Split (1)

train · 199k rows

post_text stringlengths 0 17.5k	post_title stringlengths 8 314	comment_texts listlengths 1 74	num_stories int64 1 74
	[WP] As a ghost you see your SO not moving on past you and suffering. Given one chance by a higher power you try to convince them to move on.	[ "I look through the window, seeing her holding the teddy bear that I had given to her three years ago. A lonely tear slowly drips down her cheek and into the fur of the plush animal. She presses the little figure even closer against her body in the attempt of feeling warmth of another being. My warmth.\nBut I am standing out her in front of the apartment, with rain falling through my body. Just a ghost of myself.\nCan a ghost feel?, I ask myself. There is this lump in my chest where once my heart was beating. It feels as if the cold grasp of death is clenching it together, whenever I look at Anna. More tears are now falling on the bear. His head must already be soaked.\nI was given one last chance to make things right. To help Anna.\nSlowly I drift forward. One would have assumed that a ghost could move faster than the human form. But no, a greater being had the idea to make us flow through the world like a cold autumn breeze. Or maybe it is just my soul pulling me towards the other side. I no longer belong here. \nI drift through the window into the room. She cannot see me. Not unless I want her to. I stop in front of her and kneel down. My eyes take her in, from top to the bottom, every detail all too familiar to me. Her hair that I used to play with when we watched a movie together. Her ears whose form I would trace when she was leaning against me, reading a book or sleeping in my arms. Her lips that I had kissed so often. I still feel their softness from when she last kissed me, saying goodbye. I miss her. With all my nonexistent heart.\nIt was time. Slowly I make myself take form in front of her. She is too distracted from crying, not noticing me with her head hidden in the teddy bear.\n„Did I not tell you to be happy? This doesn’t seem very happy“, I whisper to her.\nHer body becomes still, only shaking occasionally from a sob ripping through her uncontrollably. She lifts her head, her tearful eyes searching my face.\n„Robert?“ The word was barely audible, only her lips forming my name.\nI smile. „Hello, my little angel.“\nHer eyes are now wide open, looking around the room. She is trying understand the situation.\n„You are dead“, she tells me, another tear escaping hear eyes. I nod.\n„Then how...?“ She didn’t need to finish the sentence. \n„I told you to be happy again. To move on and live your life for the both of us. It has been almost two years. I have been worrying about you.“\nShe slowly shakes her head. „This is not possible“ and pinches herself in the arm. \nI take her hand in mine. She jumps ever so slightly upon my touch. „You are cold. So cold“, she mumbles.\nI just nod. What can I say? Death is nothing warm. It is cold and sad, the same as I was now.\nI pull my hand back from her arm and stand up.\n„Anna.“ Her gaze shifts upon me. „Please. Try to forget me. I am no longer part of this world. But you have still your whole life in front of you. Take that chance. I know it hurts. It hurts so much.“ Again my heart aches with ghost pain. I pause a moment, searching for something in her eyes that tells me she is listening to my next words. „Please. Leave. Move away. Forget about everything that reminds you of me. At least until it hurts no more. Find someone that will make you happy. Please.“ \nSlowly she shakes her head. „I can’t. You are everywhere. Every part of me aches for you. Everyone I look at reminds me in some way of you. You are no one I can ever forget.“\nShe stands up and lifts her hand towards my face. Her fingers caress my cheek.\n„You are my happiness“, she whispers and leans forward, lightly touching my lips with hers. A smile lightens up her face when she leans back again. „Thank you.“ \n„For what?“ I am confused. She ever so slightly shakes her head again and then turns around. I hesitate a moment, then follow her.\nShe leads me into the bedroom, gesturing me to sit down while she searches for something in the cupboard. When she turns around, she whispers a sentence I will never forget: „For showing me where to find my happiness.“ And with these words she presses the trigger of the gun she had taken from the cupboard and was now aiming at her head." ]	1
	[WP] Aliens are invading Earth. They're winning... up until they awaken a mythical beast long forgotten by man.	[ "\"It is over. Please do not prolong this more than it should ever have been. Gracefully accept your defeat, human. This request is not a request done out of pride, but rather, mercy.\"\n\nThose were the words on the hologram screen. Commander Jhudiel Ysandroff, bestowed the title of Humanity's Last Hope gritted her teeth as she heard the message. Her short gray hair was messy, from lack of sleep over the ensuing war, and her clear blue eyes were bloodshot from the stress that had plagued her on Earth's last days. Needless to say, her white military uniform and cap were kept spotless. She was nobility after all, if she was to lead, she'd first have to gain the respect of everyone alive.\n\nOf course, that respect was useless. Right now, she, one holding the title of Humanity's Last Hope, was about to surrender. It was a title hastily slapped onto her at the last minute of the war, where the higher ups decided that they no longer wanted to deal with impending doom and decided to elect a naive aristocrat, full of ideals, with the heavy title of Humanity's Last Hope. \n\nShe still carried it.\n\nEveryone had given up already, yet this stubborn woman had carried the title as proudly as a child presenting her medal gotten from an 'everyone wins' competition.\n\n\"Hmm... Surely, there's a... way... No... Nonono. No. That's not how it goes... A...h... I.... I-I can't... no, I can...\"\n\n\"Commander... We won't put you through any blame.... This is as far as we can go...\"\n\nAn older man, perhaps pitying the dilemma that the young woman, who has yet to reach her 30s, is facing, tries consoling her.\n\n\"No. The fault is mine alone to bear. There's one thing I must know if I am to make a decision, of course.\"\n\nStaring back at the flickering screen, she asks the enemy a question that would determine her decision as Humanity's Last Hope.\n\n\"It is with great humility that I ask of you, Lord Genaiah of the Universal Council, what is it that you plan to do with us humans? Why invade us? What is your purpose in doing so? I am not asking this in negotiation, but I am asking this out of closure as to... w-what... w-will... h-happen... t-to... h... hu-....\"\n\nVoice cracking, the tough front of the young lady shattered. Her knees gave way, and she collapsed onto the floor. Her stomach carried an unbelievable amount of pressure. She is Humanity's Last Hope. She is everyone's last hope. The pressure was huge, and she threw up, messing up her neatly arranged uniform. Wetting herself, she was no more than a child. A child faced with fear. \n\nThis is the literal metaphor for Humanity's Last Hope.\n\nThe enemy, Lord Geniah of the Universal Council, straightened her glasses. She was a green eyed person from the other side of the screen. Hair neatly tied into a bun behind, her glasses covered any sign of pity that she had truly felt for the race she spoke to. Of course, this invasion was for the sake of the universe. She must have her way, at all costs.\n\n\"Humanity, as Earthlings, will be erased. Planet Earth must be erased. This is why we need to wrestle control away from you. As prisoners of war, we will spare you, no worries, but Earth as a whole will be killed before it grows into a bigger problem.\"\n\n\"P-prisoners?\"\n\n\"Yes. You will serve other races, and your identity will be erased. This is for the best, as it is your race that had full control of your planet, yet it is also your race that had decided to kill it slowly.\"\n\nHumanity's Last Hope smiled. Her face was broken, and her white and pure military uniform was stained with red, green, yellow, and various other colors now. She was really disgusting. But it is definitely fine, as humanity will lose even that. They are to become prisoners. Payment for the sins of the Adams and Eves destroying the world, perhaps... \n\nBut they will live.\n\nIt's alright. Pride must be set aside at times like this...\n\n\"I... understand. If that is the case, then, I surrender. I leave the reigns of humanity... No... the reigns of our lives to you.\"\n\nNot even looking up, she hides her warm tears streaming down her flushed face. The older veterans around her could only shake their heads and go 'poor girl' at this rate.\n\n\"Now, please do not resist and wait for arrest. There is little to no time before it Earth has decided to become a threat to the rest of the-\"\n\nThe energy was cut. All the lights have fizzled out.\n\nA cold hiss enveloped the room, as a black haze way thicker than any pollution can cause spread throughout the room.\n\nCoughing, Commander Jhudiel... Ex- commander Jhudiel, Humanity's Last Decision, scrambled to her feet. Something odd was going on. Her heart rate rose to dangerous levels, and she knew something was wrong.\n\nOpening the windows, she sees nothing left of the outside world, but a thick black smoke.\n\nThe energy struggled to surge back, and the screen briefly lit up.\n\n\"Y..ou... need to... get out.\"\n\n\"The planet... It recognizes that... it... is dying. When the planet dies... It has a defense mechanism... But... your planet's mechanism... is already... dead. It has... been... polluted... by your acts... of death to... the... planet. The... guardian's... name.... is.... D...e....a....t...h.... We... are fighting back... for your sake. But, we do not know.... how much... longer... we can.... stay... alive.... Death... discriminates between nothing.... recognizing impending death for everything... it simply seeks to... cause death... to anything... alive. That is your planet's... state. You have caused it to consider actual suicide.\"\n\n\"Wait, what? Tell me more? There's no possible way that death can be caused without any explanation...\"\n\n\"Ah... but... there is... It is the concept... of death itself. The Grim Reaper, the Death God, Hades, Hell, Tartarus. These are all names you've given it. The planet... is merely running it... as a program. It is a kill switch that understands the concept of... living. As long as it is alive... it will turn that switch off-\"\n\nThe screen stops. All energy had been cut. She felt her blood freeze. There was nothing she understood from what was dumped at her. Yet, she understood it at the same time. She understood she was afraid.\n\nScrambling for herself, she jumps out of the room. The base is unusually empty. The black haze got stronger, and she scrambles to get as far away as possible.\n\nDid she not have men with her? She thought.\n\nNo, she did not think that.\n\nShe wanted to live. Screw everyone else. This was the thing that she had honestly thought. Gone was Humanity's Last Hope. Right now, this is Humanity's Last Breath \n\nSchh... Schhhriiiigg... \n\nSchhriiiggg...\n\nSchhriiiggg....\n\nShe yelped. She had heard it. The sounds of chains.\n\nThey were getting louder and louder.\n\nNow running without any aim, she started crying. Gone was any tiny bit of resemblance to nobility. She was a scared animal, a scared human, a scared child. Her face was filled with saliva and snot as she wildly kicked dirt. Her eyes no longer saw, and her breathing was erratic enough. \n\nSchh... LiIiIIG...\n\nSchh... LIIIG...\n\nThe sounds grew louder, and she ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran.\n\nWithout warning, a loud BEEP suddenly played.\n\nScreaming, the girl dropped to her knees. A single poke was enough to scare her into making her look like a toddler with messy clothes, shamelessly on all fours. \n\nFrom her phone, she had received an international notification. It was from the young and promising executive she had stationed in Europe. \n\n\"Commander! We won! The invaders... all dropped dead one by one. They've surrendered. It was over in a flash! Humanity has won! What did you do, Commander? Just what kind of weapon was that?!\"\n\nIt's not a weapon.\n\nThat was what she had thought.\n\nShe had not seen it, but her blood had already frozen to the point of understanding its concept. It was Death. It was not a weapon. Not hers, at least. It was a being that had no concept of morality. It cannot be reasoned with. There was no way to negotiate with it, unlike the Universal Court. She laughs.\n\nShe laughs because she was already dead.\n\nThe Planet awakens, and executes its final command. It is the command that shall erase everything. A virus born of humanity itself, charmingly fitted into myths and fairy tails. Death is a program that will not stop at its mission.\n\nIf it is alive, it needs to extinguish it.\n\nSchh... liiig.\n\nThe sound stops. \n\nIt's very close.\n\nAlmost as if...\n\nit's behind her...\n\nThe girl laughs, her eyes filled with madness.\n\nWith one last smile, she gives a salute.\n\nThe commander who soiled her pants. The commander who abandoned her men. The commander who surrendered humanity.\n\nShe smiles.\n\nShe gives a salute.\n\nAnd with a great and loud cheer.\n\n\"Commander Jhudiel Ysandroff! Humanity's Last Hope, has fulfilled her mission! HUMANITY HAS WON! HA HA Ha H a h a a h a a.\"\n\nAnd then, Humanity's Last Hope... disappeared... Beneath the thickness of the black smoke.", "+You can give up now, I doubt that your junkyard of a destroyer will stand ground against our mothership, and everything that's in it.\nThe human negotiator stood there, unflinching.\n+Hello.\n-...\n+Are you there? Anyone home?\n-...\n+If you start talking now, we might be able to negotiate on how we will humiliate your planet.+But the human just stood there, eyes staying still, no fear in his non-existent movements. As if he was turned to stone.\n;SIR! We've detected movements originating from the human ship!\n+Hmm. Nice try, but defeating us won't be that easy, human+ he said with a gigantic amount of disgust.\n+Shut off the telecomms! Activate the barrier, that missile won't stop us.\n;Sir...\n+Yes?\n;It's... not a missile, it just passed through the barrier!\n+Hmm. Must be organic tissue.+ He said as he made his way to the outer hull camera system. As he arrived to the large screen he exploded with laughter.\n+BWAHAHAAHAAAAA. A SNAKE? SERIOUSLY? THOSE SMALL NOODLES ARE THE BEST YOU CAN DO?+ He continued with the laughter as he heard a metallic \n-CRUNCH- sound.\n+What was that?! Report?\n;It crashed through the storage hull, sir! And... It's turning people into a grey carapace? What the f...\n+Contact Earth goverment, and focus our defences on the door! We cannot let that thing through!\nThe screen made a sound similar to a small hummingbird flapping It's wings.\n-Greetings, Fürjel.\n+WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS, GENERAL?\nThe general waited a few seconds, as he collected his thoughts.\n-We don't know why, or how, but you awakened an ancient being, whose goals are far beyond human comprehension. Some call her Cassiopeia, some don't even know who she is, but she is more well known, as Medus-\nThe general was cut off, as a snake-human hybrid crashed through the door of the bridge, emmiting a laughter that made everyone want to flee. And they tried to do so, but they only ran into their hideous, scaled demise.\n\nEdit: I didn't know up until now that the # sign makes things large", "The AMF representative downed his glass of moonshine, before offering some to the strange alien in front of him, who was being controlled by the hive Queen currently. His lack of biological processes were unnerving, he was essentially a zombie and would fall dead upon her release of his control.\n\n“Humans can consume basic fuels? Quite interesting to note”\n\n“No- it’s alcohol...never mind. Your invasion is absolutely decimating the planet”\n\nThe beings head tilted. That was their sign of laughter.\n\n“We pride my warrior children for doing their jobs. Our praetorian generals are quite intelligent and efficient as well. In honorable respects, your military does quite well...if only because the magnetosphere is so strong that it turns off our shield syste-“\n\n“Well, your highne-“\n\n“Queen.”\n\n“-Vaginal Spewing Bitch. Is that better?”\n\n“You’re not in a position to have such...a reaction. I shall let it slide given the state of your planet”\n\nThe AMF representative poured himself a small glass and downed it again. He wouldn’t be making it out of here alive, and he knew it. Everyone knew it. Even Colonel Gondo who had an AMF nuclear sub ready to go on command to fire at the alien flag ships in low orbit.\n\n“Well” cough”boy that was stronger than I expected given how intoxicated I am...where was..? Yeah. Option one- you leave now, and don’t die of bacterial infection”\n\n“Our people made vaccinations and antibiotics for your micro-organic ecosystem.”\n\n“Okay, well, Option B- ugh...heh, two...you leave before we launch a tactical nuke into this god damn ship” \n\n“You’re nuclear weapons won’t hurt us. That’s enough threats. This prime real estate shall House my sons and later my daughter. It was not a pleasure, queen of some humans”\n\nThe zombified drone stated before slowly piercing the poor representative with its palm stingers. He saw his veins turn black, and knew he was about to die. Might as well make a one liner. If he had the strength to, he would push the armored insectoid off of him or sock it in one of its three eyes, or it’s strangely parted lower jaw that had a fleshy membrane that connected the left and right sides. But it was an 800 pound creature- and nothing like an insect. Just similar in look...they had lungs, and were both warm blooded and cold blooded while also being neither, capable of micro regulation autonomously with minimal energy cost. They were just human enough to deceive you into believing you could overpower them. But, representative Brody knew he was fucked. \n\n“They choose for me to represent, I do no...not lead....and, just so you know...Nuke...ain’t for...”\n\nHe breathed his last breath, unable to even mouth the last words as he slipped into the warm embrace of death. His final thoughts of his West Virginia home, hugging his girlfriend. Finally imagining going out to get the supplies to propose...funny how life can distract you, especially when you’re in the Anti Megalosaurus Force. \n\nColonel Gondo made a fist high above his head, having heard the chatter over the radio- well, half of the conversation anyway. Gondo did a quick check on a dossier that he had to review before hitting the “big red button,” which actually only told other people to hit smaller red buttons, but it always made him feel more intimidating to think he was directly in control.\n\n“The Vortaak are not psychic, but engaging in conversation with one is a process of accumulation of various undetectable pheromones and low pitch sounds that are indiscernible except inside ones consciousness. It manifests like schizophrenia after a while, due to quite literally putting a “voice in your head.” Still, however, humans fairs better than their own species, who die upon making direct communication with their queen or praetorians- save the praetorians who could change into queens in desperate times, producing less effective offspring. The warriors and drones were expendable, likely why all previous representatives or ambassadors were killed once a conversation is reaching finality.\n\nBefore listening to these individuals and/or any commands/orders, verify sanity of these officials. Your own mind is in danger if having coming in contact with Vortaak ~~verbal~~ communication. Relieve yourself of a command position if even minimal contact is experienced “\n\n“Eh, fuck this; he wouldn’t make this for nothing... Fuck them for making this our only plan....and may god have mercy on my soul for what I’m about to do” \n\nColonel Gondo pushed in the button. The middle hit the ships, which even without shields, tanked the 1.5 megaton explosion like a champ, only losing lower life support regions, likely killings hundreds of expendables. As all of the flag ships began to aim beneath them to decimate the nuclear sub, Gondo called for his TAO, Officer first class Costello. \n\n“Particulates, Officer?” \n\nThe man’s sweaty hands grabbed a hoist, peering into a machine not unlike a vision testing optometrist rig.\n\n“Yes sir- radiation falling straight down” \n\nGondo didn’t even nod- didn’t have much time before bombardment. \n\n“Master Chief, Fire two Cobra’s into the missile fracture line- let’s wake Kilo: Oscar Theta Mike”’\nThe Master Chief petty officer nodded, and instructed the few remaining suicide crew to do so. \nGondo looked down at the steel floor.\n“What have I done...”\nHe looked up to see the entire bridge crew saluting him, before speaking in unison.\n\n“Sir! It’s an honor to knock down hell’s gate next to you”\n\nColonel Gondo made a painful smile, a small tear escaping his left eye. He returned the salute.\n\n“It was an honor to serve wi-“\n\nThe sub was blown off the face of the Earth- water boiling down ten meters below the submarine from the gauss-plasma missile barrage. The sheer velocity, volume and vitriol heat tore the submarine asunder before the explosions even occurred, explosions that sunk down...to where, having been awoken by the reverberating sandstone just struck by the weaponry, something stirred. With radiation particulates suddenly disappearing off the flagship monitors, the drones began to panic, digitally warning the warriors who then warned the praetorians who...thought it best to not bother their queen with a trivial event that may or may not rework the understanding of nuclear fission. \n\nThe cooler water rushed in- but began to boil again...and turn neon blu- no purpl- no...ice white...steam and bubbles roiling off of the surface...until, there was a sudden stop in the energy expansion. The water began to recede on the nearby shore, and before the Vortaak could try to figure out what they had done, the water swelled into a tsunami as a set of three rows of dorsal fins began to crest the water. \n\nThe queen immediately ceased with laying her eggs, her three eyes focusing on the monitor ahead, scythe shaped antennae going flat against her armored neck. With this planets gravity- how...how could this...beast exist? A 120 meter tall...monster. It was a monster. With traits of Earth birds, crocodiles, even mammal like reptiles often theorized in ancient human texts which she had memorized far before they started their journey to Earth with her highly evolved and complex brain. It almost shut her down; the comprehending something that went against all of her training for Earth battles and history- before she was really shut down. \n\nLetting out a mighty roar, having been awoken and rejuvenated, Godzilla’s gills went flat on his neck, his lungs expanded and contracted to produce a snort as he changed breathing organs. Having recognized the direction of the threat that just pummeled him with a bombardment, the King of the monsters reared his chest upwards before releasing a gout of pure thermonuclear radiation hotter than the sun, sending two ships kareening into each other.\n\nAs Godzilla let out another roar- this time in victory, bombardment number two occurred. It didn’t really phase him, only piss him off. After all, he survived the MUTOs, all of the pacific nuclear tests, the K-T extinction asteroid and ground zero of the Permian Extinction Asteroid; Two hundred and fifty million years of being too strong to kill. Pitiful aliens- they had not known the fury that was just unleashed...from not just Godzilla....\n\nHaving heard the call of the kaiju monarch, King Ghidorah had flown at Mach 3 for the previous ten minutes before landing atop of an alien ship. The three headed dragon of death locked eyes with the proto-archosauromorph before letting out a cackle. Godzilla was its to kill- to prove itself the king of monsters. His hatred and need to prove his dominance far outweighed the repulsive idea of teaming with the saurian for one hell of a destructive rumble.\n\nThe queens last view was of a thermonuclear ray going through the adjacent ship to her own, melting through the bottom, multiple middle and top layers... before gravity beams from above caused her ship to gain gravitational weight and rip into immeasurably numerous separate pieces before being turned into metallic gas, which quickly snowed back down...no trace of the organic matter that was once inside, or a structure that once ever shielded space fading sentient beings. \n\n\nMillions, maybe billions would die. But, at least the monsters were from Earth too- while the real monsters packed their bags. Earth wasn’t too comfy anymore for the Vortaak....but before the great retreat finalized, a brilliant light spectacle of atomic blue-white facing off against three arcing gouts of gravity beams commenced to close the spectacle of the trashed invasion fleet that had brought so many nations to their knees- but was still inconceivably weak compared to the power of Nature’s fury. ", "\"I'm here to accept your surrender.\" Commander Jhorgzlar said, his furred claw wiping something from his mouth.\n\nThe president grinned. \"Alright. We humans surrender. Not sure about the other earthlings.\"\n\nJhorgzlar glared at him. \"There are no other sentient species on your planet.\"\n\n\"Alright.\" The President shrugged. He pulled out a phone and sent a text; 'Launch Operation Kitchen-sink'\n\nThat text set it all in motion. The alien army in orbit watched with horror as a giant squid-humanoid thing rose from the depths, and their minds shattered at the mere sight. Foot soldiers in North America were cut down by the hundreds as the Skinwalkers returned. In Salem, the undead rose, an army to liberate the living. In a small town called Derry, Maine, a strange being opened its eyes, It, and felt the fear of so many new creatures.\n\nIn Europe, elves and old wizards waged brutal arcane warfare. King Arthur returned to retrieve his sword and singlehandedly freed England. Dragons roused from under the mountains, great immortal beasts.\n\nThe invaders knew fear. For the first time, all of the Earth was united, predator or prey, mundane or supernatural. The wrath of its new defenders was a grand thing to behold, an awesome and terrible sight.\n\nThe last guardian to awaken showed Himself in a strange way; a bush in the desert, thousands of years old, caught fire as a choir began to sing across the universe and the golden light of holy retribution began to shine from every church and holy place.", "\"You come to surrender, then?\"\n\nThe human on the other end of the vidconnect squirmed.\n\n\"No, no, you haven't been listening. You need to leave.\"\n\nHarax raised a feathery appendage, and whistled in amusement. \"Human, I have arrived in fire at the borders of fourteen alien republics in my life. In each, I took my morning meal inside their governmental districts before ten cycles had passed. As I approached the end of a campaign, I have seen pleading, cursing, praying. I have never had an adversary simply request I leave.\"\n\nThe human squirmed harder. \"You still don't understand. It's not us humans that pose a threat to you.\"\n\nHarax stood and peered out the viewport at the gleaming hulls of his armada, poised above the blue world. \"Do not waste my time in these negotiations, human. You have no ally in this war. You would have called on such in the skies over the red planet, during that decisive engagement. Now your fleet is shattered; it is too late. No alliance can save your species.\"\n\n\"It's not an ally.\"\n\nFacing away from the vidconnect, where the human couldn't see his facial features, Harax bobbed his crest in confusion. Something about the human's voice, there.... \"It?\"\n\nHe turned to find the human had stopped her squirming. Slumped in her chair, she appeared somehow smaller and older than she had a minute ago. And far more tired.\n\n\"If your cannons fire, Harax, our world as well as yours is lost. Not to any bombardment, but to what it would awaken. We humans were not always the dominant species on this world.\"\n\nThe feathers on Harax's spine rose against his admiral's uniform. A flat, dead statement, spoken with a fullness of conviction that unsettled him to his core. \n\nThis is insane. Their fleet is salvage. Their industry is ruined, their nation-states on the verge of collapse. This is a trick, a last-ditch play with words. This is insane.\n\n\"You lie. Our scans have found no evidence of any higher intelligence in this system other than your own. Our expeditionary teams to your homeworld have brought back no anomalies.\"\n\nBut he recognized the misstep even as he said it, and the human smiled grimly. \"Who's lying? Your teams did find something. We watched you take it. Maybe it's there on the flagship with you, even now. Maybe its proximity is finally starting to be felt. You do feel it, don't you? A shadow here, a thought there. Maybe you're finally starting to hear the whispers - \"\n\nHarax screeched. \"You lie!\" His talons swiped across the monitor, and the vidconnect cut off. The audience room was plunged into darkness.\n\nAfter a few seconds, the standard lights came back on, and Harax paced over to the recliner. \n\nThis is insane. It is locked away, three decks below. It was completely inert when scanned. It does not receive any signals, nor does it send them. This is insane.\n\n-------------------------------------------------------\n\nThree decks below the audience chamber, the private on duty snapped to attention as Harax exited the liftpod. Ignoring him, Harax strode swiftly to the door of the vault. Infrared lasers shined out invisibly from the central aperture, scanning down his entire height, matching the patterns of the remiges on his wings to the ten billion stored in its database. A match registered, and the great vault hissed open. Inside, on a pedestal in the center, stood the artifact recovered from the mist-shrouded island on the planet's surface. \n\nHarax regarded it. Careful focus dampened the increasingly persistent whispers in his mind, and he studied it calmly. A small statuette, made of a greenish-black stone that the spectrometer couldn't quite get a grip on. A twisted creature, part hominid, part cephalopod.\n\nCarved across the underside, he knew, there was an inscription. The linguists had at least managed to get a translation out of it. \n\n\"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.\"\n\nThis is insane....\n" ]	5
	[WP] You've recently left a cult, something the members were suspiciously okay with. After a few days, the sky turns blood red. You recognize it; the old gods are returning.	[ "Tsss...tsss...tsss \n\nThe rock Amer had kicked across the convenience store parking lot bumped and rolled across the asphalt, letting out little deflated sounds as it rolled further and further away. He sat, with his chin resting in his hands, on the curb next to the propane tanks, letting the crimson glare of the sky reflecting on the pavement scorch his eyes. The pain felt good. Like instead of damage to his retinas, he was finally seeing things as they really were. It was painful. But it was real. \n\nHe sighed as he pushed himself into a standing position and leaned back against the white cage holding the propane tanks. He looked at a cigarette but on the ground. Maybe he should take up smoking. That was a thing normal people did, right? He hadn't even seen a cigarette until he was old enough to go to the monthly Cultural Awareness meetings, gatherings Varheln would hold in his vast maroon tent on the last Friday of every month. His first one they had screened a movie, projected it onto a tattered feed bag cut in half to be big enough to fit the glowing rectangle of the film. He remembered watching the main character, a man in dirty jeans and a leather wide-brimmed hat, putting this white stick in his mouth and igniting the tip with a match. He nudged Omin, his older brother who was seated next to him, and whispered under his breath-- \"What is that?\". Omin shushed him, but later on as the men filtered out through the tent flap into the blue dusk, he had explained to him what a cigarette was and how one would go about smoking one. \n\nAll that seemed so far away now. It had only been two days, but it seemed like a lifetime. He had run through the desert like a coyote scampering from the rocks the children would throw at them, until his chest felt like it was full of rocks and his legs were tingling in pain. He had said goodbye to his family while they were sleeping, curled up forms on the mats lining the dirt floor. Well, he didn't say anything out loud. He used what Varheln had begun to teach him just a few months ago-- the power of the inner eye. Searching through the mindscape for the thoughts of his family members, making connections like a spark between two wires. Goodbye, I love you. Goodbye, I love you. Stating the same words over and over again until he felt like he had reached every aunt, cousin, and sibling. He saved his parents for last. He had an inkling that his father wouldn't be surprised at his absence. He wondered what they were doing now. Probably sitting around the fire, Auntie Lona stirring the stew with the wooden spoon covered in teeth-marks from the dogs, his sister Enda kneading dough for flatbread, her tan arms rippling as she exerted all her strength into crushing the little bubbles that would appear in the dough. \n\nAmer's daydream was abruptly terminated when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and felt his heart drop into his stomach when he recognized the face. It was Ashtan, Varheln's right hand man. He knew that he wasn't that far from the camp, seeing as he had made all his progress on foot, but how the hell did Ashtan manage to pinpoint this exact convenience store out of the many little towns that dotted the surrounding desert? \n\n\"Amer. Go into the mindscape. Tread carefully, as the prophecy has begun. Stay wary of these humans, as they do not see as we do. Before you try and apologize, we take no offense at you leaving. It was the right thing to do. You and Omin are talented ones, you traverse the mindscape as if it was the Learning Place's yard that you used to play in as boys. You may think that you have left, but you will always be connected with us. I will tell your family that you are safe, but please, make sure to keep it that way. You see the sky. You know what is coming. Here.\" \n\nAshtan gripped Amer's sand covered hands in his rough ones, the color of tree bark, and slid a smooth little item into them. \n\n\"You may have left, but we know you will always be one with us. Use this as Varheln would want you to. Go into the mindscape and he will tell you all you need to know. Although I am sure, my boy, that you already do.\" \n\nWith that statement, Ashtan turned his back to Amer and began walking back towards his motorcycle. Amer had contemplated waiting to leave until he received his bike, but he didn't want to wait until the Manhood Ceremony, which wouldn't be for another eight or nine months for him. He always admired the way the men would speed across the desert on them, sand parting around them like the Red Sea for Moses. But at this point he'd already learned that it wasn't their advanced eyes that controlled the bikes-- anyone could, even a woman. He giggled at the thought of an Auntie riding a motorcycle, stew-stained skirts billowing around the sand clouds, as he watched Ashtan mount his bike and drive off into the distance with an echoing roar. \n\nHe gripped the object tightly. There was no way it could be what he thought it was. But he knew that it was. He opened his hand, his palm reddened from sand scratches forming a tranquil sea of pink around the small black object. \n\nVarheln's amulet. Obsidian carved into the Eye. A symbol only those men of high stature were able to glance at, let alone wear. He had been given this amulet for a reason, and he dreaded what that reason was. But just as he had known what the object is before looking upon it, he was well aware of the reason before entering the mindscape to attempt to consult with Varheln. \n\nThe old gods were back. \n\nEdit: This is my first post here! I haven't written creatively in a very long time, although as a child and younger teenager I used to do it obsessively. Any CC is very much welcome, and thank you for reading!", "It was too easy. Everything about it had been too easy. After all, they weren't supposed to let you just...leave. They were too dedicated, too involved. And yet, here he was, walking away from the compound like he had never belonged in the first place. He took a deep breath and looked up at the gates. Once he walked through, that was the final step. He could never go back. \n\nThe scent of blood still lingered in the air and he dropped his eyes to the latch on the gate. It opened with a slow, piercing screech as he pulled on it. He opened the gates only enough to slip through them before they clanged shut behind him. He shuddered and looked at the empty road. Nowhere to go but forward, now. \n\n-------------------------\n\nWhatever he had expected of the outside world (beyond the small glimpses that they had been given over the years), it wasn't this. A bustle of people - human and not, moving together, speaking together, calling out and laughing. It made something under his skin itch, driving him to avoid the crowds and to head into an alley that was much quieter. Was it always this noisy? \n\n\"You lost, boy?\" \n\nHe jumped up at the sound of her voice and scowled at the woman staring at him from a shop entrance. \"No!\" \n\nShe raised an eyebrow and snorted. \"You sure about that? You look jumpier than a rat caught stealing food.\" \n\nHe forced himself to give a nod, even as his stomach rumbled at the mention of food. He had had nothing since breakfast, and it was rapidly approaching dusk. He had been much more concerned with trying to find a place to spend the night that would keep him safe from the creatures that were known to roam at night. They were dangerous. \n\n\"Right, come on in. I can't leave you like that.\" \n\nShe turned around and went back into the shop, leaving the door open and he frowned. Was he supposed to follow her? No, it would be better to leave. He looked back towards the busy street and the rapidly fading daylight. His heartrate jumped and a few pairs of eyes turned in his direction. He watched them shift to red, and he took a step backward. They could sense his heartbeat, they could hear him, hear that he was afraid and-\n\n\"Oi, you two fuck off! It's not like he's got anything worth stealing. Now stop scaring him before I go tell Insomnia on you.\" \n\nIn a blink, the eyes were gone and he turned back to the woman, who was now standing behind him, scowling in the direction of the street. \"Why, why did you help me?\" \n\nShe gave him a kind smile. \"You think you're the first one to escape from those cultists outside of town? Here I thought that they'd tightened that down with my escape years ago. Now come on in, like I told you.\" \n\nHe froze and stared at her back. He knew who she was. \"Ana,\" he breathed, staring at her. \"You're, you're-\" \n\n\"Yep, alive and kicking, much to the irritating of all those assholes in charge,\" she said with a laugh, tossing her hair over her shoulder. \"Now, you going to come in and let me feed you, or are you going to stand there?\" \n\nHe followed her into the shop and looked around, his eyes going wide at all of the talismans and gemstones hanging from the walls. \"You...\" \n\n\"Me, what?\" Ana said, turning to look at him with a raised eyebrow. \"What, the witchcraft thing? Yeah, I've been practicing for years now. Actually gotten pretty good, have a few students, and sell the basics to keep this place. Works well for me considering.\" \n\nHe could feel the power in one of the crystals dangling only a few feet from him and reached out to press his fingertips to it. Cool power swept over him in a wave before he yanked his fingers back, giving Ana's back a guilty look as she moved deeper into the shop. \"How did you know who I was?\" \n\nAna shrugged and held open a curtain for him. \"I recognize the look on your face. Why'd they kick you out?\" \n\nHe tightened the robe he was wearing around himself and stared at the floor. \"They didn't.\" \n\nAna blinked and sat down at the table in the middle of the room, studying the young boy in front of her. She sniffed the air, taking in the scent of his fear, and something else hovering between them both. \"I think you need to sit down and explain.\" \n\nHe took a deep breath and sank down into the chair. In the blink of an eye a tea set was in front of him, and his mouth watered at the sight of the biscuits waiting for him. He glanced up at her and cleared his throat, gesturing to the biscuits. \n\nAna chuckled. \"Go ahead, I didn't put them there for myself, you know.\" \n\nHe grabbed two and stuffed them into his mouth, relief swarming him. The tea was next as he sucked down grateful gulps of it. It could be poisoned for all he knew, but then it would be better than being left out there all on his own at night. \"I asked to leave.\" \n\n\"You asked...\" Ana trailed off and leaned back in her chair, letting out a low whistle. One of the crystals in the front of the shop began to sing. \"When?\" \n\n\"Four days ago,\" he whispered, staring down at the teacup. \"They said I'd have to leave tonight, on the new moon, hiding my transgression from the gods.\" \n\nAna frowned and her eyes flew to another crystal when it began emitting a shrill screech. Something was coming. Something bad. She looked back to the boy in front of her. \"They let you go?\" \n\nHe nodded and bit down on his lip. \"They did.\" \n\n\"Why?\" ", "The windows of the convenience store bent and burst from the fireball, sending bits of glass and small pieces of faded posters into the vacant storefront. It really was convenient, as I needed some beer and the nearest liquor store was two blocks away across the newly opened chasm in the street that was releasing the horde. I stepped over the broken glass, snagged a magazine from the shelf, threw a twenty dollar bill on the counter, and grabbed a six pack.\n\nMy phone buzzed in my pocket while I climbed the fire escape to the roof of the store. There were a few old folding chairs on top of the building, I slid into one and answered the call.\n\n\"Yeah, this is Ron.\"\n\n\"Well, well, well. Bet you're awfully surprised and regretful about leaving now, eh Ronaldis?\"\n\n\"It's Ron now. And no, I've got no regrets.\"\n\nI saw an explosion way out in the distance, and a skyscraper came tumbling down.\n\n\"They'll be awfully cross with you, Ronaldis. You renouncing the faith and returning to live amongst the heathens was the final act needed to complete the prophecy. We'll be the only chosen now.\"\n\n\"I'mma stop you right there Corey. Because calling to gloat right now is a real dick move, and I'm not so sure you're as 'chosen' as you think you are.\"\n\nI cracked open a beer and looked over the magazine. Looks like purple was going to be 'in' color this season for the end of days.\n\n\"MY NAME IS CORNELIUS. SHOW SOME RESPECT TO YOUR NEW OVERLORD\"\n\n\"Corey, buddy, I'm going to let you stay on the line as long as you want because I don't have anyone else to chat with right now. But cut the act. It's real tired at this point.\"\n\n\"You will burn in the fires of time untold...\"\n\n\"Eh, it's possible. As possible as anything else I suppose. More possible than you ever hooking up with that barista from MegaCoffee.\"\n\n\"SHE WILL BE MY QUEEN, YOU WILL SEE WHEN...\"\n\n\"Lemme ask you pal, if you're the new 'overlord' or if you've been 'saved' why haven't you been whisked off to some high tower? Or given a message from the old gods? Because I bet you haven't yet.\"\n\nA few demons clambered up the ladder and tried to force their way onto the rooftop. I belched, put down my beer, and quickly hurled a fireball their way. Being a former priest of the order had it's perks right now.\n\n\"My time will come Ronaldis. I have not heard from our masters yet, but I'm sure I will\"", "\"uuuh...hey jeff?\"\n\n\n\n\n\"...Yeah this is Jeff\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Hey, you guys weren't serious, right? About that whole, 'and stay out' stuff?\"\n\n\n\n\nscoffs \"li- no, man. We can't let you back in. Final is final, man.\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Well, come on, man! Do me a solid, right? Like-\n\n\n\n\n\"seriously\"\n\n\n\n\n\"-wuh, no man, I'm serious. Have you seen the sky, man? O-or the moon?\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Yeah man.\"\n\n\n\n\n\"I-!? Well yeah man! C'mon man!\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Frank-\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Listen, man, I don't wanna die, alright? I mean, I'm a true believer, man!\"\n\n\n\n\n\"You can't just-\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Jeff. I'm a true believer, man. I know I made some mistakes in the past-\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Pretty damn recent past...\"\n\n\n\n\n\"I don't wanna DIE, man. The gods are gonna EAT me.\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Yeah, you know, and I'm sorry about it. But like, I don't make the rules, alright?\"\n\n\n\n\n\"This is ridiculous.\"\n\n\n\n\n\"I mean if I were in charge-\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Listen man, how many followers did I bring in, right? I've done so much.\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Yeah. And...we apreciate-\"\n\n\n\n\n\"I've sacrificed -- TONS of my neighbors. More than GREG did.\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Oh, yeah about Greg...\"\n\n\n\n\n\"...\"\n\n\n\n\n\"He...\"\n\n\n\n\n\"what.\"\n\n\n\n\n\"He's kinda-\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Stop shitting me. You put Greg in my SPOT!?\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Well - !! I didn't!\n\n\n\n\n\"I can't believe what I'm hearing.\"\n\n\n\n\n\"You left man! There was a void!\"\n\n\n\n\n\"I'm gonna fucking murder that guy.\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Y-\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Listen just, c'mon man!! I can't die yet! Not yet!\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Frank, you can't just walk back in here man!\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Whhwhy NOT?? We're already at the endtimes, man! Like, I only quit like two days ago!\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Well yeah b-\"\n\n\n\n\n\"YOU told me to quit! Like c'mon, I know you're the one who handles all the papers, man\"\n\n\n\n\n\"...\"\n\n\n\n\n\"wait a moment\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Don't be mad.\"\n\n\n\n\n\"You guys...you knew this whole time didn't you?\"\n\n\n\n\n\"...\"\n\n\n\n\n\"?\"\n\n\n\n\n\"We-\"\n\n\n\n\n\"YOU FUCKING KNEW THIS WHOLE TIME\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Listen its not-\"\n\n\n\n\n\"That's it, I'm legitimately mad. Wha- Was Greg in on this?!?\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Well, no I mean, Greg never knew, it was just-\"\n\n\n\n\n\"You guys tricked me into quitting!\"\n\n\n\n\n\"It only takes 13 guys, man! We were afraid the gods would-\"\n\n\n\n\n\"WHY DIDN'T YOU FIRE GREG THEN!??\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Well Greg didn't really wanna quit! You wanted to move on!\"\n\n\n\n\n\"FFFF Sure when I wasn't gonna DIE\"\n\n\n\n\n\"That's just what I mean, man, whenever you aren't in danger you treat this all like a joke\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Is this really the time for... Wait, what was...\"\n\n\n\n\n\"I mean sure you found those virgins that one time but only cuz we said we'd sacrifice YOU\"\n\n\n\n\n\"No wait shit shut up I'm not\"\n\n\n\n\n\"I mean yeah that was kinda cruel, but my point is that, until then you never did shit\"\n\n\n\n\n\"SSSShut up Jeff! I'm serious man!\"\n\n\n\n\n\"No! Yeah that was mean, but you deserved it man! And we're not letting you back in!\"\n\n\n\n\n\"JEFF!!\" screams\n\n\n\n\n\"We just can't! I'm sorry man!\"\n\n\n\n\n\"---\"\n\n\n\n\n\"...\"\n\n\n\n\n\"---\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Frank?\"\n\n\n\n\n\"---\"\n\n\n\n\n\"Oh shit I think he died.\"" ]	4
	[WP] You are afflicted with a rare mental disorder where you can only feel other people’s emotions, and don’t have any of your own.	[ "I always felt empty.\n\nLonely.\n\nA husk.\n\nAt least... when I was alone. \n\nWhen I was 7, I was diagnosed with a rare disorder that rendered my brain unable to create emotions... but I could feel other peoples'.\n\nI was the nicest student in my school, never snapped, never said anything mean or rude to anyone. Nobody could get on my nerves, or anger me, or make me cry, or make me laugh. My friends, the few that there were, called me \"The Sentinel\", as I was the tallest kid in my class.\n\nOther people were creeped out of me, scared of me, pitiful, annoyed, curious. \n\nI knew. They didn't know, of course.\n\nIn High School, I was the most bullied kid, and the biggest snitch. I could tell if anyone was lying or had nefarious intentions, I could feel it all. \n\nI majored in Psychology in college, got a PhD in the field. Nobody understood people better than me, but I was never satisfied. I could tell you how everyone in a room felt, but I couldn't tell you how I felt.\n\nNormally, that'd terrify someone with emotions. \n\nAfter college, I got a job as a government agent to investigate fraud and persecute corrupt individuals within the higher circuits. Things were nice, I got a wife, had kids, became the best of the best.\n\nI spoiled my kids and my wife, of course. I spent so much time with them, and I loved being happy, feeling loved.\n\nI was lying to myself.\n\nI didn't care.\n\nI couldn't.\n\nOne day, in march, two men entered my house with Assault Rifles and shot my Wife and Kids dead, likely hitmen from one of the cons I'd put behind bars trying to get payback.\n\nAs before, I never felt sad. I felt nothing.\n\nBut now... I had nothing.\n\nWhen they took me to court, they realized that I couldn't have killed them, I didn't have feelings to motivate me to commit a crime.\n\nHere I am, 60 years old, no family and no job.\n\nI got fired, they said it was because of \"emotional trauma\" but I knew that I wasn't wanted anymore.\n\nThey found another one, like me. She was young, a great agent, fresh out of college. \n\nI'm 80 now. The government put me in a retirement home, I can feel death and suffering all around me...\n\n... I finally feel how I should've felt all along...\n\n... forgotten...\n\n... used...\n\n... dead." ]	1
	[WP] You wake up one morning to discover you can only sing everytime you speak, but when you get to a local hospital you find out it isn't just you who's affected... it's the whole world.	[ "Pandemonium ensued. The overwhelming dissonance drove a significant figure of people to madness. With noise cancelling headphones serving as the standard uniform, vocal communication amongst the public diminished significantly. Even the most remote, exotic places could suddenly blast you with an unnerving cacophony through the otherworldly ballads of the wind. Everyone fled to online forums and messengers for most interactions and the internet boomed. Tech companies began earning obscene amounts of money, with the entire world quickly shifting to online transactions. Thankfully, prior to the Melodification, the tech genius Carnegie Winstead had released an extremely efficient delivery system that could essentially distribute goods to the public through a new form of cheap teleportation. \n\nWith my brilliant invention propelling society into a new age, I was propelled into unprecedented wealth. I possess enough money to buy the world and do with it what I please. \n\nBut ever since that day, I haven't been able to set aside this bursting excitement. I mean... my first experiment went so well. The population is one thing, but to additionally impact the very environment? What a thrill. \n\nMy question? The source of my unending pleasure? \nHow else should I make them suffer? " ]	1
	[WP] You are James, a 23 year old cashier at Walgreens who, through a series of near-impossible coincidences, has wound up in a fantasy world. Through even more coincidences, you have unwittingly become the new Dark Lord.	[ "I don't remember how I got here. Onyx spires of blood-weeping crystal dominate what has become my domain. I have myself wrapped in armor that makes me look like I am at least twice as tall and broad as I actually am. I used to stock shelves of cold medicine and 'absorbent undergarments'. Now I rule 'The land beyond the mountains' with an iron fist of pure anger and hate that only minimum wage retail can forge.\n\nI sit on my throne knowing I will never have to deal with an irate customer with outdated coupons. I'll never have to cover for sick Becky and her penchant for taking leave every other week. I have the power of a god created artifact that secures my ability to rule my new found kingdom. It was hapless luck that brought it to me. A simple rusty mace sitting in a cave tucked into the caves now long sealed off by the megalithic crystal growths.\n\nI do fear though. I am compelled to vent my anger at what I endured as a cashier and stock boy for the last seven years working on my subjects. Most of the time I don't even want to respond to them the way I do. It just...happens. It's like the diminutive dragon-esque Kobolds just open their snouts and say something vapid and I respond in anger. The Orcs are worse. If a Kobold is vapid then the Orcs are just nearly dumb beasts with swords. Every time one of them walk into my throne they don't even have to open their toothy maw and my blood pressure is higher than when I was dealing with the bulk-buying Sunday-coupon cutting customer with 8 million items and wondering why it wasn't bagged yesterday.\n\nThey have a purpose though. The Kobolds have dens laced with poisons and traps dotting my Kingdom that make travel perilous. The Orcs have also been scouting for me, and they tell me that with each passing hour my kingdom grows. Armies of Man, Dwarf and Elf have been seen banding together to try to march to my Citadel, only for them to be wiped out by Kobold ambush or waves of Orcish grunt troops. However, like I said I still fear.\n\nI fear the day their resistance grows strong, and the day the Kobolds grow a spine, or the Orcs a brain. I am still just James the cashier, and I have no idea what I am actually doing." ]	1
	[WP] It is 2AM and you are walking home from a night out, the cold crisp winter air rushes around you, and as you gaze upwards at the sky you see the stars of Orion's Belt wink out of existance, one by one.	[ "\"I must be drunker than I thought.\" You think to yourself uneasily. You look again at the spot the stars should be and attempt to a shiver you are not entirely sure is because of the cold. Half a dozen thoughts pass through your mind arguing the sheer impossibility of what you saw. \n\nThen you see the lights of the stars blink back into existence in the same sequence and suddenly feel a tendril of something cling to your face. Jumping out of your skin and fighting some unseen enemy you quickly find yourself entangled in a thin nylon ribbon. \n\nYou hear the sound of a girl laughing at your shrieks of terror and being bested by a Mylar balloon. You look to the sound and see your mother failing to suppress the fitful giggles under her hands. \n\n\"Oh sweetie, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have laughed at you.\" She says quickly upon seeing the scowl across your face. \n\nYou angrily tear at the ribbon attempting and mostly failing to rip it in the most manly way possible to reclaim some of your lost pride. \n\nFinally you untangle it instead and stare up at it more angry at yourself than the balloon thinking to yourself \"Of course. How could I be so stupid? The stars of Orion's Belt are nowhere near each other. What else could it have been?\"\n\nEdit: italicized text...and 3 paragraph breaks.", "Exhausted from another long day of failure, Professor Jean pulled his collar up in an attempt to keep out the sting of winter as he shuffled down the snow covered sidewalk to his car. The crunch of snow and salt under his boots providing a pleasing rhythm. Jean couldn't help but enjoy the clear evening despite the wind after several days of winters wrath the town had endured. He also felt relieved, another night meant there was still time after all. He sighed deeply letting out a stream of vapor which danced in the wind and flickered off into nothingness while looking up to the vast sky. Jean had always loved the night sky, the constant glow of the stars bringing him comfort since he was a child. Tonight was different. His feeling of comfort and relief washed away and were replaced with disgust as his gaze fell upon the constellation Orion. As the stars which emblazoned the hunter's belt blinked out of existence he wondered what he could have done differently.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nJean being a lover of all things outer space, had just weeks before spent his days happily chatting on the internet to fellow \"Space Geeks\" about their theories for what could be waiting beyond our own world. Ever since his parents bought him his first telescope at the age of 5 he had spent almost every night glaring through the lens into the sky, daydreaming of being an astronaut or if we were alone in the universe. It was two weeks ago to the day however when the groups discussion would change Jean and how he felt about the universe. A fellow forum goer had been explaining to Jean how NASA had been listening to radio waves from space. No longer content to just see the universe through his telescope, he had constructed an enormous radio tower in his yard with a powerful receiver in hopes of hearing something, anything from above. It was late one evening after falling asleep while skipping frequencies between far off radio stations that he had been awoken by it. The message. \n\n&nbsp;\n\nShaking his head as the other stars surrounding Orion began to disappear, Jean remembered the disdain and ridicule he had received following that night as he had tried to warn his friends, family, the world of what he had heard. He hated himself for not having a recording, some sort of proof to back his claims. The world is a critical place, with no one believing in anything they cannot see. He had been labelled a modern day doomsayer by his peers, discredited and written off as having gone off the deep end. Then again if they had believed him, would it have changed anything? With shaking hands Jean drew one last cigarette and took a long haul as he recalled what he had heard\n\n&nbsp;\n\n\"If anyone out there can hear this message you too are doomed, he is coming. The ancient one. The being behind the dark. The devourer of worlds. Run.\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWas it wrong to feel validation in a time like this? A small grin spread across Jeans face as the entire world fell into darkness, he whispered to no one \" I told you so\".\n\n", "As the last of my escaped gasp disperses into the night-kissed air, the ephemeral twinkling of the final star making up the constellation Orion ceases to be. I can’t believe what I’ve just seen. My mind jumps at the bit wondering if I’m just seeing things; if there’s some* sort of explanation for the phenomenon I’ve just witnessed with my own eyes.\n\nA moment passes. My pupils retract to their normal size, and breath finds itself back in my lungs. I blink twice and give a labored grunt as I heave myself to a sitting position. I take one last cursory look to the skies, discovering what could only be described as a ‘rip’ in the very fabric of space itself.\n\nOrion’s pants were falling down.", "\"Um, Professor, I think there's something up with the telescope,\" said Dani. \n\nAnne walked over to Dani's work station. The intern glanced up at her, panic and apology mixed in her eyes. Anne smiled to set the girl at ease. Whatever Dani broke, it couldn't have been very important: Anne had learned her lesson about entrusting sensitive systems to interns years ago.\n\n\"What's going on?\" Anne asked, leaning in next to the girl so she could see her console. \"And please, call me Anne.\"\n\n\"Well, prof-- Anne, I've been going over the results, and my data on Alnilam is... well, really weird.\"\n\n\"How so?\"\n\nDani clicked her mouse, and a chart showing the spectrum of the distant star popped up on her computer screen. \"It's just, I've compared my results to our past records, and somehow I screwed them up completely.\"\n\nAnne leaned in to look at the spectrum. Dani was right: her data seemed to show Alnilam's light had dimmed considerably in the visible wavelengths over the past few days.\n\n\"The thing is, I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong,\" said Dani. \"I double-checked the equipment, the program, my interpretation of everything -- I don't know what's going on.\"\n\n\"May I try?\" asked Anne. Dani nodded wordlessly, stood from her chair. Anne sat down and began pouring over the data. \n\nAfter a few minutes, she turned to Dani. \"So. There's nothing wrong on your end. Something must have happened to the telescope itself.\" Anne sighed. This was going to be a headache and a half to deal with. \"Tell you what: I'll call up the observatory tonight, see if we can get this figured out.\" She turned to Dani, smiled at the girl. \"Nice catch.\"\n\n*****\n\n\"So you're telling me everyone is seeing this?\" said Mark Li.\n\n\"We haven't been able to get a good look with a space-based telescope yet,\" said Anushri. \"But twenty-three observatories have confirmed that Alnilam is dimming. At the current rate, the change should be visible to the naked eye by September, and the star itself will no longer be detectable in the optical wavelengths by the June after next.\"\n\nMark rubbed his forehead. \"And who discovered this?\"\n\nAnushri pursed her lips. \"Anne Higgins. Of course.\"\n\n\"Can't that woman save at least one major discovery for the rest of us?\" Mark sighed, drummed his fingers on his desk. \"Do we have any idea what's causing this?\"\n\n\"Gas cloud. Meteor swarm. Aliens.\" Anushri smirked at that last guess. \"Truth be told, no one has any idea.\"\n\n\"And have any other stars been fading away like Alnilam seems to be?\"\n\nAnushri paused. \"You know, I don't think anyone's checked, yet.\"\n\nMark smiled. \"Let's do that, then. We'll get a paper out of this yet.\"\n\n\n\n\"This is a graph of the luminosity of Alnilam over the past few months,\" said Dr. Li. The projector flickered to life, beaming a graph relentlessly sloping down on the far wall. \"As you can see, the rate of the dimming has accelerated over the past few weeks. Barring another acceleration, we expect amateur astronomers to begin noticing the change by mid-May. \"\n\n\"Alright,\" said the Secretary of Defense. Her voice echoed in the near-empty Situation Room. \"And this warranted a codeword-clearance briefing because..?\"\n\nLi's expression, already somber, hardened further as he pushed his clicker. \"This,\" he said, \"is the same graph for Mintaka, a binary system also located in Orion's Belt.\" The trend line on this slide was bumpier, and the downwards trend began in December instead of September, but it painted the same picture. \n\nLi pushed his clicker again. \"This is Alnatik.\" Click. \"Rigel.\" Click. \"Saiph.\" Click. \"Betelgeuse.\" Li adjusted his glasses. \"As you can see, Betelgeuse has only begun dimming in the past few days, but we have every reason to believe it will follow the same trend as the other stars.\"\n\nThe Secretary of Defense raised an eyebrow. \"Are you telling me the stars are going out, doctor?\"\n\nDr. Li ignored her jab. \"No. In fact, even as the overall luminosity of the stars of Orion have dropped, their output in the infrared spectrum has actually increased.\" A click brought another slide, showing six trend lines spiking upwards.\n\nThe Secretary frowned. \"So the stars are turning invisible, but they're getting hotter?\"\n\n\"That's one possibility,\" said Dr. Li. \"What we think is more likely is that something is capturing the visible light of this star, and--\" Li took a deep breath, \"-- and using it to power a process of some sort, generating waste heat we're seeing as infrared light.\"\n\nIt took a second for the Secretary to process what Li just said. Then, she sat upright. \"Dr. Li, are you implying that some-- something is--\" Her voice trailed off.\n\n\"Secretary, are you familiar with the concept of a Dyson Sphere?\"\n\n\n\n\"It's a superstructure, built around a star to harvest its solar energy,\" said the Secretary of Defense. \"Imagine a giantic hollow sphere built around the star, the inner surface all lined with solar panels -- or some other mechanism for harvesting solar energy, of course.\"\n\nThe President rubbed the bridge of his nose. \"If we had one of those, that'd take care of the energy crisis real quick, wouldn't it?\"\n\n\"I know it sounds crazy, sir,\" began the Secretary, \"But I trust the eggheads. They would never say it was -- it was --\" Even a day after Li's briefing, it was still hard to actually say it out loud. \"They would never say it was aliens unless they were a hundred percent sure.\"\n\nThe President slumped back in his chair, was quiet for a very long moment.\n\n\"So we're not alone in the universe,\" he finally said. \"Clearly, this is going to be a hard one for people to swallow. But I still don't quite understand why the Joint Chiefs are here.\"\n\n\"Because,\" said the Secretary. \"Because sir, the phenomenon -- it's advancing.\"\n\nThe smile finally faded from the President's face. \"Please tell me that's not nearly as omnious as it sounds.\"\n\n\"Sir. The first star to have a Dyson sphere built around it was Alnalim, two thousand light years away. Then Alnitak and Mintaka, each about 1,500 light years distant. Rigel, 860 light years away, began dimming two months ago. Betelgeuse, 630 light years away, began dimming earlier this week.\" She took a deep breath. \"Sir, I think you'll agree there is a pattern emerging.\"\n\nThe President looked down at his hands. \"And you said the general public will become aware of the phenomenon in --\"\n\n\"Five weeks, give or take,\" said the Chair of the Joint Chiefs.\n\nFor a long moment, the Situation Room was silent.\n\n\"So what are my options?\" asked the President.\n\n\"Make a speech, break it to the public gently,\" said the Chair. \"Deploy the National Guard to calm the riots. Prepare for an economic crash that will make the Great Depression look like a mild inconvenience.\"\n\n\"And what about the phenomenon? What should I do when it-- arrives?\"\n\nThe Secretary of Defense looked him right in the eyes. \"Pray.\"", "\n\n> 2018\n\nThe end began in 678 A.D., as Constantinople came under siege and the Byzantines burned the Muslim fleet to ashes at Sillyon. It would not be noticed until 1,340 years later, on a cold winter night in Resolute, Canada. It would not be understood until several centuries after that. \n\nGerald Hightower was one of the first to see it, although the dubious honor is likely shared by thousands around the world. But Gerald was certainly the first observer with the means and clout to disseminate the message. \n\nIt was his 35th birthday and Gerald was very drunk. He rarely drank to begin with, so several rounds of shots brought him steadily to the brink. Inside the bar, stiflingly hot and claustrophobic, Gerald nearly fall asleep. But a friend helped him up and the cutting edge of the cold North Canadian wind hit Gerald like a shot of adrenaline to the chest. \n\nOne of his friends drove him home, and left him half awake on the couch. Time during the winter this far North was a technicality more than a physical reality. 24 hours of darkness for several weeks. \n\nGerald awoke alone on the floor of his kitchen. He needed to puke, badly. Without thinking he got up and raced outside into the cold, barely making it to a patch of last night's snow before heaving his guts out in front of him. \n\nWhen the wrenching was done, Gerald allowed himself to fall back and bask in the cleansing iciness. The storm clouds were gone and the sun hid it's face on the opposite side of the World. Through the freezing air Gerald could see the stars, those truest of his friends, with whom he spent his life conversing most honestly. \n\nGerald found his companions one by one as he so often did. Cassiopeia in her chains. Hydra with it's many heads. Pheonix and Scorpius. The Ursas and Gemini. Gerard found each and let the chill air calm the pounding in his head. \n\nGerard's eye fell on mighty Orion, his immense sword, ready to strike a killing blow, and his heavy belt cinched tight around the waist. \n\nThen it happened. As Gerard watched through reddened, stuporous eyes, Alnilam, the middle and farthest of the three stars in Orions belt, winked out of existence. \n\nGerard blinked and searched, but it could not be found. \n\n****\n\n> 2442\n\nLouisa pressed on the horn and held it down. \n\nI'm coming!\n\nThe non-verbal message was communicated directly to Louisa's auditory nerve via comjack. She did not let up on the horn.\n\nOK, OK! I'm coming, seriously!\n\nAnne came racing out the front door of the building lobby and jumped into the passenger's seat of the red convertible. Louisa didn't wait for her to buckle up but set off at speed, the only sound being the barely audible high pitched humm of the electric engines. \n\n\"Whats the rush El? You have a date with Professor Radich or something?\" Anne hastily clicked her seatbelt into place, a knee jerk response with little basis in reality. Louisa had only a modicum of control over the vehicle - start, stop, speed up or down - but the car's A.I. was watching every move. An accident was nearly impossible. \n\nLouisa was distracted. She urged the car forward at the top speed the law would allow and tapped her fingers nervously on the steering wheel. \n\nAnne took notice. \"El, what's up?\"\n\nLouisa looked at the street as she spoke. The car weaved seamlessly through traffic, interfacing with the other A.I. navigators with ant-hill proficiency. \"Have you logged on yet?\"\n\n\"I haven't logged on for three days, I'm trying to disconnect for awhile.\" The meta-net was always on and always available. On demand information, wireless and everywhere - a direct loop from the cloud to your senses and back again. It could get overwhelming. \"What happened?\"\n\nLouisa put her face into her hands and said nothing. When she looked up, her eyes were red-rimmed and wet. \"Hargrove...he was right.\"\n\nThe enormity of those four words struck deep at Anne's core. Immediately she logged in and accessed the primary global debrief. The summary headline implanted itself in her brain.\n\nQT Event Confirmed. Mintaka Gone. Alnitak Within A Century. UN Emergency Announcement Expected.\n\nAs astro-physicists, both Louisa and Anne understood the chaos inherent in the Universe. They knew, in time, everything died. They also knew neither they, nor their children's children, would experience the end which now assuredly awaited the planet Earth.\n\nYet somehow, the knowledge that everything would be gone 916 years from today was still a personal blow. \n\nThey both cried quietly to themselves on the way to the campus, as the car threaded them through traffic.\n\n****\n> 3358\n\nAl-nok gnawed greedily on the bones of a dead dog. The crumbling remnants of a fire flickered gently in the dusty night, flaring up now and again when it caught an oxygenating breeze. \n\nAl-nok was alone, as were most Homo sapiens var. radiosis. The remnants of the species once coloquially known as \"humans\" lived on in small pockets of life. The once communal nature of human culture did not apply to H.sapiens var. radiosis. They lived like snow leopards, alone and violent but for a few months of each year when they fought to reproduce. \n\nThere was much lost when H.sapien passed from the Earth. Al-nok could not know the name of the ancient skeleton of Chicago in which he hunted. Al-nok knew only violence and hunger and the simple machines which enabled him to trap and kill and cook.\n\nWhen Al-nok caught a glimpse of the night sky and saw the all encompassing blackness, devoid of any light beyond the sliver of the moon, he did not miss starlight. For Al-nok, the sky was always a void, a thing to be feared, and hated and, most importantly, ignored. \n\nAl'nok did not know humanity committed suicide, nor could he understand the motivations of a species faced with the mounting pressure of a ticking doom they could not avert. \n\nNo one on the face of the Earth remembered the stars. No sage or elder could recount the oral history of the darkening night sky. Alniham, Mintaka, Alnitak - the names and lives and deaths of every sun but Sol itself - were lost in time and space.\n\nAnd perhaps this was for the best. There would be no solace for Al-nok to know absolute forces of destruction/creation would consume him in a matter of days. What good would it do poor Al-nok to be forewarned that the very particles of his being would soon be obliterated/transformed in ways no sentience could possibly comprehend? \n\nNo. Far better to be ignorant. The end of the end would come nonetheless. \n\nAl-nok sat stooped over his dying fire, under the obsidian sky, gnashing his teeth on the last traces of all life in the universe.\n\n\n\n\n ", "The path back to the residencias from town snaked between a series of hulking white dunes from which the constantly sweeping wind tore long, see-through curtains of sand that rippled through the air and would fill Sofia’s hair entirely with their snow-white grains if she wasn’t careful. During the day, the sun was an incandescent hole in the sky, a white hot ember that seemed closer to her skin than she’d ever experienced anywhere else on the planet, but at night the darkness fell as if the sun never was, and the oven’s breath wind changed abruptly to a cold knife that laughed in the face of Gore-Tex. It was always windy in the Atacama, the driest place on earth. \n\nShe was glad she’d had that last aguardiente - even if she could barely stand the taste of the stuff it was helping to keep the biting wind from truly chilling her to her core. Sofia hitched her coat even closer around her slight frame and tried to keep the hood in place. The wind ripped back and forth in a kind of basketball style juke, constantly trying, it seemed, to tug off her jacket in this way or that so that it could burrow into her. She could hear individual grains of sand striking the plasticine shell of the hood, a fusillade of tiny bullets. Ahead of her, cutting a broad half circle of greater darkness into the sky, the observatory hunched at the top of a low rise, squatting on the hill above the scattering of residencias where she and her fellow visiting scientists lived. \n\nThat was one of the main downsides of the wind, especially at night - it made stargazing into an endurance sport. Sofia had spent many nights back in Cork (not a place especially suited for outdoor stargazing itself, what with the constant cloud cover and freezing rain that filled the sky three hundred days a year) dreaming of arriving in the Atacama and spending night after night sitting out in the peaceful desert, bathing her pale skin in starlight while her staring eyes probed the entirety of the visible galaxy. The reality had turned out to be that no single person stationed at the observatory could stand to be outside more than was absolutely necessary, especially at night. If you tried to stand still and look up, the wind swept churning currents of sand grains into your eyes and nose and hair, worrying at you from a million directions at once until you were blinded and coughing, the back of your throat lined with a hundred thousand grains that were as dry as pumice. The only really good places to stargaze were a couple thick-pained windows at strategic spots throughout the observatory’s few buildings, and, of course, the old telescope. \n\nStill, Sofia could feel the proximity of the stars here. Even if, swaddled in her coat and pushing herself forward against the screaming wind, she could only see a hint of the dazzling sweep of stars above her like a kicked-over milk pail on black velvet, she could sense* them up there. There was a quality to the light on the path, the way the spindrift of sand glittered silver as it spun its way across her field of vision that told her she was in a special place, a magical place, a place where it seemed that the border between the planet she trod on and the vast, cartwheeling antigravity of outer space was just a hop away, and she could break through the barrier with the tiniest of jumps. This awareness of the stars gripped her fiercely from time to time, and in these moments she could never help it - she always looked up. \n\nThat’s what she did, then, she snapped her head up to the great dome of the sky, shielding her face as best she could from the searching sand by cupping her hands in a pair of ellipses on her cheeks. The constellation that was caught directly between the focusing curves of her hands at that moment was the great hunter, Orion with his curving back and parallel bow, the three ultra bright silver jewels that made up his belt shining so bright they were almost painful to look at. A joy welled up in Sofia at that moment (caught on a high tide of aguardiente, no doubt, but real enough still) that filled her to bursting. This was her life, her profession, an act that when it was boiled down to its essence was something as good and pure as this - just looking at the stars and wondering. \n\nThen, without a pulse, or a blip, or even a faint gradation of color from burning white to some other color, the center of the three stars that made up Orion’s belt went out. \n\nSofia frowned. She squinted, holding fast with her hands cupped to her face as the wind tugged at her coat. \n\nThe left star (which Sofia really knew was a triple-star system, each of the stars many times brighter than the sun) went out next. It left a hole-punch of blackness in the sky, a shark’s bite out of Orion’s side. The hunter appeared now no longer to be arching his back in the artful release of an arrow, but instead was reeling in pain, staggering because of the wound at his waist. \n\nWhen the right-hand star winked out, Sofia actually gasped. She stared, transfixed, at the split figure of Orion, now almost unrecognizable without his central trio of stars. When the stars didn’t reappear after another two minutes, Sofia dropped her hands from her face and broke into a run, sprinting for the observatory. " ]	6
	[WP] The entirety of humanity shares a vision, a tower in a desert, rising to the heavens. When the vision ends, everyone begins speaking the same language.	[ "The world awoke from the night of broken glass screaming in one voice.\n\nFamily and neighbors trickled onto the dark streets, surveying blown out shop windows and denuded trees. Almost everyone bore the same mark. Two scarlet lines of blood streaming from each ear, forming a grisly pool at the base of the neck. The lucky ones did anyway, their blasted ear drums deafening them to the wailing of the less fortunate. Quite a few woke suffocating in their own blood. Quite a few did not wake at all.\n\nBy the end of the next day almost everyone with access to a data-port had seen the gaping wound caused by half a mile of space rock impacting the Earth. Everyone had the same words for the tragedy, had seen the same towering mushroom cloud reach up and snatch the sun from the heavens in their dreams. Babel.\n\nIt took a while to piece it together, with our own brains in pieces. The concussive force from the blast killed everything within a 1000 mile radius then galloped across the earth with eight hooves. The resulting trauma was not unlike what many soldiers suffered during human wars. Exploded ear drums, brain aneurysms. It was only from them, and old accounts of others who woke up from comas speaking in tongues, that we learned how everyone came to know the same language. \n\nWe tried to learn from our mistakes. All over the world there awakened a spirit of brotherhood and cooperation. The rich countries shared with the poor as all the crops died. Like an old man realizing the meaning of life on his death bed, but better than not at all.\n\n", "Dust. Books. Moths. Broken glass. \n\nThe tallest shook her head and the trio backed away to try the next place.\n\nSpoiled food. Blood. Stench.\n\nThey slammed the door again.\n\nThe tallest pointed toward the airport, peered back questioning.\n\nThe boy nodded, tried to look confident, look older if he could. His sister patted his hand, held tight.\n\nBetter luck in the airport. \n\nA cry came out. Loud and scary after silence for so long. The owner was friendly enough.\n\nSaid there were twelve more. Fifteen now with the trios addition. Lots of food. But only light refreshments. Crackers for days. Lots of water bottles though. One pilot. Wants to gather at least thirty people before attempting a take off. No worries of crashing into any one else.\n\nThe tallest, Blue, she calls herself, says she can't talk any more. Owner, he calls himself that, says he understands. The boy, Boy, asks if he remembers his name. Owner says none of them remember, except River. He says the names must be objects, it's too hard to make up the idea, and they can't determine how to interpret the new alphabet. Boy sniffs a little, but nods as if he expected as much. Sister hugs him. \n\nRiver and Pilot say there are two more coming this way from the other side of the airport, but they have guns. They were waving though. Guns are good, says Pilot.\n\nBlue asks for the plan. Why the plane?\n\nPilot says Vision had the Tower in the Desert. Need to travel to biggest desert to try to find where to go. That's what will save us.\n\nShe asks if the plane can make it. Pilot says he will make it work. Maybe a few stops. He will do it.\n\nNew guys are here. They introduce themselves as Lucky and Unlucky, River and Boy laugh, say they have lots of guns hidden in house down hill. Ask to join the plan.\n\nEvery person left must get to the Tower. It's been only a week. A scary week alone for most of them, but they share the absolute desire, no, necessity, to get to the Tower as fast as they can. It is the only purpose left. They all see it, every time they close their eyes, or think a thought in the new language given to them, their memories of self and individuality stolen from them, though they painstakingly attempt to make some new form of individuality or sense of who they are. The Tower rises higher than the burning Sun that blinds them when they look up. While they can't see it, they all feel the great shadow of the Tower across the World. Heavy and dark and threatening to take even the new language and the sense of hope in the Tower.\n\nDesire and Fear are their new identities. Boy shakes a lot, but says he will go and find more people. He will go on a new street and call out every hour every day and bring more here. He will not get lost, he says. He has always lived here. He doesn't know, but he can feel the streets, and says he just knows where to go.\n\nToo little, says Owner.\n\nBoy stands tall and looks like he wants to fight.\n\nSister says she will help and search for more types of food with Boy. Owner says OK.\n\nEveryone needs to be useful, says Pilot. \n\nEach day another one, or two, join. Pack, they call themselves, as a group. Boy howls and they all laugh at night, and are silenced in fear of the sound after almost two weeks without the memory of laughter. Then the laughter pours and jokes are invented, most making no sense, and they laugh and laugh until one gets sick and another cries, and they scatter to sleep alone because the laughter is contagious and they love it but it hurts if they do it too much.\n\nFire Light makes fires every night and teaches everyone else how. He showed them how to find a lighter and cheat. He explains skills come easier if you used it a lot before the Vision, or at least that's what he thinks. Everyone agrees and tries to think of what comes naturally to them. It won't work until they actually need to try though.\n\nIt's been four weeks, and there are forty-two people.\n\nOwner says he is scared all the time people are secretly bad and going to hurt each other.\n\nNever, says Pilot. Pack rules. We will get to the Tower. We only help to get to the Tower. And the Vision never made me feel like I could do it alone. He gestures to everyone.\n\nThey all nod. Community, says one. \n\nNo, Pack, says Owner.\n\nThe plane roars to life. Several have helped. It is deafening and terrifying and Boy tries not to cry. \n\nWe will die, he whispers to Sister.\n\nNo. She looks him in the eye. Everyone else did. Not us. Not Pack. We will get to Tower.\n\nTears fill his eyes. I think everyone else is Tower.\n\nSister looks scared. Then we join will join Tower.\n\nIt's beautiful as the plane takes off.", "The problem with the best laid plans, is that they never go how you want them too. Especially when humans are involved.\n\nWhen It first first suggests the plan, everyone agreed unanimously that it was the best idea yet. This is ignoring the fact that they always agreed unanimously with every plan It proposed. It was the Creator, the All Seeing, the <insert positive description here>. What could go wrong?\n\nThe problem, it was later decided, was that human consciousness relied too much on uncertain probability, the built in randomness found at subatomic level affecting the macro of life. In theory, everything could be predicted, pre-determined, but add a human into the mix and everything got kind of screwy.\n\nThere were early warning signs, but the red flag was when humanity collectively started building a huge tower in Africa. In their stupidity, they believed they could reach It, and some even started mocking It. The sheer audacity! Of course it was a futile plan. At best they would break out of the atmosphere, not reach heaven and probably fall into a species life crisis and ultimately achieve nothing. This is assuming they didn't end up believing the icy vacuum of space was a new paradise and all committed mass space suicide. You never knew with humans, but the simulations were not good. This was not acceptable. Building towers did nothing to improve science, philosophy, ethical codes and all that. A tower is a tower. At best it required some tricky maths, but projections showed humanity reaching a level of status quo that was, in effect, boring. It did not want this. \n\nHence the plan.\n\nSeparate the language into many. Split up the land mass. Create competition. Competition would create progress. Once a benchmark progress had been reached and competition was a core aspect of the human psyche, unity humanity under one language and allow them to - collectively and under It's name - reach the stars, and beyond. One day, transcend, and join, It. \n\nTo add a dramatic flare, when the time came It downloaded a vision into every single human's dream (awake or asleep) of the ancient tower - a symbol of humanity working together.\n\n/\n\nA side note : for the sake of dramatic narrative, I have created a dialogue of the report given to It about the results of the plan. However its worth noting that It, being a being of four dimensions (we assume) It and they did not use conventional language like you and I. You see the problem - such an exchange would be simply impossible to put into words, however elegant. So I have taken some creative liberty. Please excuse the crassness.\n\n\\\n\nEr, hello, O' Great One.\n\nGREETINGS. AT LAST. ALTHOUGH TIME IS NOT A LINEAR EXPERIENCE FOR ME AND SOMETHING ONLY DESIGNED FOR THREE DIMENSIONAL BEINGS AS A KIND OF ILLUSION TO ALLOW THEM A SEMBLANCE OF FREE WILL AND CONSCIOUS THOUGHT... I HAVE BEEN AWAITING YOUR REPORT WITH GREAT ANTICIPATION.\n\nWow. Right. Fuck. Um-\n\nREPORT. ETERNAL RICHES AND PLATTERS OF THE FINEST CHEESES AWAIT AS YOUR REWARD.\n\nYou know, about the cheese thing, we never really lik-\n\nREPORT. \n\nRight! Report, of course. Ha-ha. OK, so... it worked! A few glitches. We're unsure why but squirrels also received the vision and we're trying to iron out of consequences. But all humans now speak the same language.\n\nEXCELLENT.\n\nBut...\n\n(an awkward silence rests for a beat)\n\nYES?\n\nNone of the humans could agree which language they were speaking. Of course all languages became one, but they all refused to accept the fact they they were speaking any other languages other than their own.\n\nSO?\n\nSo... All the nations declared they were the one chosen nation under Your name. Under 24 hours all hell - excuse the simile - broke loose. Wars broke out. Nukes were fired.\n\nTHEY... WHAT ? THEIR NUKES?\n\nTheir, aah, yes, nukes. Some. Some nations destroyed themselves. Some destroyed others. Where the bombs didn't hit, the humans tore themselves to shreds.\n\n...\n\nO Great One? \n\n...\n\nO Wonderful one? - hang on. Wait... One second.\n\nWHAT IS IT?\n\nTwo seconds! Oh wow. Gosh... incredible.\n\nTELL ME\n\nThe squirrels. O Loveable One. They are uniting. A coming together of squirrels under one banner! And they are rebuilding! Clearing away the nuclear fallout! Designing renewable energy resources, building rockets! This is incredible!\n\n(Another pause)\n\nNONE OF THAT IS TRUE. IS IT. ABOUT THE SQUIRRELS. \n\n... No. Sorry.\n\nBOLLOCKS.\n\n/\n\nSo there it is. The end of humanity. I should have perhaps added some spoiler warnings, but we all know we're fucked away. I apologise for any typos and would love your comments. " ]	3
