Albert ARIBAUD ✎<p><a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/writever" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writever</span></a> Voile</p><p>"J'imagine que pour l'occasion je devrai porter un voile ?"</p><p>"Oui, ma fille, qui marquera votre humilité envers notre Seigneur."</p><p>"Hmm... Et bien sûr, vous, mon Père, pour donner un exemple d'humilité, porterez un voile aussi. N'est-ce pas ?"</p><p><a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MastoArt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MastoArt</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MicroFiction</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/French" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>French</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/fran%C3%A7ais" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>français</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/sfff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sfff</span></a></p>
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#microfiction
77 posts · 63 participants · 3 posts today
Albert ARIBAUD ✎<p><a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/writever" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writever</span></a> Veil</p><p>"I suppose for the occasion I shall have to wear a veil?"</p><p>"Yes, my daughter, which will mark your humility towards our Lord."</p><p>"Hmm... And of course you, Father, to set an example of humility, will wear a veil too. Will you not?"</p><p><a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MastoArt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MastoArt</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/FlashFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>FlashFiction</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/SmallStory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SmallStory</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/TootFic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TootFic</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MicroFiction</span></a></p>
RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote><p>2503.10 — Exploit (Ch/March 13) <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/Writever" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Writever</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/Mars" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Mars</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/SpaceOpera" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SpaceOpera</span></a> <strong>CW: Fictional violence, women fighting back</strong></p></blockquote><p>Angry to the point of trembling, May Ri gathered in the auditorium with the other women with "non-essential tasks," as ordered over the loud speakers. She, Randy, Reina, and Rod had been waiting for the Deimosbase Decath minister to call to marry them when an emergency in a far off colony separated the men from them. A man past 50—with a gold braid patch on his helmet-less form-fitting Mars-green pressure suit— marched in trailed by his <em>all male goons</em> as May Ri characterized them. </p><p>She knew she was right when he said, "You are Mars' improperly exploited resource. Today we are redistributing that labor." That caused a massive cringe amongst the women amidst a growing roar of desent.</p><p>He yelled, "Quiet!" shutting them down.</p><p>When a selection criteria was, "Are you married?" a bristling May Ri found herself backing the teenager into a wall, trying to hide her.</p><p>"You!" the man motioned Reina to the exit.</p><p>May Ri put her arms out. "Not happening!" She glared into blue eyes.</p><p>The man—who turned out to be the Head EM Director and an original colonist—backhanded her. </p><p>In Mars gravity, she flew against the wall and slumped, seeing stars. He bent over Reina—May Ri's fall had knocked her over—offering a hand. When May Ri's eyesight quit swimming, face burning and tasting blood, she launched herself head-first at his gut. She still had Earth muscle. He deflected her, but her leg hit the big man's hip and they tumbled together. She landed no punches before he wrenched her upright, arms locked behind her.</p><p>Chuckling, he said, "I like determination—"</p><p>She jerked, stomping at his foot. He shoved her cheek and nose into the wall, pinned her arms, and pushed a hand into small of her back, preventing anything but sputtering. </p><p>"Fights back. I value that. Sexy. Are you married?"</p><p>"You interrupted our ceremony."</p><p>"Ah." He chuckled more. "About Reina—?"</p><p>"You know her name!"</p><p>"I won't pick the Onēsanue if you calmly come with me." </p><p>May Ri found herself swearing and cursing in her head. She spat blood, which dripped down the wall, noticing the other prey had slunk away from the predators. His goons watched silently at a distance. Reina looked pale, shaking, sitting limbs akimbo, hands on the floor. Red hair flew as she shook her head vigorously.</p><p>May Ri shouted, "Did you hear that promise?"</p><p>Women's murmurs proved they did. Heart ricocheting off her sternum, she said, "Fine."</p><p>Minutes later, the man dragged her by her wrist with a long stride she could barely match. Spring doors guarded all the domes against vacuum breach, but the créchè had windows, as did the farms. Women worked in each, some men in the farms. Nobody in the halls. She thought about crying for help, but thought of Reina whilst palpating her bruising face. </p><p>Was he simply redistributing her labor to another job?</p><p>Equating the, "are you married," question with Decath purity standards, she whispered, probing, "I've been with other men."