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A 253-post collection

Challenge #02381-F191: Viva La Revolution

The peppy one with beautiful blond hair is always in black and the one with dyed-black spiky hair is always in soft pastels. -- Anon Guest

She wore braids. Neat, tidy braids she wound into a knot of a bun in the back of her head. The only thing that changed about that 'do was the length and volume of the hair, and that was progress that was annually cut back. The rest of her choices were pretty much anything she liked as long as it was black and fit within the narrow confines of the school dress code.

He was the one who actually spent the most on his look. It took Tony two days to work out what actual rebelling looked like and made it a point to wear everything listed on the "do not wear" list that was exclusively for the girls. Bright, glittery, neon pastels in every colour of nature and more than a few that weren't. Every variation of booty shorts, fishnets, off-the-shoulder tops, backless or crop he could lay his hands on. The sideless ones, the peek-a-boo holes. All of it. Since the regulations were more strict about hair dye, he chose black. It was, after all, a natural colour, but there was nothing natural about this black at all. Especially not with the amount of hair product he used to spike it within an inch of its life.

Interestingly, the school bullies had little to do with them. Any insult directed at Rebeccah slid right off with a, "Thank you," or a, "That's nice." On rare occasions, the intended tormentor might receive a, "I'm sorry you feel that way," but otherwise they made no impact on her at all. She continued to wear black, continued to keep her hair braided and neatly tucked out of the way, and continued to have a 4.0 GPA because she allegedly didn't have a life. As for Tony... well... even aggressive heteronormativity has its limits. The burliest, toughest, most aggressive young men of the school took one look at Tony, figured out that he had to be doing it on purpose as bait or something, and kept a ten meter radius around him clear of any kind of assault-related shenanigans.

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Challenge #02379-F189: For a Thousand Years

"I believe there's something good in him."

"That's childish."

"So? Children can be right too." -- Anon Guest

"We're talking about a man who has rounded up millions of people, put them into life-endangering camps when he and his cohort couldn't outright kill them, denied them basic human rights, denied them humanity, cowed the populace with both his super-loyal adherents and threats of physical and legal violence, and is one hundred percent in favour of eliminating anyone who isn't a member of

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Challenge #02363-F173: The Ego Won't Be Landing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDs5Abg0M9A -- AmberFox

There is, in fact, a Starman waiting in the sky. He is not leaning back on his radio, as the song once said, but is seated comfortably in a red roadster, wearing a stylish spacesuit. He posed so that he could, with a glance, read the dashboard display that says, Don't Panic!

He does not say anything. He does not do anything. That's because he is, in fact, a dummy. An effigy of

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Challenge #02356-F166: Strange... on a Train

"May I scare you?"

"What?"

"May I scare you. I want to scare someone but just doing it outright would make me feel guilty. So, I was hoping someone would give me permission to scare them." -- Anon Guest

"Well, it's going to be a bit more difficult than jumping up at me and yelling 'boo'," said Mae. "I know it's coming, now. Jumpscares can't work if they're anticipated."

"Oh, I know this," said the amenable stranger. "I have an entirely different

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Challenge #02355-F165: A Peculiar Friendship

It had waited 3 hours for her. It had planned it's attack for days on end. It knew exactly how to take her down, and it would have already done it, if not for one question.

"Are you scared too?" -- Anon Guest

Ze who hesitates is lost, -- Ancient wisdom.

Unfortunately for Grethagh, terror of the darkness, it was remembered too late. This was its first hunt, and taking its time to enjoy it had seemed like a rational choice. Now?

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Challenge #02349-F159: Encounter After Bedtime

So, what would you do if there WAS a monster under your bed? -- Anon Guest

From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties, and things that go bump in the night... Saen took a deep breath. Dark plus imagination lead to some degree of fear, and tonight's degree was too harsh to handle. Crying about monsters under the bed was too childish, now. She was six. She could read and dress herself and pronounce funny dinosaur names and being scared of monsters

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Challenge #02346-F156: Darby O'Gill Sends His Regards

https://cheeseanonioncrisps.tumblr.com/post/169821900050/a-lot-of-humans-are-weird-posts-play-with-the

Dear InterNutter,

Since you have blessed us with all your lovely writings of the many wondrous worlds you have created while juggling life, kids and painful weather phenomenon I would like to give you something to enjoy reading instead of writing about. Although it's not mine to give, please enjoy it.