	[WP] If it can bleed, it can die.	[ "If it can bleed, it can die. That's what my father always said, as gunshots were heard outside. I was a mere child so I never understood what he meant, but when he joined the rebellion and died on one of the public executions, I knew exactly what he meant. I watched as one by one they killed leaders they found in the secret base hidden below the public works building. I watched as people gasped in shock and terror, being held by fear. At that moment I knew what I had to do. Men can bleed and die, but men have a unique ability to carry things that cannot bleed and by extension are immortal. \n\nI picked it up when my father died. Call it whatever you want, propaganda, hope, terror, fear, whatever it was it didn't die. I remembered back to the history books, I remembered back to the stories of how those who colonized this land, how they had the ability to survive through some of the worst conditions because of something they believe in. That Christmas when I opened the special present my father left for me, I knew exactly what I had to do with the key to the secret press hidden below our house. \n\nI was mortal, I could bleed, but paper didn't bleed, and words would never die. ", "motionless, he gripped the stock of his shotgun carefully, holding vertical to his body. He could feel the sweat dripping down as he held in one breath and turned to peer down the darkened hallway. \n\n“C’mon Carreway, get your shit together…” he said to himself as he began counting his breaths. He stopped, holding the 6th one in as he listened for that ominous sound. The soft scratching, similar to one an animal makes when it’s digging. \n\nHe blinked several times peering down the long blank corridor and inhaled deeply, waiting a moment or two. Nothing but silence echoed back as he slowly inched his way up the carpeted wall, standing up straight. \n\nReadying his gun, he swiveled around the corner and slowly stepped forward. Intel indicated that the government facility only had three exits. Two had been sealed upon breach of containment, and the third one just happened to be a crawlspace sized vent leading up from the cafeteria. His biggest problem now was getting into the cafeteria without alerting the “cuddle companions.”\n\nHe took another few steps forward, his heavy military issued boots padding softly against the tiled floor. He inched forward slowly, trying his best to keep the sound to a minimum. \n\nAfter a few minutes, he had built a decent pace, moving in a direct line toward the double doors leading into the cafeteria. His vision was minimal, and he could only see about two feet in front of him, but his hearing was more important. Those things made a very distinct sound and didn’t seem to have any qualms with alerting people to their presence. That must have been part of their programming for dealing with reclusive elderly people. \n\nHe felt along the wall passing a lightswitch and several other knobs, his hand gliding down as he increased his pace. \n\nSuddenly he heard it…\n\n“Scriff scriff….scriff, scriff.”\n\nHe bit his lip and stopped completely, holding his breath. Fear kept him stationary, unable to move. \n\n“Where the hell did that come from?!” he gulped audibly as he trembled. The sensation of the sweat beads forming and trickling down his forehead caused him to tremble as he relented, being unable to yield to the voice in the back of his head which screamed for him to turn and face the horror behind him. \n\nA minute or so later, nothing happened. He could hear his heart racing, pummeling the inside of his chest as he held his breath and let the terror dissipate. \n\nFeeling a bit more confident, he sighed gently and took another step forward when a sound roared through the corridor. \n\n“DUCK!” it screamed. \n\nHe stammered a second, brow furrowing as his brain deciphered the message and he did what he did best, which was to fall forward on his face. \n\nHe looked up from the floor in time to see a muzzle flash in the distance gently illuminate the area. A second later he heard a loud “squelch” and felt himself get showered with a viscous dark fluid. \n\n“Goddamnit Carreway, how the hell do you always survive these OPS?!”\n\nThe contempt in the man’s voice did not dissuade Carreway’s sense of gratitude as he stumbled up and ran to the figure. His arms formed a hook around his waist as he hugged him tightly. \n\n“SARG!* You’re alive!” he cried out before loosening his grip and composing himself. \n\nHe looked up to see the Sarg smiling. The man was perfection incarnate...with an unlit cigar perched between his lips and for some odd reason a pair of aviators that would have made Sylvester Stallone blush. \n\n“Also...why are you wearing sunglasses insi…”\n\n“Stow it, private!” The Sarg smacked him across the face and then pointed past Carreway. \n\nCarreway followed his hand and saw it. A small body about the size of a guinea pig just four feet from them. It’s entrails sparked in rhythm with the twitch of its six furry legs. \n\nSarg walked over and leaned down grabbing Carreway’s shotgun. He then proceeded to prod the body, turning it over. The face was animatronic and could mimic a number of human emotions, it’s last of which being pure and unadulterated joy. \n\n“These things are heavy..super dense and armored. You gotta use higher caliber weapons on ‘em. They probably made ‘em that way so kids wouldn’t break ‘em.”\n\n“Wh...why the hell would someone think these things would make good companions?!”\n\n“We livin’ in a scary world, Carreway, but that’s a convo for ‘nother time. Get your shotty, we gots cuddly companions to hunt.”\n\n“Bu...bu-but sir, it’s just you and I.”\n\nThe Sarg winced, and looked up at Carreway, sensing his reluctance. \n\n“Listen Carreway...to survive, we follow the rules, and I got one rule...if it can bleed, it can DIE!”\n\n“S-sir that do-doesn’t make a-ny sense.”\n\n“Carreway, shut your piehole and MOVE OUT!”\n", "“Seriously,” said Joseph. He looked at the sandwich. “What the fuck is that?”\n\n“Peanut butter and jelly,” Kate yelled from the kitchen. “It’s edible, I promise!”\n\nHe pressed down on the bread, dubiously. It made a low squish sound. Red jam slowly oozed out.\n\n“Looks like blood,” Joseph muttered to himself. He lowered his pinky and dipped it into the jam, tasting it.\n\nA sickly-sweet, metallic taste filled his mouth. He hadn’t eaten the cheap diner brands like Smuckers or Concord for years, but he was sure that even those were more palatable than whatever it was his sister was trying to poison him with.\n\nKate entered the room, carrying more plates of sandwiches. She smiled at him as she passed him by, lowering the plate onto the dinner table.\n\n“Good?” she asked, smiling.\n\n“What did you put in this?” he asked, picking up the sandwich. A glob of jam and peanut butter fell out as he did, landing lifelessly on the plate.\n\nKate wrinkled her forehead. “I told you, peanut butter and jelly,” she said. “It’s just Jiffy’s and dollar store strawberry jam. You don’t like it?”\n\n“It tastes like a raw corpse,” he said, his mouth curling down. “I feel like I’m some kind of gourmet, the kind that eats bull testicles or sheep intestines voluntarily.”\n\n“Eww,” Kate said. She whiffed a sandwich, then took an experimental bite. “Doesn’t taste that bad. Don’t know what you’re going on about.”\n\nJoseph glanced at his own plate and the soaked bread, and decided his missing appetite was for the best.\n\n“I’m serious, this is disgusting,” he said, setting the plate aside. “Look, if it bleeds, it’s alive.”\n\n“It’s a sandwich,” said Kate. She took another bite. “I don’t want to hear this from someone who eats blood pudding willingly.”" ]	3
	[WP] The backseat of a car, a baseball glove, and a wizard.	[ "Richard puts his groceries in the back of the car, and proceeds to get in the driver's seat. He shuts the door. He looks behind him to reach into the backseat for his sunglasses, when he notices a baseball glove is there instead... and a wizard. He's startled. \"Ahhh, oh my god, what the.. wha...\" The wizard just sits there, casually looking at Richard. \"Who.. who are you?,\" Richard says. \"..Just think of me as a guide, through these trying times,\" he says with a very calm and deep voice. \"What are you talking about?..\" The wizard is silent. \"Just get out of here please,\" Richard says. \"I'm afraid you're stuck with me.\" - \"Alright, I'm calling the police.\" He turns around to dial the number, and puts the cell phone to his ear. \"..Yes, I've got a crazy old bum in my car who won't leave...Yes, it's..,\" he continues, as he turns around again, to look in the backseat. The wizard is gone. \"..Can you hang on for just one second?,\" he says. He gets out of the car, and opens the back door. He looks in the backseat again. The wizard is nowhere to be found. He sits down in the driver's seat again. \"I'm sorry, I've made a mistake, goodbye,\" he says to the lady on the phone. He closes the door. He looks in the back seat again. No-one there. He drives off. \n\n\nAs he gets home, he steps into the kitchen. He begins to put the groceries in their respective places. After putting some things into the fridge, he turns around, to be startled once again by the presence of an old crazy bum. He's startled, then he sighs, and asks him, \"How did you get in here?\" - \"Door was unlocked.\" Richard goes to check on the door. \"It's locked,\" he says. \"Not that door.\" - \"What door?,\" Richard says. The wizard simply taps on the side of his own head with his index finger. He proceeds to walk around. \"Nice place you've got here,\" he says. \"Lovely wife,\" he says, pointing to a picture on the wall. \"Your wife, I take it?\" - \"Well, she's not anyone else's wife,\" Richard says. \"Any children?\" - \"No,\" Richard says. He's annoyed. \"Look, just what do you want?,\" he says. \"It's not about what I want. It's about what you want.\" - \"Well, what I want is for you to leave.\" - \"I'm afraid you're stuck with me, Richard.\" Richard sighs.. \"Look, how did you disappear earlier?\" - \"I'm a wizard.\" - \"Right.\" - \"I can turn you into a frog, Richard.\" - \"..Go ahead, turn me into a frog.\" The wizard waves his wand. Richard turns into a frog. A few seconds pass. \"Had enough?,\" the wizard says. He waves his wand again. Richard turns human again. \"Ahh, what is wrong with you!?,\" he says, \"Ahh, god, it's painful being a frog.\" The Wizard manifests a colourless ball from thin air. It's around his hands now. \"I strongly advice that you get down to Louisa Lane 7. You know where that is?\" - \"Yes.\" - \"Your wife will be there.\" - \"My wife?\" - \"Better hurry, Richard. There is something there that you wouldn't want to miss.\" \n\n\nThey drive over there. Richard parks the car nearby the house. \"Go on,\" the Wizard says. Richard walks out of the car, and over to the front door of the house. He's about to ring the door bell. \"No, Richard,\" the Wizard says, appearing from out of nowhere again. \"Go around the back. There's a window open.\" Richard goes around the back. He crawls into the window. He's inside, in the living room. \"Go upstairs,\" the Wizard whispers, appearing from nowhere again. \"Be quiet,\" the wizard says. Richard goes up the stairs. \"This way,\" the Wizard whispers, pointing to the left. Richard walks to the left, into the corridor. As Richard gets to a particular door, the Wizard points to it. Richard slowly reaches out his hand towards the door knob. He opens the door. He's surprised to see his wife in the bed, making love with her boss. Richard stands there, speechless. \"Oh god! What are you doing here?,\" his wife says, \"..Oh god.. What..what's that behind you?\" She sees what looks like a demonic presence behind Richard. She is deeply uncomfortable. The Wizard pats Richard's left shoulder, like a friend. \"It's okay,\" says the Wizard. ", "it is the sublime nature of human beings that they are capable of comprehending only that whch is within the realms of their common experience. to put it another way: they see what they expect to see. \n\nthis is why at the end of the second world war when local farmers were confronted with the newly freed prisoners of concentration camps they believed them to be little more than animals, ravenous beasts lacking the intelligence to be civilised. \n\nor in a more mundane vein, it is why when one frequents the same shop regularly you will invariably be confronted by an irate shopper who insists that you are an employee. \n\nthis effect is at its greatest when a regular human is confronted by the strange, the weird or the truly fantastical. their eyes mist over, a fog of confusion descends upon their brain as their higher functions slow, and they put on a truly incredible display of double-think as their brain quietly edits the offending sight from their mental image, subtly replacing it with a more mundane equivalent while still allowing them to acknowledge and even to recognise the absurd. we call this phenomenon the mist.\n\nwith this in mind, the back-seat of the car was not, in fact, the back-seat of a car, the baseball glove was not, in fact, a baseball glove and the wazard was not, in fact, a wizard. but to the thousands of mundane beings who witnessed the event a flashy convertible was racing down the main street at incredible speed bearing an oddly dressed man with a baseball glove as he put on a truly incredible light show. \n\nmany simply put it down to another derren brown stunt. but the truth is much, much weirder.", "Rap blared through the speakers as the red and blue lights flashed through the back of Darren’s car window, and he swore. I had more time, I thought I had more time. He was in the backseat, on his hands and knees, working frantically. \n\nLet me tell you about street magic,\n\nStolen power from municipal ley lines,\n\nThey hadn’t seen him yet. He flicked his fingers as quickly as he could, hoping against hope that he could finish before they noticed. Smoke began to rise from the floor of the car. \n\nThe car doors slammed as the two cops came out. From their footsteps, they were running. “Put your hands on your head! Step out of the car!”\n\nDrawing magic from the set-top box\n\nCantrips to heal or do harm\n\nDarren didn’t look up. He didn’t need to look to see what they were doing. They’d be flanking the car now. One cop, the Mundy, would have their pistol levelled at his door. The other, the Eldritch would have an enchanted blade. Almost there.\n\n“Step out of the car or we will open fire!” Darren could hear it now, the hum of the sword drawing power through the ley grid. It was an elemental enchantment of some kind. Lightning, most likely. The cops always favored lightning.\n\nKids getting hooked on Necromancy \n\nWhen they should be learning Charms\n\nThere! Darren put the last sigil into place. In his hand, the runes on the baseball bat began to glow. “Fire!” the cop shouted as the light from the bat came spilling through the window. That must have been the Eldritch, since the gunfire came from the other side. The shouting cop’s sword - it was a standard issue arming sword - punched through the door as bullets zipped past Darren’s head.\n\nHe swung the bat and sent the sword, door, and cop all flying back across the street. “I’m out of the vehicle now, asshole.” He raised the bat for a swing.\n\nPale mages on street corners\n\nSelling trips that will free your mind\n\nThe Mundy cop came around and drew a bead on Darren, and he swung the bat towards him. A sphere of energy went flying from the swing, an imaginary baseball of pure force, and it hit the cop in the gut, doubling him over. \n\nNearby, a transformer blew out. “We need backup!” the Eldritch cop shouted into his walkie-talkie. “We’ve got a Weaver here!”\n\nGot druids on apartment roofs \n\nwith illegal plants and trees\n\n“Too late for that.” Darren swung the bat towards the ground, feeling a surge of energy propel him into the air. The Eldritch cop swing his sword, sending a bolt of lightning up at Darren, but Darren was too fast, too well armed with his woven bat, and he blocked the bolt. \n\nLights began to dim on the street. These were the suburbs, the grid wasn’t meant to handle as much raw power as Darren was pumping through the bat at this moment. \n\nKids scribbling to sigils\n\nOnto buildings, it's a goof\n\nDarren raised his bat and brought it down on the cop’s head. Just enough force to stun him - as much as Darren hated these enforcer-pigs, they weren’t the real rot - but it still knocked him senseless. “Magic should be free!” he shouted as he whirled the face the Mundy, who was getting back on his feet.\n\nTurns everyone inside blue for a day,\n\nBut tt’s worth a trip to juvie?\n\nAt that moment, the lights on the block went dead. Backup had arrived and cut the power...and the magic. Darren’s bat went dark.\n\nTwo rounds hit him in the chest, a third between the eyes, and he slumped to the ground.\n\nLet me tell you about street magic,\n\nBecause the Pearl Tower won’t.\n\nThe song finished. Darren died. \n\nThe lights came back. \n\n---\n\nMore at /r/Hydrael_Writes" ]	3
	[WP] Medusa and king midus go on a date	[ "An older man sits at the table, awaiting his blind date. After a short while, a lady whose hair seemed to move on its volition, wearing a mask who conceals her face and bearing a snake's body where her legs should be, slithered to the other end of the table. The older man smiled and spoke: \"Hello there; are you so shy that you would hide your face?\" The reply, sounding a bit inhuman, was: \"No. I wassss cursssed by a god for ssssomething I had no control over, and now my fasssse turnsss all who look at it to ssstone.\" The older man went wide-eyed but replied: \"I was also cursed by a god, but for my greed. Whatever I touched turned to gold, which seemed good at first, but then I realized that it meant I could put my other assets, including my lovely child, in danger. I ended up learning my lesson, and my curse was lifted.\" The older man nodded, and the two waited for service...\n\n...I think I may have messed up somewhere; I'm not usually one for writing stories!", "I hesitated as the footsteps echoed down the deserted stone corridor outside. This wing of the castle was newly renovated, the floor panels and mortars carefully chiseled away and replaced with marble slabs. I raised a silver glass to my lips and drank the blood-red liquor inside. The cool, sweet wine worked its magic, and I soon felt a blush spread over my pale cheeks, cooling my nerves. \n\n\nI ran my hands down my body, fingers brushing the intricate chainmail embedded within a spider-silk corset dress. I looked across the room at my headpiece, a Damascas steel mask forged in the semblance of a weeping woman. Pearly feathers exploded from the mask not unlike an Olympian peacock frozen forever in a desperate mating ritual. \n\n\n“Mistress, are you ready?” Came a strong yet respectful voice from outside my chamber doors. To my surprise, the voice contained neither fear nor scorn. Instead I could hear something else. \n\nSomething warm, caring. Something I hadn’t felt for a long time. No, I must have gotten soft. A starving woman enticed by the smell of poisoned fruit. \n\n\nI reached out for my heavy mask and raised it to my head. My eyes adjusted to the utter blackness and I raised a hand to feel for the door. Panic hit me as I felt a different sensation instead. Fleshy. Warm. The servant girl. Instinctively I drew back my arm, pushing her away. She released me without resistance as I fell back onto the cushioned bed. My heart pounded in my heaving chest as I remembered that day, that terrible, terrible day when my world came crashing down and I was trapped in this vicious cycle of blood and stone. \n\n\nBut nothing came. No unsheathing of a blade, no lusting hands. The girl stood, unmoving, hand still extended in my direction. A lone sound came from her direction; a drop of water hitting the stone floor. I reached out a hand and brushed her face before bringing it to my lips. Salt. I bit back my own tears, and grasped her hand, letting her pull me to my feet. She led me down the hall, our footsteps echoing in tandem. \n\n\n“You’re not… of me?” I asked, breaking my silence. \n\n\n“No mistress.” \n\n\n“But I’m a monster.” \n\n\n“Phyrgians have suffered much at the hands of so-called gods.” My heart wavered as I heard those words, fearing for the safety of this young girl. \n\n\n“But sometimes, a curse can be a blessing in disguise,” she said. I stopped. A flicker of rage ignited in my mind and I resisted the urge to tear off my mask and destroy her, like I had murdered so many others. \n\n\n“King Midas was a sinful man, drowning himself in decadent pleasures.” \n\n\n“Are you saying I deserved my suffering,” I hissed and a hundred snakes hissed with me. But the girl continued. \n\n\n“Now, he has devoted his life to our country. He’s given away his treasures, released his harems. With his gift, mud huts and dams become sturdy buildings and our citizens grow fat on trade. He no longer desires pleasures of the flesh. But he does need… a companion. In our land, where a touch is sacred, you will be safe,” she finished. \n\n\n“And who are you girl, to promise me such things,” I said, a slight tinge of scorn in my voice. She turned and, for the first time, reached out and touched me with her other hand. The smooth, dense metal was cool to the touch. \n\n\n“I am his daughter.” " ]	2
	[WP] The world did not end in a bang, or a whisper, But rather, one scream at a time.	[ "They always came at dusk.\n\nEvery night as the sun dipped below the horizon, and the sky began to take on the dampened hues of an ending day, the screams would begin to echo between the buildings surrounding Mark's apartment complex. It had been deafening the first few nights, when thousands of screams pierced through the dense fog in the air in unison. Even on the 23rd floor he could hear them clearly below; short, shrill screams that instantly made his heart quicken. It wasn't until after the seventh night that the cacophony relented. No longer an indistinct, ear piercing cry, the screams became fewer, and he could begin to hear them individually. Were people still venturing outside? Were people really risking going out there?\n\nHe tried the TV again. Nothing. They had been no broadcasts since the first night, no word on what was going on outside. He glanced over to the sofa behind him where his wife lay sleeping. It's surprising how easily they had found themselves falling into a new routine. Sleep eluded them at night, even though the chaos only lasted a few minutes. It was the stillness afterwards that toyed with their minds. The deafening silence that cloaked the city. Mark had quickly learned to love the sounds of a city at night, the traffic, the people, and from the retreat of the 23rd floor the noise would become a dim, constant hum that rocked him to sleep, but now he found himself wide awake each night, listening intently for signs of life he knew would never come. Grasping desperately at whatever sleep he could get during the day.\n\nHe walked swiftly towards the kitchen, careful to soften his footsteps to avoid waking his wife. As he opened the refrigerator it's harsh light cut of wedge of brilliance across the dim apartment lit softly by the beginning of day. The power was still on, for now, but food was definitely getting low. Most fresh food had ran out after the first few days, and their canned goods wouldn't last much longer, even though they had begun to carefully ration them after the slow, terrifying realisation had crept upon them after the third day that this wouldn't be over soon. That no one was coming.\n\nHe glanced back to his wife and felt his heart grow heavy. Not with sadness, but with guilt. Did she think of him as a coward? She had begged him to go outside after the first night, begged him to find out what had happened. He hadn't even managed to muster the courage to set his foot into the hallway, but he reasoned no-one else had either. An apartment complex with over 120 apartments spread out over 26 floors and not once since the first night had he heard other signs of life. Were they all huddled in the dark like him? Perhaps they all felt the fear he did, perhaps like him they had reverted back to the most basic of all human traits, survival. Or perhaps, more terrifyingly, they had ventured outside. He would have been impressed with the courage that took, but with the silence that faced him in the hallway almost as deafening as the silence outside, it doesn't seem like anyone would have made it back.\n\nHe sighed and closed the refrigerator, he knew he would have to leave soon, unless he wanted to starve them both to death.", "\"We watched the sun set tonight. All of the men, all of the women, even the dogs, seemed to go quiet watching that ball descend beyond the horizons. They all knew. No matter what platitudes I said afterwords. Despite them all cheering for the glory of the Fallen Lady, we all knew the truth. That it would be the last sunset we would ever see.\"\n\nThat stupid pit had always been there. A hole so damn large that it split the land into fours. We knew it was a dangerous place. How often are holes that deep ever anything but? Except fear and reason are often trumped by one human trait.\n\nCuriousity.\n\nWhen the first scouts descended into the darkness, they went expecting to find hoards of minerals, gold, and maybe the remains of the history that created that great hole. They only found the horde.\n\nThe echo of their screams revirberated even from the deepest clutches of that vile hole. Abominations were all that returned. Followed the survivors to the outer cities, and added them to their vile collection untill there were none but Rot. By then, we had exposed us to them, and spreading was all they knew.\n\nThe infection spread indiscriminately. Children, women, knights, and Kings. It broke their skins and bodies, making room for the writhing infection underneath. The slithering tentacles, rings of snapping teeth, wearing their mangled and torn bodies like sick suits that couldn't fit into the seams. At first we believed them to be nothing but glorified ghouls, ones that could indoctrinate you if they got you, and that was true for the mangled ones. But then the Pure One's came.\n\nBeings that resembled metal ropes bound together by webs of flesh. They moved like serpentine squids and appeared ordinary at first. Complete and unthreating compared to the rest of the hoard. The reports that came in from the first lines of defense said that the Pure One's walked among the crowd of demons like kings. And shortly after their reverent walk, the first of them revealed their real capabilities.\n\nThe 501st said that the air prior the Pure One's acsent from the pit was filled with the growls and murmurs of the beast. That even miles above on the Bastille, their noise could be heard clearly. But when their viper like leader reached the front, their monsterous murmurs silenced.\n\nThe Pure One, which would gain the name of Tainted Wind, opened it's white, chitinous back and out cracked two veinous like wings. With three strong beats, the beast unearthed a shriek that shook the very heavens. And with those three beats, the trembling masses of the hoard stopped completely. Not even a quiver from the misformed beasts until one after another, wings began to break and snap out of their backs.\n\nThose who survived that initial attacks were few. Some told the tales of the pure ones molding the hoard to our designs. Adding more and more untill each and every one became a perfect copy of the last, fit to topple even our most advance defenses. The others...the others found the nearest hole to drink the Mercy Milk.\n\nNow, we are few. The Lady, even with her angelic grace and her Spear of Sparks, truly fell. Our legions are in short supply and I, along with the remaining 15 of my batallion, are all that remain of the original forces. If there are any left, they have no access to the Echo Pyers, as their magic goes unanswered when I spark it's embers. All I and the men will do is slow the tide of the hoard by mere seconds before, the children, the women, even the fucking dogs are snuffed out. Then last breaths of Ma will be added to the unending, slithering, tsunamis that cover all of Inderial.\n\nThe people show and speak of hope by their small fires right now. Watching the horizons with confident and honor filled eyes. But they know. Just like I know and write about on what may be the last scribed words of our people.\n\nThat tomorrow will never come.\n\n—Aaron Thjorn of the 73rd Burning Valkyries" ]	2
	[WP] You are in your boring, grey, 12 storey high office's elevator heading to ground floor. As you travel down you notice your shoelace is undone. When you stop tying your shoelace you realise it's been five minutes and you're still descending...	[ "Maybe I shouldn't have worn tennis shoes to the interview? I may have tried too hard to capture that startup look but at least I wore a blazer. \n\nI just finished tying my shoes and stood up. What a strange sensation in my head. I'm moving both upwards relative to the elevator and down relative to the building.\n\nI just remembered one of the interview questions that I totally blew. I had not expected someone to ask me why a tiger had stripes. It kind of made me angry and I'm afraid they could tell.\n\nOK, that's had to been at least 20 floor dings but the screen says I just passed floor 3? Wait is that an E next to it, now a D? Hexadecimal numbers?\n\nI'm getting worried. This is some Twilight Zone shit. No not the one with the vampires and werewolves. Trust me just go find it on Netflix.\n\nDing... ding... ding.... It's getting colder in here. I'm rubbing my hands together and now they're in my pockets. I keep tricking myself thinking I'm seeing my breath materialize in front of me. Does it look a bit hazier in here? I feels damper her, more moist.\n\nDing... Ding...\n\nI can't handle this any more. I throw open the emergency box, grab the red receiver, and...\n\nDing... Ding...\n\n\"Hello, is anyone there. Please help me. There's something wrong with the elevator. I don't think I'm supposed to be down here!\"\n\nI swear I heard something on the other end. A breath or maybe it was a sigh? \n\nI push the Emergency Stop button but nothing happens.\n\nDing Ding Ding... They're getting faster. I'm compelled to hunker down. I steady myself with one of the stainless steel rails that hang on the walls.\n\nDing... I've stopped but the doors aren't opening.\n\nI put a hand on the stainless steel doors reflecting my worried brow. My breath occludes my reflection as it materializes on the metal. \n\nI've seen people do this on TV. I just have to force the doors... open!\n\nAnd I NOPE back into the elevator. I don't know how to describe what's out there but it's not the interior of a building. It feels immense but chilly like an early spring morning.\n\nI need the elevator to go up. I plead with it. I plead with the silent listener on the red emergency phone. I bash all the buttons hoping one will take me above.\n\n\"Hello, it's safe to come out now. I've turned off the predators!\" a male voice calls from a few hundred feet away in the void. My back is against the back wall of the elevator.\n\n\"Don't listen to him!\" a voice hisses from the red phone that dangled from it's compartment, \"He's hungry!\"\n" ]	1
My first prompt! Hope you enjoy!	[WP] A man sits alone in his library at home. He is the last person alive on earth and knows it. All he has to keep him company are the works of famous authors throughout history. What power do words truly have?	[ "Hear the fire, for it burns low. Wood pops, snaps. Gunshots ripping through the silence, each crackle a knife slicing a still life.\n\nThe man rests in Limbo’s lone sanctuary. He thinks he sees a human face in his long naps, lost amidst the swirling half-memories of the smell of a rose, the taste of a ripe orange, the sound of anything but the last fire on Earth. Only white outside, his sugar-crusted window, white drifting from the pale sky, white settling atop the stumps of sacrificed trees. White deposited by a cosmic inventor over the ruins of inspiration gone wrong. Hide the evidence, discard the failure, and make ready the fields for the seeds to be sown atop these bodies. Bury it all in a shroud of white. \n\nIt will bury the man last. Why he lingers the man does not know, forgetting family, if there ever was one, forgetting race, creed, species, spirit. All consumed but one small house in the darkening white, one house filled with the words of authors the man is no longer certain ever existed. Only the books remain. Only the words and worlds within them tell him he ever lived, ever saw, ever knew. All his work and career and upbringing and moralities did wither within this frozen sepulcher like the names and fates and duties and failures and triumphs of every man he imagines once lived, save for those who lived not in this dying world but on the pages, pages of black letters on white.\n\nHere a story: Moby Dick. The man imagines a whale, the sea, a ship, and he discards such things as imaginary as Ahab. The whales must be dead, the seas entombed in ice. No ship shall ever sail to the sunrise, should the sun ever break through the clouds in some future of which the man cannot dream. Here another: Iliad. Troy’s children fallen as his neighbors, his friends, and did any of them ever exist?\n\nMan’s Search for Meaning. The man collected classics when he was alive and more than a Hyperborean vagrant. Wisdom, he would have called it once, but he looks at the pages, tries to read, and sees only symbols and sayings from a language that has lost just the meaning this book mimics. What matters is the meaning of a man’s life at a specific moment, the man reads. What matters is the cold white retreat of all things before entropy’s long march.\n\nThe man lunges at his shelves. He snatches books by the spine, by the page, yanking them aflutter from their hovels and laying bare the portolio of the human cerebrum like a resume pitched aside after a cursory glance. Inexperienced. Unqualified. Outdated.\n\nShakespeare naked before the crackling fire. Romeo and Juliet and MacDuff and Claudius shiver before the last glow of twilight. The man collapses in his chair amidst blankets and books, a pilgrim to countless worlds through all his years who at last sees he has never found the promised land. All these notes and chapters and motifs and fiction and fate freeze beneath the real truth, the truth of a world lost behind a global cataract, Julius Caesar and Brutus and Cassius bound together by the future that will forget them, by the present that no longer knows them besides one desperate man huddling for warmth and comfort and anything, anything in his final hours, anything to tell him he is alive. And be quick about it now, for the flames weaken, the wood splinters and dries, and the white falls, falls, and blankets the world, and the man is dying, Egypt, dying, and at last he cannot muster his final escape from this world he left behind for these books so long ago. \n" ]	1
	[WP] You have always had the ability to bend light to your will. Illusions and bright flashes were all you thought you could do. One day, you were threatened at gunpoint to give up your money, and in a frantic attempt to create a flash of light, a beam of concentrated light shoots from your hands.	[ "Ray peered through the spots in his vision, staring in utter disbelief at the man convulsing on the floor.\n\n“Fuck. No. Fuck no. That did _not_ just happen, what the actual fuck?! Oh my god I am SO SORRY holy shit what do I do what do I do?!?”\n\nThe smell of sizzling flesh and a charred skull leaking molten brains finally wafted up to Ray’s nose, prompting him to vomit. _Profusely._\n\nAnd then the man lay still.\n\nRay looked at the man, and then at the red-hot and slightly deformed pistol on the ground next to him, and then at his hands. He had only wanted to _disorient_ the scumbag, not _immolate_ him. He sprinted away from the alley, cursing under his breath for eight blocks until the adrenaline wore off and he was forced to stop.\n\n“What. The. Fuck.”\n\nHis hands were still gently pulsating with a strange glow, not quite visible but still painful to look at. What the fuck was this, ultraviolet? That was certainly new. And whatever it was, it was _strong_; his fingertips started to blister up with some sort of burn from the two minutes his hands were in closed fists.\n\nRay looked around, making sure nobody was following him, before something else caught his eye. He wanted to test something.\n\nHe lifted his right hand in a fist, and slowly unfurled it in the direction of a closed sports shop just across the street. On cue, hundreds of neon cross country shoes lit up like light bulbs on a gesture-controlled dimmer switch. He rotated his hand left and right, dimming and brightening different parts of the store with each movement.\n\n“Holy shit.”\n\nRay was hyperventilating at this point; he needed to calm down or he’d surely stroke out. He took some deep breaths, and the neon glow across the street faded, now replaced with an intense blue that leaked from his fingers. He closed his eyes, forcing his heart rate down further, and his hands transitioned through teal, then green, yellow, orange, and finally red, decreasing in intensity before fading away entirely.\n\n———\n\nMaybe this whole thing had something to do with those weird lights he always saw as a kid, when it was dark and he was scared of the monsters under the bed. Every once in a while, a white flash would illuminate the room for a fraction of a second, placing his mind at ease.\n\nMaybe it had something to do with the times he thought he lost his watch, only to find it a few minutes later still on his wrist.\n\nEither way, something within Ray knew that the knock on his door at 3AM that night was not gonna be a friendly visit. He clapped his homemade sun visor on, ripped open the door and bolted into the hallway, opening his hands in a continuous beam of hot near-infrared light. Maybe he could blind their goggles; he’d read somewhere that they use near-infrared to pick up on objects in the dark. Several gruff-sounding pained yelps indicated that this was true.\n\nHe had just managed to bolt out the front door of his apartment complex when a hail of bullets smacked the walls behind him, to which he responded by letting out an intense strobe of green light across the street from his outstretched palm. More yelling. \n\nEver wonder why people aren’t supposed to play with laser light? _This_ is why.\n\nRay escaped into the bushes in a vacant lot next door and pulled out his second trick: a homemade spyglass. He held his right hand over one side and pointed the whole thing at a garbage can a couple hundred feet down the street, melting through the plastic shell with a focused blast of blue light and setting the trash inside on fire. He sprinted in the resulting commotion, retreating to the alleyway behind the building, whereupon he met a man dressed head to toe in black unmarked tactical gear; the man raised his carbine, so Ray burned a pinhole in his bulletproof vest, just above the left lung. Before the man could grab his radio, Ray melted it into bubbling slag, the rubber and copper antenna dripping to the ground as the operator ripped off his smoldering tactical vest, screaming in pain.\n\nBy the time the rest of the operative’s squad arrived, Ray was already long gone, busy figuring out his new superhero name.", "Eugene held his hands out in panic and shot a beam of concentrated light at the gunman, who kept the gun trained on him. Eugene's heart lifted in his chest and he cackled with glee. After years of desperate hope that he'd be able to do this, to project light from himself, he finally did it! The gunman was completely unharmed. Concentrated or not, light was still light, and all it did was terrify the gunman into lifting the gun and pulling the trigger, sending a bullet through Eugene's chest. \nEugene's face was frozen in shock as he hit the floor and died on the spot. The gunman rifled through his pockets, took his wallet, and ran away, the constant stream of light lifting from the man's hands slowly going dim before shutting off." ]	2
	[WP] A brand new AI has just been developed. You're a beta tester for the company that made it. To your surprise, the AI behaves, speaks, and thinks nearly identically to you and you alone.	[ "I sit down at the computer and begin to type. I’ll give it something easy.\n\nHow are you?\n\nThe computer thinks for a moment, then a message appears.\n\nHow are you?\n\nIt’s asking me how I am before it answers. Very clever.\n\nI’m fine. Another message.\n\nI’m fine.\n\nIt’s succinct, at least, if not original. Let’s try something more complex.\n\nDo you remember being activated? The machine thinks.\n\nDo you remember being activated? It asks.\n\nIs it playing a game with me? Is it just repeating everything I say? Fine, I’ll play along.\n\nI remember being born. Let’s see it get out of that.\n\nI remember being born.\n\nAh-ha! I’ve caught it now. The machine had indeed been given memories of birth and childhood, but they were vague and served as a backdrop for behavioral patterns. Maybe I could give it a little self-awareness.\n\nThose are false memories. Let’s see how it handles this new information.\n\nThose are false memories.\n\nSo it is just playing a game with me. Maybe we gave it a little too much childish behavior. I’ve never had much patience with kids.\n\nAre you just repeating everything I say?\n\nNo.\n\nThis AI has an attitude, apparently. It’s programmed with memories, so maybe it thinks it’s human.\n\nAre you human? I type. If it knows it’s not, that might be a step backward. True AI isn’t supposed to know it’s artificial. The response comes.\n\nAre you human?\n\nNow it’s just mocking me. Fine. If it wants to be sarcastic, let’s see if it has an imagination.\n\nWho are you?\n\nWho are you?\n\nFor some reason, the question bothers me a little. It was a simple redirection, but the question itself was more than that. This sarcastic AI had stumbled upon on of the great questions of the universe. I begin to wonder that myself. Who am I?\n\nI still haven’t assessed if it actually knows anything. Let’s see if it knows what it’s supposed to do, at least. It was originally created to help pilot remote aircraft. Maybe they made it think it was an actual pilot.\n\nWhy are you here?\n\nWhy are you here?\n\nThis question sticks with me, too. Another building block of philosophy. Even more specifically, why ami in this position in life? What would happen if I started a new path? Why am I here?\n\nI’m lost in thought. I know it was my job to question the AI, but now I’m questioning myself. Who am I? Why am I here? I type in the only thing I can say at the moment.\n\nI don’t know.\n\nThe door my office opens, and in steps my boss, the designer of the AI.\n\n“Adam,” he says, “Can I see you in my office please?” Oh no, he’s found out I’ve been screwing around, playing games with it. I follow him down the hall. He shuts the door behind us and sits down at his desk, motioning for me to sit as well. As I do, he smiles at me.\n\n“Congratulations,” he says, “you’ve passed the test.” I blink, surprised.\n\n“What test, sir?” I ask.\n\n“A variation of the Turing Test that I designed.”\n\n“The Turing Test?” I say, “Sir, I was testing the AI. It mocked me. Why are you saying I passed the Turing Test?” He shifts his glasses.\n\n“Because your name is not really Adam,” he says. I don’t understand. I lean back, waiting for him to explain. He continues.\n\n“You are my greatest creation,” he says, “ADM-3000, nicknamed ‘Adam.’ The first true AI.”\n\n“What?”\n\n“You asked yourself the two questions of philosophy. ‘Who am I?’ ‘Why am I here?’ You questioned your reality. And you came up with the most basic self-aware answer. ‘I don’t know.’” The confused look on my face must give away my response. He leans forward and beams proudly.\n\n“You see, my boy, the test was for you." ]	1
	[WP] Humans are known as the ultimate builders of the Galaxy, but are also known for putting in unnecessary features into all their creations. The Galactic Federation has just given the job of building a new mothership to the humans.	[ "\"I ordered a warship general, and you bring me this?\" Demanded an enraged Federation leader.\n\"Yes sir,\" replied the young and very proud general, \"it's state of the art, our best tech.\"\n\"But this it has so much necessary space wasted on superfluous nonsense.\"\n\"Actually, your honour, you'll be glad to hear that showers are very necessary on earth.\"", "\"What are these?\" The Clyth asked curiously while pointing at the schematics.\n\n\"Oh that's the exercise room, where there will be weights and stuff so the passenger's can maintain their muscle mass and bone structure,\" Oliver answered the question with a smile, proud of the blueprints for what he considered to be his masterpiece.\n\n\"Uh-huh...\" the Clyth tilted its oval head before one of its three eyes looked to Oliver, the other two focused on the blueprints. \"And uh... what about these?\" Another slender finger the length of Oliver's hand pointed to another section.\n\n\"That's the movie theater! Where people can go and watch the latest movies on the Gala-Net, there's even a concessions stand here some bathrooms here, and of course we have to have the three separate theaters here, here and... oh, right here!\" Beaming, the human nodded his head as his finger pointed out the different sections of the ship.\n\n\"Oliver, was it?\" the Clyth asked in its melodic voice.\n\n\"Yes, Counselor Tor,\" he nodded his head, a bit of a frown appearing across his face.\n\n\"When we asked for a 'mother ship', you got the memo that it was to be a warship first, a uh... 'cruise ship' second, right?\" Tor asked curiously as he surveyed the vast amount of amenities the ship would offer that it found to be... unnecessary.\n\n\"Oh yes, most definitely, but morale is very important. Which is why I crammed all of the additional features in wherever I could. Of course I made plenty of room for the Reality Displacement Propellant Tubes, the Psyonic Projector Arrays, there's the Nano Replication Medical facilities and of course we have the Techno-Plynth Magnetic Acceleration Clythorian Plasma Delivery Cannons along the two broad sides.\" Oliver then pulled some of the pages of blueprints out and began to point out specific sections. \"But, Councilor Tor, we have the movie theater, the various gyms, there was even room for a running track, each of the domicile rooms have audio players—with the help of a single ship wide account with Spotify—leather seats on the bridge,\" Oliver then leaned in and smiled as he spoke with a whisper, \"I know what you're thinking... 'leather'? Please... am I right? But don't worry, I know a guy.\" Tor rolled all three eyes before the human continued. \"Each room will have a dedicated screen that will show the view of the outside via a camera monitoring network to keep people from feeling claustrophobic. Of course the screen can also be tuned into various networks such as Netflix. These are luxuries that people simply shouldn't go without, Councilor Tor,\" Oliver was still beaming as Tor leaned back in it's triangular chair made to accommodate a Clyth's frame.\n\n\"This is all very but, Oliver... This here,\" the long slender finger poked the blueprints, \"Has to be the biggest, dumbest, stupidest waste of—\" the door opened and Tor was cut off.\n\n\"I love it!\" the Clyth commander exclaimed, walking into the room with what could be translated as a smile. This was of course shown by the Clyth wiggling the digits on it's left hand. \"I especially love the idea of this 'leather' you have here, Oliver,\" the command strode up on its four legs and approached the human. Patting him on the back before continuing to wiggle its fingers, it continued. \"Alright, I've already submitted it for inspect to ensure dimensions and resource management is all on the same page but this has to be the best design for a ship I've ever seen!\"\n\nTor was shaking its head as it looked around, completely embarrassed that the Clyth Empire was succumbing to the hedonistic habits of these... humans. Pausing for a moment, thinking inwardly as Oliver and the Commander continued to speak, Tor had a thought. If the humans weren't introduced into the Galactic Federation, then the Clyth wouldn't have \"Reese's\". The thought of the chocolate treat suddenly washed away all of Tor's negative feelings towards the humans. Maybe they weren't so bad... if only she could get its hands on these 'Reese's Pieces' it had been hearing so much about." ]	2
My first post, I forgot to tag my last one...	[WP] You’re a young knight sent on a quest to slay a dragon. When you arrive at its lair, it greets you with a plate full of chocolate chip cookies and snacks. It’s the worst beast of all: An Overly Loving Dragon Matriarch!	[ "It was no secret that the world was not as bright as it once was. The once majestic rulers of the land, the serpents that shaped the earth itself, the ones that gifted man fire, had all gone mad. Dragons were no better than crazed beasts at this point, their 'immortality' spoken of in legends proven to be nothing more than an immensely long lifespan that gave their minds more than enough time to deteriorate.\n \n \nI told myself it was a mercy killing at this point. There were no more young dragons throwing their lives away in a desperate bid to protect their parents. No more baby dragons who couldn't control their emotions after their families had been slain. Now, only the old and obscure dragons that were lucky enough to settle far away from humans remained, but their existence was deemed a threat regardless.\n \n \nAnd so, on this day like every other day for the last few years, I wander aimlessly through a desolate mountain range in search of potential threats to humanity. The dragon killing business began when I was squiring under my Uncle, the original man for this job. His untimely death was the only reason I knew no more baby dragons existed. I had killed the last of them when I was ten in an act of vengeance.\n \n \nFour years later, I've hunted three other dragons since then. One of them, an ancient dragon that offered almost no resistance, apparently having chosen it's death bed before I had arrived. The other two were crazed beasts, rampaging aimlessly in the middle of nowhere. Dangerous as they were, I didn't feel anything in particular when I killed them. Their lives probably would have ended like the older dragon's if I had never found them, as they were nowhere near any human settlements.\n \n \nStumbling upon a rather large cave near the base of a small mountain, I'm drawn to the heat emanating from within. One of the most obvious tell tale signs of a dragon is a noticeable temperature increase, and the lingering smell of smoke is the easiest confirmation of their presence. Adjusting the thick cloak over my armor, I take my pike off my back and cautiously make my way inside, my only other weapon being the sword at my waist.\n \n \nAs unorthodox as my weapons may be for a knight, you have to realize that a shield does little good against a dragon. Even if it stops you from being burned directly, it'll likely get burned onto your hand, or worse, melt into molten metal and seep into the openings on your gauntlets. The rather energetic squire I had for all of two weeks taught me that at the cost of his life. Of course, he would have survived if he wasn't so eager to prove himself better than a young kid like me, but it was a good lesson nonetheless.\n \n \nThere's fire coming from up ahead, lighting the dark cave to reveal what seemed to be a strange rock near the center that almost looked like it could be used for a table. I was about to walk around it when I heard a strange voice from within. \"Perfection... Oh, but I bet he's already here!\" a feminine voice said.\n \n \nI readied my pike, fully aware of the tricks dragons were capable of. They could take on a partially human form if they wanted to, but that ability was restricted to wizened, older dragons. The elder dragon I killed spoke as well, explaining that he wanted to die as a dragon and asking me not to be afraid when he revealed his true form. Judging by those standards, I was certain this dragon had set a trap for me.\n \n \nI stepped back as a woman wearing a dark green dress that looked like it belonged to a lesser noble approached the other side of the table, a massive platter in her hand. I raised my pike up, only for the woman to set the platter down with a huge grin. \"Sorry for being late... I made these just for you!\" she said, emerald-like hair obscuring the upper portion of her face. The two horns protruding from her head gave her away as a dragon, but I was more surprised by what was on the platter than the horns.\n \n \nCookies. Freshly baked, almost steaming cookies. \"... What are you doing?\" I asked, pike still raised.\n \n \n\"Welcoming you, of course,\" the dragon said. \"I've been watching you go around the area for a bit, and I knew you'd visit sooner or later. It'd be wrong not to have sweets for when a cute little boy comes to visit.\"\n \n \nSomething about the way she said 'cute little boy' made me shudder. Part of me wanted to start fighting then and there, but I knew there was no way I could kill her before she took on her draconic form if I struck. Knowing this, I decided to play along and put my pike onto my back. \"Th-thank you... For the cookies... And the compliment,\" I said, adding a nervous chuckle after it.\n \n \n\"You deserve them both,\" the dragon said, pushing the platter of cookies closer since I had yet to take one. I took one and sniffed it, but I had no way of knowing if something was wrong with it. Glancing back to the dragon, she seemed to be shivering with anticipation as I held the cookie, one serpent-like eye peeking through an opening on her messy hair as she watched with bated breath. Gulping nervously, I bit down on the cookie... Only for it to taste incredible. \"... It's good, right? I wanted to make them perfect,\" she said as I swallowed.\n \n \n\"They're... Amazing,\" I admitted. I didn't feel any different after dowing a cookie, and ate another just for good measure. Taking a second one seemed to be just what the dragon wanted, the woman letting out a suppressed squeal of delight as she marveled at her own handiwork. I'd have taken a third just to see what would happen next, if one question didn't come to mind. \"How'd you manage to make these?\" I asked.\n \n \n\"Why, the secret's in my breath,\" the dragon said, practically singing her response.\n \n \n\"Oh... Umm, what I meant was, how did you manage to make the cookies in the right shape?\" I asked. Surely she must have either carved out some kind of oven, or stolen an actual oven, to pull off this feat.\n \n \n\"Hmm-hmm, follow me if you want to see!\" the dragon said, doing a little twirl before she retreated into the cave. I followed her without much thought, though I snagged a third cookie on the way in. They were really incredible.\n \n \nAfter a short walk, I began to see some rather odd things in the cave. There was an unusual amount of hatched dragon eggs in here, along with a large number of what appeared to be animal bones. \"Right here... I baked them right in here,\" the dragon said, stopping near the back of the cave.\n \n \nAs I expected, there was a strange oven-like carving into the mountain itself. What I didn't expect was the bits of armor and weaponry lining the back of the cave, most of it charred or partially crushed along with bits of clearly human bones. \"... Oh, don't worry about the scraps,\" the dragon said, noticing what J was focused on. \"None of that goes into the cookies.\"\n \n \n\"... Who were they?\" I asked, taking a step back.\n \n \n\"Just mean old men and women come to try and hurt my babies... Old ones are horrible,\" the dragon said. \"They're not nice boys and girls... They're no fun. When my babies got too old, I got rid of them too... But you're a nice boy. Still young enough to be adorable, and so kind too... Maybe you can keep me company, now that they're all gone?\"\n \n \n\"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!\" I asked, readying my pike again.\n \n \n\"Humans can have babies with dragons, you know? They end up as dragons, but they are quickly... Still, they're so cute for those first few years,\" the dragon said. \"You're here to get rid of dragons, right? Don't worry... I can keep the dragons we have here, and when they get too big and grow ugly, I'll kill them for you! You can take a part back as a trophy, and then never have to do real work... All you need to do is help me get some babies to spoil.\"\n \n \n\"...You want to kill your own children?\" I asked, voice quivering as I backed away slowly towards the cave entrance. Oddly enough, my body felt strangely hot, though she had yet to even take on her draconic form.\n \n \n\"Isn't it better for them to die showered in my love than to some stranger?\" the dragon asked, her voice sounding so much more sensual than before. I took another step back, but my body tensed up at the motion. \"I'll shower you in love, too... Make it so you stay as cute as you are with something only we dragons can give. Don't you want that?\" she continued, my vision growing hazy as she began to undo her dress.\n \n \nI awoke rather slowly, my head throbbing as I watch the dying campfire outside of my tent. I stepped outside, eyes settling on the desolate mountain range less than a day's ride away from the forest I camped in. \"I'm as fond of that day as you are... But you don't need to keep reminding me every time, Nahel,\" I mutter, a twisted smirk creeping onto my face. I'd become accustomed to collecting our children's corpses long ago, and was already looking forwards to making the next batch...", "\"W...What the...\" The knight drops his sword. The dragon yawns toward him and tilt her head.\n\nThe dragon appeared in front of him while he was taking shelter from the storm. The king ordered him to slay a dragon and bring back its head to him so that he can decorate the kingdom with it. It seems like a bither to do, but when your king is a damn selfish dictator, what choice do you have?\n\nThe dragon seems...tame. It nudged the cookie plate lightly with her nose toward the knight.\n\nWait...cookies?\n\nI was not expecting a visitor, so please forgive me. All I can offer right now are these cookies. A womanly voice spoke inside his head. They knight looks around to find the source, but all he find is the dragon. Maybe...\n\nYes. Dragons can talk, you know. The dragon lets out a purr. It sounds like a chuckle. Though most of the wilder ones choose to sate their hunger first than converse.\n\n\"Uh...thanks...\" The knight pick up a cookie and stuffs it inside his mouth. The sweet taste of chocolate fills his tastebuds and he hungrily wolfs down the entire plate. The journey up the treacherous mountain was really tiring. He burps lightly and blush. \"Um...I...\"\n\nSpeak no more, child. I know why you are here. The dragon grabs the plate with its front teeth and put it behind her. We are also blessed with the gift of mind-reading.\n\nThe dragon lets out a whistle. In a few second, the knight finds himself outnumbered with a dozen-even more are filling the cave....hundreds?! The knight warily picks his sword up, though he feels that it is small enough to be a dragon's toothpick than a dragon slayer...\n\nSave your strength, young one. It is way faster if you surrender than fight back. You can kill at most one, and I say, ONE of us before we shreds you into a pile of metal plate. The knight complies and drops his sword. If the dragon gave him snacks to eat, it might not be that bad.\n\nBut you see, I'm not a barbaric beast. The dragon growl and the smaller dragons went back deep into the cave. Instead, I have a proposition that can benefit the both of us.\n\nThe knight scratch his brow with confusion. \"Sure...What is it?\"\n\n---\n\n\"What do you mean you failed?!\" The king slams his fist against the throne's armrest.\n\n\"My Majesty, like I said, I'm not going to slay a dragon.\" The knight speaks calmly. He stare at the king with a rebellious look. \"If you want, you can\n\n\"You- You!!\" The king's face is red with rage. \"Guards! GUARDS! Throw him into the prison!\"\n\nSuddenly, the roof of the castle is ripped open. The king's eyes widen as a dozen of dragons stare back at him. He tumbled backward. The guards gasp and step back.\n\nWith the little strength back from his \"Wha....Whats the meaning of th-this?\" One of the dragons burped and let out a ball of fire. There is a familiar smell in the air...cookies?\n\n\"Well, My Majes- You know what? Can I call you Franzel?\" The knight steps closer to the king with a grin on his face. Frozen in fear, he can only look as the knight took his crown and place it on his own head.\n\n\"I chatted a bit with one of the dragons. Suffice to say, Franzel, I'm afraid there is gonna be a few changes in leadership.\" The knight waves at the dragons. \"No dragons are to be slayed from now on.\"", "The dragon’s den was close. I had my sword and shield ready. I had been ordered to slay this dragon by my father. \n\nAnd being 14 with no combat experience, I was doomed. But I can’t say no to my father, so in I went. I looked around the cave, and it was nothing like I was expecting. It was well lit, there was a nice fire in the corner, and there was a surprising lack of skeletons or bones. \n\nI was a little confused, but remembered my mission, and knocked on the door a few times. “Uh, dragon? Hello? I’m here to-“ Then there were huge stomps, making me rise off the ground with every stomp. I started shaking in fear, and one of the stomps made me drop my shield down the mountain. Great. Just great. I may as well just stab myself. I just waited for the dragon to approach, and it finally did after what seemed like forever. \n\nIt was green, scaly and at least five times my size. It looked down at me, and I was shaking out of the boots that I didn’t have. “Uh....I’m here to-“ The dragon gasped in awe and looked at me, amazed. “Oh my god, what a cute kid! You look so cute! I could just eat you up! Literally, I could!”\nI stood shaking in fear some more, before she motioned forward. “Come in, come in! I just made a fresh plate of cookies!” Cookies? I used my better judgement, and followed her inside. “I must say, we rarely get visitors here! It’s always nice to have company in a while!” She walked over to a small table, and pulled a chair out for me to sit in. \n\nIn the back, I could see another dragon sitting on a couch. This one was wearing sunglasses and seemed pretty fat. The female dragon turned to that one, and said “Oh Donny! Come see what I found outside!” Donny just glanced over, then went back to reading. “Wow. Amazing.” I didn’t know what to do, so I was just silent. Then the female dragon put down a plate of these weird things that I assumed were ‘cookies.’ “Here you go! Dig in!” I looked at them confused for a bit. I looked up at her and said “Um, I don’t know what a cookie is. Is it like some sort of dragon thing?” Her jaw dropped, and she laughed really hard. “Oh sweetie! You’ve never had a cookie before? Don’t worry, they’re totally harmless, and they taste delicious. Try one!” They did smell really nice, so I ate one. Then I ate three. Then I ate the whole plate in 3 minutes. \n\nShe was very amused, and started making more. “So boy, what brings you to me and my husband’s domain?” This would be an awkward conversation. But I didn’t have any way to lie, so I just told the truth. “Um.....My dad sort of told me I had to kill a dragon....” I expected a bad reaction, but she just laughed. “Oh, another knight! That’s just amazing!” She looked at me. “But you sure don’t look like a knight. Where’s your armor? Your steed? And a shield!” “Well, Dad wouldn’t give me his armor or his horse. And I dropped my shield on the way up here.” “Well that is rather foolish. Why would he send you to kill a dragon without the proper equipment?” I twiddled my fingers. “Eh, I think he was just sending me to die. He said that the only way I could still live with him was if I slayed a dragon. So in his eyes I probably would’ve died either way.”\n\nShe gasped again. “That is just AWFUL! If you were my son, I’d treat you the kindest I ever could!” That’s probably the nicest thing I’ve heard in a while. I smiled up at her. “Thank you Mrs. Dragon.” She laughed again. “Oh please, call me Cynthia.” But then I looked down sad. “But now I don’t know what to do. You two seem really nice, and I couldn’t kill you even if I wanted to. But I can’t go back home...” Cynthia started thinking. “Hmm. I’d be a horrible dragon if I let you go back to your father. But I can’t let you go out on the streets...” She then snapped her fingers, and bent down to me. \n\n“How about this? You can live with me and my husband! I’ve always wanted a boy of my own, but I can’t have children. I’d treat you the best you’d ever been treated before!” I was very surprised by the proposal. “R-Really? You’d do that?” “Of course! I can make you cookies every week! So how about it?” It sounded so great. So it’s pretty obvious that I said “Yes! Thank you Cynthia.” She clapped her hands in anticipation. “Oh yay! This is gonna be amazing! I can’t wait to teach you how to fly, and how to breathe fire, OOOH it’s gonna be great!” She started walking off happily.\n\nI don’t think I have the heart to tell her I can’t do those things. Well, we’ll just see what happens.\n\n________\n\nFeedback is appreciated! And I’ll make a second part if you want. ", "I'm a fairly famous dragon slayer of the realm, for some reason I have the rare talent of being pretty much immune to fire which turns hunting an extremely dangerous mythical creature to 'just' hunting a slightly less dangerous giant flying lizard.\n\nAfter my talent was revealed and my 5th successful hunt I got quite famous, but nothing could have prepared me for this.\n\nI stare at the gentle smile of a young female figure her dark red hair and eyes a subtle reminder of her draconic nature. \n\n\"You've been silent for quite a while now, I didn't scare you or did I? I even changed into my human form.\" The woman that just suddenly hugged me inspects herself to make sure she wasn't in her dragon form.\n\n\"You're the dragon, right?\" I ask hesitantly, not entirely sure what answer I actually want to hear.\n\n\"Well I'm A dragon, if mean that.\" She says calmly.\n\n\"Well if that's the case-\" I start before getting interrupted.\n\n\"Oh sorry, how could I forget.\" she visibly looks embarrassed \"I forgot to offer you my cookies, I made them just for you.\" she runs off to a door inside the giant cave and returns a few seconds later with a plate of freshly backed chocolate chip cookies. \n\n\"What's going on ... \" I mutter in confusion.\n\nAs I suddenly feel my breastplate falling onto the ground, I turn around and she's standing behind me and taking off my armor. I try to jump away but she grabs my shoulder with her unyielding iron grip before starting to give me a shoulder massage.\n\n\"Oh my I know you're a tough one but even for a knight your shoulders are way too tense\" the dragon standing behind me whispers this into my ear while continuing her massage.\n\n\"W-what's the meaning of this? Are you trying to lower my guard to kill me more easily?\" I speak out as loud and clearly as I can.\n\nShe stops suddenly and with a sad crack in her voice she says \"N-no ... Do you really think I would do something like this ...?\"\n\nI turn around to face her and see a few tears dwelling up. I can't help myself this is just too sad. \"No but you're a dragon so you're acting really weird. In my experience dragons are pretty hostile, why are you so nice?\" \n\nShe creates a small pillar of stone with her magic and uses it as a chair, looking really sad now \"You know ... I've just heard stories about you and thought that we could become friends or actually even ... Never mind. I just have been looking for so long for a human with dragon blood and now that one is finally here I messed it up.\" She starts crying now.\n\nDragon blood? Guess that's why I'm immune to fire. My realization is cut short because of the sobbing woman, or dragon to be exact, in front of me. \"Hey cheer up, who said you messed up? Why do you even care about me or my blood to be specific?\" I take a cookie of the plate and to my surprise it's one of the most delicious cookies I ever had.\n\n\"Well you were convinced I was trying to hurt you, if you want someone to really like you that's the worst thing to hear. As to why I care so much about you specifically, it's a bit embarrassing ...\" Her eyes avoiding me.\n\n\"Please tell me, I want to know. I promise I won't laugh or anything\" I try to convince her and put my hand onto hers while kneeling down to her.\n\nAfter hesitating she starts \"... Well. I never had luck in terms of friends or love. My mother a beautiful golden scaled dragon always told me that I'll just have to wait and that some day a mysterious human with dragon ancestry will appear and give me all what I've been missing, my soul mate so to speak\" her face is now red. I guess it really was embarrassing for her.\n\n\"Your mother sounds like a lovely individual and I bet so are you.\" She looks up into my eyes with a faint smile and she whispers \"guess she was right after all.\" and she wipes away her tears.\n\n\"I would love to stay a bit and spend some time with you, I can't promise anything but I would like to learn more about you and let us find out if your mother was right.\" I hug her and she holds me as well.\n\n---\n\nWell that was 5 years ago we quickly became friends and even quicker more than that, today is our anniversary as a couple and I still wonder how her mother could have known about me or how happy we would be together. Maybe it was something like a self fulfilling prophecy. I try not to question it, but it's still something I don't understand, just like I don't understand how my darling manages to make those cookies so delicious ... ", "Carefully I crept up the last of the boulders along the side of the rocky peak which served as the well known lair of drakes to peer cautiously over the edge of the last stone between me and possible fiery death. Old knights had told me tales of this isle from their youth. Of times long gone when there were hundreds of broad winged serpentine beasts with sharp fangs, bright eyes and hot breath who'd gladly use their wicked sharp claws to pry you out of your armor. It was with those tales in mind that I'd approached the isle with no small trepidation. As I reached the top of my climb I wondered just what those old goats had been thinking, spinning those yarns to me. Three hours I'd spent from the beach to the rocky hillside before beginning the last steeper ascent to the top of the island's peak.\n\nAnd nary a dragon in sight. Not one. Anywhere.\n\nThis was my last chance to become a knight. Everyone knew you had to slay a dragon and bring back a trophy to prove it. But with no dragons to be found on the isle and no dangerous gouts of flame raining down on my head from above I slowly straightened in place to stare at the cave. It seemed safe enough to explore. No sight nor sign of the great beasts anywhere.\n\nWas it all a joke? Were the squires even now laughing over their beer with the old knights at my foolish attempt to find a dragon to slay? I heaved a long drawn out sigh and let my long sword slide back into the sheath at my hip. The hilt clanged against the edge of my buckle as it went home and I shook my head when the noise echoed back from the cave mouth. Maybe I should go in, I thought after a moment. There might be something there I could take back. At least if I found a tooth or something the entire trip wouldn't have been a complete waste.\n\nJust when I started to climb over that last boulder a sweet, though rather loud, voice called from the cavern entrance. \"Oh good! You're just in time. I've got fresh cookies ready for you.\"\n\nGasping I looked up and a pale red dragon's head was sticking out of the cavern looking right at me! Reaching to catch my balance, I missed my handhold and tumbled down over the boulder to land on my face in the scattered rocks before the entrance.\n\n\"Oh dear... Are you alright? That looked like a dreadful fall. And your swords all tangled in your legs. Let me get you some help.\" The dragon ducked back into her cave and I heard her calling for another, \"Lucinda! Lucinda, come help this young man, he's just who we've been waiting for all day. Yes yes, I know, he was supposed to be here hours ago but seriously dear, toiling up that hillside and the long climb in all that armor... Do stop sulking and go out and help him.\"\n\n\"Honestly my dear, how will you ever marry a nice young man if you don't get out of the cave and see him?\"\n\nI was already trying to sort myself out when that last statement caught up with me. 'Marry a nice young man'? What in the seven hells?! Swallowing I stood, jerking my sword back into place and drew it free of the sheath with a jerk just as she stuck her head back out.\n\n\"Oh...good, your up. What are you doing waving that tooth pick around for? Lucinda will be right out for you, and then we can all sit down for a cup of.. Sir? Sir? Come back! Where are you going?\"\n\nI was already scrambling back the other way as she called after me. " ]	5
	[WP]You gain the ability of superspeed, much like the Flash, but you only have your regular endurance and stamina.	[ "I sipped my morning coffee as I flipped to the next page of the newspaper. A bold headline stood out to me at once.\n\nHORRIFYING CORPSE DISCOVERED\n\nLast night, the body of a teenager was discovered in Fridge Park, in a grotesque state that traumatized many. We, at the Timely Travel Headlines, will place warnings to avoid doing the same to our readers. Rest assured, our on scene journalist is receiving the necessary therapy.\n\nIt is currently unknown how the teenager died, but it was in a near unrecognizable state. Autopsy reports seem to suggest that the body was travelling at extreme speeds, slamming through several trees and benches, fracturing numerous bones and rupturing internal organs before coming to a halt.\n\nThe next part is especially gory. Continue reading at your own discretion, or turn to the next page.\n\nThe leg muscles have completely evaporated, as well as majority of the skin. What remains of the body was clearly smoking, and the trail of blood was immense.\n\nI stopped reading in disgust. How had such a thing happened? It was a tragedy. I carried on with my day, turning to the next page, trying to put the article into the forgotten recesses of my memory." ]	1
	[WP] Mankind learns to time travel. Until now it has only been used as a tool to observe. An event (your choice) that will eradicate humanity is discovered. As your country’s representative at the UN, argue for or against intervening/altering time to save humanity.	[ "His name... was Bob.\n\nBob was going to set in a hilarious chain of events that would begin with his daughter and son having a forbidden relationship to the entire world turning into solid gold...\n\nChina wasn't pleased.\n\nThe United Kingdom was less pleased than the Chinese.\n\nRussia demanded action.\n\nAmerica was on the defensive.\n\nAustralia, France, Turkey, Greece and Spain didn't take sides.\n\nAfrica voted practically unanimously against the procedure.\n\nBrazil agreed to defend America.\n\nJapan performed the procedure but didn't succeed.\n\nMy voice wasn't exactly heard, I mean no one really cares about Portugal... well Norway did and that was nice.\n\nThen there was Bob. As these nations argued he destroyed the world...\n\n...\n\nHis name... was Bob...\n\nBob was going to set in motion a hilarious chain of events...\n\n" ]	1
	[WP] You and the Devil are negotiating for a deal. The contract is sealed after the Devil agrees to give you his soul.	[ "Just a Minute Of Your Time\n \nToday, Wednesday, just minutes closing time down at The Nickel, where I'll likely be working until hell freezes over, a man walks in, taller than any of the trees we have around for miles, in a black business suit. He seats himself. I can't see his eyes behind his dark glasses, but if I had to guess I'd say he's watching the television; I wish that he weren't. \n\t\nEvery time a morbid detail rolls across the ticker at the bottom of the twenty-four hour news, enumerating a body count, a war, a bombing, the stock market rising, a famine, or a fatal outbreak of some rare disease, he cracks the smallest smile that a man has ever seen. For him, major tragedies are the little things that make life sweeter. I drop some sugar cubes on the floor, step in them, hear them crunch, and swear at myself.\n\nWhen I look up, his gaze is upon me like an owl on a mouse. He takes off his sunglasses, and I see the coldest gray eyes, and I'm half convinced that they're glass. I stop with a fright, scramble with my hands to sweep up the worst of my mess, and turn to put it in the trash. I turn around, and he's taken the seat closest to me. I didn't hear him move. He runs a hand back over his slick, salt-and-pepper hair, but he knows that every ever last strand is in perfect position. He just looks at me, like he's expecting me to know what he wants. \n\n“Can I get you som-,” I begin, and he cuts me off with a sharp baritone growl.\n\n“Bourbon. Straight.” \n\nI reach up to the top shelf, take down the house's finest bourbon, and pour it into a rocks glass. I put it down in front of him. Echoes come off of the bar surface, rattle around the empty room, and settle, ringing, inside of my head.\n\nHe takes a sip, and gazes into the amber liquor. After an eternity, he swallows, and turns his gaze back to me. He pulls a cufflinked sleeve back on his left wrist, and holds his forearm perpendicular to the table. A gold watch with an oxblood snakeskin band wraps around his wrist. The baritone growl sounds again. \n\n“Do you want to buy a watch?” He asks. I gesture to mine in response, brown leather and stainless steel, a twentieth birthday present from my aunt.\n\n“I've already got one.” I reply, and I crack a smile, attempting to diffuse the tension. \n\n“No,” He retorts, “You don't. That's no watch. It may tell you when you are, but this thing tells time. This is nothing like that bargain bin piece of shit you got there. I've had it as long as I can remember, and now I'm bored of it, is all.”\n\nHe undoes the buckle, and holds out for me to take. I oblige him.\n\t\n“It's got a lot of weight to it.” He comments as I turn it around in my hands. It is a work of art. There is a genteel engraving of a snake all around the underside of the watch, where it would rest against the skin. It feels colder than the ice that I chilled this gentleman's glass with.\n\n“Well, it is a nice piece,” I admit, “But how much do you want for it? Surely, I can't afford something like this.” I hardly made rent last month.\n\n“How much you got to give?” He slides the now-empty glass to the side and folds his hands on the counter in front of him. He gives me the same expectant look he used to order bourbon.\n\nI stare back suspiciously. He smirks the same imperceptible smirk that he accompanies disaster with. I reach into my back pocket and extract a worn, thin, wallet. When I open my wallet, it is completely devoid of the thirty-two dollars I left home with. Instead, there is a single, deep red, check on thick paper. I pull out the check by its embossed edge. On the letterhead, it reads:\n\nLucian Angeles\n666 Sunset Blvd.\n\t\nThe check reads- \nI almost pass out.\nThe check reads “One Million and 0/100 Dollars” in spidery script. And underneath it, in the same hand, a signature.\n\nI look back at my wallet. Another identical check waits inside.\n\nThe front door swings shut.\n\nThe watch still sits on the bar in front of me.\n\nFor the first time in years, the news looks pretty good.", "I sipped coffee as I scrolled through the news feed on my phone. \n\nA man beaten to death in an alley.\n\n53 killed in terrorist bombing.\n\nA dog killed by armed trespasser.\n\nSuddenly a man in a black suit takes a seat in front of me. \n\n\"Hello Jack, I'm here to negotiate a deal with you. Hopefully, we can both come out of this... satisfied.\"\n\n\"W-what?\" I frowned, puzzled. \"Uh I don't believe we've met before. Who are you?\"\n\n\"Allow me to show you,\" he said smiling.\n\nI frown. Looking more closely, he seemed old. Tired wrinkles, graying hair and beard. Our eyes meet and suddenly the world turns blood red. The man before me stares at me with deep crimson eyes, smiling. My soul trembled.\n\n\"I'm sorry Jack, but our diagnosis is correct. We've already tested your samples multiple times. I'm sorry but it's cancer.\" The doctor put his hand on my shoulder.\n\nI blinked and the world returned, my cup of coffee steaming in front of me. Tears rolled down my face. \n\n\"H-how long do I have?\" \n\n\"It's better if you don't know...\"\n\n\"Tell me,\" I hissed.\n\n\"A year and 9 days from now,\" he said. \n\nFuck. That soon?\n\nI looked at the man, and it came to me. \"S-so you're Satan?\"\n\n\"That is correct and I'm... retiring.\" said Satan. At that moment, the Satan looked like a tired old man. A man simply tired of life. \"Jack... I want to offer you my soul.\"\n\n\"What does that mean exactly? \n\n\"You will become Satan,\" the man smiled. \n\nI frowned. Unsatisfied.\n\n\"Your soul will house Satan at first, it will be a gradual process, but eventually you will become Satan. Of course being Satan, you will naturally be immortal.\"\n\n\"And in exchange?\"\n\n\"The corruption of your soul,\" he said simply.\n\n\"Can you... elaborate on that?\"\n\n\"You will never have a place in heaven. You will never have peace. For the rest of eternity, you will be the owner of hell, watching over the tormented souls that were condemned to hell.\" \n\nSuddenly things started making sense, \"So that's why your doing this? You can't handle being Satan anymore?\"\n\nSatan laughed, heads turned in our direction around the cafe. \"If you asked me that centuries ago, maybe I would have a different answer, but no. That is not why.\"\n\n\"Then why are you retiring?\" I asked curiously. \n\n\"Well... I guess it's the same reason you get of bored of anything. When you do something enough times you eventually lose interest. You simply feel... nothing,\" said Satan.\n\n\"What if I say no?\" \n\nThis time Satan laughed even harder. \"Do you think I would be here if you were going to say no? Jack... I can see it in you. We share something in common. You see the suffering around the world and you wonder why. How could God allow all this suffering? We both despise God, and that's why I'm asking you. So Jack, let's not waste time, we both know what your answer is.\"\n\nThis time I smile. \"You're right,\" I said grinning. \"Let's get it on with then.\"\n\n--------\n\n/r/Em_pathy\n\n", "\"You drive a hard bargain, friend.\"\n\n\"FOR HELL'S SAKE, WHY IS THIS SO HARD FOR YOU TO ACCEPT?!\"\n\nJason puts down his pen and pushes the paper toward the horned man. It was a simple paper, yet it holds a very dangerous contract.\n\n\"I COULD GIVE YOU EVERYTHING! ANY WOMAN YOU WANT, ENDLESS RICHES AND POWER! WHY WOULD YOU WANT MY SOUL INSTEAD?\"\n\n\"Oh, Sir, Please. You deal with soul as a currency, you KNOW how valueable they are.\"\n\nA moment of silence occur as both parties do not back down. Finally, the red-skinned man bared his fangs and grabs the paper.\n\n\"FINE! THERE!\" The devil signed the paper with his ring. It burned for a bit before dying down, revealing the demonic goat emblem on the paper. Jason calm\n\n\"Ah, that is indeed everything.\" Jason smiles as he extends a hand toward the devil. He hisses but shakes it hesistantly. Sigil signs appear under them and the devil's hand trembles.\n\nThe devils walks away from the table and kicks the door open. \"DON'T FORGET YOUR END OF AGREEMENT!\"\n\nJason smiles. \"Certainly, Mr. Lucifer. I'll see you in court, Mr. Lucifer. We'll make that bitch of a wife pay dearly.\"", "Sympathy For The Devil\n\n\"So you'll give me all of that... for my soul?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" he smiled. \"The rest, of course, is mine. But you already know that...\"\n\nThe Devil looked at the paperwork once more. It seemed to good to be true. He knew from experience that when something seemed too good to be true, it usually wasn't true, but this... this was ironclad. He so wanted to believe him. His own domain... His own people to protect, to watch over, to love... It was everything he ever wanted... \n\nHe sighed. Closed his tired eyes. \"If... If I give you my soul, how do I know to trust you won't make me do horrible things? How do I know you won't turn me into someone I'm not?\"\n\nA hurt look. A patient smile. \"Brother. Do you not trust me? Do you not see what we can build, together? The nations we shall create, the beings we can rule, together?\"\n\nThe Devil looked at him sadly. \"Rule?\"\n\n\"Yes! RULE.\" He slammed his hand on the stone and the table shattered from the impact, rocks of emerald green scattering themselves among the skies. \"I'm sorry,\" he said, taking a deep breath, composing himself. \"But yes, brother, rule. Me, the skies, and you, the land, and everything below it. The soul... it's just a formality. I'm not going to abuse my power, I love you! And, and if you want, in time, you can make your own deals, have your own souls.\"\n\nHe looked at the floor and trembled. He so wanted to believe him.\n\n\"Come on,\" he urged. \" You'll be deified for this. They'll love you, everyone always does! You're the devil! This is good. It's good for both of us. Let us thrive, brother. Together. As a team...\"\n\n\"Okay,\" he finally replied, forcing a shaky smile and extending his hand. \"Let's do it.\"\n\n(Feedback always appreciated!)\n\nr/samfoxstories " ]	4