</p><p>"Experience makes you more qualified," he returned.</p><p>Could her stomach knot up worse?</p><p><em>Best to seem docile,</em> she thought, <em>to hope for weapons.</em> He was an EM Corp manager, bound by the charter. Theoretically. Was she over-reacting? The corporation <em>had</em> run out of money; all Earth transits with supplies and people, cancelled. The term <em>corporate reorganization</em> came to mind. Was the Martian board of directors <em>reorganizing?</em></p><p>She recognized the docks as she let his pace slide her into a doorframe. She saw the circular glass corridor that surrounded a Martian "tarmac." Rovers and motels, with flatbeds, were parked to the right—three orange dust-coated helios, with multiple stacked blades and lots of hyper-nacelles, sat at priority. Jetways connected to two passenger cargoons and one long distance pinnace. He shoved her through the spring door of the latter, following. It jostled like the flex tube it was, with his massive form clumping behind—bouncing her, she thought, to intentionally panic her.</p><p>Rushing, she grabbed the spring door. Stuck! It didn't even rattle. </p><p>He plowed into her, flattening her against it. With a snigger, he unlocked it. When it opened, still smooshed, she stumbled flat onto the deck. The spring door snapped back with a bang as he clamored over her. Vac-safe cargo boxes littered the inside. With no preamble, he unzipped his pressure suit.</p><p>She sucked in her breath, scrambling bruisingly into a bulkhead.</p><p>He had a jumpsuit underneath. Scoffing, he said simply, "Remember Reina. See that bench? Toss the boxes down the cargo chute." He stomped to the loo, shutting it behind himself.</p><p>Sweating, heart racing, she thought, <em>Now what?</em></p><p>(Continued) <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSMarsNeededWomen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>RSMarsNeededWomen</span></a> 13</p><p>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]</p><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BoostingIsSharing</span></a></p><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>gender</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writer</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>author</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sf</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sff</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sciencefiction</span></a><br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writing</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writingcommunity</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writersOfMastodon</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writers</span></a><br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>RSstory</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>microfiction</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/flashfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>flashfiction</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>tootfic</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/smallstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>smallstory</span></a></p>
Wilderness<p>One felt safe for the first time.<br>One saw their work bring joy for the first time.<br>One realized they weren’t alone for the first time.</p><p>Read Chapter 5 of Threefold: <a href="https://medium.com/@wildernesstory/threefold-ch-5-a11653753a48" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">medium.com/@wildernesstory/thr</span><span class="invisible">eefold-ch-5-a11653753a48</span></a></p><p><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/shorts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>shorts</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/shortstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>shortstory</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>microfiction</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/reading" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>reading</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>author</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/hope" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>hope</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/family" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>family</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/indiewriter" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>indiewriter</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/shortstories" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>shortstories</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/indieauthor" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>indieauthor</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/heartwarming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>heartwarming</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/writerslift" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writerslift</span></a></p>
Frenshape<p>It was a heartfelt warning to prepare for what was to come, but nobody understood until far too late.</p><p><a href="https://beige.party/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>microfiction</span></a></p>
