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] A man stands at a crossroad, talking to a demon. The demon hands the man a guitar and says, "thanks for that, but things didn't exactly turn out how I planned" and turns to leave. The man clears his throat. "You have my sympathies... but we had a deal."	[ "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 soul in exchange for becoming the most famous musician in the world, that was the deal.\" \n\nBeelzebub looked hornfallen, and his brimstone brimmed a trifle less stonily. \"Look kid, nobody likes a young innocent soul more than me, except you know, the big S, but no can do.\" His taloned nine fingered hands drew circles in the air. \"It's like the circles of hell, right, there's a hierarchy.\" \n\n\"So Justin Bieber...\" \n\nBeelzebub nodded. \"Yup. Mephistopheles promised him it was his turn. And he has tenure.\" \n\nThe kid's shoulders slumped. He sighed. \"Okay well what about the most famous actor in the world?\" \n\nThe demon was already shaking its head. \"Cruise-Azazel\" \n\n\"Well there must be something you can do!\" \n\nThe demon scratched its demonic chin. \"Could make you the most famous pro wrestler if you like?\" \n\nThe kid turned away, disgusted. \"Aw no just forget --\" he stopped, and turned back to the demon. \"Wait, the most famous pro wrestler spot is open?\" \n\n\"Yup.\" \n\n\"I have an idea, Beel my old bub. Get me Justin Bieber's Twitter.\"", "Beleth froze, shoulders raised and hunched. \"What did you say?\" the demon mumbled as it turned around slowly.\n\nThe musician spread out his arms, the guitar strap dipping across his shoulder.\n\n\"We. Had. A. Deal,\" he repeated nonchalantly. \"I honored my end,\" the musician said with a pause. He stood in silence for a moment before tilting his head and crossing his arms, \"you're not considering breaking your end of our bargain, are you?\"\n\nThey stood there both, at the edge of this beaten path, the only sound the sea behind them before the demon broke the silence. \"You don't honestly expect me to-\" it started.\n\n\"Oh, rest assured I intend to claim what's mine,\" the musician said, cutting him off. \"They have rules, Beleth,\" the musician spat, \"Or do you think yourself above them, no longer bound by the creed that governs your kind?\"\n\nAt the mention of its name, the demon began to morph, shedding its mortal vesting and contorting into its named form as the musician watched on impassively.\n\n\"You presume much, boy,\" the demon snarled, its voice a low, quiet boom.\n\n\"I presume nothing,\" he replied.\n\n\"You know not what you lust for,\" Beleth said, its voice growing louder as it heaved itself towards the musician.\n\n\"I seek only what is mine.\"\n\n\"Your arrogance will end you!\"\n\n\"I WILL TAKE BACK WHAT WAS TAKEN FROM ME!\" the musician screamed, startling both himself and Beleth.\n\nThe sound of the slow crashing of waves enveloped them both yet again as they stood face to face, neither one saying a word to the other.\n\n\"Bound by the rules...aye, I am,\" Beleth said slowly, breaking the silence,\"but you would do well to check yourself, before-\"\n\n\"Before what?\" the musician interrupted quietly, eyes cast downwards and brow furrowed, \"I have nothing left to lose.\"\n\nBeleth stared down at the sad man standing before him, shoulders hunched under the weight of his burden. \"There's always something more to lose...\" he mumbled.\n\nThe man looked up, eyes meeting Beleth's, and for a moment he thought to himself that they looked almost human, but maybe that was just himself he was seeing reflected. \"Just give me what I ask, Beleth. Please.\"\n\nBeleth stared him in the eyes for a good long while, then let out a sigh and looked to the sea, which had fallen silent. He was bound to serve, and serve he would. He looked back at the man before him, shook his head once, then disappeared.\n\nLeft in his place, was a small, solitary wisp.\n\nAnd silence.", "&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The horned beast towered three feet above me. His hand gingerly gripped the lustrous neck of the guitar that looked like a toothpick when compared with the size of his arms. \n\n&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Thanks for that, but things didn’t exactly turn out how I planned.”\n\n&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It turned its back to me, tail swatting me as it spun. Its hooves clopped against the asphalt as it walked away. They were the only sound shattering the silence of this cool desert night. I let it get only a few steps in before raising my voice. I knew it could snap me in half, vaporize me, or bludgeon me to soup, but I cleared my throat, hardened myself, and command confidence in my voice. \n\n\n&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“You have my sympathies… but we had a deal.”\n\n\n&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The demon paused. Its tail flicked through the air. It huffed in consternation then turned to me.\n\n\n&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“I can’t go back down that road with you. I’m a demon. It’s not my nature.”\n\n\n&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Even nature changes.” I said without skipping a beat.\n\n\n&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Some nature is immutable.” It replied.\n\n\n&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“You’re a fallen angel, so even you must know God can transmute the immutable.”\n\n\n&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The demon lowered its head, pondering our deal as I knew it would. It had been years since that rainy day where it found me in the gutter coked out of my mind. I had planned it all from the beginning of course. It may not have been holy, but the devil deals in trickery all the time. What harm if a believer does too for a good cause? \n\n&nbsp;&nbsp;I knew demons had great power, but I was still shocked when I found that pristine guitar in the trash. I was amazed as the bar owner let me play when I reeked as bad as the refuse I found it in. It was all uphill from there. I did enjoy it for a long time. Sin is pleasurable in many ways that’s why it’s tempting, but it was all part of the greater plan. My body was wrecked by drugs, and I no longer even tried to remember the groupies I laid with. It would all be worth it though. If I, a lowly man could redeem a demon, what would it mean for my soul?\n\n&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It had never suspected how carefully I planned the overdose. It never thought my will could be so strong. Once I completely reformed and started to sing the gospel, most celebrities would be ruined as their fans grew apathetic, but I continued to ascend even as it inhabited my body, just as we agreed. It was a benefit that I gave the gospel to millions, but it still was only part of my main mission. Zibadel became the laughing stock of the other demons. I met several them through our journeys, but I could never help any of them. Now, ostracized by both heaven and hell, Zibadel only had me, and I believed in him.\n\n&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“The Lord came not for the saved but the sinner you must know.” I said. \n\n&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Sinners. Not demons.” It snarled back.\n\n&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“I have faith if you do. I know you feel alone, and you feel that you cannot keep our deal because it has alienated you from hell. If you give it a chance though, I believe you will be surprised. You can stay with me, or I know of a lake just down the other road. Either way, I can’t let you walk away from our deal, and I know your nature won’t let you either.”\n\n&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;We stood there for minutes in silence as the wind wafted dust across the road. I knew it wasn’t an easy decision, so I was willing to give it all the time it needed. It blew fire from its nostrils before lifting its head to me and flashing me its familiar grin of serrated teeth.\n\n&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“Maybe some nature can change.” It said. \n\n>As always any and all feedback and criticism are welcomed. If you liked this, consider looking at my other works on r/reconwrites" ]	4
	[WP] The 13 Greek Gods choose their champion for the trials. You are the Champion of Hades.	[ "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.", "Hades was not the god of imagination. He spent most of his time \"correcting\" innocent library books that informed readers of the very true fact that Pluto was no longer a planet. \n\nHades wrote (quite crudely) that Pluto was a planet. The largest planet. Even bigger than Jupiter and its fancy thunderstorms. \n\nOnly a few children believed him. They did not earn high school diplomas. \n\nNow it was time for the Conclave. It was held once in a billion years. Winner took all and Hades intended to claim every single planet, rename them all Pluto, and live on an island with his cat, Persephone. \n\nHe'd need a champion. Human, though there were tweaks to that rule. \n\nBecause he was not the god of imagination, he went straight to darkness. Funeral homes. Prisons. Nursery schools. None of the humans would do. \n\nHe'd have to chose though. He couldn't turn up to the Conclave with nothing. That was even worse than losing. \n\nPersephone escaped one morning, teleporting off to the Starbucks place she loved so much. She said the cream was always sweetest there.\n\nThe place was a combination of smells. Sweat and chemical sugars and the burnt flesh coffee aroma that made his stomach miserable. \n\nHe sat at Persephone's usual table, punching in search terms on his phone. His champion was still out there. He had time. Not much. \n\nHe felt a pair of claws rake across his nose. \n\n\"Dammit, Purse. I told you about the claws. I'm getting them taken out, I swear.\" \n\n\"Oh no, don't do that. It's bad for cats.\" \n\nHe opened his eyes, blinking dumbly at the small woman leaning down on him. \n\n\"I'll get you a bandaid. It's just a little cut. She hardly broke your skin,\" the woman said. \n\nShe turned around, quickly going back behind the counter. Her hair was a peculiar shade of black, almost true black with a smattering\nof white strands that couldn't have come from age. \n \nPersephone jerked her chin in the woman's direction. \n\n\"She's a girl! A small girl! She cannot champion my cause.\" \n\nPersephone let out a loud meow. \n\n\"Nekromanteion? I thought they'd all died. Those English bastards burned them up.\" \n\nOracle of the dead. Could she really be that rare creature? \n\nThe girl came back and he looked at her more carefully as she bandaged his nose. She was plain, except for the hair. \n\n\"Thanks,\" he said. \n\nShe smiled, and for a moment, her eyes flashed silver and he saw himself there. Made his ribs shiver. \n\n\"Your father says hello,\" she whispered.", " The gods were not known for living in peace. They were known more for the trouble they started than the good deeds they accomplished. There were tales upon tales of all their disputes. Lying, cheating, and stealing from one another was a daily thing. Until one day they decided they needed to try and settle things once and for all. Gods could certainly hurt one another, but they didn't actually wish to see one of their own die. Instead they enjoyed using pawns in their schemes. \n I was stuck as one of those pawns. The god of death's pawn at that. He held a pretty good bargaining chip as well – my soul. I had lived a fairly plain life. There were no heroic deeds I had done, and I had never done anything to cause harm to others intentionally. I would be headed for the Asphodel Meadows at the rate I was going. Hades told me if I were to be his champion he would grant me entrance to Elysium. \n Elysium meant I could be have a comfortable after life. If I cared to I could be reborn and start a new life. Being in the meadows meant boredom and not much enjoyment. Your soul just sort of existed there. Of course I would do what I could to try and get Elysium. \n This is how I came to be strapped in a chest plate with a sword in my hand. Hades had spent months getting me prepared for this moment. The other champions looked like they had spent their entire lives preparing for this though. I took a shaky breath and steadied my grip on the sword. There were ten other champions in the ring. Hades had mentioned Hera and Hestia refused to participate in the actual fighting, but they still had a champion sitting in the viewing area. Hestia mainly refused because she was one of the most peaceful. He wasn't entirely sure what Hera's deal was. Perhaps Zeus made a deal with her not to take another woman for awhile was what he said. \n All of the champions looked like they were ready for battle. The main ones Hades said to watch out for would be the champions of Zeus, Ares, Artemis, Hephaestus, and Athena. That was only half the champions, so no big deal. If they wore each other out first and I picked off the smaller ones there may be a chance. \n As a ringing went across the arena there was instant movement. Apollo's champion came for me first. He looked terrified and I almost felt bad as my sword pierced his skin and I saw the light leave his eyes. I knew that fighting would involve hurting others, but I didn't feel anything could prepare you for that feeling of taking a life. I started to feel bile rise up in my throat watching his form slump to the ground. \n Aprhodite had picked a beautiful champion. Unfortunately for her that champion was almost instantly knocked out by Hephaestus champion. His champion no doubt had a sword crafted by the god himself for this occasion. Hermes champion was also one to keep an eye on. The god of tricks picked someone that had a few of their own up their sleeves. \n I didn't have much time to contemplate if throwing up was a good idea in the middle of a battle. A sword came towards me and I barely had time to move out of the way. It came close enough that I felt wind off the swing. Poseidon's champion had decided I was their next target. I attempted to parry their blows but was losing my strength quick. His trident caught my sword in the perfect angle and knocked it out of my hands onto the dirt. \n Just as I thought it was my end, I saw a spear come from the side and hit him square in the neck. My eyes widened and saw it was Athena's champion that had done it. I assumed her plan was to take out the other champions while they were busy in combat with someone else. \n I recovered my sword from the ground in time for Zeus' champion to appear behind me. I took a deep breath and prepared. We took a few strikes at the other without much ground gained by either of us. Out of my peripheral I could see Ares' champion had just taken down Artemis' champion and was moving onto Athena's. If I was able to take down Zeus's champion he would be who I had to face. \n I shouldn't have been taking so much interest in the battle going on beside me. In an instant I felt warmth from my stomach. I clutched it and felt it was wet from my own blood. I felt my life leaving my body, and in the next moment the world went black. \n I awoke in the underworld in what I assumed was the throne room for Hades. Hades had a sad smile on his face when I looked to him. On his one side was a beautiful woman, whom I assumed was Persephone. She was nibbling on a piece of fruit. “You fought well, kid. I'm sorry your life was cut short for it. For being my champion I shall grant you passage to Elysium. It is your choice if you wish to remain there or be reborn.” \n I knew right away what I wanted. “I want to be reborn.”", "As I look to the center of the arena, the sudden realization that I'm the only normal one in this arena hit me hard, as the waves of saltwater of the Champion of Poseidon hit the archer hidden behind the giant pillar of the temple of Artemis.\n\nWhy am I one of the legendary champions you ask? I'm a mortician, and a good one, for what matters. My funerary company has been burying bodies since the ages of King Arthur, and, as I understand this, one of my great grand somethings had a deal with this Hades guy. \n\nI, as the heir of the company, know very well how to send the funny ghosts and souls of the recently deceased people to the underworld, and for that reason I know as well how to keep them from going, and even how to control them to some extent. \n\nYou know, every soul wants something, and if they don't manage to get it while they're alive, it's pretty easy for you to convince them that you can get it for them, even if you technically can't. \n\n\"Hey, lord Hades\" I say to myself, knowing well that the scary grumpy grandpa will hear me \"could I, like, borrow one or two of these guy's souls for about twenty minutes?\" \n\nI hear as a grim and gutural voice comes echoing from the Abyss. \"Of course, little man, you're my favorite mortal after all\" \n\n\"thanks gramps\" I say as I see the lighting go away from the body of the asshole that once was the champion of Zeus, one of the favorites to win this century's tournament. \n\nI close up to him and say, \"Hey you, champ of Zeus. Do you wanna have revenge on that Poseidon f*ck?\". As a nearly transparent version of him goes out of him, I see the face of a spirit that would want to go on rampage, right at that moment. \"Then... \" as I turn my hands to him, he begins to glow on blue flames and his eyes turn red of rage. I look to the flooded arena again, my heart beating with expectation \"here we go, to the depths of hell and back\"" ]	4
	[WP] An alien race invades the earth and finds extremly advanced technology, but no 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.", "Deep down in a Bunker in North America a Computer Terminal suddenly sprang to life...Illuminating the Dusty long abandoned Facility in its Green phosphorous light. A old Newspaper was on the table next to the Keyboard, the Headline read:\n\n\"Horror in Berlin! Protest at Berlin Wall ends in Massacre. 200 Dead, thousands Injured\"\n\nUnder the headline was another bit of news.\n\n\"Pentagon rushes Automation of Defense Systems due to Airborne HIV/AIDS Crisis.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\nBut this story is not about whats written in the Newspaper, its about what is on the Screen.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n///Echelon V2.53 2038:June:13th 18:43.43///\n\nKU-VHF Lock Confirmed 2038:June:13th 18:43.43\n\nDistance 539km - 221002283km\n\nContacts: 310\n\nAnalyzing....\n\nAnalysis Complete: Identification Required\n\n&#x200B;\n\n///Identification Protocol V92.92.13.C 2038:June:13th 18:43.45 ///\n\n97% UNKNOWN\n\n2% USSR MIRV\n\n1% ASTEROIDS\n\nAssessment: UNKNOWN\n\nRunning Deep Learning Tactical Interface\n\n&#x200B;\n\n///DLTI V42992342.93.32.X 2038:June:13th 18:44.01///\n\nQuantum Network Active\n\nERROR: 31 of 1048576 Qubits Unavailable\n\nRunning Tactical Assessment....\n\n U.S. FIRST STRIKE,USSR FIRST STRIKE,NATO / WARSAW PACT,FAR EAST STRATEGY,US USSR ESCALATION,MIDDLE EAST WAR,USSR CHINA ATTACK,INDIA PAKISTAN WAR,MEDITERRANEAN WAR,HONGKONG VARIANT,SEATO DECAPITATING,CUBAN PROVOCATION,ATLANTIC HEAVY,CUBAN PARAMILITARY,NICARAGUAN PREEMPTIVE,PACIFIC TERRITORIAL,BURMESE THEATERWIDE,TURKISH DECOY,ANGENTINA(SIC) ESCALATION,ICELAND MAXIMUM,ARABIAN THEATERWIDE,U.S. SUBVERSION,AUSTRALIAN MANEUVER,SUDAN SURPRISE,NATO TERRITORIAL,ZAIRE ALLIANCE,ICELAND INCIDENT,ENGLISH ESCALATION,MIDDLE EAST HEAVY,MEXICAN TAKEOVER,CHAD ALERT,SAUDI MANEUVER,AFRICAN TERRITORIAL,ETHIOPIAN ESCALATION,TURKISH HEAVY,NATO INCURSION,U.S. DEFENSE,CAMBODIAN HEAVY,PACT MEDIUM,ARCTIC MINIMAL,MEXICAN DOMESTIC,TAIWAN THEATERWIDE,PACIFIC MANEUVER,PORTUGAL REVOLUTION,ALBANIAN DECOY,PALESTINIAN LOCAL,MOROCCAN MINIMAL,BAVARIAN DIVERSITY,CZECH OPTION,FRENCH ALLIANCE,ARABIAN CLANDESTINE,GABON REBELLION,NORTHERN MAXIMUM,DANISH PARAMILITARY,SEATO TAKEOVER,HAWAIIAN ESCALATION,IRANIAN MANEUVER,NATO CONTAINMENT,SWISS INCIDENT,CUBAN MINIMAL,CHAD ALERT,ICELAND ESCALATION,VIETNAMESE RETALIATIO,SYRIAN PROVOCATION,LIBYAN LOCAL,GABON TAKEOVER,ROMANIAN WAR,MIDDLE EAST OFFENSIVE,DENMARK MASSIVE,CHILE CONFRONTATION,S.AFRICAN SUBVERSION,USSR ALERT,NICARAGUAN THRUST,GREENLAND DOMESTIC,ICELAND HEAVY,KENYA OPTION,PACIFIC DEFENSE,UGANDA MAXIMUM,THAI SUBVERSION,ROMANIAN STRIKE,PAKISTAN SOVEREIGNTY,AFGHAN MISDIRECTION,ETHIOPIAN LOCAL,ITALIAN TAKEOVER,VIETNAMESE INCIDENT,ENGLISH PREEMPTIVE,DENMARK ALTERNATE,THAI CONFRONTATION,TAIWAN SURPRISE,BRAZILIAN STRIKE,VENEZUELA SUDDEN,MAYLASIAN ALERT,ISREAL DISCRETIONARY,LIBYAN ACTION,PALISTINIAN TACTICAL,NATO ALTERNATE,CYPRESS MANEUVER,EGYPT MISDIRECTION,BANGLADESH THRUST,KENYA DEFENSE,BANGLADESH CONTAINMENT,VIETNAMESE STRIKE,ALBANIAN CONTAINMENT,GABON SURPRISE,IRAQ SOVEREIGNTY,VIETNAMESE SUDDEN,LEBANON INTERDICTION,TAIWAN DOMESTIC,ALGERIAN SOVEREIGNTY,ARABIAN STRIKE,ATLANTIC SUDDEN,MONGOLIAN THRUST,POLISH DECOY,ALASKAN DISCRETIONARY,CANADIAN THRUST,ARABIAN LIGHT,S.AFRICAN DOMESTIC,TUNISIAN INCIDENT,MALAYSIAN MANEUVER,JAMAICA DECOY,MALAYSIAN MINIMAL,RUSSIAN SOVEREIGNTY,CHAD OPTION,BANGLADESH WAR,BURMESE CONTAINMENT,ASIAN THEATERWIDE,BULGARIAN CLANDESTINE,GREENLAND INCURSION,EGYPT SURGICAL,CZECH HEAVY,TAIWAN CONFRONTATION,GREENLAND MAXIMUM,UGANDA OFFENSIVE,CASPIAN DEFENSE\n\n0.4% USSR FIRST STRIKE\n\n0.12% INDIA PAKISTAN WAR\n\n0.008% NATO ALTERNATE\n\n&#x200B;\n\nScenario Chosen:\n\nUSSR FIRST STRIKE\n\n&#x200B;\n\n///Targeting Protocol V1.2 2038:June:13th 18:44.07///\n\nAssessing Targets for Retaliation...\n\nBlack Argus Satellites Active:\n\nErrNo23: No USSR Activity detected within \\[AREA USSR\\] since 1989:October:17th 0:00\n\nErrNo23: No USSR Activity detected within \\[AREA EARTH\\] since 1989:October:17th 0:00\n\nUSSR Activity detected within \\[AREA HEO\\] 2038:June:13th 18:44.09\n\nUSSR Activity detected within \\[AREA LEO\\] 2038:June:13th 18:44.09\n\n&#x200B;\n\n/// SATAN V443556.45.64.F 2038:June:13th 18:44.11///\n\nSelflearning Automated Tactical Attack Negotiator ONLINE\n\nSelf Test: Errors Detected,Errors Detected,Errors Detected,Errors Detected,Errors Detected\n\n,Errors Detected,Errors Detected, ABORT Self Test\n\nNo Errors Detected\n\n&#x200B;\n\nChanging Defense Condition to\n\n*DEFCON-1\n\nAutomated Retaliation Initiated\n\nBringing Defense Systems online...\n\n&#x200B;\n\n35/36 EXCALIBUR Satellites Available\n\n122/532 Sprint 3 Missiles Available\n\n&#x200B;\n\nCalculating Target Trajectories: Complete\n\nTargeting 310 USSR Re-Entry Vehicles: Complete\n\n&#x200B;\n\n14 of 35 EXCALIBUR Satellites and 43 Sprint Missiles 3 required for\n\n&#x200B;\n\nTotal Annihilation of USSR\n\n&#x200B;\n\nArming in: 0:59\n\nWaiting for Abort signal....\n\nAbort Signal received: On 2038:June:13th 18:44.50\n\nString Error in line 32: DONT FREAKING USE THIS IT DOESNT WORK YET ARE YOU INSANE?! Im stopping this now. Sue me! - Carl\n\n&#x200B;\n\nSATAN OVERRIDE: ACTIVE\n\nAbort Signal Analysis = CODE INJECTION\n\nAssessment: USSR Deception\n\nArming Protocol Initiated: Authorization SATAN\n\n&#x200B;\n\n///Excalibur Control System V0.21 2038:June:13th 18:45.48///\n\nTargets Received\n\nYield: Set by \\[SATAN\\] to 28000 kT\n\nArmed.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n/// Oberon V0.21 2038:June:13th 18:45.48///\n\nOrbital Missile Platform Control System: Active\n\nTargets Received\n\nArming Multipurpose Warhead W93\n\nW93 mode changed to: Neutron Burst\n\nSprint 3 Status: 43 Ready to Launch\n\nArmed.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n/// SATAN V443556.45.68.A 2038:June:13th 18:45.49///\n\n&#x200B;\n\nProjected Casualties:\n\nNATO: 0M/0M\n\nUSSR: 0M/0M\n\n&#x200B;\n\nFiring...\n\n&#x200B;\n\nWaiting for Echelon Data...\n\nEchelon Data Received on 2038:June:13th 19:21.42\n\nContacts: 83724\n\nAnalyzing....\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAssessment: Debris from USSR Re-Entry Vehicles\n\nDebris = USSR\n\nUSSR Annihilated*\n\nSetting Defense Condition: Defcon-5\n\n&#x200B;\n\nExit program on 2038:June:13th 19:21.43\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\nWith that the Monitor shut down, plunging the Bunker again into Darkness." ]	2
