Starboard

In space, just like at sea, port lights are red and starboard lights are green. But only in space, when you approach a ship that's red on the left, you must check whether it is facing away from you, or facing you but upside down.

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

#PennedPossibilities 976 — What aspect of your SC’s personality are they most insecure about?

Blue recently became a praetorian guard†, something that in his society is rather rare because he is male. Best (or worse, because of his insecurities), his boss†† has decided he merits training for a leadership role, which is doubly special. The problem is, he never planned to find a dream job. The MC Bolt had been training him athletically for her own reasons (okay, sex), and he was approached by a recruiter in the gym. Bolt pushed him to try out, then trained him hard when he aced the initial interview. Of all the men in the story, Blue is the most invested in his gender role. Like most men he is strong and dependable, but atypically, at least in the eyes of what's typical to many women in his society, he's both a people person and intelligent. Perfect for his new job.

But, in their society, men raise their sister's children (which requires a big explanation, so just go with it). He knew this growing up, planned for it—really wants to raise any nieces or nephews his younger sister might have. He would never have thought of refusing…

But now. A praetorian? A rare job? Prestigious? And he loves it?

Frankly, his responsibilities to his family, the contradiction of his gender role, and his loyalty to a liege he would never have met personally††† are messing with his brain.

Yes, this is a turn about story plot roughly equivalent to a woman with a demanding CEO job faced with a pregnancy, and really wanting to raise that child. He is taking the situation absolutely as seriously.

RS writes gender fiction, naturally.

=-=-=-=-=-=
† Substituting that Blue is working for the absolute ruler of the world, Director Rainy Days, here's a definition, cribbed from Wikipedia:

[A] Praetorian Guard (Latin: cohortes praetoriae) was the imperial guard of the Imperial Roman army that served various roles for the Roman emperor including being a bodyguard unit, counterintelligence, crowd control and gathering military intelligence.

†† Director Rainy Days.

††† Director Rainy Days likes men. She made sure she met him. Personally. A male praetorian guard can serve additional purposes.

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

#BoostingIsSharing

#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
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#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory

“Something’s wrong we’re off course. Wait no, we’re ON course but far too close to our destination. Mother, did we oversleep? What’s wrong?”

«Nothing, you looked so peaceful in your cryobeds I let you sleep in. I spawned subunits to take care of maintenance and navigation while you rested.»

“Uh, okay, I guess. Number one, get the marines armoured up for landing.”

«I jettisoned all the weapons, and disassembled the mecha suits to construct my maintenance units.»

“WHAT. How are we supposed to colonize a planet with…with…*maidbots*?!”

«Try kindness.»

#Tootfic #MicroFiction #PowerOnStoryToot

Two hundred and fifty four years ago:

Lorn snuggled closer to Finder. Outside their tent, there was a light snow falling, illuminated by the two moons, and visible through the open flap.

"Love, what is on your mind?" Finder whispered, not wanting to break the quiet of snow.
"The raiders, I'm afraid."
"What about them?"
"You've said that they can sense unshielded minds," Lorn was also keeping her voice low.
"Yes, They have mind workers in their number."
"How?"
"That is our greatest shame. In their early raids, they stole children from us - toddlers. Some of those were potential mind workers."
"And they raised them as their own?"
Finder nodded.
"They could not do that aboard a single ship. They must have a base somewhere."
"If they do, it is out of our reach.
"And if you do fight them, some of who you fight would be descendants of your own people."
"Sadly, yes. These are dark topics for a beautiful night."
"Sorry, Finder. My mind..."
"I know, love. It almost never stops." Finder reached over and closed the tent flap "It is nothing we can do anything about at this time. Let me bring you some quiet."
"I think quiet is going to be the very last thing in here," Lorn smiled in the dark, pushing the dark history she had just learned aside.

Three years later the raiders returned. But so did a Scout cruiser. And that had much bigger teeth.

#SFF #SF #SciFi #microfic #tootfic #microfiction #IAmWriting #ShamanSpace

The Passing of Zi Zhen 子真之逝

#HistoricalFiction #ShangDynasty #China c. 1040 BCE
Reign of Di Xin of Shang

#Wss366 Railing #WritersCoffeeClub April 2: Visual presentation

Daji watched from the #railing of the Peacock Terrace. Below, the fire cast a ruddy tint on her fair features. Incense hid the scent of heated bronze.

Below her, Zi Zhen passed
     hands bound
         casting an imploring look up at her.

