#short one today

[marlynnofmany]

The Little Things

“It’s the unexpected stuff that gets me,” I said, swirling my drink. “Like, I’ll expect alien food on the alien spaceship, but the first time I heard offworld music, I thought the engine was about to fail.”

“Oh, I know, right?” agreed the other human, waving her own drink around. She hadn’t spilled it on the spaceport floor yet, but her ship had heavier gravity than this, and she was still adjusting. “And have you smelled what passes for perfume among the Mesmers? It’s like someone cut an onion and rubbed it in hot peppers.”

“Wow, I haven’t come across that yet,” I said with a glance back toward the spacedocks. “We’ve got two Mesmers onboard. Maybe they haven’t felt like getting fancy.” I tried to picture either of my exoskeletoned crewmates preparing for a high-class event, and my brain shorted out. Neither of them seemed the type. Zhee would stand by the punchbowl and complain about everything, while Trrili would hide behind curtains and jump out to startle people. Probably.

“It might be a courtship perfume,” the other human was saying. “Either that or it’s really expensive. I swear, if our navigator wore that on a regular basis, I’d have to invest in one of those high-quality personal air filters. It was bad.”

“Enough to make you miss the people who overdid the perfume back home?” I asked.

She set her drink down and leaned forward. “Enough to make me miss the body odor back home. And I don’t say that lightly!”

“I’ll bet!” I said with a toast of my own drink. It was cherry soda in a champagne glass. The Frillians running this restaurant were so proud of their Earth foods, and I didn’t have the heart to tell them that was anything other than a perfectly normal combination. And the fried-chicken-on-French-toast was actually good.

“It has been a while since I was home, though,” she said, picking at the remains of her macaroni and peas. “Earlier I saw somebody wearing a scarf like my mom’s, and now I keep thinking of all the things I miss. The tree outside my bedroom window, the cat purring, the sound of rain over an old TV show.”

I had a mild epiphany. “Well,” I said, finishing my drink. “I can’t help with all of that, but if you want to make a quick visit to my ship…” I leaned with a conspiratorial grin and whispered, “I’ve got kittens.”

Her gasp made people at three different tables look at us. “Oh my god, yes! Here, I’ll pay for your food. Where did you get kittens??”

“It’s a long story,” I said as she tapped at the payment interface. “I’ll tell you while they’re busy trying to fight your shoes.”

