Net's Catch: Literary Fiction

The net came down on his hand with all the force that a full bunch of fish could muster. He screamed, but it was lost in the swearing of the men above when one of them dropped his side of the net and the full torrent of fish poured out onto the deck beside the ship. He screamed again, as he felt the serrated scales of the fish slash open his hand as they poured past it, crushing it and opening up the flesh. In one painful moment, he went from visiting the docks in hopes of becoming a sailor, to being cursed to never sail again. It was all he'd done, all his family had done, but--

Inspiration: Talk about some sports figure who got his hand tangled in a net.
Story Potential: Low.
Notes: And he became very bitter until, late in life, some massive realization opened up his life and made it worthwhile again. The end. See ya on the bestseller list!

Shadow Pounce: Fantasy

The cat pounced upon a shadow crawling across the floor, as was its wont. This time, however, the shadow pounced back, which was decidedly not in the normal run of events. The cat yowled and levitated a foot into the air, spun around, and darted back to hide under its chair. The shadow snickered. “Now, you know better than to do that!” a woman's voice scolded as she stalked across the room in high heels and bent down to scoop up the shadow by its neck. It dangled from her hand like a kitten, little pseudopods of shadow flailing weakly, without any real attempt to escape. “If I've told you once, I've told you a million times! No terrorizing--”

Inspiration: "cat"
Story Potential: Medium-high?
Notes: I like the idea of this character, though I see it in a cinematic style, not writing so much. Shot from the floor angle, with the cat and the shadow, and then a pair of high heels come clicking across the floor....