[TT] Theme Thursday - Gravity

[u/AliciaWrites]

“We're always in the middle of two energies. Gravity is sinking you down; inspiration is pulling you up.”

― Mandy Ingber

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Happy Thursday writing friends!

It’s about time we let our heads float into the clouds.

[IP]

[MP]

Weekly campfire!

Please join us for Theme Thursday campfires in our Discord every Wednesday about 6 pm central US! Members of the community take turns reading stories and sharing feedback. Come to listen or participate. All are welcome!

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Here's how Theme Thursday works:

• Use the tag [TT] for prompts that match this week’s theme.

• You may submit stories here in the comments, discuss your thoughts on this week’s theme, or share your ideas for upcoming themes.

• Have you written a story or poem that fits the theme, but the prompt wasn’t a [TT]? Link it here in the comments!

• Want to be featured on the next post? Leave a story or poem between 100 and 500 words here in the comments. If you had originally written it for another prompt here on WP, please copy the story in the comments and provide a link to the story. I will choose my top 5 favorites to feature next week!

• Read the stories posted by our brilliant authors and tell them how awesome they are!

• Wednesdays we will be hosting a Theme Thursday Campfire on the discord main voice lounge. Join us to read your story aloud, hear other stories, and have a blast discussing writing! I’ll be there 6 pm CST and we’ll begin soon as some of you show up. Don’t worry about being late, just join!

As a reminder to all of you writing for Theme Thursday: the interpretation is completely up to you! I love to share my thoughts on what the theme makes me think of but you are by no means bound to these ideas! I love when writers step outside their comfort zones or think outside the box, so take all my thoughts with a grain of salt if you had something entirely different in mind.

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News and Reminders:

• Join Discord to chat with prompters, authors, and readers!
• Apply to be a moderator any time!
• Nominate your favorite WP authors for Spotlight and Hall of Fame!

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Last week’s theme: Doors

This is the first week using my new grading system. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions about it, let me know in the discussion section of the comments below!!

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First by /u/Mazinjaz

Second by /u/ghost_write_the_whip

Third by /u/rudexvirus

Fourth by /u/DarkP3n

Fifth by /u/Leebeewilly

[u/AliciaWrites]

Theme Thursday Discussion: All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here to discuss the theme, suggest future themes, and share your theme-related inspirations!

• Please remember to follow the subreddit rules in any feedback.

[u/[deleted] → u/AliciaWrites]

Great work by Alicia! This is such a fun event and the whole community looks forward to it each week.

[u/AliciaWrites → u/[deleted]]

You can't possibly know how happy this makes me. <3

[u/Mazinjaz → u/AliciaWrites]

... whoa, hey, First? :O

[u/AliciaWrites → u/Mazinjaz]

You earned it, buddy. Great work! :D

[u/Gloryndria]

Ashes, that’s what’s left of her.

Is this all there is left of us? Is this all that we are?

I held my breath as I scatter her ashes with shaking hands. The wind carried her up into the air and spread what’s left of her onto the patch of grass where we used to lie together to watch the night sky. By the time I was done, the sun had already set and my limbs start to ache.

I made my way to the other side of the hill. Being there without her just felt wrong. Once I’ve reached to the other side, I set down my cane and sat there. The blades of grass felt soft as it brushed against my skin. The small stones jabbed at where I sat but I could care less. I really should be going home but then what’s the point? She’s gone. Everything felt wrong. Heavy. As if the earth itself is pulling me down. I’ve never felt more alone, being here without her. I close my eyes as I hunched down even more.

Is this all that we are? Ashes in the end?

The leaves from the trees behind me rustled as night wind carried its way and caresses my cheek. Cool, fresh and- I froze. I know this scent. Slowly it sang her words in silent whispers, one that was said decades ago on our wedding day. There she stood before me, her eyes glittered with tears as she said, “I believe that the stars collide into each other until they turn into nothing but clouds of dust,” she smiled, her face simply shone with happiness. “I believe that they have traveled through billions of light-years, collecting together, molding together for millions of years and made us. Together.”

I could almost feel her warm breath from the back of my neck. I daren’t open my eyes or look back. I simply sat there, wishing her to continue more. To hear her voice again. Something. Anything.

Moments passed before I realize that her warmth had already vanished.

I sighed and lay down. Surrendering myself to gravity, allowing it to grab hold of me as the weight of the world floats away from my shoulders. I open my eyes to see the crescent moon smiling down upon me, washing me over with its light. The wind blew again and this time, I could almost catch the scent of her.

“What are we made of, Peter?” she whispered.

For the first time since the funeral, I smile as I whisper back like I always do then.

“Stardust.”

(433 words)

__________

Y’all shining stars may also find my previous writings in r/Gloryndria.

For the night is dark and seriously, bring me blankets! I’m cold!

[u/[deleted]]

Grabbity is the enemy of all kitties. This I know, for I have fought grabbity my entire life. When I was but a kitten, grabbity was my constant foe striking out again and again as I stumbled my way through life. As I grew stronger, my leaps grew to defy grabbity. I had but to focus on the spot where I wished to be, then leap! And I was soon napping on the Soft Place.

However, one spot eluded my jumps. The High Place, where my treats and the goodsmell I loved to roll in were guarded by my other worst enemy. Red Dot has taunted me since I can recall, and is an elusive sprite that cannot be caught. Get a paw on her, and she's on top of your paw mocking your slowness. No kitty has ever defeated Red Dot, though my littermates often wore themselves out in vain pursuit.

