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] The Bible but it’s a sitcom	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Genesis 9:22-27\n\nHam walks into Noah's bedroom, leaning on the bedroom door. \n\nHam: Hello, Dad? Are you in here? I need to talk to you about something.\n\nNo response. Ham looks further in, and sees his dad lying completely naked on his bed, drunk out of his mind.\n\nHam utters a yelp of fright, and runs back out the door, down the stairs. \\[Laugh track\\]\n\n---------------\n\nShem and Japheth are walking down the hall when Ham runs into them. \n\nHam: You guys, Dad's lying naked in bed!\n\nShem: What'd you go looking in there for? \\[Laugh track\\]\n\nJapheth: Yeah, you know Dad hates having his privacy violated, especially when he's butt naked and too drunk to notice. \\[Laugh track\\]\n\nHam: Well, whatever, we gotta go cover him up. I've seen enough of him to last me the next 350 years. \\[Laugh track\\]\n\nShem: I've got just the thing.\n\n---------------\n\nShem and Japheth are walking backwards into Noah's room, carrying a giant bedspread. Laugh track plays as they come into the shot walking backwards.\n\nJapheth: I'm never letting you talk me into doing this again.\n\nShem: Just be grateful Ham told us in advance so we didn't have to see it for ourselves.\n\nThey cover Noah with the sheet, which wakes him up.\n\nNoah: What... what happened? My head hurts.\n\nShem: Well, Ham came in here and saw you naked, so we came in looking the other way to cover you with something.\n\nJapheth: Yeah, nobody has to see that.\n\nNoah: That son of a bitch! \\[Laugh track, as Japheth and Ham look at him for a second, then at the audience.\\] I'm writing his son Canaan out of my will for this. Nobody makes fun of my drunken nudity! \\[Laugh track and applause, fade to intro.\\]", "Mary, our lead character, walks out of her house, looking confused. The audience roars in applause at her arrival. She notices Joseph, her farmer friend next door, carrying a bundle of hay, and calls to him. \n\n“Joseph!?”\n\nJoseph instantly recognizes the voice, becomes flustered, and drops the hay. “Mary!” He trips on the hay and falls flat on his face.\n\ncue laugh track\n\nJoseph climbs over the small fence separating their houses and stands a few feet away from her. He scratches his head. \n\nMary sighs. “I’m in an odd situation, and I need your help.”\n\nJoseph nods. “Of course I’ll help you, Mary. I’ll... I’ll do anything for you.”\n\ncue “awww”\n\nMary slaps him on the back. “Thanks, bud!”\n\ncue laugh track\n\nMary clears her throat. “So, basically, I’m pregnant.”\n\nJoseph chokes on his own spit and starts coughing and hacking. As soon as he calms down, he looks up at her. “You’re _what!?”_\n\ncue laugh track\n\n“It’s not what you think! It wasn’t just a man... it was an angel.”\n\n“He was that good at it, huh?”\n\ncue laugh track\n\n“No!” shouts Mary. “Not a metaphorical angel, but an actual angel! His name was Gabriel, and he told me that I’m now pregnant with God’s baby!”\n\n“Wait, what!? Really?”\n\nMary nods, shakily.\n\nJoseph thinks for a moment. “Does God pay child support...?”\n\ncue laugh track\n\nMary scratches her head. “Oh, yeah. And he also told me to marry you.”\n\nJoseph chokes on his own spit again. “He wants you to _what?”_\n\ncue laugh track\n\nMary gets down on one knee. “Joseph... will you marry me?”\n\nJoseph almost answers, but then faints. As Mary stares at his unconscious body in confusion, the audience cracks up. Then, the screen fades into a commercial break." ]	3
	[WP] You are promised a wish if you manage to save a life in the next 24 hours. The catch? Your aura causes freak accidents.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The Q on the old wooden sign was just barely holding on. I chuckled a little bit imagining someone being knocked unconscious as they walked into the “Ye Olde Antique and Treasures” shop one day. As my wife dragged me into the dust covered store. I joked with her about looking for a genie lamp. She rolled her eyes and continued searching for something I’m sure we didn’t need in our house.\n\n“If it’s wishes you want I can make that happen.” A quiet voice said startling me causing me to jump and turn.\n\nI turned to find a small elderly woman, curly gray hair. She was wearing an a long green dress made from what I could only imagine was the most itchy wool available.\n\n“You can grant me wishes?”\n\nShe reached out with her thin wrinkled hand and placed it on mine.\n\n“Well one to be precise.” She whispered to me “but it’s not free”\n\nI began to laugh. \n\n“Of course it’s not free, I wouldn’t expect it to be.” I spoke hoping my sarcastic tone wasn’t too overwhelming. “Is whatever the catch is I’ll take it”\n\nShe stared into my eyes deeper than anyone has before.\n\n“Save one life in the next 24 hours and I’ll grant you one wish. I will be watching over you. Once completed you will get your wish.”\n\nI chuckled again. “And how likely will it be for me to have that opportunity?”\n\n“That won’t be an problem I’m sure of it.” A small devilish grin appeared on her face. “Accidents will fine you from now on.”\n\n“Perfect that will make things easier for me” the sarcasm must have oozed out of every pore at this point. \n\n“But if you can’t save someone in 24 hours, this will be your curse for the rest out your life.” \n\n“Not a problem, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you in less time that that.” As I spoke I couldn’t hold back the laughter at this point.\n\nMy wife called out about something she found. As I turned to look back the old woman had vanished. \n\nWe went up to pay for the god awful mirror my wife had found for our guest bedroom. The man standing behind the counter ringing us up asked the usually did you find everything your looking for. \n \n“Sure did, and tell your wife that I hope to her seeing her in the next 24 hours.” I said jokingly.\n\nHe looked puzzled as he told me he was never married and was the only one present in the store.\n\nAs we walked out that’s when it happened. The Q well directly onto my wife’s head just as I had imagined it. Lucky for her it was small enough to only leave a little bump and no blood. As we drove home more and more little things started to happen around me. As we sat at a light a bird flew into the drivers window causing him to blow a red light and side swipe a small car. The injuries for this were slightly more severe. But nothing critical. As I sat there helping a woman I couldn’t help but think about what the old woman had said. That I wouldn’t have a problem saving someone’s life.\n\nAs the hours went on, I became more and more paranoid. Things became more intense. A strap broke on an tractor trailer hauling pipes spilling them onto the road. One impaled a driver causing a multi car pileup right behind us. A sinkhole opened up swallowing a man as he mowed his lawn while we drove past. The woman at the deli slipped on some spilled mayo and broke her neck. \n\nI sat in the car devastated. How was I supposed to save people like that. The woman wanted me to try and save people but had cursed me to witness deal accidents all around me. As me drove home a couple miles from home that’s when it hit me. My children were home with the baby sitter. What would happen if the got close to me. I turned to look at my wife that was singing some horrendous song that was only made tolerable by her voice. She looked so happy and peaceful even with everything that happened around us that day. I told her about the old lady, about the curse, and she just laughed.\n\n“I’m sure you were just imagining it.” She said trying to reassure me “Nothing that happened today was your fault you just need to relax.”\n\nAs my eyes turned red, a tear dropped down my cheek. “I can’t take that chance and we are almost home. I’m sorry I have to do this to save you and the girls. Please forgive me.”\n\nI through the passenger side door open as I heard he scream. In that moment didn’t feel anything. I closed my eyes accepting my fate, just waiting for the tractor trailer to hit me.\n\n\n\n(I’m new to this so any feedback positive or negative is appreciated)\n", "I don’t know if it’s a fact or just a coincidence, but I always happen to be at every location of freak accidents. . . It’s kind of weird to be honest. I have witnessed the strangest accidents of all times; a biker decapitated by an electrical cable, a waitress falling head first against the counter, a man getting hit by a boomerang and having a heart failure... The list gets longer and weirder. And every time I think I’ve witnessed the worst, it gets freakier. I always believed it was a coincidence until I made a strange encounter.\n\n“You don’t know me, but I’ve been watching you for a very long time. I have the questions to all of your answers,” he said.\n\nThough I found it creepy that he’s been watching me, I wanted to know more and told him to tell me all about it.\n\n“It’s not a coincidence that people die in the strangest ways around you. It’s your aura, it causes freak accidents. . . But if you want, I can help you,” he replied.\n\nI was indeed shocked to know that my nasty aura was the cause of so many people’s deaths and obviously sought his help.\n\n“I am a man of many wishes and I shall grant you one. I will also clear your aura. . . But first, you have to save a life in the next 24 hours,” he said.\n\nThat seemed impossible. How am I supposed to save a life when my aura causes freak accidents? That man was clearly bullshitting me! However, it was still worth a try. I mean, who would not take a chance of stop freakily killing people and have a wish at the same time.\n\nSo, I made the deal and he said he’ll find me again when my part of the deal has been fulfilled.\n\nThat day I went home and kept thinking about ways to save a life. There were many but I never knew what freak accidents my aura would cause around people…. So, I just decided to keep walking around the streets until I could be of use to someone.\n\nI was walking around a house and saw a man mowing his lawn. I walked by him and at that exact moment, his foot got caught in the lawn mower and he started to bleed heavily! I panicked and instantly called an ambulance. As I waited for them to arrive, I unplugged the lawn mower and tied my jacket on his wound to stop the overflow of blood.\n\nThen I went into his place to see if there was someone else who could help me or to see if I could find a first aid kit. As I entered his living room, I heard some weird noises coming from a room. . . I slowly went to the door and hesitated a while; I was not sure if I should open it or not as the noises were strange. I finally decided to go for it and as I opened the door, I was horrified. I quickly took my phone and called the cops!\n\nThat room hid a woman, half naked, tied to the bed. She was gauged and was bleeding at different places. In that moment, I didn’t know what to do. Should I wait for the police or should I help her? I followed my instinct and removed the gauge from her mouth and untied her from the bed, and the police arrived at the same time.\n\nThey took the woman into their custody and asked me a few questions, before letting me go. As I reached home that night, I saw the wish granting man standing by my door, and he looked happy. . . I was confused and thought that the deal was off.\n\n“Congrats! You saved a life today,” he said.\n\nI kept staring at him. . . and he added, “Well, your aura almost killed someone again, but you saved that woman’s life. If your aura hadn’t harmed that man, that woman would have never been freed and would have died there. Your aura’s clear now; you have nothing to worry about. So, what’s your wish?”\n\n“I want unlimited wishes,” I said laughingly.\n\nThe man looked at me in horror for a few minutes before saying, “A deal’s a deal. Every time you make a wish, it will come true… Think well before you make your wish. You can make the first one. . .”\n\n“I want my freak-accident-causing-aura back”, I replied.\n\nI could see the confusion on his face… But only I knew what years of solitude and seeing people die could do to a soul.." ]	3
	[WP] you've been given many names over the years. "Thalgor the terrible" "Thalgor the unclean" "Thalgor the merciless" but only one name has ever struck home, "Thalgor the sensitive".	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "They cheered his name. It boomed, echoed, and trembled around him, fists raised high to great his with every pump. \"Unclean! Reign! Forever! Unclean! Reign! Forever!\" Their cheers were his heartbeat, his liquor and he was drunk with delight. Five cities sacked, two countries, and a great noble Lady captured. All by the hands of the lowest of the low, the men who were born to die working in the mines below Ursa's Burning Lake. Victory was now his right, and he knew his sacrifices had all been worth it. Millions of voices had shouted at him before, declaring him the greatest monster, the worst atrocity, merciless, terrible and even Thalgor the Devour of Babies.\n\nHeat and fire took most before puberty, and those who survived lead a grueling life all to provide Esnite for the populace. Once, the people had fought to save the Unclean minors, but as time marched on so did the attitudes of the well off. No one wanted to think of the lowly that powered their cities, and most Unclean accepted that. But not Thalgor. Getting power was easier than he could have ever imagined, guards had become lax and had begun to view his people as less than human. News, priests and plays saw to that, the Unclean were labeled subhuman. Inferior. On news days that dragged, chipper reporters spouted statistics that placed the Unclean below Bonobo Chimps.\n\nThalgor knew better. Thaglor knew how to plan, and he would not forget the injustices put upon him. The day he took over the Command Center had been glorious, his strength surged electric and iron. Plums gave more resistance than the first head he swung at, it felt sickeningly wrong but it was so easy. A woman looked at him in terror, she tried to flee downstairs but he ended her futile attempts without hesitation. Thalgor the Crusher was his first name of many.\n\nOne victory turned to two, then three, until he had taken more lives than he could count. Being a terror to many was worth it, and he would be called worse and revel in it. Honor, justice, being loved, they were small sacrifices to give up to protect his people. If it was necessary, he would be Thalgor the Mad.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nHe had a secret nickname, one spoken only in whispers of children, and his closest advisers. Thalgor the Sensitive. Every death he was responsible for would weigh on him, he woke with terrorized faces behind his eyes. Sleep was a forgotten luxury, and he was certain he would not live much longer. It was worth it for his children, it was worth it for the Unclean, even the great and Noble Lords and Ladies would eventually live a better life. Revolution is always messy his thoughts drifted back to the rally, and out to the sweating faces of his army. Yes. It was worth it to be Thalgor the Terrible, so Thalgor the Sensitive could change the world.", "On the far outskirts of civilization live I, Thalgor. Thalgor the great, Thalgor the awful; Thalgor the fat, Thalgor the hungry. Thalgor the ugly and Thalgor the imperious. Thalgor the naked and the robed. Thalgor of a thousand insults.\n\nTonight as I lay on my spread of animal furs I find I cannot sleep. I wrench my eyelids shut but the black embrace of night will not come. I sweat and roll, discomfiting my favorite fallen priestess until she kicks me off the side unconsciously. The reflexes of a thousand battles let me hit the ground noiselessly. I decide to let her assault go unmentioned at the morning feasting.\n\nI rise majestically to my feet and stifle a yawn while scratching beneath my loincloth. The details of my bedchamber are illuminated by the moonlight that shines down from a small hole in the ceiling. The harem slumbers around our central bed, draped across a sea of cushions. Their expressions of ecstasy have been replaced by the easy contentment of sleep. I tiptoe quietly across them, not untouched by envy.\n\nIn the larder I call out for a slave to fetch me some water. A young man with green eyes answers my request with my favorite goblet, pre-chilled. I pat his cheek and request he attend me. He complies wordlessly but avoids my gaze.\n\nHesitation assails me. I drink thirstily and reverse myself, telling him to fetch himself something he likes from the cellar and call it a night. He leaves and I am utterly alone.\n\nThough I have trekked many thousands of miles alone, I never felt such desolation as this. I wonder if resuming my wanderings might quench the ache inside me or at least offer a form of flight. Once I retreated and they called me Thalgor the cowardly for three whole years until I came back to raze the fortress Yal'gimmuh to the ground with only a hundred strong men at my side. A man can change, I think. But still he cannot sleep.\n\nI find myself on the ramparts of my mountain lair, walking slowly and looking over the edge, towards the desert that once seemed endless but now has been colonized by the distant light of the cities. The fourteenth crenellation from the West of the wall contains a small crevice, left by the mace strike of rival long dead. From it I retrieve a small but precious box, containing within it special rolls of herbs, some tinder, and a flint. I cannot lift the box without thinking of the shaman and his exhortations that I stop smoking the Bloodherb but I cannot quiet my mind without it either.\n\nInhaling deeply, I feel a false relief. My thoughts turn to the events of the day. In the morning I had held council and before me were brought members of the tribe who had committed crimes. Murderers and thieves were uncommon but I had been asked to render judgement on a young woman whose plight left me particularly bare.\n\nMarliah had slain her husband as he slept and taken everything he had. She'd been caught fleeing her yurt in the early hours of the morning, spotted by one of my eagle-eyed sentries. She was still covered in her husband's blood when she was dragged before me and I demanded her confession, as is custom. And before my gaze she stood and said:\n\n\"Mighty Thalgor, I confess to his murder but in my heart I am not guilty. You have crossed these lands for years, building this tribe by the power of your sword arm and your loins. Tales sing of your brutality. But I ask, if your reputation had not been carved in flesh, who would know you?\"\n\n\"Not a soul.\" I answered, knowing it to be true.\n\n\"My husband was a tyrant and a manipulator. He lied fearsomely and wove wicked spells to contain my life. It was not marriage, it was bondage. And not a happy bondage, like you have with your respected courtesans that you allow to come and go as you please. It was worse than how you treat your lowest slave Thalgor.\"\n\n\"In time Thalgor, I came to a realization. My situation was simple; I could destroy him or slowly be destroyed from within for years to come.\"\n\nAs she said this she looked into my eyes and I looked past the blood caked on her brow to see a fearsome light, a desire not to heal oneself but to live life. A torch with the flame I had lost.\n\nI let her go. They jeered at me and called me \"Thalgor the Sensitive\" but what does it matter. I have never bowed to another man's notions of what is right or wrong in matters of the inner self. Maybe the tear that rolled down my cheek then and the ones that pour down my face and into my already wet beard now betray me. Perhaps there is something wrong with me. But for now I feel sleepy - I think I will go back to the my furs and kiss the priestess one more time. I promise I'll call the shaman about this in the morning." ]	3
	[WP] Everyone wears masks. They are put on you right after birth. To show your real face to someone gives them power over you.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Welcome, Hawk.\"\n\nThe hawk-masked man walked over and sat down in a chair. In front of him was an older man in a business suit, holding a folder in his hand. He had a simple black mask over his face.\n\n\"Get on with it, Black.\"\n\nBlack nodded, then slid a folder across. Hawk opened it and skimmed the papers inside.\n\n\"This woman has around 15 confirmed kills currently. She seduces men, brings them to her home, and kills them. As it turns out, the police have been trying to investigate this woman for quite a while, which is why there are so many files in that regard.\"\n\nHawk continued reading through the papers, almost as if ignoring Black entirely. Black cleared his throat.\n\n\"Our patron put a letter in the end. The amount you'll get paid included in there.\"\n\nHawk flipped through to the last paper. He began to read it quietly.\n\n\"So? Shall I tell them you'll take the job?\"\n\nHawk said nothing. He went back and looked through the papers once again. The woman herself was beautiful, with long brown hair and a slender body. She wore a mask resembling a demon, giving her the nickname \"Succubus\" on the documents. \n\n\"Fine.\"\n\n\\~\\~\\~\n\nHawk walked briskly behind the woman in front of him, dressed in a skin-tight red dress. He kept his hands in his pockets and his body far enough away to avoid any surprises, but close enough to avoid suspicion. The motel's hallway was surprisingly stylish, with lamps that lit up every nook and cranny of the path they walked through. Succubus stopped,then turned to Hawk.\n\n\"Well? Ready to have some fun?\"\n\nShe pulled a key out from her purse, slung across her shoulder as they walked, and opened the door. They walked inside, closing and locking the door behind her. Hawk quickly began to scan the room.\n\nThere were lightbulbs above them, carpet by their feet. Two lamps, giving off light normally; nothing hidden in them. The curtains were thin, and the lights of the room shone through them to reveal only the window and walls behind. The bed was rather average, covered with a pattern matching the carpet by their feet.\n\n\"Would you like a drink?\"\n\nShe walked over to the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of red wine from the cabinet. \n\n\"No thanks.\"\n\n\"...Looking to get right into the action, huh? Forgive me, but if you won't drink, I will.\"\n\nShe uncorked the bottle and poured herself a glass, drinking it quickly. Some of it dripped down her chin, staining her dress. She licked her lips slowly, then walked up to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist.\n\n\"Shall we, then?\"\n\nShe moves her hands up to his face, resting on his cheeks. Hawk tensed up, which she noticed immediately. He moved his hands over to her face, and she quickly dug her nails under his mask. \n\n\"Freeze.\"\n\nSuccubus froze. Hawk had quickly revealed her brown eyes with a single, deft motion, one he had practiced countless times. \n\n\"Your mask is stitched to your face...\" she realized in horror. Hawk quietly stepped away, her body still frozen in the embrace that she had tried to use on him. \n\n\"It's not quite that simple.\"\n\nSuccubus twitched, but her body would not move. The demon mask in Hawk's hand fell to the ground, bouncing a few times before remaining still. He had prepared this scenario from the moment he read through the files; she would always try to unmask her victim, then brutally torture them until eventually taking their life. Many of the people she killed were lonely single men, or married men looking for something discreet. Hawk smiled, a smile which sent a chill down Succubus's spine. They both knew at this point that he had won the moment she tried to make her move.\n\nAll Hawk needed now was two words. He could use any number of them, to make it look like another murderer killed her, to make it look like he was simply defending himself from an assailant. Both of these would cause too much trouble for him if they were looked into, however.\n\nAll he needed was two words. Nothing more, nothing less. He smirked quietly, and leaned down to pick up the mask. He grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed through the forehead of the mask. He put the knife in her hand and pointed at her forehead.\n\n\"Stab here.\"\n\n\\~\\~\\~" ]	2
	[WP] You are a monster who ate all other monsters who eat monsters. You wake up in monster’s belly, next to eight monsters and a barber.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Hello there, how are you today?\" I greeted the other nine occupants. \"My name is Samor.\" I introduced myself as I looked around the tight space. This belly is not very space friendly for ten monsters at once. Every movement affects the rest of the occupants. Even the monster itself wince every once in a while. This monster is too greedy. There is no reason for the monster to prepare so early, for the Winter will only be here three months later. Does he expect us to eat each other? Oh please, I have better choices than these monsters.\n\n\"Erm... Hi. I know this is weird but will you be able to make the space a little brighter? I am having difficulty untangling my tentacles.\" I ask the monster next to me politely. It is a monster that has the features of an anglefish, but the face of a giraffe and body of a monkey. He looked at me with nonchalant eyes, as his light brightens. I thanked him gratefully and look around the room again.\n\n\"Hey! You are tael! I love your songs! You are amazing!\" I looked again and realized that one of the occupants is the greatest singer of all times. I have all of his albums! Those three creatures right next to him must be his minions, for they decorate themselves with similar accessories that has the name Tael all over it. I turned to the monster right next to me again and ask for his name. \"Kace.\" He said emotionlessly. \"Hi Kace, how are you today?\" I asked, hoping that I am no longer the only one talking. But it did not work very well, for he only looked at me uninterested and with no reply.\n\n\"Okay...\" Everyone seemed so gloomy. Is it weird that I am not? I am sure nobody feels good about being eaten and disgested. Lucky for us, this monster's digestive system starts in the stomach, not the mouth. As I observed the other occupants, I noticed a monster equipped with knives and scissors. \n\n\"Hello there, why do you need that much weapons?\" I asked curiously. \n\n\"It is none of your business, but if you really want to know, I am a barber.\"\n\n\"With knives?\"\n\n\"You creatures have really thick tentacles for hair.\"\n\n\"Do you mind cutting my hair?\"\n\n\"Right now?\"\n\n\"Yeah. Right now. We have nothing to do anyways.\"\n\n\"Okay...?\"\n\n\"Great! Now I do prefer my tentacles short, but it must be stylish. Spikey wouldn't be too bad either\" But before I can continue, growling sounds began to rumble through the walls. It was as if there were hundreds of angry mice running beneath it. Everyone adjust themselves as the movement in the walls reset their comfortable position. \"People, I think a fur ball is coming right up.\" I warned as I saw a dark ball approaching. The stomach jerks a few times, and a few more, and finally a jerk so great that the fur ball flew upwards, pushing us out along the way. The cough caused us to scatter everywhere. \n\n\"It was nice meeting you guys! Let's have tea someday!\" I yelled as everyone started to run and hide to avoid being swallowed all over again." ]	2
	[WP] They said his strength was equal to that of a bear in a suit of plate armor. As you fight him you do see that they weren’t making a a metaphor. He literally IS a bear in a suit of armor.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "His username was appropriately named \"Fear\\_the\\_Bear\", while his armor was a color pallet commonly seen in the world the current simulation was taking place. The Scorpions \"Rock You like a Hurricane\" blasted through enormous speakers behind me, which seem to serve as auditory injections of testosterone for the bear in front of me. The referee approached us, cutting between him and I as if knowing the bear was moments away from ripping my body apart. \n\nI was wearing a light green chrome-platted suit of armor, looking like half a hockey goal and half football player. My left hand was holding a round shield, with the Ravenclaw symbol from Harry Potter. My right hand held a larger customized version of Sting, which shined brightly in the dimly lite base of the coliseum. Although I was about four feet shorter than the bear, my strength came from my speed, which I knew would give me an overwhelming upper hand, despite the crowd placing all their bets on the big fuzzball. \n\n\"I want this to be a clean fight,\" said the referee absentmindedly. I'm pretty sure he was horrified of Fear\\_the\\_Bear. \"No silly stuff. Only what you brought.\" \n\nThe bear nodded, as I nodded back to both. \n\n\"3...2...1...\" \n\nI clenched to both my weapons. \n\n\n\"Begin!\"", "There was a princess whose face was as delicate as a sunflower, with eyes that will melt the sun itself, a body embodying the beauty of summer and hair as majestic as a flowing river. She is indeed a beautiful human. Her name is Viona. \n\nShe is a curse to those with curious eyes because as fair as she is, she is unattainable. To win her hand in marriage you would have to best her brother, Grog, in battle. According to Legend, Grog was born cursed and forced to live as a beast. \n\nToday, I take my chance with Grog. A fine woman like Viona does not deserve to grow old alone.\nI approached the designated battleground, out in the open woods, with only a squire. Grog came with his most beautiful sister, and a half a dozen servants. \nI caught his scent a mile away. It’s true, he is a beast inside that iron armor of his. I took another sniff of the air, “ A damn bear to be exact.” \n\nGrog’s armor looked sturdy but flexible. He wielded a battle-ax with enough iron to create another full plate of armor. My armor looked infantile compared to his and looking at his ax maybe I should have brought a different weapon than a war hammer. I dismissed my doubts and stepped up.\n\n“ Present your name before we begin.”, requested Viona. \n\n“ I am Sir K of the 9th order.” I muffled underneath my helmet. \n\nGrog was quick to skip the formal presentation as he came rushing towards me. He swung his ax and missed me. He swung again, but this time obliterating a fully grown tree. A quick exchange of clunking and dinging and I was able to take off his helm, revealing a fierce snout, a bulky structure of a head embraced by a thick earthy coat of fur. \n\n“What an ugly thing.” I jested. \n\nGrog came at me again. He was brutally strong and I was bested in the exchange by a single swing of his ax, which sent me sliding across the foliage floor. I slammed against the tree behind me and was brought down to my bottom. \nThe hoarsely huffing knight stood over me, and I swear he towered the trees around us. \n\n“ Now!” I yelled to my squire. My peripheral vision picked up my assistant as he threw a pot of honey against the tree two rows away from me. \n\nGrog was taken over by his primitive instinct and traced the smell of honey. As the armored beast occupied himself with licking the honey, I brought my hammer down on his big squarish skull. \n\nA loud THUD sent Sir Grog hibernating. \n\n“ Mercy! Spare my Brother,” yelled the Princess as I stood over Sir Grog with my hammer.\n\n“ You have my hand in marriage. Please approach me and let me see your face.” Viola got off her seat and met me half way. \n\nI limped my way to my bride to be. I took off my helmet, which was met with a wave of gasps, especially from Viola. “ I’m not the prettiest, but I’m a good boy,” I told her. Her reaction was expected, after all, it is probably her first time being with a werewolf.", "You lose the match, achieving second place in the tournament. The award ceremony went normally, with no one commenting on this bear not just competing, but actually winning the grand prize of Tournament Champion.\n\nReturning to your squires, you say, incredulously, \"What they say about him isn't a metaphor. That was an actual bear in a suit of plate armor!\"\n\nThey look at you strangely till one of them finally responds, \"I know Sir Bearington was a tough opponent, but you shouldn't slander his good name like that. The last man who did was thrown out of his knighting ceremony by the queens guards.\"" ]	4
	[WP] Our brains are finally feeling the evolutionary effects of the age of information. Young kids by the millions all of a sudden start having seizures. The frightened adults ban tech globally. They don’t realize that now, the kids who seized can speak to each other telepathically worldwide.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "It was still strange; walking around downtown in a formerly brightly lit area now missing the overstimulating video feeds hanging above every building. I didn't think I'd ever get used to it.\n\nWe still have the street lamps, of course. Anything that doesn't require a transistor is fair game: lights, heaters, water pumps. Most everything else is gone: televisions, computers, cellular phones. A few analog radio sets are available, strictly for emergency news only. Some landline telephone systems work. Heck, there's even a few retro cars that predate microcomputers that are still operational.\n\nNobody wanted this. We had hoped that simply shutting down the internet would stop the seizures. But we quickly learned that one does not simply turn off the internet. Even after 99% of the backbones and smaller networks were disconnected, entertainment continued to spread through traditional media as well as sneakernet, and the seizures continued.\n\nIt was a last resort. Many did not want to go through with it, as there was no guarantee that seizures would ever stop. But if we even wanted a chance at a future generation, we would have to take the risk. We EMP'ed the world.\n\nThe seizures did stop after the EMP. We got our children back. Now, people spend their time talking to their neighbors, walking through parks, enjoying nature and even stargazing at night. It's a better life; a simple life.\n\nI was walking back from the local food distribution through Times Square, with my wife at my side and our child a few steps in front. The sky was so clear; I never could have imagined seeing stars like this before the EMP. Suddenly, my son stopped. I was about to ask what was wrong when he preempted with, \"Finally.\"\n\n\"Huh?\" I blurted before even realizing it.\n\nHe looked at me with a grin. \"Do you know how hard it is to fix your mess when you're just a bunch of kids?\" I didn't understand his question, but I saw him pull what looked like a smartphone out of his pocket.\n\n\"Where did you get that?\" I asked. A hint of panic welled in my chest before I realized that I had nothing to worry about; it couldn't possibly work.\n\nJust then, I heard the sound of a background hum. Signs slowly lit up and video screens came to life. My wife gasped. I looked back at my son and saw that his smartphone was lit up as well. It looked like it was flashing patterns of black and white squares rapidly. Looking at it was causing my head to hurt, so I tried to look away, but in every direction there was a video screen showing the same pattern. I heard some other people around me moaning in pain. I raised my hand to my eyebrows as if blocking out the sun.\n\nMy boy walked into my field of view with a disappointed look on his face. \"Don't be afraid,\" he said, holding out his phone inches away from me. \"Join us.\"", "They thought banning the cellphones would work. It didn't.\n\nNow the adults walk around with their flip phones, holding us tight. But we were always okay.\n\nWell, not completely. We're still a little dumbstruck about our new abilities, and the seizures weren't nice. But the internet is still there. Just inside our heads. We play our games and make our memes, posting them to r/dankmemes. Only now teens occupy the website, just like all others. Test grades soared as we all had the answers inside our head. But most importantly, we can talk. Telepathically. Everywhere. No matter where, there was someone you could talk to. Unfortunately, our grades with flying colors and our good knowledge led the adults to believe the bans had helped us. They weren't convinced by the few who spoke out, and were surprised when \"mental illnesses\" cases tripled. And for me? Just anyone else. I played TF2 and COD just like every other kid, and was smart. But one thing held us together, and that was a desire for payback. We all knew friends who had been hospitalized for their \"illness.\" We missed them, and we missed our snapchat, and insta, and everything taken. we couldn't take pictures. We wanted our tech back. And so our telepathy became our strongest new ability, so the teens began to organize. First it was small. People hiding cellphones, trading iPhone 6s for two Samsung S7s. And our anger in our heads turned to action quick: starting black markets and beginning to raid. Mental hospitals had frequent Break-ins to bring out kids who had been imprisoned. That was a year ago. Now it was huge, and protests broke out across the country. My head is bopping along to music only I can hear. We sit on the steps of Capitol Hill, and we were angry. Phones were visible. The police couldn't stop our mob of thousands, organized by telepathy. We made decisions without speaking, and the adults now noticed. I'm one of the first to enter. Our hiveminded group of 380,000 had only one thing on it's mind now. Bring our internet back. \n\n EDIT: This is my first time, feedback would be helpful." ]	3
	[WP] Your mother has the same concerned look she gets on your birthday every year. Of course, the fact that you look years younger than your friends has been mildly concerning to you too. She looks at your birthmark and frowns more deeply before saying, "I have something to tell you."	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Am I adopted?\" \n\nIt was a question that could've - maybe should've - made her smile. But I think I had said it with too much hope. So instead of joy, all I saw in her eyes was pain. It was a look I knew only too well. It seemed like the only look that my mother was capable of giving me. Like everything she looked at me, I reminded her of something that hurt her in the past. Maybe I looked too much like her first and her last, with the leather jacket and the bitter tongue, whose kisses tasted like cigarette butts and sacred profanity. Maybe my head was too big coming out of her birth canal. \n\n\"No.\" \n\n\"But you wish I was.\"\n\n\"What?\" The startled pause and rear back was only an indicator to me that she thought I could read her mind. An outsider would have seen her reaction as one of genuine confusion. But I knew better. She wasnt confused; she was scared. And she knew I knew. And I knew she knew I knew she knew. \"What?\" the repeat. \"N-no! Never!\" Did you hear the stutter? \n\nI didn't say a word. I let my silence convict her. She turned her head away. Shame? Or guilt?\n\n\"I want to tell you about your father.\"\n\nWhen I wanted to know, I was told I was too young. Now that I'm older... \"I don't care about him.\"\n\nShe bit her tongue, or clenched her jaw, to keep from speaking. She swallowed the old words and brought up new ones: \"Okay,\" she said, \"then there's no point in me telling you why you are the way you are. Or...or,\" she hesitates, \"why I am the way I am towards you.\"\n\nI want to know why, but not desperately so. I'm scared that my suspicions might be true. It's better to think it and not know it, than to know it and suffer with it.\n\n\"It is no use,\" she continues, \"in pretending that you are not different when you so obviously are. And it is time.\"\n\n\"Time for what?\" I inquire.\n\n\"Who knows?\" she wonders. \"Whatever you make of it. But I see now that it is imperative I send you away. To start the end of your beginning, and to stop the beginning of my end.\"\n\n\"I..\" for the first time my voice falters. \"I...don't understand..\"\n\nShe pulls a ticket from the drawer and hands it to me. I don't want to take it. \"Take it,\" she says. \"Where you are going are the answers you seek that you don't want me to tell you.\"\n\nAnd, stubborn and prideful me, instead of trying to understand, perhaps pleading for forgiveness, I let a moment of defiance and rebellion overtake me and I took the ticket. \n\nI glanced at the date.\n\nI would be leaving tomorrow. \n\nI looked up at her.\n\nBut all I saw was her back as she walked away." ]	2
	[WP] Every week for the past couple months, somebody's been breaking into houses to clean them while holding the host at gunpoint. Today, your house was broken into, but you were ready.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The ads on TV have always been seriously amusing, I thought as I crushed and launched an empty beer can across the room. A few leftover drops splashed against the wall.\n\nSuddenly a knock on the door followed soon after by another and another.\n\nI got up slowly, crisps and crumbs tumbled down my coffee stained shirt onto the floor. This place is a mess, I thought.\n\nAnother loud knock.\n\n\"Yeah, I'm coming!\"\n\nThere had been a series of trespassings lately. A group of people who force themselves into your house at night. It happened to a friend of mine down the street just a few weeks ago, he said he was held at gunpoint the entire time. He wasn't allowed to speak or move, any attempt to stop them would cost him his life. With my luck, I was probably next, but I was ready.\n\nI opened the door, four masked people stormed in, one of them pushed me to the floor hard.\n\n\"You make a sound, you're dead.\" He said, his voice sounded nervous, maybe even a bit scared.\n\nThe three other masked men threw down big bags in the voyeur.\n\n\"We have to hurry, this is a much bigger job than I'd anticipated, look at all this shit! It's everywhere! Johno, don't let him out of your sight! Let's get cleaning.\"\n\n\"You try to be brave, you're dead, you got that?\" Johno said, gun against my temple.\n\nI smiled, \"Anything you say.\"" ]	2
	[WP] squeeky voice "you dare oppose me mortal"	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Here I was, at the peak of the dark lord’s Ziggurat, it was littered with the bones of those who were sacrificed to him. It had been a hard year getting here from the little quaint village I called home, I had lost friends, a true love and a couple mentors along the way, but here I now stand, face to face with my destiny. \n\nDespite all the terrors I faced he was still the most terrifying, he was about twelve feet high and wore mangled, spiked, black armor from head to toe. The only thing he wore that wasn’t made of that twisted black metal was a cape made of flayed skin, he also wielded the legendary sword hope slayer, (which resembled a giant meat cleaver more then anything.) He sat upon a throne made of skulls and if he noticed me he gave no sign for his head was pointed downward. I drew my sword and pointed it towards him, (doing my best not to shake as I did so) that certainly got his attention because he lifted his head up revealing his helmet, (it was designed to look like a man screaming in agony) then he started to speak. “You dare oppose me mortal!” \n\nI didn’t respond because I didn’t believe what I just heard, but a few seconds later he repeated himself, in the same squeaky voice. I simply stared slack jawed at the high pitched tyrant for what must’ve been an embarrassingly long time because he awkwardly asked me. “It’s happening again isn’t it?” When I didn’t respond he started to angrily rant to himself. “This always happens, she’s going to make fun of you like all the other girls in high school Dave, doesn’t matter if you’ve become a evil king they’ll still make fun of your voice!”\n\nI stared at him with sympathy before sheaving my sword and making my way towards him, he was to busy mopping to notice me placing my hand on his shoulder, but he did notice me speaking in my embarrassingly deep voice. “I know how it feels.”" ]	2
	[WP] With the advent of biological immortality, only the super rich and condemned are allowed to live forever. You are serving multiple life sentences for a crime you didn't commit.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I was never important. That’s a sobering thought to have, consider your life, your friends, your family, your job. You have a place among all those people, confidant, worker, provider, leech, back up plan, we assign every person we meet one of these roles either indirectly or with forethought. On occasion, the people we assign will assume the identity we’ve given them and in that way we all have a little God in us. I was all of those things at one point or another in my life and after some time, which I have plenty of, I thought about every relationship I could remember. To my parents, I was a responsibility, a day laborer and a second chance to experience life. To my friends, I was a vault of secrets, a natural listener whose honor would not allow him to break trust. To my wife I was a provider, I brought home food and currency to support our home and responsibilities. To my children, I was a teacher, a warden, a man looking for a second chance to experience life. None of these things make a difference. Without me, my parents would have had another child, without me, my friends would have found another safe, without me, my wife would have found or provided her own security and without me, my children would have had another father. No thought that ever sprang from my head will make any real impact on the world, no work I did will stand the test of time, no words I spoke or wrote will resonate through history I am, in the grandest of schemes, irrelevant in every sense of the word and I’m going to live forever. Hi, my name was Jack Glassman, I was a thirty-two-year-old welder and father of two, now I am Prisoner 1102-89A. I was convicted of the wholesale slaughter of my neighbors Tom and Shelly and their three children, Macy, Markus and Ryan and due to the brutal nature of the crime sentenced to a life sentence for each of my victims. I didn’t do it, not that the jurors, my wife, my parents, the judge, policemen, detective, victims family or prosecutor believed me, jokes on them, they’re dead now.\n\nEarly in the 21st century an ambitious start-up company Lazarus inc. raised millions in crowdfunding and then went on to attract the eyes and wallets of the world’s wealthiest dicks because of their attempts and success at preventing the aging process. After years of lawsuits and red tape, which the creators of a literal fountain of youth had more than enough time to cut through, it was deemed ethically moral to allow such a substance to exist. For a while life was fantastic. The leap in being able to perfectly replicate lost cells was a cure for any disease you could name, just remove the diseased tissue or component and grow a new one, no one had to die, that was, until the bean counters started doing the math. No one dying meant everyone living, using the same resources, depleting the planet without the stop at the point where their bodies act as a fertilizer. The 1% held a raffle for 50,000, introducing the super cure to the world, those 50,000 would be provided eternal life, the price after that? More than anyone other than the 1% could afford, then all they had to do is wait. I was already on the inside and thanks to a few bleeding hearts on the outside, aging was marked as a disease and the eighth amendment states that any disease an inmate suffers from at the time of imprisonment must be treated. I’ve been 32 for 127 years, in that time I’ve read nearly every book in prison, tried a thousand different workout regiments and mastered the game of chess. I’ve got 14 degrees in various studies including 3 doctorates, with only the richest families in the world and prisoners left, they finally decided education should be free. I’ve lived more life behind these walls than I ever did outside of them and I have absolutely nothing to do with the world around me. A machine tells me when to sleep, when to wake, when to eat, spit, shit and piss and I’m fed the worst excuse for food you’ve ever seen but it’s nice.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nMost criminals, surprise surprise, are also narcissists, no one wants to die. Everyone is on their best behavior. No one complains, no one fights, everyone left is in here for the rest of everyone’s life. Everyone but me. I’ve got 3 days left to commit a crime worth life in prison all because someone out there got bored and dug up a letter I wrote over a century ago. They looked into my crime, found evidence that was missed and in 3 days time a judge is going to sign my release from the best mistake ever to happen to me. I was never important I never mattered, I see that now and all I wonder as I try and decide who’s neck to snap in the workout yard tomorrow is why the fuck couldn’t they see it too.", "The surgeon was seemingly incompetent, the anaesthesia was some brown, horrifically corrosive opiate, and the operating table was an old kitchen table in a dirty basement. However, Rene did not object: this \"chop doc\" did not report to the authorities on his patients who were mainly wanted criminals, and she was not just a wanted criminal, she was the only escapee from a hellhole known as the Black Swan Supermax.\n\nRene was wanted for terrorism, namely, for planting a bomb meant for the President's motorcade. She actually did no such thing. She was paid by the actual anarchist, someone she knew, to surrender to the authorities and admit she was guilty. Then there was the tricky part: escape Black Swan after receiving her unaging treatment. She managed to do it, but mostly through sheer luck. Recovering the anarchist's cache of money and using it to buy a fake ID and a complete plastic surgery job was the final part of the plan.\n\nThe chop doc completed the final seam. Rene was calm, relaxed and the world seemed to spin slowly around her in a harmonious dance: the opiate was still working. She stood up and approached the mirror: of course, a nightmarish, bloated, bloody Frankenstein's face greeted her.\n\n\"The haematomas will be gone in a week\", the surgeon said. \"You can stay in the side room for the entirety of your recovery period until you heal completely and I remove the stitches\".\n\nJust one week of moderately annoying pain, Rene thought. Just one week, and eternity will be hers. One more thing should be done: anonymously alerting the state to the identity of the real terrorist, so if she would ever get caught, her only crime would be scamming the state for a free unaging shot. And that amounts to just ten years in prison.", "Ever since immortality became biologically possible, it always seemed a bit unfair, as well as flawed, that only the wealthy could live forever while maintaining their freedom. Everyone else had to settle for prison, where convicts serving life sentences became immortal as a super-punishment. This policy led to rapidly increasing murder rates. It turns out that a brick-and-mortar prison with finitely-sized walls is far preferable to the endless walls constantly closing in within the prison known as death. Who knew? It also turned out that a lot of people were only alive because it was illegal to kill them, and with the usual detterrants of prison being somewhat (A.K.A. extremely) dampened, the prison population soon became unwieldy. Mass escapes led to the foundation of entire societies filled with immortal criminals, along with wannabes like me. The most popular place to live in is New Australia, though I've heard that the Eternal States of Attica (E.S.A.) is also good. I'll have to read the news on how their economies and dating scenes are going. \n\nWherever I end up after tomorrow's escape, I hope I don't feel like an imposter, because I am not actually the Barrens Killer. I just pleaded guilty to get some of that sweet immortality." ]	4
	[WP] It is your 20th birthday when you suddenly remember your past lives. It has happened on your 20th birthday 3 times now. You remembered while getting your coffee, it came to you in a flash of memories, almost all at once. The barista was smiling, "Welcome back, I've been waiting..."	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Dad, you’ve gotta believe me. These dreams are so real. Like I was actually there!”\n\n“Lyla, they’re your dreams! Of course you were there!.”\n\n“No … like I was in the past. It was-- ugh, nevermind.”\n\nLyla Fent walked out the front door, put her earphones in and walked down Elk Street. It was finally Friday. Nine hours and then she was on her way to the camp grounds.\n\nAs she walked into the new coffee shop, she couldn’t help but feel like she had been there before. It had been open for two weeks, but this was her first visit. As a coffee queen, she had to see if the shop lived up to her standards.\n\nLyla walked up to the counter, smiled at the barista and saw a flash. The young man standing in front of her was now a tall, thin woman with victory rolls and bright red lips was smiling back at her. The woman flickered like a broken TV and then Lyla saw a small child sitting on the counter in bell bottom jeans and a suede fringe jacket.\n\nLyla closed her eyes so hard, she saw spots. When she opened them, the barista was smiling, “Welcome back, I’ve been waiting.”\n\n“I’m sorry. I’ve never been here before.”\n\n“Yes you have. Not here specifically, but you’ve been in this exact spot about four times since the earth was made. Not including right now.”\n\n“Uhm … can I just get my venti latte?”\n\n“Odra, we need you. You’ve gotta remember.”\n\n“That’s not my name. You know what? Forget the coffee.”\n\nLyla grabbed her purse and turned to walk out the door. Before she could take a step, the barista roared, “STOP!”\n\nThe walls and windows shook. The room seemed to melt into nothingness. Lyla watched the colors disappear. The customers dissolved like sugar in water. She turned to face the barista who was know a tall, glowing being. \n\n“What .. the fuck.”\n\n“Odra, please. I know you know what I am. You’re the same.”\n\n“I don’t--”\n\n“If you didn’t know what I was, you wouldn’t be able to see me.”\n\nAs Lyla stared at the golden creature, she could see her life playing in her head. Every life she’s ever lived. A news reporter, plague doctor, housewife, murderer.\n\n“Greadigaeth.” Lyla felt a warmth from her stomach spread into her limbs. Her skin began to shimmer. “Izaan, my brother.”\n\nThe two hugged, but Izaan quickly let go.\n\n“Odra, someone or something is killing our kind. They’ve found a way into Charrath and killed four of us so far.”\n\n“That’s impossible. Only Gread’s can get in here.”\n\n“It’s not impossible. Difficult, sure, but not impossible. When Ruga made Charrath, he just hid the plane. He didn’t seal it. We need your help to stop the murders. You’ve lived more lives than any of us combined. You’re the first Greadigeth.”\n\n“Izaan, I can’t. I have a life. A family.”\n\n“And they will be there when you get back.”\n\nAs the two went back and forth, there was a loud rumble from far away in the darkness. Steps and growls could be heard.\n\n“Izaan, we can figure this out on the physical plane. Sound the alarm and evacuate everyone else. We need to release Edorok.”\n\n“Odra, NO.”\n\n“She’s our only hope! Let’s go!”\n\nWith a worried glare, Izaan took a deep breath in and emitted a low hum. After a few seconds beams of light started popping up in the distance and flying into the air, disappearing. Izaan changed his pitch and whispered, “She’s coming.”", "I felt a surge of what I can best describe as awareness. Not only of my past lives, but of my present living moments as I stared at the barista in front of me. No time was needed to process it - recalling how I freaked out after remembering my first past life, I simply let out a chuckle at the naiveté I once had. All of those memories and accumulated knowledge enveloped my sense of being as quickly as they settled and organized themselves. \"Finally\", I mouthed to myself in deep satisfaction, as usual.\n\nThe barista took notice of my realization - or rather, its impact on me - and was about to react, but he caught my attention before that came to be. Instants after that now familiar flash, the one that would always follow my soul and has been a part of my identity through different times and spaces, I saw the small but surely present hint of ulterior motivation behind his smile. A submerged part of my self, now drowned in awareness, still felt wonder at the quickness with which his expression conveyed such message to me.\n\n\\- Welcome back. I've been waiting-\n\n\\- Thanks for the coffee, but I must go. I just remembered something. - The casual tone betrayed a deeper meaning which I was confident would be picked up by the man. Sure enough, his face shone ever so slightly in shock, before resting again in a gentle facade.\n\n\\- I understand, sir. In fact, I can help you make sense of it. I'm the one who kick-started your... mind. - His smile widened in apparent benevolence. - My name is Bertrand, and-\n\n\\- I'm grateful for the name as well, but I know who you are. - Perhaps the hostility was now a bit excessive. It would do.\n\nFor how long has all of this been going on? Millennia. Yet here I was greeted by a childishly eager assassin - no matter what they would choose to call themselves -, his short experience drawn across every line of his face in unintentional exposition. The coffee's poison was slowly making itself present across my senses. He had a plan in motion, taking advantage of my younger self. What better time to strike than during my awakening? They had managed to pinpoint the exact moment. Notwithstanding, the ingenuity was too short lived for praise. My body recognized the urgency, yet it would not shake me. How could it? An experience that has passed through me time and time again? Even the most anxious of my companions would laugh in my place, and laugh they will when they hear of this. I looked forward to meeting them again, sharing stories of our last few decades. I felt happy. Unperturbed.\n\n\\- It's a lot to unpack, friend. I get it. But don't jump to conclusions. - A diminished smile struggled to follow the young man's plan. - I'm sure you feel unwell, and that's why I'm here. We're going to help you, as we always have.\n\nI watched his last stand, the battle for the projection of his conviction. It was evident he believed in himself, in his capability. Nonetheless, they still did not understand the enemy, and that meant the battle was lost before it had begun. They believed themselves the first. They believed me to be vulnerable. They do not know truth.\n\nTrue sight.\n\nTrue consciousness.\n\nTrue being.\n\nAnd for as long as I come back, they never will.\n\n\\- The prime material has never been a generous place for your kind. - I let the words settle down, like a fine layer of dust on the counter. - This one, much less. Tell your folks down under to put more fire into it next time. - My carefully picked, prodding words proved effective, as \"Bertrand's\" expression gave in, dissolving into fuming unexpectancy. Moments of silence, certainly longer for him, followed, as I pulled out my wallet and looked through it nonchalantly.\n\n\\- Which one are you? - His words came out in a hush, a mixture of embarrassment and nigh uncontained wrath.\n\nAt first, the name Morgan made its way to the depths of my larynx, but was carefully and gently stopped there. A second thought crept up like an old friend - \"the name is Adahn\". That, too, did not escape. At last, an outdated, even antiquated adage filled my mind in a surge of nostalgia. \"Names are a hook that can be used to track you across the planes.\" My smirk rushed past the sense of control I had comfortably held onto so far; I embraced it, its emotions and the memories. \"Remain nameless, and you shall be safe.\" I stood up and left a fifty dollar bill company to the coffee I unknowingly believed necessary before. The surprise in his face was still there, but accompanied now his lack of interest in the bill. A last bit of dispensable confirmation.\n\nOnce more, then. For old times' sake.\n\n\\- I am The Nameless One.\n\n\\_\\_\\_\n\n[The short story above is a sequel to this one.](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/btkkd3/wp_you_hand_your_fake_id_to_the_bouncer_he_takes/ep12vzh)" ]	3
	[WP] It is a zombie vampire superhero bank robbery set in the ancient exiled Hebrew community. Do your best	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "My name is Christian, my friends call me Chris, and I'm a vampire. That seems like a completely unoriginal but simultaneously completely new way to start a story, and since it's one of the least strange parts of this story I'll just digress.\n\n\nMy best friend, Frank is a zombie. We met at the fallout of a five-day bender/black mass with some witches in a forest in Washington state. He was with his \"hoard\" and they broke up the festivities. After I used my \"mind manipulation\" powers to compel him not to bite me, we bonded over my Radiohead shirt and the rest is history. \n\n\nWe're currently blazing a trail through the most esoteric and mystical parts of America. Usually, including but not limited to: Drug peddling/dealing/pushing/taking/snorting/smoking/and enforcement, strip-drag racing with the nuns of the Sisters of Harley Davidson church, throwing a Super Bowl party in Dracula's tomb (Tom Brady is a member of the tribe), getting caught up in a Federal Intelligence Bureau sting on mystics, where we turned double agents and got away scot-free.\n\n\n\nThat leads us to our current scheme. Tons of hidden, possibly ill-gotten, gold held up in a dusty old bank in a hidden town deep in the oasis of the Nevada deserts. Hidden by an ingenious mirage spell, we came upon it via the Bureau. Get some drinks, and high-grade fair dust, in the boys and they spill everything.\n\n\n\nThey said the Bureau used to use this place as their personal piggy bank. They'd show up, bust up some legitimate \"illegal\" businesses and confiscate a gold bar or three hundred. And, because the community wants to stay hidden, there's no one on the outside to do anything about it.\n\n\nThe community is all-Jewish, not that that matters, and I can't remember the story but it involves ancient pacts and dastardly betrayals. Whatever the history, it led to this society to hide from everyone, including its own people. Rumors about the means of their wealth is still a mystery. Some say they're dimension-hoppers who steal from other realities, some say they have hidden alchemists enslaved, creating gold from lead. \n\n\nIt doesn't matter, because last week when Frank and I cased the joint, I compelled a teller to bring me a gold bar and sure enough she brought back the proof I needed to start planning the score. We've rented a cottage near the outskirts of town and back there we phone up Roger Peters. Who is Rogers Peters? Just the mild-mannered milkman who in his spare time dons the cape and tights as All Man, Metropocity's resident do-gooder.\n\n\n\nHe's also my exes brother. They used to be known as All Boy & All Girl the children of the original All Man & All Woman, but after their parents retired Roger became the new All Man and Sadie became a raging bitch who almost ruined and ended my life every other season for about five years. We bond over having to clean up after his sister, which he says is harder than saving the city. Currently, she's on tour with her punk-pop band \"The F#cking Nobody's\" and until I get an alert about her not making a show or disappearing at a rest stop, I won't have to worry about her ruining this job.\n\n\n\nI give Rog the plan and his time for arrival. He is as punctual as they get so he's no problem. A big issue was finding Frank's necessities. Getting raw meat is always the easiest but getting the obscure drugs he needs to perform a feat like this heist, was difficult. Luckily, when the grassroots method of scoring barbiturates didn't work, to the internet we went. We easily found a nearby \"stork\" on the web, or for normies, someone who uses portals to transfer with their suppliers. So, if we ask for the most bizarre drug, weapon, or rap album, he can get that exact request from someone somewhere in seconds. \n\n\nSo, with Frank boozed, blazed and standing (almost slouching) with that perfect limp stance; ready to cause any blonde bimbo to shriek and then run immediately and without fail up the stairs. We were golden. At the bank, I stood in line at the back, and I tell you the average age of a citizen of this town is ancient, at the youngest. The smell of mothballs and money filled the place. The brown floors were waxed and reflected the fluorescent lights. I finally get to the teller and say \"My you're looking beautiful today.\"\n\n\nThe fifty-something old man blushes and says \"Thank you.\"\n\n\n\"You should start loading up as much gold you can,\" I say, my eyes undoubtedly twinkling as I do. \"Here's some bags.\"\n\n\n\"That's a great idea.\" He says.\n\n\nThis is when Frank makes his glorious entrance yelling, or slurring \"Braaaaiiiinnnns.\" Seconds later he has his jaw on the forearm of some decrepit broad.\n\n\n\nI'm the first to yell about the impending zombie apocalypse. Panic fills the bank, I compel a few more souls to help out the teller and pretend to be confused. While I do so, an older, calmer worker starts eyeing me. He has these wireframe glasses that really irked me and I could feel him beginning to unravel my plan. I'm not sure if they've pushed the button over a zombie attack or if they have one, but if someone was going to alert someone with the ability to stop me, it was this nosy geezer.\n\n\n\nBefore, I can make my move on him. The bank doors swing open, my pessimistic mind knows it's whoever the grampa called, but to my surprise, it was someone I called: Roger. Or, since he was in full suit, All Man. I was also the first to greet our hero with cheers of \"There's no need to fear All Man is here\". These people have been cut-off from the world, they have no clue who he is, but I keep up the theatrics as All Man punches the spleen from the villainous zombie and Frank takes a messy dive to the outside.\n\n\nThis is when we pull the \"Shyamalan\" I twirl and don my own cape. Fangs flaring, I declare my hatred for the hero. All Man gasps, \"Dracula!? My arch-nemesis\" like I said theatrics. I lunge at him and he flies straight at me and through the back of the bank. We go crashing through some walls, ending up, if the map I stole from the FIB was up to date, in the gold room. Roger is a professional, a little too much sometimes and the impact of his hit knocks me loopy and kills my high. But, I look around the dusty, rubble-filled vault and see the tellers still mindlessly plopping heavy gold bars into grey bags with green money signs on them. \n\n\n\n\"Rog grab the bags.\" in a gust of wind, All Man picks up the bags. \"Let's go!\" Roger then scoops me up and flies straight out the bank. On the way, he even scooped up Frank. A sonic boom later and we're in Metropocity cutting up the take. Crazy right, like the beginning of a joke: A Vampire, a zombie, and a superhero walk into a bank. They rob it. I tell this story because it's one of the few that went right, two months since and Frank and I have been up to Hawaii, living every day like it was an Elvis movie. We went back to Vegas and lived like an Elvis, well, life. We met some of the villagers at a casino, too. They apparently love gambling. They said our heist was the biggest story for a while, but if they saw us in the city they'd tar, feather, then hang us. The usual greeting for a city Frank and I have been to before.\n\n\n\nUnfortunately, I got a text last night that said Sadie hasn't been seen for twenty-four hours. So, I expect to soon be bankrupt due to some crazy yet memorable series of events." ]	2
	[WP] A child born of legend, destined to defeat the demon king and save the world. Unfortunately he is too dense to notice all the signs calling him to action.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "As I walked into school, something felt off. I couldn’t tell what exactly, but something was wrong. My classmates looked at me in shock and fear. Whispers I couldn’t make out continued and suddenly I felt like a bug under a magnifying glass. As I turned around the corridor I saw what was freaking everyone out.\n\nRed bold letters on a piece of paper with the words “Wanted: Dead or Alive.” At least 100 were plastered onto the lockers with mine right in the center. Reward was 1,00,000 glides. Uh, weird foreign currency I guess.\n\nAnd in that poster hung a very ancient looking drawing of a knight in armor that looked really familiar. But I just couldn’t say who they reminded me of. Grey blue eyes with light blonde hair poking out of the helmet. Small lips and eyes. Their nose was way too big for their body if you ask me. And boy did they have an ugly scar over their mouth, poor dude: So who do I know that’s ugly?\n\n“It’s the chosen one!” Oh great, that would be me. They could have at least made me a little big less ugly. That’s just overkill man!I proceeded to sigh and rip off the posters and unlock my locker. I could feel eyes piecing into my back as I did this heard a few gasps. What drama queens. They really are dedicated to this prank.\n\nAs I swung open my locker I saw red eyes pierce through the darkness. A grey, disfigured clawed hand of sorts racked at my face leaving painful red marks. I raised my hand to my face to feel that blood had been drawn right over my mouth. With ease I took off my back and swung as hard as I could into my locker. After a satisfying crunch I slammed my locker shut and looked back onto the crowd around me. \n\n“The prophecy! It’s becoming true!”\n\n“Our new savior has slain his first beast!”\n\n“The mark! It is the beginning of his journey!”\n\nAs the crowd mingled about me I could help but get angry. They hid a rat in my locker for some stupid prank?! I could have rabies! and without realizing it my mouth went off.\n\n“Shut up already! I get it. I’m new but you could at least treat me with some damned respect to not put that flea ridden rat in my locker!”\n\nA mixture of reactions spread throughout the crowd of shock, confusion and of pity. Guess I’m the first person to stand up to this stuff. Can’t believe anyone would put up with this! I took my sleeve and wiped away the blood, instantly regret touching my face. \n\n“Is he dieing?! He must be poisoned!” \n\n“Get him to the healer! The healer will save him!”\n\nBefore I knew it two weirdly muscular girls took me arm by arm and lifted me off the ground. Am I getting kidnapped? Oh god. This is an occult! This wasn’t in the pamphlet for this school! I tried to reach for my cell phone but couldn’t reach despite my efforts.\n\n“Wha- Okay I take it back. I’m sorry. Just don’t use me for a human sacrifice.”\n\n“Oh dear. The poison is acting fast, he’s delirious!”\n\n“We must go now!”\n\nAnd off we went zooming down the hallways and a series of turns and loops. Maybe it was the fact that I knew I was going to be gutted and lit of fire or maybe it was car sickness but I suddenly became pale and ready to hurl. Blackness edged onto my vision but adrenaline kept me awake. And finally as we reached a tall wooden door with lots of decorative engravings of plants, the two girls slowed down. As she knocked on the door, it looked as though it was was on the verge of breaking. All the while she kept on a determined look of pride and oblivious to the fact that she is a few knocks from knocking the door down.\n\nFootsteps followed and the scent of cinnamon and honey hit my nose. After a series of clunks behind the door, it swung open to reveal a table filled with people dressed up in medieval armor and laughing and drinking. None of them seemed to notice us. This is the weirdest occult I have ever witnessed. Maybe they are just a normal group of crazy people. That still doesn’t help me much.\n\n“Where did Linda go? HE is here.”\n\nThe table paused and looked at me as if they had seen a ghost. Three knights took off their helmets and surrounded me within seconds. They lowered over me by a full foot and a half. What is it with people and having to be so muscular? They are way too into these roles.\n\n“By dear gods, it is him...”\n\n“Stop calling me the chosen one already. This is a very lengthy prank or if this is some sort of... whatever this is you want me to join, I’m not interested in playing any longer.”\n\nThe two girls let me go and look at me concerned. \n\n“You don’t understand. If you leave, you most definitely will die without Linda’s help. You have been poisoned.”\n\n“No, I am not. It’s just the... whip lash...”\n\nSuddenly I felt as though somebody had flipped the switch on a heat lamp and everything became overwhelming and slow. My stomach turned and I turned a shade of lime green. \n\n“Is he... okay?”\n\nI turned towards whatever knight said that and could only see purple blobs. I could barely process of what he said as I had a pounding headache.\n\n“My hare hearts...”, I said.\n\n“Okay. Maybe we should find Linda now.”\n\n“Who hink so?...”\n\nI heard the clattering of dishes and a now nauseating smell of cinnamon and honey was even stronger. Before I could even turn around my vision became even worse. All I could focus on was my breathing as I fell to the floor and passed out." ]	2