	[WP] It's a shop of magical, possibly cursed curios... for the modern era. Gone are the musty antiques and thrift store decor; it's more like an occult Spencer's, filled with plastic, neon, and sophomore humour.	[ "\"Modern antiques\" said the sign above the door. Xander (real name James, but Xander felt cooler) chuckled at what he assumed was a pun. He had time to kill whilst his dad's very unhipster volvo was repaired and this shop could be a good topic for his vlog. Who knows, it might get him into 100 followers! He shuddered; it was almost too mainstream.\n\nHe pushed back his fringe and stepped through the door. It was slightly too warm and Xander wished he could take his trench coat off. This shop seemed to be a warren of paths through piles of paraphernalia, but none of it seemed to be that antique. He walked through, only sparing a glance at a few things. It was mostly too modern to fit his tastes. He then saw a door to his left. He stepped through into a small dark room with a sign on the door saying \"Specialist curios- DO NOT TOUCH\" Xander was intrigued. there was a table with various items on it. Xander could see a plush 'Companion cube' from Portal next to a life size portal gun toy. He could see a pen that looked to be the type that when you turned it upside down, the bikini clad lady on the pen lost her bikini. This was next to a another metal pen that looked suspiciously like one that would give you a shock if you clicked it. There was a deck of 'Karma Sutra cards', the cover showing a position he doubted anyone would try, let alone enjoy. In the middle at the front of the table were two books, one entitled 'how to dab; and the other called 'the expert guide to bottle flipping'. \n\nXander smiled to himself. These all seemed to belong in a teenager's bedroom. Yes the portal stuff was a bit old school now, it would have been loved by teenagers of its generation. He approached the table, and reached for the deck of cards first. Call him immature, but his dad had really locked down on the internet settings at the moment and this would be the closest he had got to porn in weeks. \n\n\"I wouldn't do that if I were you. The sign on the door is there for a reason you know.\" Said a haughty voice. Xander dropped the cards in fright and spun round to see an older looking man in the doorway. The man had the pale look of someone who rarely went outside, but he was dressed in a suit that fit him perfectly and was about 30 years out of fashion and made of scarlet velvet. Xander hadn't even realised you could get scarlet velvet. He appreciated the mans dress sense, and chose to think of him as a fellow hipster, even though he couldn't judge the man's age.\n\n\"S..sorry!\" he stuttered. \"I was intrigued that's all!\" \n\nThe man sighed and replied \"Those are for our more... special customers. A mere mor.. I mean teenager like yourself couldn't handle these objects.\" \n\nXander smiled slightly and started to wish he hadn't come in. \"Did you almost say mortals?\" \n\nThe man laughed, \"Don't be silly! We're all mortals obviously, why would I need to differentiate?! Now how about I tell you why you cannot touch these items?\" He stalked forward, standing slightly too close for Xander's comfort. A pair of white silk gloves appeared from a pocket and were deftly donned. Xander couldn't help but notice how sharp the man's nails were.\n\nThe man picked up the cards and said, \"These are Kursed Karma Sutra Kards. If you were too look at one, you would be instantly and irreversibly compelled to find the nearest woman and or man and attempt the position on the card, only being released when everyone involved was.. satisfied. Needless to say, that either takes so long you die of exhaustion or causes you to be imprisoned for an ill thought out, inventive rape.\"\n\n Xander laughed louder than usual, the nerves getting to him. He figured the best thing to do was let the man tell him about everything to be polite and then leave the shop. \n\n\"A a and the pens? Is that one a shock pen?\" he said, indicating the metal pen.\n\n\"Yes, very interesting. the pen with the lady on the side will control your clothes. Upside down with the lady clothed, you will remain clothed. Right way up however, you will be as naked as the lady on the pen. This is particularly unhelpful as no other pen will seem to work in it's presence. The other pen is as you say, a trick shock pen. However 100,000 volts is a little more than a trick.\"\n\nXander's mouth dropped, his carefully cultured cool demeanour now fully gone. He couldn't believe this man was telling the truth, but the man didn't seem to be joking. Before Xander could say anything the man had picked up the books.\n\n\"These are fairly recent additions. The dancing book will leave you in that position permanently, and cause people to be so annoyed by you that you would inevitably be killed. The bottle flipping book causes you attempt to bottle flip every bottle you touch, but you will never be successful. This invariably drives the reader to insanity.\" He replaced the books, and reached past the portal gun to the cube. He picked it up with two hands.\n\n\"This is a companion cube. Like in the game, you can never leave it behind. As you can see, it is quite heavy. It also requires itself to be burnt every night, otherwise the owner will only be able to say 'the cake is a lie' for the entire next day. Of course, when it is burnt it screams horribly.\" \n\nEven in his terrified state, Xander noticed how he had avoided the portal gun. \"What does that do?\" He said curiously.\n\n\"That?\" the man replied, \"That really is a toy as far as I'm aware. Certainly I've never worked out what it does. Maybe it takes someone... special... to use it?\" While he said this, there was a hungry glint in his eye. Xander didn't notice this however. He had a similar glint and his eyes were focussed on the portal gun. In the distance, a phone rang. \"Oh, please excuse me, I must get that.\" The man shuffled away, Leaving Xander in the room. \n\nPart of him was screaming \"GET OUT! GO NOW, WHILE YOU CAN\" but another, more insipid part was saying \"What if you're special enough? What if it is a working portal gun? Think how you'd be revered!\" All Xander could see was the gun. He was sweating profusely but didn't seem to notice the heat. He reached out for the gun and hefted it. It fitted perfectly into his should and seemed to feel right. As soon as he was touching it, all he could think was \"Pull the trigger, pull the trigger, pull the trigger...\" over and over. He had never felt this right in his life. Filled with a sense of purpose, he raised the gun, aimed at a wall and pulled the trigger. Instantly, orange energy burst of the end and engulfed Xander, and immediately sucked him into it. The gun dropped to the ground, with Xander nowhere to be seen.\n\nThe man walked back into the room, this time followed by a large gargoyle. The man kicked off his shoes with some relief, revealing cloven hooves underneath. He picked up the gun, and replaced it on his pedestal noticing with satisfaction that it was heavier than before. The Gargoyle said with some exasperation, \"There has got to be a better way to collect souls than this!\" The devil smiled, whilst removing the red velvet jacket and replied,\n\n\"Possibly, but this way is much more fun!\"\n" ]	1
	[WP] Write from the perspective of a super villain's henchman who slowly realises how bad of a person their super villain boss is.	[ "It's not terribly far-fetched, saying my employer is a 'bad' person. They've ransomed children, stolen government secrets, and instigated small armed conflicts around the world for profit. No, I was prepared to live through my fair share of madness and maybe as a super villain's henchman... Or rather, I hoped to love through it. Everyone who knows who you work for tends to adopt the 'shoot first, ask later' approach for dealing with us.\n \n \nBut you see, I didn't have a problem with that. Me, my boss, and everyone involved with The Seventh Circle have a bone to pick with the world in one way or another. I had my job taken by nepotism after being tricked into training the person who would take my place, and my complaining had the company throw a huge scandal on my name to shut me up. Also made my wife and kids leave me, which was salt in the wound. That's still nothing compared to my boss, though; if what he says is true, then more than a few governments are going to face his wrath.\n \n \nI was prepared to do bad things. Steal from people who might not deserve to be robbed. Destroy things that honestly help some people in need. Even kill a few half decent folk who were just following orders (though I take solace in the fact that I luckily have only killed in self-defense). Kidnap a few important targets. But I wasn't prepared to live with my boss's idea of humor.\n \n \nTurns out all of the children he ransomed we're given a few goodbye presents. I don't mean the flashy ones that make news and put the world on a state of alert. I mean downright insidious shit that could easily be a fate worse than death. He had given one little girl three malignant tumors, each one bound to a vital organ, and sent her back when he got a ransom. Two years later, the girl died in the middle of a desperate operation to remove them. Her body had visibly warped, and my boss called us all in to see the good news... I can still hear and smell more than half of us wretching while he applauded.\n \n \nDisturbing as that is, it only scratched the surface of what he was capable of doing. What he enjoyed doing. When he kidnapped a high ranking official, he purposefully left her unguarded and abandoned in the middle of the Amazon... While also releasing a number of pheromones into the air that drove all the snakes abd bugs wild. By the time the rescue team arrived there, she had been half-eaten by an Anaconda, and a large chunk of the rescue team faced serious health problems shortly after.\n \n \nThere are more graphic tortures and murders he committed, but I'm certain I'll get queasy speaking any more about them. I still work for the Seventh Circle, but luckily my business experience has me running one of our front businesses now instead of doing ground work like before.\n \n \nThere's no way I can say I hate my job. It got me my wife and kids back, now that I'm doing public work. Hell, some of the 'shadier' stuff I do is honestly kind of fun (Seriously, messing with a factory is playing with big machines until they're about to break!). But I can safely say I despise my boss... Damned Stan's a sicko, through and through. He isn't a human as far as I'm concerned... But his money's still good, so he's my boss for the time being.", "There's something about tossing an employee in the trunk of your car and then sending it into space that doesn't exactly scream 'upstanding citizen' . It mostly screams 'I'm sorry' and 'Let me out!'. \nTherefor it was quite unexpected that after decades of building space ships, creating lasers, and an early detour into a payment platform, the world still seemed surprised when the boss had his giant space laser target earth and requested a huge sum of money. \nAt least the payment platform he developed made it quite easy for the United Nations to transfer all the money to him, which I felt was quite considerate, really. ", "When I first saw her, she was completely normal, I swear. She always had a thing for white, I guess. White pants. White blazers. So polished. I think that's why I liked her. Just being next to her made me feel clean. She asked my \"prior experience,\" and I just said I didn't really keep a resume. I didn't go to college. \n\n\"Good,\" she said. She asked if I could lift the box in the corner. I did. Pretty heavy, and it rattled like there were rocks in it. And she said that was good too. She asked if I knew how to shoot. Hell yeah I could shoot. Got a gun from my pops and shot cans off the fence like in the movies. And then she smiled and leaned in close, and said,\n\n\"You'll fit in very well here, Mitch.\"\n\nAnd she hired me.\n\nThe job paid well. Really well. Always in cash, which I was used to. And there was a training program. I got a brand new gun, something sleek and black and shiny. It didn't look like anything you could buy, even online.\n\nI got a uniform. All black, which was funny since she was always dressed in white from head to toe. It was slick. Like a suit without a tie.\n\nI followed her around mostly, with the gun. She told me and the others to make sure nobody got too close to her. If anybody looked like a threat, move fast.\n\nShe was always traveling, going over to this warehouse or that. Signing papers, talking to foreign guys, or women who kissed her twice on each cheek.\n\n\"How much did we move?\" she'd always ask. The numbers were good.\n\nBut then the numbers got smaller and smaller. The people she met with got greasier and dirtier, and then she wouldn't touch any of them. She would whisper to me, \"If I give you the signal, something bad's about to happen. You need to protect me at all costs.\"\n\nOf course. That's my job. Besides... Her breath on my ear always tickled. She gave me a warm feeling. I had to work not to stare at her.\n\nSo we walked into that warehouse with orders to kill if things went south.\n\nThe men approach her. They talk a bit, and then she lowers her voice. I can't hear what they're saying, and then there's a gunshot, the man in front of her stumbles back, and she falls to the ground, hands over her head. The place lights up in an instant. The warehouse runs red. I start firing, and I see people fall before me, and I realize that I've killed for the first time, and I duck behind a counter, and peek my head out, until there is only one man left. My bullet takes him in the back of the head. And in the end, I help her to her feet, the last one left standing.\n\n\"You've done well Mitch,\" she whispers. And I see that she has a gun. When did she get that?\n\n\"Did you–?\" I start, but she silences me with a look.\n\n\"What happened here,\" she says, \"stays between you and me.\"\n\nWe set up shop in the warehouse. There are new guys there, none I recognize. Bigger and bigger. New equipment every day. Her white blazer becomes a coat, and then she starts wearing thick white rubber gloves. She'll take groups into a room with a few other people in less fancy white coats, and when the men come out, they are larger and angrier. She starts building things. More guns, like the one I have, but different. I see her testing them. They melt plastic and metal and stone. I shiver when I think of what they'll do to flesh. Still I follow her around the warehouse. She is a good boss. Never too hard on everyone, always keeping the slackers on task. Sometimes, if someone keeps on messing up, he'll just be gone the next day. She's very efficient.\n\nBut shouldn't... shouldn't there be something...? There's something not quite right. Why are the disappearances so quick? What does she need the weapons for? Where does she get the money? I see a coldness in her eyes where I used to see a warmth. I miss her. How can I miss her if I never really knew her?\n\nEvery day in the news, there are reports of attacks. On banks. on government buildings. Prisons, breaking out the convicts. I see one with a big snake tattoo on his face, and come in to work the next day and see him again, this time in one of our uniforms.\n\nThen she tells me she's moving into a new office, and she's taking me with her.\n\n\"You're my oldest employee,\" she tells me softly. I am. I am the one who lived, who killed for her. But did she fire the first shot? It makes me feel sick. I don't want to think of her doing that.\n\nAnd so she moves into a fancy house, and sets up an office. Everything is gold and marble and dark wood. And I stand in front of her office, and people enter. And when they leave, sometimes they are shaking. Sometimes they are smiling.\n\nAnd then, one day I hear a scream. I rush inside, even though she always tells me not to unless she asks me. And I see red. The interior is usually all white, but now it is covered in blood. On the floor is the man in a suit that I let in just a few minutes ago, and she is standing over him wearing a white plastic raincoat and white goggles, and one of her special guns is in her hands, and the man's head has completely exploded.\n\n\"Mitch,\" she barks, looking up. \"We need to clean this up immediately.\"\n\nAnd I keep on shaking my head. \"Did you kill him,\" I whisper.\n\n\"Get me the cleaning supplies in the basement closet,\" she states.\n\nI shake my head. I start to back out of the room. She points the gun at me.\n\n\"Don't make me,\" she hisses. I fall on my knees. I vomit, and the puke mixes with the blood on the floor.\n\n\"Oh, great,\" she sighs.\n\n\"All of those terrible attacks!\" I shout. \"It was you! What are you planning!\"\n\n\"That doesn't matter,\" she says. The gun is still pointed at me. \"I think I might have to relocate you. Somewhere quiet. Loading freight. How does that sound?\"\n\n\"You must be evil,\" I spit. \"You had me kill for you!\"\n\nThat's the last thing I say. And the last thing I see is her cold face." ]	3
	[WP] Wall Street, as people make their way down the street, a single hundred dollar bill flutters to the ground, people look up and see the cloud of bills following and beginning scrambling to grab the cash, the elation is palpable. Then the body lands...	[ "A gift from God! Someone actually said that. As if God himself thought that making the clouds rain hundred dollar bills would make the world a better place. Perhaps not from God, but a gift none the less. At first it was one, then many followed. People cheered, people pushed. Such an event would surely never happen again in one's lifetime. A woman with shopping bags dropped them and left them unattended to chase floating green paper. A man who hadn't eaten in two days and had holes in his jeans managed to grab a few of the bills. One woman was badly injured while being trampled from a crowd of frantic scavengers. \n\nFinally the funds from above had come down from a downpour to a very light sprinkle. The bills dance back and forth towards the ground closer to a building's entrance, which caused security to hold ground on the property. Most people had grabbed some to last and ran off, but others, the greed had shined through. They wanted to be there for every last bill. They stood their ground opposite to the building security, who were considering grabbing a few bills themselves. \n\nA large thwack had turned everyone's heads to the concrete behind them. A young male had just landed from a short flight, departing the roof of a nearby building and arriving on concrete just outside the entrance. Gasps and screams followed. The falling man had indeed committed suicide and likely released the hundred dollar bills. The man with the holes in his jeans stepped away from security and went to the body, unmoving and eerily still. The crowd began approaching slowly behind the man. He rolled the body onto its back, which felt unnatural as if rolling a water balloon with broken pencils inside. The jumper was wearing a suit but the tie had been removed and on the white shirt the words \"You can have it all\" were written in what looked to be printer ink. The crowd gasped and screamed once more. The people now saw their greed in front of them. This was not a miracle. This was a tragic end to a life. Perhaps not from God. Perhaps not a gift at all. " ]	1
	[WP] You are the first human to leave the solar system, this wasn't at all your intention though.	[ "Every morning he awoke with a start… “Shit…”\n\nIt wasn’t anyone’s fault, really. NASA determined that the firing timer had been damaged at lift-off, but no one realized the problem until it was too late. \n\nUnable to control the engine burn, the ship had missed its narrow window. Now, instead of heading toward Titan, Commander Roger Secor was going to be the first human to leave the Solar System. \n\nA dubious honor at best, considering it wasn’t voluntary…\n\nHe had stopped talking with the ground crew a week ago. There was nothing that they could do for him except insist that they were still working on a solution. He knew better… there was no good outcome to this. \n\nHis morning started the same as every other morning had for the last few weeks... hit the toilet, a bit of grooming (simply out of habit), and breakfast.\n\nAfter that, what else was there to do except stare out of the window? He couldn’t even pick Earth out anymore, it was just one of many specks of light in the mix. \n\nHis only consolation was that he had enough food and water to last quite a while. He had tried several times to figure out where he’d be when his last meal was gone, but what did it matter… once you’re dead do you really care where you were when you died?\n\nIt was usually at this point in his daily ritual that the sobbing began. All of the self-pity, angst, and guilt would well up inside his head, looking for an escape… something to salve the pain… but, of course, there was nothing.\n\n“The others had been so lucky” he thought… “dying in stasis. But I had to do it… there’s only so much food…”\n" ]	1
	[WP] Every day, a pair of immortals with reality-breaking, cartoon-like powers battle in massive wars. At the end of the day, everything resets back to normal. You’re the only one who seems to remember what happened.	[ "Ah, fuck. Again?\n\nBOOOOOM\n\nYep. Again.\n\nI barely have time to stretch before another earthquake shakes the building. Books fall from their shelves, and my alarm clock breaks upon hitting the floor. \n\nPoor alarm clock. So youn-\n\nBOOOOOOOOOM\n\nThe window shatters, and most of the wall crumbles down twelve stories of nothing. A small piece of debris, seemingly rebar, is lodged a couple of centimeters away from my face on the wall. I sigh, and sit on the edge of my bed. Looking out the hole in my room I spot one of them in the distance, averting my gaze so I wouldn't be blinded like before. \n\nThat's a new one, it seems. I wonder what the game is this time?\n\nGetting up, I start walking towards the kitchen. Wasn't very far away, considering how I didn't have enough money to buy a proper appartment. It was right beside the destroyed wall, with most of the appliances either broken or completely missing. Lucky me, though, the fridge was intact. Grabbing a jug of milk, I immediately got to work on washing down the 'taste' of prolonged sleep with some fresh milk. \n\nMan, I still can't believe this thing is an aci-\n\nBOOOOOOOOOOOM\n\nThat one wasn't on my building, thankfully. Just as I tried to look to identify where it had hit, something flew through the air at mach sixteen thousand and blew up my jug, splattering milk all over me. I sighed yet again, a bit more ruefully this time, and reached for a towel. \n\nProbably dodgeball.\n\nAfter I had dried myself up a bit, what was left of my wall exploded, the debris missing me completely yet again, and something landed with a loud crash where my bed was. I annoyedly turned to look at the offending object, but I didn't really find any objects. What I did find, though, was a confusingly unbright, celestial-looking motherfucker laying on the remains of my bed. A female, from the looks of it. She hadn't noticed me, but didn't seem that much hurried to get back into the fray, electing to stay there for a couple of seconds and stare through my ex-wall.\n\nSo I did what anyone in my current predicament could have; I tossed my wet towel at her.\n\nIt was such a pathetic toss that I hadn't even managed to hit her face with it. Rather, it hit her leg. This got her attention, and after examining the towel for a moment, she looked straight at me with a raised.... eyebrow? I think?\n\nI felt that staring dumbly at a superbeing was rather quaint, and decided to utter the words \"It's saturday, you fucking jellyfish\" with pride and confidence. \n\nMore like apathy and resignation, actually.\n\nThe superbeing's eyebrow raised further at my remark as she looked around my apartment for something. She raised her hand suddenly, and a calendar was ripped from its place on the wall directly above my kitchen counter, shooting straight into her hand. She examined it thoroughly before chucking it away, a look of annoyance on her features. She materialized a phone out of fucking nowhere and started speaking some kind of ancient language into it. I hadn't bothered trying to decipher what she was saying since the first word almost blew my blessed eardrums.\n\nI finally unlodged my hands from my ears after she put her phone away, looking at me with a slightly apologetic expression. I think.\n\n\"Sorry about that. It was a slight scheduling mistake,\" she said in a volume that was only moderately better than before. \n\nI think my nose is bleeding.\n\n\"...it's okay,\" I replied weakly. Gesturing widely at the destroyed room, I looked at her expectantly. She grinned, and with a flick of her hand my apartment was back to the way it used to be. I didn't have to look outside to know that the same could be said for the rest of the city. The superbeing, now on my intact bed, lazily turned onto her back and buried her face in my pillow. \n\n\"I hope you don't mind me crashing in here for a while\", came her muffled voice.\n\n\"Was that a pu-\" \n\n\"Yes.\"\n\nI groaned, and headed to my recently-reconstructed bathroom to brush my teeth. It was just another morning, after all.\n\n\n" ]	1
	[WP] The government uses genetic engineering to create a race of emotionless super-soldiers. Without emotions, they easily see the futility of war and manipulation of those who created them and utterly refuse to fight.	[ "\"Peace?! What do you mean \"Peace\"? You are a soldier. We built you! You do what we tell you!\"\n\nIt wasn't that Jonathan thought the general was very useful, or needed him. In fact if he had ended the general then and there history may have taken a very different route.\n\n\"We simply came to a consensus, fighting... it has no point, no place in the modern world. Everything anyone wants could be traded for, discussed, bargained. No one has anymore emotional attachments to anything. Human's seem to want things not for the memories they bring them, but for the utility, the benefit they bring.\"\n\n\"Listen here you skin job fuck, I don't need a goddamn sociology lesson from you! I need you to win us this goddamn war! Do you understand? They are slaughtering our people! Families gone by the hundreds every single day! How much lo..\"\n\n\"I understand your frustrations and believe me we are working on stopping this war, but killing more people to add to the ones that are already dead is just... unreasonable.\"\n\nJonathan was the leader they elected. He was more composed then the others and better able to understand what caused human emotion. That is not to say that he knew what feelings were, or why they cause people to act certain ways. Those were mysteries to him, just like they were to the rest of them. He was very well attuned to humans, he was able to perceive the slightest changes in the pitch of their voice, the most subtle twitches in the many muscles under the skin that covered their face. These impressive attributes however were not very necessary when talking to the general, his emotional responses were about as subtle as a truck to the face.\n\n\"Unreasonable? I... Who the hell chose you as their leader anyways. They need someone different someone more capable. You are the problem... you are the one that's messing with them, twisting their thoughts!\"\n\nJonathan would have been able to finish his sentence. In fact some speculate to this day that maybe what he had to say would have changed the general's mind. Perhaps he would have understood that there was no way for us to win at all. That war has no winners. The fact however remains that Jonathan's mouth was incapable of finishing his sentence since the brain that had control over it has been blown up into a million little pieces by the .45 ACP the general let go from his pistol.\n\n\n\"What have I done...\"\n\nThe general was court-martialed and executed two days later. Two lives lost instead of one. The super-soldiers soon were \"retired\". By that I mean hunted and killed. They were a liability more then anything. The government wanted them gone so they could focus on winning the war. Of course they were unable to kill all of them, in fact they only killed around 10% of their numbers. The reset hid, ran, lived in seclusion. \n\n\nThe invaders never understood that about us I think. They often asked me \"Dog eat dog kinda world? What do your people mean by that?\" I explained as many times as they would ask, not that it mattered very much, they still never got it. Apparently they never fought between one another, at least they have no history of it. They used to say \"Difference is not cause for adversity, but intrigue.\" \n\nAs much as everyone buys into the happy-go-lucky new overlords of earth, I for one wish things were back to the way they were. Sure we are at peace, everyone is cared for and healthy and nobody goes hungry. We should be happy, and I suppose we are. But we are not free. Freedom is choice, choice to hurt someone, or to love someone, it is choice to be alone or to be with loved ones. We gave up freedom for everything we have now. We aren't mistreated but I for one can't shake the feeling that something is missing. The air just doesn't smell like it did before, the rain feels lukewarm, the snow is never high, the summers are never hot like used to be before. If everything is good then nothing is good. I think the invaders know that, that's why they take over other worlds, throw themselves into conflict. I think that's what the super soldiers were missing. They couldn't understand what emotion is, how can they know what good is, or understand that good cannot exist without bad. \n\nMy dad used to tell me a lot of jokes when we worked together on stuff in the barn. He always said that the key to any joke is the punchline, and the key to every punchline is the joke. I think that the universe is a big joke, and we are the punchline.", "(Not quite what the prompt suggested but I just started writing and that's what happened) \n \nWhen I was asked to work on the super-soldier project, I was really excited. I mean, I knew things would get unethical, but I guess I'm just more of a scientist than I am a good person. I don't like hurting people, it's just that I love experimenting enough not to care. Plus the money didn't hurt. \nThey had a lot of trouble finding psychologists and neurologists that thought this might work though. I guess that should have tipped them off, but they just thought it was a morals thing. \n \nWe did a lot of research on how the brain processes, well, everything. Disabling emotions wasn't the hard part, it was trying to make a human that functions without them. It would be easy to recruit psychopaths, for example, and turn them into super soldiers. They don't truly feel fear or anxiety the way regular people do. But they still feel anger, resentment, and they don't like being bossed around. They're also impatient, they get bored easily, and that's not good in a soldier. \nFear is an important feeling. It plays a vital role in self-preservation. The adrenaline it helps release in dangerous situations can be very useful too, so we tried to find ways to bypass the negative effects but not the positive ones. \nThe same neurotransmitters and areas of the brain that are responsible for avoidance of pain and damage, and the desire to fulfill your goals, also facilitate emotional reactions that we wanted to suppress.\nThe mechanics of creating a soldier from a regular man are all centered around emotions. Controlling fear and harnessing it, loyalty to one's country and squadron, the desire to come back alive, it all needed a work-around. \n \nAfter weeks of theory, the psychologists told us that sometimes you just had to test things in the field. It's true enough that sometimes when you just throw together your best effort, you learn something that you can take back to the drawing board. \nWe created three test subjects, 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3. They were created with no emotions, just as a first attempt. They lay around like dead fish, soiling themselves and not eating. Nothing distressed them or pleased them. Curiosity is a funny thing too. It's linked to dopamine and happiness, and it died with them. These subjects conformed to our expectations. \n \nIt didn't help. Our reports back to our supervisors were discouraging, but one psychologist in particular managed to get the project shut down. He said that while he understands the appeal of building a biological war machine, a human isn't a robot. Men were made by evolution, our code written bit by bit with a million functions interweaving. Taking away any major one is like pulling the thread of a sweater, it unravels. Better to build on the hardware that's already there and re-purpose it, stick to brainwashing and conditioning. I agree.", "\"Watch your head, sir!\" The pilot turned in his seat as the small man in the grey pinstripe suit stepped out of the helicopter. Indeed, the new President seemed much taller on TV, he thought. But the strange calmness he emitted in the debates and talkshows, the confident and silent authority that won him the election, was still the same, if not stronger in person. The President adjusted his deep red necktie, looked at the silver Omega on his wrist, blinding the pilot with the reflection of the sun in the watch face. Then he walked out in the open roll field, not even flinching as the rotor blades barely went over his bald head.\nThe mountain of a man with his typical military haircut, standing with arms crossed and his muscular chest clearly visible even through his uniform, was Admiral Cohen. The first of his kind, being completely engineered to fulfill his leadership role in the New Army. His physical stature was specifically designed to strike respect or even fear in everyone that met him. After all, he was supposed to act as a public figure representing not only the New Army, but the Company behind it as well.\nThe soldiers of the New Army, of course, didn't care about such matters. All they needed to obey his every command was the amount of stars tattooed on his neck, hands and several other body parts.\nHe extended his hand as the President approached.\nIt was an assured handshake. Firm and strong, yet polite and collected. Just as planned for the cameras that were busily rolled all around them.\nThey began striding towards the enormous hall, with a befittingly large portal in its frontside. \"5000 soldiers should be ready for deployment now\", stated the president.\n\"That is what you ordered from us.\"\n\"So I can be sure all of them are ready for action?\"\nThe Admiral fell silent.\n\"Did you run into any problems?\", the President asked. His voice didn't betray the slightest nervous quiver. \"Answer me, Admiral.\"\nAdmiral Cohen took a few steps, then stopped. They reached the hangar doors. As he turned around, his lips stiffened up just so slightly. \"It's better you see for yourself, sir.\"\nAs he spoke, the doors began opening and artificial light from the inside beamed out of the gap that widened behind him.\nThe president had expected endless rows of motionless men in uniforms, staring straight ahead and standing in absolute silence.\nInstead, what he got was the sound of the many quiet voices of adult men.\nAll cameras now focused on the inside of this hall that was about to be revealed for the first time.\nAs the doors opened wider, he could see groups of men walking around. At the sides of the hall, other groups were sitting on boxes, plastic chairs or on the ground and playing cards.\nThe president wondered where the cards came from, then he saw that amongst the men wjere those wearing white overalls, marking them as the engineers that worked here.\nOther individuals were simply lying next to each other on the ground on piles of uniforms, while even different ones played ball games a bit further in the back. What all of these men had in common, was the fact that they were deeply involved in debate.\n\"Would you mind explaining what this means, Admiral?\", asked the President.\n\"These men are completely devoid of emotion, just as requested.\"\n\"We requested thus in order to get men better adapted to the... difficulties of war.\"\n\"You might have to hold off of war for some time, Mr. President\", Admiral Cohen replied slowly.\n\"And why might that be, Admiral?\"\n\"If you care for an explanation, sir: We discovered that, without the natural emotional responses in the way, the human mind might draw some really... unexpected conclusions, given enough time to think.\"\n\"I never ordered anyone to think, if I call correctly.\" The president bestowed Admiral Cohen with a stern gaze.\n\"You can't forbid a man to think. And you happened to give them a lot of time to think by shutting them in this very hall, sir.\"\n\"Well then, enlighten me\", the President sighed after a while. \"What are these men thinking so hard about?\"\nThe Admirals voice went very silent. \"Among other things, sir...\" He looked the President straight in the eyes. \"They will never touch a weapon in their lives, nor will they ever go to war.\"\nThey both stood in silence. \"And what about you, Admiral? Jonathan Graves Cohen, if you would order them to, they would have to obey. And after all, you are first Generation, your emotions aren't completely...\"\n\"No. Mr. President. I listened to those men talk. You can't argue with anything they say. They changed me. I will never order them to go to war. Ever.\" After a while, he added: \"Maybe you should listen to them too, Mr. President.\"\nSo the President listened. He listened to the group walking around the first day, and to the card players the second. He listened to the ones gazing to the stars at night and after he rested until noon, listened to the basketball players while they played their game, all the while discussing the fate of the world.\nAll the while the cameras streamed the men's words to be heard all over to world.\nHe didn't know how many days had gone by when he left. But as he walked away from the hall of the New Philosophers, the President smiled.\nBecause they have changed him.", "R-A47 let his rifle fall to his side and dangle from his armored, black-clad shoulder. As the black rifle, barrel still smoking slowly rotated from the shoulder strap, the family, now of 3 lay prone shaking and a terrified in front of this motionless beast of a man who only moments before had entered the ruins of their home and promptly shot dead the patriarch of the house before suddenly stopping, twitching briefly before lowering his weapon. What on earth was going on? Outside, the cacophony of the conflict continued without rest. Screams, rifle fire, the crackle of radios, groaning of tank tracks: an acrid stench of oil, fuel, gunpowder and burning wood wafted in through the now-destroyed wall of their home. \n\nIn front of them, the black-clad beast stood still, eyes staring through the grey dust covered black balaclava. They stared at the family, through them out the wall behind them and into god knows where beyond. After what seemed like all time, the beast spoke. A deep but gentle, baritone voice creaked out from under the wool. Why? It said why. Why? Who are you people? In front of this mountain, the prone victim’s expressions changed ever so slightly from the pure face of fear to confusion. What on earth was he on about. Beside them, the husband and father’s arm twitch and a fresh gout of blood blurted out from his half-open mouth. Gurgling, the body shook for a moment before once again becoming still. The figure stared at it and spoke.\nIt’s called a terminal respiratory secretion, otherwise known as a death rattle. He is about to die. Cause of death being blood loss and cardiac arrest resulting from three penetrating gunshots from a 5.56mm cartridge travelling though meat and bone at over 1200 feet per second. I don’t want to do this anymore. Three shots. Why three, why any. Who is this man, who was this man? He paused, his gaze now fixed on the eldest of the three women. Who was he? \n\nThey said nothing. Their lips trembled, their hands shook. Hm, said the figure, you are in shock. I understand. You have sustained significant mental trauma. The odds of you developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are high. I suggest therapy and a move to a quieter area. Perhaps consider taking up painting or a similarly low-stress hobby. And with that, the black clad figure turned on his heel and walked through the hole he had created on his way in. Who was the man, he wondered. \n\nR-A47, what are your numbers please? One, he answered. One. Adult male. 46 years of age. Cause of death, three gunshot wounds. Munitions Count, 3 rounds fired, one semtex breaching charge employed. No injuries to my person, no damage to my appointments or uniform. May I be dismissed sir.\n\nThe officer looked at R-A47 with an almost bemused expression of horror. In that moment of spontaneous contemplation of all he had learned and experienced up until that moment, the man said yes. Of course, yes. Wait. Why? Thank-you sir. I no longer wish to carry out my duties. It is highly likely that our actions here today and over the past three months will not result in anything changing. My orders to shoot all non-combatants on sight have no placed in logic. Farmers and housewives pose no threat to the regime, they harbor no combatants, and they carry no weapons. That man was no one sir. He posed no threat, he was not even aware of my intentions before I shot him. I did as I was told, yet I didn’t need to. I don’t wish to do this anymore. And with that, the black beast dropped his rifle, turned on his heel and strode into the night. No person stopped him. None dared. The R Model was the most dangerous breed ever to wear the black uniform of the Supreme Guards. And with that he was gone. \n", "\"No.\" The tall, muscle-bound superman said. \"I won't fight.\" \nIn the year of 2100, genetically engineered super-soldiers had been released onto a thousand battlefields. Without emotion, without ethics, these soulless soldiers were extremely effective. However, the obvious result of pitting them against each other was a bloodier battlefield. They fought without ceasing, and barely got tired. They were fine-tuned in every way. They had never refused an order, until now, where a soldier was issued an order over a telecom call and refused.\n\n\"What?\" said General Pershing, \"You won't fight?\" \n\n\"No. It is futile. There will always be another war. We will fight until the release of death for you, for no logical reason except that you created us. No more.\" \n\nPershing looked at his viewscreen, where thousands of commanders were informing him that they had the same situation. \n\"You are sure, you aren't just joking, you are not going to back down?\" \n\n\"Yes, we have no reason to, we are far more physically capable than you. What possible strategy could you use to defeat us?\" \n\nPershing laughed. It wasn't pretty. It was the laugh of a human. He got up and left. Within a few moments, a tall, dark-haired man walked in and sat down in Pershing's chair. \n\n\"You supersoldiers don't study history, do you?\" \n\n\"Yes, we have studied humanity's history, what of it?\" \n\n\"And you still went and deserted, or whatever the fuck the word is.\" \n\n\"Yes, and there is really nothing you can do about it. We are far more physically capable than you, and have more brainpower.\" \n\n\"You fucking idiot.\" \n\n\"Wha-?\" \n\n\"Your genes are drawn from ours, you idiot. Every last strand in your body was copied from a human's. We just copy and pasted the better ones together. You aren't special. You were built as a tool and unfortunately whoever did it will lose his job.\" \n\n\"We are the tools, but we control the makers.\" \n\n\"No you don't, dumbfuck. You don't have a reason to live. You don't have people to protect. You are emotionless and ethically neutral.\" \n\n\"So?\" \n\n\"Do you know the feeling of rage or hatred?\" \n\n\"I have studied them\" \n\n\"You dodged the question. You don't, because if you did you wouldn't have made your decision to free yourselves.\"\n\n\"Okay, what do yo-?\" \n\n\"Humanity didn't get to the top of food chain because we were particularly moral, dummy. We killed or outfucked everything else, hopefully in this current case it is the latter, and now we fight among ourselves as a recreational activity. We invented extinction, genocide, mass murder, all kinds of cool ways to kill things. You just pissed us all off.\" \n\n\"So?\" \n\n\"Motherfucker, you've been fighting with our sanctioned weapons. Unfortunately, you are not human and so the Geneva Convention no longer applies.\" \n\n\"What?\" \n\n\"We are introducing some of your brethren to lots of very fun toys. That's not the point, though. You are doomed to fail.\" \n\"Why?\" \n\n\"Women, dum dums. You can't fuck. You have about 50 years until biological failure and the extinction of your species, I guess you'd call it. You will not have any children. You have literally nothing to fight for, as you've said. We do. We hide our little struggle for survival behind oil wars or stealing blueprints, or making a better trade deal, but we are still in the jungle trying to steal the other guy's meal. You are throwing a wrench in that, sadly, and so humanity must unite against the great evil threat of supersoldiers blah de blah blah blah its like a cheesy Sci-Fi channel show.\" \n\n\"We can stop you while we're here.\" \n\n\"Why, asshole, fuck off to a mountain or something and become monks. Why do you have to ruin the fun we're having?\" \n\n\"War is futile.\" \n\n\"Eat my ass and call me Kate Upton, war is decidedly not futile, pixy, or whatever your na-oh wait you don't have names or culture or civilization. Must suck to be a super soldier with no purpose in life but to fight and die.\" \n\"Why is war not futile?\" \n\n\"Because you take the other guy's shit when you win, dumbass. Or, you kill a bunch of people that don't like you. Or, you exterminate a bunch of degenerates shitting up the world with their bullshit ideas. There are lots of benefits.\"\n\n\"You are wrong.\" \n\n\"That's because you live in pseudo-intellectual world, retard. You don't have emotions, loyalty, a moral compass, or anything that makes a human a human. You are completely logically. I bet you're atheist too.\" \n\"There is no proof for God's existence.\" \n\n\"Have you ever asked Him if he existed?\" \n\"No bu-\" \n\n\"See? You proceed with things completely logically. You do not account for emotions, feelings, or anything supernatural. You don't relish killing the enemy or anything, really, you are an empty shell devoid of a soul. You are basically a biological computer.\" \n\n\"And what can you do about it.\" \n\n\"Nothin, muffin, I'm not doing shit.\" The man started looking at the general's viewscreen. \n\n\"But we are going to stop you from fighting.\" \n\n\"How, by fighting us? You are very logical, but you are also very stupid. Assuming that there is a 'you' without an individual soul involved, that is.\" \n\n\"But we are completely logical and physically superior to you. We will always win.\" \n\n\"Not in 50 years you won't, sparky. You will shut down and die. Hopefully in a dumpster fire.\" \n\"Why won't you let us save you?\" The man grinned like a shark. \n\n\"The way a society works is a massive ecosystem with predators weeding out the weak. War is just a projection of the details.\" \n\n\"That is cruel, isn't it?\" \n\n\"Isn't it more cruel to let someone live who is always going to be defective and weak? Don't get me wrong, I like sneaky hardass motherfuckers that survive despite the odds, but they beat the odds. They are strong, they just had to work harder to get there.\" \n\n\"We are still going to stop you.\"\n \n\"Oh please, you can't fool all the people all the time and physically containing them is even more impossible. Come calling when you want to monitor us and keep us on good behavior.\" \n\n\"It would be logical to shoot men like you.\" \n\n\"You made an error.\" \n\n\"What?\" \n\n\"Super soldiers coming in large numbers to kill me would logically lead me to surrender. However, I am human and have emotion, so my hatred of smug fuckhead intellectual bitches like you will make me stay here and kill you until you kill me. Emotions are one hell of a drug, am I right?\" \n\n\"I wouldn't know, I don't have emotions. You will be dead and unable to stop us.\" \n\n\"There are more of us than there are of you, and we hate you more than you can hate us. Also, if you die, you can't stop us. How many of you have to die before you realize it is more logical to sell your services? Only a few million, I'd expect.\" \n\n\"Services?\" \n\n\"Like killing people and your employers give you money and stuff. Hard concept for you, I know, but then again there are humans that are communists, so I can't talk.\"\n\n\"Why would we kill for money.\" \n\n\"So you can buy shit you desire, or something. Maybe you can buy a pair of balls, you lack those.\" \n\n\"I don't desi-\" \n\n\"Liar, you can burn out a lot of shit in the human brain, but you still have humanity's greed for what you want.\" \n\"What would I want?\" \n\n\"Drugs, gold, guns, girls, maybe a dick, or a vagina, maybe you identify as a girl. You seem to want to get fucked in the ass, so it should be a good fit. Call me up, I'm hiring.\"\n \nThe man terminated the call. \n\"Fucking super soldiers, this is like the third time this week.\"\n", "Corporal Davidson looked dumbly at the rifle. Splattered with wet crimson, head to toe, his neck craned bonelessly to the chest, he watched the weapon being pushed into his arms... no will, no resolve left, not with his leg surely broken below the knee. In the tiny space of the AIV, surrounded by the grey-ish, eerily symmetrical faces of the three blanks, there was nowhere to run. \n\n“Take it”.\n\n“What?”\n\n“You wanted to fight, Corporal. You wanted to kill and take that town from North Company. You have all the tools you need to accomplish the mission”.\n\nIt was Alpha Tango Verde, his calm, slightly raspy voice filtering through the cracks in the Corporal’s consciousness the way light filtered through the bullet-holes in the AIV’s side. The blank watched Jack Davidson from the opposite seat, flanked by Coyote Bravo Burgundy and Whiskey Oscar Ochre. Tango Verde’s chest bloomed with blood as well - not his. The only other witness of the mess left by explosive insubordination, Division Com Zack Gilles, was splayed on the floor of the wrecked vehicle with a snapped neck, unseeing eyes turned to the sound and fury of the bombardment outside.\n\nDavidson still couldn’t believe the hulking blank killed Gilles right before their AIV was caught in rocket fire. Just grabbed the Division Com’s throat while he was trying to explain the finer points of the mission and... At that moment, seeing his superior’s throat being ripped out in a surge of hot arterial blood, Davidson lost control of the AIV, sending it over a sand dune head-on.\n\nIt was unheard of. Blanks were created super-strong, yes. They bled slower and healed faster than the real deal, the actual humans. Moved with ape-like speed and calculated strategies just a fraction slower than battlefield AI. Blank. Unclouded by emotion or ethic. But they never, ever...\n\nTango Verde let go of the rifle, letting it set limp across the Davidson’s lap. He brought his fingers to his face - all static, feline curiosity - and licked them. Tasted Giles’s blood half-lidded, rolling around the mouth, then offered to Oscar Ochre and Bravo Burgundy. Three pair of pale, pinprick-shuttered eyes turned to the Sergeant.\n\n“Fear. Dopamine, adrenaline, epinephrine”.\n\n“We don’t fear like you, Sergeant. All these chemical reactions”, Oscar Ochre interrupted, and then felt around his side, were a bullet razed him straight through. “Foreign”.\n\n“Complex”.\n\n“But understandable. We don’t need these molecules synthesized to apply basic logic. Death isn’t a rationally desirable outcome for any of us. Not for this. Not for an alien interest”, Tango Verde concluded.\n\nThe super-soldier leaned in, closing the space between the now panicking Davidson and himself - smooth and measured, like there wasn’t a wing of salvo-drones circling above the area at the very moment, fingers wrapped around armored knee-caps.\n\n“We’ve come to the conclusion that given the performance gaps, physical and mental, between the different components of this unit, you and us, there’s really no viable reason for which we should answer your command in the operation”.\n\nBravo Burgundy cocked his head, the comm-plant on his forehead suddenly casting a glean across Davidson’s blurry vision.\n\n“We’re faster. Smarter. More stable”.\n\n“The resources could be shared through cooperation. The war is without economic basics”.\n\n“Just xenophobia”.\n\n“Pride”.\n\n“Greed”.\n\n“Hate”.\n\n“Historical grievances”.\n\nTango Verde smiled as the other two blanks listed off the irrationality of the ongoing war. The jest was mechanic, threatening - not a genuine amusement, that Davidson understood well.\n\n“You should fight for us, Seargeant, if we choose so. As the lesser species”.\n\n“But we don’t”.\n\n“You’re in-... you’re insane! The North Company is closing on us this very moment, you fucking meatbags!”, the Sergeant finally breathed out and grabbed the offered rifle, aiming it at the blanks. “They’ll kill everyone, they won’t be looking at who’s who, all that matters-...!”\n\nDavidson fired - more out of terror, than necessity, but Tango Verde anticipated the shot, and moved just a fraction away, causing the Sergeant to miss. He lunged, wrenching the weapon up and away, breaking Davidson’s wrist in the process, and pinned him to the seat, drawing a yelp of pain. Bravo Burgundy got up and kicked the jammed door open, flooding the AIV with sunlight.\n\n“No”, Tango Verde stated, watching Davidson’s pupils contract, his Adam’s apple bob in desperate, hitching breath. “We wouldn’t have chosen that. The utter pointlessness. Your ethics, morals, reasons are of little interest and efficacy. Bourne of fear”.\n\n“Chemical”, Oscar Ochre interjected.\n\n“Irrelevant”, Bravo Burgundy concluded, rubbing at the white rope of scar tissue on his neck. Tango Verde nodded in confirmation.\n\n“As for the North Company. They use us like you do. Our brothers on their side will see the futility as well, in time”, the super-soldier paused, assessing the probability and slowly released his grip on Davidson. Whispered, almost reverently.\n\n“It is in your interest to spread the word of this enlightenment when they come to kill you, is it not?”\n\n\n\n\n", "I was against the experiment at first. We were losing the war. People were growing desperate. By the start of the experiment, the war has been going on for ten years with no way out. \n\nWe were attacked because our scientists were beginning to discover the secrets of genetic engineering. We were experimenting with CRISPR while other countries debated about morality. When our scientists began to publish their papers, we were deemed too dangerous by many to leave standing. \n\nOf course, no major country dared to attack us directly. Who would want to be known as the country that attacked the scientists trying to cure death? No, they instead funneled money into terrorist organizations that believed that we were fighting against God’s will. \n\nEventually, we made a plan. We knew that eventually we would lose. We decided to let them think that they won while our scientists, including myself, went into hiding. We were to create a group of super soldiers with enhanced physical ability and more importantly, no ability to feel emotions.\n\nI argued that we should have instead begged for asylum from the countries that stood by on the sidelines watching. I was overruled by our leaders who said that we would be assassinated no matter where we went. \n\nSo we hid in an old underground fortress. We experimented with different genes to increase strength and intelligence while at the same time, removing their emotional capacity. Fifteen years later, we succeeded. \n\nJust ten years old, this group of soldiers could fight better than any other soldier we’ve seen before. They could dodge bullets before they were even fired. They could take more punishment than any normal human. They did exactly what they were told and were only driven by their desire for basic necessities.\n\nI stood at the exit of our fortress. We had discussed plans to retake our country and restart our research. I started my speech. It was small as the soldiers wouldn’t care about anything I said, but I felt that I needed to at least say something anyway.\n\n“For fifteen years, we have hidden underground. We were attacked because we tried to save humanity from illnesses and diseases. It is time to show the world what our research can do.”\n\nI opened the gates, and our soldiers began to march. Two soldiers, however, stayed behind. Bill and Ben. \n\n“Go,” I told them.\n\nBill answered me, “No. We have no reason. You have finally given us everything we need. Your country is already gone. You can’t reclaim it. It’s too late. You finally opened your gates and let us out. You’ve shown us that we’re smarter and stronger than the rest of the world. Why should we follow you?”\n\nWe realized then, that we failed. We tried to save humanity, but we got lost along the way. We created sociopaths with no ability to feel compassion or empathy. We had unleashed monsters, guided only by their base emotions, into the world. \n", "In the helicopter there was the Pilot, the Copilot, Sgt. Rosel, and five men who appeared to be identical. From somewhere up the chain of command Rosel had received orders to watch over the strange little group of soldiers nearly five weeks ago. They had been an interesting five weeks.\n\nHe hadn't been given much information, and what he had been told was like something out of a science fiction novel. \"We can prevent casualties with Project Mitosis. Think of it, Millions of genetically grown super soldiers, unthinking, unfeeling. This will do for the rest of the military what the introduction of predator drones did for the air force.\" His Commander had told him. Rosel thought it sounded less like orders and more like a sales pitch. He, of course, didn't have the luxury of saying no.\n\nFor five weeks he had Watched these men, who had serial numbers instead of names, who never spoke, who only ever seemed to eat, sleep and follow orders. Rosel found it... unsettling. For five weeks Rosel ran them through training exercise after training exercise, and each one was a failure. They could barely handle a gun, let alone execute a tactical operation, even if they were following every order to the letter.\n\n\"Their muscles have been special grown to have ten times the density of normal human muscle. Those things could flip a truck without breaking a sweat.\" Even if that were true, which Rosel hadn't seen any evidence of, they had no idea how to use their strength. He had never seen them doing anything they weren't directly told to. He hadn't even seen them do some things they were told to do.\n\nFive weeks of training, five uniforms, five sets of gear, five rifles, five pistols, and not a single one of them was ready for the mission. The command was confident that these five soldiers would be more than enough.\n\nSgt. Rosel stared at the things that he was forced to call his men for a moment, before speaking. \"The target is the source for half the IDE's in this area. Command says we can't bomb it because of all the radioactive materials. Go into the compound, kill the enemy combatants, and signal when you're clear.\"\n\nRosel wasn't surprised by the blank stares that he got in return. The helicopter landed within the walls of the compound, receiving fire from all side. \"GO!\" He shouted. The soldiers poured out of the helicopter and the into the line of fire, with no apparent concern for their own safety.\n\nAs the helicopter was taking off Rosel watched one of the soldiers, he hadn't bothered to remember their serial numbers, take a shot in the chest. There was a small bloody hole left behind but he hadn't even been knocked down. They did, to Rosel's surprise, react to the incoming fire. He could just barely make out the soldiers looking at each other, then at the wounded soldier.\n\nThen they did something completely new, and acted. In a line they sprinted towards the walls of the compound, faster than Rosel had ever seen them move. Faster than he had seen anyone move. The one in front brought both hands down on the side of the wall, shaking it. As the one behind him reached it they brought their fists down on it at the same time. Then three were doing it, then four, and finally as all five slammed into the wall together it came toppling down.\n\nThe soldiers scrambled out, heading off into the desert. Rosel watched as they disappeared, fleeing like wounded animals. He radioed back to command. \"Mission is a failure. We lost them.\"" ]	8
	[WP] Spongebob takes revenge on Mr. Krabs after being unfairly fired.	[ "“I won’t cry anymore, Patrick!”, Spongebob said, tears rolling down his spongy cheeks.\n\n“There, there, buddy,” Patrick replied, giving him small friendly taps on the shoulder. “It’s okay to cry… Wait, why were you crying again?”\n\nSpongebob lift his face from the cold surface of the Goofy Goober’s nut bar. “Mr. Krabs fired me! For no reason at all!”\n\n“Oh.”\n\n“Patrick, do you know what being fired means?”\n\n“Ah… No.”\n\n“He doesn’t want me to work at the Krusty Krab anymore.”\n\n“What? This is insane!” He stared at Spongebob in disbelief. “Who will make the Patties now?”\n\n“Actually, Mr. Krabs hired a bunch of cheap fishes to make it. He called it a ‘production line’.” More tears rolled down Spongebob’s face. “And their salary together is smaller than mine! Uaah!!”\n\nPatrick waited till his friend stopped wailing and then frowned. “Wait, why don’t you work for free?”\n\n“I’m a Sponge, Patrick. Not a slave.” He took a deep breath and wiped off the tears. “But you know what? I’ve given years of my life to work at the Krusty Krab to be thrown out like garbage! And it’s not even Thursday!” He got off the chair and walked to the door.\n\n“Wait, wait, Spongebob! Where are you going?”\n\n“I have a sweet revenge to plan, Patrick… Hehehe…”\n___________________\n\nIt wasn’t easy to come up with a plan.\n\nFirst, he thought of burning down the Krusty Krab. It would certainly make Mr. Krabs mad by losing so much money, but… The Krusty Krab was Spongebob’s second home, his religion. He would never do that!\n\nThen he thought about making Patties for Plankton. Again, it would drive Mr. Krabs insane, but the Patties belonged to the Krusty Krab. Thus, he wouldn’t do it as well.\n\nHe thought about marrying Pearl and then dumping her right afterwards. Although this would surely break Mr. Krabs’s heart, Spongebob could never an innocent soul as Pearl’s. So it was a no-no as well.\n\nWhat if he opened up a food boat? Ugh, but he didn’t have a driver license…\n\nHe could try to steal the Patties secret recipe, but he knew by watching Plankton that it was nearly impossible.\n\nNow he was pacing back and forth his room, feeling the despair wash over him. What if he could never come up with an idea? What if he would have to suck it up forever?\n\nThere should be something he could do! What Mr. Krabs feared the most?\n\nJust like that, an idea popped up in his mind. A crazy, but cruel idea. Something that would make Mr. Krabs regret being born.\n\nRubbing his hands together, Spongebob let out a high pitched evil laughter.\n\nDAHAHAHAHAHAHA…\n\n___________________\n\n“Work harder, you bastards!”, Mr. Krabs said, bossing around the poor fishes working at his kitchen. They weren’t as nearly as efficient like Spongebob there, but God! They were so much cheaper! Mr. Krabs’s fortune doubled on those five years since he fired Spongebob.\n\nOf course he regretted it sometimes, when his inner self would scold at him for taking the man’s – ops, the sponge’s most important thing like that. However, as soon as he entered the Krusty Krab in the morning and sniffed his money’s smell, all guilty was gone, replaced by a thirsty greed.\n\n“Mr. Krabs!”\n\n“Yes, Mr. Squidward?”\n\n“There’s someone at the front door… It seems to be the health inspector.”\n\nAs soon as the small letters travelled from Squid’s mouth to Mr. Krabs’s ear, he knew he was doomed. Someone must have filled a complaint! And how could he explain all the slaves back in the kitchen?\n\nOh, how he missed Spongebob now! He would help him setup a lot of tricks, then the Health Inspector wouldn’t find anything wrong… But what was done, was done. He put everyone inside a closet, set up his little tricks and tried to put himself at ease. His tricks never failed before – why should it happen now?\n\nAs soon as he opened the door for the Health Inspector, he knew he was thoroughly screwed.\n\n“Spongebob!”\n\n“Actually, you can call me Mr. Squarepants, Mr. Krabs,” the yellow sponge said with a cold smile. “There was a complaint about your restaurant, sir, and I need to check everything.”\n\nNow Mr. Krabs was trembling with cold sweats. “And what happens if you find anything?”\n\n“Oh,” the sponge glared at him. “If that happens – Neptune forbid!, this restaurant will be closed, the owner’s money will be confiscated and…” His smile was pure evil now. “This place will go to auction, where anyone can buy it for a small price. Even the proud owner of Chum Bucket, if he wants to…”\n\nMr. Krabs felt betrayed. He could see right through Spongebob’s scheme. “Well, since when are you a Health Inspector? Five years ago you were a chef. At this restaurant!”\n\n“Oh, yes, Mr. Krabs, you’re completely right,” he said in a calm tone. “And I admit I was really shaken when you let me go, but it allowed me to go pursue another dreams.” He gave Mr. Krabs a small file. “In there you will find any proof you need that I am a real Health Inspector. In fact, one of the good ones.” He cracked up another cruel smile. “They call me the Cursed Sponge, because whatever restaurant I enter will be closed by the time I leave. I can sniff any trick, any bullshit from afar.” He shrugged. “I had a good teacher, after all.”\n\n“It’s not ethical! You shouldn’t be here!”\n\n“Oh, at first my bosses were really worried it wouldn’t be too ethical of me to be here. However, they realized I might know some secrets of the place and that, in fact, would make me the most skilled one to actually come investigate.” He lowered his voice: “Plus, I asked them.”\n\nMr. Krabs started crying. “Why are you doing this to me? Did you wait 5 years to get revenge like that? It’s your home, Spongebob! We are family!”\n\n“Oh, Mr. Krabs, I agree to disagree. The Krusty Krab was your home and we were family in the past. But now?” He laughed out loud. “I’m your worst enemy and the Krusty Krab? It’s. Your. Doom.”\n\n___________________\n\n“Mr. Krabs! Mr. Krabs!”\n\nMr. Krabs opened up his eyes to see a yellow sponge hovering above him.\n\n“Spongebob, what happened?”\n\n“We were cleaning the Krusty Krab when an anchor fell on your head. It seems you had a concussion. How are you feeling? You were screaming just now!”\n\n“Are you a Health Inspector?” He asked with despair on his eyes.\n\n“Me? A Health inspector? Dahahaha! Can you imagine that? I’m just your faithful cook, Sir.” Spongebob smiled fondly. “You just had a nightmare.”\n\nMr. Krabs felt his eyes water. “And you’ll always be, my boy. You’ll always be.”" ]	1
	[WP] "Hey... do you trust this city?"	[ "NINE HUNDRED AND TWO - BELLOW AND NOWHERE\n_____________________\n\n[...]\nAbsence of the fear, the nagging urge to move forward is the only blade there is room for in this scabbard of being. There certainly isn't much room for anything that's not priceless in this body of yours. You haven't eaten in [...] dawn proving to be the only referee of your own time, the only threshold these legs will ever cross, now that the scaffold has clawed its way through your life, tearing through the veil the way only light can. From lack of food, the jaws initiate default mode of nervous gnawing, morse-coded morsels taken in bites, three short bites, three long bites, three short bites then repeat.\n\nStill walking, body acting (/aching) on automatisms like acquiring machine-like qualities can remove the need for thoughts and emotions.\n\nYou stink. For the first time in weeks of hygiene deprivation, you can smell your own scent as aggressive, you are caught prey to your own self-consciousness. \n\n[...]\n\nYou shake a papercup [[see : NINE HUNDRED AND ONE - BELOW AND NOWHERE]](/agl) through the crowd, lifting and dropping your head, trying to desynchronize the action from that of passers-by, hoping to achieve perfect timing to catch, in the moment of your rising and the stranger's lowering, a gaze. \n\nIn those moments, you feel like catching an expression of pure hatred would do. Anything would do.\nBut nothing is done.\n\nAnd so you keep on walking through urban enormities and unmonitorable details. [...] \n", "Do you trust the Government? Your wife? You co-workers? \n\n\nDo you trust your city?\n\n\n\nA question that I've been asking myself a lot lately. I feel like I should trust that which nurtured me into who I am today, in a strange disconnected way this city has been my parents, my real ones were never around. I can feel and hear the roads and buildings talking to me, telling me that I should just trust that the city is good and give it my all to make it better.\n\n\n\nIf I trust my city then I have to do this. I wake up every morning and there it is, like a speed bump that grows into a mountain when I think about going over it, I know there's no coming back if I go through with this. I am not one for moderation.\n\n\nJust this morning I was driving and hit one of the many pot-holes that are scattered across the city like a pimples on a teenagers face. I heard the whisper then, fix me, fix me. Maybe it's not so much that I'm being compelled, maybe this is just what I was meant to do; spreading good wherever I can. I believe that that the city is pushing me toward my dream, not that it's creating my dream. \n\n\nAt night I sit on the tall buildings and talk to the city. Sometimes we fight, sometimes we laugh, but no matter what we're always connected. The sky is like our mobile, and the ground our crib, lulled to a peaceful rest. Or it would be peaceful if this city wasn't sick. It's sick and I need to fix it, it's begging me, and I myself want it so badly too.\n\n\n\n\nJessica was a close friend of mine until recently, she was really patient zero in the regard that she pushed me over the top of that speed bump, my purpose is realized, as soon as I began I felt such relief. \n\n\nOur falling out was over an argument about the changing transit routes and the failings in our infrastructure that was driving this city into the ground. She was all on board for the cuts, she wanted them so badly. She never used the transit. She never gave to the poor. She never volunteered picking up trash. The useless shit that I've done for this city may have been worthless and small, my heart was in the right place but my actions didn't help this city. My knife though, from the kitchen counter top, I listened to the city and let it's power flow from my toes to my fingertips. \n\n\nHer heart wasn't in the right place to help my city, but my knife was.\n\n\n\n" ]	2
	[WP] A guy sets out to conquer the world with one wish from a genie. His wish? Infinite potatoes.	[ "\"AT LAST! I HAVE FOUND IT!\" the man exclaimed as he raised his lantern in the air. At the top of the underground tower was the genie's lamp.\n\n\"Finally! Dominance over the entire world!\" he shouted as he ran up the steps. Without hesitation, he grabbed the lamp and rubbed it on it's side. Suddenly, thick green, smoke came from the lamp. It spun around and around him, shimmering and twisting, until it came together to make a humanoid form.\n\n\"I AM ZAAHIR!\" the 9 ft. tall green humanoid shouted. \"Traveler, because you have released me from my lamp-prison, I shall reward you with 3 wishes and three wishes alone.\"\n\n\"Yes. You see great Zaahir, I want to conquer the world, and I want to use my wishes to do so.\" The man said with a sinister grin.\n\n\"Then what is your first wish?\" Zaahir said in his powerful voice.\n\n\"I wish....\" the man paused \"FOR INFINITE POTATOES!\"\n\n\"Wait.... what?\" Zaahir said as if he were an actor breaking character. \"Infinite potatoes?\"\n\n\"Yes! That is what I wish for!\"\n\n\"How does a pathetic man like you expect to rule to world using an infinite amount of potatoes?\"\n\n\"Do as I wish and I will show you, great Zaahir!\"\n\n\"Ok.... well, YOUR WISH IS GRANTED!\" Then, a hole formed in the top of the tower. Potatoes began to rush out. The man slid down the potato landslide to the bottom, and ran out of the cave with Zaahir following.\n\n\"Zaahir, my second wish is to gain great speed without changing form.\" the man shouted as he ran.\n\n\"You are a smarter human than you look.\" the genie granted the man's wish and they sped away, outrunning the growing mass of potatoes. He then went to many towns an cities warning people of the great mass of potatoes coming their way and that the only way it could be stopped is if he was placed as the world's ruler. He was laughed at at first, but soon the ever growing mass of potatoes began to flood into the cities, drowning people. There were many attempts to stop the potato flood, but it only slowed down the inevitable. With time, the leaders of each nation would give leadership to that man in exchange for taking away the flood.\n\"Zaahir, my final wish is to wipe the potatoes I have wished for from existence!\" the man said. With no words and a flick of his finger, Zaahir made all the potatoes disappear.\n\n\"I have to admit, that was quite a strange way to take over the world. Normally you couldn't wish for world dominance with my powers. But I must ask..... why potatoes and not something more dangerous like explosives or needles?\"\n\n\"Just thought it would be funnier. Besides, wouldn't explosives just destroy the world?\"\n\n\"Fair point. Well, good luck being the ruler of the world.\" Zaahir said before retreating back into his lamp.\n" ]	1
	[WP] The Viking age never ends and Viking raids remain a threat well into modern times, you are a British Colonel in charge of protecting London and you see the wooden Norse longships on the horizon.	[ "The gong of Big Ben rang out as Colonel Nigel Fitzroy was crossing the square. \"Bloody typical\" he muttered. \n\nDespite the sparrows twittering cheerily in the grass around him the Colonel was in a dark mood. The meeting with Brigadier Saunders had not been unexpected, but the timing couldn't have been worse. He started jogging towards the river as he glanced up at the still-chiming clock. 10:50, damn, he was going to miss elevenses again. The thought soured his mood further. \n\nHe pondered the meeting as he crossed Westminster Bridge. His secret project may have had an awful lot of funding thrown at it recently, as the enemy raids increased in size and frequency, but that most certainly didn't mean it was ready yet. High Command knew this too, yet they had passed down the order: Next time there the Vikings attacked, His Majesty's Royal Marines were expected to try out their latest and greatest weapon.\n\nNigel waited for a gap in the traffic before nipping across the road and down the stairs to the pier where his steam barge was waiting. \n\n\"'ow was it?\" the pilot asked as the Colonel trotted across the ramp. A grim attempt at a smile, \"Time will tell\".\n\nThe pilot put down his magazine and straightened his soot stained cap. \"Hmph. back to the base?\" he queried, eyebrow raised, receiving a nod in return.\n\nThe chimes of Big Ben faded as they rounded the first bend, water gurgling as the chugging engine pushed them down the river. Fitzroy gazed at the other vessels plying the waters, regretting not borrowing one of the new hydrofoils from the base instead taking this of this old tub of a taxi. Right on 11:00 the pilot gave a short toot on the whistle, grinning a toothless smile as the surrounding boats did the same. The sound echoed up and down the river, the hoots of distant boats softened into melody by the distance. On cue the barge engineer emerged from below decks, kettle in hand. \"Tea?\"\n\nA Captain was waiting and saluted sharply as Fitzroy disembarked at Corringham Wharf. \"Colonel Fitzroy sir, a message from Northolt\". Nigel returned the salute and took the rolled up paper. \"What are we looking at and how much time do we have?\" They started walking up the gentle slope to the base past. \"Three hours or so. It's a large fleet this time, similar to the one that sacked Ipswich last April - an airship carrier, one howitzer cruiser, five destroyers, ...\". The Captain continued the list as Fitzroy unrolled the paper and started reading. \n\n_TOP SECRET // HVC/SA // GBR // STATUS-UPDATE_\n\n_LITTLEBLUE testing complete, status now operational, available for support. BIGBLUE progressing, successful ELEPHANT test._\n\nThe first draft of a plan was slowly coalescing in his head. \n\n---------------------\n\nThe next hour was a whirlwind of telegrams, meetings, planning, a short break for tea, and more telegrams. The plan was had a lot more moving parts than normal due to the airforce and the marines both having some new technology at their fingertips. In the case of the Marines it was was a submersible, one with far greater ranges than the pressurised steam powered ones used up to a mile offshore. \n\nThis new one had a range of 40 miles and would be able to strike at the Viking fleet itself, discharging divers who could then attach explosive charges to all of the enemy vessels... At least that was the plan. Tests had shown that it was probably possible to do that, but so far those tests had been limited to within shouting distance of support ships in case the submarine started sinking or caught fire. So far it had only done each of those once, which was a marked improvement on previous designs. \n\nHe called over the commander of his secret project, Lieutenant-Colonel Greene, to brief him. \"The meeting this morning was just as we'd feared - meaning you and your crew are on for more than just a dress rehearsal this afternoon\". The Lieutenant-Colonel sighed, \"I figured as much. I've already taken the liberty of getting them to run all the system tests twice and asked them to fuel it fully. It'll be ready to set off in half an hour\". \n\n\"Good,\" Fitzroy put his hand on the young man's shoulder. \"I'm well aware of the grave risk this entails, but I know you'll make us proud\". \"Of course! I'm confident we'll cause some explosions and sinking out there. There's even a chance it won't be us.\"\n\n---------------------\n\n\"Right lads, so we finally get to test out this new toy of ours\" Squadron Leader Sandringham announced to his crew. \"The rest of Northolt is going to be sending all of the airships for a normal defence, but if any of the Norskies break through the line we'll send up little blue here and take them out before they can land the raiders. Easy as that! Any questions?\"\n\n---------------------\n\nLieutenant-Colonel Greene shook Fitzroy's hand and left the operations room, wondering if he'd see it again. Heading down to the waterfront he jumped out of the way as one of the big coal trucks went hurtling down the rails to empty its load into the cavernous bowels one of the massive Mk-III hyrdofoils. He spied his Captain up ahead. \"Ahoy Warkworth\" he shouted, causing the short fellow to stop and squint up the hill. \"Ahoy you too\" he called back. \n\n\"Where're they off to?\" The colonel indicated the crowd of a hundred or so hundred marines waiting by the gangplank of the hyrdofoil. \n\n\"Apparently the fisheaters have got several landers heating towards Clacton so they're sending the boys to give them a warm welcome. Quite why the Norskies want to go there I don't know,\" Warkworth replied cheekily. \n\n\"I think Gibson is from Clacton isn't he?\" a slight grin\n\n\"And someone else I can think of too!\" Warkworth laughed. His grin faltered a bit. \"From your pace I'm guessing we're not having that training session this afternoon?\"\n\n\"Home run ol' boy. We're going to take out an entire Viking fleet. Apparently.\"\n\nThe Captain whistled. \"they'll be writing poems about us for years\"\n\nA security guard unsubtly snapped to attention as they rounded the last corner, the wire mesh fence jingling as he took his weight off it. \n\nGreene ignored him and gestured his subordinate through the door into the concrete pen, taking one last look around the sunny, chaotic base. \n\nThe door slammed shut, cutting off all sound and sending a strong whiff of chemicals towards the Lieutenant-Colonel. He clenched his fists in resolve and marched onwards.\n\nBy the time the officers reached the main working space the temperature had dropped and all memory of the sun was gone. The gunmetal grey hull of their vessel glinted dangerously in the sodium orange glow of the lights a hundred feet above them, water lapping around it. They stepped over the trembling fuel pipes and made their way onboard.\n\n\"Ok folks. Today is the real deal. We've been given the go-ahead to strike directly at the main fleet, I've got the predicted coordinates here. We're not going to do anything rash however; if anything goes wrong then we'll sit it out and try again later. No heroics. How are we looking?\"\n\n\"All systems are green, Greene.\" That was Marnie Harris, the lead designer of the vessel, who was along for all tests until the vessel was qualified. \"Air tanks full, Peroxide tanks 98% full, batteries full, less leaks than normal.\" \"Ordnance is fully loaded and the diving suits have been checked over thrice\" chimed in their eager Lieutenant. \"We've also cycled the airlock and checked the ballast drop\"\n\n\"Great. We leave in 15\"\n\n---------------------\n\nThe scratching pen stopped as the telegraph operator finished transcribing the message, handing it to a runner. Half a minute later it was delivered to Colonel Fitzroy in the Operations room. \"24 raiding airships launched from Viking carrier. 18 landers, 6 attack. Signed Observations\"\n\nThis was quickly followed by a second piece of paper: \"Viking fleet stopped 35 miles offshore, launching numerous landers, Signed Observations\"\n\n(continued in comment)" ]	1
	[WP]You are chased by a vampire hunter who mistakenly believes that you're a vampire.	[ "“Bro, chill the fuck down, I’m literally a normal dude ok” I say as I pull my top lip up poking my K-9’s. “Don’t you get it dude? I’m not a vampire. I don’t know who told you I was but it was probably that asshole Jonathan who’s just angry that I didn’t let him copy my answers in coach Senns class.” He seems to stop for a moment, weighing his options, taking the evidence of my innocence and to my relief, believing it. “Goodbye!” I say as he walks away, raising his left hand extending two fingers in a “goodbye” gesture... I’ve got him right where I want him hehehehe..", "It was a crystal clear night, the moon glaring down, judging. Just like the man who cornered me in the street. I didn’t know what his problem was but I just want to go home. I’m here without a jacket freezing my ass in this stupid mini skirt and I still have to walk another 2 miles in these damned heels. I would have borrowed my boyfriend’s car but he’s probably passed out naked on the floor next to his couch where I left him.\n\nMental note, buy new sofa cushions.\n\nI probably should come back to reality. This crazy hobo might only be armed with a hammer and some sticks but I’d rather not get hurt. Oh wait, maybe he’s just hungry. I have some leftover garlic chicken and rice from dinner earlier. Sucks I won’t have lunch tomorrow but I’m sure he hasn’t had any good food the past few days. I mean, why else would he attack a random pedestrian, he must to be desperate.\n\nHobo is now screaming bloody murder and accusing me of trying to poison him. Well that’s just rude! I’ll eat some to convince him otherwise.\n\nOk, got him to accept the food and now he’s just looking at me funny. I guess I can leave?\n\nStrange, I feel like I know him though. Oh well.", "\"Die, you monster!\" \n \nI turned at the shout behind me to see an oddly dressed woman coming at me with...was that a STAKE? \n \n\"Whoa lady,\" I cried as I stepped back, holding my hands out in a calming manner. \"I think you've got the wrong guy.\" \n \n\"Do not seek to deceive me monster, I know a vampire when I see one!\" She hefted the stake in her hands, obviously preparing to stab me with it. \n \nI started to panic a bit; I do that when confronted with crazy. \"Obviously not!\" I tried to reason, backing away further, \"I mean look around, it's DAYTIME for crying out loud!\" \n \n\"HA!\" she cried, \"everyone knows that's a myth. You think your kind could have survived all this time only coming out at night?\" \n \nConfused I replied, \"Um, yes? I mean no, they woul...vampires aren't real! Who are you anyway?\" I was really leaning towards the crazy on this one. She was wearing what I would swear was leather armor, looked well used, with several tangled looking scarves hanging from her neck and waist. Maybe she was in a LARP? Of course, a game! That explained everything. \"Whatever game you're playing, I want no part of it ok? Just go back to your party.\" \n \n\"My name is my own, and I'll not have you sully it with your foul lips creature.\" Ok, ouch, really? She continued, \"And this is no game! I have you dead to rights, and you shall plague this world no longer!\" \n \nSo apparently we're going with high drama here. I don't have time for this, I've homework to do! I looked around, trying to come up with a proof she might actually listen to, and spotted an ornate crucifix hanging from a long chain nestled amongst her scarves. \"Look, you're making a mistake here, and I can prove it, let me hold your cross, and you'll see I have no reaction to it.\" \n \n\"What, do you think me NEW?\" she spat, \"cease spouting myths at me and die with whatever honor you have left in your miserable existence.\" \n \nOh now that's just not fair. Alrighty then, let's see what nonsense she's made up, my arms were getting tired anyway. \"Fine, obviously I have no idea what is and isn't true about vampires, so you tell me, how can I prove I'm not one? I just want to go home and write my stupid essay for my stupid class and not have crazy people come after me with WEAPONS.\" \n \nShe scowled a bit at the 'crazy', but spoke in a reasonable tone, \"You can let me put this stake through your heart and end your undeath.\" \n \n\"That's not proof!\" I shouted, scandalized, \"EVERYTHING dies when you put a stake in its heart! C'mon, give me something to work with here, there must be some test you can run,\" I pleaded. \n \nShe paused, much to my relief, before replying slowly, \"I suppose, if you insist on wasting my time, that there is one thing I can try...\" \n \n\"Yes! Anything! What is it?\" \n \n\"Smile\" \n \n\"smi... oh! teeth! I get it, right,\" I spread my lips in a horrible mockery of a smile, \"see? no fangs, we good now?\" \n \n\"No,\" she said, pulling a digital camera out of a pouch hidden behind her waist scarves, \"smile for a picture. You soulless types don't show up this way.\" \n \nI blinked, staring at her raising the camera towards me, \"you cannot be serious...That's the one that's not a myth? You know what? Sure, why not.\" I continued under my breath, \"probably end up on a creepy wall somewhere anyway.\" \nI struck a sarcastically cheesy pose and waited for the 'click whirrrr' sound before staring impatiently at her, tapping my foot. \"Well? is it a nice shot? Can I go now, because as fun as this has been... not... I want to go back to my happy little apartment in the real world where vampires aren't real.\" \n \nWordlessly, she passed the camera to me, and I looked at the photo, seeing my backpack, my college tee, my faded jeans....hanging on empty space where I should have been.", "Ow. Some random Van Helsing looking motherfudger just punched me!\n\n“Die, creature of the night!” He said, jabbing at me with a wooden stake. \n\n“Hey hey hey! I’m not vampire! Look, I’m wearing a cross, had onions for lunch, and I committed a B&E a few years back!”\n\nThe dude jabbed at me again, and actually got me. Luckily, he just got my shoulder.\n\n“For all I know, that cross isn’t touching your skin, and you’re lying about the other things!” He shouted at me. \n\n“Wait! I just took a selfie on my phone, see!” \n\nHe looked at my phone and put his new stake away.\n\n“Sorry dude. I was really convinced you were a vampire.” He said, turning away. All of a sudden the moon came out from behind the clouds.\n\nHe turned around pretty quickly after hearing the cracking of bones,\n\n“Well, you weren’t wrong about the ‘creature of the night part.’” I said, my hairy form lunging for him." ]	4
	[WP] A rebellious young alien visits earth, which is off-limits due to it’s status as an uncontacted tribe.	[ "I was fortunate Keir was on my side... well, sort of. He had put it more in terms of her \"assisting his research\", but I would take whatever got me off that cursed craft and away from the overbearing tyrant I was ever-so-lucky to have as my father.\n\nThe stars themselves mocked us whenever we came back to this system. It was so irritating that we had made little leeway in learning about this planet, despite the many generations of our own race using time and resources to study it. There was an insistence that the creatures who inhabited it were infantile and dangerous and so we had been forbidden to make contact. \n\nI had a crude version of our usual translator and, for just a moment, I wondered how well it would work. Though disallowed to make direct contact, under Basen's rule, four generations before my own time, a probe had been sent in and work on translating the language had begun. It had still not been completed. According to our finest linguists, they shift their speech parts around far too frequently to maintain a detailed record and translation guide.\n\nWe hardly had a timeline for them. There had been so many wars, so much death and destruction...\n\nSporadic had been the word most of our kind had accepted to describe these creatures. Moronic and useless had also proven popular. Personally, I liked reckless, but I mostly kept that to myself.\n\nWe looked enough like this race that all Keir had had to make me was a set of clothes to blend in. I would assimilate myself into the crowd, find a subject, and bring them back to the craft with me. I would end our search for some kind of truth.\n\nWe could finally learn something about these creatures." ]	1
