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 Ficlet Prompts for March
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| M1795537OCVirn |
Posted on 03-03-2025 15:10
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 Admin  Posts: 9789 Joined: 14.01.22 |
Travisina says "Here some ficlet challenge topics for March: March is named for the Roman god of war, Mars. Obviously, there's the Andromedan and the Galactic War (or wars - and let's not get into how long it/they lasted), but perhaps there are distant skirmishes taking place in other parts of the B7 universe that have nothing to do with Blake or the Federation? March's birthstones are aquamarine and bloodstone, which symbolise courage. March is also Women's History Month in various countries. Let's hear it for the women of Blake's 7!" "You're not sulking, I hope?"
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| Hugbot |
Posted on 09-03-2025 11:16
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 Alpha Grade  Posts: 2923 Joined: 16.01.22 |
The Butterfly Wars The high plains were lush with vegetation. Only where the river cut its way through the land the red rock beneath was exposed, giving the banks the appearance of bloodstone inlaid with a trail of aquamarine. On the northern shore lived the Ee. They resembled butterflies but grew as tall as humans. Fluttering over the meadows and savannahs of the northern plain like gaudy harlequins, they did not seem to be capable of violence. And yet they fought a bloody war with the inhabitants of the forests on the southern shore. Humans couldn’t even try to speak their high-pitched language, but Jenna and Cally had learned to distinguish the most common words while the Elders of the Ee were able to understand some basic English. “Our traditional birthing caves lie on the southern shore,” one of the Elders explained. “That’s were we lay our eggs, and that is where we hatch. But the Southerners permanently try to intrude! When we put up guards, they even kill them to get into our caves.” Getting mixed up in the interior struggles of this planet was not part of their mission, and yet the two women went to investigate. “You are very courageous,” the Elder said. “Just be careful! The Southerners stop at nothing!” As flying insects, the Ee had never invented boats or even bridges, but a few miles upstream was a natural ford where Jenna and Cally could pass. After several hours of walking, they finally arrived at the caves. The first thing they saw were the gruesome signs of war. The dead bodies of the Ee guards littered the ground at the cave entrance, their claws still clutching their halberds. But many of their enemies had also fallen in the skirmish – giant caterpillars, still looking strong and muscular in death. Nonetheless Jenna and Cally ventured deeper into the cave where they finally found what they had suspected all along: there were the shiny, white eggs of the Ee, but there were also the rough and hairy pupae of the caterpillars. The butterflies laid their eggs in the cave as the Elder had said, but they were mistaken about hatching from them. In reality, they hatched from the pupae. The caterpillars probably believed that their next generation hatched from the pupae in an endless cycle of rebirth. “We have to tell them,” Cally demanded. “They have to learn that they are one species; otherwise, they will destroy themselves.” “Good luck with that,” Jenna said bitterly. “Have we humans ever learned that ourselves?” |
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| BlueyH |
Posted on 11-03-2025 04:03
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 Delta Grade  Posts: 39 Joined: 04.02.25 |
Him I learned soon after the event it wasn't the war that brought an end to my idyllic childhood, it was Him. He set in motion the chain of events leading to the betrayal of humanity. Even if his antithesis had not chosen to betray his own kind first, He would still have found a way to destroy the only thing holding together the fabric of our peaceful life. He was a fanatic, a self-possessed monster. Kyrena had been a wonderful world and home. From the beautiful ice caves at the poles, to the sparkling diamond-sand deserts at the equator, there was no part of the world in which peace and belonging could not be found. A world where everyone strived for a common good. The first sign something was amiss was the failure of the weekly rains, about 2 days after the destruction of Star One. For eight hours of three nights of every week, for over 100 years the rains had fallen without fail, feeding the crops and the life-giving aera-trees, without which the atmosphere would revert to a poisonous mix of methane and Sulphur. Next came the rise in temperature. A comfortable, constant 24 degrees soon rose into the forties and beyond. Calls for help from the Federation were made, and efforts were made, but with the bulk of the fleet engaged in the war (or indeed one of the many that broke out around that time), they were ultimately futile. I remember the tears in the eyes of the System Administrator and garrison commander as I was led to the final evacuation ship. Death and destruction on an unprecedented scale, brought about by the selfish actions of two men in their hatred of each other. Millions died, my parents and sisters amongst them. Now, I have no home, no connection, no purpose. The Galaxy lies in ruins, cruel warlord against cruel warlord each fighting for their own small sliver of power. But maybe there is hope. I hear of a woman named Sleer, weaving together the broken fabric of the cosmos where she can, a wave of peace and contentment following in her wake. If I ever meet her, I'll join her. Someone has to raise us again, maybe she's the one. As I write I'm heading to His grave on Gauda Prime, to spit on it, for everything he took from me. Only then can I move forward. Edited by BlueyH on 11-03-2025 06:01 I look exactly as Avon reasoned I would.
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| Lorna |
Posted on 11-03-2025 07:50
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 Alpha Grade Posts: 2120 Joined: 16.01.22 |
Wow that is really good. BlueyH
I look behind me, what do I see? A pair of golden wings seem to be attached to me.
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