Instant Story

Challenge #00342: Wild Goose Chase

The Three Pig Trick: Releasing into an area three havoc-causing animals, traditionally pigs, labelled 1, 2 and 4, (may be scaled up for larger numbers of animals) and watching the chaos ensue in catching the labeled animals and searching for the nonexistent missing numbered ones.

The premise was simple. There was a large flock of numbered geese in a fenced enclosure. Their opponents had to catch every last one alive before they went after Shayde and her reluctant companion, Rael.

It shocked him that Shayde herself cheerfully blew the starting whistle.

“Reet,” she said, turning away from the chaos of feathers, hunters and angry geese. “Let’s leg it fer the ship and piss off home.”

“What? That’s against the rules…”

“So’s makin’ sure there’s no’ a hundred geese in there.”

“What?”

“I might'a erased Forty-two and Seventy-three. And set ‘em a bit loose.” She grinned. “C'mon. Ere they catch on.”

Rael had to follow so he could ask, “How can you possibly believe they’ll let you get away with this?”

“Ye only get tae get away with the three-pig-trick once. So I made sure they didnae know it.”

“Those are geese…”

“Same principal, different pun.” She seized his hand and began running in ernest.

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Challenge #00340: Send Me an Angel

(parte deux)

There are two main Slenderman mythos’ on the internet, both spawned from the same sets of images and data, and later the games.

The Second is a monster that hides in the shadows, a silent watcher and protector. He likes the children, they can see him sometimes, and he will keep them safe. His punishment may be swift or slow, sometimes deadly and always utterly terrifying. If an adult can see him, it is already too late no matter

Challenge #00339: The Thin Man

There are two main Slenderman mythos’ on the internet, both spawned from the same sets of images and data, and later the games.

The First is a monster that lurks in the dark, steals or follows children for unknown purposes that vary from story to story, some more dangerous than others. Some accounts put him at merely feeding on momentary terror, others range through feeding on souls, or blood, or simply creating more slender, faceless creatures

I showed them, yesterday. The

Challenge #00338: The Return of Wark

Someone has taken a formal invitation to its logical creative interpretation and shown up/put someone else in a literal penguin suit

“I still say the instructions were a little vague,” said Rael.

“You managed tae follow them,” Shayde noted. She was resplendent in an empire-line gown in gold and white. She’d also done something with her hair that made it sparkle.

“Yes, but I know your lexicon. Others are not so advantaged. I had

Challenge #00337: The real reason why you don't cross your own time stream

“It’s not the whole risk of changing-historical-events/becoming-your-own-dad/killing-your-ancestors thing that aggravates me most about time travel, it’s keeping all the damn tenses and grammar straight - when you try talking about something you already did, but that you did in the future, that will lead to something you’re going to do, that you’ll do in the past - it’s enough to drive a person insane, it is.”

Paul had

Challenge #00336: Vulnerable

“No, Lasagne! My only weakness!”

Rael did his utmost to resist Shayde’s variants of charm. It rarely worked, but he persisted. Often as much as she did.

It had, in fact, reached the point where she arrived with temptation in hand. Usually in a tin box, but this time, she arrived with a thermally insulated parcel.

“I know ye dinnae like the ballet, but I have tae go an’ yer me preferred plus one. And ye

Challenge #00335: To Be a F.A.I.R.Y

“When you wish upon a star, it’s actually a satellite. Your wish has been recorded and an agent assigned to your case.”

She’d just passed the written test. She knew the rules. When it came to wish granting, they gave the toughest one of the day to the rookies. To see what they could do.

It was all part and parcel of being a F.A.I.R.Y. Facilitating All Invocations, Responding Yesterday.

It was

Challenge #00334: The first Christmas in Space

Someone has set up a little model nativity scene, and then has to explain to the others “why they are sacrificing that baby to the animals”

The ships’ human had set up a small altar in their assigned space. There was a small pine tree (live) that had been stasis-shipped from Britania. There was assorted sparkly lights, a metallic plastic substance referred to as ‘tinfoil’ and numerous spheroids hung about the little branches.

The saurians who were

Challenge #00333: Look at This Photograph...

That’s what chilled me most about the picture when I saw it again, when I really got a good look the second time. Without that single detail, it could’ve really been perfectly ordinary, like any other plain old image taken a million times by a million other people. It looked so deceptively normal except for the one thing that could never, ever be normal. – Josh

It was blurry, but the eye could make out what appeared to be

Challenge #00332: Wark

Someone has been crammed into a penguin suit, protesting or not, and wow does it look good on them

The last thing he remembered was a voice demanding, “FORMAL ATTIRE IS MANDATORY,” before the minions descended.

He missed his JOAT coat the most. At least the shoes were marginally serviceable. Too shiny and too thin, but they could do in a pinch.

The pants were completely wrong. Black was not his colour. He was anti-religious. The white waistcoat fit his

Challenge #00331: Unexpectedly Useful

“What a good thing you had all those clockwork ducks”

[AN: Your Girl Genius fandom is showing. And so is mine, because I know exactly where that line came from]

Rael peeked through the one hole in the barrier that let him see without being seen.

“Okay,” he recapped. “They’ve got our ship surrounded. They’re armed to the teeth. And there’s hundreds of them. And only two of us.”

Shayde

Challenge #00330: Fool Me Twice

Friends help you move, real friends help you move bodies.

[TW: Rape, violence]

“Ari, what the shit?”

“I told him. I warned him. I said. You heard. I said. I told him. I’d survived one. I escaped two. I told him. Never again.”

There was no doubt she’d been defending herself. The RapeX was still clinging to his shriveling and bleeding member. Ari bore the bloody evidence of a struggle. She clung with a

Challenge #00329: Old Wars, New Combattants

Getting inventive with the dress code

There is a Galactic adage: if you want something done, tell a human it’s impossible.

Kasib Campbell had purchased the JOAT conglomerate and decided to begin bringing order to the naturally chaotic JOATs at Amalgam Station.

Shayde, somehow always by his side, was seething. She’d tried to warn him, and he’d dismissed it as one of her many mental disorders. But, right now, in this room, a Campbell had come

Challenge #00328: ...and Wherefores

Gil took longer than most children to grow out of the “why?” stage (either Klaus or Von Pinn dealing with him at that age, you pick, I just want to see toddler!Gil and hilarity)

It was a little celebration amongst the rigger rats. They called it Family Day, and used it to remember the people they had left behind. Gil enjoyed the stories the others told but, when it came to his turn, his joyful mood fell to ash.

Challenge #00327: A Gru-some Predicament

The minions have unionized and gone on strike

[AN: I just fell over backwards in the bathroom and did something horrible to my right arm. This fillet is being typed left-handed LIKE A BOSS. PS: it’s not broken, but it hurts like fuck]

“DE BA DO! DE BA DO!” the minions chanted, marching in circles in the underground complex that was both their workplace and their home. They carried placards with their grievances.

Alas, they were written in

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Flash fiction fresh from my fingers to your mind!

Challenge #00342: Wild Goose Chase

Challenge #00340: Send Me an Angel

Challenge #00339: The Thin Man

Challenge #00338: The Return of Wark

Challenge #00337: The real reason why you don't cross your own time stream

Challenge #00336: Vulnerable

Challenge #00335: To Be a F.A.I.R.Y

Challenge #00334: The first Christmas in Space

Challenge #00333: Look at This Photograph...

Challenge #00332: Wark

Challenge #00331: Unexpectedly Useful

Challenge #00330: Fool Me Twice

Challenge #00329: Old Wars, New Combattants

Challenge #00328: ...and Wherefores

Challenge #00327: A Gru-some Predicament