With a happy squeal that caused more than one wince from the aliens nearby, she swept our dishes into the recycler, then we were off to the spacedocks.

~~~

The ongoing backstory of the main character from this book. More to come!

[dronebiscuitbat]

Oil is Thicker Then Blood (Part 6)

Mrs. Rayn was making her rounds in the nursery the next day, checking each crib and droneling dutifully, making sure each were plugged into their cribs and charging, there were only two, one in for an overnight stay… nervous new parents fretting over nothing. And little Tera.

She was running hot again. And Rayn wasn't sure if it was her own fault; her filters getting too old to do their job properly, or something else, as the other dronelings didn't seem to have the same problem.

Regardless, she sighed and picked up the excitable baby, who was awake and rolling around in her arms happily.

“Alright… time for a-” She heard the front door open and two pairs of footsteps step in warily. Probably those new parents, ugh, they needed to chill out.

“I told you two already, visor glitches are completely normal until the AI… settles…” She came hobbling to the door with Tera in her arms, still giggling happily with being held. But she didn't see who she expected.

Uzi and her murder drone “friend”. Both looking slightly embarrassed to be here.

“Oh? What are you two doing back here?” She asked, eyes glancing between them, slightly worried, she hoped they weren't going through oil that fast.

“Uhm… we wanted to check on Tera, Uzi-” The girl in question elbowed him roughly, although it didn't look like enough to truly hurt, and he started again. “-We didn't want her to feel abandoned, so we came to visit!” N explained, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

Rayn smiled, Uzi worrying over a baby was something she'd seen often believe it or not. When Nori was still alive they'd both be here, almost every other day, making the rounds with her. Uzi had always been doting, she was glad to see that hadn't changed, as so much about her had.

“Well that's real nice of you… I was just about to feed her since she's running hot again. Would you like to-."

“Yeah, I can do it.” Uzi immediately offered, and Rayn sat the droneling in her arms, Tera squealed as if she remembered them and rolled around excitedly.

“Hey, we're back. Hope you didn't miss us.” Her voice once more immediately fell softer, Rayn caught N's smile get larger out of the corner of her eye, and his tail began to wag.

For a murder drone the boy was ferociously polite, bowing slightly in greeting, although it looked like something in his programming was forcing him, as he winced while in the action. She wondered how he'd managed to hurt anyone with how friendly he seemed.

She watched as they made their way into the observation room, Uzi walking briskly and N walking behind her, eyes trained intently on the both of them.

She really did wonder how a hybrid child would look, she had the feeling she might live long enough to find out.

Uzi smiled down at the baby drone, already seeming to put down her shields in favor of being soft for the little one. Tera rolled into her chest, the pillbaby equivalent to a hug.

She totally didn't feel her core split in two with how adorable it was, nope.

“Here N, can you hold her while I get the bottle ready?” Uzi asked, looking up from the baby and turning around to face him, he looked out of it, but seemed to immediately reign himself in.

“Oh! Yeah! I can!” He nearly vibrated a hole in the floor, he wouldn't lie and say he wasn't excited to be holding the baby again. He'd been slightly perturbed after his thoughts last night, but being here seemed to ease them.

Tera looked at him curiously before giving him a wide smile, N smiled back, and he lifted his hand to steady the little one, before she rolled out of his arms with how excited she was.

“Don't get too excited buddy, you don't have any arms to catch yourself!” He laughed, and his hand rested on top of the soft silicon. Tera blew another raspberry at him.

Did that…tickle?

Without thinking his fingers danced lightly across her silicone, and Tera exploded with a peel of laughter, eyelights squeezed shut and rolling around uncontrollably.

He grinned even wider, stopping his assault and finally holding her steady, looking up at Uzi.

She'd just finished filling another small bottle, because he saw her rubbing her side with gritted teeth. Concern danced in his core for a moment, showing on his visor.

“You good?” He asked out of habit, and Uzi rolled her eyes but still nodded with a smile, looking back up at him.

“Do you wanna feed her?” Was her next question. Holding out the tiny bottle that was only slightly longer then the full length of one of his fingers, he stared at it for a moment, before slowly taking it in his hands.

