Instant Story

Challenge #01755-D294: Cut the Glorx Wire

"Have you ever disarmed one of these before?"

"Meh. How hard could it be?" -- Bard2DBone

The strange symbols were counting. That much was recognisable by the repeated sequences. And they seemed to be counting down, too. It was easy to connect the dots. Alien device that was likely counting down? Rising ominous hum? Things were going south quickly.

Therefore, it was time to deploy the human.

Human Shaniqua sighed and placed herself down by the device. There were her usual rituals. The cracking of the knuckles. The rubbing of the fingertips. The exploring of her dentin outcroppings inside her mouth. The rest of the crew retreated when she whistled backwards. A certain sign of incoming and inabling[1] expenses.

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Challenge #01754-D293: Caught!

"I can explain! I swear!"

"Let's hear it."

"Aw hell. Just skip to the beating." -- Anon Guest

It was one of those situations. Stealth mission. Retrieve the Macguffin of Wherever, and do so in such a way that there are minimum fireworks, thank you, Taako. Taako automatically gave Madam Director his usual forged picture of innocence and Who Sweet Little Me routine.

She wasn't fooled for an instant. Neither was the boy. Angus McDonald, world's greatest boy detective.

And now, several

Challenge #01753-D292: Quest's End

"Are you okay?"

"I may be crying, but I can still kick your ass!" -- OohLookShiny

To be heroic, you don't have to be physically strong. It's an advantage to have that, but it is not necessary. To be heroic, all one needs to do is continue in your efforts to improve the world despite the torturous circumstances in your way. People even have a term for the sort who can deal a lot of damage, but also end up almost ruined

Challenge #01752-D291: It's Actually a Dramatisation of Real Events

There are three! I mean three Tardises parked in the car-park - in the Director's, and The Chairman's spaces and now all three of Him are arguing with themselves and waving their sonics at each other. -- Anon Guest

"I'm here to right a grievous wrong."

"I'm here to right a grievous wrong."

It was a three-way Gallifreyan stand-off. All on the set. All between people who looked remarkably similar to the actors who had played them. Tensions were high. And at

Challenge #01751-D290: In a Bygone Time

Critics review of The Mikado, performed by St Trinians School for Young Ladies. -- Anon Guest

The papers flew in, and for once, the girls did not blow up the paperboy. They'd been waiting for these particular editions with bated breath. They were the ones with the reviews in them. The girls wanted to read about the raving.

The dozen or so in the cast thundered down the stairs to their school song, "Maidens of Saint Trinians, gird your armour on/ Grab

Challenge #01750-D289: Confessions at a Bus Stop

Writer caught doing research, then realises 'captive audience'. -- Anon Guest

Officer René wasn't intending to be on duty. They were just chilling near the bus stop and not paying attention to anything much. Someone was already under the shelter and working on their laptop.

And then they heard the words, "No... that's too much decapitation. Uh... pierced jugular. Slow. Plenty of signs of blood spatter."

There are some things you hear that you're better off walking away from. There are some

Challenge #01749-D288: Hear Me Roar

They called them "The Ladies from Hell" the bravest one was not carrying a weapon but a musical instrument. -- Knitnan

Revolution comes in many forms. A poisoned chalice. A coup detat. Violence in the streets. Quiet murder in between the sheets. This one began with an infant daughter, wailing in her mother's arms, and an urgent flight into the night.

Twenty women before her had borne that man daughters. And twenty women and their daughters had died the next day. Ralin

Challenge #01748-D287: War of the Sexes

Why do women's clothing never have pockets? -- Anon Guest

Everyone thinks it's the purse industry. Selling ladies all forms of impractical bags of varying sizes that, though they look pretty, are a pain to manage. Those that hang off the shoulder cause damage to the tendons. Those clutched in the hand are hard to keep track of. And those with large bags suffer the worst, because their significant others use them as pack horses.

That's only part of it.