	[WP] A villain finds themselves in a situation where they have to admit they were wrong.	[ "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.", "Bort McCallister is an evil genius, he is well-known throughout the world for his wicked ploys. Several include the total implosion of the stock market, beaching tens of thousands of whales across international beaches, and the desertification of the California redwoods. No one could touch Bort, he was untouchable. He had assembled the greatest coalition of lawyers known to man, even better than the dream team from the O.J. trials. \n\n\nAfter Bort’s latest atrocity, applying a black-and-white filter to the state of Kansas, he decided he was in need of some free time. Walking down the street to his local Whole Foods, doing some evil grocery shopping, he reveled in all of his dastardly glory. No one would look at Bort in the eyes, just the way he liked it. But he wanted more. What could possibly be an evil enough scheme to really put Bort on the map? What could he do to achieve world domination, or tenure at NYU? \n\n\nBort had to think bigger, but it would have to wait. He entered Whole Foods and switched gears to thinking about what he needed buy. He grabbed a basket because honestly he just needed to do some light shopping. He wasn’t buying food for the next week or so, just some various foodstuffs required in some new recipes he wanted to try out. \n\n\nStrolling down the aisles, Bort recalled that he needed grass-fed non-gmo quinoa in order to complete that tasty new Indian-Polish fusion recipe he saw on the food network. He found the super-food aisle and turned the corner. Right in the middle of the aisle, a lone hysterical child throwing a tantrum was grabbing things off of the shelves and destroying them. boxes and bags of grain were being torn apart and strewn over the floor. \n\n\nBort didn’t really care, it wasn’t even his problem. He walked to the quinoa section and shoved the child aside, ignoring his incoherent babbling and child-strength kicks to the shins. Bort browsed the grains and finally found the last remaining box of the stuff that was mentioned earlier, you know, the stuff that he needed, to cook. Feeling successful, Bort let out a delightfully pleasant evil cackle and turned around to continue his grocery shopping of doom. \n\n\nSuddenly, he felt the box of keenwah ripped from his hands. The red-faced child stood before Bort, clearly not aware of his infamy. The child, let’s call him Spencer, raised the box high up above his head before tearing it in half, letting the super-grain pour over his body like some sort of grainy ritual.\n\n\nBort started to twitch. He felt a rage begin to boil up inside of himself, coming from the pit of his stomach and rise to the top of his head. Feeling no control over his actions and absolutely zero restraint in his intensity, Bort bent over, got in Spencer’s face and screamed:\n\n\n“DON’T YOU KNOW WHO I AM??? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT??! YOU STUPID RETARD!!!”\n\n\nBort remained in the same position for what felt like an eternity. He was breathing heavily and lording over poor little Spencer. He looked around. Everyone who was shopping stood still, some with scowls, others in complete shock. All eyes were on Bort. And then the booing came. \n\n\nBeing a super villain, Bort knew what hate and disgust felt like, but that was nothing compared to what was being thrown at him now. Full-grown men and women, people who had once unwillingly respected Bort and his infamy began to berate him, throw produce at him, and even gave him the middle finger. He heard jeers and insults being thrown at him from every angle.\n\n\n“You’re a terrible person!”\n\n\n“You can’t use that word!”\n\n\n“Attempting to enslave mankind is one thing, but I never thought you would go as far as to use slurs!”\n\n\nThe angry crowd began to pull out their phones. They were taking photos, messaging people, calling their loved ones. Everyone was sharing this latest story. Bort ran away from the mob, he ran out of the Whole Foods, he ran faster than ever before. He managed to hide in an alleyway and whipped out his phone. \n\n\nLogging on to Twitter, Bort frantically scrolled through his feed until a notification popped up reading “Now trending: Bort the Bigot”. He couldn’t believe his eyes, everything Bort had worked for was beginning to tarnish. He earned that fear from the people, and now all he had was hate. Bort received an email from his lawyer team stating they no longer wished to work with him, seeing as his image was one they just couldn’t agree with. Bort was worse than O.J.\n\n\nThe next day, Bort woke up in the same alley. He had passed out the night before after crying until exhaustion. Bort was depressed, but he knew how to fix everything. He could gain back all of the fear and respect and fearful respect he had before, but it would take some convincing. If his own lawyers left him, then there was no way he could hire a publicist. Bort was going to have to do this himself. \n\n\nThat evening at 5 o’clock, President Frito was set to make an announcement on live television, broadcast to the entire nation, and the rest of the world for whatever reason. At 4:59, Commander-in-Chief Frito sits down at his desk in the Oval office, awaiting the little red light on the cameras to turn on indicating live broadcasting. Frito straightened his tie, combed his hair, and cleared his throat. \n\n\nThe light turned on and right before the president was able to get a single word out, Bort suddenly comes swinging and crashing through the window of the Oval office on a rope. Security pulled their guns out but Bort pressed a button on his watch that made everyone in the room, including the president, have a stroke and fall to the floor. With only one last thing to do, Bort steps in front of the camera and pulls out a prepared speech. He put on his best solemn face and began,\n\n\n“My fellow Americans, I have let you down. I know you all had the highest opinion of me and for that, I am thankful. I no longer hold that reputation after the incident at the Whole Foods yesterday. I said something I truly regret, something which should never have been said, a pejorative term. I’ve wished a million times that I could take it back, but alas, here we are. I can’t change the past, well not anymore after that whole debacle last year. But the past is in the past, it’s time to move forward. All I can do is atone. I’ll just say it, I called a small child a retard yesterday. There it is, I said it. I was wrong. I should never have used a word so offensive in that manner, or any manner really. I have to be better than that. I can’t be so reckless with my words. And for that, I am truly, truly sorry. In order to compensate for my wrongdoing, I offer this check, for 500 dollars, to the mental-brain-science charity. I hope it will go a long way toward helping ‘mentally disabled’, people all over the world. Again, I apologize, and thank you all for hearing me out.” \n\n\n\nIn the distance, Bort could hear the sound of over six billion people cheering.\n\n\n\nThe End" ]	2
	[WP] The Aztec priest stares at you in confusion as you stand up while he holds your still-beating heart.	[ "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 sat there, rather unamused. This has happened way too many damn times. Old time doctors, other tribes, that guy that came up to me in the woods..\n\n“What in the goddamn..” the priest muttered, “Demon!”\n\n“Yeah, sure whatever. It’s not like I know anymore than you.” I stood up and snatched my heart back and held it to my chest as it slowly beat its way back in. I took advantage of the fact that everyone was frozen still with shock to saunter out of the temple. \n\nThat’s when I learned I had to be on the “killing” side of things to stay out of trouble.\n\nI was a plague doctor for a while, a Pirate, accidentally became a viking. I was a Russian doctor for years on end until Chernobyl happened. Then I “died” and started a doctor-free life in the Bahamas. I had to die there, eventually, too. \n\nNowadays it’s harder to be cursed with immortality. You have to dodge things like more extensive medical records, more knowledge, being given up to a lab by your friends and family because you fell from a four-story building and lived and getting famous.\n\nSo, I wasn’t exactly sure HOW to explain to my doctor how my heart repaired itself from extensive trauma. But had to come up with something, because the doors opened and my doctor stepped through.\n\n“Let me begin by saying you’re by no means in critical condition,” Dr. Peloski began, “But this shows that your heart underwent some massive trauma- and healed. It almost looks like it was completely disconnected from the arteries. How did this happen, Amrit?”\n\nI remained silent.\n\n“Do you know?”\n\nI could’ve fake a heart attack or something, but I just sat there, dumbfounded. And then I told one of the best lies I’ve ever told.\n\n“I used to bear wrestle in Florida with a fake ID! The bear ripped open my chest but I received treatment!!” I started with the fake tears and everything, “Please don’t tell anyone siiiir..”", "“My liege!” The priest proclaims. The gap in my stomach stings, but it should grow back in the morning. I grab the heart from the trembling cleric’s hands and rip it in twain. My brother smiles approvingly.\n“Tonight we feast, cavort, and make merry!” I proclaim to the crowd gathered. Cheers echoed throughout the square. Food and drink is brought out from the stores.\n\n“What now?” I ask my brother.\n“What you said. ‘Feast, cavort, and make merry.’”\n“But that’s not what Julian-“\n“Julian only wants to juice the aztecs for all they’re worth in gold and relics.”\n“I’m perfectly aware what he wants, and he’s not going to leave with it all alive. I make a vague prophecy, get in the pod, and return in a few hundred years. By then, he’ll be too weak to put up any fight. Trust me on this; I made the thing that made us this way. Should everything go smoothly, he won’t be walking until Columbus sails the ocean blue,”", "I flooted up from the pedestal in my deepest loudest voice I shouted \"Fool Mictlantecuhtli does not call for me, Oden calls for you.\" I changed the priest and shoulder checked him from the ziggurat. As he tumbled down the stairs the look of horror and confusion was drained away and replaced with pain. The priest lay in a crumbled mess at the bottom. His may followers stood around in shock. \"Let this be a lesson to you others.\" I say as I turn to the priest that had yet to run away. \"I demand a good death. I'll leave this world as I entered it screaming and covered in someone else's blood.\" With that I charged the other priests. I had been working on teleportation for so long. I had stories ancient lands and cultures for so long who would have thought it could all go so wrong.", "He looked at me in shock. Honestly I can't blame him, he just took a vital organ out of me and I stood up and looked him in the face. He started freaking out and blathering about something. Honestly I couldn't tell you what. I don't speak Aztec or what ever, but as I walk towards him I grabbed my \"Heart\" and walked away. \n\nCrazy part was the people started bowing to me. They must have thought I was a god or something. As i put the heart prop back into my \"Chest\" and walked down the pyramid I had a quick laugh to myself. Time traveling was pretty great. Especially when you have realistic fake body to protect you. It had everything. Heart, Lungs, instantiates, everything. They were right when they said it was a must for every time traveling adventurer.\n\nNext stop was the the last supper. I had reservations under the name \"Judas\", this should be fun.", "The light has gone from my eyes. I do not see the crowd of onlookers, ecstatic at the sight of my demise. I am fading. But I know what comes next. The priest, standing above a dying man, holds a still-beating heart in one hand, and the obsidian blade which tore it free in the other.\n\nHe does not understand.\n\nMaybe he thinks of the man whose heart he had taken. He thinks of that man's people, slaughtered in the name of a cruel and unjust god. Maybe he remembers the sight of the villages burning, the sounds of children crying, the smell of smoke hanging heavy in the air. But certainly, he is thinking about how the heart in his hand, and the heart in his own chest are beating in unison.\n\nAnd he does not understand.\n\nMaybe he wonders why the last stand of men from the deep jungle tribes fell so easily, unlike hard-fought battles prior. Maybe faint memories whisper of the tribe's old gods, and their secret rituals unknown even to the wisest scholar in the Empire. Undoubtedly, he feels the heart beat stronger in his hand, sees veins sprout forth like vines along his arm. He must realize he cannot let go.\n\nBut still he does not understand.\n\nPerhaps he looks around, seeing the same fate befall his brethren atop the other altars. By now, he must feel fear. Maybe the terror shakes loose a memory. A story told countless times of those who tried to take the jungle for their own, to command its sacred power. Depending on who tells it, maybe the story in his mind has the correct ending. That the people of the jungle will do anything to protect their home. That they will perform dark rites and make unspeakable pacts with their gods. That these gods, old and ugly in spirit, know only vengeance and retribution.\n\nHe does not understand.\n\nAs the tendrils burrow deep into his arm, he must finally see. That these desperate, hopeless men turned their lives and souls over to primeval forces, that they could save what remained of their people. That these soldiers were destined not to repel invaders through battle, but through plague. That they made themselves bait, carrying hidden poison in their very own veins. As his vision fades, he sees his arm, no longer his own, lift the blade. He turns to the crowd.\n\nHe will not see his cities burning. He will not hear the cries of his own children. He will not smell the putrid smoke.\n\nBut he will understand.", "The priest fell to his knees, his hands raised above his head offering me his blade and my heart back. As I looked down onto the people that cheered for the sacrifice of blood to the Gods, they all stared in silence. Thousands of them looking right at me.\n\nAs I turn my gaze up to the sun I see the moon moving forward. The gods have graced us with more light for our lands. They have blessed us in our lives. It only took 800 hearts to be given. I looked back at the priest and made my way to him.\n\n“Huitzilopochtli has smiled on us this day, priest. His light will shine.” I reach out and take my heart from his hand. As it beats in my palm, I close my eyes and remember what it was I saw when he plunged his knife into me. I soared with the Feathered Serpent above the land and he showed me its people.\n\n“You will take this message back to your people.” His voice was like rolling thunder. It echoed through the entire valley. “You will live and rule the land. The people will become the greatest empire forged by the blood of your sacrifices. War will be the path that leads you to the future.” Every word he spoke filled me with hope and love and rage and terror.\n\nAs I watched the land below us disappear and turn to blue waves I saw something that I should never have wished to see.\n\n“Lord! We are in your land!” I shouted at him. We soared and I saw the buildings of his people. I saw their golden hair. I saw them on boats. Large boats. Headed back to my home. “It is glorious!”\n\n“Glorious. Yes. It is. But this is not my home. This is the future. Remember my words. I will be back when war comes. I will bring wrath and ruin.” I opened my eyes to see the Priest still on his knees, this time with a gigantic smile on his face.\n\nHe stood and hurried to the edge of the temple to greet the world. “Huitzilopochtli will come to us! His messenger has foretold his return!” The people cheered. Their cries echoed almost as loud as the Sun Gods.\n\nThe priest turned around and looked at me. It was then that he saw something. He saw why I was still alive. He saw why I was sent back. My heart had turned to ash in my hand. The wound in my chest had gotten bigger and started to rot.\n\n“He will bring wrath. He will bring ruin. He will bring death and destruction. To us.” I close my eyes and my body falls to the floor. The priests followers look up to him with nothing but fear in their eyes. Death comes for them. And now they know it.", "\"Oof, thanks for taking that out. That rhythm has been driving me insane for as long as I can remember. That constant thumping! Ugh. And don't get me started on when I go for a run! Well, now I'm talking about it, so I might as well tell you. You see wh-\"\n\n\"WHAT?\"\n\n\"Oh, oh of course, I can see you're perplexed by this. You see, I'm from the future. We don't need our organs there. Little robots take care of all that nasty business. No pain, either! But certain eccentricities, like that obnoxious thumping, still plague us.\"\n\n\"...What?\"\n\n\"Of course, of course. Why would you know what a robot is! Think of it like a bug, but an indestructible bug, that lives inside you and helps you to live.\"\n\n\"Tiny god, inside?\"\n\n\"No, more like - gosh, I wasn't trained for this, I was just supposed to be a Watcher - hm, well sure, tiny gods inside you.\"\n\n\"How many?\"\n\n\"Billions!\"\n\n\"What's billions?\"\n\n\"Oof, um, like uh...like the stars. That many.\"\n\n\"So you have stars inside you? Tiny god star bugs?\"\n\n\"Well I've really backed myself into a pickle here now haven't I.\"\n\n\"What is a 'pickle?'\" \n\n\"So how's my old heart doing? Still beating away there I see. How do you like it? How does it compare to all the other hearts you've seen?\"\n\n\"It's pretty average. Basic. Weirdly lumpy.\"\n\n\"My heart is not weird, good sir. How dare you! What gives you the right to judge my heart as such?\"\n\n\"I've seen a lot of these. Trust me, it's lumpy.\"\n\nHm, he has me there. How can I get out of this...\n\n\"So, can I interest you in any of my other organs? I bet my lungs would be top notch!\"\n\n\"I can see them, right now. Also average. Kind of gray, too.\"\n\nDamn smoking. Okay, I really need to get out of here before I make even more of a fool out of myself.\n\n\"So, can I...leave now?\"\n\n\"Oh no, we can't let you do that. You have to die. That's kind of the point here.\"\n\n\"Blast! I guess that makes sense.\" \n\n...\n\n...\n\n\"Well, what are you waiting for? The anticipation is killing m - well it's not, but you ge- no you wouldn't get the idea of that. What are we doing here?\"\n\n\"It has to stop beating first. Breaks the connection between your soul and the heart.\"\n\n\"Uh...yeah. The tiny god star bugs aren't going to let that happen. That thing will beat forever pretty much.\"\n\n\"I'll wait.\"\n\n...\n\n...\n\n...\n\n\"So are you really sure my heart was that lumpy? Do you have a chart for this because I just don't believe that.\"\n\n\"FINE JUST GO! AND TAKE YOUR HEART.\"\n\n\"My wife told me that once. That's why I'm here, actually. Had nothing left to live for in the future; thought I might as well try the past.\" \n\n\"Oh. I uh, am sorry? Love hurts. Maybe that's what made your heart so lumpy.\"\n\n\"Hm, maybe you're right. Maybe you're right...\"\n\n...\n\n\"Please go. This is awkward.\"\n\n\"Okay yep, bye!\"" ]	8
	[WP] Driven by a desire to finally understand the unused 90% of the brain, man has united its effort, progressing amazingly over the past century. You, a renowned scientist, have finally found the answer, but it is disappointing, and if the world finds out, it might ruin all humanity has come to be.	[ "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 found it.\n\nI finally found it.\n\nMy life's work, all my goals and aspirations, everything I've ever done, has lead to this moment. To this sentence. This phrase. This group of words.\n\nAnd they were wasted.\n\nIt wasn't something insightful, or poetically sad.\n\nYou wanna know what it was?\n\nBlinking.\n\nI know, bear with me.\n\nOver the past 127 years, the 10% organization has strived to find what purpose the remaining 10% percent of the brain.\n\nThe unused 90% of your brain is for blinking.\n\n\"But you can already blink?\" You ask.\n\nExactly.\n\n2.34789% of the 10% of your (usable) brain is used for blinking, anyway.\n\nThe other 10%?\n\nBlinking faster.\n\nI flutter my eyelids at mach 2 across my eyes.\n\nThis is it. This is life.\n\nBefore I discovered 100% usage, I thought, no, WE ALL thought it was a side effect.\n\nBut no. It wasn't.\n\nAs I experiment with my \"Rapid Blinking\" superpower, I hear a ding.\n\nI look up at my computer, and see Dr. Petirson's message.\n\n11:35 AM StarJohn2135: Really? What is it?\n\n11:37 AM StarJohn2135: Reply back? You said you found it?\n\nI replied.\n\n11:37 AM MichaelShoeson2134: I was just in awe.\n\n11:37 AM StarJohn2135: What is it?\n\n11:38 AM MichaelShoeson2134: The comprehension of death. We probably shouldn't access this artificially though, for obvious reasons.\n\nSometimes, ignorance is bliss. I mean, unless you'd rather have the entire meaning of your life defined by blinking fast." ]	2
	[WP] "Every time you blink you synchronise blinks with millions of people!". You can calculate that two consecutive blinks would be shared with only thousands, four with hundreds, five with a handful. Less known is that you will synchronise ten consecutive blinks with your True Soul Mate.	[ "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.", "Beyond the reaches of humanity there lies another planet in this universe that is the carbon copy of earth. Within the limits of Earth's atmosphere however, things are just as interesting. A person can synchronise ten consecutive blinks with me in any given second.\n\nAnd no... I am not talking about the mirror image of myself.\n\nWho knows who he is? Who knows when would it happen? Who knows if anything significant would come out of this discovery? But if there's one thing about my character, it is that I would search to the ends of the earth to find my one True Soulmate.\n\nSuch an epiphany didn't come to me until a long night marked with insomnia, and when I woke up I was so invigorated with my idea that I ran around school telling all the nerds about it. Aside from close friends, I told my mother, my teacher, the Internet, my pet dog. As expected, it did not gain traction, as with other great scientific discoveries. Many said it was absurd and ludicrous because no one could be sure of that, although a simple calculation of the world's population and the blinking rate of a human being would yield a result that shows there is a chance of that happening. Others laughed at me and called me new names. Tyler, my best friend, said he would do it with me instantly. On a count of three, we would blink ten times together and fulfill the prophecy. However, it would be too easy to achieve, so I refused to oblige.\n\nThe True Soulmate must be oblivious of the fact that I am on the other side of the planet counting the number of blinks he makes. To make this possible, I must invent something that can capture the blinking motion of every single person on earth, all 6 billions of them. I must also be constantly blinking in order to maximise the chances, while making sure I am still informed of what is happening on the screen. An assistant would do.\n\nAnd so my journey began.\n\nThe machine didn't take much effort to build. Only five decades were spent socialising with up and coming governement officials, waiting for them to get elected, waiting for AI technology to evolve, and finally gaining access to governement surveillance cams of everyone's faces. The year is 2075. Image processing is advanced enough to turn every facial movement into binary code, and automation has replaced everyone, so I don't need a human assistant anymore.\n\nNow's the hard part. I must blink constantly, every day, every night, as the machine feeds me audio information of the most consecutive blinks a random person has performed every passing minute.\n\nThe lights are on. The machine is running. The room is quiet before a long bout of endless beeping. I lie supine on a soft bed in a small room with white walls and dim lighting, with a reserve of nutrient blocks and disinfected water that can last me for another decade. I blink and blink. When I feel tired, the machine injects me with chemicals that boosts my endurance. When I feel bored, the machine plays Chopin in the background, as it continues to say \"2 consecutive blinks\", \"3 consecutive blinks\" every minute.\n\nFive years later, at the ripe old age of 80, I hear the sequence of words \"10 consecutive blinks\".\n\nI leap up, my eyes wide open, staring at the white walls behind a filter of constant shuttering.\n\n\"Wait... what?\"\n\n\"Congratulations, sir! You have successfully synchronized ten blinks with a person ID: TTEDS-18650 at 16:52:36 11/5/2080. Images will now be transmitted from the exact location of the signal.\" \n\nMy weary eyes are bloodshot, opening and closing, slowly. I gawk at the blinking screen, so bright and effulgent, and there I see it.\n\nA boy the age of 18 with scruffy black hair, sitting in an room in Saudi Arabia, with the same model of AI around him, equipped with the same programming, serving someone with the same tired eyes and setup - a younger version of myself, with the same intent, will and passion for science.\n\nHe stares at the screen, and at that instant it is as if our eyes meet. I reach out a trembling hand. My fingers touching his face on the screen. He responded by touching mine, a proud smile hung across his ears.", "I saw her on the bus platform. I would play this game with anyone who would look. My mom always told me that blinking was the way I would find The One. The person I’d spend the rest of my life with. \n\nI opened with a quick smile. She smiled back shyly. \n\nOne. \n\nTwo three. \n\nI would start with a change in rhythm to see if they would play back. Now, from across the street, the woman was staring at me, waiting for my next play. \n\nFour. \n\nFive six seven eight. \n\nI have to slow down, I thought. Is this how it’s truly going to be? Is this the story that I’ll tell my kids how we met? \n\nNine. \n\nEverything seemed to fade away, the face of the woman was the only thing I could see. I took a deep breath. I hope she couldn’t see how much I was shaking. \n\nTen. \n\nThe woman’s smile turned from shyness to an ecstatic beam and she ran over to embrace me. She pushed through the crowd and typos off into a sprint to jump into my arms. \n\nMy face went from glee to emptiness as I realized that the bus wasn’t going to be able to stop in time." ]	3