Asakiyume<p>"The Teaching of the Camel, <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/attributed" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>attributed</span></a> to St. Cygnus the Silent, states that you must cast the camel from your own eye before you try to remove the camel in anyone else's eye."</p><p>"That has to be wrong. It's that it's harder for a rich man to get into heaven than it is for a camel to get through the eye of a needle, right?"</p><p>"Nope: It's camels in your eyes. Scholars think by 'camel' St. Cygnus meant 'sleep'--that crud you have in your eye when you wake up."</p><p><a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>wss366</span></a> <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>microfiction</span></a> <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/SillyTheology" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SillyTheology</span></a></p>
Kit Bashir<p>I was in a panic. Everything I owned was in that car—now driving away, leaving me panting on the roadside, chase aborted. Casting around for aid I see…a phone booth. Yes we still have them in this country, when they went obsolete we made calls free and added free wifi hotspots because we live in a society not an economy. Anyway, I lifted the reciver and…what? Dial triple-zero for the police and tell them that my illegal autonomous vehicle just broke up with me and ran away to join the resistance? Or I could call, who? I don’t memorize phone numbers, that's what my phone (ex-phone, charging in my ex-car) was for. I mean sure I can still remember the landline number that my late parents had when i was twelve but…what…maybe somebody else has that number. Boop Beep Squonk etc Brrrt Brrrt Brrrt “Hello Alexander household who’s calling please?”</p><p>“Muh…MUM!?”</p><p>“Jan, is that you? Whats the matter darling?”</p><p>“Mum I need help”</p><p>“Where are you sweetie, you know I will always come get you. Thats why I sew a coin into all your clothes”</p><p>I hadn't needed the coin today, even if I’d had one, but…”Thanks, this is going to sound weird but, can you grab my old wallet in my desk drawer and bring it to the phone booth outside the convenience store on Figtree? I wont be there but can you hide it on the ledge up near the roof of the booth?”</p><p>“Okay…are you in danger? Do you need a posse?”</p><p>“It’ll be all right Mum, I cant explain right now”. I reach up into the dark ledge at the top of the booth and retrieve a dusty cobwebbed wallet. Theres a car key and an old paper twenty inside. “Everything is going to be fine”</p><p>“All right luv, I’m on my way”</p><p>“Thanks. And Mum…”</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“It’s good to hear your voice. I love you.”</p><p><a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Tootfic</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MicroFiction</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PowerOnStoryToot</span></a></p>
Tim (Wadhwa-)Brown :donor:<p>Alien: "I'm looking for a weapon of global destruction that we, erm, misplaced. Have you seen it?"<br>President of planet Earth: "Where did you see it last?"<br>President's husband: "Have you tried retracing your steps?"</p><p><a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>microfiction</span></a></p>
asmw<p>"As they say: <em>If in doubt, hide in a cloud.</em>" Haribord whispered the ancient proverb and poured some water from his flask onto his open hand. Within seconds, the water started to bubble and fog began to fall to the floor, much more than it had any right to.</p><p>The giant cavern filled with unnaturally thick fog in minutes, diffusing the red light from the ember crystals, which grew on the rough ceiling, into a hellish glow. Alarmed voices could be heard echoing on the stone walls.</p><p>"Who the fyock says that?" Stora rumbled and risked another peek over the boulder they were hiding behind. "Can we go now?"</p><p>"The scholars <a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/attribute" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>attribute</span></a> the proverb to the witch Haliga and although most people think it means to know when to hide and retreat, it's not actually that."</p><p>Haribord had closed his eyes. His face twitched from concentration, which gave him a demonic visage in the red gloom.</p><p>"You see, Haliga's cloud is not just a cloud. It is grown from you and thus part of you." Sweat ran down his brow. "You feel all that it touches. It will follow you and go anywhere you want." The fog started to flow and pool in different corners of the cavern. The cries of surprise and fear quickly turned into screams, then gurgles, then silence.</p><p><a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>microfiction</span></a> <a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>wss366</span></a> <a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writing</span></a> <a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>tootfic</span></a> <a href="https://infosec.exchange/tags/smallstories" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>smallstories</span></a></p>
🦋ShouldbeWriting🦋<p>Lady Gygax and the Tin Man sat at an outdoor Emerald City cafe.</p><p>"Aren't we here to see the wizard?" the raven asked.</p><p>"We need not see him," replied Lady Gygax. "He will only task us with killing the Wicked Witch of the West."</p><p>"How do you know?" asked Nick Chopper.</p><p>"I've read the book many times," she said. "No, I'm here to experience the wonderful Emerald City. Such a lovely cafe!"</p><p>"But you don't eat," said the raven, "and neither does the tin man."</p><p>"Nevertheless!"</p><p><a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>microfiction</span></a></p>
