Mastouille

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Nick East (Indie Writer)Ow! Right in the imagination! 😜😂 <a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/bookstodon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookstodon</a> <a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/bookbubble" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookbubble</a> <a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/reading" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@reading</a> <a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/classics" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@classics</a> <a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/humour" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@humour</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Book" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Book</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Books" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Books</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/BookMemes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BookMemes</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Memes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Memes</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Humor" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Humor</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Humour" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Humour</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Classic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Classic</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Litterature" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Litterature</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Novel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Novel</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Novels" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Novels</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Bookshelf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Bookshelf</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Mastobooks" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Mastobooks</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/BooksofMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BooksofMastodon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Bookstodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Bookstodon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Bookworm" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Bookworm</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Bookwyrm" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Bookwyrm</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Bookstodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Bookstodon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/BookLove" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BookLove</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BoostingIsSharing</a>Comic by Cyanide and Happiness: <a href="https://explosm.net" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://explosm.net</a>

RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/ScribesAndMakers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ScribesAndMakers</a> 2503.12 — Do you play games? If so, do they influence your creativity?</blockquote>I love playing video games but I never ever have time. Last few days I've spent over 8 hours writing to get my web-novel chapters published mostly daily. Regular schedule has plenty of distractions beyond gamingHow does it influence my creativity? A couple decades ago, I played a role playing game called MERP. I invented an amazing character and I've wrote a few chapters, but didn't complete the story. I did write a trans story in that universe, got it accepted, but the publisher went under so I never got paid. [Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BoostingIsSharing</a> and <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/CommentingIsCool" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#CommentingIsCool</a><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#gender</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writer</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#author</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/photographer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photographer</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/chef" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#chef</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/cooking" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#cooking</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fantasy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fantasy</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writing</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writingcommunity</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writersOfMastodon</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writers</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSdiscussion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSdiscussion</a>

RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WritersCoffeeClub" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#WritersCoffeeClub</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WCC" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#WCC</a> 2503.12 — Happy Plant a Flower Day! What rôle does nature take in your stories?</blockquote>How would you describe a ruined world from the 1st person POV of people who have always lived in said world and find it normal? In the Reluctance series, nature is a very important background character whose words don't always match up with the reader's understanding of how their world works. [Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BoostingIsSharing</a><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#gender</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writer</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#author</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/mystery" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mystery</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/thriller" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#thriller</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/romance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#romance</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sf</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sff</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sciencefiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writing</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writingcommunity</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writersOfMastodon</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writers</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSdiscussion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSdiscussion</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSstory</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSReluctanceStory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSReluctanceStory</a>

RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WordWeavers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#WordWeavers</a> 2503.13 — If your MC was a music genre, what genre would they be?</blockquote>If I can choose my DJ MC, I'd say electronica, house, and progressive. In hero mode, orchestral on the order of Flight of the Valkyries. [Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BoostingIsSharing</a><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#gender</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writer</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#author</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fantasy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fantasy</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writing</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writingcommunity</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writersOfMastodon</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writers</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSdiscussion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSdiscussion</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSstory</a>

RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PennedPossibilities</a> 612 — Has your SC ever snooped in a friend or partner’s house?</blockquote>For the current crop of SCs, either there isn't enough depth of character revealed to know, or they've never had the opportunity—that is, either a friend or partner they'd want to know more about. This question for the MCs would be far more interesting. [Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BoostingIsSharing</a><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#gender</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writer</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#author</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writing</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writingcommunity</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writersOfMastodon</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writers</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSdiscussion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSdiscussion</a>

RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PennedPossibilities</a> 611 — Have you ever been able to relate to your antagonist / villain? If the answer is yes, then how so? </blockquote>Almost always yes. I like to examine evil and show how easy it is to fall into being a bad person—how for just a few decisions, things can go bad and you might not even realize it. The main series antagonist is certainly someone everyone would want to know, and never suspecting she's so dangerous. She's loving. She teaches people and fixes a nationful of problems. She loves tea parties and starts wars. Even the Doña was likable, motherly in a no nonsense way, being surprisingly supportive sometimes—like warning the MC away from a pop singer the MC had an eye on. She doesn't want to castrate the guy for treating the MC badly the way he's done other women. While the Doña is bad, she's also amassing power to redress a genocide the main series antagonist allegedly committed. Well, she's not entirely wrong that it happened... I've one sociopathic villainous prizefighter who becomes progressively more extreme throughout the story and I can't relate to him. He's a misogynist and a racist, but I can somewhat relate to his awful handler. That woman's sympathetic backstory has her scrabbling to survive, succeeding when she finds the right guy before losing her boyfriend to the MC (really, to her jealous stupidity in picking a knife fight with the MC). She's had a bad life, and ends up working schismatic elements in the mob to try to bring down the MC, and the Doña who sees the MC as an ultimate weapon. The handler is poor at choosing her agents, however. Tenacious. Doesn't end well. In another story, there's a Rasputin character who is repeatedly manipulated and conned into being as evil as she is. She's put faith in the wrong man, but is certain in her heart it's the right thing to do, that she's doing good. Throughout the trilogy, his actions test her faith until she sides with the MC. She redeems herself, but only in the eyes of the MC as some acts people can't forget. She's a study in forgiveness. [Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BoostingIsSharing</a><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#gender</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writer</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#author</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writing</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writingcommunity</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writersOfMastodon</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writers</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSdiscussion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSdiscussion</a>

RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote>2503.25 — Echo (Ch/March 12) <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/Writever" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Writever</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/Mars" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Mars</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/SpaceOpera" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SpaceOpera</a></blockquote>May Ri pushed everyone away, to cry, her forehead against the soft shroom wall. Everybody but Marisela, whose fist held the leg of her jumpsuit tightly. When May Ri spent herself, and turned on her tormentors, giving them grief about purposely making her misunderstand that they wanted her to return to Earth when she didn't, the suddenly exceedingly cute toddler waggled a finger up at the adults facing her."Yeah, that was my idea," Reina admitted without a hint of trepidation. "You were full of resentment when you arrived, but were so earnest trying everything and anything to be useful I decided to befriend you. Still, you reflexively fight changes."May Ri proved the point by glaring at the 17-year-old."We all worried what we could tell you. Were you resigned to fate, Mars-friendly, or Martian in your heart?"The others nodded, the elder Īto once again on one of vid feeds on Reina's dome wall, saying, "We all concurred with her.""Sorry," Randolf said, "Even me." Right. He'd been a women's rights advocate on Earth. An HR rep and arbitrator on Mars. Īto added, "Your engineering design qualification lets you accept jobs from management, and I have special jobs for you. If you were leaving, it wouldn't do to have you saying things on Earth you shouldn't know.""I shouldn't? What? Know what?"Silence. Circumspect, but still... May Ri began to seethe, until her daughter began to growl.Everyone laughed, then Īto asked, "Are you Martian?"On Earth she'd been an a-theist in a Decath nation, female, a nobody even if a man deigned to marry her to bear his sons. Hopeless. Martian as in a patriot? Maybe not there yet, but, "This is my home, full stop.""That's a Yes?""Absolutely, yes."Reina embraced her and danced May Ri around. She had to untangle herself, peeling off hands, pushing at her chest. "Okay! Okay!" Freed, she asked, "What jobs?"Īto answered, "The creditors' agent on the Faerie King wants two of our remaining makers, and we lost two on the Robinson Crusoe. And other things we can't make on Mars, even with makers. The other directors and I aren't sure which nation is angling to take over the infrastructure we built. The Russian Supremacy is too pat, but who knows? Did you know makers can't make makers? Or NTPU parts? Dozens of other patented things. Weapons?""I can understand weapons, but—" May Ri froze where she stood. ... saying things on Earth you shouldn't know. "You want me to make a maker? Th—th—that's crazy. It'll turn all the corporations against me... Us!""As if they aren't already against us? EM's bankruptcy may have been forced. It's blood in the water. Reina, that's a shark reference from Earth."Her daughter looked thoughtful, then nodded. May Ri blinked, breath hitching up. "Can't make a maker.""Maybe not you, but I like your tenacity. We can, together. We have to!" The other vid feeds lit up. Dozens. Maybe a hundred. All women. Every earthly ethnicity. A handful of nisei, two of which waved at Reina who waved back. All Martian; you could tell by how they moved on screen, how they held their heads against gravity. Three were on Deimosbase based on how they floated. "Meet your peers, May Ri."The room filled with "Hi" and "Hola" and a few "Bonjours," beside others, dispelling a lingering sense of loneliness her grilling to discover whether she was a Martian had fomented. Some announced their dome locale. Most waved. I'm not alone, she thought.Reina said, "This is our echo group. You're our newest participant in engineering, along with me, Telsi, Julie, Saniya, and Rosa." They waved. "Okasan is sensei for that one. The rest in the community listen in to help or discuss the topic we're learning or the problem we're solving. Don't worry, there's some boys, too, some cute like Carlos, but not in engineering!"Īto added, "There's over a thousand. It's our Martian upper educational system, and with the Faerie King arriving, it became critical that we included you. You see, you have an affinity for..."<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSMarsNeededWomen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSMarsNeededWomen</a> 12[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BoostingIsSharing</a><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#gender</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writer</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#author</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sf</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sff</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sciencefiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writing</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writingcommunity</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writersOfMastodon</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writers</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSdiscussion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSdiscussion</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSstory</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#microfiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/flashfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#flashfiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#tootfic</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/smallstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#smallstory</a>

