#writever Remembered
'How could I not have remembered,' said the Dragon.
'Ten years ago this very day,' said the Knight.
'At least,' said the Princess, "the beating I gave you both will have taught you not to meddle in women's affairs."
#writever Consume
Wizards accumulate Mana within themselves for the day they need it, and in the meantime, let it consume them.
Witches only keep with themselves enough Mana for the near future. This gives them more longevity.
#writever Remembered
'How could I not have remembered,' said the Dragon.
'Ten years ago this very day,' said the Knight.
'At least,' said the Princess, "the beating I gave you both will have taught you not to meddle in women's affairs."
#writever 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."
#writever Consume
Wizards accumulate Mana within themselves for the day they need it, and in the meantime, let it consume them.
Witches only keep with themselves enough Mana for the near future. This gives them more longevity.
#writever 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.’
#writever 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."
Deadline 31 January 2026 — #FlashFiction and narrative #poetry competition, Hot Flashes, and also stories and poems for possible inclusion in a new anthology to be published in April 2026. For full details, see https://paradisepress.org.uk/projects.html
The competition will have four categories:
- Under 40 words prose (for poetry – #haiku, #limerick or #clerihew).
- Under 300 words prose, or, for poetry – #sonnet, or other form under 20 lines.
- Under 600 words prose (poetry under 40 lines).
- Under 1000 words prose (poetry under 70 lines).
The anthology is for #LGBTQ writers and straight allies, but submissions do not have to be about sexuality. The submission must not contain material produced by AI, and must not have appeared in any publication with an ISBN.
#writever 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.
#writever 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.’
#writever 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.'
#writever 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.
#writever 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.'
Deadline 31 January 2026 — #FlashFiction and narrative #poetry competition, Hot Flashes, and also stories and poems for possible inclusion in a new anthology to be published in April 2026. For full details, see https://paradisepress.org.uk/projects.html
The competition will have four categories:
- Under 40 words prose (for poetry – #haiku, #limerick or #clerihew).
- Under 300 words prose, or, for poetry – #sonnet, or other form under 20 lines.
- Under 600 words prose (poetry under 40 lines).
- Under 1000 words prose (poetry under 70 lines).
The anthology is for #LGBTQ writers and straight allies, but submissions do not have to be about sexuality. The submission must not contain material produced by AI, and must not have appeared in any publication with an ISBN.
Naughty or nice? Which list will you be on this Christmas?
Do You Believe In Father Christmas?
#flashfiction #Christmas #ghoststories #ChristmasFiction #Paranormal #ShortStory #FatherChristmas #SantaClaus
Naughty or nice? Which list will you be on this Christmas?
Do You Believe In Father Christmas?
#flashfiction #Christmas #ghoststories #ChristmasFiction #Paranormal #ShortStory #FatherChristmas #SantaClaus
Weird X-Mas 2025
Benvenute creature alla call ufficiale per il quarto calendario dell'avvento WEIRD X-MAS dello Scartafaccio. Per chi non conoscesse l'iniziativa faccio una breve panoramica:Ogni anno il mio profilo IG organizza un calendario dell'avvento di micro-fiction, quindi di racconti di al massimo 1'000 battute scritti da VOI. Alla fine vengono pubblicati ventiquattro raccontini a tema natalizio ma con twist fantastici, strani e/o orrorifici. Ma attenzione! Da quest'anno cambiano sia le modalità di […]
Weird X-Mas 2025
Benvenute creature alla call ufficiale per il quarto calendario dell'avvento WEIRD X-MAS dello Scartafaccio. Per chi non conoscesse l'iniziativa faccio una breve panoramica:Ogni anno il mio profilo IG organizza un calendario dell'avvento di micro-fiction, quindi di racconti di al massimo 1'000 battute scritti da VOI. Alla fine vengono pubblicati ventiquattro raccontini a tema natalizio ma con twist fantastici, strani e/o orrorifici. Ma attenzione! Da quest'anno cambiano sia le modalità di […]
1/2
Warning: Contains period appropriate slurs.
Flight Lieutenant Sam Mitchell was sitting in the pilot's seat of the Mosquito, with Flight Sergeant Bill Ford in the navigator's seat next to them. It was night and they could see the tracer rounds from the German night-fighter flash past them. Any moment now they would be replaced with cannon rounds, and that would be the end of them. Sam rammed the throttles forward and put the wooden aircraft into a sharp climb. The two Merlin engines screamed as the propellers tore the air apart. Another burst of tracers, closer this time.