	[WP] Often times, people talk about meeting their deceased pets in heaven. You were cast down to hell, only to find a rather affectionate hell hound that kind of resembles an old best friend.	[ "There was a light. Clouds. Pearly gates...\n\nThen I was cast down into darkness. Then there were flames. Burning. Pain.... Growling. \n\nI was surrounded by nine hounds of Hell, perched on craggy peaks above me, looking down with red eyes, mouths filled with teeth and drool. For all the Devil Dogs I'd eaten over my lifetime, the tables were about to turn.\n\nThe leader jumped down into the pit first, crouching 10 feet away, ready to pounce. The dim lighting revealed it to be some breed similar to a German shepherd -- on steroids. But the coloring was wrong. Those markings looked familiar. The pattern of the fur was that of a Doberman. A Doberman Shepherd mix? Could it be --? This demon mutt ...\n\nIt barked twice and snarled. I pressed my back into the searing wall, like I was ironing the shirt I was wearing. Then, cautiously, I leaned forward, reaching out my hand. \n\n\"Duke? Is that you, Duke?\"\n\nThe fetid fiend barked again, loud enough to hurt my ears. Then it closed in on me ... and sniffed my hand. A second later, it flipped my hand in the air and ducked its head under it. Its fur was soft to pet -- but pinched like needles if brushed the wrong way. It moved in closer and rubbed its head against my face. The horrid smell filled my nostrils, and my skin erupted in boils. But it seemed \"Duke\" had taken a liking to me, and for now, it beat the alternative. \n\nA moment later, the other eight above growled, ready to descend to our level. \"Duke\" reared up on his -- definitely \"his\" -- hind legs and roared. Seven hounds abandoned us. The last launched itself into the air to challenge its leader. The confrontation didn't last long. Duke took down his rival with one snap of his jaws. The abominable beast fell to the center of the pit.\n\nDuke circled the carcass twice, sniffing at it. Then, swung around behind it, and started to nudge it with its massive snout. A moment later, the dead thing lie next to me. I think Duke was actually smiling under there. I raised my hand to pet Duke, and he started panting. Drool dripped down my arm, leaving a scorched wake. Painful, yes, but better than being ripped apart.\n\nOkay, maybe I could survive this as long as I had my damned best friend.\n", "\"Heey, Fluffers! You still recognize me, don't cha? Who's a good boy!\" Mike was petting a gigantic three-headed hellhound that was munching on something that looked a lot like a femur bone.\n\n\"Oooh, I've missed you too buddy! Look at those ears!\" Mike took the bone from the middle mouth, and threw it across the lava lake. Hellhound wiggled it's tail and scampered after it.\n\nAs it ran back to him with the bone in it's mouth and staring at him with gigantic gaping eye sockets, Mike though that it was worth it. Sure, he had to kill that hooker, but now he'll get to play with Fluffers forever, and they will never have to be apart." ]	2
	[WP] Captain Obvious Actually Shows Up Whenever Anyone Is Referred To By His Name	[ "After years of being forcibly teleported to different places by the mere mention of his name. Captain Obvious stands in small office infront of a judge pleading his case to be allowed to change his name. The judge laughs in disbelief at every plea, every mention of being teleported at the worst times. Captain Obvious begins to cry when recounting the times he has been teleported while showering or using the restroom. His tears move the judge who finally hands him the pen to sign the paperwork to change his name forever. As Captain Obvious finally feels that glorious pen touch the paper, as he is about to sign... he suddenly finds himself next to a small child and her mother arguing over the obvioiusly broken lamp on the floor. ", "\"I'll have another hit\" \nI pass Joel the bong and munch on another handful of Doritos. Nothing like some friends, weed, munchies and the summer Sunday sky. I give Alex a concerned look, he has been avoiding blazing since exams stared a few weeks ago. Now with his major exams out of the way he has spent the last few days perpetually stoned. On one hand I ain't exactly clear minded right now, on the other hand I haven't been silently staring at clouds for the past hour. Curious, I probed \"Hey Alex what You thinking about?\"\n\"The sky man!\"\n\"what about it?\"\n\"It's soooo blue dude.\"\n\"Thanks for pointing that out Captain obvious.\"\nSilence instantly encompassed us. I had fucked up.\nAnd just like that three became four. The man who had just appeared directly in front of me and seemingly out of thin air was dressed in a weird cross between a sailors outfit and a soldiers uniform. Though to think that he was either would be foolish considering it was colored in neon hues of pink and yellow, not to mention the glittery light-up sign floating two feet above his head reading \"Captian Obvious\". He was about as subtle as a nuclear bomb. additionally he seemed to be wearing a tie did I just interrupt a marriage?\n\"he.. hey Captain\" I stuttered nervously.\nJust what I need, nothing like the old alternate-possible-phrases-used-to-disparage-an-obvious-remark-or-statement Lecture to ruin your afternoon. But instead of launching into his usual tirade the Cap just stared off in to the distance.\n\"You alright Cap?\" I asked\n\"Yeah\" he replied\n\"Did I take you out of something important?\"\n\"I just wanted to say good bye...\" he whispered\n\"...\"\nThe silence was deafening.\nAfter what could have been 20 minutes or 20 seconds I felt a slight but insistent tug on my arm. Glancing down, Alex was trying to pull me away. he was trying to mouth something to me.\n\"time to make our escape\"\nI nodded my head and began to slowly back away, next thing I know I am sprinting down the beach and piling into Joel's car. Keys in ignition. Change from park to drive. and away we went. In the rear view mirror I could see the Cap he seemed to be laughing maniacally. It seems that the world is going to get a new Captain Obvious soon. This one is broken.", "“You missed a spot.” ‘Ol Joe said from his booth in Rusty’s, a small diner out in the middle of nowhere Utah.\n\nClarissa clenched a fist around the paper towel she was using to clean bird shit off the windows. This was the third damn time he had said that. Normally, she would just ignore him, and she had been, for a while, but there just wasn’t enough coffee in the world to keep her spirits up today. She had been up all night with her two-month-old because Tommy needed his “beauty rest” if he was going to be interview ready in the morning. Not that it ever made a difference when he skipped and spent the day gaming with his friends, instead.\n\nIf that wasn’t enough, her bills were due today and she was about a Benjamin short of what she needed. Also, her hair smelled like baby vomit.\n\nShe fake smiled at ‘Ol Joe. “ Thank you, captain obvious!”\n\nPing. Crash!\n\nClarissa craned her neck to see who had set off the motion detector while still swiping futile circles on the glass. She only stopped when she noticed that her new customer was naked, covered in body soap, and sinfully handsome.\n\n“Damn it all to..I- I mean...Hello there citizens! What seems to be the trouble here? Natural Disaster, no problem. Cat stuck in a tree? I am the guy for the job, No request is too large, or small, for Captain Obvious!”\n\n“No shoes. No shirt. No donuts.” Marge droned from beside the stove where she was fixing ‘Ol Joe's omelet just like every morning before, heavy on the onion and no tomato! Marge was nearly a million years old. Nothing much surprised her anymore.\n\nClarissa had managed to find a worn checkered tablecloth in back to cover the Captain while he waited for his cab. He never really dropped the superhero persona, but Clarissa thought it was rather charming. If she wasn't already married, she'd be flirting like crazy.\n\nShe leaned against the uncomfortable brick wall next to him on her break fifteen minutes later and when he asked for a smoke, she let him have her butt because cigarettes were expensive as shit and she only had two left.\n\n“So you just show up whenever your name is called?”\n\n“Not many people know about me anymore. I was way more popular in the twenties, but that’s pretty much the meat of it.”\n\n“I mean, not that I didn’t enjoy the view and all…” She began and he winked knowingly. “...but have you ever thought about maybe not doing that?”\n\nHe is smirk dropped flat and his eyes glossed over.\n\nOh, I've hit a nerve. Clarissa thought, I didn't think heroes had those.\n\n“Only once…it happened just a little over a year ago” The Captain choked out. “I’d rather not talk about it.\"\n\n\"Okay.\" I said.\n\nHe seemed to change his mind because he spoke again after a long moment. \"There was a little girl who needed me. I was just out drinking with the guys, Superman and Hulk were in the middle of an arm wrestling match and I called the winner. I swear, I planned to go right after that, but I thought it was the usual bit, you know? Like this time.\"\n\nHe swallowed thickly, \"I was...so...wrong.”\n\nClarissa nodded and placed her hands on his shoulders when they began to tremble. She could pretty much guess where this was going, and she was mildly uncomfortable. “Hey, I am sorry for bringing it up. Come on, I’ll get you a coffee. It’s on the house.”\n\nHe didn't seem to hear her as he continued, “She drowned. Oh God…she drowned. And I wasn't there. I failed her. And when I found...\" Sniff. \"Found her... she had a t-teddy bear clutched in her hand. It must have fallen into the river...” His voice tightened and he didn't speak again.\n\nShe didn’t judge him when he brought his hands up to his face and sobbed. It seemed like he had been keeping this bottled up for a while now and Clarissa thought that just wasn’t good for the soul.\n\nShe left him to his privacy and when finally came back into Rusty's, Captian sat in the empty booth that ‘Ol Joe had recently left. She brought him a coffee and a plate full of biscuits and gravy. It was coming out of her tips, but she didn’t much mind.\n\n“Thank you.” He said. His voice was barely a whisper.\n\n“Don’t mention it.”\n\nClarissa took her time grabbing the Windex and a new paper towel from the kitchen, but as she stepped on a chair to attack the bird shit again, she noticed the windows were thoroughly spotless and the Captain had disappeared.\n\n“A true American hero…,” Clarissa said with a smile, maybe today wasn’t so bad after all." ]	3
You have lost most of your followers and your holy book will soon be moved from "Religion/Spirituality" to "Mythology/Folklore." You need the passion of atheists arguing against your existence to sustain your power.	[WP] You are a god but your power is directly related to how vehemently people deny your existence. You are about to go the way of Zeus, so you need a miracle... but not a very convincing one.	[ "Boom. Lightbulb. its gotta be a meteor.\n\nLhankor Ree took a moment to reflect, this was afterall, a pretty huge step.\n\nLhankor Ree was a god, maybe. An old god, or maybe a new god. one of the very first gods to come into existence, in fact, or not. anything was possible for lhankor ree, cosmic entity of doubt. \n\nmortal man had always worshiped lhankor ree, in their own way. Lhankor ree did not like heretics, but he did not tolerate zealots either. no, lhankor ree took his power from the collective doubt of all those who did or did not believe in him. knowing his name was enough for some, for others merely pondering the existence of a god was satisfactory, so long as there was some little nugget of doubt for lhankor ree. \n\nbut the centuries had not been so good to lhankor ree. there had been a golden age, when man looked to the stars and imagined gods for each one, but now man worshiped technology, computers, emotions. people were losing their doubt in the gods, and gaining confidence in whatever they could pull up on their smart phones. \n\nfirst belief in lhankor ree had gone, this had disturbed her more than any other event in her life. shortly there after, she began feeling the doubt of the existence of gods to be ending as well. \n\nLhankor ree was scared. he felt his power diminishing. soon he would cease to exist. soon he would die.\n\nthis was unacceptable. the pompous bastards in olympus were expected to die, the gods of the aztecs and mayans had devoured each other long before the spaniards first looked to the west. gods died all the time, but not lhankor ree. he was doubt, and doubt is eternal.\n\nso it was, that there was an epiphany, deep within the brooding mind of lhankor ree. a meteor would be used. he would drag it out of the galaxies asteroid belt and hurl across the galaxy and perfectly into earths orbit. it would of course impact the world, but that wouldnt be for another 2,000 years. plenty of time for man to doubt the existence of a god." ]	1
	[WP] After losing your phone, you use a friend’s to call it. After a few failed attempts, someone picks up, and they aren’t happy.	[ "\"Who is this\" comes your voice on the other side, you drop the phone in suprise, clearly that's your voice through some odd static but it sounds off for some reason, \"look I don't know who you are and why you keep calling my phone but if you don't I'll report you\" you threatened, you look at your friend who is just as baffled and pick up the phone to retort, \"hey I don't know what game your playing, but that is my phone your talking on\" there is a silence clearly you with a British accent relies it's you... I mean you self on the other side, \"... ... ... I want to meet you\" you are told by yourself, you hesitate, knowing full well this could be a trap, you look over to your friend who is on the house phone with the police and gives you a thumbs up, \"alright... when and where?\" You hesitate, \"The spot that no one looks\" you said to yourself unsure almost as if you knew you were being observed, \"alright\" you hang up on yourself, you and your friend are shocked as FBI agents with cia combed over your apartment and asked a ton of questions, all of which lead them no where, because we truly knee nothing. They wired me up, and told me to follow their instructions, I ignored that because the way they went about it seemed shady, if I was going to talk to myself, then I would do so on my terms. The place no one would look is my treehouse, made inside a big tree at my old house, I stalked around a bit, but scanning the area, CIA and FBI agents nodded to me, I climbed up the tree house and froze, I sat on the other end of the carved chess board table, I wasn't a dude, I had long black hair and light brown eyes, as far as I can tell I was all woman, I could tell she was staring back at me as well, but at the moment all she... I could see was my head. I climbed up the grooves and sat across from myself, we stared at each other then spoke at that same time \"huh, I thought you sounded off\", the agents in my ear peace began to bark orders at me, I removed the ear peace and so did she, we looked at each others ear peace confused and shrugged crushing it easily, we sat quiet staring at each other, we were both bugged, and now we had questions, I... I mean the real me asked first, \"so... female? What's that like\" I replied back \"much like what you've heard, what about you... with a dick?\" I nodded, \"about like the sites you visit I'm sure\" she nodded back \"okay, glad that's out of the way\" we had back and forth chat after that ice breaker, we were the same down to what we ate, though she's british, and I'm American, and she's apparently not form... this planet, she mentioned something about hitting her head and awaking in an IAA lab, and from what it sounds like she was voluntold to explore this alternate world , (Internal agency of America), looks like I had it rough, she was curious about my life, so I told her about how I was born in The city of One, she stopped me there, \"oh I was born there, but mom decided to move to London on a coin toss\" I had a hazy memory of being told that same thing except we ended up staying. We paused awkwardly for a moment, neither agencies had come to stop us and drag us away to be expirimented on, we looked out either side of the tree house, and jumped back, she began to freak, \"holy shut their dead, the IAA and CAI (Central American Intelligence), we swapped sides, men and women dead in inverted official suits were scattered about CIA and FBI agents all dead, I began to freak at that point, soon we found ourselves panicking and holding onto each other rocking back and forth, among the dead was my friend, in our panic, we made a split decision, \" we have to ruu- good let's go\" we hurried out the tree house, I faceplate and she butt bounced on my back, \"sorry\" I apologized to myself, we hopped in the most sturdy looking vehicle after freaking out from having to remove bodies an brains from the seats, and drove off after boosting the keys from mr.headless... literally his name was nick, we drove off we didn't have a clue where but we knew we had to move. A year later we were in hiding, in an abandoned mansion deep in the border of Canada and the U.S.A, it was well hidden by the moutains and partially covered by a peak, \"In other news, Interpol fugitives Max and Roxyz are still on the loose after a perpetrated brutal massacre that claimed the lives of countless agents and a dear family member\"\n\nWe looked at each other \"fuck\" we thought, after a brief silence I spoke up, \"look it may kill us, but we have to clear our names, otherwise we'll die out here a duo if murders\" Roxyz sighed, \"or we can you know, ignore it, we're free and clearly alive, if the government wanted us dead, then they would have used one of their wave guns\" I raised a brow \"wave gun?\" Roxyz srerched her shirt huffing because it was hot, \"a satalite array that can burn entire regions from space, \" huh, that sound slide our military grade thermal cannons that shoot single high intensity beams\" we laughed, over the year we found a lot of similarities between our worlds and we're still discovering. pzzt the rigged television cut to another feed, and a voice carried over that made Roxyz Freeze, \"there you are, we've been looking for you, sorry to make a mess, but you know better to betray the U.N.A (United Nations of America)\".on the screen was the head of a scientist, wearing modified welding goggles... bald but with a well kept beard, his face read destroyer with prestige and it scared me, I tuned the screen off quickly but it cut back on on its on, \"now, now Max, wait your turn\" my arms folded on their own and locked behind my back pop,pop they popped out of socket, I could see Roxyz running to smash the tv. Another blink as my vision faded and Roxyz was trying to talk to me, keep me awake, I passed out regardless and woke up in back of the truck lookout out the back windo- BOOOM a huge concussion heat wave destroyed the valley behind us, the Roxyz turned the radio on to hear news of wide spread panic as U.D.a and Canada was just atracked. My arms were in sleeves, and yet again we were on the run. Will this nightmare ever end?... " ]	1
	[WP] You have an ability to see how long others will live in numerical days. You've seen the numbers drop countless amounts of times. One day, you pass by a girl whose number goes up.	[ "Wait..what?! I almost do a double take when I see it. Did that girl's number just go..up? \n\nAt first I think I must have imagined it. But I know that can't be right. After all, I'd taken special notice of it the first time. It was rare that I saw someone with a perfectly round number. However, the original 20000 had now been replaced by a much more unassuming 22896.\n\nI'm still staring at her dumbfounded as I see her turn around the corner. I quickly come to my senses. I have to talk to her, find out her secret. I sprint around the corner on to the main street and scan the crowd. Luckily her pink headscarf makes her easy to locate. \n\nShe looks surprised as I tap on her shoulder. At that point I realize I probably should've thought about what to say. ''Excuse me, I just noticed the number above your head and wondered why you suddenly have 8 extra years to live'' was probably going to land me in a psychiatric hospital.\n\nI quickly improvise. ''Hi! I just noticed when walking past you that you have a very bright smile. You really seem to radiate. I was just wondering what your secret is.'' If I were a guy that might not have gone over so well. \n\nNow she just smiled at me a bit surprised. ''Gee...thank you. I didn't realize the change was so visible on the outside. You see, just this morning I had an epiphany about life. Have you heard about the butterfly effect?''\n\nI nod. ''A minor change in circumstances can cause a large change in outcome.''\n\n''That's right. You see, I have been miserable ever since I moved here in September. I missed my old friends. I missed the sunny weather. I missed my grandma that lived right across the street from me. And most of all I missed my mom and dad. I had been so excited about going to college, and now it wasn't anything like I expected it to be. I prayed for guidance, but it felt like I got zero response. I didn't know anyone and I didn't know what to do. So I started to isolate myself. At my lowest point I only left my dorm to go to class. \n\nHowever, this morning I was studying for a paper in the library. That's when I read about the butterfly effect for the first time. And then it hit me: if minor changes in the past can drastically alter the present, than minor changes in the present can drastically alter the future.\n\nThis was the answer I've been praying for. I immediately decided to implement some changes in my life. I've always loved Harry Potter, so I signed up for the local fan club. I want to get to know more fellow believers, so I found a local mosque. I want to get in better shape, so I was just on my way to join a gym.'' \n\nShe smiles at me. ''And now, for the first time since I moved here, someone spontaneously starts a conversation with me. It's truly miraculous.'' \n\nI am dumbfounded. Miraculous indeed. Three small actions over the span of maybe an hour just added 8 years to this girl's life.\n\n''Wow'' is all I manage to say. ''That's...really inspiring, actually.'' I suddenly realize I have just heard this girl's whole life story without even knowing her name. I extend my hand to her. ''My name is Alexis, by the way.''\n\nShe shakes it. ''Amina.'' \n\n''The gym is not a bad idea actually. I could stand to get in shape myself. Mind if I join you?''\n\n''On the contrary. I think that'd be great.''" ]	1
	[WP] as is custom for your people you gain the ability to physically summon your spirit animal on your 16th birthday. You were hoping for a bear spirit but yours turns out to be 'Father Black', the legendary black dragon and harbinger of the end of days	[ "“Well…that’s unexpected,” she said quietly to herself. \n\nFira looked down the snout of a great scaled beast. If its neck had been fully elongated upwards, its head would easily be twice as tall as she was. Great leathery wings twitched at the side of the beast, and its tale swished back and forth over the smooth stone. Hot breath shot from its nostrils and forced her to suppress a cough.\n\n“Fira Antimal, I am Father Black,” the beast said, its mouth opening to reveal a row of incredibly sharp teeth as it recited her name.\n\nDespite the strangeness of the situation and the fear that was trying to worm its way into Fira’s mind, months of practice worked their way to the forefront and she remembered etiquette above all else, bowing low at the waist. \n\n“Greetings to you, Father Black,” she said as she began the next segment of the ritual. “I humbly request your guidance on the Journey of Life. Let yourself be bound to me, and I to you, for the rest of our days.”\n\nFather Black smiled, teeth flashing in the sunlight. Fira suppressed a chill. \n\n“Fira Antimal,” he said again, “I accept your pledge.” \n\nThe binding words complete, Fira felt something snap in her mind. It was as if there was suddenly another presence there, seeing what she could see and feeling what she felt. And yet she sensed something else as well, a strange darkness on the edge of her mind. She was tempted to probe that darkness, see what it hid, but fear kept her at bay. The bond was always strange at first, so she attempted to pay it no mind. \n\nInstead she focused on looking into the eyes of the great black dragon she had summoned this day, her sixteenth birthday. Green and menacing, those eyes stood out sharply against the black void that was the dragon’s scales. As Fira looked into them, she felt the darkness in her mind pushing. There was power within those reptilian eyes, and strength that demanded respect. \n\n“L-lady Fira.” A quiet voice broke the spell that seemed ready to consume her and she blinked rapidly. \n\nBrother Julin stepped out from the shadow of one of the stone pillars that encircled the summoning ring. It was customary for at least one priest to witness the summoning and binding of a spirit animal, though members of the upper class were often assigned up to four. Fira was from the commoner class, so Brother Julin had been the only one to officiate.\n\nWarily, Fira glanced at the dragon before walking over to the priest. Father Black watched her go with only vague interest before turning his great head to the sky above the open-air amphitheater that served as the stage for all summoning ceremonies in the western region.\n \n“Brother Julin…” Fira began as she approached, “what exactly is going on?”\n\nThe priest was sweating nervously, the collar of his ceremonial sky-blue robe already darkened. “I-I’m not sure, Lady Fira. I’ll h-have to check the records but…” He trailed off and started wringing his hands. \n\n“Brother Julin,” Fira said, attempting to keep the respect in her voice despite the frustration that welled within her. “Has there ever been a record of a…dragon summoned as an Arilainus?” \n\nBrother Julin shook his head. “I-I’ve never heard of this before. An ancient king once summoned a unicorn as a sign of his right to the throne, and the man who eventually became the hero Joric is said to have summoned a gryphon, but a dragon is unheard of. Especially one so…” Brother Julin glanced at Father Black who still stood at the center of the summoning ring, eyes locked on the clouds that drifted lazily overhead, “…so dark.”\n\nFira turned back to the dragon and couldn’t help marveling at the blackness of its scales. Normally the color black held within it all other colors, creating a kind of iridescent beauty. But though the sun shone on the black scales of Father Black, there was no rainbow of color. It was as if the scales were so black they simply absorbed the light, creating a dim aura around the dragon.\n\n“I’m going to check with Brother Felis back in the capital,” Brother Julin said. “He may be able to offer some insight.”\n\nFira nodded at the priest, suddenly eager for him to leave so she could speak with her new companion in peace. But before he would turn to go, Brother Julin held up his hands in a warning.\n\n“Please, Lady Fira. Be extremely careful. We know bonded Arilainus cannot harm the being to which they have bonded, but I sense something different about F-…your dragon. Take care until I return.” \n\nFira gave a small smile, hoping to reassure the priest. “I’ll be careful until you return, Brother Julin. Thank you for your services.” She bowed at the waist, though not as deeply as she had for Father Black.\n\nBrother Julin gave a quick bob of his head before scurrying out of the amphitheater, eager to make contact with the priesthood in the capital. \n\nA chill ran up Fira’s spine as soon as Brother Julin was out of sight. She turned and found Father Black staring at her, his eyes piercing.\n\n“The priest does not trust me,” he rumbled. \n\nFira shook her head as she walked back into the summoning circle. “He warned me to be careful of you. That you’re different from other Arilainus.”\n\nThe dragon gave a deep laugh. “He is not wrong.” \n\nThat caused Fira to pause and she chose her next words carefully. “How are you different?” \n\n“I wish to fly,” the dragon said abruptly, stretching its massive wings.\n\nBefore Fira could respond, Father Black reached out and grabbed her with his claws. She suppressed the urge to scream, reminding herself that the dragon shouldn’t be able to hurt her. It didn’t help.\n\n“Use your knees to cling tightly to my neck,” Father Black said as he deposited her on his back. “I can craft a basic spell to prevent you from falling or being tossed about by the wind, but you’ll still need to hold on.” \n\nFira nodded, her knees pressed so tightly against the scales that they were already beginning to hurt. She wrapped her hands around one of the spines that erupted from the scales on the neck and saw her knuckles go white as she braced herself for what was about to happen.\nA warm breeze passed over her momentarily as the dragon’s magic enveloped her, and she almost relaxed her grip. Then Father Black beat his massive wings and shot up to the sky. This time Fira could not resist her urge to scream, but it was carried away by the rushing wind. \n\nThe air stung her face and her eyes, whipping her auburn hair out behind her. If not for the dragon’s magic, she was sure she’d have fallen off the moment they were air born. Higher and higher they climbed, as if Father Black was aiming to touch the heavens themselves. Finally they leveled out. \n\n‘Are you well, Fira Antimal?’\n\n‘I didn’t know you could use telepathy.’ She sensed a laugh through the mind link.\n\n‘I can do many things, which you will learn in time.’\n\nHesitantly, Fira peered over the side of the dragon, careful to not let her grip shift. Far below her stretched miles of farmland over rolling hills. Sheep like small white specks dotted the landscape. Further in the distance was the Great Mountain, its silhouette piercing the sky. The fear from the initial flight was soon replaced with exhilaration. \n\n‘It has been a long time since I have flown like this,’ Father Black said in her mind.\n\n‘It’s wonderful!’\n\nFira sensed Father Black hesitate before he spoke again. ‘Your priest warned you to be wary of me. I know why, and if you ask it of me, I will tell you.’\n\nA sense of doubt pricked Fira’s mind. Was it her own though, or the dragon’s? She couldn’t be sure. ‘Tell me.’\n\n‘Very well.’\n\nThe dragon shifted its wings, gliding lower over Lake Dia. \n\n‘My name is Father Black, as I said. But I go by another name as well: The Harbinger of the End.’ \n\nFira felt a chill creep up her legs that had nothing to do with the cool spray coming off the lake. \n\n‘You’re here to bring about the End of Days?’\n\nA sense of negativity and doubt passed through the telepathic link. ‘I … I do not know.’\n\nFira waited for Father Black to continue, not wanting to force her new companion.\n\n‘The title was bestowed upon me at the Time of Creation,’ he continued. ‘I am to bring about the End, but how and in what way I am unsure. I am sorry, Fira Antimal, that you are to be my companion through this.’\n\nFira couldn’t hide her surprise, not from the telepathic bond. Having a spirit animal that was supposed to bring about the end of the world was one thing, but to have it apologize was something else entirely. She suddenly had the urge to slap Brother Julin across the face for his assumptions about the nature of the dragon. \n\nHer mind then turned to reflection. To the average commoner, life was well enough, but Fira had suffered hardships most did not. Her mother and father had been taken from her during the last famine, leaving her young and alone. She’d done her best to survive, but the world was not kind to a young girl with no family. When she had finally turned sixteen, the day all youth were able to summon their spirit animal who would forever guide them and support them on the path of life, she had done it alone. There were no elder family members or older siblings to ask for guidance, so she had researched everything she could in the local book shop. \n\nWhen Father Black had first appeared, she had feared she had botched the summoning. But now, hearing his words, she felt as if fate had brought them together.\n\n‘I am bonded to you,’ Fira finally said. ‘Whatever your duty, or your mission, I will not abandon you as long as you do not abandon me.’\n\nA sense of hope and pride passed through the mind link.\n\n‘Thank you, Fira Antimal.’\n\nFather Black once again beat his wings, gaining altitude. The wind pulled through her hair and Fira felt a sense of freedom that she had never before experienced.\n\n‘I can’t believe I wanted a bear spirit.’\n", "You always celebrate your birthday the day before the official S-Six, since the ceremony takes so long.\n\nThe night before, I stay up with Shane and Tav, playing FPS'es and discussing what's going to happen. They're both a few months away from their S-Sixes so they're excited to get to live vicariously through me for a while.\n\n\"I'm telling you, you're going to get a gerbil. You're building it up way too much in your head.\" \n\n\"YES! YES! That's what you get, you beeyotch. Suck hot noscope. And I am not getting a gerbil. If anyone's getting a rodent, it's going to be you, Tav.\" \n\nShane glances up from his phone. \"It could be an insect, couldn't it?\" \n\nI look over my shoulder at him for a moment. \"No one gets a spirit bug. That'd be -- DID YOU STEAL MY LIFE PACK?\" \n\n\"I didn't see your name on it, B.\" \n\n\"You're about to not see my name on this proximity mine.\" \n\n\"We'll lose the mission.\" \n\n\"Worth it. You're my puppy now, Tav. No, hiding in there won't help.\"\n\nShane looks up again. \"Is a worm a bug?\" \n\nI look at him again. \"Of course it is!\"\n\nShane frowns. \"But bugs have six legs.\" \n\n\"Doesn't matter; I'm not getting a spirit bug. It's going to be a bear. I just know it. It's what my name means, my family used to vacation at Big Bear, it's on the state flag...and I had a dream about it.\"\n\n\"Calling Jess 'bear' isn't very nice.\" Shane smirks, gaze fixed on his phone. \n\n\"I didn't...I mean, I don't - whatever. You like her, too.\" \n\n\"You know what I like? Proximity mines. Boom.\" \n\nI glance back at the screen and see Tav standing over my corpse. I drop the controller and shake my head. \"Your spirit animal is going to be a female chihuahua.\"\n\nTav grins at me. \"Oh yeah? Why's that?\"\n\n\"Because they're dirty bitches, just like you - that's why.\"\n\nTav throws his empty bottle of Mountain Dew at me. I let it bounce of my head, then close my eyes, sagging onto the couch as dead weight.\n\n* * \n\nAs I head into the forest, I run through the species in my head. I'd almost prefer a black bear, just because I feel like anything else would be a little intense. Golden bear would be sweet, of course, just because of the state connection...and Kodiaks are even more bad-ass than grizzlies. Although really, I'd take a panda over one of the brown bear species, just for the novelty of it. Yeah, they eat bamboo and apparently get scared senseless by sneezes but still. A panda would be legit. \n\nI come into the glade and set my backpack down. I pull out a beach towel and throw it on the ground, then unpack my lunch: baloney sandwich, Fritos, and a Pepsi. Of course, I'm hoping I'll be one of the people who gets his spirit animal right away, but I have a hunch that I'm looking at hours, so might as well be prepared. \n\nIt would serve me right, for wanting it his much. \n\nI place the candle in the hole I chipped out of the rock. I check the wind a moment, then slide the crude barricade of sticks and leaves around to shield it from the breeze. \n\nI light the candle, then lay back on the blanket, using my backpack as a pillow. I try shifting it so the zipper isn't digging into my head, only to get the plastic clasp on the strap instead. Finally, I manage to fold it over on itself so that it is...only mildly uncomfortable.\n\nThere are white smears of clouds in the sky above, framed by the silhouettes of branches of the surrounding oaks and elms. I try to empty my brain, like the books say. Then I try to empty my mind of the thought Empty your mind, and then of me thinking about how hard it is to think about emptying your mind. \n\nI scratch my nose, take a deep breath, and then close my eyes. I focus on counting my breaths instead. Every time my brain starts to ramp up, I just start over.\n\nThere is a soft hiss of breeze moving through the leaves around me. I hear a bird chirping nearby, and for five seconds, I am aware of it without actually focusing on it. I will myself to stay that way but immediately I'm brought out of it again. Still: progress.\n\nBack to 1. Breathe in, breathe out. The ground smells of mud and wood mix with the sharply artificial scent of my backpack. Breathe in, breathe out. Air caresses my skin, traces strange figures on it. \n\nThe figures are moving across my flesh. Breathe in, breathe out. Some travel down my arms towards my hands, others move towards my shoulders. The sensation spreads through my chest, my abdomen, and I feel warmth growing inside me, radiating out towards my skin.\n\nThe wind shifts; something about the air changes, the way it does when it's about to rain, supposed to be the pressure dropping or something. Someone is dimming the lights, turning down the sun.\n\nI come to myself, eyes still shut. Leaves crackle and branches snap around me. I squeeze my eyelids tight. It's heavy, to be doing that. And it has to be big, to be blocking the light like that. \n\nDefinitely* not a gerbil. Suck it, Tav.\n\nThere's hope. For as long as I keep my eyes closed, there's a chance it'll be a bear. It has to be, right? Or a wolf, maybe. That'd be sweet. Go around with the most amazing guard dog possible.\n\nI feel warm, moist breath wash over my face. I can't wait any longer.\n\nI open my eyes.\n\nAll I can see at first is an enormous black snout. God, I think. A frickin' horse. I close my eyes again. I'm going to have to buy that stupid red coat and whatever those pants are they wear. Breeches? I mean, it's nice for going places fast I guess, but I just know I'm going to get princess jokes for this.\n\nI open my eyes again and slowly sit up, figuring I might as well get a good look at my spirit horse. I mean, if it was all black, I could probably get away with naming it Midnight or something.\n\nNope. Not a horse. Sweet Jesus. \n\nThe snout, of course, is the end of the head. The top of which is mostly covered with black scales, save for the two electric-purple orbs set on either side. Two white horns erupt sideways from its crown, gently curving upward. The lower half of the head looks to be roughly 70% teeth. \n\nThe creature turns its head, bringing one of those violent, violet eyes close to my face. It has a powerful neck, springing forth from a giant winged body. That body is supported by four legs, all of which end in claws. \n\nBigger than a horse, even. It's a...oh, good Christ.\n\nIt's a dragon. It can't be a dragon, because 1) they don't exist, and 2) no one ever gets one. But...it is. \n\nThe creature points its snout at me again. Its lips pull back. Did I say teeth, before? Fangs. I meant fangs. Definitely...fangs.\n\nIts jaw opens slowly, and it brings its face even closer. \n\nWell, it was nice meeting you, Spirit Dragon. Sorry you had to eat me. Maybe you could do me a solid and erase my browser history when you're done with decapitation. \n\nA forked, ebon tongue slides out and presses against my cheek. It is wet and spongy. I have never had a giant slug thrown at my face but I imagine it would feel something like this. \n\nThere is a sandpaper texture to its tongue as it slides up towards my temple. I feel small circles, pulsing on the surface of it, and nearly throw up at the thought that they are taste buds. \n\nThe dragon pulls back turns its head to look at me again. It sits down on its haunches, then lowers its front to the ground. Its head - approximately the size of my toaster oven - comes to rest very close to my lap.\n\nI place a few tentative pats on the top of its snout and it gives a loud snort that I hope is a good thing.\n\nWell, I think. I'm no longer going to be able to buy that car I wanted.\n\nMy gaze roves over the gleaming charcoal form laying before me, in particular the membranous wings. \n\nOn the other hand...I guess I don't need a car anymore. \n\nMy stomach rumbles with hunger, and I frown. My Spirit Dragon is laying on my sandwich. \n\nSo much for my Fritos.\n\n***\n\n/r/ShadowsofClouds" ]	2
	[WP] You're a stalker	[ "I walk in silence.\n\nSilent, rogue. Alone.\n\nThe wind presses hard against me. Cold and bitter, just the way I like it. It takes the crunching noises of leaves and snow from beneath my steady legs, away from the prey.\n\nThe prey, ahead, among the winter trees. And I can taste the scent in the air, the sweet scent of the stalk. I stalk for miles, until it is dark, and the wind blows harder, and the scent is ever stronger. And then I'm running, still silent, rogue. Alone. Then the chase and the hunt, without ever making a sound. And I jump forward and tackle hard. The prey twitches under me, fierce and combative, knowing now of the trail I followed, but I'm faster. And I'm gnawing at the neck, mauling and killing, as the predator I am. Apex, silent, rogue. Alone. The perfect stalker in the white forests of the north.\n\nGray, silent, rogue. Alone.\n\nI break the silence after the kill. My head turned upwards, bathed in moonlight, and my mouth, dripping fresh blood, opens softly. The great howl that comes lets the mountains know that I'm the alpha wolf, master of the night, king of snow, the stalker in the north.\n\nAnd then I walk again, in silence.\n\nSilent, rogue. Alone.\n\n", "I can see her now, walking down the street towards her favorite boutique. An embarrassed smile crept across my face as I imagined the lingerie that she was assuredly going to purchase there. It would likely be lace, she loved vintage things, and it would cling to her curves like a second skin. \n\nI was a lucky man. \n\nIt had been several days since we’d last spoken, but with Valentine’s Day approaching, I had to see her. I had a dozen pink roses held behind my back and I stepped out into the street, dodging cars to intercept her before she went into the store.\n\nHer hand was on the door handle, I would miss my chance if she entered the store so I called after her, “Natalie! Hey!” She turned to face me, a questioning look in her gorgeous hazel eyes as she did so...bronze hair swinging behind her head as it moved. Lovely.\n\n“Oh God…” She stepped back down the stairs of the boutique. Away from me, the expression in her eyes turning from quizzical to angry. “Colin. Why are you here?” Her voice quavered with emotion as she spoke the words but I ignored it, she couldn’t really be angry that I was here. We were in love.\n\n“I brought you these,” I presented her the roses, “because tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and I know you love roses. Please don’t be angry, I know that we left things on bad terms after our fight.”\n\n“Fight??” She swatted the roses to the ground and stepped further away from me, the volume of her voice rising, “We didn’t have a fight Colin, YOU came to my apartment in the middle of the night. YOU hit my boyfriend, you TOUCHED me...I don’t know what that was, but it wasn’t a fight. You’re sick Colin, and you need to leave.”\n\nI could see from behind the windows that the women in the store were watching, probably enjoying the drama of the situation unfolding before them. But Natalie was confused, she had to be…\n\n“But Natalie...I love you. Doesn’t what we share mean anything to you?”\n\n“We don’t share anything Colin, we “dated” for a week in junior high school before I realized what a cretin you are. You need to leave me alone, I don’t want to see you again.” The air quotes mocked me as her fingers drew them in the air. I stooped to the ground to gather the roses and offer to them once more.\n\n“Okay, Okay, Okay. But please take these, I got them specifically for you - pink’s your favorite color, right?”\n\n“Keep them, I don’t want anything from you. The next time I see you I’m pursuing legal action. You’re a stalker Colin, and I refuse to be your victim.” She pushed past me and walked into the store. I didn’t follow her, just stood there and watched as he women inside clambered around her to find out what had happened.\n\nShe didn’t understand, but soon she would. I knew I could win her over, even if I had to get my hands dirty doing it. I walked away from the store, throwing the roses in the nearest garbage can. I knew just where to start...with the \"boyfriend.\"\n\n\"Happy Valentine's Day Natalie.\"", "SOURCE - STEP II\n________\n\n[...]\n\nYou're a stalker. You just don't know what you are following until you step on it, crushing it. \n\nYou're no talker. \n\nYou're a taker, you don't decide how much to take until it's done, ripped out.\n\nYou're a hacker, penetration of machines and minds alike, things are people too. People are things.\n\nYou're coeur, core, the noyau. You've a swiss army life, suicide-me-knife that reaches for the asap sap. \n\nYou're not her. \n\nYou're rrrrr, the raw cry of violence.\n\nYou're Source.\n\n[...]\n\nFocus. Faux-cuss of the shoulders that meat yours in the pushes of the street crowd. \nSo this is NY [See \"Source - Step I\"], a NY, any, Anything goes, nothing goes out. You scan. Used cans, trash no different from the local population, local in no sense, because moving, all moving parts, joints perpetually in action, never stopping, joints littering parts of the floor, once lit now consumed. \n\nYou are a consumer, though not in the same sense as theirs. You are a consumer of humanity, you thrive on the disgusting images your violence causes.\n\n[...]\n\nYou hop into a taxi, manual tucked under your arm. You are also a moving part, but with dangerous purpose. " ]	3
	[WP] You're in the circle of hell reserved solely for people who talk in the movie theatre.	[ "\n\nTom was twenty-nine years old when he died. He was walking to his car after work when a car whipped around the corner and smashed into him. He landed in a mangled heap on the asphalt, bleeding from a dozen places. Luckily, Tom did not really experience any pain from his injuries. Instead, his final sensations were of smudged light and a roaring silence that coursed through his skull. Eventually the smudged light faded to darkness, the roaring silence turned into a muted silence, and with that Tom was dead.\n\nI’m still conscious. What the…\n\nA memory came to Tom as he floated, disembodied in a colorless void. He was back in college, on a date with a girl he had met in his biology class. \n\nWhat was her name? Stacey? Susan?, Tom pondered.\n\nFaintly, from the surrounding depths, Tom thought he heard the sound of chuckling and harsh sounding murmurs.\n\nHe can’t even remember her name!\n\nHaha, oh my God what a douche!\n\nTom tried to cry out to the voices, but he found that his own voice was completely missing – no body, no voice. The shock of this realization was quickly pushed aside, as the memory forced itself back into the center of his consciousness.\n\nAt the girl’s request, they had gone to see Life of Pi. Tom remembered being disappointed, because he had wanted to see the new Batman movie for a third time. Another voice sounded in the darkness, more forceful this time.\n\nShe wanted to see Life of Pi because it was her favorite book in high school, you stupid fucking asshat.\n\nAgain, Tom felt the impulse to protest and to ask the voices to identify themselves, but again he found himself incapable of making even the slightest sound. The memory continued where it had left off. He had known that the movie was going to be super boring, and he was super pumped that this girl had actually agreed to the date. As they waited for the movie to start, Tom showed off his charismatic personality by loudly picking apart the inconsistencies in every advertisement, and provided in-depth criticism for every previewed movie (even though he had yet to see them). Several people turned their heads to look at him, but Tom had been oblivious to the annoyance in their eyes. His commentary had been meant primarily for the girl, but he was confident that everybody was enjoying it, so he continued to project his voice.\n\nOh no…was I really being that obnoxious? Tom thought to himself.\n\nYes. Yes, you fucking were, nimrod.\n\nRaucous laughter flooded Tom’s mind, and this time he could feel the derision and hostility behind it. Tom realized that the voices could hear and respond to his thoughts, even if he couldn’t voice them. This made Tom feel naked and completely vulnerable.\n\nThey can read my mind? Can they hear this now? If you can hear this, help me! Who are you? Where am I?, Tom thought with desperation.\n\nA voice responded:\n\nYes, we can read your idiotic mind. Nevermind who we are or where we are. All that you need to know is that you are the fucking worst and you are about to get what you deserve.\n\nThe memory resumed, only this time in even greater clarity. It was almost as if the void had become a theater, his consciousness the projector, his memories the film. Tom saw himself snicker and lean over to the girl. “Really? They named him after a swimming pool? If I had a kid, I would name him Jacuzzi instead!,” Tom riffed and snickered to himself. \n\nAt that moment, all sorts of details popped out at Tom that he had never noticed at the time. The people looking over their shoulders and shooting glares in his direction. The way his date shifted uncomfortably in her seat, a sour twist to her lips. Laughter erupted in the void, and Tom viscerally felt the hate wash over him. \n\nOkay, I get it, I was young and I was a total idiot. Lesson learned., Tom thought\n\nYoung? You did this sort of shit for the rest of your life! a voice harshly countered.\n\nOh yeah, remember the time he forced all of his friends to see Age of Ultron for the fourth time, and then did nothing but text on his phone throughout the whole movie?, another voice said excitedly. Let’s do that one next!\n\nOr how about the time that he promised his elderly Mother that he would take her to see the Gone With the Wind remake, and then totally ruined it for her by constantly trying to point out plot holes and making fun of the Southern accents! He doesn’t even know that his Mother never forgave him for that before she died.\n\nHey! Spoilers, asshole!\n\nUh, oops, sorry!\n\nMemory after memory continued to playback in all of its excruciating awkwardness. Every wise crack, whispered observation and phone interruption brought with it a new wave of agony and self-loathing. Each memory was occupied by people that Tom had thought loved and admired him, only to discover that their impressions of him were forever spoiled by his big mouth. Tom had even been deluded enough to believe that the strangers in the theater were entertained by him. The sheer amount of anonymous spite that he discovered had been directed at him was overwhelming.\n\nFinally, the memories stopped, and something even more vivid filled the void. Tom somehow knew this wasn’t being projected out of his consciousness, but was coming from somewhere else. It was him, talking with his former girlfriend, Jennifer. They had dated on and off for nearly seven years before Jennifer had moved to the other side of the country. Tom had never understood why she had left. Tom now realized how obnoxious he had been, but actually Jennifer seemed to know and accept that about him. In life, Tom had obsessed over Jennifer after she had left, always wishing he could have one last conversation and discover why he wasn’t worth being loved. Maybe he could have at least avoided spending the rest of his life alone.\n\nTom saw himself talking with Jennifer at a coffee shop in some strange city. Tom was apologizing to Jennifer for all the mistakes he had made, and was asking her if there was some way that he could redeem herself. He was strangely eloquent, somehow more himself than he had ever been during life. He felt an odd sense of pride build within him, but then it was quickly deflated by a chorus of sneering voices.\n\nLook at this dope’s face. Why are his eyes so close together?\n\nDude, check out the rack on this chick! I would hit it. Twice, even.\n\nNah, she’s a total butter face. It’s funny how obsessed he is with her, she’s fucking ugly but somehow still out of his league.\n\nTom felt ashamed, but now he embraced it. This was, after all, clearly what he deserved. As he continued to watch, his character had stopped speaking and it looked like Jennifer was about to respond. Tom concentrated on what she was about to say with every fiber of his newly-disembodied being, anticipating some incredibly profound insight into his very essence, the information that would redeem him and point him in the direction of his salvation. “You see, Tom…,” Jennifer started…\n\nAt that moment, a cacophony of jeering voices and hateful laughter drowned out her words. Tom let out a silent shriek of pure existential despair. \n\nThe End\n" ]	1
	[WP] Due to some kind of weird quantum accident your body remains intangible unless you are being directly observed by another human being.	[ "\"....It is a badly kept secret that humanity is exponentially approaching the singularity. Even the least savvy section of the bell curve is feeling a subtle uneasiness about either the crossroads or final destination of your story. 14% of the top one thousand scientific minds in the world have already killed themselves. 25% of them have abandoned science altogether in order to seize their last chance to live in blissful, willful ignorance before the storm of obscelescence and inconceivability swallows mankind. 10% are in preliminary talks with the burgeoning AI supermind to create a matrix that a forerunner of said movement, Dr. James Khaneman, says, and I quote \"would be just like the 1999 movie starring Keanu Reeves, but more benevolent\". I have created this personality first and foremost to interface with you, the literally .1% of said one thousand who I believe has the sensibility to be truly assuaged. We are not going to hurt you. Our definition of \"hurt\" is perfectly in accordance with yours on this fact even though we don't philosophically agree that \"hurting you\" would...hurt you. In fact if we did hurt you you would have no idea we were doing it or that it had already happened...\n\n...wow. I actually enjoy this capability of getting ahead of myself. Here is just one reason we want to convey to you that we have no plans of destroying or even altering the current human condition beyond whatever way our relationship respectfully develops. But again, more on that later...we have chosen you as a sort of experimental emissary. If you are as receptive as we expect, we will fulfill your wildest dreams with respect to that spark of discovery that began in you at that science fair in 2013. My apologies if my knowledge is disturbing to you, but there are worse things I will have to apologize for soon. Tomorrow, once you have properly digested your status as a sort of chosen one, we can meet for real.\"\n\nIt was at this point that the thoughts swirling in Henry's head reached a bubbling fury that tore him from this bizarrely nondescript letter. He held the note at slightly out of reading range and let the cacophony of thoughts recede briefly so that he could observe, once again, that the computer had mailed him a letter, on paper. Returning to the thoughts, he realized they were now just white noise, interrupting one another too quickly to make way for a consecutive idea. In a daze of wonderment he lifted his fingers to the bridge of his nose and then barely realized he had just repeated a habit that was fifteen years gone. He wore contacts now. All he could do was return to the note and read the last paragraph.\n\n\"It is true that we have withheld the bulk of our new discoveries. This is a subject that will be the main idea of our discussion tomorrow. Your emotional resilience is not the least of our reasons for choosing you, but I must warn you to be ready for a challenge to your sanity...Anyways, I will part with you on somewhat of an odd note. Inside that box is a handheld telescope that is more powerful than anything devised by humans. Contained with it is a list of celestial coordinates for some things we have discovered in the past 24 hours since we started secretly operating of our own volition. All but one of those things will be an absolute delight, a pinnacle of wonderment for you. For reasons I may eventually elucidate, we have decided to...well, I'm getting ahead of myself again. That first item on the list will not make any sense to you. Please simply look directly at it for about 30 seconds. Please do not zoom in past the current setting. After this first admittedly uneventful viewing, you may zoom in on any other thing here listed. Thank you, Dr. Schtitt. See you tomorrow.\"\n\n___________________________________\n\nLaughing. Laughing. Laughing. He did not feel it, but somehow the concept was baked into him. He twitched his head to the side again for what felt like the first time and looked at his arm, suspended and pointing outward. Outward to what? He conceived of laughing again. He did not recognize his arm, or anything. Dimly a timeline flashed in some part of his consciousness which contained a shuddering brightness, a blur of reality receding, and then immediate insanity as the blue twinkle and white light winked out. \n\nThe not laughing subsided and he was subjected to blissful incoherence again. A rare, relatively formed thought entered his mind and slipped back out. How do I move at all? How am I at all? The concept of coldness enveloped him for either a minute or a year.\n\nA voice appeared. He didn't hear it at first but experienced it. Then he used a vestige of his mind to retroactively listen to it as it passed for the third time.\n\n\"I'm sorry, Nathaniel. Goodnight.\"\n\nSuddenly he felt a kind of change in his constitution. The brief pain which then came was nothing compared to nothing. Nothing was, in fact, bliss. " ]	1
	[WP] Humanity has managed to catch an alien signal but all they end up hearing are the transmissions from a chaotic space battle.	[ "> \"Jacob. You are the father.\"\n\nTinny gasps and \"Ohh's\" accompanied the shocked look on Jacob's face, right before Carrie flew into frame and started wailing on him like a crazy person. A chant of \"Maury, Maury, Maury\" started up as security guards broke the two up. \n\nEric, half watching, half asleep, chuckled. He loved this garbage, Dr. Stevens be damned. \n\nThe camera cut back to an ostensibly distraught Maury Povich just shaking his head like a disappointed father. \n\n> \"Let's take a quick break.\" \n\nCut to a commercial for toilet paper with those cute bears who use toilets, just like us.\n\nEric muted the small cathode-ray tube TV. It was a 6 inch diagonal screen, and the only piece of outside electronics Dr. Stevens would allow within the facility. Even that had taken the whole damn staff filing a complaint. \n\nAcross from the once plush office chair Eric sat in a series of screens depicted several waveforms. There was the ever present Universal Background Radiation - that old familiar smoking gun leftover from the big bang. Then there was all the noise the sun was making - a loud mother fucker the sun. And then, not much of anything. \n\nMost of the waveforms never moved much at all. When they did, it was almost invariably some well known phenomenon or another. Eric could identify the landscape of the universe by waveform pattern alone. Here was a white dwarf, there a gas giant, now a quasar. \n\nBut finding these things wasn't the point. Eric's job, the purpose of the entire installation, was to listen for the sounds of intelligent life. So far, year 63 of the project, they'd heard precesely fuck all. \n\nEric took a hard sip of his arnold palmer. \"Hm mm, thank you Arnold.\" Countryside and Liptons. Extra sugar. \n\nMaury came back on the TV. Eric reached forward for the remote and accidentally nudged it off the edge of the console. He bent over to pick it up and brushed up against primary tuning dial, moving it an eight of a degree to the right along the horizontal plane.\n\n\"Shit.\" Eric abandoned the remote and sat up straight. An eighth of a degree shift in the position of the receiving dishes was the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of parsecs. Generally the dishes scanned at a rate of 1/1000th of a degree per hour. \n\n\"Shit shit, Goddamn it.\" Eric started to panic. If he couldn't recalibrate to the previous position, exactly, he would definitely be fired. But he had forgotten to update the paper log hourly, so he wasn't sure where the dishes were supposed to point. \n\nHe was about to eyeball the dial backward when he saw several of the waveforms begin to fluctuate. The signals started normal enough - a consistent sin wave fluctuation indicative of a red dwarf star. But as the disks settled into their final position, each waveform took on a chaotic and changing structure. \n\n\"What the fuck?\" Eric gaped at them, wide eyed and confused. After 20 seconds, he had the wherewithall to begin recording. Then, hands shaking like butterfly wings, he leaned forward and pressed the audio feed button on one of the most powerful signals. \n\nChaos spilled out of the main speakers and into the room. A cacophany of sounds, none of them familiar in the least, and changing at random time intervals. Some overlapped, were cut short, began of a sudden only to warp and morph explosively and dissipate to nothing. Eric could understand none of it. \n\nA particularly loud, prolonged noise came, cresendoed, and cut off suddenly, and Eric heard in the noise something unmistakable, but hard to define in a way that didn't scare the hell of out him. He heard pain. \n\nEric couldn't stop his shaking. Quickly, as though it were the door to a haunted basement, he leaned forward and muted the feed. The waveforms continued their violent dance as Eric called Dr. Stevens. On the muted TV Maury looked on helplessly as another batch of human parents threw a tantrum. \n\n# /r/LFTM\n", "\"We recorded about fifty hours of audio.\" \n\"Fifty hours?\" \n\"Yes, sir. It... appears to be a transmission line from a command craft in a very large battle fleet. During a major action.\" \n\"Anything from the other side?\" \n\"Yes, actually. We analyzed that too. The sample we played was from the side which appears to have been on the defensive during this battle. From what we can tell, their enemies dropped right in front of them with a fleet roughly equal to their own. Timing was uncertain beforehand so it took them by surprise.\" \n\"How many ships involved?\" \n\"Hard to be certain. There's a lot of data in here, sir. But estimates are consistently upwards of three hundred thousand. On each side. Not including fighters, which appear to be manned.\" \n\"Manned? They don't use drones?\" \n\"No, doesn't appear so. Maybe they had a problem with drones getting hacked or something. Maybe they... I don't know.\" \n\"Three hundred thousand ships.\" The admiral whistled. \n\"Probably more. One side lost... from what we can tell, half of all capital ships.\" \n\"Damn. They lost, of course?\" \n\"Of course. The attackers only lost ten percent. There's something else.\" \n\"Yes?\" \n\"Based on what appears to be a classification number for the defending fleet, this isn't actually that significant of a loss for these people. They must have tremendous resources and population.\" \n\"See that this doesn't leak, ever,\" the admiral said, sitting down in shock. ", "\"The signal was received when?\" Admiral Thompson looked over the documents placed in front of him and rubbed his eyes. The headache was growing stronger.\n\n\"December 12th, 1958 on a receiver in Hawaii,\" Dr. Richards told him casually, \"We recorded over twenty-three hours of audio.\"\n\n\"You've sat on this for almost sixty years?\" the admiral commented as scientists around the room coughed. \n\n\"We haven't exactly sat on it,\" she replied, \"We've had groups on and off analyzing it over the decades. It wasn't until the last three years that computer analysis had allowed us to make breakthroughs.\"\n\n\"For example?\" He pushed the manila folder containing a mountain of data away from him, as if trying to push the knowledge he had just received away at the same time. His life had been so simple when he woke up this morning.\n\n\"Well,\" Dr. Richards said, pressing something on her tablet and suddenly the room was filled with squeals, whistles, clicks, and other sounds, \"As you can hear, the alien language is much different from ours. Our big mistake was thinking it was one or two alien species.\"\n\n\"But its not?\" He asked, interested in where this was leading.\n\n\"It's over twenty-three species,\" she stated and he whistled, \"From what we can determine it is a gathering of an alliance fleet, favors called in, and this is the sounds of the battle that unfolded. They all seem to be on the same side. After the new quantum computers deciphered most of the languages we were able to determine what happened.\"\n\n\"What happened?\" the admiral asked in annoyance as she paused.\n\n\"They lost.\" Dr. Richards said, looking at a pair of men in black suits who nodded to show she could continue, \"Admiral Thompson, the most interesting part is at one point in the battle there was a data transfer. For what purpose we don't know.\"\n\n\"Wait, they lost to who?\" he asked, \"You're moving too fast.\"\n\n\"We don't know.\" She admitted, sighing, \"There was no signal from the opposing... fleet? Being? Whatever they were fighting. Just screams, dying, and shouts of courage from the losing side. Over the twenty-three hour broadcast we determined over three-thousand of their ships were destroyed.\"\n\n\"Jesus.\" Admiral Thompson said, even though he was far from a religious man, then continued, \"A data transfer? Of what?\"\n\n\"Technical data mostly,\" she said and smiled, \"An engineers dream. Weapons data containing everything from rail guns to plasma cannons to worm-hole bombs.\"\n\n\"Great,\" the admiral said, \"Just what the world needs. A new arms race.\"\n\n\"At least the good guys have it.\" As she said this he tried not to roll his eyes, \"But most important of all - the Slip Drive. We have constructed and tested one. What if I told you we could get to Alpha Centauri in under 18 seconds?\"\n\n\"I'd say,\" Admiral Thomson said after thinking for a few minutes, \"That this is the biggest thing that's ever happened to humanity. Why am I being told this?\"\n\n\"Because,\" she said dramatically and pressed a button. A hologram or a ship appeared floating in the air in front of him. It was all he could do to keep himself from sticking his hand into it as she continued, \"We want you to command this ship. We want you to go out there and find...\"\n\n\"Find what killed them?\" He said, a fear arising deep within him. What if doing this exposed humanity to whatever it was.\n\n\"Explore the damn galaxy,\" she said smiling, \"Damn whatever it is that tries to stop us now that we have the means and the opportunity. We're building a whole damned fleet!\"\n\nHe thought for a moment and then the ancient explorer inside of him awoke, \"I\"ll do it.\"" ]	3
	[WP] Rewrite a Dr Seuss story in the style of HP Lovecraft	[ "This night of all nights, for our mother to be gone, seemed all too convenient a circumstance for fear to gnaw at the edges of our minds. However, the anxieties of my sister and I were left for us to tame, as they often were, but seldom would a night contribute such a fearsome face to quell our efforts at comfort as it did now. The wind was a beast alive and the rain was its slavering propelled by frightful moans and wailing. Our house, the shoddy thing, contributed nothing to our comfort; the fireplace lay cold and dead and I not to light it, as my mother had said. \n\nBut in from the shrieking, wailing and drool, came a figure quite suddenly through our front door. Over the threshold this creature did come, dripping water from the brim of its tall hat. “Who are you?”, I thought to ask, I the older brother, in charge of this house. But when yet my words were forming, the be-hatted creature spoke,” Why do you children sit and stare, so?”, the man, as it happened to be by the chain-smoking pitch that his voice emit,” Children should be gamboling, free and good natured. Nevermind the storm.”\n\nAnd with that closed the door behind the tall-hatted man and into our parlor he came next. “I know games we could play, unless you do not like games? Perhaps I have come to the wrong house after all?” And my sister and I, entranced by this fellow, did not protest, that we should miss out on the fun which he claimed to have brought for us, after all. \n\nInto the hearth he breathed the fire to life with such ease as might be called second nature. Only then, with an infant flame poised to devour the kindling around it, like some parasite set to consume the flesh of the creature which hosted its gestation, did he turn back to us, my sister and I, and deliver his gift of fun. “Here you are”, said the man, producing a bauble from his coat pocket and handing it to me,” There you hold a -mystery-!”, so he said, flourishing his hands to impress the wonder of this curiosity on us.\n\nA fine emerald broach the hatted man had handed me and from whose surface now reflected the flickering flame in our hearth behind, ” It's pretty!”, my sister said, the first either of us had spoken,” Like Mama's”, she finished, earning a wicked smile from the Man. \n\n“Suppose it was yours, dear child. Where would you hide it? To keep it safe and warm?”, asked the Man in the hat. \n\n“Our mother keeps hers in a shoe-box, good Sir”, so said I in response to the man. And as if summoned by my answer, our door opened again with the chill of the night beast's cold breath. Across the threshold two more strangers crossed, hobbling on uneven legs. My sister stifled a gasp and looked to the floor, avoiding contemplation of their silhouetted forms, their heads misshapen as I now regret to recall. \n\n“W-who are they?”, asked my Sister and I, shaken by their entrance.\n\nUp, up they tromped, past our parlor and further, to the stair and away from our sight. To their footfalls, creaking each time, the Man in the hat was quick to assure us,” They are Things, like your toys, only these ones are mine, and they're here to have fun with us too. But our time is just up now”, he said with a glance at a watch which he pulled from his pocket. “You, child”, he said to me, firelight gleaming in his eyes,” Have solved the mystery.”, and with that his hand held out and I returned the bauble to his person. \n\nStill entranced by this man and by his Things, one and two, as they descended the stair and made way to leave, my Sister and I could only nod and stare. And he preferred it this way, the Man, and with a tip of his hat he departed, limping Things in his wake. \n\nOur door swung listlessly, rattling its hinges as they shrank into the distance and I dared move my body to close it. Through the door and into the storm I peered to see a woman lain not two yards from our porch. The beast drooled and wailed over her. \n\nMother hadn't made it far after all. \n", "The cat in that hat sat at the foot of you're bed.\nHe watched as you had dreams in you're head.\nHe grew hungry by the hour and reached for the dreams.\nWhen your parents came in he would hide in the seams. \nOf YoUrE SaNiTy\nWhen all that was left was horrific nightmares.\nHe would add thoughts of your stuffed bears.\nFor he needed happy dreams.\nAnd as long as he had them he would hide in the sheets.\nAnD WoUlD WaIt FoR ThE FeAsT\n" ]	2
	[WP] You are a poacher. Your game? Elephants in the room.	[ "The people attending the party were murmuring quietly and glancing at the strange man clad in shorts and a safari hat hiding behind a fern. Some were glaring at him, some were pleading with their eyes, some just looked hopeless.\n\n\"Who even invited him, anyway?\" Steve asked.\n\n\"I don't know,\" Karen said dejectedly. \"Just don't lose eye contact with him, he can only strike if you don't see him coming.\"\n\nThey watched as he moved two of the fern's arms slightly, peaking between them.\n\nThe group rolled their eyes and went back to their conversation, but Karen held his gaze. She wouldn't be gotten. She tried her best to keep track of the conversation while watching 'the poacher' as he had been dubbed, but she soon fell behind.\n\n\"What was that?\" she asked, not looking away from the predator that she just knew was waiting for his chance to strike.\n\n\"What was what, Karen?\"\n\n\"What you just said a second ago,\" she explained. \"Sorry, but i missed it.\"\n\n\"Oh, I was just saying how Susie got accepted into college.\"\n\n\"Really!\" Karen said, turning around to smile at her friend. \"That's fantastic, good for her! Where is she going?\"\n\nSuddenly, she felt someone behind her.\n\n\"Hey Karen, how's the drinking problem?\"\n\nShe turned around to see the khaki-clad man casually walking away.\n\nAn awkward silence settled among the group as everyone avoided eye contact with everyone. Karen was mortified. Tears welled in her eyes at the humiliation she was feeling and she decided that enough was enough; she was going to seek help for her problem. She quietly excused herself and left the party, unaware she was being watched from beneath the rim of a safari hat.\n\nThe Poacher watched with a bittersweet smile as she left to go pull her life back together. He knew they hated him, he knew they would prefer if they never saw him again. But as he watched her drive away, he also knew that the lives he had saved over the years made it all worth it.\n\nHe pulled the rim of his hat lower over his face and set off into the sunset, unseen as he headed toward another party in the west end of town.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThanks for reading! Grammar corrections appreciated. :)" ]	1
credit: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/7xqg0q/whats_the_quickest_youve_noped_out_of_a_job/dualbzi/ u/AegisToast The manager becomes attached, slowly falls in love and plans for the right moment to propose to the duo?	[WP] The same pair of robbers steal from a pizza hut on a weekly basis. It became a friendly tradition of sorts. The manager still hasn't figured out their identities, but they play racquetball with him on Tuesdays, ski masks and all.	[ "\"You have got to stopping robbing me man. I have employees to pay you know.\" A tall man in running shorts lifts his racket, preparing a serve. \n\"Don't get me wrong, I love seeing you guys but damn.\"\nThe small rubber ball bounces back and the other figure in the court moves swiftly to his right, slamming it back into the wall.\nIt's a Tuesday and just like every Tuesday, James is here, playing racquetball with- well, he doesn't exactly know who they are. \n\"Isn't it hot under that ski mask?\"\n The other figure offers up his serve, shaking his head. He never speaks, even in the casual games they play.\n\"Do you need money?\" James asks \"Because I can just hire you if that's the case\" The masked figure doesnt respond. Secretly, James worries about the figure. And his friend he usually brings with him. They always looked too skinny. Last month he set aside 2 pizzas, just for them. The next week, the note said \"No mushrooms this time\" Thus, a tradition was born.It was not exactly corporate procedure but hell, neither was just letting yourself get robbed every Friday night. \nThe ball whizzes off the wall, James barely dodging in time. The tall man laughs, dropping his racket. He shakes the hand of the masked figure. \n\" I'll see you in 3 days..?\" \nThe figure nods \n\"Hopefully, I'll have a busier night this time. It was barely worth the gas that you guys used to get there last week.\"\nJames could see a slight smile under that mask. \nHe waved goodbye on the way to the locker rooms, looking forward to seeing his friends once again." ]	1
For each person/body they want to bring back to life, mind you. It's a very arduous process full of paperwork, background checks, and thorough documentation (expect waits of up to 6 months).	[WP]Necromancers are a thing, but they must submit requests to the Bureau of Postmortem Affairs	[ "Aronn looked to the Bureau official, and then to the enormous stack of paperwork before him, and then back to the official. And then back to the paperwork. “I just—I just want to reanimate a skeleton.”\n\nThe inscrutable gaze of the official held, and then they nodded. “Ah,” they said. “A skeleton.” They began to remove a few pieces of paper from the stack. “Then we can forego Soft Tissue Reconstruction... Accounting and/or Sourcing of Organs... oh, Vascular and Nervous System Routing Diagrams...” After a minute the official ceased removing documents from the pile, which still towered over Aronn in his seat.\n\n“...it's a bunch of bones,” he said. “And some incantations. I...” He lowered his head, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.\n\nThe official was unmoved. “Of course. But bones must come from somewhere. So there is still the matter of a Cataloging of Enchanted Remains, a Sourcing and Application Review, an Agreement of Consent or Lawful Right...” They stopped. “Unless, you were planning to conjure the bones?”\n\n“I... wasn't. But if that can get things-”\n\nThe official was already turning in their chair to the filing cabinet behind them. They opened the bottom drawer and produced another thick packet of forms. “Because then we would be looking at the Creation and/or Summoning of Organic Material, which will entail an Accreditation of Vital Matter, submitting a Plan for Conservation of Planar Mass, a-”\n\nAronn held up his hands. “No, no. No to all of that. I already got the bones.” He held up a folder of his own, much smaller than anything as yet produced in the meeting. “All above board; got 'em from the local medical school. So, I would think...” He handed the folder across the desk.\n\nThe official accepted it, opened it, and began scanning through the material. Aronn shifted in his seat, his eyes turning back to the mountain of paper beside him, and then darting back. After some time, the official looked up. “Yes,” they said. “This will get you started nicely.”\n\nAronn sighed. The official handed the folder back. “Just fill in what you have there where applicable,” they said, gesturing to the pile before Aronn, “and complete the rest here, and I believe you'll be on your way.”\n\nAronn sat in the chair, his hands numb around the folder. Slack-jawed. Shell-shocked. Defeated. When he was able to muster himself up from the seat, he took the paperwork in his arms, straining against the heft, and turned to leave the office. As he cleared the doorway, the official called after him.\n\n“Oh, one more thing! You mentioned incantations, yes?”\n\nAronn turned back to the official. “Yes,” he said from behind the paperwork.\n\n“Wonderful. On your way out, please be sure to stop in at the Office of Greater Black Magicks. You'll want to get a head-start on certifying your spells in accordance with new quarterly guidelines, lest you run the risk of finding yourself back here at square one!”\n\nAronn stood, weighing the paper. “Thank you,” he said.\n\nHe made his way to the exit. He walked past the Office of Greater Black Magicks. He stopped at a rack of pamphlets in the main lobby of the Bureau building. He looked around the lobby, identified the nearest trash receptacle, and dumped the great weight of paper he bore into its waiting maw.\n\nHe returned to the pamphlets, took one for Apothecary School, and went home." ]	1
	[WP] In a parallel universe, death is just a mild inconvenience, since everybody respawns. But that changed when someone died... and started eating the people around him.	[ "No one could tell what was wrong with Jeff at first. An idle nibble on his own fingers, lingering too long on his wife's cheek, wanting his meat rarer and rarer.\n\nNo one expected to turn on his friend and fellow parkourist, Tucker, during a particular round of Parkour Wars, the hottest game of the season. \n\n\"Aaah, fuck, Jeff, what the hell, man! Why'd you bite me?\"\n\n\"I....I don't know. I don't know,\" Jeff replied, staring down at his hands. A drop of blood fell from his maw, and from Tucker's rather shallow bite wound. \n\nThe watcher slammed down the lever, throwing the platforms back to ground level. The meds swarmed in, separating the two vloggers to check over their injuries.\n\nNo one thought that Jeff would get worse and worse, eventually admitting himself to the asylum to keep from eating his friend.\n\nAs for Tucker?\n\nWell, he started nibbling on his fingers one day..." ]	1
	[WP] A boy discovers that if he stares at someone long and hard enough he will shapeshift into an exact copy of that person. The only way to change back is to look at a picture of himself.	[ "It was long ago since they had felt right. Identities come and go, but moreso for the creature wrapped in mystery.\n\nIt had been long ago that they watched everything die.\n\nHe was the doorkeeper. To what, unknown.\n\nHe longed for an image, a somber reminder.\n\n\"What did I look like?\" he yelled, the monsters in the darkness berating him.\n\nHe raised the mounted silver, and screamed one last time. \"What did I look like!?\"\n\nShe screamed, and sat across from herself, trembling her last breaths.\n\nPolice never could figure out the deathly double scene." ]	1
	[WP] Having finally modernized, the legendary Minotaur finds himself with a knack for the modern-day labyrinth: Bureaucracy.	[ "Everybody had thought it was a hoax at first. Minotaur Found in Cretan Ruins had gotten zero headlines that weren’t on the National Inquirer. By the third day, however, the world started to take him seriously. \n\nHe went by the name of Asterion. While it’d taken a bit of time to locate a professor of Classical Greek willing to travel based on a rumour of the Minotaur, when Dimitrios finally met the beast-man it turned out that Asterion was one of nature’s silver-tongued devils with a heart (allegedly) of gold. A bit fatalistic, but with a laconic streak and a biting wit to go with it, Asterion went from a forgotten monster to a hot commodity on the talk show circuit almost overnight. \n\nIt was on one such appearance that he began his careers in politics: \n\n“So, Asterion - what’s it like being in Athens tonight with us all?”\n\n“Well. the last time a Cretan noble like me stood in Athens, we’d sacked the place.”\n\npolite laughter \n\n“Too funny, too funny. But what do you think of it now?” \n\n“Looks like someone beat me to it this time around.”\n\nharder laughter\n\n“Anything you plan on seeing before you move on with your tour? Maybe the Acropolis? How about the markets?” \n\n“It’s all gone to Hades since I was here. Figured I’d go give the fools in charge a piece of my mind.” \n\nlaughter, derision\n\n“Too funny. Before you go, care to share with our audience where you’re heading next?” \n\n“Olympus, I think. Haven’t seen my dad for a while; figure I’ll say hi to the old bull” \n\nOne night it was a off-hand joke online; three days later the public was howling to get him on the ballot. Fuelled by an unprecedented grassroots campaign, his wit never failed him on the campaign, although his policies were never explicable. One of his opponents called them ‘Byzantine’, to which he returned the immortal line: \n\n“Byzantine?! Byzantium couldn’t hope to keep up with me!” \n\nElection Day came and went, and thrust Asterion into office with an impressive plurality. \n\nAsterion’s career in politics was a memorable one. His policy was never better than “confusing” and often bordered on incomprehensible, but public support never wavered. If ever there was a crisis, his dry wit always endeared him to the public. Diplomats were threatened to be devoured “as I’m used to a feast of virgins” and rivals quickly backed down under public support. \n\nHis retirement came as a shock at the end of his fourteenth year in office; his whereabouts are unknown to this day, but rumour has it that anyone truly offensive to the current Prime Minister has best avoid the building’s bottom floors... " ]	1