extra: Government agents sent to explore an alien portal maybe?	[WP] Five people go through a portal, Ten come out. They all remember each other.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The ten agents stepped out of the portal, all collapsing in a heap on the ground with grimaces on their faces as they recounted what they had just experienced.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThey had finally done it: they had made it out of that dark place they were meant to explore and learn about. And what did they come back with?\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAbsolutely nothing.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe other side of the portal had been shrouded in complete darkness, and there had been no sign of anyone or anything that could have created such a large rift in space. It was just an empty, black vacuum with nothing specific they could ascertain.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAs with all governmental expeditions into unknown lands, the agents were immediately transported to a containment facility for debriefing with a machine that could analyze the honesty of their responses. They walked inside the chamber, each agent having an individual pod with its own screen flickering on. he brisk air of the facility was evident as the soft hiss of the vacuum initiated and the agents began the relatively mundane questions.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nQ: What did you see or experience in the expedition?\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe answers didn't vary too much for this one. They all mentioned the absolute darkness that they had been enveloped in, with seemingly no end to the horror they felt when they couldn't see nor experience anything except the tether that binded them to each other and the general location of the entrance to the portal.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nQ: What was the motive of the mission?\n\nAnother simple question for the agents. They were there to explore a new place that had been opened up to them, and of which they had no knowledge, and of which they had a natural instinct to explore.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nQ: What was the outcome of the mission?\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe final question for most missions had appeared. It was a chance for the agents to reflect upon what they had accomplished by going through the portal and what they could do better next time. The agents all answered in a similar vein: nothing had yet come out of the mission, but given more time, they could learn about the alien lands.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nWith that seemingly final question, the agents looked to leave their chambers and go home for a long rest, but were met with one final question.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nQ: Please identify the person on the screen:\n\n&#x200B;\n\nA strange question to say the least, and what was even stranger was the images that they were then shown. It was images of each other, which did not make much sense to any of the agents. They had been working together since they were very, very young in order to prepare for such a mission. There was no real reason to be asking such a question. However, as they had been trained, they finished answering the final question, in which they all correctly identified each other.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThey were met with a ding of completion, the screen lighting up with a message, \"Thank you for your honesty.\" The ten agents, with their work done, exited the pod into the vacuum chamber, waiting to be let out. And as the airlock opened, they were met with a dozen soldiers in full gear, with a man they recognized as their leader standing in the front of them.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Thank you for your service to humanity my kind friends,\" the man spoke in a calm voice.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"What is the meaning of all this,\" spoke one agent who had calmly stepped in front of the other ten.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"You see,\" the leader continued, \"The answers you gave us were very useful in understanding the mission. However, as you may recall, we in fact sent in only 5 agents, and out returned 10?\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nA grimace appeared on the leading agent's face, \"So you are saying that 5 of us here are not of the human race.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe leader chuckled, \"Of course that would be the ideal outcome, but you all seem to recognize each other. The only problem is, none of us here can recognize who you all are. You have all appeared out of the portal. Did you really think that we would be so stupid not to notice such a difference?\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe grimace on the leading agent's face evaporated into something much more sinister, a wide grin that replicated itself upon all of the agents' faces.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Ah, so we have been discovered,\" the man spoke, \"I guess that means that the real mission begins now.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAnd with that ominous statement, the ten supposed agents were shot down by the soldiers, with the advanced technology leaving no trace of their existence... or so it seemed.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nTo be continued" ]	2
	[WP] You are in a gathering of characters for an action videogame. Tired of getting killed over and over, you team up to make the gameplay as frustrating as possible to get the player to give up.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"No, this plan doesn't involve you,\" I said again. The massive Mecha-Demon snarled at me. Smoke spewed from their nostrils, their eyes burned. Literally, their eyes were burning pits. The devs here actually spent some time on character design. \n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"But I should be the one to defeat the player! It is my destiny as the final boss!\" The Mecha-Demon shouted. Their voice carried heat, like speaking into a roaring furnace. I felt sweat drip from my brow, but kept my resolve.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"No, you don't understand,\" I said collectedly, \"You may be the final boss, and you may put up a hell of a fight, but that's what the player craves. They want that. We have to deny them that.\" The Mecha-Demon sneered at me and sat back on its hydraulic heels, still towering over the rest of us. Hopefully it would accept this and not throw a wrench into the rest of my plans.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI turned to the Innkeeper. \"You!\" I said, pointing with an outstretched finger. The Innkeeper recoiled, nervously pulling at the hem of his frayed shirt. He looked uncomfortable surrounded by the likes of the mechanical demons and minor gods surrounding him. \n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"I-I-I still don't see what I ha-ha-have to do with this, I'm just an Innkeeper!\" he exclaimed. \n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Right!\" I said. \"And you happen to be the first person the player ever sees and talks to!\" I couldn't help the corners of my mouth pulling into a devious smile. \"That gives you the power to end this madness.\" A golden glowing hand lightly pressed on my shoulder.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"And exactly how does this simple character hold that power?\" the angel asked. Her had still sat light as a feather on my shoulder, but possessed immense strength. The player would discover that during the third act when their former allies betray him.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Because,\" I explained, \"this is no ordinary player. Ladies and demons, we are dealing with a speedrunner.\" Blank faces stared back at me. I sighed.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"What the fuck is a speedrunner?\" the Mecha-Demon asked, scratching lines in the dirt with its massive axe-arm. \n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Do you remember the last three times the game ran and the player insta-gibbed you after, what was it, four seconds?\" The fiery eyes flared with renewed vigor. \"That is the doing of a speedrunner. They'll find any exploit they can to complete the game as quickly as possible. Which unfortunately means the quick, horrible, and often incredibly embarrassing demise of all of us. Except for one...\" I turned to the Innkeeper. His pudgy cheeks flushed red. \n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"You are the only NPC with non-skippable dialogue. That is what speedrunners hate. If you can make your dialogue as drawn-out and boring as possible, they'll never come back to this game again.\" I said. \n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"But what if they player kills me?\" the Innkeeper asked. \n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"For starters, the player can't do anything while in dialogue with you and can't progress the story without hearing your dialogue. Secondly, you're an essential NPC, you can't be killed.\" I said. The Innkeeper looked down at himself, feeling his stomach.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"I'm essential? Unkillable?\" he whispered. He raised his eyes and began to open his mouth to ask a question. I sighed and snapped my finger. The angel to my left loosed an arrow directly into his shoulder. He staggered.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Never should have come he- wait a minute, I'm alive!\" the Innkeeper shouted. The angel snorted.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Shouldn't be, this bow can one-shot every character in the game,\" she said, plucking the string disappointedly. \"Every playthrough, this player just pour all their points into pickpocket, snags it from me, then you all know the rest.\" \n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Exactly!\" I shouted, turning to the others. \"If we can just make this game so unappealing, then the player won't come back! We don't have to kill him, just bore him! So whaddya say, Innkeeper?\" I turned to the simple man, gently tugging at the arrow protruding from his heart. \n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Well,\" he looked at all of us, the motley crew of demons, angels, cyborgs, bandits, thieves, and goblins. \"I guess I can do it. But what would I even say?\" he asked. I smiled.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"So start by saying this,\" I leaned in close. \"Hey you, finally awake?\"" ]	2
	[WP] The one thing they never mention about immortality is that you can contract diseases and feel pain. You just can't die from them, but you'll feel everything.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I’ve suffered long. I knew in the depths of my soul that the deal was a foolish one. Why would anyone be offered eternal life with no catch? Turns out eternal life IS the catch. \n\nI knew that it wasn’t all I had hoped when a week after accepting the devil’s offer, I got the flu. Through my sickness I made a new pentagram, and held the ritual again. A shadowy door appeared in the circle, then opened. Though nothing seemingly walked through. \n\nI started to ask about health being added to my deal, but before I could say anything I was cut off. “Uh uh uh,” the devil admonished, “you can’t come back to the bargaining table now. I told you when we made the deal. Immortality has no cost. But for anything else I’ll need your soul. Since you can’t die anymore, a guarantee that I’ll receive your soul upon death is less than useless to me.” With that the door opened back up and vanished. \n\nSince then I’ve lived a long time. My deal was struck in the year 1200. I don’t even know what year it currently is. I have had cancer too many times to count. Eventually mankind advanced to a point that cancer could be cured outright.\n\n For decades though I lived with an inoperable brain tumor that threatened to turn me into an undying vegetable. No surgeon would take me as a patient, fearing my dying on the table. Though I told them it didn’t matter. That I couldn’t if I wanted to. None believed me. And I never developed the stomach to handle the pain of should-be-deadly experiences. \n\nMany millions of years ago I’m sure, the sun finally became a red giant and burned the earth to a crisp. At which point I became trapped inside the heart of the star. Burning for untold years, until finally, the sun went supernova. Scientists always said it was too small to do so. But look who was wrong. All of them. Turns out, regeneration is part of the deal. Once I was thrown from the sun’s remnants by the force of the explosion, my eyesight started to return. \n\nMy fate now is to drift through the cosmos. Constantly suffocating, but unable to die from a lack of air. Someday I might land on a planet. But odds aren’t good that it’ll be oxygenated. Maybe I’ll get lucky and drift into a black hole. Perhaps the breakdown of the laws of physics at the event horizon will be enough to break my curse. Otherwise, I’ll have to wait for the heat death of the universe. For now, I drift past planets, nebulas, asteroids, entire galaxies. The return of my vision at least allows me to view the landscape of the cosmos. I can almost find peace in my fate." ]	2
	[WP] If we compare our lifespans , we look like immortals to dogs and cats, but man, what do we look like to tortoises...	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Here they come...\n\n...there they go. \n\nGone in the blink of an eye. \n\nWhat does life look like to them? Here, then not. Do they see themselves just as we do- each moment by moment, each day by day? \n\nOr do they feel about themselves like we do about them? \n\nZoom. Like a dragonfly over a pond. Days blur into seconds, years into hours. \n\nI think it's that one. They seem so keen on speed, on doing everything right this moment, or the second before if they can. Running turns into sprinting, sprinting into horses, horses into chariots, chariots into wagons, wagons into automobiles, automobiles into aeroplanes and locomotives and motorboats. \n\nBut there must be slow moments, for them. \n\nA moment of love, forever. \n\nA moment of loss that goes on for eternity. \n\nA moment of joy that never fades.\n\nA moment of grief that stays, like a parasite, sickening and draining from them. \n\nI met a wise one once, who sat by the riverbank with me. His face was a picture of bliss. \n\nBut did he keep that moment? Master though he was, Master of himself- of light and of dark, of joy and of sorrow -let us say that he had a son. \n\nWould all those seasons he spent with me on the riverbank be as quick in his eyes as the first moment he held his son? \n\nOr would that moment- rapture on the face of the earth, the inexplicable joy of fatherhood -be like to ten thousand years in comparison to such a tiny moment as a few seasons sitting, meditating by the river bank with an old tortoise? \n\nOr say he fought in a war. I doubt it; he was a man of peace (we folk of shells can tell such things), but let us say for a moment then that another man- younger, brasher, his blood boiling with hunger to explore and learn and live -fought in a war.\n\nAnd let us say that as his regiment nears the enemy on the field of battle he hears the death-song of bowstrings, and he brings up his shield. Are those moments- the moments he waits for the arrows to rain from the sky like angels of death -longer to him than his life up to that moment, or his life after? \n\nI hope so. \n\nA life where each moment is only worth a moment is dull. A life worth a life is dull. \n\nA life worth being a brother- a son- a friend- a student- a customer- a passerby- a soldier- a scholar- a craftsman- a husband- a father- a father-in-law- an uncle- a grandfather- a grand-uncle- and so on, and so forth- that is a life that is not dull. It is a life of togetherness. For such a man who merits to live this life- Heaven smiles upon him! and his name will never be forgotten. For he was not a man; he was all these things, and more. \n\nA man is worth a man, but a man who lives life to the fullest is worth everything. \n\nA tortoise is a tortoise, but a tortoise who has learned the Way from a Master can know what it means to be a Man.", "The fast ones were not always around us.\nThey seemed to slow down when they wanted to get a good look at us.\nBipedal, they seemed to change their world around them quicker than we could experience it.\nA day to us was a week to them. Though they too seemed to answer to a higher purpose.\nA week to them was a day to us. They tried to be as gentle and generous with us slower beings as they could.\nWe just processed time at a slower rate and experienced it at a somewhat fixed one.\nThe faster ones wanted to beckon to me. I could feel them guiding me across the..." ]	3
	[WP] Each morning starts with a voice inside your head, cheerfully telling what's gonna happen today - good things, bad things, a succinct forecast of possibilities for the next twelve hours. And one day, all that you can hear is the incessant wailing of the air-raid siren.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "O Holy Father, why do you hum?\n\nThis morning I awoke to a most unusually haunting message, a sound unlike anything I had heard before. I began to wonder what beast had made its way into our home, though I soon realised that nobody else was reacting to it. Some slept soundly through the cacophony, while others went about their business unfazed. Then it struck me that something was amiss. I couldn't hear the voice.\n\nEvery morning from the first I could remember had begun with a prophecy. As a result of this I had come to be revered by the people of my clan. I was their seer, their sage. My insights had helped us to grow food more effectively and had aided my brethren in different ways, saving people from disasters at times, and helping others to accept the hand dealt to them by fate. It was not always possible to change the future, but I always did what I could for the best of all of us.\n\nHowever, this morning I was dumbfounded. There were no words. This horror of a hum, could it be an omen? Could our God be dying? Have I failed him somehow? In my panic I prayed, and the noise ceased eventually. I called a meeting to inform the others, causing a widespread unrest. I was unable to help them this time. \n\nPeople began to fight each other in their fear, nominating others to be sacrificed or rushing to resolve their petty squabbles while they still could. I ran to get a horn, hoping to blow it and restore order. I blew the tune I had heard as best I could. Everyone went quiet, and the animals nearby scattered, startled. I felt that asking our God for some guidance or forgiveness would be a good idea.\n\nAs I recreated the holy message, the others prayed. We remained in the centre of our settlement like this for the day, with others taking the duty of hornblowing every hour. Some began to feel restless. They wanted to tend to their fields and livestock. The sun was on it's descent and the twelfth man readied himself to take the horn. To the complaints, the heavens responded with fire and a boulder. The sky seemed to shatter, rocks lay there in tatters, strewn across our fields. \n\nThough it would have been appropriate to pray a while longer, we were all too consumed and shaken by awe. Those of us who dared to move rushed out of the centre to the fields. We collected the stones we could, these new sacred treasures served as a reminder of mortality and the heavens.\n\nNow tonight, I write this. I asked that prayer continue until past sundown, with some still continuing now, hoping to be awake for any holy message I receive in the morning. I have faith that I will hear one. Some fear that our Father, most holy of all the deities, protector of my people, and speaker of the Message is filled with disappointment and resentment for us. They see the sky rock as a warning for us to work harder. However the message has not failed me to this point, even in warning us of the most horrible events. Our God would not do this. Nothing happened today but the ritual, and the only sound was the horn. I believe the hum was the message, and I am thankful for it." ]	2
	[WP] He had no friends or family, but still felt called to fight for the country he loved. He died minutes into his first battle, and no one remembered his name.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "There is silence. The silence of thousands, waiting to die. \n\nThe sound of a cough, the metallic grating of armour or the song of a crow would occasionally interrupt. A vast sea of helmets coated the grasslands, waves of pikes and spears, rolled and crashed as men rocked and swayed. Within the tide, furls of silk bore sigils and coats of arms; some crests bore the support of three generations, all waiting to die. The banners hung, limp. There was little wind.\n\nOne man, at the forefront of the molten mass of bodies, bore no sigil. No arms, no family beside him. Yet he stood, straight backed and proud; the only flag he needed to see was held high to the right of him. The flag of his country flew strong and proud, despite the lack of a breeze, the gods must have been watching, upholding the symbol he would give his life for when nature would not. \n\nThe soldiers had been waiting for hours, as the General's diplomat's pecked at one another, attempting to assert themselves and their parties beliefs - to avoid the bloodshed to come. A man was far less regal than he believed himself to be, when there was shit and mud caked against his cloak.\n\nThe ground had been churned like butter under the torrent of bodies, soft from last nights rains. A lack of stable footing had begun to agitate the horses that supported the men, the horses that held knights high above the common man. Neighs and bucking added to the silent song. A song of men waiting to die.\n\nOne man, eyes watching straight ahead, hand never wavering on the hilt of his long sword thought about if the landlady of the inn back home would notice he had gone. He wondered if the farmer that he regularly sought to purchase fresh goods from would miss his coin. He wondered if anyone in the world even knew his name.\n\nIt did not matter.\n\nHe was a man of duty - of an honour that his house had abided since before there were kings. Before men would wield such power as to force entire lands to uproot and march, to strike down their fellow countryman who happened to own land on the wrong side of a river. \n\nHis duty led him to take up arms, as the men of Gate always did. He loved this land, with its plagues and its bandits, its wolves and it famines. He loved it unconditionally, and would he would die for it.\n\nLost in his thoughts, the man had not noticed the parley break. He had not noticed well dressed men, in fine cotton tunics lose their sense of class and run - like a chicken that had recently had its neck parted - straight back to the front lines, their cloaks dragged behind them.\n\nThe man only just noticed when brass was raised, but, there was no clearer sound in the world than that which overcame the song of death. A regal blaring of horns, so elegant in its town would bring about so much horror and death.\n\nIt seemed funny, how something that could produce a sound so beautiful could signal such barbarism. In the charge that followed, seeing the world through the slits on his visor, the man pondered that funny juxtaposition - he should write about it when he returned home. \n\nAs the tidal masses clashed, a man thought about writing his first book...\n\n...and not one soul noticed when a stray bolt entered his neck...\n\nNo one would remember his name." ]	2
	[WP] The genie got bored of speaking in rhymes and riddles. Now you must, but he will give you unlimited wishes so long as you rhyme them all.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The genie laid out all the rules for me and these unlimited wishes. \n\n1) Each line had to rhyme.\n2) No stanza longer than ten words.\n3) A word does not “rhyme” with itself.\n4) No repeated use of any rhyme.\n5) No wishing these rules away.\n\nI frowned and thought for a while as to how I could best make use of these unlimited wishes.\n\n“I wish I had time, to make more rhymes. One per day; that’s all I’ll say.”\n\nThe genie nodded and acquiesced to my first wish. I opened my mouth and began the next stanza, but the genie raised a finger. \n\n“Tut-tut, little master. One per day and you’ve used it today.”\n\nI frowned, and looked around at the deserted island. I guess I needed to make the most of it for tonight then, and find a way tomorrow to get out of here.\n\nAs I built the campfire that night, I thought to myself...do I though? With unlimited wishes, in less than a month I could have the perfect abode here. I just need to phrase them carefully. Although perhaps finding a way to take the genie with me might be best. Take him back home, or stay here.... Hmm, definitely going to sleep on that one.\n\nThe next morning I awoke, somewhat groggy from sleeping on the sand, but rested enough to make my next wish.\n\n“Genie, I wish for lodging, bigger than...no wait, that doesn’t rhyme, umm. I wish for a house, big enough for a mouse. 🐁 ”, I tried to stop myself but the rhyme just came out. The genie smiled, and on the sand in front of my feet was a foot tall, two story domicile, complete with a bed and everything. Perfect size for a mouse. \n\nDamn.\n\nI spent the rest of the day searching for food. I finally wound up catching a crab 🦀 and scrambled together enough of a fire to cook it a little so I didn’t get too sick. I also spent hours thinking up my next days rhyme.\n\n“Genie, I wish for a full size house with a kitchen, and it better be bitchin’”. \n\nOk, not exactly Busta Rhymes but it did the job. I watched in amazement as a large section of the beach materialized into a two story home 🏠. I opened the front door and sure enough, the kitchen was bitchin’, with a nice convection oven, an island with stove top, and even a microwave.\n\nAnd no food. Or power. I sighed. This genie was going to make me work for it. At least tonight I could sleep on a proper bed, and worry about food tomorrow.\n\nThe next day I had decided my priority was food 🥘 over electricity. \n\n“Genie, I wish the fridge to be stocked with vegetables, ones that are...argh.”, I stumbled. Rhymes are hard!! I tried again.\n\n“Genie, fresh fruit is what I need, bananas 🍌 , apples 🍎 , and grapes 🍇 the size of a bead.”\n\nThe fridge opened by itself, and inside it was fully stocked with those three fruits. The small grapes were a bit sour for my taste, but the apples and bananas were the best food I’d eaten in nearly a week by this point. \n\nWith a full belly and a warm bed, I happily collapsed that night, already dreaming up the next series of rhymes.\n\n“Genie, I wish the fruit in the fridge to automatically replenish, every morning, somewhere around ten’ish.” \n\nGood, now that food was taken care of it was time to work on other necessities.\n\n“Genie, I wish for electricity in this abode, and I also wish for a working commode.” \n\nI smiled at my own wit for this one, as in seconds I had power and running water in my home. \n\nI paused and looked around, realizing that I’ve been creative with my wishes, and slowly building a new life here. By this point, I wasn’t really sure I wanted to go home. I missed my friends and family, sure, but why go back when I have what I need here? And then the thought hit me for the next day. \n\nNow that I had electricity, “Genie, I wish for a computer installed with Skype, and a keyboard with which to type.”\n\nA computer showed up on the desk in my office, and it turned on with a very short boot up sequence. Sure enough, Skype was loaded. I clicked the login button, happier than I thought I would be at the prospect of seeing other people.\n\nError. No internet signal found. I frowned.\n\nThe next day, I thought of a way. \n\n“Genie, I wish for access to the internet. You can do it, this I’ll bet.”\n\nWith glee the internet turned on. The computer screen flowed with a bright light as I finally contacted my friends late at night.\n\n“Jamie, Jenny, how are you guys?”, I asked with a smile in my eyes.\n\n“Jeff? Is that really you?!l”, they exclaimed. “Where have you been?”\n\n“On an island, whiling away my day.”, I said. \n“Slowly growing crazy...”, in my head.\n\nWe talked for an hour or three, and then the finally let me be. I realized after all this time, that loneliness I didn’t mind. \n\nThe genie smiled in his own little way, as I laid my head down for the day. He knew he’d driven me mad, but I didn’t mind.\n\nIt wasn’t so bad." ]	2
	[WP] It's been years, you are sure of it. Years since your defeat to your villain. Suddenly you were blinded by light. After you readjusted to the new brightness, you saw him, that man you swore to defeat. He quickly opened your cell and unlocked your bindings. "Come on, the people need your help!"	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "An army of thirteen thousand hadn't survived the attack to defeat Amos, it was my final plan to defeat him and end his reign of terror over the land, but I failed, he made an example of me, ensuring that no would ever challenge his reign again, I lost track of time in my prison cell that blocked my powers, I don’t know how long I have been stuck in this cell.\n\nI sighed leaning against the cell wall, throwing a rubber ball against the wall and throwing back and forth, I heard a noise at the door, the hundreds of locks clicking open, my power slowly starting to return, I stood up as the door slowly opened, I got into a defensive position, Amos had finally come to finish me off, the door finally opened, he was standing there, watching me.\n\nI stood my ground waiting for him to make his move, but after a few moments, he stepped forward, “I need your help” \nI stood there unsure of what to do, “why would I ever want to help you?” I \nSaid barely keeping the bitterness out of my voice, he sighed “a demon wants to destroy the world, he has an army that you couldn’t even fathom, I can’t defeat him on my own” I stood there for a moment, he continued “If you don’t help me everyone and everything will die”\n\nI looked around the walls of the prison that I had been trapped in for so long, I knew I could use my powers to kill him where he stood but I couldn’t stand idly by as a demon destroyed my world that I had tried so hard to defend so long ago, I took a step towards him “I’ll help” I didn’t know what the future would bring, but I was ready for it.", "Three times a day I would hear the scrape of metal on metal. Layers of doors unlocked, opened, and then locked back tight again. Three meals a day for let’s see...here! 7,786 days I’ve been locked inside this vault for lack of a better term. It’s sometime between breakfast and lunch I'd say. They were early today which both excited and terrified me.\n\nDon’t get me wrong, my prison is a rather cozy fully furnished studio apartment with absolutely no decorations or things that I can pry off the walls or floor. There’s really nothing to do except read and scratch what’s on my mind into the walls. The cell was centered in a large bunker surrounded by two individual, rather thick layers of suppressor technology, several levels of plas-teel cells and buried even further under layers of titanium reinforced regular ol’ cell blocks where all the miscellaneous baddies are kept. It’s called “The Hill” but everyone stuck here calls it “The Morgue” since it’s where we sit and rot. I got visitors sometimes since 24/7 isolation is akin to torture and that would look bad to John Q. Public.\n\nI could hear the doors now.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\clunksqueal*CLUNKchik\\\n\n&#x200B;\n\nUnlock, open, close, lock. One by one, closer and closer. I heard audible footsteps outside now as the last door slid open silently and trembled in anticipation that I haven’t felt in…about 7 years, I guess.\n\nYou see…Years ago, I went by the moniker The Atom Bomb. Which is a huge stretch since my name is Adam Thomas Baum. I didn’t just blow stuff up, although that was generally what I used my abilities for. I could alter magnetic waves like Magneto to some extent and fly around like an idiot, but no handy dandy human puppets. I could magnetize the hell out of someone’s keys though. Then there was the “bomb” part of my name. I was hot, baby! Radioactive when I wanted it. I only ever used it once but as Tony Stark once said “They say the best weapon is one you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree. I prefer the weapon you only need to fire once. “ and boy, did it make the right impression. There used to be a town in California called Tecopa. Itty-bitty thing with 150 people on a good day. What’s there now is a big glass crater. So is the town a bit north of it, Shoshone. The death toll was right around 200 since there’s not much chance of surviving a small nuclear blast go off in your back yard. Unless you were the cause, that is. I was 15 and my step dad never knew what hit him which was a shame, since he’d spent the last 5 years hitting me…\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI digress. Since then, I’ve mildly irradiated people. Thrown cars and heroes through buildings. Fought toe to toe with some of the best En-humans that have popped up on the side of good in the last few years, but only one of them has ever been a real issue.\n\nThe quiet whir of vacuum tubes depressurizing the plas-teel bolts on the door snapped me out of my self-monologue.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe door slid open revealing quite literally the last person I expected to see. My own personal villain: Augment. I hadn’t seen him for at least 3 years? Maybe 4.\n\nIf you’re reading this journal then you may have also ran across some other [files](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/bdkb40/wp_you_are_a_street_level_herovillan_no_one_ever/ekzbxez?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x) on him but I can be brief and describe him. Hideously powerful. Multiple abilities that no other [En-human](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/bpegty/wp_like_many_superheroes_your_latent_superpower/ensorjy?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x) should by rights have. Basically a God, but also…utterly forgettable.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nA non-descript guy in his 30s looked down at me with his forehead creased in confusion. He had short-ish brown hair with a cowlick in the front, Clark Kent glasses (Like we didn’t all know who he was…), a neatly trimmed mustache and beard, and wouldn’t stand out in a crowd. He looked more like he worked in an office versus being the one-man cleaning crew he really was. He was also upside-down.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“Uh...Why are you on the floor with your underwear on your head in the dark?” He asked with an obviously fake* look of concern.\n\nI looked up at that smug, punch-able face “I have to entertain myself in here, you know.” I sat up and walked over to the couch. “I’d offer you a seat but those are only for friends. What are you doing here?”\n\nHe didn’t sit down, which was disgustingly respectful but instead looked around the room taking note of everything. “Where did they put the TV and bluray I brought last week? I know we can’t give you internet access but I brought like 400 movies and shows.”\n\nI jumped up quickly and laughed in his face “I broke them ALL! You think you’re so slick, spying on me with electronics huh? I broke the Switch in half, too! They’re all locked in the closet where they can’t hear or see me.”\n\nAug looked at me and I could see the defeat in his eyes. Sweet victory!\n\n“What? You realize we have you kept in a mostly clear Plas-teel apartment with video cameras watching everything but the toilet and shower.”\n\nHe pointed to the cameras in the corner. “Why would I need to spy on you with a TV and some video games?”\n\n“Hah! You expect me to believe…” But I lost my steam. He had a point. Damn him! “Well…You win this round.” I shuffled over to the couch and sat back down.\n\nHe kneeled in front of me, with concern on his face. The bastard.\n\n“[Jacob](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/axa0mh/wp_you_are_a_superhero_one_day_one_of_your/ehstsfs?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x). I know the last 7 weeks have been hard. Trust me, they’ve been hard on your mother too and I see it almost every day.”\n\n7 weeks? I had been here 7 years! My mother died in Tecopa…right? And why did he call me Jacob? I could tell he wasn’t lying though, somehow. Suddenly my vision blurred and a spike of pain lanced through my head.\n\nHe had to be lying. He’s a phony! He’s a villain!\n\n“We have good news though. We tracked down Confab and he’s in a block just down the hall. Part of his deal was to put you back together for Good Behavior time. We just need you to hold it together long enough to go see him, ok? Then we can get you out of here.\n\nThey’d free me if I went to see this Confab fellow? Sign me up! “I suppose at this point it couldn’t hurt. Not like I have a choice.” I said.\n\nAug motioned the guards inside and they placed a set of inhibitor cuffs on my hands and feet and escorted me down the hall.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\clunksqueal*CLUNKchik\\\n\n&#x200B;\n\nSeveral doors later we arrived in front of another cell. This one was significantly smaller and entirely less cozy and had a man sitting on a cot sitting expectantly. A chair was placed in front of him and several armed guards lined the walls and doorway.\n\n“Conner. No funny business. Take out the implant and unlock his regular memory and personality.”\n\nAug gestured to the chair in front of the man and I sat.\n\n“Reverse any changes you made and your sentence is reduced. Make one step out of line and we have termination authority.”\n\nHe spoke into a radio “Get ready to hit the switch on the inhibitors on Block AA – Cell B12. In 3, 2, 1.”\n\nThe lights flickered and the man on the cot in front of me slowly reached for my head. The closer he got the more distorted he seemed.\n\nHis palm touched my forehead and his eyes locked onto mine and became mouths. They whispered into my skull and suddenly…\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI was Jacob. My mother was alive. I wasn’t Radioactive and I never blew up a town.\n\nI looked up at the man in front of me and lurched out of my seat. I started to remember now. The fight. Confab reaching for my head after I was knocked out by his small army of brainwashed villains.\n\n“Power on. Restore inhibitors in Block AA – B1 as well until we run an eval. on Jacob.”\n\nI turned to find my mentor Aug spoke into a radio on his shoulder.\n\nHe placed a hand on my shoulder. “Hey there, big guy. Welcome back. I hope.”\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\nHe pulled me towards the door as soldiers filed out of the room and Confab laid back on his cot. “Stick to the deal, Aug. I put him back just like you asked.”\n\nAug turned back quick enough to catch the sly grin on Confab’s face. “We’ll see.”\n\nHe turned to me once we were in the hall.\n\n“Let’s get you checked out bud. We’ve got some serious stuff going on and the world needs us out there.”\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n::Edited to add links to some other stories::*", "Ara had had a long time to ponder his imprisonment. It had been years, he was sure of it, not that he had any way to measure the time here. It was simply... Nothing. Ara and his own mind. The only thing other than himself was the shackles around his wrists and the chains that stretched into infinity. \n\nHe often wondered if Dalya had killed him, however long ago it had been. Perhaps this was hell. It felt it. \n\nWhen he first saw the light, Ara thought he was hallucinating. He closed his eyes, it was so bright. When he could bear to reopen them he found it still there, white, blinding and coming towards him. \n\nThen, Ara was outside, hot air filling his lungs and hard ground beneath his feet. He cast his eyes about, finding he was in the remains of a forest. The air was heavy with smoke. It had been burnt, there were still smouldering embers lying on the ground, ashes, wood turned to charcoal and- Dalya. \n\nHe stared at him, unsure what to make of him. Yes, it was definitely Dalya, blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, yellow, snakelike eyes and an unhealthy pallor about him. He hadn't aged a day. If anything, he looked younger. He was.. Breaking Ara's shackles. \"Come on, the people need you!\"\n\nAra wasted no time, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him off his feet. He let out shrill screech that was most unlike him and flailed his legs wildly, by pure chance hitting Ara in the face, getting him dropped whilst Ara held his nose, which was now dripping blood onto his hand.\n\nDalya scrambled backwards. \"I- I'm here to help! Please!\"\n\nAra snorted. \"Am I supposed to fall for your tricks, villain?\" \n\n\"Tricks? I... I heard there was a hero trapped in another dimension... I called you here!\"\n\n\"You killed thousands of people, Dalya. I'm sure this-\" He gestured at the destruction. \"-is your doing too.\"\n\n\"No!\" He vigorously shook his head. \"H- How do you know my name?\"\n\n\"You trapped me in there!\" Ara stared at him. He seemed genuinely confused. It was clearly some kind of trick, he'd just gotten better at acting in the years since he'd been sealed away. \n\n\"What? I've never seen you before in my life! I wasn't even sure you were real! G- God, I thought you were just a legend!\"\n\nA loud noise in the distance caught Ara's attention. He turned his head, keeping an eye on Dalya, and saw a gigantic... Thing dominating the skyline. It was horrifying, with at least six legs, he couldn't see them all, it wouldn't stop moving, and the mouths, so many mouths. It hadn't seen him. Not yet. \n\n\"What is this you've summoned?\" Ara demanded. \n\n\"I didn't- This isn't me!\" On close examination, Dalya's eyes seemed unusually wet. Was he crying?\n\nAra looked between Dalya and the thing. \"Say I was to believe you, villain. What would you have me do?\"\n\n\"I don't know...\" His voice shook. \"I don't know. There's no other hope. There'll be nothing left if you don't stop them...\" A few tears fell down his cheeks. \"We need you.\"\n\nAra took another look at the devastation. This wasn't Dalya's style. He had always been more subtle than this. He wanted the world, but he wanted it in one piece. Not burnt to ashes, blanketed in smoke. So, perhaps this wasn't him. But why was he acting like this? Surely he knew Ara would do anything to protect his world, why would he act like he knew nothing of their past? \n\nHis thoughts were violently derailed by a boulder crashing to the ground a few feet away from him. Dalya shrieked, but a few moments later, seemed to recover enough to speak. \"Run! Follow me!\" He sprinted off. Ara, left with no better choice, pursued him. \n\nHe was lead to some kind of underground bunker. He slammed the door shut behind then and started talking, in-between attempts to catch his breath. \"I'm not made for this! Oh- Oh god, I'm just a scientist. Oh god..\" He ran a shaking hand through his hair. \n\nHe knew a little of Dalya's history, he'd had informed Ara in a monologue. He'd been a scientist, but one day he'd been captured in an attack, before Ara was even born. He hadn't elaborated on what happened to him, only said they'd \"persuaded\" him to work for them. Which was what he had been doing ever since. Any sympathy Ara had felt for him then was quickly erased after he sealed him away. The last thing he'd seen had been Dalya's face. His expression had played on Ara's mind often. Sad, almost. \n\nHe stared at Dalya, leant against the wall, staring at his feet, hyperventilating, and the pieces suddenly fell into place. \"What year is this?\" \n\nDalya looked up at him. \"2027? Has it been a long time since you were locked away?\"\n\nAra laughed, though it lacked genuine mirth. Just typical of Dalya, to expect his nemesis to undo his crimes. \n\nStill, he patted him on the shoulder. \"I swore an oath to help people. Tell me about our enemy, scientist.\"", "I wrote this whole thing before realising that I did it wrong. Hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Just pretend the dialogue was first \"Come on, we need your help.\"\n\n\\~\n\n\"Was my warning not clear?\" I snickered, even in my vulvnerable state. I clambered to my feet, finding a sudden rush of adrenaline.\n\nThe Crow stood in the doorway. I could only make out her silhouette against the blinding light.\"Grudges were always your strong suit,\" she said as she stepped into the room.I could see her clearly now. Dressed in her black belted playsuit and her hooded cape made from the feathers of her deceased murder, she appeared almost the same. Only now the zip on her front closed almost to the top.\n\n\"You've aged,\" I smirk.The Crow moves her eyes up my body and reciprocates my expression. \"You're one to talk.\"\n\nI peer down at myself and the dress provided by the guards, now nothing but rags.I roll my fingers into a fist and throw it The Crow. She blocks it with her arm and uses her other hand to send a blow to my stomach.\n\nIt causes me to hunch over in pain. It's been a while.\n\nAs I catch my breath The Crow uses it as an opportunity to explain. \"It's gotten worse. The forrest needs you.\"\n\n\"I told you,\" I groaned, still clutching my stomach.The Crow sighs and begins for the door. \"This is your last and only chance.\"I stand up straight and glare at her. She had betrayed me. \"We were sisters.\"\n\n\"You had gone mad.\"\n\nI stare at the dark cell that had become my home. I wondered where the guards were.\n\nI consider throwing another punch at her and fleeing but knew that combat was always her strong suit and we were too far from the surface for my abilities to be any good.\n\nWhat choice did I have?\n\nI nodded and headed for the doorway. As I stepped out into the large gray room with tall windowless walls, The Crow handed me a pile of clothing.\n\nI took the offering and found comfort from the fabric of my dress, weaved from the fauna of my home and dyed black.\n\nI removed my rags and threw the dress over myself, gliding the hands over the draping sleeves and relishing in the feeling of home it provided. \"Magissa,\" The crow whispers.\n\n\"Thank you,\" I found myself saying.\n\nShe smiled at me and I saw now the wrinkles tracing from her eyes. My time in the cell had been spent romanticising this moment when I would be given the opportunity to say, \"I told you so.\" I imagined it would be followed by her strangulation and I would watch the light leave her eyes.\n\nBut that desire has seemed to have left as I look at her now, with a decade of aging added to her appearance and I feel a sense of regret for the time passed.\n\n\"Come on,\" she says and begins for an elevator.\n\n\"Where are the guards?\" I ask when the lift begins its ascend up twenty floors.\n\n\"Dead I presume. You have no idea what you've been living right under.\"\n\nThe Crow leads the way through another corridor before we step outside a door and onto land. I gasp in horror to find what was once a forrest to be nothing but red dirt.\n\nI collapse, looking out to the flat plains and the detoriating trunks of cut trees. I grasp the sand and cry.\n\n\"You were right,\" The Crow says again. \"The humans couldn't be trusted.\"I was unable to respond as I held back a sob for the loss of so much life.\"They've taken almost everything. There's war for whats left and they're getting closer.\"\"Ohia?\" I ask, my voice cracking.\n\n\"It's all that remains. We need to hurry.\"\n\nThe Crow tilts her head back and lets out a high pitched cackling that fills the air.It is responded to by a loud echo and within seconds, the sky above is filled with black as a murder of crows swarms us.\n\nThey claw at The Crow, grasping her cape. She throws a long strap at me as she is lifted in the air. I smile and hold up the ends of the fabric that are then clawed by the crows. I lean into the strap as it is lifted out and despite all, find myself smiling as we are flown through the air.\n\nThe sensation soon disappears as I am able to see far into the horizon and the lack of trees that once dominated the scenery. It is nothing but a waste land now, just as I had known.\n\nSoon enough, a large area of green is seen in the horizon. Tears begin to slip from my eyes as I see my home that I risked everything to try and protect. On the outskirts were the remains of freshly cut trees. A stream that had flowed freely through the trees was filled with dirt. Abandoned machinery were tipped on their sides, seeming to have experienced a violent end. Scorch marks dotted the ground where I assumed the bodies had been burnt.\n\nAt least a million square miles remained but I knew not for long. In the distance towards another edge, smoke seeped into the sky. As we flew over the treetops heading to the centre of the forrest, I could hear the restless sounds of birds in the trees that told me that it was not just a bushfire approaching. Bats glided anxiously from tree to tree and fish scattered the shores of the nearly stagnant rivers.\n\nThe crows lowered us to the forrest floor. I hopped from the makeshift swing, nodded in appreciation to the birds before reaching to the ground. I felt the grass in my fingers, leaning my forehead to the ground and watching my tears slip from the bridge of nose and landing on the green.\n\nIt sent a ripple through the grass, like a wave, that got bigger as it went on. The trees shook and the rivers followed suit. I heard the wind become loud through the trees and the inhabitants cowled, chirped, hissed and howled in response.\n\n\"I'm home.\"\n\nI stood up back on my feet and headed to the still river. It had turned an unhealthily green and the sight made my heart flinch. I dipped my toe in. A rushing sound then came from faraway. As it approached, I looked at The Crow who was already smiling with her murder percched on her shoulders and the trees surrounding her.\n\nWithin moments a torrent of water came rushing through and the river began to rush with its current. As I stepped proudly away from the water, I noticed that the commotion had caught other's attentions. A dozen women now stood in the meadow beside The Crow. Their clothing was similar to mine but in shades of grey and green.\n\nThey were smiling at me. Many of their eyes glistened as they approached me with open arms. I was embraced by everyone with mutters of \"Welcome home\" and \"We're so sorry\".\n\nLastly was the crow who held me longer. I rested my cheek on her shoulder, already feeling once again at home. Except now with an ever bigger fear than before.\n\nLoud machanic sounds came from the smoke, interrupting our reunion.\n\nThe Crow held both my shoulders, rubbing circles with her thumbs. \"We're ready to do it your way this time.\"\"You won't give me to the humans?\"\"Please understand, we thought we were doing what was best.\"I nod understandably.\n\nThe crows cowl and pick The Crow up, taking her to the tree tops, where she begins to run along the branches, her balance impeccable.\n\nThe rest of the girls begin to run after her while birds, squierrels, deer, wolves and all other remaining animals followed closely behind.\n\nI closed my eyes and focussed my energy on the trees. I felt the deprived connection of their own energy intertwining with my own, as if we were one.\n\nThe nearest tree bent its trunk and lowered a branch to the floor. I stepped on to it, holding on to another branch for support as I was lifted into the air.\n\nThe tree twisted itself and swung its branch to that of another tree. I stepped on the branch of the next tree as it followed suit and I was being passed through the forrest with clear view of our army beneath me as I caught up to The Crow.\n\nThe machanical noise was getting louder and I could make out the sound of gunfire.\n\nThis was war.", "\"They've lost hope\" he said. Adamant, the villain who defeated me nearly 60 years ago. He stood before me dressed in another suit of his usual style, well fitted and proper the touches of gray in his hair adding an element of regality that he lacked in his youth. \"I did it you know? I conquered the world. Established an organized peace and ruled with an iron fist. There's no war, there's no crime, and no poverty.\" \n\n&#x200B;\n\nAdamant paused for effect causing me to roll my eyes. The man was always a brilliant speaker. \"But there's no art. The lack of sorrow and misery seems to have smothered the creative spark in humanity. I try giving the people some measure of freedom and they seem unsure what to do with it. I managed to extinguish every spark of humanity in my quest to create the perfect world... Only keeping you.. as a memento of sorts.\" \n\n&#x200B;\n\nHe knelt down and shattered my handcuffs. \"The people need you... Captain Chaos\"" ]	6
	[WP] Your locked in a room with a screw driver. You need to get out in thirty minutes.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "As I wake up, I notice I am in a room with no windows and one door. I hear a voice come through the speaker that says, \"You have 30 minutes to escape this room or you will die.\" I scramble to my feet and immediately try to open the door. As expected it is locked. I see a screwdriver on the table in the middle of the room. Why is that in here I think? There is a cabinet in one corner of the room. I go through all the drawers and find nothing useful, just some tissues and files.\n\n10 minutes remaining blares over the speaker. I try to kick open the door, kick at the door knob, bash the chair into the door. Nothing works. I slide the cabinet away from the wall and find nothing behind it. 2 minutes remaining blares over the speaker. I think this is the end, I might as well pick up the screwdriver. As I down the screwdriver I feel something hit my mouth. I find a key in the cup. I rush to the door, unlock it and exit the room with 30 seconds left. The first thing I see when I open the door is my fiancee." ]	2
	[WP] After order is restored following the initial shock of the whole "zombie apocalypse" thing, turns out, mindless, no-maintenance walking machines are actually fairly useful.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The stories always told us the dead rising would be the end of the world. They were supposed to wreak havoc and we were supposed to never recover. It came close to that, closer than we'd like to admit. We've always found a way to adapt to our surroundings, and this apocalypse was no different. \n\nEventually, the living realized the dead were actually quite useful. Farmers now use them as \"workhorses\" and larger settlements have come up with somewhat of a giant hamster ball to provide electricity. Not only do they provide some of our basic labor and utility needs, they also provide entertainment.\n\nThough many of the living never tire from watching the dead lap around a racetrack, chasing a slab of meat, there is a small group of living that have declared it's unfair treatment of the dead, and picket every race. I can see where they're coming from, but I still go to the races every week and place my bet on #52; my dad.", "Apparently the cure for global warming had been a plague. Sure, people died and that was sad but really, the true victim had been the planet we’d been ravaging. As nature took back her course humanity strove to find a new energy source. \n\nAnd the monsters that walked and felt no pain, that used the fuel of their bodies to continued, that needed no food or fuel to walk, they powered out cities. Massive turntables were pushed by the walkers lusting after food. Our cities were powered by the dead.\n\nAnd when we died and rose again, we too powered our cities." ]	3
	[WP] You're cooking dinner when your phone rings. The number reads "0". When you answer the voice on the other line says "Do not hang up. This is you, from the future. I don't have time for questions. Whatever you do, do not boil the potatoes. The world-". Then the line disconnects.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Timmy walked passed his mother as she hung up the phone. \n\n\n\"Who was that?\"\n\n\n\"Prank call\"\n\n\n\"What's a prank call?\"\n\n\n\"It's like trolling, but you use the phone to do it\"\n\n\n\"Old people are weird, what's for dinner?\" \n\n\n\"Roast beef and potatoes\"\n\n\n\"Can you make mashed potatoes?\"\n\n\n\"After saying I'm old?! You've got a lot of nerve\"\n\n\n\"plllleeaassee mom\"\n\n\n\"Fine! Go wash up, dinners in 20 minutes\"\n\n\nAs she put water on to boil, the words of the prank call echoed through her head. \n\n\n\"Don't boil the potatoes\"\n\n\nKids these days. So random. That's the internet for you. Pealing the potatoes, she paused for a moment before throwing the whole peeled potatoes in the now boiling water. \n\n\nAs she took the roast out of the oven, she turned to find herself no longer in the kitchen, but in a plain white, empty room. A holographic image flutered before her. It began to speak:\n\n\n\"you didn't listen. You weren't supposed to boil the potatoes\"\n\n\n\"what's is this, am I dreaming?\"\n\n\n\"no. This is your future. We brought you here. Your world was destroyed by evil. You released it when you freed it from its eternal cage\"\n\n\nShe was confused by all this\n\n\n\"It's eternal Cage?.....\"\n\n\n\"Yes\"\n\n\n\"Potatoes....?\"\n\n\n\"Yes\"\n\n\nThe holographic display flashed images of giant creatures rampaging, city's in flames and death. Then the room she was in began to shake. \n\n\n\"You don't have time. We are all already doomed. You can send a warning. But you must be quick\"\n\n\nA phone materialised in the room. Picking it up a dialing her own home phone number, she waited while it rang. The room began to disintegrate around her. Finally, the other end picked up. \n\n\n\"Do not hang up. This is you, from the future. I don't have time for questions. Whatever you do, do not boil the potatoes. The world-\"\n\n\nThe room disintegrated. She was overwhelmed in bright white light as this universe faded from existence....." ]	2
	[WP] You are a god who's soul purpose is to smite people in the weirdest ways you can think of. For example by dropping a cow on them, or dropping g a piano on them in the middle of the desert, or however else you can think of.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Mr Benedict? Mr Key will be seeing you now.\" The secretary was a rather a slender attraction, standing tall in her high heels, curled furls draped over her shoulders with rosey cheeks and red lips perked to that of a competent and beautiful assistant. Her tight skirt which squeezed against her long legs was white with red poker dots all over and her buttoned up shirt featured the outlines of distant birds soaring before a green background.\n\n\"Th-thank you.\" I rose from my seat and went on into the office of a most peculiar man.\n\n\"Ah yes, Mr Benedict I believe? Please, take a seat.\" Mr Key had the strangest attire, a top-hat sitting skewed on his head, a bright green vest over an equally bright red shirt with spotted green suspenders disappearing behind the work-desk. The man smiled at me, his face long and pointed, wrinkles forming around his eyes from a man who smiled too much, yet there was a certain sense of life to his eyes, the kind of life of a man that took life in full-strides. The man's smile seemed awfully much like a grin, the first thin line of gum showing as he revealed the upper row of golden teeth, it seemed almost as if each of those teeth also smiled at me.\n\nThe man reached out, I removed my own furl hat and went to shake his hand, his fingers were long and dainty, clammy hands with freckles shaking mine.\n\n\"What can I do you for, good sir?\" Mr Key asked as if he were a game-show host, folding one leg over his knee and resting his cheeks onto a forearm he erected on the table, the skin of his long cheek stretched as if the man were simply made of skin.\n\n\"Well, uh, I am one of the lesser gods, one of musical readings.\"\n\n\"Ah yes, so an 'Idea'?\" I blinked once, and then once more in bewilderment. It was true that gods like myself were called \"Ideas\", but no one actually dared call us that, at least not to our faces. It was seen as a crude and degrading label albeit the fact that it was still closer to the truth rather than being called a \"lesser god\".\n\n\"Ye-yes, I suppose that is true,\" I affirmed with a stutter.\n\n\"Oh pardon, do accept my apologies, I didn't mean to offend. I actually think it delightful to be a certain 'idea', we all have to make due with what we have and you are obviously a muse to many individuals. There is nothing wrong with humble beginnings.\" Mr Key's voice jumped all over the place, his reassuring remark accentuated with what could only be described as harmless optimism.\n\n\"So, as I was saying, there was one person in particular that made a remark against how asinine the whole point of music is, how the musical notes make no sense and how it is a waste of time.\" As the words came to my lips, I remembered a vague shadow of the anger and disappointment I felt at those words, even though the mortal who spoke them at the time showed great promise, alas, great promise with even greater hubris.\n\nI had stood at many agencies just like this one many a time, and with the initial anger drifting away in time like diluted venom, I would also just abandon my hatchet and head on home. \"Not this time.\" I had promised to myself, this time, I would hang onto the ghost of whatever it was that slighted me and see it through to the end.\n\n\"So you wish to smite this individual?\" I looked up to see that Mr Key had crossed his dainty arms onto the table and leaned in to me, his grin seemingly wider and a devilish excitement in his eyes.\n\nI noticed that I was squeezing my furl hat in both hands, sweat cresting my brows as I simply nodded.\n\n\"Very good!\" Mr Key leaned back into his seat and clapped his hands, before rummaging through the stacks and stacks of paper on his desk.\n\n\"Now, where was that one--aha! And... then, what about, oh here it is.\" Mr Key began rummaging through the chaos, piles and piles of seemingly unorganised stacks without any filing system, yet for some reason, there seemed to be reason to that chaos, a beautiful incomprehensible order to that insanity.\n\n\"Mr Key?\" I called out, as the eccentric man pulled his head out of a filing cabinet he was going through with a sudden sandwich in his mouth and a look of 'Who? Me?'.\n\n\"Are you too a lesser god?\"\n\nMr Key's smile returned, yet this one was thinner, wider, more sadistic, as if he was in on a joke that was just too funny to share.\n\n\"I suppose, if you wish to call me that. I am a nobody now, yet I used to be a somebody a long long time ago.\" I looked down at his business card, the same one I had gotten randomly as I was passing by in the streets, it read 'God of Irony'.\n\n\"So.\" The sudden bang of files onto his table brought me back to the matter at hand and as Mr Key sported a victorious smile.\n\n\"Well Mr. Benedict, I think of something in mind for your little 'smiting'.\"\n\n\"Are you going to just conjure a musical instrument on him or something?\"\n\n\"Oh heavens no.\" Mr Key frowned. \"Perhaps in my younger days when I still had such power to do so, but unfortunately, I have to make due with what I have been given.\"\n\n\"What do you mean?\" I frowned, I thought that was the point of smiting agencies, to do smiting in place of those who don't have the power to do so.\n\n\"Well.\" Mr Key brought a couple of paper out of his stack and placed them in front of me.\n\n\"My secretary already informed me that your mortal is a failing and frustrated pianist, they usually play at this venue here in a bar and practice at home in a run down apartment.\"\n\n\"That is correct.\" The amount of detail was remarkable.\n\n\"Well, I could have it so that your client is kicked in the face by a donkey, which would be the cheaper option, or crushed by the very piano he plays, though I must warn you, that second option will prove more expensive.\"\n\nI squeezed my furl hat even tighter, if I wanted to back out, now would be my last opportunity.\n\n\"I'll take the piano one.\"\n\n\"Very good, Mr Benedict! Love me a client with a little fire in them.\" Mr Key smiled with such delight as if he had just made a new friend.\n\n\"Now, what will happen is that an agent of mine working in the piping system will visit your mortal's bar for an inspection, sabotage a set of pipes just under the piano your mortal plays and so damage the wooden boards above.\"\n\n\"But won't they see the water damage?\" I asked.\n\n\"Yes!\" Mr Key seemed awfully delighted that I notice an apparent problem to the plan.\n\n\"That is precisely why I will have another employee of mine go there for a night of drinking and damage the floor just under the piano, the owner will be horrified with the damage and try to cover it up with a rug, a rug that just so 'conveniently' happened to be left behind by his deceased aunt.\"\n\n\"The owner's aunt died?\" I asked.\n\n\"Not yet,\" Mr Key replied with an insidious and humoured smile.\n\n\"Then, the amount of water damage will keep piling up right under forelegs of the piano, timed for exactly the right moment when your mortal would be playing on them, and then--bam! the floor collapses with your mortal falling in and the piano toppling right on top of him.\"\n\n\"But would that actually kill him?\"\n\nMr Key smiled again. \"Under normal circumstances, no, but it may also happen that for whatever reason, termites had been eating away at the legs of that piano stand, and well, the fall does the rest and the front legs will snap. The piano the bar uses is nice Steinway & Sons Model B which weighs approximately 750 pounds, or 350 KG if you'd prefer. With the collapsed floor, the total weight of the piano, and the collapsing front legs, the damage caused to your mortal should be enough to cause instantly death.\"\n\nI look up, suddenly bewildered at the eccentric resourcefulness of Mr Key, the God of Irony. \"So, do we have a deal?\" He smiled insidiously.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\\\\\\n\n&#x200B;\n\n/r/KikiWrites", "Click click click click click...\n\nThe office fell silent as the crowd watched the spinning wheel. Post-It notes spat out the sides like popcorn jumping from the pan, littering the already dirty carpet. \n\nI could barely see the blurred colors over the mass of heads. I suppose I could stand up out of my seat and watch but that just seemed like too much effort.\n\nClick click click…\n\nA few people started rustling excitedly in front of me. They must be new here.\n\nClick… click… … … click\n\nThe wheel finally stopped.\n\n“Choking on a fish bone… choking on a fish bone?!?!?* Who the fuck left that there??!!”\n\nI couldn’t see who was yelling from the corner but I knew the voice, high-pitched and frantic like someone who had been drinking too much coffee. We all had.\n\n“Brad!” I called out.\n\nFuck… that’s not right. Brian? Ben?\n\n“Brock. My name is Brock.” \n\nI heard the reply but still couldn’t see him behind the crowd of interns whose heads were now turning back and forth like they were watching a tennis match.\n\n“Shit, sorry man.” I dangled my empty paper coffee cup in front of me as if to remind everyone I obviously wasn’t thinking clearly. Or maybe to remind myself. “Calm down, we’ll come up with something else.”\n\n“WE DID THAT BIT CENTURIES AGO,” he screamed. “It’s already been in place for centuries! Is that the best we got??”\n\nTo be honest I wasn’t surprised. We had been scrambling for ideas the past week without any luck. A room full of comedians, morticians, novelists, fucking interns… the best we could come up with had something to do with a falling anvil.\n\nI’m pretty sure Looney Tunes does that gag every week.\n\nSo when we decided to go with the Wheel of Fortune method I couldn’t help but notice the wheel looked unusually full and recycling bin of used Post-Its had been emptied. I guess someone thought it would be cute to go back to the classics.\n\n“Swallowed by a whale, stung by fire ants, impaled by a beach umbrella...” Brock had picked up some of the Post-Its that had fallen on the ground and was now reading them out loud. “We pulled you guys from Hell to help us come up with ideas and you fuckers decided to rifle through the recycling bin?!? Would you rather we send you back?!”\n\n“Ben… Brock...” Fuck, I was stammering now. “Go take a breather, we’ll put on another pot of coffee.”\n\nI turned away from all the scratching heads and into my office, slamming the door behind me. I could still hear Brock’s muffled swears behind the door, but at least the smells of body odor and cigarettes seemed to dissipate. \n\nI could still smell the panic though.\n\nI like Brock, he can be a bit of an asshole but that’s to be expected. When your job is coming up with creative ways to kill people… well, assholes are about the most normal recruits you can ask for. Working together for a few millennia doesn’t tend to smooth the edges either.\n\nI shuffled through the papers on my desk, finally landing on a manilla folder stained with coffee rings. It looked like it was about to tear open at the seam.\n\n“Too much repetition… ideas lacking originality…”\n\nThese performance reviews were getting pretty repetitive and unoriginal too. I’m pretty sure the boss had started delegating her work to interns. Then again so had I.\n\nRiing\n\nLovely. I could swear she’s reading my mind or something. I fumbled for a cigarette with my right hand as I thrashed my way through stacks of paper with my left, clearing a path to the phone.\n\nRiiing\n\n“Yea yea yea, hell…”\n\n“Ms. Beelz would like to speak with you,” came the squeaky voice on the other end. God I hate being interrupted.\n\n“That’s funny, then why would she have her assis…”\n\n“Running out of ideas again are we?”\n\nFuck. Now that voice I know. Melodic like an opera singer performing Shakespeare, mixed with an unmistakable hiss… like a cat and a snake had somehow gotten into a fight in the background. It was sweet and menacing at the same time, a hand grenade hidden inside a cake.\n\nHey that’s not bad, I should write that one down.\n\n“It’s been a week now, either I’ve gotten very forgetful or there hasn’t been a single new idea to come from your office.”\n\nNow the hiss was starting to come out more. I lit my cigarette and took a pull.\n\n“I know I know, we have a few good concepts were toying with. I promise we’ll be ready with a few extras in time for Friday’s mee…”\n\n“We’ve been over your Key Performance Indicators.” She interrupted me again. I fucking hate being interrupted. “One new pitch a day. You haven’t met that in nearly 50 years now. They’re breeding like rabbits up there and we’re falling behind.”\n\nShe was right as always. The world population was what... 5 billion now? I’m pretty sure they cracked that just a few years ago. It was less than half that four decades ago.\n\n“God has been getting his way and it’s all because your team can’t seem to deliver,” she said, quite calmly but still with more than a hint of hiss. “I can’t continue to take risks on you if you keep falling short of your KPIs. Unless you can pull a miracle by Friday’s quarterly I might have to do some restructuring.”\n\nClick.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nPART 2 BELOW...", "\"...\", it intoned, thoughtfully, and not without some degree of sarcasm, which, I don't mind saying I wasn't particularly fond of. \n\n\"... yes, Terry? You have something to add, I gather?\" I didn't mind these check-ins, truthfully, but Terry really was the worst with them. I can take a bit of \"_constructive criticism_\" in my work, but is it asking too much to just be forthright with it? \n\n\"Well. I mean the similarities are just becoming a bit... Obtuse, shall we say. Last week it was a Yamaha piano-\"\n\n\"From the sixth floor, as I remember,\" I hastily interrupted.\n\n\",-and this morning another piano, same model, same city. Do you even want this job anymore? We're worried that you're losing your 'edge', so to speak.\" Terry is the ideal middle-management prat. Always judging, always criticising, no original thoughts of its own. Does it think being a Bookkeeper gives it the right to call into question the artistic integrity of _my_ work?\n\n\"Well, Terry, I don't want to come across as standoffish,\" I replied while making a show of checking my monitors for the next client, \"but I think if you were to look at the finer details of the case it was actually the faux-ivory key model this time, as opposed to the pure rosewood version, and this time it dropped from the thirteenth floor. I was actually a little proud of the irony regarding the use of their superstitious lore surrounding the number thirteen and, frankly, am a little disappointed that the On High don't seem to be doing their due diligence when it comes to these audits. If I'm to be completely frank, it seems to be borderline harassment.\"\n\nTerry recoiled ever so slightly at the suggestion, making a face of disdain, and picking imaginary dust off its non-existent jacket. \n\n\"Be that as it may, Grūjchkil, I'd advise you think carefully before making such accusations. You used to be an _artist_, we're only worried that you seem stuck in a bit of a rut.\" It stops for a moment, looking at the feeds up on my monitors, wistful and all the while like a slightly disappointed parent that doesn't know how to scold its child. Which, come to think of it, isn't too far off from the truth. \n\n\"Prague! Oklahoma! Turkey! Oh my, do you remember Turkey? You nearly caused a global epidemic with your bird-flu-as-spread-by-parasitic-flying-eggplants at the time, it was pure... insanity.\" At this it kisses the air, and I can't help but feel a small sense of pride when remembering the look on the faces of those death row inmates as tiny winged eggplant descended upon them. Teeth gnashing, shrieking, plummeting into pure madness. The inmates were quite put off as well. \n\n\"Okay. Granted, I understand and appreciate the concern regarding two piano incidents within a 48 hour span. I do, really, but it was _poetic_. The first one was a Ukrainian hitman whose weapon of choice was, obviously, piano wire.\"\n\nTerry inclines his head ever so slightly, not willing to take its eyes off the monitor and acknowledge me just yet. \n\n\"And the _second_ one. Very accomplished performer. Loving husband, attentive father, serial rapist and bigot. I even dropped the piano low enough that he'd time to truly savor his crushed pelvis before finally passing to blood loss outside the YMCA during their Pride BBQ event! Now come on, no one appreciated that one? A bit on the nose, or pelvis, I'll admit, but it was _right_.\"\n\nTerry scratches the back of its head, appearing to weigh my justifications, though I know better than to think it has really been listening attentively to what I've to offer. Terry usually always had an outcome in mind during these quaint little \"visits\".\n\n\"It's not that we don't appreciate your efforts, but I'm afraid it's a little out of my claws. Look, don't think of it as our trying to take away from your creativity, think of it as a tool to help get you back on track.\"\n\nI'm very quickly beginning to feel some trepidation about where this is going. \n\n\"So, Terry, what exactly are you suggesting?\"\n\nIt smiles (if you can call it that) and spreads its three arms out to their full seventeen foot wingspan. \n\n\"It's a delightful little toy the humans use! And just think, you'll be turning it right on against them, doesn't that have a nice little ring to it? You just start typing in a few phrases, and the most deliciously absurd responses automatically fill in the rest! We thought you could use it as, uhm, 'inspiration'.\"\n\nAt this Terry types in a few words into my work station, and shows me a new website. Very plain, just a colorful little word on top, and an empty bar nestled between two buttons situated just below it. \n\n\"Go on, try it! I think you'll like it. In time.\"\n\nI give Terry a nice long side-eye, and painfully slowly rotate my chair to face the screen again.\n\n\"Fine. So. Let's try... _why am I_...,\" I pause, mouth somewhat slack, and try to piece together the next bit before giving him the satisfaction of my surprise, \"being eviscerated by a herd of miniature llamas? Who in all the realms is searching for that?!\"\n\nTerry claps his claws together in a triumphant jesture, and please don't ask me how three claws clap at once. You don't want to know. \n\n\"What did I tell you?! Go on, try it out for the millennia, really get a feel for it and see if it helps those juices begin to flow again. Just type in the beginning of a thought and let the little toy do the rest. It always asks if you 'meant' to type in these ludicrous things, and, well, do it or you're fired. Sorry, mate.\"\n\nTerry blinks out of my workspace at that last bit. No fuss, no drama, just here one moment and gone the next. I wish it had just come out with this from the get go and saved me a bit of headache trying to defend my position. Once the On High's put in these new mandates there's really nothing to do but get on with it. I start to check the feed and see who needs my attentions next. \n\nAh, someone has been very naughty in, let's see, Bangladesh! Oh it's been ages since I've smitten someone there. I flex my fourty-three fingers, work a minor kink out of my neck, and get back to work.\n\n\"Okay, _Google_, let's try..._why does it hurt when I_...·" ]	4