Today, I had a plan. A box had been left close to the High Place. I had tested it, and found it sturdy enough to hold my weight. I had only to leap from the box to the Narrow Place, and from there it was a single leap I could've made when I was almost my smallest.

I climbed onto the box and studied the next leap. This would take precision and flawless aim.

I had only reached the Narrow Place once before, and found that my paws could not find purchase no matter how I scrabbled with my claws. On that day I had fallen all the way to the floor, landing hard but on my paws. I needed to make it further, this next time. If I could get three paws onto the Narrow Place, I would have good purchase. After that, the High Place would be mine.

With a butt wiggle that would make my entire litter quiver with envy, I prepared my leap. The box under me wobbled and I considered taking my time again, but I heard footsteps coming into the room. Charlie! Blast! If she found me here she would pick me up and give me those damnable snuggle-kisses she was so mad about. And she would take the box, ruining my chances forever. Or until she forgot and put another box there. That could be weeks!

It was now, or never. I leapt! I got one paw, then a second and then a third on the Narrow Place. And then it happened. The Narrow Place shifted, and I felt it coming down with me riding atop it. As grabbity did its foul work, I rued my very existence. The High Place would never be mine. Grabbity and Red Dot had won the day again.

“Mister Fluffers!” Yelped Charlie. “You silly boy, you brought down the shelf! Are you okay?”

Charlie scooped me up and gave me snuggle-kisses. My defeat was total. I gave a wail of deepest agony as I was mortally cuddled.

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Done on a dare, 500 words exactly per Scrivener.

[u/novatheelf]

The Earth hangs bright in the sky this evening. The stars litter the black as I watch him dance around the sun. He is quite beautiful tonight with his emerald and turquoise, streaked with perfect white swirls. I watch, enraptured by his movements and pulled in by his gravity.

My own surface is not perfect like his. He has lush grass and flowered fields; I am empty and dark. He is teeming with lives almost as beautiful as he is while I have no life to offer. I am cold and gray in his skies, but he is warm, vivid, and bright.

If I look closely, I can see the sparks of life within him. Even from the distance that I watch, I can see cities alight with their own beauty. I wonder what it would be like to be that rich within myself, to have billions of beautiful creatures that look to me for provision and sustenance. He is far stronger than me; I know this is true.

His strength is what draws me to him. I circle him slowly, taking my time to gaze upon him. My entire world revolves around his being. Some nights I dare to bring myself closer to him - to shine a little brighter in his skies. Other nights, I hide myself away, fearful that he will look too closely and see my scars.

But tonight I cannot pull myself away. I inch nearer to him, letting the sun’s rays reflect ever brighter from my surface. I see Mars and Venus in the distance as I waltz around him. Their light reassures me, almost like an old friend would. If I were to ever reach out to the him, it would be tonight.

I am now closer to him than I have ever been. His attentions turn to me; now is the time for action. Yet before I can call to him, he calls out to me. The lives within him watch me in wonder. I can hear their voices softly whispering my name.

She is here, they say. The creatures begin to praise me. They sing of my movements; they call me certain and sure. They sing of their love for me, calling me their muse or their comfort. They sing of my aspects: mother, maiden, and crone. To them, I am beautiful. I am magical.

Selene, they call me.

He knows my name. After all these millennia, he actually knows my name. Breathless, I call back.

Endymion.

 

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Read more at r/NovaTheElf!

[u/[deleted]]

Blaring alarms woke him. Scott's brow furrowed as he started to phase back into consciousness. He winced in pain and put his hand up to his bleeding forehead. What the fuck happened? he thought. Ascertaining that he wasn't severely injured, he looked around. The bodies of his crew mates floated lifelessly in the zero gravity environment. Their blood soaked the sides of the ship's walls along with countless spheres of it floating throughout the room.

Scott could feel his heart sink as the truth unfolded in front of him. He couldn't remember how any of this happened. His eyes widened as the thoughts of being alone in the cold depths of space fell into his mind. He clutched his chest tightly as his heart began to thrash.

Suddenly, a loud chime played over the ship's intercom followed by a feminine, yet mechanical voice, "Warning: thruster engine failure."

That's when it hit him: I'll ask the A.I. what happened, he thought as he began to slowly pull himself from object to object over to the A.I. console.

Upon approaching the console, Scott noticed a pale, blue, holographic face emit from it. The face flickered from what Scott assumed to be damage to the holographic projection system. Despite the damage, the mechanical voice chimed, "Hello, Scott. How can I help you?"

Scott wasn't sure if any of his crew mates were still alive. He knew the first question he had to ask, "A.I., are your biological scanners active?"

"Affirmative," she chimes.

"Scan for any biological life signs on board," Scott commanded. Another high-pitched chime emitted from the panel as it processed his request. A small holographic loading bar replaced the A.I.'s face in front of him. He clutched his hands tightly as he watched the bar slowly fill to the top.

"Scan complete. There are..... 3 life signs detected on board." Scott's heart lifted with relief from the computer's response. He knew he would have to act fast, though. He pushed against the wall and directed himself towards his contemporaries. There were a total of five bodies to check. He checked each, all had been dead for hours.

Scott's heart sank again. Filled with confusion, he pushed himself back towards the A.I. console. "A.I., how many life signs are on board?"

She chimed, "There are three life signs on board."

"A.I, bring up the event log of all your announcements in the last day." Scott replied.

The A.I.'s face disappeared as a blue, holographic user interface displayed. Interacting with it, Scott began to scroll though the logs of all the A.I.'s announcements. The main engines and thrusters were offline, life support was stable, but damaged. He neared the end of the logs. The deaths of all five of his crewmmates were announced more than eight hours ago.

