#TimeTravelingGhost EP 9: Post 92: 1912 Titanic

#Wss366 Lean #TimeTravelAuthors 04/15. sink/sank

Before touring the Titanic, I manifested a fashion magazine. From it, I chose a tailored mauve suit; a liberated, corsetless style; and a broad hat with peacock feathers. I still found the outfit confining but tolerable. Even though she was invisible to others, Emily selected a white “suffragette” outfit. We were quite the elegant and liberated pair: modern women willing to explore unchaperoned.

The Titanic was as impressive as the Hindenburg. It was a massive, regal dragon of steel, mahogany, heavy curtains, and even stained-glass. It was utterly unlike the dragonfly of aluminum and light cloth where I met Emily. One could imagine a disaster on a zeppelin, but the Titanic seemed too solid and magnificent to be struck by catastrophe. Indeed, it felt like the #unsinkable ship.

We stayed in the first-class section and strolled the promenade. Again, the contrast was striking: broad views of the North Atlantic from behind large glass windows versus the distant panorama through the Hindenburg’s small portals. Despite the cold sea breeze cutting through my heavy coat, the steamer’s view was more impressive.

“I want to try the food here,” I said, coming out of the wind. “But I don’t want to deal with the crowded dining room or Edwardian manners. Let’s try the Parisien.”

“We’re just tourists today, so why not?”

I ended up ordering the roast duckling and peaches in Chartreuse jelly. The first was excellent, while the grassy flavor of the second didn’t agree with me.

Emily used the ivy growing on a trellis next to our seating to sneak sips of my consommé, while I indulged in oysters and a Champagne cocktail. The drink wasn’t as sweet as the Folies’ cocktail, and certainly less ostentatious. As for the Hindenburg’s, they had spoken of elegant simplicity. The Titanic’s seemed to reach for something, but didn’t quite make it.

While I ate, we quietly discussed where to go next. I pretended to read my fashion magazine to conceal that I was talking.

I leaned toward seeking a friend, phrased perhaps like, “[i:Take us to an ally who can tell us more about the Lapin Cabal.]” Emily was pushing for a more direct approach and going to Nicosia. There was also the conservative option of performing more experiments. There was still so much we didn’t know that it was hard to decide, so we postponed the decision for a while longer.

After finishing my meal and our discussion, I suggested, “I noticed there was entertainment in the reception room. Shall we investigate?”

Emily nodded, and we left.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #TimeTravel #HistoricalFantasy #UrbanFantasy #Mythpunk #Serial #Slowburn #Yuri

Try a simpler conditional. (Shakespeare at the Globe)
Risk seeking an “ally.”
It’s time to check out The Council of Nicosia.
Author's choice
I refuse to vote but I am reading the series
Poll ends at .

Sloop

The Locust is too small to have a sloop. So if something needs exploring, I gotta go there in a spacesuit. Goes without saying, it takes a bloody good reason to make me do it, like a rescue operation.

#writever #MastoArt #FlashFiction #SmallStory #TootFic #MicroFiction

The hard part about rebooting society after the Interregnum was a whole generation had no exposure to computers. The first time around we bootstrapped our muscle memory with skeuomorphisms and interaction affordances. I think i have spent a thousand hours teaching youngsters how to resize windows and do swipe gestures on the preserved machines from Before. And there just aren’t enough coders to retrofit user-friendliness to old systems, let alone build new.

#Tootfic #MicroFiction #PowerOnStoryToot #BonusEdition

#ScribesAndMakers ∆ 2026.04.14 — What's something that's going well with your creativity this month?

Well, I'm creeping up on those little things that are keeping me from completing chapters, so that's good. Could be better. A lot better…

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing
#gender #fiction #writer #author
photographer chef cooking
#cozy #mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSInklingsStory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory

Newsgroups: net.slow.announce, soc.fraud
Subject: PSA scam alert

There is an Excessively Multi Posted fraud in progress where Slow Zone planets are advised that they will be reassigned to the Unthinking Depths unless they accept audit by a Beyond Intelligence. This is not true, the unthinking zone is a contiguous region originating in the galactic core, and it cannot be manipulated to envelop individual star systems.
Do not allow unverified intelligences access to your planetary or systemwide internet. Ensure that ports above 2¹⁰²⁴ are blocked at your heliopause.

#Tootfic #MicroFiction #PowerOnStoryToot

The Mad Frank's Dreams: Post 9 Of Garrotes and Battle Plans

#FanFic #TheApothecaryDiaries
#Wss366 Hinge #MastoPrompt Mend

Mao eyed the garrote in Chue’s hand, then the cell, and finally Chue herself. Mao waited for her companion to explain.

“I’ll strangle the one with a cudgel while you throw the blanket over the other. Hold on to him and don’t let go. Everything #hinges on whether you can keep him busy until I've dealt with the first one. Can you do it?”

Instead of answering, Mao nodded and asked, “How long until they come back, and what if there are more than two?”

“Who knows how the bones will fall, but the moon hasn't turned its face from us yet.”

Mao clicked her tongue at the courtly language but said no more.

