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Russell Ruffino's Favorites

• Found

  by YodaOnCrack 8 months ago

  And there I stand before you as you drift in and out of consciousness. You look up at me and smile. “Yes, it’s me,” I say, “I…

• Automaton and on and on......

  by User 6590 8 months ago

  As Dave walked across the seemingly endless field of white his mind started to slip into the introspective auto pilot that he…

• Chasing a Dream

  by Ariel Christian 8 months ago

  The first time I applied, they said I was too young. So I grew up.

  The second time I applied, they said I was under-qualifie…

• The Script Editor

  by Ben Paddon 7 months ago

  “This is rubbish.”

  That was not the response Jeff had expected. He’d spent the night and a rather unhealthy chunk of this mo…

• Sweatin' Bullets

  by Ben Paddon 7 months ago

  From the moment she walked into my office I knew she was no good. It was probably the revolver she was carrying, although the…

• The Girl Across the Ballroom

  by uselessness 7 months ago

  She loves me. She loves me not. She loves me. She loves me not. She… well, she doesn’t even know my name.

  Actually, I do…

• Acrylic Bars

  by Ben Paddon 7 months ago

  He will be talented, and what’s more he’ll know he is. It will surprise many that this knowledge will come without a single…

• The YodaOnCrack Rap Song

  by YodaOnCrack 7 months ago

  My name is Yoda

  That’s what I told-ya

  Come an inch closer and I’ll smoke-ya

  with my light saber or a _jedi mind tric…

• Crime Scene Inadequacy

  by White Hat 7 months ago

• My Own Jailer [Desperate Monologue Challenge]

  by someday_93 7 months ago

  I want out. I just really want out. Is that so much to ask for? These voices are starting to scare me. I don’t know how much …

• The Cleverest Thing Anyone Has Ever Written

  by Ben Paddon 7 months ago

  “This is the cleverest thing anyone has ever written,” beamed Martin, looking at the story he’d just finished writing. He fel…

• Said the Typewriter

  by Jay about 1 year ago

  The typewriter mocked me with wisps of dust clinging to greased machinery in its belly. It might have spit out a message that…

• Damien Gallant: Secret Agent Extraordinaire

  by Ben Paddon 6 months ago

  “Quickly!” said Damien Gallant, Secret Agent and habitual womanizer. “We must defuse the nuke before Vile has a chance to det…

• Twain and Poe: Heroes of Space and Time

  by Hobo Beard Bob 6 months ago

  “You’re going too slow. We’ll never make the jump at this speed,” Edgar Allen Poe said in that smug tone that Twain hated.

  M…

• Twain and Poe Have Words with the Inventor

  by uselessness 6 months ago

  Without warning, the aft bulkhead shuddered and a scruffy mustached man stumbled out from behind it.

  “A stowaway!” cried Poe…

• Twain, Poe and Tesla: Journey to the Center of the Future

  by Ben Paddon 6 months ago

  “Hold tight, everyone!” shouted Poe. “It’s gonna be a bumpy one!”

  The vessel juddered sharply, knocking the men to their kne…

• Twain, Poe and Telsa: At War With the Emperor

  by Hobo Beard Bob 6 months ago

• Twain and Tesla's Excellent Adventure

  by uselessness 6 months ago

  Sparks flew from the chest of the fallen Edgar Allan Poe with a terrible grinding sigh. His servos were in agony.

  “He’s a ro…

• Twain and Tesla: Funeral for a Friend

  by Ben Paddon 6 months ago

  On the barren landscape of the planet I’ll Give It A Proper Name Later, Mark Twain and Nikola Tesla stood looking down at the…

• Twain and Tesla and the Raiders of the Lost Morlocks

  by uselessness 6 months ago

  Mark Twain took a long, deliberate pull from his cigar. “You know, we probably shouldn’t have buried the chap. He might have …

• Poe: One of a Kind

  by Hobo Beard Bob 6 months ago

• Twain and Livingstone: A Curious Reunion

  by uselessness 6 months ago

  “Fine,” said Twain, “I need to chat with the good Dr. Livingstone, but I’ll give you control of the ship if you promise to re…

• Poe and Holmes: Locked Up

  by Hobo Beard Bob 6 months ago

  Poe’s eyes shot open and he sat up. He was on a repair table in the Asimov Android Company’s repair lab. A familiar looking m…

• Tesla Makes a Narrow Escape

  by Hobo Beard Bob 6 months ago

  Tesla cursed as he adjusted the controls of the Space-Time Machine. He had barely managed to get himself out of there before …

• The Fedora: A Southern Haunting

  by Hobo Beard Bob 5 months ago

  Velda Clark, the liberrian fer Lampshade Public Liberry, here in Lampshade, Alabama, swears this un is true. I done heard fro…

• The Superhero Obituaries

  by Hobo Beard Bob 5 months ago

  Philadelphia, PA – Davey Daniels, alter-ego of the 70’s vigilante, Captain Wreckless, died in his home on Thursday, a spokesm…

• Take Your Time?

  by Stovohobo 5 months ago

  After rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, you try to quickly assess the situation. The pirates are coming still closer, and y…

• Keep Going Even Though You're Lost

  by zkid 5 months ago

  You eventually stumble across a small stream, filled with brightly coloured fish. Thirsty from wandering the jungle for hours…

• An In-Depth and Thorough Discussion on the Existence of God

  by Ben Paddon 5 months ago

  “In the beginning, God made the Heaven and the Earth.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Sorry?”