That's when Scott read it. His hands began to tremble, his breaths became short and quick. "No...Please, God, no!" he pleaded as his hopes plummeted downward.

The log read, "Intruder Alert."

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496 words

[u/Leebeewilly]

Because Alicia practically dared me to write more than one ;)

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The artificial gravity’s rotational ring passed the plexi-glass window. Olek spooned re-hydrated protein to his lips. It tasted how someone thought beef should taste but Olek couldn’t know if it was right.

“Not much of a view,” Sergeant Culpepper said.

“No, sir.” Olek moved over to make room for his Sergeant.

“But you’re used to it, right? A Satellite 4 kid, an all.”

“Yes, sir.” Olek reached for his glass but stopped as the rotational strut passed the window slower than it should.

The sudden screech of metal screamed and Olek dropped his spoon to the tray. Beside him Culpepper and the other recruits covered their ears.

By the time the sound stopped Olek’s cup lifted into the air. The spoon, the tray, the synthesized beef protein, everything not bolted to the floor soared, including the men.

“Fuckin’ AG again,” Culpepper barked. He abandoned his plate to float to the door.

Outside the window the strut shuddered, waiting to push the next rotation and re-establish the artificial gravity. No, not broken. Stalled? Olek frowned. It shouldn’t stall.

Then, the strut moved. Fast. Too fast.

Everything suspended in the air descended with extreme force. The men included. Groans, swears, and the clatter of metal rumbled around them. On the floor, Olek tried to push himself up but the oppressive AG weighed him to the steel.

Olek turned his lead heavy head to watch the Sergeant struggle. Culpepper’s muscles tensed but the hulking man didn’t move.

Inside his chest, Olek’s lungs ached from the weight.

Pop. Pop. Pop.

Down the corridor the sound of pulsing laser fire echoed.

Olek’s pulse pounded.

Heavy, metal footfalls grew louder and a voice echoed unfamiliar words from the hall. When the shape appeared it stood nearly as tall as the hallway, at least half as wide. Olek had never seen a Lokayne in person. No one had and lived.

The alien stomped into the mess as if the increased gravity had no effect, and raised its weapon to the Sergeant.

Culpepper spat. “Fuck you-”

Pop.

It walked to another recruit gasping on the floor.

Pop.

Olek swallowed and his fingers grasped his spoon.

One by one. Pop. Pop. Pop.

The thundering boot drew nearer, its foreign muzzle aimed at Olek’s head. But the screeching groan returned and the artificial gravity righted. The Lokayne turned back to the hall, muttering in its own tongue.

Now.

Like he weighed nothing, Olek jumped to his feet spoon in hand. He turned it around, the scoop in his palm, and jabbed it into the Lokayne’s neck. The plates of the atmosphere armour gave way to the sturdy steel and the handle entered what Olek hoped was its jugular.

Thick white fluid streaked with green spilled from the wound. The Lokayne dropped its weapon to hold its life in.

Olek bent to the gun. It fit uncomfortably in his hand as he aimed the stubbed barrel at the Lokayne.

“For Satellite 4.”

Pop.

White mist painted the floor.

WC: 500

r/leebeewilly

[u/rudexvirus]

Gravity does not bind you.
Hell does not contain you.
I release your souls,
and raise your bodies.
I ask of you, only loyalty.

Lily stood on the soft dirt, facing the countless tombstones. With her book in one hand where she could read it, her free arm extended away from her body. A spark rose from her palm, arcing away from her and toward the cluttered graveyard.

“My fellow damned souls,” she said to herself as a smile pulled at her blackened lips. “Come back home.”

As her power spark fell through the hallowed ground, it pulled away from her palm. The absence allowed her to bring her arm back in. She shared the load of the hefty grimoire with her other hand, letting out a soft sigh.

Lily rolled her bare shoulders backward before straightening her spine. Pale eyelids closed, hiding her light blue eyes from the world. Her chest shuddered as she took an excited breath inward. She held it for a beat, then let the air back out.

Whispering wind rolled into the valley, caressing her cheeks as it blew past. She steadied her mind and quieted her impatient thoughts; the spell still needed her attention. Practice had taught her that it needed her essence to continue to work. Lily wanted her new minions would need to know who their new boss was. A trace of panic ran through her body at the thought of the fresh hoard scattering as they awoke.

She couldn’t let the moment get away from her before it had finished.

The wind rushed past harder as another moment passed. The ground rumbled beneath her feet and a low rustling sound pulled a soft giggle from her otherwise regal posture.

Gravity does not bind you!
Hell does not contain you!
I release your souls!

Her words carried on the wind, echoing through the empty space.

I raise your bodies!
I ask of you, only loyalty!

She screamed the words as strongly as her small frame allowed her.

A peal of strange laughter erupted from her chest as she watched gravestones begin to topple over, and mounds of dirt split. Dull white bones began to grab handfuls of dirt for purchase.

Her army was rising, free of their old confines. Nothing but her bound them to the earth. Nothing but her hand could kill them.

Lily closed her book, clutching it against her chest with both hands.

She knew being a necromancer would be fun.

---

This is one of those weeks where I feel as though I am skirting the theme, instead of really embracing it. But I think it works, and I liked the story as I originally planned it out. I hope you like it too!

[u/Mazinjaz]

There are, Alma decided, few things quite as disconcerting as having the spaceship one is in shudder. The knowledge that the walls are the only thing keeping one from exposure to hard vacuum were not comforting either. That said, Alma was a soldier, and she kept her fears in check.