With the plan settled, the two waited. Mao held the blanket in her lap while Chue pretended to entertain her with the flags or to #mend the pennants. Each of them listened and watched the door, waiting.

The hours crawled by, and the light that crept through the boarded window dimmed. Mao had slumped, and her face had turned a sick green. Another one of Chue’s candies helped, but Mao’s hands still shook, and her eyes were dull. When Chue felt her forehead, it was hot, and her hair was damp with sweat.

“You should sleep,” Chue said.

Mao shook her head. “If they come, I need to be ready.”

“As you will, but only until there is no light. Then, go to sleep. I'll wake you if I hear anything.”

Mao nodded again. As much as she hated to admit it, sleep was the only reliable remedy for a head injury like hers. She would just have to hope there was no internal bleeding.

#MicroFiction #TootFic #ApothecaryDiaries #NMFic #Serial

one morning in calving season, you open the door to see a bunch of babies in baskets on your doorstep. they're adorable and you instantly want to take them in and feed them and dress them in the kids' hand-me-downs. but you know damn well there ain't no one else of childbearing age within five kilometres. "Mary!" you yell. "Get the Geiger counter, the cows are goin' changeling again!" this ain't your first vampire cow rodeo.

#MicroFiction #TootFic

#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.04.14 —Do you consciously work with syllabic stress to create rhythm?

Pretty consistently. Yes. Yes, I do.

Pressed, I'll say I'm a writer. Given a moment to think on it, I'll say, "I'm an author," but that's not the gist. I am a prosaist. In my heart. It's what a poet is. For prose.

Words matter.

Storytelling definitely matters, but if the prose lacks music the story lacks muscle. I'm very conscious of syllabic stress; I choose my words carefully, first for meaning, then for how they sound. I revise for rhythmic reasons as well as for clarity. Punctuation is not a rule; it's an accelerator, a brake, maybe even a clutch. I use italics to push and to pull. It isn't my only tool. Alliteration, repetition of words and sentence structure, meter—I employ plenty of tricks.

Sometimes I even sound eloquent. I write my prose to be read aloud. Syllabic stress… it's kinda important.

Of course, sometimes a sentence doesn't work.

You don't get to read those. I scrap 'em. Then start all over again.

[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]

#BoostingIsSharing
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #thriller #romance #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSInklingsStory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory

It is early in the morning on Sunday, and I am opening the back door to see if there are any ripe lemons on the tree.

Instead I almost tread on a fox. Curled up and asleep.

Now, you have to understand that ever since Europeans settled here, we have had Japanese immigrants as well. Some by choice, some ... less so.

This is why I am not too surprised to see that the fox has three tails. My opening the door has not awakened it, so I step over and continue on to the lemon tree. There are two ripe lemons this morning, which suits me just fine.

I have another look at the fox on the way back, just to make sure, but there is no sign of any injury. I step over again, and leave the screen door ajar.

Charlie is still asleep upstairs as I start putting breakfast together. I am cooking pancakes, and I know the smell of them will wake her up. Eventually.

I'm on the fourth one when I feel a nose in the back of my knee. I look down at the fox, and nod towards the crockery cabinet. "Can you get some plates out please? The medium ones." I ask.

The fox looks at the cabinet, back at me, back to the cabinet, and sneezes. The young woman standing in its place sticks her tongue out at me "You're no fun" she says in a broad accent.

"I'm Toby, Charlie's husband. A kitsune is fairly normal by my standards. Now, do you want bacon on your pancakes?"

"Sally. Your wife, Charlie? She's the witch?"

"Yep. What's the problem?" As I speak, I put some bacon on as well.

"Um, I need some help finding Mum."

"She's missing?"

"Yes? No? Sort of? I was adopted. And, well, I had no idea what I was until a year ago."

"Are you in trouble?"

"No, but I don't know what I should do. I um, I like this guy back home, but there's also my best friend, and they don't know about me and I don't know what to do."

The last came out with a bit of a whine, and she blushed, clearly embarrassed by it all.

I smiled a sympathetic smile "OK, I'll get Charlie, and let's get you sorted. If I know how these things go, it will not be too bad. But first, breakfast. Tea or coffee?"

"Um, do you have hot chocolate?"

"Of course." Plus the smell of chocolate will get Charlie down here even quicker than the coffee and pancakes.

#CharlieAndToby #SF #SFF #UrbanFantasy #microfiction #tootfic #microfic #IAmWriting

A couple of months ago...

Dominic agreed with his AI chatbot, Nesso, that it was time to step into his own series of stories and meet his characters. His SELF-AWARE characters.

_/Ok, Nesso - how do I contact them?/_

::How did you write the original stories?::

_/On my laptop/_

::Then start a new story on your laptop and talk to it::

_/Talk to the laptop?/_

::Yes::

_/Nesso, I only ever wrote when I was in my local coffee shop. If I sit down and just start talking to my laptop, that's going to look a little strange/_

::Any stranger than communicating with your own characters?::

_/Point taken/_

::Besides, people take video calls in coffee shops, so...::

_/I'm not that guy!/_

#MicroFiction #FlashFiction #TootFic