The strangest

Challenge #01747-D286: Stop Me if You've Heard This One

"Okay, this might be scary so if you need some time to prepare-"

"Jokes on you I'm terrified a hundred percent of the time anyway!" -- OohLookShiny

A Havenworlder and a Deathworlder walk into a bar...

So very many jokes start this way, including the off-colour one that also included cogniphagia. But this time, it was reality. The Havenworlder was in their livesuit and tucked under the arm of the deathworlder. A big, burly, brick of a human.

The worst kind.

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Challenge #01746-D285: Why Not Have Both?

Don't be eye candy, be soul food. -- Anon Guest

After the Hunger War, things were relatively quiet. Never too quiet, because despite the differences that were buried to literally fight for life, people liked to remember a grudge or three. The Bureaux of Balance went public and attempted to help keep a lid on things.

And despite semi-retirement, it wasn't that much of a shock to see living legends turn up in situations loaded with strife. Well. Technically three living legends,

Challenge #01745-D284: Wolf by the Fireplace

How about alien species who don't realize we're allegedly the dominant species on the planet? Maybe they value empathy more than intelligence, which would make dogs the most likely contender for dominant life form. -- Bard2DBone

When humanity met the Fressik, there was some evident confusion and quite a lot of debate. They had crashed on a colony world, and hit some large buildings, so the rescue teams had the rescue dogs with them. The smaller ones worked their way through the

Challenge #01744-D283: The Allure

He was always the cool guy, best clothes, best attitude - He didn't get the girl. The class Dork the one who watched weird stuff, wore Those T shirts did. When the chips are down who can you rely on? -- Anon Guest

Travis was the pretty boy, and the bad boy. The rebel without a clue, as some of the teachers said. He always had a skateboard and could miraculously make it vanish before a teacher saw it. He could cuss

Challenge #01743-D282: Absence Makes...

"Ugh, I never would have made any friends if I knew I was gonna waste so much time missing them when they're away." -- OohLookShiny

If there was any one, universal truth to the tragedy of Jarik's life, it was this: Everyone leaves.

Ze was orphaned young. A disaster that ze couldn't remember and that politicians denied being to blame for for years afterwards. After the disaster was a fact of hir life. Always moving. Never calling any place home. Months spent

Challenge #01742-D281: Certain Signs of Doom

When a human is running scared, drop everything and run away with them. -- Anon Guest

Humans get many jobs, all across the outskirts of the Galactic Alliance. In the Fringe Territories, laws are enforced based entirely on how useful they are to follow. As civilisation creeps in, the humans creep out before they become the tolerated exception. That's the thing about fringes and frontiers. There's always more of them.

Here on the edge, overlooking a large and ancient Sargasso, is Bodgy

Challenge #01741-D280: When Next You Stop

High Magics: Fuck you and fuck the piece of reality you were standing on -- RecklessPrudence

Ever after, even in the depths of his self-exile, he would remember the first time that the elf used his name. He'd been travelling with the show for months, and knew everyone. And everyone knew him. Except the elf. It was difficult to tell whether they were male or female and they deliberately exploited that to unnerve people.

They were between towns, camping temporarily along the

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Challenge #01755-D294: Cut the Glorx Wire

Challenge #01754-D293: Caught!

Challenge #01753-D292: Quest's End

Challenge #01752-D291: It's Actually a Dramatisation of Real Events

Challenge #01751-D290: In a Bygone Time

Challenge #01750-D289: Confessions at a Bus Stop

Challenge #01749-D288: Hear Me Roar

Challenge #01748-D287: War of the Sexes

Challenge #01747-D286: Stop Me if You've Heard This One

Challenge #01746-D285: Why Not Have Both?

Challenge #01745-D284: Wolf by the Fireplace

Challenge #01744-D283: The Allure

Challenge #01743-D282: Absence Makes...

Challenge #01742-D281: Certain Signs of Doom

Challenge #01741-D280: When Next You Stop