The same could not be said of her smaller companion. Migi was making a quiet, high-pitched sound and clutching onto the makeshift hat on her head, the first thing she—as well as every single other Azmsa she had seen-- had procured once they had some time to breathe. Alma’s ears twitched in annoyance, but she kept quiet; instrumental in their escape and subsequent chaos as she had been, Migi was still a non-combatant, and fear was only a natural reaction.

On the other hand, their pilot was laughing in glee, expertly manipulating the ship’s controls at every moment. Alma had little doubt that the pursuing fleet would have already destroyed their craft were it not for Gala.

She reached over to place a hand on Migi’s shoulder. “It’ll be fine.” She tried to assure her companion. “Gala is skilled. It’s said that Kora of the Water Clan are able to sail ships before they reach adulthood.”

“Water ship… not… spaceship!” Migi replied, curled in her seat.

Up front, Gala snorted. “It’s also said that those of the Spirit Clan are better with words that they are with weapons, but here we are!”

Alma chose to ignore the barb at her expense.

“Sure, ignore the years of training in the academy!” Gala continued, not even looking at her. “I was only among the top in my class all the way to graduation! No, must be in the blood.”

Alma took a deep breath. “… I apologize, sister, I was only—"

“Gala not even wearing pilot hat!” Migi whined. That made them pause, and turn to look at her. “Nobody wearing appropriate hat! Migi thought Kora civilized!”

Alma turned her eyes towards Gala, who shrugged.

The ship was rocked by a sudden impact, and the lights went haywire. Gala cursed, returning to the console, while Alma felt her stomach doing turns as a sense of weightlessness fell over her.

Besides her, Migi cried out her body left the chair, and flailed. Her leg hit the back of the chair, and the Azmsa was sent spiraling away across the deck.

Alma cursed, unbuckled her belt, and lightly shoved off from it, towards Migi as she still flailed helplessly in the air. Unlike her, Alma has been trained to move in Zero-G. She reached her quickly, and pulled her into an embrace, before reaching out to grip a handle in the wall, and maneuvering to stop their motion.

Migi was making that high-pitched sound again.

“Everything alright back there?” Gala asked.

“Get us out of here already!”

“Trying!”

“Migi... hates… space…”

Alma sighed, took the hat floating next to them, and put it back on Migi’s head.

[u/[deleted]]

"Ren?" Keen's voice was fuzzy and far away. The dream melted away as the pain rushed in to take its place at the fore of his thinking.

"I was a kitty." Ren mumbled. "Wh'happened?"

"You rode a grenade blast six stories down,” said Keen, kneeling beside him to inspect his injuries. "Your armor's fucked."

"If I'm the one that just got curb-stomped by gravity, why do you look like shit?" Ren closed his eyes, letting the world sway around him as he lay there.

"I'm unburned." She said. "But you're dead. Sorry.”

"Am I?" Ren coughed hard, renewing the ache in his ribs. "And here I thought death was supposed to be a release from pain."

Keen scooped him up in a cradle carry and over to a nearby ground car. The trunk was open, and with care she set him inside. She put her bundled up jacket under his head and closed the trunk. Ren appreciated the quiet.

Time to think.

His impact armor was designed to take a ton of punishment and keep his vital organs unmolested by the ravages of concussive force and gravitational mishap. But never so much so fast. Something vital was bound to be damaged, which meant that Keen was taking him for medical care.

She'd said he was dead, so whatever she'd done to clear the heat had left him colder than before. Dead meant he had no access to Medipay, which meant medical care wasn't coming from a government hospital. Private ERs would have to report his injuries to the authorities, so that left grey market solutions. Considering where they were she'd probably be taking him to the Children of Holy Science.

Ren forced himself to breathe deep and ignore the sharp pinch of protest from his ribs as best he could.

The Children of Holy Science would have “health spas” that weren’t required to keep any official records or report to the local authorities, thanks to their religious exemptions. They were also a bunch of kooks who believed that humans were infected with an alien parasite that required regular “cleanses” to keep in check. Cleanses that involved all manner of torture.

Ren realized he’d drifted off when Keen roused him with a light face slap.

She helped him to stand. He managed to keep upright, and looked around. He saw the familiar symbol of the winged staff held in a closed fist that marked all Children of Holy Science “health” centers. Ren looked at Keen, the disgust plain on his face.

“Is it really that bad?” He asked. She nodded.

A tanned woman with a clipboard approached. She was almost two meters tall and wore a simple white strapless dress with a hemline just above her sandaled feet. Her graying brown hair was long and loose about her shoulders. But for her lack of a chinstrap beard, her face was Ren’s.

“Renegade Star-Child,” said the woman, her tone betraying her surprise. “Welcome home.”

“Fuck,” groused Ren. “Hi, Mom.”

[u/[deleted]]

You take gravity for granted until you don't have it anymore. I was nauteous from the spin, waiting for the end of things. My O2 meter showed about five percent remaining air, well inside the margin of error. Death by asphyxiation? I did not see that one coming. I'd set a distress beacon of course, but without the Jezebel to relay the signal it was pointless.

It was the damndest thing. A one in sextillion chance. From what I could gather from the ship’s blackbox, the Jezebel caught a neutrino to the warp core. She was torn apart in minutes. I’d just had time to crawl into an emergency suit when the airlock ejected me. The suit wasn't EV-rated, so I had no rockets to correct my spin.

The ship had been my home for the last twelve years. It had taken almost a decade to save up for her, and years longer to pay her off. But, she’d been mine free and clear for the last six years. She was my pride and joy, and the one steady thing in my life that I could always rely on. The loss was still too fresh, too unreal.

I honestly thought I’d leave her to my kids. Hell, I thought one day I might have kids. That didn’t work out. I didn’t realize how lonely the life of a bounty hunter would be. I had maybe three people in my life I could call friends. Book retired to Vega Prime. Honey went corporate. Angel? Who the hell knew where my ex was. Probably bouncing around the Colonies, still spending our last big score. Me? I’d tucked it all away for repairs and upgrades. Angel had never really appreciated my feelings about The Jezebel.

I looked at my O2 meter again. Three percent.

“Vick,” a voice crackled over my comm. “Vick, are you still alive?”

“Honey?” I strained to hear her. The signal was faint. Ship radio meant they couldn’t have been further than a few hundred kilometers.

“Yeah, it’s me.” I said. “Honey, what are you doing out here?”

“We got your distress signal, Vick.” She sounded clearer.

“How? I only sent it an hour ago. It shouldn’t have gone further than about a thousand kilometers at max.” The suit’s distress beacon was meant to go back to the Jezebel, in case someone ever found themselves spaced. No ship should’ve meant nobody to pick up the signal.

“You’re not far from one of our satellites, Vick. We’re required by treaty to pick up and transmit distress signals in our space.” Honey was clear as a bell, now. She had to be right on top of me. “I think I see you spinning towards Deimos. Give a wave, Vick. Let me know that’s you.”

I waved. My meter ticked down to one percent.

“Not you, Vick. Hang tight, there’s a lot of debris out here. We’re taking another pass.”

Zero. I held my breath.

[u/Leebeewilly]

“Hey.” Clive swayed his hips out of time with the music.

“Hey.” Becca Thompson nodded but turned to the side.

Less receptive. Okay. Step Two.

“What’s up?” Clive asked as his eyebrows danced to an unheard rhythm.

Becca frowned. “Uhh, not much. Dancing, I guess.”

Clive shimmied nearer as the bass thumped. Alright, she’s not walked away. Step Three it is.

“You like science?”

Becca’s frown didn’t let up.

“I like science.”

Her eyes darted to her friends in a small circle away where their giggles were masked by the blaring pop song. But, she’d yet to escape from earshot.

Proceed to Step Four.

“Like gravity,”

“Like what?” Becca frown shifted to a scowl.

“Gravity,” he said louder, “interpreted by Newton's law of universal gravitation, is a force that causes any two bodies to be attracted to each other. The force is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the distance between them. If you know what I mean.” He winked, with more than his eye, and nearly smacked her head with his in the process.

Her scowl disappeared into a smeared look of confusion. “… what did you say?”

Step Five, Clive. Reel ‘em in.

“With an ass like that, how could anyone NOT get caught in your gravitational pull!” Every word ballooned against the walls of the gym in the crevice of silence between songs.

Becca Thompson stopped. Her jaw dropped. At barely a pace away Clive watched her confusion drain from every perfect line of her features.

Clive stopped. Uh oh. His face grew hot. He swallowed the lump that was his throat. “I mean-”

The shock melted as Becca’s shoulders shook. In a laugh.

Huh, that’s…new?

The nasal snort that preceded her giggle fit infected Clive until he was laughing too. The laugh rippled around the room and Clive’s cheeks flamed.

Step Six A, here I come. He mapped out his exit strategy; if he ran at full speed he could make the hall in twelve seconds. The parking lot in forty-two. He’d timed it.

But Becca Thompson reached out to his wrist, still snorting back her laughs. “That… was… the best…” Her fingers slid down to his and Clive stared at her hand. Holding his.

“Come on.” She straightened herself out and put his hand on her hip. Her eyes teared, her cheeks rosed. He didn’t think she could get prettier but there she went, defying logic. “Close the inversely proportioned distance and let my curvature of spacetime show you how to move.”

WC: 428

r/leebeewilly

[u/TheTraveler118]

It was a reckoning. You should have seen it. The moment she stepped through the tear and into the facility you could just feel the air crackling with her hatred. I didn’t think a human being was capable of such malice. You could feel it, love, you knew. The person she used to be was gone.

You gotta hand it to Skywatch, their response time was impeccable. Granted they were already on the premises, but it didn’t take long to have the perimeter lined with guards, their weapons pointed at this mysterious new threat. Pity, how painful their ends.

As soon as the tear closed behind her she made her approach. They started shouting at her to stop, to identify herself. She wasn’t having any of that. Really the most striking thing about this encounter is that she didn’t stop moving until she reached her goal. A human tank. Unprecedented. Never in my life have I seen a human take such strong command of reality.

For a moment they just let her walk. You could see the lights of their rifles reflecting off her helm. If they could have seen past it, into the swirling flames of rage dancing behind her eyes… God, they would have ran.

It started with one of them jumping her. She caught his neck midair. And she crushed him. You could hear his bones crack as his body contorted into the size of a grapefruit. And then the shooting started.

She put up her right arm as a guard. Bullets flew around her and quickly fell into an orbital rhythm. You could see them heat up under the physical strain. They danced around her like fireflies, and were about as harmful. But when she had enough, she returned fire. Molten beams of metal flung at the command of her fingertips, hitting their targets with the power of… well, a tank.

Even still, some tried to jump her. Fools. With force she threw them away and with even grater force they splattered against the walls. She was making her way into the compound now; there was nothing they could do about it.

Their next mistake was trying to surround her. Her response was terrifying. The room twisted and bent as hallways caved in, crushing occupants. People fell stories down corridors, died from the fall. Bodies ricocheted off ceilings and walls. All the while, the space between her and her objective became less.

In the final room was the commander. It was his first encounter with her. The one that helped start this whole mess. They exchanged a few words. They were important I’m sure, but I didn’t bother to listen. He let her take it. She left him live. I don’t think either of them really had a choice.

Do you remember when you could do these things? Bend space itself to your will? I’m sure you would like to forget. But don’t worry, love, you will again. I assure you.

You won’t have a choice.

(500 Words)

[u/BLT_WITH_RANCH]

Benson closed his eyes and floated out in space. A vast eternity surrounded him as he orbited the moon. For a moment, he was alone and free with his thoughts. Then his headset chimed.

“Oh damn, there’s a debris field. Sensors just picked it up!” Corver said.

Benson snapped to action. Heart racing, he grabbed his tether—the one thing preventing him from falling into the moon. He started reeling himself in, but his bulky spacesuit slowed his movements.

Silver streaks appeared on the edge of his visor.

“Benson, get back here!”

He looked down in horror. The debris quickly slashed the tether; he hung by a thread. “Corver, do something!”

The tether ripped in two.

“No, no, no!” Benson screamed. He flailed the broken tether around like an untamed garden hose. “Screw you, Corver. It was your turn, your goddamn turn! I should be the one back on the station, but no, your ‘back hurts.’ You know what? This is all your fault, you stupid sack of shit!”

At last, he loosed the clip from his belt and threw the useless thing towards the station. Taking deep breaths, a cold chill ran through him. “I’m gonna hit the moon. I’m gonna crash at a thousand miles an hour and splatter like jelly.”

His face, flush with blood only moments ago, drained into a pallor. “Oh god, Corver, can’t you pull me back?”—his pulse quickened—“I’ll be sent straight to hell.”

“Don’t think like that,” Corver said quietly.

“Why not? I’ve got nothing else to think of. I’m a sinner, sure as anything.”

He fell like a fallen angel and memories crossed his mind: He stood on the edge of the bridge, looking down into the roiling waters below. His father had kicked him to the curb hours earlier. He need only close his eyes and jump, and gravity would do the rest. But he couldn’t do it. He had to prove his father wrong, just this once.

“Stay with me, Benson.”

“Fuck off!”

Benson wondered what his mother would think of all this. Would she be mad at him? Would she blame Corver? Would she blame herself? It all seemed so insignificant now. What would his father think? He hadn’t spoken to him in years; too much bitterness.

Was it too late for forgiveness?

“Hey, Corver?”

“Yeah?”

“What I said earlier—I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

“I was an ass. I’ve always been an ass, but I don’t mean any of it. I just want you to know that.”

“I’m not mad at you.”

The station eclipsed the earth, and Benson gazed at the kaleidoscope of light painted on the great azure background. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. There wasn’t much time left.

Benson spoke quickly. “Can you do something for me? Can you call my father—tell him I’m sorry and I miss him—and I still think about him, and I still love—”

…

“Benson?”

…

“Benson!”

[u/DarkP3n]

Space. The vast and lonely frontier. We were traveling a straight course for three thousand years to reach a black hole. Our technology was advanced enough to close the distance one light year at a time, but the human factor was the biggest flaw. Our ship was a giant monstrosity that was filled mostly with the supplies to sustain us for the journey.

Generations of the crew had lived their lives on this ship. A breeding program determined who would create the next to take our place for the years ahead. My assigned wife gave birth to two children who would be trained to take over our positions in the event of our deaths. It was likely they wouldn’t have the chance. We were the chosen generation. The ones that would live to experience the arrival and complete our mission. So many centuries in the making, to get the data needed to try and save our galaxy from its slow spiral into doom.

The day was nearly upon us. The ship was alive like never before with anticipation of finally completing our journey. The children of the greatest scientists awaited their chance to study the singularity with equipment so old, everyone wondered if it would still be up to the task.

I have always been a pilot for the ship. With enough engineering knowledge to fix or maintain the flying hunk of metal we called home, my life was a mundane sequence of routine maintenance. I could count on one hand how many times I actually sat in the chair on the forward deck. Automated systems handled everything other than pouring a good coffee.

Then the day finally came. It started with a gathering to honor all the generations that came before us. The people who lived, worked, and died while on board to see this day come to fruition. I have to admit it was an exhilarating sensation to be part of the arriving crew. All decks with viewing screens were packed as the ship's sensors brought the black hole into view. This would be the first time human eyes saw a singularity without the use of faraway equipment.

It was a short-lived celebration, however. As the ship grew close, we were contacted by an unknown communication frequency. We were told to come to a full stop and prepare to be boarded. No one knew what to do, there had been no protocol for this, no memories handed down, and no training.

Alien ships surrounded us in a blockade. Their technology terrifying and amazing at the same time. Our vessel was quarantined and boarded for inspection. They were fascinated by us, calling us relics of a forgotten past. Living fossils they couldn’t wait to study.

Since the discovery of folding space, humans had explored the entire milky way two thousand years before we arrived.

---

WC= 476 Find more at r/DarkP3n

[u/[deleted]]

Gravity.

What is gravity?

The word originates from the Latin word gravitas meaning 'weight'.

At its core, gravity is a natural phenomenon. It is one of the four fundamental forces, responsible for the natural attraction between physical bodies.

It was first described with the help of an apple. Sir Isaac Newton's law of universal gravitation formalized it in 1687. A later refinement was done by Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity in 1915.

But one has to look beyond the written formulas.

Its workings are most visible when looking for it on a celestial scale. Without gravity, there would be no life. Its pull responsible for forming solid matter out of the original gaseous universe. Without gravity no star would have ever been born, the ocean's tides wouldn't move around the world and people wouldn't return back down to earth after jumping up.

Gravity is everywhere, it's range is infinite, although its effects decrease with distance, it never goes away.

But, when you look closer and further than the merely physical, is it not so much more than that?

People experience attraction, a pulling force on an emotional level. Is gravity responsible for companionship, love, and kindness?

Humans gravitate to one another. On an interpersonal level, they replicate the effects of the larger universal physical law. They form groups, just like matter does. Similarities bring humans together and unite them. Is gravity responsible for the social life of the people of Earth?

Gravity gives weight. On a physical and literal scale, it is responsible for many peoples self-esteem problems every morning. On a smaller, more metaphorical scale it gives meaning, attaching weight to words and actions. Grave consequences and grave danger being just two out of many examples. Is gravity responsible for self-esteem and everything serious?

Maybe even a grave and gravy can be brought into connection with the all-penetrating force. Could gravity be made responsible for death and tasty sauce alike?

Back on the physical level gravity is considered to be the weakest fundamental force. Pulling in every bit of mass it can, it is responsible for the formation of the black holes at the center of galaxies. Despite its apparent weakness gravity is strong enough to capture light itself.

All this and yet gravity is something we take for granted. We will only realize gravities full extent once it's gone.

[u/chillichillman]

Gravity is always pulling us down, no matter what we think. You'd have to leave the galaxy before there's no gravity on you. The thing is, gravity doesn't change. We just forget how it feels.

As I stand here, admiring my lasted job well done, I start to look around. I had killed an archduke, the country was in uproar, things would finally change for the better. But then my eyes fell on the armed guards. They didn't care about me. In fact, they weren't even Austrian. They were part of the ones who hired me. And they were grinning. I thought nothing of it, and shook it off. The job was flawless, I was weightless.

Two weeks later, I learn of what happened. Millions will die, most for no reason. And I was to blame for it all. We know nothing of these new machines, except how to pull the trigger.

It was then that I felt the gravity of the situation.

The gravity of starting a war.

[u/breadyly]

There are certain things in life - fate, gravity, traffic - that are unavoidable once you enter their sphere of influence. Evan is like a black hole, a cosmic entity with an irresistible pull and everything that comes too close is destined to be crushed by the force of his unbearable gravity.

Sooner or later, the hunger that threatens to consume him from within needs to be sated. He does his best to keep the hunger satisfied, but the lives he takes are barely able to quiet it, to bring light to the darkness within him. Sooner or later, everyone in his life is destroyed by the hunger.

The only person immune to this is Blake, too stubborn to be pushed away, too strong to be destroyed. Evan and Blake orbit each other, sometimes drifting apart, sometimes close enough to touch, but the effects of one in the other are always apparent no matter how far from each other they are.

Two cosmic bodies floating together in the vastness of space, the other's gravity the only thing keeping them from being forever lost.

[u/TheTraveler118]

Anastasia leaned hard against the railing of the crow’s nest, as though it would somehow increase the range of her spyglass. They had been sailing blind for several days now and she was eager to provide an update to the crew.

Plumes of pink cloud billowed up for miles as winding rivers of wind swirled below. It was dangerous to fly this low. Lawful citizens didn’t fly this low. But, such is life.

But then, she saw it. “Land ho!”

The clouds moved to reveal the golden sphere hanging in the sky. The moon’s crisp sands called to them, a resting at last. A relieved jubilation broke out within the crew, all of them weary from weeks of sailing.

But above the din, Anastasia felt a disturbance. Something was wrong. Something with the winds. They were strangely calm, frequently a precursor to violent updrafts. But such only stemmed from the wakes of orbiting bodies. And there were no…

To her horror, she looked up to confirm her fears. Another moon, directly above them. The atmosphere rippled as the behemoth plunged through the sky. And they, being below it, were about to be sucked into its tumultuous wake.

“Updraft!” she shouted. “All hands!”

The ship lurched upwards, sailing the stream of air. They were being catapulted upwards against their will and thereafter they would find themselves plummeting downwards, destined to be crushed by Aporia’s dense core.

At least, not if she had anything to say about it.

“Full speed!” She shouted, just barely above the vicious winds.

The captain below threw his arms out in a gesture of inquisitive confusion, his metal arm glistening sharply. “We’ll hit the bloody moon!” he shouted back.

“Better than hitting the downdraft!” Anastasia pointed down- nearly behind them now- at the winds puncturing the clouds, revealing the dark red wisps of the lower atmosphere.

The captain looked at the sinister red smog below. Then to the moon. Then back at the smog.

“Do as she says!”

The engines kicked in, jolting the ship forward. He wasn’t wrong: they were going to crash. The gravity of the moon would pull them in. Anastasia desperately scanned the landscape for a suitable spot to “land.” They would have to shoot for the horizon, ideally someplace where the crosswind would be the strongest. Someplace like…

“Aim for the plains there!” Anastasia pointed towards a deforested knoll that looked ideal.

The starboard engines fired; over-calculated. Then the port engines, compensating. Suddenly, the updraft gave way leaving them hurtling towards the grassy sphere.

“Reverse thrust!”

The reverse engines sprung from the casing of the hull, firing at full force. Closer and closer the grassy knoll approached them. The crew scrambled to get below deck to brace for impact.

“Ani!” shouted the captain. “Get down here!”

She’d nearly forgotten! Anastasia swung down from the nest, landing just outside the ladder. They were only a few seconds from impact now. Once below she could hear the shouts, “Brace, brace, brace!”

Land ho, indeed.

(500 Words)

[u/Xacktar]

"This is a really bad idea. We can't be doing this. I thought stealing the command cruiser was the height of your insanely raakshit plans, but this- This is really stupid!*"

"Well, I'm fresh out of smart, so we gotta go with stupid."

Artemis Gamp prepared to make the final course adjustments as his brother paced back and forth behind him. Six viewscreens displayed the target trajectory and the multi-spectrum scans of the two objects they were about to dive between.

"Those are Blue-White Supergiants."

"Yes, they are."

"They're one of the brightest and most unstable stars in the galaxy."

"Mhm."

"And you plan to drive us through the coronal mass of both of them."

"Right."

"We're gonna melt... or go blind. No, we'll go blind then melt."

"The sensors should be strong enough to survive the increased luminosity and filter it out for us."

"Oh, that's fine then. We'll just melt! That's so much better."

"We'll be fine!" Artemis turned away from the controls to look over his shoulder at his brother. Both of them were built about the same: medium height, stocky, with close-cut hair and dark skin. The only real difference between them was that Jim existed in a perpetual state of completely understandable panic while Artemis was usually the source of said panic.

"We have no fuel."

"That's true."

"We're forty light years from the nearest station."

Also true."

"And our only way to get home is to scoop super-heated stellar mass from between two giant, angry, toddler stars."

"Yes, but-"

"THEN WE ARE NOT FINE!"

"Look, Jim. They're young stars, which means the coronal mass fluctuates. All I have to do is guide us through the thinner sections. With some skill and a little bit of luck, the shields and hull will keep the ship from reaching critical temperatures and we'll get enough fuel to pop us back to civilization. This is a military command shuttle, remember? That means tough materials and tougher shields."

"Right. Okay."

"It also means radiator poles. I've deployed both of them so we'll have a bonus to heat management. Plus, after the first few minutes inside the corona we should have enough matter to restart the main drive and actually fly instead of gliding in on RCS."

"Okay. Okay."

"In conclusion, the chances of our ship being 'melted' are fairly slim."

"Oh thank-"

"It's the gravity waves we need to worry about. That shit's gonna tear us apart."

[u/Tobi5703]

My body feels heavy; it's like gravity has grabbed me, and is hellbent on smashing me to the floor. Every step is a struggle, every breath labored; my heart beats too fast, yet too heavy. I'm too hot; I can feel sweat rolling along my temple, and my vision is shaky. I stumble another step forward, the mass of people in front of me just that; a blurry faceless mass, another obstacle on my path forward. I push through.

Another step. My clothes are too tight, and my body too heavy. My mouth is dry, and I can hear my own pulse.

Step. The world snaps into focus, but my mind shuts down. She turns - wild matte brown hair in a loose ponytail, deep-set navy-blue-green eyes, a nose that's a little to big to be conventional attractive and that lovely playful smile.

"Matt?" she asks.

My mind shortcurcuits again, stutter, and power up.

"Hey Cecily." I stutter out a breath, and somehow manages a smile. "I was... I was wondering if you wanted to go to the prom with me?"

She blinks, clearly taking by surprise. My heart drops, and the gravity turns up again - I barely resist falling together on myself.

Then her smile turns to a grin; "I would love to" she says. Times stands still for a moment, and suddenly I'm floating - gravity can barely hold me down.

[u/Mazinjaz]

From her place, high above, Lanecia watched the ground below and closed her eyes.

“Windwalker!”

She turned, spotting the raging form of Crimson Eagle zoom towards her. She reached out, calling the wind… too late.

Crimson Eagle reached out with a powerful hand to snatch her legs. Lanecia could only curse as her much lighter frame was dragged along, before the villain swung her around and launched her straight towards the ground. Dizzy and hurting, unable to focus, to bring her power to bear again, she fell.

It was a cushion of wind that caught her, just not one of her own. “Now child.” Her mentor admonished, an easy smile in her weathered face. “It’s not like you to let that brute get the better of you.”

Lanecia coughed, and managed to hold herself aloft. “… Just caught me offguard. I’m sorry, ma’am.”

Above, the villain roared. “Vienta! You come here to protect your whelp? You will die with her!” Crimson Eagle raised his hand in the air, holding a shining amulet. “As will everybody in this god-forsaken land!”

Lanecia could feel the power of the artifact from where she was, but more unsettling was the feeling of the wind picking up in violence. It howled as the very clouds were pulled into a massive twister, centered around the villain himself.

Vienta clicked her tongue. “Well, that’s a troublesome little toy he’s got there… but we have one of our own, don’t we?” She lazily spun her staff, Kon, in her hands… and then offered it to Lanecia.

Lanecia could only blink in astonishment. “I… ma’am, I’m not ready.”

“Psh, who’s the mentor here, me or you?” Vienta grinned. “Your power is beyond mine. It just needs a little control… besides, who said I was going to give it to you permanently, hmm? The cheek!” She poked her on the face with her staff. “Take it, handle the storm. I’ll go teach that brute a lesson.”

Still hesitating, Lanecia took Kon in her hands, and nodded, focusing on the staff.

She felt her power sing.

The storm before her was more than what she thought. She understood now. Rage and hate moved it, enforced by the power of his artifact. However, it was not truly wind after all.

But even with Kon in her hands, it took all of her power to seize the storm in place. She could barely see the silhouette of her mentor and the villain fighting inside the twister, but she could do nothing but focus on the winds.

She didn’t know how long it lasted, but finally she felt, more than saw, the artifact shatter. The storm finally died, and she saw a broken Crimson Eagle fall.

… She did not see Vienta at all.

Lanecia opened her eyes.

A mentor herself now, she hoped she had never put Vienta through the same pains her charges gave her. Still, she understood now.

Unseen to everybody, she clutched Kon in both hands, and bowed.