  “How do you know God made the Heaven …

• The Kit-Kat Club

  by Ben Paddon 5 months ago

  “All I’m saying,” he said, resting his hands on the arm of the couch, “Is that it’s just chocolate. We’re not talking about…

• Take the Parrot That Warns of Danger

  by OrangeOreos 5 months ago

  You decide to take the parrot that warns of danger. The witch waves her hand around her arm a few times, mutters some strange…

• Walking in a Ficlet Wonderland

  by uselessness 4 months ago

  I’ve never been one for sappy speeches or undue melodrama.

  Every ficlet is like a snowflake, beautiful and unique in its own…

• The Vacuum Cleaner Dilemma

  by Ben Paddon 4 months ago

• Critical System Failure

  by Ben Paddon 4 months ago

  “There. It’s taken four hours, but your computer is up and running again like new.”

  “Thank you, Karen.”

  “Oh, and don’t inst…

• In Sanity, Or Insanity

  by Capital "W" Writer (LoA's Geekus Awesomeus) 4 months ago

  They just stand there, staring at me. Oh, my god, I think. This is not happening. This is not happening!

  I walk over, ...

• I Wanna Be a Cowboy [Retro Music Challenge]

  by THX 0477 4 months ago

  Two man sat on their horses on the bluff overlooking the small frontier town. Jonas spat, “Fool’s Paradise.”

  Hyrum just ch…

• Night Drive

  by ChrisWDP 4 months ago

  I feel the cool breeze of the night air on my arm. As I drive home, with my window down, I notice nothing.

  No traffic
  No anx…

• Discussion and Dirt

  by THX 0477 4 months ago

  I woke up to a face full of dirt and cold metal around my wrists. Sputtering and shaking my head, I tried to make sense of th…

• R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #1: Paragraph Spacing

  by Robotech_Master 3 months ago

  Open any book or magazine article. What do you see? Paragraphs! Paragraphs where you can _easily tell where one ends and the …

• R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #2: Comment and Rate It!

  by Robotech_Master 3 months ago

  For every one of my ficlets, I see something odd. Fully ten times as many people read my ficlets as bother to comment or ra…

• R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #5: Edit Yourself

  by Robotech_Master 3 months ago

  One of the most important parts of writing a ficlet is self-editing. With only 1024 characters to get a complete mini-story…

• R_M's Ficlets Best Practices #7: Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation

  by Robotech_Master 3 months ago

  You wouldn’t show up at a job interview in your PJs, with 5 o’clock shadow and halitosis, would you? Of course not. Likewise,...

• Not the Worlds Greatest Writer { A Conversation with myself}

  by SKermitgorf 3 months ago

  You’re not the worlds greatest writer you know.
  I’m aware of that, I never said I was, that we are I mean.

  _Just saying, s…

• New Patient

  by Capital "W" Writer (LoA's Geekus Awesomeus) 3 months ago

  Dr. Kinkaid walked into the doctor’s lounge. “Hey, Bill,” Dr. Chang said, sounding every bit as tired as Kinkaid felt. “How g…

• Accidental Escape Discovery [Escape Challenge]

  by THX 0477 3 months ago

  This is bad. It means Kitty and the boys are in trouble. Weekends at quaint country estates always lead to trouble in my book…

• Intelligently Undead

  by atllta 3 months ago

  Zoulag was pawing at a window again. He always did that, but it never seemed to work

  Me? I’m by the door, groaning, “Brrrraa…

• The Don't Get Defensive Challenge

  by THX 0477 3 months ago

  To commemorate my ooh, what could it be? what might be worth commemorating? 3,000th comment _yes, he said comment. So odd, ...

• Oh, The Elephants Know

  by Will Hindmarch 3 months ago

  None of the elephants trust me. I don’t know why. I’m a nice enough guy, but they have some sense that goes beyond that. They…

• Athanas And Molger Go To Desolace.

  by Phoenix 3 months ago

  The Burning Blade orc grunted with boredom. Today was his day on patrol, but then every day was a day on patrol for an orc at…

• Objects In Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear [Elsha's Mirror Challenge]

  by Mycroft 3 months ago

  The needle on the speedometer rose sharply as I floored the pedal. Speed limit signs flashed past, but I ignored them; the po…

• Condom Conundrum

  by BARomero 3 months ago

• Condom Cornucopia

  by BARomero 3 months ago

• The Turncoat Suitor

  by uselessness 3 months ago

  Roger was standing in the doorway with only the glint of his eyes and the barrel of a Mauser P27 visible in the shadows. Marg…

• Margie's Flashback

  by uselessness 3 months ago

  She remembered it all. The terror of the blitz, the destruction of her home in Islington. Her rush to join the war effort and…

• Journey to Deutschland

  by uselessness 3 months ago

  The room—or was it a submarine?—spun wildly.