"Damn! It must be one of those new Kraut birds with rockets under the wings!" Sam yelled in frustration.
"And we've got foo-fighters on our starboard. Keep clear of them!" Bill called back.
"Why? What's up with them?"
"They say that any plane that touches them is never seen again."
Another burst of tracers, this one nicking the outer port wing.
"Can't be any worse than collecting a bunch of cannon shells!" Sam wrenched the stick around, and turned into the glowing light.
"No! Don't!"
The engines stopped. Suddenly it was daylight, and they both blinked hard to clear their eyes. Bill looked to where the foo-fighter had been. In its place there was a human-sized figure, with gossamer wings holding onto the wing of the bomber. She was naked.
Bill stared.
"Damn the engines won't restart. Bill? Can you recycle the fuel pump by hand? Bill? Bill?" Getting no response Sam looked over and saw what Bill was staring at. The fairy grinned with sharp teeth, waved at Sam, and let go of the wing.
"Bill, the fairy is gone, can you try pressurising the fuel pump by hand?"
"Uh, yeah, sure."
After a few minutes it was clear that the engines were not going to restart.
"OK, I'm going to have to dead-stick her in. Can you see anywhere to land?"
Bill looked into the bombsight for a few moments, then "There's a beach just below us. It looks big enough."
"OK, I'll take us in."
Ten minutes later the aircraft bounced along the hard-packed sand, and rolled to a surprisingly orderly stop.
Bill and Sam climbed out, and looked around. The sea was perfectly flat and blue, to the other side of the beach, there was a forest, emerald green in the summer sun. It had been mid-winter not half an hour ago.
"Um, Bill, I think we might be in fairyland. You know, Underhill."
"So don't eat anything?"
"Not if you want to leave" a voice came from behind them.
They turned to see the fairy that had been on their wing standing on the sand.
"Those are most unflattering." A wave of the hand saw Bill dressed in doublet and hose, while Sam was suddenly in a flowing gown that covered everything but left little to the imagination "Much better."
"Um, Sam, how come?" Bill started to ask.
Sam looked down, and swore. "Shit. I guess the cat's out of the bag. Yes, Bill, I'm a woman."
Bill blinked "We thought you were a nancy! You fly so well, no-one cared."
2/2
"Excuse me!" the fairy interrupted "You are both mortals in the lands of the Summer Queen. You may leave if you find the way out, but only if you don't eat anything."
"Right, and I suppose you are not going to tell us how to leave?" Bill asked.
"Oh, I can. Are you willing to pay the price though?"
Sam broke in "What is the price?"
The fairy grinned, all sharp teeth "A memory".
Bill started to say something, when Sam clapped her hand over his mouth. "Let me guess, the memory is of having lived outside of these lands."
The fairy clapped and laughed "Oh, I like you. You are so much cleverer than the usual run. How clever are you?"
Sam thought for a moment, then "How about a deal?"
"A deal? How delightful. Go on."
"You tell Bill how to leave, and you get to keep me."
"You swear to never try to leave?"
"So long as Bill gets to go home back to Beaker Hill airfield and arrive safe, unharmed, and with a plausible reason for his appearance, and my absence."
"Uh, Sam," Bill interjected "what about you?"
"Bill, you have a fiance and a family. My family were all killed in the Blitz. I took my brother's place so I could sign up."
"So," the fairy broke in "if you have nothing to lose, what do I have to gain?"
"I lose the chance of revenge against the Nazis who killed my family."
The fairy stared, the grin gone suddenly "You would give that up for him? We understand revenge just as well as you mortals, and you would give it up?"
"It is the right thing to do."
"Deal!" and the fairy turned to Bill "Just dive into the ocean. You will surface next to one of your rescue boats. Go. Now!"
"Go on, Bill. I'll be fine."
"Is your name even Sam?"
"No dice - names have power here. Just go."
Bill waded into the water and dived under. He did not reappear.
"Now, miss lady who is not Sam" said the fairy "what is the real reason?"
"What I said was true. But also if I were to return there would be a medical exam. And my disguise would never survive that."
"How did you get through the enlistment?"
"My brother had already had his medical. And we were twins."
"Ah. So what shall I call you?"
"Keep calling me Sam. It will do. What do I call you, my lady?"
"Hmm.. just call me, oh, I know. Call me 'Summer'."
Sam frowned, and then a look of realization came over her. She bowed "Very well Summer. When no one is around, that is what I will call you."
"Very quick. Tell me what were you before you became a warrior?"