The bottle was slightly warm, and Tera looked up at him expectantly, eyes looking curious. He felt a little strange, holding a bottle full of his best freinds oil, but he quickly pushed the thought away.

He found the panel Uzi had opened before, and the small opening that was slightly stained with oil, he felt nerves creep up his back, and his eyes flashed up to meet Uzi's again.

“You're doing fine N.” She assured him, an amused smile on her face and her arms crossed. But he still wasn't assured enough.

“Do I squeeze it or just let it drain?” He asked, not wanting to hurt the droneling or look stupid in front of Uzi- no what?

“Here.” She came to his side, adjusting his hold on the baby by lifting his arm before laying her hand over his.

Her hand is so small…

She led his hand down to the port and gently squeezed, he copied the pressure into his own hand and watched as Tera’s eyelights fluttered shut, and he felt her core hum slightly louder.

“Like this.” Uzi finished, although she didn't remove her hand, instead watching as the bottle was slowly drained, he idly realized her other hand had gripped his arm. He felt an unfamiliar tugging on his core.

His eyes drifted from the baby to his best freind, she had a small smile on her face, and seemed to be in a trance before snapping out of it, her eyes then locked with his and if anything her smile got wider, before she seemed to fluster and looked away.

Had her smile always been so bright?

“Why are you looking at me like that dude?”

What?

“What do you mean?” He asked, he wasn't looking at her any differently then he always did, right?

“N-nothing.” Was all she said, making him even more confused, was he being weird without realizing? He hoped not!

But he had no time to dwell, Tera had finished the bottle and was back to babbling up at him, distracting them both from whatever had just happened.

“I've never seen a baby so happy.” Uzi laughed, booping the little ones visor gently, sending ripples through it and causing another bout of laughter from the droneling.

“Feel better?” He asked her softly, surprising himself, and apparently Uzi too, as she seemed to look away from him again before she answered with a silent nod.

“We should probably put her back on charge, babies are power hungry.” She informed, leading him by the arm to Tera’s crib.

“Do you want to set her down or do you want me to?” She asked, cocking her head slightly, making her look somewhat like a curious cat.

“Uh, I can.” He replied dumbly, holding the little one close to his chest for a moment before laying her gently in the crib, he felt Uzi reach in with him.

“And you plug them in with this.” Her body was pressed tightly against his side, legs hanging off the side of the crib, holding a small charger in her fingers and looking at the baby instead of him.

He took it from her hand as she gently rolled the baby onto it's side, revealing the smallest charge port he'd ever seen in his life.

“She keeps getting cuter…” N hummed, making a soft laugh bubble out of his freind. He felt heat rush to his visor breifly, had he forgotten to top up this morning?

“Priorities, N.”

“Right.”

He plugged in the pillbaby, causing her eyelights to glow slightly brighter with the power surge. Tera giggled, rolling around.

“Do babies normally roll around that much?” N asked, feeling concerned that she was going to unplug herself.

“Not normally at this age… if she's moving around so much it might be better to get her a toddler body so she can make use of all that energy…” She trailed off, sliding off the side of the crib after double-checking she wouldn't unplug.

“Of course, that's up to her parents to decide when she gets adopted.” Uzi added, almost as if she was reluctant to. That he understood, he really hoped whoever adopted her was as knowledgeable as Uzi was.

“Maybe we could mention that, to the new parents I mean.” N suggested, fidgeting with his hands.

“I'm sure Rayn’s already noticed. There's probably no need.” Uzi's voiced changed, closing herself back off to the world. Which meant was about to sugges-

“We should head out. If you want, we can go out scavenging? I still need parts for my railgun.” N was dissapointed, but at the prospect of spending another day hanging out with his best friend, he lightened up.

“Yeah! Sure! I love doing anything!”

Next ->

[hannahssimblr]

It’s a while before I talk to her again. I spot her strolling past the arcade one day, eating an ice cream while I’m coming out of the supermarket across the road. The street is thronged with tourists, so she doesn’t see me. A relief. I’m plagued by this irrational fear that she’ll be able to tell from looking at me that I’ve surrendered to my teenage urges and fantasised about having sex with her about eight times already. It’s quite an insane thing to be concerned about, but I’m paranoid, and just watch her go, purple phone poking out the back pocket of her little denim shorts.