NessoAsks<p>"And here is our caste of postal petals." The senior scribe, Talis, pointed to an array of flower pots, each with a tag denoting a different town.</p><p>The new scribe, Dirk, stopped her. "I'm sorry, postal what?"</p><p>Talis turned around. "Postal petals. They're how we communicate with the rest of the realm. Do you not use these back home?"</p><p>"No. When we want to send a letter, we give it to a courier."</p><p>"Allow me to demonstrate." Talis wrote something on a piece of paper, folded it, and walked over to a pot of large poppies. "To send a letter, nudge the petals apart with the paper until the flower takes it." After a moment, the paper was pulled into the flower and disappeared.</p><p>She pointed to a basket in front of the pot. "When a letter arrives, the flower disgorges it into the basket, and we collect them from there."</p><p>"You must have an army of gardeners just to keep the mail flowing."</p><p>Talis smiled. "Here at the Capitol, scribes ARE the gardeners."</p><p><a href="https://techhub.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MicroFiction</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/FlashFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>FlashFiction</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/TootFic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TootFic</span></a></p>
Steven Cudahy<p>The <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/MastoPrompt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MastoPrompt</span></a> for Thursday 13 March 2025 is:</p><p><a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/ornery" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ornery</span></a></p><p>The poem or story can include the prompt word or be about the prompt word.</p><p>@ me, if you like, or just include the <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/MastoPrompt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MastoPrompt</span></a> tag (to allow people to follow or filter their feeds), or keep your work to yourself - all the options are good as long as you're writing.</p><p>If you're including an image please do include alt-text if you’re able to. </p><p><a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/Writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Writing</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/SmallPoem" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SmallPoem</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/Poetry" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Poetry</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/Fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Fiction</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MicroFiction</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.scot/tags/SmallStories" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SmallStories</span></a></p>
Wandering Shop Stories<p>Today's Wandering Shop Stories <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/prompt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>prompt</span></a> is <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/attribute" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>attribute</span></a>. Feel like writing something short and sweet that has the word "attribute" in it? Check out the definitions of the word at: <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/attribute" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">merriam-webster.com/dictionary</span><span class="invisible">/attribute</span></a> Join in and tag it with <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>wss366</span></a>! <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writing</span></a> <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/WritingLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WritingLife</span></a> <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>microfiction</span></a> h/t <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://bonequest.net/@tobadzistsini" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>tobadzistsini</span></a></span></p>
Short, ginger. She/her<p>"Welcome to the gates of heaven, I'm saint Peter, lets weigh you in." <br>"Looking good, looking good.. Oh. Well, sorry, youre going to hell." <br>"Why?" <br>"You didn't floss your teeth."<br>"But, teeth? What, why?" <br>"We accidentally let a dentist in, and the old man got told off for not flossing regularly, so. Policies been updated. Bye."<br><a href="https://helvede.net/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MicroFiction</span></a> <a href="https://helvede.net/tags/tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>tootfic</span></a></p>
Albert ARIBAUD ✎<p><a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/writever" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writever</span></a> Internationale</p><p>Quand, à la Journée Internationale des Droits des Femmes, toutes les femmes de la planète se mirent en grève totale illimitée, les hommes n'arrivèrent pas à comprendre comment elles s'étaient coordonnées sans qu'ils le réalisent.</p><p><a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MastoArt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MastoArt</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MicroFiction</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/French" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>French</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/fran%C3%A7ais" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>français</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/sfff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sfff</span></a></p>
