Micro SF/F by O. Westin

The dragon watched the girl climb up to its mountain lair. She stopped to catch her breath, then shouted: "Oi! I've got some questions." "Ask." "Princesses, why?" "They're educated and smell nice." "No noble blood?" "All humans are humans." "Yes! The revolution is go! Cheers!" "Good luck." #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

On the market day, the witch stopped by all the stalls. "Have a care," she told the tinsmith. "You're getting fuzzy." "What?" "Do you ponder other paths you could have taken?" "All the time." "Shadows of other yous hang on you, making you indistinct. Don't lose the you you are. You're real." #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

"Here with us tonight is Bob, the first ever neutrino to travel across the universe and loop around." "It depends on how you count. In the first second of the universe-" "After nucleosynthesis. You bounced on atoms?" "Yes, I had a lucky break with a water molecule on a planet called Earth and..." #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories #EvenSmallerStories

A demon appeared in the summoning circle. It was wearing pyjamas. "I summoned thee to give me knowled-" "Really?" the demon said. "You have the internet these days, the world's knowledge a click away. Nobody's summoned me in years." "You have all knowledge. Why did I summon thee?" "... oh shit." #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

The princess took an earring off and held it out. The raven looked at it. "Whatever for?" "You are wise and clever. Many princesses have dragons, but none has a raven friend." The raven picked up the earring. "Say no more." "Friends?" she asked when it returned the next day. "Forevermore." #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

Her son carefully lifted his ochre-stained hand from the cave wall and studied the outline. "That's me. My hand." He looked at the other hands. "Do you know all?" "Some are older than me." "That old?" "Hush you," she laughed. "We don't make these to be seen tomorrow, but because today, we live." #TootFic #SmallStories #MicroFiction

A spaceship landed in the park. A door dilated. An alien emerged with a chair, which they sat down on, backwards. "Look," they said, "we're not here, okay? You know why nobody contacts you? Because the write-up would be such a pain." They sighed. "Get your shit together, okay? We know you can." #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

When a wizard dies, their spells unravel. But the pattern lingers a while. When Fitzglob died, other wizards swarmed his tower, trying to find his time-stopper room, which you exited as soon as you entered, no matter how long you spent inside. "Here! This room!" "Why?" "It has a reading chair!" #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

Before the annual bonfire was lit, the witch checked it. Five fieldmice and one hedgehog were gently evacuated. Then there were the toxic things. Someone's hatred. Another's regrets. And pain. It was good they were discarded, but if you breathed the smoke... She drew them out, for safe disposal. #MicroFiction #SmallStories #TootFic

The entity drifted dreamlessly through space, as it had for aeons. It woke when it neared a star. Scanned for planets, life, signs of technology. Having found all, it analyzed and decoded radio emissions, then composed a message to send. "My hovercraft is full of feels." It resumed dormancy. #TootFic #MicroFiction #SmallStories

Dr. Dastard pressed the button. Nothing happened. "I cut the wires," Captain Clever said, "you won't rain death and destruction on the world today." "What? My rockets were going to fetch ice asteroids to crash them into the moon." "Why?" "To make an ocean, to let the moon experience tides too." #MicroFiction #ToorFic

"Come out and fight!" the knight called. "Very well," the dragon replied. "As the challenged party, I get to choose weapons. I choose pistols." "What? I have a lance and horse!" "I don't. Here is a matched set, pick one." "Those are cannons!" "Tomayto tomahto. Pick, or forfeit the challenge." #MicroFiction #SmallStories #TootFic

"Here," the witch said. She gave her girlfriend a small pearl. "I made it for you." "What is it?" "A small blessing. It can make a small change to you. Just think of what you want and swallow it." "Could it give me wings?" "That's too big." Her girlfriend swallowed the pearl, and began to purr. #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

"What are the peasants' demands?" the king asked. "Fair taxes, stronger rights, fewer privileges for nobles." "Bollocks! Send knights out to disperse them." "They have dragons, sire." "What?" "The dragons claim a more equal society is more stable and prosperous." "They hoard countries now?" #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

Another master came to see the swordmaster. "Let me watch you teach." He watched a lesson, then asked: "Where do they get their swords?" "Some have their own, others borrow a school sword, like this." "This is an exceptional sword!" "If you have a bad sword, you learn to fight it, not use it." #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

The sage on the mountain greeted the visitor. "I have been to the witch in the forest," the visitor said, "and the swordmaster in the city, and asked their advice." "Concerning what?" "How to live a good life. Now I ask you." "Be kind. Be yourself. Keep learning." "That's what they said, too." #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

The first question the professor posed to her new invention, the consequenceometer, was: "If I can learn the consequences of decisions before deciding, will I be more decisive?" "No," the device said, "you will probe the consequences in ever greater depth, indecisive." She never used it again. #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

"Huh," said the dragon. "Would you care to explain?" "Yes, I'm not a princess all the time," said the milkmaid. "Only on bright spring days. Once they end, I turn back into me." "How come?" "Oh, I was bitten by a princess." "Again, how come?" "She couldn't help herself," the milkmaid grinned. #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

... users can be found giggling, crying, or simply staring into the distance saying "Whoah..." We spoke to one, and asked how they feel about warnings that the practice is addictive: "I could stop, but I don't want to." Some experts say if reading was invented today it would be banned at once. #TootFic #MicroFiction #SmallStories

I noticed a neighbour had set up a little library box in their front yard. I checked the books and saw they were all jumbled up. I had only moved a few when a net fell on me. "Gotcha! Oh..." "What's going on?" I asked. "There's a feral librarian around." "Ah. Catch, tag, feed, release?" "Yup." #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

"Excuse me," the man at the bar said, "but I couldn't help overhearing. Are you really saying you refuse to pick one?" "I don't see why I should have to." "It's a core part of one's identity!" "My gender and sexuality-" "Oh!" He looked relieved. "I thought you were talking about football teams." #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

A spaceship landed in the park. A door dilated and a distraught alien emerged. "What's happened to the library? It's gone! The one thing your civilization had going-" "They moved to a new building," a passer-by said. "Don't you have ways of finding these things out?" "Yes. I ask at the library." #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

"Mum, look!" She ignited the fire by pointing at it. "Ah. You are a sorceress. I did wonder." "Why?" "You're the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter." "I don't have six sisters. Or aunts." "They died. Most children do." "Oh." "Now, what will you do?" "I'll make sure no child dies." #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

"What is your wish?" the genie asked. "You know the story of King Midas?" "Ah! You want all you touch to become gold?" "Not gold, book." "Book?" "The object I hold will become the book I name." "I can get you a kindle and a credit card?" "I like paper books. Oh! And the author will be paid!" #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

I was waiting for my robot friend when a spell stranger came up to me. "Hi!" they said. "Um... hi?" "Oh, sorry." My phone pinged with a text from my friend: "Body's in for service, this is a loaner." "Oh!" I said. "Er... Is it nice?" "Can't wait to go back. This is..." "Not you?" "Not me." #MicroFiction #TootFic #Smallstories

"What is your favourite part of your job?" the reporter asked. "That's a tough one," said the book. "For me, I would say being re-read." "Because it shows you were loved?" "No, you can feel that at a first read. It's that I can show more than the first time round." "It's more intimate?" "Yes." #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

On the eve of the summer solstice, I pick seven different flowers, in seven different fields, all in complete silence. I tie them into a bouquet and put it under my pillow. Doing so means that tonight, I will dream of my true love. I already live with her, but I like dreaming of her too. #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories #MidsummerTradition

"Oh! Excuse me," I say as I feel the familiar tug, "I'm being summoned." I materialise in a pentagram in Hell. I glare at the demon. "I wish I'd never taught you how to reverse the ritual. I was at a party!" "We're out of salt liquorice." "Fine, I'll buy some tomorrow. Now send me back!" *poof* #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

"You have tampered in the Gods' domain!" the god shouted. "Well, maybe, but you gods tamper in the human domain all the time!" "That's... That's different!" "How?" "We are Gods! It's what we do!" "And we are human. Likewise." "I..." The god sighed. "Fair. But keep it quiet, okay?" #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

"I'm bored," Zenon said. "Are we there yet?" "I told you," Odysseus growled, "to stop asking that." "Oh yeah? What are you going to do, somehow double the time we have left to go?" "Yes! Every time you ask! Just to spite you!" "Pfff. Are we there yet?" #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

The sword master nodded. "I see. Well, I'm not one to back down from a challenge. And what type of sword are you most interested in learning to use?" "One of those long ones with the elaborate guard." "A rapier? In human size, or your size?" "Does it matter?" said the dragon. "A bit, yes." #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