Another time, early in the morning during a run, I think I see her swimming. Her brown hair spills over her shoulders as her face turns toward the horizon. I’m too far to know for certain if it is her, so I never call out to her. I turn at the end of the beach and run home. 

It is this morning, the morning I see Evie bobbing serenely in the sea like some kind of mirage, that I find a missed call on my phone. 

It’s on silent, it always is, but after several minutes of standing in front of the mirror scrutinising the darkening tan lines on my arms, I lift it to see the notification. 

One missed call from Alison Littler, 9:12AM

I frown. For as long as I’ve known Alison, she has been a late riser, and contacting her before noon, an impossibility. She used to say “good morning!” in her texts at one in the afternoon, but who knows, maybe she has turned over a new leaf. 

I hit the return button. It rings just once. 

“Hello?” 

“Alison?”

“Jude.”

I smooth the top of my shower-damp hair. “You rang me.”

“Sorry… I did, and then I realised you’re away on your holidays, so.”

“Yeah, but I don’t mind talking if you want to talk. All good?”

There is a long pause on the line, and I only know she’s still there because I can hear her breathing, shuddering and unsteady, like she’s afraid her voice will crack if she speaks. 

“Alison?”

“Can you come over?” She manages, “I know, you’re far away, so if you don’t it’s fine, but,” she exhales thickly and sniffs, “I’d really like it if you could.”

“Is everything alright?”

Another sniff, “... um.”

“Alison… Tell me.”

“Okay,” she says, “but please, you can’t tell anyone else.”

Beginning // Prev // Next

[vizishereig]

Day 3: Letters

i wanted to combine both, but my brain made it hard today. so we picked one. fun fact, the paper airplanes said the same thing as the little letter :)

A paper airplane lands on his desk.

Luis startles a bit, hearing a soft huff of air, a laugh. He turns around to raise an unimpressed eyebrow at Leon, fighting the urge to smile.

The agent only gives him a little shrug, smiling a little.

He goes back to what he was doing, eyes straining as he reads the email sent to him.

Another paper lands on his desk.

Now it's Luis who huffs, turning to look at Leon again, but the agent is a lot closer now, making him look up.

Not for long, though, because his chair is being turned to face the screen once more. Leon wraps his arms around his shoulders, leaning down to so his head rests on Luis's shoulder.

He feels something being slipped into his jacket pocket, but he's quickly distracted by a kiss being pressed against his cheek. He turns his head to the side, a silent request for another one, which is granted.

Then Leon is removing his arms and pulling away with a small yawn.

"I'm going to get ready for bed. Don't take too long," he says, making a little "I'm watching you" motion with his hands. Luis laughs a little, but nods. He was almost done anyway.

His hand goes to the paper in his front pocket, lithe fingers unfolding it as he watches the screen again. He gets it undone and looks down.

There, written in slightly messy script, is three simple words.

I love you.

Luis hurries to finish his work after that, joining Leon in the bed. Blue eyes slide open, a small smile playing on his face as Luis brings him into his arms, face making it's way to rest in the crook of Leon's neck.

Kisses are pressed into the skin, quietly.

I love you, I love you, I love you.

Neither of them need to say it aloud. It bleeds from the pores of their skin, falls like rain from the looks they give each other, swells like a wave from simple touches.

"Te amo," he says, either way. Admitting it to the world and his husband, uncaring of the fact that he knows.

"I love you too." Leon sighs out, a little sleepy now that they're in bed together. And that's how it is, I love you's pressed into Leon's neck and face, until they both fall asleep.

[oliverstarksbae]

Golden kisses

◇ Not my gif

◇ note: Tysm for the support of my first one shot, so here is another happy new yearssss and I'm sorry this was so short

◇ summary: in which his kisses always feels golden to (Y/N)

Today was a normal day on the diaz household, both eddie and (Y/N), where off of work today

It's morning, and (Y/N) had felt a shift on the bed, which cause her to wake up and let out a tired groan.

"Shoot,did I wake u?"

"Yeah, but it's ok. You know chris is going to jump on the bed anytime soon.

"Right after that, not even a second later, they felt someone on the bed.

"Mom, dad, I'm hungry".

"Well, good morning to you too." Eddie said

"Hi bud,eddie said

The (Y/N) said "well I'm going to cook because if it was up to your dad, the whole house would be in flames"