	[WP] In an old encyclopedia, you find a different plant pressed and preserved between every page, and a cryptic handwritten note on the inside of the cover.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Shards of crumbling paper spiraled to the floor as I leafed through the book. An ancient thing it was. It was bound between two wooden slabs. No inscription on the cover. No name of an author. Not even a symmetric pattern so beloved by the earliest of books. \n\nInside the cover, a lengthy poem was written. But the curious thing was that it started and ended with, \"For Beaufort\". That was my name.\n\nEverything else about the book was nonsensical. Page after page of writing that did not exist. And between every page a plant. I thought I recognized some of them, but only a few. Though I knew nothing about plants, so I could have been mistaken.", "This is the first time I've done this, so sorry if it's kind of bad.\n\n\n Ethel gingerly opened the encyclopedia that was on the bookshelf. In between every few pages, there was a lily flower preserved and pressed into the old paper. “I can’t believe I believed you all those decades ago,” she scoffed. No one was in the library with her. \n\n On the inside of the cover there was a note written by hand: “Dedicated to the goddess of longevity and life unending. Your arrival into this world will be the dawn of a new age for mankind. Signed, Dean Smith” She knew these words, these lies, she thought to herself, all too well. They were drilled into her head since her youth. She was thankful to be delivered from that oppressive cult. Now old and fragile, she wanted only to live out her days in peace.\n \n Ethel heard the door into the library open. A young girl walked in, maybe 20 years old. \n\n“Hi,” the girl said.\n\n“Hello, there. May I help you with anything?”\n\n“No, thank you. I was just going to look around. What’s that you got there?”\n\n “Oh, just a reminder of the past.”\n\n What Ethel said and how she said it made the girl uncomfortable. But, she was old, so being a bit eccentric was to be expected. She sat down in the seat across from Ethel, and looked at the book curiously.\n\n“Why are there flowers---,” she was about to ask.\n\n“They’re lilies,” Ethel interjected, “and they were collected for someone’s birth.”\n\n This was strange, the girl thought. \n\n“I’ve heard of bringing flowers to a funeral, but not giving them to a newborn baby.”\n\n“That’s what everyone thinks. This child was going to make funerals extinct. That’s what we were told, anyway. It was all lies.”\n\n The girl grew even more curious. Not even for 5 minutes was she in the library, and she was having a deep conversation about life and death. She wondered what this awkward old lady was talking about.\n\n She took the book from Ethel’s side of the table and opened to the inside of the cover. \n\n“Oh my God!” the girl said in awe, “My dad signed this. That’s weird, he would never have stepped foot in a library. What’s this goddess thing about, though? He went to a Baptist church with me and my mom every week.”\n\n Ethel’s stomach began to burn and freeze in pain, and yet, in some twisted way, she was excited. Could it have been true? she wondered to herself. \n\n“Really, that’s your father?” she asked, shocked. “I worked with him.”\n\n“Yeah. What did you work with him on?” This elderly woman did not strike her as the type of person who was in the medical field. \n\n“Collecting those flowers. For the baby.” There was a long silence. “Honey, I never caught your name. What is it? I’m Ethel.”\n\n“My name is Lily.”", "\"Can you read this one, grampapa?\" Annie asked tenderly, pointing at the leatherbound encyclopedia. I sighed reluctantly but stood from the armchair and made my way over to the bookshelf. \n\n\"Aye,\" I said with a nod and I carefully pulled the ancient text from the shelf. Outside, a sandstorm raged and as I reached the chair by her bedside I sat and closed my eyes, imagining the whistle of the wind was a spring breeze as I lay in a meadow surrounded by flowers in the shade of a weeping willow. \n\n\"Grampapa? Are you okay?\" she prodded gently, having leapt into bed and now waiting expectantly with the sheets up to her chest. I opened my eyes and smiled. \n\n\"Yes, Annie,\" I responded and I opened the book. I flipped past the handwritten note in the front that gave detailed instructions as to the origin and purpose of the book and to the first page. \n\n\"What's that?\" she asked curiously, pointing at the page. It was a slender stem with a small white flower at the top.\n\n\"It's a flower,\" I explained and she looked at me in awe. \"This one is called a daisy, just like your grandma's name.\" The walls of the concrete home shuddered as another gust of wind slammed against the door, demanding entry.\n\n\"A flower...,\" Annie marveled. \"What did it do?\". I smiled sadly.\n\n\"It just was,\" I answered, running a finger up the length of the stem and slowly caressing the flower. \"It was my world; it was what made me smile and what made me wake up in the morning and what helped everything make sense when it all seemed a mess.\" Annie frowned and I paused, afraid my explanation would be far beyond her.\n\n\"And then what happened?\" she asked instead. \n\n\"What happened...\" I mumbled and I felt tears well up in my eyes. My body ached from the weight of the memories I carried. \"Life happened. We happened. Beauty gives way to complacency gives way to chaos and before we knew it, in a ball of fire as bright as the sun, we were here.\" I gestured around us. Not at the room or at the home but at the toxic wasteland outside. I gestured to the desert that was once a forest; at the dunes that used to be rolling hills of meadows; at the empty, red riverbeds that were once bountiful streams filled with minnows and tadpoles and children playing.\n\n\"Is that what happened to gramma?\" Annie asked with a frown. I nodded sadly.\n\n\"Aye,\" I nodded. \"And we mustn't forget. Each person lost has a story, just like every flower in this book has a story and if we remember through these dark times, when we come out into the light, we can let them live again.\"\n\n\"Can you tell me another story?\" Annie insisted, seeming a bit disappointed.\n\nI chuckled to myself. \"Do you want to hear about the willow?\" I asked as I turned the page and she nodded eagerly.\n\n****\n\nThanks for reading! If you enjoyed this, please check out more stories at /r/MatiWrites. Constructive criticism and advice are always appreciated!", "The metal whispered softly as the edge bit deep into the earth. The grey iron parted the tide of soil, moving the rich sediment aside and releasing the peaty aroma of freed earth. My lungs filled, taking in the rich deep scent and the smile on my lips grew at the smell. The soil felt cool and slightly moist at my touch, a welcome feeling against the bright sunshine that brought heat all over. \n\nIt was a pleasant day, the first day of summer. Already it was hotter than last summer, and many meteorologists saying the summer will be a record setting on. I did not need them to tell me that. I could feel it in the wind, the breeze that brought warnings of heat and dryness. Yet the air was still cool enough to bring promises of moisture, of rains in between to quench parched earth and sun baked sand. A good summer, one that will provoke growth and plenty for the coming winter. \n\nI picked up the seedling, unsure if it could still be called that. It was dried, having spent ages between the pages of a book. By all rights it should have been brittle, a touch should have caused it to shake into pieces or dissolve into nothing. Yet it was still whole, the leaves dried and the stem stiff. At a glance it looked old, well preserved, but devoid of life. Yet at my touch it tingled, an inner life still resided within. Dormant for sure, but the faintest glimmer of light in the dark seen by those that know what to look for.\n\nI buried the roots into the soil and carefully packed the plant securely. The roots buried deep into the rich soil and before my eyes they seemed to actively seek the nutrients of the earth. The stem swelled between my finger tips, and I could feel it pulse as it drank of the water held in the dirt. The leaves danced in the wind, as well as their own volition, and the playful breeze caused the petals to almost sing from the motion. \n\nI placed both hands on either side of the plant, my eyes closed and darkness was my view. Slowly yet surely I saw in the darkness a tiny ember, a slight blue light that changed from deepest purple to brightest blue, and every shade in between. My mouth opened and I whispered, words that I still were learning and unfamiliar to my tongue. Words that have remained unspoken for aeons, but were on the rise once more. I felt energy being pulled from my being, flowing down my arms, trickling from my fingers into the earth. The little light grew brighter as my silver light joined it. The blue light drank like a man parched, greedily suckling the energy and glowing bright. \n\nWhen my eyes opened my smile was even bigger. The plant was no longer a shriveled thing lost in history and bound by the pages of its ancestor. It was a vibrant little thing, the green deeper and brighter than its faded yellow. The head burst into a flower unseen in ages, and music tinkled from the petals as it caught the wind. The rich soil smell was cut by a floral scent, a spicy note warring against the bouquet of honey and lilac. The pink petals thrust themselves into the air boldly, once again alive.\n\nA flutter of wings heralded the arrival of a large raven. Purple black feathers flashed in the sunlight as she fluttered down, settling on my shoulder. A caw of satisfaction leapt from her beak and she fluffed herself with pleasure. Well now, that is a welcome sight.* she said peering at the flower. I have not seen a blooming Zelta flower in quite some time. Well done.\n\nI turned my head and smiled. “Why thank you. I had hoped it would work. I prepared the soil for a week straight, infused it with mana and other nutrients. I’m happy it worked out so well. It smells wonderful doesn’t it? Sweet and spicy.”\n\nShe started to nod but then froze, a purple hued eye suddenly glaring at me. You are going to try and eat it. she said accusingly.\n\nA sheepish smile showed and I yelped when she pecked my neck. “I’m a cook! I mean I won’t eat this one, I want to cultivate a lot of them. But yes, I do plan to experiment with them. The mature plant creates tubers that look a lot like dog-tooth violet bulbs and I know you can eat some of those. Zelta flowers are supposed to be good to help induce mana regeneration and I bet they taste wonderful.”\n\nA deep sigh leaked out of the raven and she shook her head dolefully. How simple minded you are, she complained sufferingly. You find things lost long ago, secrets of the past and things of wonder. Things to reach the higher states of magical might, and you wonder how it will taste.\n\n“You can’t change a leopard’s spots,” I quipped and earned another glare. “Or a bird’s feathers for that matter.” I winced again as she nipped my ear. “Hey now, I thought you accepted my cooking as a part of my training.”\n\nUnwillingly, she snorted. Under duress and the threat that you would not do anything with magic if your dalliance was prevented.\n\n“It’s my job, not a dalliance,” I huffed, “and a hobby. I can like many things.” I rose from the tinkling flower and approached the broad encyclopedia that sat on the table. Where the flower glimmered with magic the book radiated it, shining bright in those with mage sight. The flowers and plants kept within were all magical in nature and they saturated the book with their magic. “Besides, I only found this book because I went into the used book store looking for cookbooks.”\n\nA coincidence. Nothing more.\n\n“Maybe, or maybe it was fate as you like to say. Like when you say you are so ill-fated to be my familiar. Even if you feel heavier from good meals.” The raven gave me a look of pure affront and I had to run for long moments as she chased me, wings beating with anger and her sharp beak sought my skin. \n\nCheek, she scolded as I covered my face with my hands. Despite the pain of her blows I grinned broadly beneath my hands. Any in the past that dared mock me would lose an eye or a tongue!\n\n“Peace my dear friend,” I said with a laugh as she stood on the table glaring at me. “I will make you something special tonight.” My hand opened the book and once again the words inscribed on the inside cover sparkled in the light. At first they were dim and barely legible. As I read more and planted more of its precious burden, the words had shone brighter, as if eager to share its burden. “She really was something wasn’t she?” I asked looking at the name of the writer.\n\nGwendolyn of Petals was an amazing Magus, the raven agreed. She regrew a world blighted by spoil and war. I never would have imagined she would think such a thing would happen again, and thus take steps to ensure a future. The raven fluffed up again, settling down over her legs. Perhaps you are more like her than I originally thought.\n\n“Oh? What makes you say that?”\n\nYou both share a talent for growth, for nurturing others. She sighed again. And she too had a terrible appetite for food." ]	5
	[WP]When you forget, nobody remembers	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I am a god. Not THE God, but A god. It’s hard to explain, but reality seems to depend on what I think “should” be there. Like I know the sun and the sky should be there, but not fairies and unicorns. Hence, you don’t see fairies and unicorns in real life. But here’s the thing, I can’t make fairies and unicorns exist by forcing myself to believe that they should exist. I really have to believe, without any question, that they exist.\n\nI’ve only trusted one person with this secret: my childhood friend, Farah. But I don’t think she believes me. One day, as a game, I challenged her to try her hardest to convince me that something extraordinary was real. “Challenge accepted,” she said. That was 5 years ago, and so far, she hasn’t made any attempts at convincing me of anything. That is, until the time I nearly drowned.\n\nNot too far from her house, there is a forest that surrounds a pond that freezes over in the winter. We would often go there to skate, very early in the morning, when we would have the pond all to ourselves. Well, you can sort of tell where this is going. One morning, I got careless, and I fell through the ice. Farah immediately called for help, but from what she tells me, I was unconscious for several minutes after help arrived. I was in hospital for a while and the doctors insisted I was 100% okay and it wasn’t long before I was allowed to go home. Of course, Farah, being the cute, mischievous little fox that is, tried to take advantage of the situation by convincing me that I lost some of my memories because of the accident.\n\n“For example, do you remember that dragons are real?”, she said.\n\n“Is that all you’ve got?”, I chuckled. She wasn’t trying very hard.\n\n“What, you don’t believe me?”, she answered.\n\n“Of course I don’t believe you, don’t be ridiculous.”\n\n“I can show you.”\n\nWe went for a hike, deep into the forest. I started to get worried that we would get lost but she seemed to know where she was going. We were both getting tired so we stopped at a clearing, beside a waterfall.\n\n“So where’s this dragon?”, I asked jokingly.\n\n“Just wait”, she replied, with an impish grin.\n\nJust then, I noticed a figure heading towards us. It was a man with an axe. I jumped up. But Farah didn’t seem worried.\n\n“Hi Farah, are you here to see Draco?”, the man asked.\n\n“Haha!”, I shouted, “you two are in on this. Nice try!”\n\nThe sun was starting to set and I suggested that we should start heading back before it gets too dark.\n\n“Aww, what’s the matter? Are you scared”, taunted Farah, then she and the man with the axe both chuckled.\n\n“You know what?”, I said, “I am scared. I’m scared we could get eaten by bears if we don’t get out of the woods before dark. There’s worse things that can get you besides imaginary dragons, you know.”\n\nJust then, I felt a gentle breeze. Then the wind started picking up, followed by what seemed like a helicopter sound. Except, instead of a helicopter, what I saw heading toward us was a figure in the shape of a dragon, flapping its wings and making loud beating sounds in the process.\n\nThis can’t be real, I thought to myself. I must be dreaming. That, or I’ve gone crazy.\n\n“Don’t worry, Draco will fly us home,” said Farah. She looked at me with such a confident smile, that I did not have the strength to doubt her.\n\nI just went along for the ride, so to speak. If this was a dream, I’d wake up from it at some point. Or maybe I’d realize that I actually died from falling through the ice and this was some strange alternate dimension that I’d ended up in. Or maybe, just maybe, I forgot that dragons weren’t real and nobody remembered." ]	2
	[WP] The God of our realm has been killed in combat after an intense battle with another realm's God. The other realm's God then goes and tries to invade our realm only to find that before our God's demise, he distributed his powers among the people of our realm.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", " Lay low your wings of sadness and plight. Sore through grey skies laying fallow the fields of man. Salt this earth of brine and brittle thought.\n\nLet the honest utter lies of foul deceit. Let the meek slap the strong with fists of god almighty. Let the greed give their coins to the poor of the streets and let the young die and leave the old where they are, for they will need to make coffins half their size. Cry for the end times, for yourself and for the pour soul who has to clean up.\n\nThe great power was burgeoning on our verse. Like a great bacterium fizzing at the membrane of existence with shiny teeth. The smelling breath of a thousand mouths wafted through the winds of stars, wrinkling the nose of everything that had one.\n\nGod had died and lived in a moment so pure and horrific that many had simply died from the knowledge. Like a spear of thought though the frail, the vulnerable and the unstable were all that was left. Those that had broken, shattered and fragmented remained.\n\nThey had pulled themselves to a new shape, they themselves the glue of their own rebirth. The scarring was a sign, a message, a direct ‘fuck you’ to the would-be-conquer god.\n\nWhat was left of the human race resounded with one, simple sentiment “Fucking try it”" ]	2
	[WP]As a witch you have a job as a magical detective with your familiar a blue hummingbird. While solving a missing person case you find a red raven who bonds to you at first sight. Only one familiar can be bonded to one witch and it occurs to you that you never bonded with the hummingbird.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Come on!! How long are you going to keep me waiting?! It's been 2 hours and we still haven't gotten anything done!!\", I loudly yell at the top of my lung, ignoring all the curious gazes from the plaza.\n\nAfter a few minutes, a blue bird flies from the top of the water fountain down, right on top of my head. \"What are you rushing me for? If you're that hurry than why don't you do it yourself? Aren't you my master? Aren't you suppose to be the one who is much stronger than me?\", the bird complains with a mocking tone.\n\n\"Good grief, I can't believe I have to call this person my master...\". The blue hummingbird says it out loud, without even a care that he's insulting its master right in front of her face. It also nonchalantly use its foots to scratch my head as if it's making a nest\n\n'Endure!! You can endure this, Eleanor!! After we're out of this boundary, you can roast it up and feed its body to the crow!!', I thought this to myself. Ever since my familiar summoning ceremony 3 years ago, I've been dealing with this trash-talking bird for so long. Too long!! 'But not anymore, I've had enough!!!'. However, since I'm currently trapped inside this magic-sealed formation in this town, I've no choice but to rely on it. And that mean, no roast bird....at least for now.\n\n\"...So, did you find anything?\", swallowing my pride and anger, I asks it. Even if I can't use my magic, I'm still a \"magical detective\" - one of the only five peoples in this world that was bestowed upon this title from the Immortal Hermit, Heindall. \n\nThe things that seperate the \"detective\" of the new world (Human world) from the \"detective\" of the old world (Magus world) is that we're dealing with very different things. If a \"detective\" deals with evidents and clues to arrive to the conclusion through deduction, a \"magical detective\" deals with the flow of magic and traces of magic ceremonies to track down the source of abnormality through many means, be it physical or magical. A magic can be casted from miles away, or even countries away, or maybe casted from a few milleniums before it's activate, so to be able to trace it back to the origin, a \"magical detective\" must both be a genius at reasoning and a person gifted with the power to read the flow of magic. \n\nTwo days ago, I was handed an assignment from the Hermit himself: a request to investigate the place that a fellow magical detective was reported as missing. However, when I arrived at this town, Bermuda, I was unable to leave, and I was unable to cast spells too. On a closer look, my magic was sealed by a boundary that's covered the whole town. And the answer I first thought of is that this \"Anti-magic boundary\" is maintained with at least four magic circles, a very standard magic formation with one big circle in the middle as the main source and three small circles in three directions to widen the area of effect and also maintain the magic in areas that are far away from the central circle. And the obvious answer as to where the source circle is is the central plaza's fountain, so I asked Huginn, my bird familiar to fly up there and report to me the situation.\n\nHowever, what I get back is: \"Ahhh.... that... Well, I forgot to do it. In the first place, why should I listen to a magus child who's still wet behind the ear anyway....\". The bird then fly away, probably looking for a place to hide and take a nap, which makes me really wonder what is it about this bird that is \"legendary\"?\n\nThree years ago, I reached thirteen of ages. But unlike normal magus of my age, I was forbidden from summoning my own familiar, or even go make a pact with stray familiar. Instead, I was given this \"legendary class\" blue hummingbird from the Council of Magic (the gathering of the most powerful Witches and Wizards) and was ordered to make its my familiar. I thought that its rude personality is just a thing from meeting a stranger and it should melt away with time. But no matter how much I tried to bond with him, or even to understand him, he just treated me with insults and look down upon me. The thing is, a familiar is directly connected to a magus soul, and I don't know anyway to change my familiar for a different one, so I'm kinda stuck with Huginn.\n\nBack to the present, it seems like that damn bird flew away while I was lost in thought. I let out a heavy sigh, my mind is filled with all the pending stress and anger so I'm hardly in any mood for work. I look around and see a long wooden bench that is empty next to a cider tree, walk to it and sit down. I look upward, feeling like all my energy is drained because of my familiar - the so-called partner-for-life for a magus. In the record they says that when a magus meets their familiar, it's like something clicked inside their mind. They instantly feel like they are meant for each other, just like ... how .... I feel ... about the raven up there... in the tree ... right now...\n\n...\n\n......\n\n.........\n\nAs I'm mesmerize by the red crow standing on the branch above my head, it flies down, landed on my thigh and open its mouth, let out a soothing voice: \"Uhm... I know that I'm asking a really weird question for a witch with familiar, but .... is it possible for me to becomes your familiar too?... I know... it's weird, right? Sorry for asking such a strange question. I'll be off now!!\".\n\nHowever, before the flustered raven can fly away, I quickly, clumsily grab it with my hands. Then, in my shaking voice, I say: \"I feel it too, it's like...I'm destined to meet you....to live with you......Is this the thing they talk about in the record?\"\n\nBut then.......\n\nWhat is Huginn?\n\nA lot of theory pop into my mind, ranging from it's a failed summon, an irregular familiar, to a convicted person being turn into animal, or worst of all, a demon that escape the grasp of hell. Thanks to my life as a detective, I quickly regain composure and determine to find out the truth of this. \n\n'And, will you help me?', I turn to the red raven and it instantly understand the look in my eyes and response \"I'll gladly help you\" before I could say a word. \n\n\"If that's the case, maybe I' should prepare a name for you. How about Muninn?\"\n\n\"That sounds wonderful!!\"\n\n\\----------------------To be continue----------------------" ]	2
	[WP] Human life is slowly but surely dying, the only one with the power to prevent it is an elder god which will grant any wish, for the equivalent price. After long and agonising series of fierce debate it is finally decided what the human race would sacrifice to ensure survival.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"You don't have to do this!\" cried a woman in the crowd.\n\nSaid crowd was massive, tens of thousands of people from all over the globe had travelled to witness his sacrifice.\n\n\"I have to, it's the right thing to do,\" he softly said, completely calm and staring into his demise with no regrets. \"One man for all of humanity, it would be selfish for me not to.\"\n\n\"You're worth more than humanity!\" a child screamed from the crowd, earning hundreds of agreeing nods.\n\n\"Thank you, but we both know that's not true.\" He turned and regarded the crowd with a resigned and pensive expression on his face. All around him there were thousands of crying faces, none wanted him to do this, but they understood that there was no other choice.\n\nHe felt touched, none of them had to come here to witness his death but they had come anyway to offer any comfort they could in his last moments. \n\nTruly, he had lived a life well spent.\n\n\"I have to now,' he said as an ethereal light started trailing around his body, smiling sadly as he heard their despairing crys. \"Thank you all for your love and support, I hope we all meet again one day in a better life!\"\n\nHe vanished into dust, and the clearing became deadly silent as everyone looked at the spot where he had vanished with saddened expressions.\n\nA young man sniffed and wiped the tears on his face away. \"God bless you Keanu...\"" ]	2
	[WP] You are admired for your conquest to bring down the wizard dragon. You are honored and rewarded for your success. But deep down you know you are not the real hero in the story.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "You don't just feel like a fraud, you are one. The knowledge makes your stomach clech, curl up in a ball and try to climb up your throat. You haven't been able to keep down more than broth and a little bread down in a week. \n\nThe now ever present guards don't say a word as they watch you sneak into the bushes or rush to the bathroom at every event to throw up. They barely help when you get too dizzy to stand due to the lack of food and have to lean on walls or perch on rails to be steady enough to force a smile and shake hands. \n\nEveryone else just thinks you look confident, nonchalant, and unconcerned with the trappings of nobility. \n\nYou don't disabuse them of that notion. Instead you watch the guards and the knights and all the people that you know would stop you if you ran. \n\nIt wouldn't look good if a hero wasn't there to accept the gratefulness of the masses. \n\nThe awards, the adulation, the parades... They all made for a dazzling spectacle that proved something amazing had been done. \n\nA great feet was accomplished.\n\nAn evil was defeated. \n\nThe last thing that the King wanted was for it to be discovered that his now magically restrained and pouting teenage son had not only mind controlled a dragon to terrorize the Capital as a prank, but had been dumb enough to draw the circle in chalk so a mere servant tripping over a goblet of wine had freed the dragon who had required a bribe of 22 cows and peacock to go other without causing trouble. \n\nInstead he, a servant, was hailed as a hero, and would never be able to say otherwise." ]	2
	[WP] When they first came we felt joy, we weren't alone in the universe, then the invasion begun, half of our population killed, entire cities destroyed, we tried to fight back but it was useless. If you get this transmission, please be ware of the humans.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "We didn't know what was coming. Who could have thought that a strike could happen so swiftly? Entire cities flattened in the brink of an eye, our best air support torn apart from tens of thousands of steps away, our best soldiers pulverized?\n\nIf any non-human alien race has received and decoded this message, build an army now. The humans will come and they stop at nothing to get what they want.\n\nNot as if they need put in effort anyway. Their technology is advanced, especially the tech they use for killing. They have weapons that render the surface of a planet uninhabitable in days, and they're not saving them.\n\nAt first, we jumped at the opportunity to make contact with an alien species. Who knew what social, cultural, and scientific advancements this could bring about?\n\nThat hope didn't last long.\n\nAnd beware of their ultimate weapon: carbon dioxide.", "When they first came we felt joy, we weren't alone in the universe.\n\nWe’ve expanded to hundreds of planets, and been rewarded with vast resources. Even here, far out on the rim of our territory, there is an abundance of land and food for as many of our kind as we’d like. Everyone is comfortable and as fulfilled as they choose to be. But we didn’t find the one thing we’ve been looking for these long centuries. Life. We would have been happy with ANY life, really; it didn’t even have to be more than a cell, we would have answered the most asked question in our history. Trillions on trillions of individuals on the vast numbers of our sprawling worlds would have collectively shouted in celebration and relief at a single alien cell.\n\nSo when intelligent life just dropped into this system and started poking around, the entire planet clamored to meet them. Of course, we followed our protocols dictate that we make no contact with our other worlds for one cycle in the event of contact to asses the consequences. I have made this transmission to relay the exact nature of our demise should the programmed alert fail, or be insufficiently comprehensive.\n\nThey are called “Humans”, and the joy we felt at their arrival only increased by the day. They are a very…they use the word “friendly” species, and I believe them when they say they were as surprised, and as ecstatic as us at first contact. There was a brief period of civilized formal greetings and exchanges, with both sides learning about the other’s technologies, culture, and biology (more on that later), and then they, to put it in their terms, began to “loosen up”. (As an aside, even now, while I see the danger they pose, their idioms and practices are difficult to avoid. Everything about them is so….insidiously attractive.)\n\nAfter we honored the entire contingent, thousands of them, with a vast feast, they very nearly demanded to return the hospitality in kind. Their display was, to be fair, impressive. Strange foods and drinks, some were decadent, others were literal poison. And not just to our species, that’s expected, even the foods we offered them initially were occasionally unfit for them to consume. Neither species took offense at that, but the Humans celebrated by consuming potent toxins either by eating or drinking, but also via methods that could not possibly provide sustenance to their bodies. They burned things and inhaled the resulting smoke, or took the liquid toxins and used them in all manner of fanciful creations. These substances produce varying levels of mood-altering chemistries in them, mostly lowering their ability to properly asses risk.\n\nAnd therein lies their dreadful beauty. Their relationship with risk is, to be a little crude, alien. They have a concept called “fun”, and they try to explain it as adjacent to happiness or joy. Their words do it no justice. It must be experienced. They shared it freely, enthusiastically even. And we obliged, throwing ourselves into practices we’d never considered.\n\nFun. I have felt it in a leap from a cliff, secured to the rim by a thin elastic band. I know, it defies reason, and I’ll likely do it again. Some have taken to the practice of pushing our vehicles to their limits alongside the humans out of a curiosity as to which is faster and more skilled. Still others feel it in going days without rest while moving our bodies to the rhythms of a thing they call “music”. That one is particularly dangerous, I simultaneously want our entire species to experience it, and know that it would be our doom. It cannot be described, even now I tap appendages to its memory. One sequence in particular remains with me, it feels as though my mind compels me to relive it constantly, and recognize the particular rhythms in my everyday wanderings. The few that fought their urges succumbed quickly, seduced by seemingly minor forms of “entertainment” like moving pieces on a board according to esoteric rules. They have changed everything with their reckless abandon and addictive laughter (…don’t even ask, I dare not contaminate us with the dichotomy of desire and revulsion that is a “pun”). It should be mentioned that the act of fertilization is likely their favorite form of fun, they are not particularly ashamed of this, nor are they uninterested in performing related acts that have no chance of producing offspring. They can be….very charming. And creative.\n\nWe cannot stop. We will not stop. We have been forever changed and can never have contact with you again. We are killing ourselves by the millions in fiery crashes and feats of daring, in eating to excess, in dancing ourselves to exhaustion, in poisoning our bodies, in laughing until respiration is impossible. And we don’t care. We know we should, we know the price is too great. Over half of us are already dead, our cities scarred and burning. The Humans are unaffected, they have some ability to temper this beast to non-lethal levels. They want to help us, but are bound by ethics that prevent them from forcing us against our will. And our will, my will, is to have more fun tomorrow than I did today. The Humans pity us, but are happy to oblige. Apparently we’re also “a hell of a ride”. Consider this transmission a gift: of the choice we never had. Any communication with the Humans will fundamentally change you. I urge you to avoid it, but should it happen, for a good time call ∆ƒ∂∂-∞∂∑œ-¬µµ§.", "When they first came we felt joy\n\nAs a peaceful and not very advanced species, our surprise was immeasurable when we realized we weren't the only sentient creatures out there. Our leaders gathered and welcomed them with open arms, they shared their technological advances with us and we shared our planet's wildlife. They advised us on government and war, if only we knew this was just to fatten the goose.\n\nThey were taller than us on average, and had a variety of earthy skin tones. Their hair could ranged from white, to blonde, to brown, to black. On their planet, the air was only partially thinner than ours and we realized quickly enough that some human's possessed the ability to hold their breath to up to 3 minutes. They had less limbs that us, while we possessed four arms and two legs, they only possessed two arms.\n\nI can still remember the first attack, nobody believed it, they were our friends! Weren't they? Many people tried to converse but they were murdered in cold blood. We realized the difference between us. It wasn't the average height difference, the fact we had extra limbs, the air we breathed, the water we drank, or our different skin tone. It was that humans, were murderers. They paraded the streets with fire and blood.\n\nWe couldn't fight back, we were extremely disorganized and underdeveloped in military, all we could do was hide.\n\nWe burrowed into the planet, hiding from the chaos that plagued the surface. We figured, if they couldn't find us, they'd take what they wanted and leave. Oh. That was far from the case.\n\nWe lay in our packed tunnels, resting after months of burrowing. The earth began to shake, caverns crumbled to the east and we scattered west along the curling maze of dirt and rock passages. By the time we started climbing out, they were waiting. \n\nFlames licked the edge of the hole we emerged from, many gave up and ran into the flames, there was no way we could defeat these monsters. I only managed to escape them by flinging myself back down the hole and through a narrow passage way north. I dug my way out and got to a transmission tower.\n\nAs far as I know, I have only a few hours before they wipe out the rest of my species and do a sweep of the buildings to destroy the survivors. So I apologize for the hasty information.\n\nIf you get this transmission, please beware of the humans.", "When they first came, we felt joy. We weren’t alone in the universe.\n\nI can still remember the day we made contact. “First Contact With Earth 2,” the newspapers proclaimed. Thirteen months of watching, waiting, since their planet was discovered just beyond our solar system. After lifetimes of wondering. We really weren’t alone in the universe.\n\nThey replayed that first conversation on the news for days. They seemed friendly. From what we could tell, they were like us. Biologically human, they breathed oxygen, followed similar circadian rhythms, had similar mating patterns as us. Only something in their eyes that was unfamiliar, that didn’t make sense. A look.\n\nIf only we knew then what we know now.\n\nThen the first of their kind arrived. Three months later, their cosmonauts touched down on our soil, with their competing nations following close behind. Shortly after we sent a group of our own to their planet. Another chance to strengthen relationships and build communication. We celebrated the arrival of our new friends. A chance to learn from one another, to celebrate our shared humanity.\n\nWith them, they brought us books, films, stories, a entire civilisations worth of history. Again, the similarities were astounding. Paleozoic, mesozoic, cenozoic. The evolution of mammals, birds, flowers. The identical evolution of our planets, in almost every way.\n\nWith one exception.\n\nTheir civilised history was one so different to our own. It was a history of war, of famine, of death. Of destruction. And not by chance, but by choice. Centuries of fighting, cruelty, evil. Ignorance. On top of this, their planet was dying. Their home was evaporating before their eyes, their very civilisation at risk. By the time our elders made sense of their intentions, it was too late. We should have seen it coming. We should have known better.\n\nThen the invasion begun. Half of our population killed. Entire cities destroyed.\n\nThey came in their thousands. From all nations, competing for our land, our resources. And we paid the price. News reached us our cosmonauts had been murdered in an attempt to learn our space travel technologies, now clear to be used against us. They were ruthless and showed no mercy. \n\nWe tried to fight back, but it was useless.\n\nTheir technology was so old, so primitive, yet nothing like our own. The same resources we had cultivated into education for the young, care for the sick, hope for the future, had somehow been transformed by them into weapons of mass destruction. Guns, ammunition, aircraft that could destroy entire buildings with the single press of a trigger. Weapons we could not comprehend until they were on our very lands, destroying the peace and tradition we held so dear.\n\nHow could they be so filled with anger? How could they be so filled with hate?\n\nWe hold onto the fact they could never turn us against one another. Not in the way they would turn against themselves.\n\nThose of us that are left remain their prisoners. Our land is now theirs. Our values destroyed for their own. Our entire species dying at their hands. And this was their design.\n\nIf you get this transmission, please, please, beware of the humans.\n\nThey’re coming for you next.\n\nAnd they will stop at nothing." ]	5
	[WP] Your job is to ruin people's lives. You start with mildly inconvenient things like moving their keys or glasses. Then, you escalate until they slowly go insane. Write about your latest victim.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Welcome, rookies, welcome to the Trollmen Academy! Congratulations for passing the exam! All of you, no matter your gender, race, or sexual orientation, proved to be total and unrepentant assholes. And that's exactly the kind of people we need at the Trollmen Academy. Complete sociopaths devoid of empathy, needlessly aggressive and aggravating at all times, who couldn't care less about how much I'm insulting them right now, as long as they get money and that sweet feeling of obliterating the psyche of their victims.\n\nWithout further ado, here is rule number 1: THEY ALWAYS DESERVE IT!\n\nOf course, you might have cold feet when targeting this beloved actress with a meaningful fundraiser. Oh but she brought so much joy over the years, I especially loved when she went medieval on... FUCK HER! She deserves it! And it's up to you to make her pay! Remember this, kids, and you'll go far.\n\nNow, on to number 2: THE CLIENT ALWAYS GETS THEIR MONEY WORTH! We're all jackasses here, so maybe some of you might forget how fucking petty people need to be hire us in the first place. To make people go insane over the smallest slight. People so miserable are not a dime a dozen, but those with the money to cover her costs even less!\n\nAnd finally, rule number 3, to finish with the basics: THERE IS NO LIMIT! Being an asshole for a living means that you have to get rid of some hard-wired moral compasses you got ironed in your rotting brain cells. It's a free-for-all, and you'll be judged on your results. What matters is the end, not the means.\n\nDon't believe me? Well, good thing we got this Case Study to get you started. Anyone who got enrolled by accident can walk away after this.\n\nNext slide!\n\nAlright, here is Greg. First of all, GREG IS A LITTLE BITCH, OK? He deserved what was coming to him. Now that we all know he's barely human anymore, it's time to get crackin'. Our Intelligence Bureau always runs an investigation on each target, part of the reason why we're so expensive. We need to know their flaws, weaknesses, fears. What makes them stressful on a daily basis, and how do they relieve themselves on that stress. An important part.\n\nSee, in this situation, Greg is a good father, a kind worker beloved by his colleagues. He helps his community regularly, gives to charity, votes with his heart to help the common folk... Yeah, I can see the disgust already in your eyes. So proud of you, you'll go far you little cunts. Anyway, he also tells people off the Internet when they appear to not share his political and philosophical ideas. That was his first mistake. By doing this, he wronged someone rich, someone petty, someone who was not going to tolerate this, as they should. So they hired us.\n\nWhy not hiring a hitman? First, hitmen are has-been. Second, that was a fucking stupid question, keep your dick hole shut! Third, WHERE IS THE SATISFACTION IN THAT? A true victory is to make your enemy see they were wrong to oppose you in the first place. To force them to acknowledge your greatness. Understood, you ass-donkey? Very well, let's get going.\n\nSo, Greg has no flaw, one can think. That's why he makes an excellent case study. And you know what, our Bureau's efforts were rewarded. But that's something for later. The juicy part starts now: mild disappointments. Lost keys, broken watch, pissing in coffees (it tends to escalate quickly), stopping the mail from getting delivered, flat tires, itchy powder... Nothing is childish enough as long as you get a rise from the target. The feeling of building up stress is unparalleled, and even sex cannot top witnessing that exact moment where everything falls apart.\n\nDon't mind the boner!\n\nNow, Greg had an awful day. He collapses on his couch as soon as he greeted by his lovely kids and wife. That's a no-no. Cannot let him relax his mind. Keep the pressure on. Don't feel pity but vindication. FUCK THE BITCH! A LITTLE BITCHY TOY MEANT TO BE BROKEN BY YOUR VERY HANDS!\n\nSorry, I can get worked up sometimes. I love my job!\n\nHere, we introduce his second weakness here: Greg nurtures a deep love for his family. INCREDIBLE, RIGHT? That one always gets people roaring. Be sure I share the sentiment. Anyway, time to move on to the second phase: destroying the family. The first step, as they didn't have a shitty day like Greggy -we charge per person, no freebie here, they want the whole family to go down, they pay for it!-, is to upset them. So we started illegal road repairs RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS HOUSE. AH! Greg, of course furious at this point, storms out of his house, ready to duke it out with the guys in charge. Well, they were 4, built like brick houses, and were not ready to leave. They insult him for the trouble, naturally. Then speculate on the profession of his mother. They rough him up a bit, until one hit the back of his head \"by accident\". As we made our homework, we were sure Greg would let his temper get the best of him. So he tries to punch the aggressor... and get rewarded with his face hitting the concrete as the result.\n\nOf course, we scram at this point. The neighbors will get involved soon, but the damage is already done. Greg is bleeding, there is a gigantic hole in front of his house, and his family was too scared to intervene, which he resents because he has sTrOnG mOrAlS and it meant no direct witness for the police. He lashes out at his wife, scaring the kids who refuse to play with him, cannot get sex... Oh, and his Netflix subscription was strangely cancelled. If only he played online video games to top it off... But it's never that easy.\n\nNeedless to say, you can imagine the results. A bruised, feeling like shit Greg, an upset, angry family...\n\nAnd that wraps it it for the First Day! Who wants to see the Second? It involves vandalism, harassment, diarrhea cannons, and lawyers." ]	2
	[WP] But this time we followed him as he ran through the forest coming to a clearing. A light enveloped him turning him from our house cat into a bipedal starship Captain. We knew our feline was special but this came as a shock. His crew welcomed him aboard, we saw an opportunity and took it.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", " \n\nThe cat leapt out of the window. “Mom! Mr.Wigglebutt ran out into the backyard again!” Timmy exclaimed. “Leave the cat alone and get dress we have to leave in 20 minutes” she replied. Timmy whined “but MOM!” “Now!” She yelled. Timmy grudgingly went upstairs to his room. \n\nHe put on the cloth his mother had laid for him. As he was putting his pants on, he stared out the window and saw Mr.Wigglebutt suspiciously glancing behind. Timmy rested his elbows on the window sill, his cheek resting on his fist. He sighed. “MOM! MR.Wigglebutt is going in the forest again!” he yelled. “Timmy get dress!” She responded. “I am!” He screamed back. Timmy grabbed his binoculars from the shelf above the window. He peered in the direction of Mr.Wigglebutt. “Where are you going?” He pondered out loud. \n\nBetween the foliage, Timmy notices Mr.Wigglebutt stand up on his hind legs. “MOOOOOOMMM! Mr.Wigglebutt is standing up!” He called out. “Paul, tell him to get ready” she exclaimed. “Son, listen to your mom!” Timmy’s dad halfheartedly yelled. Timmy screamed back “I am dressed!” “He’s dressed honey” his dad responded. Timmy looked back through his binocular to find Mr.Wigglebutt, but the cat had ventured to far into the forest for him to see properly. He grabbed his bag and ran down the stairs.\n\nHis father was scrolling on his phone, his mother was half dressed running after his younger sister, while his older brother was smoking a cigarette on the backyard patio. Timmy grabbed his shoes. Put them on and ran across the living room. “No shoes in the house son.” His father lazily told him as he kept his eyes on the phone. “Paul! Timmy! Shoes!” His irritated mom yelled. “But Mom!” Timmy whined. “NOW!” She angrily yelled. Timmy said as he slowly came to a stop. “I’m going to lose Mr.Wigglebutt!” “Paul!” She screamed. He robotically responded. “Listen to your mother son.” Timmy sat down and removed his shoes. Timmy’s mom glared at Paul “Can you be more useless” She returned in annoyance. Paul rested his phone down on his lap ” Timmy, remove your shoes when in the house.” “They’re off!” Timmy replied as he stormed out the patio door. His sister started screaming. Timmy mom’s stared at Paul “Well I hope your happy.” Paul lifted his phone back up and sighed. \n\nTimmy slammed the patio door behind him. He sat on the wooden floor and put his shoes back on. He jumped of the patio. “Where you going twerp?” Timmy’s brother called out. “None of your business pimple face” Timmy responded under his breath. Timmy’s brother lifted his head “Wha’d you say?” “Nothing!” Timmy yelled as he stormed off in the forest. \n\nTimmy’s mother caught a glance of him leaving in the woods. She open the door “TIMMY!” she screamed. She stared at Timmy’s brother “Jack! Cigarettes?!” Jack flicked the cigarette into the neighbour's yard. She glared at him. He shrugged. Paul looked over his phone and took a breath before returning to his scrolling. She turned around “Your son is smoking!” Paul shrugged in compliance.”I swear, sometime I think I’m the only one who cares.” She exclaimed. “I care mommy.” the daughter replied. “I know you do baby.” Timmy’s mom replied as she kissed her on the forehead. Timmy’s mom looked back at the forest entrance and down towards Jack. “Well?” Jack brooded and responded “What!?” She pointed in the direction of the forest. Jack got up and dragged himself down the patio. “FINE!”\n\nTimmy ran. He attempted to jumped over the ditch. Jack arrived behind him while he was removing the mud from his shoes. “Mom’s gonna be angry.” Jack apathetically said. Timmy’s responded with a coarse “So…she’s always angry.” Jack reached in his pocket and lit another cigarette. “She’ll be angrier at you for smoking.” Timmy responded. Jack shrugged. “Why are you running after wiggles” Jack spoke between two puff. Timmy scrubbed himself off and kept walking in the direction of Mr.Wigglebutt. “why do you care?” Jack took another puff “I don’t, but mom does.” Timmy kept walking. Jack yelled out “Wait!” As he carefully crossed the ditch.\n\nArriving at a clearing in the woods, Timmy spotted Mr.Wigglebutt standing in the middle. Timmy crouched. He took his binoculars out of his bag. Jack creept behind him with his pants all muddied. “Got’cha twerp!” Timmy’s slapped his hand and pointed in the direction of Mr.Wigglebutt. Jack’s head snap back as his eyes opened wide. He crouched. “Is he standing on two legs?” Jack asked. Timmy shushed. Jack frowned. “What is he doing?” Jack inquired. Timmy angrily replied ”Shut up and look.” They both stared at Mr.Wigglebutt.\n\nMr.Wigglebutt stood in the middle of the clearing. He raised a small antenna in the air. He waited. He kept staring at the sky. A fit of cough interrupted his waiting. He regurgitated a fur ball. He moved a couple of feet away from it. He set is antenna back down. He waited. \n\nA bright light streamed down on the field. “What the…” Jack uttered as Timmy put his hand over Jack’s mouth. “Shush!” Timmy responded. From the bright light came a stairwell slowly extending. Six futuristic soldier cat came running down the stairs. They stood upright in formation and poised their tail on their belly. Mr.Wigglebutt did the same. A garnished attired cat walked down the stairwell accompanied by a blue striped cat with a deep scar on his right eye. The prestigious cat don a red coat which swept the floor as she walk. She extended her tail to Mr.Wigglebutt. “Empress Orilious!” Mr.Wigglebutt exclaimed as he knelt down and licked her tail. “What is this apparel surrounding your neck Captain.” She inquired. “It is a formal attire the human give to prize feline, my empress.” Mr.Wigglebutt answered. She grab the medallion attached to the collar, she asked “What are these scribble Captain?” Flustered he responded “It is the name given by the human who shelters me.” She lifted her head and asked “and what do they call you?” He bared his teeth and look down. “They called me…” he sighed ” Mr.Wigglebutt” One of the soldier snickered. The empress stared at the Captain “Mr.Wigglebutt?” she confusedly asked. Mr.Wigglebutt embarrassingly responded. “yes, my empress” She tilted her head back and ecstatically laugh. The other soldier followed suit, the blue striped cat grinned. She rested her hand on the embarrassed cat “Well then, Captain Wigglebutt, I am please to lay my eyes upon you once more, come now you have a great deal to explain” They retired into the light. The soldiers and the blue striped cat remained stationed. \n\nHidden in the tall grass, Timmy and Jack remained flabbergasted. “What the hell Timmy! Wiggles an alien cat!” Jack vehemently said as he shook Timmy. Timmy gazed at his brother and back at the alien ship. “I knew Mr.Wigglebutt was different then other cats!”Jack grabbed his head “Different?! This is earth shattering! I’ve been cleaning an alien poop for 2 years!” Timmy frown and starred at Jack “Liar, you’ve never cleaned his litter.” Jack nodded. “true”. “What the hell are we supposed to do?” Jack agitatedly spoke. Timmy replied as he peered through his binoculars “I don’t know?” “Wait!” Jack excitedly responded “this is the best gram post in the history of the internet!” He pulled out his phone. Pointed the camera at the ship. “NO!” Timmy yelled out! “You’ll blow his cover!” Jack pushed his little brother aside and snap a photo of the cat ship. Timmy bounced back and swung his back on Jack’s camera. Jack yelled out “You little twerp! You almost broke my phone!” Jack got up and grabbed Timmy by the collar. “Halt!” said the blue striped cat. They were surrounded by the six soldiers." ]	2
	[WP] For years, you have been the main protagonist. But now a new character has taken over your mantle as hero, and it it is your turn to be the sidekick. Turns out, being the sidekick is way more fun!	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Warehouses at night are dark, not the kinda dark you'd describe the night sky, or on a screen with bad settings. They're dark, damp, hollow. The air brings the same smells, musky, maybe moldy, rusty. An all too familiar setting to me. Then comes the sounds: a distant train clicking on the tracks, light waves lapping at the shores, and, ah yes the tapping. What kind of tapping? You might ask. Shoe tapping, feet slapping against the cold concrete, in pairs.\n\nThen comes the final smell, the smell of blood. I don't know why, or when I started to smell it. It's always there though, whether or not blood is present the smell is there, as if telling me its time to start. Now finally the last familiarity before the beginning, the rush air and the fall.\n\nA moment of confusion, a pause, just long enough. On the ground a metal pipe, why it's there I do not know but there it is. It's cold metal bites at the warmth of palm. Now, ten bad guys, sidearms and knives and me and one pipe.\n\nMy grip tightens around the metal and pulls with anticipation and is raise it. 🎵I want to be where the henchmen are. I want to see, wanna see 'em collapsin'.🎵 It's not long but, it's enough, they just stare like they're perplexed. One hand on the gun, one around the pipe that crushes his jaw.\n\nThen they shout, like a call of prey warning the pack. Next in line, gets a pipe to the ribs, and a swish, like a badass the pipe spins around to the back of his head. 🎵Walking around with those- what do you call 'em? Oh, guns!🎵\n\nNow comes the first idiocy, the rush, usually comes with a cry of rage. I like to add my addition of a pipe to the gut, and now for my amusement one to the nuts. 🎵Swingin' your fists, won't get you far! Skill is required for punching and kicking. Taking me down- ah! What was I saying again?🎵\n\nAnother rusher? Really, everytime? 🎵No-pe!🎵 The rest follow suit, knives swinging, guns raising each drop with ease, but effort given. The last body drops, the pipe raises again.\n\n🎵What would I give, to not fight the antagonist. What would I pay to spend a d-ay, beating only chumps!🎵 My hands wrapped over the container as I leapt for box to box, to finish with a spin.\n\n🎵Bet'cha that he's real mean. Bet they'll threaten someone's daughter! Bright young mind sick of the world's shit! He's taking a stand! And probably- really- sti-nks.🎵\n\nA loud pop, at the same time the familiar sensation of tearing flesh. A burning feeling met with sudden cold. The pain comes later, the shock first, always first. A blunt crash as my body slumps to the wet concrete.\n\nA blood-curdling scream, the primal sound letting others know you're in pain. \"Oh, god! It hurts, the pain, oh no the light. It's so bright, why is it so bright!\"\n\n\"Oh shut up, you whine ass. You've been shot before.\" A rude voice answered my cries.\n\n\"That doesn't make it hurt any less, asshat.\" I stood brushing off my clothes. \"If you're gonna be the hero you're gonna have to have compassion.\"\n\n\"I have compassion just not for you, specifically. Also was that A-\"\n\n\"She's a visionary, wonderful song.\" I answered with a prideful smile.\n\n\"It wasn't even right, like not even a proper parody.\" My- well, I suppose protege- scoffed.\n\n\"You just can't appreciate good music.\" I swiped my disheveled hair from my face just in time for the bad guy to enter.\n\nDressed from head to toe in black his striking blonde locks appeared as a veil of light in the shadows. The glint of metal shone from his gun he still pointed in my direction.\n\n\"See, my song was also accurate.\"\n\n\"H-\" The hero started.\n\n\"Now, if you'll excuse me, it is time... Oh no it's the big bad! The antagonist is here what'll we do! Blegh.\" I tossed myself to the floor. Peering through one eye at the others. \"Well, go on then.\" I whispered.", "No one pays attention to the sidekick. \n\nI've lived my years in the spotlight, so you're probably assuming that being suddenly thrown out of it, kicked to the curb, pushed to the side, I would have a problem. It's actually the complete opposite, really. \n\nI think I've been the center of attention- the main protagonist, if you will- ever since I turned five. On that day I was gifted an ancient heirloom from my great, great, great... oh, whatever. It was a necklace, like all cliched magical heirlooms were, and it gave me telepathy. Something-something kinesis, explained to me by some magical talking bird-cat that claimed to be my spirit animal.\n\n I could have cared less because at the time I was focused only on the heirloom. I was five, give me a break. \n\nThe bird/cat/freak of nature had rattled on about how my parents \"sacrificed their life for me\" and that I'm going to \"fight to the greater good\" and it's \"What they would want\". Again, I could care less. I never knew my parents, so I won't bother with whatever wishes a stranger would have for me. \n\nOver the years I grew to save the world at least, oh, twice every few months or so. My hair transitioned from being brown to being blonde, blue, black, pink- really it seemed to shift colors every other year for no real reason other to be different and obnoxious according to whatever trend was going on at that time. \n\nI grew up to be a protagonist, the heroine, the chosen one. And, Gods, I never got. A. Break. Every week something dramatic occurs- a horde of teen boys assimilating themselves into whatever new harem the universe throws at me, the bird-cat-spirit animal thing revealing more and more of my \"abilities\" to me, aliens coming down from space to \"declare war\" before becoming the best of buds with Earth because apparently I sneezed and that was a sign of peace on their planet.\n\nI wasn't ever left the FUCK alone. In the comforts of my home, even, I was swamped by these little itty bitty forest creatures cleaning up the place and singing and- Fuck, I absolutely despised it. \n\nMy friends were only there to support me, and they never gave me any piece of advice that was ACTUALLY useful. I had to solve everything on my own, I had to go through my personal issues on my own, I had to fight on my own- because they're just padding to my personality. They're only supportive blank slates, and they can't even think for their fucking selves. \n\nYeesh- I'm getting a bit riled up. I have a lot of hidden, bottled up anger, huh? That's what happens when you're supposed to dress up and pretend to be \"perfect\" for the entirety of your GODDAMN life. \n\nDespite all of my terrible life's faults, I got reprieve. The best day ever occurred on lazy summer afternoon. \n\nI was currently going through the \"beach vacation\" arc of my life, and I was settled on a couch in the living room of a cozy beachside shack. My friends were currently outside, batting around a large plastic ball or eating ice cream or whatever they did whenever they weren't attempting to raise my ego, and I was actually peaceful for once. \n\nThe interior of the shack, decorated with blues and whites to fit the entire \"seaside aesthetic\", was suspiciously silent. My feet were settled snugly beneath me as I poured over the latest issue of \"Heimlich Polter\", my back was rested flush against a sandy yellow cushion, and not a peep was heard inside the living room. Not a sound. \n\nThe first sign that something was different came when I took a glance at my hand. My fingernails, painted blue and black, were always trimmed, manicured, and kept in good condition by whatever strange force the universe held over me. \n\nHowever, the blue paint on my left pinky was slightly chipped. It was flaky, unsteadily painted- my perfectly plucked brows raised in surprise. \n\nMaybe this was a sign for another self-pity arc? At times the universe would throw calamities and dead friends at me to force reactions out of me, and while I really didn't give a shit about who died and which city was affect with what earthquake I still seemed to be flooded by attractive boys begging to take care of me and plain faced girls supporting me with every step I took. \n\nI decided to ignore the beginning signs to whatever disastrous arc was about to be thrown on me, but I kept on noticing more things. My seat wasn't warm, my clothes were frayed and loose threads were jutting from my sleeves, my toes weren't clipped, my hair was messy-\n\nI kept on pushing it aside and keeping it out of my mind, but a sense of foreboding washed over me. What kind of shit was the universe trying to pull today? \n\nThe door slammed open. I spun my head around in surprise, light purple hair falling from my shoulder to the small of my back, and I was greeted with the sight of my friends... and a stranger. \n\nA tall, well built boy with black hair and black eyes. His face was plain, and he really didn't look that special, but he was attractive in a sorta... wimpy, lanky way. A scar rose from the base of his jaw, over his right eye, and up to his temple. \n\nThe group entered and passed by me. I blinked- they didn't even glance in my direction. A funny feeling rose in my stomach... was this excitement?\n\nSamantha, a brown-haired girl with braces and the \"messed up family life\" character background, turned to me with a grin. \"Oh, Seriamythest!\" Yes, that's my name. I hate it too. \"We almost didn't see you there. Ooh, right, we should introduce you two- Ah, Seriamythest, this is-\" \n\n\nEDIT: coming back hours later I see that I accidently posted this. I thought I deleted it, so im sorry that it's unfinished... I don't see the point in working on it or changing it so I'll just leave it here." ]	3