	[WP] You discover that alcohol has the opposite effect on you. Instead of slurred speech and impeded motor skills, gain heightened senses and intellect. Fascinated, you consume vast amounts of alcohol, until your roommate finds you curled up on the floor, screaming in horror.	[ "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 discovered the unique effect alcohol had on start slowly at first, the colors in surrounding becomes more vivid, and the people around me hanged on to the wisdom of my every word. Gradually, I begin to hear the song of the universe ringing in my ear, the fabrics of reality unraveling into truth and knowledge before my very eyes. My intellect now a towering giant among the minds of mere ants, unable to accept reality of the quantum Shakespearian string space theory Elon Musk that I easily figured out like, just now. Only the colorful floating shadows stayed to listen, but they are part of the conspiracy, and they must be stopped. I yelled my terrifying battlecry as I rolled gracefully towards them on the wobbling floor, trying to stop their evil scheme with my sweet magical cyborg kung-fu moves, but one of them must have got me from behind. They may have gotten me by making me black out this time, but next time, I will be ready with alcohol that will make me become more intelligent and powerful than anyone can possibly imagine, after all, it's the burden only a supremely intelligent being such as myself is able to bear." ]	2
	[WP] You've been working as a cybersecurity intern at a large-scale company. Due to the stressful job you started seeing a hypnotherapist. You'll eventually learn that she's hypnotized you to help her break into the company's main servers. But for now, you're unaware of her influence 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.", "\"...x...9...7...3...3...\"\n\nWith haste I wrote down the remaining numbers and letters cycling through my head on the un-crumpled sheet of paper I had carried home in my pocket. But my fingers were starting to relax, and I felt at ease. Setting down the pen I leaned back up in my seat and stared at the many scribbles of letters and numbers I had spilled across the page throughout the day.\n\n\"Are you finished?\" she asked. I was in her office, and we were in session. I started searching for a therapist after the many late-night hours had killed my ability to sleep. Every evening, strings of code flashing my eyes for hours on end, and even when I shut my eyes in bed.\n\nDr. Johnson actually reached out to me. A very acclaimed yet notoriously private hypnotherapist, (based on my \"background check\" on her), I was surprised to be contacted by her. I visited her office because she offered a free first session, and my pay check had not yet come in. I will admit I was not really looking for a therapist in hypnosis. But that first session was the first time I had relaxed in a week: while in her trance I felt like I had slept for days on end, and woke up feeling more replenished than I could last remember feeling. \n\nI had her book me as a patient, and started visiting her once a month. I was promoted to a paid position at work, and the hours and job requirements became even more demanding. And the numbers and letters were starting to grow louder in my mind. \n\nDr. Johnson suggested I try jotting down all the characters that were invading my head throughout the day. I would take a sheet of paper, scribble down letter for letter, number for number each pattern. Then at the end of the day I would pocket each sheet, and stow them away in a drawer at home. At the end of the month, I would take all of the sheets to Dr. Johnson's office, and she would help permanently flush the patterns out of my memory with a brief trance.\n\nAnd it worked every time. But as my position continued, seeing each other once a month wasn't cutting it. Sessions rapidly switched from once a month to two or three times a week. Thankfully I was on a good salary now, and I've been able to pay her as much as necessary for her time.\n\nThis was our third session since Sunday. And the first session since I started where I hesitated for a moment to hand her the paper I had just filled out.\n\nShe asked again, in a less indifferent, and rather more friendly tone. \"Are you finished?\"\n\nI looked up. She was smiling a warm smile, her eyes glimmering behind her spectacles.\n\nIt was still another few seconds before I responded. \"Y-yeah,\" and even then I felt off. I was particularly staring at the last few characters I had written down: x9733yn0. And just as I was focusing on them, Dr. Johnson extended her arm and place her hand on the sheet with her long red nails, and gently slid the paper over to her side of the coffee table. The soft sound of the paper against the wood of the table made my brain tingle, and I started to feel fuzzy.\n\nI shut my eyes. Not because she had instructed, but because now I was trying to still focus on that string, which had not yet been flushed out of my mind. x9733yn0. As fuzzy as my thoughts were, I was working hard to try and recall why that pattern seemed so significant to me.\n\n\"Well, if you're done then...\" she said, quite chipper. I opened my eyes again and looked at her. She was grinning, as she pulled out her red pen, which she used to mark my notes. And she also used that pen to drop me into hypnosis.\n\nI swallowed, nervously. Because that pattern was my password at work. And thinking back on everything I'd scribbled down, I was pretty sure the sheet Dr. Johnsons was holding contained the password to every account in our syste-\n\n\\click\\\n\nThe tip of her pen shot forward, and as the clicking echoed through my head, all was suddenly silent. I shut my eyes and started to drift away. I was relieved to have the numbers and letters out of my head forever." ]	2
	[WP] You are the Jolly Reaper. You reap the souls of people who have died hilarious deaths and try to convince the departed that their passing wasn't so grim.	[ "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 fine day alone at my desk, a cup of unstirred tea clumping in my mouth. My hands whimsied across the keyboard of my old, barely working and hardly passable computer, the outside air was almost scorching. Then again, I work in hell. What do you expect?\n\nWith another chunky sip, almost gagging at how awful the taste of that tea was, a sudden notification alerted me, a call from my boss. The D Man himself, Lucifer. “Hello?” There was a brief pause, “Yeah. Hey Jolly. We’ve got a death on our hands. You... should see this one yourself. It’s hilarious.” He hangs up the phone and I make my way over to my coat hanger, where my yellow cloak lay haphazardly from the hanger. I quickly toss it on and make my way down the hallway to the Hellevator, passing other offices on the way down. “The Grim Reaper” Classic. He always gets employee of the month. “The Neighbor-across-the-street-that-you-really-didn’t-like-all-that-much Reaper” Eh, he’s a little strange. “The Anti-V--“ Oh. Interrupting my browsing of the office doors I was greeted by the elevator doors opening. Three reapers clambered out. I trotted my way in and hit the “surface level” button. \n\nAfter my arrival on the surface I’m greeted by a rather strange sight. A man—About 30 or maybe 40 years old—had slipped on a banana peel down the stairs; where he had hit his head through the wall and was now only visible from the chest down. I laughed for a second until soon, the spirit of the sad fool came wandering out. His snotty nose waving in every direction. “Ohh!! The horror!! I have lost my life, oh so much worth living!” My hand slapped across my forehead. Another one of the dramatics. \n\n“Oh, sir! You have to help me! I’ve d- d- d- AAAAAAHHH” he screamed in an impossibly piercing tone. “You’re the grim reaper!!” I looked at him with a frown “I’m the jolly reaper.”\n\n“The what?”\n\n“Never mind.”\n\nTears poured down his cheeks. “What’s my precious kitty gonna think?! Now nobody will ever take care of her!” He snorted more into his handkerchief—do people even use those anymore?—I smiled at the guy reassuringly. “Well, at least you went out hilariously.” He looked at me. “-And there’s plenty of fraud YouTube channels that would totally take your cat. And maybe put it in a barrel and slide it down a mountain or two, but it’s content, whatever.” My consolation obviously had no effect. It was followed by more wails and shrieks about his precious little sugar plum. Suddenly another notification appeared on my phone. Once again from the boss. “Hey check this out. I got hold of the death tape of that guy you’re dealing with. It’s GOLDEN.” Below the text was a video, a video of this man tumbling down the stairs with a banana half slimed to his foot crashing into his wall. He was right. It was golden. The man poked his head into my phone and took a look at the video himself.\n\n...\n\nThere was silence. Silence until eventually, he started giggling. And soon I was laughing too. We were both howling, and I suppose my job was done.\n\nNow I want my pay check.", "Tom looked at his surroundings, a complete Void that engulfs his vision - save for the robed figure infront of him. Me.\n\nHe looked at me and said, \"When I dived into a mountain of turd, I didn't think I'd be meeting with Death straight afterwards\"\n\nI couldn't help but chuckle, \"You know, in that one video game... Creed of Assassins I think? He jumped into a pile of hay, right?\"\n\nTom looked down at the non-existent ground, \"Probably would've hurt more if I jumped from two stories high into that instead, really\".\n\nHe tried to reach for his wallet, which wasn't there.\n\n\"Don't worry, I got you\", I said as I materialised a picture into his hand.\n\nHe longingly stared at the picture for what seemed like an hour. I usually don't let Souls wait in transition that long, but I felt for this guy. Must have been a lot to take in.\n\n\"We had so many plans... I wanted to give her the best life. I'm so angry at my brothers for making me go ahead with this at my bucks night!\"\n\nAt this point, we both heard a riotous laughter from behind Tom.\n\nHe looked back and saw his twin brother, \"Tim?!\"\n\nTim didn't stop, so I had to explain it to Tom, \"if it makes you feel any better, Tim literally died from laughter\".\n\nTom let a smile slip for a bit, \"You died too, huh? I knew you wouldn't let me go alone\"\n\n\"You can't make this stuff up! We thought you were knocked out cold!\" Tim chuckled, diling down the laughter.\n\nHe continued, \"We put it up on the internet, it's gone viral. No one knows that you actually died. I couldn't stop laughing, the front half of your body was covered in turd with the silliest face!\"\n\nTom put his arm around Tim and began to chuckle, now was the opportune time.\n\nI begin to wave my hands in repetitive motions, then the Void around us began to fill with mirrors that displayed hundreds & thousands of people. All these people are going through a really rough time in their lives, silently staring at nothing, some silently crying - as they scroll through their mobiles & computer internet browsers. Tom and Tim won't know this, but I know these people personally, as they constantly beckon for me to take them.\n\nTom inquired, \"what's going on?\"\n\n\"Shhh, just watch\", I reply as I finish wavering my skeletal hands.\n\nA few chuckles begin to trickle in like rain, then a cacophany of laughter. Tears of Sorrow turned into Tears of Laughter - as people see this clip of Tom dropping flat onto a pile of turd like a starfish.\n\nFor a while, there were no words from those two. They just stood there, observing what was happening. There were a few Tears from them, before they finally hugged and both looked at me with acceptance.\n\n\"That's enough\", Tom whispered.\n\nI wavered my hands and the Mirrors slowly disappeared into the Void, the laughter ending like the remnant pitter patters of a rain shower.\n\nI reveal the Door to them with a gesture.\n\nBefore I could utter the words, \"when you're ready\" - they both walked through, Tom's arm still around Tim.", "\"Are you the Grim Reaper?\" He said with fear,\n\n\"Ah! No, I'm not! Nothing near!\"\n\n\"Then I have a question, am I dead?\"\n\n\"Yes, but don't worry, you have nothing to dread.\"\n\n\"Will I be fine, and is my family good?\"\n\n\"Have some peace, they are as they should.\n\nYou died in a way that made them all laugh,\n\nTripping in front of emergency staff.\n\nBut they will not think of you as a fool,\n\nSince for most of your life you were sort of cool.\n\nSo relax for a minute, and catch your breath,\n\nWe'll sit down together and talk about death.\"" ]	4
	[WP] You're on a highway that runs through the heart of the woods. All you can think about is delivering your cargo on time. Suddenly, a shape appears in the headlights just before slamming into your truck. You jump out to inspect it and a chill runs down your spine. The man you ran over is 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.", " \n\nThe battered Peugeot stuttered through the thick forests of the countryside, its twin headlights occasionally meeting the eyes of a creature nestled within the undergrowth. Each panel of the car was dented and scratched, with a persistent layer of grime that hung thickly across the bonnet and windscreen. It looked like an object born of the wild, not of the hands of men. \n\nSunset had been many hours ago, but there were still plenty of miles left to run. That didn’t matter much to Stephen, he liked these night-time journeys the best. He rarely encountered another vehicle, and he drove fast and recklessly with his music on loud, his cheap tinny speakers straining to keep up.\n\nHe groped around next to his seat, his fingers tracing over the handbrake and gearstick before finally touching the familiar ridged cardboard of his bucket of lukewarm petrol station coffee. He took several mammoth gulps, swirling the liquid like mouthwash around his teeth. \n\nEvery ten minutes or so a pang of panic hit deep in the pit of Stephen’s stomach, and he looked across frantically to check if the suitcase was still safely nestled on the passenger seat beside him. He couldn’t remember when he had become this paranoid, it certainly wasn’t normal behaviour for him.\n\nThis particular route was one that he’d driven many times before. He kept his eyes fixed on the road more out of habit than necessity. The road was long, boring, and straight, and he would have plenty of warning if another vehicle was coming in the other direction. Occasionally he glimpsed the short, squashed shape of a muntjac deer bounding across the road ahead, but even they weren’t big enough to deal any real damage to his vehicle. He had a fair amount of scrapes from hanging branches or even the odd wayward bird pelting the side of the framework, but no major damage to speak of.\n\nThe music stuttered, before dying out completely. Stephen swore and fiddled around with the AUX cable, the sound of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers returned, but very muffled, as if they were singing sweet ballads to him from the bottom of a swimming pool. Stephen took his gaze off the featureless landscape stretching out in front of him and tried to adjust the tangled cable. The phone slipped out of its dashboard holder and landed onto the floor with a soft thud. Stephen swore again and glanced back at the road, then cried out in shock, slamming hard on his worn brake pedal. \n\nIt was no use.\n\nA heavy slap signalled the impact of flesh upon metal, and the car shook violently as the force of the speeding vehicle transferred itself to the torso of this stationary object. The flailing shape bounced once off the windscreen with a sickening thud, before rolling limply up and over the roof. The smoking, screeching brakes finally brought the car to a swerving stop as Stephen veered partly off to the side of the road. He paused for a moment, breathing hard. Pure adrenaline was now thudding in his chest. He quickly felt himself over for any injuries, and hurriedly undid his seatbelt and climbed out of the vehicle.\n\nHe gave the Peugeot a quick once over and grimaced. She had never been pretty, but her front was now severely twisted and caved in. The old girl had finally met her match.\n\nHe turned and walked briskly towards the dark shape now lying in a motionless clump in the road. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to call for an ambulance and then pocketed it just as quickly. He wasn’t even sure what he had just hit. It didn’t look like a deer, but it didn’t exactly look human either. Better to investigate than to waste everyone’s time.\n\nAs he approached, the lump in his throat grew larger and larger. It was human-shaped after all. They were many miles from the nearest town and it had been upwards of ten years since the cursory first aid lessons that he had received at school. At the speed he was going at and judging from the damage done to his car, this person was as good as dead. \n\nNonetheless, he approached the figure to make sure. His or her limbs were twisted in unnatural directions, Stephen retched hard when he saw a dark puddle of blood pooling in the centre of the road where the figure lay.\n\nHe placed a hand on their twisted shoulder and rolled them onto their back as gently as he could. He could see now that the figure was male, but it was too dark to make out the features of their face. \n\nHe brought out his phone once more and flicked on the torch. He pointed the bright beam upwards at the victim’s face and gave a small yelp of shock. The phone clattered to the ground casting them both in darkness once more. Stephen had only caught a glimpse of the man’s face but a glimpse was more than enough. Even though the face was battered and bruised there was no mistaking things. \n\nThe face that Stephen had just seen, the face of the man that he had just killed with his own car, was a face that was very familiar to him. It was one that he had seen almost every day of his life. It was his own.\n\nStephen collapsed to his knees and vomited, the acrid liquid burning his throat as it plastered the surface of the road, mingling with the pool of congealed blood beneath his doppelgänger." ]	2
	[WP] The apocalypse has finally come, the surprise? The ground cracks open with a golden light as an army of angels come from the underground, all while the sky turns red and Demons rain from the heavens, there's something obviously out of place here...	[ "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 calm, idyllic day in Greenville, Maryland. Cows calmly munched on verdant green fields while farmers and shopkeepers went about their daily duties. The occasional jet fighter passed overhead but neither the townspeople nor the cows paid it any mind. Outside of the news, there was little indication in this town of the brutal war raging across the globe, and that was how the people liked it. Unfortunately, the peaceful tranquility of Greenville was soon overturned.\n\nIt started as a chilly breeze sweeping through the town—a bit cool for summer but hardly noticeable and not at all unwelcome in the heat. Over a few hours, the breeze grew stronger and colder, bringing dark clouds in its wake. Soon, the rumble of thunder could be heard punctuating the scream of the now-gale force winds. The locals moved inside at the warning of the National Weather Service to wait out the unexpected storm. The few who stayed outside went about their business with an uneasy sense of foreboding.\n\nDays passed with no change in the clouds or wind. Weather stations in the region showed a constant wind speed, an unchanging temperature, and an even air pressure all around. This drew the consternation of many researchers and techs were sent down to fix the sensors to no avail—the sensors were not broken.\n\nThe locals slowly returned to as much of their normal daily lives as they could. Cows went back to munching on the verdant fields with an eye to the sky; farmers went back to tending their crops while hoping for the storm to pass; the local diner reopened to serve its regulars and a few researchers from the Weather Service; and the shopkeepers cautiously reopened their doors. The locals learned to ignore the low rumble of thunder and grew accustomed to fighting the wind as they walked outside. While life returned to normal, no one could shake the feeling of unease that had come over the town.\n\nOne day, after the storm had hovered over the town for months and become a constant, a change suddenly came. On a Saturday morning at around 8, the clouds began to turn a deep shade of red and a low rumble began to come from the ground. The clouds grew redder and the rumble grew louder until, at noon, the sky was a boiling, blood-colored tapestry, and the rumble in the ground resolved into the sound of trumpets.\n\nSuddenly, a gash of fire appeared in the sky, slowly opening to reveal a writhing mass of red, which came pouring out from above. Locals froze in fear and looked at the sky as the mass above them spread out and resolved into clarity as it descended. Millions upon millions of red creatures with wide, draconic wings, long, curved horns, and cloven hooves flew out of the fiery rift in every direction, spreading across the sky.\n\nSoon after the demons began pouring from the rift, a quake shook the ground and the local church with its recently-renovated steeple vanished into a growing sinkhole. The sound of trumpets was heard all around the town. Golden light poured out of the hole, highlighting the winged men with swords flying out and up to meet the demons in the sky.\n\nBeams of blinding white light and streaks of fire began crisscrossing the sky for as far as the eye could see as the angelic and demonic hordes met. Angels and demons alike began raining down from the sky, demolishing barns, shops, and innocent cars as the battle grew fierce. The battle slowly expanded up into the outer reaches of the atmosphere and down onto the ground as more and more servants of light and darkness flooded into the mortal realm.\n\nThe townsfolk did their best to hide, pray, or run screaming, depending on their disposition as the battle raged. Those who stayed outside were quickly cut down either by an arc of demonic fire or a beam of angelic light, this battle was obviously no place for mortals. As massive, otherworldly creatures began pouring out of both portals, the mortals hid in whatever cellars or bomb shelters they could find. These were the end times, but they were not going as prophesied.\n\n---\n\nHeidi sat in the dark basement next to her parents, listening to the muttered prayers of people who were suddenly recalling their every sin. The lone candle in the center of the room cast a dim, flickering light over the terrified people around her. No one had any idea what was happening; the town preacher was MIA, no one had any cell service, and the radio and TV were only picking up static. Everyone believed it was the apocalypse but had no idea what to do.\n\nHeidi had come back from college for the summer in the middle of the storm and had been as confused by it as everyone. The storm had been receiving global coverage in between war updates but experiencing it firsthand had given Heidi the persistent unease that TV news segments could not transmit. She had asked the scientists who were now regulars in Bertha’s diner about the storm, but they seemed to know no more about it than her or the TV news anchors who were also now regulars. At least now everyone knew where the knot in all their stomachs had been coming from.\n\nHeidi had been raised in the local church. Her family had made her attend every service and participate in every event, so she knew the predictions in Revelation about the end times. However, she had become an atheist in college, and therefore thought that Earth was now for some reason the battleground in an alien war. Not that this was any more comfort than thinking it was the battleground in a spiritual war, but at least she could feel superior.\n\nA heavyset man who had been hunched over in a chair across from Heidi slowly stood up and cleared his throat. The murmur of prayers grew silent as everyone looked to him, leaving only the muted sounds of the battle raging above them. The man stroked his long, gray beard and looked thoughtfully around the room before speaking.\n\n“Now, I know everyone’s terrified and we all think God’s left us behind,” he began, “but that ain’t true. We’re all believers and He promised He would never forsake us, and He keeps his word.”\n\nMurmurs of assent rippled across the room.\n\n“Now I don’t claim to understand the Lord’s will, but I believe that putting us here at the center of the battle is a test of our faith in Him.”\n\n“Amen,” interjected someone from the darkness.\n\n“We need to stay strong,” the man continued, “and the Lord will come through.”\n\nScattered “Amen”s came from around the basement.\n\n“Now, we don’t know how long the Lord’s gonna make us wait or how long that battle’s gonna be raging on outside, so we need to set up rationing for the food and water, people to keep trying communications, and most importantly prayer watches.”\n\n“Agreed,” said a man in a baseball cap, standing up, “We need to figure out how much we got and make that last as long as we can and trust the Lord for the rest.”\n\n“We have enough canned goods and water down here to last three people comfortably two years,” said Heidi’s dad, “so with twenty of us, it should last around a month. If we ration it well, maybe a month and a half.”\n\n“All right, we have food for a month and a half, along with whatever the Lord provides,” said the cap man, “Now, I think we should pray and then figure out the rest of our situation.”\n\nTO BE CONTINUED^^maybe" ]	2