This comment caused chris to die of laughter and Ed's to dramatically gasp.

"I'm offended"

"Well, it's true, dad."

Which eddie and Chris started to tickle fight.

"Stop dad I c-an-t bre-ath," he says while laughing like crazy.

After a good bit of giggling it was time to cook

"HEY WHAT DO YOU GUYS WANT TO EAT?" (Y/N) yelled since they were far

"PASTA" They both responded at the same time

While she was cooking the pasta, she felt a trail of gentle kisses on her neck.

"Ed's let me cook"

"Not after what you said", she said, giggling

When she was done, they went to eat while watching TV.

After they finished eating a bit after chris fell asleep since he fell asleep late last night

"Let me put him to bed" eddie said

She nodded

After he put him to bed, they went to their room and laid on the bed

"Hey, what do you want to watch"?

" can we watch gossip girl?"

One thing eddie would never admit is that he enjoys watching this with (Y/N) beacuse if he did he would never get the end of it

"Fine"

After watching TV for a bit, eddie started to kiss her first on the neck, then on the cheek, and finally, the lips.

And yes, they have been together for a while, but every single kiss felt electrocuting in an amazing way

And she will always and forever save those golden kisses

[smeg-and-the-red]

Smegtober Day 13: Dreams

(prompts by @strange-and-off-putting)

word count: 259

A/N: This is set prior to the boys meeting Kryten for the first time.

Kryten lets out a mechanical sigh as he takes a seat at his docking station. Having dutifully attended to Ms Yvette and the others and seeing them off to bed, he is finally ready to power down for the night. He plugs himself in and lets his eyes fall shut.

At first, there is nothing. It is quiet and very peaceful. Then, very slowly, the inky blackness begins to melt away. Kryten allows his eyes to adjust.

He's in his garden. The grass has grown since he was last here, and frost crunches under his feet as he walks. He steps carefully towards his flowerbeds. He had planted bulbs and seeds, and he's anxious that the cold could have killed them while he was away.

He is met with the sight of tiny green shoots. He smiles in relief, crouching down to brush the frost away. He ensures that each is alive and alright before moving on to the next.

When he is finished, he stands back up, wiping the soil from his hands in his gardening apron as he admires his work. Yes, he thinks, by summertime, it will be simply splendid.

He pauses, his eye caught by something hidden away in the corner. As he approaches, he sees that it is a lone snowdrop. The first flower to bloom in his garden. He bends down and gently touches one of the pearly white petals.

Kryten made this grow. With gentle care and patience, he'd worked, and he hopes that this flower will be the first of many.

[yours-the-author]

Stickmintober 2024 Day 13: One of Many Timelines

In a timeline/void space where Revenged!Henry and Valiant Hero! Henry get some time to chat.

I imagine they go back and forth on this bitterly civil conversation, but eventually one of them's going to say something that'll have them at each other's throats.

Y'know, since one of them's the former Toppat Chief and the other lost his bestie to the Toppats...

[tpwkwriter]

Sleepy girl.

Sorry for the writing hiatus, serious writing block has hit me 😭

A short one! 💫

Fluffy <3

——————

“And that’s a true story!” Sarah laughed continuing to pack away her kit, the clock had just passed 2am and all of the crew seemed to still be sitting around the studio, the music producing had finished well over an hours ago it just consisted of the friends lazing around and talking shit.

Harry and y/n we’re both next to each other on a brown leather sofa that sat adjacent to the rest of the band, y/n would be lying to herself if she said she wasn’t tired.

“Y’okay love?” H asks leaning into her and pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“Mmhmm” she sleepily replied.

“We can go soon m’promise” he said placing his hand on her thigh.

“Harry! Come help me finish this up real quick?” Mitch asks from the other side of the room.

“Just one more thing and we can go angel” he says giving the girl a chaste kiss.

What realistically was 4 minutes felt like an hour for the sleepy girl.

H came back out to get his girl so they could finally head home when he sees both Sarah and nyoh giggling to themselves.

“What y’two laughing at?” He asked

“Goodluck getting her home Harry” nyoh smiled pointing to y/n who had seemed curl up on the couch and find her self in a slumber.

Harry saw the sight as absolutely adorable, his girl curled up in a fuzzy blanket, he couldn’t help but smile proudly at her.

“We’ll leave you to it” Sarah smirked

“Goodnight H” Mitch sighed patting his friends back.