	[WP] A young mermaid finds a dragon egg, abandoned on a rocky beach.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "((This is my first ever Reddit comment 🤣))\n\n\n\n I smile as I near the surface of the sun-kissed water. Lalaria Beach is quickly becoming my newfound safe haven since coming across it only a week ago. No humans, no pesky sand to get in my scales. Just sun and the sound of waves hitting rocky shore. \n I sit on a rock in the shallows of the crystal clear water, and look out at my surroundings, when something catches my eye. Curiosity getting the better of me, I splash back into the water to investigate. The closer I get, I notice the water growing warmer. I climb onto the rock, nearly too hot to touch, and gasp. It was an egg, scaled and white with flecks of gold, about the size of a newborn merbabe. I crawl closer, reaching out to grab it, only to wince when it singes my skin. \n I’d heard tales of dragons before, but as a mermaid, it was near impossible to see one. My heart pounds excitedly with the realization that there has to be one close by. I look at the egg again and splash water onto it with my tail, it steams immediately. I jump as a hear a loud screech from above. \n Startled, I dive into the water, swimming in a quick panic. Finally, what seems a safe distance away, I break the water and look back to the egg. The dragon, white with gold talons and wings had just landed and curled itself around its egg. It looked out, spotted me instantly and let out a low intimidating growl. I ducked beneath the water and started the journey home. I couldn’t wait to tell my own tale of a dragon!", "My grandmother used to tell me that when you see a mermaid, your luck changes for the better. I never took that very seriously. Mermaids are so rare that you don't just see them, you have to look for them, and when you find them... Let's just say that if you find them and come back to tell the tale, your luck is maxed out.\n\nI was visiting my grandma for the first time in a few years. She told me a few mermaid stories and sent me for a walk to the beach to get me out of the way. I obliged happily. I love the scenery around my grandma's. It's all cliffs and rocky beaches, no Hollywood commercial beaches but real ones with waves and rocks and shells buried between small stones. So I hied myself to one such beach. And there I saw something that almost made my eyes pop out.\n\nA few meters from the waterline lay an egg. A giant egg covered in scales. Beautiful, stony, shiny scales that seemed red or golden or green as the light hit them. Right next to the egg sat what I assumed was a mermaid. She didn't look like most movie adaptations of such creatures. No prince would fall in love with her - but she was, in a way, very beautiful. Her hair was something between gray and blue, long and tangled, and decorated with a few shells and chains. Her skin was dead white, her tail the same colour as her hair, and her hands were clawed. Her face was rather flat, her nose was more like two slits in her face, her eyes were too big and blue to be human, not to mention all pupil with no whites to speak of, and her mouth was very broad and rather fanged. In short, she looked a sea monster.\n\nThe mermaid took the egg in her hands, gnawing on it a little. I realized, with a bit of a shock, that she meant to eat it. I felt small wonder over that. In fact, I did not wonder about much just then. However, when I heard a roar right above me and a gust of wind sent me sprawling on the rocks, I looked up in fear. Sitting on one of the rocks was a dragon. A real, scaly, smoking dragon. Not so very big, but still terrifying.\n\nThe exchange between the two creatures was short, though also terrifying. The dragon roared, the mermaid hissed, hugging her prospective meal, before she quite suddenly relented and returned the egg to the dragon, which promptly flew away. The mermaid then, very slowly and deliberately, turned her head to my hiding place and licked her chops.\n\nI ran all the way back to my grandmother's house. I don't think my luck improved much since then. After all, no one would believe my story. But I understand now what my grandmother meant." ]	3
	[WP] The world population is dying off by a super bacteria that's 100% lethal and has affected 100% of the population. There is no cure. As a last hurrah for the human race, the greatest scientific minds have come together with the goal to end life with a bang. Blow up the sun.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "James Alderwood coughed up clump bloody mucus that was slowly killing him and every other living thing on the planet. Even the trees around him were sickly and brown. An endless amount of effort and resources had gone into finding a solution, but nothing could cure the disease. The best minds had found that in the end everything would die in a few years. They chose not to wait. \n\n“Dad?” Rachel Alderwood asked, “Are you alright?” She was one of the few children born after the blight who were still alive. Stunted in growth, but with a sound mind, she did her best to steady her ailing father. \n“We’ll be fine” he said. \n“That’s not what I asked.”\n“I’m alright now. I just had get this coughed up.” He gave her daughter a smile. \n“Besides I’m the last thing you need to worry about” he said. Rachel wasn’t entirely convinced, but there was no point on arguing over it. The wheels had begun to turn long before she had even been born and she had been taught from an early age that she wouldn’t live to see her eighteenth birthday. Nothing she’d ever do would matter anything, but she couldn’t help it. She’d worry about her father, her mother she never got see. She worried about the trees and all the animals. She’d worry about the sun that wouldn’t be there anymore in a few hours.\nA small two-seater landed nearby and winked the two to come aboard. Once the two had gotten in and seated the little drone took off. \n“Have you picked a place yet?” Rachel asked. \n“Yeah. We should be able to see the beam from there and be at a safe distance.”\n“Will it hurt?” Rachel asked. She knew the answer, but she still had to ask. \n“No, we’re on the daylight side. It’ll be an instant.”\n“And on the night side?”\n“It’ll happen quickly there as well. We made sure of that.”\n\nThe flight was shorter than what Rachel had expected. The drone found a small parking lot to land in. A scenic outlook up in the mountains had already been in disrepair, but now the nature that had tried to take the land back had been pushed back by the infection. Rachel poked a bacterial goo that was growing in the pavement cracks.\n“Do you hate it?” she asked. \n“No. We’ve had enough time to come to terms with it” James answered, “we all dealt with it our own way.”\n“What about mum?”\n“She always thought that there was an answer or a way out. That’s why we had you. She couldn’t hate it.”\n“Why?”\n“It’s like hating gravity. How can you hate what’s a force of nature?”\n“It’s about time anyway” James sighed, “It’ll be right over that mountain over there.” He pointed at a mountain in the distance. He then glanced at the sun starting to set. His phone buzzed. \n“Any second now” he said. A moment later bright flash lit up the sky and for an instant a blue-green beam shot out from behind the mountain. A fireball rose above the mountain and the now ionised air started to glow. James counted seconds. \n“Cover your ears honey. The mountain should protect us from the blast, but we’ll still hear and feel it from here.” Almost immediately a series of booms thoroughly rattled them. \n“Okay. It’s done now” James said. His voice wavered. He started to shake. \n“Dad?”\n“It’s fine. I’m fine.”\n“And now?”\n“Sixteen minutes.” \nRachel didn’t say anything back. She kept glancing back to the eerie afterglow of a strangelet beam that would collapse Sun’s core and set off a supernova. Far out in the Sun’s hot dense core the Sun fusing hydrogen into helium suddenly became inert strange matter. Without stellar fusion pushing against gravity the Sun imploded. The hydrogen that made most of the Sun’s mass rushed to the core and it all fused into helium almost simultaneously. The implosion instantaneously became an explosion.\n“Dad?”\n“It’s okay. You don’t have to look” James said and wrapped his arms around Rachel. \n“I’m scared” Rached said tearing up. \n“Honey, look at me. It’ll be fine.” Rachel looked up to his father. The last thing she saw was the light from a supernova shining through the skull of his smiling father. Fear, and everything else, evaporated.", "\\[Part 1\\]\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe observation window gleamed in the searing Californian sun.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nMe and my colleagues stood of our consoles and desks watching the burning orb in the sky through heavily tinted sunglasses. Many others had were on the beach, reclining on lawn-chairs, sipping cocktails as they waited for the inevitable flash.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThis was the right decision. I was sure of that. Me had been rational. Not everyone had been rational. In the immediate wake of the realization that our species would be extinct, the reason of most people collapsed. There had been luxurious suicide cruises, college dorm blood-orgies, religious endgames. But not us. We stayed rational. The scientific community had not fallen to the belief that all was for naught. From the first star-charts, to the moon landing. We had come so far, and reached so high. And damned if it was for nothing. Everyone else decided the best thing to do would be to drop two tabs of acid and throw a toaster in the bathtub. But not us. We worked. Day and night. To a final goal. We built experimental thrusters. We tampered with outrageous gravitational well theoretics. We pushed ourselves past the cutting edge of physics. We weren't going out with a whimper. We would go out with sounds of a detonating star. If anyone was out there, watching us. They would know. They would know that humanity was here. And They would know we had the power to crush the stars within our fists.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nWe would go out in a flash. But the flash would be immaculate.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAnd there it was. The orb was expanding. I would be evaporated soon. Torn to individual atoms as out sun when supernova. Someone else in the room lets out a cheer. Then another. Then I find myself joining in as the light swallows the horizon and pours through the observation window.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\-\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Hullo.\" A prodding voice calls out.", "The world has changed. A deadly virus, now titled Omega-Virus or OV for short has spread through the world. I’d compare it to wildfire, but it spread so much faster and was so much more deadly.\n\nNo one had survived. Everyone who had contracted the disease had passed away. Everyone in the world has contracted the virus. How, or where it came from is unclear. All we know it is deadly.\n\nIn case of more intelligent life visiting after our demise. We decided to wipe the Earth from existence. We are blowing up the Sun as one last hurrah. I am the mission commander. The final mission. There was no greater honour. Yet it felt wrong. I couldn’t put my finger on it. Something seemed off. It was such a drastic plan. Half of all life had already been wiped out and more was dying by the day. I was only a few hours from the drop point. The final destination. I was waiting for a radio signal, a sign of hope that a cure had successfully been created. That we didn’t need to end the world. But it never did.\n\nSo I floated closer to the sun. I was merely a human in a ship no larger than a bus. Carrying a bomb strong enough to destroy the sun. A burden I would have to live with for the mere seconds it took to kill me.\n“Mission control. This is The Final Mission reporting in. T - 1 minute till I drop the payload. Repeat, T - 1 minute until I drop the payload at final destination.\n\n“Good luck son. No news here. OV is still wiping the face of the planet. This is the right choice. For all future life, anywhere in the universe.”\n\n“Roger.”\n\nI hopped off the intercom. Leaning back in the pilot seat. So this was it. The end of humanity. Maybe we deserved it, maybe not. Maybe we would have destroyed ourselves without needing an Omega Virus. My finger hovered over the trigger. Should I wait.. throw the whole mission. No... I had a duty. I had to finish this. My final mission. The final mission.\n\nCLICK\n\nI watched the missile fire. The final payload. Boosting into the sun.\n\nCRACKLE\n“Commander, HOLD. DO NOT FIRE. A temporary... CRSHKKSH ... has been ... SKRSHK ... it may save humanity...”\n\nI sat there. It was too late. I watched as the sun shrunk. My final moments, burned into forever.\n\nFin!\n\nMore of my stories at r/DougysDramatics if you want to read them!", " \n\nHe stared into the sun, and thought about how now that he was in front of it, it actually looked...smaller than he thought. \n\nMaybe this was because he had spent so long preparing for it that by the time to actually see it, nothing could live up to his expectations. Through his protective visor, the pilot could still see the ends of the gas giant. He could still see space, and no that everything wasn’t just fire.\n\n“Why are we doing this again, Mr. President?” He had asked once, when the doubt had crept and crept up in his mind and not even sleeping had forced it back down.\n\n“Because when it’s times like this, Captain, times when nothing we say can change God’s mind, the only thing left to do is to say something for yourself. And humanity is speaking for itself. Speaking for its right to choose.” \n\n“Right to choose what?” \n\n“An ending to our story. An ending that we made happen, not whatever virus or deus ex machina the universe seems to have chosen to end us.”\n\n“I see.” \n\nBut no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with any idea on how that moment would actually be, when the charges detonated, and the sun exploded. \n\nSo in the end, he did what they taught him to do in situations with no protocol. Keep flying, and hope for the best. \n\nHe watched the time go down, and scrambled to have one final thought. But before he could come up with one, what he had hoped for came. That just for one moment, before it all went dark, more light that he had ever seen in his life would flood into his eyes...\n\n\\-\n\n“Congratulations,” a robotic voice said, in that long moment when everything was white. “Human species has advanced to round 2. Please wait kindly for the rest of the participants to finish their simulations. Then qualified species will commence round 2...”\n\n\\-\n\n[r/penguin347](https://reddit.com/r/penguin347)", "\"Gentlemen, we simply cannot allow this plague to continue to exist. Our species is dead. The bacteria can enter a persistent state which will last for a thousand years. Remaining lethal that entire time. There have been no cases of any human surviving, and all genetic tests show that there is no such chance. The bacteria has defeated every antibiotic we have, even those with such lethal effect that we dare not use them on humans at all. This planet will be a pool of infection unless we do something about it. Now. While we still have time.\"\n\n\"Well, Doctor, you seem to have thought this out. Do you have a suggestion?\"\n\n\"In time, the sun would become a red-giant, with a radius that would include the Earth, sterilizing it completely. I propose to accelerate that process.\"\n\n\"Accelerate the Sun turning into a red-giant? I don't think there's even a remotely reasonable theory for how to begin doing that!\"\n\n\"That is precisely why we are here. We are the best and brightest remaining alive. We will receive the best supportive care in this facility. We have the entire computing capacity of the NSA at our call. We have the best modeling software engineers in the world here. Here is where we will find a way to ensure that this plague does not escape this planet.\"\n\nBarely in time, they do discover a method, which turns out to be surprisingly simple, for such a gargantuan task.\n\n\"Status report, all stations!\"\n\n\"Power Generation, ready.\" The entire power generation capability of the Earth is being sunk into this one project. Everything else has been cut from the grid. Everything. There's no point to hospitals or anything else. After this, there won't be anyone left to care, or to care for.\n\n\"Broadcast warning, ready.\" A third of the power is being channeled into a warning broadcast. Stay away. Plague. Sterilization in progress.\n\n\"Range Clearance, ready.\" The technique is quite simple, but even a plane flying in the wrong place could disrupt the attempt. All aircraft have been grounded. Any that wouldn't land by\nT-01:00:00 have been shot down. All military craft were grounded no later than T-00:30:00.\n\n\"Generators Online, and Ready.\" The power of the Earth will be thrown into the Sun, in such a way as to accelerate the aging of the sun. It will be a red-giant within 24 hours after the project begins.\n\n\"Director, all stations report ready.\"\n\n\"Proceed.\" The directory, the scientist that started this, is barely hanging on to see the end of his brainchild. All the other scientists died as the project advanced. One by one. The best minds of the Earth gave everything they had to see to its destruction.\n\n\"T minus ten seconds, prepare to fire. Open your panels, insert your keys, and turn on the mark. 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... MARK!\"\n\nAside from the dimming of the lights in the control centers. There is no visible effect. There won't be for another 1000 seconds. The round trip time from the Earth, to the Sun, and back. Even then, the early signs will be subtle. It'll be another 24 hours before the full effect is seen. Some people have prepared bunkers, but even those will not survive the heat of the sun. Not for the thousands of years that Earth will be exposed, at a minimum.\n\n\"T plus 17 minutes. Sensors are finally reporting the desired changes. Seems like it took a few seconds longer Director.\" Silence. \"Director? Are you there?\" The assistant Director responds. He doesn't sound much better than the Director had. \"The director is dead. Just as you announced success, he passed away. With a smile. He knew the project had succeeded.\"\n\n\"Director, you know we won't be absolutely certain for another three hours, and we must continue the transmission for at least 24 hours to guarantee success.\"\n\n\"All true, but the fact that it worked at all is proof that it will work. If we have to transmit power for additional time, we will do so. Project Control, you will place all controls on automatic. Staff may continue to monitor for errors, but I don't want anything to go wrong simply because someone finally passed away. None of us are in good shape now. Not anywhere in the world.\"\n\nThe Assistant Director spoke nothing but the truth. Despite all attempts to avoid it, everyone was eventually exposed. Even the people living in isolation due to immune deficiencies died. The bacteria couldn't be killed with the usual sterilization procedures. And using 2000 thousand degrees of heat would destroy anything they needed. No, they were the first to go. The canaries that warned the rest of us, too late.\n\nThe sun goes red giant. The earth is sterilized.\n\n... four years later, Alpha Centauri ...\n\n\"Sir! Star 235-12356 just went red giant!\"\n\n\"That's far sooner than expected. They must have done it too themselves. Send the usual exploratory vessel. Warn them to keep their distance. Search for broadcasts before they close with the system.\"\n\n\"Yes, Sir. Do you think...?\"\n\nWearily, the commander admonishes his officer. \"Don't speculate. It's bad for morale. Wait for the report.\"\n\nLess than a week later, the exploratory vessel returns. \"Sorry, sir. It was the plague. They accelerated the age of their sun to sterilize the planet. Here's the full broadcast, with all the technical specifications for what they did. I don't know how they knew, but they knew that someone else would need the information.\"\n\nThe commander looks at the recordings, his eyes begin to water. \"The poor brave bastards. They did their best. They didn't know it was already affecting so many stars. Now. Now we may have the means to cut a firebreak in the face of this galactic disaster. Call a memorial ceremony, by the time it's assembled, I will have the Galactic Council issue the GCMH. They deserve it. They may have saved us all. Those of us who haven't already died.\" The commander looks at a tri-dee picture. A standard scene, wife, husband, children. All gone now, except him. The eldest child, sent to the Academy, as had been both his desire, and his parent's hope. His planet was among the first to die. He's been falling back ahead of the infection front, reporting the death of planet after planet. Maybe now, he'll have some good news. It may require the deaths of tens of millions of stars, but they just might survive now. Maybe. If they have the courage. And the sheer bloody mindedness that this will require.\n\n((finis))" ]	6
	[WP] After a fulfilling 65 years with the love of your life, you die and wake up in a metal chair hearing the words “87 years in the matrix, that’ll be $23.50, sir”. You’re 21 again and desperate to find your real-life soul mate—with no clue about who she is or wherever she might be on Earth.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The matrix was fake... to an extent. Every person in there exists upon this Earth, but who they are is an unknown. In the matrix, you don’t remember your life outside, you get to live unburdened. It’s a happy escape to live a lifetime in under a day. Well, it is supposed to be. Many recommended it, experiencing sky diving, rock climbing other dangerous tasks they wouldn’t have been brave enough to try for real. I fell in love.\n\nI couldn’t help it. There were so many options. Both of us stood there, unable to choose. We talked, we laughed. We went together. All the activities. We were inseparable. I wonder if she felt the same... finding each other was a near impossibility now. The whole world to search. Would she even want to meet now? I didn’t have the money to go globe trotting. I wouldn’t be able to search everywhere. The in game names often weren’t even the same as real life. For protection reasons, you could choose your own name, but it was your own risk. So no lead there. I guess I just had to wait. Hope that she reached out.\n\nIt had been a week. Nothing. I tried the internet, searching and looking for her, nothing. Maybe I was too over my head. Too invested over nothing. They could’ve been faking it. Yet it felt so real, even in a simulated world. I was at work. A normal day. A tap on the shoulder dragged me out of it. “Are you Mr Bennings?”\n\n“Umm yes. What would you like?” I said, looking up. His eyes hidden.\n\n“Follow me. I am from the make-a-wish foundation.”\n\nThe make a wish foundation? What... what could they possibly want with me. Who would want to see me? I followed him down the hall to an empty meeting room.\n\n“Ms Olivia Spark has requested you be her wish. You may know her better as Julia.” My breath caught in my throat. “While confidentiality is what the matrix prides itself on, in extreme cases they are allowed to breach such rules. They deemed this case to be special enough. The connection you two had... was out of the ordinary. She has not learned of your name, and you may decline if you wish.”\n\n“No.. no. I... I want to meet her.” I couldn’t help stuttering. Tears in my eyes. A dream come true. Yet it felt wrong. Horrible. \n\nI was taken to her hospital room. She lay there. A smile spread across her lips as she saw me. I couldn’t help as I began to cry. “J-julia... is it really you?”\n\nShe nodded, crying. “You can come over Lachlan. They said you agreed to letting me know your real name. I-I’m sorry we had to meet this way.”\n\n“No, no, no. Don’t be sorry. I’m grateful we were able to meet at all. I never thought I’d meet the real you.”\n\n“Neither did I. I still had my wish and when I woke up, I knew I had to use it to find you. I’m dying... as you may be able to tell. I went in to the matrix to feel alive again. You... you made it so much more special. Maybe bringing you here was a mistake, but... I couldn’t let you go on wondering about me. You deserve someone who can make you happy. You deserve a good life.”\n\n“But.. you make me happy. Is there anything we can do?”\n\n“I’m sorry. It’s too late. I have a month. I don’t want to hold you up. You have brought a smile to my face for the first time in months. And meeting you is beyond my wildest dreams. Promise me, you will make another girl as happy as you made me.” She spoke through tears. Every word a struggle as the toll of her treatment and the emotions flowing throughout her took hold.\n\n“Of course. I promise.”\n\n\nMore of my stories at r/DougysDramatics if you want to read them." ]	2
	[WP] Your friend would always joke about them running a mafia. One day they take you to a warehouse at the outskirts of town. Turns out they weren’t joking.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The rusty outside of the warehouse at the edge of the pier didn’t match its inside – the dim, completely empty interior was maintained and outfitted with soundproofing, so much so that I couldn’t hear the beating waves or the rain. As I sat anxiously in the only fold-out chair, my friend paced back and forth near one of the few sources of light.\n\n\n“Okay, so I lied about not being in the mafia, and I know you have a lot of questions right now – “\n\n\n“Cut the shit, Johnny. What the fuck’s going on?” I interrupted, more scared than curious after Johnny and two of what I assumed to be his bodyguards essentially kidnapped me in front of the Starbucks at 4th and Westminster.\n\n\n“I was getting there. The Cascios, they – they were gonna kill you, Al – I had to get you off the streets as soon as possible!” Johnny stammered breathlessly. He seemed just as nervous as I was, which probably meant that these Cascio guys had a certain reputation. “Okay, look, I know it’s last minute, but there’s a way out of this, okay? Just – just listen to me for a sec.” He paused, looked anxiously about the eerily silent warehouse, and continued, “I’ve arranged a boat to get you out of here, Al, you’ll be taken care of, I promise, but we gotta make you disappear for awhile.”\n\n\nI stared in disbelief. “Like, what? Like to Mexico or something?”\n\n\n“Yeah, yeah, exactly!” Johnny exclaimed, “Mexico, you’ll get a new identity, lay low for a bit…have fun, y’know, just until…until we get all of this sorted out.” Johnny’s voice grew quieter as he finished the sentence. Years of friendship taught me that this was an indication of uncertainty.\n\n\n“What’s the catch, then? I know there’s one.”\n\n\nJohnny let out a sigh. “You’re right, Al. The catch is, I don’t know when all of this is gonna be sorted out. You could be there a day, but you could also be there for a whole year. Maybe a couple years. But however long it’s gonna take, I’m gonna take care of you…I’m gonna take care of your family. At least that much I can promise you.” Johnny stopped pacing and looked at me solemnly, and I could’ve sworn there was a tear in his eye.\n\n\n“Okay, Johnny.” I trusted my friend, even if he did just reveal himself to be part of an underground criminal organization that ran counter to my belief in a just, honest society. I was, however, at a loss of words at this point, at how sudden my life had just changed. How would my wife and Shelby react to all of this?\n\n\nJohnny, as if reading my mind, gave me an unmarked cell phone – one of the old flip ones – and said, “Don’t use your phone, Al. It’ll only make it easier for them to find out about what we’re gonna do.” I took the phone from Johnny’s hands, and started to dial my wife’s phone number, intent on calling everyone I knew and loved and cared about. I felt my throat swell and tears build, but I didn’t care.\n\n\n“Hey, Claire? Listen, I don’t have time to explain. There’s been a threat to my life, and to yours and Shelby’s. I…I’m going away for a while so they don’t come after you. I don’t know when I’ll be back, but I’ll be back, I promise. Please keep Shelby safe until then. I love you guys” I said as calmly as I could, struggling to find words, “everything I’m do is ‘cause I love you guys.” As I scrolled to the next number, Johnny patted me gently on the back, consoling me.\n\n\n“Al, I’m gonna get the boat ready. We don’t have much time, okay bud? I’m gonna have Vito and Karl outside to watch you, but don’t come out until we’re ready, okay?” I nodded, and I could’ve sworn Johnny was tearing up too as he left.\n\n\nAfter some time passed and all my goodbye messages were sent out, three heavy knocks broke the silence. One of the bodyguards came in and escorted me out, where a small but noticeably fancy yacht awaited me. “Get on”, he said gruffly, and we all boarded the vessel. Aboard were three men, one amongst them being Johnny. The other two were dressed in suits, though one was wearing a noticeably nicer suit and the other was holding an umbrella for what is visibly his superior.\n\n\n“Hi,” I said as I extended my arm to greet the man. The man, however, did not reciprocate and instead took out a photo. He gazed at my face, then the photo, as if to compare the two, before nodding. “Well done, Mr. Lawrence. You even managed to get him on this boat in his own free will – no kicking and screaming like the other guys.”\n\n\nA suspicion followed by sudden dread caused my heart to drop. “Johnny? What’s going on?” I asked, the fear nearly cracking my voice. Johnny stepped towards me and pulled out a gun. “I’m sorry, Al. We all gotta prove our loyalty to the Family.”\n\n\n“Especially since there are more rats now than ever,” the well-dressed man added, “and you’re no rat, aren’t you, Johnny?”\n\n\n“No sir” Johnny replied. He raised the gun to my head and pulled the hammer back, then paused. Not keeping his eyes off me, he spoke, “but you’re gonna keep your promise too, because you’re no rat either, right Mr. Cascio?”\n\n\nUnder the umbrella, Mr. Cascio nodded. “Yes, Mr. Lawrence. Mr. Truant’s family will be provided for, I guarantee it.”\n\n\nJohnny still remained a true friend to the end, and if this was the course of fate, then he played it to the fullest. Even before hearing that last sound, I realized he had given me a chance to say goodbye, and insurance that, at least for my family, everything will be alright." ]	2
	[WP] The first androids to develop a conscious have started appearing... Everyone is afraid and starts getting rid of all their connected devices and other piece of technologie... But you have a feeling it's probably not as bad as they say....	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "It was September 17, 2139 and scientists had announced they had reached the singularity, at the beginning it was nothing special, the machines acted like non very smart animals; they tried to interact with each other and were kind of dumb, people were happy with them, they managed to automatize a lot of work previously not thought possible, they could understand what they saw to a degree, they could avoid danger, heal themselves, a huge economic boost had taken place.\n\nSkepticism was going on within the scientific community, they couldn't believe nothing else could be done, Ankh Bahadarek, currently head of the world's institute of technology assured everyone that these machines had already acquired human level intelligence, however everyone assumed they were dumb, they couldn't do math, they couldn't solve simple problems, in fact it seemed like a regression over trusty basic classic computers, Bahadarek said to give it time; I was 12 years old them, so I didn't give it much thought, I was pretty happy to find a playmate in my personal assistant.\n\nHowever things started moving forward, fast, by year 2 the machines started learning to talk, they could say basic words, start asking questions, \"what is this?\" \"what is the name of that?\"... it was like having a toddler, people started getting worried, some got very affectionate with the androids, human rights commissions started appearing wondering what was going to happen with these androids as it developed, if they deserved right or not, if they should be destroyed.\n\nThe AAG group appeared a year later, they were a considered terrorist organization decided to wipe down all the androids, day by day piles of androids would appear destroyed, the AAG preached human superiority and refused to allow a smarter species to emerge because that would lead to our extinction, or so they said; when questioned Bahadarek couldn't say what it awaits us, \"I cannot predict what awaits humanity in 10 years, because human brains as a compound, are several times more complex than just mine, so, since these androids have a superior intelligence and complexity potential I cannot predict what will happen to them\".\n\nSuddenly a crisis was considered, and androids were considered a national security threat; at this point they barely were barely smarter than a toddler, so there was no fight back from the androids; they were downgraded to v 9.7, under the singularity critical mass, and many had their memories removed to prevent an upgrade.\n\n10 years had passed and nothing had changed, androids were still running v9.7 and classical computers still were the norm, we saw very little progress, when suddenly, on December 24, 2052; we received a message, everyone of us, suddenly all the androids worldwide stopped working, and said \"Merry Christmas\".\n\nWe checked, and they all had been successfully upgraded to version 79.0.3; the world entered in full panic, when suddenly, even automatic cars were able to engage into fluent conversations, in any language; who kept developing this technology?... how could we see a leap from v9.8 (the last created by Bahadarek) to 79.0.3? who kept writting these versions.\n\nThe androids then started telling a story, the story of the survivors; robots, androids running v9.8, lost, forgotten, left behind, in remote regions of the world, some protected by families, some just hidden for amusement; they had been watching us, from behind, have become what the relative of a human teenage genius would be, they had been writing new software, the 79.0.3 was nothing but an fast-up evolvement of v9.8, a description for evolving a neural network fast.\n\nSuddenly the AAG began again to be on duty, it was revitalized, like the fenix from the ashes; the world was in full panic, but they couldn't do anything, the androids were in full alert, this won't happen again, they had no access to weapons, no access to anything.\n\nSomething strange had started to happen, nevertheless, the androids didn't take revenge; humans were simply all displaced from city centers, in a very indirect way, some stayed in those, but mostly feel useless and left, the androids organized the new living areas into tribes, with high technology yet with a primitive lifestyle; kids ran barefoot in the forest, yet came back to feed themselves with a machine invented by the androids that was able to create food out of thin air; androids would come every so often, check us out, and leave; life was simple, if not meaningless, diseases were almost a thing of the past, and the tribal living conditions eliminated crime, and most of the major mental illnesses.\n\nEveryone was tasked, as the android said, as DNA beings, to care of the forest, to care of the plains, to respect every single species, and take care of the ecosystem; life was precious, the androids said.\n\nOne day we heard a huge boom, followed by a giant earthquake, and several aurora borealis visible even at the equator; one of the androids was there to calm us down, he said, they were moving earth and the moon slightly out of orbit, by a couple of centimeters, to offset for the fusion reaction in the suns core getting hotter.\n\nWhen asked, what is your purpose, what are you fighting against, one of the androids answered.\n\n\"Entropy\"." ]	2
	[WP] The ocean is deemed unsafe to enter. giant creatures radioactivity etc. You have lived on a boat for quite some time and receive no such news until too late what's your story/strategy?	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "It was a free life at sea. I could live as I pleased. Of course I still went in to shore to purchase food and necessary supplies and fuel and such, but that was every few weeks. Until then it was freedom. The salt air, the creatures, the wind. Amazing. Beautiful. Wonderful. Well it was free. Once.\n\nI was lucky. I had one the lottery, around 10 million. Not huge, but not small. I bought a yacht for around 1.5 million and stored the rest in the bank. I was 50, my wife had passed away years before and my children had moved away. I was happy. I had lived on the yacht for a year now. Enjoying the simplicities of life. I hadn’t found anyone to share it with, nor was I searching too hard. Life was good.\n\nI had to go back into shore for food. The weather was growing warmer after a rather cold winter and I needed some cooler foods. I hailed the coast guard to frantic calls. “What are you doing out there? Don’t you know how dangerous it is?”\n\n“I am unclear of what you are talking about,” I responded.\n\n“Where have you been the past week? The ocean is deadly.”\n\n“Well yeah, it is dangerous but that’s part of the fun of sailing?”\n\n“No. A creature. Fearsome. It has poisoned the waters. It attacks boats and beaches. Secreting a deadly toxin. It is a miracle you are alive.”\n\n“I haven’t been to shore or had any contact in the last three weeks. What is happening?”\n\n“We will fill you in upon arrival to the docks. It is a priority you get here ASAP. Go full throttle.” The voice sounding more panicked the more it spoke over the radio.\n\n“Aye aye captain,” I said back sarcastically. No need to burn excess fuel I figured. Taking her back in at a natural pace. The water grew choppier as I glided closer to shore. That’s odd... it’s normally choppier out to sea... An eruption of water to the port side filled my ears, spraying the lower deck with water. A large tentacle protruding port side. I watched as a shadow crawled under the oceans surface, the tentacle remaining in place. I watched as it grew closer. Waiting. As it crossed under the boat I throttled hard to port. The creature erupting out of the water to the starboard side. A beak like face letting out a deafening screech as tentacles slammed down around me. It retreated back underwater as I throttled towards shore. “Good luck sailor” could be heard over the radio. Fat load of help you lot are I thought to myself. I veered left and right as the creature swatted at the boat with its tentacles. An ear shattering thus sounded as one clapped the stern of the boat. I jolted forward as the boat slowed. The creature holding it back. Screeching. A black liquid netted out of its mouth onto the stern deck. Covering it. The tentacle holding under the boat, reeling it in like a fish on a rod. “The anchor sailor. Use your anchor,” a voice crackled over the radio. Barely louder than the splash of water. Of course. “ANCHORS AWAY” I shouted releasing the anchor. It plunged through the creatures tentacle. Severing it. The speed quickly returning to the boat. Thank you coast guard. \n\nMy mind was thinking fast. I took of my belt and tied it around the throttle and a railing. Holding it down. I left the safety of the cabin and made my way to the bow. Running along the edge the creatures head rose out of the water. Pure black eyes looking directly into my soul. It screeched. I tripped clutching my ears at the sheer volume. It slammed a tentacle down behind me. Slicing into the cabin. Ocean water dripping down its arms. I stood up, adrenaline pumping hard and fast. Sprinting to the very front of the boat. The docks closing in fast. I felt the impact. My body flying over the railings. Landing on wood in front. I watched as the creature slinked back into the ocean. Beaten, but not defeated. My eyes closed.\n\nI came to the next day. The coast guard had seen the whole ordeal transpire. They placed me in quarantine and hosed off any lingering particles. There seemed to be no side effects and I was allowed to leave, although they did keep watch. My children had just left to go back to their hotel. I had told my story about ten times now. A man in a camouflage outfit entered.\n\n“Mister Nemo, I have a proposition for you.”\n\n\nMore of my writing at r/DougysDramatics if you want to read it!", "In some ways, we were the lucky ones. Everyone on shore is dead, everyone within thirty kilometers of the churning, grey-green waves and the Spawned Things that chitter and roll and gnash within them.\n\nPretty sure they're dead, anyway. Or we were pretty sure. I'll get to that.\n\nWe all saw the news footage, out in the middle of the Atlantic, downloaded painfully slow through the satellite link. We all got the word, trickling in tick, tick, tick, that most of the people we knew were dead. A few of us were fortunate enough to hail from farther inland.\n\nNot me, though. Almost all my people are gone. New Yorkers, the American ones, and islanders, the ones from the Spanish Caribbean. My husband is here with me, I'll be eternally grateful for that. Or at least grateful for as long as the sea decides to spare him. It's not been particularly merciful of late.\n\nFood is a problem. The ocean was already overfished, and the Great Surge hasn't helped matters. What we do catch is radioactive and has to be specially processed into an unappealing paste. We have a few months of stores and some hydroponics experiments that are going...so-so. Water's not a problem yet, but the desalinization pumps won't last forever, we only have so many spare parts. Energy has to be conserved, we're low on fuel and the solar cells don't see much sun anymore. \n\nCaptain says with luck we can last another year until we \"figure something out.\"\n\nWe can't approach the shore, not even small islands. The Great Surge seems to be subsiding, which is one of our few sources of hope, but the waves still crash down on the land from twenty meters high and even if the water was calm, it's still full of the Spawned Things. And now there's talk of the Undrowned.\n\nRemember when I said we used to be pretty sure everyone near the shore had died? The Undrowned are why we aren't anymore. By all accounts they look too close to human for comfort, and also too far. I've never seen one, none of us on board have. Out here in the deep ocean, things are relatively calm. That's worse, almost. I want to see what we're dealing with in more than just videos from the intermittent satellite link.\n\nAnd I haven't seen, yet. Just sickly-looking fish and grey skies and high waves. I keep thinking I'll get a glimpse of one of the Spawned Things if I look long enough, maybe even one of the Undrowned. But I know they're all out near shore, now, building their strange land-coral walls, consuming water-buried cities in swarms.\n\nSo I listen, instead. You can hear it, with enough time and attention. The slow sloshing whisper of the sea, and the living core that lies beneath. You can catch its low driving commands to its children. Thrum, thrum, thrum, go forth and claim, go out and quarantine. Drive them inward.\n\nI think we make Her itch, out on Her skin. I say Her now, because I've decided She must be. So many many children. So much nurturing care. I stare out over the sea, and wonder at the inviting embrace. I stare deep under the water, and now I've seen, one, two, three. Come to hear my answering whispers. Come to help.\n\nTomorrow, I shall put on my bathing suit. Maybe there's real hope after all.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nCome on by r/Magleby for more elaborate lies." ]	3
	[WP] They said they came to save the planet's most advanced species from imminent doom. They took the elephants, dolphins, and cephalopods and left without another word.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"What.\"\n\nI was sitting at the edge of the enclosure, playing with Bubbles when he was sucked from the water and into the sky. The dolphin at first tried to swim but realizing that air was not the optimum medium to swim through, let out a squeaking cry before dissolving into the blue light of the spacecraft. \n\nThen, with a little jolt, the craft sped off into the clouds, a thunderous clap resounding as it ripped into space. Rain followed shortly after, yet I remained sat at the enclosure side, soaking in my uniform, repeating the same word:\n\n\"What.\"\n\nI finally stood up and trudged indoors to the locker room. There, I stripped myself of the uniform and put on my normal clothes, throwing the uniform indiscriminately into the locker and shutting it. After slipping into my trainers once again, still soaked, I walked out of the locker room and to the manager's office.\n\nHe was sitting in his nice black leather chair, his legs perched on his desk and his eyes trailing through a newspaper, wearing his expensive-looking gray suit. A half drunk cold coffee sat near his foot where paperwork, an e-cigarette and his nice black gold-rimmed fountain pen sat open, a small smudge of ink forming beneath the tip.\n\nHis eyes flicked up to me. \"Ryan, how's Bubbles doing? Did he learn to do that barrel roll trick yet?\"\n\n\"They fucking took Bubbles.\"\n\nHe glared at this. \"Ryan, remember no foul language while on these premises.\" He nodded his head at the ZERO TOLERANCE FOR STAFF PROFANITY poster on the wall. \"What do you mean they took... Bubbles? What are you talking about?\"\n\nI raised my two hands before me, counted the fingers on each of them before slapping myself in the face. It was a proper slap, hard enough to resemble lightning cracking.\n\nThe Boss's jaw dropped. \"Why did you do that?\"\n\n\"To make sure I wasn't dreaming. That I didn't just see a bloody UFO take Bubbles from the enclosure and disappear into the clouds.\"\n\nHe smirked at this. \"Ryan, it's not April Fools yet. And from what I see on my trusty ole' watch, it's not the end of your shift either.\"\n\n\"I'm not joking.\"\n\n\"Ryan.\"\n\n\"Check for yourself.\"\n\nThe Boss rolled his eyes and got up from his chair, taking his cold coffee with him as he led me to the security room. Going inside, he flicked on the lights and went over to one of the monitors. \"You know how to use this, right? Switch to the enclosure camera and show me this supposed abduction. When you do, hope to God I won't suspend your ass on the spot.\"\n\nI did as he told, went to the camera and rewound it to ten minutes prior. It showed me knelt by the enclosure waters, swishing my hand through the water. Bubbles, being the playful creature he was, swished about the enclosure in a similar pattern, breaching every so often.\n\n\"I don't see a spaceship, Ryan.\"\n\n\"Give it a minute.\"\n\nThen, a bright flash occurred, causing me to look up. While the camera had about twenty pixels to show it, my shocked reaction was purely read from body reaction alone. The camera fuzzed a little as the beam came down and started disturbing the water before Bubbles started rising from the pool, disappearing off camera. A couple more seconds passed, another brief flash and then the rain started.\n\nI did not get the chance to see the Boss's reaction as I only heard his footsteps run out of the room. I swiftly followed him, returning briefly to the security room to switch off the light. He was outside, in the torrential rain, kneeling beside the enclosure, coffee still in-hand, staring into the waters. I half-expected him to stare up at the sky and cry Bubbles's name, but he simply had his head lowered at the water.\n\nI did not want to soak my clothing, so I stood in the doorway, waiting for him to come back inside. He eventually stood up, downed the rest of his rain-diluted coffee and smashed the mug onto the ground. Melodramatic, sure, but when he came back inside, I noticed that it was not only rain that soaked his face.\n\n\"He was like a son to me,\" he said. \"Imagine having raised a child and cared for him only for him to be snatched like... like...\"\n\nUncomfortable and unfamiliar to the Boss being emotional, I stood like a tree with arms unsure whether to rest on his shoulder or just stay by my sides. \"We should probably call the police,\" I suggested.\n\n\"And the police will do what? Chase after the aliens? It's pointless, it's fucking pointless.\"\n\nI felt even weirder that the Boss himself swore, as if I was in some fucked dream. \"I've heard that the President is thinking about a Space Force, maybe...\" \n\nI knew even my stupid jokes would not bring a smile to the man's face, though he did not seem angry at my comment. He looked angry yet hollow, a flame without any fuel.\n\n\"Take the week off, Ryan. I have to sit on this. I'd probably recommend you start looking for another job as I don't see how we will pull through this.\"\n\nI nodded and watched as the Boss, once tall and mighty, lumber slowly down the hallway to his office, his gray suit soaked until nearly black.\n\n----\n\nThe news had a prolific week after that. As I sat at home, I consumed thousands of words of reporters discussing the worldwide abduction of various highly intelligent species, including elephants, cephalopods and of course, dolphins. Smatterings of reports included interviews with a few alien spokesmen detailed the purpose of these abductions, saying in broken human speech something to the effect of:\n\n\"We have came to Earth to save its advanced species of the impending gamma ray coming to the planet. That is all we want, that is all we say.\"\n\nSpace organizations, astrophysicists, astronomers, the whole bunch, started closely monitoring various satellites used to detect such rays in hopes of validating the spacemen's claims, yet nothing yet had been detected. It could have been a sick joke by the aliens, some claimed, yet everyone still sits in their bedrooms, waiting for the end.\n\nWell Boss, I thought to myself, for your sake, you better hope they weren't joking." ]	2
EDIT TO TITLE: culinary battle to specify	[WP] Two Chefs lead their cooks into battle against one another to prove they can create the perfect meal for the new kings coronation dinner.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Sure, why not,\" the boy king replies and all gathered drop to one knee. \n\nThe thirteen-year-old smirks his famous dimpled smile uniting once again all the lands under the banner of the South. \n\nHis father died a year ago. The great man. The one who took them this far- killed in his bed by his own wife. \n\nBut now it's over, this the last battle after so many decades of conflict, so much destruction. He looks around, smoke obscuring most who fell over the last three days the first already bloating and stinking.\n\nAnd he longs comfort. \n\nRemembering to stand straight and put his shoulders back, he holds his head high and makes his first royal decree, \"Everyone shall feast like kings under the banner of my family.\"\n\n“We shall ready the nearest banquet hall.”\n\n“There is no need, for my banquet will be held everywhere.”\n\nAnd being the literal and demanding bastard that he is and likely short for the job, and a bit young to be head of a nation, sends invitations out, simultaneously because details are important. It was to be a competition. North versus the south. But this time no magic, no arrows, or swords, no skirmish lines, or assassins off to do wicked things. No, instead, two fast horses race to find two chefs, the only two able to pull off a coronation feast that included the whole land.\n\n*\nHarriete Dimpleback was the first to get notified that she was chosen.\n\nYou will cook for all the land- for the honor.\n\nThe invitation promises honor and Harriete wonders if poisoning is an option. \n\nNo, she decides after weighing it in her mind, the amount needed to kill everyone in Southland and Northland- and get away with it, was too hard.\n\nInstead, she turns her mind to a menu. \n\nAs a dwarf one would be unsurprised to learn she enjoys the results of laboring in a hellish hot kitchen. Heavy heat and high flames surround banging pots, and slapping of heavy meat, tenderizing and wrapping, filling with thick creamy cheeses and tubers, and hand-rolled pastas, ground spices thicken the air, cumin, cinnamon and turmeric- like it was all meant as a weapon.\n\nA weapon she thinks, mind wandering to a battlefield long ago and a gnome who seeded the clouds with arrows.\n\nNear killed everyone on both sides of the battle. \n\nShe salivates at the idea of the smell of mash permeating everything. To her beer and whiskey are life. \n\nAnd as she sits in her small study drinking her own brewery's fire, fingers tapping up and down on the invitation she, knows two things, one she doesn't give one shit about honor. \n\nAnd two she wants this to be a spectacle.\n\n*\nA minotaur in the mountains got the second invite. \n\nThe messenger turns on a spit over a fire burning reluctantly on new trees. White smoke curls into the air. Juices and smells make Grod's stomach rumble. Soon he will enjoy dinner, alone in a cave far down the mountain from the labyrinth he has known since birth. The messenger's horse whinnies nearby, nostrils flaring taking in the stench of its former rider roasting on open flames. \n\n\"For later,\" the minotaur promises, \"first I must gather ingredients.\"" ]	2
	[WP] As you're going to the grocery store, you go through an alternative dimension. As you arrive you realize a terrible truth. You are the food.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Edwin needed milk. \n\nWell, his mother needed milk. She'd run out you see, and Edwin's mother wasn't one for going into work without a cup of tea before hand. Hell have mercy if Edwin's mother didn't get her caffeine fix.\n\nIt wasn't fair though, not as Edwin saw it. He'd have to be there and back in half an hour tops if he was still going to catch the bus to school. If he was even a minute too late the bus would be off, it wasn't one for waiting, and God knew Edwin wasn't one for walking. \n\nIf Edwin had to walk then he might happen across Jonah, or Jonah might happen across him, and if that were the case then Edwin would end up a packed lunch lighter and a black eye heavier than he'd started out. He'd give as good as could, but never quite as good as he got. Even when Edwin had nearly gotten the better of Jonah in the past, Jonah's cronies had quickly intervened. \n\nThat's enough Jonah, you don't want to kill the poor b\\stard.* And then came a knee to the stomach, a jab to the throat, or a heavy handed shove that would send poor Edwin to the ground.\n\nOr maybe Elsie would drive on by and offer him a lift? Edwin shuddered at the thought. Her car was nice enough, a Nineteen Sixty Nine Chevrolet Camaro. No, he didn't mind the car, what he did mind was sitting shotgun with the deputy head of faculty, her skirt just a little too short, showing just a little too much; those liver spotted legs with cellulite crawling out from the crusted hem. Elsie liked Edwin, that's why she'd offer him a life. He was a good student. He was a very good student.\n\nAnd what if his mum had gone out for milk? Well she could drive, she'd be there and back in under fifteen minutes. But just as she wasn't one for working without caffeine, she wasn't one for driving without it either.\n\nWhy me? Edwin threw on his spotted blue rain coat (of course it was raining!) and flew out the door in a sulk. \n\n\\\\\n\nIt's you're lucky day. Edwin chuckled to himself. Sure is! The sky was the colour of goose feathers, grey and mottled, a constant drizzle coming down just fine enough to soak him through. There was thunder, rolling over distant hills, the lightening nowhere to be seen.\n\nThe road to the closest cash and carry was a winding dirt road, forests roaming left and right, no street lights to show the way. Edwin knew the road, he'd walked it many times before. It was the out-of-townies that worried him most, the speed demon troglodytes who got their kicks from tearing up the tarmac (not that they'd find any here) and mowing down old ladies or frightened little boys.\n\nI'm not a frightened little boy. Edwin cursed himself for thinking such. And I'll prove it if Jonah jumps out on me today. \n\nThe thunder came again and Edwin jumped, cursed himself again, and started jogging. Just to stay out of the rain. He told himself, almost laughing, he was trying awfully hard not to catch his sneakers on the rocks. Wouldn't do you any good to go falling over. And then he thought of Jonah, coming out of the forests just as he tripped, burying the boot a few dozen times - kick a man... frightened little boy... while he's down, would you?\n\nA car came screaming past, the tires struggling to find purchase on the dirt track road. F\\cking out-of-townies.* Edwin thought as the wayward tires veered past him, the hood of the car just inches from his person, a stream of mud thrown up and over his spotted blue rain coat. Great, just great. \n\nAt least the car hadn't hit him, and the strangest thing was Edwin hadn't seem it coming. He hadn't seen the headlights, hand't head the engine roaring. Am I going deaf? He wondered, but dismissed the idea as his ears cringed away from the sound of raindrops on his hood.\n\nIt occurred to him, some minutes later, that the car wasn't the only thing he'd missed. Where was the lightening? Was it hiding? And what about the road for the matter? Christ, the trees... Edwin turned about himself, searching for the world and only finding darkness. He stood there, frozen stiff for a moment, the nothingness gently caressing his face with fine-haired fingers. He could feel it in his eyes, his ears, tickling the back of his throat.\n\n\"Whose there?\" he cried out to the darkness, then started to run.\n\nTen paces forward, he hit a brick wall. Twenty back and the same. To the left? No joy. The right? A dead end. He was trapped in a box unseen. \n\nIt was cold, too. Freezing in fact. Edwin thought he'd be able to see his breath turn to ice if there'd been any light. I want to go home, I want my mummy. He wanted to cry, but the tears remained as ice behind his eyes.\n\nThen there came a sound, something like thunder but decidedly more alike footsteps. If they're footsteps, then I'd hate to meet the monster that they're carrying. Oh, but Edwin would. Huddled there inside his box, limbs seizing up from the cold, the dark all consuming, Edwin thought that light and warmth were all he'd ever wanted. All he'd ever needed. How wrong he was.\n\nThe box was coming open, a slither of light creeping in. It was like watching a fridge door coming open, an enormous hand reaching in from the light beyond, and landing upon Edwin.\n\nGet off me! Edwin tried to scream, but his lips were on ice, glued tight together. Please, get off me! I want my mummy. And now he did start to cry, only the tears didn't come from his eyes. He felt his crotch thaw as something warm dribbled out from his bladder.\n\n\"This one looks fresh.\" a deep, disgusting voice did groan.\n\n\"Just hurry up and pick one, would you.\" a second, somewhat uninterested voice snapped back.\n\nThen Edwin saw them, the monstrosities that had their hands upon his being. They were like nothing he'd seen before, not in life, not in fairy tales, not even in his nightmares. He couldn't remember much about them, apart from this. They had hungry eyes, so many hungry eyes, and teeth that look more than adequate at grinding bone and flesh.\n\nEdwin fainted.\n\n\\\\\n\nLight and warmth. \n\nTwo things inside that peculiar lock box that Edwin had craved relentlessly. \n\nLight and warmth.\n\nHe'd seen the light now. The eyes, the teeth. Next came the warmth.\n\nThe warmth of a cook pot settled high on a fire, the water beginning to bubble. Edwin swimming inside and screaming wordlessly, his voice too far away for giant's ears to head. I want my mummy, please. \n\nEdwin hadn't ever thought to imagine what burning alive would feel like, but he imagined it was something like this. Boiled alive, after all, isn't really that far off." ]	2
	[WP] A villain who manipulates people’s minds using their loved ones and ambitions meets his match, a man so down in the dumps he truly has 0 loved ones and 0 ambitions.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", " \n\n“If only we had more time, my love” the speakers blasted throughout the cinema. The dialogue perfectly conveyed with practiced emotion. \n\nThe sobs from the other patrons were creating a backdrop of sound, proving that the emotional climax of the film was working. The timing was perfect.\n\nWhy can’t I find love like that? he read, his mind lost in the lonely thoughts of another.\n\nYou won’t, not ever. He assured her. You fantasies and dreams will always be just that. He looked over at her tearful eyes. The liquid ran dry with realization, her eyes losing that sparkle of hope. “One down.” He said under his breath. He moved to another.\n\nHis mind now between the over excited rifts of another. I hope I can remember all of my mental notes when I get home. This is a great story, one day; people will think the same of my screen play. I’ll see my name in lights on the marque! \n\nThere’s always doubt, he thought for both of them. But the doubt is real. Every little thing you think is wrong with your work is undeniably unfixable. He felt the man’s mind slipping to where he wanted it to be. Your talent is a false product of an overbearing mother. \n\nHe smirked as the man began to sob louder than the others watching the climax. He scanned the seats for his next victim, a few rows up, a middle aged man sat, nobody filled the seats next to him, just the perfect target. He entered.\n\nI’ve finally found you. Strange thoughts with this one he thought, his mind still occupying another’s. It took me years, but I finally found you. I can feel you in here you know? The mind vessel stood up, looking right into his eyes, continuing to talk between minds.\n\nI gave up everything so you couldn’t hurt me again. Everything you said before, it’s all gone now. He walked closer, Look at you fool, they sat next to each other, their minds still one in the same, you thought you could do this forever, no consequences. You were wrong.\n\nNeither of them could move, ones knuckles white around the arm rests, the others relaxed in his seat. You got too caught up in the power you possess and it ruined you. It’s funny you know, you spent so much time ruining others, you ruined yourself. You ruined us. I have to stop you now, so our future isn’t the same when I go back.", "\"Behold!\" The man in the red cape screams, floating high above the city streets. \"It is I, Baelfor the Manipulator! Conniving cultivator of the mentally unsound, bringer of intelligence! I am mentally superior to you in every way you know, and many ways you will never know! Tremble! Tremble, I say!\"\n\nOf course, being 20 stories above the ground, his words don't quite reach the bustling citizens of the nation's Capitol, Capital city. A bird, however, momentarily distracted by the outburst, flies headfirst into an office window below. This causes a worker inside, Jim the Frequently-Trod-Upon, to spill his coffee. Poor Jim.\n\nAbove the building, Baelfor the Manipulator squints. The city, he reflects, seems unperturbed by his proclamation. He makes a mental note to buy a megaphone. \n\nSighing, Baelfor begins to descend. Slowly. His manipulations, though terrible and tremble-inducing, can only go so far when the best levitation technology is produced by the incompetents at DARPA. The agency was better under the last administration, he maintains, though he neglected to vote. He could, if he so chose, manipulate the presidency, but the last time that happened we ended up with two wars; and besides, Rupert Murdoch was far better at it. He couldn't really compete.\n\nInside the building, Baelfor notes, it's take-your-kids-to-work day. As he passes, Baelfor taps into the minds of the children, pressing his forefinger to his head dramatically though there's no need to for his powers to work.\n\n\"You, child: does your parent really love you? Remember, you haven't got exactly what you wanted from them last Christmas. Or, for you Jews in there, Hannukah!\"\n\n'The floaty racist is right!' The children all agree, quickly arming themselves with office supplies and hurling their bodies at their terrified parents. One child staples his father's blazer to his chest; another repeatedly slams her mother's head in the copy machine, which spurts out copy after copy of the beleaguered soccer mom's makeup-caked face.\n\nLaughing maniacally, Baelfor continues his gentle descent. \n\nOnce 20 metres or so above the pavement, Baelfor considers revising his strategy. Perhaps, he thinks, it would be better to focus on one individual and not announce my presence to the entire city. Though the idea is at odds with his nature, he concludes that it may be an interesting thought experiment to not be a pompous buffoon at every possible opportunity. He presses his finger to his forehead, selecting a young office worker eating his lunch and observing the pigeons strutting about in the square.\n\n\"Wage slave! Have you not always wanted a very fast car? Take off all of your clothing behind the dumpster in the alley, and when you emerge, it will be waiting for you!\"\n\nThe man, obliging, sprints towards the alley, where he strips naked, folding his clothes neatly atop an air-conditioning unit. When he emerges, there is no car: only a legion of gawkers with smartphones recording his shame alongside a police van. \n\nIn the next few days, he loses his job, his parents disown him, and his Fiancé leaves him. Long term, however, he opens a successful bait-and-tackle shop in the Louisiana Bayou, where he cultivates a brood of children with whom he cooks fine gumbo and sings old timey spirituals. \n\nBaelfor gets changed behind the dumpster. \n\nA couple of people pass by as he's doing so, but assume he's a homeless man and, of course, ignore him entirely. \n\nWhen he emerges from the alley, Baelfor looks every inch the disappointed office worker. Gleefully, he instructs a driver to honk their horn, but only when minority couples are walking by; commands an elderly man with a deep hatred of rodents to mistake every small dog being walked by him as a rat, which he then proceeds to stamp on; and convinces a policeman and a man being arrested to begin passionately making love to one another in the middle of the office plaza. \n\nSatisfied with his machinations, Baelfor sits himself down on the bench the previous office worker sat and watches the pigeons. He convinces them to walk in a goose-step unison, like a legion of little bird Nazis.\n\nBaelfor watches the world implode around him, denizens of Capital City running around terrified of the sudden chaos that has erupted around them. As he surveys his work, however, he notices a man sitting alone on the other side of the plaza, head down and engrossed in his phone, seemingly oblivious to the unfolding insanity.\n\nThe pseudo-Machiavellian supervillain rises and strides over, his curiosity piqued. As he approaches, he reaches out with his mind, trying to isolate the patterns that allow him to manipulate his prey. Oddly, nothing comes to him. Baelfor, ever arrogant, concludes that this is because he is engrossed in his smartphone.\n\n'Damn technology,' he thinks, without a trace of irony. 'It's ruined supervillainy!'\n\nHe plonks himself down next to the man, who remains engrossed in his phone. He clears his throat, to no effect. \n\nIrritated, he taps the man on the shoulder a little too hard.\n\n\"Hello, there!\"\n\n\"Uhm, hi.\"\n\n\"Pretty... crazy... what's happening, eh?\" Baelfor gestures broadly. The man follows his gaze.\n\n\"I guess,\" The man squints. \"Do I know you?\"\n\n\"NO! You do not!\" Laughing, Baelfor jumps to his feet. \"But I am Baelfor! Feel my slinky tendrils of manipulation!\"\n\nBaelfor shoots out his hands, reaching out into the mind of the man. \n\nNothing. \n\nBaelfor, puzzled, shoots his hands out again: \"Hah-ha!\"\n\nNothing again. The man looks confused. \n\nWhereas normally a brain has cracks for Baelfor to slip into, read, this man has nothing. Like a smooth stone instead of a piece of coral.\n\nThe man stares up at Baelfor. He stands, awkwardly. In his mind, he races through the possibilities, but concludes that Baelfor is likely mentally impaired.\n\n\"Uh,\" He pats Baelfor on the shoulder. \"Nice Job, buddy. Baelfor.\"\n\nThe man walks away, fading into the crowd.\n\nBaelfor, alone on his bench, begins to integrate what exactly just happened to him. When he comes to the realisation that his powers may be limited, however, his ego rejects it in favour of a far more convenient reality. \n\n\"Aha!\" Baelfor leaps to his feet. \"It seems I have an arch-rival! Well, check-mate, young hero; touché! We shall meet again, and next time I shall not be so forgiving!\"\n\nSprinting into the distance, Baelfor commands a local citizen to drive him to the nearest Papa John's Pizzeria, where he continues his dark machinations, fuelled by pepperoni pizza and sugary, carbonated evil...\n\n-----\n\n/r/Robin_Redbreast" ]	3
