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Challenge #03062-H154: Monkey Gonna Jump

A member of a race of aliens new to the Galactic scene holds the misconception that life can be either land bound or aquatic watches a human climb a steep hill specifically for the joy of jumping off the cliff on the other end into deep water. -- Anon Guest

[AN: I have a much more capable program doing the counting for me, so today's full challenge number is actually correct. I'm not going back and fixing the others because that is full-on nightmare fuel. Just... no. I tried, I failed, and now I have a thing that counts better than I ever could. Also expect further shenanigans at the closing of the year, as my count is off there, too. There will be bonus stories for this year's anthology. All so I can re-synchronise the calendar. (FYI, I'm out by at least four weeks)]

Companion Gann had heard things about Humans. Dangerous psychotic warrior race who didn't take "no you can't" as a warning that some things were bad for continued existence. Those weird hairless apes seemed to believe that they could do anything. Worse, most of the time they were right. There remained one sticking point upon which Gann remained adamant.

"There is no such thing as amphibious and mammalian intelligent life. Mammals are not amphibious. Amphibians are. You have aquatic mammals, or terrestrial mammals. Those are the limits of intelligent mammalian life. Even your lot can't defy the rules of basic evolution."

"So..." challenged Human Aura. "If I can prove to you that we're semi-acquatic, what do I win?" This was the way of Deathworlders in general and Humans in particular. Everything was a contest to these maniacs, and there had to be a prize involved. If Humans didn't win some form of enrichment to their existence, they could sulk about it for months[1].

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Challenge #03076-H153: Charms to Tame the Savage Breast

A first contact between humans and a new species almost degrade to a war, until they hear humanity music for the first time... -- Tom

First contact is... risky. Both sides have no idea what to expect out of the other. One species' friendly greeting can be another's instant death threat, or grave insult to their grandmother. In a situation where any move could be hostile, it's safe to move very still and do one's best to try and read the other

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Challenge #03075-H152: Life Unlike Your Own

Edda Nebulae tries to chase down Healer Allie and had confronted her trying to get her to work only for Mx Nebulae alone. Now that the person has learned Allie's demand, in order to get better access to her healing ability, Edda decides to try to do what Allie has demanded and finds just how rewarding such actions can be.

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-02739-g182-do-not-pay-your-heart -- Anon Guest

At first, ze was offended by Allie's hubris. How dare that little junk

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Challenge #03074-H151: Learning to Reach Out

She'd been years, her and so many, many others, being 'deprogrammed'. Her entire life she had lived with hate. She had lived with the idea that violence was a GOOD thing. That these aliens were brutal monsters. That Pure Humans were the only true life in this universe and the rest were filth. It had taken a long, long, time for her and the rest to learn, to understand, and to accept the reality of the world.

From this prompt. https://peakd.

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Challenge #03073-H150: Beware Their Bite

The human larva wasn't cleared to interact with anyone more delicate than a level 2 deathworlder. Companion Rix wasn't sure why... until they saw the toddler leave bruises on their mother by biting, apparently in play. -- Anon Guest

[AN: I scoured my archives for Companion Rix, but I haven't mentioned them before. Thanks for the new character, Nonny]

Human Nii seemed like an ordinary Human larva. Bumbling through upright locomotion like most of their age peers. They seemed to be of

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Challenge #03072-H149: Artisinal Life Story

I see now that the circumstances of one’s birth is irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are -- MewTwo

Wraithvine had a saying. It went, Everyone starts the same - wet, naked, and screaming. If you were truly awful, ze would make sure you exited life the same way. It was rare, but when it did happen, the whole world heard about it. That is not this story.

This was a story

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Challenge #03071-H148: Elves and Aliens

As a species we had hoped that we weren’t the only ones in the universe. After the invasion had wiped out 75 % of the population of earth, we begun to wish that we were. But then strange happenings were being reported. The stories of magic, myths, and monsters we would tell around campfires weren’t just stories to tell in the dark. -- LatinoThor45

There was a time when we were excited that the visitors came. They came with promises. They

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Challenge #03070-H147: Inherent Hazards

The human got a new little friend, a therapy animal to help them deal with being in big crowds. The puppy, one of the breeds that would always be small in size, played happily as the human was house-breaking them, playing with them, and teaching them. The companion came into their quarters, after knocking, to visit, when they noticed several air fresheners, one in each room. They asked why that was necessary before they caught the whiff of a very strong, very

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Challenge #03069-H146: Big Disasters, Little Agent of Chaos

OK, tell me again, with a bit more attention to detail... How did this happen? -- Anon Guest

Lam looked around at the mess. Obviously, "Because bird," wasn't going to cover it. All they had to do was focus on the important bits. "So... you're aware of the presence of a bird..."

"How did the bird get in? This was a protected environment." Exhibit A was a pink and grey parrot with a white crest. Currently contained, under strenuous objection, under an

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Challenge #03068-H145: A Case of the Colliwobbles

My tummy hurts. -- Anon Guest

Become nurse to a crown child, they said. It'll be easy, they said. Just leave them to play for a few hours, keep them clean, and make certain they eat. When they reach a certain age, teach them to read. The rest of your time is leisure and comfort, they said. 'They' had not reckoned with the Earldom of Whitekeep and the curse on the crown family line. That curse was embodied in the current heir

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Challenge #03067-H144: Conditional Invulnerability

I’ll defeat you with the power of friendships

And this gun I found -- Anon Guest

"Look at you," crowed the big bad. Sure of their win. Floating on the rising waves of their own ego. "Another puny mortal trying to best me. Do you not know I cannot be defeated by any weapon made by the hands of flesh?"

"Yeah, I knew," said the hero. "I also knew that necromancy and skeletons doing the work. Bones are still flesh."

"And

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Challenge #03066-H143: Could is Not Should

Human: "Excuse me?"

Alliance Member: "Yes?"

Human: "I .. um.... kinda... messed up again."

Alliance Member: "Oh it's you.... OH! You didn't, please not again!?"

Human: "I really thought I could do it this time." The human held their broken arm and looked over at the trees that looked as though something large had just ripped through several of the small branches and leaves.

Alliance Member: "HOW many times do we have to tell you? Stop trying to get to the very top

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Challenge #03065-H142: According to What Plan?

A young man, still a boy really, is Called To Adventure. His mother, well aware of the mortality rate of heroes, leaves the rest of her children with her unmarried sister and sets out on her OWN journey, to make sure that her eldest survives HIS journey. -- Anon Guest

Everyone knows the story. A great and ancient wizard finds the hero foretold, who then goes across the country to fulfill a series of prophecies and finally defeat the ultimate evil, making

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Challenge #03064-H141: To Deal With Reformed Devils

the Deregulation brothers meet and start to work with with the gentleman that bought trash worlds and developed them into resorts.

Being the Fiscal Empire of Lodalute IS still a deregulation, and given how suspicious Deregulations are of anything from the Alliance, they are happy (and only a little suspicious) to offload their waste, and walking assets onto another Deregulation.

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-03010-h087-secrets-of-the-network

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-02955-h032-we-the-undersigned

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-02883-g326-learn-something-guys -- Adam in Darwin

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Challenge #03063-H140: True Ruin

The human psyche is a fragile thing, perhaps it’s meant to be pitiful. I wonder when was the last time I shed a tear. I lived for so long now. I absorb so much knowledge, however, I wonder whenever I lost more that what I’d gained. Have I... become numbed to other’s feelings gratitude and remorse? I kept the memories of what emotions feel like, even if that means that I’m barely able to recognize it. Perhaps, the

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