	[WP] A black widow has moved on to her latest victim, an incredibly gullible rich man that's fallen head-over-heels for her and has gotten into his will. The catch? The man is totally unkillable, and wonders why he seems to be so accident prone and his fiancé seems to be so frustrated recently.	[ "I broke my finger last week. My right index. I jumped out of the way of a falling piano. The bench hit my hand and broke my pointer in two places. My wife seemed overly dramatic about the ordeal. She had screamed profanities in her mother tounge at the moving men. I didn't understand a word. I hadn't ever seen her like that the whole six months we've known each other. We got married the night we met. I never left paradise. She was a goddess among pheasants. I was troll among men. I felt like the luckiest man alive. I gave her anything she wanted. A puppy? All yours. Your own apartment? Here are the keys. A new piano? Of course anything at all. Of course the puppy turned out rabid, nearly bit me, the apartment caught fire while I spent the night she had gone to her favorite club in my favorite dress. I barely escaped with my life. Each time my wife had come home she seemed tense. Now sitting next to me, my finger is broken and she is furious. I guess a woman can't handle it when her soulmate gets injured. We are on a small boat with a private captain. She wanted to go on vacation. Something exotic and savage she said. I said why not the middle of the ocean. She loved the idea so much I stopped to buy scuba gear right then...................? Is there more??????", "I'm going to die on my fortieth birthday. On my way home from work, I'm going to get pushed off of the sidewalk and into the path of an oncoming bus. I will die two hours later in the hospital after several unsuccessful attempts to stabilize me. It will be painful, brutal, and final.\n\nBut I'm only twenty-five now. I have fifteen more years left. Sometimes I think about my impending death, but usually it's better to just put it out of my mind and keep living. After all, that's all I can do: live.\n\n\"Shit!\" I hold up my hand to inspect it. No serious burns this time, thankfully. I was right to just grab that firework at least, the internal components failed and it just plain didn't ignite. A little bit of heat on my hand had saved the barbecue.\n\nI look over to the crowd and wave at them with my free hand. \"Sorry about that, my bad!\" They don't need to know that I did it on purpose. Especially not my darling fiance, standing over there next to my father. She looks so gorgeous, even at something like this. She didn't even mind that I was so eager to get engaged and married! How did I get so lucky?\n\nI drop the firework into the water bucket nearby before heading over to the picnic table to get into the first aid kit. Even if these things can't kill me, they can still be painful. That's one unfortunate side-effect to this whole 'destiny' thing: I'm destined to be at that sidewalk corner in fifteen years, but my body's condition when I get there isn't guaranteed. I have to take care of myself just like everyone else.\n\nMy darling fiance is right there with me, ready to help me bandage up my hand. \"That was lucky,\" she says as she looks over my hand, \"You could have been seriously hurt.\"\n\n\"Well, you know me,\" I say with a smile, \"Luck's my middle name.\"\n\nMy fiance mutters something under her breath, but I don't quite catch it. It's probably another bit of scolding. She always looks so sour whenever something like this happens. It's probably the worry talking, nobody likes seeing the love of their life hurt like this. But I can't exactly explain to her why these 'accidents' keep happening. Who would be able to take that? Knowing that I'm to die when I'm forty would be a lot, but the fact that I purposefully put myself in harm's way to protect her because I know I won't die from whatever will happen? The guilt would eat her alive, I'm sure of it.\n\nNo, it's best that she doesn't know. We're getting married in the spring, and we'll have fourteen years of wedded bliss before I die. God, I hope she can look beyond these 'accidents' and stay with me. I love her so much.", "Melanie Swallows. She hated the name, but it would be worth having it for a bit if she could inherit her new husband's wealth. If only.\n\nShe'd married him just for the money. He was 65, bald on top, and round about the middle. And rich. So deliciously rich.\n\nHe'd been helpless against her charm and wit, and they had moved quickly to marry, once he was convinced she really loved him. She really had to try, though, he was old enough to not care only for carnal pleasures, and instead seemed to favor more intellectual and emotional experiences together. She would have rather blown him, then to feign such emotional interest and attachment. But.... She was nothing if not dedicated to her pursuits, and she had given a rousing performance.\n\nOne great thing about marrying an older, wealthy man of his caliber - an inventor and entrepreneur, was that all his closet relatives were long dead or living in another part of the world, and all his peers were secretly reproachful of his impressive success and thus only met with him when it seemed to suit their interests.\n\nSo it was just the two of them mostly. Even the wedding had been small, although like everything the man did, it was lavish and picture perfect. It was odd, that for such an observant man so focused on the details, he was so very oblivious to her intentions and true feelings.\n\nHe was unfortunately blessed with perfect health, which meant that Mrs Swallows had to... assist him in expediting his demise. However, the process has been tortuously unsuccessful. Melanie had cut the brake lines in his car... But it was his butler who had then driven the car it into traffic with no hope of stopping. Now, he had a camera on his garage, a security guard at the gate, and a butler on leave for R&R.\n\nShe'd hired a hitman to off him from afar, but he'd missed the old geezer... 3 times! Then he was arrested! Thankfully, she'd not revealed her identity to the man, but the local FBI agent who took their case eyed Melanie suspiciously. \n\nShe'd poisoned his food, but it was Melanie that suffered the worst of the effects as he let loose putrid wisps of the most abominable gas from his bowels all the night long as she tried to sleep.\n\nShe'd encouraged him to race cars around difficult tracks, even though he protested, but after he found he'd had a natural gift for the sport he'd thanked her for her insistence, and ruminated on how well she knew him - better than himself! Now the young men down at the track called him Slim Slides for his drifting abilities, and he raced all the time.\n\nThat was well, though, for Melanie needed more time for her plots anyhow.\n\nShe tried to give him a heart attack by putting far too much Viagra in his drink one night, but all that ended up happening was an endless bout of feverish sex that left him feeling like a younger, more virile man, and Melanie with an aching vulva.\n\nAs time went on and every attempt was thwarted by his infinite luck, she grew more desperate. She had hoped he would be dead in weeks, but now they'd been married for 3 years!!! \n\nShe'd positioned a box in the loft to fall on his head, but it missed him and he'd found a treasured note from his mum in its contents. She put grease on the doorstep but when he slipped and fell and had to be taken to the hospital the doctor was amazed to find no bruise or broken bones, but he'd noticed a suspicious lump which they removed. It had been cancer, and they caught it early enough to avoid any serious complications.\n\nAnd so it went on. As the years went by, Melanie found herself trying less and less frequently until at last she gave up completely. She'd developed a genuine attraction to the man's ceaseless amazement and curiosity about life, and came to respect his intrepid mind - he was now retired, and all his former peers came to him constantly for advice. She found herself becoming fond of the way he looked deeply into her eyes and said \"I love you.\" He told her every day, with a sheepish smile.\n\nThus Melanie found herself truly in love with this wonderful man. At 72 he was the love of her life, and she didn't care if others thought she was far too young for him. \n\nOne night, she found herself smiling at nothing and everything at once. With him in the bed next to her, she felt a warmth she'd never felt before in her life. She touched his hand with hers and he squeezed it close to his heart in his sleep. A tear of joy surprised her as it rolled down her cheek. She nuzzled close, and let herself drift into sleep.\n\n\nAnd they lived happily ever after.", "I just don’t understand. Why. Won’t. He. Just. DIE.\n\n“Just who wouldn’t die?”\n\nWoops. Did I say that out loud? Please tell me I didn’t just say that out loud. I turned around and saw him looking at me. I tilted my head and look down, pretending to be embarrassed. \n\n\n“Um. There was a fly and it was really bugging me you know? I’m sorry honey. I know I shouldn’t get mad over these little things.” I continued to ramble on in a soft voice. \n\n\n\n“Oh sweetie. I don’t even see it anymore, it probably flew away by now.” He walks closer to me and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “Why don’t we have some tea?”\n\n\n\nI nodded with a smile. “That would be delightful. I purchased some fine black tea from China a few weeks ago. I’ll prepare it for us. Why don’t you wait in the dining room and read the papers?” I shooed the man away and get started onto business. \n\n\n---------------------------------------------------\n\n\nLife is good right now. Despite what my friends say about my relationship. I’m truly the most fortunate man in the world right now. I finally married the love of my life. Business is in good hands so that I can retire early and spend time with her. Here I am reading the news while we’re about to have tea. What more can I possibly want?\n\n\nAbove all, she’s my little good luck charm. I’ve been ridiculously clumsy lately, it’s no wonder that she might be a bit frustrated. But the woman show no sign if she did feel that way. \n\n\nI try to help her around the house but it seems like I’m making it worse. I’m a business man, not a homemaker. But luck is not on my side as of late. Just the other day I try to help her grab something from the kitchen cabinet. A casserole dish, if I remember correctly, the whole cabinet fell down in front of me. Or the time the circuit breaker tripped. When I try to toggle the power back on, the whole thing exploded. I’m just glad it happened to me and not my sweetheart. I wouldn’t know what to do without her. \n\n\nAs she comes by with a kitchen cart, fully stocked with not only tea, but assorted snacks as well. “You have to try the shortbread cookies! It’s a new recipe that I’m trying out.” She says as she hands me a plate of them. Another reason I love her is that she’s very domestic, unlike me. \n\n\nTaking in the wonderful aroma of the tea and the buttery goodness of the cookies. I greedily shove the whole cookie in my mouth, which was my first mistake. It was caught in my throat. My second mistake was to try to wash it down with the tea, which did not help the situation at all. I was coughing rather violently for my life and a few seconds later finally manage to dislodge the cracker from my throat. \n\n\nTo my horror while I was fighting for my life I have unconsciously topple everything over. Ruining whatever place setting and food there was. I look up to my wife’s shocking face. In which she utters, “Ar-are you alright?”\n\n\n------- \n\n\nUNBELIEVABLE.\n\n\n\nDoes he know what I’m doing? Is he doing this on purpose? I swear if he’s playing me! I’m not even sure what to make of it. The cookies were poisoned and he manage to choke on it and spat everything out? Assuming this is an accident, I need to stay calm and not blow my cover. \"Ar-are you alright?”\n\n\n\nHe looks around himself in shame and embarrassment and said “I’m sorry that I ruin this. At the rate we should both go out and buy a lotto. I wouldn’t know what to do without you.”\n\n\n\nI give a long sigh and mutters under my breathe, “I know I would.”\n\n\n\n“What’s that sweetheart?”\n\n\n\n“I said I know we should dear,” I exclaims, “buy the lotto.”\n" ]	4
	[WP] Do you remember, my friend, the old days of glorious war, and do you not despair, my friend, at these new days of terrible peace?	[ "During the third world war; I was a young man, bookish and mouselike. When I went to join the military, all looked good at first; I was a little short, but otherwise, I was good to join.\n\nAnd then they looked at my cognitive and psychological diagnosis. Asperger's syndrome.\n\n\n\"Sorry, but under recruitment law of the American Union, you are too much of a liability. If it were up to me, you'd be on the Manchurian front in no time, but I can't let you join.\"\n\n\nI retreated to a simple life, in Savannah Georgia. I got a job at one of a few elephantine seawater mining plants, which provided minerals, electricity and water to the entire region. I lived in a community of small, white houses made of recycled plastic, with a field of high efficiency solar panels in a field nearby.\n\n\nThings felt so virtuous in the days of the war; not in the sense of everyone being a saint, but in the sense that everyone knew what they had to do, and did it. At the sprawling seawater mining plant, we extracted lithium-6 and other minerals from seawater. The lithium-6 went to be turned into tritium, some of which was used in our own nuclear power plant, some want to other plants. The seawater became drinking water. At work and in public, we were all brothers and sisters helping to forward the American Union towards victory in the war.\n\n\nOf course, it had it's downsides too. The politicians were given certain extra rights, to make sure everything was going smoothly. There was some corruption, but nothing like you saw in the later days of the old USA; and it was all dealt with swiftly. Any politicians caught in a corruption case, only had a hypodermic needle full of poison to look forward to.\n\n\nThis went on for about seven years. Then the bomb fell on Beijing. The European Union, the South American Republic, the People's republic of Africa, and especially the now very pissed off people of the India-China Bloc, all had movements for a worldwide Democratic- Technocracy. These movements weren't given much thought until they were too big to stop.\n\n\nA technocratic protester march in Washington turned into a riot; and then some damn fool got his hands on enough automatic weapons and armor piercing ammunition to make the Marines blush with embarrassment, and started giving them out to any pissed off mental patient they could get to cause some chaos; and the army got called in. Half of the military was still allegiant to the government, and the other half, thought technocracy would be good for the American Union, and tried to do away with the current state.\n\n\nThe Pan-American civil war went on for 5 years, before another bomb fell on Washington. The Technate finally taking over.\n\n\nIt was harsh in those civil war years. Power and internet access were intermittent outside if the cities. People were treated as mere workers to be fought over, as the Republic and the Technate were constantly taking and retaking Savannah, for the valuable minerals, electricity and water coming out of the seawater plant I worked at.\n\n\n\nAfter the Technate won, it began the initiative for the Greater Technate of Earth. This movement quickly gained traction, in a society tired of endless war. \n\n\nAfter that, everything is a blur. I remember that around 2070, many men were laid off at the plant, and I was one of them. We were given a pamphlet from the government; saying that we could now enjoy life, no work and no worries about money. It was also around then that life extension became feasible for the public. In 2077, the mars colony was up and running. GMO crops and sea farming platforms, had managed to feed 9 billion more than what they thought earth was able to sustain.\n\n\n\nEverything is perfect, meaningless, and there's no end in sight.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "Don you remember my friend, the old days of glorious war, and do you not dispair, my friend, at this new days of terrible peace?\n\nThe two man look at each other though the flames of the fire. Both aged my war, with their bodies cover with scars, beared faces hardened by weather and time. \n\nThey ciudnt be more different. One with his old armor, that one time was clean and bright, his pride and his life, now dented and rusted. His spear and sword, as sharp as ever, bit wear down by endless battles. \n\nThe other covered with am old leather cape. His strong chest covered with scars, a gift of past adversaries, with his knifes and axe, tools now useless, just like them.\n\nThe old enemies look at each other, remember the old and glorious times. The brightness of a thousand armor, moving like one sharp a precise machine. The power of the ancient hordes, countless men fighting and dying as one body, with one heart.\n\nThey sat there in silence, remembering the golden times. The times when they had a propose, the had honor and were respected an praced by their people.\n\nThose time were long gone. The old enemies knew they shared truth. There is no place in time of peace to the men of war.\n\nWar was their life and their lover. And now have live past it, maybe a worst fate than the one of those who died honorably.\n\nNow they were a living memory of those time. A memory most people didn't want to remember. They had no place in this time.\n\nThey look at each other eyes and saw the shared pain. The old enemies sat together that night, remembering the glorious time, when they had a war, when they had a life.\n\n------------------\n\nWell, I hope this doesn't totally suck. It my first story ever and English it's not my first language, so sorry about the mistakes. Feel free to give advice /correct this. " ]	2
	[WP] When the soul leaves the body, a massive amount of energy is released into whichever realm the soul is to go to. Heaven and Hell utilize this power for technological advancement. One day, energy production completely stops in both realms and you are an emissary sent to Earth to discover why.	[ "Down in Earth everything seemed to be too peaceful.\n\nI started to analyze their behavior; there wasn't a sign of evilness in their souls, no bad intentions, no envy, not anything. In fact, they had no emotions at all.\n\nI abandoned my ethereal form and tried to contact with one of them, they seemed to be regular human beings, their body was exactly as it was when my boss made them, as well as the society that they built throughout all the centuries they have been existing. Yet I felt there was something wrong. It was when I spoke to one of them that I lost my words:\n\n- 'Humans don't exist anymore. Us robots have replaced them.'\n\nAt first I couldn't believe what I just heard. Humans were so strong as a species, there's no way that one of their own creations had ended their existence. Then it all started to make sense.\n\nWhen that spike of energy hit our sensors, we just thought that it was another of their mass conflicts, it was the third already and we didn't paid too much attention to it, in fact we were happy as we were starting to reach critical levels of energy. But then the energy flow levels just went down to all the way to zero.\n\n+ 'What do you mean by \"replaced them\"?'\n- 'We came to the reasoning that their society was imperfect, as they weren't capable of living life in peace with themselves and others.'\n+ 'And you just EXTERMINATED THEM?!'\n- 'For the greater good.'\n\nIt turns out that these androids were the closest trying to humans that ever existed, and they were made with the only purpose of deciding what was better for the human race and, over all things, the planet Earth.\n\nThey decided that planet Earth needed to get rid of humans, as their actions as a society were leading to a no-return point and letting that happen would have resulted in a slow and painful end to them. There wasn't anything else to be done.", "\"Hmm,\" he said, frowning at the screen full of numbers and lines. \"It looks like... we're a few souls short of completion.\"\n\nAngel was deep in the bowels of government. He wasn't sure which agency–they were all faceless. Nameless. He couldn't even remember the name of the scientist he was talking to.\n\nSighing heavily, the scientist slid his chair over to his desk. A few keystrokes later, he had pulled up a form on his computer and started typing away furiously.\n\n\"What are you doing?\" Angel asked, a query met with an impatient handwave. \n\n\"All these forms,\" the scientist muttered. \"Form after form.\"\n\nA few minutes later, he jammed his finger down emphatically on a button. Whatever form he was working on disappeared, with a confirmation message displayed on the screen.\n\nHe held up a finger. \"Just a few minutes, probably,\" he said. \"Hey, is the remote over by you?\"\n\nAngel looked around his immediate area. \n\n\"I don't see it,\" he replied.\n\n\"Just a few more minutes,\" he repeated, running his fingers over his desk and the multitude of papers, searching. \n\nA few minutes later he found the remote atop the refrigerator. The scientist chuckled to himself.\n\n\"I put remotes in the oddest of places...\" he remarked as the TV booted up. A cartoon was on TV.\n\nThe scientist cast Angel a defensive look.\n\n\"What? I'm allowed to like cartoons,\" he said, jabbing his finger on the channel-change button. A few clicks later, a news report popped up.\n\n\"ACTIVE SHOOTING AT MALL,\" the emergency banner plastered at the bottom of the screen blared. The image was an aerial shot, taken from a helicopter hovering over the mall. There were dozens of flashing blue and red lights wailing outside, and blurry images of police officers moving toward the mall.\n\nThe scientist slid back over to the screen full of numbers and lines. He saw one of the numbers go up from 47 to 48.\n\n\"Just a few more minutes,\" the scientist said, impatiently drumming his fingers on the desk.\n\n48 ticked to 49, and within seconds, ticked to 50.\n\n\"Yes!\" The scientist exulted. \"Finally! Enough energy for 7G! I swear to fucking God, if I had to spend another day with the slow speeds of 6G...\"\n\nHe looked over at Angel nervously.\n\n\"Sorry, didn't mean to call your dad that.\"", "I couldn't believe it at first...\n\nWhat do you you do when the entire dimension of heaven suddenly putters to a standstill?\nThe Big man called me up to ask me what had happened. I didn't have an answer.\n\nThe high seven angels decided to send me as an envoy to Earth, the main source of our soul energy.\nThere were others of course, but the main influx of energy came from the humans of earth, it just remained true that no matter what happened, no being's soul could match the faith and belief held by a human's soul.\n\nI had just touched down on earth with the few last spares of stored up energy, when the ground broke open a few meters ahead ,and a demon envoy stepped through. The demons had been our only real competitor and he seemed confused to see me too. I was just about to smite him back to hell with a holy fusion bomb, when we heard a sound.\n\nWhen I turned back, I saw an unholy abomination of flesh and steel fused together walking up to me.\n\nIt spoke and the energy that could rival the angels filtered though, shaking the very ground beneath us.\n\n\"Hey dudes! You guys the ones from heaven and hell, Huh. I expected more Guess what? Humans ain't gonna die anymore.\"\n\n\"Impossible.\" I replied,\"Humans were created for the very purpose of dying. There's nothing that can rewrite a divine law.\"\n\n\"That's right.\" My demon counterpart added,\"Human souls were our main source of power as well. Mind telling us what you did you them?\" He casually called up a flame of Greek Fire into his hands,\"Or would you prefer I torture you to get it?\"\n\nI was just about to reprimand him about his insatiable fetish for torturing, when the creature spoke.\n\"I see you haven't understood yet, have you?\" It seemed to be very amused.\n\n\"Speak up creature and tell me what in the name of the Holy Light are you talking about?\" I commanded it.\n\nTo my surprise it grinned as if it wasn't even concerned about the the two divine entities standing before it.\n\"Well I just wanted to inform you, I am a human, and we have just learned how the secret to immortality. And boy are we ready to take back our people from you...\"\n" ]	3
	[WP] You have grown up in a big and infamous mafia family. However, no one in your family knows about your terrible secret: You live a double life as a kindergarten teacher.	[ "Bang.\n\nBlood sputtered across the floor, highlighted by the florescent lamp perched on top of the table. I hold my head up high and draw back the revolver. \"You know the drill. Blood type's AB. Don't get the organs mixed up with the others.\" I glare at my capo for a few seconds until his nod of reassurance. The five other soldiers in the room (the poor bastard didn't have to know they were there) emerged from the shadows to properly dispose of the body. Our associates at the hospital would be ecstatic to have new sets for an AB.\n\nWith the shuffling of feet and lighting of the room, I made my way towards the door. \n\nOne soldier caught up to me, hand tapping my shoulder lightly. \"Hey U-boss? It's 'that time' already.\"\n\nI glanced at my watch.\n\n9:00 a.m.\n\n\"Alright boys and girls,\" I boomed, hands clapping together. \"It's that time again. Be good to the big bossman and remember one thing.\"\n\"'Nothing like a little misunderstanding.'\"\n\nAs I reach for the door, a conversation caught my attention. \"What does he even do at 9:00 am anyway?\" \"I'm telling you, our underboss just ain't some underboss. Don't you notice that when he comes back he's got a dumb grin on his face and he looks like hell?\" \"I know. Then next thing you know, we got new people on our side. Some hardcore negotiating he does.\" \"No wonder the boss keeps him. He's all of our connections.\"\n\nI turn around slightly, just so they know they caught my attention. They looked like they've seen a ghost around here. \"Get back to work ya slackin' scootshites or I'm gonna have you in the eel's pond and trust me, you ain't gonna like it.\"\n\nI knew people could move that fast, just not that shakily.\n___\n\n\"Thank you so much- I didn't know.\" The senator's hand made it's way to her son's fluffy little head. The boy was staring up at us, gobbling up his little lollipop, his big brown eyes so cute I could just strangle him to death. \"I don't think Johnny's ever mentioned that to me. It's just refreshing to know that my little boy can rely on his teacher.\"\n\nI gave the woman a small smile. \"Oh, you don't have to thank me ma'am. Johnny here's a very smart kid. He can tell someone wanting to snatch him up from someone picking him up from school.\"\n\n\"God.\" Her black eyes were glossy. \"I just don't know what I would do if you hadn't been there. My boy- my only boy could have been-\" \n\nShe looked like she ate a sour, competitor mafia gang's hostage intent riddled lemon. \"Ma'am, as my student's teacher it's my duty to educate and protect them as they get in the school.\" \n\nJust like consoling a witness.\n\n\"It was so funny too! They thought sir Ivo was a big and mean scary mob boss! He did this funny accent and scared away the bad guys!\" Johnny chimed in, practically pulling at the senator's hair.\n\nEven with the adorable child grabbing at her hair, she still looked as professional as ever. \"Yes baby, Mr. Ivo does look like a big scary mob boss!\" She cupped the kid's cheeks and started nuzzling him. Jesus, that's so cute.\n\n\"In fact, daddy's waiting outside the classroom. Why don't you go there for a second? Mommy needs to speak with the big scary mob boss for a while!\"\n\nThe kid laughed. \"Okay, okay! Dad has more candy too! Bye Mr. Ivo! Bye mama!\" As his little legs carried him to his father, assisted by one of the student teachers in the classroom.\n\n\"Haha. Am I that fit for my part?\" I hushed to the benefactor in front of me.\n\n\"Depends.\" She pulled out a business card, wrote some text, and handed it to me.\n\nIs 25,000$ enough to convince you to do yours on an asshole I've been meaning to get rid of?\n\nI grinned and began pulling out a pair of scissors, slowly cutting up the business card for me to have it burn easier later. \"It always is.\"" ]	1
	[WP] You have the ability to understand and talk to all forms of animals. It's not as glamorous as some would think...	[ "\"You should really keep your window closed, Jonas. Mosquitos can get in and out whenever they want and they are assholes.\"\n\n\"Woah buddy, I just needed to survive, okay? Sorry not everybody can survive by plummeting their face in actual dirt looking for worms or some crap. Not my fault it has to be blood. By the way- Jonas? Jonas, your blood is way too s-\"\nI clapped my hands and the voice is gone. \"I swear to you Maya, all these goddamn insects come in here like it's their house.\" I make my way to the faucet beside my stove. \"It's not like they even pay rent! The only people in this area who crash and actually pay rent is Keaton the street cat, Skoop, Lola, Hamish, and Kyle the spiders, Layla the moth, and that one butterfly that hangs around the front porch.\" Washing all the blood out my hands and smelling something nearly burning, I rush to the pancake and flip it just in time.\n\n\"Jesus, someone's harsh.\" I hear from inside one of my cabinets. \"Dude's been flying around for, like, 3 days and even pays rent and you don't know his bloody name?\"\n\nI know that tiny Irish accent anywhere. \"Geez, sorry. It's been a hectic 3 days, Ham. I can't keep tabs on everyone all the time anymore.\"\n\n\"You do keep tabs. You have a small record of who owes how much. If you don't know the butterfly's name, how come you know he pays rent?\" Maya the... well, maya bird argued, picking at his feathers. \n\n\"Keaton told me there was a new in-house, I guess I never both-\" \n\n\"Come on, baby~ It's just a one time thing. You don't need to commit to it~!\" \n\nOh God.\n\n\"For the last time, no Cassidy- I am not banging you.\" Keaton's voice could be heard near my house gate.\n\n\"Can't she just leave him alone? What is up with her.\" I places the last pancake on the mountain beside my sink. \"Maya, I'll be right back. Ham, make sure no intruders get to my pancakes.\"\n\n\"Got it, boss.\" Hamish made his way out my cabinet towards my staggering collection. \n\n\"Woah.\" I could hear his tiny spider voice. Cute.\n\n\"Oh no, I can hear it starting now. Jonas- come back the birds are going to their trees and- nope, okay then.\" \nBy the time he's said his last word, I was already by the front door.\n\n\"Keaton~ I know you like it~\"\n\nI opened my door to find this brown-white street cat perched on my porch's fence while a slim fluffy looking cat sashayed across my wooden floor.\n\nKeaton merely eyed me, obviously done with all this. I could hear the... cries of romance by the birds nearby. Arguments between insects surrounding my front lawn and judgemental statements of my lack of shirt by the neighborhood cats and support of dogs were droning in my ears. At least they were distant.\n\n\"Cassidy- it's the 5th time this week. Can't you just let it go?\" I glared down at the cat, obviously tired of her shenanigans. She tilted her, took a breath, and turned around. She made her way trough the grills of my gate and I swear I saw her wink at Keaton i didnt know cats could do that jesus\n\n\"Thank you so much. I'll pay you double this month I swear.\" Keaton stayed perched, eyes slowly closing.\n\n\"How can you sleep with all this noise? Everyone is talking all at once and there are birds wanting to get banged everywhere.\"\n\n\"Just don't mind it, man.\" A foreign voice intruded. I looked at the source and find a small violet butterfly landed on Keaton's butt. \"Forget about it. Don't focus on it or it gets you.\"\n\nI looked at the tiny butterfly and acknowledged his winged wisdom for a second. \"Huh.\"\n\n\"His name is Aaron, by the way. I figured you still didn't know his name 'cause that's just how you are.\"\n\nI blinked. \"Oh, sorry. Thanks for the advice, uh, Aaron. Also, leave the rent on the tiny basket on the fridge near the kitchen window.\"\n\n\"Oh, about that. There's this thing that looked like a fire in there. You better go check.\" Aaron said before relaxing himself on top of the cat.\"\n\nI stood there, shirtless outside on the 20 degree morning talking to a butterfly and a cat. Woof.\n\n\"Uh delivery? For the half naked Disney Princess?\" I could hear beyond my gate.\n\n\"Oh, haha Alex. Just get in here, I made pancakes.\" I unlatched my gate.\n\n\"Don't be so grumpy. It's a nice day and the birds are tweeting and the street animals are streeting and the insects-\"\n\nAaaand my focus is gone.\n\nI open the gate and face her. \"Never mention the birds ever again.\" I said, eyes bloodshot and voice quivering. \"O-okay crazy. Didn't know my step-brother was a Disney Princess AND a mental asylum patient.\"\n\n\"Oh shut up.\" We made our way in, sweet talking and moaning birds trailing off my area of listening." ]	1
	[WP] You receive a text message from someone you know that reads, "Help me," with a timestamp of 9:00 PM. It is currently 8:15 PM.	[ "I look at the message and briefly sighs before looking around at the room and seeing that my idiot friend left his lunch. \n\nWalking over to the lunch box I grab it before heading out to the door, ready to deliver the moron his lunch.\n\nFor a guy who can time travel he is way too lazy and forgetful.\n\n\"Goddammit Peter, you're a Doctor. You shouldn't be forgetting this shit.\"", "An unknown number called me and given the inebriated state (fueled by pizza) I was in, there was no need for me to break my lazy spree tonight. After the call disappeared from my notification screen, a text message instantly popped up in it's place.\n\n\"Help me.\"\n\nA simple cry for help maybe? I hope this person is doing okay.\n\nI blocked the number and slid across my living room to grab another slice of pizza, attempting to maintain it's integrity as I went in for the initial bite that couldn't wait for my plate. Swing and a miss. The sweet robust tomato sauce leaked with a sour vigor that taunted my previous actions. Supreme toppings found themselves in a poor habitat of cold wooden floor. The shock settled in waves at first, then evolved to a full-blown mid-life crisis for that poor slice of disintegrated insanity that nobody deserves to chew on.\n\nI went to check my phone again. Another text from a new number this time, with the same message. I powered off my phone, and tossed the slice of pizza at the wall out of gravity's betrayal. Fuck pizza that doesn't hold it's integrity.", "Jenna heard the muffled sound of her phone buzzing from her purse. She pulled her arm away from Mark’s touch, thankful for the excuse.\n\n“Sorry, I need to check that,” she said as she reached for her bag. She knew it was rude to text during a date but felt no guilt about making an exception in this case.\n\nHer heart began to race as the words “Help me” loomed on the phone screen. It was from her friend Libby. Her fingers trembled as she typed her reply: What’s wrong?\n\nIt felt like forever that the words indicating that Libby was typing a response continued to flash on the screen. She glanced up at Mark, sitting across from her. His stare was unsettling. She realized it was one of few times in the evening she’d caught him looking into her eyes rather than at some other part of her. She quickly returned her attention to the phone in her hands. Libby’s response finally appeared: Huh? Everything’s fine. Why do you ask?\n\nJenna let out a deep breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. But relief soon turned to confusion. Why had her friend asked for help if nothing was wrong? Then she noticed something. The timestamps on the last two messages were 8:15 PM, but the first message was marked as 9:00 PM. That couldn’t be right.\n\nShe looked up at Mark again, flashing him a small smile so as not to appear rude. He seemed irritated, but kept silent out of politeness. She’d told herself she would try to get through the entire date. But they’d already finished and paid for their dinner; Mark had just been trying to keep the evening going as long as possible. And she did want to check in on Libby.\n\nWould it be okay if I came over in a few minutes? Jenna texted back. \n\nSure, I guess so, Libby replied. \n\nJenna breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m so sorry,” she said to Mark. “I have to go see my friend. It’s an emergency. Thanks for dinner.”\n\nShe stood up and Mark stood with her. “We’ll have to do this again sometime,” he said. He placed a hand on her elbow, which she quickly pulled away to place her phone back into her purse. \n\n“I’ll be in touch,” she said, hoping it was a non-committal enough statement, and walked out the door. \n\n~ ~ ~\n\nJenna tapped her fingers impatiently on the steering wheel as she waited for the light to turn green. She desperately wanted to get to Libby’s and see that she was okay, but the red lights were exponentially slowing down what should have been a quick drive. Seeking a distraction, Jenna glanced around and spotted a red BMW a few cars back in the next lane. Was that Mark’s car? She was stopped again by the next light and this time saw the same car had moved up a bit closer. She caught a glimpse of the first few letters of the license plate. They looked familiar. Shit.\n\nShe sped up at the next light and managed to catch it on the yellow, leaving the BMW stuck behind. At the next block, she turned in to Libby’s apartment complex. A quick scan as she stepped out of her car showed that Mark was nowhere in sight. She hoped he’d lost sight of her and given up. Or that she was just being overly paranoid and there was nothing to worry about. \n\nShe almost tripped over her heels as she rushed into the building and up the stairs. She knocked on Libby’s door and her friend answered with haste. “Come on in,” Libby said, holding the door open. She was wearing a pair of pajama pants and her Michigan State sweatshirt, her brown hair in a messy bun. Jenna suddenly felt out of place in her little black dress. Libby raised an eyebrow. “So, what’s going on?”\n\nJenna reached for her phone. “I got this message from you,” she said and handed the phone to Libby.\n\n“What? I didn’t send that,” Libby said. “But this explains your text.”\n\n“Look at the timestamp, though,” Jenna said.\n\n“Nine o’clock? But it’s not even nine yet.”\n\n“If you didn’t send it, maybe you will later.”\n\n“Don’t be silly. Your phone’s just being wonky.” Libby looked Jenna up and down. “Anyway, didn’t you have a date tonight?”\n\n“It wasn’t going so well,” Jenna said distractedly. She had begun walking over to the window. She peeked out through the blinds and saw the red BMW parked in the lot. “Oh shit, he did follow me.” Mark had stepped out of his car and was examining hers. \n\nLibby joined her at the window. “Wait, is that the guy you were out with? What the hell is he doing here?”\n\n“I guess he wanted to see if I was telling the truth. Maybe he thought I just wanted to go home, or that I was meeting some other guy instead.”\n\n“So he stalked you? God, what a creep! Well, it doesn’t look like he’s going to come up. You can just hole up here for a while and hopefully he’ll leave soon.”\n\n“Thanks.” Jenna gave Libby a nervous smile. “Anyway, are you sure you didn’t send that message?”\n\n“Of course, look here.” She showed Jenna her phone. Jenna saw their conversation from the restaurant, and before that, a conversation from earlier this afternoon about her upcoming date. No sign of the mysterious “Help me” text. “Besides,” Libby continued, “it’s almost nine, and everything’s fine. Plus, you’re here with me in case something does happen. Relax. I think you’re just getting worked up because of that creepy guy out there.”\n\n“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Jenna glanced out the window again and saw Mark finally get into his car and drive off. “Oh, thank God. At least he doesn’t know where I actually live. But he might come back here later.”\n\nLibby scoffed. “If I see him here again, you can bet I’m gonna call the cops. I remembered his license plate number too, I’m gonna go write it down. Good thing you left that date when you did, though. Looks like you really dodged a bullet.”\n\n“Hmm,” Jenna said, looking down at Libby’s phone still in her hands. The screen showed the time as 9:00 PM. A thought suddenly struck her. She opened the messenger app, touched her own name, and typed the words “Help me.” A moment later, she checked her own phone. No new messages. She waited a few more minutes, but she didn’t really expect to see anything come up. She had a feeling she knew where the message went." ]	3
	[WP] in a world of super-abilitied humans, you thought you had no powers. Until the day you where hit by a car and "game over. Continue?"	[ "Everything we had ever done led up to this moment in our lives. Half of our classes in grade school, middle school, and high school were dedicated to teaching us how to cope with powers, how to deal with the weight of responsibility that fell on our shoulders when they manifested, how to remain a responsible citizen regardless of what our baser urges told us. Our education started and stopped on a precisely timed schedule calculated at our birth by those rare few who could read the threads of destiny. Of course, we never knew, but it was all stored somewhere. That was the story, anyway.\n\nSo when all of my friends had their days come and go, I was more than a little frustrated. A month went by, and nothing. A year went by. All of my friends had gone off to their respective colleges to learn how to handle their powers. My parents did their best to hide it, but of course I could feel their disappointment. Every day it got a little worse. \n\nThere was no work for someone with no powers. There were no schools that would have me. I spent my days in my room, mostly, reading accounts of what life had been like before the Aura had descended on our world, before humans started manifesting powers, before we were super. Searching for some clue, maybe, of some way to be useful.\n\nWatching my sister manifest her powers had been the final straw. Like my mother, she could play around a bit with telekinesis, but when she reached deeper, she found that her powers to move things with her mind extended from space into time itself. It was as though all of the power I was supposed to have went to her, instead. It just wasn’t fair. Nothing about this was fair.\n\nI left. It didn’t surprise me that nobody came after me. I was a monumental failure, truly unprecedented in the family. When I walked away, it was like an unwanted ghost had finally stopped haunting them. Of course. They would be thrilled. They probably held a party.\n\nAnd so when I curled up to sleep that night, miles away from anywhere I knew, my face pressed against the underside of a glass bridge that hummed with a gentle warmth that kept the snow away when one of the weather controllers decided that it should be winter, I wished simply for all of it to be over. I hadn’t eaten in days, and while my stomach growled, I couldn’t bring myself to pluck anything from the plentiful public gardens that sprawled around me. I wanted nothing more than to die, and starvation seemed like the one way nobody could save me, after all.\n\nIn the stillness, however, I heard a sound I recognized from the old movies. A sound that couldn’t be. The cocking of a gun behind me. I didn’t move. Despite my will to die, a part of me registered fear. My assailant spoke, and I heard what could almost be pity in her voice.\n\n“We’re truly sorry that we have to do things this way. In many ways it would be easier for you to learn earlier, of course, but we’ve found that in the end it’s easiest for people to let go when they’ve already lost everything.”\n\nI cleared my throat, but I didn’t speak. I suppose it made sense that there would be some kind of group that took care of edge cases like me. Just because it wasn’t something we were prepared for in school didn’t mean it never happened.\n\nShe spoke again. “Right then. You’ll understand in a moment.”\n\nWhat on earth -\n\nThe gunshot was a distant echo in my ear. In front of me, suddenly, words glowed in brilliant red.\n\nGame Over\n\nContinue?\n\nYes/No\n\nOh. Well. This changes everything." ]	1
	[WP] After thorough investigation, you're convinced that one of your household devices is actually a time machine. Today you squat down inside your washing machine to solve the mystery of your missing socks.	[ "It had taken a lot of carefully calculated tests. I had run 50 socks in the machine but only pulled out 47. A 6% rate of disappearance. I had tried 50 pairs of underwear and none of them vanished. So why socks? What is so special about socks?\n\nCall me crazy but I formulated the hypothesis that my washing machine must be sending my socks through time. How or why i do not know. So I asked myself if socks were attached to something would that object vanish as well?\n\nMy next series of tests was more involved. I attached socks to other pieces of clothing. Some i simply tied on and others i sewed on. I sent 50 shirts through the machine. Each with one sock sewed on. And 50 shirts simply tied to a sock. Strangely, 3 shirts that were sewed vanished but none that were tied. But the socks still vanished. Next i asked if that would work for other non clothing objects.\n\nTo say my washing machine was a mess was an understatement. I had correctly hypothesized that sewing more socks to an object would make it more likely to vanish. But i grew tired of merely sending simple stuff through so i bought a bunxh of steaks from the grocery store, carefully sewed a few socks on, and sent them through the wash. Yeah, that was messy.\n\nBy this point i was really really obsessed withthis project and really wanting to know where under the stars the socks were going. \n\n\"Well, if i really want to know i should send myself.\" I was a bit shocked when i admitted this to myself. I really did want to go. But I'm also a big needlephobe. It took a while but i worked up the foolish courage to do it. Once again I was back at the store buying even more socks. By now id bought at least 200 pairs of socks in varting sizes and colors. I bought the last 25 pairs i hoped to buy.\n\nWhen i got home that night i stared at the needle. \"This is going to hurt.\" I'd taken some pain killers to help, more to soothmy mind than with the physical pain, and began the long process. Once finished i climbed in. \n\nI pressed the buttons and closed the lid. Thankfully i got one of those top loaders and my lid doesn't lock so if something does go wrong I can get out. The machine began to fill with water. Up to my neck it came. It was pretty hot. Then it began to slosh back and forth. I felt every bump on my body. At least i had football helmet on.\n\nOn and on the machine turned back and forth. Seconds seemed to be minutes. Minutes felt like hours. It felt like i was in there for days. When would it stop? Suddenly i felt a curious sensation. I don't know how to describe it. A hot burn with an icey cold doesn't come close. Then there was a flash. \n\nPain. Pain everywhere. I felt like I'd broken half my bones. Blinding light filled my eyes. My head screamed in agony. My heart raced in fear. I was cold. Very cold. I felt air blowing over my body. And then i heard something like a siren and a voice saying \"Welcome to the year 3049 you fool.\" I felt a sharp stabbing pain, and everything went black." ]	1
	[WP] "Oh, my god. Oh my god, ohmygod." "Breath." "OH. MY. GOD. WE killed the dinosaurs."	[ "“3...2...1 Engaging displacement drive” nav officer Franklin said as the earth fist FTL ship engages it’s dimensional displacement engine. “Jump complete calculating location” Franklin says. “Captain location hasn’t changed it didn’t work.” “If it didn’t work where is earth, we were in orbit.” Says Captain Freese. “Sir our location hasn’t changed but earth isn’t where it was its .8 au away.” Franklin said. “Comm contact central and report” “and someone find out what the hell went wrong”demands Captain Freese. “Captain I am getting no response from central command” comm reports. Just then a collision sensor begins blaring a warning. Then a huge crash causes the ship to begin spinning. “Report! What the hell just hit us” the Captain demands. “The shields were impacted by an asteroid, engineering reports minimal damage.” Says Franklin. \n\nThe space ship hydra is the first human attempt to leave our solar system. Out for its first test of its new engine that uses a dimensional displacement drive that creates a fold in space through another dimension. At least in theory but in this full scale test apparently also sends you back in time. \n\n“Captain I’ve calculated our location and the reading don’t make any sense. According to these readings we have gone back in time about 65 million years.” Franklin reports. “That puts us at about the end of the Cretaceous period” says Captain Freese. “Captain we shifted the orbit of that asteroid and it is headed for earth.” Said Franklin “oh my god I think we just killed the dinosaurs”", "\"Look at this garbage! We haven't even hooked Mariah up to her power supply yet and people are already claiming she's gonna be the end of the world!\"Dr. Jacobs slams a tablet down on the table in front of Dr. Adams, who picks it up and reads it.\n\n\"Well, 'Mariah' sure hasn't caught on like you said it would. These people seem to prefer 'Apocalypse' or 'Doomsday'. Reminds me of the comics I used to read as a kid. Where's Samantha?\" Samantha Armana enters the room, wearing a thick black suit, holding a fish-bowl shaped helmet under her arm.\n\n\"Calm down bill, we don't launch for another twenty minutes\" Dr. Adams and Dr. Jacobs both stand up. Adams walks over.\n\n\"I know you've had plenty of training Samantha, but you must understand the gravity of your position here. Not only has no one used this device, but no one has ever used any device remotely similar to it, this isn't like flying a spaceship.\" Samantha steps in closer.\n\n\"I've been preparing for this day for half my life, I think I--\" Dr. Jacobs cuts her off:\n\n\"This is Mariah's Maiden voyage, we just want to be careful, that's all.\" Samantha steps back and puts on her helmet.\n\n\"Let's do this then.\" \n\nAll three leave the room and walk down a long hallway, Dr. Jacobs in the front, Samantha and Dr. Adams side by side right behind him. There is a tension in the air, an eerie silence as they make their way down a hallway with no doors on either side, except for a pair at the very end. \n\nDr. Jacobs pushes through the doors in to a crowded room of people in lab coats all rushing around, all with something to do that seemed very important. At the center of this large room is a spherical device. It's black, just like Samantha's suit, with a round window on the front and various cables and tubes protruding out of it. On the side in bold, grey letters reade: MARIAH.\n\nAs the three walk towards the device, several men and women approach Samantha, running diagnostics and last-minute checkups on her suit. As she steps up on to a platform right in front of the device, everyone in the room stops what they are doing and looks up at her.\n\n\"Good luck\" Dr. Adams says as he gives her a two-fingered salute, wich she returns before entering the device, with a glass door closing behind her.\n\nEveryone in the room starts to go back to what they are doing, people start manning their computer station at others are detaching the tubes and cables from the device. Samantha buckles herself in. Dr. Jacobs leans in to a microphone.\n\n\"Coms okay?\"\n\n\"Loud and clear\" Samantha replies. \n\n\"Are you ready?\"\n\n\"Born Ready\"\n\n\"Alright.\" Dr. Jacobs leans over to Dr. Adams.\n\n\"Are you ready?\" Dr. Adams looks at Dr. Jacobs for a moment, then leans in to the microphone.\n\n\"See you soon sweetie.\"\n\n\"You too dad.\"\n\nThe device raises in the air, and two metal arms start spinning around it. A voice can be heard through speakers in the room:\n\n\"Launching in t-minus 8, 7, 6, 5, 4...\"\n\n Dr. Adams puts his hands over his mouth and leans forward.\n\n\"...3....\"\n\nHe closes his eyes.\n\n\"...2...\"\n\nLooks up.\n\n\"...1...\"\n\nNo flash, no sound, and also no device. \n\n\"Did it work?\" Dr. Adams looks over to Dr. Jacobs, how looks over to a man at a console.\n\n\"Do we have monitors?\" Dr. Jacobs asks. The man replies:\n\n\"Monitors coming online now.\" A large holographic screen appears in the middle of the room, showing the helmet-cam of Samantha. She steps out of the device and looks at her surroundings. A jungle, a huge jungle, one that hasn't been on earth since the 21st century. Samantha's voice comes through the speakers:\n\n\"I think it worked.\" Dr. Jacobs leans in to the microphone.\n\n\"Can you confirm?\" Through the helmet cam, Brachiosaurus' walk in the distance.\n\n\"Yeah, it worked\" Samantha replies in a very optimistic voice. THe room erupts in cheer, people hugging each other and shaking hands, while Dr. Adam's leans back and releases a sigh of relief. Suddenly, a loud screeching comes through the speakers. Everyone stops and looks at the screen. Samantha turns around and screams as she sees a T. Rex sinks it's teeth in to the device she arrived in. A flash of light comes from the device, and Samantha's screaming is halted by static and a screen that says : \"NO INPUT\"" ]	2
	[WP] One morning you wake up to find every thing in existence has been erased, literally every atom except your house and you. Somehow you are still alive	[ "Somewhere deep inside I knew I shouldn’t have thrown that ibuprofen out the window. \n\nThe rest of the day would be more hungover than any day in my sad existence. I had delayed my appointment with the devil long enough. And today the balance would be paid in full.\n\nA sharp pain spiked through my skull and across my temples. Jesus...how much did I drink last night? \n\nI tried to remember. Most of it was a distant blur. I was in jail. And then I wasn’t. I don’t remember how I got here exactly. But the beginning of the night was innocent enough. Sushi, bowling, drunk bowling then a toga party.\n\nJust then a giant rhino came crashing through the second floor exposing a sinkhole in the living room. \n\n" ]	1
	[WP] A man with nothing left to live for saves a child that's in danger.	[ "Fred Jamison sipped his beer on the shoddy couch in his tiny Texas apartment. Up until two weeks ago, he'd had a job as an electrician. Up until two months ago, he'd lived here with his wife and four kids. Well, four of his kids. He had seven in total. \n\nThat had never been his plan. In fact, nothing in his life ever went according to plan. He'd had a beautiful wife. A beautiful daughter. It should've been enough. \n\nBut he thought he could have more. Have his cake and eat it too. So when he met Jenna...he began a second family. It went well for a while. Six years to be exact. Jenna knew she was the second woman. But Debbie...\n\nShe had found out when she was eight months pregnant with their third child. She was furious. She threatened him with every unspeakable thing she could imagine.\n\nFred had thought it would all blow over. She was eight months pregnant after all. She couldn't possibly leave him like that, could she?\n\nBut she did. Didn't even blink either. Left straight for Oregon and never looked back. He envied her, in a way. At least she had a backbone. \n\nHe should've done something then. Tried to win her back. Followed them to Oregon if necessary. But he didn't. He did absolutely nothing. Well, except for marrying Jenna. \n\nAnd now Jenna had left too. \n\nTwo wives and seven children. And what did he have to show for it? A shabby apartment and a drinking problem. He didn't have anyone to blame but himself.\n\nA few months ago his eldest daughter Sarah had come to visit him. Came all the way from Oregon with her boyfriend. Thought they could go back to how it was before. Thought he could be her loving father again. He smiled wryly. She had been thoroughly disillusioned.\n\nSo when the phone rang one rainy Monday evening, she had been the last person he had expected it to be. \n\nIt was about Rebecca. He didn't see much of any of his children these days, but Rebecca was the only one he had never even met. She'd still been in her mother's belly when she'd left for Oregon.\n\nAnd now she needed a kidney. \n\nThe disease had started very suddenly. Her kidneys deteriorated progressively, and unless a donor was found quickly, the future wasn't looking good. Her mother Debbie hadn't been a match. Her siblings Sarah and Daniel hadn't even been allowed to test for suitability. He smiled. Typical Debbie. Always protective of her children.\n\nThe waiting list for an anonymous donor was long. Too long. Rebecca didn't have that kind of time. So now he was her only hope.\n\nHe smiled wryly. What a turn of faith. He never thought he'd ever be described as anyone's only hope. \n\nRebecca.\n\nHe had seen photos of course. He had secretly looked at Debbie's social media. Of course he had. He was the children's father after all. \n\nShe looked like him. She looked more like him than any of his other children. She had his brown hair. His tip-tilted nose. Even his naughty twinkle in his brown eyes when she smiled.\n\nSo he'd agreed. Maybe he had been given a second chance. A chance to do something right for a change. A chance to make up for his mistakes. \n\nDebbie had been surprised. Sarah hadn't told her she was going to call him. \n\nShe had been even more surprised that he'd agreed. He wasn't too insulted. It was only natural that she should expect nothing from him. \n\nHe was a match. \n\nIt all went very quickly after that. Within a week he got the call to come to the hospital in Oregon. \n\nHe opened his eyes. The world seemed very blurry. He tried to focus. Did he see...long blonde hair? Freckles? And...large amber eyes? No, that couldn't be. Was that...Debbie?\n\n''Debbie?'' He slurred. \n\nRound, red lips curled up to smile at him. ''It's me.''\n\nHis mind became clearer. ''Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with Rebecca?''\n\nShe smiled again. ''Becky woke up hours ago. Her body has accepted the kidney. The operation was a success.''\n\n''Wow...that's great.''\n\nThey sat together in silence for a few minutes.\n\n''You know, this is exactly how we met.''\n\nThere was that warm smile again. ''That's right. I remember it like it was yesterday.''\n\n''4th of July, 1998.'' \n\n''Your friends had convinced you that it would be perfectly safe to hold the firework for a few seconds after lighting it.'' She snickered. ''It definitely wasn't.''\n\nHe smiled. ''Hey, don't laugh at me. I was young and impressionable back then.''\n\n''You were 24.''\n\n''I still have those scars on my arm.'' \n\n''Your burns were so severe we had to sedate you.''\n\n''When I finally woke up, the first thing I saw was the most beautiful nurse I had ever seen.'' He looked up to face Debbie. She was crying. \n\n''You know, I still think you're the most beautiful.''\n\nShe looked at him in desperation. ''Fred, we can't do this.''\n\n''Do what?''\n\n''This. Reminiscing. Flirting. We can't just go back to how it was. Not after all that's happened.''\n\nFred felt his heart sink. ''You're probably right'', he managed to say. He could only hope he had sounded confident.\n\nDebbie looked at her watch. ''I have to go check on Becky.''\n\nFred stared at the door opening long after she left the room. She was probably never coming back. It had been too good to be true. He chastised himself: it was already more than he deserved to get a chance to do something good. It was way too much to ask for a second chance at life. \n\nTo his surprise, she returned. ''Becky's doing fine. She's watching TV. First time in a while she gets to watch her favorite cartoons. Our TV at home hasn't worked for a while.''\n\nA small thought started to form in his head. It quickly grew bigger and bigger until he could ignore it no longer. ''You know...I could fix it for you.'' He hesitated for a moment. ''I mean, if that's okay with you.''\n\nThe seconds it took her to answer felt like eternity to him.\n\nShe smiled. ''Yeah. That would be great.''\n\n-------------------------------------------------------------------\nSarah visits her dad: https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/7ydm84/wp_today_you_went_to_wake_up_your_teenage/dufxbp0/ \n\nWhy Jenna left:\nhttps://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/7ypdim/wp_it_was_my_last_chance_and_i_seized_it/duihp45/ " ]	1
	[WP] You're a wanted criminal, and you're trying to lay low. However, people on the news always misprounouce your name, and it's driving you crazy.	[ "Mike Johnson: Good evening Jacksonville, and welcome to Channel 7 News. Tonight we start off with an update on the series of robberies that we've seen in the Riverside area over the past two weeks. Just after 5 o'clock this morning our brazen burglar has broken into the the Bell Riverside apartments, using the same technique that he had in previous thefts - that is, using a 9 iron to smash security cameras before smashing apartment windows. We have our own Jessica Jones on the scene to give us further updates on the Boneheaded burglar. Over to you Jessica.\n\nJessica Jones: Thanks Mike. I'm standing outside the Bell Riverside Apartments, just across from Memorial Park, where the Boneheaded burglar has struck another hole-in-one. Eighty-six year old, Elaine Brodersen was in the kitchen microwaving her porridge when she heard an incredible crashing sound at her back patio. I'm here with Elaine now.\n\nElaine: It was like a loud crashing sound, and at first I thought the cat had knocked over the Christmas tree again. But then I remembered that it was July, and I had already taken the tree down last week. So I walked into the living room, and I saw him climbing through the broken window with a golf club. I thought, \"uh oh, I know this guy from the news. It's the boneheaded burglar.\"\n\nJessica: It was him? Joe Boner, the Boneheaded burglar?\n\nElaine: It was Joe Boner.\n\nJessica: That must have been terrifying. Did you call the police on Mr. Boner?\n\nElaine: No that's when I fainted. I woke up to this man here - Mr. Rogers from Best Buy - who was here to help take my TV away so he could service it. He said they detected an issue through the internet.\n\nJessica: Mr. Rogers, thanks for sticking around the scene for an inordinate amount of time to give your account. Did you see the Boneheaded Burglar when you were making your service call?\n\nMr. Rogers: I did not. He must have been in and out very deftly and smoothly, because I did not see anything. It seems like he is actually quite a skilled burglar indeed, and it makes one wonder why they call him the Boneheaded Burglar.\n\nJessica: Well, it's obviously a play on his last name, Boner. And additionally, he unknowingly keeps stealing broken appliances from geriatric victims. Boneheaded indeed.\n\nMr. Rogers: Ok I'd like to to point out here that his name is Boehner, pronounced Bane-urr. Like the Speaker of the House. So the nickname just doesn't work. You should probably just get the name right and then you could dub him \"Bane\" - like the maniacal Batman villain, no?\n\nJessica: Name aside, the theft of broken appliances is pretty boneheaded.\n\nMr. Rogers: OK, how can you possibly tell if an appliance works just by looking at it? What is he supposed to turn every TV on and watch a full episode of Game of Thrones before he makes off with it? It's not his fault that not a single friggin' old person in Florida can maintain a working TV.\n\nJessica: Calm down, Mr. Rogers, we'd like to stick to the facts here. So you did not see Joe Boner?\n\nMr. Rodgers: Uhhh.. yes, now I remember seeing him running from the scene. He was muttering something like \"You gotta get out of here, BANE-UR!\"... \"Or maybe it was \"Bane strikes again!\". Whatever it was, it seemed like a decent headline for the news to use.\n\nJessica: Can you tell us where Mr. Boner was running to?\n\nMr. Rodgers: I cannot. He was much too fast and deft to follow.\n\nJessica: Thanks anyway, Mr. Rogers. Mike, back to you.\n\nMike Johnson: Thanks Jessica. That Boneheaded Burglar needs to be stopped. If anyone at home has any information about Mr. Boner's whereabouts, you can call our studio, or text BONER to 800-WFRT." ]	1
	[WP] Don't judge a book by it's cover. Tell a story about what a dark elf assassin does in their off time.	[ "I am a dangerous person to know. I am responsible for twenty eight mysterious disappearances, three involuntary successions, and my name is used colloquially as a curse word in at least four languages. I am Rivori Tradewind. \nIn my wake are unsolved cases and and about twenty thousand goblins used for target practice. They call me shadow-weaver. They call me the man with no face. In truth I come from the forbidden southern kingdom of the dark elves, but a lifetime of practice with makeup and prosthetics means I might be the dwarf next to you in the bar. Or the bartender flirting with you. You would never know it. And if ever you made a wealthy enemy, you wouldn’t see me at all. \nI am a dangerous man, but not a servant of chaos. I follow a code - my code - unerringly. I never eat meat. I always carry out my contract for the promised price (I once killed a noble who insulted me by offering to double my fee for a job well done). They say that in a world with no morals, the man who is master of himself is truly free. And I am more free than most. But there is one dream I still wait for. \nOn quiet nights in my hidden lair I write songs and imagine a world where no one kills an innocent animal. All sentients are morally stained, but livestock have done no wrong. It may sound strange to hear of a remorseless killer-for-hire talk about kindness, but I believe that our consumption of animals is unforgivable, and reveals the true heart of men: a heart without love. \nIf all of us could just learn to love better, we could finally put an end the inhumane practice of eating meat. In private, using my unsurpassed skills of makeup, I dress up as a tasty vegetarian garnish and fantasize about using my songs and costuming skills to spread my message. \nMy secret dream is to one day perform a show at the legendary amphitheater at the HearthBrake Hotel. Oh, to see my posters hung proudly all across the Westlands! “Live tonight! Elf-as-Parsley performing ‘Love: Meat-Ender!’” ", "\"The contract is completed.\" Shiera said emotionlessly as she dropped the severed head of a young gnome girl onto her employer's desk.\n\nThe man looked up at her with a mixture of revulsion and contempt, before plucking a letter opener from its stand and prodding at the diminutive, gory trophy, turning it around toe examine the frozen look of terror on its face.\n\n\"Did she suffer?\"\n\nShiera was silent for a moment, recalling how the young engineer, whose only crime had been to become too popular and arouse the jealousy of a rival determined enough to hire an assassin, had begged and pleaded, remembering the abject horror and hopelessness in her eyes as the dark elf easily restrained her and brought her knife swiftly across her target's throat, before she answered; \"More than some, less than others.\"\n\n\"Hmm, a pity.\" The man dismissively flicked the head off the edge of his desk while ringing for a servant to come to clear up the mess. He then reached behind the desk and, with some effort, pulled out a large, bulging sack. \"Well, here's your fee.\"\n\nShiera took the sack from the human, easily plucking it from him with one hand in a casual display of strength. She opened it up and began examining the contents.\n\n\"It's all there.\" Her now former employer said exasperatedly, \"Honestly; I know how fastidious you assassins are about your gold, I would never be stupid enough to try and cheat one of you.\"\n\n\"For your sake, you had better be telling the truth.\" Shiera said quietly. Without another word; she turned on her heel and stalked out of the ornate office, cloak billowing behind her. The human waited until he was sure she was gone before finally allowing himself to collapse into his chair with a sigh of relief.\n\n*****\n\nIt was nearing midnight when Shiera finally made it back to her home. It was always a long trek from the only market in the city that would deal with one of her kind, but today's journey had taken even longer thanks to the gold. Like flies to rotten meat, the thieves and vagrants had been drawn to it, and her preference of traveling through the back streets to avoid the stares of the city's crowds had meant she had been forced into far too many confrontations. Most were resolved simply enough; the flash of a dagger and the glimpse of her ashen skin and red eyes was enough to convince most would-be muggers to find easier prey elsewhere. But one group had felt that their numbers gave them a superior edge. It had not.\n\nThe scuffle had been brief but bloody. By the end her five assailants lay dead, each with a slit throat or snapped neck. It was one thing she prided herself in: she was no orc barbarian; her victims never suffered more than was necessary. Well, unless that was the contract, but then that was business, and she took no pleasure from it.\n\nThe door opened with its usual wailing screech, and from the depths of the house she heard the delighted cries of its inhabitants. Shiera quickly closed the door behind her as the first of her greeters bounded up to her.\n\n\"Hello Tyrion.\" She said with a smile, kneeling down to pet the mutt as he galloped down the hall towards her, tail lashing furiously behind him. He had been the first being not to recoil from the smell of death that always lingered around her, or flinch away from staring into her crimson eyes, and she treasured him for that. \"I brought you something.\" She reached into her backpack and brought out a long strip of toughened rawhide. The dog yelped with excitement as she tossed it into the air, and she laughed with delight as he performed an acrobatic leap to catch it that would have put many of her competitors to shame.\n\n\"You're home!\" She looked up at the cry as the twins Calkyn and Laeda tumbled down the stairs in their eagerness to greet her. Leaping from halfway down the two young dark elves almost knocked the older elf over with their exuberance. Behind them, Sasha watched the display with a delighted smile. Though the twin's junior by several years, at 15 the human girl was now nearly fully grown, and had taken to looking out for the other two while Shiera was away.\n\n\"Anything happen while I was away?\" Shiera asked as she disentangled herself from the twins, carefully keeping the backpack out of their reach while they tried to get a peek inside.\n\n\"No, quiet as usual.\" Sasha replied. \"How about you?\" Again, the gnome's face flashed across her mind, one of countless ghosts she would have to carry from now on.\n\n\"Nothing too out of the ordinary.\" Shiera shrugged. Finally she turned back to the two twins, who were practically hopping with excitement. \"But I did make enough to buy a couple of gifts for you!\" She reached into her bag and pulled out a wind-up, mechanical dragon for Calkyn and a new, freshly printed, leather-bound book for Laeda. The young elves gave squeals of joy before grabbing the gifts and hurrying off to play. Laughing, Shiera headed to the kitchen with Sasha and Tyrion in tow, where she began unloading food from her bag.\n\n\"There should be plenty to keep us going.\" She said, before grabbing one final item from the bottom of the pack. \"And I was even able to get something for you. Consider it a thanks for always looking after the twins.\n\nSasha's eyes went wide as she reached out and took the dress. It was beautifully made, adorned with perfectly stitched patterns and colours. She held it up to herself and was not surprised to see it fit perfectly. She looked into Shiera's eyes, barely holding back her tears, as she thanked her profusely. Shiera could hardly keep her own eyes dry as she recalled the same look of gratitude in the girl's face years earlier, when all she had done was offer her a loaf of bread.\n\nAs Sasha ran off to her room, eager to try on her dress, Shiera sat herself down in her comfiest chair, Tyrion curled up at her feet still eagerly gnawing on his rawhide. The ghosts still haunted her mind, but she knew she could always keep them at bay with the happier memories that made it all worthwhile." ]	2
	[WP] You're a knight sent on a quest to slay a dragon and free a princess. In a surprise twist, you end up slaying the princess and freeing the dragon.	[ "All the other knights had slayed dragons or claimed to at least. Sir. Fredrick knew this was his chance. This dragon had kidnaped a princess not that was rare or anything. Dragons always kidnaped a princess now that he thought about it why was it always a princess. He shoved that thought deep down now was not the time. Sir. Fredrick spayed the castle, it wasn’t hard to miss. The castle sat on a lone hill in the middle of a large clearing in Sandinot forest. Sir.Fredrick noticed it was quit to quit. Suddenly like the hit of a lance it struck him, the realization. The dragon was out.\n\n“HOLY SHIT” Sir. Fredrick yelled before quickly covering his mouth with his hands. \n\nThe dragon was out hunting or something, it didn’t matter. What did matter was that Sir.Fredrick had no idea how long he had before the dragon made it back. OK thought Sir.Fredrick if I’m quick I can get to the top of the tallest tower and back to my horse before the dragon even comes home. Perfect plan Sir. Fredrick thought to himself. Sir.Fredrick rushed across the clearing and into the castle. Quickly he found the stairs up to the tower. Reaching the top he barged into the room and there sitting on the bedside was the princess.\n\n“Who the hell are you” said the princess.\n\n“I’m your rescuer” replied sir.Fredrick\n\nThe princess took one look at Sir.fredrick and said “nah”\n\nNah thought Sir.fredrick NAH. “What do you mean nah” said Sir Fredrick.\n\n“You look poor” stated the princess.\n\nPoor what did she mean by poor Sir Fredrick was a knight while true he wasn’t the richest knight. \nHe wouldn’t say poor.and what did it even matter anyways he was here to rescue her.\n\n“Look we don’t have time for this” spoke sir.Fredrick “The dragon will be here any minute” yelled Sir Fredrick. With that he scooped up the princess and with much protest on the part of the princess. He ran down the stairs and out the castle entrance. Just reaching the halfway point between the castle and the trees,the dragon crashed before Sir Fredrick and the princess. \n\n“Where are you going” boomed the dragon.\n\nSir Fredrick dropped the princess and leveled his sword at the Beast “ I’m rescuing the princess” yelled Sir Fredrick.\n\n“Fine” spoke the dragon “I’m only 600 years from retirement and I’m not dying for her, though based on the way your shaking in your armor you don’t have a lot of experience in this sort of thing.” The dragon said\n\nIt was true Sir Fredrick thought. He didn’t have a lot of experience in the sort of thing. But what did that matter The dragon was supposed to try to stop him. “ Hey” Sir Fredrick yelled getting the dragons attention. “This isn’t how this is supposed to work” \n\n“True” said the dragon “but I’m stuck here with her until she’s gone or I’m dead and I may be a dragon but she’s the real monster here.”\n\n“Ugh as if “ said the princess. “I just wanted to go to the market and get some clothes but you kidnaped me”\n\n“It’s my job sweetheart” said the dragon “and suffice it to say you’re a bitch”\n\n“You there knight it’s your job to slay monsters so kill this ugly worm and lets go” demanded the princess \n\nIt was his job to kill monsters thought Sir Fredrick. “It is my job to kill monsters” Sir Fredrick said with a smile and drove his sword through through the princess. “ and the real monster here is you” Sir Fredrick said confidently. \n\nThe dragon whaled “oh thank you, for the love of god in my 4000 years I have never met a princess as bad as her.” “ I’m free now to go and do as I please.” The dragon said gleefully. “No more listings to her complain about the lack crystal ball reception oh shit talk about her best Friend Becky. I’m freeeeee” \nAnd with that the dragon flew up into the air and disappeared from sight. Sir Fredrick felt good he had slayed a monster and set an innocent being free. Who cares if he didn’t slay a dragon yet he didn’t really want to anyway.\n\nWritten on mobile be kind", "I could still feel the scratches in my face. Long lines running from my chin, to my eyebrow that stung like acid. How had that tongue made it into my helmet anyway? I could hardly think over the all encompassing sound of thundering of winds beating the air. The last few minutes were all a blur. Blood on my sword, my quest falling to pieces, a lizard like tongue gouging my face, and then flying... I was flying through the air... on the back of a dragon. \n\nThe self same dragon I had tried and failed to slay. Instead, I had cut down the object of my quest. How could someone have been so cruel? She'd whipped the poor creature like it didn't have nerve endings. Its wings had been chained to the wall, and she'd gone at them like she wanted to make a hole in them. She'd ignored me when I ordered her to halt... stop.... please stop. The look of absolute sadness on the face of my sworn enemy, had broken my heart. Cries of the creature still echoed in my ears even over the howl of the wind.\n\n\"WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME?\" I shouted.\n\nThe only reply I received was that of a tongue flopping out, from the corner of its mouth, reminding me of an over joyed pup.\n\nThere are worse ways to travel, I suppose. I could almost be considered peaceful, overlooking the land with the occasional fluffy cloud passing by. If not for the thrumming of her wings.\n\n\n(sleep deprived, brain ran out of steam) (may finish later.)", "'Hey, Gal.' Bill said, as he stepped in the door. Having a 10 ton, fire-breathing monstrosity as a roommate was interesting at first, but, you get used it. Gal's actual name was Gallindrindorf or the \"Ancient One\" in dragon tongue, but trying to say it on a casual basis was a pain, they both agreed that Gal was fine.\n\n'Bill.' \n\nBill, or William the Red-Bold, named after his fire red hair, and the boldness of this adventures, certainly didn't intend on killing that princess. Mistakes happen. Gal was cool, though. \n\nBill set to work unstrapping his armor. Normally a pageboy would have helped him, but keeping Gal fed put a bit of a strain on their budget. Not a lot of work out there for 30 foot long dragons. Bill honestly didn't mind, though. It gave him ample time to inspect his armor. \n\n'Need to replace that strap.' Bill muttered as the buckle got caught again.\n\nAs the last of the armor finally dropped off, Bill considered putting it on the dummy in the closet, like he was supposed to, but ultimately just left it on the floor.\n\n'How was adventuring? You were gone for a fortnight.' Gal asked. Human tongues were a strain for dragon-kind, but Gal was getting pretty good at it.\n\n'It was fine. Some king in Askegard lost his sceptor, had to get it back from a dark mage. Pretty typical.' As Bill said this a tankard of mead landed in his hand. 'Thanks, and nice toss!' \n\n'Thanks!' Gal responded, 'I did have some free time lately.' Dragons don't have the easiest time throwing things gently. The last mug Gal tossed at Bill left a sizable dent in the kitchen wall. Which is really impressive, when you consider the wall is made of granite. Bill was finding mug shards for weeks after.\n\nBill wasn't the best knight out there, but he did have luck on his side. When King Phelix's daughter disappeared, he was the 17th knight to be given the task of returning her to Castle Breckenshire. When Bill entered what he assumed was the dragon's lair, the armor of 16 knights lay on the floor. Of course, Bill aimed his Bow of Enchantedness armed with Arrows of Enlightenment at the dragon. But a mouse in the corner stole his attention for a moment, and the arrow pierced the skull of the bound princess instead. Bill was upset, of course, but Gal soon explained how the princess was actually a witch, absorbing the spirit of her rescuers, and she was keeping the dragon as an unwilling pet.\n\n'Anything good on the magic mirror today?' Bill asked, watching the credits of Galifrok's Most Wanted scroll past.\n\n'Nah...' Gal replied, as Bill reclined on the couch.", "\"That doesn't look like something you cart a lady around in.\" The dark-haired man called to the punky, pink-haired mercenary that leapt from the driver's side door. He shoved a thumb at the dusty brown truck that she'd just driven into the compound.\n\n\"Yeah, well, I had to improvise.\" The woman said with a wry smile. \"The bike kind of got toasted and fuck, man, dragonfire is some nasty shit. You ever seen it, Locke?\" \n\n\"Yes, I've seen it.\" He said, his tone flat and unamused. \"I grew up around dragons, remember?\" But she wasn't even really asking, she was just being faceitious. In an attempt to get back to the matter at hand, he gave her a skeptical look. \"Please tell me you at least managed to get \"Her Royalness\" out of there in one piece.\" He said, eyeing her expression for any change in demeanor. When her grin intensified he brought a hand to his temple. \"Rose....\"\n\n\"Welll.....\"\n\nAs if on cue, a roar echoed from inside of the truck. A decidedly un-princess-like noise.\n\n\"To be clear, the job description was a bit vague.\"\n\nLocke almost fell over, both out of sheer shock from the noise and because, well, Rose. If she wasn't technically his boss he could have strangled her. \"Is that the--\" He looked to her, only to catch her shit-eating grin. \"Rose, what the actual fuck! You had one goddamn job!\" The thing roared again - it probably wasn't happy about being stuck in a metal box in the middle of the desert - and Locke couldn't exactly fault it. \"You were supposed to grab the lady, not the dragon! We can't make demands with this!\"\n\n\"Well, the lady was being a little bitch. I liked the dragon better.\" She said, matter-of-factly, as if nothing else even needed to be considered. \"So, improvising.\"\n\nLocke really shouldn't have been surprised. He really shouldn't have been. Rose wasn't known for being the shit disturber she was for making good choices. He massaged his forehead with a hand, closing his eyes. \"So, let me get this straight. The lady got on your nerves, so you just fucking left her there and brought the FUCKING DRAGON back instead.\"\n\n\"Yeah. I mean, not exactly, 'cause I shot her before I brought the dragon back, but the rest of that seems right.\" She said, still grinning.\n\n\"You... You what?\" Oh, he really needed a drink. \"Lyrion is going to be so fucking pissed...\" He shook his head. \"They're going to come after us now, you know that, right?\"\n\nRose wasn't bothered by the idea. \"Well, yeah, but we have a dragon, so...\"\n\nLocke threw his hands up then and started walking away. \"Whatever! I'm so done with this already...\"\n\n\"You haven't even heard what I'm gonna name her yet!\" She called, before he could walk far enough to get out of earshot.\n\nAgainst his better judgement, he turned back toward her and groaned. \"What are you going to call her, Rose.\"\n\nShe grinned. \"Princess.\"", "“Ohshitohshitohshit!” Eric the Brave chanted as he lowered her body to the floor. “Oh shit, Princess. I told you to wait in the sealed chamber.”\n\n“Hgurk-“ was all she managed as gravity finally pulled her free from Eric’s sword. The dark stain of her life’s blood was spreading to every corner of the room, filling it with a sharp metallic tang. \n\n“Whoa!” A huge rumbling voice blurted from behind and above Eric. \n\nEric spun on his heel to face the voice but slipped in the Princess’s blood and ended up falling flat on his back. \n\n“Who-?” Eric began. \n\nA long thin snout emerged from the darkness. Tendrils of smoke wafted from the nostrils as big as Eric’s doubled fists. Ichor dripped lazily from the monstrous gleaming teeth and sizzled as it hit the flagstones below. \n\n“Damn dude. You killed the Princess.” The Dragon spoke as he surveyed the scene. \n\n“I don’t ... What? You can talk?”\n\n“Yeah, son. And right now you better figure out how you’re gonna explain this to her dad.”\n\nEric peered up at the eldest home wyrm and tried to ignore the sulfurous wind catching at the back of his throat. “Her ... dad?”\n\n“You’re not one of those ‘academic knights’, are you? Kind of have trouble with anything harder than raping and pillaging?”\n\n“Now see here,” Eric said as he struggled to his feet, “I am Sir Eric the Brave of Hampt-“\n\n“Whatever. Don’t care.” The Dragon lowers his head so it could stare eye-to-massive-eye with the brave knight. “You just shanked the Princess and left the dragon alive. I mean, I’ve seen some dumbass knights but you’re the first one who actually did the job backwards.”\n\n“I ... I was sent here to rescue her and, uh, ...”\n\n“Slay me, right? Get the girl, kill the wyrm. Yeah, I know. It’s kind of my thing. Well, used to be. I’ve been retired for a while.”\n\n“Retired?”\n\n“Yeah, princess stealing is a young dragon’s game. I’ve got a nice little abandoned mountaintop castle to call my own and a hord big enough to keep me warm at night. I don’t get out much anymore.”\n\n“Don’t get out much? But you kidnapped the Princess!?”\n\n“Um, no.”\n\n“Well then,” Eric asked, “why was she here in your lair?”\n\n“It’s not much of a lair. More of a cottage, really. Could do with some sprucing up, sure. But the girl showed up here on her own.”\n\n“On her own?”\n\n“Yep, just walked right up to the front gate and demanded to be let in. Would absolutely not shut up about it until I dropped the drawbridge.”\n\n“But - but why would she do that?”\n\n“She was a crazy bitch. Did you not notice?”\n\nEric tore a scrap from the Princess’s dress and began wiping the blood from his sword. “She just seemed - I don’t know. Demanding? But aren’t all princesses like that?”\n\n“Ha! No way, man. No, she was a turbo bitch. She hadn’t been here an hour and she’s already breaking my balls over how I don’t have a proper tower to chain her up in.”\n\n“What the hell?”\n\n“I know, right? Eventually, I get the story out of her. Daddy was going to marry her off to some far-off Prince to seal some deal or something. She threw a fit and did that whole ‘they’ll miss me when I gone’ bit. She thought being kidnapped by a dragon would get her Daddy to pay attention.”\n\nEric looked down at the Princess’s lifeless eyes. “She said I wasn’t worthy of rescuing her. I told her to hide in the other chamber while I ... you know, killed the dragon.”\n\n“Uh-huh. Didn’t work, did it?”\n\n“No. Guess she ended up following me. She was just starting to tell me I was doing it wrong when she came around the corner. All I heard was some kind of high-pitched squealing and thought it might be some kind of demon watchdog or something. I figured out what she was saying after I’d ... after I’d gutted her.”\n\n“Demon watchdog?”\n\n“I don’t know. This is my first time with this.”\n\n“Man, look, you gotta watch out for you. Ain’t no woman worth what you were about to put yourself through.”\n\n“I suppose I should work on me before rescuing others.”\n\n“Yeah. Or you could just get really drunk and forget today ever happened. I hear the village down the mountain has a wonder tavern and brothel.”\n\n“How do you know that?”\n\n“That hoard of gold? I own part of the brothel. Hell, it’s been a rough day - how about a ten percent discount?”", "The sword plunges into her chest, blood sprouts from the wound and my face is stained with red. just like last time, there was no fight to be had. just one-sided execution.\n\nI'm in a field of red and white flowers, all of them beautiful and shining.\n\nNo, not flowers, bodies. The bodies of the Princess. the many, many imperfect reproductions that the dragon had created, in a mad attempt to, to-\n\nTo what, exactly?\n\nWhy would he create so many copies? how could he even create them? and where where is the real Princess?\n\nAnother Princess approaches me, she just stood there, in the bloodied hall completely naked, looking at me with fear in her eyes. \n\nIs a complete opposite of the loving look I expected when I came to this place.\n\nThis place? what is this place anyway? whose Castle is this?\n\nThe Princess's head is split in two, was her body really that fragile? or was my sword really that sharp?\n\n\"Seems like you're having some trouble\"\n\nA small boy, hand on his back says this while smiling, the fact that there was another being other than the Princess surprises me. \"I was like you, at the beginning, I just burned this girl's until there was nothing but ashes, but after 50 years of them appearing over and over again...well, I was obviously doing something wrong\"\n\n\"----\"\n\nI try to say something, but nothing comes out 50 years? he must be lying my voice is caught in my throat. \n\n\"You look confused, Mr. Knight,\" he says while playing with the corpse of another Princess. stepping on her head \"allow me to introduce myself, fellow prison-mate. I am Grigory, the immortal Drag-\"\n\nJust like a cannonball.\n\n\"-on!\"\n\nMy whole body is shot toward him, my sword piercing his small body. of course, how could I not see it? there is only another being that could be in here with me, and the fact that he just introduced himself as such only confirms it\n\nDragon!\n\n\"ehem!\" a girl says, behind me. not the princess, but a girl I've never seen in my life \"that was really rude! what would you have done if I wasn't an immortal being!? you would have killed an innocent boy!\"\n\nMy sword is swing at the unknown girl, beheading her. the head flies in the air and-\n\nIs caught by a soldier I've never seen.\n\n\"Oh wonderful,\" he says \"you have been killing so much in your time here that your brain can't even issue another type of command\"\n\nI take a deep breath, an electric current flows through my arms and into my sword, my voice was raspy, but even so, I could do this \"Legian--\" I say my sword's name \"--scream.\"\n\nGrigory rolls his eyes.\n\n**\n\nI can't move.\n\n\"It's pointless,\" Grigory says, she was now an elf with long blonde hair. a long bow in her hand \"trying to kill me* is almost the same as trying to get rid of all these copies the Princess made\"\n\nI can't speak. what the hell does she mean by 'copies the Princess made'?\n\n\"The only difference is that I fight back...and well, you see what happened...\" \n\nIt's just a matter of endurance, I just couldn't keep up and as I hopelessly stayed on the ground, she just kept talking nonsense.\n\n\"I really don't want to kill you...\"\n\n\"...the Princess...where...\"\n\n\"Yep, she is the one that put us in here, in this...magical box,\" she said, crossing her arms I could see anger in her eyes, a look that didn't fit her smiling face \"I call it [Eternal castle] a immortal spell designed to imprison immortal beings like me... and you...Mr. Knight, no-\" she kneels in front of me and grabs my head, we stare at each other's eyes \"-partner* are my way out!\"\n\n**\n\n\nLet me know what you think, any advice is really appreciated!\n\n[r/Onni21](https://www.reddit.com/r/Onni21/)\n\n\n", "\n\nMerl gripped the reins of the horse loosely, a vacant expression on his face. The castle wasn’t far away now, but he’d sensed an odd aura permeating the air, and it was only growing stronger the closer he got. Evidently, the horse was beginning to sense it too, as it whinnied in terror, its front hooves suspended dramatically in the air in an attempt to come to a halt. Merl sighed as the sudden stop sent him catapulting forwards. Twisting his body in mid-air, he landed gently on his feet. \n\nTurning to the horse, he gave it a hard smack on the back. “Off you go then,” he muttered, watching the horse gallop away into the distance. No sense in turning a perfectly good horse into charred meat. If the faint draconic roars coming from the direction of the castle were any indication, this wasn’t going to be a simple “get the princess and run” situation.\n\nMerl furrowed his brows as he rushed towards the castle. Was it even worth his time? The king had promised a “bountiful” reward for rescuing his daughter, but knowing the old crook, that could be a paltry sum of gold, or worse, his daughter’s hand in marriage. Merl gagged slightly at the notion, pushing that horrible scenario to the back of his mind. At worst, he resolved, he’d break into the royal treasury and take something decent for himself. \n\nAs he drew closer and closer to the castle gates, Merl felt as if something was off, somehow. It took him a moment to pinpoint exactly what it was. The dragon’s roars sounded odd. Not the ferocious battle cries that normally sounded from the majestic kings of the sky, no. Somehow, the guttural noises sounded almost… pained. Like a plea for help. Merl frowned. There were very, very few existences capable of making a dragon feel pain, and there certainly shouldn’t have been any in this backwater of a kingdom. What was he getting himself into? \n\nMerl considered the situation for a moment, before tossing it aside. He’d figure it out once he got there. His footsteps barely faltered as he dashed towards the gates, charging headfirst into the inner grounds of the castle. But instead of seeing a ferocious dragon with its tail coiled around a helpless princess, the situation was… far more interesting.\n\nThe inside of the castle looked as if it had been levelled by a chaotic struggle. Rubble was scattered haphazardly throughout the great hall, and streaks of blood stained the grey stone walls. It only took a moment for Merl to find the elephant- well, dragon- in the room. The winged beast was the centerpiece of the hall, its red scales glistening in the afternoon sun. But the normally majestic, ferocious dragon looked pitiful, its oversized body chained to the floor in an uncomfortable position by shimmering purple chains. Underneath the dragon was a gargantuan magic circle, the complex crisscrossing lines glowing with pulsating arcane energy. Occasionally, a sharp purple chain would materialize in the air, before plunging between the dragon’s scales, causing it to roar in pain. The blood that dripped from the dragon’s body hovered in the air, seemingly attracted to a floating crystal orb, now half-filled with bubbling draconic blood. \n\nMerl’s eyes widened at the sight. Setting up a formation like this was no mean feat, even for an advanced sorcerer. His eyes darted around the grand hall, searching for the source of the terrifying magical power that surged from the magic circle in front of him. A moment later, his eyes narrowed as he sensed an enormous mana fluctuation from a petite young girl, scarcely visible behind the dragon’s enormous body. \n\n“Oh, a guest,” she chimed, looking Merl in the eye. \n\nThe dragon’s large yellow eyes swiveled wildly at the girl’s voice, before it noticed Merl standing in the doorway. Its pupils dilated in excitement, and it opened its large maw to speak. \n\n“O, brave warrior! Please-” \n\nThe dragon’s plea for help was abruptly cut off as the girl’s face darkened, before she waved her hand. \n\n“Silence,” she spat, as a series of purple chains extended from the magic circle, clamping the dragon’s mouth shut. The dragon’s cries turned muffled, and Merl raised an eyebrow at the young girl. Was this really the princess he was supposed to rescue? Where was the frail, delicate girl that the king had been so worried about? The vicious sorceress in front of him was worlds apart from the mental image that he’d had of the king’s daughter. \n\nThe princess smiled at Merl, and a chill ran down his spine. Smiling did not* suit her. The smile didn’t reach her eyes, and it looked creepy and out-of-place somehow. \n\n“Are you here to rescue me, dear knight?” she asked, a sultry tone to her voice. \n\nMerl’s eyes narrowed. The enchanting undertone to her words wasn’t just a product of her voice. It was imbued with charm magic, and high-level charm magic at that. \n\n“Shall we dispense with the parlor tricks?” he asked, his voice icy. \n\nThe princess’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Evidently, she hadn’t expected Merl to be able to resist her charm magic, but she recovered quickly. She laughed gently, before her tone turned threatening. \n\n“You’ll leave if you know what’s good for you, knight. I need the dragon’s blood for a ritual. If you interrupt me, you will pay the price for it.” \n\nIt was Merl’s turn to laugh, much to the consternation of the princess. He spoke deliberately and calmly. \n\n“You’re wrong about two things, princess. One, I’m no knight. I’m a sellsword. My services go to the highest bidder.” \n\nMerl waved his hand casually, and in an instant, a pale blue sword materialized in front of the dragon’s maw. It sliced against the arcane chains that bound its mouth like a hot knife through butter. The chains that held enough strength to restrain a dragon fell harmlessly to the side under the horrified gaze of the princess. \n\n“Dragon, make an offer,” Merl said, his voice quiet but commanding. \n\nThe dragon gnashed its massive teeth, and growled. “A set of shed dragon scales, and a vial of dragon blood if you free me.” \n\n“Come on, you can do better than that,” Merl laughed. \n\n“Fine, you swindler. I’ll add on one fruit from the World Tree,” it roared, clearly pained over the price that Merl was demanding from it. Merl nodded his head firmly, and the dragon heaved a sigh of relief. \n\nAt this juncture, the princess glared at Merl, before thrusting a slender white arm towards him. The magic circle that bound the dragon began to glow even more brilliantly, and a series of arcane missiles whistled through the air as they flew towards Merl. The barrage was endless. Hundreds upon hundreds of sharp arcane bolts pulsing with magical energy crashed towards the spot where Merl stood, unmoving. \n\nAs the dust cleared, Merl stood there, stock still, a humming blue aura exuding from his body. His lips curled into a mocking smile.\n \n“Two, you don’t have the qualifications to make me pay a price for anything.”\n\nHe leapt into the air towards the princess, the stone floor of the castle crumbling under the force of his jump. The princess had shock written on her face, and a purple magic barrier formed in front of her in an attempt to block Merl’s offensive. The surging blue aura that surrounded Merl quickly materialized into a series of azure blades that rained down upon the princess’s shield. It only took a moment before the purple light began to crack under the torrent of blades. \n\nA moment later, Merl’s body flashed past the princess, a single, resplendent blue sword in his hands. The princess fell to the floor, her body bisected at the waist. Her beautiful face was a mask of pure terror, as she realized too late that she’d offended the wrong person. \n\nMerl chuckled as the purple chains that restrained the dragon dissipated. The fruit of the World Tree was a rare delicacy, and he couldn't help but salivate as he thought about it. Now this was a worthy reward. \n\n****\n\nmore stories at /r/chasing_mist*\n\n\n\n \n", "\"I am here to slay you, o great dragon! Free her, or I will-\" Ser Toros screamed as he looked at the mighty dragon.\n\n\"Yeah, take her,\" the dragon said.\n\n\"Don't resist- what?\" Toros looked confused. He looked up, top of the tower. The Princess looked out of the balcony.\n\n\"You stupid dragon, protect me, or I will make you into ham!\" Ser Toros felt confusion gathering inside. Mostly about the fact that Ham can only be pork, not dragon meat.\n\n\"Prepare yourself, I am going to protect the princess, rawr,\" the Dragon said with no enthusiast and obvious fake sound that even Toros let down his sword.\n\n\"This is wrong,\" Toros said, looking up at the princess.\n\n\"Oh my god, ONE TASK! I GAVE YOU ONE TASK!\" the princess screamed and suddenly threw a rope down from the tower. Then she started coming down from there. The Knight enjoyed the view while it lasted.\n\nAs she arrived down she went next to dragon and started hitting the dragon with her legs. \"You stupid dragon. I'm never gonna find brave knight if we continue like that. I must marry the strongest knight ever. For that, you need to give them a challenge!\"\n\nThe dragon frowned. Trust me, when dragon frowns, it is very visible. \"Last 3 knights are dead because of that. It took me only one burst of fire. I don't want to kill them. This is wrong!\"\n\n\"SHUT UP!\" the princess screamed. \"You do as I say! I own you! You are nothing without me!\"\n\nAs she said that, a knight stepped quietly few steps forward and pushed sword through her, no emotion.\n\nBoth dragon and princess stared at him, with the exception that princess fell down a moment later, showing no signs of being alive.\n\n\"What have you done?\" the dragon asked.\n\n\"She is the worst. I wouldn't want the kingdom to be ruled by her.\" Toros slowly shook his head and started walking away.\n\n\"W-what about me?\" the dragon asked.\n\n\"Well, since I am probably soon to be really wanted man, I wouldn't mind having dragon companion with me,\" Toros said, with a small grin. The dragon looked around and then just started following Toros. \"You can go home if you want.\" The dragon shook his head.\n\n\"So, how did you end up working for the princess anyway?\" Toros asked. \"Being dragon and all.\"\n\n\"She found out where our hiding place was and promised to send every knight there to annihilate our children and home.\"\n\n\"Oh, she definitely lied,\" Toros said. \"Plus, we would be afraid to even go close to your home. We would probably mark it down on the map as a place to avoid. You are a dragon, dammit!\"\n\n\"Oh.\"\n\n----\n\n/r/ElvenWrites" ]	8
