I Can't Possibly Be Wrong All the Time

It’s the first of November 2023, so I went through my social media feeds and grabbed all of the MicroStories I’d tweeted during the month of October.

As a reminder, these represent story-essences composed using no more than 269 characters (so I could tweet them with the hashtag #MicroStory.)

Usually, I only tweet Science Fiction and Fantasy #MicroStories. October was no exception. I guess?

For really great #MicroStory action, please follow @MicroSFF, the Twitter account that inspired me to participate in this minimalist writing exercise. That feed puts out great science fiction and fantasy MicroStories all the time. (I need to find out if they’ve moved on to Blue Sky…)

(I want to make it clear that @MicroSFF is *not* a Twitter account of mine. Their flash-fiction tweets are excellent. Mine are okay.)

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With Ivar bound and gagged, the group debated next steps.
“It’s bad luck to kill a warlock. You’d best use a magic warlock-slaying sword.”
Connal drew his long knife.
“I don’t hold much with luck, good or bad. And I know I have a prisoner-slaying dirk. Magic or no.”
#MicroStory

“Sir, we’re getting an incoming. Fleet is bringing us a prisoner.”
“Sounds routine. What’s the story today? Prisoner killed trying to take over the ship or the sleep pod failed?”
“The prisoner is healthy and will be transferred to us.”
“Well, that’s suspicious.”
#MicroStory

The Dwarven masons hired by the mage to build the tallest tower imaginable laughed.
They knew that magic was produced by the interaction of the world’s core and the mantle, and faded the further up it traveled.
Which is why the greatest wizards were deep underground.
#MicroStory

“We’ll do this old school – break in, grab the monopole, then fade into the lower decks crowd. I have masks for us.”
“What about Tor?” I asked, pointing to our huge Flattop.
“I have a big mask for him.”
“But there’s only one Flattop on this station. In this sector.”
#MicroStory

The Tribbix were my favorite brand of Chriistian converts. Seven feet tall, green, random number of eyes. They vibed with only the hippie aspects in the good book.
There was a Tribbix church on level 17, they’d offer me sanctuary while I figured out my off-world move.
#MicroStory

The royals made idle chit-chat. It was novel for them to meet peers face-to-face.
But all were distracted, hoping that this might be the year that HE wouldn’t attend.
Their faces fell as the crowds outside roared with cheers and applause.
And King Everyman walked in.
#MicroStory

The king would be escorted to the War Castle until the problem at the border was resolved.
The gates of that fortress would open only for him, the powers within would respond only to him.
The crowd sadly watched him leave.
He’d return, but would not be the same.
#MicroStory

Blue Ophelia was an off-limits world by treaty with the Unpronounceables, so we had to quickly and quietly pull up the crashed tourist ship.
We’d hoped we’d be lucky and everyone would be dead, but it looked like one of the extreme survival suits was missing.
Crap.
#MicroStory

It was assumed that a star empire had forced their language on worlds they’d vanquished, to explain language commonalities across stars.
In truth, there had been an empire who’d kept their own language secret and just used the first conquered race’s language instead.
#MicroStory

A hill lay at the center of the ruined, deserted town. Rising from that hill was a huge tree.
Once, it had been alive, the literal center of the town’s activities.
Bearing fruit, providing shade.
It eventually died, as trees do.
It came back to life, as trees don’t.
#MicroStory

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Thank you to everyone who reads and enjoys my small stories. I tweet flash-fiction at irregular (VERY IRREGULAR) intervals on my Twitter account, @patman23. At more regular intervals on Twitter, I’ll be talking about my weekend or television (one time it was mostly about Game of Thrones), or complaining about raking leaves off of my lawn. I say that, as if Twitter hasn’t become a dumpster fire of late. If you don’t want to go to Twitter or X, you can follow me on Mastodon or BlueSky. I need to look up the addresses. Here they are: @sponaugle@mastodon.world and @patman.bsky.social . I am hardly on Mastodon though, and I spend more time on BlueSky for so many reasons, rather than Twitter. (But you can still reach me.)

Header image is a picture I took during a wedding in Maryland, at a venue called the Cloisters. It was very cool and castle-like.

Want to read my earlier MicroStory collections? I have my first three years’ worth of stories HERE and the second three years’ worth of stories HERE – I might need to put together another 3 year’s worth of microstories soon.

In general, I’m fine with anyone using the text of my MicroStories for non-commercial use. (Look how cute I am, thinking someone wants to make a t-shirt from one of my flash fiction bits. I say cute, but you can substitute in some other, more appropriate, adjective. I’m not the boss of you.)

© Patrick Sponaugle 2023 Some Rights Reserved