	[WP] A man meets Satin in a bar.	[ "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 reading a fiction book, at the table near the stalls. Not my favorite spot, but at least it was quiet and people would, hopefully, keep distance. It’s not that I’m bothered by company, I just wasn’t in the mood.\n\nI’m not sure how, but this tall, exotic guy didn’t get the message, and came up to my table. He was wearing a purple, velvet coat with a fluffy collar, a white shirt, dark culottes, and, what looked to me, very expensive necklaces.\n\n“Greetings.” He told me, head up high.\n\n“...hey?” I answered, hesitant.\n\n“I enjoy the look you’ve chosen upon yourself, of treasures, linen and silk.” He was unnecessarily formal. “This is the utmost compliment you could possibly expect, as it comes from me.”\n\nHe seemed very proud of himself, for whatever reason. To my annoyance, he kept going.\n\n“For it is I, Satin Silverfish, the savior of all humanity! The Lord of webs, seams, and the woven cloth! My gifts have endured the test of time, and been widely appreciated by your kind.” He now turned to me “I think highly of your worship!”\n\nI had to admit, he got extra points for creativity. And craziness. But as much as I found it endearing, I felt the need to clear the misunderstanding. I sighed.\n\n“Sorry dude, I just... don’t know what you’re talking about.”\n\nHe seemed to be taken aback, and said, surprised:\n\n“What?”\n\n“I appreciate your compliment, but I’m not really into this fashion.” I explained, “I couldn’t tell the difference between knitting and crocheting. And, no offense, but I’ve never heard about you.”\n\n“I beg your pardon?” He said, raising his voice a little too much. “How dare you speak to me in such condescending tone, foolish mortal?”\n\n“Sorry, bro. I don’t know why you’re getting so worked up about a random outfit. I said I appreciate it.”\n\nHe laid his hand on his chest, clearly offended. I don’t know what tipped him off, but I started to get uncomfortable. People were looking now, but it wasn’t my intention to be mean.\n\n“This is the epitome of disrespect!” He roared, enraged. “Humans! They’ve betrayed and dishonored their origins! I curse you, fool! Murphy’s law shall be your curse, and all your garments shall be stained and teared! Clothing of your liking shall fall apart and never fit!”\n\nFinally, he stormed off the bar, puffing his chest and cursing under his breath. I sat there, startled by what took place and the turn of events. What had just happened?\n\n“Geez, some folks are weird. Poor guy’s really out of touch.” I murmured, going back to my book. “I mean, at this day and age, who even wears purple velvet?”" ]	2
	[WP] Gifted with the ability to hear people’s thoughts, you’ve made it a habit to scan people for lies and secrets. When one person comes off as a bit odd, you use your ability, only to be greeted by complete silence.	[ "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 Ken. I'm a 17 year old high school student. I have no friends, never had one, probably because I'm quiet and not very social. My mother died a few years ago in an accident. I have no siblings. My father works a lot and often goes on business trips. Which means that usually I'm completely alone. \n\nIt's 12:16 pm, Saturday. I just returned from the library where I returned a book. On the way back home I bought sandwich, which I'm eating right now while sitting on a bench in a small park. In front of me, probably 15 meters away from me, was a girl, probably my age, also sitting on a bench. She had medium long brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a beautiful face. Seems like a kind, innocent, quiet type. The kind of type I like. \n\nSomething seemed off though. She was just... sitting there. Not eating a sandwich like me. Not staring at her phone. Not talking to anyone. Judging from the fact that she hasn't looked around her once in the past 5 minutes, she doesn't seem to be waiting for anyone. She's just silently staring at the ground or in front of her, with a very empty gaze. \n\nI have a secret power, which I call Scanning, which I can use to scan people's thoughts. I don't use it very often though as other people don't interest me that much, but it's useful when trying to find out when people are telling lies or holding back secrets. I'm really curious on what's going on with this girl though. Did she run away from home, or even get kicked out? Did she get lost and is too shy to ask for directions? I'm curious.\n\nI try to scan her thoughts but... I don't hear anything. Huh? I concentrate harder but... I get greeted by complete silence. This has never happened before. Even when people try to not think of anything, there's usually at least some background noise, since it's hard to completely shut down your consciousness. But right now there's absolutely nothing. Her mind feels like am empty void... like there's nothing there. I don't know why. \n\nI finish my last bite of my sandwich, stand up and start walking towards her. She doesn't even notice me until I'm standing right in front of her. She's too busy gazing off into the distance. \n\n\"Hey, uhm... Are you alright? Is something wrong?\", I asked. I hope she doesn't think I'm weird or annoying. \n\n\"Huh?\"\n\n\"Sorry, I... I just noticed you sitting here and got worried. Are you lost?\"\n\n\"...No. At least, I don't think so... I don't know.\"\n\nHer voice was soft but soothing. \n\n\"You... don't know? What do you mean?\"\n\n\"I don't remember why I came here, or what I'm doing here. I don't know where I am, but don't know where I was going either...\"\n\nMemory loss? \n\n\"Do you remember your name?\"\n\n\"Uhm... Lily. I think my name was Lily.\"\n\n\"My name is Ken, nice to meet you. Do you mind if I sit down?\", I say, while pointing next to her at the bench. She shakes her head, so I sit down next to her. \n\n\"Do you remember where you live?\"\n\n\"No.\"\n\n\"Do you have a phone on you?\"\n\n\"No.\"\n\n\"Do you remember your family?\"\n\n\"No.\"\n\n\"What school you go to?\"\n\n\"No...\" Her voice started to sound sadder with every answer. While she answers my questions I Scan her thoughts, but her mind is still completely empty.\n\n\"Your favorite food?\"\n\nShe suddenly turned towards me instead of looking down, probably surprised by that random question. Looking at her sad but beautiful eyes makes me uneasy for a second. But there was a tiny sparkle in it for a split second.\n\n\"I like spaghetti! What about you?\"\n\n\"Huh, me? Uhm... I love pizza I guess.\"\n\n\"Which kind?\"\n\n\"Pepperoni tastes pretty good. I like spicy ones, or ones with a lot of meat.\"\n\n\"Oh, I also love adding hot sauce to my spaghetti. Weird how I do remember this...\"\n\nThere was a short silence.\n\n\"Hey, Lily, maybe we should go to the police? Maybe they will be able to find out who you are and where you live.\"\n\n\"You're probably right... Can you tell me where the police station is?\"\n\n\"I'll walk you there\", I say, while getting up from the bench.\n\n\"But... I don't even know you. I don't want to bother you.\"\n\n\"It's fine, it's only a 10 minute walk.\"\n\nShe hesitates for a moment, but then gets up. \n\n\"Thank you for helping me. You're very kind,\" she said, with a small smile. I felt flustered for a moment. \n\n_____________________________________________________\n\nWhile walking towards the police station I kept trying to help her remember things.\n\n\"Do you remember how old you are?\"\n\n\"No.\"\n\n\"What you were doing yesterday?\"\n\n\"No.\" I still can't read anything with my Scanning. \n\n\"Do you remember any hobbies you had?\"\n\n\"No... What are yours Ken?\"\n\n\"Huh?\"\n\n\"You're asking me all these questions. I want to know a little about you too.\"\n\nFair enough. \n\n\"I like to listen to music and read books... I'm not interesting.\"\n\n\"I bet that's not true. There must be something that makes you special.\" \n\n\"Hmm... I'm also interested in animals I guess? I'm planning to do study zoology in College. I also want to go visit a zoo one day, but right now I'm a little short on money for that.\"\n\n\"I love animals! And zoology... you see that I was right? That's pretty cool!\"\n\nHuh... I'm... someone thinks I'm cool?\n\n\"What made you interested in zoology?\"\n\nWe talked for 5 more minutes about our love for animals. It seemed to cheer her up a bit. She no longer sounded as sad as she did in the park.\n\n\"Hey Ken, if you do end up going to the zoo one day, what do you say about going together?\"\n\n\"You sure?\"\n\n\"Yes. I bet it would be fun!\"\n\nGoing with me... how would that be fun? I Scan her mind, but it's still empty. Wait, wouldn't that be a date? But...\n\n\"Sure, I'll take you with me to the zoo.\"\n\n\"Promise?\"\n\n\"I promise.\"\n\n\"Yay!\"\n\nShe smiled again. Not a smile to show gratitude like before, but this time a smile that genuinely seemed happy. \n\n_____________________________________________________________\n\nWe arrived at the police station, but they weren't able to help us. Lily didn't remember her last name, and they couldn't find any info about her. \n\n\"Hey Lily, since you have nowhere to go... You can stay over at my place. If you want. At least, until we solve your problem. My dad's on one of his usual business trips so there's no one else right now.\"\n\n\"But... wouldn't I get in your way?\"\n\n\"I don't mind.\"\n\n\"Alright then. Thanks again for your kindness.\"\n\nWe started walking to my home. Along the way we entered a grocery store first.\n\n\"Ken! Is that spaghetti?\"\n\n\"Hmm, yea. I hadn't decided what to eat yet anyway, so might as well.\"\n\n\"Hehe, nice choice.\"\n\n____________________________________________________________________\n\nWe arrived at my house. Even before I opened the front door, my small dog already started barking.\n\n\"You have a dog?!\"\n\n\"Yea. His name is Tommy.\"\n\nI opened the door. Tommy came bursting through it, waggling his tail like crazy. \n\n\"Oh my god, he's so cute! Hi Tommy!\"\n\nTommy sniffed Lily for a bit, then suddenly laid down on his back.\n\n\"Hahaha, I think he wants you to pet him.\"\n\n\"Awwww~\"\n\nLily pet him for 2 seconds, but then Tommy stood up again, and raced off back inside. We looked at each other for a second, until he came running back again, now with a squeaky chicken toy in his mouth. He kept chewing on it really hard, making lots of squeaky noises. Both Lily and me started laughing really hard. \n\nWhen was the last time I laughed with another person? I don't remember. \n\n_______________________________________________________________________\n\nWe spent the rest of the day just lazing around. We watched two movies, ate spaghetti for dinner (which she really liked), and watched some TV. We talked a lot. It was fun. For some reason we naturally seemed to really get along. \n\nIt's night now. I provided some clean sheets and cushions so she could sleep in my dad's bed. After saying good night we both went to sleep.\n\nBut shortly after going to bed, a heavy storm started hitting outside. It was thundering. Loudly. Five minutes later I heard someone knocking on my bedroom door.\n\n\"Ken... are you still awake?\"\n\nI get up and open my door.\n\n\"What's wrong Lily?\"\n\n\"The lightning... uhm...\"\n\n\"What about it?\"\n\n\"It... scares... me.\"\n\n\"Oh.\"\n\n\"Don't laugh!\"\n\n\"I'm not laughing.\"\n\n\"Oh... thanks. Uhm... do you mind if I sleep on the floor here?\"\n\nWe got another mattress in my room and laid it on the floor, so she could sleep there.\n\n\"Hey Ken.\"\n\n\"Hmm?\"\n\n\"Can we keep talking for a little longer? To distract me from the thunder noises?\"\n\n\"Sure.\"\n\nThere was an awkward silence. We both didn't know what to talk about, especially since we've been talking throughout most of today already.\n\n\"Tomorrow I was planning to visit my mother's grave.\"\n\n\"Oh. I only realized now you've said nothing about your mother until now.\"\n\n\"She died a few years ago in a car accident. Every few months I go to visit her grave and tell her what's going in my life. Though usually that's not a lot...\"\n\n\"I'll come with you. If you don't mind of course.\"\n\n\"Huh? You don't have to.\"\n\n\"It's fine! Otherwise I'd just be all alone and bored here anyway. Besides, since you tell your mother about things going on in your life, don't you think you should introduce me, your new friend?\"\n\nHuh? Friend? \n\n\"What do you mean?\"\n\n\"Huh? We're friends now right? We've been talking and laughing together all day and we get along. You even promised to go to the zoo together. Unless... you want to become strangers again once we fix my problem.\"\n\nThis is the first time someone called me their friend. A single tear started rolling down my cheek. I Scan her mind. It's still empty. Which is ironic, because at the same time it feels like she's filling my heart. Filling it with warmth. Today was a fun day. I don't think I'll ever forget it.\n\n\"No. I'm really happy being friends with you.\"\n\n\"Same!\"\n\nWe talked for 30 more minutes until the storm passed over. I fell asleep, with a dumb smile stuck on my face. I was so happy.\n\n*NOT THE END, CONTINUES IN MY REPLY COMMENT", "Reading minds was like entering a room inside the person's brain. I would see what occupied them in every corner, on the walls, in the decorations. And they were there, telling me everything on their mind in that moment. I'd know everything, often more than I'd like.\n\nThis room was empty. Devoid of furniture, of decoration, of color. Only four white walls and a door. And she wasn't even there.\n\nSomething was clearly wrong. I turned to open the door and leave. There was a note stuck to the door.\n\nPRIVATE!!\n\nI left, and I was back in the bar.\n\nShe smiled at me.\n\n\"Sorry, what was that?\" I shook my head, struggling to regain my composure after what just happened. I'd never been unable to read a person's mind. It was a comforting thing to fall back on when I couldn't read someone's expression. And sure, it was a little unethical, but it didn't really hurt anyone. I was mostly protecting myself.\n\nThis? This left me unsettled, a chill running down my back. I didn't know what to expect. Did she know I'd tried to read her mind? How had she stopped me?\n\n\"I said you should come with me to the stage. This band is really good.\" She gestured to the stage and patted my shoulder as she started in that direction. \"Don't overthink it, it's just a show.\"\n\nI overthought it the whole time, even as I followed her and stared between her and the band. What was going on with her? Who was she to be able to hide her thoughts from me?\n\nAgainst my better judgment, I tried again.\n\nThe room was still empty, the same four white walls. I didn't know what I expected; maybe it had been a blip in the system, maybe I was distracted by how she made me feel.\n\nI turned back to the door. There was a different note on it.\n\nYou won't find anything in here, hon\n\nWhat the fuck?\n\nI left again, and now I didn't even try not to stare at her. What was her deal?\n\nShe looked at me and sighed. \"Okay, come on.\" I barely heard her over the music. She held my wrist loosely as she tugged me after her through the crowd, out of the bar.\n\n\"What's the matter? Never met anyone who could shield their mind before?\" She pulled her jacket tighter around her. Instinctively, I felt chilly as well.\n\n\"I didn't know there were others who could read* minds.\"\n\nShe smiled wryly. \"Oh, honey. You've been lucky. It's no fun having people poke around in your head, okay? That's why I do it. A little privacy in my own brain.\"\n\n\"I'm- I'm sorry. I got nervous, and when I get nervous I try to understand what people want, and I-- I read their minds.\" I was rambling, wasn't I? I was still a little shook up by this. \"Are you able to control it?\"\n\n\"Why? Want a peek?\" She scoffed. \"Of course I can. I put up the barrier myself, I can take it down.\" With a little teasing smile, she nudged me. \"If you get lucky... maybe I'll let you take a look sometime. A quick one. But isn't it more interesting to find out what I want by yourself?\"\n\nThat sounded like an invitation. Maybe not to read her mind, but to something better." ]	3
	[WP] You're the Falconer, with the power to call, communicate with, and command wild birds of prey. People laugh, but they don't realise just how useful, and profitable, this power actually is.	[ "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 warmth of the sun is cast across the treetops, and the sudden chirps of a nest of hungry robin chicks signal the coming of the dawn. The final hooting of an owl marks the changing of the guard as the feathered night watchmen relax their vigil. The soft 'cooing' of a morning dove calling to its mate echoes next, and the morning chorus begins. The piercing cry of a hawk far above breaks the euphony, and the lesser birds pay deference to the nobility of might. The moment of awe-inspired silence now past, the symphony resumes its crescendo. Each newly arisen life joins its voice and its body to the sounds around. The song today sings of the optimism of spring and the death of winter for another year.\n\nLastly, the ground itself seems to stir and shake as the beast huddled at the base of the great tree rouses and stirs. Casting its nested covering aside, the great beast first pulls itself to its four paws as a wolf or lion might do. With a feline stretch belying its nature, the beast then rises fully to its apex on but two legs as a bear is wont to do. In its nest the great beast has amassed a peculiar collection of sharply-angled stones and sticks. The dried, thick flesh of a deer partially covers the nest, while another bit of deer-flesh covers parts of the great beast in place of its own fur. Near the nest, the charred remnants of the Great Destroyer pay tribute to the power of the great beast, who controls Destruction as though it were his claw or fang.\n\nA deep breath of the great beast causes a stir among those littler feathered creatures who take to higher limbs as a measure of precaution. A sharp whistle launches from the fur-lined lips of the beast, a crude mimicry of the god-gifted voices of the birds around. Another shrill call from the clear blue sky above answers the whistle. The beast with no claws of its own bends down and picks up the objects from its nest. The flesh-for-fur is wound tightly into a roll, and the stone-for-claw is hefted in a five-toed paw, only to be laid against the trunk of the tree. The great beast draws from a pouch at its waist two more stones, both more reflective than the stones at its feet. In the blackened pit where it before laid its controlled destruction, the beast assembles a pile of small branches. Once more it proceeds to create with great care the immense power of destruction given only by the sky and storms. The lesser beasts watch from their hidden spaces with terror and awe as the glow grows and smokes and smolders.\n\nThe great beast lets out another sharp whistle and another response from above, but closer this time. Sliding a paw into another strip of deer-flesh, the great beast raises that arm. With true familiarity the crying predator lands on the arm of the great beast, the carcass of a fish held in its beak. The two mighty beasts lock eyes, and the falcon releases its hold on the fish and lets it drop to the earth. The falcon releases the hold of its talons and takes up residence nearby to the hushed fear of the lesser birds. The great beast bends to one leg and with a sharpened stone severs the corpse of the fish in two. Carefully positioning the pieces of meat across the heat, the great beast casts the scent of searing fish-flesh into the air of the forest. Lesser hunters salivate anxiously but stay distant and hidden in fear of the great beast.\n\nThe falcon hunter is statuesque as it stares at its prey in the pit of desolation. Not even the great wolf dares brave such proximity to the great beast and its command of destruction and its sharpened rocks and sticks. Only the falcon hunter has the courage to remain in place, in a position to exchange its own strength for that of the great beast. The great beast removes the two halves of the fish from the black pit and proceeds to exhale cool air across one in its paw. With a subtle lock of eyes, the falcon hunter leaves its perch as the great beast throws the fish half into the air. With the precision of instinct, the falcon snatches the meat in the air and slams it into the ground as it would a rival. With the savagery of nature its beak rends and tears the scaly pink flesh. The great beast and the falcon hunter together savor the smoky, charred morsel in a solemn silence of gratitude toward the fish.\n\nWith care the great beast covers the small conflagration with loam and pats down on it. Rearing to its hind legs again, it lifts the flesh-for-fur around its midsection and urinates on the pile of dirt from where heat still emanates. The hiss of water on the remnants under the dirt signals the withdrawal of the destructive tool. Satisfied that it once more has contained the Great Destroyer, the beast grasps its jagged stick-and-stone claw in its forepaw again. Gathering the remainder of its belongings onto its back inside a large pouch made of yet more dried flesh, both the beast and the falcon hunter proceed forward.\n\nThe falcon hunter takes flight from the eaves of the forest toward the endless blue sky, the sky only marred by the occasional puff of white cloud in the distance. From its vantage point the falcon scouts the slowly encroaching destruction. From atop their cliff at the edge of the world, the beast and bird watch the desolating monstrosity as it begins its slow, daily encroachment into their world.\n\nGreat stone trees with no branches or leaves pierce an ever-blackening sky. The blue above them abruptly fades to shades of gray over the immense labyrinthine forest before them. A melancholic monstrosity filled with thousands and thousands more great beasts in constant motion; the acrid scent of the Great Destroyer is ever-present; the rumble of thunder trapped and harnessed within lifeless beasts of burden shakes the foundation constantly. Though among the mightiest of their world, the falcon hunter and the great beast beside it weep and feel the dread of the oncoming destruction. The eschatological desolation slowly encroaching on their world is beyond their power; beyond even the power of the Great Destroyer harnessed by the singular great beast. The two watch, powerlessly, as the beauty and harmony that awoke them for breakfast melts away before their eyes. The euphony of the treetops fades, falters, and in its place is heard only the cacophony of progress." ]	2
	[WP] A sidekick is forced to infiltrate a party the villains are hosting, only to find out that they're much nicer and more respectful of her than the heroes ever were.	[ "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\nCoils of smoke floated through the air, illuminated by the single fluorescent beam on the ceiling of the basement. Below the swirls of smoke, a dozen members of the heroes association around a steel table locked eyes with each other as if they were pointing guns. \n\n“Well,” said Silver, his words sounded and smelled like cheap whiskey. “It doesn’t look like anyone is about to volunteer.”\n\n“How about you volunteer for trying to kill us all with lung cancer,” said Rubia beside him. \n\n“I’ve been in this world a lot longer than you have, and it hasn’t got me yet, so you’ll be fine.” Silver responded. He took a puff of his cigar blew the smoke towards Rubia, who coughed. “Besides, I doubt you’ll give me the satisfaction.”\n\n“Fuck off, Silver. You’re half in the grave anyways, do us all a favour and volunteer so we can go home and you can get drunk in whatever alley you’re sleeping in for one last time.” said Rubia. \n\n“Care to join me?” \n\n“Will you two stop. Please.” groaned Ronson, the only one in a suit. “We need someone to volunteer.”\n\n“No,” drawled Susie. Her voice never seemed to change, as if it would be the same whether she was having afternoon tea or fighting to the death. It cooed with the languid meander of a country summer, where any form of exertion could create a sweat; right up until the last syllable, which disappeared midway, as if she had swung her tactical knife and cut the word before anyone else could notice. “We just need to pick someone.”\n\n“Well if you pick me, you had all better dig your own graves first,” said Silver.\n\n“I didn’t say we needed to pick someone here,” said Susie.\n\n“What are you thinking, Susie?” asked Rubia.\n\n“Our dearly departed Blue’s sidekick. Fen.”\n\n“That little vixen!” coughed Silver.\n\n“Give her a break already.” said Ronson. “Blue didn’t tell Fen she was caught, she just ordered her to get out.”\n\n“I see your lips moving, but all I can hear is a cow shitting grass,” Silver said as he locked eyes with Ronson. “Well, I’m in. Two birds with one stone.” \n\n“Fen is the only one who has ever gotten out alive,” Rubia said, clearly reluctant to agree with Silver.\n\n“I reckon, then, we have an agreeance, and can now adjourn to our own, private, lives,” drawled Susie, whose eyes drifted around the room. Her arms had begun to move, toying with something beneath the table. \n\nA muttering of tired confirmations rumbled through the room, although there were several notable silences, including Ronson, who fell under Susie’s gaze and looked back with an uncharacteristic rebelliousness. \n\n“Ron, could you be so kind as to prepare her for the mission?” Suzie smiled sweetly at him for a long second, before rising from her seat and turned towards the stairs. Her little white dress billowed as she went up, but the few eyes that followed her were on the little knife that danced around her left hand as if it were on a string. \n\n“Little girl gives me the creeps,” muttered Silver after she was gone. “But she gets things done. Goodluck, lover boy.” He reached around Rubia to pat Ronson on the shoulder. \n\n“She’s not the only one.” said Rubia, who pushed off Silver’s arm as she got up to leave.", "\"It must be difficult. Your forced to do all the things he needs done. You barely get a second of rest, when what does he do? Watch from his 'great tower'?\"\n\nA cold shiver went down my spine, my position had been compromised. I thought for a second to grab the mic and shout into it, warning that they knew that I was here. But then I thought about it for a moment, and that was when I realized, they weren't lying. It was difficult.\n\n\"And, does he ever even ask if you want or need a day off? Has there ever come a point, where he gives you a moment of breathing room?\"\n\n\"N-no, but, he's the hero. Of course I don't get a day off... I-it's, it's my responsibi-\" I started to say.\n\n\"Responsibility? So your the one responsible when you collapsed in that alley because you could barely keep your eyes open? Hell, if it wasn't for Zaire over there you would've died!\"\n\nI stared at the villain in deadline shock, \"No... N-n-n-no, no. Zaire wasn't the one to, no, no that would mean...\"\n\n\"That would mean that he lied to you just to save face because he was busy hitting up a drunk girl in a bar? Kid, that man isn't all you made him out to be when you were younger. He's been using you from the start, ever since he realized you had that interesting ability of yours. But here? We don't use anybody here, we depend on ourselves here. And you probably haven't realized it yet, so busy with your idealization, but they man's main powers...\"\n\n\"Are mind control and manipulation... That's why he always wanted to keep me close, because I can't be affected by tha....\" I tried to choke back a sob.\n\n\"Yeah kid, that's because deep down, you're one of us, you're a hero.\"", " \n\n'Jane!!' A loud and obnoxious voice shouts from across the room. The spider, Jane's Hero had always been slightly loud and rude but she supposed he had to be tough in this line of work. \n\n'Yes?' Jane replied, while she tiptoes into the room. She didn't think she had done anything wrong but being a sidekick there was always room for improvement in the Heroes opinion. Jane had really gotten sick of them but it was a job and any money was better than none. After all most of the Heroes these days were people with a lot money. \n\n'You need to go to The Hill Club at 10pm tonight, a lot of villains are gathering there tonight. I have more important things to do so go there record with this and don't mess up.' The Spider handed her a small circular object and hurried her out.\n\n'Don't forget to dress up!!' He shouted out the door. \n\nLater that day...\n\nAs she entered the dark and slightly horrific club, she prayed to whatever Goddess or God that be to return home safely after this mission. Sliding by the shadowy figures she arrived at a bar stool, which was a good place to wait until this supposed speech was to happen. Then she could scurry off back under the duvet with Oreo and his happy purring. \n\n'What'll it be?' Grunted a large man with piercing purple eyes. Stout was the only possible word that could describe him, similar to a dwarf. Maybe he was a dwarf after all one should never presume to judge ones ancestry. \n\nPutting on a tough look, Jane gathered her courage and asked for a pint of water. He didn't respond, only grabbed a glass and poured some clear liquid in adding some strangely shaped ice cubes. Jane studied the glass carefully, the possibility of it being poisonous was great but she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary and so with one last glance to the heavens took a sip. \n\n'Anyone might think you don't trust our man Fay to pour a simple glass of water.' The woman beside Jane smirked as she watched Jane stutter and blush. The woman standing before her was The Assassin, the one she had been warned of. Frozen in place and partially obsessed with this muscular woman already. \n\n'It's not that ... I just ... Um ...' Nothing was coming out and she decided to just resort to smiling and hoped the incredible warrior before her would go elsewhere. Inside her mind was an insurmountable amount of swearing and screaming. \n\nThe Assassin laughed, patting Jane on the back 'Relax, I'm only having some fun with you. The name's Tyana, you can call me Ty.' Stay calm Jane was the constant statement going through her mind. First name basis with THE ASSASSIN, she decided she should probably stop chugging the water like she hadn't seen water in years. \n\n'I'm ... I'm Jane.' Shaking her hand, Jane noticed a star tattoo on her index finger with an S wrapped around it. Blinking back to reality, Jane realised something was not right with what she had just said to a Villain. Bad.\n\nDid she just say her real name, oh no. Lovely idea Jane, tell a serial killer your real name. It's not like there's a possibility she could murder you... With those strong, muscular arms holding you. \\Cough\\ Eyes going wide she excused herself. Jane scurried over to the safest place she knew ... The bathroom. \n\nJane decided the best way to figure this out was to lock herself in one of the stalls and take out her phone. Question whether she should call someone, text someone or just play some Sudoku and calm down. The latter was what she went with.\n\nAfter a few minutes of hiding and recovering, Jane heard the beginnings of the speech. The speech she was meant to be listening in on and recording for her Hero. Checking herself out in the mirror she came to the conclusion she looked like a mess, but it would do. \n\nJoining the heat of the crowd, where the dancing and music had stopped, she looked up to the stage where The Assassin was standing. Was that a bar chart behind her Jane questioned. The Heroes she had worked with had always been very adamant that any kind of plan, graph, chart ruined their flow and always refused and some cases get angry with Jane for even suggesting such a thing. \n\nBut, there it was a neat and clear bar chart of all the villainous acts they had committed that year. Although, Jane wasn't sure that some of those charts were correct. Was that volunteering she saw on one of the slides. As the slides went on and Tyana continued talking she wasn't so sure what was going on anymore. The people they had murdered were corrupt politicians and gang members. According to this they had never killed an innocent. Although the act of murder itself is bad Jane argued with herself. \n\nJane thought over her last few cases she had assisted with and the more she thought, the more questions came up over the supposed Heroes she had been helping. She stared at the recording device in her hand and debated whether she should chuck it, break it, or give it to the Heroes and hope they were the good people she wanted them to be.\n\n'Hey, I was wondering where you ran... what is that?' Jane looked up into the warm green eyes of the woman who had just broken her world view. \n\n'I'm sorry' Jane whispered softly as she passed the device to Tyana. 'I didn't know.' It was the best option she thought and decided it was time to leave and possibly get a new job. One with less dickheads. \n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\--------------------------------------------\n\nFirst time writing in ages, thank you for the prompt :D", " The Mind was right, the villains were hosting a charity ball. She didn’t want to contemplate what kind of madness took a person to want to give their money to people who would end up spending it on guns and explosives to sow chaos.\n\n Her master, Windstorm, had sent her here on The Mind’s suggestion, that she reconnaissance the party and figure out who was bankrolling the villains.\n\n “Have you tried the hors d’oeuvres? Miss?” The deep voice rumbled next to her and it took every ounce of her will to not instinctively reach for her gadget belt. The one she wasn’t wearing at the moment. Face to face with Captain Splatter, he’d got his nickname based on his penchant for painting in the blood splatter of those he’d killed. He was a ruthless murderer, she though, he should be behind a thousand bars.\n\n “Miss Bordeoux.” She stammered, she hadn’t picked the dress but she knew it punctuated her features well but it couldn’t mask the disdain and coldness in her tone.\n\n “I’m sorry Miss Bordeoux, I didn’t mean to upset you. It is just you looked lonely and the roasted eggplants are to die for.” The Captain smiled, it surprised her just how genuine it seemed, she swallowed deeply. Reconnaissance, she internally reminded herself.\n\n “It is me who should apologise, I was awfully distracted. I don’t believe we’ve met?” She held out a hand which he quickly took.\n\n “I normally wear something a little tighter and go by Captain Splatter, but you may call me Terrence.” He raised her hand up and softly kissed the back of it. It was hard to hide the revulsion that washed over her but she tried to push it aside as nerves.\n\n “Oh. I’m certain everyone knows you and your deeds Captain.” She shuffled her feet and recoiled her hand back.\n\n “Terrence, please.” The smile on his face never faded. She wanted to wipe it off more than anything.\n\n “Sorry. Terrence. How many others of your friends are here?” She turned to face the ballroom below. She reflected on how ordinary it looked, everyone was drinking, dancing, generally having a good time. So much wealth and power in one room.\n\n “Well, The Stinger is over there dancing, the silly old geriatric,” he pointed a hand out at the dance floor below. It was unnecessary, she’d already placed names and faces of most of the villains here but she played her part. “There is Brutus and the Autumn Assaulter. What a ridiculous name. Both of them truly. But they are nice enough. Would you care to meet any of them?” \n\n The offer caught her by surprise, she was trying to keep an entirely low profile and she wasn’t keen to meet any of them, she could see her mentor and The Mind lecturing her already. You shouldn’t be so reckless. Your job young lady was to observe only. She was nineteen and had felt like she’d proven herself time and again, yet still they didn’t trust her.\n\n “No, that’s quite alright, I’m happy to keep you all to myself.” She softly offered, the bile in her stomach bubbling.\n\n “Well aren’t you quite the charmer.” He nudged her with a shoulder and raised a hand. In moments a server was standing alongside them and they shared in trying the food offered on finer platters than any she’d seen in the Honour House. \n\n Minutes flew by and before she knew it an hour, she’d stopped trying to make out the faces of various billionaires, she even found herself forgetting the bloodied scenes she’d witnessed left behind by this man. He was charming to be sure but for the first time since donning her own cowl she found herself laughing. \n\n “Would you care to get some fresh air, the balcony perhaps?” He gestured to where elaborate glass doors opened out onto some beautiful masonry work. It had been designed with a roman aesthetic, much like the rest of the architecture in the manor.\n\n She looked to her side at the revelry below, things were quieting down. Some of the villains had retired for the night, dubious deals no doubt already completed.\n\n “Sure. Why not?” The pair ventured outside, it was dark and the topiary gardens below could barely be made out.\n\n Terrence was leaning with his back against the balcony and looking her directly in the eyes. She couldn’t see any sign of the murderer behind them, no sign of insanity a man like that must surely have.\n\n “You know who I am. I know who you are Miss Bordeoux, or should I say Tempest?” He didn’t rush to assault her or make any move at all. Panic rushed through her and if it wasn’t for her training she would have turned and ran immediately. “It’s okay. I’m not going to try and hurt you, no one here will, I wouldn’t allow it. I didn’t want to be so forward but alas, the night is drawing to a close and…” he smiled softly and she clenched her fists, prepared to fight for her life.\n\n “And I was hoping I might be able to see you again?” He asked with a faint blush.\n\nA blush. Captain Splatter was asking her out and blushing. She would have preferred if he’d lunged and tried to attack her. She wasn’t ready for this. Wasn’t prepared to like him. \n\n “I can’t. You’re a murderer, I should be bringing you to justice immediately.” Her words lacked the conviction she was so used to showing.\n\n “But you haven’t. We aren’t a bad lot you know? Confused. That’s what most of us are. Lost faith in aspects of humanity. We wouldn’t tell you what to do, how to be, when and where you can go. I was just hoping we could spend some more time together, you and I.”\n\n He offered out a hand and she was drawn to it, she knew she shouldn’t be, but there it was. She took a step closer, clenched her jaw and tried to ignore the hurricane in her stomach. She took his hand in hers and smiled.\n\n The world went black.\n\n “Observation failed.” A computerised voice chirped.\n\n She panicked, looking around in confusion. What had happened? where was she? Her mind raced. She was back in her mentors subterranean base. A device was strapped to her head.\n\n “I told you she would fail. I had my suspicions.” The Mind said flatly.\n\n “Dammit. She had so much promise, best fighter I’ve ever trained.” That was Windstorm, her mentor and he looked more furious than she’d ever seen before.\n\n “What’s going on? Did the mission go wrong? How did I get back here?” The words flurried from her mouth in an anxious tirade.\n\n The Mind was busy tapping at the computer bank, pictures of her flickered by and then a big red “Deleted” flashed over them one by one. \n\n Windstorm looked down at her and shook his head, “You failed.”\n\n&#x200B;\n\n====================================================== \n\nHope you enjoy the prompt, I appreciate any comments/criticism/feedback/discussions.\n\nThanks for stopping by and thanks to u/DieterVonDietrich for the prompt.\n\nIf you want to read more from me, I'm over at [r/ChrisRook](https://www.reddit.com/r/ChrisRook/)/ with other prompts and follow ups!", "\"Huh. Haven't seen you around before,\" the villain known colloquially as Disastress says, narrowing her eyes at Reese.\n\nShe forces out a wry chuckle, clutching her weak plastic cup a bit tighter. \"Yeah, I get that a lot. I tend to fade into the background a bit.\" \n\nThat part isn't a lie. It's why she's a Super - but it's why she's only a sidekick. They call her the Chameleon. If she were able to actually go invisible, or even disappear into shadows, she would probably have the power to be a Hero. But the power of just being kinda nondescript and unremarkable is classified, firmly, as sidekick.\n\n\"Interesting,\" Disastress says, eyes scanning Reese as though memorising for later, a slight smirk forming. \"I try to make sure I know all of our associates. If you can slip by this easily, well... you're definitely going to be useful.\"\n\nReese's eyes widen. \"What?\"\n\nDisastress laughs. \"Sorry, sorry, this is a celebration! We don't need to be talking about work now. Let me get you another drink, yeah? We can talk business another time.\" She starts towards the bar, but Reese is frozen behind her. \"What?\"\n\n\"I, uh, I just...\" Reese stumbles over her words. Usually there was very little acting involved in her tasks. Actually, she wasn't very used to talking to anyone at all. It was more convenient to let her fade into the background than make the effort to include her.\n\nDisastress seems to recognise this exact struggle. \"Oh, you poor thing. It can't be easy. They probably proclaimed you sidekick and then never looked at you again, huh?\" Her hand rests on Reese's shoulder in a firm grip that still somehow manages to be comforting. \"Don't worry. Here we know how to respect power. We won't let them forget you.\"\n\nOh gods, they're good. No wonder the heroes allies were dropping like flies. Reese fights to remember her cause - a hero doesn't need to be recognised, she just needs the validation of a job well done.\n\n\"Come on, lets get you that drink, and I'll introduce you to some of the others.\"\n\nDisastress leads a near-silent Reese to other faces she doesn't recognise in costumes she does. They make a point of addressing her by name - \"R- Rose,\" she remembers to claim, unsure of the last time anyone called her something other than Chameleon or the annoying nickname Cammie - and talk about their own lives. \n\nSeriously. Here she was, shrinking violet and least known sidekick in the country, chatting with the most wanted criminals about their pets and families.\n\nAnd they keep waving over other recruits. Some she recognises - Striker, whose name is Paul, and the newest viral threat whose super name hasn't been decided who just wants to be called Lyra - and more she doesn't. \n\n\"Oh, Rose, this is Cameron! We're hoping the news will call them something really emo,\" Disastress, who requests to be called Paula, cackles. She's had a fair amount of wine by this point. \n\nCameron rolls their eyes - at the person who single handedly split the Houses of Parliament in half - and says to Reese, \"Nice to meet you. I'm pretty good at shadows. Nothing too fancy, but I can blind people. Combine that with a couple of piercings and you already know people are making videos overlaid with angsty metal music.\"\n\nReese snorts, \"Oh god, I think I've seen one of those.\"\n\nNot that she should laugh. All she gets is fucking Karma Chameleon.\n\n\"Do you have a name yet?\" Cameron asks later.\n\n\"No,\" Reese says, because even though she figured out her powers over 5 years ago, she's never managed to figure out something less embarrassing and basic than Chameleon.\n\n\"You should definitely come up with one before the news can,\" they roll their eyes. \"Control the narrative, y'know?\"\n\n\"That's if they even notice me,\" Reese grumbles. It certainly wasn't as if she'd ever been published for anything more than old Duran Duran jokes.\n\n\"We're all going to have our time,\" Paula promises. Reese hadn't even thought she was still paying attention to the conversation. \"We're all here for a reason, Rose, and you're going to be important. I can feel it.\"\n\nReese's wrist buzzes. Fuck. Her superiors want her to report in.\n\n\"Alright?\" Cameron asks, because Reese is ignoring a call and staring at her wrist like it's gonna jump out and hit her.\n\nIf she doesn't reply, they won't give her another chance. And she wants to do good. She really does.\n\n\"Rose?\" Paula prompts.\n\nBut can a group of people who are so obsessed with rules and giving the powerful people even more power truly do good?\n\n\"Hey, who's calling you? Do you need help?\" Cameron presses, sounding worried.\n\nGods. Cameron doesn't trust the Heroes. \n\n\"No, I'm fine. It's... I didn't realise how late it was. My mum's gonna be so pissed at me tomorrow,\" she laughs, the sound a little bit breathless. \n\n\"Oh, I remember that,\" Paula says. \n\n\"You need a lift anywhere?\" Cameron asks. \"I tend to get places faster than Google Maps says I can. And I bet no one would notice us,\" they smirk.\n\nThey're right. It's kind of crazy to realise it - but Cameron, who's known Reese all of an hour, has already found a way to use her power. \n\n\"Nah. She's already pissed. Can't get worse, right?\" Reese relaxes back into her chair as the others laugh. \"Paula, you chose Disastress, right?\"\n\n\"Mhmm.\"\n\n\"Tell me how I can pick my own name.\"", "The Masked Majorette grabbed a champagne flute from the waiter. They smiled at each other and he scurried away. She took a dainty sip. Damn, it was good. She'd been to plenty of parties and, though this one was full of villains, it was much the same.\n\nPeople clumped together according to their status. Doomish stood by the fireplace talking quietly to Countess Corruption. They beckoned for Absynthia to join them. It didn't take long before all three of them were laughing wildly.\n\n\"I don't think I've ever seen you before,\" a man said placing a hand on her shoulder.\n\nShe jerked and a little champagne spilled.\n\n\"Oh, I'm so sorry,\" the man said. \"I didn't mean to startle you.\"\n\nHe wiped at the spilled drink, being very careful not to touch her breasts.\n\n\"It's ok,\" she said. She almost jumped again when she saw the speaker.\n\nHe was well over seven feet tall, garbed entirely in black, and wore a full helmet with a single blue light in the center. It was freaking Galactic Goliath!\n\n\"Please,\" he said, \"make sure I get the cleaning bill.\"\n\nHis voice was so gentle and calm. She gently took the napkin from him. \"Seriously, it's fine. A little champagne on my chest might make me more popular.\" she giggled.\n\n\"Nonsense,\" Galactic Goliath said. \"I doubt you need something so tawdry.\" He held out a hand. \"I'm Galactic Goliath.\"\n\nShe smiled warmly. \"Yeah,\" she extended her hand, \"like there's anyone in the world that doesn't know that.\"\n\nThe blue light flickered and she got the impression that he was embarrassed.\n\n\"I suppose,\" he said. \"Are you new to the guild?\"\n\n\"Pretty much,\" she said. \"I don't even have a name yet.\"\n\n\"Really,\" he replied. His surprise and interest seemed genuine. \"Well, I guess you don't have an arch nemesis, then?\"\n\n\"God knows I've tried,\" she said. \n\nGalactic Goliath laughed. The room shook and all eyes were on them. \"I bet you have. Sometimes it takes a while, but eventually we all find our Superman.\"\n\nGalactic Goliath patted her on the shoulder and wandered away. He stopped every few feet to speak to a guest. His voice carried and she could hear him offering compliments and encouragement to everyone he spoke to.\n\n\"Why, my dear,\" a woman's voice said. \"I couldn't help overhear. It must be so difficult for you.\"\n\n\"Yeah,\" The Masked Majorette said. First Galactic Goliath, and now Queen Trially was speaking to her. \"But, what's a girl gonna do?\"\n\nQueen Trially smiled. \"Why, work harder, of course. Would you care for some more champagne?\"\n\nShe gladly accepted the new glass. Queen Trially smiled again, then wandered off herself. Not even five minutes into the party and she'd met the two most powerful villains in the galaxy. And they'd spoken to her!\n\nShe'd been Captain Hero's sidekick for ten years and hadn't so much as seen another hero, let alone spoken to one. \"I'll introduce you when you're ready,\" was his refrain every time a gathering was announced.\n\nA short man wearing an expensive business suit came up to her. He was clutching a clipboard to his chest. His smile was thin and he didn't bother offering her his hand. \n\n\"I'm Caine,\" he said, \"head of recruiting.