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Challenge #01673-D212: Middle Finger to Fate

An appellation for a person or group of people: They Who Defy Fate -- RecklessPrudence

On the day that the children become adults, be it their first blood or their first chest hair, they are told their fate. Most resign themselves to it. Some... fight.

Rare are the ones who are successful, and fewer still are the ones who go courting it.

Helen was told by the village seer, "You will die childless, and surrounded by Imps." She did not resign herself to her fate. She did not fight it by girding on armour and learning to fight, or vowing to kill every Imp in her kingdom. Helen merely packed her things and went walking for the nearest mountains, because everyone knows that Imps live in mountain caverns.

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Challenge #01672-D211: Friendly Welcome

"Oh, and if you have to ask yourself, is [Person] fucking with me? The answer is always yes,” he says, and ahead of them [Person] cackles and gives a little fistpump in the air. -- RecklessPrudence

Most humans, when elevated to the status of Ambassador, acquire an air of caution. A weight to their words as if they know that they hold the fate of their homeworld in their hands. Almost all of them approach becoming an Ambassador as cautiously as they

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Challenge #01671-D210: Don't Kill Us Yet

In the immortal words of Genghis Khan: "U Wot M8?" -- RecklessPrudence

The Doctor slowly turned their head to glare at their new companion.

"What?" said Kylie.

"All of time and space. All of existence. All of... everything... and you take the first opportunity to tell a historically inaccurate joke."

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Challenge #01670-D209: Incident at the Old Mating Grounds

Lizards attract mates differently, no flowers etc. So, how do the Amalgam lizards court? One of the local species here climbs to a prominent spot, poses and nods. -- Anon Guest

They called it Crestflare Bridge, and it had an unparallelled view of the Free Table Vendor area below. Tradition held that the tables would never have shaded covers. Because the females of assorted lizard species liked looking on the displaying males as they cruised between vendors.

Even now, centuries after the

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Challenge #01669-D208: Favourite Flavour

 Auto Condimenter. -- Knitnan

The habits of humans fascinated Zyrik. It was why she went into food services, so she could study them in an environment where she would be invisible. She made Time off her anthropology as well as bussing tables, but anthropology was her chief area of fascination.

This latest example was a freight trucker fresh off their rig, sitting down to a big plate of deep fried potato prisms. The plate was already loaded with the house gravy, but

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Challenge #01667-D206: Good For What Ails You

Two words:- Chicken Soup. -- Anon Guest

Of all the dick moves that Wave of the Future performed, releasing a virus into the populations of Faiize had to be the worst. They did not, according to the press release, intend it to be deadly. Nobody believed them. The only proof, so far, was that none of the Faiize had died from it.

So far.

Rael couldn't rest in his tank for very long. He kept his home hothouse warm for comfort

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Challenge #01666-D205: High Risk Employment

Beware the old ones in a profession where one dies young -- RecklessPrudence

Fast reflexes, an almost preternatural awareness of one's surroundings, instincts like a knife blade. These are the things that make a good asteroid runner. Being able to get in, snag the asteroid, and get out without causing orbital upsets in one's wake is a skill that one only has to get wrong once for a life and a career to be over.

It's a job for the young and

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Challenge #01665-D204: What There is to Like

“Please be patient. Reality.exe has crashed and needs to be rebooted.” -- RecklessPrudence

All things considered, there are better ways to discover that life is merely a simulation and reality is a figment of some mystery coder's imagination. Regardless of the methods of discovery, it is quite a momentous reveal. And more than open to chaos.

For all that potential, there was nothing. Not darkness. Not light. No shape or colour. Not even static. The people were not falling. They were

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Challenge #01664-D203: Damnit, Podsbury!

“Wait, do you mean you made a new friend, or you made a new friend?” “Uhh, the first one. Wait, no, the second one... Which one doesn't involve artificially crafted Lovecraftian horrors of medicine?” -- RecklessPrudence

"The second one," sighed Master Brubrik, "Does involve artificially crafted Lovecraftian horrors of medicine," she spared another glance at the thing on the slab. "Which of course means that you mean the latter of those two options."

It had a tentacle wrapped around Podsbury's arm. "Daaaa

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Challenge #01663-D202: Conceptual Difficulties

Defying the Gods is an age-old tradition. How well it WORKS depends on who's telling it... -- RecklessPrudence

"We're having difficulty understanding this," said Sherlock.

"I sympathise," said Rael. "I'm having difficulty understanding it myself, and I was there to witness it."

"We have the footage and the audio, of course," Sherlock played it on one of his multiple screens. "She had a permit for incense and steam[1]. What was she doing with them?"

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Challenge #01662-D201: The Motivation Game

“Please do not destroy the irreplaceable magical artefacts, no matter how annoying they are,” -- RecklessPrudence

The Orb of Vexation chortled at Verski. With a sigh of regret, Verski put it back onto its cushion and re-sealed the Gate of Infinity. Finally, he turned to his tutor and said, "But why?"

"Aw, da diddle baba gonna cry," said the Orb of Vexation. "Waaaah, waaah."

Maester Kalrix conjured Cone of Silence over the Orb. "No matter how trying they are, these are important

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Challenge #01660-D199: Explosive Egress

[Scientist #1]: Where'd you get plastic explosives?

[Scientist #2]: Made it.

[#1]: It'll work?

[#2]: See, you don't worry if explosives work. You worry if they'll work too much. -- RecklessPrudence

V'tez considered their options. The downside of this situation was that they were trapped by a meteor impact and all methods of communication were cut off. There was only so much air, even in their livesuits. The odds of the ERT's finding them in time were remote.

And V'tez was working

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Challenge #01659-D198: Kind and Dangerous Stranger

Never annoy a sleeping dragon, for you are fat and crunchy, and taste good with BBQ sauce! -- Fliss

At first, she thought it was a lava flow. One of those ones where the lava ran under a relatively whole, cooler skin. It was warm enough to be one. Then she noticed the way it flexed rhythmically, and realised that, in fact, this was a sleeping dragon. Fire was their element and this black-scaled beauty was no different. Their skin luminesced as

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Challenge #01658-D197: Fallen From Grace

It’s like they used the power of righteous hatred the same way some people use the power of love. -- RecklessPrudence

Some hated him because he had committed treason and bragged about it. Some hated him because of what he had done to his wives. Some hated him because of what he said. Most hated him because of what he had done. They had cause to hate each other, but the hatred of the man who claimed to be their leader

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