  “I… I don’t understand,” Margie mumbled, her forehead still smarting. She tried…

• Becoming an Operative

  by uselessness 3 months ago

  “No more lies!” shouted Margie. “Tell me what’s going on at once!”

  The impostor Churchill leaped to his feet and placed a ha…

• The River Cold and Vile

  by uselessness 3 months ago

  Frida tried to maintain her composure. The ship was now passing through the strait between Pagensand and Schwarztonnensand wi…

• A Nice Dance to a Different Tune

  by THX 0477 3 months ago

  The song was something modern, tragically pained and painfully slow. The dance floor thudded along slowly to the beat beneath…

• Remembering a Friend

  by Apostrophe 3 months ago

  I hear this song on the radio. As I am driving my car.”*Missing your laugh how did it break? When did your eyes begin to loo…

• Parallel Kingdoms: The Outset

  by uselessness 3 months ago

  Two kingdoms were positioned alongside each other: Azuria on the north and Athentia on the south. Presiding over each was one…

• Parallel Kingdoms: Charlie's Story

  by uselessness 3 months ago

  Long ago I had learned to revere Charlie’s insight. His granite lips spoke truths beyond the vision of mortals, with a kindne…

• On Sea or On Land

  by uselessness 3 months ago

  Suddenly Frida felt the submarine slowing, and she nearly lost her footing as it rounded a corner. The captain signaled a ful…

• Parallel Kingdoms: Unwelcoming Woods

  by uselessness 3 months ago

  With Charlie perched atop the roof as lookout, and I with pen and parchment, writing my request for the squarefinder, our mag…

• Back Down to Earth

  by Ana Cristina 3 months ago

  After the ferris wheel came back down to earth, I turned towards her expectantly.

  “Well, what next, tour guide? Or are you s…

• Automatic Anubis

  by Will Hindmarch 3 months ago

• It Won't Happen Again [The Apology Challenge]

  by thebetweenspace 3 months ago

  This is just to say
  sorry for not coming to bed
  last night. I was up writing ficlets,
  as usual. You see there was this brilli…

• Don't Get Defensive Challenge Winners [Wow, what a lame, unimaginative title]

  by THX 0477 3 months ago

  Long over-due, I know, but if it’s not painfully obvious by now that I do things in my own time and in my own way…

  Winners…

• Clowns

  by someday_93 2 months ago

  My mommy says that clowns are nice. She says that they make people smile. But I don’t like them. One gave me a lollipop once,...

• Ask the Wonderball

  by Eckhouse about 1 month ago

  “You first,” Emily prodded. “I’m nervous. The answer has to be a number of some kind.”

  “Alright,” said Lona. “How many boys …

• 642

  by uselessness about 1 month ago

  Somewhere in Laredo is a building. One huge importers warehouse that has long sat vacant, at least in the legal sense. For in…

• The Future Is Unwritten

  by Ana Cristina about 1 month ago

  Emily dropped the Wonderball. It made a dull thud as it hit the carpet. The two girls stared at each other, both of them pale…

• HIS Pain a Song Forever

  by KevMullins about 1 month ago

• The Wonderball's Message

  by Ana Cristina about 1 month ago

  Emily was seized with the sudden urge to fling the Wonderball out the window. Am I going insane? she thought as she looked …

• The Room Awaits...

  by Tears of Phoenix about 1 month ago

  “Room 34? What’s room 34? Who’s waiting for me? Tell me!” Emily half-screamed at the orb, which was now, for some reason, stu…

• The Essential, Indispensable Wonderball

  by Eckhouse about 1 month ago

  The line clicked. Emily’s stomach, having finally settled overnight, began to churn once more.

  She eyed Wonderball on her d…

• Anne's Resolve [Twisted History Challenge]

  by Ana Cristina about 1 month ago

  The hour was nigh. She could feel her body tensing, the muscles preparing themselves. She pushed back the sheets and was walk…

• Roses

  by Freedom 29 days ago

  Don’t stop and smell the roses.

  It’s the worst possible thing to do if you’re not looking for love. And I wasn’t, but when I…

• Shooting Up

  by RainDance 18 days ago

  The pain is too real. It emanates from the core of my being. Consuming me. I reach for the needle.

  “Mommy?”

  Sam.
  My hand…

• You Can Hear Them Through The Walls

  by CosmicWaffles 18 days ago

  ”- Here they come over and over -“

  She could see them through the tiny window.

  “Ah, here is one of our permanent patients….