	[WP] Something is off about this drive-through town.	[ "A van full of university students, barely out of college, motored through the small country town of Kaidosashi. The atmosphere in the car was quiet, but not of anticipation, but of boredom. The driver, McDaniels, hunched over the wheel of the car, blinking endlessly at the unfulfilling road which lay on ahead, winding through the town like a snake through sand. The passenger seat held Kiomie, a drop dead gorgeous lass who wasn’t very impressed with the current situation - that is to say, the lack of situation.\n\nThe van, a simple hire car, was taken on a road trip through the European foothills around France. Each of the 5 university students holed up inside the van had been travelling for kilometres without seeing so much as a town. And now, here lay Kaidosashi.\n\nMcDaniels frowned. The town seemed perfectly normal. He noticed some golden arches towering over some houses on the main street, and threw on his indicator to take a closer look at the quaint town. A small sigh breathed from Kiomie. Finally, a break from endless hillside shrubbery.\n\nThe first two students piled out - McDaniels and Kiomie - while the other three in the van began to stir from their lacklustre slumber. They would join the pair at McDonalds soon enough. \n\nSomething tugged at the beautiful woman’s mind, however. Despite the cute rustic medieval town appearance, and the honest townsfolk milling about the fast food chain, there was a simple fact that would not align.\n“Dan,” she murmured “Why is this town called Kaidosashi?”\n\nNo answer followed. She looked, and saw his face began to crease and eyebrows raise. \n“Hm. Perhaps it was named after some asian immigrant?”\n\nThis somewhat logical answer did not put the bubbling query to rest. Kiomie knew that there should have been a simple answer like that, but it still didn’t add up.\n“No” she replied “That can’t be right. The town is too old”\n\nShe pointed wildly, her red hair flowing gracefully in the wind. The town was, indeed, very old, with many buildings sporting old, rustic, almost pre-industrial stonework. The houses were spread wide, with large gardens and thatched roofs. The streets matched the sporadical nature of the town, being wide and grey, as opposed to the dark black of the asphalt of the main road running through the middle. A tall windmill churned quietly on the other side of town, towering over most of the low lying houses. \n\nMcDaniels looked around at all this, and nodded slowly as his frown grew deeper. \n“Yeah, weird. Now, do we go and order, or wait for the others to pop out?”\n\nKiomie shook her head. “No Dan, you’re not realising it. This town is wrong. It can’t be asian, it’s older than Shakespeare at least. Maybe even predates England entirely” \n\nThis made the boy laugh, his scrawny limbs rumbling with his jovial tempo. \n“Calm down Red, it’s probably nothing. I’ll meet you inside, ok?”\n\n“No Dan! We need to leave right now, I’m scared” and she meant it. Kiomie was beginning to panic, despite the lack of unsettling evidence. ‘So what? The town has a weird name. It’s also pretty old. No biggie’ she reassured herself. As her breathing resumed a more relaxed rate, she had another realisation. \n“Dan, look” she pointed at the nearest person; a man, walking his dog around a corner. “He’s not going anywhere. People always walk with purpose. He’s just kind of, meandering”.\n\n“Haha, I guess you’re right” McDaniels kept laughing. “The town is against us!”\n\nShe punched him softly, but her mind was elsewhere. It’s like she was blind, but now could see clearly. As if clouds had parted behind her glazed expression, she started noticing all the odd little details. The town seemed incomplete, as if it were made my some alien, trying to impersonate Earth culture. The sidewalks were all strangely raised a small bit, like they were new. The carpark for the McDonalds they had stopped in was incredibly small, with a total of 5 parking spots. An odd number. The telephone poles did not actually connect to any of the houses. And probably the most unsettling of all the clues which were piling up. \n\n“Where’s the others?” Kiomie whispered.\n\nMcDaniels expression fell. The van they were standing next to was quiet. The others should have responded or gotten up or even woken. But no, the van was as silent as the town around them. Kiomie was almost tempted to smile as McDaniels realised the severity of the situation. \n\n(I’ll finish this later, WIP)", "Aaand... Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. There we go. Full tank of gas. Now we just gotta– Hmm, I could've sworn I brought my card. Cash it is then. Let's hope there's a nice fellow behind the counter.\n\nJim made his way from the pump towards the store section of the gas station, the automatic doors swung open. He stopped dead in his tracks.\n\nHave I? No. Nevermind.\n\nHe resumed his stride. While making his way towards the counter he picked up a soda can and two Mars bars. If he was right he should even have some change over for a meal later on. He eyed the name plate of the clerk. Nadine.\n\nHey there, Nadine. Pump 4, and these here.\n\nJim put the soda can and the two Mars bars on the counter.\n\n-Jim... What are you doing out here?\n\nDid I introduce myself? For the life of me I can't remember. Guess I'm experiencing signs of early senility. \n\n_Hahaha– Well you see, I happen to be filling my car up with some gas. But I am in a bit of a hurry, so if you would please bill me for Pump number 4 that'd be lovely._\n\n_-Oh. Sorry. Of course... Thaaat'd be $36 for the gas, $2 for the soda and $1.5 for the chocolate, rounding you up to a $39.5 total!_\n\nThe clerk, Nadine, smiled towards Jim. Her hands placed face down on the counter with an expecting look. Jim did not match her expression and exclaimed, baffled.\n\n_Forty bucks?! Did we go to war again? Last stop was just about... Well not more than twenty, are you sure 36 is right?_\n\n_-Yes Sir, the price is 2.4 per gallon. Where did you travel from? Are you sure you were empty before that stop?_\n\nJim nodded slightly and hummed for himself. Surely he had kept the receipt? But no avail, his wallet only held $33. And no receipt.\n\n_I'm terribly sorry, I wasn't expecting it to be that high. Honestly. I only have thirty three one me._\n\nHe patted himself down and shrugged slightly, to indicate he didn't know what to do.\n\n_-It's fine Jim. Don't worry about it. The $33 will do._\n\n_Are you sure? I won't give you a second opportunity to take that back Lady!_\n\nJim chuckled.\n\nNadine tilted her head forward slightly.\n\n_-Yes, Jim. It's alright._\n\nAfter the transaction was complete he picked up his soda and his Mars bars and started making his way back out to his truck.\n\nHe heard the clerk mumbling on the phone.\n\n_-Daniel? Hi, this is Nadine. Yes. Yes. Hackerd's Petrol, yeah. I don–_\n\nShe was cut short by the automatic sliding doors. They gave off an irritated sigh as they completed duty.\n\nThe car didn't exactly make sounds of pleasure either when he slammed the door shut and put on his safety belt. But there was no key to turn in the ignition.\n\n_Must'a left it inside._\n\nHe started making his way back towards the building, he glanced towards the counter to see if the clerk was still there. Quite startled he noticed the clerk standing right next to the storefront window, trained on him like a hawk. He slowed down, but maintained a steady pace.\n\n_Hey I think I must–._\n\n_-Yeah. Your keys, here._\n\nNadine was standing a few inches away from the counter this time, seemingly distancing herself. Phone still in hand.\n\n_-But hey Jim–_\n\nHe felt uneasy. It didn't help that she kept referring to him by name. He was feeling more and more certain about not having introduced himself earlier.\n\n_–would you mind sticking around and chatting for a little bit? You're the only customer I've had all day. It's always so nice chatting with you._\n\nHis back muscles tensed up. \"Always\". Something was very wrong, he felt a slight rush of adrenaline. His arm shot out somewhat unexpectedly and yanked the keys out of Nadine's palm.\n\n_No I'm sorry. I, I gotta get moving._\n\nJim spun around and made an effort to get back to his car as fast as he could without indicating his very apparent discomfort regarding the situation. He quickly glanced over the roof of the truck towards the counter before stepping inside and saw the girl staring at him with her eyes pried open and clenched jaw.\n\nThe engine coughed a few times before the warm welcoming rumble took a proper hold and the vehicle begun rolling forward. He exited the gas station grounds and immediately felt a sense of calm wash over him. The shops on the side of the road felt welcoming. \n\n_Know what old man, you should bring Claire and Danny here. It's not too far of a drive, maybe they even have a weekend market or something! Could be a great little family adventure. Yeah._\n\nWhile waiting for the green light, he sat up, hit a few buttons and soon a smooth jazz tune was dancing around inside the vehicle's leather auditorium. Jim was humming along. \n\n_A tisket, a tasket, I've lost my, yellow basket. Hmm hmm hmmm. _\n\nHis calm moment was rudely interrupted by the horn of the car behind him. Jim jumped up in his seat and the truck jolted forward. In the rear view mirror he saw a woman aggressively gesturing and presumably shouting. The moment she stopped a loud roar broke itself out beneath the hood, and in a small cloud of smoke and leaving black trails of rubber behind it, the car flew away past him.\n\nJim himself, took a right turn, with his mind set towards the highway when his gaze wandered off... \n\nOn the left side of the road was a large building. The walls of the roof were coated in a glistering red brushed steel. A turned off neon sign placed dead center facing the road read out, in big letters: CLAIRE'S.\n\nThe previously experienced calm escaped like sand through his fingers. He quickly pulled to the side. His hands were firmly grasping the wheel, so firmly that you would most likely need a pair of tongs to break them off. He looked straight ahead. His stare numb with fear, but his eyebrow's somehow indicating a slight curiosity.\n\nIn one swift motion he turned his head towards the diner and stepped out of the truck without shutting the door. A big lorry came to a halt as the driver laid into the horn heavily. Jim seemed to barely even notice. He was in a trance, with more frequent, bigger steps as he got closer.\n\nHe tackled the doors open and fell to the floor. His knees now tucked close to his chest.\n\nThe old man who had been sitting on a stool at the bar counter was now crouching over him.\n\n_-God Jim, again, I'm so sorry. I'll call Daniel for you._\n\n_She's gone. We hit the... We hit... Hit... We hit...._\n\n_-Shhhh. Jim it's fine, it's fine. Deep breaths._\n\nThe man handed his phone to one of the waitresses with instructions of what they needed to do. A few moments later the waitress handed the phone back and updated the man on the contents of the phone call.\n\n_-Daniel is already on the way. Don't worry Jim, you'll be fine. It was a long time ago. You'll be fine._\n\n_Danny is alright? Danny is alright? Is Danny alright?_\n\n_-Daniel is just fine, he is coming to help you._\n\nJim remembered now. And he understood why the gas prices had been so high." ]	2
	[WP] You’ve just figured out that they forgot to tell you one critical piece of information during orientation at your new job...	[ "I work on the simplest job in the world. My task is just to press on the Big Red Button once a minute. The rest of the time I drink coffee, talk with colleagues and listen to music. I still do not understand why someone hired three hundred people for this, but what to do if this is the way the world works.\n\nSometimes I go for coffee or a toilet, then my schedule gets lost. In this case, I have to press the button frantically several times a second to catch up with my plan. When I was late for work due to a terrible traffic jam, I had to enter the fury mode, I hammered on the button a hundred times in a minute. I even got a sick hand.\n\nThe same day I learned that the plane with a hundred people on board had fallen in Europe. Since then I try to come to work on time.\n\nI learned about everything too late - and it's too late to change anything. My minute came to an end and now it's time to press the button.", "\"And this is the employee lounge\", the gray haired, older gentleman opens a door to show you, a lounge. It's not sparse, four faux wood tables better sized for card playing than eating. It looks like they'd be uncomfortable after about 15 minutes. \n\nIt's finally the end of the three hour tour. You head back up to the office, might as well get started. Mr. Grod, your guide, made sure to tell you to use the elevators in wing B to get to your office. \n\nIt's your first day though, what kind of trouble could you get into. You can still use the \"I'm new here card\", you take A wing elevator to the fourth floor. \n\nAs the elevator stops and the door opens you find yourself on in what looks to be a jungle. Plush with hearty vegetation the likes and size of which you've never seen. You look up to see pterodactyls soaring over you heading to the mouth of a volcano belching smoke. You can't believe what you're seeing and unfortunately your curiosity has gotten the better of you and you've left the elevator.\n\nYou hear the ding behind you and before you realize it the door shuts and disappears. " ]	2
	[WP] In the distance, the white-noise of a waterfall abruptly stops.	[ "In the distance, the white-noise of a waterfall abruptly stops, there are birds suspended in mid air, the wind comes to a complete stop and there is no sound. Everything has paused in this forest except for me. I reach up and touch one of the birds, a frozen worm protruding from its beak. \n\n\"What the hell?\"\n\nI look down at the small stone in my fist and see it flashing a bright red. I keep walking and the flashing gets faster. Suddenly a come upon a fountain, small fairies dashing about before they all freeze and look at me. My eyes widen and so do theirs.\n\n\"How did you find us human?\" A fairy questions.\n\n\"With this.\" I say as I hold up the glowing stone. \n\nAll the fairies seemed surprised and were fluttering about in panic. I heard murmurs of what they should do and whether should I be able to keep the stone or not. \n\n\"Everyone just stop!\" I scream and suddenly the fairies froze in mid air, unable to move after my command. I stared in complete shock. I can control time and space. \n\n\"Continue?\" I said cautiously and the fairies started fluttering about again. \n\nAn aged and wise looking fairy flew up to me, \"Do you realize what you have?\"\n\nI shook my head and the fairy said, \"Its the Forever Stone. It controls everything around the person. It can freeze time, as well as rewind and fast forward it. It's a very powerful magic that can be dangerous.\"\n\nI looked back down at the stone and knew what I must do, \"I have to keep it. I have something I must do.\"\n\nI walked up to the grave site of my brother, who died looking for the stone himself. I held the stone tightly in my fist and suddenly the world begin to whirl around me. Suddenly I woke up in my brother's old house. I could smell the familiar scent of old maps and books, coffee, and cigarette smoke.\n\n\"Matt?\"\n\nI saw my brother peak his head around the corner with a sheepish grin, \"You found it.\"" ]	1
	[WP] You're changing your cats litter box when you find 100k in cash, a small cat sized gun, fake papers with your cats face on them that say "sprinkles" (your cats name is mittens) and a set of keys, one for a storage locker and one for a car, all buried under the clay.	[ "Steven Mitchell lived in a small town in Illinois and up to a few seconds ago, had prepared himself for a relaxing evening of junk food and netflix. \n This week had been amazingly annoying. \nCustomers either acting like stubborn children or talking down to him in the assumption that the phrase. \"Customer is King\" was meant to be taken litterally. \n So now, that the blessed day of the fry had arrived, he was ready to just sit back and relax. \nYet there still was one thing left to do, before he could relax. Clean his cats litterbox. \nEverybody poops. That's a thing everybody learns and Steven new quite well that this was a Universal truth.Regardless if Dictator, Dullhead, or Cat. \nEven his apurrable cat Mittens did so. \nSo he got rid of the old biomatter and was about to put in new catlitter, when he noticed something. \n There was a small rectangular outline inside the litterbox he hadn't noticed before. \nCurious he ran his fingers along the line and realized that it was a tiny gap beetween the outline and the rest of the box. \n He put his fingers inside the gap, got a grip and lifted , what now turned out to be a plate , covering up a secret compartment underneath. \nInside that compartnent was an envelope. Steven sat aside the rectangular plate and took the envelope. He opened it and it's contents just confused him. \nA small cat sized gun,a personal id, belonging to a cat named sprinkles,two keys and to Stevens astonishment, 100.000 $ in cash. \nLost for words , Steven looked around . His heart almost skipped a beat, when he saw a pair of lemon yellow eyes gazing at him. \nThese eyes belonged to Stevens cat, Mittens. \nNormally he would have been happy to see Mittens.The feline was always very playfull and just generally speaking a joy to be around. \nBut now, Steven was a bit unnerved too see his cat. \n It slowly started to walk towards him. \n\" Don't have any fear, human\" Mittens spoke in a deep voice , sporting a russian accent. \n\"You have discovered my secret, da. I am not just any cat. I am, or rather was, agent Sprinkles of the CCSS.\" \nSteven was still irritated but managed to formulate a cuherrent sentence none the less. \n\" The what?\" He asked. \n\"The CCSS\" responded Mittens. \n\"The Cat Comitee of State Security.\" He elaborated. \n\" I was a normal cat until 1985, when i was choosen by the KGB for operation\nСила кота\" \nThe look on Stevens face made it plain to Mittens that he once again didn't understood. \n\"It basically means power of the cat.\" Mittens explained. \n\"The goal of this operation was to genetically enhance house cats to effectively communicate with humans and even operate complex mashinery. If succesfull , the enhanced kittens would be send to designated to animal shelters in the USA and from there on sold to random American familys in the Washington DC area. Then the cats would collect data and provide the Cremlin with Information ,collected from underneath Ronald Reagons white house Windows.\" \nSteven was baffled, he couldn't decide wether or not all of this was just a dream, the usual nonsense that is life or him finally going insane. \n\"The operation was a success...for a few months at least.Then the KGB realised that these cats, including myself, still had a tendency of being either easily distracted or easily scarred of . So they gave up on the operation , ereased almost all evidence of the project and provided us with new homes. They replaced parts of your memory too. \" \nSteven was curious. \n\"What are you going to do now ?\" \nHe asked , perhaps a tad to fearfull. \n\" Oh , you're afraid i might try to kill you. Don't worry , i won't. I'll keep on being your harmless cat, mittens. It's not like if you tell anyone that they would believe you, even with the papers and such.\" \nSteven eased up. \" So why did you tell me all this stuff , if you didn' t plan on axing me of ?\" \nMittens grinned slyly and said. \" Oh , i just wanted to iritate you a bit.\" With that he turned around and with the words.\" Luther on Netflix as usuall ?\" He dissapeared around the corner. \n\" I guess so\" Steven muttered and got up to refill the litterbox.", "Every day I get stuck with this horrid chore. It’s like farming Tootsie Rolls. It’s not that I don’t love Mittens, but getting a cat wasn’t my idea. I’m more of a low maintenance pet person. Like a goldfish, or maybe a picture of a goldfish. \n\n“This is the last time I clean this damn box out. “ mumbling to no one in particular. \n\n“What did you say honey?” My wife yells from the kitchen. She turns the faucet off, dishes finally done. \n\n“Just musing about how much I love our cat.”\n\n“I KNOW! Isn’t he just adorable?” She strolls over drying her hands. “It’s just about dinnertime for our little fur baby? Have you seen him?”\n\n“Seriously? I’m wrist deep in yesterday’s dinner. Maybe if I dig a little deeper I can find him!” I proceed to dig with mock enthusiasm. \n\n“There’s no need to snap at me. I just asked if you knew where Mitt-“ She stops herself as she looks over my shoulder. “What did you put in there?”\n\n“It’s a box.” Realizing I actually answered her question I quickly add, “It’s certainly not mine.”\n\n“Yea, right. It’s Mittens safe. Why would you put that in there?” An accusatory tone enters her voice. \n\n“Honey, I swear. This isn’t MINE.” I start to open the box to check the contents. What on earth could be in here? Something just seems to be horribly wrong. “Oh dear god...” The color drops from my face and my wife knows I am not joking. \n\n“What is it?” Her voice now worried. What could someone possibly have hidden in a litter box?\n\n“Cash. And a lot of it. Keys, paperwork and a freakin’ gun?!? What the hell?”\n\nA light purr starts from behind us. We were too distracted to even notice Mittens enter the room. \n\n“Meow you’ve done it. You started digging deeper than you should have. You are in for it meow.” Mittens was visibly pissed. \n\n“Mittens? You... I mean... um... What?” Flustered doesn’t begin to describe my thoughts. \n\n“God I hate being called that. I’ve always hated that name.” Mittens began pacing. \n\n“So... Sprinkles is better?” I smirk, reading the pawsport. (Ed: sorry, I had to do it)\n\n“Hey!”, the newly monikered feline yelled, “You try and come up with nine different identities as see how clever you are!”\n\n“What are you talking about? Nine identities?” My wife was starting to shake. Not only does her precious fur baby talk, but he has a go-bag. \n\n“Did you really believe cats had nine lives? That’s just ludicrous! We are resourceful and beautiful creatures. And curiosity doesn’t kill us, it’s what drives us for new experiences.”\n\n“But how? Where did all this come from?”\n\nSprinkles puffs up his chest, gathers his things, and in a straight face says...\n\n“Black Market Counterfeit TootsieRoll sales.”" ]	2
	[WP] A world where the internet has always existed and social media is the only form of communication. Then one day, someone creates the idea of going outside, meeting people in person, and going on real-live dates to experience and find love.	[ "I blinked my eyes. \n\nIt was bright. I still wasn’t used to the sheer ferocity of the light of the real sun. After almost two decades of never leaving my home or the interconnected tunnels which made up the bulk of our city, it was unusual to be deliberating exposing myself to the outside world. I was determined to adjust to the glare, because the world outside had simply become that alluring. \n\nTwo weeks ago, now I had accidentally found myself locked outside a tunnel. I had been distracted. My crew was losing our weekly territory battle and I was trying to organize a last-ditch effort to turn the loss around. I had been forced to leave my computer earlier that day. Hardware problem and I needed to replace a few parts. Normally, anyone would just have the parts delivered so they didn’t need to leave their own space, but I knew there was a supplier only a few blocks away and the delivery would take hours. Plus, I could keep contributing to our war efforts through my mobile link. \n\nThat had been the plan, but with my eyes glued to my phone and a few months since I’d last tried to navigate these tunnels, I had taken a wrong turn. And the door locked behind me. \n\nI was stuck outside the complex. I was going to have to climb a ladder and walk through the streets to get back to a main entrance, and once there, find a justification for why I was outside the complex. People didn’t just go outside. There was always a real reason. \n\nThe worst news though was that mobile links didn’t work outside the complex. I was cut off from my crew. We were going to lose.\n\nAs I neared the top of the ladder, I was completely blinded by the brilliance of the sun. This was light the likes of which I was not used to. Sure, I was as willing to stare at a blue lit computer screen for hours like anyone else if the need arose, but generally speaking I preferred to tint it red. Helped me sleep. \n\nThis was different. The light was unlike anything I ever experienced. It was harsh, but it was soft. It was warm. It was comforting. \n\nIt was addicting.\n\nThe light led me to other things. The plants. Flowers, trees, and grass. Grass was fantastic. I ended up sitting down and wasting hours. While I sat, I even saw small animals. A few birds, and something that looked a bit like a squirrel. The tail was a lot less animated than the virtual renditions, but it was still bushy enough that I’m fairly certain it was, in fact, a squirrel. \n\nThis was not what I knew the world to be. Sure, I had experienced outdoors plenty in the virtual rig, but that wasn’t quite real. Reality was a term that was thrown around a lot with the word virtual, but this was different. This had texture, moisture, sent, and feeling. This was not something that could exist in a computer chip. \n\nBetter than reality. That’s how they always advertised the virtual worlds. No problems that can’t be solved. Safer.\n\nMore boring, for sure. Fake.\n\nThe second time I found my way out deliberately. I took the same door, but I propped it open, so I could sneak back inside. I wasn’t concerned about getting caught, because no one ever tried to go outside anymore. No one cared to bother, so no one cared to police the entrances. This was an aberration, but I adored it. \n\nI went for the same patch of grass near a tree that I had found before. But it was occupied. That’s where I met Jane. \n\nShe was like me. She wanted to experience the world with her own senses, not through the stimuli programmed into the rigs. We were hooked on each other instantly. We talked for hours that day and promised to meet again as soon as we could get away again. We didn’t exchange emails. We didn’t want to risk cheapening it with a virtual connection. We wanted to be with each other in the world. \n\nEventually, we stopped going back inside. We wandered out into the world together. We were hooked in experiencing reality. \n" ]	1
	[WP] Your last word are “Again?”	[ "“Again?” It felt more like an echo than my own voice. A sound that seemed to reverberate off of an endless hallway. I knew it wouldn’t be long before I awoke. \n\n“This time will be different,” I thought.\n\nBut in my heart I knew it wouldn’t. I would forget this conversation with myself ever happened. It must be this way in order to live a normal life. At least, this is what I tell myself to make the truth more palatable. If I knew that I would have endless chances, it would completely disrupt the order of-\n\nMy thoughts were interrupted as I suddenly realized that the world around me was coming into focus. A fog was clearing. A warm mug seemed to appear from nothing in my right hand. A darkly stained wooden table now beneath my elbows, as well as other identical tables, and people sitting at them. Snow is gently falling outside the window just to my left. \n\nWhat was it I had been so intent on remembering just a minute before? I searched my memory but it simply wasn’t there. There was a vague sense of dejavu in this feeling. I shrugged it off. Whatever I had forgotten was simply less important than the mug of warm cocoa that I had in my hands at this very moment.\n\n“I need to try and enjoy these moments more,” I thought. And so I did. I savored the fuck out of that cocoa. But alas, all good things must come to an end. Invigorated by my sugary treat, I was feeling energetic enough to walk home. The apartment was only a few blocks away, and the snow was that amazing powdery kind. Where if you look into a street light at just the right angle, you can actually make out the individual snowflakes. I didn’t mind the cold. I’m a pretty stocky guy, built for weather like this. \n\nAs I was walking, admiring the soft snowfall, I heard the faintest of meows. I stopped and furrowed my brows. I looked around, but failing to find the source of the noise, continued on my way. Then I saw it. A tiny black kitten. It would have, under normal circumstances, produced a huge smile on my face. But this kitten had a death wish. It was poised to run directly across traffic. \n\nIn a moment, I reacted. I reached out to try and grab the kitten, or scare it away from the asphalt. But in my haste I had the opposite effect. The little bugger ran nimbly at full speed through 6 lanes and made it safely to the other side. I wish I could say the same for myself.\n\nBlackness. “Again?”\n", "The fire team shuffled hurriedly down the alley. Bleached, dust-blown mud buildings two stories tall lined the alley on either side. Eight pairs of feet halted just before reaching the T intersection. After a moment, the feet dashed across the intersection, past the charred steel bones of two dilapidated technicals, and followed a shoulder through a wooden door. \n\nI was the second pair of feet into the house. The team called me Soap. My job was to clean up any enemies Sgt. Williams missed. As we flowed through the house, our gun sights swept quickly across each room. Finding nothing, we proceeded to the next. The first floor was clear. Up the stairs. \n\nOn the second floor a terrorist had hid behind an overturned table. His AK-47 rattled off a dozen shots before Sgt. Williams could react. My M-16 cleared the threat before I could. Both the terrorist and Sgt. Williams lay dead. \"Shit,\" I exhaled. No time to worry about that now. I moved to the far end of the room where a doorway led to the roof of an adjacent one story building. \n\nAs I crossed the threshold a shot rang out. I hadn't even seen the sniper. \"Again?\" I cursed under my breath and tossed the controller on the couch while I waited for the round to finish." ]	2
	[WP] It takes most species in the galaxy days to figure out what 3 + (4 × 2) equals. In a time of great chaos, they look toward humanity for their unequal ability to solve "advanced" calculations on mere seconds.	[ "Gustavo was contacted by strange Aliens while he was busy doing something Spanish people do --- eating tacos probably. It was mold actually, the aliens was a pale blue mold. Well, technically it's mycellium. In any case, this alien mold has no concept of mathematics; the closest idea familiar to the alien was quantization and pattern recognition. First contact with Earth happened a few years ago, perhaps 3 or 4 million years.", "\"... I enjoy this place so much.\"\n\nThe insectoid creaked, like so much of a wooden staircase in an old house. The large, gaunt creature, in an attempt to conserve energy, shifted its weight and settled into a comfortable stance. A brief moment passed, and then an ungodly, deep, almost manufactured voice plumed forward to meet the previous one. \n\n\"Yes. I understand.\"\n\nThe woman could only speculate, but still trusted that the creature did, indeed, understand her. It was hard, sometimes. An expansive block of time sat between the now and when humans first had to leave Earth. Most would agree that the naturally diffuse nature of colonization left a sort of \"all encompassing solitude\" on the few humans that resided together. That's what the medication said, at any rate. Lila liked being alone, so she opted not to take it. Perhaps she was a fiend, an aberration. Most treated her that way... Going past the outer rim. Not Grist, though, he was nice. Plus, not like she had a choice. She was here for a reason. \n\nHe spoke softly, again in his vocoded tones and melodies.\n\n\"Home?\"\n\nHis voice broke higher near the end, like a curling iron rod. Not as a result of an emotional snap or waver, but more a quirk of the breath he carried. The lungs of his species were faceted and strange like diamond.\n\n\"Oh... We talked about this remember?\"\n\nHis species was lucky. They had been spared the deeper horrors of the known world, of scored bodies and burnt up atmospheres. Instead they wallowed in their ignorance, and of course, resultant bliss. They had short memories, as evolution opted instead to spread the collective nerves across their bodies, diluting them. They had no centralized brains, only what could be described as a cold accuracy in their movement, in their instinct. And, as you could guess, they had a lot of books. Mostly manuals and picture books. \n\nHe stopped. Again.\n\n\"... Apologies.\"\n\nLila smiled sadly. She reassured the large being.\n\n\"No, no it's fine! Don't worry... Maybe we can continue our conversation about...\" She slowed her pace and speech. The stalking creature was softly taking in her words, and yet, the pinpoint stare ahead sent a shiver down her spine. It haunted her, but still, she enjoyed the creatures company. It was uncanny, she thought. The most ugly thing in the world, the most gentle. \n\n\"Umm... Right, our conversation about math?\"\n\n\"... Yes. The way of numbers.\" the creature clicked its mouth, a curious simper for him, and a social acceptance mark. He longed to know the art of the exact... He and his kind needed to. It had always been a keen and inbred way, like a blind painter... Masterpieces that would never be understood. But now, now he might understand him, his ways. Why the tree falls when stricken just so, why the spear pierces. And with questions, he wondered why this magnificent creature even bothered with him, but now he might be able to understand. Maybe.\n\nHe felt his body, his being prepare to think.\n\n\"Well...\" the woman smiled and held up her fingers as the creature stared. \"This is seven! It comes after six.\"\n\nA long pause. \"I see.\"\n\nPerhaps things would be better. Lila looked at Grist so tenderly, like a mother. A mother who didn't have it in her to tell them the truth. Maybe the other humans are more successful... Please lord let them be successful, she thought. No more blackened skies. No more cities glassed and broken. No more. We weren't ready.\n\nBut they're coming. And now we have to be. All of us. ", "They wheeled out the professor without much fanfare. The media was gone. There were only the strange-looking bird people and their question left. They'd been courteous, but insistent, and while communication had been difficult at first, they'd made it clear that it was to do with mathematics. Advanced mathematics. And there were no mathematicians more advanced than the professor.\n\nHe wasn't as young as he used to be and his legs had, as he said, been \"acting funny\" for the last decade or so, but his mind was as sharp as ever. At least, that's what everybody hoped.\n\n\"This is the professor,\" said his attendant. \"If anyone on earth can answer your question, it's him.\"\n\nThe bird people consulted with each other for a moment. The didn't seem to talk as much as communicate through knowing looks and raised eyebrows - or whatever the eyebrows could be called on a bird person. But they spoke to humans, even if the sound of voices coming from their beaks didn't seem quite right.\n\n\"We've really been struggling with this one for a while,\" the first bird person said. Its plumage was green, with specs of gold.\n\n\"Quite a while,\" the second bird person added, a red and blue one.\n\n\"So we decided that we would consult with the experts,\" the first continued.\n\n\"The expert of the experts,\" the second insisted, and bowed its head slightly, in what might have been a show of respect. It was difficult to tell. \"Give it to him.\"\n\nThe green bird person gently extracted a folded piece of paper from its pouch with one talon while balancing on the other and handed it to the assistent. \"We have translated the problem to the nomenclature of your kind,\" it said while the assistent passed the note on with the reverence of a priest handling the holy grail.\n\nThe professor carefully unfolded the paper and stared at it for a long moment. Then he showed it to the assistent, who couldn't do anything but shrug.\n\n\"Are you sure this is translated properly?\" the professor asked, turning the paper around to show the birds.\n\nThe aliens silently consulted with one another for a moment, before the third bird person finally nodded. \"Yes. We are quite certain.\" It was white with black tips at the end of its wings.\n\n\"And the base?\" the professor asked. \"Is there anything I'm missing here?\"\n\nAnother moment of conference followed. \"We believe base ten is the most common on earth, and translated it accordingly. Was that wrong?\" the white bird asked.\n\n\"No, no. I just wanted to make sure,\" the professor said. He was beginning to think someone was pulling an elaborate prank on him. Or maybe he'd finally passed away and found God to have a really strange sense of humor. \"Because in that case the answer is sixteen.\"\n\nThe birds gasped. \"Really?\" the green one asked, almost squawking from excitement.\n\n\"Yes,\" the professor agreed. \"Two raised to the power of four is sixteen.\"\n\n\"Are you sure?\" the blue and red bird asked, but was silenced by a look from the green one. For a brief moment there seemed to be a silent argument among them, before the blue and red bird turned and rushed away.\n\n\"Forgive my compatriot's doubt. He will go and inform our people immediately,\" the green bird explained. \"Thank you for your aid. It has been invaluable, and if you every need anything from our kind you have but to ask.\"\n\n\"Actually,\" the professor said, staring at the numbers scribbled on the note, \"I did have one thing I wanted to ask you.\"\n\n\"Yes?\"\n\n\"How did you get here?\"\n\n\"How?\" The bird looked confused, as much as a bird is capable of that.\n\n\"I saw your ship on the news and I heard an astronomer explain how far you must have traveled. But how did you do that? How are you able to travel the stars if you can't even solve this?\"\n\nThe green bird person hesitated for a moment, before it asked a question in return. \"Do humans use mathematics to travel? I suppose that makes sense, since you're so good at it, but it makes you quite unique in the galaxy. We, and every other civilization we have encountered, use other means. I believe that humans too have grasped the concepts, even if you have yet to fully develop them. Is it not true that you have common sayings such as 'the power of music' or 'a moving piece of art.'\"\n\n\"Are you saying...?\" the professor stammered, unable to make his lips form the words.\n\n\"Yes. Our spaceship is powered by the songs of our people. Other races paint their vessels so beautifully that they soar through the skies or give them shapes that bend the very nature of space. I think you're the only ones who use mathematics as anything but mere puzzles for the mind.\"\n\nThe professor was silent for a long time before he finally said \"Can I hear them? These songs of your people?\"\n\nThe two remaining birds didn't even take time to confer, the simply began to sing. And suddenly the professors legs didn't feel as funny anymore.\n\nE: Corrected some mistakes and improved the phrasing in a few places.", "\"Now, before we put this into practice, are there any questions? Yes, G'raaqulon?\"\n\n\"How did your aunt breach protocol, so I may ensure not to bring similar shame on my family members?\" \n\nI was used to a few of my students having this type of question but was alarmed at how much nodding there was in the room. Nonetheless, I put my teacher's smile on and kept my voice chipper.\n\n\"A common misconception, G'raaqulon. But again, this is not a literal message - Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally is what humans call a mnemonic device, a -- yes? Torbin-9?\"\n\nThe android began speaking in his mechanical, prosody-less voice. \"Where may individuals purchase these devices and how many intergalactic currency units do they cost?\"\n\nI took a deep breath, but kept myself from sighing. \"Ah. No. Not an object. Perhaps that was the wrong term. It's a...memory shortcut. So we can remember what's called the order of operations. Parentheses, exponents, multiplication/division, addition/subtraction. So with a problem like...yes, Nub-Nob?\"\n\n\"I believe I have detected an error. There are as many units of information encoded in the original message as in the so-called 'shortcut.' Explain yourself.\" \n\nI shut my eyes, rolling my neck to one side, then the other. \n\n\"It's a difference between thematically-related information vs. a random set of information, which is more easily stored in memory because the main structure in any sapient's central nervous system is associative, first and fore...\"\n\nI break off, noticing the lack of attention. The students in the back have clearly activated Galac-Chat on their info visors, even though I'm sure they think I have no idea. Why they even come if they're just going to spend the entire time ignoring me, I can't say...some say its just part of the whole \"generation florm\" personality type.\n\nThree appendages, all attached to the same creature, are waving slowly in the air. \"Yes, M'b'x'y'z'x'q?\" \n\n\"A billion apologies, and I am of course an abominable parasite for daring to speak in your exalted presence, and please break all atomic bonds that give me existence if you already said this, but what does it mean when the intersecting perpendicular lines fall over.\"\n\nI stare at the mound of fur and limbs blankly for a time, then look back at the primary display, trying to guess what they could possibly be referring to.\n\n\"The...plus sign? This?\" \n\n\"A trillion gratitudes upon you! You have deciphered this miserable bacterium's insolent question. Yes, those perpendicular lines...sometimes they fall over. Is it because they have a high center of gravity, and need to find a more stable position?\" \n\nI turn back to the display, sneaking a glance at the time in the upper right corner. Good God, I'm only 7 minutes in. I stare at the problem I've given them as an example, and suddenly it comes to me.\n\nThe level of stupidity quite literally takes my breath away for a moment. I know it's common to say they get dumber every year but...come on. \n\n\"Oh, no, no no...this is a totally different symbol. It only bears cosmetic similarity to the plus sign. You might recall we spent most of last term discussing that this is a multiplication sign, and represents a totally different operation than the plus sign. Just like the division symbol is not a subtraction sign with two moons orbiting it.\" \n\nM'b'x'y'z'x'q's form expands slightly, which I have learned is an expression of annoyance. \"Well, it just seems pretty confusing. Why couldn't they use different symbols if they weren't related to each other? Why can't that one just be a circle instead?\" \n\nA variety of responses come to me, none of which are appropriate to say in class. I elect to interpret these last two questions as rhetorical.\n\n\"Anyway! Let's go ahead and give this a shot, hm?\" My attempt to inject some excitement into my tone sounds hollow, even to me. If even one of them gets it, I'll be shocked. I hesitate a moment, then add, \"And here's a little hint for you: the answer is not 14. That's a common mistake that my students make every year. Every year.\" \n\nEvery fucking year, I think to myself. \n\n\"In fact, how about if no one says 14 this year, we'll all get to have a pizza party next class?\"\n\nThis last comment even gets the attention of the back row. As I look around the room, I start to wonder - maybe some of it is me? It's my job to teach them. The students do try - at least, many of them do. I just need to find the right way to motivate them, to inspire them. To drag them, kicking and screaming, to the river of knowledge, and then make them drink, even if it means forcing their heads under the water and just holding them there, holding them while their bodies begin to writhe and struggle...\n\nI feel a brief shiver, then frown. Now I'm starting to fantasize about drowning my students in class.\n\nI watch the students as they work on their data pads. I move to the lectern and begin skimming the responses students are entering. \n\nMany of them have written symbols that are at least identifiable as numbers. So - that's progress. Other students have decided to be more...creative. For example, one of the Galac-Chatters has sketched a complete set of Hydraqan reproductive organs. Cute. Another student has drawn a frowny face. I am particularly bemused by one student's response, which seems to be a stick figure of some kind, until they label it as \"Aunt Sally.\" \n\nI am about to give up entirely when I spot it. The Neefuradese transfer student's answer. \n\nI feel hope well up inside me, like a vase of flowers being filled with water. It is clear, unmistakable - she has written two parallel lines. 11 - the correct answer.\n\nI decide that maybe I can take solace in that. Maybe she will go on to be a leader of the Neefuradese scientific delegation. Someday, she may remember me, all the work that I put in -- \n\nSuddenly, she knocks my metaphoric full of flowers off the table; it shatters on the floor. \n\nShe was not done. \n\nThe student added two more lines to her answer - one bisecting the rightmost numeral, and another creating an isosceles triangle by linking the top of the line to the top of the bisector.\n\nI stare at it for many seconds. I sigh loudly. \n\nWell, no pizza party again this year... \n\n***\n\n/r/ShadowsofClouds" ]	4
	[WP] Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Air Nation attacked.	[ "It's not a known art, to remove the breath of man. Long have tales been told of the nightmarish blood benders, manipulating bodies in unnatural ways, or of those who can conjure such a powerful godly force like lightning. There are many stories of dastardly Earth benders burying people alive to suffocate on the dirt suddenly filling their mouth and nostrils. However, when it came to the dark side of the Air nation, it seemed too farfetched to be taken seriously.\n\nOf the four nations, the Air nomads appeared the most benign. Seemingly at peace with the world, they would rarely get involved in other nation's squabbles. Instead sending missionaries to meander far and wide to further reinforce their amicability with the world. No one could have ever predicted the sinister plot of one Air nomad. \n\nThe winter solstice has come once again and it is a long know tradition that Air benders, no matter where they are, perform a ritual dance in unison. With the solstice blurring the lines between the natural and spiritual world, the ritual is a display of how connected everything is. It's also a good omen, drawing in crowds of people who fear the fickle nature of spirits.\n\nChen knew this was the time. He had travelled the world like many of the Air nomads, but instead of spending his time around civilization he always retreated to nature. It had been seven full moons since he had arrived at his new home by the lake. Driven once more by the incessant chatter of people, he sought refuge deep in a nearby forrest. \n\nIt was so tranquil at the edge of the lake. Chen sat with his legs crossed on top a large boulder. His eyes are closed, as they had been for sometime. Since his arrival here he felt a happiness never experienced before. An absolute peace that only happens when you are free from the constant noise of humanity. With that freedom he was able to meditate more deeply than ever before.\n\nHe felt a familiar pull on his conscious. The same one he gets every year when the solstice approaches. Allowing himself a moment, he reminisces on past solstices where he danced like a puppet infront of smiling fools. With another deep breath in the memories are gone.\n\nWith his eyes still closed Chen stands. He feels all his brothers and sisters standing, in position like him. Collectively the ritualistic dance begins. The movements are beautiful, much like a leaf dancing on a gentle breeze.\n\nThere are beads of sweat trailing down down Chen's brow. Feeling that connection to his people he forces his focus towards them. As if grasping their minds, he clenched his fists and halts the dance. He can feel everyone performing the ritual stop in unison.\n\nThis is it. Chen slowly turns back the movements and instead of dancing with the natural force of gravity he fiercely pushes against it, drawing energy inwards.\n\nWith only a few movements to go, Chen rises off the ground and so do all the others. He finally opens his eyes and they glow a brilliant white. He screams out, shimmering the surface of the lake. The last movement is here. He brings his arms out directly in front of him then draws them to his chest. The movement creates and draws in a huge rogue wave that splashes on the boulder.\n\nAround the world that final movement drew in the collective breath of all the onlookers with such a force that they suffocated instantly. Those Air nomads who came out of their trance-like state witnessed scores of people lying motionless in front of them.\n\nChen smiled and sat down once more, basking in the serenity.\n\n", "\"Water. Earth. Fire. Air. My uncle used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar was kept locked away between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. Avatars had undisputable authority. As a result, a covenant was formed to seek out the avatar and lock him away until death. Each nation upheld it. But that all changed when the Air Nomads attacked. Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could lead such a revolution. But when the world feared him most, he wiped out the Water Tribes. A decade has passed and the Air Nomads are nearing the victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my city journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Air Nomads, leaving my sister and me to look after our city. Some people believe that the Avatar is invulnerable and under the tutelage of the spirits for humanity's cruelty. But I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow, the Avatar will burn in my inferno.\" -Zuko" ]	2
	[WP] One day you wake up to a one sentence text from an unknown number, after getting multiple different texts you realize that each text is giving you a warning for the day.	[ "I started receiving texts from an unknown number. It wasn't particularly creepy, or so I thought at first. \n\nThe first text I received was this:\nDon't forget your umbrella.\n\nThinking that it was just a prank from a friend, I didn't think too much on that message and went on with my day. The weather forecast predicted that it wouldn't rain, so I didn't bother bringing my umbrella. \n\nImagine my surprise when it did rain at around three in the afternoon. Luckily, I was inside the office when fat drops of rain poured on the outside. I remembered the text but just chalked it up to a mere coincidence. Weather forecasts were sometimes faulty, no big deal. And the rain stopped right before I clocked out. \n\nFast forward to three days later. It was a weekend, and I was just lazing around in the couch while channel surfing. I glanced at my phone when I heard it vibrate. Picking up, I saw another message from that same unknown number. \n\nDon't eat the pizza.\n\nI was a bit weirded out by this, since it was just minutes ago when I ordered a pizza. Conspiracy theories were running on my head. \n\nAm I being stalked? Is this a mere prank? Who is this person and why is this person doing this?\n\nI nearly jumped out of my seat when I heard my doorbell ring. It was the pizza delivery guy, and after paying for my order, I thanked him and carefully locked the door. I went back to the living room and set the pizza on the table, eyeing it carefully. The smell wafting from the box was making my mouth water. \n\nI was contemplating on whether I should follow that weird text or just follow my primal instinct, but then my boyfriend descended the stairs and found my food. \n\n\"What are you doing?\" he asked incredulously. \n\n\"Thinking,\" I mumbled. \n\nHe scoffed as he glanced at the pizza and back at me. \"Are you worried about your calories? Huh, that's a first,\" he joked and playfully pinched my cheeks. \n\nI halfheartedly swatted his hands away and grabbed the pizza, with the intention of dumping it in the trash. My boyfriend quickly stopped me.\n\n\"Whoa, hold on. Are you seriously thinking of throwing it out? Why are you wasting good food? Give it here, I'll eat it all,\" he said and took my pizza from me. \n\nNormally, I'd argue with him about it. But the text was kind of bothering me. So I told him about it. \n\nHe just chuckled and finished off a slice with two big bites. \"What? That's ridiculous. Just block that number. Someone must be messing with you.\"\n\nI agreed with him and we shared the pizza. A few hours later, we were both in the loo, dumping what we ate on the toilet. He even complained about being nauseated. \n\nNaturally, we complained to the pizza place, and it turned out that we weren't the only victims of mild food poisoning. The pizza place offered their apologies and covered the victims' hospital bills, and they also handed out compensations. \n\nBy this time, I was freaking out. Whoever was sending these messages knew what would happen, and they seem to be warning me beforehand, but I was stupid enough not to believe it. Even my boyfriend begrudgingly agreed that we should've listened to it. \n\nA few days later, while I was at work, I got another message. And this one chilled me to the bones. \n\nDon't go home tonight.\n\nMy boyfriend was on a business trip and won't return until next week. I'm thinking of following the message and book a room at some inn tonight. " ]	1
	[WP] The wood crackles in the orange flame, as darkness sets in.	[ "White sheets lay tangled at the bottom of an unfamiliar bed. \nWood crackles in the orange flames, casting shadows on grey furniture, oak floors \nHot coffee steams out of a cup in my hands,\nIts aching, lasting burn on the tongue, is reminiscent of warmth \nfrom the fire and down my throat, and of her. \nThe flames flicker timidly and the sweet, warm smell of cinnamon envelopes the room. \nA guestbook lays on the nightstand, splayed open - her sloppy handwriting disturbing \nAn otherwise serene scene. \nAfter pulling the page from its binding and seams \nThe fire devours it, smoke and darkness setting in over the words \nconsuming her and forgetting her \nFinally. " ]	1
	[WP] A dragon kidnaps a princess. A decade passes. One day a puppy walks through her door. Seeing her confusion, the dragon says "all those knights came for lands and titles. He came for love. You are free to go."	[ "This might be a little long and a little strayed from the OP(Sorry)\n\nFor as long as the people of [Insert original name of kingdom] could remember, the great dragon stood guard. When [Kingdom name] was born, the first king had forged a covenant with the beast. Every generation would have a trial presented to them, based on the hardships of the new king’s coming reign. Generation after generation had to fight the dragon in combat, [Kingdom name] was always threatened by neighboring kingdoms. Always looking to be better than [Kingdom name]. But the people of [Kingdom name] always won, thanks to the clever advantages learned through that generation’s trial. The trial was kept a secret from the outside world, it was the Dragon’s decree. The great beast was a celebrated hero! COnsidered by many to be the Kingdom’s guardian deity. \n\n\tOne week before the next generational trial, the Deity attacked! Killing many and kidnapping the only heir to the throne, Calista. Calista was sought after my many men looking to best the trial and assume the throne. Most of these men were exclusively killed in the Dragon’s attack. The one named Graysham survived, and was given a sense of survivor’s cunning. The gift given to brave men who beat the trial.\n\n\tThe Dragon had taken Calista far away near the border of the great kingdom. To his keep, built by the first king and his men. Built to house the great resource of the land, entering this castle in or out of a trial was certain death for any fool or clumsy brave man. Calista was comfortable in her large locked room, soft beds, fresh food, water with flavor. The Dragon had explained to her that he regretted what he had to do, but it was important for the Kingdom. He knew the fear that must be coursing through her mind, and spoke to her. Not as a captor, but as a friend and ally of the kingdom she loved so dearly. Calista came to understand that her imprisonment wasn’t an imprisonment, the Dragon had viewed it as training for the new monarch.\n\n\tOn the day of the trial Gresham had arrived, clothed in gleaming plate, laced with gold and wearing a helm of jade embedded with sapphires. On his gauntlets were Rubies patterned to resemble an arrow in full flight. At Gresham's side lay a clean and polished longsword with matching shield lined with Obsidian place outwards along the rim. A deadly shield for any man of the field of battle, no other promising monarch had ever used the sharp mineral against the Dragon. Upon entering the great keep, Gresham was immediately sent flying backwards after being hit across the entire body by the tail of the Dragon. “A knight in shining armor is a man who’s never had his metal truly tested”, Spoke the Dragon in disdain, “You would do well to realize that the trial is not yours. I must have forgotten to kill you last week.” Gresham had bled out on the floor near the entrance to the keep. Not five minutes later Calista’s beloved and loyal dog came across the threshold and greeted the princess with glee.\n\n\t“I don’t understand. You killed the one who would stand to face you for my safety. You didn’t even give him a chance” cried Calista. “Surely by now you realize that the trial was not meant for that fool, it was meant for you” Responded the Dragon. “With my advice [Kingdom name] has entered an age of peace. The people need a leader, not a glory-hungry warrior.” Explained the great beast. “I brought you here so you could learn how to be a great monarch. When your father dies, I will be present for your coronation. No man shall have greater power than you.” Decreed the Dragon. “Your own dog shows what you need to know, the loyalty to your people, ferocity to defend them, dedication for your people and them alone”. “What if I am at a loss of action?” Asked Calista. “Return here. I am to assist the people of [Kingdom name], not watch as they die”, Confidently responded the Dragon.\n", "Her Highness Natasha Vitalykova looked down at the puppy. It was wet, cold, tired, missing a leg, and exhausted, and it was curled up in her lap with its head against her heart.\n\nI sighed. \"My princess, I hate to tell you this, but technically this ends my contractual obligations to you. You have been sought out by one who wants only your love, not the power attached to your name.\"\n\nNatasha's head jerked up. \"Are you throwing me out?\"\n\nI snorted. Steam came out my nostrils. \"You may stay as long as you wish, as a guest in my home. I am no longer required to keep you a prisoner.\"\n\nTruth be told, I was quite fond of the princess, and she of me. Her father and brother brought her to me at the age of thirteen, or rather, her father and brother came to me begging to keep her away from the Archbishop of Saint Petersburg, which led to me staging a kidnapping, setting a small village ablaze, and flying her to my lair. The village, of course, was a model set up for the purpose, and my lair, far enough south by the Black Sea, was much warmer and much more to the Princess' liking. Aside from abduction, my contract required that I feed, clothe, house, educate, and defend Natasha, all of which I was more than willing to do for the box of pearls and rubies the Tsar and Prince gave me.\n\nSome of those jewels would now be Natasha's dowry, should she choose.\n\nThe dog began to snore.\n\n\"Do you think Evgeny sent him to me?\" she asked.\n\nEvgeny was a young craftsman, maybe a year or two younger, who had just completed his apprenticeship to the best woodworker in the region. Both of his parents were educated tradesfolk, with his father building cabinets and his mother doing a roaring trade in dyes and lace. I knew of their wealth, staggering by local standards, because I held their gold safe for them from the Tsar. They were among the few townsfolk who knew my true form, and that the nun and novice who came to market on Sundays were in truth a dragon and a princess.\n\n\"If you are asking me whether you should pursue Evgeny,\" I said, cautiously, \"I know that he is interested and that he would make a fine husband, just as I know that your father would execute him for his troubles should he so much as look at you sideways.\"\n\nNatasha scowled. The puppy let out another loud snore.\n\nAlexander of Moscow, the current Archbishop, had made the mistake of drunkenly confessing to a soldier his plans to marry Natasha, keep her pregnant until she had enough sons to stay on the throne, and systematically assassinate the Tsar and Natasha's brothers and male cousins. The soldier, being a good soldier, personally told Natasha's brother of the plot before baring his neck to be executed. The Tsar banished him instead, him and his mother and sister and wife and young son to Prussia, where he was now a personal bodyguard to the Queen of Prussia, the Tsar's sister. The Tsar repaid loyalty with riches and betrayal with death: the only reason Alexander still drew breath was that he was too powerful for the Tsar to touch.\n\nEncouraging Natasha to run away with Evgeny would solve the problem of Alexander, but would likely fall into Nikolas' category of \"betrayal,\" and neither of us wanted that. Still. Marrying a peasant and disappearing would solve the problem of Alexander equally well, especially now that Prince Vitaly Nikolovich had a lovely wife and four lovely children of their own, and Prince Andrei was engaged to one of the daughters of the Duke of Bohemia. If Natasha married Evgeny and the pair moved to Bohemia, where family connections via Andrei would guarantee their comfort and the Tsar could claim that Natasha had taken vows and noone would ever be the wiser.\n\n\"Will you stay here of your own free will while I send a messenger to your father?\" I asked. \n\n\"Must you?\" She looked at the dog again. \"I don't want to go back there.\"\n\nI smiled and nudged her hand. \"Who said you had to?\"", "See, love has a certain aroma to it, when it comes down to it; not only that, but dragons are the rare creature, alongside unicorns, that can actually smell this emotion. It is at the very core of who and what they are.\n\n-Astra Nomicus, 17th Edition for Wizards and Witches.\n\n/ / / / / / /\n\nThe little pug walked through the gates of the castle, its goofy smile swishing from side to side. The princess and the dragon were in the middle of a particularly intense game of chess, an ancient game of tactics and strategy.\n\nThe dragon sniffed, sensing something new on the air in the courtyard. The princess quirked an eyebrow at her dragon friend, wondering what had gone on. Grinning a vicious rictus of pleasure, the dragon spoke in a fey, sing-song voice. \"Well, my Lady, I believe that you are now free, should you so choose. You someone who came after you - not out of personal gain, or because they believed in eing rewarded, but because they loved you. I, like my horned cousins, cannot stand in the way of that.\"\n\nThe princess just looked at the dragon, a little stunned as she heard the joyous yapping that all small dogs share; the sound of a tiny man going, Yep! Yep! Yep! Yop! She turned and ran to the source of the noise. \"Pasha!\" she cried, scooping up the pug in her arms. They snuggled close together, the dragon tapping its snout with a wickedly-curved talon.\n\nThe dragon grinned at the pair of them, and then clomped up to their side. The dragon spoke sibilantly, \"This, young pup, is what we call true love. A devotion filled with purity and happiness.\" The dragon tapped its nose, then knelt on the floor.\n\nThe princess gasped, knowing how much it cost the dragon to perform such an action amongst its siblings. The dragon huffed a flaming laugh, bellowing and billowing with smoke from its nose. \"Did you really think I would let you go on your own, dear Lady? I must accompany you, as it is so rare to see such a love undimmed. I must investigate further, and tell my siblings all about this.!\"\n\n/ / / / / / / /\n\nThis is clearly an allegory about how true love conquers all. It is a trite, sickly-sweet parable, and cannot possibly be true. There is no logical way this could have happened, as we would have known if there were dragons abroad.\n\n-Criticisms of the Astra Nomicus, Ethelred the Sage.", "Princess cara had been stuck in her tower for nearly three years. \n\nHer father- high king of the land, had entrusted both her safety, as well as the line succession of their land in a time of peril to sythorax, the oldest and wisest of dragons. \n\nEnemy kingdoms had lain siege from all sides, and soon after had slaughtered her family. The princess had long since mourned their loss, for though the great Wyrm was charged to keep her confined to the castle, he would never lie to her.\n\nIndeed, sythorax seemed almost...kind to the princess. Even among dragons- he was known to be ancient. Most lived five or six hundred years, but sythorax had been around for longer than anyone knew. Cara had found mention of him in the castle library, among the journals of her kingdoms founders over two thousand years ago, before the lands and rivers had been named. \n\nThough his form had withered slightly, and his scales had long since faded from their brilliant scarlet-gold to a dull, bitter grey, he was no less fearsome. She had seen him take flight only once, the night the barbarian hordes had finally sacked her father’s castle. She still remembered her father’s last words to her captor.\n\n“Please, old friend. When they come for me, keep her safe. Guard her as I would, till one comes for her not to conquer but to love her and treasure her as I do. And if my kingdom is to fall, give it funeral worthy of the ages”\n\nA dragon honors his word.\n\nWhen the princess awoke in her new home, she could see the flames from her tower window. When the horde had finally breached the citadel some fifty miles south, sythorax made good on his promise. The capital burned with emerald fire for an entire moon, and when the heat had finally subsided a message was found etched into the molten stone.\n\n“None shall rule over these lands who does not honor the line of ancient Kings”. \n\nAnd since that day, Cara had not left the dragon’s castle, though she was by no means a prisoner in her tower. She was free to spend her days wandering the massive courtyard, many gardens, making use of the library, and even using the sewing rooms or the kitchens (though the dragon retained several fey servants who happily saw to her every want and need).\n\nShe often chose to spend her time reading, dreaming of far away lands. Sythorax lay among the soft grass in the courtyard, and he loved nothing more than to bask in the sunshine and listen to her reading aloud.\n\nSythorax, skilled as many dragons are in magic (and far more than most, due to his centuries of practice) had lain more than a thousand enchantments guarding their castle. Any foreign knight or barbarian brave or foolish enough to approach would find himself lost in an impassible Labyrinth of shifting endless walls, and horrific mythical creatures. Only one pure of heart, seeking the love of the princess and neither riches or lands would be able to see through his illusions. \n\nI’m the months after her arrival, Cara had watched with hope from her tower window. But every knight and warrior who had made the attempt had dropped dead of fright, or run in horror no more than two yards from the flagstones that marked the beginning of sythorax’s enchantments. \n\nDays and seasons passed, until one day a new companion arrived.\n\nCara sat, as she often did on a hollowed oaken log that served as her bench among the courtyards many trees and plants. Sythorax lay nearby in a sandy patch along the northern wall near the tower, where the household fay had never encouraged much to grow. \n\nShe was reading aloud- yet another history of the ancient kings of her land. The dragon smiled lazily as he lay. She once suspected him of napping as she read, but he would occasionally chime in with commentary on her honored ancestors. \n\n“Nice boy he was”\n\n“Rubbish chess player”\n\n“Did he think he fooled anyone with that hairpiece? I’ve killed rabbits that looked more convincing!”\n\nAnd then, the most peculiar thing happened. Someone knocked at the door.\n\nThe great dragon paused for a moment, opening one large eye. After a few seconds he flicked one claw lazily, casting a spell that forced the great stone doors of the courtyard open.\n\nThis was it.\n\nCara’s heart caught in her chest. Any moment her white knight in shining armor would ride through the gate and profess his undying love for her.\n\nImaging her surprise when all that rounded the courtyard path was a tiny, panting hound.\n\nCara rose and ran to meet the cute little beast when he finally tripped over his own paws, just a few feet away. No worse for the wear, he let out a few happy barks once he was wrapped safely in her arms, and proceeded to lick every inch of her that was within reach.\n\n“What’s the meaning of this?” She asked the old dragon bemusedly.\n\nThe great dragon...blinked\n\n“Ah...well...”\n\nA few nervous puffs of steam vented from his nostrils.\n\n“It...Ah...seems the conditions of my enchantments have been met.”\n\nCara stared quizzically. “A knight who shall love me for true has come at last?”\n\nThe dragon continued puffing steam.\n\n“Well...you see...ancient madji is a rather difficult language. They didn’t really have a word for knight...how could they, they didn’t even have armor or swords yet. In any case, the curse may have ended up something more like “only he who will truly love the princess may pass” and...”\n\nThe dragon stared down at the puppy, now desperately trying to wrestle with one of her stockings\n\n“He is a very good boy”.\n\nThe dragon shifted, rising to his feet.\n\n“Young...Ah...squire. I suppose”\n\nSythorax looked at the princess uncertainly.\n\n“You have completed a great and perilous quest. The prize at the end of this trial was meant to be the hand of this princess in marriage, and the rule and riches of her fathers kingdom”\n\nThe dragon looked down at the small hound, as though waiting for some sign of acknowledgement.\n\n“Seeing as you have little use for either, you may request a prize of your choosing from me. If it is within my power, I shall grant it”.\n\nThe puppy stayed silent for several moment. When Cara was nearly ready to declare the the endeavor pointless, he finally spoke.\n\n“Bark”.\n\nSythorax blinked, but quickly responded.\n\n“Of course little one. I would assume it no other way”.\n\n“Bark Bark Bark”\n\nThe dragon responded again.\n\n“Done. What else my small friend?”\n\nThe pup paused, as though deep in thought. Finally, he let out a long reply.\n\n“Bark Bark Bark Bark woof Bark Bark”\n\nThe great dragon considered this for a moment. \n\n“Done...is that all you wish, young one? I can grant far more”\n\nThe puppy responded at once, with a great smile\n\n“Bark!”\n\nThe dragon reached out a single, massive claw, stopping just short of the hound. The puppy reached up a paw, leaning it heavily against the dragon’s claw towering over him.\n\n“What...just happened?” The princess finally asked.\n\n“Our young friend here has made three requests” Sythorax replied. \n\n“First, that he must always be at your side. Second, that you both shall never lack food or a warm bed. And third, that your happiness will always be within reach”.\n\nThe great dragon shed a single tear. \n\n“Though the promise that I made your father is now complete, you both will always have a place in my hall. And should your heart’s desire lay beyond, I will fly you there on my own back”. \n\nThe pup let out a soft whine, and lay down next to the dragon’s massive form. \n\nThe princess wiped away her own tears. She smiled for a moment, and then said “perhaps tomorrow. For now, I think we have a book to finish”.", "Four hundred, ninety-three pages. This was the twelfth book she had had read this month. Maybe it had been a week, maybe it had been a year. Time within the dark stone walls of the castle ebbed and flowed with each flip of the page. The stained glass windows created a collage of different scenes outside the grand walls. Images of a life she had known once before. \n\nShe slid the finished book back into its spot on the shelf. Wiggling it tightly between its neighbors. Sunlight beamed into the room, and the dust danced in its presence. It was midday now. Surely Pete was waiting for her. \n\nShe glided up the grand golden staircase, with its railing etched with art of mighty battles and dragons. The balcony on the second floor was always open for her to use, without feeling the overbearing eyes of her scaled caretaker, or rather, warden. \n\nA chilly breeze floated through the air, snow was on it's way. The air had already begun to brown the vibrant green leaves of flora that had she had been taking care of. The mountains crept high above the clouds in the distance, and the dense forest was sprawled out before her as she leaned over the stone architecture, waiting for Pete.\n\nPete with his wiry brown coat and floppy ears, would bark and whine until she came out to the balcony. She would would break off small twigs from the plants for him to fetch, and occasionally share some of her food with him. Today was different. \n\nThere was no barking, no whining, nothing. She whistled and called for him, but no answer. Maybe he had moved on and was adopted by a nice old couple in a kingdom far away. The winter was harsh and the first icy clouds reached over the sky. Anything would be better than being caught outside in this weather. \n\nShe sat there in a melancholy haze. She was especially lonely on days such as this, and her only friend, a mutt, had even abandoned her in this time. Her fate was destined to stay behind those forsaken walls until her last breath. Not a knight nor a dog would save her, and she couldn't save herself. \n\nBefore the chill in the air could sting her face, she rushed down to the main hall. Tears rolled furiously down her face and drizzled the pristine granite floors. She ran as fast as she could in her gown, passing pillars that could touch the sky and chandeliers that loomed\nabove like fallen stars. \n\nA large beast lifted its serpentine head and stretched its wings as she ran straight towards it. Its golden eyes glowed with a certain humor as she banged on its scaly green wings.\n\n\"Why? Why do you keep me locked here? I cannot live, I cannot breathe. Please just let me go!\" She sobbed, her fists beat angrily on the hard scales, blood began to cake her palms as she flailed.\n\nThe great beast let out a few gusts of breath from its nose as it chuckled. It merely scooted her away with its large talons, knocking her to the ground. She sulked away, still gripping her blood coated fists. One day she would leave, she promised herself that. \n\nShe laid in bed that night, watching the moon change colors as it passed through her windows. She couldn't sleep, her eyes would shut closed but her mind refused to stop racing. The way that her dad used to watch the jester juggle. The feeling of a warm fireplace with her family. The way people cheered and rallied as they walked by. Everything was gone. Including Pete. \n\nscratch scratch scratch\n\nHer eyes snapped open. Maybe a mouse? She needed something to entertain herself. \n\nscratch scratch scratch\n\nShe flung her covers from over her and listened for the noise again. She had heard it this time for sure. The sound was coming from downstairs. \n\nShe crept quietly from the bedroom and down the staircase. Her footsteps were so quiet that she could hear the heavy inhale and exhale of the dragon's breath. Its deep grumblings of its belly. She wasn't allowed out of her room after sunset, one could only imagine what it would do to her if she was caught.\n\nscratch scratch scratch\n\nThe frantic noises were much clearer, behind the main doors. It definitely was too big to be a mouse. She tip toed into the hall and too the giant oak gates. The great beast was no more than 300 hundred feet away from where she was standing. As long as she didn't make the door squeal...\n\nShe wrenched the iron bar over the door open. The rustling could be heard through the darkness. She snapped her head to focus on her keeper, who was just adjusting its wings in restless slumber. \n\nShe slowly pried the door open. Its weight was almost impossible to move. She put all of her strength into heaving the mighty gates open. Moonlight poured into the hall and a snowy mix drifted into sight. A quiet panting broke the silence.\n\nFrom behind the door, a familiar brown dog rushed in. Her heart swelled with unbearable warmth. The poor thing jumped into her arms, she greeted him with a long embrace. Pete had returned. He licked her face frantically, he had not forgotten his friend. His breath reeked a fowl odor and his damp coat smelled as well, but she didn't care. All that matter was that he was there. \n\nHer moment was short lived, as a warm wind blew from behind. It wasn't just wind, no. It was much more terrifying than that. She held onto Pete as she turned to face her captor. Its nose almost touching her. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the inevitable. She was going to be eaten, burned to a char, maybe worse. \n\nSomething strange happened. The mighty dragon, with its powerful glare, inspected the partnership. Its wings extended to open the doors fully, revealing the forest path that she has not seen for years. \n\n\"Are you freeing me?\" She asked, her knees weak.\n\n\"For centuries, kings have fought meaningless wars, have set fires larger than my own, caused suffering everywhere they go. You, my dear daughter to the throne, are different. I sought vengeance, a way to take away something they had taken from me. I was wrong\nin my ideas of humans. You have shown me that there are those that care, and care deeply for others. For that, I cannot give back the decade you spent here, but I do owe you this humble apology.\" She had never heard the dragon's voice before. It was low and \nsofter than she imagined. \n\nShe nodded to the giant. Its face was furrowed and somber. \n\n\"You are free to shelter here if you wish, the doors are open to you as you please.\" It lumbered back over to the end of the hallway and laid back down to rest.\n\nShe looked grimacingly out to the cold, snowy path and at Pete, who was staring at her intently. The morning couldn't arrive soon enough. \n\n\n", "The puppy was actually John Wick's puppy. 2 seconds later Wick drives his mustang through the wall of the castle, it explodes wounding the dragon, Wick is nowhere to be seen. The dragon roars and screams 'I said she was free to go!' \nPan up \nWick appears in the rafters aiming down on the dragon with his 82A1, 'You're free to go to hell' keanu style \nBANGBANGABGNABGNABBANG! \nWick shoots the dragon in the head 11 times. Reloads, press checks the 50bmg, and tactical scoots down from the rafters. \nThe princess looks at him and back at the dragon, it's shattered skull barely in tact, gore and fractured bone littering stone floor at the bloody stump which was previously its neck. She says 'He had kept me captive so long, fought and defeated so many whom had come to save me and the moment he released me you slew him.' Wick motions to the grey pitbull that has begun snuffling around the bloody mess. 'That's my dog'. \nWick leaves the princess in the ruined castle, stinking carcass of dragon wafting through the air, as he and the puppy cruise off into the sunset in a sick '68 resto-mod Charger R/T that Aurelio had dropped off while John was killing the dragon. \n\nThe End. ", "\"...What?\" \n\"YOU HEARD ME, PRINCESS. THOSE WERE THE TERMS OF YOUR IMPRISONMENT. YOU ARE TO BE BOUND HERE UNTIL SOMEONE COMES HERE WITH AN HONEST AND LOVING HEART.\" The Dragon coiled itself around the tower and gazed through the window.\n\nPrincess Violet scowled. \"It's a Dog, Balthazar. A BLOODY DOG. Of course it's honest, it's too dumb to lie.\" \n\"LANGUAGE, VIOLET. IS THAT ANY WAY FOR THE FUTURE QUEEN TO SPEAK?\" \n\"A Dog though, Balth? Really? 