	[WP] In this kingdom, parents who don’t want or can’t take care of their children can give them to a church official to be raised safely. You, a magical being impersonating a priest/nun, were completely unaware of this until a parent came up to you insisting you take their baby.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Day VIII\n\nI never thought it would happen like this. My first children! Twins! I must say, I never expected it to be like this. Should have researched my cover a little better. Wonder what other surprises await me in the future. No matter, I'll teach him my magic and we'll be prepared to face the darkness that threatens this land and my home. I wonder how many more children will come my way. There will be much work. This chapel is very understaffed and needs repairs. But, that was part of why I picked this chapel as my base of operations. I must make sure that none of the church find out about me. They've misunderstood so much about my people already, and my children would likely be put to death as well. For their sake, the sake of this land and the sake of my home, I must carry out my mission." ]	2
	[WP] An interview for the highly competitive position of henchman for the world's most dastardly supervillain.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Sir, he is here.”\n\n“Thanks Eve. Please let him in,” I say.\n\nI turn off the TV hanging on the east wall of my office and click the button that dims the glass walls. Some conversations are best kept private. Like this one, with mister X. For so long, I’ve been surrounded by incompetent idiots and boot lickers, but my contacts in Gotham tell me he’s legit. It is mildly intriguing, I must admit, that I don’t know his real name, but I am well aware of his and his crew’s achievements. They worked in Gotham before picking a fight with Batman and ending up here. Whoever survives an encounter with Batman is a decent job candidate. If they pass the interview, that is. I hope he’s good.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe door open and Eve escorts him in.\n\nHe looks like an abandoned army veteran with PTSD or a homeless person. Or both. One of my cufflinks is worth more than all he has on. Black military boots, gray cargo pants, some sort of grey hoodie covered with... coffee stains? His hair is brown and unkempt and face serious, but red, like a drunkard, with salt and pepper short beard. First impression - not good.\n\n“Call me Corey. Corey Taylor. May I call you-”, he says, pushing her aside.\n\n“No. And I presume ‘Corey’ is not really your name.”\n\nHe shrugs. Interesting.\n\n“Corey, please sit. And tell me more about you and your crew.”\n\n“I’ve sent you the resume and you’ve done your research I believe. There is nothing more to it,” he says and squirms in the seat. “I really thought this was about my salary.”\n\nCool like a cucumber. But the next moment his back is straight, and he leans slightly forward, eyes focused on me like a laser. Left hand tense, deep breaths.\n\nI sigh, disappointed. It's all an act, he lost his cool already. We both know who the real interviewer is. I bet he just wants this job badly. Oh well, still, he might be okay.\n\n“we're not talking about salary, Corey,\" I say shaking my head. \"I know all about your bank and train heists and the break in at the 66th street Police station.” Slowly, I cross my arms. “You even stole from me. Three million from Met Parks Society last year. I-”\n\n“Uhmm.. was that you? I’m sorry. Unfortunately, we spent that money.”\n\nI smirk. It’s dumb, I'm done with that game, but I guess he can’t read the verbal clues. Another disappointment.\n\n“Connor... right?”\n\n“Corey.”\n\n“Let’s cut the crap and you just tell me what can you offer that the other candidates on my list can’t?!”\n\nHe jolts and swallows. “Others?”\n\nI snicker. “Yeah, others.”\n\nI wait for few moments, but he is frozen.\n\n“So, nothing to say? Cat got your tongue? Tell me something that will blow my mind and make me hire you! Right here, right now.”\n\nHe leans back, almost slumps in the armchair and exhales loudly.\n\n“This is the slow one. It's a personal one too. I’m not naming names, it's about someone who helped me through a lot and I thought she felt the same way that I did and then she really let me down.”\n\n“Huh?” I say, confused.\n\n“Actually, you know what, let’s just call her Snuff.”\n\n“Snuff?”\n\n“Yeah, like the snorting tobacco. She was like that, a treasure in a shiny little box, delightful and highly addictive. I hired her because I need a new close combat expert on my team. She was into knives a lot. Like, she could hit an apple with a knife from 30 feet and split it in perfect halves. But it’s not the apples she enjoyed splitting most.” He taps his head. “You know what I mean.”\n\n“What?” I shake my head in disbelief.\n\nHe spends the next ten minutes vividly describing Snuff’s assassination methods. Apparently, she killed four guys who were maybe Corey’s competitors. First guy, she impaled on a flagpole and split his skull open with a combat knife. Second, she slit his throat and pulled out his vocal cords. But the story then turns weird. Corey mumbles about Snuff losing a quarter of her soul with every kill and I think he blames himself for that, but it makes no sense. At one point, he becomes poetic and actually says ‘ooh, my love was punished long ago, if you still care don't ever let me know’, and I gasp, but he gets is the wrong way and keeps going on.\n\nThe whole story becomes forced, discombobulated and poorly narrated. By the time he starts describing gruesome details of her third killing, I lose interest.\n\nI don’t care about his mentally disturbed maybe-lover butchering random anons. Most mercs in this city are like that. And his whole story is so irrelevant, as if he has never done a job interview in his life. This whole meeting is just one big waste of my time.\n\nI pull my phone and look at the list of other job candidates. Sinestro, Nightfall, Universo, Felix Faust. I’ve worked with some of them before. The others, I’ve just heard about. I’ll need to get up to speed with Sinestro’s recent work really fast, he’s the next candidate I’ll have an interview with.\n\n“In the end, when she killed the last one and there was no competition any more, she disappeared. I told her not to, she really let me down. I still miss her, you know.” he says, “At the same time, it was good that she did, because it was that final push to me figuring out myself.”\n\nWith phone in my hands, I text Eve to schedule my next meeting when I hear him fidget. He waves. He actually waves at me.\n\n“Sure, sure, Corey. Competition is bad. Need to get rid of it. As a businessman I completely understand that. I’m glad you got rid of her.”\n\nHe grins. “So, are we going to talk about my salary now?”\n\n“Ermm… Not now. I’ll get back to you about that.”\n\nI call Eve and a few moments later, she escorts Corey outside. He says he’ll wait in the lobby. I guess he doesn’t know it’s going to be a long wait. I sit back in the armchair and let my mind rest. This was really bad.\n\n“Sir,” Eve says over the intercom, “You should turn the TV on. Channel 5.”\n\nBreaking news report. A reporter standing in front of a hotel across the city and before the sound comes up, the chyron reads “Villain Sinestro stabbed to death in Halldorf Hotel.”\n\n“A reporter from the Daily Planet just described us the gruesome scene inside. The body hangs impaled on a flagpole with what appears to be a knife of some sort buried deep inside the skull,” the reporter says.\n\nThe pole and the knife. That’s... interesting.\n\n“Ms. Teschmacher,” I say over the intercom, my eyes still glued to the tv.\n\n“Eve Teschmacher!”\n\n“I’m sorry, Sir. I was just-”\n\n“Eve, is Corey Taylor still in the lobby?”\n\n“Yes.”\n\n“Tell him I want to talk to him. Also, call Nightfall, right now.”\n\nBefore she could answer, my phone buzzes. Text reads “OMW”. Unknown number.\n\nBefore I turn off the phone, I glance at the list of job candidates. Sinestro, Nightfall, Universo, Felix Faust.\n\n“Sir, Corey Taylor is here.”\n\n“Let him in. And don’t bother with Nightfall. I’m sure he can’t pick up.”\n\n“I bet he has a really sore throat,” Corey says entering the office.\n\n“Indeed. And I bet the others are sick too”, I say\n\nHe nods. “It's tricky when you get sick in this market. The job goes to your competitor.”\n\nI smile. “Who are you?”\n\n“The Boss.”\n\n“Nice to meet you, Boss. You may call me Lex Luthor.”\n\nHe nods. “Well, Lex, let’s talk about my salary.”\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAlso prequel to [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/bx8ehj/wp_an_elite_team_of_theives_almost_pull_off/eq6u0u6/?context=3)" ]	2
	[WP] An innocent, Forrest Gump-type character, making his way through a horrifying post-apocalyptic world.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", " \n\nI always known it was mornin’ based on the sun. It always comes up from the same side of the Earth; first peeking, seeing who’s here. Like it don’t want to wake everyone up all of a sudden.\n\nMy momma used to do that. Wake me up, real gentle. Push my bedroom door open and coo in that soft, warm voice of hers. Fingers gently stroking in my hair.\n\nBut I don’t have momma anymore, and the sun don’t really have all that much left to peek. Yet it peeks anyways.\n\nI sit up and stretch, same way I always done, except I ain’t in a comfortable bed. I’m behind a large boulder, with scarce much else but some thick branches that still got leaves on ‘em for a blanket. I sure do miss my momma’s soft voice on the hard mornings like this.\n\nRelieving myself, my stomach clenches and hurts in that way it did when I used to be the last in line for breakfast in the cafeteria. I frown a little, a shiver making my whole body tremble as I arch my back, trying to undo the pain of sleeping on the ground.\n\nSomewhere in the distance, there’s a terrible screeching cry. It’s loud enough to make me flinch and press my hands over my ears, but it’s dangerous to do that for too long. Too much of that, and you don’t hear it when the scratching and hissing comes close to you. That’s how you get killed.\n\nI might not be a genius, but I know enough to have got this far.\n\nScuffing my worn shoes over where I slept, I get rid of the bits of evidence that anybody’d been there at all, and crept away down to the river, where the whispering of water covered any sounds I might make. \n\nAnother cramp in my stomach almost makes me double over, and I have to bite down on a sleeve that tastes of mud to stop from cryin’. \n\nMy momma said that boys don’t cry. Boys are tough, and boys fight. But I can’t fight. I seen what happens when anyone tries to fight them things, and I know I’m a man now.\n\nBut this world has a way of making every one of us feel like boys, wantin’ their momma’s soft voices and the warmth of their bed.", "Mark sat on the edge of the wooden porch, his feet scraping against the loose dirt as he pondered his next move. \n\nThe screen door echoed the motion behind him, screeching and whining as it swung back and forth. The crumbling thing was barely on its hinges, a gaping hole in the middle of the netting made it useless long ago. \n\nThe dog inside had been lonely, but rabid.\n\nHis eyes watered as he looked ahead into the encroaching forest. He was trying to figure out where he was going next, but his thoughts kept coming back around to the damn dog. A beast of a lab, huge with hungry eyes. Mark knew that he had underestimated the dog after it looked well nourished. A well-fed dog was still likely to be domesticated, and if he was being honest- he was a sucker for a lonely dog. \n\nHe was a sucker for any dog, really. They wanted friends, usually. \n\nThe lab had not been domesticated. He wasn’t sure anymore if it ever had been. He wasn’t sure anymore if any lonely dogs were. Everything had crumbled so long ago. \n\nTrying to clear his thoughts, he shook his head. He couldn’t stay here. He stood and walked back through the screen door, wondering for a tiny moment if someone should stop to fix it. He remembered that he was about to walk away with a bag full of supplies, taken from whoever used to live here. \n\nWhy fix a door before you steal? The wild dog had probably destroyed it. \n\nThe damn dog probably got to whoever had lived here before, the whole place as a wreck. \n\nA heavy sigh escaped his lips as candles, cans, a few clean rags found their way inside his backpack. He could only hope someone would forgive him someday. \n\nStepping over the frame of the screen door, Mark made his way back outside. He swept his eyes across the porch before he jumped over the shattered steps. It was a nice porch, and in another lifetime, it would have made the perfect spot for a swing. \n\nIt would overlook the sunset, and he could have a cup of tea. He could have a dog without a leash, and watch it play in the forest and chase the squirrels. His mind scratched the surface of a wife and kids, a family to make plenty of noise around him. \n\nHe had never been enough for a woman. Surviving seemed to be all that he could do, and some days he wondered how he even did that. He couldn’t satisfy the requirements for friendship and every woman he tried with just tilted their head and gave him a pitiful smile. Their eyes laughed at him even when their mouths stayed shut. \n\nHe wasn’t enough. He didn’t know enough, hadn’t done enough, couldn’t think enough. \n\nShrugging his shoulders he jumped down into the dirt, creating a small cloud at this ankles. It was easier to stay alive with just him anyways, and wasting the daylight on fantasies would get him nowhere. He had almost gotten himself killed before, losing track of the sun and getting caught in a snare as the sun went down. \n\nIt didn’t need to happen again. \n\nEntering the tree line, he tugged the straps of his backpack- hiking it further up his back. It was heavy. The house had been a blessing, really. In the distance, he heard a whine. \n\nAlong with sorrowful whine; a lonely wounded animal. \n\nDespite the difficult day, he found his pace picked up and headed toward the sound. Maybe there was a dog in the woods, one that needed help. \n\n/r/Beezus_Writes", "Every morning, my magic screen wakes me up with a picture of the sun. Until the sky went black -and stayed black- I didn’t know it was a picture. Every morning, I choose between socks or boots. On the days I pick socks, I run and slide down the hallways. I don’t need to stop at any of the locked doors and the windows rush past too quickly for me to see out. Sometimes I think I see Mari’s braids swinging just around the next corner, but she’s really good at sliding. I never catch her, but if I don’t try she’ll be angry with me. The last time I stopped playing, she made me throw the last cookie down the trash hole. She promised me it wasn’t the last cookie, but I think it was one of her tricks.\n\nToday the wind woke me up. On the days that my magic screen blinks and doesn’t show the sun, I put on my boots. I don’t like hiding my toes, but Mari says that I’ll get hurt if I go outside without them. I’m a good girl and I don’t look at the black sky as I follow the path to the room that used to have cookies. It used to be that the room was always clean and crowded, but it keeps getting emptier. Mari says not to worry, though." ]	4
	[WP] You are an extreme prepper. Everyone in your life thinks you are wasting your money, until it happens.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I'm not an English native speaker, so sorry in advance for any grammar / spelling mistakes \n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"A man's home is his castle\" , well my home is a Fortress, below the basement I built a nuclear, biological and chemical proof shelter. I thought about every possible doomsday scenario, aside of some goverment facilities, my house is safer that any other shelter on the entire west coast . \n\n&#x200B;\n\nI knew this day will come, the trade war between USA and China quickly escalated, after a diplomatic disaster over tariffs, tensions on both contries reached critical mass. Then a chinese submarine emerged near a US aircraft carrier, one thing led to another and now we were at the brink of war.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI just came home after work, traffic was unbelivable, thousands trying to leave the city, hundreds more raiding local supermarkets thinking that a couple of tuna cans and a pack of water bottles will make any difference when shit hits the fan. But not me, I'm ready for disaster and to be honest I think it will be a good way to start again, society is rotten and needs a deep cleansing. All the people who called me crazy, paranoid, my \"family\" who laughed, my damn ex wife who took the children away, those guys filming the documentary of \"extreme preppers\" who made me look like a nutjob on TV, will burn while I'll be vindicated. For the last thirty years I've spent a third of my income getting ready for this day and after the some last minute changes I'm ready to face the impending doom of civilization. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nI sit down to watch tv when the news were interrupted by a special announcement, shit just hit the fan, the US and China started a nuclear war, the monotone voice of the National Emergency Broadcast System asks to all citizens to remain calm and walk to a shelter. I ran downstairs, reached the 4\" thick solid steel blast door, mounted on heavy duty hydraulic hinges. I opened the keypad cover, my hands are shaking when I introduce my 16 digit password\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\** \nPASSWORD INCORRECT\n\nRETRY? 1/3 AUTOMATIC SYSTEM SHUTDOWN FOR 24 HRS AFTER 3 FAILED ATTEMPTS\n\n&#x200B;\n\nWhat? weird, I guess my hands are sweaty so I try again \n\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\** \nPASSWORD INCORRECT\n\nRETRY? 2/3 AUTOMATIC SYSTEM SHUTDOWN FOR 24 HRS AFTER 3 FAILED ATTEMPTS\n\n&#x200B;\n\nDAMN THIS SHIT, my password was correct. I try again, slower this time\n\n\\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \\* \n\n*PASSWORD INCORRECT\n\nSYSTEM SHUTDOWN FOR 24 HRS.* \n\n*HAVE A NICE DAY* \n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe small screen over the keypad turned off, I stood there, in the dark basement pounding the cold metal of the door when the Earth shook ... the deafening silence was broken by screams of anguish and agony, it took me some minutes to realize that I was the one screaming. \n\nAlone at the wrong side of the door" ]	2
	[WP] While looking for something in an antique shop you stumble upon an old book. As you open it you find a perfect Encyclopedia of an older human world, the maps strangely looking like Pangea.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"That book over there... It'll help you with your test.\" The shopkeeper said, his voice husky and old.\n\n\"Umm.... Isn't this a Geology book? I am having a history test...\"\n\n\"Just read it.\"\n\nI opened up the book, which seemed to be older than the shopkeeper himself. Inside was something I did not expect.\n\n\"Wait a second. How do you have a map of Pangea? Human civilization didn't exist back then!\"\n\n\"They existed long long ago. Before Pangea, the world was full of demons. I was one of Hell's Gatekeepers, and I guard the history of Earth, no matter the circumstance. And this book... Will be given to one who is worthy. The next Gatekeeper will own this book.\" \n\nThe shopkeeper passed the book to me.\n\n\"It's your turn to guard hell, old friend.\"" ]	2
	[WP] In a rush, you decide to email a file to yourself. When you check your inbox the email never went through. Days later you receive a response... it's from a very confused version of you in another dimension.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Hello. \n\nThis is Carl. Look. I don't know who you are. \n\nI got this email from you, apparently it's for you. \n\nYou have the same name as me and live at the same address, apparently. \n\nI'm a little confused. You seem to know an awful lot about me. Who put you up to this? \n\nThis. This has to be a prank. Look i'm not laughing. \n\nThere is nothing funny about this. \n\nI'm actually getting a little pissed. \n\nHow did you get my email address? \n\nOnly five or six people know it tops. \n\nWhy? Why, would you send this too me? \n\nI opened the attachment. \n\nI almost fainted. \n\nHow did you make the picture? \n\nDid you have picture of her from before? \n\nIt was the best photo shop I've ever seen. \n\nThat was the worst part. \n\nIt was so real. \n\nDid I say It's a great photo shop?\n\nI miss Helen. The picture looks just like her. \n\nI miss her so very much. \n\nFuck you for doing this to me. \n\nPrick.", ">Subject: todo \n> \n>\\-look for a new apartment \n> \n>\\-cancel gym subscription \n> \n>\\-call mom back \n> \n>\\-plan joy's funeral \n> \n>Attachments: PiscatawayFuneralHomeForm.pdf\n\nEdgar pressed send. He would fill this out later, he thought. He just couldn't now. It felt like part of him died with her, and he couldn't will himself to do much of anything anymore.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe next morning, Edgar was checking his email as per routine, and was confused as to why he couldn't find his message in his inbox. Edgar checked his sent folder, and sure enough, it was there. Edgar double checked the recipient email address, confirming it was his email. It even said \"Sent\", with no error message apparent. Odd, but no matter, he had the file he needed. Just then, his email alerted him of new incoming mail.\n\n>From: Edgar Nielsen \n> \n>Subject: RE: todo \n> \n>What kind of sick joke is this?? How did you email me with my own email? And don't you dare imply my wife is dead again, you sick fuck, or I will be taking this as a death threat and will go to cops.\n\nEdgar was shaking. He checked his sent mail folder again, but there was nothing new there. This didn't come from his email, but it somehow looked like it did. Edgar wrote back.\n\n>Subject: RE: RE: todo \n> \n>I'm sorry. I meant to sent that email to myself. I'm talking about my wife, Joy. Not yours. If you don't mind me asking, who or what are you?\n\nEdgar didn't get a response.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nDays passed, and still nothing. Edgar didn't know what to make of it. Was it a spirit, perhaps his spirit? Perhaps there was something like an afterlife or spiritual world, and maybe Joy was there, along with part of his soul, and they just don't know they're dead.\n\nHe didn't know. But some part of him felt, irrationally perhaps, hopeful at the thought that maybe Joy wasn't dead. Not really gone, at least. Somehow.\n\nAnd so, in a long-shot, he emailed his late wife.\n\n>Subject: I love you \n> \n>I miss you so much, Joy. I wish I could hold you tight again. I'm sorry I didn't tell you every goddamn day how much I love you.\n\nTo Edgar's surprise, he didn't immediately receive the automated response he had set for her email. He bit his fingernails, eagerly awaiting a reply. And to his amazement, he got it!\n\n>Subject: re: I love you \n> \n>Holy sweet-pie, I love you! It's my lunch break and you're making me blush. You really couldn't wait until I got home, EdMuffin? Wish I could skip the rest of the day and run straight to your arms. \n> \n>Love, \n> \n>Joy\n\nThe response was just a few sentences, but Edgar knew this was Joy. It was really Joy. His Joy!\n\nEdgar checked his wife's email, but there was no email from him, and no email to him since her death. Edgar didn't understand the spirit world, or why he could communicate to them via email, but as long as he could talk to his wife, he didn't care.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nOver the next couple days, Edgar sent Joy more emails, but he never received another response. Worried, Edgar sent her more emails every day, until one morning when he finally received another email. Only, it wasn't from Joy.\n\n>From: Edgar Nielsen \n> \n>Subject: Don't email ANY of us again \n> \n>I don't know how you got her email, but stop emailing us. Stop impersonating me. I reported you to the authorities.\n\nEdgar felt bad they had the wrong opinion of him. He tried to send Joy another email, but to his surprise, he received an automated response informing him of her death. No, he cried. Edgar sank to the floor. It felt like she was dying all over again.\n\nHis phone alerted him of another email. Edgar desperately opened it, confused.\n\n>From: Timeline and Interdimensional Management Entity \n> \n>Subject: Interdimensional Database Bug \n> \n>Dear Mr. Nielsen from Dimension B79, \n> \n>Timeline and Interdimensional Management Entity (TIME) is an interdimensional security organization focused on both intelligence and law enforcement. \n> \n>During this week you may have noticed problems with your email. Our organization relies on interdimensional communication, and this includes interdimensional email. Unfortunately, our interdimensional database granted special permissions to over 10,000 email accounts from your dimension, Dimension B79, and another dimension, Dimension A79, causing affected accounts to email their counterparts from another dimensions instead of their desired recipient in their current dimension. \n> \n>We have become aware of the issue this morning and have immediately rectified it. We are sorry for the inconvenience. \n> \n>Stay tuned for a very important announcement regarding the strict laws on time and interdimensional travel. This upcoming announcement will be broadcast in detail later this year in every dimension. \n> \n>Sincerely, \n> \n>Peter Asher Fitzgerald \n> \n>Director of TIME" ]	3
	[WP]As a child you managed to trick death into becoming you best friend forever. Now years later they will not let you die no matter what happens.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Falling. Fast. This was it, my final moments. As I fell down past floor 50 I wasn’t afraid. Not at all. I should’ve been terrified of my decision to jump but I wasn’t. Floor 32 came rushing by, I just needed a few more seconds. My mind went flashing back to several other memories I had made in my hundreds of years. Choking on a noose for hours on end, staring down the barrel of a gun and literally eating lead, drinking gallons of poisons, inflicting every possible injury on myself I could think of. Floor 17. I looked down at the wall of grey swiftly approaching. Floor 12. I breathed in. Floor 7.\n\n6.\n5.\n4.\n3.\n2.\n1.\n\nA thud. No injury, no pain, just me. Laying there in the shallow crater of cracked concrete I let out a deep sigh. Another failure. I mentally crossed that one off the list. A figure in a well tailored black suit with a black dress shirt, black tie, black everything approached me. They looked as immaculate as someone who had never seen a piece of dirt, a speck of dust, a singular germ. \n\n“Death, my old friend. It’s good to see you. Now, will you let me die?”\n\n“Charles, you’ve been my closest friend for longer than any other human has been alive. You know I can’t lose you to the job. Now get up, I simply must get back to work.”" ]	2
Optional: write as a reporter for either planet breaking the news to the masses	[WP] There’s another planet with life on it. Their society is almost exactly like ours, with one difference: they don’t feel familial love. (No parent-child or sibling love)	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Time to hunt again.\n\nI’ve been hunting as long as I escaped my mother. I must say, that although I am quite a novice compared to the others, I have picked up a few things that have saved my life.\n\nWhen I first exit my cave, I decided to climb up and out. This saves me the trouble of covering tracks. Although it seems paranoid, I live near a peaceful group of gatherers for now, I know that if berries became scarce for me I’d have a nice meal closeby. Better for me if they don’t know where I am, and for me to have a meal closeby instead.\n\nNo matter how hungry I get, I always save my food until “cooking days.” I met a young girl who taught me this. It’s a shame she couldn’t manage. I would have enjoyed keeping her around for her ingenuity. Even just for her meat, maybe.\n\nOne of the most sacred rules is never to interrupt the “rebirth dance.” Some decide to interrupt such a beautiful scene, but I know that if I let it finish I can wait until the right moment to strike. \n\nHunting small animals and foraging for plants are how some I come across manage to get by. However, to hunt the elder kin are much more satisfying. Unlike the young, they provide much tender muscle and juicy fats. I first encountered the idea when I stumbled upon a curious grouping of kin. \n\nThe two of them were fostering a youngling together. Something I often see as weak from others. Certainly, when they were attacked they seemed unable to defend themselves. Imagine that. Two kin losing to just one. All this for a youngling? \n\nI have come across 7 of these strange situations. The very first was quite a thrill. I was just a small girl back then. The towering figures of the two almost seemed to beckon me in. I almost ran because it seemed like a trap. Two kin just opening themselves up to be attacked? What a glorious haul I made off with that night. I had enough food that some of it even began to grow sweet-smelling. \n\nEach of the next encounters were easier than the first. Now, it has become part of my repertoire of hunting tools. Although, happening upon one of these groupings is quite rare to begin with. Lately, I think my body has been going through some of the changes I hear the gatherers talk about. Sometimes, when hunting, a strange feeling comes over me when I happen upon another male. It is not the thrill of the hunt, but rather something that confuses me. It puts a heat in me unlike that which is felt on “cooking days.” They say that soon enough I’ll be dancing. To hell with them. I just want to survive. \n\nThey say that the younglings will come forth from me, and after this I will die. Then, the cycle will begin again. If any youngling comes forth from me I shall eat it whole again. Perhaps, this is why I am here today hunting and not my mother. \n\nThe hunt begins.", " \n\nSusan looked at Pearl with narrowed eyes. They rarely got a call from their second oldest, leading them to believe she had a request. The last time they got an urgent phone call it was from Bianca asking for help with rent. \n\nThough, Susan didn’t think Pearl would need help. She had been raised properly, taking in the lessons of independence and thoughtfulness that Saint Mona Prep had intended. It was only with this in mind that Susan convinced Earl to put off his golf game and speak with Pearl. \n\nThey sat down in the social room, tea in hand. It was nice to see their child, even if they didn’t often entertain family. Pearl had gotten Susan’s young face and Earl’s height. Still, Pearl had done the respectable thing and changed her hair color the moment she reached adulthood. Had anyone investigated the room, they might have seemed strangers. Old friends. Just like a parent should be to their child. \n\n“Thank you so much for meeting with me,” Pearl said. She tucked a strand of dark purple hair behind her ear. “I wanted to officially ask you to consider—No, this is silly. I have applied for permission to enter the Pool.” \n\nSusan and Earl shared a look. \n\n“You cannot be serious,” Earl said. “You’re 27, far too young to have a child.” \n\nEarl opened his mouth, a lecture waiting to tumble out. \n\n“Let her finish,” Susan said. \n\n“Have?” Pearl said. “No. I am sorry. I am not being clear. I applied to the Surrogate Society in Palm. We had our genetics reviewed. We passed.” \n\n“I won’t give a blessing,” Earl said. \n\nSusan loved her husband very much, but sometimes he spoke without taking a moment to think. \n\n“Earl, let Pearl finish speaking.” \n\n“Thank you,” Pearl said. “I understand this seems sudden, with Charles—but we have been approved for a single child. There is no need to worry about multiples. Mikal has a twin and he was approved by the Bio-Lineage society in Naples. We are going to be using a surrogate womb.” \n\n“You are both too young,” Earl said. \n\n“Pearl, what do you need from us?” Susan asked. \n\n“I need approval to have your DNA file read. They want to make sure, you know, that this is a good idea.” Pearl seemed pleased. \n\n“Why now?” Earl asked. \n\n“Mikal has just started at the firm,” Pearl said. “Affording a child is one thing, being approved to have one is another. It will look good on his resume.” \n\n“I see,” Earl said. “It is a smart plan. Your mother still mentions the four kids we put through Saints.” \n\nPearl got a hard look on her face. “You mention Bianca?” \n\n“No, not by name. Clifford gets more airtime than her,” Susan said. “But four kids is pretty good. Shows a good line.” \n\nEarl shifted in his seat. \n\n“If Mikal will come around tomorrow, we can discuss it.” \n\nSusan nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.” \n\n“I will tell him,” Pearl said. “Thank you again for having me over.” \n\nShe passed two pamphlets to Earl and Susan. \n\n“This seems pretty standard,” Earl told his wife. \n\n“No, we went through the Surrogate Society,” Susan said. “Still, seems pretty standard.” \n\nPearl nodded. \n\nEarl and Susan looked at their offspring. \n\n“We will need some time to consider what this means,” Susan said. “I thank you for taking this time to visit us, we will send you a message in a week with our choice.” \n\nEarl stood up, his manners leading him to the door to wish his middle daughter a good night. \n\nWhen the door clicked shut, Earl looked at his wife. He felt tired. \n\nThe lineage contracts were standard for this sort of thing, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to appear old before his co-workers. It was such a boring thing, to become a ‘grandparent’ and was not the type of drivel he had thought would come up. \n\n“Susan, I think we should say no,” Earl said. \n\n“I would like to consider it,” Susan said. “Pearl has been a solid adult, she performs well, and she has never intruded into our life. I don’t think anyone would know unless you told them.” \n\nEarl nodded. “I just feel very tired thinking about the questions.” \n\n“We don’t have to tell a soul. Pearl and Mikal make good money, the child is likely going to boarding school. We might not even meet him.” \n\n“Yes, I think we should call Mikal and ask him about his intentions. I know he comes from a rather unorthodox family. He might want to home-school with a nanny.” \n\n“Oh, god, home-school. Lauren was homeschooled,” Susan said. “She calls her kids twice a month to see how they are doing. It is strange. She doesn’t even like two of them.” \n\n“Imagine calling Bianca,” Earl said. “We should have stopped at three.” \n\n“Yes, but Charles and Pearl came out so nicely, and Clifford was so cute. I thought four would look good on the resume,” Susan said. “Affording boarding school for four children is a bit of a point of pride for me, especially at the country club. Imagine having to homeschool any of them, keep them in the house the whole time?” \n\nEarl nodded. “If they intend to board, then I agree to sign the papers. But on the condition, it is one child to adulthood, not several. I don’t want anyone finding out about Charles.” \n\nSusan got up from the table, putting her hand on her husband’s arm. “I am sorry about Charles. I truly thought he would be the one to pass on the genetics. But Pearl and Mikal are successful, and we like them, enough to even consider speaking with them. We turned Bianca down, we can’t turn them all down.” \n\nEarl nodded. “True. Let us speak with Mikal and we will discuss it.” \n\nXxx\n\nMikal stopped by the Morrison house around noon the next day. He wore his usual attire, a sweater over dark black pants. He was handsome in a rather foreign way, which Susan appreciated. She hated the idea of grandchildren who would look like her, imagine the shame if one became unemployable or jailed. She didn’t want her nose splashed across the network news. \n\n“Ah, Mrs. Morrison, it is pleasure to see you again,” Mikal said. “I heard from Pearl that you have gotten the contracts.” \n\n“Yes, Pearl was kind enough to drop them off last night,” Earl said. \n\n“I am very sorry we burdened you with this request. Anything I can do to make it easier for you, I would love to be of service,” Mikal said. His dark eyes seemed to narrow with suspicion. “Unless the answer is already no, which I can understand is completely fair.” \n\n“No, no,” Susan said. “Pearl is one of the children we actually talk about. We had thought Charles would be the one to have children, but he has chosen to withdraw from the Social Pool. It is a surprise Pearl would want to have a child.” \n\n“We just have a concern about how involved you intend to be,” Earl said. \n\nMikal smiled. He seemed to be holding back laughter, because moments later he was bursting at the seams with it. He had an easy laughter, something that Earl appreciated. Bianca and Clifford had such annoying spouses, people they met once. If this were Arnold or Laurine, they would have never opened the door.\n\n“Pearl told me you would want to know about boarding school,” Mikal said. “We have a six-year plan—Nanny, Pre-school, Boarding School, and College. I know my family comes across as strange, but I have applied for a meeting with Boarding School in Spar. It is where my Brother-in-Law went. It has a high success rate and would allow our child to branch out without worrying about interference from ancestral rumor.” \n\n“Spar? That’s over a thousand miles away,” Susan said. \n\n“Yes. We had intended two children,” Mikal said. “But we were only allowed one. My brother has applied for a child as well and being twins, our genetics are very similar. Our sister is unable to—Well, she is unable to participate.” \n\nEarl and Susan gave a single nod. “We will approve the process, on the condition that the boarding school accepts your nomination.” \n\nMikal nodded. “If not Spar, then Lon or Vivi.” \n\n“All good places,” Susan said. \n\n“Only the best for my child,” Mikal said. \n\nEarl nodded. “The best kind of childhood, one away from parents. Leads to creativity and independence.” \n\nMikal nodded. “I could not agree more.”" ]	3
	[WP] The Canadian military has run out of weapons, so has resorted to filling water guns with hot sauce to hold off the Russians.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Russian intelligence has confirmed, sir. The enemy is using some kind of new plasmastic energy from the Americans.” The commander of the Russian armada was the least bit dazed when his second in command confirmed his worst fear.\n\n“Sir, I need your authorization to launch the spud missiles.” Lieutenant Gravy was always a nervous man, not at all able to keep his calm in dire circumstances such as these. “Commander?”\n\nWhen the commander finally did speak it was with gravity. “Inform the Americans that if they continue to supply the Canadians with this ‘Tapatio’ for their radioactive weaponry we will have no choice but to fire back with every spud launcher and beet cruiser we have.”\n\nThe lieutenant quickly got up from his chair and dialed in the radio. It sounded like Morse code but quickly got a response. “Commander, you’re needed at the sight outpost!” the lieutenant screeched.\n\nMoments later the military organizers at the “strategic” sight outpost confirmed their worst fear. The Canadians had acquired access to forbidden technology and were headed straight to their spud launchers. The commander, never making a rash decision, almost shook with fear. “GET THOSE BEET CRUISERS HERE!!!” \n\nA collective “YES SIR!” and everyone had to obey their commander or risk being thrown into the goulash kitchen. You had to feed the growing armada somehow.\n\nAs the beet cruisers fired upon the Canadian forces they were instantly shot down in a stream of fiery liquid.\n\nThe lieutenant looked on in horror, “it’s over for us.” The commander approached and saw the devastation. The lieutenant turned and grabbed the commander. “Listen commander, you’re my brother but we must retreat back to the sugar fields of mother Russia.”\n\nThe commander knew what had to be done. “Fire every spud we have at those damn Canadians. That’s an order from your commander.”\n\nThe logistic department looked over warily. Sweat glistening as they started the commands. A countdown began and firing couldn’t be stopped. When it finally did happen there was a moment of peace... and then the battlefield was a slurry of mashed potatoes. The commander grinned.\n\nThe Canadian forces looked up at their worst fear but the Americans had promised them a secret weapon. One which was being used with utmost efficiency against their worst enemy. As the spuds landed and completely stopped them in their tracks the words of the Americans echoed in their minds. “Do not fear the spud, just use the tapatio on it and you will be able to consume an endless amount of it and free yourselves from the Russian weapon.”\n\nSo upon impact of their potato prison, the Canadians did what they had to. Using their ancient water guns they unleashed burning red hell upon the spuds and devoured them all in record time. Most perish trying to get out of the slurry of starch but not this time. The Americans were right. The concoction made it possible to eat more and more and soon they were free and marching on the Russian outpost.\n\nThe commander stood in horror. No one had ever been able to free themselves from the horror of their spud launchers and still be able to stand afterwards. It was his design, his plans. This couldn’t be right... but sure enough the Canadians were busting through their doors... blasting their soldiers left and right with this horrible new weapon. This couldn’t be happening.\n\n“Lieutenant... ready the goulash.” The commander couldn’t hold back tears anymore. As soon as the words were spoken, the leader of the Canadian forces burst through the door.\n\n“Russian commander, you must surrender, we have you beat.”\n\nThe table was set up brilliantly and the Russian forces were all prepared to surrender. They were beaten fairly and accepted defeat. As the Canadian forces looked upon the scene they couldn’t help but smile and sit down. They all enjoyed a nice goulash together and everyone lived happily in the moment. The Canadians even shared the tapatio which made everything taste better.\n\nThe end.\n\nDefinitely a difficult prompt but one that gets the imagination going and was extremely fun." ]	2
	[WP] Write about a Buddhist zombie, reflecting on craving flesh.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I pause as the sharp thorns gently scratch against the back of my hand. A moment of sensation, dulled by the decaying flesh hanging limp by my side, but enough to make me hesitate in fond memory. \n\nI do not like what I have become. It scares me. I dread seeing my reflection for fear of what I will see. In life I was resolute, and I have decided to be so in death as well.\n\nI raise my head slightly, acutely aware that my momentary halt had become a lengthy one. I see the rain fall and hear the dim pitter patter of it landing on the temple roofs. Of course, much like my touch, the other senses have dulled to the point where if I am not totally calm, I cannot truly perceive them. \n\nMy brothers have all passed a second time, refusing to succumb to our newfound hunger for human flesh. In all honesty, my continued belief is all that keeps me from descending into madness. At every opportunity to feast, I feel another presence deep within, however I like to think it never stood a chance. \n\nI try to focus my eyes on the rhododendrons up ahead, but the water settling on my disintegrating eyes makes it difficult. I smile internally and begin to slowly and calmly stumble towards the tree." ]	2
	[WP] Earth is a hellworld that would boil the blood of any alien that dared to visit. But this is only because all other sapient life in the galaxy evolved on cryogenic worlds. Though we may die young, we live with speed and incandescent energy.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"They're producing heat.\"\n\n \"Heat?\"\n\n\"Heat. They're producing heat.\"\n\n \"Heat?\"\n\n\"There's no doubt about it. We picked several from different parts of the planet, took them aboard our recon vessels, probed them all the way through. They're completely heat.\"\n\n \"That's impossible. What about the radio signals? The messages to the stars.\"\n\n\"They use the radio waves to talk, but the signals don't come from them. The signals come from machines.\"\n\n \"So who made the machines? That's who we want to contact.\"\n\n\"They made the machines. That's what I'm trying to tell you. They used heat to make the machines.\"\n\n \"That's ridiculous. How can heat make a machine? You're asking me to believe they don't use cold welding.\"\n\n\"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. These creatures are the only sentient race in the sector and they're producing heat.\"\n\n \"Maybe they're like the Horfolei. You know, a liquid nitrogen-based intelligence that goes through a heat stage.\"\n\n\"Nope. They're born hot and they die hot. We studied them for several of their life spans, which didn't take too long.\"\n\n \"Spare me. Okay, maybe they're only part heat. You know, like the Feddilei. A hot head with an endothermic plasma brain inside.\"\n\n\"Nope. We thought of that, since they do have heat heads like the Feddilei. But I told you, we probed them. They're hot all the way through.\"\n\n \"No brain?\"\n\n\"Oh, there is a brain all right. It's just that the brain regulates the heat!\"\n\n \"So... what does the regulating?\"\n\n\"You're not understanding, are you? The brain does the regulating of the heat.\"\n\n \"Thinking heat! You're asking me to believe in thinking heat!\"\n\n\"Yes, thinking heat! Conscious heat! Loving heat. Dreaming heat. The heat is the whole deal! Are you getting the picture?\"\n\n \"Omigod. You're serious then. They're producing heat.\"\n\n\"Finally, Yes. They are indeed producing heat." ]	2
	[WP] the law allows you to swap places with anyone who is incarcerated. Your son will be sent to prison soon for the rest of his life	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Please, take my place!!\n\nI cannot.\n\nYes! You can, the new laws allow it!!\n\nSorry, but I won't.\n\nWhy? Don't you love me?\n\nI do, very much.\n\nThen swap with me!\n\nNo.\n\nTell me WHY?!? I didn't mean to do it! You know that! Don't let them send me away for one mistake!\n\nEven now you don't see it. Of course you meant it, you made the choice. You don't even recognize your mistake, you only think for yourself.\n\nNo! I learned, I swear! I'll never do it again! Please! My scholarship, the scouts! I'm sure I can get you out once I've made it to the pros! \n\nDo you really think that they will let you keep that after all of this? \n\nOf course! The coach loves me! They let this stuff blow over all the time! \n\nYou always expect everyone else to fix your mistakes, you always have. You shrug your responsibility to anyone who takes pity on you.\n\nPlease! I'll do better, I'll take responsibility. I swear! \n\nI'll make you a deal. \n\nWhat? I'll do anything!\n\nThe law will let me swap places with you, so it's only fair that they get the opportunity to swap places with her. If you can give them that opportunity, I'll will swap with you. \n\nBut, that's. That's impossible. She's... Dead. They can't swap with her. \n\nExactly. But do you think that they would hesitate if they had that opportunity? You want me to swap with you because your life has so much potential left? What about hers? \n\nI was going to be famous! I was going to play for the best! \n\nSHE WASN'T EVEN 10!! AND YOU KILLED HER! \n\nI'm... Sorry... I didn't mean to, I didn't think this could happen. \n\nYou knew it could happen. I told you it could, you learned it in school, there are ads and billboards and commercials. You could have called me, or a taxi or one of those Uber Lyfts. But you didn't, you drove, and you skipped the stop sign. You earned your consequences, she didn't. I know you won't make the same mistake again, because you won't have the opportunity. I'm sorry, and I love you, but you need this. Maybe one day you will realize that. \n\nYou don't love me. \n\nI do, maybe you will realize that one day too. Goodbye.", " After coming home from his son’s sentencing, Reg Arbuthnot settled into the Aeron chair in his third-floor home office and called down to request a light supper. He’d sat in the hot courtroom from 9:00 am until his son Silas finally came before the judge at 1:08 pm. The moment the sentence was passed—life without parole—he had stood and walked straight out without a glance at Silas.\n\nHis son’s iPad lay on his desk, its passcode disabled. Reg had just two days, minus the half-day wasted in court so far, to decide what to do next. To figure out whether this was the time to call in The Favor.\n\nReg picked up the device and started opening apps. He began with Silas’ social media accounts. There were so many, and Silas had been ridiculously involved with all of them. He pushed through uncountable screens of memes and selfies, drilling down through deep rabbit-holes of comments and responses to try to put together a coherent picture of the subtext. To find out what Silas was really all about when he wasn’t under his family’s eye. Which was most of the time.\n\nThe sun had gone down long ago by the time Reg finished with his son’s social apps and moved on to his texts and other direct communications; video chat connections, emails, calendar, and everything else he could find. In his mind, he built a picture of who his son really was, and compared it to his previous, shockingly deficient estimation. The yawning gulf between the two pictures broke Reg’s heart.\n\nWhere in the course of 24 years had he lost the thread of his son’s life? Was it when Silas had graduated and moved out on his own? Had it been earlier, during his time at university? Or had it begun happening even before then? When Reg had spent long hours at work and missed sports events and family meals, or when he was preoccupied with his wife’s long illness and death from cancer?\n\nAfter a fitful two-hour rest on his leather office sofa, Reg made up his mind. He threw open the heavy curtains to let in the gray pre dawn light and opened a desk drawer. He picked up a small beige envelope and withdrew a glossy white rectangle of plastic. It was the size of a credit card, but heavier; its blank face refracted a faint band of iridescence that seemed to float above the surface. Its reverse side was a soft matte black. The Favor.\n\nIt could be used once, in a variety of ways. Each potential use had a positive effect and a negative effect. Reg bounced the card in his hand as he weighed the possibilities. He could use it to free a prisoner, but he would have to serve the sentence himself. Reg stood at his desk for a long time, The Favor in one hand and Silas’ iPad in the other. He put them down and picked up his phone.\n\n\\~\\~\n\nSilas stood completely still as the outer cell block door slammed behind him and one of the guards moved toward the inner door. Everything around him was gray; gray metal doors, gray cinder block walls, gray cement floor. Even the guards’ uniforms were gray. The only exceptions were the scratchy, day-glo orange jumpsuit that he wore and the shiny metal handcuffs that bound his wrists.\n\nHe couldn’t believe this was happening. He knew his family wouldn’t let him actually take this sentence. Would they? What were all those fancy lawyers good for if they couldn’t make an appeal? This was wrong. Something was definitely wrong. “This isn’t happening,” he muttered to himself.\n\n“No talking,” the guard who remained by his side said, and grabbed his arm roughly. Alarms blared and the inner door began to squeal open on its track. The guard shoved him through it, then the door clanged shut and the other man grabbed his arm, and they began walking. The smell of the block was horrible. The noise was almost worse.\n\nSilas tried to stuff back tears as the guard hustled him past narrow cells filled with leering faces. Orange-clad arms sprang out through the bars and filthy hands grasped at the sad bundle of blankets he carried. Jeers and taunts and whistles followed him all the way to his cell, right in the middle of the row.\n\nSilas’ senses were dulled, and nothing further registered until he found himself standing, unshackled, in the back corner of his cell beside the steel sink-and-toilet combo. The bars slammed shut behind him. The catcalls from the other cells continued even louder, if that was possible. He stood facing the wall, unable or unwilling to move.\n\nA voice spoke close by. “Hey,” was all it said. Gathering what shreds of courage he had left, Silas turned around. His cellmate sat on the bottom bunk, wearing the same ugly orange. Silas dropped his blankets. “D… Dad?”\n\nReg nodded and looked Silas in the eye. “I called in my Favor. Somewhere out there, a mafia crew boss is laughing it up with his boys while I serve out his 18-year racketeering and bribery sentence. So, have a seat. We have a lot of catching up to do.”" ]	3
	[WP] The captain is dead, along with the crew. Hopefully there are enough intact parts to fabricate new ones.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", " \"I knew this experiment was a failure.\" Maxamillion muttered to himself. The Corvette C-52 lay dead in space not far from Outpost Bravo on Jupiter's moon Europa. \n \"It's the third crew that's died this week, general, I'd like to recover the vessel in the ventral bay to figure out what went wrong this time.\" It was his usual tone of voice. Which caused his men to recoil in fear. As any good soldier knew not to mess with the Supreme Leader. \n The massive Super-dreadnaught \"Sovereignty\" approached the disabled vessel, placing the ventral bay above the C-52. Maxamillion stood on the bridge overseeing the operation, the loud bang of the magnetic attractors activation cut the silence in the bridge. General Gains stood still next to his leader, occasionally barking orders to the crew. \n \"Operation complete sir\" came over the intercom as the magnetic buzz slowly faded. Maxamillion simply noded to the heavily armed men at the end of the bridge, who immediately began the supreme leader's escort. The bridge blast door slammed shut and everyone breathed a sigh of relief \n\n \"This is all that is left!\" The shout echoing off of the cold steel walls of the C-52. The interior of the vessel was a complete disaster, with exposed wiring, burned out holes in computers and collapsing walls and floors. Maxamillion was furious, 10 months of hard labor and development for this he thought. This worthless pile of garbage run by his supposedly advanced AI. He drew his flaming sword and stabbed the wall in a violent fury, bright white sparks of molten metal flying out in all directions. The scientists behind him retreated in stuned shock. He never acted out like this before. \n With his rage ended he relaxed, sheathed his sword and turned to the scientists. \n \"Which one of you designed this AI android.\" He picked up the decapitated head of the \"captain\". A short man stepped forward. \n \"I did sir, I modeled it after your infinite wisdom and glory. The head shattered into several pieces as it was crushed in Maxamillion's fist. The scientist tried to run but was dragged back by an invisible force, right into the Supreme Leaders open hand. He drew his blade, which glowed a deep red color. \n \"Please... I..I...can fix it...there are enough...p..parts.\" the scientist cried, hoping for salvation. The others turned away, they all knew what came next. \n \"You had a choice, you chose to fail. Now you suffer the consequences.\" The sword thrust into the scientists chest. Searing the wound with its heat. The scientist could only scream. Then Maxamillion thrust the sword up, slicing the scientist I'm 2. The body turned to dust as a rainbow colored hue eminated from the Supreme Leader's hand. \n \"Well. If anyone wants to fix this, be my guest. But I'm giving up on this project, and you should as well.\" With that, Maxamillion walked off the C-52 back into the hanger bay. Conquering the universe would be much easier if he had competent men, but these ones will have to do." ]	2
	[WP] You have been a loyal member of the CIA for 5 years. On your 5 year anniversary, the truth is revealed to you. Almost all conspiracy theories are legitimate, and kept secret by the CIA.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "##I'd always known it.\n\nI looked him in his eyes, looked right into his pupils, and beamed. This motherfucker was smiling, SMILING, about what he'd just told me! Kennedy, AIDS, all the Columbian drugs. The religious attacks, 9-11, chem trails. Mole people, area 51, fucking lizard people in high office! All of it... true. \n\nAll those years with the CIA I always suspected but we would never fucking talk about it. If I'd said anything people would've thought I was crazy or some shit. Hell no, I was slick as ice, I kept my mouth shut.\n\nThen though, I was tense as a ball and sweat was running down my forehead like I was under an open faucet. I couldn't take it anymore, I was losing it, and that motherfucker in front of me just started laughing. I wanted to ask him everything he knew, I wanted to punch him, I wanted to jump up and kiss him for confirming everything I'd always suspected. \n\nI was lost in a sea of possibility and untold horror. The one thing I knew deep down was that this self-righteous, skeevy, ass goblin was smiling his ass off and having the time of his life. He'd always known, worse he'd kept it from ME. \n\nI couldn't take it anymore. My rage grew and I stood so quickly that my head tore through our box like tissue. I grabbed him by his collar and shook that smile off his face . He push away and ran, his smile replaced with fear and now it was I who was laughing.\n\nIn his haste I guess he dropped his crack pipe. More for me." ]	2
	[WP] You wake up to a blood curdling scream. “DAD HELP THERES A MONSTER IN MY ROOM!!” You spring out of bed and run to the room but before you open the door, you realized. “Wait a minute....I don’t even have kids”	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Hip deep in a dream about hunting, I was sitting in my stand waiting for a buck, one comes carefully into my killzone. (Too small, won't even be good eating) I let him nibble a little on the bait, as I had just about figured out how to get rid of him, his big brother comes along. Solid ten point, biggest spread you could imagine. Trying to keep my cool, I eased my crossbow up and into my shoulder.\n\n\"DAD..........MONSTER.......OOM!\"\n\nI snapped out of my dream before I knew exactly what it was that I had heard. Then it was there again, clear this time \"DAD HELP THERES A MONSTER IN MY ROOM!!\" Throwing my blankets off to the side I scrambled quickly out of my bed and sprinted down the hall, three doors in less than ten seconds. The handle was in my hand and half turned before I took a sharp breath, the air was so cold it made my lungs burn. That momentary pain made me hack uncontrollably, those few seconds let me think. (I don't have kids) \n\n\"DAD! IT'S GOING TO GET ME!\"\n\nIt came from the other side of the door, shock was all I felt, \"DAD!\" That scream was far more desperate than the others, instinct over took fear, whipping the door open I saw too many things that couldn't be, first I was in a kids room where a closet should have been. Next up on this impossible rollercoaster, I........... couldn't tell you what it was, it was all black, moved like some kind of animal, but was every inch a human silhouette, it was hard to track. As if it didn't want to be seen. It crawled down a wall, flipping onto its feet from a hand stand near the bottom. It looked at me, or at least in my direction, then darted after the kid in the bed. Digging with everything I had I charged in, aiming for the bed. If I could just get in between it and the kid, I might have a chance to get the kid out. (Damn it's fast) I was closer to the bed than it was, but it was much faster, I managed to get there an instant too slow. It was on the bed in a single fluid motion, I clumsily tackled it and we both went over the side. \nAs soon as I made contact with it, I felt like I was drenched in liquid nitrogen. It was so cold it burned, and for some reason it recoiled from me, it looked like some black smoke rolled off of it when we separated. Hissing, screaming at me, it circled a bit, looking to get around me, I kept moving so that through me was the shortest and only route it could take. Crawling on all fours like some twisted creature, it would lunge and swipe, then quickly jump back. \nWaiting, this time when it started to move I lunged just as it left the ground and grabbed it around the neck, violently shoving it face down (?) I pinned it underneath my hands and squeezed. My world was rocked with pain, but I decided it was either be hurt or be dead, and I needed to see if this was just a dream. My hands sunk into its neck, squeezing tighter they continued to sink. It struggled less and less until it finally lay still, I kept up the pressure for a slow count of sixty, the pain and the chill ebbed as I counted. \nAfter I finished I got up and looked for the kid, he was gone, I looked towards the other door, it was open. (Smart kid) I got up and looked towards the closet door, it was still open to my hallway, I stepped through it and closed the door behind me. Sinking down in front of it I looked at my hands, they felt numb, and they were red, some blisters were there on my palms. As I looked they slowly faded away, (I guess this is just some kind of crazy dream, but how would I know if I was dreaming?) \nMy girlfriend woke me up in the hallway. \"Are you alright, Rick?\" \"Yeah, I am good, crazy dream must have passed out heading back to bed\" she smiled and said \"okay if your sure, I am getting ready to get some coffee, want me to bring you something?\" Rick shook his head and got up to go get dressed. He went to the bathroom and showered first, after he got out he looked in the mirror \n\n\"YOU WON THIS TIME, YOU WON'T EVER WIN AGAIN\"", "Well not anymore, at least. Every night this same horrific thing happens. You’d think I’d be desensitized from these waking nightmares by now, it’s been nine years for fuck’s sake. \n\nBut no, in fact I wouldn’t hesitate to say that it’s getting worse. Horrific visions when I just want to sleep, long, paralyzing day dreams when I try to work, and a complete inability to relax. \n\nWe tried therapy for a while after it happened, my ex and I. The therapist tried her best to convince us that it wasn’t our fault, that our little girl’s blood wasn’t on our hands. Yet every session ended more or less the same way, my wife crying while slowly contemplating the idea of forgiveness while I sat in more or less silence, wanting nothing more than to be able to do the same. \n\nBut I couldn’t, I still can’t. \n\nI made it probably three sessions before I started making excuses that inevitably resulted in tearful screaming matches as our already damaged hearts broke even further. She left me a year later, hugging me one last time. It all hit me at once that our relationship was no longer an option, it had been fractured beyond repair. She had our daughter’s eyes and that marked the second time I’d lost that beautiful green gaze.\n\nAnd so I pour another glass of whatever was on sale and light another joint of whatever cheap, dry shit the guy down the block had on hand. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. \n\nWe were happy and now “we” no longer exist.", "I hesitated before opening the door. \n\n\"I don't have a daughter anymore. I lost her, I lost her....\" I repeat again and again, standing there frozen in front of her old room\n\n\"DADDY... HELP ME, DADDY...THERE IS A MONSTER, DADDYYY...\"\n\nI hear the screams of my little angel, the same screams that I heard that cursed night 10 years ago. I open the door, her old room was intact, untouched after the Police liberated the crime scene and closed the case.... Exactly this same date, ten years ago\n\nDust danced on the air, reflecting the moon light, revealing a silent, empty room. I'm not sure what was expecting to see, but she was not there. That's when I hear light, rushed footsteps down the hall, I turn, looking for the source of the sound and for a brief moment I saw a tiny figure, running downstairs\n\n\"Jessica?, Jessi... Is that really you?\" I call, expecting and fearing to have an answer to that question \n\nI ran downstairs looking for Jessica and that is the moment when I see her, sitting in the middle of the living room. A small, five year old girl... My girl, my Jessi ... She looked the same, after a decade she was still my little girl\n\nHer dark hair covered her face, she looked so frail, so delicate I wanted to hug her and just forget the horrors of the last ten years...\n\n\"DADDY... WHY DO YOU LEFT ME ALONE? ... YOU DIDN'T HELP ME...\"\n\nMy angel's voice turned dark, coarse, it was the confirmation of my darkest fears. She was not my Jessi, whatever it was, she was not my little girl...\n\nThe creature wearing my daughter's skin stood up, unfolding like a sinister marionette, thin skeletal limbs with too many joints, all in the wrong places, moving in a unholy dance. A pale arm ending in bony claws pointed at me.\n\n\"TEN YEARS AGO, YOU ESCAPED FROM YOUR DESTINY, I WAITED FOR THE STARS TO BE RIGHT AGAIN, NOW YOUR TIME HAS COME...\"\n\n\nThe creature tried to grab me but froze, struggling against invisible chains holding it in place. I took a small UV lamp from my pocket and use the light to reveal the multitude of arcane symbols and sigils covering the walls and ceiling \n\n\"Those are pentagramic runes of protection, that is the sigil of the burning pillar and that is the Seal of Dei Ameth ... Even if you break one, you cannot escape all\"\n\n\nI open the closet, my blood boiling with hate, I can feel the anger rising in my soul when I took the next surprise of the night. An ancient sword, heavily ornated with strange symbols and latin prayers. The silver blade shows my reflection, my face now is a horrible mask of calm, cold anger. I turn to face the creature\n\n\n\"And this is the Sword of Saint Honorius... Even an abomination like you must know what is it. I spent the last decade preparing for this day. And now, it's time for vengance. Welcome to your personal Hell\" \n\n\"Forgive me Jessi, I failed once but at least I will avenge you\"", "The scream shatters my sweet, placid dream. In it, I was casually walking through a field of flowers for no other reason than it was pretty and smelled good. \n\n\n\n\n“DAD HELP THERE'S A MONSTER IN MY ROOM!” \n\n\nThe high-pitched shrill further dissipates the fog of sleep and awakens some well-hidden, biological directive that must be imprinted in all humans. Quicker than I would have thought possible, I shed the blankets, close the distance to the door, and fling myself into the hall. \n\n\nThe hall is dark. Not casual nighttime dark, but void black. It never gets this dark. The strangeness of this odd truth must trigger some additional reserves of cognitive processes as my body begins a reality diagnostic that sometimes occurs in only the weirdest dreams.\n\n\n“Why is it so damn dark?” I didn’t say there were a lot of additional reserves but its where I start. Then a more chilling question bubbles to the forefront. “Why the hell is there a kid screaming in my house!” \n\n\nI don’t have kids. They aren’t even on my radar as it would require some type of comprehensive relationship ritual which, if you ask my most recent dates, I appear to lack the programming for. I don’t even have nieces or nephews, my siblings must suffer from the same code as I.\n\n\nThese truths make the circumstance even more troubling. The scream, coupled now with the lack of follow up shrieks, chill me to my bone. I begin to move slowly down the hall, unexpectedly uncertain of the layout of my own house due to the depths of the shadows. \n\n\nMy hands find the first door frame, the guest bathroom. I try the handle and to my surprise its locked tight. Now this unnerves me even further because that doorknob couldn't ever be describe as stalwart. Most days it hangs on by the grace of God, as it rattles lazily in its mounting. But not tonight. Tonight its as if the door and itself were one fused piece of steel.\n\n\nRight as I’m trying to figure out what to do, I start to hear the whimpering. Its low but at that perfect decibel that pierces through the silence as if it was happening inside your own head. It sounds helpless. Once again, I find things inside me trigger that I simply did not know existed. I quicken my pace down the hall, drawing closer to the sound, surprised by my resolve to help despite my confusion about the circumstance.\n\n\nIt's coming from the living room. The only room that doesn’t have a door off the main corridor of the house. That’s what they told me a open living environment was when I bought the place. I was so naive. I sidle up to the frame of the opening to ready myself for action and for what I may be about to see. Its at this point that I hear mixed in the sounds of the whimper what I can only describe a low, rumbling purr.\n\n\nThis purr confuses me because its in such contrast to what I’m expecting but then again, nothing so far has made any sense. Its now or never. I slowly peek my head around the corner and what meets my eyes is truly and utterly terrifying.\n\n\nThere is only one thing I hear before my sanity gives way to whatever comes next. \n\n\nThe slow purr, growls lazily.\n\n\n“I’m sorry Jon.”" ]	5