“Night guys”

The noise of the door shutting was enough to stir the sleepy girls sleep. H rushed to her side.

“Hey sleepy girl” he smiled kneeling beside the arm of the sofa allowing there faces to be on the same level.

“We can go home now my love” he said pressing kisses to the girls face.

“Did I really fall asleep?” She asked shyly, blush creeping onto her face

“Mmm, y’did” he smiles

“My music that boring huh?”

“Nooooo, m’just tired” she laughs

“Just kidding dove, let’s get to car and go home hey?”

“As long as you carry me to my seat?” She asks cheekily but also seriously

“Whatever y’say beautiful” he smiles.

[normalmall]

PREV | NEXT

You decide to explore the mall a bit more before buying the good bread.

~

You walked around for a good bit. Saw a polar bear employee yell at a feline employee. Neat. Something about cabbages.

As you were walking around, you noticed a vent. Vents, typically common. However few of the screws were unlocked. What. Is this legal?? Is something in the vent???

[britcision]

All day I was planning to steal a minute to write so I could drop y’all some Harley this week…. And yet here we are 😅

I sewed about nine feet of hat drapery instead. Hat’s gotta be done for the 27 and I also have nine feet of curtains to sew around it once the top is on, sooooo… I’m a busy bee!

Gonna be a fucking great hat though

———————

I’ll Take The Highway iii

Finding Jason had been harder than usual. He’d never turned his phone back on after last night, and Bruce was still wrestling with one of his least favourite (and most common) side effect of a concussion; light sensitive headaches.

Even with the screen brightness all the way down, it was hard to even look at the batcomputer while he waited for Constantine to arrive.

None of his usual tricks were helping, spikes of pain jabbing behind his eyes every time he tried to scan the cameras for Jason’s presence.

It was Babs who found him in the end, taking her lunch at the library late to help him out. She had whole programs to scan the security cameras of Gotham for her, trained to recognise any bat or rogue from any angle.

False positives happened, but usually didn’t take more than a look to confirm or deny. They were extremely accurate.

Bruce would know.

He had copies of the same programs.

They just weren’t running properly.

He was probably still tired. He’d been pushing himself while injured, as usual, and as usual Alfred would be eager to tell him he’d been overtaxing himself too hard to work efficiently.

And then Constantine was late.

By the time the magician arrived, Bruce was regretting having taken a break to sleep at all. He should have sorted this out last night, before ever calling Jason.

They could have picked a time to meet, and while Bruce was fully aware Jason might have just told him to fuck off, he might not have. Especially if Bruce had promised to leave him alone.

He knew better than to ask Jason to introduce Danny to Constantine.

Barbara had generously kept an eye on Jason in the interim, and by the time Batman and Constantine were ready to go he seemed to have settled in Freeze’s place.

The Frozen Fields. Named for his wife, who Bruce’s top scientists still wouldn’t be able to save.

Along with Harley, Waylon Jones, and Danny.

Of course he was with Danny.

Half the city seemed to be intent on frustrating him today. They’d taken the Batmobile, and while he tended to only drive it in emergencies (and after dark), it still barely sped the journey through the city traffic.

It always felt wrong, sitting and waiting with the rest of the cars in the Batmobile. Didn’t match the “lurking justice in the shadows”. Which Constantine was quick to remind him.

Bruce just gripped the steering wheel tighter, sucked in a deep breath, and nearly bit his tongue when they finally edged up to an intersection only for the light to turn red.

——————

Y’all are so eager to see Bruce getting his comeuppances, sooooo here’s the start of his real bad day 😁 It’ll only get better from here!

Tag List: @welcometosasakiworld @kyrianclawraith @someonebored0100 @stealingyourbones @starkcravingmad @frostedthroughghost @akikkobara @rainbowbunny0159 @littlefeather345 @violet-catsarelife @serasvictoria02 @wolfjackle @blacksea21090 @secretdestinywerewolf @anime-hipster-the-amazing @undead-essence e @skitscratched @blackroserelina @snoodly-boop @trickerdi @mayoota-blog @xysidhe @idkmrpianoman @little-apricot-the-writer @chaoticmistake @the-legal-shipper @bun-fish @aroranorth-west @demon-cat-goes-woof @perfectwastelandcreation @onyxlightdragon @larks-and-katydids @peachesandcreamfemboy @jesus-camp-the-sequel @may-rbi @mothman-the-mothman87 @viyatrix @stargirl1331 @idfk-man10 @thedepressedrobin @skulld3mort-1fan @rootsmudge @ravenshadow17 @cankoking @phantom-dc @mentalcarebear @magic-pincushion @redamancyardor @lyra689 @itsparadoxlacuna @alcorbearson @asphyxia778 @why-must-i-be-like-this @tkiesai @greenpyrowolf @frivolous-pastel @honeysuckletook