"What is the deal with knights anyway?" the dragon asked. "What do you see in them?" "I was told," the maiden said, "that they're very fit thanks to all training. And that I should admire men who are good at violence." "Hm. And do you?" "What else is there?" "Hah! I'll let my princess tell you!" #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

Bouba woke with a start, her strong, round arms reaching out to grab a weapon. "You're safe. I healed you." A comforting voice. Bouba looked. A skinny witch, all angles, smiled at her. "Kiki?" "Long time no see. When did you get so hard?" The big warrior laughed. "When did you get so soft?" #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

A bewildered stranger entered the castle kitchen. "Lost, sir?" the cook said. "You found a hidden door that led to the same room?" "Why, yes!" "How many times did you go through?" "Five or six, why?" "This used to be a wizard's castle. That door takes you through time, not space." #MicroFiction #TootFic #MicroFiction

It was the world's first interspecies conference. "First," the elf said, "let's agree we all have a right to exist." The goblin nodded. The orc looked at elves and humans and growled "Nah!" The human looked at orcs and goblins and said "No." "For fucks sake," the elf and goblin said in unison. #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

The message from the stars began with a sequence of numbers, but the rest took years to decode. Most was context to translate the message: "Those are the winning lottery numbers." The numbers matched the next draw after the message was first received. Now we received another sequence... #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

Opinion polls said they were going to lose, unless someone had a genius idea. "You know the water company that put 'sugar free' on their label?" "All water is-" "But only one said so, implying..." "Genius!" "Who," said their candidate after losing, "put 'I do not eat human meat' on my posters?" #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

You don't need much - a decent computer, layout software, a laser printer, and a basic time/space machine. I scour news sites for good news, then write them up, design my zine, print it out, and send copies to my subscribers, a month ago. Gives them a bit of hope, something to look forward to. #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

Dating is always a fraught issue for dragons. There is, of course, the question of hoard compatibility, but even that takes second place if both have a princess. "I do hope they get along," one dragon said. "Are they talking?" said the other. "Heads close togeth- Oh!" "They get along well!" #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

The shieldmaiden raised a tankard to the battered knight. "Dragon got the better of you? Told you." "I'd like to see you do better!" "Sure!" She emptied her tankard, rode out, and soon returned with the princess. "How?" "First, make sure the princess wants to be rescued-" "But-" "-by you." #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

A week after the teleport network had opened, it was already routine. Johnson stepped onto the plate and thought about the Bank Street station. He arrived at the leisure park. He complained to a guard, who said: "It takes you where you need to be." Behind him, his daughter's soccer game started. #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

The artificer pulled a lever. "It's active." The device looked like a doorway, a slight shimmer in the opening. The artificer stepped through. "Nothing happened," the apprentice said. "I already am who I am. If you step through, you'll turn into who you are." "May I?" "I built it for you." #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

When the selkie returned to the beach, a man was holding her sealskin. "Is this yours?" he asked. "May I borrow it?" "You want to be a seal?" "No, but when I take it off, I'll be a woman, right?" "My heart, you already are," the selkie said. "That skin is mine, but I can help you find yours." #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

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The Superhero Academy officer looked from form to applicant. "You can predict when a cream pie will hit you?" "In two minutes." "OK. Wait in the next room." The officer looked at the next applicant. "You a mimic? You look just like-" "My twin." "Ah. Says here you can materialise cream pies?" #TootFic #MicroFiction #Superpowers

@becomingwisest@hachyderm.io I wrote a microstory about a demon offering that kind of temporary possession service, many years ago.

@erinaceus@chaos.social I know. I'm partly joking, partly extrapolating from current events.

@GreenSkyOverMe@ohai.social I was thinking a couple of centuries, yeah.

"What did you call it?" one of the biologists said. "Bob," said the boy. "He's my friend." "I doubt 'he' is the-" "Never mind pronouns," the other biologist said. "This a new form of life!" "Nonsense, it's clearly a fungi!" "Actually," Bob said, "I'm a cheese." "And my friend!" "Indeed." #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

"What's the difference between witch magic and wizard magic?" "None," said the witch. "Magic is magic. The difference is how much you care about the cost." "There's a cost?" "Always." "What is the cost?" "The more you use, the more critters will shun you." "Critters?" "Cats, dogs... people." #MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories