The Hugoverse

Flash Fiction Prompt- Location:  This Illustration By Deviantart user Bejzar ! | Object: Some glass beads. [ Link to post .] "This is one of the smaller markets,"  Jake  said. He guided  Ms. Carlson , a prospective business partner, through the crowd of digital people.  "It feels so real," Ms. Carlson said as strangers bumped her shoulders left and right. She inhaled deeply. "I smell meat cooking." Jake stopped walking to turn and smile at her.  "You can eat it too. Like most games you'll get a food buff," he said. "But in the AlterNet  you  can also savor the flavor and texture." Jake turned forward and kept leading Ms. Carlson through dense forest of people, pushing NPCs out of his way. Like trees, they only moved when you forced them to. He led her to a clearing. The booths were still manned, but the meandering crowd seemed to avoid the small area. Ms. Carlson found Jake stopped in front of a young purple headed girl'...

[WP] "Excellent choice, we shall transport you immediately," the voice says as you step back from the console labelled PERSONAL UNIVERSE RELOCATOR.[ Link to post .] "Hey, you hear that? I made an excellent choice," Ricky  said. He looked at the other occupants of the small room. His best friend, Hector, and two people he met six months ago for the first time. A short man with a tall blue mohawk who called himself Vegas , and a woman with short spikey black hair and golden arms named Jenny . "It's a recording. It says that no matter what you pick," Jenny said. Hector chuckled "Yeah man," he said while still laughing. "Besides, you don't even know what universe you picked. You just pressed buttons randomly." "Traversing in 3," the console began a countdown. The lights dimmed, then Ricky and Hector took a step closer to Vegas and Jenny. "Why are we using this? I thought you guys could do it without the equ...

[WP] You are Placebo Man. Your powers are whatever people nearby you believe you have. [ Link to post .] "NOBODY MOVE! THIS IS A ROBBERY!" the guy that yelled held his shotgun up in the air. He wore a woman's stocking over his face, and a heavy dark green trench coat. I looked around at the exits of the bank; three other shotguns appeared in the air guarding the doors. I hit the ground along with the rest of the line when the robber made his announcement. None of them knew I was Placebo Man. It took me over a decade, but I figured out the nuances of my powers. They worked on belief, but my own belief wasn't enough. I needed a small crowd to do anything useful, luckily it looked like the line I was in had enough people. I needed to get all of them to believe something helpful. Something that I could do without having to reveal my identity to them. "Since we're here, toss out your wallets too." The gunman said. I assumed he was the leader since he w...

[WP] An expert hypnotist can manipulate people to do whatever he/she wants. But this time, the hypnotist unknowingly tries to manipulate someone with a split personality. [ Link to post .] He didn't know I was there. My brothers Jimmy, Johnny, and Jamie dragged me to the hypnotist's booth while we strolled through the circus. I loved the circus and took in a big whiff of kettle corn and turkey legs every chance I could. They all wanted to take turns with the hypnotist even though I tried talking them out of it.  "Guys, think about Jamie. What if this guy is real?" They all laughed at me, even Jamie. Despite his burden, he never let it make him cautious. I was glad for that. He was the youngest and we've always looked out for him. But, after the accident us older kids needed to step up in ways we never expected.  "C'mon Jessie, it's just foolin'. We all get our turn to bark like a dog a few times and have a laugh," Johnny said. He was ...

[WP] You have super-human beginner's luck, the first time you try something you're the best at it. But only the first time. [ Link to post .] "I know it sounds crazy when you hear it," I stared out at the gathered crowd while I spoke. "But I can prove it." The crowd of strangers stared up at me, and they hung on my every word. It was my first time speaking publicly, and I needed to make it count. I'd been planning this for almost a year now, and here I stood in the park on a public stage. I didn't pre-write my speech though. My luck always worked better if I flew by the seat of my pants.  "A couple of weeks ago I asked for suggestions to demonstrate, and a lot of you voted on them. I picked out the top three that I'd never done, and will demonstrate today." I pulled some note cards from the inside of my suit jacket and looked through them. I looked at a note card and then spoke to the crowd. It'd grown larger in the last few min...

[WP] "Make sure you lock your bedroom door tonight." My mother said. "It's that time of the month again." [ Link to post .] "Make sure you lock your bedroom door tonight." My mother said. "It's that time of the month again." We stood in my darkened room, with my mom staring out the window at the night sky. The sun already set, and I was getting ready for bed when she reminded me. A small lamp on my bedside table was the only light in the room. She tussled my short blond hair, and bent down to kiss my cheek. I hugged her tight and breathed in her perfume. She smelled like sugar cookies, my favorite scent.  "I'm scared," I said. It was barely a whisper, but I knew she'd hear me. She always did. "Ooohhhh honey, don't be scared." Her arms squeezed me while her words comforted me. "It's nothing to be scared of, completely normal." I was 14. I knew better by now. "That's not what ...

[WP] You and your arch-rival have the power of reincarnation. You have been finding and killing each other over and over since the dawn of pre-historic man, until modern times. [ Link to post .] "Yeah, I'm totally looking forward to it!" Mary's face lit up as she chatted with Fiona. She sat in her office with the door closed talking on her cell phone. Her dark brown eyes twinkled thinking about the night ahead. "Uhuh, okay. I'll see you at seven. Bye gorgeous." She hung up the phone. Mary found Fiona through a dating app, and they seemed very compatible. It turned out they were both very busy women, and in the month she's spent getting to know Fiona they did not have time to meet. Tonight was finally the night. They texted and video chatted constantly, somehow Mary felt comfortable with Fiona. As if she'd known her all her life.  She gathered her things and walked out of her office. Mary borderline frolicked through the empty halls towards ...

[WP] "Welcome, we are so glad you are here. We've been expecting you." "What, where am I?" [ Link to post .] "Welcome, we are so glad you are here. We've been expecting you." The young pale boy greeted the blonde woman in a red dress. They stood outside in a field of swaying wheat.  "What, where am I?" The woman asked. She turned around to survey the field. It looked wrong somehow. The sky was a dark shade of purple, but bright sunlight illuminated the grains. She looked up and saw a golden sun high in the sky.  "This is the AlterNet ." A deeper male voice said behind the woman. She turned around and found Jake Wilson  standing behind her, next to the pale boy. She met Jake only minutes before, but he looked different. Instead of the navy blue business suit he wore to their meeting, he was now dressed in an elegant black silk shirt with golden detailing. He also wore black silk slacks, and a black cloak. She could not se...

[WP] I sigh. ''No, it won't work like that. You have to really mean it!'' [ Link to post .] I stood in the castle courtyard with the bright golden sun high in the sky. I felt sweat dripping down my brow and my back, my robes were thick, making the heat almost unbearable. I stared at the young boy, my apprentice, in front of me. I felt glad his robes were made of a lighter material, I doubted he could stand this heat. His robes matched mine, red and gold. The boy looked nervous; I noticed his eyes wandering to the dozens of other people in the courtyard with us, each tending to their own business. I tried to talked to him about his nerves earlier that day. "When we're out there, just ignore everyone else. They all have their own things to focus on, just like you," I told him in private before we came outside. I knew most of his insecurities were due to his youth, but he tried to keep his focus on me. I was proud of him for that. I decided to start...

[WP] You pull the rusty knife out of your chest and watch you skin pull itself back together, “Hey not bad,” you say, “the last guy trying to win the bounty didn’t make it through the front door.” [ Link to post. ] Paz stood at the sink washing her dish when a sudden loud crash startled her. She whirled around to find the door on the ground and two people standing in the doorway staring at her. A young woman older than Paz herself along with an even older, but short man. The man's blue mohawk gave him some extra height, but he still appeared shorter than the woman next to him. He wore several gold chains around his neck and the gaudiest white and gold suit Paz ever saw in her young life. His white snakeskin boots only added to the tackiness. The woman wore a purple and gold hoodie, with the hood pulled down behind her head. Her short spiked hair glowed with bright blue light. Her hands were covered with black and gold gloves. Without a word the young woman's hands moved in...

[ Sunday Free Write ] Jake Wilson  opened the heavy glass door and strode into the imposing building, leading Eva  along by the hand. Eva carried a black briefcase. The couple dressed up for their presentation; Jake in smart navy blue business suit and Eva wore her favorite gold and black blouse and black skirt. After spending months researching the technology sector of that Earth, they decided on an indie company trying to break into the hardware market.  InnerTech successfully crowdfunded their first gaming console the previous year. Despite the polish of the hardware, the company struggled to attract developers for their platform thanks to the deeper pockets of their competitors. Jake was a game programmer on his Earth, and sympathized with their struggles. He decided to help them corner the market.  "Are you sure about this?" Eva asked when they stepped into the empty elevator.  "I mean, I know we're not time travelers, but it's pretty muc...

[WP] “Um, Honey, did you teach the baby Latin?” [ Link to post .] "Um, Honey," Posie  walked into the kitchen where his wife Robin searched the fridge for dinner options. "Did you teach the baby Latin?" Robin pulled her red head out of the fridge and stared at her husband. Posie stood in the middle of their kitchen swaying back and forth holding Threnody, their chubby baby girl. Dark wisps of hair rested on the baby's head, inherited from her father's full head of dark hair. The child's orange eyes matched the shade of Posie's eyes. Robin had no doubt their daughter would be as beautiful as her husband was handsome. "I wasn't planning on it. Why? Did you teach the baby Latin?" Robin smirked and closed the fridge. She did not feel like cooking and decided they should go out instead. "No, but she spoke Latin." Posie hefted the child upward and kissed her bulging cheek. "Didn't you, Threnny? Show mommy your Latin....

[WP] The rules of d&d are integral to everyday life and we have to roll for ability checks, for example to check when someone is lying. [ Link to post .] Edward Rollins' alarm cut through his sleep by blaring its staccato buzz. He reached out from under his heavy down comforter and forced it to stop. He groaned and rolled over to sit up in his king sized bed. He wiped the sleep out of his dark brown eyes, and ran his hand through his thick dark beard. Edward turned his body and planted his feet firmly on the dark cherry hardwood floor. He took in a deep breath of air and released it with a sigh. The clock showed 6:15a.m. Time to start the day. Edward dressed in his robe and padded into the kitchen. "It's Friday! I think I'll make breakfast today!" Edward said aloud to clarify his intent. It wasn't necessary, but it was a habit he developed. He cast his hand toward the counter top and a golden D8 slid out of his palm onto the table. The die disappeared...