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Mundane Matters

A 25-post collection

Challenge #04573-L189: Literate Legacy

Opening a box belonging to a great-great-grandparent, they smiled warmly. This was truly a treasure. An heirloom beyond any they could have desired as an inheritance. Their grandparent had always been an avid writer since they were young. And what was in the box? Diaries. From the time their grandparent had been a child, into adulthood, into old age, and even a few weeks before their serious decline made it impossible for them to do more than sleep, and write in their dreams. -- Anon Guest

GrampGramp had been one hundred and fourteen when he passed. The old man had joked that Death wouldn't take him while he could tell the Grim Reaper a story. Death must have been patient about the lack, since GrampGramp had lasted three more years beyond his ability to keep one story in mind.

"I have a box for you," GrampGramp repeated towards the end. "It's under the bed." And of course Lil had to find it and show it to him so his shattered mind was at ease.

Now that he was beyond worrying about anything, Lil was reluctant to open it.

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Challenge #04571-L187: As You Sow...

A corporate lawyer has made his fortune fighting worker regulations in Boston, breaking up union strikes in Sri Lanka, and sending Pinkertons to crack tree hugger heads in the rain-forest.

One day though he steps through the wrong, ethereal door and finds himself in the body of one of those he had fought, facing down the corporate guns.

[Twilight Zone Music Plays] -- Anon Guest

Presented for your approval, James Worpyington-Smythe III, council for the corporate persons and their rights to pursue

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Challenge #04565-L181: Age Appropriate Knowledge Source

They are a writer, and they thought their talent would simply consign them to a few pages, writing the histories of others, while their own was eventually forgotten. Their talent, however, was more than noticed. After all their writings gave lessons, and those lessons were saving many lives. -- Anon Guest

History is a complicated beast. It's difficult to believe that the first wonders of the world were not only rising from the ground, but had been standing for centuries at the

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Challenge #04561-L177: The Ultimate Scam

Mr Bad Example lives a life of plunder and scams, impersonating people, ripping off his workers, and changing identities whenever the heat rises too much. -- Anon Guest

[AN: I've been informed that there's a song called Mr Bad Example by Warren Zevon, so I can't use exactly that name for this piece.]

Alan Nemor had a gift. Primarily, he had the gift of being nondescript, but with a lot of charisma. He could change his hat and his coat and become

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Challenge #04539-L155: Something-something Power, Something-something...?

'You may find after a time that the having is not so pleasing as the wanting. It is not Logical but I have found it to be so.' More or less a 'Spock' quote . Have fun. -- She Who Knits

[AN: Unfun Fact - My mother rubbed my aspiration failures into my face with this quote at every opportunity. I am desperately trying to not let that flavour this story. Wish me luck]

Hail to the Chief Executive Officer, they who

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Challenge #04538-L154: Singer For Supper

You need or want something non standard or they do not sell what you want in the usual retailers. Bespoke, Made to Measure, Made for you to use. Or for you to gift to someone. -- She Who Knits

Automation is great for standard things. Everyone agrees with that simple fact. You can replace broken things with a near-identical copy, at a relatively cheap price. This applies very well to things, especially things of common use.

Furniture, vehicles, housing... even shaped foodstuffs,

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Challenge #04478-L094: Respected Goals

They went to the gym and many there mocked them for appearing so weak. Then they showed what they were capable of. -- Anon Guest

They came to work out. To get big. To get cut. To be intimidating so that nobody messed with them. To get all the girls and impress other boys. So when one entered with a frame like a toast rack on stilts, there was some low laughter amongst the workout machines. Guy like that wouldn't last two

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Challenge #04468-L084: Everyone's Related

What happens when you invite everyone who are a part of your family through marriage and birth, invites everyone from THEIR families, for those individuals are your family as well, from marriage and birth, and THOSE individuals invite everyone from THEIR families through marriage and birth, and so forth?

You get everyone in the entire world going to one giant family reunion. Though figuring out all the branches of this family tree can be quite interesting. -- Anon Guest

"Did you know?

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Challenge #04456-L072: Arms Race

They played with toy drones, buzzing them through the air. But beware kids with little RC toys, and you're trying to be intimidating. -- Anon Guest

Fun for the whole family! Cosmetic shells sold separately, battery packs and chargers not included. The drones were cheap, easy to use, and could carry weights up to five kilograms as long as they were also aerodynamic. For yet another separate purchase, one could acquire a cargo pod that attached to your unit.

The reason why

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Challenge #04450-L066: Enrichment Activities

The goods in your favourite Big Store get fewer and fewer, so those vital but rarely brought items disappear. -- She Who Knits

If variety was the spice of life, the local branch of MegaGloboCorpoMart was slowly turning into gruel. The variety of options and products, that which drew them all in, was getting spare.

It had taken Jaime months to notice, but after that, the limits were growing clear.

More complaints about clothing not available in someone's size. Counting the thousand

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Challenge #04431-L047: Fifty Ways to Go No Contact

Vernita Nemec: Private Places (0:37)

An excerpt from an installation for The Second Coming, a show by Carnival Knowledge at Franklin Furnace.

Listen to track 3:

(https://www.ubu.com/sound/tellus_2.html) -- Hudson

[AN: Transcript for the hard of hearing - a soft woman's voice says "I wanna talk to you about something. (pause) I found something in your drawer, and I'm very upset by it. (pause) I don't know quite what to think. (pause) But... um... I

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Challenge #04399-L015: Rainbow Matchmaking Conundrum

A: hey, quick question Mina is Bisexual right?

B: she is, but her type is straight women and gay men.

A: does that mean she’s destined to be all Bi herself?! -- Anon Guest

[AN: This prompt was trimmed for brevity]

"Hahahahaha," Libbie deadpanned. "So hilarious. Listen. Nobody deserves to be alone, okay? We're not Mina's type, and we love her, so maybe focus on helping her out instead of being mean?"

"I didn't think I was being that mean," grumbled

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Challenge #04394-L010: Consequences, the Ultimate Lesson

Don't piss off that quiet, small, human reading her book. Small doesn't mean meek. -- Anon Guest

Sooner or later, civilisations learn the reason behind the saying, Watch out for the little guy. Some unfortunates insist on learning it again and again. Such as the two schoolyard bullies observing the local nerd in the library.

Neither of them could pin down exactly how or why the nerd became the school's favourite target. "Being weird" was generally excuse enough.

There was currently no

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Challenge #04346-K328: Early Childcare

There's something to be said about need being the parental of invention. A small, sharp needle, some thin wire, and a lot of imagination can move mountains. -- Anon Guest

[AN: A little elementary research has shown me that the concept of a fastening device that doesn't hurt its wearer is older than you think it is. Look up fibula brooches. You're welcome.]

There's something to be said about loving another to the point of invention. Loving someone so much that creating

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Challenge #04341-K323: Adapt and Thrive

Deep in the woods, the howl of the wolves, off in the seas, our brothers play. Up in the skies, our sisters fly, their eyes in the cities is my way. -- Fighting Fit

Children of the night, what interesting music they make. Sing, my family of shadows. Sing the song of the moon and stars. Even when you can't see them. I sing to street lamps, cars, trucks and trains. The moon will hear me nonetheless.

It is a forest of

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