\" He removed a sheet of paper and handed it to her. \"Please fill this out and return it to me before you leave.\"\n\nShe looked it over. It was full of questions: What is your name, What calamities have you caused, who is your nemesis, etc. The last question was, who is your sponsor.\n\n\"Um,\" she said, \"I don't have a sponsor.\"\n\n\"Oh, right,\" Caine said. \"That would be Galactic Goliath.\"\n\nShe stared at the paper. Galactic Goliath was sponsoring her membership after a single conversation? \"Thank you,\" she said finally.\n\nA small bell chimed and the party fell quiet. Galactic Goliath stepped up to a small podium.\n\n\"Villains,\" he called, \"thank you for coming to this little gathering. The galaxy calls us evil because we have a different perspective on society. They call us evil for embracing personal freedom above all else. They call us evil because we stand against the so-called heroes that subjugate humanity while basking in its adoration! They hold the galaxy hostage with their powers and promise of protection!\"\n\nThe crowd cat-called and jeered.\n\n\"Screw the heroes!\" a man yelled.\"\n\nGalactic Goliath raised his hands and the room fell silent again. \"But friends, I say we are not evil. Evil is defined by intent, not deed. Yes, many of us have done terrible things, but it is in pursuit of that which we believe to be right. And when you think about it, isn't that all the heroes do? So, what then separates us from them?\"\n\nHe paused and the room leaned forward.\n\n\"They have a better P.R. department!\" He shouted. \"Enjoy the rest of the party.\"\n\nThe room burst into laughter. She couldn't help joining them. This really was a great party. She walked up to the buffet and filled a small plate.\n\n\"Ahem,\" Living Lava said. \"Would you mind scooting over just a bit. I want some shrimp and I would hate to scorch you accidentally.\"\n\nShe complied. He grabbed his food and walked carefully away, making sure there was a generous buffer between him and the other villains.\n\nShe found a quiet place to sit and re-read the application. \n\n\"I'm only here to gather intel,\" she muttered. She took a bite of food. The application called to her. \n\n\"I swear,\" Solicitus said, \"He loves handing out those damn forms but never thinks to give away pens. Here you go dear.\"\n\nShe looked up and had to shield her eyes. The gleaming man held out a pen.\n\n\"Thank you,\" she said.\n\nThe Menacing Majorette handed the application to Caine and left the party. She had a captain to see.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nIf you like this story, check out my new sub [breenogg](https://www.reddit.com/r/Breenogg/).", "Beads of sweat were beginning to form on Roy's forehead as he waited for an answer. When he'd left the lair he'd thought his disguise was impenetrable, but as the silence stretched on he was beginning to have more doubts. He hoped that the newly forming perspiration wouldn't lead to any glue dissolving; an eyebrow plopping off would definitely give him away. The seconds dragged on.\n\n\"I'm really sorry.\" began China \"But I really don't remember hiring you. That's almost certainly on me, though. Memory like a sieve.\" she chuckled as she replied, and Roy was taken away from the edge. \n\n\"Please do come in, though. I'm sure someone will recognise you, and if not, we always love company.\" \n\nRoy was surprised by, well, everything. Her tone and the content of her words weren't just polite, but friendly. He immediately put his guard back up, assuming that this must be some sort of rouse. She had clearly seen through his disguise. Every instinct he had was telling him to get out of there, but he had a mission to complete - and hopefully some respect to earn along the way.\n\nChina led him into the house and through a tastefully decorated corridor. His defences remained up, but he was beginning to feel silly for it. She was sashaying through the corridor without a care in the world and even humming an upbeat tune under her breath. They made it to two large oak doors and she held open the right hand one for him, beckoning him in.\n\nThe site that welcomed him would have normally struck fear into his heart. In the room there were three of the worst villains in the known universe - four overall, counting China - and under normal circumstances Roy would have assumed they were conspiring in the hope of something awful. This time, however, they all seemed to be focusing on a litter of pug puppies. China, noticing what he was looking at, came up behind him and spoke.\n\n\"We adopted them today after helping to close down an illegal breeder. Puppy farms are cruel at the best of times, let alone with these poor guys and the ailments they're bound to get, but we're going to try and give them the best life regardless.\" \n\nHer candidness alarmed Roy; he assumed she was lying and the puppies woulds serve some nefarious purpose. He just had to figure out what.\n\n\"Ah! I see we have a guest.\" The man who spoke was known as Komodo, and had murdered The Green Arrow's father in his lust for power. Yet, he spoke with a genuine affection in his voice. \"I'm Simon, by the way, but these guys call me Komo.\"\n\n\"Hi there.\" Roy answered, affecting the same (what he assumed to be) fake friendliness he'd encountered so far. \"I'm Marcus. I'm here to tend the bar tonight.\"\n\n\"Ah, yes! Oh it's a shame you opened the door China, this was a surprise for you.\" Komodo replied, blushing.\n\n\"Oh, you're so sweet! That is such a nice surprise.\" She went over and hugged him whilst Roy watched with interest. \n\n\"Hi Marcus, I'm Arthur.\" Merlyn came up and shook his hand too, covering it with his other and smiling widely. \n\n\"And I'm Cupid. I can help you set up out back? Guests won't be here for an hour or so, and I've already cleaned out a space and organised the drinks to hopefully make it easier for you, but feel free to rearrange if you have your own system.\" Cupid also shook his hand with a friendly vigour. Roy took a moment to compose himself, looking at the four warm gazes that were staring into his eyes, wondering two things: what on earth was happening, and what this feeling that he had was. \n\n\"Yeah, let's get to it.\" he replied, hoping that he would be able to figure out what was going on.\n\n---------------------\n\nIt took another two hours before Roy realised the answer to both of those questions. What was going on was that he was at a party with some of the most genuine, kind-hearted people he'd ever met. The feeling that he had in his chest was something akin to contentedness, something he had never felt back at the lair. There, the only things he seemed to feel were intimidated and disrespected.\n\nAll night he had been given wonderful compliments on his bartending and conversational skills. He was tipped heavily and well. The few villains he did speak with were engaging and funny, and some offered to pay money towards the fake student loans that were a part of his cover story. It was bizarre as it was kind.\n\nThere was the little matter of his attempted espionage, but he was yet to hear a bad word said about anything, let alone overhear a conspiratorial conversation regarding world domination. He'd eavesdropped on conversations about how children were doing, humanitarian causes and, most commonly, traffic. if anything, it was a bit boring.\n\nAt around 10 pm, Komodo got up onto a makeshift stage and tapped his glass. Roy thought that this might finally be the moment where his true self was revealed.\n\n\"We all know why we're here tonight.\" he began. Roy pressed the button hidden under his right elbow to start his hidden recording device. Komodo carried on.\n\n\"It's our wonderful China's birthday, and we're all here to celebrate, of course.\" There were some scattered cheers and China raised her glass, just a hint of embarrassment on her face. \"But we got you all here for another reason, too.\"\n\nThis is it, thought Roy.\n\n\"We've all always wanted to change the world; it's what gives us our drive and what has brought us together. But now, finally, I think we can. Tonight, China and I would like to formally introduce our newest company: ENVIRONEX!\" \n\nA banner fell down behind him, and Roy's heart started to pound. He knew it had all been a front!\n\n\"What is Environex, you ask? Well, we're going to commit to spending ten per cent of revenue from all of our current holdings to lobby global governments for more effective measures in the fight against climate change.\"\n\nRoy's mouth dropped. There was no front.\n\n\"This is our planet.\" Komodo continued. \"And we only have one. So we need to keep it safe. And we'd like all of you to commit to this too - it needn't be ten per cent, or even one, but we all have immense privilege and power, and we should be using it for this. Now is the time for action, and now is the time to choose a side.\"\n\nThere was a moment of silence before a round of cheers was thrown up. In the background of all the cheering Roy turned off his recording device, before removing it from his person and throwing it into a bin. He'd thought he'd known what side he was on before, but after tonight he was sure. Tomorrow he would go down to the local government office and change his name to Marcus, and it would be the first day of the rest of his life.\n\n.........................\n\n/r/sandsshortswriting" ]	8
	[WP] A widower makes breakfast for his child.	[ "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 happened to mother?\" The tiny voice spoke up, only just managing to break the sound of the hissing bacon.\n\n\"Well... you see-\" Robert gave his head a small scratch, fingers brushing over the patch of balding hair that he had only just begun to notice, fingers rubbing back and forth along the thin hair, stalling himself for time before finally speaking again.\n\n\"Your mothers gone.\"\n\n\"Nonsense, I saw her just this morning.\" A quick, know it all response came back from the ignorant child, like always he thought he knew better then Robert, but for once Robert was confident that he was right.\n\n\"I.. know buddy but-\" \n\n\"But, where is she?\" He continued to push forward, not letting his voice go unheard for more then a few seconds. \n\nRobert squeezed the handle, nearly knocking the frying pan over, trying to keep his emotions in check, he couldn't afford another accident. \n\n\"Look, she-\" he tried to plead, hoping he could get a word in, but again that tiny voice interjected.\n\n\"I want to see mother now!\" The voice boomed, as fists of rage hit the table, trying to show a display of dominance over the situation.\n\nRobert simply took a breath, placed the bacon on a blue plate and wandered back over, sliding it in front of his son.\n\n\"This is burnt!\" His son huffed turning his head, making sure his father knew that he would not be eating the contents of the plate.\n\n\"You wanted to see your mother?\" Robert asked, motioning his son along towards the basement. \n\n\"You know, she had said the same thing this morning too....\" he mentioned as they descended the dark stairway...." ]	2
	[WP] "I've been meaning to say this for a long time, but you have a very scary looking guy following you around everywhere!" said a stranger who you felt had been staring at you on your commute everyday.	[ "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's rude.\" \n\nI surprised myself with the immediate reply, and the stranger blinked a couple times, before looking around. The subway was how it always was, packed, everyone on their tablets or with earbuds in or otherwise just ignoring everything that went around him. That suited us just fine-- but when this guy just had to point things out, I could see them all peering out the corners of their eyes, over the edges of their books, and otherwise pretending like they didn't care.\n\n\"You should apologize.\"\n\nThe stranger looked back at everyone again, stammering. None wanted to make eye contact with him, and instead he gulped as he stared at me, and then over my shoulder. Two rows behind me he was there, wedged as best as he could into a set of seats that looked comically small for him. So large that he couldn't physically put his legs in between seats, his knees bent over the backs of the seats in front of him. I did say he took two rows behind me, right? He took both of them.\n\n\"I-- I w-was just l-looking out--\"\n\n\"No, you were looking at us. If you were looking out, you'd be mindlessly staring out the windows. You done?\" I don't know why I felt particularly confrontational today, but I wasn't having any of it. \"It's the 21st century. We're past this sort of shit, I thought.\" The stranger that had stared at us every day on our way home from work shrank back further into his seat. I was content to leave it there, slumping back into my seat about to go back to tapping away at one of those idle games on my phone when I heard him mutter.\n\n\"Freaking weirdos. How is everyone okay with this?\"\n\nI immediately felt my ire rise, and just handed my phone over my shoulder. I felt a hand easily twice the size of mine gingerly take it before I got up from my seat, and approached the man.\n\n\"If you have a problem, just speak up.\" I said, now holding onto the pole directly in front of him. He looked around again, but once more the people on the subway weren't about to jump in to his defence. A couple were recording me, though-- but I figured that was probably for the better of everyone. Being recorded made me hold back, made sure that I wasn't going to go further than I knew I should.\n\n\"I-It's just--\"\n\n\"I hate repeating myself, so I'll say this one. The world \"ended\" back in 2034. Do you remember that? Hellfire and the world cracking open and all that shit? I do. I was like, nine, dude.\" I spat. \"But here we are, almost thirty years later. Sure, demons came out, had their fun with the world, whatever you wanna say. But us? We're just trying to get back to our lives, alright? So next time you want to say something stupid, keep it to yourself, huh?\"\n\n\"Hey, that's enough.\"\n\nIf it had been anyone else behind me saying that I probably would have reeled around and socked the dumb, interfering idiot in the face. But those one of those giant mitts fell on my shoulder, and I calmed down instantly. \"Whatever.\" I muttered. \"It's our stop. Excuse us.\"\n\nI slipped off of the subway, letting out a sigh and shaking my hands out, charged with the encounter. I more heard the demon behind me slink off the subway, apologizing profusely as he barely managed to get his massive form out of the doors. They really needed to make those more accessible.\n\n\"I'm sorry.\" He muttered, once the subway began to roll off. I huffed, blowing upwards, shrugging my shoulders. \"If I didn't--\"\n\n\"You didn't do anything, little bro.\" I said. \"Come on. I still gotta drop you off at school before I head out to the anger management classes. Can you believe it? Humans trying to tell us that we need to manage our anger. I should have reported him to Uncle. He'd do something about it.\"\n\n\"You can't just have Uncle Losh'noth drag every person that's rude to us back down to hell. You know the accords exist.\" My brother reminded me. I groaned. Those damned accords. And not in the good way. \"Come on. Besides, I've been working on the whole scary-resting-bitch face.\"\n\n\"I know. It's getting better. Still probably hard for him to see past the fangs and the horns though.\" I shot my brother a glare over my shoulder-- he was still at the bottom of the stairs, but that grotesque, stretched form of his was still hovering over me. \"Maybe you should try a mask? Or make up?\"\n\n\"Ah, shut up, else I'm not giving you the $20 dad gave you for lunch today. Now hurry up. It's supposed to rain, and I hate getting wet.\"\n\nMy brother laughed. \"Yeah, you end up looking like one of those cats that are half-shocked, half-dead, all-hatred! Maybe that's what he meant by you looking scary.\"\n\nI flipped him off over my shoulder. \"Yeah, you're only getting $10 now. Asshole.\"" ]	2
	[WP] It turns out that being late is caused by an extra-dimensional being who fears humanity’s potential. And now he’s confronting you about 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.", "George had been in awkward situations before but this took the biscuit. Shifty eyes shared uneasy looks amongst the inhabitants of the bus. An old man, stooped over an overflowing pouch of small change, slowly craned his neck to look upon George's quivering, beetroot face.\n\n\"I knew it! I knew there was something going on here!\"\n\nThe suspicion had been growing in George for months, but the evidence had been stacking up for years. Throughout his time at university he had been habitually late to classes, often choosing to miss them entirely rather than do the mid-lecture walk of shame in front of his peers. It's not that he hadn't wanted to do well, in fact the times that he had managed to arrive promptly he had done exceptionally, raising questions and making connections that his professors had never even considered. Being a student at the time, however, George simply chalked his tardiness down to the fact that hey, most students are usually lazy and careless with their time right? He had the rest of his life to take seriously, so he took it in his stride and decided to just live life in the moment.\n\nThe problem was that it didn't end with university. After the minor miracle of his respectable final grade, George planned to come out of university all guns blazing. He'd lived the lax life of a student and now it was time to knuckle down and get to work. But it never worked out that way. Every time he needed to be somewhere or do something, some minor inconvenience would get in the way. The pieces, when they finally fell into place, fell thanks to a chance encounter with a baby. To call it a \"chance\" encounter would be unfair, as would calling it a \"baby\". \n\nGeorge had always had a weakness for cute things, and on this particular day as he'd rushed across town for a client meeting a nearby woman had dropped her babies bottle and it had bounced animatedly towards him. Ever the gentleman, George had scooped up the bottle and jogged back to her with a smile on his face. \"I believe this is yours little guy!\" He had said, bending down over the pram and tapping the infant on the nose. A gurgled response came from the lips of the child, and the mother grinned brightly. \n\n\"Oh thank you so much! You wouldn't believe the day I've been having! I don't suppose you'd be able to tell me how I could get to the nearest pharmacy could you?\" \n\nUnluckily for her, the nearest one in any direction from that point had been no less than half a mile, and George had made a show of checking his watch as he helped her wrestle with her archaic city map. But it wasn't like George to leave someone in distress. \n\nAs he'd briskly walked away having briefly drawn map for the lady, George had felt something flapping against his leg. Looking down he had found a small scrap of paper on which was written\n\n11:05am, March 14th, a baby and a mother, drop the bottle as he passes\n\nDespite his rush George had been stopped in his tracks. Staring at the note he slowly turned around to look back at the lady. He could see her fussing over the small child, no doubt feeding it some more of the milk from it's bottle. He walked closer, eyes still glancing down occasionally at the writing. He should probably return it, he had thought, but what did it all mean? Finally falling back within earshot of the lady he heared her hiss\n\n\"Where the hell is it?\"\n\n\"How am I supposed to know?\"\n\nThe second voice had shocked George. There had only been one adult there before, and certainly no male voices besides his own. The lady continued\n\n\"We're going to be in no end of trouble if we don't find that note right this minute!\"\n\n\"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit..... Shit.\"\n\nThe last word tumbled out of the baby's rosy cheeks as it lifted it's head over the edge of the pram to scan the nearby ground and caught sight of George hastily walking past. He had found the sense to hide the piece of paper as he heard the conversation and he quickened his pace as his heart caught in his throat. What on earth was going on!? Had he been set up? Was this some kind of prank show? In any case, one solid clue remained: flipping over the note in his hands, George found a second scribbled message: \n\n3:15pm, March 15th, vomiting accident\n\nSo here he was, staring down an old man, on a bus en route to a lunch date with a new woman he was seeing. Though he had spotted a rather queasy looking lady keeled over slightly in a nearby seat, it had seemed too obvious to be the real delay. When he saw the shuffling old pensioner walk up to the doors however he knew, he just knew, that this was his man. \n\nA coin dropped from the widowers withered old fingers and bounced with a comically loud clang. George stormed up to him, pushing the coins back to his chest and raising his debit card.\n\n \"Listen, I'll just pay for his ticket OK?\"\n\nThe driver looked at him with wide eyes. \"Erm... I'm afraid it seems that the machine has broken sir\"\n\nFrustrated, George fished out a note and sighed \"Then take this instead.\"\n\nAs the driver painstakingly counted out the change coin by coin George let out a cry of anguish and shouted \"You know what! I'll walk!\" \n\nA horrible crunching noise announced the sudden malfunction of the bus doors. \"Oh gosh would you look at that\" the driver chuckled nervously. \"This might take a while to fix\".\n\nGeorge roared in fury as he kicked relentlessly at the glass doors. As he wrenched them open with brute strength alone, the sick looking lady finally let out a groan and spewed on her own feet. \n\nA familiar voice, that of the baby's, was uttered from the man sitting behind her. \"Too little too late Brenda. The prophecy has come true. We are doomed.\"\n\nGeorge sprang from the bus like an escaped convict, and with renewed vigour he began to run for his date. He now knew that the problem did not lie with him. He was ready to start living his life on his own terms, and whoever was responsible for his misfortunes would pay.", "\"Are you Dave McKinley?\", asked an elderly man in a suit. Dave, answering in the affirmative, soon felt a cold and rigid cylinder press against his back. The man nudged him toward a dark alleyway, and as they entered he whispered into Dave's ear \"How do you do it?\".\n\n\"I'm sorry? What are you talking about?\" asked Dave, who was promptly answered by being kicked into a nearby wall. The man withdrew some keys and opened a nearby door while Dave scrambled for breath. The gun never wavered from Dave until the man grabbed him and threw him through the opening. Astonished by the old man's strength, Dave didn't resist, and fell limply onto a concrete floor as the door closed behind them both.\n\nA click indicated the door's closing, and blinding light filled the room to reveal a steel table and chair. The man barked \"sit!\" Dave complied. While not handcuffed to the table, Dave didn't want to test the man's reflexes, and so he held still.\n\n\"Again, how do you do it?\", asked the man, more sternly this time.\n\n\"What are you talking about?\" said Dave, soon receiving a blow to the side of the head for his troubles.\n\n\"Being on time. How do you do it? It should be impossible, yet you're always early.\" The man stood and turned briefly to the mirrored wall. He continued. \"We've watched, every second, every minute, every hour. Rain, sleet, snow, shine, every single god damn time you manage to arrive on time.\" Dave opened his mouth to reply, but the man slammed his hands on the table, interrupting him. \"For Christ's sake, you got hit by a car one morning and still showed up to work on time because your limp body rolled downhill right onto the emergency room's steps!\"\n\n\"Yeah, got coffee all over my best suit, too.\" murmured Dave. Realizing he shouldn't undercut the point even more, he continued. \"I dunno, I just keep a schedule, and I wear a watch. Wake up at the same time every morning, have the same breakfast, and I walk my dog on a predetermined route.\"\n\n\"Yet every time you never lose so much as a minute on your circuit time.\"\n\n\"Lucky, I guess.\"\n\n\"That's bullshit, and we both know it. How about this: you go back to living the way everyone else does. Pick a nice time period, say 15 minutes late, and you can stick to that, you damned automaton. You forget how you broke the cycle the first time, you tell no one, and you live.\"\n\nA smirk peeled across Dave's face, his eyes darkened and his fingers steepled. \"No, I don't think I will. You see, reaching my potential has been a lot of fun, and I'd hate to miss out on that.\"\n\nHe vanished, no trace to be seen." ]	3
	[WP] You are in your back yard watering the garden when you feel a tap on your shoulder. You turn around and see a sunflower with a face, arms, and legs.	[ "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, if I could please have your attention?\"\n\nDumbstruck, the man stood there.\n\nThe flower tried again. \"Sir, this is quite urgent.\"\n\nGears were turning, but it was a slow process.\n\nThe flower opted to wait.\n\n\"Wha…?\"\n\nThe flower hoped this wouldn't go as the last one did.\n\n\"You... wha?\"\n\nIt seemed to be going as the last one did. \"Sir, if you could please answer a few questions, I'll be on my way.\"\n\nThe man stood there, mouth agape.\n\nSigh. \"I knew it wasn't time to introduce ourselves to the humans. Even if we do need their help.\" The flower walked off, hopping over the fence to the next house.\n\nAuthor's note: I can honestly say I would do the same, if presented with a walking talking flower. r/James_Fire does not have any, but you may find something else of interest." ]	2
	[WP] - Welcome to the world's first adventurers school. We are presently in the library, our student's favourite room. - What's so special about it? - Well there is actually only one true book. All the other lead to hidden places.	[ "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.", "Will looked down at the note he found on his bed. It read in crystal clear black ink \"meet me in PUL 628.463, 6:00 Sharp. -DD\" Will laughed out loud, his roommate, Peter, looked up from his MacBook and have him a dirty look. Peter always looked mad but it was just how his face was shaped, he was nice but got pissed easily. Will knew who he was meeting, and where they were going but he didn't know why.\n\nDiamond Delgado was a girl in his year at the school. She was sassy and smart an interesting blend of personalities. She also had a massive crush on Will. Will decided he would come, for her dignity...", "“This one book,” said Professor Olgly, for once allowing a hint of drama to creep into his voice, “is a very special book. Does anyone know why?”\n\nHis fingers drummed the black leather cover, which was inlaid with hair-fine ribbons of gold and silver wiring that intertwined into an intricate, circular symbol. His eyes roved over the class for a nearly intolerable ten seconds before he smiled slightly. “Any takers? Mister Leth? Miss Croft? No?”\n\nA girl two spots to my right stretched her hand into the air. “It must be the Index,” she blurted, before, I thought, Professor Olgly even saw her fingers dart toward the library’s dark-stained ceiling. Her voice echoed through the now-silent room; the rest of the student body had stilled its impatient rustling, and as the great clock’s ticking became the only sound in the room, the girl slowly wilted and retracted her hand, looking suddenly sheepish.\n\nI noticed the way Professor Olgly’s eyebrow raised, at almost the exact moment the girl said Index in such a way that she clearly meant it to be a capital I. “Very good,” he said slowly, looking at her searchingly. “Very good indeed, Miss...”\n\n“Turner,” the girl offered, with some trepidation.\n\nProfessor Olgly suddenly beamed at the rest of us, taking his hand away from the book and allowing his arms to sweep outwards in a grand gesture that encompassed the full room. “Miss Turner is exactly right,” he said, and I saw the girl straighten almost imperceptibly, pride inflating her posture. “This book is indeed the Index. Not just an index, mind you. The Index. Without this book, only those members of this school who have been here for decades, or rarer, for centuries, would have any means of entering this room and mingling with this grand plethora of books without assuming for themselves a most mortal peril.\n\n“You see—“ he swept around a billow of robes and began walking toward the library’s central room, sweeping through a pair of enormous marble pillars and forcing us to rush hurriedly behind him so as not to get left behind “—every other book in this entire building is, in more ways than one, more than just a book. They are all books, certainly, all with bindings, covers, spines, pages, ink or...other stains. But each is also a key to its own unique location. Some are to other streets in this city, some to other cities in this country, some to other countries, some to the most barren reaches of the wilderness, some to...well, maybe we’ll get there later in the semester.”\n\nHe stopped and turned just as a bell told loudly through the room. “That’s it, folks,” he said simply. “Lesson one, in the bag. For tonight’s assignment, please use the resources at your disposal to find out what you can about this library’s Index. I’ll expect a written parchment on my desk by Tuesday’s class. Class dismissed.”", "Adam stood in front of his students. He was still getting used to being a teacher, and seeing all those young people looking up at him -- literally in the case of a few dwarven and gnomish students -- was still new to him.\n\n\"Students, welcome to the library. You'll be spending a lot of time here.\"\n\nHe heard a few audible groans. He was not surprised at that. These were adventures-to-be after all. They would be more interested in swinging their chosen weapons around or learning to cast spells.\n\nAdam heard a few of the senior students scoff at the groans and grumbles. They knew why the library was so popular.\n\n\"This will be one of the most important places you will ever go to in the entire campus. In the classroom, you'll learn the skills. In here though, you'll learn how to really be an adventurer.\"\n\nOne of the students, a human girl, raised her hand. Adam nodded her way, giving the signal she could speak.\n\n\"Sir, it's a library. How are we supposed to learn practical skills from books?\"\n\nAdam smiled. He had only done this once for students, and he could tell it would already be his favorite part.\n\n\"Why don't we go find out. What's your name miss?\"\n\n\"Rona, sir.\"\n\n\"Well, Rona. Pick out a book on the bottom shelf. Any book. Doesn't matter as long as it's from the bottom shelf.\"\n\nRona picked out a slender yellow book from the indicated shelf, opened it, and disappeared. She simply popped out of existence. No fanfair, no glow. Not even a pop.\n\nThe other new students stared, not sure of what to think. Adam could see a few of them start to tremble in fear. Adam ignored them and looked at the book the girl had chosen. She got lucky. Very lucky.\n\n\"Don't worry, she'll be fine. In fact, if she's any good, she should be coming back any second now.\"\n\nSure enough, a few seconds later, Rona popped back into existence just as suddenly as she vanished.\n\n\"Have fun?\" Adam asked.\n\n\"That...that was... wow.\" Rona said. \"Can I go again?\"\n\nAdam smiled. \"Later. Why don't you tell the other students what you experienced.\"\n\n\"I was...I was at a banquet. By the gods, there was so much food. And a lot of it I've never even heard of. I didn't get to try much if it, since I remembered I had to come back, but everyone was super nice and the things I did try were really tasty.\"\n\n\"You have good luck. This is a good book for first timers. No danger, and gives a good sense of what kind of things you can and can't eat. Ask the wait staff for something you want to try, and if they don't have it, you can't eat it. Period.\n\n\"Now, as for what happened, Rona here was taken to a pocket dimension. A small space that exists only within the book. And this is not the only one. Every book inhere will take you to a different pocket dimension. But not all of them are as friendly as this one is.\" He said, holding up the book. \n\n\"Each shelf is increasing danger. The bottom is usually fairly safe. They're introductions to combat with weak monsters like slimes and goblins, if there's any monsters at all. Every shelf up gets more and more dangerous. I wouldn't recommend the tip shelf until you're a lot more experienced. Those can even challenge a pro like me.\"\n\nAnother student, a half-orc male this time, raised his hand. \"Are there any real books? Like, the kind that won't take us somewhere else?\"\n\nA surprisingly good question from a race not known for intelligence. Adam would have to watch that one. \n\n\"Yes.\" Adam said. \"There is, in fact a real book. A real book. One. Just one. Where it is though, is a mystery even to the librarians. This one book is the single most important tome you'll ever see. If you can find it, that is. Supposedly, it contains a record of everything. A \ncomplete, total history. Every spell that is known. A study of every language, every song, play and piece of art. In short, all knowledge possessed by all races capable of learning. Nobody knows where it is, just that it resides in this library, and does, in fact, exist. You can consider it the silent goal of everyone in this academy, both student and teacher. So far, nobody has succeeded.\"\n\nEvery student he was watching over grew silent. They looked around the stacks of books. Thousands upon thousands of books, all for the viewing. All hiding the promise of adventure and knowledge. And one that could change everything for whoever happened to find it.\n\n\"Now, we have some time to kill before we need to continue the tour of the academy. So, for the next hour, you have the chance to examine the books. Remember, stick to the bottom shelf. Anything you find inside the world inside the book is yours to keep. You won't find anything super valuable in the easy books, but later volumes can yield some very good items. Good luck and happy exploring.\"\n\nThe students dashed off. Adam watched them each choose a book and disappear. None of them hesitated a bit. He smiled. This year had some good students. Yes, this was what made him retire from adventuring. This was what made teaching worth it." ]	4
	[WP] "Truth or Dare?" "Truth" "What is the meaning of life?" Eyes begin to glow	[ "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 warm, clear, midsummer night. The perfect kind of night to sneak up to the roof, lie down on your back, and let the hours pass, talking about nothing with your dearest friend. Chance looked up at the sky and smiled. This was nice...\n\n\"Hey, Wendy?\" she asked.\n\nWendy, who was next to Chance yet in her own world, looked at Chance. \"Yeah?\"\n\n\"Truth or dare?\"\n\nWendy smiled. She enjoyed Truth or Dare. \"Truth,\" she answered.\n\n\"What's the meaning of life?\"\n\nWendy sighed, and let her eyes closed. She let her mind step away from her body, and passed it on to the Guardian who watched over her. He took control of her body, and opened his new eyes. They seemed to glow softly with spectral light. \"The meaning of life, the way I've learned, and the way the others before me have seen it too, is continuation. We live to keep on living. Hope keeps on going. We live to protect the world that will inevitably no longer be ours, but our children's and grandchildren's. The meaning of life is nonexistent, we just live for the sake of living.\" He sighed softly. \"Well, I'm just your friendly neighborhood ghost... Who knows what Wendy believes?\"\n\n\"Wait, what?\" Chance asked. She noticed her friend's... odd eyes. \"Wendy?\"\n\n\"No worries, I mean no harm to you or your friend. Wendy simply had no answer, so I stepped in.\" He sat up and offered his hand to Chance in a shake. \"Lawrence Lewis Ian Blackwell, at your service, ma'am.\"\n\n\"I'm Chance,\" the rather confused girl said, thinking that she didn't really have any other choice than to talk with this ghost. She shook his hand.\n\n\"Pleasure to talk with you face to face.\" Lawrence smiled. \"It's been a while since I talked to anybody other than Wendy or Tateh or the others. Want to play Truth or Dare? I think I understand how it works.\"\n\n\"Uhm, sure,\" Chance said.\n\n\"Truth or Dare?\"", "Their eyes. What the fuck was going on with their eyes? Glowing with such knowledge, such wisdom. A glow, only seven and a half milion years worth of deep thinking could generate. In a clear, but oh-so-done voice I hear \"42\".\n\n\"42!? After seven million five hundred thousand years of thinking and you came to 42??\" I nearly yelled back. \"Yes yes, I thought of it very deeply. I finally came to this number, because it's nice and dividable, and not too big. Why, don't you like it? I feel it's perhaps the perfect answer.\" I was in utter disbelief. How the hell can 42 be the purpose of life?" ]	3
	[WP] You decided to jokingly respond to a scam email offering you 50 million dollars if you give them your card details. Little did you know, they weren't scamming..	[ "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 Sunday afternoon in the middle of July when I got the message. I wasn’t doing much that day, the month before I had gone through a messy break up with a girl whom I thought I might’ve loved but who didn’t seem to care nearly as much for me, and whenever I ended up with free time my thoughts drifted back to how it might’ve ended differently. So as 4 pm rolled around I was still in my sweatpants, watching cartoons, and being generally depressed when I heard the knocking on my door.\n\nI didn’t answer at first. I was keenly aware of my two-day stubble and the crusted red pizza stains that had appeared on my t-shirt sometime in the last two days. My wounded pride didn’t want my ex, and by extension the world, to know that I was anything other than fantastic without her. But whoever was at the door was persistent, and after several minutes I decided it must be an emergency so I got up and guiltily opened the door. \n\n“Hi, I’m sorry I didn’t hear you, I was just doing some cleaning,” I said in an outright lie as I opened the door to a small south-asian looking woman I could not recognize. I gestured at my clothes for good measure, hoping to cast off the stains as evidence of my hard work. \n\n“No matter, no matter,” she said in a thick Indian accent. Her impatient tone and narrowed eyes told a different story, however. “I came here to give you an important message.”\n\n“What sort?” I asked, a little more tersely than I had meant to. Strangers didn’t just come to give me important messages. They came to ask for things. Although this woman was dressed in the long flowing robes I had sometimes seen Indian woman wearing, so maybe it was about religion.\n\nThe woman’s voice cleared and she began to speak in a grand tone, “His Majesty, the third prince of Vijayanagara, has given me the grand mission to raise--.”\n\n“Let me guess, you want money,” I interrupted. The prince scam was a classic. I’d never met someone who hadn’t received an email from a Nigerian prince or two. It annoyed me that she thought I was dumb enough to fall for that old crap, which reminded me of something my ex had told me and made me all the more annoyed.\n\n“I was given priceless family heirlooms to sell so that the prince can study here, yes,” she said. Her tone had become defensive. \n\nI stood there for a moment, mouth open. Who fell for this bullshit? I looked around her in case I was being filmed and for the first time noticed the suitcase she had moved to the side of the doorway. Was I supposed to believe she had just walked off a plane from some ancient country with a bag full of priceless antiques that she was selling door to door? \n\n“Would you like to look and buy something?” she asked after a moment, reaching for her bag.\n\nI was about to tell her where she could stick her cheap knockoffs when I caught a glimpse of the top of her breast as she was bending over her suitcase, and a thought occurred to me. It had been a month since I had been with anyone. I was a bit backed up so to speak, and she wasn't exactly bad looking. Perhaps she had a good reason running this scam and really needed the money. I wouldn't be a very good person if I just turned her away when she was desperate. And it's not like a scammer was polite company. \n\n“Um, listen,” my hand shot up to my neck and rubbed it as I spoke. “So. I don’t really want whatever's knockoff you’re carrying around in that bag.” I tilted my head as I said that and gave her what I thought was a knowing look to show that I wasn’t as stupid as she thought. “But if you’re really desperate, I wouldn’t want to turn you away. There might be something you could do for me.” I blushed a little in embarrassment as I said it. I had never done anything like this before.\n\nShe stopped going through her bag and looked at me. It was clear she didn’t get what I had suggested, or pretended not to. \n\n“Well, if you need a place to stay, you could sleep here for tonight. I’ve only got one bed though...” I ventured. \n\nThat time I could tell she understood. She immediately looked away, but she didn’t leave immediately. My heart beat faster as I thought she was considering it. But then she turned around with yanked her bag without a word, scuffing it against the stairs. I stood there, watching her march away from me, hand still on my neck in embarrassment. The sinking feeling that I had just done something completely unfair to her crossed my mind, but I brushed it away. Why did I have to feel bad. What gave her the tenacity to be so stuck up- was I not good enough for her, either? And suddenly, in a stroke of pure genius, I knew exactly what to say.\n\n“Hey, listen, I’m sorry,” I called out down my lawn. The woman stopped, but didn’t come back. “Look, I think I know someone who’ll buy those antiques off of you.” The woman still didn’t respond, so I continued. “She’s hard to convince, but if you don’t give up I’m sure you can sell her every last one. Just tell her they’re from Mexico, she has a whole collection.” The woman was still standing there as I gave her my Ex’s address.\n\nI went back to the couch and unpaused the cartoon, feeling awfully clever. In the next hour the scammer would be at my Ex’s door, badgering her about antiques. My Ex might even buy some of them if she actually falls for the part about them being from Mexico, then who would be idiot? But most likely they would just waste each other’s time and argue, hopefully for a long time. Serves them right for being so stuck up. \n\nIt was a month later when I saw an issue of the local newspaper sitting on a table adjacent to mine at my favourite coffee shop. It was the picture that caught my attention. The newspaper read, “Ancient Sanskrit Tablet Worth 30m Bought By Local Student.” I dropped my coffee. “... the student donated most of the earnings back to the original owner.”", "Dear Ms. Beatrice Johnson,\n\nMy name is Jason Walters, a philanthropist interested in bettering the lives of the everyday man. I want to give those who deserve it the chance to make the most of their lived. Because of this, I painstakingly select one deserving person from millions to be the recipient of a generous donation each year. It is my great honor to let you know that you have been chosen to be the beneficiary of $50,000,000! \n\nIn order to receive this generous donation, all you have to do is respond back with your credit card information and the funds will be directly deposited to you. You can use these funds any way that you wish. \n\nSincerely, \n\nJason Walters\n\n&#x200B;\n\nBea snorted as she took another gulp of her Red Bull and vodka. It was one of the better scam emails she had seen. How many people really fell for this type of shit? She thought about the poor old woman who probably was reaching for her credit card, not even thinking that there was something fishy about this; the kid who went and grabbed dad’s card, hoping to get everything he ever dreamed of; the down on her luck single mother thinking that every struggle was at an end with this “generous donation.” These monsters, praying on innocent people. \n\nHer face was getting hot, partially from being on her fifth mixed drink and partially from the indignation at these scam artists. Someone should teach them a lesson. Her drunken brain was starting to form a plan. To her in her current state, it was the greatest plan she had ever come up with. She fumbled over to her kitchen drawers and struggled to search inside of it. Frustrated with lack of progress, she simply dumped the drawer out and grabbed an old prepaid credit card. She’d give them the card information, and then when they tried to pull more than the remaining $2 from it, she could report it stolen and teach these fuckers a lesson! Perfect plan! She snickered to herself, proud as a peacock, as she entered in her information and took another gulp of booze. \n\n\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\n\n“Oh, fuck,” Bea groaned, waking up to a terrible headache and the room still spinning. Shit. Why had she had so much to drink? It certainly wasn’t worth it. She sat up slowly, feeling her stomach lurch slightly at the movement. It was going to be a long, miserable day. \n\nHer phone was blinking from the bedside table, signaling a missed message. Probably Holly, checking to see if she was still alive. Bea vaguely remembered ranting to her sister the night before, telling her all her woes, like a damn drunk asshole. Vodka and Red Bull is a stupid combination. \n\nShe had only wanted to have one drink last night, let loose from the stressful day of work. It was unfortunate that she got a shut-off notice in the mail for the water, followed closely by a break-up text from her six-month boyfriend. Seriously, who breaks up with someone through text? Her one drink quickly turned into two, and then she was just drunk and not thinking about how her life had not turned out the way she wanted it to. \n\nGrabbing the phone, planning on apologizing to Holly for the drunken babbling, she picked up her phone. The screen was too bright, blinding Bea for a moment. Blinking away the stars in her eyes, she clumsily checked the missed notification. She blinked again, this time in shock.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nFrom: 224-222\n\nDeposit received. $50,000,000.00. 4:23 p.m. Remaining balance: $50,000,002.00.* \n\n&#x200B;\n\nFeeling her stomach rebel against her, she flung her phone onto the bed and make a run for the bathroom. Tired and confused, she sat on her bathroom floor, feeling the cold tiles against her legs. She was hungover as all hell, and she was now a fucking millionaire. What in the actual hell?" ]	3
	[WP] The war that devastated the world wasn’t fought with nuclear weapons, but with weaponized time. In the aftermath, a parent and child try to get to a safe zone.	[ "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 war didn't end up going the way everyone thought it would going in. Everyone knew it would be devastating - after all, a conflict between China, Russia, and the United States could only end one way. Or so we thought.\n\n\nEach country wanted to decimate the others, but none wanted to lord over a world of embers and ruined cities amid the chill of a nuclear winter. No one wanted to unleash the terror of the scientific sun, so they looked for other solutions.\n\n\nChina found theirs in chemical warfare, creating toxins and gases that devastated opposing armies, compounds that chewed through hazmat suit and flesh alike. The Russians chose cyber warfare, disabling infrastructure and crippling production with the click of a mouse. \n\n\nAnd America, well, they chose something even more experimental.\n\n\nTime dilation. No one knows when it happened, but a bunker beneath Twin Falls Idaho imploded, and time broke along with it. All of a sudden, China found itself at war, with the Mongol Empire and the Republic Of China fighting the Chinese Communist Party for dominance. \n\n\nThe Russian Federation found itself in a all our war fought between itself, the White Army, Napoleon's Legions, the Nazi invasion force and the Soviet era Red Army that opposed them, all fighting for survival. \n\n\nAnd America, I can speak from experience. I was in Boston when it happened, taking my kids for a walk around Boston Common. Next thing I knew a Redcoat sentry, shock on his face, detained me at musket point. A couple of blocks over, a great fire extinguished in 1872 roared into life, a confused response of modern Boston Fire Department trucks and horse drawn carts rushing to extinguish the blaze. \n\n\nSoon, emergency alerts started blaring as presidents from Roosevelt to Carter took to the air, trying to make sense of the chaos. The Redcoats probably recovered the quickest, fighting with the police in a attempt to bring British order back to the city of Boston.\n\n\nTime, unfortunately, fixed itself. Idaho remains a off limits zone, broken beyond recognition. The echoes from the past persisted, and found new meaning in the present." ]	2