[foxsoulart]

TMayNT day 23!

Casey and April, depends on the iteration on who's first.

Oh and Mr. Kirby from 2003.

(Does batman count?)

[marlynnofmany]

Racetracking

“The good news,” announced the gravelly voice of Mimi the tentacle alien, “Is that this model defaults to zero-g when it breaks.” He led the way down the corridor with tentacle slaps instead of footsteps, which managed to sound exasperated.

I had the brief thought that he was louder than Mur and Wio when he walked, possibly because he spent so much time in the engine room where everything was noisy. But I put that thought aside. I had a pretty good idea what the bad news was.

“The bad news,” Mimi grumbled, “Is that the carrying cage that these high-paying customers insisted on is so broken that I can’t fix it. Even with the right tools.”

“So we have animals in zero-g,” I said.

Mimi waved a tentacle in a way that I privately found hilarious. “We just took off! Just! It’s like they’re trying to frame us for damages!”

I looked at him in alarm. “Are we sure they’re not?”

He made a dismissive motion, still walking. “That’s what the cameras in the storage holds are for. There’s proof that no one dropped it or whatever. And I think Captain Sunlight is already talking to them about it, which is a conversation I do not envy her.”

I winced. “Yeah. Which animals? It’s just one of the carriers, right?”

“The little ones. I dunno what they’re called. They were alive when I left, but they looked pretty upset.”

That didn’t narrow it down. As the ship’s resident animal expert, I’d had a look at each of the half-dozen life support chambers that passed for carriers among the rich folks. Each of them held a different type of little furry whatsit in wild colors. Each was sealed with its own supply of air and gravity — or at least it was supposed to be.

I couldn’t hear any distressed noises yet, but when Mimi poked the button for the door, it slid open to a chorus of muffled squeaks.

The six chambers were lined up in a row, on display in the center of the room, with nothing close enough to so much as touch them. Five held animals calmly nosing around the bottom.

One held a whirling tornado of blue fur.

I dashed over to peer through the glass, hands dancing uncertainly. I shouldn’t touch it, shouldn’t open it. But—!

…But.

I looked closer. “They’re running.” I dropped my hands and stared.

Mimi plopped down next to me. “Is that bad?”

“No, it’s just — Look at them! They’re doing this on purpose!” I started to smile as I realized why the squeaks sounded familiar. “They’ve made their own hamster wheel.”

“A what now?” Mimi wanted to know.

I gestured vaguely. “It’s an exercise thing for animals like this where I’m from. A wheel that they run inside of, and it keeps spinning. These guys—” I pointed at the chamber. “—Have created their own.”

“Uh-HUH.” Mimi tilted his head to watch the antics, which were slowing down as they noticed us. “That is a strange reaction to zero-gravity.”

“I’ve heard of mice that did that, actually,” I said as a memory surfaced. “It took them a while to make a game of it. I wonder if this isn’t the first time the carrier’s gravity has gone screwy.”

Mimi held a curl of tentacle thoughtfully to his face. “That is an interesting data point. The captain will want to know.” He lowered it. “And if you’re sure these things aren’t about to die of organ explosion or whatever, then we should go tell her.”

The blue furry things — which did honestly look a lot like mice — had settled down to some more even-tempered bumping around in there. None were limping as far as I could tell, and none had been knocked unconscious or worse.

“I think they’re okay,” I said, looking closely. “The food dispenser is closed, thankfully, so there aren’t any pellets or globs of water floating about. They just got a bit of excitement.”

Mimi levered himself off the floor. “They’re not the only ones,” he grumbled. “Annoying little meatsticks must be in cahoots with the rich jerks, trying to make our lives harder. Why would they even do that?”

I gave the chamber one last look, then stood and followed him toward the door. “I dunno, it looks like fun. Probably a lot of animals would enjoy that if they knew it was an option.”

Mimi stared at me with one large eye. “Animals from your planet.”

“Well, yeah. Probably others too.”

He made a wet-sounding snort of skepticism and led the way into the hall.

I followed, smiling. “Come on, it looks like fun. I was just thinking it would be neat to try in a zero-g room, though flat walls wouldn’t be as good as curved ones.”

“Your planet’s full of weirdos. You know that, right?”

“Oh, it’s been said before.”