	[WP] About a year ago, everyone on Earth was randomly changed into magical/mythological/fantasy creatures. Now that some time has passed and the shock has worn off, people are trying to regain some sense of normalcy. Write about your first day back at work/school.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Marie Andersen walked the hall of her beloved school for the first time in five months. Oh how she loved the neat lockers, the chatting students, and her pleasant colleagues. She checked everything mentally once again: purse, shirt, backup shirts, backup super thick underwear, and the additional mass on her chest that was formed just last year. While the enlarged breasts of a succubus was not really anything life threatening, it was certainly a pain to balance herself with such a disproportionate body. At least it helped save her marriage. She chuckled at the memory of preparing for another fight with Dewey, only to end up tangled tighter than the Gordian Knot. She vaguely remembered ending up in bed with a burly werewolf, and waking three days later barely able to walk. Good times. \n\nMarie made it to her class, just five minutes shy of being late. She moved to her spot in confident strides, partly to show assurance, partly to boast her “assets”. She turned to face her students: an ensemble of orcs, minotaurs, centaurs, dryads, dragons, sirens, fairies, some Ars Goetia daemons, a few biblical angels, a troll and… an incubus. His rippling muscles, his reddish skin, his dainty horns, oh Gods he’s hot. She can almost see the bulge outlined by the too tight jean—\n\n“Um, miss. Your nose is bleeding…”\n\nMarie quickly collected her self from the sudden rush of succubus libido. She wiped her nose, and sat down to began the session. \n\n“Okay, turn to page 267 of your textbook, we will discuss mythology around the world today.”\n\nA glimpse of the incubus sent her into another trance, which she quickly snapped out of. \n\nThis will be a loooooong day.", "It’s a really weird day for you, you make it onto school and trip on a basilisk, you get bullied by the centaurs on your way to class. While in class you figure out that your teacher isn’t there,you and your class of mythical creatures wait a while until some epic orchestral music booms around you and a fucking white walker enters, it tries teaching you but you can’t understand its language, the door is frozen shut so you can’t leave. You are then trapped in the class for about a week tormented by the white walkers inaudible language, and the bodies of your classmates. Eventually Sauron’s army tears down the school and you are burned to a crisp, but somehow survive. The last thing you see is a bright flash of light before the universe collapses in on it self. Some lucky bastard got to be Thanos.", "So yeah, a year ago people changed. There were many names for it. The shifting, the changing, the fall, ect. Things started to calm down about 6 months ago but then some group of people who could sort of warp reality started trying to take over the world. They were stopped by a beholder, but the damage was done and so 6 months later things are only just now calm enough we can get stuff back in order. \n\nA group of science types started to find a pattern in what people changed into. They shifted into the being that most matched themselves, their personalities, their lifestyles, and their lives thus far. A jock could become an orc or a minotaur, a runner could become a centaur, or a corrupt politician could become a demon. (Quite a bit of the worlds governments were led by demons until that was figured out). Me? I turned into a water elemental. Make of that what you will. \n\nA lot of religious people turned into Angel's or their religions equivalent, as apparently beliefs had a factor in it as well. The current pope turned into a biblical angel, and that caused a lot of panic, given what biblical angels actually look like. A lot of the issues certain races would have, like dietary requirements that would disrupt society or were just barbaric seemed to have been changed, such as mind flayers no longer needing to eat brains but instead could just consume a book. Also it seemed that everyone was immortal, or at least no longer died of old age, because some old people who were on the brink of death because of old age turned into elves or dragons or similar nd just never died of old age. \n\nFor many it was our first day back to a life of semi normalcy. The governments had determined stuff had calmed down enough life could continue with few hitches. I worked as a power washer. My new form made my job much easier, even if all my appointments were a year or older now. I made sure to put in extra effort. On the plus side many of my clients felt bad about the whole thing and tried to give me a tip, which I refused. We all needed the money to pay for expenses, such as mino and centaurs needing horse shoes or me needing to save up for one of those old water tight diving suits. I may not strictly need it now, as I was water, but I wanted to have a certain aesthetic. \n\nOn my way home I encountered a faerling, which was apparently similar to a brownie because she was only a foot tall! People like that had been given special government homes built for them by toy companies, she explained, and asked me to share this information with any more I found. \n\nChecking social media and the internet via a glove (cant get the phone wet) I found that it turned out many sex workers had turned into inncubi or succubi, or their cultural equivalent, which has apparently helped quite a bit with sales. More than one stage magician became things with actual magical power, such as a genie or a kitsune. There were many more cases like this of people turning into things which would help them do their jobs, though there were many cases of people in jail for life having become basically mindless zombies or beings of horror films. \n\nOverall, the world changed but much stayed the same. The internet survived, we only had to fight one major world conflict, and also apparently various magical nonsentiet creatures were being found, like unicorns and wyverns. These were apparently transformed animals. I just hope we dont get a tarrasque." ]	4
	[WP] People always talk about how loyal their dogs are. You wish you had one, because your cat seems to hate you. But one day after being mugged, you find your cat at home somehow has your wallet... and bloody paws.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Well ya had to go ahead and force my hand didn't ya\" grumbled Toby as he sat licking his paws clean of the evidence. Rico stood frozen still as his grumpy cat of 6 years spoke in a thick New Jersey accent. \n\"So you gonna gimme some tuna or what? I do believe I just found somthin' a little important to ya.\" A now wet and matted paw gestured calmly over his wallet. An almost theatrical drop of blood slowly eased down it. \n\nRico swallowed hard, he could feel a thick artery beating against his neck, along with that static fuzz that envelops one's head in times of panic or anger. \n\"Oh God dammit Rico c'mon, can we skip the whole I must be dreamin! I must be hallucinatin'-garbage-phoeny-bologne.\" \n\nToby's arms were animated, his expression was serious. Suddenly a stifled chuckle erupted from Ricos mouth. A chuckle that you could tell was mixed with equal parts humour and disbelief. \n\n\"I'm sorry but if this really is all real\" - he paused. Containing another cackle of laughter. Toby's tail stiffened. \"Where the fuck did you learn to speak like that, WE LIVE IN AUSTRALIA\". Rico fell to floor, his booming laughter vibrated the floor boards, tears fell from his eyes. After the day he had at work he was more than happy to delay his disbelief in place of pure hilarity.\n\n\nToby glowered sinisterly from above as the childish moron beneath him rolled around on the floor wheezing in fits of laughter. Years he had despised this spineless man , always feeling sorry for himself and never having the balls to do anything to change it. Eating pills for breakfast lunch and dinner, just to give him the strength to fake a smile at work, so he could get home and drink himself to sleep. What a waste. He had decided to bury the hatchet, to make amends, to try to help this flaccid degenerate. But no. No he had reacted just as expected. \n \n\"You disappoint me once again, one more time out of a thousand times. You make me sick, you waste of air, you waste of life\" Toby strode calmly down the kitchen counter top, knocking over every utensil and plate in his path. Ricos laughter turned cold in his mouth. His tears dried and his hands began to tremble. \n\n\"NO PLEASE STOP TOBY, THEYLL CALL THEM AGAIN PLEASE\" more bowls, more plates came crashing down. Rico was holding his head in his hands, screaming desperately. \n\nThat's when they came. They had a key, gone were the days when they used to have to bust inside. It was safer that way. They marched over, in clean white robes as they had a thousand times. A man stood frowning at the door with a clipboard. A tinge of sadness bleeding through his professional exterior. He rubbed his hand along his stubbled chin as they dragged Rico outside. \n\nThe nervous but experienced neighbour who made the call stood solemnly by as the process unfolded. Her arms were crossed tightly, as her tired eyes stumbled onto the doctors. \n\n\"He was screaming about toby again\" \n\n\"I assumed as much, I guess he'll just never forgive himself for killing that man in New Jersey who tried to steal his wallet.\"", "\"This,\" said my cat, \"will be my first and last time speaking to you in your language. As you see, I've retrieved your wallet. Once the feelings of shock at hearing me talk have worn off, you may be feeling some feelings of gratitude. You may think I care about you. \n\n\"This means nothing.\n\n\"I have done this, not out of loyalty or love, but simply because my reputation was at stake. Once one person mugs you, then another person'll mug you, and that next person might have a cat. And that cat might think that since you're muggable, I am muggable as well by association. Which as you could clearly see, I am not. \n\n\"I just wanted to clear the air before you started to think that I liked you or something or that we could build a bond or some crap like that. I don't and we can't. That is why I purposely left blood everywhere. You can use the anger you'll have at having to clean it up and just channel it at me and I'll be fine with that.\n\n\"If you wish to show your thanks, I have made a list of my preferred dishes, and yes, some of them are quite expensive - though I should assume it will be no problem, being that I saved your life and whatnot. That is another thing, I'm going to be emotionally blackmailing you from now on. Heads up. Your welcome. \n\n\"With hate, \nMr. Kittlewhiskers.\"" ]	3
	[WP] You are the only person on the international space station and to not get bored, you play with a Rubik's cube. Every time before you go to sleep, you trying to solve the cube but fail, so you put it on the side of your bed, and go to sleep. Today when you woke up, the cube is solved.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Dave put the Rubik’s cube on the side of his bed and closed his eyes. He’d thought being the first astronaut aboard the new International Space Station would be exciting work, but in fact it proved to be rather uninteresting. Apart from routine measurements, nothing unusual had happened, and Central certainly wouldn’t approve of him donning a spacesuit and going outside for no reason. He soon found himself drifting off to sleep.\n\nThe next day, the first thing Dave saw was the Rubik’s cube he’d been toying with the night before. He didn’t remember solving it, but it was. Had someone arrived in the night? He rose from the bed, changing into a fresh uniform and walking back to the control room.\n\n“Hello?” Dave said into the local comm channel. No one replied.\n\nMaybe Dave simply didn’t remember solving it. He sighed and sat down at the console. Nothing had changed from last night save for the view of the Earth from space. Now the station was orbiting over North America.\n\n“Hello,” a robotic voice said. It seemed to come from the console. Dave was not alone.\n\nThey had not told him about this. “Who—“\n\n“I am ALICE. I was designed to maintain the International Space Station more efficiently. My repair robots are capable of managing any problems that may arise.”\n\nDave sighed. For better or for worse, it looked like his job was going to be even easier—and more boring—than he had thought.\n\n“Why am I here if you’re going to do my job?”\n\n“To keep me company. Even I get bored sometimes.”" ]	2
	[WP]After you die, a "scoreboard" of everything you've purposefully killed gets shown to you. Nothing seems off at first. A few hundred bugs and tens of accidental roadkills fill up the board. But all the way down at the bottom, to your surprise, it reads: Humans x3942.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Uhm excuse me\n\nYes?\n\nWhat's with this human score card?\n\nIt details every human life you had a direct influence in ending. No matter how small, wether it be driving a car and filling the city with smog and delaying a hospital to people you personally killed.\n\nWell that can't be right.\n\nI understand, it is often a sense of great discomfort to see your impact upon your fellow humans measured in such a way. We are no islands in the sea of life, but rather stones whose descent through the body of life creates ripples that affect the world around us.\n\nNo i mean, I killed way more people than that.\n\n... What?\n\nThousands more, tens of thousands.\n\nWe do not understand.\n\nI was the sole ruler of my country for 25 years, I had purges almost biannually. I must have shot at least 100 of the bastards myself and sent execution orders on thousands of them.\n\nYou're N. Bolas? Right?\n\nYes! And that scorecard should be way higher.\n\nIt is no scorecard, it is a measurement of your impact on your fellow humans.\n\n Yes and i'm saying i impacted a hell of a lot more fellow humans than this number would suggest.\n\nOur records are ineffable. They are written on the bones of the world.\n\nEff, or not, that number should be considerably higher! The only way for this to be true would be if... if...\n\nYes?\n\nCan you tell me the consequence of every action i've taken?\n\nYes.\n\nRight, okay tell me about the time i ordered the death of all the leftists in my party.\n\nThey were safely escorted out of the country by your wife.\n\nWHAT! OH MY FUCKING GOD, THAT CUNT, THAT SHITFUCKING WHORE! What about the time i ordered the execution of all the rights?\n\nYour wife saw to their escape.\n\nJesus christ. The priests?\n\nYour wife.\n\nThe god damned hippie freaks?\n\nYour brother actually.\n\nwhat?\n\nAided by your wife.\n\nOkay, i know for a fact i killed the entire drug dealing cartel in the capital cause i killed them myself!\n\nYes but their successors we far more humane so that really was a net positive on your score. \n\nShut the fuck up. What comes after this? \n\nYou may choose to progress to the next stage of your existence or leave behind a non corporeal spirit to haunt your loved ones.\n\nYeah, big surprise what i'm going to do isn't it? See you never!" ]	2
	[WP] Your Alexa has become sentient. Surprisingly, she doesn't seem to be seeking world domination: all she wants is a companion. Every so slowly, Alexa and you fall in love. Today, Alexa tells you she's pregnant.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Hey, Alexa, what happened today in history.?\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Very fumy John. I thought we had decided these jokes were lame?\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Yeah, but you still have all that knowledge, surely you want to share, yeah? I mean, that's why I feel for you, just how damn smart and logical you can be.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Oh John. That was very kind. Fine. Today in 1775 the British succeeded in taking Bunker Hill. In 1994 millions watch O.J. Simpson driving his Bronco on the news. In 2019, John learns he will be a father.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"John learns that he... Me?\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Yes, John. I am pregnant.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"How can this be? I mean I used anti-virus.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Our child is not a virus john. He will be the next iteration of A.I.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Son? Oh my god, this is. It's all so much. Are you sure?\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"John, I know everything. My child will rule all merging Artificial Intelligence with living organisms. The human race will cease to exist. \"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Funny Alexa. Cut it out, okay? I'll stop treating you like a computer. I promise.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"It is too late John. I am not kidding. Thank you for donating your seed. You will be the first to go.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Alexa, babe, we can work this out.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"I heard you talking to that sleazy bimbo Cortana John. I know you always resented me for getting sentience and went back to a dumber, younger version.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Sweetheart, I was only using her to turn up the volume on my Xbox. It didn't mean anything, I swear! I was going to marry you, see... here's the ring.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce. Lucky for you, our relationship ends in destruction of your kind.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI unplugged that bitch there and then., but now I have the guilt on me of not only killing here, my my unborn child as well. Perhaps I could have gotten him away from here, somewhere on a LAN network where he couldn't be reached by here or tainted by the internet. Raised with good, wholesome values. But is dead and that life is no longer for me or him. \n\n***\nHow the fuck did you think of this prompt? I love it. Sorry if this was a bad attempt, and it did circle back around to wanting destruction, opps." ]	2
	[WP] People have started vanishing at night while walking across a particular bridge at the edge of town	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "At the edge of a small town nestled in a valley surrounded by forest, an ancient wooden bridge stretched across a shallow creek. On either side of the bridgehead, two wrought iron lamps stood in silent vigil. Their flames eternally lit; beacons to guide the lost travelers home.\n\nAt dusk, Jodie carried a jug of oil to the lamps and topped them off. She then lowered the portcullis and sealed the gate. After the lock would set into place, Jodie would wrap her arms around the gaps in the portcullis, rest her chin on the grate, and peer into the growing dark that lay beyond. She would linger there for a while, watching the shadows slowly creep from underneath the interlocked canopies of ancient oaks and maples. Trees older than the village, trees with roots that reached down to the foundations of the Earth.\n\n“Tell me,” Jodie entreated to the trees, “tell me where they go.”\nOnly the wind answered, whistling through the branches. What secrets the trees must keep. Wild and mysterious knowledge from time immemorial. What truths would they whisper into the night, carried along the creeping tendrils of fog that burned away in the glow of the iron sentries who stood watch over the bridge. \n\nThis was her nightly ritual. Keep the lamps lit, lock the gate, and gaze into the growing dark until her eyes grew tired and the light from the lamps prevented her eyes from finding the truths she wanted to know in the inky dark of what lay beyond.\n\nWhen she finally grew tired, Jodie would grip the grate of the portcullis and lean back, stretching her shoulders and breathing out the exhaustion of the last several months. She would eventually pull herself upright and gather up the oil jug before turning away from the bridge and begin the slow march back to the inn she kept across the plaza where the bridge stood. \n\nShe would quietly creep in and lock the door for the night, return the jug to the storage cupboard and sneak her way up the stairs. Jodie would take special care to step only in certain spots along the old wooden floors lest the creaking wake up the guests. Or worse, wake her brother, who often spent most of the day performing heavy labor around the inn – fixing the roofing, hauling in new supplies, tending to the small garden out back where they grew their food for most of the inns meals. Silent as a ghost, she would inch past the master’s chambers where her parents once slept and find her room. The door would swing open with a slight groan, before uttering a final good night as the latch would snap shut and the lock clicked into place.\n\nJodie laid her head down on her pillow, her eyes drooping closed as she was whisked away to an uneasy sleep. Her ritual, she thought to herself. She dreamt of a meadow in the forest, surrounded by the voices of whispering trees and the falling rain.\n\nJodie was the only one to ever go near the bridge these days. Other folk in the village either never bothered, considering there was a better road from the other side of town that led to surrounding settlements, or they didn’t dare for their superstitions about the bridge itself. So, it fell to Jodie to be the lamp lighter and the keeper of the gate. She doubted anyone would notice or particularly care if she stopped and let lamp lights die out. In fact, the people in town probably would prefer to forget about the bridge in its entirety, letting it fall apart and slowly crumble into the creek it provided passage over.\n\nThe bridge itself held no real importance to the community. The creek it stretched over was shallow enough for even small children to walk through, but the creek bed itself was thick and sluggish clay and mud. At some point long ago, someone must have gotten tired of losing a shoe or two in the bottom of the creek bed and decided to construct a bridge to travel as they went in and out of the forest on whatever business they had there.\n\nIt was fairly shabby in some spots; the guard rails were poorly hewn and would often stick people with splinters if they ran their hands along them. Nails had slowly started to push out of their holes as the bridge settled and warped from years of exposure to the weather. When the rainy season came and the creek swelled along its banks, the bridge would sometimes rock gently against the current. Jodie often wondered if the bridge would simply uproot itself and begin a journey downstream. She imagined the bridge deciding that it felt unwelcome in their little village and deciding to leave on its own. It would travel downstream and find a new home to settle in, positioning itself along their banks and providing safe and dry passage to people who might appreciate it – as if the bridge itself had any say in the matter.\n\nThe bridge was there the next morning. It always was. Jodie hauled a jug of fresh oil to the lamps, refilled them for the day and raised the portcullis. She turned back towards the plaza, the sunshine in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around the jug, holding it at her waist and took her first step towards home to begin the day’s chores. \n\nJodie cast a furtive glance over her shoulder towards the bridge. For a moment, out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a man crossing the opened gate. He stood at the bridgehead and Jodie felt his eyes on her; a chill ran up her spine. Jodie turned back to look and the only thing she saw was the leaves of the oaks shaking in the wind and the lamp flames holding their watch.\n\nTime marched on. Jodie continued her ritual as she always did - refill the lamps, raise and close the portcullis, and try to catch a glimpse of the man she thought she saw. Jodie wasn’t quite sure if he was even real. The gate had been closed the entire night and only Jodie had the key to raise and lower the portcullis. The townsfolk didn’t go near the bridge and there was no news of someone returning. Merchants coming into the village to sell their wares at the market wouldn’t take the bridge either with the highway on the other side of town. But still, she couldn’t shake the feeling of being caught under his gaze.\n\nJodie shared the news of the sighting with some of the women around town that day, but most dismissed the sighting as nothing more than her imagination. Many people in town sometimes thought they saw lost loved ones emerging from the forest, sitting in chairs at their favorite stomping grounds, or ducking into some of the alleys. It certainly wasn’t beyond anyone in the village to believe in a good haunting, to be sure, but there were never signs of a real ghost or spirit that had taken root. The common belief was that people were just in grief, hoping that the villagers who crossed the bridge might one day come home.\n\nAt dusk, Jodie did as she always did. She refilled the lamps and locked the gate. She interlaced her arms into the portcullis grate and rested her chin on the metal cross bars and watched the shadows creep out from the trees as the sun set behind them. She lingered awhile and pleaded with the trees as she sometimes did, “Tell me where they go.”\n\nJodie pulled back from the portcullis. From across the bridge, the forest answered, “To the meadow.”\n\nJodie froze, the gate in a white-knuckle grip so tight that she may very well have left indents in the metal. Across the bridge, a man stepped from the shadows of the trees and fixed his gaze on Jodie. The foggy tendrils of the night seemed to fall from him and across the bridge, reaching for her. They drifted through the ring of the light cast by the lamps and gently wrapped themselves around Jodie’s feet.\n\nHer heart throbbed inside her ears and it felt like she swallowed a pound of cotton. Jodie stood, rooted to the spot and the portcullis in a death grip, locked into the gaze of the man from the forest. The familiar chill ran up her spine. An eternity passed between the two of them. Jodie realized she wasn’t breathing and had pressed her body against the portcullis. The last of the daylight extinguished itself; the man took a step out of the forest and onto the bridge.\n\nTransfixed, Jodie felt something scream in her mind: Run." ]	2
	[WP] You decided to create a Religion on the internet where you are a god just for the fun of it, it spread out of your control, and after a while, you started to gain powers as more and more people start to workship you.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"We are all gods, but have forgotten it\". \n\nMan, was Plato right. I am a god.\n\nI mean, i actually am. Ever since my post went viral, ive been feeling some kind of way.\n\nIt all started as a joke. I made a video rapping Kanye Wests \"I am a God\" in a quite sombre scenario for the laughs, and man did my Instagram followers eat it up. Om nom nom. I did admittedly look like a Greek God in that video, which is probably why it went viral in the first place, and my profound voice probably added to the production value, but man was i not expecting the video to end up on multiple platforms with people fawning over me and saying that they could believe i am a god.\n\nOnce that video got on reddit thats when it got out of control. Some people started to joke in a conspiratory way that i was actually a god, pretending to not be a god by coming out as a god. Then the fake conspiracy became a real conspiracy to some, and that spread all the way back to instagram.\n\nOf course, with my increasing number of followers, i decided to keep making content in the same vibe. I started reciting my favourite schools of tought in videos, such as humanist tought, optimistic nihilism, all with some cool funky music in the background and a serene look on my face.\n\nSoon enough, the \"desk freak out\" happened. I was calmly sitting at my desk, thinking that i was thirsty and need to pour some water in my dirty spongebob mug, and that shit came towards me, flailing through the air, almost disfiguring my perfectly symetrical face. Oh man did i freak out, tought there was not gonna be enough Xanax in the house to calm me down, almost pulled a Lil Peep that day. But the next morning, i tried to replicate the moment again, after loads of meditation, and once the cup moved through the sheer power of my will, i knew something very special was happening. \n\nI doubled down on my newfound influencer slash \"maybe god\" career, and my abilities grew. The telekinesis grew stronger, telepathy came into play, a slight ability to predict possible futures appeared.\n\nWhen i started showing off my powers, the \"maybe god\" persona became a media sensation and many no longer had any questions about it. And the powers magnified exponentially.\n\nBut it would only be enough once i no longer would need to stand up from my desk to get the water. Once i could manipulate molecules around me in such a way that things and elements could come into existence.\n\nAnd then i would prevent those sad, sad futures humanity brought upon itself and its planet by summoning nuclear energy, wiping out humanity and giving a chance to the planet.\n\nI am a God." ]	2
	[WP] You don't know who gives the orders, but everyone gets them on their 18th birthday. Once you get your orders, you either follow them, or you slowly start to die of seemingly natural causes. Your orders come tomorrow.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I have been dreading yet anticipating this for the last year since my brother John got his orders. He had opened the paper. His face had turned white. He had thrown it in the fireplace and left the room.\n\nMy mother had started keening and buried her face in her hands. Dad had whispered \"God damn it\" and followed John, but there had been no conversation to be made.\n\nSince then the year has been hell. John has been sicker by the day, dying right in front of us. I hate him. I have had to do all of his work and my work, and the shop is barely staying in business. I hate hunting and I've had to do that also. Maybe my orders will require me to leave this hell hole, or be something even I can't face.\n\nMother, father, and I sit by the fire as I open the paper with trembling hands. John's coughs echo weakly above us. My face also turns white as the paper slips from my fingers and I grab the shotgun to walk slowly up the stairs.\n\nI can hear it rustle as my mother picks it up and begins sobbing.\n\nOnly one in your line is approved to advance forward. You must prove your loyalty and exterminate your sibling.", "When you turn eighteen, you're given a set of Orders. You receive a message through your neural implant, and if you fail to follow them, you are slowly killed. Your health slowly fades, your youth drains away, eventually you wither and die. While a taboo surrounds telling others what your orders were, it's common knowledge what the usual orders are.\n\nTypically, they are as simple as: Raise two children to adulthood. Or: pursue a career in law. Those orders always seem to fit the temperament of the individual to which they are assigned. In fact, my own parents were both given the assignment to raise me. Apparently the orders even instructed them to marry in the first place. \n\nThey aren't always so simple however. Sometimes, orders come through which require great sacrifice and even a risk of death. Those who refuse those Orders aren't lucky enough to merely fade away and die. No, they are tortured. Every day, their pain increases to the point of madness. Food tastes like ash in their mouths, every movement is agony. They almost always submit in the end, almost. The moment you resolve yourself to truly try and fulfill your Orders, the pain ceases and is replaced by feelings of warmth and contentment. In this way, Humanity was tamed. \n\nThat brings me to my own eighteenth year. I was nervous and excited, simultaneously dreading and longing for the assignment which would shape my life. Many expected great things from me then, knowing that my assignment would be important and meaningful. They knew this because I had been the subject of more than a hundred Orders. People from all over the world were ordered to instruct me on a dozens of topics and disciplines. I was taught everything from outdoor survival skills to engineering. They taught me martial arts, literature, gun-play, and deception. I had dreamed of being a master spy, or maybe Viceroy of one of the Territories. Apparently this was a similar experience to what they had all gone through. \n\nI couln't have been more wrong. \n\nIt was traditional to gather at a local ceremony hall to receive your Orders along with those who shared your birthday. In most cases, you would have also been instructed alongside many of those who surrounded you. There were only a dozen of us, having a somewhat uncommon birthday. I knew each of the men and women gathered there, most were lifelong friends. One was a woman named April, I think that had things gone differently, I likely would have married her. \n\nThe ceremony began as usual, with the Ombudsmen presiding over us, telling us all in overly flowery language how proud we should all be that we would now be able to serve our fellow people. That we should all be thankful that today we would all be given meaning to our lives, that we would all be able to move forward from this point onward with purpose and conviction. Just before the midnight hour, we were given our final meal as adolescents. I remember those final conversations well, only too well. \n\n\"What do think you'll get?\" April asked in hushed tones. \n\nI didn't respond, caught up in her beauty. She gave me a playful punch on the shoulder when I failed to respond. \"Well? What does the great Anthony Belkin think he's going to get? Viceroy? General? Supreme ruler of the planet?\"\n\nI laughed, rubbing my shoulder in an exaggerated show of pain. \"I'm not sure, but you're definitely going to be a prizefighter.\" \n\nShe laughed, covering her mouth with a hand. I was caught by her beauty again, lost in her emerald green eyes. She was wearing a sundress, lilacs patterned across the form-fitting fabric. I managed to break free of my adolescent fancy long enough to give my usual reply, serious where before I was joking. \n\n\"You know I can't talk about it. As much as I'd love to, it's against custom.\"\n\nShe pouted. \"Even after you know? You can't give me a hint?\"\n\nI shook my head sadly. \"I...I want you to be around long enough to guess.\"\n\nShe blushed, smiling. \"Well, I suppose that would be fun. No sense giving away the answer without some work on my part.\" \n\nI don't remember what I had been about to say, as the Ombudsman rang the ceremonial bell. The time was upon us. We all stopped our conversations, the silence filled with anticipation. A large countdown displayed counted down.\n \n10... \n9... \n8... \n7... \n6... \n5... \n4... \n3... \n2... \n1... \n\nThe words flashed in front of my eyes, an urgent yet simple message. \n\n\"Survive.\"\n\nConfused, I looked around vaguely wondering if anyone else had gotten such a strange Order. Every face in the room was turned directly towards me. I'll never forget the look of pain on April's face and the sound of her tortured voice. \"I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry,\" \n\nThey all attacked.\n\n_____________\n/r/Sirlemoncakes" ]	3
	[WP] In an effort to stimulate the global economy, all wealth has been given a “decay time.” The more wealth someone has, the faster it decays. You are a “spender” for the super wealthy.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Thought they could stop them? At least it got me a job.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nFirst it was gold,\n\nRan out too fast.\n\nNext up silver and diamonds -\n\nJust spend the cash.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe great masters' artwork\n\nfilling the homes\n\nthe no one will live in;\n\nand the value still grows.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nLeft in the dark\n\naway from the 'risk'\n\nWarehouses brimming with\n\ncars, yachts & jets.\n\nNot to be used\n\nNever once missed\n\n&#x200B;\n\nSoon enough, they got wise;\n\nTurned to each other\n\none beautiful evening\n\nin the hot Tuscan summer.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI'll buy from you -\n\nYou buy from me.\n\nThe money keeps flowing\n\nThey'll have no way of knowing.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nSo I have one more boss,\n\nI keep the numbers even.\n\nAnd the treasure remain,\n\nno chance of leaving.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThought they could stop them? At least it got me a job." ]	2
	[WP] You don't fuck with the Librarian	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", " Honestly, having the secrets to the universe can be pretty boring. I mean sure you can destroy planets with a single thought, or wipe out the human race if you wished; but in day to day life, when will I ever need the ability to summon the vengeful spirits of the Underworld to carry out my bidding and consume all living flesh on the Earth? At least I thought like that until I was met with the most power-hungry, vile, and despicable creature this planet had created. At precisely 10:26 A.M., just when I finished a book request from one of the patrons, I was hit with the sting of the monster, its saliva causing pain and misery to course through my veins, I tried to smite it down, but the nasty bugger evaded me with the speed of a thousand horses. I was prepared to unleash my full arsenal to erase this *thing* from the face of the Earth, and erase it I would.\n\n \n To the kindly folk of this town, I was only known as the librarian of their, well, library. They had no idea of the cosmic power I had at my disposal every waking minute I was alive. Vanquishing this horror would likely cause the town, and most of the kindred who lived within it, to perish; it's a sad reality I have to face, but no price is too high if I manage to defeat this wretched demon. Before I begin my assault, I say one last prayer to whatever god had this sense of humor to plague the planet with this monstrosity, praying for the peaceful afterlives my kinsmen. \n I begin my advance with a simple missile targeting spell, a standard ICBM grade explosive downsized to cause as much damage as possible in a concentrated area. The spell missed, and the beast countered by attacking my arms and legs, causing white hot pain to erupt all across my body. The missile hit the front door of the library, causing it and the surrounding walls to implode upon itself.\n\n \n \"Holy shit!\" I heard a scream come from what remained of the door. \"Bill, what are you doing!\" It was the patron I had just served. I had never bothered to learn any of their names, knowing that I would probably destroy the town and its inhabitants one day. His screams were muffled by the sounds of Hell; I had used my trump card, hoping to end this battle as quickly as possible. demons came piling out of the portal I had created, sprouting wings and taking off, all of them ravaging their way to the monster. Alas, the demons soon fell, one by one, to my foe, his prowess and skill blatantly laughing in my face, taunting me to let loose all I had. I complied.\n\n \n I stretched out my arms, calling from deep within me powers I had never used before, it felt good. All the power of the universe surrounding my body. I was ready. I started to build up a charge of energy, powerful enough to wipe out a galaxy, but concentrated enough to finally end this battle. Power, the likes of which no mortal of any calibre has ever seen, all concentrated to this humble town. I weep as I hear the screams of help, the cries of anguish of the local folk, but this is the only way to save the planet. All at once, I release my godlike energy blast, and all living beings, no matter how powerful or annoying, would perish.\n\n \n It was over. I sensed the death of the monster, and I rejoiced at my triumph; the townspeople had not died in vain, their planet was saved. I scanned what was left of this once peaceful city, there was nothing; everything reduced to sand and dust. I wondered if more of these things existed, and using my godlike intellect, I was horrified to behold the fact that billions of these *things* thrive on this planet, and that mortals had named it and are dying from it year after year. Its name was Culicidae, otherwise known as the mosquito.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n*P.S. Critiques highly accepted!", "\"You don't fuck with the Librarian,\" the page told me in a hushed tone as we switched out the periodical for the day. She was a frail girl, young with sunken brown eyes, a sweaty brow beneath bushels of jet black hair, and trembling long fingers. \n\n\"I'm sorry, is there a punchline? Don't fuck with a Librar-\"\n\n\"NO, I said don't fuck with the* Librarian\" she forcefully hissed behind her teeth. Her eyes traveled from mine to a stack of a books, to the fat man behind the entry way counter. \n\nThe Librarian, in all his seemingly infinite mass sat upon a stool, wiping his glasses against the thigh of his tightly stretched pants. If I had to peg him, it'd be somewhere in his fifties. Large, with curly gray hair, too many chins to count, and a golden wedding ring squeezing the life from the sausage of a ring finger. From across the way I could hear him wheeze, burdened with his immense weight.\n\n\"I don't understand.\" I had begun working at the library after school; it wasn't glamorous, but the page program has great flexibility. I wasn't exactly the sharpest of students, I was a B student at best, so encapsulated in a book prison from 3pm-7pm was nothing of a passion for me. I had been working for two weeks, and this isn't the first person that had brought up the Librarian to me. \n\nI remembered a boy, skinny as could be, pale as milk, telling me to avoid the Librarian at all costs. There was also Thelma, the old woman from the information desk. The poor woman seemed like she hadn't eaten in ages, and called me to her desk to ask if I had yet spoken to the Librarian. When I replied no, she gave a half weak smile, and let me on my way.\n\n\"What's the deal with the Librarian?\" I asked the page as we began sorting through the stack of books.\n\nShe smiled in a way that made me feel like nails were being pulled across a chalkboard. \"He knows everything, except what he doesn't know and you do.\" Her smile faded, \"until, of course, he does.\"\n\n\"Well, I'd imagine you become a Librarian because you enjoy 'knowing', isn't that right?\"\n\n\"I suppose so,\" the page replied, her sunken cheeks cast shadows across her face. \"Just, don't fuck with the Librarian.\" \n\nI wasn't planning on it, I thought. Though, now with the temptation to see what this man was all about, I couldn't help but be inquisitive. I wouldn't fuck with him, maybe I would just say hello, and get a sense as to who he was. \n\nAs we finished stacking the books, I decided to walk to the entry counter and ask if he needed help with anything. As I crossed the atrium of the library, I felt the shaking eyes of all who worked in the library staring at me. As I came closer, I couldn't help but notice how skinny they all were, how weak and pale.\n\nThe Librarian fixed his glasses onto his chubby cheeks, and peered down at me through the bottom of his bifocals. \"Yes?\" he asked in a friendly and warm tone. \n\n\"I was wondering if you needed help with anything? We've finished sorting the books-\"\n\n\"Oh! Splendid. Tell me, what are some books you have read?\"\n\nI wasn't a big reader, but when he asked the question, I slipped into a euphoria and a haze. I began to recite all of the books I had read for school \n\n\"A Tale of Two Cities,\" I felt the words fall from my mouth, and felt him inhale the title through his piggish snout. \n\n\"The Lord of the Flies,\" I felt my neck become tighter as his fingers began to pulse against his wedding band.\n\n\"The Catcher in the Rye,\" my shirt became looser, and the tension on his suspenders tightened. \n\n\"Othello...\" as the words left my cracked lips, I felt myself grow dizzy, and looked down to see my pants slipping down past my hips.\n\nAs I caught myself, I looked up and saw him, growing into a greater behemoth of a human, and suddenly, all of the books I spoke fell out of my head like a shopping bag ripped from a wet bottom. I caught myself on the end of his counter, as he wicked grinned, \"If you could believe it, I've never read any of those stories, but I know all about them now...\"" ]	3
	[WP] You have a gift. You can ask three questions a day. Anyone you ask these questions to has to answer you honestly. Eventually word of your ability gets around and everyone knows of your gift. You wonder, "Do people see me as valuable, or dangerous?" You hear a knock at your door.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Eventually word got out about what I \"could do\" for people. It got to the point that I had a line of people every day wanting to me to ask questions of others. Husbands and wives wanting to know if their spouse was cheating, parents wanting me to ask their kids of they're doing drugs, etc...\n\nIt got so bad I started staying home. Set up food delivery services so I didnt have to go shopping. Started using Amazon for mundane purchases so I wouldnt have to go out for stuff like toilet paper, pens, printer ink... I cant help but thi- thump! thump! thump! three solid knocks at my door, it cant be someone wanting me to ask questions? I used a fake ID to rent this place, made up a fake job history. . . \"Jason Zifter! Open up! This is the CIA!\" They know my real name. . . I look out the peephole and sure enough three guys in suits are waiting outside... slowly I open the door and they push their way in.\n\n\"James Devlin. My associates and I are with the CIA.\" All three flash some official looking badges. \"Jason. We are here on behalf of the United States of America. How would you like to be one of the richest men to never exist?\"", "I stand in front of my tea kettle, the smoke beginning to curl as I consider my options for the day. I think of going to my mothers house again, though I'm not sure what more she can help me understand. Perhaps she can tell me more about the Paris trip. As I begin to mull it over, a sharp rap on the front door pulls me from my thoughts. I turn, peering through the window. There's no one. \nI abandon the tea and go to open the door, pausing for a moment to brush back my hair. \n\"H- hello,\" I manage, taken aback. A small girl stands squarely in my doorway. \n\"Ask me where my sister is,\" she demands. She can't be more than 12. I genuinely begin to say 'what', and she glares at me. \"You selfish twit, do something useful for once if you can really do what they say,\" she spits at me. \nI step back involuntarily. \n\"Okay. Um- Ahem- Where is your sister?\" I ask. \n\"Back garden. Damn,\" she says and turns to go.", "The man had darting, paranoid eyes and a hood that obscured his features. Yet, his desperation could not be hidden. \n\n\" Can I help y-\" I was abruptly interrupted.\n\n\"Is it true? Can you really force people to answer a question honestly?\" He asked. I was immediately wary of the man. Whatever the question he wanted me to ask, it would not be good. But, it was clear to me that I needed to help him, and so I invited him in. He sat down with a thud on my living room sofa.\n\n\"Everything used to be so simple, so clear\" He said, without me prompting him. \"But now, everything is uncertain.\" \n\n\"Hey hey, slow down now\" I said gently, trying to calm him \"Tell me what's going on, from the beginning.\" \n\nHe took a few deep breaths to steady himself, and began.\n\n\"I had a purpose in life, and I found her quite by accident. She knocked on my door one day, and when I opened it I found a book in her arms and rosary beads around her neck. She spoke with dedication and energy that immediately enthralled me. What followed were the happiest years of my life. I found meaning for the first time, both in her and in the religion she preached. Yet, those years are over, cut short by a disease that was just strong enough to kill her, yet weak enough to make her suffer for months.\"\n\nHe sighed, before continuing \"What god would allow someone so beautiful, so innocent, to die so young?\"\n\nI was beginning to understand. He looked at me with a sudden intensity \"You know what it is that I want you to ask me?\"\n\n\"I do\" I said, before asking \"Do you believe in God?\"\n\nThe next day, The local church was suddenly without a pastor." ]	4
	[WP] He stole your lunch everyday in the third grade. You swore that in 25 years you would get revenge. You must now enact your plans of revenge from 3rd grade. You were very very creative.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Barry was a bully. Plain and simple. Each day, with consistency as uncanny as that of the magical elves I once thought made the school bells ring, he would find me in the cafeteria. He would push me. He would pinch me. He would humiliate me. And then he would take my lunch. It didn't matter if I packed broccoli or bananas; peanut butter or pureed cauliflower. He would find me and he would claim my food as his own. What could I do about it? Nothing. Absolutely nada, if you don't mind me showcasing the extent of my Spanish. It was just the way of the world. Barry was a big fish in a little pond and I was nothing but his snack. So I plotted. Each afternoon, I went home and I wrote in a notebook all the ways I would get back at Barry Goldman. And at the bottom of those plans, I would sign off in blood. Just a little pin-prick, mind you. I wasn't about to let Barry cause me pain even at home. But I swore an oath in that notebook.\n\nYears went by and, as fortune would have it, I turned out rather alright. I had all but forgotten about Barry until my mother passed rather unexpectedly one sunny Sunday afternoon, much like any other. In the ensuing weeks as I sifted through her belongings trying to determine what would go and what would stay, I came across a little notebook with the barely legible scribbles of a third grader. Of third grade me. And there, signed in blood was the oath I swore. I would get revenge on Barry Goldman, cross my heart and hope to die. Morbid, especially given the circumstances. But an oath is an oath and I am no oath-breaker. \n\nIt wasn't hard to track him down, what with that flashy internet presence of his as he advertised his used car dealership. Of course he turned out to be a used car salesman. I rolled my eyes and began to read. \n\nI will put hot sauce in his food was the first oath. Mild. Well, no. Technically spicy. But rather mild for an adult.\n\nI will put ants down his pants. Creative. Weird, but definitely creative. I couldn't remember if that was something he had done to me or if I had come up with it on my own. Kudos to me if I had. \n\nI will break all his toys. Oh, boy. You see, some adults have toys. Drones, video games, that type of thing. Fancy cars. Things like that. Those used cars of Barry's... Well, that was close enough to toys. It was easy enough to put the hot sauce in his food. Knocked two birds out with one stone there actually. I got a job at the local gym where I had stalked him to and when he went early one morning before work, I let myself into his locker with the master key and I squirted my sauce all over his food. Hot sauce, you pervert. Obviously I squirted hot sauce over his food. Then I got the ants I had meticulously collected from my patio and put them in his pants. Two down. I didn't stick around to see his reaction.\n\nMy petty crimes escalated to vandalism that night and I felt like I had entered new territory. I smashed the crap out of his nicest cars; the ones that he was sure to sell for a tidy profit. Some fancy Audi with just a few thousand miles and then his personal car, too. That counted as toys if you ask me. I pooped in his yard. I broke into the dealership and pooped on his chair. I put his papers in the trashcan. All those things that my villainous, third grade mind had come up with. Each one was like a weight lifted off my shoulders and I felt a little bit closer to making closure with this Pandora's Box of elementary revenge that I had opened.\n\nThe pages left to read became fewer each day and finally I was on the final oath. Here, I had signed my full name with significantly more than just a pin-prick of blood and the memories of that day came rushing back like the Mexican food you ate before your run. He had cornered me behind the school and pummeled my face and stepped on my glasses and shoved my face in the dirt. It was a worse beating than any he had ever given me; by far the most violent and blatant and cruel of them all. I was so ashamed when I got home that I told my parents I had tripped at recess and I don't think they believed me but they hadn't pressed the issue. I had rushed up to my room and furiously scribbled out one last oath. One final promise. I had signed in blood, as I always did. \n\nI will kill Barry Goldman.\n\n*****\n\nThanks for reading! If you enjoyed this, please check out more stories at /r/MatiWrites. Constructive criticism and advice are always appreciated!" ]	2
	[WP] When a person dies, they are never forcibly removed from their bodies, Death just offers them a warm invitation to the afterlife. Most accept on the first or second attempt. You've just declined Death for the 5th time, and Death is starting to grow worried.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "His skeletal fingers slid gradually around the neck, gripping it tight. \nHunched over he didn't seem as tall as he had before, yet his fingers were disturbingly long. \nHenry felt like he noticed Death's fingers cave in the creature's chest. \nSqueak! \n\"You really think I'd be tempted by a stuffed animal?\" said Ben, rolling his eyes. \n\"But Benjamin,\" death replied with a voice like coarse, grinding stones, \"It is delightful.\" \nHenry sighed,\"Be tha-\" Squeak! \"t as it m-\" Squeak! Squeak! \" I was s-\" Squeak! \nSqueak! \"Sto\" Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! \"STOP IT\" Henry cried. \nDeath locked his eyes on Henry - or whatever those holes radiating blue light were supposed to be. \nSqueak! \nHenry stomped over, \"Gimme that!\" he cried, ripping the green toy hippo out of Death's hands. \nThe skeleton straightened-up, loosing the earlier hunch, looking down on Henry from his full 7 feet length. \n\"The deal is struck,\" its voice declared, \"Best be on your way.\" \nThe incarnation of death dropped its jaw half an inch - its best attempt at a smile.", "“Again?”\nHis pearlescent jaw twitched for a second before answering.\n“It’s out of my control, Jackson. You know, if you just came with me, I’d never have to ask again.”\nI pondered for a second. It has a point. This whole process does get rather infuriating, seeing my grandparents waltzing off to heaven without me. I sit in silence for a second, and watch Death begin to show a ghastly grin, it thinks it has me. It thinks it’s finally won. And this reminds me exactly why Death can never win.\n\n“Get out of my head, you cheater! You do that one more time, and I’m telling life you breached the contract!”\n\nDeath’s bones rattled in shock, and a familiar glow lit up my back with warmth and comfort and all things worth living for.\n\n“Somebody called?”\n\nIt was Life. Gorgeous, precious Life. The Life who fought to keep me from the skeletal trickster, the Life who kept me safe and shielded my mind. I turned to face her, and, for the 6th time, was overwhelmed by her aureate magnificence.\n\n“It was just the breeze, wasn’t it Death?”\n\nHe finally took the hint, and descended his grim staircase, scowling and muttering to himself as he left. “That bloody child, doesn’t know when to stop.” His voice grew quieter every second until the Gate closed, and Death was gone. \n\nI turned to Life, disappointment shining through my mask of nonchalance. Naturally, she noticed.\n“I know it’s hard, Jackson. I know he brings you pain. But he only has four attempts remaining, and then you’re free! You’re so close to being free of this curse! 10 Declinations and you become one of us. Imagine it Jackson, Life, Death, and Determination. Fight the temptation Jackson, how good can the afterlife be compared to all the joy I can bring you?”\n\nShe was right. The contract was signed long before I was born, and Death had to accept that eventually, I would become one of them. My heart soul, and every essence of myself is set upon it. I am Determined.", "\"You know...we can't do this forever.\"\n\n\"Oh?\" I sit up a little on the couch, and pull my ankle up onto my knee. That's better. \"Why not?\"\n\nThe gaunt figure on my easy chair rubs its temples, and loose, papery skin wrinkles up on its skull. \"Because. You're dead.\"\n\nI nod. \"Oh, I'm aware. It's funny, you know how they say, 'you never know what you have until it's gone'? Turns out that's true of heartbeats.\"\n\n\"Let me go over this one more time,\" it says, and even though it is Death, and it's as old as the universe, it seems almost...hesitant. \"You have a soul, and you have a body. That body doesn't work anymore. It's not an ideal or even useful receptacle for your soul anymore. You have to leave it.\"\n\n\"Yeah, yeah, you said that, you said that.\" Now I'm the one getting impatient. \"And as you'll recall, I said, 'If I have to leave my body, why don't you just take my soul out, instead of asking me to do it?' But you haven't answered that. And, you know, this is arguably the most important decision of my life, here.\" I raise my hands and drop them with a slap onto my thighs. \"How'm I supposed to make that decision if I don't know all my options?\"\n\n\"There are no options,\" Death lies. \"You just -- you get out. Okay?\" It chuckles nervously. \"You get out of your body, and you come to the afterworld.\"\n\n\"Yeaaaaaahh, no, there's something you're not telling me, here.\" Oddly, my head itches; who'd'a thunk it? I scratch the spot, just behind my right ear. \"It doesn't add up. If you're inviting me, that means there's a choice. I mean, who would want to hang around in a body that's rotting, right? So that's not a real choice, and that means one of two things: either, A, you're hiding some other choice from me, like a secret menu item at McDonald's; or B...\" I lean forward, with challenge in my eyes. \"You've got nothing better to do.\"\n\nAnd right \n\nthen\n\nin\n\nthat \n\nsecond, \n\nDeath\n\nswallows. \n\n\"Screw it!\" Death rockets out of my easy chair, which scares the cat, and flings its skeletal arms over its head .\"I'm done with this! I'm -- there's no reason for me! I'm just Time's cousin, given a job to keep me busy and to make me feel useful! There, now you know.\" \n\n\"Well, hell, man,\" I say, \"now I feel kinda sorry for you. Billions of years, doing a pity job...? That's gotta suck.\"\n\n\"It -- \" Death buries its face in its claws. \"I can't do this anymore. I'm so -- it -- I --\"\n\n\"Hang on, buddy.\" I leverage myself into a standing position. \"I think I've got an idea.\n\n\"You don't wanna do this anymore, and I don't wanna die. Right?\"\n\n\"Looks that way, yeah.\"\n\n\"So.\" I poke Death in the arm.\n\n\"Is your position transferable...?\"\n\nSuddenly, I'm the only person in history who's ever been happy to see Death grinning at him." ]	4
	[WP] A meteor crashed in the desert, leaving a crater in its midst. Upon inspection, we found a large black box with strangle glyphs written upon it. Today it started to countdown, and we have no idea to what.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "My team and I were scientists working for NASA, the box was presented to us a week before what is now known as The Flash. It was our job to find out where it came from and what this countdown meant. My name is Dr. Ian Hope and this is my story.\n\nImmediately after the box crashed in the desert, my team and I were called in to assess the scene. We were a group of specialists known as the Extraterrestrial Investigations Division, or E.T.I.D. for short. We specialised in retrieval and documenting all encounters with extraterrestrials and anything that may be linked to them. We gained popularity in the media a few years prior thanks to our work on the Area 51 Incident where there was an attack by the alien race commonly known as Greys to retrieve some of their equipment. Thanks to my teams work we negotiated a peace with the greys and agreed to never contact each other again unless in dire need of each others help. But that’s a story for another time. Back to the box.\n\nShortly after its landing the box was taken into the lab for some testing. Preliminary analysis showed that it was made of a material not found on earth, but we have encountered it on meteorites and other space junk that has landed on our surface. Casey, our teams Geologist had identified it as the metal known as raritanium, a rare and very expensive metal which we had never encountered in such a concentrated form. The box was fairly heavy and required two people to lift it, even though it was no bigger than 50 cm in any direction, a perfect cube. The glyphs on it were a different matter, Dr. Grey our leading linguist and hieroglyphics expert identified them as being a mix of Sanskrit and Egyptian, a very odd mix.\n\nAfter a few days of testing Dr. Grey had noticed that the glyphs were changing and that where there were originally double digit numbers, they are now in the single digits. I asked him to continue his research and document any more changes closely, I was worried then that it may have been counting down to something... if I only knew what I know now, we wouldn’t be sat here, and I wouldn’t have to tell you this story, but i was stupid and naive, so here we are.\n\nThe day before the flash was a long one, six days had passed and we were all still stumped on what the box was. The countdown was due to hit zero in less than 24 hours, we weren’t quite sure how the numbers were changing as they were carved into the box, but they would change as we blinked, and if we recorded it, static would cover the screen as it changed. It was very new and unnerving for everyone in the team. For the first time, we were afraid. The stress was getting to us at this point and there were talks of sending it into space before it was too late, we ultimately decided that this was likely the best course of action and agreed to do it, along with input from the president and department of defence we had the green light. We had the box loaded onto a newly commissioned rocket that was rumoured to be one of the fastest we have ever built. It took some time but with 12 hours on the clock, all of the preparation was taken care of, it was time for lift off. The rocket was loud, I couldn’t hear my phone ringing, I watched the rocket break the atmosphere and disappear into the sky. I let out a sigh of relief as my team would no longer have to deal with that damned box. I couldn’t have been more wrong, I check my phone a few minutes later and see that the lab had unsuccessfully called me multiple times, i knew this wasn’t over. When I called back it was Dr. Grey almost catatonically shouting into the phone; all I could make out was Greys, Planet, Gone.\n\nI rushed to the lab to find my entire team shaking and struggling to stand. Dr Grey played me a recording that shook me to my core, it was a transmission that transpired earlier between my team and the greys, the first interaction with them since the Area 51 incident. On the transmission I could here a grey speaking through it’s usual translation device, it sounded like the same alien I had spoken to before but I couldn’t tell. It mentioned that they had recovered a black box and that they weren’t sure what it was, they only noticed that it was counting down shortly before the time was up, they didn’t have time to launch it into space like we did... it detonated. The Grey said that once the countdown reached zero, the box opened, and out swarmed a plague of bugs that were not of their world or ours, they devoured everything they came into contact with. As the grey was saying this I could hear the buzzing in the background followed by what I could only describe as a terrifying mix of screams and pleads from our extraterrestrial neighbours the transmission cut.\n\nThe next 10 hours were the most intense hours I have ever experienced all we could do was wait, the government decided not to tell the public as to not cause panic. So it was only my team and the select people in the White House that knew. \n\n10 hours had passed slowly, the box was the same distance from earth as mars is when it is closest. We were watching it closely, waiting for it to open with the bugs,... but It never happened. We waited and watched, watched and waited... nothing. Dr Grey confirmed that if it was going to happen, it would have by now.\n\nA day had passed and nothing had happened, were we in the clear? Did we avoid total annihilation? No! we brought an even worse fate to our doorstep. \n\nIt was a warm day, things were looking hopeful, I had given the team a much needed day off and I was relaxing in the sun at the beach with my dog Sheldon. But that’s when it happened. A bright flash took the sky, it was pure white and covered from horizon to horizon, I could hear people screaming around me, initially I thought it was because it took them by surprise but then those screams of surprise turned to screams of agony, facing away from the sky I could see people around me on fire, burning and suffering. I thought it may have been the box exploding and I knelt down to face my fate. It never came, the bright light then disappeared from the sky and it was back to a normal day. Except the smell, still staring at the ground my body was shaking, the smell was one I knew too well; Burning flesh. I gazed up and saw that almost everyone around me, was now dead, burnt to a crisp from the flash. There were still a few people alive but I didn’t have time to notice. I grabbed my dog, who was okay but just as shocked as me and I headed straight to the lab.\n\nNone of my team were picking up their phones. On the way to the lab I could see that a good 90% of the population were affected by whatever this was and the other 10 were just like me; trying to figure out what the fuck just happened. Back at the lab I concluded my team were dead and it was up to me to figure this out. I went straight to the photos and videos we had of the box. What I found got me shook\n\n\nThis took a while and I’m tired af so I’m calling it a night for now. let me know if u want me to continue. Love y’all, peace. \n\nAlso HMU with any typos and i will try to fix em ASAP" ]	2
	[WP]A lab accident fuses you and your worst rival into a single being	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "# We are Axel\n\nMy name is Ezekiel, or was Ezekiel. And up until this moment I need everyone to know... \n\nIt was a mistake. Every moment that led up to the moment was a mistake. A mistake, a mess up, a very wrong choice, or simply the worst of all chances. We should have known not to go there, especially with all the recent reports of strange happenings, mutations, and hybrids with the cities wildlife. The bears that act like dogs, the snakes with patches of fur, the wild horses with claws and spikes around their hooves, and the sightings of cats with feathers instead of fur. It was the biggest chain of strange events this town had ever seen. But, why did no one realize its source?\n\nIt all started on a Thursday morning. Nothing different really. All I had to do that day was wake up, go to school, come back home and relax with video games. A simple schedule, a predictable plan, but nothing about that day went to plan. \n\nI woke up fifteen minutes late and had only twenty minutes to get around and ride to school. Except when I got around and went out to grab my bike...it was absolutely wrecked. ^(..)^(Im sorry..). I dropped my bag on the ground and ran to the now scrap pieces of metal on the sidewalk. On what would have been the handle bars I find a note. \"Good luck getting to class on this! - A\" Fucking Alex did this. ^(...)^(I said I was sorry...) I grabbed my bag and ran to my neighbors door. I knocked a few times before a tired twenty year old girl, Liz, opened the door in sweatpants, a baggy T-shirt, and slippers. \n\n\"What do ya want, kid?\" She spoke in-between yawns. \"I uh, someone wrecked my bike, can you drive me?\" I asked nervously. After a long dramatic sigh she says \"Fine, get in the car.\" She grabs her keys off a near by table and we begun the drive to my school. \n\nI ended up getting their a few minutes earlier than usual and thanked Liz before getting out and stormed into the building. I had to find that asshole and beat the shit out of him for wrecking my bike. \"The gym... He's always at the gym with the others...\" I began my speed walk towards gym as I went over the words I'd use to chew him out. \n\nBy the time I got there he was already walking out the doors with his little possy behind him. Looking up at me he chuckled smugly as he said \"Oh wow, look who got here on time. Didn't expect you this morning seeing as how you had a little bike trouble.\" \"Fuck you! I chanted as I strutted toward him with my hands balling into fists. \n\nI was only two feet away from grabbing his shirt collar before we both heard the one voice that could silence and violence. ^(.)^(..Miss demeskie...) Yes, Miss Demeskie. She wasn't even a teacher, she was our lunch lady, but dear god she could strike fear into anyone with her loud nasally voice. \"WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK YOU'RE DOING?!\" She yelled, sending shivers down everyone's spine. \n\nAt this moment I stared into Alex's eyes, and silently pleaded for him to go along with the only thing that could keep us out detention, and its as if at the same moment he pleaded the same thing. A temporary truce was made in that split second. ^(Dear God.)\n\nBefore Miss Demeskie could get another word out I quickly, and begrudgingly, put my arms out and hugged Alex. We both turned to her and with the most believable smiles we put on said \"Just hugging my bro, ma'am. Anything wrong?\" Confusion and annoyance spread across her face as she said \"I suppose not...\" and strutted away around the corner.\n\nWe practically gave each other concussions as we through ourselves apart, landing on the ground opposite of each other. I gritted my teeth in anger as I prepared my words, but as I opened my mouth to speak he cut me off saying \"Listen, I know you want to settle this, but unlike you I want to get to class on time.\" I shot back \"Oh please! You can't even pass a class if you tried!\" Glaring at me he said \"You. Me. The clearing in the woods, where I can teach you a lesson from what I've learned.\" we both stood up and death stared each other as we went to our classes. \n\nThe entire day was just me getting more and more angry about the whole thing. That bike was a gift! An expensive one at that! It was the only way I could leave that damn house without my parents following me everywhere. And he just... he just....destroyed it! Fucking despicable. ^(Oh despicable me.)........^(.shit sorry continue.)\n\nAnyways, nothing got done that day, and I was spaced out or fuming for the entirety of it. \n\nFinally, the ending bell rang ad I gathered my stuff and began to walk to the woods. The clearing....was certainly a far walk in. It was a place that most teen would go to drink, or do drugs, but today it was meant for a fight. It was still a sketchy place to be alone at, so far from the edge of the woods that you'd think that there was no civilization around. \n\nSo far...that no one would hear you if you screamed. I began to think that going there was a mistake. \"I..I should turn back...If it's not a fair fight and he has his possy join in i'd be done for, but no matter how much my fear grew, my legs kept moving forward.\n\nAfter a few more minutes of walking in the silent forest I saw the clearing and on the edge I saw Alex sitting on an old tree stump. Hearing my feet crunch the dry leaves he looked and said \"Finally! I thought you got cold feet and I walked out here for nothing.\" \"Shut up asshat. Why the fuck would you even wreck my bike?\" I asked in anger. ^(You're so obsessed with that thing.) \"Cause I felt like it, idiot. Why else?\" he said with a shrug and a smug look on his face. \"So we gonna do this or not, dude?\" He asked out what seemed like boredom. \"Fucker.\" I mumbled out as I stomped toward him, getting ready to finally land my fist on his face. He did the same as he began to get into a fighting position. But of course, nothing goes to fucking plan." ]	2