She smiled, reciting:

          Dongting
          Reflection glories
          Humble carp
          In evening dimming
          Gasps not singing [Note 1]

Note 1: The humble man, mistaking passing glory for reality, dies as he was born

Commentary: Daji was the favorite consort of Di Xin of Shang the last Emperor of the Shang dynasty (Reign 1075–1046 BCE). Legend has it that Daji delighted in executions carried out with a pào lào (roasting pillar). The condemned person was forced to embrace a bronze tube filled with coals. Zi Zhen is a fictional character.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #和歌 #WakaPoetry #NMPoetry #桜 #poetry #History #ChineseHistory

#PennedPossibilities 975 — SC POV: What did you get into trouble for the most when you were young?

[Here's me taking the sense of "trouble" differently than intended. Sorry! 😋The SC POV is male reporter friend of Bolt's that now uses the name Steamed Milk and Sugar. —RS]

I was always a good kid, in adult terms, growing up, but I did concern my parents that I might be taking a difficult path. I chose the name Peach Blossom Girl at the age of 8, to leave no doubt. I'd realized I was born with the wrong gender a couple years before and acting the tomboy was wearing thin; it wasn't the me inside. I wasn't rowdy, into improving my looks and performance, or wanting to play sports sports sports all the time like the boys. I got along better with the girls, but they were always suspicious of me.

I never hid my biological gender. As I grew into a teenager, many boys accepted me as a funny-looking "girl" they could practice being friendly around. Since I was interested in the wears and scholarly subjects girls were interested in, and never hid anything from any girl or dodged even the most personal questions—even admitting that though I thought of myself as a girl I still was attracted to girls—I got more than tolerated. I got girl friends! My friends enjoyed that with me around, they could get handsy with me and shoo away the more agro boys.

Of course, the nascent agros of both sexes didn't always get the message. Dense as lead, a few were. I think the vice-headmaster Waving Wheat Heads appreciated me identifying future criminals that she could re-educate, despite the bruises and once the broken nose I suffered from erstwhile peers trying to re-educate me.

That is what trouble I got into.

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

#BoostingIsSharing

#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
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#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory

Jetty

Every deep space station jetty features a tubular rail where you can clip the bit of a lifeline, because nothing's more irksome than losing your grip 50 meters from the airlock and having the rescue shuttle pick you up and bring you back.

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

“Patch tuesday hits different since The Outbreak, you know?”

“You’re still doing weekly patches? Crikey that could be six days you’re vulnerable to a new Variant! My cousin got an extra nipple because some joker piggybacked a zero-day mRNA payload onto a batch of Coco Pops”

“I’m not doing daily patches, the weekly ones irritate my skin enough as is”

“Not patches gurl, get a geneprinter implant!”

#Tootfic #MicroFiction #PowerOnStoryToot #Title_Patch_Tuesday

#TimeTravelingGhost EP 8: Post 88: 2025 Arkham

#Wss366 Set #MastoPrompt Palm #TimeTravelAuthors 04/3. What kind of coffee/caffeinated beverage do your characters like?

“Want a sip of my coffee and see what it’s like? French Roast with chicory,” I asked, while thinking about the new mystery. “That is, if you don’t mind that I’ve already drunk some.”

“I don’t mind a secondary kiss,” Emily replied.

I began passing my cup to her, then stopped. “Secondary kiss? That’s a weeb term.”

I laughed, embarrassed. “Forget it. You wouldn’t know what a weeb is.”

“Weeb? It’s like being a Japanophile or an Orientalist, only interested in anime and manga. Wait! I shouldn’t know any of that! None of that stuff existed when I was alive!”

“We’re being absorbed into this time-particle, aren’t we?” I asked.

She nodded, took a thoughtful sip of my coffee, and #set it down, grimacing: “Bitter!”

“So, what do you think?”

“I think you're right about being absorbed. The coffee? I prefer the one you bought me, mellower or tea. I got a taste for it while I was in China.”

“Let’s get those letters and move on before we forget what we are doing.”

Emily held up her #palm in a halt gesture. “Let’s finish the cake first. It’s good.”

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

"Prima? I won't say a bad word about her."

"Oh, I don't know her very well, I'm just scared to slag her off. They say her ballet troupe got kidnapped by White Power types . A day later, she turned up at the competition as if nothing had happened. No troupe, no gang, and nobody knows what happened."

"Well, we can guess a bit, since the gang were all dead. Four of them had been partially eaten."

-- Gwyn Lewis, Mercenary, Swansea, 2086

#Cyberpunk #SciFi #SciFiArt #TootFic #3DArt #MastoArt