Sam grinned "Something much more dangerous. A writer."
1/2
Warning: Contains period appropriate slurs.
Flight Lieutenant Sam Mitchell was sitting in the pilot's seat of the Mosquito, with Flight Sergeant Bill Ford in the navigator's seat next to them. It was night and they could see the tracer rounds from the German night-fighter flash past them. Any moment now they would be replaced with cannon rounds, and that would be the end of them. Sam rammed the throttles forward and put the wooden aircraft into a sharp climb. The two Merlin engines screamed as the propellers tore the air apart. Another burst of tracers, closer this time.
"Damn! It must be one of those new Kraut birds with rockets under the wings!" Sam yelled in frustration.
"And we've got foo-fighters on our starboard. Keep clear of them!" Bill called back.
"Why? What's up with them?"
"They say that any plane that touches them is never seen again."
Another burst of tracers, this one nicking the outer port wing.
"Can't be any worse than collecting a bunch of cannon shells!" Sam wrenched the stick around, and turned into the glowing light.
"No! Don't!"
The engines stopped. Suddenly it was daylight, and they both blinked hard to clear their eyes. Bill looked to where the foo-fighter had been. In its place there was a human-sized figure, with gossamer wings holding onto the wing of the bomber. She was naked.
Bill stared.
"Damn the engines won't restart. Bill? Can you recycle the fuel pump by hand? Bill? Bill?" Getting no response Sam looked over and saw what Bill was staring at. The fairy grinned with sharp teeth, waved at Sam, and let go of the wing.
"Bill, the fairy is gone, can you try pressurising the fuel pump by hand?"
"Uh, yeah, sure."
After a few minutes it was clear that the engines were not going to restart.
"OK, I'm going to have to dead-stick her in. Can you see anywhere to land?"
Bill looked into the bombsight for a few moments, then "There's a beach just below us. It looks big enough."
"OK, I'll take us in."
Ten minutes later the aircraft bounced along the hard-packed sand, and rolled to a surprisingly orderly stop.
Bill and Sam climbed out, and looked around. The sea was perfectly flat and blue, to the other side of the beach, there was a forest, emerald green in the summer sun. It had been mid-winter not half an hour ago.
"Um, Bill, I think we might be in fairyland. You know, Underhill."
"So don't eat anything?"
"Not if you want to leave" a voice came from behind them.
They turned to see the fairy that had been on their wing standing on the sand.
"Those are most unflattering." A wave of the hand saw Bill dressed in doublet and hose, while Sam was suddenly in a flowing gown that covered everything but left little to the imagination "Much better."
"Um, Sam, how come?" Bill started to ask.
Sam looked down, and swore. "Shit. I guess the cat's out of the bag. Yes, Bill, I'm a woman."
Bill blinked "We thought you were a nancy! You fly so well, no-one cared."
#PennedPossibilities 760 — MC POV: Describe who you are in your group of friends. Tell is if you’re the motherly / fatherly type, the funny friend, the serious one, etc.
Friends, Friendship. Teammates. Buddies. Partners in crime†. Frankly, I don't get it. I do the job and make sure everybody comes back. I train them until they drop in a sweaty heap, but then they insist on group meals and singing, that stuff, and won't let me pay. Sure I have everybody's back in a fight, or with clients, or the boss, but that's the right thing to do. I am responsible for them. They ask me for advice, too. Sometime weird. I ended up punching the cheating husband when he made a pass at me, which was actually sort of fun. At times they won't leave me along to be quiet with my books, which is really all I want out of life. I am really the wrong person to ask such a question to.
=-=-=-=-=-=
† Literally.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#mystery #thriller #romance #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory#RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory
#PennedPossibilities 760 — MC POV: Describe who you are in your group of friends. Tell is if you’re the motherly / fatherly type, the funny friend, the serious one, etc.
Friends, Friendship. Teammates. Buddies. Partners in crime†. Frankly, I don't get it. I do the job and make sure everybody comes back. I train them until they drop in a sweaty heap, but then they insist on group meals and singing, that stuff, and won't let me pay. Sure I have everybody's back in a fight, or with clients, or the boss, but that's the right thing to do. I am responsible for them. They ask me for advice, too. Sometime weird. I ended up punching the cheating husband when he made a pass at me, which was actually sort of fun. At times they won't leave me along to be quiet with my books, which is really all I want out of life. I am really the wrong person to ask such a question to.
=-=-=-=-=-=
† Literally.
[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#mystery #thriller #romance #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory#RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory
