Instant Story

Flash fiction fresh from my fingers to your mind!

Challenge #03812-J160: That One Place

Fights constantly broke out at this bar, but the man in the red, yellow, and black chevron tattoos down his arms was left strictly alone. -- Anon Guest

The sign out front named the establishment the Brawl Inn. The mandatory Standard Language prefixes for food, drink, and rest stood in front, declaring that all three were available within.

There's always a fight going on in there. It's one of the reasons why the plates and drinking vessels were metal. It's among the reason why the tables are bolted to the floor and the chairs are surprisingly bendy for all of their apparent structure.

A certain kind of Deathworlder frequents it. The kind of person who needs to "blow off steam" and beat the ever-loving excrement out of someone who can withstand the process. Those who frequent the Brawl Inn frequently leave it arm in arm with someone who they were punching mere minutes earlier.

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Challenge #03811-J159: Phenomena (do do do do do)

The rules said, do not contact those not ready for space flight. This culture was quite primitive, and religious. So the humans had to make a choice. Possibly risk interrupting the culture, and the religion, and rush in with their advanced tech to save the civilians before that huge quake they detected caused a tsunami that would wipe out almost the only large city on the entire planet, or sit back, do nothing as the rules dictated, and watch tens of thousands

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Challenge #03810-J158: Keep the Light Burning

Yet again, their human was finally located... asleep at their work desk. Ah, poor human. They needed to learn to stop pushing themselves so hard. Well, the young adult had quite a bit to learn. -- Anon Guest

As a Companion, it is crucial to be aware of the needs as well as the wants of your Ship's Human. Making a study of, and contributing to the Manual of Human Behaviour is vital. Not all Humans operate according to the extant rules.

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Challenge #03809-J157: Tactilely Rewarding

There was a small, human child staring at them. The small child shuffled closer then said, in a soft voice, "your fur looks soft. May I touch you? I washed my hands."

The child's hands were still slightly damp. -- Anon Guest

Humans are deadly, they leave a trail of blood in pursuit of conquest. Humans are insane, but there is method in their madness. They want to pet, tame, or ride any creature that they find. And if all else is

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Challenge #03808-J156: Around the Roadblock

Several Deregger rescues bemoan themselves, constantly claiming they are stupid and useless. The therapist tries an interesting tactic, and teaches them a puzzle game, Sudoku. -- Lessons

Dereggers were, as the Alliance liked to call them, Rescue Humans. Like any other creature that was rescued from a bad place, they had their issues.

"You provided Health and Caregiving with a list of your skills," said Therapist Vide, doing her best to avoid sounding reproachful. "There are several freelance jobs available that could

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Challenge #03807-J155: A Test of Mettle

The soldiers were tired, cranky, and sore. They looked at the young upstart who'd marched them far from where they thought they needed to go. The person wasn't what they wanted in a leader, but they quickly learned, the person was what they had NEEDED as one. -- Anon Guest

Of all the fates that an army could ever despise, it was being under the command of an untried, untested Noble with no knowledge of the battlefield. The stripling prince was barely

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Challenge #03806-J154: One More Chance

He had been human. He knew he had died. Why was he awake? Why was he moving? His body ached. And who were these people treating him like a small child? -- Anon Guest

This should not be happening. Of that, they were sure. There had been a risky skii trip to get -in retrospect- a silly little treat.

They couldn't remember what that was any more.

They could remember... A vast hatred in their spirit towards some people. People who had

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Challenge #03805-J153: Got 'Em!

Power goes out, kids are whining about having nothing to do. And whine even louder when the parental says, "Well, at least we have books." -- Anon Guest

Rennie took three deep breaths as Kody and Vince continued their howling. Of course, being forced to do reading was tantamount to homework and therefore the worst torture in the world.

"The other option is housework," said Rennie, immediately calming the boys down about their immediate future. "We can make it fun."

Kody and

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Challenge #03804-J152: Up For the Challenge?

Some giggling individuals who've eaten them plenty of times before, challenges Wraithvine to the equivalent of the Deathnut challenge. -- Anon Guest

[AN: I thought this was a thing I wrote about for a hot minute. You can imagine me frantically searching my archives for the thing. Anyway. Death Nuts are a brand of snack that include injurious amounts of capsaicin]

Allowing oneself to experience new things comes with its own risks. Since Wraithvine was gifted an eternal existence, ze was willing

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Challenge #03803-J150: Handy Crafts

Work has gotten so boring lately the human has taken to knitting to alleviate it. -- Anon Guest

The best thing for a Ships' Human to have is a boring job. That's what the old hands tend to say and the younger ones tend to puzzle about. Time tells all of the truth.

Human Dee was just starting to appreciate having a dull job. On the other hand, they still needed something to do.

The scientists were as safe as they could

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Challenge #03802-J149: Whoopsie Doopsie

Some children are playing, and a ball goes flying and accidentally hits a Havenworlder child. The parents, new refugees, are terrified their children will be thrown out an airlock, but the Havenworlder parents know, as does the medics, that the injuries are not severe, and it WAS just an innocent accident. -- Lessons

It's never easy to have shared play spaces for a multitude of cogniscent species. Though children easily learn about taking care and being gentle, there are still mishaps.

The

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Challenge #03801-J148: For My Love

A human makes an alcohol substitute that has the property that, no matter who drinks it, the person starts to laugh. That's all it does. Tastes good, but it's called giggle juice for a reason. -- Anon Guest

Dagoburt Gluv had a great love. As an innkeeper, he saw a lot of people, and knew a lot of things by pure osmosis. He also knew, and wished to keep Samara Oatbeard as both friend and wife.

Samara came by once a week

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Challenge #03800-J147: Wanted Dearly Elsewhere

They went from village to village gathering children no one wanted. No matter what the species were. Where they went after? To a special village just for them, where they grew up knowing nothing but love and kindness. -- Anon Guest

Everyone knows that Dragons have hoards. What's not as well known is the fact that some hoards are... non-standard.

Tambaga the Gleaming gathered hir hoards in the night, when people were prone to getting rid of them. Some were left in

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Challenge #03799-J146: It Ain't Broke

The dragon's scales would drop and turn to gold, and the village used it to make their coins. The one thing the dragon demanded was the village not get greedy about it.

The elders teach their children "Betray not the dragon that guards our homes, and allows us to live free. For if your heart grows cold and cruel, the dragon will forsake thee." -- Anon Guest

Welcome to Gilded Hills, here there be Dragon. Not a multitude. One is plenty.

Their

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Challenge #03798-J145: Let Them Eat Cheese

The humans.. they can make friends with ANYONE. They can tame almost ANY species. For as long as we can remember, the Thranityr variant known as Vorax were a scourge. They were one of the most terrifying races out there, cognizant-eaters! How.. humans have begun to befriend and change their very culture. No more killing and eating of cognizant, fewer piracy incidents.... what else is going to happen? We're not ungrateful but we have.. concerns. -- Anon Guest

The Thranityr knew where

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