Instant Story

Flash fiction fresh from my fingers to your mind!

Challenge #03065-H157: All Life Feeds on Death

"How do you think I feel seeing you eat a salad??"

A die-hard vegan's ship crash-lands on a planet that's what appears to almost be a haven world, lots of small animals, lots of plant life, absolutely paradise. Except...that the vegan sees a plant suddenly snap shut when an animal gets too close and the animal is eaten.

The cogniscents there are green, skin, hair, eyes, and they move with a slight rustling. They are descendant of carnivorous plants that have learned to become intelligent to survive. -- Fighting Fit

Some cogniscent beings just naturally come to blows. Be it conflicting biological needs, conflicting environmental necessities, or conflicting ideologies. It's just better for everyone if they're kept at least forty SDU[1] away from each other at all times. Some... do not have that option before they discover each other.

Human Lass was from the Ethical Superiority of Vigann. Ze had left to become a missionary of sorts and spread the good word of a clean, plant-based existence. Once the entire universe was completely in harmony, there would be no more need for wars, violence, or any nasty feelings at all. It was a lot of work to reform the universe, and Vigann made sure it was always sending out explorers to spread the good word.

It was astonishing how many cogniscents refused to listen to it. They used utter nonsense like the phrase "obligate carnivore", or "unsustainable aspirations", or "ridiculous pseudoscience." Lass was not discouraged. For every two hundred die-hard unbelievers, there were as many as seven who could be convinced to begin cleansing themselves of the alleged necessity of animal abuse and the products made from it. That was until she crashed on the Phloranian colony P'taal.

Support me on Patreon / Buy me a Ko-fi

Continue Reading

Prompts remaining: 49 Submit a Prompt! Ask a question! Buy my stories!

Challenge #03064-H156: Shall We Play a Game?

Anyone who ran a table would understand. -- AmberFox

[AN: Yeah nah that's a bad sesh there. And maybe bad management]

The life of the game master holds many roles. Storyteller, co-ordinator, plot-weaver... and primary parental to a group of people with the collective intelligence of a tadpole. It wasn't their fault. Not entirely. Players in a game this complicated had other things to concern themselves with between sessions. They had lives, errands, work, trivialities, and assorted nonsense that obscured their memories.

Read more »

Challenge #03063-H155: Handcrafted Hearth

Do you think, to prove it is love, not just an infatuation, he stays there? He learns to make musical instruments and presents to them to her for her approval or not? He starts to take singing lessons and asks to do duets with her? Maybe even introduces her to others as lovers and helps take care of tiefling children, all the while making it clear that he believes he owes HER, not her owing him, for the gift of her music

Read more »

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

Read more »

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

Read more »

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

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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

Read more »

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

Read more »

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

Read more »

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

Read more »

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

Read more »

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

Read more »

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

Read more »

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

Read more »