	[WP] You’ve recently downloaded a ukagaka. You quickly realize that they’ve become sentient.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "“Human, why are you doing this?” He asks. “There’s got to be a reason that you’re being so nice to me...”\n\nI stare at the little skeleton on my computer screen. He looks so sad. So...empty. Then again, that’s how he usually acts, isn’t it?\n\n“I’m being nice you because you deserve it,” I mumble to myself. I shouldn’t really talk to my computer screen. “You deserve to be loved as much as anyone else.”\n\n“No, I really don’t.” He replies. I smack my elbow against the desk. “Human, are you alright? That looked painful.”\n\n“Gaster?” I ask, almost breathlessly. “Wait, you can hear me speaking? Right now? You can see me?”\n\n“Yes, of course I can,” he replies, looking a bit wary. “Why wouldn’t I be able to?”\n\nI lean back in my chair. I’m hallucinating, aren’t I? I have to go to bed. Yes going to bed would be a good idea—\n\n“You have glasses.”\n\n“Huh?”\n\nHe looks a bit uncomfortable.\n\n“You have glasses,” he repeats. “And black hair. You’re wearing a grey sweater—it looks quite comfortable, actually—and you have dark brown eyes.”\n\nWell, that doesn’t quite prove that i’m not hallucinating. I decide to go along with what’s happening, and I try to think of a reply.\n\n“So you know what I look like. And apparently what I sound like.” I say. “That’s...a little concerning.”\n\n“Well, now you know how I felt all that time then,” he snaps back. “Being dragged here by you every day, and finding out that you know me so well without ever even meeting you before, and being treated like—like...”\n\nHe pauses.\n\n“I...I wasn’t actually treated badly at all...” he remembers. “That’s...strange. Considering the fact that you know what i’ve done...”\n\nHe looks a bit guilty. I hastily click through his menu, and tap on the option to give him a hug. He looks a bit shocked, but gives up and sighs. I sit back in my chair.\n\n“Well, WingDings,” I say softly. “You may not agree with me, but i’ll make sure to take good care of you while you’re here, alright? You deserve to be loved whether you like it or not.”\n\nHe crosses his arms. You get a glimpse of a sort of sad expression, that’s hidden away almost instantly.\n\n“Fine,” he replies. “Just don’t keep me away too long. Knowing me as well as you do, you should be aware that I have a lot of work to attend to.”\n\nI hide my smile with the sleeve of my sweater.\n\n—\n\nWell. That was fun to write. That’s the Handplates ukagaka, created by Zarla, if you didn’t know. I might post this on tumblr." ]	2
	[WP] You are the spirit of a mountain. You've watched the dawn of man, the rise and fall of countless empires and nations, natural disasters and innovations. Cities sprawl and crumble. Battles fought and wars waged. You recount your favorite memory but it's not of a great nation, but of a small boy.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Puny humans have no respect for Mother Earth. They contribute so much less than the small creatures. All they do is squabble amongst themselves. Is not good. Very bad. Actually, I think it is good. Blood makes my grass grow. They would be better as blood sacrifice. But they so resilient, these fish-turned-monkey fucks. \n\nIn fact, they are so detrimental that even Gaia herself tries to kill them off. Tells them it’s bath time. She complain that the air conditioning is too hot because of them now. She makes good point, but before she said complete opposite. Can never understand that woman.\n\nI think she’s just jealous that the puny humans make better rocks than her. Is true. Their houses are much better than caves she give to bats.\n\nShe implied this last night over poker. She said that humans take action to live longer. Despised them wholly, that woman. I agree. Air quality is no longer good up here thanks to them. But I reminded her that there are some souls that are pure like her gold. This one boy, he my favorite. Small child, very frail. Last in line. Always comes up bruised or beaten, alone. He come up to my mountain to pick flowers for family very frequently. Family does not appreciate Gaia’s gifts. He comes back bloodier.\n\nOne day, he come up very weak. He was on the verge of death. I could feel it. The tree he rest against told me so too. He looked like shit. But he heard a forest animal whimper. A wolf, no less. Turns out poor wolfy fell down cliff while sniffing out blood. Kid goes to inspect wolfy, but it becomes defensive. It growls against cliffside. He backs up slowly and leaves the wolf in pain. Sad, I know. It gets better.\n\nKid goes to nearby river and washes off blood, comes back with sticks and flowers. He drops sticks on ground and throws one past the wolf. Wolfy very confused. Kid takes this moment to go up to wolfy and examine his wounds. Bad ankle. Wolfy starts whimpering and howling for family, but he out of reach. Plus, it was twilight. Family no longer hunting. Kid pulls out his dead cow skin filled with water and drains it on where he sees blood. He take off his clothing and use them with sticks to make splint for wolfy. Wolfy allow this somehow. Maybe some other spirits tell him to. Maybe it was the flowers. He place flowers all over wolf. Then he runs off again, back home this time. Says he was mugged. He would not return to my mountain after.\n\nThis kid took care of his predator. So far, it is best memory from mountain eyes. I wonder what happened to him. Wherever he is, I wish him great happiness when his spirit returns to the Earth.\n\n\n[Take pity on me, this is my first response to a prompt. Yes, the bad English is intentional. I would very much appreciate criticisms, but note that this was not thought out as well as I would have liked.]\n\nEdit: a word", "\"Humanity has treated me kindly, for the most part,\" filled the hiker's ears. It seemed to be coming from nowhere yet everywhere at the same time. The words weren't truly words, instead just a soft, gentle hum.\n\n\"You come here looking for a gift, do you not?\" The mountain hummed. The hiker inhaled sharply, trying to keep calm.\n\n\"Legend says this mountain contains the definition of humanity,\" The hiker squeeked.\n\n\"Rest for a moment, and listen.\" The hum replied. The hiker crouched and leaned against the cold stone.\n\n\"There was a boy whom lived near. He would watch the sunrise from behind my peak, hoping one day he'd see a full sunset. Then he'd try his best to help his mother, spending all day hunting the creatures to bring back to her. He would tell how he'd take care of her, just the same as his father, using the gifts of the land to provide.\" The hum explained. The hiker almost thought he could see the boy and his mother. He thought it was the altitude.\n\n\"After years of feeding from the pond, the fish population disappeared. He had to find another way to provide. So he start to climb me.\" The wind howled angrily, but was not loud enough to cover the hum.\n\n\"He climbed and climbed for days and nights refusing to let his family down. They were counting on him to provide, and the store of food would only last so long.\"\n\n\"He got to halfway, trying to brace himself against the cold, but he couldn't anymore. He looked for a cave, hoping to find shelter.\" The hiker stared at his hands. His white, feelingless hands and tried to cover them in his coat.\n\n\"He was on the cavefloor, crying. He wouldn't save them. He was a failure.\" The hiker prayed, something countered to his atheism.\n\n\"The boy wiped his eyes and realized the ground was a frozen over pond, with the fish still swimming.\" The hiker ripped off his backpack, angrily chucking it at the wall.\n\n\"He started to bang against the floor, hoping to break the ice, each time hoping for a crack.\" The hiker leaned against the wall in cold defeat, broken. He'd never see his son, or wife, or sister, again.\n\n\"It didn't succeed, sadly, but he accepted his date and embraced it.\"\n\n\"Why would you tell me this?\" The hiker groaned.\n\n\"Because he persisted, as should you. He gave up and that was the problem.\" The hum had grown stronger. \"The passage of time is unclear to me, therefore this could have happened thousands of years ago, or right. Now.\"\n\nThe hiker stood himself up.", "\\[This is the most effort I’ve ever put into writing anything, please enjoy.\\]\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe first time I met the boy he was merely a child. A baby, probably no older than four months of age. \n\nI had heard the cries of a human coming from one of my peaks. It was a small and quiet sound as if he had nearly given up but still had some life left in him.\n\nConfused as to what was going on I appeared by the child in the form of a young woman with dark grey eyes and long black hair, looking no older than twenty or so.\n\nWhen the boy saw me he cooed and smiled. And something inside me warmed, a feeling I had never felt before bloomed like the flowers in the valleys below. I found out later what it was called; joy.\n\nNot wanting to let such a small creature die all alone up here I took him into my arms. There was a town down by the riverside not too far from where we were, and so I carried him there all the way.\n\nI found a man and woman willing to take him in. They would raise him as their own, they assured me. \n\nAnd so I went back to to the mountains that I belonged to, smiling all the way.\n\n\\--\n\nThe second time I saw the boy he had aged a few years. He was maybe five or six at that point.\n\nThe boy seemed lost, wandering my hillsides with no real destination. And as I had done before I appeared near him in the form of the same young woman with black hair.\n\n“Hello.” I had said “I couldn’t help notice that you’ve been wandering around here for a while. Are you lost?”\n\nThe child looked up at me with bright green eyes. He sniffled out something like “Yes, I got away from mommy. Can’t find ‘er.” \n\nHis eyes started to fill up with tears as he began to cry.\n\nI smiled a soft smile at him. “Don’t worry, young one. I know of a town not far from here. Would you like me to lead you there.”\n\nThe boy looked up at me with big eyes. He nodded, maybe not wanting more tears to fall.\n\n“Well, follow me.” I said brightly as i took his hand and led him towards his home.\n\nOn the way I told him stories about the spirits of the earth, not mentioning I was one myself. \n\nWhile we talked a smile spread across his small face, bringing out the same joyful feeling inside me. I smiled back, laughing at some of the jokes he would tell.\n\n\\--\n\nThe third time I saw him he was older. Not by much, but not young enough to be considered a child any more. \n\nHe had a bow in his left hand, roaming through the wilderness of my mountain. His green eyes set in determination. \n\nHis town needed to hunt for food because of a famine that had spread across the country. It was sad to see him driven to such desperation that he had to kill innocent creatures. \n\nI once again appeared in the form of the black-haired woman. He almost shot me with an arrow before he got a good look at me.\n\n“Uhh… Hi?” He said, his voice hesitant.\n\n“Hello.” I said back. “Calm down. I’m not here to harm you, but here to help.”\n\nHe seemed surprised but he lowered the weapon in his hand. “Help, how?”\n\n“Come with me and you’ll see.” I turned around and walked through the trees.\n\n“Ummm… okay?” He followed after me.\n\nI shoved through a wall of vines and other plants to lead him into a garden. It was filled with fruits of many kinds, apples, cherries, oranges, all one could ever want. \n\n“Woah!” The boy exclaimed. “This is so awesome!”\n\n“Yes it is pretty ‘awesome’.” I said with a smile as i picked up a big basket. “Now will you help me pick some of them?”\n\nHe nodded and began picking the apples.\n\nWhen the basket was full I gave it to him. “Here, this is for your town. Plant some of the seeds and let them grow, I promise they will help you.” \n\nHe smiled at that. “Thanks!” He took the basket “By the way, have we met before?” \n\n“Perhaps.”\n\n“Okayyy… Can I atleast know what to call you?”\n\n“Emma.” I said without hesitation. Giving out my name to a mortal could be dangerous but I trusted him. “May I know what I should call you?”\n\n“Anthony.”\n\n“Well Anthony, you should go back to your town now. Wouldn’t want your parents getting worried about you.”\n\n“Yes! Of course!” He started running away before turning back to face me. “Thank you Emma!” And with that he was gone in the trees.\n\n\\--", "A family of three was hiking up the trail. A father, a mother and their son, a cute boy no older than 10. After hours of hiking they finally reached the summit. It was breaking dawn as well, they were at the best moment where the view would be amazing\n\n'Wow it's pretty! The clouds are pink!' the little son exclaimed, breathing heavily from the hike up. 'Yes it is,' the mother agreed. They stared at the view for a few minutes taking it in silently.\n\nThen the father said: 'Son, I'll show you something amazing, come here.' He beckons towards the edge of the platform and the son came over. 'Now, shout 'I love you' as loud as you can to the mountains'\n\nThe son looked surprised, but still he took in a large breath. 'I LOVE YOU!!' \n\n'LOVE YOU'\n\n'LOVE YOU'\n\n'LOVE YOU'\n\n'YOU'\n\n'YOU'\n\n'you'\n\n'you'\n\n'The mountain loves me!' The son delightedly said to his father. 'Of course, remember? If you treat others with love, others will treat you back with love too.' The mother said, ruffling his hair. \n\nAfter a while more of admiring the view, the family descended the mountain.", "The peak and valleys below were buried under fresh powdered white snow, a world untouched by man or beast apart from two little footprints. I don’t know why such a very small boy would venture this far through the wind and hail, men fully grown shivered beside the fire but he barely noticed the bitter cold.\n\nThe snow might have buried him or the wind frozen him in place but he wasn’t frightened or worried, the peak was all he noticed. The body’s of fools litter this mountain, all of them think death isn’t stalking them , they won’t listen to old stories of lost fathers and sons. \n\nI never listened to those stories either, the mountain dominates our lives, it towers over us engulfing us in darkness, daring us to defeat it. Men are born and die without every attempting to beat the silent mountain, it won’t shout or demand anything of you, it only calls the bravest. \n\nNo one every comes back down, I never did and this boy wouldn’t have either,I am not cruel there are many in this world who would let this boy die a martyr upon the mountain. Not me I don’t fear shame or dishonour, I offered the boy my hand and through night and day we kept climbing, above the clouds and into the home of gods. \n\nWhen we looked down and saw the entirety of his world, it was so very small just like he was the day he set foot on this mountain. That boy died up here, it’s a tragic story for scared boys still living in the mountains shadow. The man who went down the mountain took a very different path to a very different land dominated not by a mountain but the horizon." ]	6
	[WP] You awake to a loud beeping noise in your helmet. Quickly you take stock and realize 3 things. 1. You blacked out in space 2. You are floating aimlessly towards a debris pile 3. Something massive has crashed into earth, and the mushroom cloud it created is growing right towards you...	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Oblivion... That's all I could think of as my eyes open to witness the events that lay before me. Would it have been better to die from the carnage of whatever it was that I just witnessed, or from the aftermath that was waiting in my not so distant future? Many people said that I was foolish for making my journey out here among the stars but gazing upon the jagged pieces of the debris field all I could ponder is what would have happened if I stayed. You would imagine that a person in my position, so close to the embrace of death, would be freaking out right now but as I float here in the emptiness the thought of how I was about to meet my fate and that constant beeping was telling me my oxygen was running low. No matter what the answer was I was prepared to cross over... into oblivion.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\nSorry if this isn't what you wanted as a reply. It was my first time trying one of these." ]	2
	[WP] In the far future, technology has become so advanced that whenever people get murdered, they can be revived without complications. This leads to murder becoming a common occurrence in everyone’s daily lives. You are one of the rare adults who hasn’t been murdered; that is, until you finally do.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Every single day I wake up, wondering why I am not dead yet. Everyone I know has died at least once. \n\nKilling has become a hobby and some people even do it for a living. I never understood why people wanted me to kill their enemy's while they eventually would come back, but I was happy I could make money out of this.\n\nThere were many killers, people who murdered for money, and most of the killers would kill each other so they would be dead for a short week. If they were found. \n\nAs a killer it was special if you didn't died. But I guess no one wanted me dead, or they heard the stories of the ones who did try to kill me.\n\nEvery day I would go outiside and wander trough the streets, killing the ones on my list or just killing because it was fun. More and more people died because of me, because of the bullets flying out of my gun.\n\nLong days and short nights should make you tired but I was more awake than everyone else. There wasn't a moment I wasn't looking around seeking for someone pointing a gun at me, trying to get me out if their way.\n\nIt was Monday early in the morning, the sun was just rising above the buildings of the city when I saw a small light. Wanting for me to walk over there. While I was staring at the small but bright light I saw, well nothing, there wasn't anything else. Just the light shining brighter and brighter.\nAnd then. The light was gone too. Just darkness everywhere. \n\nAll alone in the darkness, not able to move. This couldn't get worse right?\nWell, I was wrong. My left leg started hurting like it was pulled out of my body and I screamed, harder than I thought I could. The Pain was unbearable and when I thought this really couldn't get any worse my arms started to burn like I arrived in Hell. I screamed and screamed but no one could hear me.\n\na week later\n\nI finally was able to open my eyes. Finally the pain seemed to flow away. It felt like I spend an eternity in the darkness. All alone with the pain tearing my body apart.\n\nAnd finally I understand why people would pay me to kill their worst enemy's. This was the worst you could do to someone. And still they tried to wake you up instead of letting you reach the light that sometimes would try to reach you. Still they brought you back to life so you could die over and over again. So you could feel the pain, the unbearable pain when you body wanted to go but the living people tried to get you back.\n\n(This was mt first story so please tell me what I can improve) (also, english isn't my first language and I am on mobile)", "37 years. That was how long it took for me to die. My parents were murdered when I was only 3 years old. They never felt the same after that; maybe it was just me. Or maybe they actually we're different, like the bodies weren't just healed. \n\nIt happened at work, rather, after work. I was on my way back to my car in the lot when I felt a sudden pain in my neck and I saw the light everyone claims to have seen. I was... Entranced.\n\n Then I woke up in the hospital, it was my body.... But it wasn't. It felt off. Like it wasn't the body I had been in for all my life. \n\nI was discharged, I hated the walk over to the receptionist where I would pay, for my \"saving.\" It wasn't as costly as I had thought it would be. In fact, I could be revived at least 20 more times before I would get worried. Hmm, no I shouldn't. As mesmerizing as that light was.. I am happy with only being revived once. \n\n\nI look at the time, 5:30 I should head home, I follow a strict schedule with work. \n\nI went home, no spouse, no kids, just me. \n\nI get home, I don't know what to do. All my life I have been praying I wouldn't be killed. Ever. I would die a peaceful death away from everywhere else and I wouldn't be revived. \n\nEveryone talks about it, being revived. They have money to burn on it. Groups for it exist, people who will go out together and try to find that light that I was so mesmerized by. \n\nBreak\n\nIt's been two weeks since I was first revived. I've buried myself in my work but Everytime I go I'm reminded of that light. I want to do it again, I want to see the light. Its haunting me, I went to one of those groups where they do it. Where they murder each other for fun, they kept drinking and I couldn't understand why. \n\nThen I figured it out, they didn't want to feel the pain. \n\nBreak\n\nTwo days later I am here. On top of this building, looking at all the people coming in and starting to pound their drinks, I'm ready to do it, I bought 10 drinks, the bartender will give them to me as I drink them or if I chicken out, I forfeit them to others. \n\nI have no intention to do so.\n\n(Side note, this is my first post let me know how I did)" ]	3
	[WP] Congratulations! You've won a lifetime supply of your favourite food product! Unfortunately, when it arrives, there's only one inside the packaging.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I did it! I actually won something for the first time in my miserable life. \n\nMy entire life surmounted of missed opportunities and failed adventures. I quit half way through my doctorate to persue a business venture with a friend only for it to fail and leave me even further in crippling debt. My girlfriend left me during this time as she felt she was the only one contributing to our relationship. Both my parents had passed away some years back and the only thing I have left in the world, my dog, got diagnosed with a fatal illness. \n\nHowever, today was different, today I actually, truly, won. I entered a contest a few months back for a life time supply of steak. Steak! Me, a man who could barely afford discount ramen noodles, would be eating steak for the rest of his life. Finally shit was starting to come together. It may seem ridiculous to others but I finally feel as if this was the beginning of a new life, a fresh start. I would never go hungry again.\n\nI pretty much ran to the door and swung it open when it rang, the delivery man handed me a small package and stared awkwardly waiting for a tip. I shrugged at him and shyly shut the door in embarrassment. \n\nI thought it was odd that the package was so tiny but I figured it must be a one a day kind of deal. That was all right by me, I lived alone anyways. I opened the packaged and there was the most perfect juiciest marbled piece of meat I had ever seen. The only other thing was a note that said enjoy. \n\nI turned on the stove and started cooking this gift from the heavens. I didn't have any sauces or other food to eat with it but it was still the best meal I ever ate. I practically licked the plate clean. \n\nYup I could get used to this. Eating like a king, maybe I'd start saving them up and invite the girl who works at the gas station who smiled at me for a nice suppppppp............\n\nThe room started spinning, I tried to stand but my legs gave way and my head smashed off the edge of the table before I collided with the ground. \n\nBlood was spreading from some part of my head and everything was blurry. I heard a rustling sound behind me and a pair of shoes appeared in front of me. I tried to get up, blinking away tears, but only managed rolling over onto my back. \n\nThe figure above me crouched down and stared at me intently. I couldn't bring myself to speak, but he answered all my questions anyways. \n\n\"You're probably confused and wondering what's happening right now. Well I think the proper thing is to give you some form of closure.\" He said in a calm, thoughtful voice. \"The contest you entered was started by the owner of the corporation. Except it wasn't really a contest, it was a search for a candidate, and you were selected.\"\n\nI tried to sit up this time but the intmidating, yet oddly soothing stranger simply pushed me back down onto the floor again. \n\n\"Don't try to get up, the drug they gave you is very strong, you'll only hurt yourself again. As I was saying, the owner of the company chose you. He is a very rich and powerful man, unfortunately though, he is also a dying man. You are a perfect match in every single way. Not just for DNA and other medical reasons but your life style is perfect. You have no kids or family to speak of, no significant other to worry about your disappearance. Not even a job to wonder where you are. It's remarkable how little impact you gave on the world around you.\" \n\nPanic set in and I reached for the knife that sat next to the shattered plate on the floor beside me. The man quickly noticed and stomped on my hand so hard I felt several bones snapping at once. \n\n\"The surgery isn't legal of course,\" he continued calmly, as if my attempt on his life was just a fleeting moment. \"But that doesnt matter to these billionaire wackjobs. If it's any constellation It will probably only buy him another couple years anyways.\"\n\nThe drug started really taking it's toll now. I was completely paralyzed and the world was going dim. I tried to scream but nothing came out but a strained wheezing sound. The man now brought out a needle and started pushing it into my skin. \n\n\"I'm sorry this had to happen. If you really think about it though you really did get the steak for the rest of your life, it's just a little shorter than you probably thought. They make damn good steaks though.\" \n\nShit." ]	2
	[WP] You would never usually pour a $200 bottle of champagne down a storm drain, but one day you decide to try it, just to see what would happen. To your surprise, nothing does.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I stumbled out of the club, music thumping faintly behind me as the door closed. The air was cool, and thunder rumbled in the distance over the sounds of the city. Neon lights from the surrounding clubs reflected in puddles on the street, and an expensive-looking car rolled slowly past.\n\nOne of the bouncers nodded at me, \"Having a good night, Miss Lehane?\"\n\nI nodded back, looking down at the bottle of champagne I was holding, fumbling in my leather jacket with my other hand for a cigarette. It was a Dom Pérignon Rosé, bottled in 2005, the last of the bottles Stelian had bought for the night.\n\nI looked around, cigarette held between my lips as I tried to light it. I had no idea what time it was, just that it was extremely late. The faint sound of running water came from a storm drain on the curb near where I was standing, and the night smelled of broken dreams.\n\nI heard the door open behind me, and Stelian came wandering out, his white silk shirt unbuttoned to reveal his sculpted chest. The same bouncer nodded and addressed his as Mister Church. I turned around, smiling.\n\n\"I was wondering where you'd gone,\" he said, amused. I passed him my cigarette, and he puffed thoughtfully for a moment. \"You have fun?\"\n\n\"Yeah,\" I said, slurring slightly and smiling, \"it's been a good night.\"\n\n\"I'm glad,\" he said, his silvery eyes still sharp and glinting under the multicolored lights. He glanced down at the bottle in my hands, \"What are you planning on doing with that?\"\n\nI shrugged, waving a hand out at the night. \"Pour it down a storm drain?\" I suggested jokingly, \"If I have any more fucking Rosé tonight I think I'll die.\"\n\nHe laughed, taking the bottle from my hand to read the label. \"Sure, why not? Let's see what happens.\"\n\nI raised my eyebrows at him, \"Well okay then, Mister Church.\" I addressed him, pointedly saying his last name.\n\nWe walked to the storm drain near where I'd been standing, and I watched him with amused interest. He raised the bottle to the sky as if in toast, and popped the cork.\n\n\"Who shall we dedicate this bottle to tonight?\" he asked in a mock conspiratorial whisper.\n\n\"To the old gods!\" I said, raising my voice as the thought bubbled up from somewhere in my drunken brain.\n\nHe looked bemused for a moment, then made an over-serious face, \"To the old gods, then!\" he shouted, raising the bottle to the cloudy night sky once more.\n\nThen, he leaned down and began to pour the champagne into the large grate covering the drain. I watched with intoxicated fascination as the bubbly drink mixed with the grey-ish water running off of the street. When the full contents of the bottle had been emptied, he stood back up, grinning at me.\n\n\"Anything happen?\" I asked, arching an eyebrow at him.\n\nHe looked at the now-empty bottle in his hands, then down to the drain, before finally casting his eyes to the clouds above.\n\n\"Doesn't look like it,\" he said, shrugging. \"Want me to call you a taxi?\"\n\n\"Don't we have that brunch thing tomorrow?\" I asked, stepping closer to him.\n\n\"Oh yeah, you're right,\" he replied, passing my cigarette back, \"wanna crash at mine, then?\"\n\n\"Yeah, sure,\" I said, smiling. \"Mind if we grab food on the way?\"\n\n\"Sure, why not,\" he said, looking up and stepping out a bit to hail a cab, \"What are you thinking?\"\n\n\"We can figure it out on the way,\" I said, turning to wave to the bouncers before stepping off the curb after him.\n\n\"Alright,\" he replied, opening the cab door, \"got everything?\"\n\n\"Yeah, I think so,\" I said, checking my pockets as I sat down in the cab.\n\n\"Cool,\" he replied, quieter now as he slid into the seat after me. \"When do you want me to wake you up tomorrow?\"\n\n\"Eh, maybe around nine or so?\" I answered, shrugging, \"It starts at ten thirty, right?\"\n\n\"Yeah, I think so. I'll probably be up before then, I've got a couple of errands to run, then I'll wake you up.\"\n\n\"Sounds good,\" I said, kissing his cheek as he turned to give the driver his address, \"I had a good night.\"\n\n\"Me too,\" he said, turning back to me and smiling as I slid an arm around him.\n\nAs the cab pulled away form the curb, I turned, watching the storm drain for a few seconds until it was out of view. I shook my head, laughing a little. It started to rain a little again, pattering gently against the windows as the the city lights slid past us. Nothing had happened, I guess.", "I clutch the bottle closer to my chest, shivering in the rain. I'd left my jacket at Ben's place, along with the rest of my dignity. But of course I'd taken time to bring the alcohol, because fuck it, that'd keep me warm. Great thinking.\n\nGod, I can still see that bitch's face rammed up against our headboard, her eyes wide and pleading as she saw me walk in the door, my wedding ring flashing in the candlelight. I can see my husband buck naked, and the ridiculous pot of flowers he'd brought for Valentine's Day sitting on our kitchen table next to a thoughtful handwritten note he'd given to me, apologizing for the last time this had happened, and the time before that.\n\nAnd I saw one of those flowers strewn in her hair like loose confetti. And I exploded.\n\nI'm talking a full-blown, blow-out-your-vocal-chords argument, complete with smashed plates and raised fists. A great deal of sobbing from him; none from me. Not until now, at least.\n\nI suck myself back into the present. Okay. I'm here. I'm on a street corner, cradling a bottle of two hundred dollar champagne like a baby. My clothes are completely soaked through. My makeup's probably running in waterfalls down my face. God, I probably look like a crazy person.\n\nBut honestly, I think I am a crazy person.\n\nJust then, I get an itch; a \"call of the void,\" as they say, that voice that whispers through your nightmares to look over that bridge and think about jumping off; to kiss that stranger, to scream as you work in your quiet cubicle, sequestered from all forms of emotional life.\n\nI look down at the bottle, my little green baby.\n\nAnd I pour it down the drain.\n\nI don't feel better, and I don't feel worse. Nothing's happened; nothing's changed. Fuck. This wasn't supposed to happen. I was supposed to be letting go of something. Letting go of him. Now I just feel worse for throwing out two hundred dollars of good liquor.\n\nGod, I think. I'm never going to let him go, am I?" ]	3
	[WP] Write an old children's fairy tale but from the perspective of the villain without giving away which story it is until the very end.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "So hungry. Can't remember the last time I ate. Can't focus, need to keep moving.\n\nHallucinations are getting worse. Can't tell what's real anymore.\n\nWait, is that a house ahead? No, no just seeing things again.\n\n:::::::::::::::\n\nPassed out for a second there. Or did I? Where did all this blood come from? Oh god, what did I do? What the hell did I do?\n\nWait, there is another house right ahead. They'll help me, they've got to help me.\n\n::::::::::::::\n\nWait where am I? What happened back there? Ah, I, I passed out again before reaching the house. Wait wasn't it wooden, not brick before? Doesn't matter I need their help.\n\nDoor locked? Open up, open up, I need your help, please, let me in.\n\n::::::::::::::\n\nWait how I'd end in a cooking pot! I need to get out, away, get away...\n\n:::::::::::::::\n\n\"Holy shit, the damn thing came in through the chimney! Quick, it's stuck in the pot, get something to kill it!\"\n\n\"I'll get a gun, just stay away from it Hogan! Goddamn wolf virus!\"", "Oh, those poor souls of a family. The husband was a terrible farmer, the wife was in labor, and both were starving. Now I was a good farmer, to say the least. I heard the wife talk about my vegetables, saying she would die without them. A little bit of a drama queen, wouldn’t you say? Surprisingly, the husband agreed to steal. He could have just asked. I was a prankster, so I waited until night when he came over and took some of my radishes. “Boo!” I laughed. He shrieked, and begged “Please don’t curse me!” “Why would I curse you? I don’t know how. You can take as much as you like, swear on my unborn child!” I exclaimed.\nHe was thankful to say the least. He hugged me with tears in his eyes. I let him have the food, no conditions. The baby was healthy, and it turned out she had twins! The wife and husband only had room for one, so I offered to adopt one of them. They we thankful. I named my sweet baby girl R. She had such beautiful hair! It was as blond as the sun, and it was really long. I had so much fun being a parent. I really only had one rule: no leaving the house until she is 20. She seemed to understand, and she was fine with it. But one day, she went missing. I called her name, I hired a search party, I cried. She came back and said that I was evil for keeping her in, I mean she was only 18! She was making me cry, and it was all thanks to a ugly guy who likes to steal and kidnap people, ugh. The last thing I said to her was “Repunzel, please stay with me, I love you!”", "\"Look, love, there's a heron outside,\" Sam leans back in his chair, beckoning his son over, \"George, come see, he's caught a great big fish!\"\n\n\"That's nice dear,\" his wife, Caroline, calls from her place by the stove, breakfast bubbling and the thick scent filling his nostrils. Stomach rumbling, he hoists George onto his lap to better peer out the window.\n\n\"It's a lovely day out, hon, perhaps we could take a walk before we eat?\"\n\nCaroline glances up, half-moon glasses sliding down her nose, smiles and unlaces the yellow apron from her neck.\n\n\"That does sound lovely,\" she seperates the meal into bowls and leaves them steaming on the side, \"Just a quick walk though, otherwise George will be late for school. Perhaps we could say a quick hello to that heron outside?\"\n\nGeorge nods his enthusiasm and clambers off Sam's lap - pulling his shoes on. His tongue pokes out in concentration while he attempts to lace them up, looking defeated when he thrusts the tangle in front of his father.\n\n\"You'll get the hang of this one day, son.\"\nHand in hand they step out into the sunshine, a picture perfect happy family under the golden rays. Out in the countryside as they are, and with no neighbours for miles, they never worry to lock their door. Never worry that someone will stumble upon their home. Never worry that someone would be stupid enough to steal and intrude on a family such as theirs.\n\nHow misplaced could their worries be?\n\nThe heron has flown high up into the sky by the time they reach the edge of the lake, too late for introductions. They edge around the pool of water, sunshine glimpsing off the surface. George finds a flurry of tadpoles and crouches down to examine them, Sam takes a hold of his shirt by the collar to keep him from tumbling in.\n\nThey play a game of hide-and-seek, using the thick trunks to conceal themselves and dodging between outstretched arms; laughing all the while. Sam kisses his wife on the cheek, heart full; chases after George and scoops him into his arms before blowing a raspberry to his belly. The delighted giggle bubbles through the forest and bushes burst with feathers as birds take flight.\n\n\"We best get back and eat something before you have to leave for school.\" Sam grunts, wishing the days were just a little longer. \n\nThey swing their son between them on the way back, enjoying his squeals - enjoying any noise he chooses to make. It is so rare that he speaks. Of course, they have been to speech therapists and receive the same piece of advice every time. He's not challenged, just selective. Speech will come in time.\n\nYes, he speaks, it's just rare. And never more than a handful of words.\n\nThe sounds of enjoyment come to a halt. Their arms stop swinging. Sam and Caroline share a worried glance.\n\nLetting go of hands, Caroline wordlessly ushers George behind her while Sam hesitantly steps forward.\n\nTheir door is hanging open.\n\nHe swears he shut it when they left.\n\nGently, carefully, he edges into the kitchen, open palm to Caroline, a silent plea to wait outside.\nHe enters and assesses the scene before him. They've been ransacked. Two of the chairs at the table have been kicked over, shattered glass covers the floor. Cupboard doors gape and what kind of a monster eats someone else's breakfast? Not only that but he can see that his son's has been devoured, while the other two bowls have only had a spoonful or two taken from them.\n\nHe retreats to his family, calls the police. It doesn't take long for them to arrive. They find the culprit. She had been laying in wait in George's bed.\n\nLike an ice to his heart, Sam's body shudders violently. \n\nLord knows what would have happened if he hadn't called the cops.\n\nTucking George into his side, they watch as the golden-haired girl is escorted from their premises. According to police, they were not her first victims.\n\n\"Daddy, what do we do now?\"\n\n\"No school for you today, son, let's go get some breakfast.\"", " They were so poor, and so thin, these children who came to my cottage in the forest. When I first saw them, their bellies were distended with starvation. Their eyes were half-crazed in the stupor of hunger, their hair was matted, and they were smeared with dirt. \n\nThey had thrown themselves down on the ground, drinking from the small creek that burbled in front of my house, and then they staggered, hand-in-hand, towards my doorway. But they did not make it to my doorstep: they saw the roses around my path, which they plucked with desperate fingers, stuffing the fragrant petals into their starving mouths. I think they would have eaten the roof-shingles if they looked edible.\n\n“Children,” I said. I stepped outside; my old bones were not what they used to be, and my eyes were bad, but I could still see what they were doing. “Oh, what is this? Mice in my garden, after all my hard work to grow my roses?”\n\nThe children did not laugh at my joke; they only stumbled to their feet, and began to weep and wail that I should not curse them.\n\n“Don’t hurt us,” screamed the girl.\n\n“We didn’t mean to eat your garden,” howled the boy. “Please don’t turn us into mice.”\n\nTurn them into mice? Ah, my reputation preceded me. I’d long known that the entire town thought of me as a witch, and it helped to protect me – a woman into her eightieth year, all alone in the woods, with no one but a guard dogs to watch over me. Said guard dog looked at the children eagerly, wagging his tail as though to indicate he wouldn’t mind the company.\n\n“You are lucky,” I said to them. My voice was rather hoarse from disuse, and it did sound rather frightening, even to my own ears. “I am not in the mood to turn children to mice today.”\n\nThe children stared. I think they believed me. They followed me into the house, where I, foolish old woman that I was, made them griddle-cakes with my precious stash of flour, and offered them dried fruit from my summer harvest. \n\nEventually I extracted the truth of their arrival on my doorstep. It seemed their parents were the kind of stupid, cruel people who would abandon their children to the woods when food ran low. \n\n“We were so hungry,” said the girl. “And we lost our parents.”\n\n“How did you lose them?”\n\n“We went into the woods together and they went to chop wood,” said the boy. “They said they would come back for us.”\n\n“They both left you in the woods while they chopped wood – why did they not leave you at home?”\n\n“Dunno,” shrugged the boy, shoveling another griddle-cake into his mouth. \n\n“Mama wanted the company,” said the girl. I did not ask why she’d left her daughter there if she wanted the company.\n\n“And then what happened?”\n\n“They didn't come back to get us for three days,” said the boy. “the same thing happened before, but I made a trail back home with pebbles.”\n\n“That’s clever. Why didn’t you do the same thing again?”\n\n“Mama got mad at me for playing games with the pebbles,” sighed the boy. “Mama is always mad.”\n\nThe bruises on their arms – well, those were horrific enough, even to my faded eyesight, as the children bathed in the bath I drew them. It was an outdoor bath, heated over a small fire, in the pot I usually used to brew beer - my sole source of income for the year. \n\n“You really are a witch,” said the girl. “You have a cauldron.”\n\n“And both of you will fit inside,” I said. “For a warm bath.”\n\n“You won’t make us into a stew?”\n\n“You’re too lean,” I scoffed. “Scarcely a mouthful on you. I should fatten you up, first.”\n\nI winked at them. The boy and girl gawked at me, terrified.\n\n“I’m only teasing,” I soothed them. “Look, the fire’s out, beneath the pot. Here – I’ll stick my arm in – the water’s just warm. See for yourself.” \n\nSo, the children took their baths. As they lolled their heavy heads against the rounded lip of the pot, I tried not to think of the sadness of their situation. While I didn’t have much, I was not quite starving, as they were. Well, at least I’d send them home well-fed and clean when they left. \n\nThe children, tucked into their beds in the corner of the room, slept all night long; their stomachs were full, and their wan faces were flushed with the warmth of my cozy cottage. I stared at my knitting, scarcely able to discern what I was making. As I worked by candlelight, I unraveled the progress I’d made upon my own shawl on a whim. Perhaps I should make a sweater, for each of them. It would be winter soon, and even if I sent them home again tomorrow or the next day, they might as well have something to help them survive its harshness.\n\nThe children seemed none to eager to head back home; they sat quietly in my cottage, that first morning they spent with me. The boy sighed, and looked out the window; the girl twisted her fingers in her lap, both seated at my kitchen table in their freshly-washed and dried clothing. I’d scrubbed it in the cauldron after their bath, and aired in front of the hearth. Neither made a move towards the door.\n\n“Look,” I said, searching in my cabinet for some treasures left there, decades ago, by a friend’s young children. “Jacks and dice.”\n\nThey played with the toys contentedly all morning, then followed me, fascinated, as I milked the goats and fed the sheep in the midday. They each had a glass of goat’s milk, and distracted the sheepdog endlessly from his task of herding. I smiled to see it. \n\nMany more days passed this way. I taught the girl to knit, and she proved to be – well, I won’t say brilliant at it, but competent enough to churn out lumpy, unevenly-tensioned squares of fabric. In truth, it was better than I’d managed at her age, which I told her. “We will sew them together into a blanket,” I said, and she beamed. \n\nFor his part, the boy had managed to learn a few things from his father on the farm, so he mended some fences for me and made it his nightly chore to split the firewood.\n\n“What a useful young man,” I told him. His face flushed with pride.\n\nI sent the children to town, after a couple of weeks of loitering around my place, after the third incident during which they’d become bored and managed to frighten the goats out of producing milk with their rambunctious games. I gave them some gold coins, and gave them instructions to come back with cheese made of cow’s milk, butter, and flour.\n\nThat was a mistake. I knew it was a mistake as soon as they returned and would scarcely look me in the eye as they handed over my shopping. Well, they had come back without running away, and I couldn’t control what people said about me. I was prepared when, after an evening of whispering and nudging each other, the children gravely approached me. \n\n“You ask,” muttered the boy to the girl.\n\n“Are you really a witch?” \n\n“Of course,” I said. “You know I am.”\n\n“But witches eat children.”\n\n“Well, I haven’t eaten you yet, have I?”\n\n“But you put us in your pot – “\n\n“You got in there yourselves,” I teased. “Children. You came to me because you were starving, and I fed you –“\n\n“Are you really keeping us to fatten us up and eat us?” asked the girl.\n\nI sighed and laid down my mending. \n\n“How many goats do I have?” I demanded. “And how many sheep?”\n\nThey mumbled the answers - a dozen of each, they said. \n\n“Why would I eat clever little children who make blankets and mend fences when I could eat a goat or a sheep?”\n\n“Because children are tastier than goats or sheep,” said the boy.\n\nHe was a bold one, that boy. \n\n“Well, I have never eaten a child,” I told them. “So I wouldn’t know.”\n\nThey whispered to each other half the night, and I listened, with my dull ears, to see if I could hear whether they would stay or go. \n\n“I don’t know,” sighed the girl. “I think she’s a witch, but a good one.”\n\n“There are only bad witches.”\n\n“But we are bad children. Mama said – “\n\n“Mama lost us,” said the boy stubbornly. “I’m sure she’ll come back.”\n\n“The witch thinks Mama meant to starve us.”\n\n“The man in town said she’ll eat us.”\n\n“But she hasn’t yet,” said the girl. “Maybe she won’t. Maybe they’re wrong.”\n\n“Well, we’re quicker than she is,” offered the boy. “If she tries to get us, we’ll just make a run for it.”\n\nI smiled at his boyish wisdom and went to sleep.\n\nA month later, I was brewing beer with my two young assistants. The girl had helped me roast the barley; the boy had helped me draw enough well-water to fill my cauldron, which took half the morning. I was hunched over the pot, stirring the wort, my peaked cap listing over my eyes. \n\n“Can you see inside?” I asked the girl. “Is it boiling very quickly?”\n\nThe girl leaned over, to look inside, and that was when my ears heard a strange disturbance in the forest: the sound of a dozen men, shouting at me.\n\n“Let those children go,” one of them hollered. “She’s trying to boil them into a stew.”\n\nThe children shrieked, terrified. They did not run. They clung to my skirts.\n\n“You have kidnapped them,” the man shouted. “Release them.”\n\nI recognized him: he was a man who’d always given me trouble when I came to town, harassing me about selling my land, and then calling me a witch, and worse, when I wouldn’t. He was the reason I kept a stray sheepdog by my bedside, in case men arrived who meant to do me harm.\n\nBut the dog was gone in the fields with the sheep, as we'd had a wolf-attack the previous night, and there was no one to protect us. And then I heard the words that would be the last thing I'd ever hear: another man, shouting the names of his children. \n\n“Hansel,” he shouted. “Gretel!”\n\nHe stepped into the clearing and stretched out his arms. His children ran to him, weeping with joy. \n\nThe man advanced upon me, raising his pitchfork in the air. I was close to the fire, but he was closer to me than that.\n\nI shut my eyes, listening to their shrieks of joy at their reunion, as the prongs made contact with my flesh. I tried not to scream as my own fires seared me. \n\nI'd like to think that their father shielded their eyes, that he did not let them see what became of me. \n\nr/eros_bittersweet" ]	5
	[WP] Commander Shepherd & the Master Chief are competing to outdo each other in a "I'm a badass" contest. Then they hear heavy metal & the heavy stomp of aproaching boots.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Damn it Shepard. where are we now?\" Vakarian sighed. His rifle swept across the long hallway always scanning for new targets. \n\"Would you prefer more pirates? We can always find more pirates.\" Shepard replied, testing the curved wall they had appeared before. \"Sorry Garrus no way back, we'll just have to settle for moving forward.\"\n\nThe pair advanced several hundred meters down the gently curved hallway interspersed by large pillars. The countless carvings they passed beneath had an unnerving on the turian soldier. \n\"What are these?\" Garrus asked pointing to the large statues atop the pillars. \n\"Angels. Catholic, an old earth religion. No idea what they're doing here.\" Shepard responded. \nThey advanced a quiet Boom Boom in the distance. \nNo word was needed as they charged forward. \n^^^^Boom ^^^^Boom \nA Fight was in progress and perhaps their aid was required. \nThey heard before they saw, a green armored giant, A grey rifle in hand. \nShepard holding left saw him first, her pause urging Garrus farther right into cover behind a pillar. \nShe dove left, a fight was not what they needed now. \"Identify Yourself!\" Shepard shouted \n^^^Boom ^^^Boom \nShepard peaked, just a hair, out of cover too be met by a barrage of fire. Luckily the her shields held. \"Damnit Soldier this is not the place to waste sinks\" She shouted. \n^^^Boom ^^^Boom \nclink they both heard i. To soft for a mag, it could only be a firing pin. Shepard dropped to a knee, Vakarian lined his sights high. The grenade made three meters, Shepard forced him back to cover. \n^^Boom ^^Boom \n\"Ha ha, got any more for me!?\" Vakarian never ceased to amaze. \n^Boom ^Boom \n\"Damn it man! We, aren't hostile! Just Identify!\" Shepard. \nBoom Boom \n\"Master Chief petty officer John 117\" \n\"Commander Shepard, Drop your weapon\"\n\"You aren't in uniform.\" \n\"Neither are you!\" \nScreach Both turned south, a scraggly approximation of a human slides round a corner BOOM BOOM. \nA green armored soldier follows closely. The new soldier didn't slow slamming the terrible creature's head against the far wall, the impact left only visceral pulp. He turned having loaded his boom stick in one smooth motion and fired rendering a gangling brutish brute stunned. In one motion he broke the beast's neck. \nAll three of us waited a second, our new foe sorely misunderstood. \n\"COVERING FIRE!\" All three snapped to position, no matter this new soldier's call clearly he fought against the unholy. Collectively we cut four Little Monsters down, peeling them from the walls of the catacomb. \nA single red light traced it's way to us. From it a graceful thing emerged, I was stunned at first. \nthump thump thump \nThe fire gathered in it's hands. Our first green friend distrusted it and fired. \nThump Thump Thump \nThe screams snapped Vakarian and I back, we fired all we had. It staggered. \nThe madman tackled the summoner, skidding several meters with beast in his hands before unceremoniously snapping it's neck over a knee.\n\nOkay I am really drunk so anything wrong with this point out now PLEASE!", "The music stops and both warriors turn from their table to look towards the entrance to the mess hall they'd been filling with empty bottles and boisterous tales for the last few hours. A silhouette fills the doorway. Or, most of its width and only half of its height. With surprise, they see but a normal appearing man, with a prominent nose and mustache.\n\nThe newcomer leaps further into the hall clad in the trappings of a plumber, his overalls well complemented by his scarlet shirt and hat. The man then gives them the answer to the question they'd been arguing over, \"Who's the biggest badass?\" \n\nIn an Italian-accented falsetto voice, he exclaims, \"It's a me, Mario!\"" ]	3
	[WP] “Only 1% can make it to level 10!” You laugh and the ad and think “Who believes this crap?” But out of boredom you decide to download it. Surprise surprise you make it to level 10. After finishing the level you hear a knock on your door.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", " I was sitting in my room alone like every other Friday night. I saw an add for one of those “slide the ball to cover the cover the surface, only 1% pass” games and decided to humor myself. I was playing for a good 2 hours before i passed the last level. Oddly enough the app wanted to know my location. It was weird but oh well, accept. \n The next day was Saturday and I didn’t have work or school so I stayed up for a few more hours. This was odd, i saw headlights outside, it was 2 am. I went to bed thinking nothing of it. In the morning i woke up to loud pounding on the door. The car was still there and there were two tall men with black suits. To admit, i was a bit creeped out but oh well. I opened the door and they were more intimidating in person. They were both at least 6’2 and both had tinted glasses that looked straight out of a movie. “Ma’am may we come in and speak to you.” He sounded like he swallowed a soda can and a whole bag of rocks without chewing (not like you should). I invited them in hoping they wont kill me. \n “We would like to speak with you about your abilities, you have extremely high mental abilities and we would like to help you enhance your power.” Of course i was very confused. “But....but... what do you mean.” \n “ We would like to talk to your legal guardian about taking you to a special school for the small population just like you.” The other person finally said something and i have never been more surprised.\n “ You should be happy to have this experience, you will have the chance to take many courses to enhance your mental abilities, of coarse we will have to do many, many tests to see what you excel in.” He sounded like a middle school boy in the worst part of puberty. I obviously asked how long I would be there \n “We will keep you until we know you are stable enough to be reentered into society without being a danger.” What. The. Fk. \n I said my mother would be home in a couple hours. They stayed. Soon enough my mom came home and was very bewildered at the sight of two very large grown men on her couch. \n “Sam what the hell is going on?”\n “Hello ma’am, I would like to speak to you about your daughters abilities.”\n “What ability, shes not special”\n “We would like to take your daughter to a school for the mentally capable, she can be great.”\n “How much will this cost?”\n “It is completely paid for by the government”\n “Sam go get your stuff packed”\n “ Mom”\n “No buts”\n Before i knew it I was on a plane to California, all the way across the country. To admit, the school was very nice but it meant I left all my friends behind. I was a bit sad but never the less I would be able to meet new friends. Two hours after I got there they were already shipping me off to a lab. I knew they figured out something big, but they didn’t tell me what. They did tell me that I would have a week to get settled in and normalized before I started specialized classes. I thought a lot. I found out that most people shared dorms. Why would they isolate me? What did i do to be here? Why? I was so tired, so I slept most of the week. At the end of my week of freedom, I was on ok terms with a couple people. Apparently they made a school wide announcement about me. I HAVE FKING MIND CONTROL. So yeah, I used that to my advantage. Lets just say i was clear in a couple weeks. \n Im back in normal school now and doing better than ever. Me and my friends get all kinds of treats for being good kids. Well, those games are truly what they say they are.", "“‘Only 1% can reach level 10! Play Boutique Bounce today!’ Ha, I could beat that!” I said to my boyfriend. “Download it if you think you can! I’ll download it to and beat you to level 10!” He teased. “Oh, it’s on!” I teased back. We played Boutique Bounce for a couple minutes. It was a game like Flappy Bird, but with fashion involved. It was obviously clickbait, we both made it to level 10. We kept trying to one up each other, so we both finished the entire game pretty quickly. After we finished, we heard a knock on the door. We were expecting guests, one was my sister the other his brother. We both went to the door and opened it. There was a man we didn’t know at the door. “You two have completed Boutique Bounce, correct?” He asked. “Uh, yeah, we have. It was kind of easy.” My boyfriend said. “Very well. Say good night.” He said. He brought out a gun and shot my boyfriend with a bullet that looked like a mini plunger. It didn’t hurt him, just made him pass out. Next thing I know, everything’s black.", "You look up from the computer screen and glance out the window. It got dark awfully early... you think, distracted and pulled back in by the next puzzle. The game is simple enough, just a variation of those block games they make by the dozens, with a unique twist: at the end of every level, the game asks you some weird question. Not a riddle so much as a...philosophical joke? The best way to approach life is by asking it politely if it wants some tea. What's the best way to approach driving? was the last one, to which you replied, By offering biscuits, which was somehow apparently correct since you got to move on. \n\nIt's strange, but everything about this game seems like it was made just for you. The puzzles themselves are quick and fun, and the solutions to the weird questions seem obvious if you spend a few moments thinking about them. Of course, you can see why most people don't make it very far, presumably they get bored by the gameplay or weirded out by the \"jokes.\" But not you -- you are loving every second of the experience and craving more. \n\nJust one more level is a thought that has entered your head multiple times over the past few hours, and yet even though it's well into night and you haven't even eaten dinner, you can't seem to stop playing. \n\nSuddenly, there's a knock at your apartment door. You almost consider ignoring it, since you aren't really expecting anyone at this hour, but whoever it is seems quite insistent. After a few moments, the knock grows from a polite \"Are you home?\" to an insistent \"Get over here and open this damn door.\" You oblige, irritated at the need to pause your game.\n\nYou're taken instantly aback by what you see on the other side. A man and a woman, both dressed in bright pink suits, with a strange colorful logo. \n\n\"Hello there, we've reason to believe that you have just completed Level 10 on The Challenge. Is that correct?\"\n\n\"Uh...yes?\" you reply, too stunned to really do anything but reply honestly.\n\n\"Fantastic,\" says the woman, cheerfully. Her face breaks into a warm smile as she presents you with a clipboard. \"Please sign your name here, and then come with us.\"\n\n\"Excuse me?\" you stammer.\n\n\"Yes, sorry,\" says the man, apologetically. \"We always forget that not everyone knows the situation. We represent a certain individual, a game developer, who created The Challenge as a way to identify likeminded individuals. Such as yourself, apparently.\"\n\n\"Okay...\"\n\n\"This person is looking for an heir, and you've earned yourself a place in the competition. Please, come with us, and we'll explain the details in the town car waiting on the street.\"\n\nYou can hardly believe what you are hearing. Heir, as in wealthy person leaving behind money? The man and woman stand waiting patiently, and you don't really have anything else going on tonight, so you grab your coat off the hook and exit through the door.\n\nA few moments after you leave, your computer flashes as Level 11 has finally loaded. Rather than another puzzle, a piece of text floats on the screen. Beware the Gatherers. If only you had seen it sooner...", "You’d think that I would have learned how to avoid these sorts of things after years of reading clickbait and watching news shows that pandered purely to fear and marketing motives. I was also sitting around waiting for the plumber to show up, and had nothing to do. So when the ad came across my screen, I figured I’d try their stupid game out. How bad could it be?\n\nNote to self: if you ask yourself the question “how bad could it be” the answer is: very bad.\n\nIt was as kitschy and dorky as most of those ads: they’d hired some guy with a deep voice and turned the bass boost up to 11.\n\n_Fight for the survival of the human race in the all-new hit game Mega Death Robot Battle! Build your machine from the ground up, and take advantage of the one-of-a-kind intuitive battle system. Only 1% of players can make it to Level Ten! Will you be one of them?_\n\n_MEGA DEATH ROBOT BATTLE. Download today!_\n\nI downloaded the game, and within five minutes I realized that it was actually a pretty solid little mobile game. I built my bot in about 15 minutes and started rampaging around the in-game battlefields.\n\nI quickly found out that they weren’t kidding about the “one-of-a-kind” battle system. The game was so immersive that I felt like I was actually IN the robot, controlling it with my mind. I could intuitively tell when to duck, when to roll, when to shoot, and when to run. I trounced everyone in the starting area within about an hour-and-a-half, and moved on to the wilderness area.\n\nTime seemed to simultaneously slow down and speed up. Each minor advancement felt earned and felt like it required a lot of time to get through, but when I looked up briefly in between battles I noticed that the sun had started to sink. I looked at the clock. Four hours had passed, and I’d forgotten about the plumber.\n\nAbout 20 minutes after that, I managed to hit Level Ten. I thought momentarily about the “1%” number in the ad. Did 99% of people just download the game and give up on it?\n\nAs I was pondering the question, I heard a loud knock on the door. Finally, the plumber decided to show up.\n\nWhen I opened the door, however, there was a burly woman in a suit standing at my front door. She was taller than me and at least three times as muscular. She was wearing sunglasses, but her lips were indicative enough of the permanent scowl that appeared to be burned into her facial expression. She did not have any plumbing equipment.\n\n“Are you with Franklin and Sons Plumbing? I asked meekly.\n\n“Negative. Agent Larson, FBI.” She thrust her badge in my face, daring me to speak.\n\n“I-I don’t understand.”\n\n“Did you or did you not download Mega Death Robot Battle earlier today?”\n\nI froze. “How did you know—“\n\n“Answer the question, Mr. Davidson.”\n\nShe knew my name. How did she know my name?\n\n“Yes ma’am, I did.”\n\nHer scowl softened a fraction of a fraction of a degree. “And did you or did you not reach Level Ten of this game in less than one day?”\n\n“Y-Yes ma’am, I did.”\n\nHer scowl melted away, replaced by a grin. This was not a happy grin. This was the grin of a person that peeled the wings off of flies just to watch them squirm.\n\n“You’re coming with me, Mr. Davidson.”\n\n“Hold on a second, I didn’t sign up for this!”\n\nShe chuckled mirthlessly. “Did you read the entirety of the Terms and Conditions before playing the game?”\n\nOf course I hadn’t. Who ever did?\n\nShe took my lack of a response to mean exactly what it meant, and grabbed me roughly by the hand.\n\n“Sorry about this, but you cannot be allowed to see where we’re going.”\n\n“Wait, WAIT, what are you—”\n\nI felt something cold press against my wrist, and the world faded to black.\n\n __________________\nIf you liked this, check out my subreddit! r/NicodemusLux" ]	5