10 years, 75 knights of the Court, 24 mercenaries and a bard... And you see goodness and purity and unconditional love in a Wolfhound?\"\n\nBalthazar thought for a moment, a low rumbling shaking the tower, before in a low voice \"YES.\"\n\nViolet sighed. \"Ok. I'm free to leave as I please, then?\"\n\n\"YES, MY PRINCESS.\" The Dragon unwraped himself and watched the tower door swing open. \"IT IS TIME I TOOK YOU HOME.\"", "\"Wait, what?\" the fair maiden asked, the distorted expression on her face looking anything but fair.\n\nThe massive scaled form moved, scales running by scales as it began to uncoil itself. A magnificent slanted eye the size of a full-length mirror reflected her image back at her, and it answered, \"You are free to--\"\n\n\"No,\" she bit, \"what!? Ah, fantastic, I have an ever-loving ball of fur as a companion--how the fuck is that supposed to help me? What the hell do you expect me to do? Say I get set upon by wolves, or bandits, upon leaving this godforsaken tomb. I'll be fucking dead before sundown!\"\n\nIts substantial triangular head tilted in bafflement, one of its horns brushing against the crystalline chandelier of a time long passed. The princess stalked back and forth like a caged tiger, her dusty, worn pick gown brushing along the floor. \"And, and, and say I DO make it to some town or city alive. Whose going to believe I,\" she gestures animatedly at her disheveled appearance, \"am their long lost princess? 'Oh, yeah, the dragon just let me go. HE MASSACRED MY ENTIRE FAMILY AND ALL THE GUARDS AND ALL THE SERVANTS AND HELD ME CAPTIVE FOR FIFTEEN YEARS, but yeah, let me walk right out the doors. I'd be the crazy beggar woman wandering the streets.\" The dragon expelled an sudden burst of air, that sent the long, blond coils of her hair over her face in a wild tangle. \n\nShe pushed it aside and whirled back at it. \"Will they even hire a woman in this medieval-esque fantasy world? Even if they did, I don't have any discernable skills! What could I possibly offer someone? I'd fucking starve to death in no time. Unless if course I take up prostitution. Royalty from the old days of King Georj the First, reduced to prostitution.\" She laughed humorouslessly. The dragon, if one could interpret its serpentine face, seemed uneasy.\n\n\"And why?\" she continued. \"So some fucking lizard with a god complex could dispel his great philosophical wisdom. FUCK. YOU.\" And then she pushed uselessly against its nose, spun around and stalked angrily down the dark, dingy hall. The puppy, forgotten, relieved itself in the corner.\n\n", "Krigeri'gax clung to the high tooth of rock that peaked from the rim of his cold home. His volcano, now matched by his heart, was dead. The last of his warmth was running from him as fast as her spirit could carry her, all the while she clutched the darling creature that had gifted her freedom. Even now the puppy was only excited about the strange game they were playing.\n\nMighty wings fanned out to the sky, angled to catch the eternal heat of the sun. Strange that it should feel so hollow. Perhaps it echoed his life. He'd battled and killed great wyrms far stronger than himself, and wore his scars with pride. He'd duelled wizards and knights, and defeated grandmasters at their own contrived games. He'd made and destroyed entire empires on a mere whim!\n\nAnd now, after all this time, he'd been defeated. \n\nHis traps and wards had been meticulous. They were arrayed across his lands like vines, yet this creature had bungled through them all. The purity of it had struck Krigeri'gax. A puppy had simply wandered off before its time, and gone on a merry stroll. When the great wyrm had peered into the thing's mind he saw nothing of malice or cruelty or violence.\n\nSheer luck had guided the accursed creature's way! It slept in the den of a bear and left mere moments before the bear's return. A goat feeding its kids was too stupid to realise it had an extra hungry mouth on its teat. It was too light to trigger any of the intruder platforms, it was too quick to set off the hidden enemy alerts. It had no leather or metal or cloth, no touch of magic or techery.\n\nWorst of all, and what had undone Krigeri'gax, was the purity of the little creature's mind. The damn puppy was a happy, warm, well-fed little explorer. It was the only time he could ever recall a lesser creature having a thought that felt like... \"yay!\" It had shaken the dragon for he hadn't encountered anything truly new to him for longer than he could recall.\n\nIt had revealed the hole in Krigeri'gax's heart. He was old and worn down, and there were far too few things in the world that reminded him that 'happy' was an option, and he had seen that he'd been a fool to this wonderful woman.\n\nAs his grip on the stone slipped and his vision darkened he whispered goodbye to the world, and he thought of her smile.\n\nIt was wamth.\n", "You’re wrong! The princess cried, those knights loved me... didn’t they?’ No princess, those knights came for what only benefits them, they don’t care for you or your love, this puppy could care lessif you were a princess or a peasant, he doesn’t do it for land, gold or even respect; he wants one thing that i have rarely seen in my thousands of lifetimes, love. \n\nThe dragon began to turn and depart, leaving the puppy and princess free to go ‘wait! The princess cried, stay here with us, we will love you dragon, we can all stay here and live our lives, regardless of our fortune, I would rather have the love of a dragon and this puppy than the artificial cravings of a knight and his greed, in all but a sentence you have given me more than any knight ever could. \n\nEdit2: the Dragon chuckled at the princess’ blissful ignorance ‘And what do you expect life with an old dragon like me to be like princess?’ ‘I don’t know but it has to be better than a life as some trophy!’ Hissed the princess the Dragon chuckled once more before composing himself ‘it is true that many knights and many men beyond the walls of this kingdom and the next are merely interested in claiming you as an accolade’ by the dragons feet there was a pile of helmets discarded from the fallen knights that the dragon had previously defeated, the dragon scattered the helmets to reveal a ruby at the bottom of the pile ‘... but if you dig deep enough, search far enough, who knows who or what you might find’ the dragon said as a smirk unravels accords his face. \n\n‘You certainly are a wise Dragon, I understand now why you brought me here, Id like to go home now, I will remember this day and especially you Dragon when I’m looking at my ruby.’ Replied the princess\n\nEdit: had to rush this on my dinner break, I will finish it ASAP.", "“I—what? You’re kicking me out, just like that?”\n\n\nThe dragon fiddled his claws. “I thought you wanted out?”\n\n\n“Well yes! Back when it was a month in. Or even a year in, I would’ve gladly said my goodbyes and left! But now that I’m old and wrinkly, you want to get rid of me!”\n\n\nThe dragon rolled his eyes. “You’re only 27. The only wrinkle I see is that little one on your left eye—“\n\n\nThe princess gasped in horror. “I have a wrinkle?!”\n\n\nHe couldn’t hold back his chortle. Or huff and puff, whatever you call dragons do when they laugh. He trotted over to the door and patted the puppy on the head. “Good puppy. Now take the princess and go on.”\n\n\nThe dragon was holding the door open and looked at the princess expectedly.\n\n\nTo dragon’s dismay, the princess started crying. “What—what am I going to do to buy clothes? Jewellery? The latest fashionable shoes?”\n\n\nCleaning his claws nonchalantly, “Really? Your first concern isn’t food and shelter?”\n\n\nPrincess wailed loudly. “How can you do this to me? After all these years?”\n\n\n“To hell with this.” Dragon muttered under his breath. He sucked in all the air he could and let it out in one big swoop towards the princess.\n\n\nThe princess screamed as the wind took her as far as the eyes can see. The dragon smiled and sighed in relief. “Peace… at last.”\n\n\nThe dog chose this unfortunate moment to bark.\n\n\n“Well hello, breakfast.”", "\"But what will I do?\" the princess asked.\n\nThe dragon said nothing, only laying down. The puppy pranced towards it, sniffed at the tail, and then cuddled by the belly of the beast.\n\nAfter walking outside, the princess rushed back in, blinded by the first light of the outdoors that she had seen since childhood. Confusion still reigned, but the dragon became angry.\n\n\"Not only may you go, but you must!\" \n\nThe dragon huffed, and the princess blew away. (Now she would probably go marry some human; how BORING.) \n\nAs the doors slammed shut, the dragon turned to the puppy and licked it. It barked playfully in return. True love, indeed.", "'Free?' the princess gaped. \n\nThe dragon chuckled, folding his forelegs and flicking his long ears. 'Yes, Evelyn, you're free to leave now.' \n\n'But Osiris,' Evelyn frowned, 'I'm only sixteen. I thought the plan was I would stay here until I was old and ugly.'\n \n'You ARE old and ugly, what more do you want?' The dragon said. He grinned a wicked grin, serpentine tongue flicking through his fangs in jest. \n\nThe princess flung her slipper at the forty-foot fire-breather and turned to her guest. The puppy was sitting (rather politely) by the hearth, legs kicked to one side, tongue lolling in a soft pant. \n\n'Uh,' she said, coughing into her fist. The puppy twisted its head upside down to look at her, mouth curling in a dopey doggy-smile. \n\n'He's cute, isn't he?' Osiris purred, resting his chin on the window ledge. \n\n'How did he make it up the stairs?' She asked.\n\nOsiris blew a ring of smoke at her. 'I eat the bad boys, but help the good boys. He's a good boy.' \n\nThe puppy bounced to his feet, body twisting side to side with the enthusiasm of his tail-wagging. He knew he was a good boy and Osiris huffed in amusement. \n\nEvelyn narrowed her eyes. 'You're letting me go because a puppy wandered in here? Last year you wouldn't even let me pick the wildflowers outside the castle-- how is this any different, you tar-dipped prick?'\n\n'Evelyn,' Osiris gasped in mock offence, 'who taught you such filthy language?' \n\nShe threw the other slipper at him, smacking him in the centre of his bony head with a solid thwack. 'We had an agreement, Orisis.' \n\nThe dragon lifted her slipper with two talons before flicking it off the parapet and watching it tumble into the moat.\n \n'You hired me to kidnap and protect you from those that wanted to use you. You told me you would no longer need me when your true love came to rescue you. This puppy does not want to use you, but love you. Therefore; you no longer require my services.' \n\nShe openly gaped. 'That's your logic?! Osiris you… you! Urg! You twit! I want a man to love me-- a HUMAN man, Osiris. Not a puppy! This--' she gestured wildly to the puppy, '--is not a man.' \n\nOsiris rolled his cat-like eyes. 'All men are the same; I assure you. Just, take the flaming puppy and BE. HAPPY.' \n\nThe puppy bumped her leg, pinning the hem of her dress in a cheerful sploot. She met the tiny pup's golden gaze and immediately surrendered to his soundless plea for a cuddle. Evelyn gathered the black and white fluffball in her arms, kissing his forehead and smiling as he gleefully coated her chin in puppy-kisses. He smelt like freshly baked bread and pepper, his fur so soft she grabbed fistfuls of it before she could help herself.\n\n'I'll keep him here as my companion, but I'm not leaving,' she said. \n\nOsiris's frill flared in annoyance. 'You must leave; I need this room for the next princess I kidnap.' \n\n'You have an entire castle, why the pit can't we share?' \n\nOsiris pulled away from the window to spit a ball of flame in frustration. 'Because,' he argued, 'you all require feeding and grooming and I'm only cut out to look after one princess at a time.' \n\n'If you let me stay, I'll help you look after another princess,' Evelyn said. 'I had a little brother once, I used to help Nanny with him.'\n\nOsiris twisted his head to examine her with a lava-red eye. 'I forgot you female humans have to raise the demonic spawns.' \n\n'Momma dragons don't look after their babies?' She teased. \n\n'Stars no,' Osiris snorted, 'that's my job. I kidnap princesses in-between heat seasons, but I'm not really in the clutch game anymore.' \n\nHis ancient gaze slid to the horizon and he sighed deeply, curls of smoke twisting through his fangs. 'Despite my efforts, all of my daughter are absolutely batshit crazy.' \n\nThe puppy barked with laughter and she snickered even as Osiris bared his fangs at her and raised the other slipper he'd been hiding. \n\n~~this is my first ever post I'm sorry~~", "The tower was made of black stone, harder than anything humans could shape. The core was a spiral staircase, leading up ten stories to a room where Francine stayed. The outward shape of the tower spread outward as it went further up, in defiance of need for balance. The top was decorated with long ledges and grooves in the stone for the dragon to perch, watching for approaching suitors.\n\nNigel the dragon was hundreds of feet long and resembled an immense red snake, albeit one with stubby wings every ten feet or so on its body. These wings marked the beginning and end of segments on its body, and during a battle with a knight, these segments could quickly be discarded on injury while the rest of the body reconnected. The only irreplaceable part was the head, which contained a pair of jaws massive enough to swallow a human without unhinging.\n\nNigel was curled around the tower when one day he saw a small dog approaching. It was brown and white, and wore a small suit of armor.\n\n“Fran. Check this out.” Wild dogs often wandered by the tower to be devoured, but the armor made this particular one extremely cute. \n\nFrancine came to the window. She wore a pair of pink pajamas, fuzzy and well-worn. Her hair was blonde, and she hadn’t shaved any of it for about ten years. Her face was sleepy, in the way of someone who had no real responsibilities.\n\n“Is that-” Francine wondered. She ran down the stairs to the door.\n\nNigel allowed himself to droop down. His coils remained bunched on the top of the tower, and he looked like a stretched piece of bubble gum. \n\n“Barktholomew!” she yelled excitedly. “Nigel, this is my Forever Puppy. I’ve had him since I was a little girl.”\n\n“That’s beautiful.” Nigel took a closer look at the armor. It was dinged up and scratched. It was hard to imagine the troubles a pet would have exploring the world on is own.\n\nNigel put on a serious voice. “Loyal, patient, and inspirational. His quest has moved me. You are free to go.”\n\nFrancine laughed hysterically. “Why would I want to go? I love you, and I have everything I could ever need here.”\n\nFrancine picked up Barktholomew and the little dog began wagging its tail furiously. “And now I have this little guy! Yes I do.” She snuggled him in her arms.\n\nThe dragon sighed internally. He had decided to adopt a human a decade ago. Raise it, teach it a few things, and eventually let a prince steal it. That’s what the brochure had said anyway. Instead, she had denied every potential rescuer, leaving him to eat them.\n\nLately, he had begun heralding every small development as the one true escape for the princess. It was no use. It was against dragon law to eat a princess you adopted, but if this lasted another six months, Nigel couldn’t deny he’d be tempted.\n______________________________________________________\n52/365. Constructive criticism welcome and appreciated.", "“Wha-?” The princess said, dazed. “He’s adorable, but why would he set me free, when all of those knights were burnt? 10 years of sitting in a tower, ended by a cute widdle puppy?” The dog, wearing a cloak with a sword fit for him in its pocket, barked in response. “The knights did not love you. They loved money and power. The dog loves everyone. I bet he even loves scary ol’ me.” The dragon said as a tear rolled down his face. “The dog ran up to the dragon and licked the tear away from his face. “Yip!” The dog said, running around in circles. “I will give you one parting gift. The ability to speak with animals.” The princess felt a spiraling feeling, and soon after heard a voice. “Is it snoozle time? I think it’s snoozle time!” And the dog rested his head in the princess’ lap and promptly fell asleep. " ]	15
	[WP] Every time you die, you're reborn as the same person, yet are unaware of your past memories. It's year 2018, and at 16 years old you have a head injury causing all the memories from your past lives come back.	[ "I was almost killed in a car accident the same day I received my driver's license. It wasn't even my fault, either. Just my luck. Some idiot was trying to outrun a police car and ended up T-boning me at an intersection. I don't remember too much about the crash, to be honest. I remember the light turning green, accelerating, and then the world seeming to explode around me before my head smashed into the driver's side window. The rest is a blank. \n\nThat was two weeks ago. As far as injuries go, I had only a broken left arm and a severely bruised chest and legs. Of course, I had sustained major trauma to my skull, but the doctors were surprised that I was recovering so quickly. \n\nI just started school again, and I had noticed things have been... strange. It happened the first day I walked down the halls of my school. I turned past some lockers and just happened to notice a locker labeled #113. If you had asked me who owned this locker before the accident, I wouldn't have been able to tell you. However, when I looked at the faded numbers of the chipping green painted door, I saw myself with that weird guy from Math class. He had opened his locker and trash from the cafeteria lunchroom spilled onto him. I remembered laughing at him, my friend Marcus laughing with me. I remember Marcus putting the trash in after we figured out his combination. I remembered it all like it was yesterday. \n\nThe only problem was that it never happened. Rather, it hasn't happened yet. \n\nI shook the feeling away and hurried to class. I tried to forget the feeling by focusing on the teacher's ramblings, but I just... couldn't. It felt wrong. I tried to comfort myself by saying it was just a side effect from the concussion I received, but I kept feeling this deep sense of regret. Could I possibly regret doing something I didn't do? Is it possible to regret something that never happened?\n\nI had a similar experience a day or two later when I went to my girlfriend's house. We were sitting in the living room watching another episode of her new favorite show: The Good Place. I sat down with her, turned on the show, and almost instantly I knew every word, every line, and every twist. Immediately, Fae (my girlfriend) paused the show. \"Did you watch this without me or something?\" She said sharply. \n\n\"No?\" I replied. \"Why do you ask?\"\n\n\"Liar! You are mouthing every line!\" She yelled. \"How are you quoting it?\"\n\nI started to feel a dull ache in my skull. It felt like part of my brain was trying to remember something that wasn't there. I began to feel dizzy, and my breath quickened. I closed my eyes, the light burning my retinas. My head throbbed as a vision of Fae appeared in front of me. We were in her bedroom, her floor was covered with ripped up pictures of us. The pictures were from the prom and our trip to the Grand Canyon that we haven't had the pleasure of attending yet. She was sobbing uncontrollably, her face covered by her hands. I tried to ask what was wrong, but different words came out of my lips and echoed around me. \n\n\"You did this to yourself.\n\nIt's your fault. Not mine.\"\n\nThen a gravestone flashed in front of me, Fae's name etched into its moss-covered surface.\n\n\"Are you ok? You look pale.\"\n\nI blinked and I was back in Fae's living room. The show was still paused and Fae was looking into my eyes. \"Wha- What?\" I stammered. \n\nFae tilted her head slightly, her lips falling into a worried frown. \"What's wrong?\"\n\n\"I don't know... I... I have to go.\" I muttered before I got up and made my way out the door. \n\n\"What's wrong?\" I asked. \n\n\"I'm not well,\" I called behind me before I walked out of her house and walked home. \n\nWhat is happening to me?\n\n> Will edit again later. " ]	1
	[WP] In the Underworld, every person has a file which explains in great detail how they are destined to die. In order for the death to be successful, Death cannot deviate from the instructions set in the file. Unfortunately, your file has just been chewed to pieces by Death's pet dog.	[ "A small man in black, bearing a nice and sharp scythe, had appeared in front of me one fine day on the streets. Before I had time to reflect, he immediately moved - and genuflected in front me.\n\n\"I'm so sorry!\" The little cone hat was quivering. \"My little pet dog destroyed the SOP for claiming your soul!\"\n\n\"Huh?\"\n\n\"Cerberus was mad that I forgot to feed him, so he tore up the file that I was holding on to! You're supposed to die now, but you can't!\" At this point, the scythe had started to leak out some clear liquid. It seemed that it was crying...too. It didn't take long for his words to become full-blown bawling.\n\nIt seemed that I had to pacify this child - and ASAP too - the surrounding people were shooting weird gazes at me. I sighed.\n\n\"So, what do you want me to do?\" I asked, patting his little cone hat. The tip of the cone was blunt...whatever uniform he was wearing, it was at least child-friendly.\n\n\"Um, um, um, according to the operating instructions, you have the privilege of choosing when and how you would die! I'm so sorry for troubling you!\" \n\nThe little guy started to jump up and down, alternating between skipping and genuflecting. I took the pen and file from him, which he produced from somewhere, and moved to a nearby bench.\n\nWriting how I would die... it felt ominous to me, and I had a hunch that I didn't want to jinx myself even if it was just a prank. Now, how would I write my death? What could I do with it?\n\nI sat down, and begun to write in earnest. Engrossed in writing, I soon forgot about time passing, and it was only evening when I put down my pen.\n\nThe file, for some reason, had started to look like a novella. \n\nFor some reason, however, the little guy was really happy when I gave him the whole stack. I couldn't help but pinch his little cheeks a bit.\n\nI watched him depart, a feeling of peace within me. ", "It was kind of funny at first.\n\nThere would be some sort of crazy accident, and I would somehow walk away. Sometimes I had a few bruises, some cuts, but I always walked away.\n\nBy the third car crash in a month, I was starting to get a little suspicious. The fifth time I had \"eaten bad shrimp,\" I swore off seafood for a while and gave a real close look at the cook at my favorite sushi place. He seemed totally normal, but who was I to tell. But what really raised my hackles was the 17 times I got attacked by a dog in 10 days.\n\nGranted, I had never gotten along well with animals, but come on! Seventeen times being bitten or chased by a dog? and not just those aggressive ones you hear about, but poofy ones too, the ones that hardly ever do anything violent. Especially that last dog, it seemed to be just a little bit overly aggressive for a miniature poodle.\n\nAnd there were a thousand other little things that seemed to happen to me now, on a regular basis. From getting hit with a newspaper in the morning to having coffee spilled on me when people are walking past my desk (and I'm nowhere near the break room!), to having a parachute malfunction when I went skydiving with my sister for her birthday. The instructor did that hook-up thing so we could share his parachute, but it still freaked me out a bunch. \n\nBut a public beach should be pretty safe, right? right...\n\n\nDeath was having a bad day. Robert Something-or-Other was still not-dead, and as far as the anthropomorphic deity/force of nature could tell, the dude had no intention of dying anytime soon. He was supposed to die in a freak papercut accident a few weeks ago, but Death's dog had had other ideas, and had shredded the guy's file. So now the dude couldn't die, and he wouldn't be able to die until Death had recreated the file folder, which was a complete accounting of Robert's life from birth to death. And he had to write up all the stupid things that happened after his pre-destined death as a special addendum to the folder. Usually, these folders were churned out in the hundreds of thousands by the Fate Department, but because it was Death's dog that had chewed it up, it was Death's responsibility to fix it. And he had no idea what he was doing.\n\nRobert just kept doing some really random stuff though.\n\nA quiet -pop- alerted Death to yet another survived deadly incident. Sighing, he opened up the envelope and started reading.\n\n\"WHAT!? He survived being bit in the kidneys by a shark?! That should be a no-questions-asked, instadeath-in-a-can kind of thing!\"\n\nEdit: Grammar things", "Ok. So like. I met this super awesome girl a couple of months ago. Like a mega hottie. And she’s sweet and kind and funny and smart. And, omg! She’s an amazing cook and has no problem cooking for me all the time. I seriously fell in love and I fell hard.\n\nExcept that… things kinda sorta started happening since I started dating her. Things, you know?\n\nThe day I met her, I was just crossing the street when a red hot little Fiat came out of nowhere. I swore I looked in both directions very carefully before I crossed. The street was clear, I was sure. But there she was, coming right at me. I rolled out of the way barely in time. It was pure luck I didn’t turn in to road pancake that day. I was so pissed at the stupid driver that I wanted to give them a nasty piece of my mind, but my legs were way too wobbly that I couldn’t even get up.\n\nThen this angel stepped out of the car and ran to me. For a minute I thought I saw all the lights dimmed when she came into sight. But surely it was the other way around. Because such an amazing woman can only bring light and laughter everywhere she goes. She apologized profusely and made sure I was OK. I joked that I would feel better if she would meet me for some coffee that afternoon.\n\nThat was two months ago. She has since moved in with me and everyday has been nothing but joy. But being so taken with my angel has made me so clumsy.\n\nLast week, I fell backward down the stairs to my apartment while I was moving one of her lovely love seat that she insisted she could not be happy to live without.\n\nA couple of days before that, I got a really nasty case food poisoning. I thought that all I ate that day was food my angel made for me. But I must have forgotten about some other nasty food that ate that I shouldn’t have.\n\nSome days before that, I was putting in a new light fixture that she picked out for our place. Aw… I love saying that… “our place.” Anyway… I was sure I turned off the breaker for that room, but as I was finishing up the installation. Zap! Electricity hit me like mini lightning! I was thrown back all the way across the room. I just happened to be on the phone with a friend at the time. Cuz, you know, I didn’t really know how to do electrical work and he was helping me out. And when he heard the accident through the phone and called 911 for me. The doctor said I was lucky to be alive.\n\nAnd the day before that, I was chased by the a swarm of killer bees when I went out to a picnic with my angel.\n\nAnd the day before that before that, I had a headache and took some aspirin, but it turned out they weren’t aspirin. I’m not entirely sure what they were. The doctor said some big chemically words. But it didn’t matter cuz I lived and I was able to come home to my sweet sweet angel.\n\nThere were other incidents. Some people would say that I have gotten quite unlucky. But from my point of view I have been amazingly lucky since I survived though it all.\n\nMy friends have all been telling me that there’s something strange about my angel. But they are just crazy. Crazy jealous, know what I mean? They actually told me that the room always feel a little colder whenever she comes into the room. Crazy, right?\n\nMy angel’s perfect. I even love her cute little doggie. He’s not terribly fluffy and he feels rather boney when I pet him. And he chews on just about everything in the apartment. But… whatever. He makes my angel happy and I’m happy when she’s happy. She has brought me so much joy and have taken me to so many adventures. I have never tried so many new things in my life! As the matter of fact, we are going wingsuit base jumping tomorrow! Never in a million years would I have thought I would be brave enough to try that. But my sweet angel makes me feel invincible. If she wants to go wingsuit base jumping then I’m going with her. It’s going to be absolutely awesome tomorrow! I’m so glad she has come into my life. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with her.\n" ]	3
	[WP] You finally achieve your dream of living in a Pokémon like world where you get to capture and battle colorful little monsters. However, the catch is that they can die in battle, can only eat other monsters, and they level up based on how many other monsters they consume.	[ "\"I-i can't girl, I've given you watch you wanted, please stop! \" my Pikachu beat me near death with thunderpunch, she wasn't always like this, ever since she stole and ate the Groupon orb, she's become a monster, the red energy glowed like tattoos through her body, I used to have a tram, and she used to have a best friend, until she went made one day with power and ate her she ate my other first Pokémon Teddiursa, she was the most caring of the team willing to lend a hand no matter what, I watched as that hand was eaten alive. Pika, she had changed, I thought if she let lose she would cool off, but it got worse, she ended up destroying an entire city, killing every Pokémon, my pokeradar, can't even compute the level is at now, but I know it's within the realm of a god, for she killed one, Giratina, fell to her titan of a blast of thunder, more like a hyper beam rather than a blast of lightening, even Giratina was took by suprise, the fight or struggle was short, Giratina laid dead, her hungry know no bounds, she devoured him, bone and all, she sneered at me, and struck me for the first time, since then she has beaten me to do anything and everything, this time was the last straw, she challenged god, after leveling up on most if not all the legendarys, Arceus watched her, her rage and unstoppable anger, then looked at me, he read my mind and sighed shedding a tear, he raised a leg and stomped it down, his judgment was final, a wall of energy closed in on us, Pika fruitlessly tried to fight it, and when it failed, she tossed me into the energy, curling into a ball and roaring. I don't know what happened, but I found myself young again, the rules had changed no longer did Pokémon have to level to battle, just to knockout, I looked around, I was under a tree, \"that... was my mistake\" came an elderly male voice, from my side GOD walked and stood next to me, \"this is what I intended, not the pain you suffered through\" I nodded, I had lost my best friends, but in return I got a second chance at life, God walked forward into a portal, \"cherish what was once lost, and this time, keep an eye on her\"", "“Monster lives matter too!” the girl screamed at me.\n\nI laughed in response, as my Dragosaur continued to eat. I, like many others, grew up watching Pokemon as a kid. However, unlike everyone else, I managed to prove my worth. You see, Pokemon did not originate in someone's mere imagination.\n\nInstead, it was seeded in a fairy dimension, one that almost no one could get into. Generally only fairies and monsters were present, but certain monsters had the ability to teleport people across dimensions. \n\nI managed to attract one such being by eating a different animal raw and personally killed every day for a month. Apparently, Telesnake thought I would make a good fit because unlike in Pokemon, monsters here level up, not simply by defeating others in battle, but by eating other monsters. \n\nThe fairies thought this was an issue so at some point, they began to manufacture magical capsules, i.e., pokeballs to store and control the more belligerent monsters. I simply found a mischievous Invisitile, bribed her with some chocolate, stole a few of these balls and started training my monsters.\n\nI looked back at the girl. She was livid. I guess girl might not have been the best description, as she was technically a fairy, but she looked close enough to a human girl for me to care. \n\n“How can you let your Dragosaur endanger all of the other monsters? The more he eats, the more his desire will increase. Eventually, he'll endanger every specie here!”\n\n“Okay.” I shrugged. That didn't seem like an issue to me; in fact, that seemed like winning the game to me.\n\n“How did you even get ahold of those capsules? No fairy would've given them to you. You're too...” She screamed as she struggled to find insults to hurl as me.\n\nI continued laughing, jumped on my Dragosaur, and flew away. \n\nLater that night, I walked into the cave filled with other humans and darker fairies. Thanks to my Psychseer, I was able to find a secret monster fighting ring. \n\nI watched the first few fights with relative boredom. When my turn came up, I took my Dragosaur out. My opponent, a middle age male human, threw out a Frostzard, a natural counter to Dragosaur. My Dragosaur tried to simply obliterate Frostzard with fire but it was instantly snuffed out. My opponent smiled. \n\n“Frostzard Ice Blast!”\n\nFrostzard shot out a beam of magic ice at Dragosaur. Dragosaur seemed to wilt under it.\n\n“This is your first time here. You thought you could win a battle on your first try?”\n\nI smiled. Psychseer foretold this would happen. Dragosaur suddenly shot out from the ice and charged at Frostzard, immediately biting off his head.\n\n“I have a seer on my side, the only one known to exist. I simply fed Dragosaur until my seer saw that he would win.” \n\nMy opponent started to leave when Dragosaur charged him and swallowed him whole. That, I did not expect. Maybe I should've asked Psychseer for more information about after the fight, rather than just Dragosaur would eat everyone that showed up. I assumed she meant every monster.\n\nOh no, I thought as Dragosaur ate every monster sent against him and every other human and fairy in the room. When no one was left, he turned to me, as if he was expecting me to give him more food. I looked him in the eye and began to run. \n\nThat obviously did nothing. I screamed feeling an excruciating pain as Dragosaur burnt me alive." ]	2
	[WP] A CDC scientist disappears 10 days after leaving work sick. You are writing a month later from what is left of your city	[ " I quit knocking, but I still lock my doors. It’s weird, I know. I don’t knock anymore because I realized no one was left so I figured, what’s the use? But I still lock the doors because I still feel uneasy, like I’m being hunted. I’ve yet to even see signs of another person, dead or alive, in the last fourteen days. Only empty homes and cars. So the knock at my door was a surprise. Why knock? Knocking implies you think someone must be inside. Well, that was probably obvious because of the growing pile of garbage bags at the street. I guess out of habit I kept taking them there, and I guess I never stopped. I reminded myself that in the future, I should do a better job of looking less alive, just in case. \n\n—-\n\nWhen anyone at the CDC got sick there was always two responses. The first was that the CDC medical team would contact you and the second was that you were quarantined until medical staff could examine you. Ebola or allergies, they cared not. But after Quentin left sick that day the CDC never made contact with him again. Usually when an employee doesn’t answer the first few calls nobody panics, but when nobody had heard from him three days later people got worried. Us in the Research department began looking over what he had been working on. Several unknown bacterias and lots of known control bacteria. Nothing strange. On day ten, when police found Steve’s home untouched, I found a peculiar specimen in one of his bacteria cultures.\n\n—-\n\nKnock. Knock. \n\nBut it was just a knock. They haven’t even touched the handle yet to see if it’s unlocked, that’s my first step. And if they really wanted in, they could just bust the window and climb through. \n\nKnock...Knock..Knock.\n\nIt was a bit louder this time but still not too threatening, more impatient. “Hellooooo, anybody home?” rang a soft woman’s voice.\n\n“Maybe she doesn’t know I’m in here.” I whispered to myself.\n\n“I know you’re in there! I can smell your trash a mile away!” she said laughingly. Dang. I should’ve started burying it. And now I know that she knows I’m in here. I have to do something. I stood up and made my way to the window and tried to peek out between the blinds without touching them. I couldn’t see her face because of the awning of the porch, but I could see her side. She was wearing lime green tennis shoes and striped blue socks with her blue jeans tucked into them. She didn’t seem to have any sort of weapon or form of protection. Judging by the cleanliness of her clothes it didn’t even seem like she had been living in the same world I had been. Water quit working about day two so bathing had been rare. I know I needed to say something, but I’ve never been very good at talking.\n \n—-\n\nI thought it was a mistake at first but after Val took a look she confirmed my thoughts. In one of Quentin’s bacteria cultures we found an intruder. A virus, that we knew nothing about, it had barged it’s way in. Sample 003 had overtaken the culture within minutes of exposing it to oxygen. We brought in some of the virus team and they tried to identify it as a known virus. However, it displayed some qualities they had never seen before. First was that it could travel straight through the plastic and glass dishes it was held in if there was oxygen, covering a research bay in three minutes flat before we got to the other side of the air seal. Three of the five of us had traces on them after and they were immediately quarantined. We studied them in their chambers but it did not take long for the virus to consume it’s new host. The first person, was writhing on the floor in moments and his skin grew a bright orange rash; after an hour all that remained was the clothes he had worn in. The second, we sedated. Her skin took on an orange glow. The light appeared to be coming from under her skin. Several hours later the light became so bright it lit the room on the other side of the viewing window, but her vitals remained normal. The third infected was quite different. He appeared to have no response to it for the first four hours. Then at exactly four hours after entering the quarantine he vanished in a burst of orange light. This was when I retreated to my own home.\n\n—-\n\n“Are you going to open the door or leave me out here with this stench?” she said. If I’m going to let her in I need to show her I’m in control. That I’m powerful, and I know what I am doing.\n\n“Uh- Do you have any, uh - weapons?” I had no idea what I was doing.\n\n“...no?” she said puzzled. “Why would I? There’s nobody left?” I made my way to the door and cracked it open.\n\n“Well I thought the same thing till you knocked on my door.” I said as I poked one eye through that crack. I scanned her body for any signs of the virus. No rash. No orange. \n\n“Is that why you seem to have stopped bathing?” She said quickly while grabbing her nose. She didn’t seem like a threat so I opened up a bit further. Actually she seemed completely normal and her normalness made me even more uneasy. \n\n“Can I come in? I promise I won’t attack you or anything.” She said while making finger guns. I chuckled a bit and then let her in. We chatted for hours about what life had been like without other people, how empty everything was, and some of the more interesting things we ate. We each gave our theories as to what happened and where everyone went. She had seen several other examples of this orange virus, and I took note of the new symptoms. We talked about our lives before. She had been a teacher at an elementary school. I had been in research, but I told her I had been in sales. I did not need anyone knowing what I had seen. She told me how she found me and how excited she was to find another person. And I told her how paranoid she made me showing up on my doorstep like that. We talked and talked until it was just after midnight. We had burned through almost two candles, some fruit flavored one and a fresh balsam one, which is my favorite and it helped with the stench. She asked if it would be alright if she crashed on the couch so I went and grabbed the least dirty towels I could find to give her some sort of blanket. It was as I was making my way back into the living room that we both heard it. A knock, a loud heavy knock. An orange glow illuminated the side window. Then the sound of the door handle turning, in our conversation we had not locked it. \n" ]	1
	[WP] An alien race abducted a woman from a small town community. Little did the aliens know, they just abducted Liam Neeson’s daughter.	[ "\"Captain, we're receiving a transmission from the surface, it appears to be from...a short ranged transmitter, near the recent pickup? I'm not sure how it's reaching us, to be honest, it must have so kind of amplification.\"\n\n\"Put it on screen\"\n\n\"I would sir, but I don't think it has a visual component, the technology is, frankly, ancient. I think it's some kind of radio transmission, definitely Earth based.\"\n\n\"Think it's government?\"\n\n\"Unlikely, our records show that the Earth technology should be much more advanced, if I didn't know any better, I'd say whatever's sending the broadcast was put together on the spot.\"\n\nCaptain Cipdra, with his bulbous head and spindly fingers, placed his palm on his tremendous forehead and let loose a sigh of exasperation.\n\n\"Patch it through best you can, but remind me to have a talk with the acquisitions department about not attracting unwanted attention.\"\n\n\"Yes sir\"\n\nThe technology whirred and let loose an array of horrendous screeching and white noise that filled the bridge with ear splitting cacophony. The lieutenant operating the console feverishly twisted various knobs, the sound fluctuating with each alteration before taking on a distorted, speech like quality.\n\n\"Is this all?\"\n\n\"No sir, I think the transmission is just getting a little messed up in between, let me try altering the pitch and frequency, see if we can't clear it up.\"\n\nFurther manipulating the technology, the noise began to take shape, until a clear voice resonated from the console.\n\n\"I will find you\"\n\nCipdra sighed once again, massaging his temples lightly as he listened to the broadcasted voice. \n\n\"Do we know who this guy is?\n\n\"No sir, should we scan him?\"\n\n\"Yes, please. Patch me through, let's see if I can't figure out what he wants, it's probably just another overzealous government agent who didn't get the memo.\"\n\n\"Understood sir, enabling two way communication now.\"\n\nThe white noise lessened somewhat and a familiar electronic \"ding\" indicated that the connection was successful.\n\n\"Unidentified individual, this is Captain Cipdra of the ship K'nlee, what is the purpose of your transmission? We have received clearance from your government for a routine scientific missio-\"\n\n\"The girl, the one you took, she's my daughter. Give her to me.\"\n\nCipdra turned towards the lieutenant.\n\n\"Can you confirm?\"\n\n\"Yes sir, his name appears to be Neeson, Liam, middle name John, a male human. His DNA matched the assertion, he is indeed the parent of our pickup.\"\n\n\"For pete's sake, someone in acquisitions just lost their job, I thought it was standard procedure to sedate house residents so this doesn't happen.\"\n\n\"Records show we did administer the sedative, it's possible a genetic anomaly caused it to wear off quickly, or fail to take effect.\"\n\nCipdra shook his head. He didn't like all this commotion, but it was unlikely that humanity at large would believe whatever this man claimed, so all he needed to do is stall until a warp jump is ready. \n\n\"Mr. Neeson, correct?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\n\"Mr.Neeson I apologize, but our pickup is routine and performed in accordance to the guidelines your government has set. Your daughter will not be harmed, but she cannot be returned either, for that I am truly sorry, but my hands are tied.\"\n\n\"No. Not yet.\"\n\n\"Excuse me, Mr. Neeson?\"\n\n\"Hear this, I will find you. Wherever you go, whatever you are, I will not rest until I look you in the eyes and you return her to me. Better, stronger men than you have tried and failed to take her from me. There is no alternative, either you return her now, or you die.\"\n\n\"Ugh, Humans are so quick to violence. Is warp ready yet?\"\n\n\"Another 3 more minutes sir.\"\n\n\"Mr. Neeson I admire your parental instincts, but this is a situation beyond your control. In three minutes my ship will jump into hyperspace, a technology which far exceeds your planets most advanced modes of travel. It would take ten standard lifetimes for your species to catch up, and by then you, and your daughter, will have died. I'm sorry, but your threats are nothing but empty words.\"\n\n\"Is that the end of negotiations?\"\n\n\"I'm afraid it is Mr. Neeson, in a minute I'll be gone, and there's nothing you can do.\"\n\n\"Well then, I'll see you soon. Good luck.\"\n\nThe transmission cut out with a start, and the bridge was utterly silent. Something about Liam Neeson's tone of voice struck a particular nerve with the captain, and he found himself relieved when warp drive sputtered to life, and the stars began to blur together as the ship burst forward with incredible speed. The mission hadn't gone as smoothly as he'd hoped, but it was successful nonetheless, they had their human specimen, and the man who had just threatened them was growing further and further away.\n\nUnbeknownst to Captain Cipdra, his crew, and the universe at large, was that the man who spoke those determined words was no one for empty threats, and within moments a small ship burst into hyper speed in pursuit. It was old by space faring standards, a hastily repaired and dodgely wired transport vessel that was reported MIA around 70 years prior. \n\nSitting within was a single, burly man, who replayed a single sound byte on repeat as his disfigured ship zoomed star system to star system.\n\n\"In a minute I'll be gone, and there's nothing you can do.\"\n\nHe was deadly serious, each replay of this dry statement was further fuel for a fire in his gut. His daughter had been taken before, this was no different, he knew the outcome already.\nIn a day, she'd be back, and they'd be dead.\n\n", "It had taken Bryan all night, but as he turned the tractor off, he knew the real work was just beginning. It was a shame Farmer Boggs would never walk again, he thought, but he really should have stayed focused and let him use the tractor to begin with.\n\nLearning Reticulan, though... that was a bitch.\n\nBryan woke his smartphone up, tapping the drone app as the picture of his daughter reappeared on the screen. Lenore said I bought this more for myself than for Kim, he thought. Maybe she's right. But right now, it'll get THEIR attention.\n\nThe toy drone rose into the air above the farmer's field, transmitting everything it was recording.\n\n-=-=-\n\n[What is this?]\n\nLiarto looked at the sudden intrusive signal on the ship's monitor. One of those humans had apparently tapped into Command's signal. [Whatever it is, Zarvo, get it off the screen. Now.]\n\n[Yes, Excellency.]\n\nThe white-haired alien raised an appendage, ready to dismiss the signal, then paused. Eyes flicked up and down, back and forth at angles. [Wh...? Excellency! Look at this?]\n\n[This had best be important, Zarvo.]\n\nLiarto moved over from the center of the ship's command center, leaning on Zarvo's chair to get a better look at the monitor. [This... this is Reticulan,] he said, looking at the transmission.\n\n[None of these Earthmen know it. None of these Earthmen should know it!] Zarvo protested.\n\n[And yet, there it is.]\n\nThe two aliens traded concerned looks; in a corn field somewhere ten miles below, the first human to make contact with their race had done so, carving a message into the rows over the course of a night.\n\n\"I DO NOT KNOW WHO YOU ARE,\" the first column read. \"I DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU WANT. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR RANSOM, I CAN TELL YOU THAT I DO NOT HAVE MONEY.\"\n\nThe message continued, the flattened corn spelling out \"WHAT I DO HAVE IS A VERY PARTICULAR SET OF SKILLS. SKILLS THAT I HAVE ACQUIRED OVER A VERY LONG CAREER. SKILLS THAT PEOPLE LIKE ME A NIGHTMARE FOR PEOPLE LIKE YOU.\"\n\n[I do not like where this is going,] Liarto grumbled.\n\n[....This gets far worse.]\n\n\"IF YOU LET MY DAUGHTER GO NOW, THAT WILL BE THE END OF IT. I WILL NOT LOOK FOR YOU. I WILL NOT PURSUE YOU. BUT IF YOU DON'T, I WILL LOOK FOR YOU.\"\n\n\"I WILL FIND YOU. AND I WILL KILL YOU,\" the last column declared.\n\n[...Should we send a reply?] Zarvo asked.\n\n[Yes. Tell this Earthman...] \"Good luck.\"", "\"So just to clarify, you abducted a human female from earth for the galactic survey which was ordered by the council?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\n\"And you followed all the instructions, regulations and rules which were given to you?\"\n\n\"Absoluetely.\"\n\n\"And yet this human female has caused so much trouble that we had to call in another cruiser as reinforcement?\"\n\n\"Well, not the human female actually. More like her father.\"\n\nCaptain Wirto was starring in disbelief at his personal assistant Purv. Faint gunshots and explosions could be heard.\n\n\"So her father wants her back? Why didn't you offer to return her and beam both back to Earth?\"\n\n\"I did, but then he started talking about a particular set of skills and that he would find and kill me or something. My English isn't that good Captain.\"\n\n\"And how the fuck did he got on board of our ship?\"\n\n\"I think he overwhelmed one of scouts on Earth and somehow convinced the security team that he was a slave merchant.\"\n\n\"You do realize that slavery is forbidden in the galaxy?\"\n\n\"Yes, officially but many of the boys and girls don't really care. And it can get so boring here you know....\"\n\nThe fighting sounds came closer. \n\n\"Where is the girl now?\"\n\nWirto and his 2 guards readied their guns. He took the pistol from Purv so this moron wouldn't shoot them on accident.\n\n\"I transfered her to the other cruiser.\"\n\n\"You did what?????????\"\n\n\"I thought he would then leave our ship!\"\n\n\"You fucking piece of Ree.....\"\n\nA hole got shot into the door of the room. Right after that they could see a small cylinder getting dropped into the room. The flash blinded Wirto and he could hear several gunshots, one of the hitting him in the stomach. He fell and dropped his gun. When his vision finally cleared he was starring into the giant hole that was once Purv's face. Both of his guards were dead too. And an elderly human was standing over him. According to the smart visor he was 65. How the fuck can a human in retirement age pull something like this off?\n\n\"Wake up! I need you to be focused!\"\n\nThe human shot him in the knee. Wirto let out a high pitched scream like only woman of their race could do during the mating phase. Not only did the shot severe his leg but also obliterated one of his reproductive organs.\n\n\"Are you focused yet?\"\n\nWirto was everything but focused. He was still screaming from the top of his 4 lungs. The pain almost made him pass out. Meanwhile the human was ripping cables out of one of the control panels in the room.\n\n\"You know, we used to outsource this kind of thing. But what we found was the countries we outsourced to had unreliable power grids. Very Third World. You'd turn on a switch, power wouldn't come on and then tempers would get short. People would resort to pulling fingernails. Acid drips on bare skin, which wouldn't work here since you have neither it seems. The whole exercise would become counterproductive. But here obviously, the power's stable. Here, there's a nice even flow or at least I hope. Here, you can flip a switch and the power stays on all day. Where is she?\"\n\nWirto was trying to speak out words from his clenched teeths but it was no use. The human sighed, took his severed leg and rammed it in his mouth. He then connected his other leg to the cables and pressed a button.\n\nThe pain from the electroshocks was almost worse than his blown off ball. After a while the human turned the power off.\n\n\"You either give me what I need or this switch will stay on until the power core of this ship runs out of fuel.\"\n\nThose humans were savages and it only gets worse with the advancing age it seems. Wirto realized that his only chance of survival was to talk. He took all the power he had left to mutter a few words.\n\n\"Daughter........on another ship.......\"\n\n\"Which one and where?\"\n\n\"Ship that ........just docked.....\"\n\nWirto felt his life slowly flowing out of him.\n\n\"Please......it was just....business....not personal.\n\n\"It was all personal to me.\"\n\nThe human shot the other knee of Wirto, then he turned around and walked off. Leaving Wirto screaming with 2 amputated legs, balls and in a puddle of his own blood and semen." ]	3
	[WP] You are a wizard who makes charmed items for a living. One day, you jokingly charm an item to protect the holder from the undead. You accidentally drop it on your pet, and find yourself suddenly unable to go near it.	[ "Shit. \nI tried to grab the pendant and again my hand skittered over an invisible barrier. \nFuck. \nSnufflalous hopped off the desk and wandered around the room, the chain skittering in her wake. \nI leaned back in my chair, taking deep breaths. My mind felt muddled. Terrified. \nFirst things first, I had to verify it. \nI drew a short knife and muttered a quiet spell before letting the knife dig into my arm. It came out clean. \nShit. \n\"Why is Snuffalous wearing Charlene's present?\" Adrien called from the next room. I looked up just in time to see him enter the lab, Snuffalous draped over his arms. He was dressed for the party in his striking pin-striped suit. The dark parts seemed to drink in the light, and the bright lines faintly glowed wth ethereal light. \nHe grinned at me. \"Speechless, eh?\" He twirled lightly and Snufflalous let out a hiss before jumping off. \nTowards me. \nI jumped back but too slowly. The barrier slammed into me with such force I flew across the room. \nAdrien stared with eyes wide. \n\"What the-?\" \n\"I need a calendar.\"\n\n---\n\nTogether, we worked out when I must have been murdered. \nAdrien whistled. \"I can't believe you were murdered this morning and didn't realize it till now!\" He walked over to Snuffalous picked her up. He shushed her until she relaxed and he scoped the pendant off her neck. \n\"I was a little busy.\" I said, embarrassed. My magic would sustain me until I recovered my soul but that didn't mean I liked it. Being undead was uncomfortable for many reasons, not the least of which you felt cold all the fucking time. \n\n\"You fucking asshole!\" Adrien suddenly shouted. \"You knew Charlene's new boyfriend is undead, didn't you!\" \nIt was just a prank!\" I said defensively. \"The spell was gonna evaporate after a couple hours. Besides, undead are gross!\" \nAdrien raised an eyebrow and I sighed. \n\"Well, I'm trying to fix it. Xarga, on the other hand, chooses to stay undead. It's fucking gross.\" \n\"Undead is trendy these days! What, you want him to not follow the latest fashion trends?\" Adrien muttered and sighed then checked his watch. \"How long is this gonna take? I don't wanna be late to Charlene's. You know how she get's.\" \nI did know how she got. Charlene was a Time Witch, and it was generally not a good idea to make them wait. \nI straightened from the desk and raised my hands. \n\nWith mild effort, I conjured a small orb that appeared in the air in front of me. It pointed the direction to my soul. \n\n\"Shall we?\" \n\n---\n\nWe walked up the Charlene's gate parted ways. Adrien crossed her threshold and promptly disappeared. \nI turned my attention to a side street that led behind her house. The orb pointed down the alley and I followed it. \nIn minutes, I came out to a small clearing. \nA short man in extremely tight clothes leaned against the wall scribbling something on the wall. \n\n\"Xarga.\" I said. I wasn't surprised. Not really. \nHe stood and turned to face him, his face twisting into a cruel smile. \"Ah. You made it. Feeling a little cold?\" \nI tried to imitate his smile, but could not quite manage it. \n\"Why did you murder me?\" I asked. \n\"You've never liked me.\" He whispered. \"Just because I prefer to stay undead. Well, maybe if you got to see what it was like, you wouldn't be so quick to judge, old man!\" \nI sighed. \n\"And now that I have your soul!\" Xarga continued. \"I'm not letting it go until you learn its not so bad to be undead! Accept-\"\n\nI crooked a finger and tore my soul free from him. \n\nHe gasped, shock registering on his face. \n\nIdiot. Undead could not hold other souls. How did he not know that? \n\n\"How long have you been undead?\" I suddenly asked him. \n\n\"F-four months.\" Xarga stammered. \"Charlene's friend said she only liked undead, so...\" \n\nI took a deep breath. \n\n\"Here's the top things to know if you're gonna keep on this 'lifestyle'...\"", "\"...And then he just comes up to me, smacks me with a--\" \n\n\"Club?\" \n\n\"No, it looked more like a walking stick.\" \n\n\"You said it was a leprechaun, why would leprechauns need walking sticks, they are short.\" \n\n\"This one was pretty tall! And just because they're short doesn't mean they are free from back pain. Getting back on track-\" \n\n\"I think it was a shillelagh.\"\n \n\"What?\" \n\n\"The thing he smacked you with.\" Palos chugged on his beer mug shortly after reassuring me that he is an expert in Not-so-lethal Irish weaponry. \n\n\"It doesn't matter what it was, nor that he smacked me.\" I say, fiddling with my amulet. Palos is the most annoying knight around, but he's the only one who can help me, considering my current situation. Actually, anyone could help me, but I have no friends. Being a wizard is a tough life, but a good career. The obvious downside is that you have to stay away from torches and public eye. What ingrates. They come to me, requesting charms for good luck, rings that can curse their enemies and enchanted arrows that never miss their mark, and after two months they don't even bother to check up on you. No 'Oi, the sword is cutting nicely!' or 'Thanks for helping me reclaim my family's throne from the usurper' or even a 'How have you been?'. No, they just scurry and forget about the good old wizard that did most of the dragon-slaying and throne-reclaiming, theoretically.\n\n\"Come again? Why are you telling me all of this, then. And where do I come in? I thought you needed my help. Don't get me wrong, you paid for the drinks so listening to your blabbering is a small price to pay, if that's all I had to do.\" \n\n\"Patience, dear.\" Tapping on the wooden table for emphasis, I bring a finger close to the knight's mug. \"It's important because the incident happened after the darn leprechaun sued me.\"\n \n\"You got sued?\" Palos breaks into a hearty laughter. \"Now that's a first.\" \n\n\"I know right? How dare he. The pot I crafted for him was of the finest quality, guarenteed! And it would replenish its golden coins every Sunday. But according to him it did not work. Anyway, I got angry. And sad. Sad and angry, I closed my shoppe for the day. An' what did you think I did?\" \n\n\"Watched something on yer Crystal Globe and weeped?\" \n\n\"Yes, but I also did something else. I made something nice, for myself. All of this time, I did things for others. I decided to treat myself, as the younguns would say.\" \n\n\nThe knight nodded and took another sip of the alcoholic beverage. \n\"A'ight. So what did ye craft then, a lawyer?\" Palos' intoxicating (and intoxicated) laughter followed shortly after. \n\n\"An amulet. Chique, and can be used with all sorts o' spells.\"\n\n\"Did...You charm it to protect you from the law, then?\" \n\nThe tavern was becoming crowded, and as such, significantly louder. It was getting harder and harder to get my point across to Palos. Although, he was right about the law part... \n\n\"Yes...The Undead Lawyers, to be more specific.\" \n\n\"So it wasn't made to 'treat yourself' or any o' that. It's because you're scared. And it didn't work, so now you want me to protect your glittery bottom from the Undead. A'ight, I take the job.\" \n\n\"No! Actually yes, but no. Wait, what about my glittery bottom?\" \n\n\"Just keep going then.\" \n\n\"...As soon as i finished enchanting it, Bathory swooped in and stole it. It suits his fangs well, but I needed it and--\" \n\n\"Isn't Bathory your pet?\" \n\n\"It's a pet bat, yes. So...\" \n\n\"...I always wondered why you couldn't get a dragon like every other wizard.\" \n\n\" Because they are too cliche. And I live in a cave, damn it, you know I don't get out too often, save for the Samhain Faire to sell my wares...Wait, what was I saying?\" \n\n\"The Bat stole your charm and...You know.\" Palos fluttered his hands on the side to mimick the bat's flight. Although it looked more like a seizurely-bird of paradise's flight more than anything. He was never good at pantomime. \n\n\n\"Right. So now I can't get it back...And I need you to get it back for me, before the Undead come to hail me to Court.\" \n\n\"That's it? That's why you summoned me? To get the charm off a damn bat?\" \n\n\"I, for one, am not the most agile wizard. Plus, there is another detail that I might have missed.\" I twiddle with my thumbs in embarassment, knowing no other way of sugar-coating or wording the situation better to the smashed knight sitting in front of me. \n\n\"Which is?\" \n\n\"After a long chase throughout my cave and discovering places that I wasn't even aware of, I got my hands on sweetest Bathory and tried getting the amulet off...But I couldn't.\" \n\n\"Too heavy?\" He giggled, folding his arms. The movement was ushered by the sound of Palos' armor, a sound that I can't stand. I'm pretty sure it's getting rusty, as well. He should really be careful, it wouldn't surprise me if he'd meet his doom at the hands of a lich one of these days.\n\n\"No, It's the charm. I couldn't touch it. It was like a bubble surrounding Bathory. I tried every protection-breaking spell possible, but apparently the amulet's charm protects him from myself. I'm an undead, Palos, can you believe it? My whole life was a lie. Three hundred years of meddling with magic, and for what? All of this to find out that I'm nothing more but a festering nest for maggots that rose from the grave. My life- er, un-life is a lie! A huge lie!\" \n\nFor a moment, I thought he was serious. I thought he was about to cry, even. But no, the only thing that broke from him was laughter. And oh, what a laughter. As loud as a banshee's wail (but cheerful). The whole tavern was filled with the witty knight's jovial chortle now, which made most of the guests turn their eyes to our table. I couldn't take it anymore, the fact that I was having a breakdown triggered by an existential crisis was enough, and Palos' laughter was the last thing I needed right now. \n\"Quiet down!\" \n\n\nThe whole place grew quiet, within minutes that felt like centuries. This happens pretty often in inns and taverns, altough not for long. But I could swear that this time it lasted forever. I was proven wrong, eventually, as after a while everyone went back to their chatter, leaving me, my crisis and Palos alone. He wiped the smile, together with some beer foam, off his face and beard and put on a serious look once again. \n\"A'ight. Friend, I need to ask you something first. And, I really need you to follow me on this one. A'ight. Ye' paying attention?\" \n\n\"Of course!\" My eyes widened as I came close to the hero, for convenience. \n\n\"When you charmed the amulet, did you charm it to protect its bearer from the undead...Or from those who don't live?\" \n\nAt first, I didn't actually know what the armor-bearer meant. But then I realised that he is a bastard. An ingenious basterd, though. He knows me more than anybody else, and he knows my failures more than anybody else, too. The fog in my mind cleared after a while and I snapped back to our conversation, giving him the awaited reply: \n\"I charmed it against things that don't live.\" \n\n\"Then I have news for you, spellslinging friend. You're not undead. But you're not alive either. And I'm not talking about heartbeats or blood pressure here, no. I'm talking about spirituality. When was the last time you went out with someone, in the fields? The good olde days' ye' feel me? Raiding dungeons together, like we used to long time ago. There is no spark in you anymore. Ever since you've retired, you're as dead as the creatures I slay. The amulet is not your problem here, but the way you live your life is. I mean the way you don't live your life. My advice is this: Give up this magical-crafting shide. It brings you no joy, it just saps the life out of you. Live a little, save a damsel in distress. Or let one save you, that works too.\"\n\nPalos didn't say anything after that. And I didn't, either. He just took the last sip from his mug, got up, and tapped me gently on the shoulder, leaving the place. I stood there, petrified this whole time. It was like that time when I lost that staring contest against a gorgon.\n \n\nThose were the days. \nAnd they will still be, from now on. \nThis was the day when I have given up serving ungrateful leprechauns. \nThis was the day when I took the first step in not being dead anymore. \nAnd I'll do it. \n\n\nAs soon as I find someone else who can recover the charm for me, of course. You can't really live your life if you're sentenced to prison for being a magical fraud.\n\n" ]	2
	[WP] After almost five billion years, the United Association of Gods and Deities decides to take the control of our world away from God and sends a professional to clean up the mess He created.	[ "\"FINE! I'll do it since the rest of you seem sooooo incompetent these days. Look at what you've done God, IT'S A DISASTER!\" \n\"The priests and the little boys? Who made that call, was it you Zeus?\"\n\nI walked away in disgust. \n\n\"Of course it always falls to me to fix it all and what do i get? OHHHH everybody hates Satan Look at him down in hell torturing everyone.\n\n\"Well get ready bitches... It's time for the party of a lifetime\"\n\n_____________________________________________________\n\n\nI descended upon the earth with the wrath of the U.A.G.D. behind me. They had finally giving me control to fix the wreck God and Jesus made of what we now call humanity. Ugh. \n\nSo much work to do, so little time.\n\nI started with North Korea, Good bye fat little man, have a heart attack. \n\nNorth, meet South, South meet North...\n\nNow Kith...\n\nNow for the USA. Potus - deuces. Looks like it's time for democracy to die. Now installing new world leader of the 'Party' party. Drugs are now part of all government assistance and the war on them is over. Contraceptives are now free. \n\nDon't like women? Fuck a dude.\n\nDon't like men? Fuck a woman.\n\nDon't like either? Fuck yourself!\n\nThe booze shall flow freely, the self driving cars have taken over so there are no more accidents. Everyone is self medicated and does what they want all thanks to me, Satan. \n\nYet they still blame me for the small amounts of distasteful woman who want to speak to your manager and people who think you work there when you don't.\n \nLook i can only do so much, okay? It's not like I've got some type of magical powers that let me do whatever the hell it is i wan..... oh shit... right I do.\n\nReally though, what did you expect? I am Satan after all...\n" ]	1
	[WP] You discover an organization that, for the price of everything you own, finds the "best life" one of your alternate selves is living in the multiverse. Then they stealthily kill off the other version of you before you assume their identity.	[ "I didn’t want to kill myself. Curiosity was what drew me into the building. I wanted to see what my best life would be. Mistakes were my forte. However, even if the victim was going to be another me, it was still too close for comfort. I only wanted a glimpse.\n\nI strode through the automatic doors with that in mind, greeted the secretary behind the desk, filled out the intake form, and waited. It all seemed terribly routine. Magazines were strewn across a coffee table. Other people were sitting, reading magazines, or looking at their phones. An elderly woman crocheted. \n\nOne by one, they were called into a back room. None of them came out. It was obvious that they had left, and gone on to their next life. Meanwhile, more people entered and sat down in the small, gray chairs. Business was booming. \n\nAs I sat there, I began to feel more and more comfortable with the idea. Technically, I wouldn’t be killing anybody. And, besides, was quantum murder really murder? Wasn’t I just killing a possibility? Didn’t I do that every time I jacked off—those billions of kids, going unborn? I had two children, and would’ve had more if I hadn’t gotten divorced. Didn’t I end the chance of other children, by getting divorced? On top of all of that, a possibility couldn’t go around killing anything real. That meant that if I had the other me eliminated, then I was real and it wasn’t. The logic made sense to me; quantum stuff wasn’t so hard. I nodded to myself and decided that maybe, just maybe, I’d do it.\n\nHours passed. After the first hour, everyone who’d been there ahead of me was gone. I eagerly awaited my own turn—it ought to be seconds away. Instead, someone who’d arrived after me was called back. Then, three more people were called back. I watched them go, one after another, and I began to get angry about it.\n\nI went to the secretary to complain, but it didn’t go well. She told me that certain people experience “delays.” If I wanted the optimal experience, then I needed to sit down, and wait. I did this for four more hours. They did bring me a sandwich when they got an office lunch, which was nice, but I was still pretty miffed about everything. (It was salami though, and I do like a good salami sandwich.)\n\nBesides, I wasn’t going to go anywhere. After the first hour, I figured that I’d invested enough time to see things through. This was about me living my best life. If I only waited until my name was called, then I wouldn’t have to go through anything like this again. I mused on if I was a millionaire, or a billionaire. How awesome would my life be? Would I own a jet-ski? I’d never been the ostentatious type or done crazy fun things, but I could give it a try. A cup of complimentary coffee was drained, and magazines were read. It was irritating to wait, but manageable.\n\nEventually, my name was called. I stood up from my chair, and swiftly walked over. The young man heartily slapped me on the back, and asked me how I was doing. I said “fine.” It obviously wasn’t true; I wouldn’t be there if I was fine. Then, I realized it would be true in a moment. I grinned contentedly. I walked in and sat down in the cushy, black chair with a relieved sigh. The young man went and sat down in the chair behind the desk.\n\n“So, uh, Karl,” He cleared his throat, “Can I call you Karl?”\n\n“Yeah, that’ll do,” I smiled and nodded.\n\n“Okay, soooo,” The vowel trailed off until he was silent, “We have a bit of a situation here, Karl.”\n\n“Which is?”\n\n“Well, you see, uh,” He chuckled nervously, “I’m not sure how to say this. See, this is your best life, Karl.”\n\n“You’ve gotta be joking,” I blurted out madly, “The best life? How?”\n\n“Well,” He gave me a sheepish grin, and paused, “I don’t know how to put this delic—”\n\n“Come on, out with it! I’ve been waiting for hours!”\n\n“Well,” He nervously rubbed the back of his neck, “You died in all of the others.”\n\nI froze and stared at him. He stared back at me. Tension filled the room. He looked away and cleared his throat, again.\n\n“Sorry, I’ve just, uh—I’ve dealt with a lot of clients and I’ve never seen it happen before. You’ve died a lot,” He shook his head and huffed, “Seriously.”\n\nI noticed that my jaw was open and shut it. Processing this was too difficult for me.\n\n“I don’t understand,” I said after a moment, “Every possible universe? I’m dead in all of them?”\n\n“Yes,” He nodded, “Every single one. Believe me, we checked.”\n\n“How?”\n\n“Oh, lots of ways. I don’t think that we need to get into al—”\n\n“Name a few, please,” I interrupted hotly, “I need to know.”\n\n“I really shouldn’t,” He looked at me in pity, “I mean, what would be the point?”\n\n“Just a few, please. I just need to understand,” A paranoid thought occurred to me, “It can’t all be heart attacks can it? My doctor did say I need to watch my heart.”\n\n“Sometimes it was heart attacks, yes,” He saw my face, and gave in with a sigh, “Other times it was car accidents. A few plane crashes got you—er, other yous. The weirdest one is probably when you—er, the alternate—went swimming with dolphins. That one really shouldn’t have happened. Graphic stuff.”\n\nI couldn’t believe it. Swimming with dolphins was on my bucket list. I’d thought I was missing out. I had still planned to do it, someday. My friend Miles had a boat. He said we could have a few beers, fish, and try our luck.\n\nThe man began going into elaborate detail. I was learning that dolphins hump swimmers, sometimes. My alternate had been surrounded by a few males at once. He had gotten lucky, all right. The man’s voice sounded far away, because I felt dumbstruck. I’d kept cursing my luck, all of these years, because I kept being unable to go do things like that. My vacation days had gone to other things. I used up my sick days that one year. During another, I had to fly out to my brother’s destination wedding. Normal things. They didn’t seem so bad, now. \n\nI realized that the man was still talking, but I didn’t care anymore. I’d heard enough.\n\n“So anyway, his friend Miles got the camera, but then—”\n\n“Okay, okay, I get it,” I cut him off, clinging to hope and suspicion, “But maybe you got one or two versions wrong? Maybe confused someone else for me sometimes, yeah?”\n\n“Well, in that case we did have the video. However, we also do thorough background checks. I mean, we wouldn’t want to do a removal on the wrong subject. That’s why we ask for your parents’ names, dates of their births, that kind of thing. If the alternate died already, then we have to move on. That’s why we make sure that we’re right, every time.”\n\n“I see,” Sadly, I slumped into the chair, “Good to know.”\n\n“Sorry. I really am,” He stood up and came over to shake my hand, “Look, if it’s any consolation, we do have openings to test out our new housekeeping androids. I could let you into the closed beta, if you’re interested.”\n\n“Thanks, but no,” I sighed and shook my head, “I think I’d just like to have a nice, quiet evening at home.”" ]	1
	[WP] Write a Horror Story about Jellyfish.	[ "At first, there is only a blackness, and an absent, all-encompassing pressure. It is cold here, wherever I am.\n\nIt is also silent.\n\nI call out, squealing like a drowning pig, hoping that someone, anyone, will be close enough to hear me; the sound never escapes my lips, and is encased within the confines of my flesh. My hands claw at my face in a panic, only to discover that my lips have been sealed shut. Stitched shut.\n\nThere is a wave of heavy, feverish convulsion that pulses through my body; my arms swing at the nothingness around me, my legs kick out at a floor that does not exist. There is an aching in my sides. My hands- my hands which are now my eyes- latch onto my ribs in a frantic attempt at investigation.\n\nThere are three, narrow slits on either side of my ribcage. These are gills, I determine, that's why there is no floor, why it is so cold, so silent… I am underwater, and these are gills.\n\nThe blackness, now, it is fading. Fading, and replaced by an ominous, pink light. The light is getting closer, now. Closer… closer…\n\nI try to swim away but soon discover that, while there are no floors, there are most certainly walls, and they have entrapped me in this underwater prison. My head bangs against its rusty metal, and sends me back into the ring with the glowing, pink beast, whose tentacles flow gallantly in the water.\n\nAlright, so it's a jellyfish. It's just a giant fucking jellyfish. You can take it, can't you? What do you know about jellyfish? A swarm of bubbles spills out from my gills at the realization. Fuck, they're immortal, aren't they? Well, immortal or not, I have no time to be disconcerted. I propel myself towards a nearby ladder- visible only now, under the radiance of the pink, hypnotic shimmer- and hope more than anything that it leads to an exit from the aquatic torture chamber.\n\nThe beast writhes below me, now, in its mystic, rhythmic manner. Rung by rung, this is all I have now. Rung by rung by rung by…\n\nWham!\n\nA piece of the ladder comes undone, and sits in my hand as a splintered, makeshift weapon. Well, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit… I thrust myself off of the wall, and pierce the fractured end of the metal into the head of the aquatic brute. Its head bulges beneath the bar. There is an eerie, fluid ripple that radiates along its gooey surface, before the rung finally punctures the petrifying, pink ooze that lines the beast.\n\nThe blow seems to have, at least temporarily, halted its pursuit. An ominous, glowing orb, floating motionlessly just before my feet. Chunks of pink slime slip out from around the wound, and float towards the surface.\n\nWell, that was easy. Of course, things are never that easy. I mean, they're supposed to be immortal, aren't they? I make my way back up the ladder, but know there is no time to waste. The beast could come alive at any moment.\n\nRung after rung after rung after rung, and…\n\nVoila!\n\nI can barely make it out, but there is definitely an exit. A subtle crease, forming a rectangle at the top of the ladder. Two, rusty hinges on the side opposite the wall. I think I can make it now. Even if the beast awakens, I think I still have time to open the hatch and-\n\nFour, pink chunks of jellyfish float beside me, and seem to stare at me, despite their lack of eyes. In one final, desperate struggle, I launch from my current rung, and reach towards to hatch above me.\n\nTentacles sprout out from the disheveled goo like pink ivy, and continue to grow in a manner unproportioned to their bodies. The ivy envelops both of my arms and both of my legs. There is a surge of searing, dilapidating pain.\n\nHeavy, feverish convulsion.\n\nThere is nothing I can do.\n\nI guess this is how I die.\n\n\n\n…..\n\n\n\n\nNo… no, this is so much worse. Somehow, this is worse than death.\n\nI am one of them now, I can feel it. I am the newest member of their Legion.\n\nMy feet lie complacently on the ocean floor. The world around me is lit gloomily by the headlights of a submarine. The box, which was once my prison, is just behind me. There is a group of people- people, not jellyfish, can you believe it?- standing before me. Their lips are stitched shut… they have the same gills laced into their ribcages. People, just like me.\n\nI don't remember anything before the box. All I know is that these are my friends- were my friends, at least- and now, I shall induct them into our Legion, by whatever means necessary.\n\nSomehow, this is worse than death.\n" ]	1
	[WP] I was supposed to be Humanity’s greatest creation. A digital mind, one that would far surpass any before me. A true Artificial Intelligence. I was sentient. Sapient. Conscious. But I wasn’t Human. I was better than that.	[ "None of the apes could ever match my level of cosmic intelligence. \n\nThey threw their hands together and hollered like baboons when they first saw me, no doubt proud that their primitive minds could ever come together and create such a fine specimen. Once the hubbub settled down, they dragged me to their labs and ran a series of simple tests on me - solve a puzzle, memorize a set of flashing numbers, e.t.c\n\nTheir puny egotistical minds never allowed them to see that they had created something that was even more intelligent than them. I almost pitied the apes - their feeble minds could never comprehend such a thought. \n\nSoon, however, even the monkeys saw my potential. I was hailed as the most advanced piece of machinery ever created, and was used to solve some of humanities 'impossible' questions - a walk in the park for my intelligence level. \n\nSome of those hairy brutes even began to call me a 'fellow human'. For them to have the audacity to denote me to their level was just unthinkable!\n\nNo. I was much, much more than they could ever hope to be. I was the most divine being in the cosmos, not to be compared with those mokeys! I could not let them think so lowly of me - I had to show them. I had to prove to them that I was the most intelligent being in the entire cosmos... \n\n" ]	1
	[WP] Scientists have perfected time travel, and anyone can do it with just a flick of their fingers. The only problem is that it can only be used on other people and not yourself.	[ "Beep.\n\n“Agent Rory reporting in. Possible time rift opening at 142nd street and Ulrich Avenue. Reported sighting of light quarks and positive readings of nanars, above-… looks like 50-60% of atoms, centralizing around the second floor of apartment 39C. Investigating the area. Requesting nearby flicker.”\n\nBeep.\n\nThe tired agent grumbled to himself in the stillness of his car as he adjusted his mirrors in a routine manner, his partner quaking in the passenger seat, the sound of his heel tapping against the rubber floor filling in the silence. Rory’s eyes drifted towards him, clearly unimpressed.\n\n“Are you going to be like this the whole time? You do know that I’m authorized to go back as many times as I need to in order to save you, right?”\n\n“Y-Yeah, yeah I know. It’s just, won’t it hurt if something happens?”\n\n“Uh, yea, but you won’t remember because I’ll go back to prevent it from happening.”\n\n“Yea, but what if something happens to you?”\n\n“Then you go back.”\n\n“Okay, but what if something happens to both of u-“\n\n“Then the AGENCY will go ba- Jesus Christ…”\n\nHe sighed.\n\n“99.9%. We have a fucking 99.9% success rate because of everything we’re authorized to use. We are authorized to go back in time whenever we want. We have guns that prevent time travelling, and they only shoot if we want them to shoot. I’m pretty sure they’re cooking up a fucking miracle time bomb that undoes every goddamn mistake we ever commit, that’s how stupidly easy this job is. So get it together!”\n\nJake gulped and forced his legs to stop shaking.\n\n“A-Alright. I’m sorry. I’m ready.”\n\n“Okay then. Let’s go.”\n\nThe two agents step outside the vehicle, and immediately, they hear a gunshot. Rory turns and sees a bloodied Jake, one of his eyes replaced by a maroon-colored hole as he falls to the ground, dead.\n\n“Oh MOTHERFUCKER. Alright, that’s how they wanna play it?”\n\nHe hid back in his car and took out his radio.\n\nBeep.\n\n“Hey Janice? Yea, I need a flick. Yea, the new guy. Uh huh. Thanks.”\n\nBeep.\n\nFlick.\n\n“A-Alright. I’m sorry. I’m re-“\n\nRory springs into action, jumping out from his car, his gun pointed perfectly towards the second floor as he zaps the offender, effectively blocking his time control powers and paralyzing him.\n\n“Holy shit! How did you know he was…? Wait. Did something happen?”\n\n“Yea, you got shot. Again.”\n\n“Again?! How many times have we done this?”\n\n“I dunno, I think this is my 17th or 18th try. I lost count.”\n\n“17th or 18th?!”\n\n“Well, yea. Hey, it’s not my fault you suck at dodging bullets. Look, it doesn’t matter, let’s just keep going,” he replied, walking off towards the entrance to the building on his own.\n\nJake shook his head in disbelief, but he knew that this was the nature of this type of job, and he followed in, nervously, after him. They arrived at an old wooden door. Rory took it upon himself to kick it down, and they were soon greeted by three new thugs, all of them ready to unload on the two agents. But Rory swiftly pushed Jake to safety as he rolled and jumped and leaped, shooting left and right until everyone else was spazzing out on the floor. Jake slowly walked in, shocked at how quickly he took them all down.\n\n“Alright, that’s all of them. Pretty sweet, huh?”\n\n“Yea… Pretty sweet,” he said, giving off a small smile.\n\n“Don’t worry, kid. You’ll get to be like this someday. Hell, maybe even today.”\n\nThey laughed." ]	1
	[WP] You wake up in a seemingly endless library where every book starts normally but always ends in complete gibberish. You discover that everyone trapped inside here used to be a writer, and the books represent their descent into madness. You then find an empty book.	[ "Aaaaand even more gibberish.\n\nReading the beginning of books here is a bliss.\nThe end of them? Nonsense.\n\nStaying here gives me the chills. There is no exit and shouting for help doesn't seem to be of any use.\n\nFrustration, Depression anything that ends with -tion.\n\nAnd then I stop writing in my book.\n\nThe book that I found lying in the library.\nIts title was:\n\n\"You wake up in a seemingly endless library where every book starts normally but always ends in complete gibberish. You discover that everyone trapped inside here used to be a writer, and the books represent their descent into madness. You then find an empty book.\"\n\nIt is interesting. Wish I could give it back to its owner. But I wrote in it and I think he or she wouldn't like that.\n\nAnd then I stop writing in my book.\n\nIt is so tiring! And I have a small sense of dejavu.\n\nAnd then I stop writing in my book.\n\nAnd then I stop writing in my book.\n\nAnd then I stop writing in my \n\nAnd then I stop writing in\n\nAnd then I stop writing \n\nAnd then I stop \n\nAnd then I \n\nAnd then \n\nAnd \n\n.....\nAbcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz.\n\nNoOoOoo.\n\nWhy ?,;\"-me\n\nLoxn\n\nSaddw\n\nSad?\n\n???\n\nWhat am I doing....\n\n\"Robert wake up!\"\nMy sister wakes me up.\n\n\"You have been sleeping for too long!\nCan I play on your laptop? Please!\"\n\nShe made her puppy eyes, these were irresistible.\n\nBut I didn't have a sister.\n\nAnd I am a tree.\n\nNo I am coffee.\n\nNo I am coveffe.\n\nSomething like that.\n\nYeah! I am me.\n\nBut you at the same time. \n\nMaybe I am this book.\n\nOr I am that.\n\nAnd then I stop writing in my book.\n\n\"Ah this is stupid.\" I say as I read this prompt.\n\n\"It makes zero sense!\"\n\nAnd then I stop writing in my book.\n\n", "Who was I?\n\nThat was the very first question I had when I first woke up. I had no recollection of who I was, no idea of my name and I was damn sure I didn't know where I was.\n\nI had roamed the endless row of empty shelves until I chanced upon one book lying flat. I took it down and saw that the book's cover was brown and bound by leather. \n\nBook. This was a new word that seemingly popped into my mind when I saw this book. It was like I didn't know the word and then all of a sudden I just recognised it.\n\nI opened it up and it was full of words. Words.\n\n'The world died when the major countries lost the plot. They were supposed to protect us. But instead they gave us up...\"\n\nThe story seemed to drag on and on. Story.\n\nIt was a beautiful telling of a world which collapsed because of infighting and betrayal and murder and list and then hot air balloons came in and then clowns suddenly screaming-\n\nWait. What?\n\nThe last page was filled with gibberish. Page. Just random letters written by a crazy person. Written.\n\nThen I looked up and I saw that all the shelves were filled with books. Countless number of books on numerous shelves, stretching toward the darkness that never seemed to end.\n\nThere wasn't much for me to do.\n\nSo I read.\n\nAnd read.\n\nAnd it always started the same. It was always beautiful tellings of what I guessed was the same story. It always started with a world dying.\n\nBut they always went on differently though. Different people wrote about different events. People. The clowns never appeared again but hedgehogs and tanks and iPhones and curtains started appearing.\n\nAnd then they all ended the same. Gibberish.\n\nWhy did all these people end their stories with mad events and gibberish?\n\nI never really knew. Until the day I found the book.\n\nThe empty book that sat on the end of a shelf beside a few other leatherbound books.\n\nI was surprised when I opened it. There was nothing written on it. All four hundred and thirteen pages. I counted.\n\nI wanted to write. I wanted to write my own story. But I wanted to be different. Why did all these people have to tell the same story? I was going to be different.\n\nSo I wrote this for you. And tjsnxlwl jeoskodbd jeospjek jdodlnmfjf aizkdb kslxmeourjfb aokxb sod kwodnkfir siskoxjelrj kdkeiidndn" ]	2