RS, Author, Novelist, ProsaistI was tearing up while composing it, then feeling my cheeks cooling as I finished the scene. Beginning to think I'm on to something. Just published the 11th installment of the web-novel on Mastodon. Working on chapter 12...<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSMarsNeededWomen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSMarsNeededWomen</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/boostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#boostingIsSharing</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#author</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writer</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writing</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sf</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/scienceFiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#scienceFiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writingCommunity</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writersOfMastodon</a>

RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote>2503.22 — Manifest (Ch/March 11) <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/Writever" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Writever</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/Mars" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Mars</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/SpaceOpera" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SpaceOpera</a></blockquote>May Ri's ire flared. She disliked people controlling her; she'd be in the master's program at Northeastern Illinois and child-free if not shanghaied to Mars. "It's a setup?"The elder Īto said, "Consider it a graduation present. Your design wasn't entirely innovative, but well engineered. You earned Pass-Plus. You'd get job requests, but you're listed with a return berth in the manifest of the Russian Supremacy Faerie King, arriving in 33 sols. You're the only woman of five forcibly colonized before the bankruptcy. You're a cause célèbre on Earth—""The daily outrage," May Ri corrected."—The ship's purpose is to repossess EM equipment. We'll fight that. Your berth adjudicates an Earther issue, and our accountability."Silence descended. Nothing comparable to back home. Loneliness had this sound, the ringing in her ears was her sense of place crumbling. Back home? she thought, breathing hard, heart thumping. Wasn't here home?"Carlos! Get down!" Īto said. Grasping Marisela tighter, May Ri looked up as a lanky nisei frog-hopped from a perch on the wall. Reina intercepted and they tumbled together, her laughing. Native Martians wore tight pajama silk that was especially revealing on a man. Back home— Raised in a Decath nation, she looked up reflexively."My new husband," Reina said, rubbing noses."Rodriquez?" May Ri asked.Randy sighed, "He died 71 sols ago on the Robinson Crusoe." Men died disproportionately often on Mars.Carlos asked, "33 sols? Makes you happy, right?"She shivered. Silence descended. Standing before Randy, she strapped Manette's carry pouch, strapping it on herself. She walked toward the door, nobody saying anything before she realized: A berth. A single berth, as in only one not three. Her babies were Randy's. He was a man, of course, her husband. He had that thing between his legs that Carlos' silk outlined; she didn't.They weren't saying anything!A sense of betrayal grew as sweat cooled her skin. She stood frozen, starting to freeze. Marisela squirmed silently to be put down. Her daughters were nisei.They were Martians.She was not. Not a Martian.Secretary Īto added, "Unified home schooling laws let us confer a baccalaureate and credit toward a masters.""Momie!" Marisela cried. She held her too tightly. Sitting on a bench, energy zapped, May Ri sat her down; her look made the 3-year-old shrink behind her. The latent horror of Reverend Peters damning her to a life as a worthless housewife surfaced, with her dream of EM Mars self-agency shattering. Back home? Would her remarried father take in a divorcée? EM had promised her money, college—but were now bankrupt. Home?She blinked. A lot. She didn't do crying. But—Carlos stood centimeters away, in her face, hazel eyes considering her.May Li jerked back, Marisela fled, and Manette woke—sniveling ramping toward a tantrum. With fine facial features and muscles that showed he took weight training seriously, she approved Reina's choice in the baby-making sense."What?"He asked, "Is she Earther? Or? Is she Martian?"May Ri kicked; Carlos jumped away. A concerned-looking Randy hovered. Angrily, she unstrapped Manette, shoving the crying infant into his arms, eyeing the door.May Ri answered. "She's nothing. Worse... she's unwanted.""Are you accepting the berth?" Īto asked."Do I have a choice?" Manifestly, she did not. May Ri moaned, blinking, eyes burning, reaching for the spring door pull.Reina intercepted, unwonted worry causing her freckles to collide. She shoved a book plate in front of her showing her mother, nose into the camera, grey hair agitated, asking "Who said you don't?""I'm a woman. That's synonymous with not choosing. Always will be.""No it won't. Am I male? Reina?"Reina said jokingly, "I chose Carlos, Rod, Randy—though you poached him—and Roger!"A tear ran down May Ri cheeks. Īto said, "Choose."May Ri whispered, "I always lose. Women always lose. You'll get your accountability adjudicated! I'll accept the berth... but if I could choose, I'd choose Mars."Somebody batted her hand from the door pull, causing her to look up. Carlos. He stood to her right, grinning. Īto's smile grew on the book plate, mirroring her daughter's ready one. The teenage man, a year younger than his new wife, declared, "She's a Martian!"When Randy embraced her from behind, with Manette's pouch pressing the noisy squirming infant into her, May Ri broke. Reality ceased to make sense. Her daughter, her shiny shy nisei, even hugged her leg to comfort her mother. May Ri didn't do crying, but turned into a spring shower, nonetheless.(Continued) <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSMarsNeededWomen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSMarsNeededWomen</a> 11[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BoostingIsSharing</a><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#gender</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writer</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#author</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sf</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sff</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sciencefiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writing</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writingcommunity</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writersOfMastodon</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writers</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSstory</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#microfiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/flashfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#flashfiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#tootfic</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/smallstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#smallstory</a>

RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WritersCoffeeClub" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#WritersCoffeeClub</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WCC" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#WCC</a> 2503.11 2/2— Do writing challenges spur on your progress?</blockquote>Wandered over to my other alias and found a like for an earlier work: A MxM romance fantasy story. That caused me to check out the comments and read how some readers really loved the story, and liked how my humor and penchant for detail enhanced it. The frustrated MC even cried, "Tu m'emmerdes!" in it when interrupted at a critical moment. Not sure if the French Canadians use the phrase, but the French do.I wrote that story for a Male on Male Romance story contest. I didn't win that one, but I couldn't resist the challenge as the novel I was writing contained two male characters who were definitely more than buddies.So, yes, writing challenges do spur on my progress as an author.[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BoostingIsSharing</a><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#gender</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writer</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#author</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fantasy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fantasy</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/romance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#romance</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writing</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writingcommunity</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writersOfMastodon</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writers</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSdiscussion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSdiscussion</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSstory</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSReluctanceStory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSReluctanceStory</a>

Nick East (Indie Writer)It happens, my brain is always off in its own world doing when I'm trying to do things... 😁 <a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/reading" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@reading</a> <a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/bookstodon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookstodon</a> <a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/bookbubble" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookbubble</a> <a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/humour" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@humour</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/ReadingMemes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReadingMemes</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Memes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Memes</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/ReadAllTheBooks" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReadAllTheBooks</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Humor" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Humor</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Humour" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Humour</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Reading" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Reading</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Readers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Readers</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/ReadersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReadersOfMastodon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/ReadingCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ReadingCommunity</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Book" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Book</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Books" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Books</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Novel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Novel</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Novels" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Novels</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Fiction</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Recommendation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Recommendation</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Bookrecommendation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Bookrecommendation</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Bookwyrm" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Bookwyrm</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Bookworm" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Bookworm</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Bookstodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Bookstodon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/BookLove" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BookLove</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BoostingIsSharing</a>

RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WordWeavers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#WordWeavers</a> 2503.11 — What’s your most useful skill that could help you in your story’s world?</blockquote>Answering in the sense it would be useful to the furtherance of the plot as at least a noted background character: In Reluctant Moon, my skill would be photographer. Mind you, for them it's analog photography with darkrooms, silver salts, and chemistry. They don't use electricity, so no digital anything. Something different, arguably better, powers their modern civilization. It will take them to the moon. I'm not sure if the photos are even in color. It hasn't come up though the characters discuss some photos. How often do you look at a portrait and discuss how red his hair is or how blue her shoes are? An <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/excerpt" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#excerpt</a> is called for! The male MC and the main series antagonist are together on the "palace" rooftop after, having been guarded discretely by praetorian guards...<blockquote>Cyanic ... pointed downhill into the city with compact binoculars. "A day angel in the air. He has a long lens.""I want to see them and any articles before they're published," she said.Em, who also guarded us, launched herself toward someone who might regret flying this afternoon. </blockquote>No. I don't have wings.[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BoostingIsSharing</a><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#gender</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writer</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#author</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/mystery" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mystery</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/thriller" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#thriller</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/romance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#romance</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sf</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sff</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sciencefiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writing</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writingcommunity</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writersOfMastodon</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writers</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSdiscussion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSdiscussion</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSstory</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSReluctanceStory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSReluctanceStory</a>

Nick East (Indie Writer)You know it's not nice to be this accurate 😂 Anyway, I'm going to go practise eating my apples more mockingly...<a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/bookstodon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookstodon</a> <a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/fantasybookstodon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@fantasybookstodon</a> <a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/speculativefictioncomedy" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@speculativefictioncomedy</a> <a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/bookbubble" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@bookbubble</a> <a href="https://a.gup.pe/u/humour" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@humour</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/FantasyMemes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FantasyMemes</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Fantasy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Fantasy</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/HighFantasy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#HighFantasy</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Memes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Memes</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Humor" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Humor</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Humour" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Humour</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Low" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Low</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/High" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#High</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Epic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Epic</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Science" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Science</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Comedic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Comedic</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Whatever" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Whatever</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/GiveMeAllYouveGot" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#GiveMeAllYouveGot</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Book" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Book</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Books" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Books</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Novel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Novel</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Novels" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Novels</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Mastobooks" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Mastobooks</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/BooksofMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BooksofMastodon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Bookstodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Bookstodon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Bookworm" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Bookworm</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Bookwyrm" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Bookwyrm</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/Bookstodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Bookstodon</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/BookLove" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BookLove</a> <a href="https://mastodon.art/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BoostingIsSharing</a>

RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PennedPossibilities</a> 610 — What are the most significant sounds we hear in your WIP? For example, it could be the sounds of nature or the noises of a bustling town.</blockquote>In Mars Needed Women, in the dome habitats that are built both on the surface and in excavated tunnels:<ul><li>Utter and complete silence, which a recent woman imported from Earth would definitely notice. It is nothing like living in the Lakeshore arcology she was raised in outside of Chicago. It's a pressure in the ears when May Ri thinks about it. Loneliness would sound like that.</li><li>In May Ri's vicinity, a hungry infant or the complaint of a toddler wanting more attention.</li><li>Ventilation.</li><li>The weak whistle of a Martian dust storm through the shroom-brick walls of the habitats.</li><li>In some places, machinery excavating.</li><li>In farm domes, the hiss and shish of sprinklers and misters.</li><li>People's voices when in the corridors.</li><li>The wonderful sound their bed makes when her husband is home for the half-dozen intermittent weeks a year when he's off assignment.</li></ul>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BoostingIsSharing</a><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#gender</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writer</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#author</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/mystery" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mystery</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/thriller" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#thriller</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sf</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sff</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sciencefiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writing</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writingcommunity</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writersOfMastodon</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writers</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSdiscussion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSdiscussion</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSstory</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSMarsNeededWomen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSMarsNeededWomen</a>

RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/PennedPossibilities" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PennedPossibilities</a> 609 — Can you tell us about a secret that your antagonist / <del>villain</del> is willing to take to the grave?</blockquote>She's the type who confesses things to those she loves, or students she becomes familiar with. It has served her well, if for nothing else as to test people's trustworthiness, or to see what it makes of them. One day, she might find someone to replace herself, so she can retire. What she hasn't confessed is the mortal wounds she's inflicted on the planet. The original cuts weren't her fault, mind you. Nobody trained her in applied climatology, which was before anybody realized such a science could be necessary. It was. She failed a few times. Learning curves can be as sharp as the curve of a saber.Maybe if she admitted it, she might find more people who could help her keep humanity from going extinct. To the extent that she hinted heavily, they nearly killed her regardless of her holding her finger in the dike, staving off destruction. [Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BoostingIsSharing</a><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#gender</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writer</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#author</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/mystery" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mystery</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/thriller" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#thriller</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/romance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#romance</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sf</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sff</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sciencefiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writing</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writingcommunity</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writersOfMastodon</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writers</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSdiscussion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSdiscussion</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSstory</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSReluctanceStory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSReluctanceStory</a>

RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote>2503.21 (Ch 10/March 10) — Empower <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/Writever" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Writever</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/Mars" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Mars</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/SpaceOpera" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SpaceOpera</a></blockquote>"I'd like to talk to you about your mine car design," Reina's voice said in her ear after a ping, near bedtime for the girls. May Ri's stomach tightened, she even sweated, as if Mr. Cummerbund in high school had called her to his desk. Except the Onēsanue tutor was only 17, eight years younger than her—and brilliant.Randy gave her a look."Tonight?""Bring the girls, hubby-doo, too. My private dome."The first born nisei got her way more so than other women, was open about sex and TMI matters that would make any stuck-up Decath shudder, but visiting her home?Never.It interested Randy enough that he walked Marisela over, even strapped Manette in the cradle pouch over his chest. When the double spring-doors unlocked, they walked into sculpted fairyland space that displayed Reina's Martian aesthetics. Shroom blocks acted as cabinets, low tables with sunken chairs, multi-level perches upon which a true Martian could squat, pulsating hidden rainbow lighting, piles of artful epoxied regolith, and shelves of real books that May Ri rushed towards.The exuberant teenager frog-hopped into May Ri's arms, embracing her with arms and legs. She whispered loudly into her ear, "I just learned you graduated!""Graduated?" Randy asked, "That's great!" Marisela hugged his leg, turning shy."Get off!" May Ri growled, but ended up walking where the clingy teenager pointed, supporting her bottom like a child. On Earth, impossible. On Mars, an exercise in managing inertia.What looked like a pile of giant children's blocks proved to be mounts for randomly placed vid feeds. An old woman swam into view. Her flexed arms and the languid motion of her long grey hair said low grav."Secretary Itō," Randy said instantly, bowing and holding Manette at the same time. The satellite link delay let May Ri deduce she was at Deimosbase, and that the moon was on the opposite side of the planet."No, no, none of that, child.""Okāsan," Reina said, waving.May Ri summarily dropped the teenager, looking from her to her husband. "What? Am I missing something?""My mother," Reina explained. When May Ri asked the reflexive question, she got, "I've many fathers," which meant Itō was a matronym, which left her mother in a precarious situation, especially on Deimos were a Decath minister was in residence.Her husband of two years Mars looked to the woman, who nodded.He sighed. "The Itō family sponsored me because I won a woman's rights essay contest when I was 9. I studied relevant law and became a feminist organizer with their financial support out of college, before the North American Block fomented a reactionary backlash, which helped the Decath Republic Party win squeaker elections. I've written lots of articles—""He now writes under the byline Dispatches from Mars," the woman put in."I got death threats. My wife succumbed to pressure and converted to Decatholicism when we moved to Britain—""Wife?" She walked over and snatched up Marisela who looked ready to cry. An excuse. Patting her, she realized she didn't know him well. She felt cold."I divorced Cantata when she threw out her contraceptives for religious reasons—not that we'd gotten along well; we hadn't. The recession that followed the Brexit III vote led me to accept Secretary Itō's suggestion that I could help empowering women by going to Mars." Taking a deep breath, he pointed at the teenager. "I was supposed to marry Reina, but it turns out I like aggressive women who know what they want, who I thought wanted me... and I'd not have had to be abstinent for five years." He grinned as Manette woke and yawned widely, but never opened her eyes. She smacked her lips a few times as everyone held their breath for an outburst that never came.Reina pouted. "I wouldn't have made you wait.""Why am I hearing about this now?" May Ri asked."You never asked?" he tried. "I mean, for those handful of weeks directorate assignments let us spend together yearly, you're very focused on your studies and having fun together?" he asked tentatively.She averted her gaze, admitting, if only to herself, he was right. He was fun in bed. It also explained why he treated her as an equal. Reina's family had trained him. In her chest, her heart felt like it was growing. She wasn't going to admit anything like love. Her first relationship with Raymond had burnt that to dust, but still... When she looked at him, an aura glowed around him.That was the rainbow lighting."We're going to talk about all your history, and why you were going to marry Reina.""As well you should," stated Secretary Itō. "Which brings you to why we're here."(Continued) <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSMarsNeededWomen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSMarsNeededWomen</a> 10[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BoostingIsSharing</a><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#gender</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writer</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#author</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sf</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sff</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sciencefiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writing</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writingcommunity</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writersOfMastodon</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSdiscussion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSdiscussion</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSstory</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/microfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#microfiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/flashfiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#flashfiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/tootfic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#tootfic</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/smallstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#smallstory</a>

RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WordWeavers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#WordWeavers</a> 2503.10 — What is the most useful skill your SC has?</blockquote>This is highly esoteric even for her world. She was able to fight the main series antagonist (who was mind controlled at that time) and survive to tell the tale. This good-feels short tootfic, Reframing the Experience, helps put Bolt's dilemma in perspective for her. <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/112497915608418589" translate="no" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/112497915608418589</a>[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BoostingIsSharing</a><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#gender</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writer</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#author</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/mystery" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mystery</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/thriller" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#thriller</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/romance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#romance</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sf</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sff</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sciencefiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writing</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writingcommunity</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writersOfMastodon</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writers</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSdiscussion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSdiscussion</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSstory</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSReluctanceStory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSReluctanceStory</a>

RS, Author, Novelist, Prosaist<blockquote><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/WordWeavers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#WordWeavers</a> 2503.09 — Could you survive a day in your MC’s shoes?</blockquote>At the furthest point that I've written in Mars Needed Women, she seems permanently stuck on Mars. She was actually shanghaied to fulfill a contract she signed. By the same contract, she had to marry and now has two nisei (first generation) Martian daughters. Despite it all, she's stable at the moment though the colony itself, part of the now bankrupt and in receivership EM Mars company, is on a slow burn toward failure.Could I survive a day?Yes. The domes are safe and food production is reliable, though living in ⅓ gravity does pose issues keeping earth-relative strength and tone. May Ri did get to choose her mandated husband, from a limited stock, and apparently lucked out, so that's not too bad. But caring for a toddler and an infant? I don't have her patience or her acceptance of the situation that comes with having been brought up in (and ofttimes rebelling against) her deeply patriarchal and hypocritically religious society. As a <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/feminist" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#feminist</a> author who lived through our women's movement, I'd be full of resentment (as I am rapidly becoming these days IRL), which would interfere with what she needs to accomplish in the next few chapters as the main character.[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]<a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/BoostingIsSharing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BoostingIsSharing</a><a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/gender" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#gender</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/fiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#fiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writer</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/author" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#author</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/thriller" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#thriller</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sf" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sf</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sff" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sff</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/sciencefiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sciencefiction</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writing</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writingcommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writingcommunity</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writersOfMastodon" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writersOfMastodon</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/writers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#writers</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSdiscussion" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSdiscussion</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSstory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSstory</a> <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/tags/RSMarsNeededWomen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#RSMarsNeededWomen</a>The web novel starts here: <a href="https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/114088945266387178" translate="no" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://eldritch.cafe/@sfwrtr/114088945266387178</a>

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