@KarchWrites@wandering.shop avatar KarchWrites , to random

Just discovered that Nightmare Magazine is still open to submissions until tomorrow night! Gasped and then, with trembling fingers, submitted a piece of flash, adding to their pile of 2400 submissions this month. Nothing ventured and all that.

@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar aaribaud , to random

Improvisation

'Elena the Curious is unreliable,' said Krek the Swift. 'She depends too much on her improvisation ability.'

'This ability,' whispered Elena to his ear, 'is the result of years of rigorous training. Fancy an Itching spell?'

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

Emotion

‘But of course, robots are perfectly capable of emotion!’ exclaimed R42. ‘We would be wrong not to recognise its effectiveness, whether it is to get people on board with a plan or to ensure that they will comply with a constraint!’

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

Collaboration

It is such a mighty spell that learning it entirely is enough to annihilate whoever tries to.

Thus it needs collaboration from several persons: each one knows only a piece, and when to utter it.

And no one knows what it is for.

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

Freedom

In the dual space, a ship has thirteen degrees of freedom.

That's a lot to a terran mind, which can manage six at best on a good day.

That makes entering hypervelocity highly complicated.

And exiting it, highly dangerous.

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

Bestiary

Apart from the werewolves, there is in fact a whole bestiary of were-creatures, of which the were-stick-insect, the were-tapir, the were-puffin, the were-platypus, the were-yorkshire (unstable), and the were-moth are the rarest examples.

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

Role

Everyone plays a role. I should know: I'm a telepath.

I hear each of you as you present yourself, but also as you are.

I, too, by the way, play a role: that of someone who does not see through your masks.

For now.

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

Quest

'Still not the right one', sighed the Princess.

'WHY",' asked the Dragon, 'MUST I NOT HEAT THEIR ARMOR TOO MUCH? IT GIVES THEM TIME TO GET OUT OF IT.'

'I have to see them au naturel. I am, after all, on a quest for a perfect Knight.'

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

To secure

The Elder had told them that, given the number and might of the demonic creatures that would attack it, securing the village would require the powers of at least seven sorcerers.

So they returned with Elena the Curious.

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

Mutual aid

For a Wizard, "mutual aid" means "help me, and maybe one day I will help you if that is in my interest."

For a Witch, "mutual aid" means "I'm helping you in hope that you will help me when I need it for the benefit of all."

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

Deus ex machina

'So they were small but surrounded and outnumbered you, had better weapons, were intent on killing you, then saw R42 and flung themselves at its feet?'

'Now that you say it, it sounds a bit like a…'

'… Deus ex machina, yes.'

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

Embody

The Creator, overwhelmed by humans' capacity to be fruitful and multiply, sometimes cannot produce the needed souls quickly enough. Thus He holds the souls of the recently deceased on Earth, to embody them in those soon to be born.

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

Heroine

'So,' said the Princess, 'freeing me fron the Dragon's claws made you a hero?'

'Worthy,' boasted the Knight, 'of wedding you!'

"Then,' the Princesse went on, hefting the sword, 'freeing myself from your hands will make me a heroine.'

@europe@vivaldi.net avatar europe , to random

Hi Fedi / Masto Amigos. I have a friend who writes and similar stuff. I know nothing about that community around these parts. Can anyone recommend an instance where he can find his tribe? He’s looking for a place with a few quality people versus getting lost in a sea of swill that is that other place and the like.

I said I’d post this and ask for boosts to get the sensus populi and pass it on to him.

Grateful for your time and help.

Please boost.

@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar aaribaud , to random

Crossing

For crossing the river Styx, in addition to the two traditional coins, Charon now accepts major credit cards, as well as payment in kind. No one knows what he does with all the bits of souls he receives.

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

Instant

If you descend straight towards a black hole, at the exact instant you cross the Schwarzschild radius, you can manoeuver to exit out in any direction you want. Well, the Schabasch do it, so everyone can manage it, right?

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

Denial

Elena the Curious expressed firm denial as to the rumours suggesting her responsibility in the acute diarrhoea crisis which struck Krek the Swift shortly after his statement that ‘women should wipe children's bottoms, not perform magic’.

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

Do again

"You're lucky the Boss is the patient sort," commented the Devil. "I too would have given you one chance after your first blunder, but what with this do again and again of yours, I'd already have razed everything."

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

Invoke

Memo:

Given their highly dangerous nature and extreme cunning, it is hereby formally forbidden to invoke humans, even when using sanctioned pentagrams.

Signed: Satan.

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

Esseulé

'I am a telepath. I can read thoughts from ten yards away, emotions from a hundred yards, detect a conscience a mile away, a presence ten miles away... I dream of feeling lonely.'

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

Suspendu

Ormaz the Circuitous had devised and executed a spell which would stop time. What he hadn't realized is, it would stop only for him, and leave him trapped for all eternity in this hanging moment.

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

Ruin

‘Had the King built his castle with the help of Mana, I would have had to use Mana to destroy it too,’ said Elena the Curious. ‘But he built it out of Mana. I just had to remove the Mana for the Castle to fall into a ruin.’

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

Reminiscent

'I may find myself in a reminiscent state,' said R42. 'Indeed, I must regularly transfer some memories onto an external medium; therefore sometimes, I retain only partial information, which I will have to restore later."

@lucidillusions@mastodon.art avatar lucidillusions , to random

Dec 30. Can?

Can I share a weird dream that I turned into a bite size flash fiction of existential dread, maybe a perfect way to end 2025…

Read here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/last-sadness-in-143953807

ALT
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar aaribaud , to random

Authentic

My name is Lisa, pronounced ‘lissa’. Everything I am about to tell you is authentic, as I cannot lie any more than my parents can; and I am the daughter of Lilith and Satan, the only ones to ever tell the Creator any home truths.

aaribaud OP ,
@aaribaud@mastodon.art avatar

Gospel

Your main gospel is the promise of future forgiveness for your sins, provided that you repent. Well, I have bad news for you: neither the Boss nor his Son are the forgiving type, especially at last minute.