Of course, I’m still writing tons of very short stories, or #vss, on Twitter, These stories came from the prompts for #vss365, #scififri, and #satsplat!

Explosions

She hired glitterbots for their five-year-old's birthday party, and timed the bright explosions of pink sparkles for when her daughter blew out the candles. Everyone clapped when they went off. Except for one of the neighborhood dads, who sobbed in a corner, shaking.

Not My Fault

It's not my fault. She shouldn't have dressed like that, just begging for it. Girls like her deserve what's coming to them, if you ask me. I mean, that Dora the Explorer backpack? That cheeky gap-toothed smile? What's a man supposed to think?

Mining

Typical mining practices might disrupt the fragile ecosystem of Proxima 5. Instead, Xan had developed a network of modified plants whose roots could pull metals to the surface. An iron farm, he thought, as he disentangled the first muddy clumps of ore.

Sentient

"Don't be absurd. Coral doesn't have sentience."

"Have you ever asked them?"

"No, why would I?"

"Haven't you heard them? You know they sing at night."

"Of course they don't! That's the sound of the wind and the waves."

"Just remember, they tried to negotiate."

Jed’s Rehydrated Burgers

Jed was not the first person on Mars, or the first to climb Olympus Mons, or even one of the first wave of colonists. But he did open up the first bistro in space! He proudly put up a sign for Martian potato fries and the best rehydrated burger outside Earth's orbit.