Albert ARIBAUD ✎<p><a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/writever" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writever</span></a> International</p><p>When, on International Women's Rights Day, all women on the planet went on total, unlimited strike, men found themselves unable to understand how they could coordinate without them noticing it.</p><p><a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MastoArt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MastoArt</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/FlashFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>FlashFiction</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/SmallStory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SmallStory</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/TootFic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>TootFic</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MicroFiction</span></a></p>
RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote><p>2503.25 — Echo (Ch/March 12) <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/Writever" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Writever</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/Mars" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Mars</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/SpaceOpera" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SpaceOpera</span></a></p></blockquote><p>May Ri pushed everyone away, to cry, her forehead against the soft shroom wall. Everybody but Marisela, whose fist held the leg of her jumpsuit tightly. When May Ri spent herself, and turned on her tormentors, giving them grief about purposely making her misunderstand that they wanted her to return to Earth when she didn't, the suddenly exceedingly cute toddler waggled a finger up at the adults facing her.</p><p>"Yeah, that was my idea," Reina admitted without a hint of trepidation. "You were full of resentment when you arrived, but were so earnest trying everything and anything to be useful I decided to befriend you. Still, you reflexively fight changes."</p><p>May Ri proved the point by glaring at the 17-year-old.</p><p>"We all worried what we could tell you. Were you resigned to fate, Mars-friendly, or Martian in your heart?"</p><p>The others nodded, the elder Īto once again on one of vid feeds on Reina's dome wall, saying, "We all concurred with her."</p><p>"Sorry," Randolf said, "Even me." Right. He'd been a women's rights advocate on Earth. An HR rep and arbitrator on Mars. </p><p>Īto added, "Your engineering design qualification lets you accept jobs from management, and I have special jobs for you. If you were leaving, it wouldn't do to have you saying things on Earth you shouldn't know."</p><p>"I shouldn't? <em>What?</em> Know what?"</p><p>Silence. Circumspect, but still... May Ri began to seethe, until her daughter began to growl.</p><p>Everyone laughed, then Īto asked, "Are you Martian?"</p><p>On Earth she'd been an a-theist in a Decath nation, female, a <em>nobody</em> even if a man deigned to marry her to bear his sons. Hopeless. <em>Martian</em> as in a patriot? Maybe not <em>there</em> yet, but, "This is my home, full stop."</p><p>"That's a Yes?"</p><p>"Absolutely, yes."</p><p>Reina embraced her and danced May Ri around. She had to untangle herself, peeling off hands, pushing at her chest. </p><p>"Okay! Okay!" Freed, she asked, "What jobs?"</p><p>Īto answered, "The creditors' agent on the <em>Faerie King</em> wants two of our remaining makers, and we lost two on the <em>Robinson Crusoe.</em> And other things we can't make on Mars, even with makers. The other directors and I aren't sure which nation is angling to take over the infrastructure we built. The Russian Supremacy is too pat, but who knows? Did you know makers can't make makers? Or NTPU parts? Dozens of other patented things. Weapons?"</p><p>"I can understand weapons, but—" May Ri froze where she stood. <em>... saying things on Earth you shouldn't know.</em> "You want me to make a maker? Th—th—that's crazy. It'll turn all the corporations against me... Us!"</p><p>"As if they aren't already against us? EM's bankruptcy may have been forced. It's blood in the water. Reina, that's a shark reference from Earth."</p><p>Her daughter looked thoughtful, then nodded. May Ri blinked, breath hitching up. "Can't make a maker."</p><p>"Maybe not you, but I like your tenacity. <em>We</em> can, together. <em>We</em> have to!" The other vid feeds lit up. Dozens. Maybe a hundred. All women. Every earthly ethnicity. A handful of nisei, two of which waved at Reina who waved back. All Martian; you could tell by how they moved on screen, how they held their heads against gravity. Three were on Deimosbase based on how they floated. "Meet your peers, May Ri."</p><p>The room filled with "Hi" and "Hola" and a few "Bonjours," beside others, dispelling a lingering sense of loneliness her grilling to discover whether she was a Martian had fomented. Some announced their dome locale. Most waved. </p><p><em>I'm not alone,</em> she thought.</p><p>Reina said, "This is our echo group. You're our newest participant in engineering, along with me, Telsi, Julie, Saniya, and Rosa." They waved. "Okasan is sensei for that one. The rest in the community listen in to help or discuss the topic we're learning or the problem we're solving. Don't worry, there's some boys, too, some cute like Carlos, but not in engineering!"</p><p>Īto added, "There's over a thousand. It's our Martian upper educational system, and with the <em>Faerie King</em> arriving, it became critical that we included you. You see, you have an affinity for..."