornings at The Immortal Quill - with chaos, caffeine, and at least one person dramatically arriving late. Today, that person was Goldi, clutching a glittery notebook and an idea brewing so hard behind her eyes, you could practically see the dollar signs sparkling.
"Y’all," she said, kicking off her boots and flopping into her chair like a queen returning to her throne, "what do you know about salt water taffy?"
Everyone blinked.
"...Is this a riddle?" Snow asked, stirring her tea with mild suspicion.
"No, darling, it’s a business opportunity." Goldi’s grin was practically trademarkable.
Tink raised an eyebrow. "Are we about to get a taffy lore dump before I’ve had my second cup of betrayal - I mean, Slasherbucks?"
Red smirked and kicked her boots up on the table. "I'm intrigued. Tell us, o sweet oracle of sugary schemes."
Goldi sat forward, eyes gleaming. “Alright, story nerds, strap in. Because it’s time for a little something I like to call... Caramel Coated Capitalism: The Saga of Salt Water Taffy.”
Cue dramatic musical flourish.
Once upon a sticky, sticky time…
Back in the late 19th century - around the 1880s to be precise - salt water taffy was accidentally born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The story goes like this: a candy shop was flooded by a sudden ocean tide, soaking the taffy supply with literal seawater. Instead of throwing it out, the clever (or lazy - jury’s still out) shopkeeper jokingly called it “salt water taffy” when a customer asked for a sweet.
She loved it. Told her friends. Boom. A sugar-drenched legend was born.
Now here’s the twist - salt water taffy? It doesn’t actually contain salt water. Gasp. Shock. Betrayal, like Rumple in a coffee apron.
Instead, the recipe involves sugar, cornstarch, corn syrup, glycerin, water, butter, salt, and flavorings. And yes, a pinch of salt. But that’s it. No ocean in sight. So technically, it should be called “kinda salty taffy.” But that doesn’t sell quite as well, now does it?
The real magic happens in the pulling. Once the ingredients are boiled to a precise temperature (usually around 250°F), the hot, sticky candy gets cooled and then pulled - either by hand or machine. Pulling aerates the mixture, adding tiny air bubbles that give taffy its signature soft, chewy texture. It’s like fluffing a sugary pillow… that tries to stick to your face.
Then comes the cutting, the twisting of wax paper wrappers, and boom - childhood nostalgia in pastel colors.
By the early 1900s, Atlantic City boardwalks were flooded with taffy stands, all fighting for the crown. Two families - Joseph Fralinger and Enoch James - became rivals, each claiming their taffy was the OG. Fralinger packed it in boxes as souvenirs. James made it softer. It was the candyland showdown of the century.
Goldi leaned back dramatically, eyes shining with entrepreneurial madness. “And that, my friends, is how sticky accidents become iconic confections.”
Tink gave a slow clap. “I hate how interesting that was.”
Rapunzel twirled a strand of hair. “So what, you want to start a magical taffy shop now?”
Goldi grinned. “Taffy & Tales: Enchanted Confections from the Inkbound Realm. Picture it - story-themed taffy flavors. ‘Dragon Breath Cinnamon,’ ‘Unicorn Kisses,’ ‘Midnight Inkberry.’ We could sell them at pop-ups, in story boxes -"
“Let me guess,” muttered Red. “We pair the candy with creepy flash fiction and cursed packaging.”
Goldi waggled her eyebrows. “Exactly. If Rumple gets to caffeinate the masses into story-fueled mayhem, why can’t we sugar-rush them into submission?”
At that moment, the office door creaked open. Rumplestiltskin strolled in with two SLA$HERBUCK$ cups and the most suspicious smile in the Northern Hemisphere.“Did someone say sugar empire?”
Everyone scattered like glitter in a fan.
🔥 🖋 📚
The Immortal Quill Short Stories
🩸✨ A Bloodthorn Publishing™ Original
From the twistedly magical minds of the Immortal Quill™ Storytellers, welcome to the World of 4EverMore™ - where fractured fairytales wear combat boots, myths misbehave, tea spills itself, and chaos is couture. ☕️
Featuring your immortally iconic favorites:
• Goldilocks (paranoid and perfect)
• CindaSpy™ (that’s Cinderella with a security clearance)
• Red (badass in boots)
• Snow (soft goth apple queen)
• Dorothy (click it and rip it)
• Beauty (rose-stem sharp)
• Wendy (shadow-slick rebel)
• Alice – Queen of Ink & Lore™ herself
• Loki (divine trickster snack, taken 😘)
• Ivy (Rumple’s sister, lethal in Louboutins)
• and Rumplestiltskin (unhinged, unmatched, unstoppable)
✨ Guest appearances may include sentient teacups, tragic ballgowns, questionable prophecy scrolls, and one flirty, possibly dangerous Elven stranger...
🪄 Storytime just got a whole lot more immortal.
Bloodthorn Publishing™ • The Immortal Quill™ • World of 4EverMore™ Universe 💋🔥
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