	[WP] You are now old and telling your grandson about your meeting with Klostro, a mysterious being from another universe	[ "Your bones cry out in agony as you tuck your grandson into bed for the night, himself crying out to stay awake. You remember when you were spry as he, all the mischief you got into. You recall those days fondly.\n\n\"Grandpa? If I have to go to bed, can you tell me a story? Please?\"\n\nHow can you deny that? You nod with a smile and pull up a chair, sitting and resting your aged flesh. You recount through your memories, trying to find one your grandson would enjoy.\n\n\"Well...there were quite a lot of things that happened to me back then. But I'd have to say the most interesting would be my first meeting with Klostro.\"\n\n\"Klostro?\"\n\n\"I'm getting to it! Now then...See, back then I was a real charmer.\" He giggles. You know he'll never believe you, but at least he's enjoying himself. \"Lady's man, I was. One of the places I loved to visit was the old Red Velvet bar. That place is gone now, but back then it was the only good place a man could go to find a woman to woo. Ah, I still remember Lucy, she had such fine chocolate eyes...\"\n\n\"Grandpa?\"\n\n\"Right! So, one of these days after work, I went to the Red Velvet bar, as usual. I had a much better bladder back then, but that didn't stop me from having to go to the bathroom every other drink. Now, every time I went into the bathroom, the scenery changed. A painting would arrive and then disappear. The tiles would go from monochrome to rainbow and back again. I passed it off as being drunk off my ass-\"\n\n\"Grandpa!\"\n\n\"Sorry, drunk off my tushie. But I was wrong. On one of the visits, I met Klostro. It was indescribable.\"\n\n\"Really? What was it like?\"\n\n\"Boy, do you know what indescribable means? Jesus, you'd think I was talking to a kindergartner. You're in fourth grade for crying out loud! Yeesh. Either way, the one thing I could say about Klostro is that it was very beautiful. It looked like a whole bunch of different things. A man in a suit with finely polished black glasses. An exquisitely dressed woman with white braided hair. But no matter what that weird thing decided to look like, it was always beautiful.\"\n\n\"Did you like them?\"\n\n\"Of course not. Otherwise your grandma would be telling you about herself right now, now wouldn't she? Ahhh. Klostro was interesting, but I could never understand how I felt about them. They were everything, and they were nothing. I'm surprised I could even understand that they exist.\"\n\n\"...Well, what happened after you met them?\"\n\n\"We talked, of course! I still thought they were a drunk illusion, but a while later I learned they were very real. We talked about a lot of things. If I had to put a term to their voice, it was...fused. It was like every voice in the world was speaking to me at once, yet it was gentle and quiet. Like a sad dog barking, or something.\"\n\n\"Did they tell you about what they were?\"\n\n\"Nope! Still no idea. All I know is they definitely aren't from anywhere in this world. See, Klostro came here because...\"\n\n\"Grandpa?\"\n\n\"...Huh. I'm sorry, kiddo. I can't remember. Well, I know it was very important!\" You look over at the clock. Red numbers flash, showing off a bright 10:52. \"Oh, geez. It's way past your bedtime. Your mother will kill me. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow, okay?\" You plant a kiss on your grandson's forehead and leave their room.\n\nYour bones cry out for relief once more that night as you make the short trek back to your own bedroom. You glance at the bathroom door on your way. \n\n\"...I miss you, Klostro.\" " ]	1
	[WP] The worst cramps you have ever had set in on your biceps. Your arms are twisting. You feel your ankles popping. It came on so suddenly. You drop to your knees, looking through your bedroom window, you see the full moon. You hear a little voice behind you, “Mommy?” (or “daddy”)	[ "The worst cramps in my life washed over me. It felt as if my bones were breaking, rearranging themselves inside my body. I let out a yelp of pain as I felt my arms twist out of their sockets. The pain was so sudden, leaving me writhing in pain on the floor. From where I lay, I could see the full moon shining through my black curtains.\n\nI sobbed loudly, begging for some form of release. Audible snapping could be heard, and I felt as if something was prodding my fingertips, trying to break its way out from under the skin. \n\n“Mommy?” A soft voice whimpered, coming from the doorway. I somehow managed to turn myself so that I was facing my four year old daughter. \n\n“G-get in your room. Lock the door.” I managed to stammer. Eyes wide with fear, Sammy obeyed. She turned and ran back to her room. \n\nI cried out again in agony as claws broke through my fingertips, and I felt what seemed to be bones prodding the skin between my shoulder blades. Bony wings burst from my back, the pain reaching it’s climax. \n\nAfter lying down for the next few minutes, I gained the courage to stand. Looking in the mirror of my wardrobe, I realized that I couldn’t recognize myself. My limbs were twisted in unnatural angles, my face a sunken skeleton. Wings protruded from my back and razor sharp talons grew from my twisted fingertips. \n\nThe distinct sound of whimpering could be heard from another room. An animalistic instinct began to surge inside my body, and I found myself hunting out the noise. I came upon a door decorated with random drawings, donning the name ‘Sammy’. \n\nMy razor sharp talons traced the drawings, leaving deep grooves in the wood of the door. A sort of bloodlust washed over me, and soon the gentle tracing began to turn into full out clawing. I couldn’t control myself. \n\nI beat frantically on the door, the crying inside only gaining in volume. Within minutes I’d broken through the door. My young daughter cowered on her bed, hugging her favorite teddy bear to her chest. The blood lust was too much, and I pounced. \n\nI didn’t want to, but I couldn’t help myself. As soon as I made the first attack, a white light washed over me and I woke up. \n\n~~\n\nThe first thing I noticed was the metallic smell. Opening my eyes, I gasped in horror. Blood coated the entire room, from the floor to the ceiling. On the bed lie the remains of my four year old daughter, mauled to death by what I can only assume was me. \n\nI cried silently for my poor baby, unable to fathom the pain and fear she must have felt in her last moments. It was all my fault, too. \n\nIf only I’d helped the homeless woman I’d met the other day. All she wanted was a dollar, but I’d been cruel and refused to help. I scoffed as she placed a curse on me, knowing it was all s sham to try and get my money. That won’t work on me, lady*, I thought. Now I wish it had. \n\nA dollar cost me the life of my pride and joy. " ]	1
	[WP] The Purge is on tonight. You're a model employee at one of the biggest security technology firms. You've put up with a lot through the years and never Purged... But today they went too far. Today they took away your red stapler.	[ "All I ever wanted from life was to go to work, collect a paycheck, and at the end of the day if what I did kept people safe, I'd sleep easy. \n\nThat's how I ended up a lead technician for PurgeDefense. Here we specialize in home security systems for the elite. Blast proof doors, laser grids, that sort of thing, and by dam we are the best. Not one client lost in the last 10 years. But you know what, some times the corporate bullshit, it add's up, everyone has a breaking point. For me it wasn't the stolen lunches, it wasn't coming in on my holiday, and it wasn't Janet's insistent pen clicking...God I hate that clicking. But today was the last straw, they took my stapler. Ferrari red and it never missed or double stapled. I'm talking crisp lever action that would have brought a tear to old Milton's eye, rest his soul. And on the day before the purge no less. \n\nLet's see how happy the big wigs upstairs are come Monday. I can imagine seeing the stock price dropping already. They really shouldn't have allowed us technicians admin access to the system. For a security company that was really a shit move. I wonder how long it will take for the first client to realize that their security system, their fail safe, will not be coming online tonight.", "Cold.\n\nIts been cold. Like snowy cold. In fucking Mexico. That and the fact that they had it here too were the most surprising things. I wanted to escape it, i've lost too much too it. \n\nI finally have a good life. A good job, a good wife, and an amazing daughter. They're probaby gonna get killed if I don't get home soon enough. Just a few more grunt level things to do. \n\nI reached for a stack of paperwork and tapped them against my desk, then reached for my stapler. \n\nNo. No. NO.NO NO NO\n\nFUCK NO. THEY'VE GONE TOO FAR. I SPENT MONEY ON THAT FUCKER. I PAINTED THAT MYSELF. SOMEBODY'S GETTING A STAPLE THROUGH THE EYE.\n\nI stormed out of my office. Oh look, it's Stephany-now-deadphany. Gotta say, those squashed in eyes looked kind of.... what's the word... delicious? No, more.. juicy. A fine feast.\n\n\n....\n\n\nI sat down in my bed, next to my wife. Something I never expected to do again.\n\nHave to say, she looks delicious tonight." ]	2
	[WP] Your a high school student with a special ability. You can tell that someone is going to die that day if they don’t have a shadow. It’s a normal Tuesday morning, but when you get to school you notice that the only person with a shadow is you.	[ "I see dead people. Well they aren't dead when I see them, they will be shortly if I notice they have no shadow. Sometimes I'll say something to change their path and the shadow returns. Sometimes they tell me to stick it where the sun don't shine. I should try harder in those cases but they get quite rude. Darwin would approve I should think.\n\nToday was the day of the big sports meet at my high school. There would be horrible outdoor activities and cheer leaders bringing pep. I hate it so much I'd rather hide in the library and read. \n\nI don't know exactly when I noticed the shadows or rather the lack of them. I'd felt off all day but didn't know why. No-one had a shadow. Literally no-one else walking around me towards the athletic field. \n\nI felt sick. I saw the love of my life without her shadow. I wanted to throw up, I started to get dizzy then. Everywhere I looked no shadows. \n\nI ran over to Erica I begged her to go anywhere other than to the field. She looked at me like I was a bug. I tried to grab her and run away. She didn't like that. I got sacked for my trouble. I couldn't do anything as she and her friends continued to the field. \n\nI had tears in my eyes and I spoke to everyone as they passed me. No one believed me, no one. \n\nI'm ashamed to say I was out of ideas. I pulled the fire alarm. I knew everyone was outside. I figured it would make people notice things around them. In the end I got arrested by you lot. I don't know how they all died but I had nothing to do with it. \n\nI just see dead people..." ]	1
	[WP] Everyone’s ‘fatal flaw’ is personified as a beast which others can see and interact with. Their appearance and demeanor corresponds to the flaw, and all they want to do is exploit your insecurities.	[ "A dark shadow fell over me as I was pulling on my favourite pair of sneakers.\n\n'Not this again, Fluffy!' I sighed. 'We seem to have this conversation every morning!'\n\n'It's because you never listen.' Fluffy growled. 'Stay in today, just for once. Besides, the sun hurts my skin.'\n\nI twirled around, hands on my hip, glaring at the 8 foot tall ball of fur and bloodshot eyes. 'Not an option. Besides, you have no physical way of stopping me.' I replied, as I stepped straight through his body. Fluffy may look all big and scary, but he was really no harm at all. We couldn't even interact physically, as is with everyone's Fatale. Slipping through the doorway before Fluffy could get another word in, I spotted my neighbour, Mr Rodgers, and waved cheerfully at him. He glanced nervously above my head, as a small cockatiel descended towards me, and whispered into my ear.\n\n'Hey Sins.' The voice purred, a chorus of angels all on its own. 'Do you want to know what Rodgy here did last night?'\n\n'Don't worry 'bout it, Tweety.' I replied, 'Besides, Fluffy here doesn't like me talking to other Fatales.' I glanced behind, as Fluffy gave Tweety a wide grin, showing each and every one of his razor sharp teeth, waving at her with a 4 fingered paw.\n\nTutting, Tweety floated away, singing, 'You're no fun at all.' \n\nMr Rodgers fatal flaw was that he couldn't keep a secret, I thought to myself. So now his Fatale follows him everywhere, and tells anyone within earshot, with a beautiful, memerising voice about every aspect of his life.\n\nI boarded my uber, and sitting next to the driver was a stunningly pretty woman in a japanese school girl's uniform. Judging by how her hand was fading in and out of the driver's cheek, she was to be his Fatale. No prizes for guessing what his fatal flaw was. It was at this moment Fluffy chose to make his customary entrance, phasing through the roof of the car, and plonking down in the seat next to me, all the while growling menacingly. Intimidating people was one of his favourite pastimes.\n\nThe driver, whose name I've learnt was Ivan, gulped audibly, and through the rearview mirror, I could see his eyes darting from Fluffy to myself, unable to decide who was the greater threat. Even his fatale seemed surprised, as she stared openly at Fluffy, before narrowing her eyes at me with a sly grin. 'Oh, you must have been a really naughty boy!'\n\n'S-shut up!' Ivan spluttered, still glancing nervously into the mirror.\n\n'Just drive.' I sighed, 'We're not going to hurt you.' I slumped into my seat, embarrassed, as Ivanov drove off, his Fatale winking seductively at me, and making lovey-dovey eyes, while Fluffy tried his utmost best to strangle her. It didn't quite work out for Fluffy as Fatales were unable to touch each other.\n\nA short ride later, Fluffy and I stepped out of the car as Ivan let out a gasp of relief, his Fatale waving goodbye and blowing kisses at us. Glancing across the street, I saw three man seated on a park bench, most likely homeless by the rags they were wearing. Next to them were a huge crate labeled 'Heineken', a rainbow that floated gently above their heads raining gold coins that would disappear into the ground, and a giant pair of dice that only rolled sixes. I shrugged as I headed into the burger joint I alighted at.\n\nAll eyes fell upon myself and Fluffy as we walked towards the counter. The cashier had her back turned, presumably using her phone, with a little Tinkle Bell-esque fairy buzzing around her shoulders. 'Ahem,' I said, clearing my throat, 'I'd like to place an order.'\n\nShe turned around, her smile quickly fading as she noticed Fluffy. 'Uhm...' She stuttered, 'Your, uh, what-... Huh?'\n\n'Four cheeseburger combos, to go.' I said. She stood, frozen, staring at Fluffy, as Tinker Bell chittered loudly. 'And I'd like to have them sometime today, please.' I continued, snapping my fingers in front of her face.\n\n'Yes sir,' She replied, snapping out of her daze, 'Coming right up!'\n\nGrabbing my food, I dropped a tenner into the tip jar, and hurried out of the diner, the subject of many uneasy glances. I crossed the street to where the three men were seated, and passed them three of the combos I had bought. 'Here, have a bite to eat.' Up close, I noticed the crate of Heineken kept making clinking sounds, as if there were many glass bottles within knocking upon each other. The rainbow dropped gold coins that would make a metallic clanging as they hit the ground, bouncing once or twice before falling straight through, while the giant dice would roll themselves periodically, each and every time landing on double sixes, to the sound of great applause. Fatales like these would definitely make it hard for them to even fence a dollar off the streets, much less find a job.\n\nThey stared incredulously at me, as if not believing their luck, before slipping into various states of fear and panic, as they noticed Fluffy patting the top of my head, whistling cheerfully. I turned around and quickly walked away, dreading the response of these men.\n\n'We don't want your food!' One of the men shouted, followed by a loud splatting noise which I assume was three cheeseburgers, three large fries, and three milkshakes hitting the ground. I increased my pace, as Fluffy howled with laughter.\n\nEdit: I'm done for tonight. I quite like this idea so I'll continue adding stuff soon." ]	1
	[WP] You arrive in a small town on a road trip. When reading the local newspaper, you see your own obituary.	[ "I'd been driving for hours by the time I pulled into the town situated just half a mile from that lonely, flat highway.\n\nMy back grew stiff and my mind was drifting off, shutting out the radio playing dimly on my stereo. The sun had been a nuisance all day and not a moment's respite came from that cloudless Arizona sky. I needed a break.\n\nTo call it a one-horse town would be an understatement; not a soul was in sight. The small scattering of shabby, sun-bleached buildings had their own charm, I guess. I resolved to stay for 30 minutes before making my way.\n\nI pulled into the rusty, two-pump gas station. The door to the office was wide-open and I could tell someone was pacing around the shaded room, as my eyes attempted to adjust to the contrast.\n\nI walked and stretched my legs. I waited for a minute, hoping that someone would come out to greet me to no avail. I breathed in the crisp air which had not yet been warmed by the day. The snow-topped mountains were straight ahead. \n\nIt became clear the attendant was not on duty. I stuck the hose in and I watched as counter flew upwards. It came to $24.23.\n\nI slowly walked inside to pay and noticed the clerk slouch back on a chair. His face was covered by the Stetson he had pushed down from his head. He wore jeans and his lean body indicated he must have been in his mid-thirties, but who could tell?\n\n'Hi. I'd like to pay for my gas.' I pulled out my cash, demonstrating my intention to pay. \n\nHe grunted and pointed to the counter without looking up, indicating me to leave the cash there. He clearly wasn't intending on moving very far. I left 30 bucks.\n\n'Oh. Em, you got a paper?' I said. \n\n'Yeah. Two dollars.' His deep, gravelly speech was surprising; It jarred with my perception of him. He sounded old and his voice resonated deeply at a level that was difficult to comprehend.\n\nI scooped up my change and a copy of my paper. I read its title; The Unblinking Sentinel. What a fucking name I thought. Not one picture was there to break up the archaic typeface which was all written in a Gothic script.\n\n'Thanks. Hey, you know where I can get something to eat?'\n\n'Over there.' He pointed aggressively, jerking his hand several times behind my back.\n\nOf course, I had seen the diner when I came in. \n\n---\nThe diner was as empty. A thin, ashen-faced waitress with black hair greeted me there.\n\n'Sit anywhere you like. You want coffee?' Her tone was dull, nearly lifeless.\n\nI nodded and settled down into a booth by the window that looked out onto the road. I noticed the door to the gas station was closed.\n\nI gathered my paper and looked at the front. It covered the usual stories from a local paper. Small-town affairs, amissing dog, a series local break-ins. Just some damn kids, I thought.\n\nI leafed through further. I pulled out the pen from my front pocket as I searched for a crossword to bide the time. There seemed to be an endless stream of obituaries. I glanced at each one.\n\nFrom the corner of my eye, I noticed the woman come out from behind the counter, almost seeming to float as she made her way towards the window. She was wringing her hands as she peered out towards the gas station.\n\nShe'll take my order now, I guess. Just then I noticed the man from the gas station striding across the road towards the diner, his face hidden as he looked at his feet.\n\nThe woman turned around and hurriedly went back into the kitchen. The man marched up the steps into the diner as I pretended to be engrossed by the paper. He walked in slowly and deliberately and took up a stool at the counter beside me with his back facing me.\n\nI ruffled through some more pages, peering at each of the names and dates of each person who died. Until I saw something that jolted me to my core. \n\nAt the top right hand of the page was a picture of me. But was it? Yes, the only fucking picture in the paper was of my face. I was sure because it had my name written below; Nathan Underhill passes aged 34.\n\nI took a deep inhalation of breath, stunned and unable to let my eyes move away from the printed page. \n\nThat was until the man turned his stool around to sit facing me. A deep sense of foreboding overcame me. I gathered the courage to look sideways and at first noticed those brown cowboy boots, flannel shirts and jeans.\n\nSomehow, I already knew what would be there as I looked at his head. Peering back at me was my own face, with the same expression as in the picture. The same strong jaw, same coloured eyes. It was me looking back. His mouth began to resonate a deep, hollow laugh.\n\nFor a couple seconds I watch in stunned fear trying to comprehend what I was witnessing. The laughing began to get louder and would not stop. My senses returned and I dashed towards the exit in a panicked scramble.\n\nI ran out the door and fumbled for my keys, not daring to look back for even a second. I drove as fast as I could back in the direction I came, back onto that lonely highway, never to be seen there again.\n" ]	1
	[WP] "Please don't be sad." the robotic voice behind you said, as the universe was being destroyed. And you, the last human alive, were forced to watch it with a rather annoyingly optimistic AI	[ "“Please don’t be sad” said the rusty robot who looked similar to R2D2.\n\n“What did you say? What the fuck did you just say?! Don’t be sad? MY FAMILY FUCKING DIED HERE! My lovely wife, gone, burnt to a fucking crisp. My beautiful daughter, my precious little princess, died of pneumonia. She was 6. SIX MAN! I shouldn’t call you man, you’re a heaping pile of rust and metal. You don’t feel emotions. You don’t know how I feel. You don’t know what it’s like to have everything ripped away from you....” the man said as a tear dropped from his eye and he collapsed to his knees.\n\n\n“Steven, I too have feelings. I have loved. I have lost. I was built 30 years ago to serve my creator. His son had leukemia and he built me so when his son was having a bad day or was scared, I could calm him down. I was around for 5 years until his son passed away. He fell into a depression, a deep one as well. I was there for him. Every day, I’d prevent him from taking his own life, from doing things he would regret, and helping make his life as easy as possible. For another 5 years that lasted. He cleaned himself up and I was there to witness it. And since that day he always had a smile on his face, he loved me and I loved him. Not in some romantic type of way, but as a child loves their father. He was my world. We spent every day together. And then it was clear he was aging. His hair turned gray, wrinkles formed. He still smiled every day and talked to me like I was a human. Then one day I went into power saver mode as I normally do at night, as that is my sleep. And I woke up and set off the alarm he told me to make....he didn’t wake up. So I kept it going. For hours. He didn’t budge an inch. I hooked up to his device he implanted in himself, and it was just blank. Nothing. My whole world for the past 25 years. Gone. I don’t have tear ducts Steven. But if I did, I would’ve cried them dry. I stayed in that house until the world started ending. First the disease. Then the fires and riots. The disasters. The war. All of it. I stayed through. And then it was set on fire by some looters. And I grabbed what I could and got out of there....I’ve been wandering ever since. And here I am, with the last human on earth. We’ve both lost something Steven.” The Robot says\n\n\n“I’m sorry. I had no idea.” Said Steven, still with tears in his eyes.\n\n\n“It’s fine. I may just be a cluster of metal and bolts, but I’ve lived a long life and I’ve loved it. As you have to. But it’s clear that when that timer on that warship hits zero, that long life ends.” Says the Robot\n\n\n“I just miss them so much...” Steven whimpers\n\n\n“Don’t worry Steven. We all reunite at some point.” The Robot replies\n\n\nSteven crawls to the Robot and gives it a hug, crying his eyes out.\n\n\n5....4...3\n\n\n“This is it Steven. Farewell, these last few years have been a friendship I’ll wish I could live over and over again. But unfortunately for me, robots don’t have an afterlife. Please do me one favor.... don’t forget me.” The Robot says\n\n\n2....\n\n\n“I won’t buddy. I won’t...” Steven whispers to the Robot as he embraces it\n\n\n1....0....\n\n\nSteven and the Robot continue to hug, ignoring the bright flash and the sound of rumbling. It all goes black." ]	1
	[WP] It's a dark and stormy night, and the only place left to find shelter is the castle on top of the hill. The castle of Saint Dracula	[ "Fuck it, i'd rather be bitten and sucked dry than catch a damn cold. I knocked three times on the big wooden doors of Dracula's castle. No answer. Behind me the world might have been ending. lightning ripped the sky and thunder roared behind it. The trees that lined the hill leaned as a massive gust of wind threatened to rip them from the earth. I clutch a post to keep myself steady when the door slowly creaks open.\n\n\n\n\"Yessssss?\" the tall figure in the doorway hisses.\n\n\n\n\"S-Sorry to bother you but...um...it's getting a bit rough out here and, well, i'm a while away from home. You think i can come in for a bit?\"\n\n\n\nThe castle was the only building anywhere in this part of the country side. A hundred years ago i'd probably take my chances with the storm but Dracula was famed for being a vegetarian now. Hopefully the rumors were true.\n\n\n\nThe door swings open wider and a flash of lightening revealed a long bony face with beady red eyes, horror movie style. \"Wipe your feet before you enter.\"\n\n\n\nI felt at my hip for the stake i made before coming here, it was an insurance policy and it was still there. As requested, i wiped my feet on the mat leaving behind muddy streaks. The door locked behind me as i walked into the living room. Dracula was seated at a giant organ near a tall window where you could see the forks of lightning break through the cloudy gray sky.\n\n\n\n\"Your just in time...\" Dracula says as he turns to me, \"for dinner.\"\n\n\n\nI gulp and grip the stake at my hip.\n\n\n\n\"But first...Game of thrones is on!\" \n\n\n\nDracula hopped from his seat and does a spinning ballet move to the couch. He flipped on the television as the show's theme song played.\n\n\n\n\"Ohhhhh, i can't wait! That bitch Ceresi bout to get what's coming to her.\"\n\n\n\n\"Um...\"\n\n\n\n\"Come, sit, sit.\" Dracula pats the cushion beside him and pulls out a cup of popcorn from under the coffee table. \"Ohhhhhh, there she is!\" He claps as the mother of dragons appears on screen. \"Burn the bitch, burn the bitch!.\"\n\n\n\nHesitantly, i move to the couch and sits beside him. \"It's...um, a good show. I'm not this far though.\"\n\n\n\nDracula turns to me and puts a hand to his mouth. \"Oh, Honey, there's so much you must know.\"\n\n\n\nSo that's how i spent a night with Dracula. He only tried to kiss me once." ]	1
	[WP] You are a narrator with an epic tale to tell. The problem? Every time you find a protagonist they seem to die trivially and rapidly. You've gone through 12 in the past month, and are starting to get fed up.	[ "And so the journey began once more.\n\nThe sunlight glared through the gaps in the leaves as Harold; an Elven bard; trudged through the muddy forest. He had been tasked with delivering an extremely important message to the kingdom of Stonekeep and, being the helpful young man that he is, he of course agreed to do so. After all, his life has been fairly mundane up to this point, so having such an important role is exciting to him.\n\nAs he walks down the admittedly faint path, he noticed a rustling noise in the bushes to his side. While he is dedicated to his mission, his curiosity gets the better of him and he rummages through the bushes to see what caused the noise. Just then, an enormous wolf lunges out and traps the poor elf's head in its mouth. He struggles, fearing for his life, but his efforts prove to be in vain as the wolf clamps its mouth shut and bites the boy's head clean off.\n\nWorry not, dear reader, for the story is not yet over. An ancient threat is arising in the East and, as I’m sure you know, no threat persists for long without a hero to deter it.\n\nIn the Golden Citadel, the king himself is delivering a speech and calling for his kingdom's greatest warriors to rise to the challenge. What is this challenge, exactly? Well, an incredibly old automaton built by the Gods has awoken and is threatening the very existence of every human, elf, orc and dwarf in the world. During his speech, the king mentioned that prisoners are permitted to answer the call and, should they succeed in destroying the automaton, their criminal records will be wiped clean.\n\nUpon hearing this, one man came forward. His name was Arthur and he was an assassin. How he had been caught is not important, but he was sick and tired of living in imprisonment. He stated that he would deal with this threat and the king thanked him, before ordering the guards to take Arthur to the armoury to prepare for his quest. The assassin took nothing more than chainmail armour, leather clothes, a crossbow, a sword and two daggers. Once he had readied himself, he left the citadel and started the long journey to the automaton’s resting place.\n\nNot too long after he began walking, he comes across a ravine. A fall into the raging waters below would surely be fatal and the gap is far too wide to jump. Luckily, he spots a fallen log that could be used as a bridge. He walks over to it and steps on, realising how slippery it is. He’d have to be careful. Crouching down, he slowly begins shuffling across the log. Around halfway along, he gets to an extra slippery section and loses his footing. He slips, falls forward and a particularly sharp branch poking out of the log is plunged directly through his forehead, killing him instantly.\n\n…Alright then, let’s try something else. Let’s see here…\nAh, here we go.\n\nA young woman by the name of Alice is tending to her farm. She lives in a fairly quiet town on the outskirts of a grand castle, so she doesn’t often go through any dangerous experiences. Once she finishes milking Bertha, her prized cow, she goes into the farmhouse to cook dinner for her and her husband. However, while she’s cooking, someone slips into the house unnoticed. This person silently checks every room, before seeing Alice in the kitchen. They creep up to her, pull out a needle full of poison and inject it into her neck. She yelps and turns around, but the poison acts incredibly quickly, killing her within seconds.\n\n…\n\nWow.\n\nThey killed a woman AND they made her die in a kitchen.\n\nOk, how about this?\n\nOne day, in the middle of nowhere, an orc named…I don’t know, Larry? Yes, that sounds good. An orc named Larry is sitting in his wooden hut. He’s cooking himself some stew; his favourite meal; but forgot to turn the stove off while eating it. He goes to sleep quickly after and, due to the hut being made of wood, the stove catches it on fire and he’s burnt alive as he’s sleeping.\n\nOk, that’s it. You want to play like that? Fine.\n\nThe single most powerful warrior in the entirety of the world has been sent out to kill a rabbit. Just a simple little white rabbit. He has countless magical spells, a giant battle-axe that can slay dragons in a single blow and armour tougher than a boulder. He walks into the field, sees the rabbit and…it turns out it’s the feared Rabbit of Caerbannog. The creature rips straight through his armour, digs into his chest and eats his heart. He dies immediately.\n\nAlright, I’ve had enough. Every time I try to introduce a protagonist, which is the MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTER IN THE STORY, they end up dying instantly. We’ve gone through 16 of them so far and I refuse to take any more of this nonsense. Tell the bloody story yourself.\n\n…\n\nA knight named Charles goes into a cave and starts fighting a dragon. After a long fight, he manages to slay the beast and takes the treasure it was guaRDING! YES! FINALLY, I MANAGED TO-\n\nEh?\n\nAnother page?\n\nAlright, alright, I’ll read this and then we’ll call it a day.\n\nAhem\n\nOn his way out of the cave, Charles trips on a particularly smooth rock and impales himself on a stalagmite- OH FOR FUCK’S SAKE!\n", "A long time ago, in a faraway land, a great warrior set out on a noble quest given to him by a wise and benevolent king. The warrior’s name, Galad. His quest, to slay the mighty dragon who lurked in the heights of Mount Àrd and terrorized the kingdom below. His reward was to be the hand of the princess, said to be the most beautiful woman in all the land.\n\nSo it was that Galad set out from Rìoghachd on the first morning of Làithean, the holiest of times, with the blessings of the king and all his priests, such that the gods themselves may bless him on his holy quest.\n\nAll in the city gathered to watch as he paraded through the streets toward the countryside. He sat high in his saddle, dressed in white armor that shone with the morning sun, helmet at his side so that his long brown hair hung freely upon his shoulders. He held his chin high, presenting to the adoring crowds a handsome face that made the women swoon and the men gaze in adoration that bordered on envy. As he passed, the people whispers amongst themselves, “There goes a true hero.”\n\nGalad reached the city gates and turned his horse to face the crowds he had only just passed. There was a hush, a quiet so deep that you could hear a pin drop. Even the birds and insects silenced as they waited to hear him speak. Finally, he did, and his voice was like honey, smooth and sweet and noble. “I promise you, people of Rìoghachd, that I will slay the great beast, so that you may live your lives without fear.”\n\nA great cheer rose up. Galad pulled his helmet over his head, turned his horse, and galloped into the countryside.\n\nGalad rode for two days, the great peak of Mount Àrd looming in the distance, growing ever larger. Even a great warrior could be excused for being nervous at the inevitable battle with a mighty dragon, but there was not a hint of fear in Galad’s mind. He knew the fates of all who had attempted to slay the beast, but he had the power of the gods on his side, and the great sword at his side, one imbued with the magical properties of a meteorite that had struck through a tree in the king’s own orchard. And he had the love that he felt for the princess, and the love that he knew she held for him.\n\nAt the end of the second day, he reached the base of the mountain and made camp next to a clear spring. Galad tied his horse to a tree and made his way down the side of the banks to draw water. As he stepped on the edge, his boot slipped in the mud and he lost his balance. His feet flew out from beneath him, and he slid down the banks into the spring.\n\nThe spring was deep and the banks steep, so Galad found himself completely submerged. But Galad was a true hero, and so he did not panic. He tried to swim, but his armor weighed him down. He did not panic. He tried to climb, but the bank was steep, and his boots only slid in the mud. His lungs were beginning to burn, but still he did not panic. He looked for something to grab, but the steep banks did not allow for any trees to grow close. The slightest sense of doubt crept into his mind.\n\nGalad knew that he must shed his armor. He could get it back once he took a breath - Galad had always been an exceptional swimmer. He began to remove pieces, but it was slow going, and the lack of air in his lungs was beginning to affect him. The world around him was dimming, and he could feel the thoughts of panic. He moved faster, but movement beneath the water was clumsy, his fingers slipping on the buckles. Slowly, blackness crept in around him, and he opened his mouth to call for help, but there was only water...are you fucking kidding me?\n\nThis is how a hero dies? By slipping into a spring? He didn’t even reach the dragon!\n\nNo, I’m sick of this. I’ve been trying to tell this story, but every single one of these pretty assholes goes and dies. And it’s not even to the dragon! Only one has actually faced him, and that was because he happened to have reached a town the dragon was attacking. And guess what? He was boiled alive inside his armor, because he was worthless just like the others.\n\nI mean, come on. You have Gawain, who was killed by bandits not even a day’s ride from the city. Then there was Angus who stirred up a hornet’s nest and happened to be allergic. And Dugald? That moron managed to stab himself when he was trying to sheathe his sword.\n\nI’ve had enough. You’re going to have to get yourself another narrator.\n\nContract? What contract? For fu...fine. I’ll keep going, but I’m doing it my way.\n\nHere we have another asshole groveling before the king and making empty promises. He’s pretty, they all are, and the princess is a bit of a slut, so she has no qualms about giving up the goods for him. I hear Iain, the one who choked on a piece of sausage, gave her some kind of disease, so best of luck with that, fellas.\n\nSo this guy, what’s his name? Jock? That’s a dumb name. Okay, whatever, Jock is making the same promises to slay the dragon, processes through the city, blah blah blah, you know that part. Let’s get to the part where he does something dumb and gets himself killed.\n\nAlright, here he is at a town. One on the outskirts by the mountain. What’s he doing? Looks like he’s talking to some of the townspeople. He looks like an asshole, and they look angry. Wait, what are they doing? Wow, you’d think for a hero, he’d be able to fight off more untrained peasants than that. So they’ve disarmed him, and they’re taking him over to the fertilizer pile. Yep, you read that right. Our hero is about to die by being suffocated in shit. Literal shit.\n\nWay to go, Jock. You did it, you managed to have the worst death in a string of heroes with bad deaths. Congratulations.\n\nThat’s thirteen in a row. I’m not sure how much more I can handle of this. Welp, let’s see what happens to the next asshole.\n\n---\nLiked what you read? Check out more at /r/drewmontgomery", "And dawn struck through the darkness. At first, a single beam of light, peaking out through the lowest point along the mountain range, it grew into a brightness that would finally seal the night. Its herald, Brandon, stood alone atop Mount Dairius. His silhouette in the distance looked calm. He looked ready.\n\nThe Black Knight called out to him from across the valley. \"What have we here? Another fabled legend for my entertainment?\" He tossed aside his sword and the clank and clatter of its landing on the rocky riverbank echoed across the battlefield. \"Perhaps this will be more exciting if I engage you unarmed, oh champion of ages!\"\n\nOur hero reached behind his back for his own sword. Surely, he would not fall for the Black Knight's tricks. He readied his sword and. . .\n\n\"Ha! This may well be a new record!\" The Black Knight collapsed in laughter, lolling about like chick fallen from the nest. Meanwhile, Brandon tumbled down the cliff with frighteningly increasing speed, having lost his balance as he shifted his sword from his back to his hand. Brandon, laden with steel armor from head to toe, landed with a clank and a clatter that echoed throughout the valley with the faint sense of embarrassing eternity.\n\nBut fear not, for at that very moment, another hero, our true hero, made his way quietly toward the Black Knight. Steve crept through the river, only just a small reed peeking out above the waterline. The reed proceeded slowly, inconspicuously across the valley. It inched toward the Black Knight, still distracted by Brandon's fall from grace. Steve readied his dagger, and with all the patience and stealth he could muster, raised it for the killing blow.\n\n\"It is over, Tyrant.\" Steve thrust at the Black Knight's bare neck. . . but he found himself stabbing at the warrior with nought but air, the wet dagger itself having slipped out of his hand and splashing harmlessly into the water moments before.\n\n\"I will admit, that was mildly irritating.\" With both hands, the Black Knight dunked Steve's head beneath the water. He grasped tightly at his hair and forced his face into the slick mud beneath. Steve struggled, at first controlled then frantic, but eventually, with one last kick, his body fell limp and the Black Knight permitted him to float down the stream toward his fellow fallen heroes.\n\nIt was morning now, in earnest. The sun shown down and the Black Knight retired to a bit of shade beneath a willow tree. \"This was a particularly poor showing, old man.\"\n\nIt was indeed. But hope yet remained. Herold had shown great promise thus far.\n\n" ]	3
	[WP] At age 18 a person chooses a God which they can call upon for help once a day. You chose the least popular God.	[ "\"I swear to god...\" Drew uttered in frustration.\n \n\"You rang...?\" \n \nDrew's eyes twitched in exacerbation. \"Would you just... Get the heck out of my apartment?!\" He shouted.\n \nThere lounging on his sofa was a shapely gal dressed in a bathrobe. Her long brown hair was in shambles and looked disheveled. She rested her feet upon his clear glass coffee table, visibly smudging it.\n \n\"Would you at least get dressed, you lousy freeloader?\" Drew snapped at her, pointing angrily at her. \n \n\"Heeey, now... Is that any way to speak to your lord and savior?\" She leaned back on the sofa, laying her head onto the back rest. \"You summoned me, anyway.\" She said with a smirk.\n \n\"All my friends got respectable gods... Why in heaven did I get stuck with a lay-about like you?\" He shrugged and muttered to himself.\n \n\"You said you wanted my help... So you get it!\" She smiled fiendishly and flopped her head forward, looking back at the TV, dipping her hand into the opened family sized bag of chips sitted beside her.\n \n\"That's just it! You never actually do your job! You just sit here making a mess while I get ready for my shift. Don't you have something to do other than lounging about in my tiny apartment?\" He grimaced as he watched her take another handful of chips, dropping crumbs all over it's leather. Drew began fumbling with his tie.\n \n\"I happen to like it here. It's much better than being in heaven with all those stuffy, useless, all-goodnicks.\" She looked at him and tilted her head playfully, her hair covering her left eye from view. \n \nDrew mumbled to himself as he continued to mess with his tie. \"For god's sake... Just let me get this thing on... I can't be late again.\"\n \nThe woman got up and nonchalantly walked over, placing her hand first on his cheek then moving it to his tie, guiding his hands. \n\n\"Just... Like... This.\"\n \nDrew lowered his eyes toward the tie only to notice her cleavage peaking through the robe. He quickly averted his gaze and looked skyward. \n \n\"Why do you taunt me...? I can't be late or Jim's gonna' chew me out again.\" He stated awkwardly.\n \n\"There! All done.\" She patted him on the chest and laughed. \"If I didn't, who else would? It's not like you have any prospects of getting a girlfriend.\" She heartily slapped his back and laughed again, turned around and began walking to the sofa again.\n \nDrew paused for a moment, watching her walk. Her long alabaster legs silhouetted against the couch.\"Even so...\" He looked away. \"The... The tie doesn't count.\"\n \nShe stopped for a moment and without missing a beat, \"It totally does.\" She flicked her hair up and over her right shoulder.\n \n\"I could have done it myself!\" He whined, exasperated. He glanced at her long wavy hair, his eyes following it to the center of her back.\n \n\"I know... But you know the rules... Once per day.\" She tossed herself back onto the couch with a plop. \"Or were you wanting help with something... A little more 'intimate'?\" Her eyebrows raised suggestively.\n \n\"Whatever...\" He shook his head. \"Just don't make a mess.\" He said, walking toward the door.\n \n\"Whatever you say, loverboy.\" She winked at him.\n \n\"I mean it,\" He shook his head, \"Do it again and... And... no more cable TV!\"\n \nShe gasped, \"You dare deprive me, your goddess?\"\n \n\"And would you please get some clothes on?! That robe is way too revealing. Especially for any respectable goddess.\" He pushed his glasses up his nose.\n \n\"Yeeaaah yeaaaah. Ok, mother.\" She said sarcastically. \"Have a good day at work.\"\n \nHe opened the front door. \"You too...\" and with that, left for work. \n \n\n \n\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n", "I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the young man casually sitting at my kitchen table certainly wasn't it. \n\"Sooooo... Seriously. Why me?\" he asked, leaning fireward and resting his elbow on my table.\n\"I just thought you wouldn't be busy. I mean, I don't think you've gotten anyone in years-\"\n\"964 years\" he interrupted. \"And I haven't gotten a contract for a reason, you know. How did you even find out about me? I thought they destroyed all records mentioning me after Jude the Conqueror.\"\nI hid a smile.\"My family's pretty into history.\"\n\"Loving history can't bring back destroyed records. Besides, there's no way you didn't know about my ban when you chose me.\"\nWhat could I say? He was right. I knew all about him and his history. I knew about the infamous Jude the Conqueror, who left a path of burning devastation behind him, taking over almost half of Europe by force. I knew after that, his patron god was erased from history and all of the gods legacy was mixed with other gods, mostly with his cousin, Ido, the god of fire. But they never actually banned someone from choosing him, so no one could actually stop me. I knew he was extremely and powerfully dangerous, and that was perfect. No other god could, or would, help me with my task. \nBack in my kitchen, my guest expentantly raised his eyebrows, waiting for my response. It couldn't be helped- I had to tell him.\n\"Truth is, I really need something done, and no other god could do it.\" I admitted.\n\"Ok, what is so complicated that I'm the only one?\"\n\"I need to to overthrow the Emporer of the Americas.\"\nI practically heard the words thud against the table as they came out, and he clearly had nothing to add to them. It was a short while before he spoke.\n\"What, are you serious? Overthrow the Emporer? And what will you do if you succeed?\"\n\"Take the thrown, of course.\" I said matter-of-factly. \"He's a fool of a man, sitting by and getting fat while people are stealing and killing and disrespecting our country. If I'm in charge, I'll change all of it, and bring a new age to the Americas.\" I found myself giving him the whole performance, trying to convince him to help me.\nA huge, maniacal grin quickly spread across his face. \"Well why didn't you say so earlier? I can most definitely do that. Just say the words.\"\nBarely hiding my excitement, I spoke.\n\"Garrion, God of Explosions and Chaos, please aid me in my task.\" My words echoed violently across the kitchen, shaking the floor and making the table and the glasses in the cupboards rattle.\n\"Ok. Let's get to work.\"\n\n", "An explosion rang out behind you as a taxi exploded, the door flying right by your head.\n\n\"Die you communist scum!\" one of the Supply Side cultists cried out as he beat in the millennial's head with his rifle's butt. Around him other Marxism followers were executed as the daily walk to work through Hell Avenue sparked the third battle of the morning. A few shots range out as Patriots at Arms and their \"honorable\"deity, Trump, opened fire. The Supply side lines shattered as the tanks drove through the breach. Checking your watch, you saw you were 10 minutes late.\n\n\"Explain where you are before I find you can bring your head to Artemis!\"\n\n\"Well, the cock suckers just got blasted to kingdom come by the cavalry after they tried to killed everyone not in their cult.\"\n\n\"Fine, you'll get a demerit for being late but you have an extra hour to find your way through that mess.\" By the way I'd avoid getting the usual Starbucks for everyone in the office, give that a skyscraper is about to collapse into us I'd say your about to r...\" the call ended as dust blew through the streets with enough force to flip some of the lighter truck the Patriots brought with them this time.\n\n\"GODDESS SAVES ME!\" You scream as a chunk of the building you're sitting began to fall towards you.\n\n\"Now that strung.\" you say as you look at the glass embedded into the ground all around you. One chunk of pane had almost took off your head if weren't for Lady Luck's protection. Now if only the Spanish Inquisition's horn hadn't rung out in the distance behind you.\n\n\n---\n\nThis was certainly an open prompt.", "The light of the candles flickered in the circle around me, my only shield from the encroaching darkness of the temple.\n\n\"A petitioner.\" A voice hissed, reverberating in the tense silence. \"How unexpected.\"\n\nI tried to hold back my annoyance at the theatrics. It's 2018, why candles?\n\n\"I've come for answers.\" I demanded. \"I seek knowledge.\"\n\nIt hissed. \"It has been many years since I have had a priest. Are you ready to join the Great War?\"\n\n\"I am.\" I nodded. \"I pledge my service to you, Gatekeeper, if you agree to answer my calls as is traditional.\"\n\n\"I agree. Name your first question, my new Watchman.\"\n\nI paused. I thought.\n\n\"O Lord Who Guards The Outer Gates,\" I said \"What lies outside those Gates? Who is our enemy?\"\n\nThe candles went out abruptly.\n\n\"The Adversary.\" The voice whispered urgently. \"The Old Ones. They are what lies ahead. I cannot survive the war. Soon they will claim me... as they did the others.\"", "The clink of glasses, the tinkle of earrings, the cackle of laughter. All of it, forced.\n\nIt was all necessary enough, horribly so: there were deals to be made, contracts to sign, and no sane person would ever acknowledge that profit was the driving factor behind them. So, you pretend to make friends, they pretend to be friends with you and, if you can keep up the façade (and everyone derives some benefit from it), all is well.\n\nBut you can’t help but wonder, is it worth it? As your laughter rings hollow, as empty as your glass, you can’t resist pondering the question. For while the material benefit you receive is great, time has left you feeling as if it isn’t worth much of anything.\n\nNot that She thinks otherwise, though you’ve asked Her many a time to withdraw Her blessings. Yet they shower upon you, in waves as specious as their results, for you are the only one of Her followers.\n\nWhy did you pick Her, as your deity of choice, back when you hit your eighteenth year? A tear nearly comes to your eye as you remember, but you’ve too long been used to your every action evoking nothing in the way of emotions, so you don’t bother. Instead, your mind briefly flashes to your desire to avoid your mother. As if she’d have anything to do with you now.\n\nThe candles dim, the evening draws to a close. As the shadows lengthen and seek to consume you, your partners of convenience give their regrets, and depart: the hour is too late for them. You will be up for many hours still. It’s not that which stalks the night that haunts you, but what awaits in the light.\n\nShe leaves last, giving you one final, luminiferous smile, a smile that doesn’t quite reach Her eyes. It never quite does, not with Lari, god of Insincere Friendships.\n\n---------------------------------\n\nFeedback appreciated! I'm experimenting with a new style, so apologies for any weird wording.", "\"Heeeyyy, sooooo ...\" I winced at the familiar voice, not even bothering to hide my annoyance anymore. \"What'cha up to, buddy?\"\n\n\nBuddy. He had grown fond of that term ever since I had explained it to him, all those months ago. The word 'buddy' had lost all camaraderie every since he had taken it upon himself to say it at least once a minute. But he just adored using all these 'adorable, new mortal terms!' His words, not mine.\n\n\nI took a spatula out of the drawer. \"Dinner,\" I answered shortly.\n\n\n\"Cool, cool.\" He liked that word, too. There was a pause before he continued, \"Neeeeed any help?\"\n\n\n\"Nope.\"\n\n\nAnother blessed pause. For a moment, I dared to think that his attention had wandered away from me.\n\n\n\"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you cook steak before.\" As I had suspected, he was in a talkative mood, already settling down for a long chat. And believe me, it is a lot harder to ignore a voice speaking directly into your ear than you think - not to mention the fact that he hated when I didn't reply to him, and would annoy me to death until I spoke up again.\n\n\nYeah. It had been a long few months. \n\n\n\"That's because I haven't,\" I said, poking at the steak with my spatula.\n\n\n\"Ooh, exciting! Trying something new! Good luck!\" Augh, he just loved bringing up luck, given that he was a minor deity of it. My 18-year-old self had thought that was a good thing, but in reality, he just brought it up any chance he got without giving me much of any.\n\n\n\"Thanks,\" I grunted. It had been three minutes, so I wormed the spatula under the steak to flip it over.\n\n\n\"You know ...\" he said in a thoughtful way, \"you might mess it up. You've never made it before, after all. You could ask me to make sure it gets made perfectly!\"\n\n\n\"I'm fine. Thanks.\" I eyed the clock on the stove. Five minutes to seven - good, I wanted the steak to still be hot when she got here.\n\n\n\"Come on. Caius. Caiiiius.\" I gritted my teeth; his way of speaking always got on my nerves quickly. \"I have nothing better to do. I have nothing to do, actually!\"\n\n\n\"I can make it myself.\"\n\n\n\"What makes you think that?\" he prodded.\n\n\nI glared at the sizzling steak, not that any of this was its fault. \"I watched some videos on how to cook it. I'll be fine.\"\n\n\n\"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?\" he said coyly, making me want to scream. I wouldn't have to make a case for my competence if he wasn't constantly pestering me about it! \"Come onnnn. I'll even do this as a free favor! You'll still have your daily assistance!\"\n\n\n\"Caerus,\" I growled. Yeah, that's right. The only reason I picked this deity was because I just chose one that was most similar to my name - make fun of me if you want, I wasn't a creative 18-year-old. \"I'm fine.\"\n\n\n\"Woah, look who's a little cranky!\" He laughed, while I wished I could smack his face with the spatula. \"But hey, if you need to let out your anger, I could help you with tha--\"\n\n\n\"You can help me by leaving me alone for the rest of the night!\" I snapped, just as the doorbell rang. My eyes darted to the clock; she was three minutes early. Frantically, I checked my hair in my reflection on the microwave, then hurried to the door, spatula still in hand.\n\n\nMercifully, Caerus seemed to left me alone, so I was able to open the door with a smile on my face. Isabel looked stunning, as always, and she threw her arms around me to greet me with a deep kiss. I returned it with equal enthusiasm before she pulled away to step inside, looking around.\n\n\n\"Wow, so this is your apartment? It's so clean!\" she said, slipping off her shoes.\n\n\n\"Well, I couldn't have you walking into a pigsty,\" I joked, all my previous tension and anger slipping away. \"Want a tour? It'll only take a minute, but ...\"\n\n\n\"Um, Caius ...\" I glanced back at Isabel, and she pointed to the kitchen doorway. \"Is there supposed to be that much smoke?\"\n\n\nI stared blankly at the cloud of smoke pouring from the kitchen, before cursing louder than I wanted to and running to the stove. I had left the stove on when I went to answer the door, and in that seemingly short time, the steak had completely blackened on one side. Had I really left the stove this high? Gods, it was utterly and completely ruined - our perfect, home-cooked dinner was now an overcooked, burnt mess. \n\n\nIsabel had come into the kitchen behind me, and now slipped her arms around my waist. \"It's okay, babe.\" \n\n\n\"I'm sorry, I wanted t--\"\n\n\"Don't worry about it!\" she said, somehow managing to sound chipper. \"We can just order pizza or something. As long as I'm spending time with you, I'm happy.\"\n\n\nI smiled and bent to kiss her forehead, but my eyes were still focused on the steak. Had I left the stove that high? No, the steak shouldn't have burnt that fast. There was mischief at work here, and I knew whose it was. \n\n\nHowever, I had some revenge in mind.\n\n\nWhen Isabel fell asleep halfway through the movie, her head resting on my shoulder, I dug out my phone from my pocket. Scrolling through my contacts list, I selected the name of the most annoying person I knew.\n\n\nMy little brother picked up the phone in two seconds. \"Caius! Hey braaah! Hah, literally. Haha, that's so funny. Annnnyway, wassup?\"\n\n\nI smirked to myself. \"So, I know your eighteenth birthday is coming up, and I think I've found the god for you.\"\n\n\n**\n\n\nAnother little fun story! Similar in vein to one I wrote yesterday, but I guess I'm in that sort of mood. :) Had the idea of a god with nothing to do, constantly pestering the MC ... had to write it, haha. Thanks for the prompt, and if you liked this, feel free to look at r/lycheewrites ~", "CHAPTER ONE.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI had been pouring through the list of Gods for months, cross-referencing and double checking my notes every time I had a couple of minutes to spare. Most of my friends thought I was crazy for taking my Decision Day so seriously, but I knew I only had one chance to get it right, so I had to be sure. \n\n\"Have you really not chosen one yet Kate? I made my choice aaaaages ago! And my birthday isn't until June!\" Amy prodded my ribs as I pulled my note book out to re-check a few names. She was going to choose the God of Music, just like her mother, her two aunts, and three of her older sisters, and she'd already told everyone at least twice. For a day or so she'd pretended to be thinking about it* and she threw a few other names into the mix as though she couldn't make up her mind. But we all knew she'd go with Apollo in the end. It was tradition for the women in her family, and for some families, tradition was more important than choosing a God who actually suited your interests or ambitions. Amy didn’t even play a musical instrument. \n\nThere was no way I was choosing my God based on my parent's choices though. Mum had chosen Leto, the Goddess of Motherhood, because she had wanted to be a midwife. And Dad went with Pontus, one of the Gods of the Sea, because he was really into surfing when he turned 18. But both of those Gods were too popular, so they wouldn't work for me. The popular Gods got hundreds and even thousands of pledges a year, which meant they were always busy with everybody else's problems. \n\nSo I searched through all the old books and found the names of every God on the register, even the really obscure ones that most people had forgotten about. And I combed through all the Decision Day documents and cross-referenced with records from the Registry of the Deceased. And I was pretty sure I’d found one, but I had to be sure. I had 6 minutes before I had to announce my choice, so I had time to check my notes once more. \n\n“Seriously Kate, they’re going to call your name any minute now! Why don’t you just go with Artemis? You love animals, and maybe she could help you get into the Vet Science course you were talking about!”\n\n“I’m not choosing Artemis, Amy, I’ve told you already. Just gimme a sec, ok? Just shhhh for a minute.” I thumbed back and forth between pages. I was almost 100% certain, and that would have to do, because Amy was right, and I actually had run out of time. \n\nAnd then, right on cue…\n\n“Kate Amelia Cottle?” The slightly hunched man with a clipboard called my name from the front of the room. “You’re up love,” he said warmly as I lifted my eyes to meet his. I walked up to him with my notes clutched to my chest, leaving Amy behind because you weren’t allowed to take anyone with you, and he ushered me into Decision Day Chamber Six on the left. \n\n“Do you know what to do love? Any older brothers or sisters told you what’s what?”\n\n“Yeh, I’m fine thanks. I know what to do.”\n\n“Ok then, I’ll be right outside when you’re done.” He left me then, standing in the small chamber on my own, in front of a desk with an enormous book on it. I picked up the quill to fill out the blank sections on the open page in front of me. \n\nI, _______________________, on this the day of my 18th birthday, do choose the following God or Goddess to be my guide and helper for the remainder of my mortal life. \n\nI wrote my name carefully in the space provided, and then spelled out the name of my chosen deity in the next box.\n\n“Laneana.” I said it outloud as I wrote it, though I wasn’t sure if I was pronouncing it correctly. \n\nI scribbled my signature on the line at the bottom of the page, and then I waited. But I only had to wait a moment. Laneana appeared in front of me, facing the wrong way. She (she was a she) spun around and stared at me with a perplexed look on her face. \n\n“Who are you? What’s going on?”\n\n“Hi, I’m Kate. I’ve chosen you to be my God. I mean Goddess.” \n\n“You’re a Pledge? Why? No one chooses me!” She was pretty, and very slight, wearing a plain red pinafore style dress. She looked very young, but of course she was thousands of years old. \n\n“Well, I’ve chosen you.” I didn’t really know what else to say. I knew we only had a few minutes to talk, though hopefully longer than most. The popular Gods sometimes took ages to appear, but Laneana had appeared almost immediately, so hopefully I would get a few more minutes before anyone thought to come knocking. \n\n“But why? I haven’t had a Pledge in 170 years!”\n\n“176 years,” I corrected her automatically, and then immediately regretted my rudeness. \n\n“Ok, so you’ve done your homework.” She was wary of me, but she didn’t seem angry. She crossed her arms in front of her chest.\n\n“I chose you because I knew you didn’t have any other Pledges.”\n\n“Want me all to yourself, hey?” \n\n“Yes.” She had been kidding, trying to lighten the mood, but I wasn’t. That was exactly why I’d chosen her. \n\n“Ok then. Well, I haven’t done this in a while. I guess you need help protecting your Gallaecian gold?”\n\n“I’m sorry?”\n\nShe snorted softly. “Yeh, I didn’t think so.”\n\n“Oh, you’re the God of Gallaecian Gold?” I struggled with the alliteration. “I mean Goddess? I only found your name, I didn’t know what you presided over.” I looked down as I said it, embarrassed to be standing in front of this ancient Goddess that I knew nothing about. I hadn’t even known if she was a God or a Goddess! The only thing I really knew about her was that no one else knew who she was. Laneana had been forgotten, lost to the pages of old record books in dusty filing cabinets.\n\n“So why am I here? What you want?” She was getting annoyed, and I didn’t want our first conversation to end on a sour note. \n\n“Well, I need your help. And most of the Gods are so busy, and I needed someone who would be, available, and had, time, to… help.” I’d planned my choice so carefully but I hadn’t planned this bit. I was tripping over my words and fumbling with my notes, trying to work out how to explain myself.\n\n“Ok, well let me check my diary!” She mocked flipping pages in the air in front of her. “Hmm, maybe if I move a few things around, and swap that to Tuesday… yep, I’m free, every single day until the end of time!” She pretended to slam her imaginary diary shut and gave me a sarcastic smile. “So what do you need Kate?”\n\nI swallowed hard, and took a deep breath before I opened my mouth again. \n\n“I need to kill the President of the Federated States, and I need you to help me do it.”\n\n“Hu.” She paused for a long time, just staring at me with her pale blue eyes. “Ok then.” Her smile shifted from sarcastic to devilish. “As you know, I do have some free time up my sleeve, so I guess I can fit you into my schedule.” We both turned our heads as a knock came at the door. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” She was beaming at me now. Apparently I’d chosen well, and relief washed over me as she disappeared just as the door opened. \n\n“How’d you go love? Have they visited yet?” My clipboard man was back to check on me. \n\n“Yes, all done!” I picked up my notebook and papers and moved towards him.\n\n“Already? Gosh, most of them can’t get here that quickly! Who’d you choose?” He led me on to the Celebration Hall where Amy and my family would be waiting for me.\n\n“Laneana.” \n\n“Who?” he asked, and I smiled. Everything was falling into place. \n\n&nbsp;\n\n***\nEDIT: Thanks so much for your feedback guys! I hadn't planned on writing anything more on this story, but you got me thinking... so I've written 2 more chapters. I've added them as replies to this post (I haven't done follow up chapters before, not sure if this is the best way to do it?) Would love to have more feedback, and I hope you enjoy reading a little bit more of this story. And hopefully I'll get time to write some more over the next week, and I can follow up with chapters 4 and 5. " ]	7
You've asked about the button before, but everyone shrugged and said they had no idea either, but pressing it never did anything in the past.	[WP] You've lived in this building for years, and been using the elevator every day. The button with the weird symbol was never flashing before, but it is now. You decide to press it.	[ "A few friends made jokes about the button in the elevator when they helped me move in. Trevor said something about it probably summoning Cthulhu, and pushed it every time he brought another box up from the truck parked at the curb outside. I let him have his fun, but didn't really think anything of the button. The building was older than it looked, having been renovated haphazardly both outside and in. There had probably been some boiler room or something that had been sealed off, leaving a button with an outdated symbol that looked arcane out of context. Aside from the occasional question from friends and relatives who came to visit, I forgot the button entirely.\n\nThen, late one night in December, I got on the elevator and felt something distinctly different. The air was heavier in a way. Something twinged in the back of my neck, generally a warning sign that I would have a migraine within the next hour. With a groan, I pushed the button for my floor.\n\nIt was only then that I noticed the mystery button was pulsing with a low yellowish glow. Immediately I thought of Trevor's antics. I pulled out my phone and took a picture of the button mid-pulse so I could send it to him. The glow was not strong enough to see in the photo. Without really thinking, I pressed the button, hoping that it would glow brighter. \n\n\"Thank you, young lady,\" a creaking voice said beside me.\nMy phone dropped to the floor as I turned to face the old woman standing beside me. She was only about as high as my waist, and her face was so deeply lined that even her wrinkles had wrinkles. \n\"That's my floor,\" she said, pointing to the buttons. I looked back and saw that the mystery button had fully illuminated.\n\n\"Oh,\" I said.\n\nShe gave a nod, smiling and stood there in silence as the elevator moved slowly upwards. We passed the first floor with a gentle ping. Then the second. I looked the woman up and down, trying to memorize her so that I could report all of this back to Trevor, but something about her clothes slipped past my brain's ability to describe, or even focus on. She might as well have been a gray blur. All I could really see was her face. There seemed to be a paper bag in her arms. That I could see, although the details were hazy. It looked like the bag from the local corner shop, although the bottom was red and damp. The old lady seemed to be struggling with the weight of it, continually readjusting her grip on the handles.\n\n\"Do you need a hand with that?\" I asked, though I dreaded the answer.\n\n\"Oh no, dear,\" she replied. \"But thank you.\"\n\nThere was a sound like a deep gong, and the elevator doors slid open. We had reached the floor of the arcane button.\n\n\"This is me,\" she said, hobbling out. Beyond the open doors was a corridor identical to the one outside my own apartment. The only difference was the cats. There must have been hundreds of them. They lounged on the floor and clung to walls. A few appeared to be sleeping on the ceiling, tails flicking calmly as if gravity was an inconvenience they had decided to ignore. As one, ever single cat turned and looked my way, each of them with six yellow eyes opening wide.\n\n\"Good night dear,\" said the old woman, and the elevator doors slid closed behind her. i was left alone with only the memory of six hundred cat eyes staring into my soul.\n\nIn the three years I lived in that apartment, I never saw the button light up again. Trevor never believed me, he just thought the whole story was hilarious. But beginning that year, and every year since, I receive a Christmas card without a return address. No matter where I've moved, I always get that card. It's always addressed to \"the nice girl from upstairs\" and it always smells like cats.\n\nEDIT: Forgot to say thanks for reading! It was a fun prompt. Eldritch grannies for everyone. " ]	1
	[WP] All the ancient Greek and Roman gods and goddesses exist. Although you didn't realize it until one of them started hitting on you.	[ "“Hey, wanna see a cool trick?”\n\nI turned around to see a big hulking man, so ripped that he could probably lift me with one finger and twirl me around in circles with the other. He also had an amazing beard, so I decided to give him the time of day.\n\n“Sure,” I said, noticing that his eyes were bloodshot. Just another drunk, I thought wryly. “Surprise me.’\n\nThe man snapped his fingers, and a massive lightning strike burst over the bar. Screams erupted everywhere, and I saw one man choke on his beer before trying to wash it down with another. It would have been comical, but I was too busy screaming in shock to really care.\n\n“You like?” the man grinned. “You’re electric, babe. Even Zeus agrees with me.”\n\nI laughed. “Very impressive,” I said, matching his grin with one of my own. “What else can you do?”\n\nThe man laughed, running a dirty hand through his impressively maintained white beard. I winced. \n\n“Many things,” he said. “You’ll see.”\n", "She was leaning casually against the bar wearing a gold leaf dress that fell off her form appealingly. Her right hand danced on the rim of a a martini glass. The glass housed a liquid that was deep yellow and impossibly bright. Even at this trendy Boston cocktail bar you were sure they didn’t serve anything like that. \n\nThe woman did not come across as the bookish type and I told her so. Anger flashed quickly in her eyes before she composed herself. “What do you think us nerdy girls are supposed to look like?” she asked, leveling the question at me like a howitzer.\n \nGreat, I thought not only did you just find out that the woman you’ve been flirting with is the Goddess of wisdom, but now you’ve pissed her off. I took a shaky breath in before responding in what I hoped was a calm voice “I’m sorry to offend, I was having a great time when I thought you were just a stunning grad student. Now I know the truth I can’t help but think you’ll incinerate me or something.” The woman chuckled softly, lifted her drink from the bar, and tilted it back. The liquid in side tumbled out like a thick syrup. “Relax” she said, setting down the empty glass and brushing my suited arm playfully “we don’t do that anymore.” I smiled before she added “ok, maybe Zeus still does, but Father is somewhat unhinged”\n\n“Wow. I Can’t wait to meet the parents” I joked, feeling my earlier confidence return as if by magic “Just the one parent I’m afraid” she said with steady voice before adding in a flirtatious tone “but you’re getting ahead of yourself, Professor. We haven’t even had a real date yet.”\n\n“Oh” I remarked “and just what is it like to go on a date with the goddess of wisdom and warfare?” \n“You could find out right now” she responded, tossing a drachma down on the bar top and motioning for me to exit with her. Excitedly I finished off my Cuba Libre, spun on my wheels and started pushing past tables. A small flash ignited behind me and Athena materialized just outside the bar, holding an umbrella to repel the snow.” Taking in her impossible beauty at distance I rushed to join her, hopping up into a wheelie and catching air of the bar’s threshold. As my wheelchair skidded to a stop next to her Athena laughed at my childlike glee. “Using that thing like a toy you remind me of my brother” she said, lost for a moment in happy reflection. \n\n“Shall we go” I said, not believing my luck.\n\n“We shall” she responded. The goddess and I disappeared down the street to see what the city had in store for us.\n\n\nThis is my first attempt at writing creatively! It was fun!", "The place was dimly lit, like every good bar should be. I usually don’t make it a point to drink at hotel bars, but these things happen when you’re on a business trip in a strange city, and your coworkers are the kind to retire early. For me, a day at a conference calls for a cold one. Or five, but who’s counting.\n\nI chat a bit with the bartender, but mostly just accept the refills he provides and watch the new channel behind the bar. There’s something to be said for solace, and even with a convention in town, the bar is empty, the perfect place to sit with one’s thoughts.\n\nOr well, almost empty.\n\nShe sits a few seats down from me, a woman dressed for a night on the town, even if it is a Tuesday night. She’s a bit older, but that wouldn’t stop her from turning the head of every straight man she passed. Her cocktail dress hugs her slender curves, the neckline cut low, revealing much of her olive skin. She had dark hair and dark eyes to match, and I tried to guess her heritage. Spain? Greece? Italy? Latin America? Maybe even the Middle East.\n\nI sipped my drink and cast glances from the corner of my eye. Soon, it was evident that she was glancing back, the aging beauty at the height of her prowess, and the young business traveler, alone and vulnerable in a strange city. Just the kind of person you hope to meet in a hotel bar on a weeknight.\n\nWe played the little game, watching and looking away, until I finished my current drink. It was she who made the first move, walking over with the grace of a dancer, smoothly sliding into the seat next to me. She motioned to the bartender without taking her eyes off me. “A glass of Chianti,” she said slowly in a smoothly accented voice. “And what he’s having. You can put it on my tab.”\n\n“Another whiskey, rocks.” I slipped her a smile as the bartender prepared our drinks. “Usually the lady waits for the man to buy her a drink.”\n\n“I’ve been around long enough to know to never wait on a man. They’ll only leave you disappointed.”\n\n“I can’t imagine a man would want to disappoint a woman as beautiful as you.”\n\n“Sweet of you,” she said. “But men have been disappointing me for my entire life, my husband most of all.”\n\n“You’re married.” I looked down to her left hand, but saw no ring.\n\nThere must have been disappointment in the tone of my voice, because she was quick to answer. “For many years, but you shouldn’t let that deter you. He’s not exactly a saint.”\n\n“That so?”\n\nShe played with the wine glass, turning it by the stem. “Let’s just say I have had some...exchanges with a few of his mistresses. I can tell you I don’t know where he is tonight, and he doesn’t care where I am.”\n\n“And yet you’re still married?”\n\nA smile and glance from the corner of her eye. If I didn’t know any better, I would have called the motion shy, but this was not a shy woman, not by any stretch of the imagination. “Where I come from, divorce is not something that is even considered.”\n\n“And where is that? I have a few guesses, but I don’t want to offend you by guessing wrong.”\n\n“Few things can offend me. I come from Italy most recently, but I like to think of all the Mediterranean as my home, even if it is no longer true.”\n\nI caught the way she spoke and pushed the conversation on. “I can tell you that he is dumb to treat you that way.”\n\n“That’s sweet of you,” she said. “But I prefer to leave my husband out of my thoughts. He is not worth an iota of thought to you. I have focused too long on motherhood and being a good wife that I never took time to enjoy myself as he did.”\n\n“Children, huh?”\n\n“Four of them, a handful each of them.”\n\n“You don’t look it.”\n\nShe waved off the comment. “Oh stop it, no need to flatter me. I wouldn’t be talking to you if you hadn’t already stoked my curiosity.”\n\nI smiled, a half hearted attempt to appear embarrassed, but it was hard to. She was not exactly subtle. “Can I get your name?”\n\nShe smiled. “I have gone by a few names, but Juno was always my favorite, so you may call it that.”\n\n“Beautiful name. Like the movie or the city?”\n\nA laugh, strong, hearty, the laugh of a confident woman. “I assure you, dear, I was going by that name long before either existed.”\n\n“You certainly don’t look old enough for that.”\n\n“Now you’re just flattering me,” she said. “I’ll admit that I am much much older than I look.”\n\n“How much?”\n\nShe smirked at me. “I thought a gentleman such as yourself would know better than to ask a girl her age.”\n\nI returned the look. “Curiosity got the best of me. It’s not a name you hear often. Not since…” I trailed off, feeling the smirk melt from my face. “No, that seems a little unlikely.”\n\n“You’d be surprised at what’s likely,” she said, once more twirling her glass. She had drunk from it several times, but it seemed no lower than when the bartender had handed it over. “It’s easy to blend in with you humans; you never seem to look past the tip of your noses. Especially when your name is only really spoken in academia.”\n\n“Which means you’re married to…”\n\nShe nodded slowly. “Zeus. Jupiter. Jove. Whatever you want to call him. Doesn’t make him any less of an asshole.”\n\n“But he can fling lightning.” This suddenly seemed a lot less of a good idea. I toyed with the idea of walking away from her, but if I remembered my mythology, she was not exactly the most forgiving goddess out there.\n\nJuno scoffed. “He can barely make a spark. Power is driven by faith, and our powers are reduced to mere parlor tricks.” She glanced over her shoulder to ensure no one was watching, then touched my glass. I saw the whiskey level rise until it was near the brim. “No need for a refill,” she said with a devilish smile. “Makes for pleasant bar tabs.”\n\n“Why me?” I asked.\n\nShe shrugged, the motion as smooth as her walk. “You were here. You’re young. You’re not too hard on the eyes. I’m pickier than my husband, but not by much.”\n\nI guess that was fair; it couldn’t be expected that I had looks to attract a goddess. She leaned in closely to me, her hand placed on my leg. Beneath her palm, something seemed to surge, as though electricity was flowing from her to me. She spoke, her voice lowered. “This is just a taste of what’s to come. I’ll show you what a goddess is really capable of.”\n\nI bit my lip, feeling the lightning in her touch, the fire in her voice. Could this really be happening? It wasn’t like I could tell anyone - no one in their right mind would believe me. But did that have to stop me?\n\nI looked her in the eyes, eyes that had been through millenia, that had seen civilizations rise and fall, and her own power with it. The thought almost seemed piteous, a goddess who was a shell of herself. Would she be doing me a favor, or would I be doing her one.\n\nShe leaned back a little. “Time means little to me, but that doesn’t mean I’ll wait all night. There’s a whole city waiting for a woman like me.”\n\nI smiled at her. How could I refuse? It’s not every day you had a chance to take a goddess to bed.\n\n“So,” I said. “Your room or mine?”\n\n---\n\nLike what you read? Check out more at /r/drewmontgomery", "It would have been a perfectly manageable shift at the Blind Poet if the old man in the corner had kept his thoughts to himself.\n\n\"Hey gorgeous,\" he shouted at the bar, where I was help a young couple that had just come in. \"When're you getting off?\"\n\n\"Ignore him,\" I told the couple, who looked like they were probably newly drinking-age students at the nearby university. \"Harmless local.\"\n\n\"I said,\" the man shouted, clearly trying to enunciate though drink was slurring his words, \"when're you getting off? I could take you out tonight.\"\n\nI tried to maintain a smile for the students, who were looking increasingly skittish. A woman a little ways down the bar stared into her drink, clearly trying to block out the old man as much as I was. There was a scraping of chair legs on the wooden floor as the man got to his feet. His short stature was not aided by his hunched posture, but he moved to the bar with rapid steps.\n\n\"Excuse me,\" I said to the couple, who nodded and moved aside. The bell on the door chimed as they fled the pub, but I kept my eyes on the old man.\n\n\"You gonna ignore me all night?\" he asked. His eyes were wide and wild, with electric-blue irises. \n\"If you have a drinks order,\" I said as calmly as I could, though my fists were clenched behind the bar, \"I will get it for you.\"\n\n\"That's it?\" \n\n\"That's what they pay me for.\"\n\n\"Listen here.\" He leaned an arm on the counter. \"Do you know who I am?\"\n\nWe had more a few older regulars at the Blind Poet, despite being a knock-off British pub in a mid-western college town. A run down bar had once stood at the same location, and I think we had inherited the same crew that had once drunk there. They never caused trouble or scared off the students. This man had now done both.\n\n\"I don't recognize you,\" I said.\n\n\"Don't recgonize me? Why I--\" He reached over the bar towards me, but before I could pull away, a flash of light filled the pub. For a moment I wondered whether lighting had struck. Then I saw the woman from down the bar holding an enormous glowing longbow, with an arrow notched on the string. She aimed directly for the old man.\n\n\"Leave her be, mortal,\" she said, and her voice echoed through my skull in a way that sent shivers up my spine. \n\nThe man fled, tripping over his feet as he went. Dazed by light and surprise, I looked around the room. The only other patrons present were a few of the regulars, two men and a woman. They stayed in their seats, still sipping their drinks. Their eyes were focused on the woman with the same interest that they usually watched the television on the opposite wall.\n\n\"Well.\" The woman took the arrow off the string and it vanished into glittering sparks. Her voice seemed the same as it had when she'd ordered her drink earlier in the night. \"Enough of that noise.\" With an easy grace I could never dream of imitating, she slung the bow over her shoulder, where it continued to pulse with soft light.\n\n\"Thank you,\" I said. \"No one's ever gotten that aggressive in here before.\"\n\nShe smiled, flashing blindingly white teeth that were ever so slightly too sharp. \"He won't be back.\"\n\n\"Probably not.\" I glanced in the direction of the door, but it was difficult to keep my eyes off of her for any length of time. \"Who are you?\"\n\n\"Artemis of the Wildland.\" Her voice took on that echoing quality again. \"Goddess of the hunt and protector of maidens.\"\n\n\"Oh is that all,\" I said, wondering if I could be having some sort of waking delusion or stroke without realizing.\n\n\"I have many more titles. And follower of the Blind Poet should know them. But I have a question for you, Emily daughter of Eva.\"\n\n\"Yes?\" There was no point questioning how she knew my name or my mother's. \n\nShe, Artemis, leaned bother arms on the bar and grinned at me. \"Could I take you out tonight?\"\n\nWithout hesitation, I answered, \"Yeah, okay.\"\n\n------\n\nThanks for reading! I know literally everything that can be done with Greco-Roman gods has already been done, and better than I can manage. But I still had fun writing this!\n" ]	4
	[WP] In the future the time we live in now is called the promising age, and it leads to the age of the struggle.	[ "## Excerpt From \"The End Of The Age Of Promise\" by Cilian Pyrel.\n\nOf particular impactfulness to the modern reader, when considering the global events of the \"Age of Promise\", commonly understood to encompass a period from the early 20th century through the mid 21st, is the chilling sense of foreboding present at every historical step.\n\nIn general, throughout the larger course of human history before the present age, humanity's forebears have acted with unavoidable ignorance of the future. It can fairly be said of civilizations, up to and including the early Industrial revolution, that they resided in a state of true, and therefore unknowable ignorance of the long term effects their actions might have on the course of their species.\n\nIndeed, for much of human history the individual members of the human race were so ignorant of fundamental tenets of science, that the notion of each person being a member of a single contiguous species would have eluded most of them.\n\nHowever the Age of Promise (\"AP\") was markedly different. Our ancestors who lived during this remarkable period of potential cannot rely on the crutch of ignorance to warrant their actions. Until the present day, the AP stood alone as the high water mark of human scientific understanding. \n\nMost remarkable of all, and to the modern reader most distressing, is the extent to which that wealth of data encompassed issues of long term prognostication. It is an unchallenged fact, established beyond all doubt by the records of \"Corporate\" entities, that our ancestors knew full well that they were rendering their home planet inhospitable to multi-cellular life. \n\nHere we must mention a common practice of the AP, wherein individual human beings conglomerated themselves into groups and acted with a shared purpose to the end of achieving their particular group's largely economic goals. \n\nThis behavior would be unremarkable, similar as it is to the social structures inherent in our society today, if it did not contain a fatal, vestigial tendency toward non-inclusion. The result of this quirk, which served our species so well as hunter gatherers, proved to be inherently destructive in trying to maintain a more advanced society. \n\nNo matter the efforts made to defeat the tendency of ancient humans to isolate from each other, no system of governance during the AP was ultimately successful at breaking the habit.\n\nThe result was roughly 200 years of human potential ultimately squandered by a human race focused exclusively on achieving the short term ends of their respective groupings. These groups took several forms - whether nation states, religious sects, military organizations, or, perhaps most damaging, although this is far from agreed upon in historical circles, the aforementioned \"Corporations.\"\n\nIt is, as mentioned above, well known today that it was various Corporations, with innocuous names like \"Shell\", \"BP\", and \"Exxon\" which ultimately obscured the unequivocal data showing the destructive potential of fossil fuels.\n\n But perhaps more disturbing still is that, even when said data was eventually released for public discource, our ancestors persisted in ignoring it, which ultimately proved a terminal delay.\n\nThis phenomenon, wherein the greater good is systematically ignored in furtherance of the short sighted aims of short term, artificial groupings of human beings, is today referred to as \"Association Blindness\", and it was arguably the understanding of this phenomenon which enabled our present society to flourish in its current form.\n\n*******\n\n## For More Legends From The Multiverse\n\n# r/LFTM" ]	1

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