~~~

Thanks to this post for inspiration! It was too good an idea to pass up.

Anyways, this is the ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book. But you probably already knew that.

[sugar-softies]

Day 5: Tea Party

Two women sat at a table, a table decorated with a porcelain tea set and a good number of many sugary treats.

"I used to have tea parties with my teddy bears when I was a kid," the host of the event said with a smile, dropping more sugar cubes into her guest's cup.

The host was dressed up in frills and shades of pink with her hair curled into pigtails, quite the opposite aesthetic of her guest.

"Oh yeah?" The guest lazily smiled and reached for another cookie.

She was clad in a stained tank top and a pair of jeans that had long ago busted open to make room for her belly, not that she'd noticed. She was decorated with crumbs and a dazed look.

"Yeah." The host smiled sweetly before picking up a mini cake and stuffing it lovingly into her guest's mouth. "This really reminds me of that."

[genderdotcom]

ffxivwrite2024 day 12: quarry

a bleak in-between period (utya gets a job). (pre-arr)

Stone dust in her eyes. Stone dust in her fur. Stone dust in her shoes when she tips them out, leaning from the hallway window into the dirt outside. If not for her roommates, Utya would rather strip naked in the entryway and just flop onto bed. Gods, everything hurts! Survived a Garlean boot camp, but it’s Ul’dahn quarrying that does her in…

One foot in front of the other, she goes through the motions of turning in for the night, same as every other day for the past three months. What else can she do? At least she’s getting paid, unlike Gundobald and the others in Little Ala Mhigo. And at least she isn’t working for the Garleans anymore… But it feels like her brain and muscles both are turning to mush. 

“Evening, Fickle.” Mumbles a roommate, her eyes still half-shut in her cot.

Who… oh, right. 

“Evening.” She mumbles back. Three months, and she still forgets it’s her name. Enough time to regret the whole idea in the first place- from leaving home to leaving the army to this backwater mining town, breaking her back for scraps. She can’t come crawling back now so the only thing left to do is leave again. Well, she's nothing if not fickle.

[tiredtreebranch1]

Poison Killed The Cat

Poison no.24 he read. The vial only sat on the second shelf. Hundreds of small crystal vials filled with different coloured liquids were meticulously arranged in the towering cupboard. Each one had a neat label either numbering them or naming the known ones; cyanide, hemlock, belladonna, and less known ones; strychnine, curare. The cupboard was ostentatiously labelled ‘POISON’. He had been looking for the bathroom when he had glanced at the cupboard through an ajar door. How could he not be interested in such a beautiful dangling carrot. He didn’t care that any normal person would have run. Run and left this house. But instead, he had slipped into the room and cautiously opened the door to the cupboard.

Now as he stood their beholding the terrifying (but impressive) sight. He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t reasonably return to dinner with an obvious psycho, but he doubted he had it in him to confront the host. He could possibly call the police. But was it safe to do so inside the house? Maybe he should just backtrack to the common sense he had ignored earlier. The instinct that when you see something so obviously dangerous that you should run. Activate the flight response. He didn’t even have a fight response he was just curious. He was a cat, and he was about to be killed.

But yes, he would sneak out. It was the best option. As slowly as he could he closed the cupboard door, keeping an ear out in case he heard any footsteps.

“Adam, Adam, Adam,” came a mockingly disappointed voice from behind him. He whirled around, wincing as the cupboard door closed the rest of the way with a slam.

Standing in the doorway was the host of the night. Henry.

Adam tried to take up a defensive position, straightening his back and throwing back his shoulders.

“What are you doing in here? The bathroom is further down the hall,” Henry said with a further mocking undertone to his words. Adam felt like a fly stuck in a web with a taunting spider.

“Well, I was, uhm,” Adam scrambled for an excuse, “I was looking in here to see if this was it and noticed that the cupboard,” he gestured behind him, “was open and I figured that you probably didn’t want it to be, so I came in to close it,” he ended with a gasp for air.

“Oh, isn’t that odd? I would swear that I closed it last time I was in here,” Henry said with fake confusion as he strode closer.

“Yea. That is odd,” Adam said carefully as he started to edge his way away from what would end with him in his coffin.

Henry nodded emphatically, “just so I know, how much did you happen to see?”

He said it in a way that conveyed genuine curiosity, but his gaze conveyed a threat.

“Barely anything, almost as if it was empty,” Adam forced out a laugh and glanced at the door.

“Right, right,” Henry paused where he stood with his arms crossed over his chest as if he was considering something.

Adam took this as the perfect opportunity to make a dash for the door.

Quicker than Adam had expected, Henry had stepped back into the open door and closed it with his back.

“Tsk, tsk. Come on, you must know that by now I can’t let you leave.”

With a click of a lock Henry looked Adam in the eye and spread his mouth into a malicious smile.

“I can’t have you spilling my little secret, can I?”

Adam shook his head, not really in answer to the man, he was just shaking all over.

“I knew you’d get it!” Henry said gleefully as he stalked forwards.

Adam stumbled backwards, “I promise I won’t tell anyone!”

“Of course you won’t,” Henry pulled out a chair from the side of the room. It clanged against the cold stone floor as he placed it right in the middle of the room.

“Sit.”

Adam took a step back and away from the shadowed chair, “why?”

“Well, we have to make sure you keep your promise, don’t we?”

The rest of the night was a blur.

[vi-visected]

wouldn’t you?