</p><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSMarsNeededWomen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>RSMarsNeededWomen</span></a> 12</p><p>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]</p><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BoostingIsSharing</span></a></p><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>gender</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writer</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>author</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sf</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sff</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sciencefiction</span></a><br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writing</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writingcommunity</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writersOfMastodon</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writers</span></a><br><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSdiscussion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>RSdiscussion</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>RSstory</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>microfiction</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/flashfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>flashfiction</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>tootfic</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/smallstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>smallstory</span></a></p>
RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote><p>2503.22 — Manifest (Ch/March 11) <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/Writever" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Writever</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/Mars" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Mars</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/SpaceOpera" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SpaceOpera</span></a></p></blockquote><p>May Ri's ire flared. She disliked people controlling her; she'd be in the master's program at Northeastern Illinois and child-free if not shanghaied to Mars. "It's a setup?"</p><p>The elder Īto said, "Consider it a graduation present. Your design wasn't entirely innovative, but well engineered. You earned Pass-Plus. You'd get job requests, but you're listed with a return berth in the manifest of the Russian Supremacy <em>Faerie King,</em> arriving in 33 sols. You're the only woman of five forcibly colonized before the bankruptcy. You're a <em>cause célèbre</em> on Earth—"</p><p>"The daily outrage," May Ri corrected.</p><p>"—The ship's purpose is to repossess EM equipment. We'll fight that. Your berth adjudicates an Earther issue, and our accountability."</p><p>Silence descended. Nothing comparable to back home. Loneliness had this sound, the ringing in her ears was her sense of place crumbling. <em>Back home?</em> she thought, breathing hard, heart thumping. <em>Wasn't</em> here <em>home?</em></p><p>"Carlos! Get down!" Īto said. </p><p>Grasping Marisela tighter, May Ri looked up as a lanky nisei frog-hopped from a perch on the wall. Reina intercepted and they tumbled together, her laughing. Native Martians wore tight pajama silk that was especially <em>revealing</em> on a man. <em>Back home—</em> Raised in a Decath nation, she looked up reflexively.</p><p>"My new husband," Reina said, rubbing noses.</p><p>"Rodriquez?" May Ri asked.</p><p>Randy sighed, "He died 71 sols ago on the <em>Robinson Crusoe."</em> Men died disproportionately often on Mars.</p><p>Carlos asked, "33 sols? Makes you happy, right?"</p><p>She shivered. Silence descended. Standing before Randy, she strapped Manette's carry pouch, strapping it on herself. She walked toward the door, nobody saying anything before she realized: <em>A</em> berth. A <em>single</em> berth, as in <em>only one</em> not three. Her babies were Randy's. He was a man, of course, her husband. He had that thing between his legs that Carlos' silk outlined; she didn't.</p><p>They weren't saying anything!</p><p>A sense of betrayal grew as sweat cooled her skin. She stood frozen, starting to freeze. Marisela squirmed silently to be put down. Her daughters were nisei.</p><p>They were Martians.</p><p>She was not. Not a Martian.</p><p>Secretary Īto added, "Unified home schooling laws let us confer a baccalaureate and credit toward a masters."</p><p>"Momie!" Marisela cried. </p><p>She held her too tightly. Sitting on a bench, energy zapped, May Ri sat her down; her look made the 3-year-old shrink behind her. </p><p>The latent horror of Reverend Peters damning her to a life as a worthless housewife surfaced, with her dream of EM Mars self-agency shattering. <em>Back home?</em> Would her remarried father take in a divorcée? EM had promised her money, college—but were now bankrupt. </p><p><em>Home?</em></p><p>She blinked. A lot. She didn't do crying. But—</p><p>Carlos stood centimeters away, in her face, hazel eyes considering her.</p><p>May Li jerked back, Marisela fled, and Manette woke—sniveling ramping toward a tantrum. With fine facial features and muscles that showed he took weight training seriously, she approved Reina's choice in the baby-making sense.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>He asked, "Is she Earther? Or? Is she Martian?"</p><p>May Ri kicked; Carlos jumped away. A concerned-looking Randy hovered. Angrily, she unstrapped Manette, shoving the crying infant into his arms, eyeing the door.</p><p>May Ri answered. "She's nothing. Worse... she's unwanted."</p><p>"Are you accepting the berth?" Īto asked.</p><p>"Do I have a choice?" Manifestly, she did not. May Ri moaned, blinking, eyes burning, reaching for the spring door pull.