Thank you! -- Amberfox

[AN: the text in this link is way too long to transcribe, so please read it in a new tab

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Challenge #02339-F149: Taking Account

Political Hopeful scouting for votes and says "Those Words" - "How can I help?" You can spin this anyway you like. -- Anon Guest

There's two ways to be a Politico of the People. One is to take the vocal majority's word and run with it all the way to a populist poll... and the other is to actually listen to all of the people. The latter is far more difficult to do and harder to accomplish, so many Politico's don't even

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Challenge #02336-F146: We Can be Heroes

Almost everyone remembers where they were the week the Sun turned Green. Scientists the world over confirmed it was an interstellar dust wave caused by an ancient supernova that had interacted with our atmosphere.

Humanity had continued mostly unaffected. But this was the stuff of comic books and movies. the changes were subtle at first. People noticing enhanced benefits from consuming certain plants, others started tapping into new abilities, and as time progressed things became... strange

now we had almost legitimate "supers"

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Challenge #02313-F123: Paradise Cracked

Our Utopia is the Dystopia of the Future.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cDeMzg31T2I -- Anon Guest

There is no such thing as a perfect world. We try to imagine them, but our present shapes the future we envision. The writer of the first such utopian fiction couldn't imagine a perfect world without slavery. Others in later eras and other cultures could only imagine rugged individualism as saving the day, instead of steadily ruining the country.

Some didn't get much further

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Challenge #02302-F112: Dire for Dairy

"Just go out and do it, it's not that difficult."

"I mean, everything is difficult when you have anxiety, so yeah." -- Anon Guest

Everyone thinks anxiety is just being nervous. Just go down to the shops and buy a thing of milk, is not that easy. For an anxious person... it's more like this:

First, one must prepare for the journey. Supplies checked twice and preparations for the journey ahead inventoried thrice. Once that is done, the brave must face the

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Challenge #02291-F101: Kitchen Parley

"Let's see how strong this little 'rebellion' is." I walked to my son's door and knocked. "I know you don't feel like talking to me, but I wanted to let you know there's pie in the kitchen." I set up the plates and took out the pie, and was very happy to hear the creak of his door. -- Anon Guest

Teenagers had to be the most misunderstood age grouping in the world. They were given all the responsibilities of adulthood but

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Challenge #02288-F098: All Nerds Together

There are many types of nerds. Science nerds, language nerds, sports nerds, food nerds, etc. -- Anon Guest

"NERD!"

Al ducked the incoming half-cup of fluid. This was the third time in as many minutes. This was, apparently, what they deserved for wearing a Steampunk shirt, a TARDIS cap, and carrying a Tote of Holding. Not helping were the rainbow socks and the cargo pants with the belt and braces.

Al took a deep breath. Glared at the jocks across the way,

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Challenge #02286-F096: An Effective Apocollapse

"Interesting Times" the four horsemen of panic. "Misinformation, Rumour, Gossip and Denial". And Boy! does this remind me of politics, common and the more toxic. -- Knitnan

This is the way the world ends, T. S. Elliot wrote, Not with a bang, but a whimper. How sad, how tragic, that it almost came true. For the Horsemen to ride, it wasn't necessary to have War, Famine, Pestilence and Death in force. No, they started much, much smaller. After all, it is from

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Challenge #02281-F091: The Threshold

You'll need the wayback machine. A man stands in front of a door. It can lead anywhere. Dare you step through? -- Anon Guest

Presented for your approval, the image of a man in a grey suit. The man is also in tones of grey. To see him, and the door he offers you, is to see into different realities where anything from creeping horror to sublime delight awaits on the other side. It is, without a doubt, the trip of a

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