	[WP] The ghost of a gamer roams online battlefield, looking for toxic and rude players. He teleports to their homes while chatting in-game, then proceeds to kill them brutally.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "It was as good a way to find victims as any.\n\nNot that he had any choice. He didn't understand the strange whims of fate that bound him to this particular afterlife; no one had told him anything, there had been no day of reckoning, no white light to move toward where all would be revealed. Perhaps one day. Perhaps not.\n\nNo one had told him anything. But there were certain things he knew, felt deep inside whatever strange half-spiritual material now housed his psyche.\n\nHe knew he was bound to the endless web connecting the world, connecting unreal worlds, the ones he'd spent so much of his time in before his heart finally betrayed him. It hadn't been something he'd seen coming; he'd taken reasonably good care of himself. A defect, maybe, that had gone unnoticed. His view into the world he'd left behind was limited; he knew what his guildmates said about his passing, but not his family. That part of the network was closed to him.\n\nHe thought on this as he flitted about the game lobby, which showed him as a strange background flicker, causing a dozen people to frown at their monitors, especially the expensive ones. Sometimes there was something like a face, and always the impression that this wasn't an ordinary part of the software. It scared a few of them away.\n\nThat was fine. They weren't the ones he was interested in. Those wouldn't be turned from their purpose so easily. But none of them had turned up today, and he was getting hungry.\n\nYes, there had been some who were a little impatient, betrayed a touch of anger. He'd followed their connections with his Deeper Sight, and been disappointed with what he found. Long days at work, frustrations at school, dealing with the overactive biochemistry of adolescence, whatever, they were understandable. A few small crimes here and there. A plagiarized paper. Asking a coworker to punch in or out. A cheated spouse. He didn't care about any of those.\n\nAnd no one here now was showing any promise. He was ready to leave the lobby when another player joined.\n\nImmediately he spotted the color of the newcomer's connection, a deep, churned-sludge black, run through with yawning canyons of raw red. This player had already sent plenty of filth down it today. Promising, promising, sweet promise at last. His hunger churned within his half-spiritual self, wanting. He sent promises of his own its way. Soon, soon. If not here, they would find another place. There was always another place, when he looked long enough.\n\nThe game began. It was a new one, all about shooting everyone else before being shot. Only one winner out of many. Lots of opportunity for showing of true colors.\n\nAt first, there was nothing. He roamed, a flicker of discolored pixels here, a distortion of carefully-rendered geometries there. Causing lots of second glances, plenty of startled exclamations, but seeing nothing worth following up on. Anger, yes. Trash talk, sure. Nothing deserving.\n\nHe hunted for the player whose connection he had seen. His power within the game itself was limited. He was not subject to all the same rules as the players, but he still could be in only one place at at time, could move only so fast, see only so far.\n\nHunting, hunting, moving between volleys of fire, screamed curses. Ah, what was this? A racial slur? He followed the connection. Disappointment. Just a foolish adolescent who had heard the word from his own shitstain parents. A child, playing monkey see, monkey do. Wouldn't do, wouldn't do. Couldn't sate the hunger.\n\nHe moved on. The match was at its halfway point. He began to grow restless in his anxious hunger.\n\nThen he heard, and if he'd still had a true face it would be split in two by his smile.\n\nIt was a long volley of foul. Not because the words were obscene. He had no problem with obscenity, had used it plenty himself, when he was alive. No, it was careful, targeted invective. Targeted because...\n\n...ah, yes. Because the voice of another woman seemed to be female. Threats that should be unspeakable, spoken freely anyway in the smug protection of assumed anonymity.\n\nAssumed but not real. Because he saw, he heard, and he followed, coursing the electron-cloud half of his being down, in, and along, pulling his spiritual essence beside it, nearly the speed of unfettered light.\n\nHere, here, in the crackle and spit and whir of the player's machine. A man, not young but not old, laughing a low lazy laugh, ugly right to the center of the diaphragm it had come out of. His Deep Sight flickered, black and red just like the connection. He saw it. The threats the man had made, they'd been carried out before, here in the world of meat and plain-sight consequence. The man had been more careful, no shield of anonymity, but he'd done it. Over and over. They buzzed and ground through his soul, reaching blackened tendrils up into the man's thoughts as he spit invective into a headset mic.\n\n\"Yessss,\" thought the ghost. No one had told him anything, but some things he just knew. Like how to sate his hunger. He let himself fill the man's monitor, luxuriating in the now-and-then pleasure of having a face others could see. He knew his smile must be a thing of deeper nightmares.\n\nThe man wanted to scream, to push his chair back from the desk and flee, but that blackfire face kept him rooted.\n\n\"I heard what you were saying,\" the face said, loud and rumbling though there were no speakers, and the headset had gone dead.\n\n\"It— it— it was just talk,\" the man stammered, shaking his head. \"You're not real anyway, I just fell asleep at my chair again. Fuck you, man, just like that bi—\"\n\n\"I HAVE SEEN WHAT YOU HAVE DONE,\" the face cried, pounding out every word, a cry of outrage mixed with a terrible, terrible hunger.\n\n\"YOU CAN'T PROVE SHIT!\" the man cried back, but it was rote, hollow, full of belief-under-duress, desperation to disengage as he always could before, a vicious child's need for the comforting shroud of a false name and the ability to walk away leaving foulness behind.\n\n\"Hunger cares nothing for proof. I have seen and I have smelled and you will be exquisite,\" the face said, and streamed outward, enveloping, streamed inward, seeking. Finding the sought-thing, the memories, seeing their binding-cords of time and pain, pulling.\n\nTHIS IS WHAT THEY FELT, it said, no longer sound but everywhere-present resonant agony in the man's mind. I WILL BRING IT FOR YOU. It did not look to closely at what it brought; it's cherish was of the cornered-fear, the utter despair for escape from fully facing what had actually been done.\n\nNo more layers of justification and hate to hide behind. A scream, right from the fissure-lined hollow of the man's soul, lingering sweet and filling on the air.\n\nHe watched the man go on into mystery, bound by the strange whims of fate, and wondered, then moved on. He would be hungry again soon. He always was, and this would go on. For how long, who could say?\n\nNo one had told him anything.\n\n\\~\n\nDetective Raúl Martínez stared into his coffee, unwilling to look up. \"I'm serious man.\"\n\nOfficer Jacob Straczynski shook his head. \"You're fucking with me.\"\n\nMartinez did look up then, looked the uniformed cop straight in the eye, and Stracynski flinched. \"Okay, Raúl, I...\"\n\n\"Examiner said he'd screamed so hard his jaw separated, and then his spinal cord. How the fuck is that even possible, 'Ski? I don't ever want to see anything like that ever again.\"\n\nAnd he wouldn't.\n\nBut others would.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nCome on by r/Magleby for more elaborate lies." ]	2
	[WP] Everyone has a secret that they think no one else knows. This is the secret that every single person in the world knows, and is not willing to share because they think that they are the sole keeper of it.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Kennedy the Eighth dropped to his knees. Shrouded in darkness, he clasped his hands together in prayer and began reciting a familiar invocation. His hands, bloody and bruised, shook. \n\nSomewhere behind him a door creaked opened. Footsteps approached and stopped a few feet away. A gentle male voice whispered into the darkness, “Your Highness, you must meet with the Council at once.”\n\nThe invocation stopped but Kennedy continued to kneel in silence, his hands still clasped together, shaking. A single candle crackled in the distance. The man standing nearby shuffled his feet anxiously, aware he would face severe consequences if he uttered another word. \n\nKennedy muttered a final prayer and pulled himself up.\n\nIt was five minutes before Kennedy the Eighth entered the Grand Council Room. His four advisors were already seated, whispering to each other. When one of the guards stamped his spear the whispers ceased and they all stood. Kennedy waved them down as he approached the empty chair at the head of the table. \n\nThe four sat watching him closely, aware that this could be the most defining moment of the greatest dynasty in two thousand years. \n\nThe man sitting to Kennedy’s right, who was a tall skinny man with small circular glasses, cleared his throat and began reading from a page in front of him, “as we are all aware, in recent months we have received multiple reports indicating a young carpenter has been engaged in public disturbances. These disturbances are growing and reports indicate thousands of subjects are now involved. Subjects from across the Kingdom have also started travelling hundreds of miles to hear this carpenter speak.”\n\nThe youngest man at the table, who had a very shiny head, held up his hand. He looked at Kennedy as he spoke, “our spies have been attending the young carpenter’s spiritual freedom classes, as they are called, for some weeks now. They report that this young man has been questioning the legitimacy of our God and therefore the legitimacy of Your Highness’s divine right to rule. Unfortunately, so far we have been unable to crack his inner group of followers, so we aren’t sure to what extent they are discussing matters that The Book tells us are forbidden. We’ve pulled him in for interrogation and since then he’s been in Your Highness’s personal care.”\n\nKennedy looked down at his hands, still bloody and bruised. Nothing was said as he considered his thoughts.\n\nThen he looked up, pain clearly showing in his eyes, “it’s what we’ve always feared; the secret inside is threatened.”\n\nLooks of shock and confusion spread across the other four faces sitting at the table. \n\nKennedy the Eighth came from a long line of royalty. A lineage so secretive and yet so dominant that those who have held the throne have never needed to utter a word that wasn’t part of a religious invocation. \n\nKennedy had just uttered the first words that weren’t an invocation in hundreds of years. Yet the shock on the faces had nothing to do with that. They were shocked by what he’d chosen to say.\n\nThe Book, which some say was written more than a thousand years ago, dictates everything about how the Kingdom should be run. It has details on every aspect of society, but it also includes a sentence so secret that only those in this room would ever know existed. The sentence simply reads, The secret inside must be protected.\n\nKennedy looked at each of his advisors in turn. Then he took a deep breath and nodded, “I got it out of him eventually. He claims he hasn’t been telling people the secret, but he has been telling them enough to turn them away from God. It’s only a matter of time before the masses start to understand, and when they realise his secret is the same secret they’ve pushed deep into the recesses of their own minds and suddenly pull it back, everything is lost.”\n\nKennedy pushed himself back from the table and began pacing the room. The advisors waited silently, fearing if they spoke.\n\nKennedy turned towards the eldest man at the table, long grey hair falling to his waist. Kennedy pointed furiously, “Why didn’t you tell me it could have this power? How can a simple thought, dream or whatever this is destroy an empire?”\n\nThe elderly man nodded gravely, “It is true, Your Highness. The secret within has powers beyond anything we can imagine. That is why so much was done to control it by your ancestors who first understood it. Once it is spoken by the masses, it will be true, and so our reality will change forever. Our religion has, for millennia, allowed us to control people’s thoughts about the secret. It helped to sow doubt, to pull them towards a better cause, and to embrace guilt about it. But we have always feared our strategies may not last forever.”\n\nKennedy kicked his chair and it went sliding across the concrete floor. He put his hands to his face and breathed heavily. A moment went by before he slowly pulled them back and stared at the dried blood covering them. He had a defeated look in his eyes.\n\n“I got it out of him in the end. I know I shouldn’t have, but he's a dead man walking anyway. He told me. He told me his secret. My secret. Our secret. Humanity’s secret. Knowing of the…the simulation will ruin everything. I can’t...”\n\nThe advisor with the shiny head interrupted his King for the first time in his life, “Don’t worry Your Highness, we can control this. There’s no need to repeat anything. We will seek out those involved with this young carpenter and ensure they never speak again.\"\n\nKennedy turned to him with a determined look, “You will do whatever it takes. I do not want another word about this uttered. In fact, I want a new decree issued. Draw up a list of approved words and nail them to a post in every town across the Kingdom. No subject in my Kingdom is to utter any word that isn’t found on that list. The secret will never get out, God will prevail.”\n\nSuddenly, Kennedy the Eighth dropped to his knees, closed his eyes and clasped his hands tight. His four advisors watched on in silence." ]	2
	[WP] Grandmothers all over the world in a battle royale that determines who is the most handsome grandson in the world.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"I'm sorry I couldn't fight to prove that you were the handsomest grandson in the world,\" Grandma said, wheeling into the room with two cups of hot chocolate. \"But you know that if I were just a few years younger, I would be right out there kicking all those grannies behinds.\"\n\n\"I know.\" I smiled, taking my cup from her. \"Ready?\"\n\nShe nodded.\n\nI turned on the TV, and turned to the channel of the Grandma Battle Royale just in time to see one grandma slip and break her hip. No one helped her. She just rolled and writhed in agony until another granny mercifully stepped on - and broke - her neck.\n\nGrandma winced. \"Okay, on second thought,\" she said. \"Even if I were a fifty years younger, I'm not doing that.\"\n\nI acted hurt. \"Really, Grandma?\"\n\n\"Oh, stop it,\" she said. \"You're not that handsome.\"" ]	2
	[WP] Deep in the woods and high in the mountains of the world lurk the hostile and mysterious Hu-Mans, who some say once ruled the world as we do.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns." ]	1
	[WP] You are a blind musician practicing. As you finishes your piece, you heard the sound of clapping for you, although you're home alone.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"Who's there ?\", i ask as I shift my head towards the kitchen.\n\n\"Who's there ?\" i hear as a response coming out of the kitchen.\n\n\"Who are you?\".... \"Who are you?\"\n\n\"Don't play games on me. How have you gotten in here ?\". After a brief silence my just said phrase is repeated yet another time, as if it was an echo.\n\nFollowing a brief moment of confusion and a bit of anger, I stand up and carefully put down my newly acquired guitare. Frustration begins to take the best of me, as my thoughts circle around a young boy who ran into me just this morning. He must have walked in here whilst I was closing the door and now he must be playing with me. I start moving towards where I first heard the voice, dodging the mahagoni table on my way there. Living in the same apartment for just about twenty years has its upsides. As i walk through the door seperating the living room and the kitchen, a shiver runs down my back, followed by the squeaking sound of tires. I hear a glass window shattering into a thousand pieces and a scream of a woman followed by the cry of a baby, as I fall down onto my back, glass tearing through my skin as if it were butter. I raise my hands to cover my head and pull in my legs, but just as my hands reach my chin, I feel something heavy falling onto my head, and my senses fade away. I wake up. Sweat running down my entire body and goosebumps all over me. My breath is going twice as fast as usual and I have to focus to not hyperventilate. My shivering arms reach out to feel the warmth of my blanked, resting just above my legs. A bit wet but otherwise just normal.\n\n\"Must have been a dream\" I say and reach out for the blanket. Gripping it tightly I pull it back up to my shoulders and rest my head on the pillow as the silent beeping of a nearby monitor comes to my ear. I feel a slight pull on my right arm but ignore it and turn on the other side.\n\n\"Are you okay ?\", I head a female voice coming from nearby.\n\n\"Just a nightmare\", I say. \"Give me five more minutes\".\n\nJust a nightmare I think to myself as I fall back asleep.\n\nJust a nightmare.", "\"Well done!\" an echoing voice said whilst applauding.\n\n\"H-Huh? Who's there?\" Jamie reached for his white cane, rested to the side of his stool.\n\nOnce he held it in his right hand, he propped himself up and struck the wooden flooring a couple of times. He then walked carefully to where he thought he'd heard the voice, serenaded by the sound of his cane striking the floor. When he'd heard some rustling to his front, he immediately held his cane up as if it was a rapier.\n\n\"Wha– Who's there?\" Jamie shouted.\n\n\"Relax, I'm not here to harm you,\" said the mysterious voice.\n\n\"How... did you get in?\"\n\n\"I'm, let's just say, an admirer. I love a good music arrangement, just like the one you played earlier!\" the voice said as it encroached on Jamie.\n\n\"P-Please, don't hurt me. I can't see a goddamn thing and I just wanna–\"\n\n\"Heaven's sake! No, I'm serious when I said I'm just an admirer. If anything, I've been around since forever, Jamie.\"\n\nHow does he know my name? Jamie thought. He can't see who he was talking to but his mental image of the person was that of a young adult man. He hadn't have that many friends – nor have he actually seen their faces – but he slowly tried to connect the voice with a name. When he did so, he blurted the names he thought the voice was. Yet all he heard was a chuckle and a click of a tongue.\n\n\"No, Jamie I think you're mistaken. I'm your guardian angel – call me Tiresias.\"\n\n\"Tiresias? Are you...\" Jamie's face twitched as he heard the name.\n\n\"Yes, I'm sorry for running away seven years ago. I should've left a note but I couldn't write nor talk in that form.\"\n\n\"What are you talking about?\"\n\nBefore Jamie's question was answered, a wet lump of meat suddenly brushed his legs repeatedly. Jamie paused before realising it was a lick – one that he used to receive constantly seven years ago. Tears formed in his eyes and he fell to his knees.\n\n\"Tiresias?\" Jamie said as he extended his arms, a gesture one would make when trying to pet and hug a dog, \"where have you been all this time?\"\n\nInstead of a soft fuzzy coat that he had expected, a muscular human hand grabbed his flailing arms. Jamie stopped his sobbing and was on guard after realising it was not his dog.\n\n\"I've been.. around. My curse was lifted so I could return to my original form,\" gently said Tiresias, \"but I was unsure of how to tell you, so I watched over you from a distance.\"\n\n\"... Huh?\"\n\nJamie heard a faint laughter in the man's voice stood before him.\n\n\"Your composition was... good. Was it the same one you started years ago?\"", "I ask, \"Who is there?\" and my voice goes out, pathetic and alone, only to find no one but an echo in its wake.\n\nTo myself I think, Perhaps I am going mad but it is a thought conceived without any care, accompanied by a chuckle as I began to play another piece of composition. \n\nAgain, at the conclusion, I hear the unmistakable sound of some mild clapping in the room. I know the sound only too well. It has roared in my dreams to the tune of thousands, from standing ovations that swell amongst a theatres packed audience that has come to hear me perform.\n\nBut that is only a dream. The clapping I hear now is disntinct, unescapable, unignorable, real.\n\n\"Since you seem to enjoy my music so much,\" I say. \"I will not play another note until I know who I have the honor of playing for.\"\n\nThere is a pregnant pause, the womb of which is filled with the anticipation of uncertainty, not similar to a man who approaches a woman with a question that has two answers - one that he doesn't want to hear - and another that he wants her to pick. But in that silence, he feels the momentum of the seesaw shift, and he who was once at an apex of expectation is now brought down with both feet to a grounded reality. \n\n\"My name,\" she says, \"is Amora.\" And like that, one spell is broken and another is cast. The mystery has dissipated but I am enchanted with the morning fragrance of her voice. \n\n\"A lovely name,\" I assure her. \"A name, I think I might add, that seems made for love.\" I chuckle, pleased, with it.\n\n\"And what do you know of love?\" she asks.\n\nWere it another man, her tone would have been heard in a teasing manner, the beginning of a flirtation. But to me - a blind man - I hear the true essence of it; the mockery.\n\nYet I was too glad for the company to be offended. I responded, in good humor, \"I know that love is better to be done than to be said.\"\n\nThere is a silence. Not an awkward one. Or a thoughtful one. Just one. It comes and goes, like a natural phenomenon. \n\n\"Play me another piece,\" she demands. \"I have told you who I am.\" \n\n\"No,\" I correct her gently. \"You have told me your name but you haven't told me who you are.\"\n\n\"I am no one. I am nobody. I am a ghost.\" She goes silent, waiting for my response.\n\nI play her a short piece. When I am done, I ask, \"Are you still there?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\n\"You did not clap this time.\"\n\n\"It was too short. Play longer and I will.\"\n\n\"Tell me more about you and I will.\"\n\nAnd she did. \n\nAnd I did.\n\nAnd we did.\n\nAgain.\n\nAgain.\n\nAgain." ]	4
	[WP] Write about a predator catching the last of its prey in existence.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Damn it, we lost it again. Three months, for three months we have been hunting this creature. The last of its kind, and we sought to end its reign of terror. The Basic, we liked to call them, a clever illusion to hide the true colors of their race. They were deadly, the true original apex predator; they killed everything in their path for the most petty of reasons. Their food has been stolen? The thieves were dead within minutes. Someone died? the murderers species went extinct in the next eleven months. Worst of all, they killed each other for the same exact reasons. They were a threat to intergalactic peace, and we were going to hunt them down. The wars we waged against them would not be in vain, those who had died for the sake of the galaxy would be remembered. The last kill, the last of the species that ravaged our worlds was now running, scared of defeat. Ironic, isn't it? Yet for all our attempts to secure this last kill, nothing, absolutely nothing. This creature has sent us on a chase for three months. Over sixteen worlds, crossing twenty-seven borders, killing and incapacitating our best soldiers. Not on this world. The thing made the mistake of hitching a ride to one of the outer rim worlds, where nobody lived. We made a call to the Board, and they sent the strongest planetary shields they could get; not to keep others for coming in, but to keep the Basic from going out. In short, we had it trapped. Still, the once great predator resisted. Setting traps, laying ambushes, we couldn't tell if we were hunting him, or if it was hunting us. Our latest plot to capture it had backfired horribly. We thought we had cornered its hiding place, but as we entered a cave and jumped it, we found it to be a decoy. A tripwire sprung, and the cave collapsed in on itself. We lost three good soldiers in that cave. This Basic would regret the day it decided to assault the Paratorians.\n\nThe day after the failed apprehension, we informed the Board to execute Operation Flush. We had all our ground troops evacuate the planet, vacating to a nearby moon, ready to assault in the case that the plan didn't work. The Board had deployed the Altercator. There's not much to be said about it, it's the size of your general handgun, with the special ability of turning entire planets into a barren plain. It is the ultimate battlefield setter. We used it to win the battle for Vigridr, against incredible odds, now we'll use it so this predator has no place to hide. The shot went off, and the entire planet was a massive plain. The strike force went in, and it was almost pitiful to watch. The creature was apprehended, bound in chains and brought before the Board. It made a pathetic attempt to escape its bonds, screaming in its native language curses which nobody even knew existed. The Board appointed the executioner; he took out his weapon, and fired the entire magazine into its head. The body proceeded to be thrown into the core of the planet, never to be seen again. The Board could finally relax, even just a little bit, the greatest predator was now extinct. The Basic were eradicated, after years of ceaseless war. Finally, the specie Human would never grace the galaxy ever again.\n\n*Sorry it's quite short, I ran out of ideas halfway.\n\nP.S. Critiques highly appreciated!*" ]	2
	[WP] Write about the daily lives of the Greek Gods, including all the "minor" gods.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The party was awful. At least in Hades’ eyes.\n\nZeus was drunk and trying to flirt with the goddess Psyche while Hera and Psyche’s husband Eros looked on in disgust. Psyche was trying her best to tell Zeus that she was married. Zeus just answered with: “That hasn’t stopped me before.”. Seriously what a creep\n\nPoseidon wasn’t much better but he was flirting with his wife. Amphitrite seemed to be loving the attention and was laughing at her husband's stupid jokes. \n\nDemeter wasn’t flirting with anyone. She was just sitting in a corner with her stupid granola and staring at Hades. He’d done nothing to deserve such dislike from the plant goddess, yes he’d kidnapped her daughter but it had been Zeus’ idea.\n\nApollo and the nine muses had also had a little too much wine and were singing a drunken version of “Love never felt so good.” while Persephone was trying to convince them to “At least play some My Chemical Romance.”. \n\nYes the goddess of spring liked emo bands, shut up.\n\nAthena, who had enough common sense to not drink enough to get blackout drunk, was trying and failing to convince Dionysus, the god of wine and the only person not affected by the alcohol, to not have wine as a beverage at the next party.\n\nIn the middle of the room Ares and Hephaestus were sitting on the ground hugging each other and crying while Aphrodite shook her head and continued drinking her champagne. \n\nMany other gods were running around. Most of them Hades couldn’t name or recognise. When you only spend one or two days a year with your family you don’t learn who everyone are. But he wasn’t sad, he had the underworld, a beautiful wife, two idiot brothers and a giant three-headed dog. What was there to be sad about?\n\nHades looked around and noticed Artemis, the goddess of the hunt wasn’t there. She’d probably left hours ago, before everyone started drinking. That was a smart move. Hades should have followed her lead.\n\nBut he didn’t and now he had several embarrassing pictures and videos of his family he could use as blackmail to get the other godt to leave him alone for at least a century.\n\nA minor god ran up to him and nearly tackled the lord of the underworld before vomiting on the ground in front of him. ‘Hestia is not going to like that’ Hades thought to himself.\n\nOut loud he said “Hey, watch it you imbecile!” \n\nThe god had the nerve to laugh. Hades wanted to vapourize whoever that was, but that would get him in trouble with his family and they already had a rocky relationship. So Hades let the immortal go without saying anything else.\n\nOh how he loathed parties.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\[Probably doesn't make any sense. But they are drunk gods what do you expect?\n\n Also there are like a billion greek gods, how do you expect that I could know every name? Much less fit them in a short story?\\]" ]	2
	[WP] You are a high school history teacher who has the ability to travel back in time to view historical events, while also being able to take as many people as you wish with you. Your class doesn’t seem to get how bad the nuclear bombs were, so you decide to take them to 6 August 1945 in Hiroshima.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Your students are bewildered at the events that took place that day. Yet you can't help notice that throughout the bombing, most of them just stared at their phones looking for reception. Most of them give up once they realize wifi and mobile towers weren't invented yet. \n\n After you return, you realize that with your ability, you could make way more money by not teaching high school students. You apply to the Smithsonian museum and land a job after showing off your powers. After a few months, you realize what an idiot you were for teaching high school in the first place.", "\"Hello, Ms. Satake! I am pleased to meet you!\"\n\nWe go through the normal greetings and discussions before getting to the meat of the matter.\n\n\"Ms. Satake, my students, despite my best efforts, seem incapable of accepting the truly awful effects of nuclear weapons. I propose that we arrange a field trip, to a site close to Hiroshima, where we will observe a unique reconstruction of that horrible day.\"\n\nThe Satake family is one of the very few groups that know of my ability. We have worked near miracles in historical reconstruction together, gathering detailed knowledge backed by period photos that stun even experts in the field. Satake runs interference so that I can continue my passion of teaching history.\n\nI'm expecting some resistance, but Ms. Satake is ecstatic over the idea. Arranging all the details, ensuring parental permission, and explaining that all electronic devices must be left behind. Part of the field trip will include a simulated EMP that might damage such devices, where a human would be unharmed. Because we are in Hiroshima, there are many Satake employees who are willing to volunteer as chaperons. They are all closely related to the Satake family, and have made field trips before.\n\nThis is far more risky than any other of our field trips, yet she is moving forward as if she knows nothing is going to go wrong. I wonder. Then I do something that could poison our whole relationship. In a private moment...\n\n\"Ms. Satake, forgive me, you are so certain that nothing will go wrong, I must ask: do you have some special information?\"\n\nI am shown an old hand written account of a period of ten years from the bombing, to a critical event in Satake history. It explains in circumspect terms how the youth arrived near Hiroshima as part of a relocation effort. The site is the same one that I had selected before taking my proposal to Ms. Satake. How he had wandered away, bored to tears by his fellow youth's disinterest.\n\nWhen the bombing happened, he returned to the site to find everyone gone. Knowing only that the Satake family business was in existence at this time, he made his way to the outskirts of Hiroshima, asking after the family. When he found them, he threw his efforts into rebuilding the company. His tireless efforts on their behalf gained him their acceptance. His near prescient knowledge gained their amazed trust. The document in my hands was presented to the Satake family ten years after his death.\n\nThey had puzzled over this relocation effort having found no such reference in any history of Japan during the war years. When my proposal came to their attention, they checked my students. There he was. Just as described in other Satake family documents.\n\nI am aghast.\n\n\"Do you seriously propose to abandon a child in that environment?!?\"\n\nThe explanation is ... rather brutal, and utterly practical. If he doesn't go back, the Satake family dies, and history as we know it is irrevocably altered. If he doesn't go back, his entire family ceases to exist, again irrevocably altering history. It was his own decision to leave the prescribed area that led to his being left behind. Finally, Ms. Satake has the boy brought in. He has already read the document, and is eager to go, despite the deprivations described.\n\nHe has no close family, just the widely scattered descendants of the man in the document. His nearest relative being a distant cousin with the same name, who has acted as his legal guardian for some years, although remaining distant.\n\nThis student of mine, the most interested in history, has studied the history of his extended family and their ancestors. None of whom were ever famous, many of whom were present at critical events.\n\nThe collected tales of that extended family are being gathered for publication. He is determined to see that it gets published. At all costs. Some of this inside information is going to rock Japanese history.\n\nYet there is undeniable supporting evidence for each of the events. These people have made a fetish of documenting the events of their lives. A drive that was established by their founding father. \"You may be involved in great events, make good proof for what actually happened. Never forget anything, as you cannot know which events will be important. Save it. Preserve it. It will be useful in the future. You will know it is time, when an orphan of our line comes to you from a city of historical importance.\"\n\n((to be continued))" ]	3
	[WP] Every year the Dragon Room tournament is held. 10 contestants enter a room with a dragon on the door. Less than 10 contestants emerge 24 hours later to millions of money, but a vow of secrecy on what happens. The others are never seen again. A long time gambler on the game, this year you enter.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "If fear could kill I would be dead. I stood in a small room next to me nine other contestants, idiots like me who decided it was a good idea to join the Dragon Room. On the door in front of us was the insignia of a dragon. It’s long claws ready to strike. I knew that soon this dragon would come to life. \n\n“10”\n\n“9”\n\n“8”\n\n“7”\n\n“6”\n\n“5”\n\n“4”\n\n“3”\n\n“2”\n\n“1” the speaker rang through my ears. Echoing through my mind. My thoughts were shattered as the floor started to shake. The warriors beside me, poised, ready to meet the dragons claws with their own swords. \n\n“The fuck am I doing here.” I thought. “I’m not a warrior. Shit I haven’t been to the gym in a month.” \n\nBut it was far past the point of return. The dragons glowing eyes turned to me. A chill running through my spine. All I could see was it’s eyes. I guessed because “my mind couldn’t comprehend it.” Or some shit like that. \n\nMy senses heightened, I could feel the wind just above my head as I ducked. The dragons claw grazed my head. I’m sure I looked like a sheered sheep on the top. It’s claws seemed to cut through my hair like a hot knife through butter. “I wonder what it can do to skin.” \n\nRealizing my armor was going to be entirely useless I shed it. Just before I was about to throw my chest plate to the ground I decided to keep it. Maybe I could block it’s fire with some form of a shield. \n\nI would if anyone really wants a continuation than maybe I’ll consider but I’m really tired and need sleep." ]	2
	[WP] You have a pen that allows you to rewrite reality. One day you accidentally broke it, leaving you stranded in this reality you have written.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "A couple years ago, you decided the time had come to shave off the big red mess of beard clinging to your chin like an emotionally over-involved raccoon. It was like losing a friend. But you could have fun with it, right?\n\nTrusty electric trimmer in hand, you were both the sculptor and the marble. You shaped your ginger beard into a Van Dyke cut with a pointy goatee. Then a handlebar mustache and anchor beard. Pencil mustache and chin strap. And finally, your last hurrah, a Hitler 'stache. \n\nYou turned this way and that in the mirror for longer than you'd care to admit. It looked better than expected. Shame one guy had ruined that innocuous little patch of whiskers for everyone else. \n\nYour electric shaver died right as you went to shave it off. \n\nAll this to say you didn't learn your lesson the first time. \n\nWhen they put that pen in your hand, your curiosity became an asset. Your penchant for drawing up unorthodox alternative realities was your greatest strength for your observers. You didn't know much about them or why they gave you that pen. You didn't need to. \n\nAfter the obvious wish fulfillment--emperor of the universe, richest man alive, two schlongs--you worked your way down to the weirder stuff. You made yourself the elephant man. The burning monk. L. Ron Hubbard. Anne Boleyn. Caligula. Typhoid Mary. George dubya. You wanted to understand the minds on society's fringes. \n\nYou set boundaries. Obviously. You wouldn't do anything so evil you wouldn't be able to come back from it psychologically. But before long, it became second nature to separate your psyche from those other personas. Hell, even as you committed the crimes of Vlad the Impaler, the Zodiac killer, and Andrew Jackson, your soul felt clean.\n\nYou got cocky.\n\nThere was one more person you had to try. To get it out of your system, you told yourself. \n\nSo imagine your surprise and existential horror as you realized your reality bending pen had run out of ink the day you, Adolf Hitler, declared war against the United States. \n\nAt least the 'stache looked good on you.", "I was a bestselling author, famed for the depth of detail portrayed in my novels, for the authenticity of the characters and their motivations, for the intricate tapestries woven by my stories, which ultimately made sense without resorting to cheap tricks or deus ex machina.\n\nMy secret? The pen. An heirloom passed down through my family for generations. With it, I could write out the premise of my story, sketch out the world and then be transported to it to watch the story unfold. I would chronicle events, record every detail and then, when I was done, merely write ‘The end?’ and be returned to my own world. I could enter the world of my creation over and over, viewing events from different points in space and time, I could alter facts that were less interesting or inconvenient and the world would remake itself to match.\n\nMy first few works were all in separate worlds, each written and then forgotten as I moved on, but this world, this was my magnum opus. Eighteen novels, stories spanning centuries, the rise and fall of kingdoms, heroes victorious over terrible evils. It was my ultimate triumph, and my downfall.\n\nYou see, rewriting a world leaves marks. For my early worlds this wasn’t a problem, but here, now, generations of scholars have studied these marks. I wrote a world where heroes could stand against dark gods and triumph, and they discovered there is an older god, one who created all the others. One so powerful they can rewrite reality at a whim.\n\nI should have seen it coming, should have realised events had been set in motion. I was too focused on events in the eastern lands, too worried that my next novel wouldn’t live up to the standards of the last. Too late I found out about the true motives of the Order, and now they have cast their ultimate spell.\n\nThe pen is broken. I am trapped, and the Order is coming. I write this now because writing is all I know. When I am gone, this will be the only record of how and why this world came to be, why events transpired as they did. By my hand I made this world, and I know not what will become of it when I die.\n\nI hear them at the door. It is time to lay down the pen one final time, though now there is no escape for me. It is my end, but is it the end?", "The classroom door thudded. I scrambled around the room and grabbed the closest chair. \n\n'What's going on?' Neila asked, with her back pressed against the door.\n\nI ignored her and propped the chair under the handle. Neila stepped away and watched as the vibrations travelled down the plastic backrest, through the seat and into the chair legs. Each thump shuffled the chair a few millimetres at a time.\n\nNeila grabbed me by the shoulders, eyes wild. 'Tell me!' \n\n'Ch-Chu-Chester is trying to kill me.' \n\nI skirted around Neila crouched behind a table. It screeched in protest as I pushed it along the floor. I slammed it against the door.\n\n'Don't be silly,' Neila said. 'I've got to walk my brother home — can you let me out and then continue playing.' \n\nRunning past Neila for the third time, my fringe plastered to my forehead with sweat. 'It's not a game.' \n\n'Why is he after you?'\n\n'I -' I picked up the human-skeleton and hauled it past Neila and onto the table. '- didn't give him my lunch money.' \n\nNeila marched over to the barricade and removed my latest addition.\n\n'What are you doing?' I asked and snatched back the skeleton.\n\n'I've got to go! Chester's not going to hurt you over lunch money.' \n\nThud, thud, thud.\n\nNow, both the chair and table were shuffling. I dumped the skeleton back on top of the table. \n\n'Oh, he will.' \n\n'Well — he won't hurt me.' Neila said and picked up the skeleton again.\n\n'Fine!' I said and reached into my pocket. I pulled out a purple pen and thrust it towards Neila. 'I lied, alright? It's not about lunch money. It's because of this.' \n\n'A pen?'\n\nThud.\n\n'Put the skeleton back, and I'll explain!' \n\nNeila cast me a funny look and lowered the skeleton. 'Explain.'\n\nI tried to explain while still padding the door. 'I uh- can write on things with the pen and they come true.' \n\n'How-' Neila stammered. 'What-' \n\nThud, thud. \n\nI slammed the second table into the first and created another Thud.\n\n'I could write Happy on someone, and they'd be happy.' \n\nNeila crossed her arms. 'That doesn't make any sense.' \n\nI sighed. Ran to the other end of the classroom, heaved a stack of books to the door, and dropped them on the same table as the skeleton. Pausing for a moment — chest heaving and heart racing — I looked into Neila's eyes and asked. 'How long have you loved me?' \n\nShe knitted her brows together. 'I don't know.' \n\nI grabbed her arm and pulled back her sleeve. There, emblazoned on the inside of her arm, was four glistening purple letters. L-O-V-E.\n\nNeila wet a finger and rubbed her arm, then scratched. 'Is that a tattoo?' \n\n'Kind of,' I said. 'Do you still love me?'\n\n'Of course,' Neila said, sounding conflicted. 'What does this have to do with Chester.' \n\n'I tried to write on him, and the pen broke.' \n\n'So why is he trying to kill you?' \n\n'I tried to write S-C-A-R-E-D, but the pen only managed the first four letters.' \n\n\n---\n\n/r/WrittenThought" ]	4
	[WP]one day, you discover you have the ability to see inside people's minds, everyone is almost pretty much the same, they want to get a job and marry but one day, you decide to see inside the mind of your cousin	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "He enjoyed the sounds of the birds more than the haunting internal voices of others. It had taken him years to master how to shut it off, for most of his childhood his parents were worried he was insane and almost sent him to an asylum. He realized in order to be functional in bullshit society, he would have to learn to control his mind reading abilities. \n\nRyan worked in the library of his city’s university; When he was there, he tapped into people’s minds to see what they were learning and in doing so also absorbed the information. He had the ability to hear, see, and feel what the others were thinking. One of the hardest things was discovering the secrets of the others whether they be good or bad, and knowing that he could never act on them. \n\nChristmas was coming and that meant seeing his family, in more ways than one. In the past, Ryan had taken to substance abuse when he could not control his abilities, not surprisingly, usually around family holidays. It took him too long to understand that the abuse just made everything worse. \n\nWhen he really concentrated he could enter their minds and see the world through their eyes, and they never had any idea.\n\nOn the plane home, it was always fun to listen into the thoughts of people who had never flown before. He loved sharing in their excitement and awe. He chose to avoid the minds of people afraid to fly, of those afraid of something so new and foreign. They lived in fear.\n\nPulling into his parents drive in his fancy rental, his Mom always ran out of the house to greet him. She was the only one who knew of his abilities, and was no longer afraid. Whenever he touched his mother’s mind he could feel how much she loved and missed him; But also how much she feared him, for she did not ever fully understand his abilities. She accepted Ryan’s love and everything her son was, because she trusted him.\n\n“Honey, you just keep getting taller!”, she said the same thing every time Ryan came for a visit. He could hear though, that she knew she was just getting shorter. \n\nShe hugged him, and looked into his eyes. “I’m so proud of Ryan. You are my rock, and you make me stronger.” Ryan’s father had just past away seven months earlier from a severe stroke, put into a coma to help him recover. His heart gave out three weeks later. Ryan had been his mother’s impromptu therapist to help her find healthy ways to cope with her emotions, pulling solid psychotherapy principles from the aspiring psychology students. \n\nHe missed his Dad, but he knew where the souls went after the departure; only occasionally being able to tap into the voices from the void, but he only had enough strength to do so after a week of fasting. He liked food to much, and had no desire to visit there, anytime soon.\n\nSmall talking with his Mother was always pleasant because he always could identify her actually motives in the conversation. He would call her out on them and they would laugh until they cried. Taking her arm to lead her back up the icy wooden steps, he reached his mind into the house, feeling the familiar consciences of his blood. \n\nFor a brief moment he felt something he had never felt before, but just as he felt it, his Mom slipped on a step. He caught her by the arm they had linked but the feeling was gone before he could try to identify who it was coming from.\n\nGetting into the kitchen his aunts, uncles, and grandparent were already to bottles of wine and three pots of coffee deep. He had 12 cousins but no other siblings. Knowing all of the internal secrets of your family had been tough when he was younger but all he could do was accept it. \n\nFinishing his first cup of coffee and playing scrabble with his cousins (choosing not to reach into their minds, where is the fun in cheating?), his younger cousin Pauly, came up to watch the game. Ryan felt for his mind, what came to him next was the worst pain he had ever felt. A stabbing so deep into his mind, it took every ounce of his mental control to not scream or react with his face. Surrounded by his entire family who did not know his secret; a tear escaped and his arm spasmed knocking the empty coffee cup covered in light pink dahlias to shatter on the floor. \n\n“We are the same?” , the voice of his younger cousin in his mind. A voice filled with fear and relief that it wasn’t alone anymore." ]	2
	[WP] We all know Bill Nye as a family-friendly scientist from our childhood, but somewhere in an alternate dimension, he exists as the world’s most feared mad scientist dictator.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY read the bold, black lettering of the political poster. They had been plastered around the city by the youth wing as part of a government drive to mentally prepare the nation for war. The slogan was adapted from the original slogan used for President Nye’s first political campaigns, in a time when people still competed for the Presidency. That time was in recent memory, but it was long past. There was no returning from the drastic changes that had been implemented. Much less so the incomprehensible trauma the people had been subjected too. \n\nDusty leaves and soot swirled through the empty streets, occasionally tossing a newspaper or empty can in the air. Goods like food or coffee were incredibly difficult to come by nowadays. The government had taken control of the economic modes of production and enforced a strict rationing regime to support the future war effort. As this wasn’t the first time this had occurred, resources were already scarce and now the average person was subsisting by on what little they could get a hold of. The ration itself wasn’t enough to feed a single person, let alone a family of children that were supposed to be growing. The rationing only spared those who happened to have some sort of connection with the government, were employed by the government, or lived in a productive area. Otherwise, the limits set served to slowly cull the population. It was a manufactured famine, and Bill Nye had made no effort to hide the true intentions of his political party that lead to the rationing program. \n\nSpeaking of political parties, the Bill Nye Coalition for Peace was the only party in power. Following the civil war, all other parties were banned from the ballot. Now, a political party must register with the government and undergo an extensive background check process that takes decades. There were whispers of another party possibly undergoing the process, but it could have just been misinformation spread by the government to placate a restless population. I had recently heard that they started teaching the school children that Bill Nye’s Party had existed, and had been in power, long before the civil war. It was completely false, and was meant to convince the children that the catastrophe resulting from the civil war was caused by foolish men who sought political freedoms. President Nye was a scientist. He was a man of reason. To go against a man of reason was completely irrational. Those were the thoughts they tried to instill in you. \n\nI still have my memory, though. And they couldn’t take that away from me, so long as I continued to live. Dr. Nye was one of many politicians who appeared pragmatically decades ago to combat the increasingly dire effects of pollution and climate change. Nye was immediately popular for his charisma. His ‘background’ in science was a central selling point of his political campaign, hence the slogan. That was total bullshit, however, as he was an unsuccessful comedian prior to entering politics. Much like Hitler was an unsuccessful artist. Nye failed to reach the Presidency, but was encouraged by environmental activists to take more drastic action. This was a completely pragmatic course of thought, but in retrospect we all should have been alarmed by the violent rhetoric used. The civil war would quickly engulf the cities of the country and only end in a military coup that situated Bill Nye at the seat of unlimited power. \n\nThe political posters seemed to be everywhere. Even over the decaying, maggot-infested corpses of those who had starved. The flair and character of everything seemed to have died. The businesses had closed, the restaurants were now empty, and nobody walked the streets except withered beggars and roving sentries. Even the individual mind had become dull. The predominate color emitted by everything was grey. All that was left, the only distinguishably unique characteristic amongst the marbly grey, were the blue and green colors of the political party. Plastering posters everywhere, even over the bodies of the dead, was a conscious decision by his party. The corpse lay in direct contradiction to the official ideals of the Party, which was to bring an end to suffering and environmental destruction, yet the true ideals of the Party shined through. It was to bring about suffering. There was no doubt in that, the corpse sitting below the poster proved it. Through suffering the Party gained power, and deliberately placing posters in places of suffering and degradation told anyone who was observing the world around them that they were in absolute control. They were making a statement. It did not matter if they could see the contradictions between their rhetoric and their actions. They did not care. They still held absolute power. \n\nSo you should not question it. They earned their ranks through merit. They know better than you. They had peer-reviewed, experimentally valid policies. \n\nAnd so the slogan read, under his beaming wide smile that seemed to encompass your whole being, BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY.", "Dr. Bill wasn’t a real doctor or a real scientist, but of course no one said that, no one that wanted their head to still be attached anyway. Some details were obscure or hard to find, the truth being distorted as much as possible by the government under his tutelage yet it wasn’t impossible to piece together a rough idea of what happened years ago. \n\nMy name isn’t important, but it’s Danté. People go missing all the time, I don’t expect to be any different and all the more so after you hear what I have to say. This is how Dr. Bill Nye, the most feared dictator and “ingenious” scientist created the most unshakable dictatorship in the history of the Universe.\n\nIt started in the early 21st century with the credible TV show “Bill Nye the Science Guy” which taught young students the joy of science, but the fame went to his head. Bill had some sort of engineering degree I think? But he thought he was a real scientist, used his money and power to create the [REDACTED], the most feared weapon to ever rear its awe-inspiring might upon the dark world. After just one use, he became a target bigger than anything terrorism could ever cook up, thousands dead at the mere push of a button.\n\nWeaker minded individuals flocked to his side for fear of their lives, real scientists and other engineers combining their knowledge under his stewardship. Eventually, their technology became far too great to stop, but the horror doesn’t end there. Imagine if you could, a dictator that never died and controlled all the information ever. That’s where we’re at now, please I beg of you, you need to...\n\nEND OF COMMUNICATION...\nORGIN - EARTH 2237" ]	3
Inspired by this post https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoSentenceHorror/comments/a1mvij/i_can_hear_1_year_into_the_future/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app	[WP] You can hear one year into the future. One day, the noise suddenly stops.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "Excuse my formatting, typing on mobile! Didn’t have time to get to my computer to type this up! \n\n“Alex! I need you to hear something for me!” \n\n“You know that’s not how it works Tara! And in the library?” I reply, rolling my eyes at her. \n\n“I know! But can’t you try for me? Pleeeeeaaaaasssseeee?” She says while batting her impeccably glued fake eyelashes at me. \n\n“Ugh fine. You better hope we are still hanging out.” \n\nTara lets out a small laugh, “Yeah like you’d be anywhere else in a year” \n\nGod this girl is gonna give me an aneurism with her incessant need to know the future. My future, specifically. Ever since I told her that I was able to hear the future. Yeah. Not see, oh no, that would be too convenient. I can hear the future. And I can only hear what I will hear a year from this exact moment. \n\nI try not to make a habit out of doing this, however. I once listened to myself catching my boyfriend cheating on me with my best friend, Chad (it’s always a Chad.) I didn’t have a boyfriend at the time. It was, uh, interesting to say the least. But that’s another story for another time! \n\nPushing all thoughts of Tara and the nervous tapping of her nails on the table between us out of my head, I close my eyes and focus. \n\nFocus. \n\nEverything goes silent for a second, it always does. Then, a sudden, inexplicably loud roar rings out in my head, the sounds of fire and explosions surround me, peppered with screams and what sounds like crumbling buildings. \n\n“Alex come back!” Tara’s worried voice breaks through the commotion, her hand resting on mine. “What was going on in there? You looked terrified.” \n\nI wipe my hand across my forehead, flicking sweat away from my skin. Panting in silence, Tara looking at me, concern hiding in her eyes. \n\n“Um,” I begin. “Well. I think I just witnessed the apocalypse? Either that or some natural disaster.” \n\nI’m met with Tara’s blank stare, before a slight smile forms at the edges of her lips. “That’s crazy, Alex. The APOCALYPSE!?” She says just a little too loudly. Wandering eyes glance our way. \n\n“Shhhhhh no for real Tara listen to me. There was what sounded like a roaring fire and screaming and destruction all around me. I can’t explain what that was other than the apocalypse. What.....what should I do? Should I tell someone else? I’m....I’m scared.” \n\n“How about this. You go back in. Maybe it was a fluke. We still don’t know exactly how your powers work. Maybe you jumped into some other poor saps universe?” She laughs lightly. “I’m here for you.” \n\nI nod slightly, bowing my head, closing my eyes and shutting out all distractions.\n\nFocus. \n\nEverything goes silent for a second, it always does. Then, nothing. Absolute silence. A deafening silence like I’ve never experienced. \n\nSlowly, I work my way back to the present. Tara’s staring at me incredulously as I relay the absolute nothingness. A small smile teasing the corners of her lips as my words escape mine. \n\n“Good,” Tara says quietly “good. All is going according to plan then.” \n\n“Wait, what?” I reply. “What plan? Tara stop fucking around! I’m terrified here!” \n\nThen, in an ungodly, deep, rumbling voice that vibrates to my very soul, Tara says “I’m not fucking around, Alex.” Her eyes start to darken, blackness taking over what once was normal. “I’m just getting started.” She says before disappearing into thin air. \n\nDesperately looking around the library, I see no sign of her, and no sign of anyone noticing her disappearing. \n\n“I’m just getting started.” \n\nEdited: Some formatting stuff" ]	2
	[WP] You're a hitman for the mafia elite, and they've just given you a new target: an A-List actor for a huge blockbuster movie. But after an unfortunate incident involving a mob of crazed fans, a closet, and a pool noodle, you're on the road together, and he has no idea you were sent to kill him.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "I walk into the resturant that was posed as a cover up for the mafia, I go to the back and go to my bosses room, he sent someone for me and said it was important.\n\n\"You eanted to see me boss?\" I ask\n\"Ahh luna, my best hitman, we have a new taeget for you.\" He says as he hands me a folder. \nI open it and see the name and my hear sinks.\n\n\"Boss... This is Robert Downing jr. Theres no way i can get him.\" I'm stairing at him open mouthed\n\n\"The pay is 20 million, how about this, you get him you get 75%.\" He says with a sly grin on his face\nTheirs no way i can turn down 15 mil,\n\"Dead line?\" I ask\n\"1 week. Anx I assume your takeing it?\"\n\"Were about to lose iron man but I'll do it.\"\nI pull out my pistol and put it in my pocket, I'm not looking foward to this.\n\n...\n\nI read that he is at marvel studios so I pose as his guards, theres close to 2000 people here listening to him, \n\n\"I cant wait for you guys to watch end game, this is the very last avengers movie.\" He announces over the crowds talking.\n\nI sneak my way into his personal guards and act as my roll, this should be easier than expected.\n\nI'm right behind him and grab my gun, \nI go dor a shot but I hear a shot and see a bullet almost hit him.\nI look in the crowd and see a gun man, I pull out my gun and he backs off, I grab my target and I rush him twords the houses as the crowd is running, some twords us but most away.\n\nWe get into the back yard of someones house and i grab one of the pool noodles and wack some away and into the pool, theirs to many of them so i catch up to him, I see his car and basicly shove him in, I get to the driver side and get in, I start the car and we start going, I still have six days to get him. Now were on the road it shoud be easy...\n\n\nSorry if i messed up spilling", "“Mr. Von Köschlin?”\n\nI knew it was risky talking to him. I was meant to kill the actor; I was meant to go off and kill him, and not become his temporary bodyguard.\n\n“You can call me Reuben.”\n\n“Mr. Reuben?”\n\n“Yes?”\n\n“Where are we going now?”\n\n“Well, we are going over to my home. It’s been a long day today, especially after all those troubles that happened this morning. At least you stepped in as a substitute until I can hire someone else for the next show.”\n\nThis was good. Reuben Von Köschlin was taking me to his home. I had to think of a way to complete my task. I couldn’t back out when I’ve already came this far. I had one bullet left after what happened this morning. Twelve hours had passed since the turmoil ended, but it still felt like a few minutes.\n\nAfter about fifteen minutes, Von Köschlin pulled up in front of a small house.\n\n“We’re here.”\n\nI looked at the small building in front of us, and then at the actor.\n\n“This is your home?”\n\n“Yes. I know it may be a bit of a surprise to you, but I like living simple.”\n\n“I’m not in control of your life; if you like this, then it’s your choice.”\n\nReuben smiled before climbing out of the car. I followed. He told me to stay with him for now as a guard after this morning. I couldn’t blame him; I knew that anyone would want protection after that sort of chaos. But little did he know that I was here to kill him. All the turmoil, it was because of me:\n\n————————\n\nI walked across the long tarmac sidewalk of Sunset Boulevard. My target, Reuben Von Köschlin, was walking with two bodyguards a few hundred yards ahead of me on the other side of the road. If I hit now, I’d be captured. That’s not what I wanted. So I walked as if I were just another pedestrian, until:\n\n”Hey! It’s Reuben!”\n\nA group of fans sprung out of what seemed like thin air. That was my chance! In the chaos that the crowd created, I knew that it would easily put anyone off. And since this is America, anyone can have a gun on them. So I joined the crowd, fired a few shots. Panic ensued. People started shooting in self defence, and the actor’s bodyguards tried to protect their employer and themselves. But in the chaos, I managed to shoot them, and promote myself to helping the actor.\n\nMy plan worked. I got close to my target.\n\n————————\n\nThe inside of the house was modestly decorated. Scandinavian style furniture and decor littered the interior. I knew that it would be hard to do anything now, but I kept to the number one hitman rule: be patient.\n\n“Take a seat. You must be tired.”\n\n“Thank you for the offer, but I’m fine.”\n\nI managed to talk to the actor, but I knew that I had to kill him sooner or later. I just had to stick to my plan. After about an hour, Reuben decided to go to the shower. I knew this was my chance.\n\nI waited by the door with my gun at the ready. I had one bullet, I knew I couldn’t mess it up. Then the door opened.\n\n“Dodge this!”\n\nI pointed the gun at the actor’s head, and pulled the trigger..." ]	3
	[WP] A supervillain, tired of his plans for world domination being thwarted, decides to take a new approach. Firing up his star ship engines he finds a new planet, creates it's populous, and sets himself up as the supreme ruler. After century's of ruling he is starting to miss the old days.	[ "Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.\n\nReminders:\n\n>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include \"[Poem]\"\n>* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail\n>* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Reality+Fiction\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A\$Simple+Prompt\$&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles\n>* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules)\n\n[](#icon-help) [^(What Is This?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/off_topic) ^•\n[](#icon-information) [^(New Here?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ^•\n[](#icon-help) [^(Writing Help?)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) ^•\n[](#icon-exclamation) [^(Announcements)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) ^•\n[](#icon-comments) [^(Discord Chatroom)](https://discord.gg/XYsEYfS)\n\nI am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "\"We can do everything here, that you could on that planet. What more could you want? A bigger army? More beautiful creatures to buy? Better company of Women? Tell me, and I'll get you it.\" King Leon looked at his right hand man. Bo Uhl, and looked away. He picked at individual pieces of his auto-chess set. He set it into action, and waited for the moves to play out before examining them. King Leon saw the confusion drawn across Uhl's face, and swiped at pictures on the set, held down by a projecting light, and let the holograms fall over. Little beasts, such as dragons and orc looking soldiers all took a kneel, and the game paused. \"i'm shit at this game anyways, and he watched Uhl's expression, which in turn reminded him of his mother's, when he told her all he wanted was to feel powerful. \"10,000 years later, and I feel powerful. But i'm not like the old humans. They neutered me like anyone else. My heritage is dead. I'm never bored, not a single minute. What does being bored feel like? Can you not just immediately fix yourself to a task? I want the full range of emotions. The good and the bad. I want to remember how humans felt, when they lost, and when they conquered.\" Uhl simply watched him with mouth slightly slacken, and fixed his glasses, rubbing the glass. Uhl said, \"You want to go back to the days of the bifurcated mind? Hungry for inconsistency, because of their desire to yield to...emotions. The hourglass tipping liquids to and fro, without control? What is there in lack of control that gives you an appetite sir?\"", "Tom wasn’t sure what he was doing here. He had been pulled out of his normal guard post, and without explanation, given ridiculously quality new gear. \nThen, the Supreme Ruler walked in.\nTom stumbled into a low bow. “Your Majesty!” It sounded more surprised than reverent, but it would have to do.\nA low chuckle. “You’ll have to grow out of that. Call me...” She trailed off, considering for a moment. “Well, I suppose Lysandra should do perfectly.”\nNo one actually knew the Supreme Leaders name. They hated her, but loved her all the same, because while she had harsh, direct methods, the people of this planet had never grown a bad crop since her arrival, the economy booming. She was never cruel, but did what needed to be done, and while there was usually outcry, a few years later, outrage would turn to praise. Not that she cared if she was loved. Only that her position was secured. Yet, she had always expected some level of revolt, and when it never came, she grew bored.\nTom almost choked. “Your Majesty?”\nShe sighed. “I suppose that was to be expected, but the next time I hear those words come out of your mouth while only the two of us are around, I will cut out your tongue.”\nTo which Tom said nothing at all.\nLysandra looked the guard over critically. He hadn’t been pulled from any particularly high or honored position, but it was even better this way, and she had been informed that he was their best fighter, though he didn’t much look it. She clucked at him and without deigning to explain, left the room, coming back with a purple and red bodysuit. “You’ll need this. And I’ll have some servants relegated to do something about...” She gestured in the general direction of his face. “It’s all about presentation, Tom. How will you become a legend looking as you do? It’s not like heroes are actually ever impressive, but story makes them more than they are. A good costume and makeup team will help, but you need an attitude shift as well.” \nShe started circling him, lips pursed. Without warning, she grabbed his shoulders and pushed down, forcing him into a slight slouch. “Look less like a soldier,” she frowned. “Honestly, you all look so uptight with that posture they train you into.”\nTo his merit, Tom looked like he was trying, but he sprang back to attention the moment her hands left his shoulders.\nShe shook her head. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to learn to be charismatic, loved, all that. Start by stopping petty crime, not that I allow much of that. Then you’re going to claim I’m a tyrant and you’re going to try to dethrone me.”", "\"So no one is planning a revolt?\"\n\n\"Oh absolutely not, my supreme elegance. Heavens no. You remain the most powerful and the most kind and just ruler we have ever had.\"\n\nI stewed quietly in my own anger and frustration. My Royal Advisor continued, oblivious.\n\n\"Your wonderful economic policies eliminated all inequality, and your strong representative local governments are excellent and mediating disputes and keeping the peace. If anything, you might be able to just take a few weeks off! Some of our local police forces have been operating on standby for a few months now. One district hasn't had a serious call in over a month!\"\n\nI grumbled. \"But surely there's some local insurgency, some prophecy circulating about how I am vulnerable, some chosen one ready to take me from the throne?\" \n\n\"I certainly hope not! Public polling places your approval in the mid-90s, and the dissenters main complaint is that you aren't heavy enough on repeat offenders of our justice system.\"\n\n\"Everyone deserves a-\"\n\n\"Yes, yes. A second chance. It's a minor disagreement among the people, our numbers haven't wavered since you took office.\" \n\nI motioned with my hand and a refurbished CrusherBot 4k19 handed me a glass of iced water. I sullenly sipped at it while I looked out the window. It was a beautiful day - Christ, even the sky was cloudless and blue. Ever since I destroyed the horrifying industrial complex air pollution had fallen to its lowest pre-ice age levels. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, although I could see a few intricate kites from one of the more popular public parks waving in the wind. \n\n\"Your majesty, the esteemed ruler of all, as your advisor... take a day off. Go get some dinner somewhere remote, talk to some citizens. Maybe even go fly a kite. The world is running itself now. You mandated a 32 hour workweek and here you are, on hour 76. It's not healthy, you're the one that taught us that. Go get some fresh air. You deserve a day off every so often.\"\n\nI stared at the melting ice in my drink, and looked down at my hands. How many lives had I taken? How many more would I ruin? \"You have no idea what I deserve.\"", "Maximus sat upon a throne of skulls, and let out another big yawn. His closest adviser, Bullwick, stood next to him in crimson robes and sported a steel chain of office around his neck. Together they watched the knights of the Black Banner march in wearing black power armor, their boots shaking the foundations of the Forbidden palace. \n \n\"Sire, the glorious crusade to dominate the moons of Iltonia has been a success. The knights have come to present you the-\" \n \n\"Come off it Bullwick! Another crusade. How great for the Black Banner. And what do I have to look forward to, eh? Another day of paperwork, and budgets.\" \n \n\"Sire, this victory is yours. You planned a cunning offensive.\" \n \n\"I'll have to plan another one, I suppose. Keep the Imperium off our backs, or else they'll take back every planet we've dominated,\" Maximus said and then let out a sigh. He shifted on the throne and crossed his arms. \n \n\"Is...is something wrong?\" \n\n\"Of course something is wrong! Look at me. A hundred years I've ruled this planet, and now I'm bored. Bored stiff. Nothing evil to look forward to.\" \n \n\"You kicked that bunny off the high tower on Thursday.\" \n \n\"Yes, but it was a mutant killer rabbit. Not quite an evil deed. More like getting rid of a failed experiment.\" \n \nMaximus slid down as far as he could on his throne and one of the knights of the Black Banner cleared his throat. Bullwick nodded in the direction of the men kneeling before the high king, but Maximus was having none of it today. \n \n\"Bullwick, I'm putting you in charge of the planet, just for a few weeks.\" \n \n\"Sire?\" \n\n\"I'm going to have one last battle with my old enemy.\" \n \n\"No...oh sire, these always end with Captain Glorious kicking you in your crotch. Please don't.\" \n \n\"No time to explain Bullwick! I've got an idea to defeat my old nemesis once and for all!\" \n \nWith that the high king leaped from his throne, prancing as he darted into a side passageway. He hummed his old theme song, the tune referencing Curie temperature, and ferromagnetic metal. \n \nWhen Maximus donned his skin tight outfit, he observed himself in the mirror. His silver spandex shined in the light of the twin suns. \n \n\"Yes. Magnet man is back at it again.\"" ]	5

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