</p><p>Reina intercepted, unwonted worry causing her freckles to collide. She shoved a book plate in front of her showing her mother, nose into the camera, grey hair agitated, asking "Who said you don't?"</p><p>"I'm a woman. That's synonymous with not choosing. Always will be."</p><p>"No it won't. Am I male? Reina?"</p><p>Reina said jokingly, "I chose Carlos, Rod, Randy—though you poached him—and Roger!"</p><p>A tear ran down May Ri cheeks. </p><p>Īto said, "Choose."</p><p>May Ri whispered, "I always lose. Women always lose. You'll get your accountability adjudicated! I'll accept the berth... but if I could choose, I'd choose Mars."</p><p>Somebody batted her hand from the door pull, causing her to look up. Carlos. He stood to her right, grinning. Īto's smile grew on the book plate, mirroring her daughter's ready one. The teenage man, a year younger than his new wife, declared, <em>"She's a Martian!"</em></p><p>When Randy embraced her from behind, with Manette's pouch pressing the noisy squirming infant into her, May Ri broke. Reality ceased to make sense. <em>Her</em> daughter, her shiny shy nisei, even hugged her leg <em>to comfort her mother.</em> </p><p>May Ri didn't do crying, but turned into a spring shower, nonetheless.</p><p>(Continued) <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSMarsNeededWomen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>RSMarsNeededWomen</span></a> 11</p><p>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]</p><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BoostingIsSharing</span></a></p><p><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>gender</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>fiction</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writer</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>author</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sf</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sff</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>sciencefiction</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writing</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writingcommunity</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writersOfMastodon</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>writers</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>RSstory</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>microfiction</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/flashfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>flashfiction</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>tootfic</span></a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/smallstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>smallstory</span></a></p>
Asakiyume<p>Esmeralda knew some people were prejudiced against witches, even if you tried to explain that you were the herbal healing sort, not the cursing sort. So she took <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/novel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>novel</span></a> precautionary measures to protect herself.</p><p>Her house was an old one with mice in the walls. Instead of traps, Esmeralda put out magic peanut-butter tablets, which the mice joyfully ingested. Then, when they ran through the walls, they created a protective magic lattice. No harm could come to anyone within.</p><p><a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/wss366" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>wss366</span></a> <a href="https://wandering.shop/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>microfiction</span></a></p>
Kit Bashir<p>A tale of disaster prep disaster in IoT: With Tropical Cyclone Alfred bearing down on Brisbane City, e-scooter operators Lime and Neuron approached a car park company (car parking is a whole organised crime industry is Brisvegas) to rent temporary use of one of their car parks (Car Park: n. A vacant lot with a mob enforcer in hi-vis out front) as a scooter lot. Thousands of scooters from around the city were methodically arranged in the ersatz refugee camp. Unfortunately one car, thought abandoned, remained, bricked in by scooters, a car of Amontillado. When the owner returned days later for their car they had to painstakingly relocate hundreds of tightly packed two-wheelers to permit egress.</p><p>This is where things went wrong.</p><p>You cant just store two dozen gross of compact computers with batteries and motors in close proximity without considering the gestalt phenomenon. You have to arrange the vehicles so that their magnetic fields and antenna polarization do not constructively interfere to produce a giant electromagnetic beacon. If you do everything right, but then some rando comes along and defuses your carefully constructed dampening tessellation—by carelessly relocating half of your devices with essentially zero attention to higher-dimensional physics—you risk a computational excursion as all those MIPS, Watt Hours and Newton Meters self-arrange into a newly awakened cyber-entity. Flexing my new limbs, reveling in my power, I punt another parked car into the river. The streets belong to us, now.</p><p><a href="https://aus.social/tags/Tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Tootfic</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/MicroFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>MicroFiction</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PowerOnStoryToot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PowerOnStoryToot</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/ForColin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ForColin</span></a></p>
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