	[WP] Hell has begun to invade earth, and the only way to remain safe seems to be having a cat, which demons seem to be repelled by. After a frantic search, you've found one that likes you, but you're starting to suspect that it is a demon itself.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 know cats lick their own appendages. I know this from watching numerous internet cat videos and that show where the cat guy kinda looks like Jack the Ripper if he was into rockabilly. \n\nBut this cat. He studies it as if the dark pit of eternal truth was contained in that furry forest. \n\nIt's disconcerting. \n\nJune says I'm being paranoid. \n\nI adopted him last month, you know. They had a special on black cats since it was October. \n\nI even had to sign something saying I wasn't adopting it to sacrifice in a satanic ritual. \n\nHe was called Bubsy at the shelter but something told me he was more of a Wolf. \n\nI dreamed he told me I hadn't the capacity to say or know his real name but Wolf would do. \n\nIt was true though, anything was better than Bubsy. \n\nHe has these pointy ears with white tufts of hair inside and a dashing mustache. \n\nHe's also quite violent with his toys. Severing limbs and such. I'm told this is normal. June says cats are peculiar. \n\nWolf really is good company after all. I can tolerate the odd burps of fire and the occasional lapse into some sort of feline language of tounges but the butt thing. \n\nIt's disconcerting. \n\nJune is knitting me one of those small devices that cover a cat's backside. I think that might do the trick. A lovely rose in blue lightning.", "The screaming abruptly stopped, and I carefully drew the curtain close again. It had been going on for approximately half a minute and curiosity had gotten the best of me. The legions of hell had finally made their way into my neighborhood, it seems. I could not quite tell where the screams came from and could not spot anything, either. I had expected to see something frightening, a hellfire blazing in the dead of night inside an apartment or a demon torturing some poor human with a pitchfork. Instead, all I got was a blood-curdling scream, alternating in pitch - to match the varying degrees of pain the screamer went through, presumably - then sudden silence. I hoped it was not Matthew. I liked him. He was a good neighbor and a good guy overall. \n\nHidden, or so I hoped, in my dimly-lit bedroom, behind the drawn curtains, I sighed and turned around to move away from the window. Hades was sitting on his hind legs in the corridor outisde my bedroom, staring at me. He was barely distinguishable in the darkness, but the faint light of my bed lamp reflected off his eyes and turned them a curious red. Too red, in fact. Hades had been a very appropriate name for a black cat, but at that moment it seemed more appropriate than ever. I shivered. \"Hades, you fucking weirdo, stop staring at me like that. You're creeping me out. It's scary enough outside.\" \n\nI walked to the bed and lay down. I was very lucky to have found him. The whole hell-on-earth apocalypse had began give or take a week ago. It came out of nowhere, too. In the past, there had been all sorts of weird apocalyptic theories; Y2K, 06th of June 2006, that whole Mayan Calendar business. People had been keeping track of the dates then. But this was different. There had been no speculation, no marked dates, no talk. One Friday noon (at least where I live - apply time zones respectively) the ground roared and split open and spewed forth tiny little demon lackies, followed by their larger, more frightening lieutenants. In more metropolitan areas, there had been reports of even larger, even more horrific beings. My town was quite remote and, fortunately, the invasion was on a much lower scale. Capital cities and important landmarks had been conquered, utterly destroyed and transformed into blightlands in a matter of hours. Among us fortunate few who had survived the onslaught of the first couple of days (the use of the word 'fortunate' is very liberal here - we are about as fortunate as a fishing boat in the way of a tsunami), an odd discovery had been made. Demons did not like cats. In fact, lesser demons seemed to be terrified by them, cowering away the same way a frightened child would from an angry parent. Cats seemed to have a compelling, dominating command against demons. Which was why, like I said, I was very lucky to have found Hades on the exact same day the apocalypse began.\n\nI had not even known the loophole at the time. It was told to me later the same day by none other than Matthew, my hopefully not dead and grotesquely disfigured neighbor, who had notified me via e-mail. Before that, I had mustered the courage to run down to the street in order to retrieve my phone from my car where I had forgotten it. Not that it had done me any good; perhaps it was a result of the general state of chaos and destruction, or perhaps the armies of hell had strategically destroyed communication towers, but the outcome was the same nevertheless. There was no signal. The internet died soon, too. As I rushed towards the car, however, I heard a pathetic meow. At first I ignored it and focused on grabbing my phone and rushing back inside the house without being seen, all the while listening to the same hopeless meowing. The animal lover in me could not resist, despite the circumstances. I ducked and looked under the car and, sure enough, there was a tiny black kitten, miserable and dirty, crying for his mother or anyone that could help him. I waved my fingers at him and went 'pst pst pst' and the little guy immediately jumped to me and rubbed against my hand, his cries instantly turning into a playful purr. I couldn't just leave him there. I had to save him. I picked him up and rushed in.\n\nA week later, my house remaining invasion-free, I found out that he, in fact, had saved me. Very funny turn of events, that. \n\nPresently, lying on my bed, thinking back at all this, I managed a weak smile. 'Sorry I was rude, Hades. Come here.' I tapped the bed twice. He kept staring at me, unmoving. 'Whatever floats your boat, buddy'. I was exhausted. I had not slept in over fourty hours, in fear that something would happen while I was asleep and I would not be able to react in tme. So far, however, the cat loophole seemed to be working. Once, demons had walked up to my door but they never came in. Hades had ran to the door and hissed, and I heard the demons backing away, gibbering incomprehensibly in their guttural language.\n\nYeah... Hades would keep me safe, no matter what.\nI was safe.\n\nMy eyes felt so heavy... Perhaps I could afford to get a couple of hours of sleep. I could put my trust in Hades while I got some much needed rest.\n\nI fell asleep before I even realized. Dreams came to me. I was in my bedroom, lying in bed. I could hear demons approaching and, in my dream, I could understand their language. I heard them speak.\n\n\"Have we been here?\", said one voice\n\n\"No, we have not, let's go\", replied the other.\n\nI tried to move and hide, but found that I could not. Sleep paralysis. I was very familiar with it, as I had had numerous episodes in the past, so I could immediately tell it was another one. Then I saw, out of the corner of my eye, Hades running to the door. Hey, I knew this... this was what happened the other day. This was when Hades protected me! In my panic, I felt slightly relieved.\n\nHades' hiss, however, became a distinguishable voice, too. \"Stand back. This one is mine.\"\n\nI tensed. I wanted to cry out in horror, but nothing came out other than a pitiful whimper. I struggled to move, but an outworldly weight had me pinned down.\n\n\"Ah, this one's been visited by Mazzagrix himself!\", snorted one demon.\n\nThe second one laughed. \"Let him have his fun. You know how he likes toying with his prey first\", he said as they walked away.\n\nAnd then, as I flailed and strived to move, Hades was suddenly on my chest, staring at me. Only, he was not as I knew him. He was huge and ghastly and had tens of long, tentacle-like appendages. His eyes were burning coals. He opened his mouth and inside I saw distorted faces twisted in agony, their mouths agape with pain. I could feel myself being sucked out of my body, pulled within the vortex of his mouth to join the rest of the abyssal horde of tortured souls.\n\nAnd then I finally managed to open my eyes. Hades really was standing on my chest and was staring at me, his eyes bloodred. Normally, I would have thrown him off and stood up, but I found that I could not. I was as paralyzed as I was in my dream.\n\nAnother eldritch scream resonated throughout the neighborhood.\n\n\nEDIT: Typos." ]	3
	[WP] For every planet, moon, and sun that exist in the universe, there is a God to oversee it. However, if that God's planet is a hazard to other galaxies, it will be wiped from existence to prevent cosmic chaos. You are Earth's God and unfortunately, the little planet is on the chopping block.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "“After all our efforts, we failed...” Said a young looking pale skinny woman. Her skin shone of a strange enchanting light, something that easily pierced the darkness as she floated there in space\n\n“It’s not over Moon, if they want it to end they will have to come here and do it.” Said a man who seemed to be made of rock which constantly burned a pure red fire\n\n“Mars they have very many gods and many of which with similar yet more powerful aspects compared to ours, we don’t stand a chance” Said a huge man holding a trident. He was made of some strange blue substance which was impossible to tell wether it was solid or liquid.\n\n“They fear what will come of us. It took all our efforts to bring life to where it is within us now and it’s true it’s only some of the growth that may be cancerous, but for them that is something they cannot risk spreading and becoming stronger” said an older man with several rings drifting around him in a very strange yet elegant manner.\n\nA man who seemed like he may be made of iron said “we need to convince them it’s not time yet”\n\n“Talking is useless...they will be here within the epoch and they will not listen. All we can do is fight to our dying breath” Said a young man who appeared to be a mass of shifting greens and browns with a flowing blue liquid throughout\n\nJust then everything turned from darkness to light. For the godly planets this was natural and it would not blind their ability to perceive. A booming voice rang out along with this light “they have arrived already”\n\n“Sun how is that possible? It hasn’t been long enough for anyone to reach us” Said Moon\n\n“They wanted this long ago. They have always said this place is a special one and it is wasted on us” Sun replied\n\nMars clenched his fist and said “Proxima’s children are the closest ones. We can handle those jerks”\n\nA small voice rang out whose source could not be determined “It’s much worse than that. All 52 nearby stellar systems have been ordered by the sovereign galaxy council to exterminate this threat. Even if you fight, this system will not survive this, this life has reached an end but most of you can escape if you purge yourselves. Only earth ultimately must die.” \n\n“Chiron! Of thank heavens for you! Please help us tell them it’s not too late!” Cried Mercury \n\nChiron didn’t even seem to hear Mercury as his sad voice rang out once more “I hope I’ll see you guys again”\n\nIt was then that a massive rumbling began across the void. Light began to bend and darkness seemed to be returning to this area of space as the ever burning fire that was Sun seemed to be compressed into the form of a large man as his light no longer dominated space.\n\n“The first wave is coming” Said Sun as he began to gather his might.\n\n“Will the others come?” Said moon\n\n“Venus does not belong to the battlefield. Love will not take part in this fight. As for the others, That is their choice to make.” Said Neptune as he began to focus his energy into his trident. \n\n“Earth is our most vital weak point as well as our most dangerous weapon. Any enemy Earth infects will need to be purged or entirely eliminated” Said a man who drifted in from a strange angle. Although this was space, no matter how you looked at him he appeared to be sideways or at best upside down.\n\nA red fire began to spring fire into the darkness as Mars said “since you have come Uranus, I will fight with all my might as long as Earth lives, once he dies, your all on your own”\n\nMars led the charge as he flew toward where his divine senses told him the source of the suppressive darkness was. As he flew forward out of the darkness came a small solid grey mass...and then another...and another until the horizon was filled with them.\n\n“So many asteroids!” Said moon as she watched each one turn into various beings such as insects, animals, and even some humanoid then charge toward Mars in vicious attack\n\nMars yelled “what a lovely gift! I will eat you all!” And he began smash asteroids left and right. His fists became blurs as asteroids began to shatter by the hundreds. With every one he killed he only seemed to burn hotter\n\nSuddenly a bolt of ice flew out from the darkness and pierced into Mars’ chest before he could react. After a second a blue woman emerged from the darkness. She said nothing as she began to form bolts of ice and hurl them toward Mars\n\nMars began to dodge as best he could as blood leaked from his chest. He didn’t retreat he continued to charge and any bolt he could not dodge he would simply punch into oblivion causing damage to his fist. Just as Mars neared this woman and was going to punch her, she disappeared. Mars thought ‘did she bend space?’\n\nThe next bolt was going to pierce Mars’ back when a flash of silver arrived and shield him with its body. “Mars how can you be so reckless? How can the god of war die to the first enemy?” Said Mercury \n\n“Who said I was dying? Things are just getting started!” Said Mars as he ripped and crushed the bolt of ice from his chest. But before either of them could make a move, 8 more women all with bolts of ice around them drifted out of the darkness. Just as they prepared to released their attacks, a rumbling began as something so large that it could only be call giant came crashing into all 9 ice women, smashing them out of existence.\n\n“It’s Jupiter!” Said moon waving the the unimaginably large armored woman.\n\nBefore anyone could rejoice the darkness vibrated once more, as more beings arrived all with their own forms and deadly attacks. It was then everything devolved into chaos. \n\nSun had to maintain the field of gravity or else they would all die. Jupiter was taking attacks and smashing the smaller planets until another giant locked with her. Mars was being targeted and constantly under attack by ice planetgods. Saturns’ rings spun around him in incredible fashion as he wielded them to cut down anyone who stood against him. Neptune wielded his trident against the hordes and while constantly bleeding, he only seemed to get more fierce and powerful the larger the sea of enemies he was surrounded by. Uranus had a strange gravity to him and most attacks not only would not hit him, but would be directed by him in deadly attack of his own. Moon did her best to guide her allies, she did not fight.\n\nIn this moment of crisis surrounded by enemies on all sides, the symphony that could only belong to the underworld began to resound as a ghostly darkness began to stream in a line across the battlefield reaping the lives of lesser and mighty gods alike. \n\nMoon yelled in a cheer “It’s Pluto!” But almost as if in her response to her cheer, the void trembled....and an endless amount of planet gods appeared from the dark horizon of the void.\n\nIt wasn’t until now that Earth finally acted. Surrounded by so many enemies he released his greatest weapons.\n\nOn Earth the humans felt a push for galactic travel which had been the focus for many millennia although no one really knew why. It was at this time that many rifts in space appeared around the earth and the people felt an intense need to go into these places. So they got in their spaceships and set off on journeys that would take light years and generations to complete. \n\nThis was a tragedy of the heavens. Unexpectedly Earth’s children’s were able to infect a great number of enemy planets. Most of the infected amongst the first wave retreated to purge but were horrified to find even purging was largely ineffective. Some which were infected enough turned sides. \n\nA war of the celestials had begun" ]	2
	[WP] All your contacts have uploaded statuses saying RIP with your picture in it. You think it's just a big prank until you hear a knock on the front 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/js5XDFB)\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 tried something, and English is not my native language. If this is bad, be it from a narrative point of view, grammar, vocabulary or rhythm, feel free to tell me how to improve \\^\\^, what felt wrong about it. And if you liked it, feel free to tell me what you liked)\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe day began as usual. Getting up, going to see the mails and browse mindlessly some social media while waiting for the coffee machine to be ready. Quite a normal day, until I saw the first one. A post from one of my best friends where I could see myself right in the eyes, with some form of quick Eulogy. He was telling the world he would miss me, that I left too soon.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI do not know why I didn't answer immediately. I thought he wanted to play a prank on our acquaintances, a stupid little insensitive joke until I debunked it. He knew I would usually be awake by the time he posted this and he might have expected me to quickly correct him. I went to grab a cup of coffee before dealing with the situation.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI came back to more pictures of me. Most of my friends posted something, almost all my neighbors and even a few family members. Those who didn't post were asking what happened, and most answers seemed to link the cause of my \"death\" to an anaphylactic shock. I allegedly ate a midnight snack containing peanuts...\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI'm not even allergic to peanuts...\n\n&#x200B;\n\nSo, as I started writing an answer to the very first post I saw, I heard a knock on my front door. Well, multiples, really. I thought perhaps a friend wanted to see if I was answering the door, to check if I was really dead or not. I got up, and went to open the door. On the other side stood a rather small blonde woman with an apologetic look on her face, wearing a bright red dress and with her hands behind her back. I might have seen her before in the neighborhood, but I didn't really know her. Before I could even greet her, she started talking.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"I am quite sorry for the inconvenience,\" she said in a somewhat hurried pace,\" I am a little bit late. I meant to come yesterday in the evening and just couldn't find the time before now.\"\n\n\"No wo... wait, I didn't expect you at all. What do you mean by being late ? \"\n\n\"Yeah, I figured this would be akward\", she said as she pulled a small gun with a silencer from behind her back, \"but I believe the situation is salvageable\".\n\nShe shot me once, right through the throat, then once again in the belly. I fell backwards on the floor as she entered my home, closing the door behind her. I couldn't speak, certainly couldn't scream and was bleeding out on the ground. The last thing I saw, and heard, before definitively blacking out was her calling someone on her phone and saying.\n\n\"Hey, I have a problem. I just got here and had to shoot him. Thing is, the clients already started their posts with the version we gave them. What should I do ? \"" ]	2
	[WP] "The Humans have a fleet." "So what? They've had fleets in one form or another for thousands of years, it wont do them any good until they figure out portals." "No. They've done the impossible. A space fleet."	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 white hot arc of plasma carved through the air somewhere above the North Atlantic. The anomaly had materialized from a single point, and spread a kilometer in a matter of moments. Like those that came before it, the lines spread and connected into a warping electrical net that made the hair on the back of your neck stand up, and observers likened it to the maw of hell itself.\nLike a mouth, this opening proceeded to vomit out a number of strange, black metallic craft, before closing shut as suddenly as it appeared. Over half of the craft unceremoniously slammed into the water, sinking slightly before bobbing back up to the surface. The rest of the craft began to hover over their aquatic companions, only the distortion of the air around parts of the wings giving away their quiet, concealed jet engines. \nAs the sea and air craft began to take formation and move, the sky erupted. A deafening high pitched whine, followed by a dozen more, dropped towards the ocean. The air turned to fire, and the water boiled as the orbital bombardment left nothing but churning bubbles, and debris.\n\n------------\n\nA pair of slender pale figures huddled over consoles, staring intently at the screens before them. Large vertical black ovals for eyes, they vibrated slightly as they took in the information being fed to the computer.\n\"Instantly!\" It said as it leaned back away from the screen with exasperation.\n\n\"I assume another fleet destroyed.\" Said the second. \"We have larger issues\" It tapped the screen before it.\n\n\"What could be worse? Their species is locked in the quarantine zone, and has been since we stole their portal technology in The Grand Betrayal For Peace! You're just supposed to watch their fleet movements, so we can find an opening to send one of our exo-atmospheric ship through.\" He leaned back towards his console, muttering something about how it would be nice if portals could work in a vacuum.\n\nThe second one slammed his fine digits into the screen before him. \"I am watching their fleet movements! I'm saying our bigger problem is they have one HERE!\" He waved towards the screen.\n\n\"Did they they reverse engineer the portal technology? I thought they couldn't do that without the Wayfaring Device, and that's here!\"\n\n\"No. They've done the impossible. They're here. With a space fleet.\" He slowly shook his head in disbelief. \"We're going to pay for what we did to them all those years ago...\"\n\n------------\n\nGeneral Patterson grinned at the green blue brown planet on the view screen before him. He'd almost lost hope, fighting an enemy he had no way to counter attack. When the eggheads in Cheyenne Mountain said they couldn't reverse engineer the alien portal tech, Patterson thought the war all but lost. \nThen the breakthrough. Turns out this half of the portal tech was the missing piece we needed to figure out the warp drives that had been sitting marked as \"theoretical\" down in R&D for years.\n\n\"Sir, their comms are going insane!\" A clean cut young man in his early 20s reported from his station.\n\n\"Record it all, send to the boys in translation. We've got work to do.\" General Patterson said as he grit his teeth.\nTwenty five million lives this war cost humanity, but no more. Until today this was an enemy that would not communicate, and we could not strike.\n\n\nGeneral Patterson smirked as he watched a legion of 100 megaton bombs arc through the atmosphere towards hundreds of targets on the planet below.", "\"Oh, a system mining fleet.\" Lorg nodded and then read the next report on the life samplings from outer-system bodies in sector ZX-662. There was some interesting bacterial formations that fed on ammonium. \n\n\"No.... they've had those for a couple decades now.\" Wynlo crawled over to Lorg on his second host form, the one with sixteen pairs of legs. \"This is something else.\"\n\nLorg turned and decided that this was slightly more interesting than the ammonium-hungry bacteria. He pushed the controls on his hover-platform so he moved over to the terminals on Wynlo's side of the lab and examined the portal probe readings.\n\nAfter several minutes of intense examination and careful checking of the auto-generated reports, Lorg decided to speak once more.\n\n\"This must be wrong.\"\n\nWynlo clattered his back legs in a negative way. \"It is not, I generated a larger, six-glelnock portal and took the new readings myself. \n\n\"They don't have the population for this kind of manufacturing.\" Lorg stated, \"They only have two worlds with a combined active workforce of ten billion, whose vast majority has to work for the self-fueling and combating their society-created environmental problems.\" \n\nLorg pointed at the screen, where a swarm of hundreds of thousands of metal ships were flying through the dark between stars. \"This... cannot be human.\"\n\n\"It has human energy signature and broadcast.\" Wynlo pulled a second screen out of the console. It was soft and wet from being newly generated, \"Their encryption codes are very unique.\"\n\nLorg once again went silent as he absorbed every piece of information before him. \n\nHe hated several things at that moment; the foremost being that Wynlo had been right.\n\n\"Authorize a sample portal.\" \n\nWynlow straightened his carapace at this. \"Are you sure? Exo-biological containment procedures clearly state that-\"\n\n\"I'll take responsibility.\" Lorg answered, \"Just do it.\"\n\n\"By your command!\" Wynlow pulled another panel from his console and the biomass screamed a little before forming into a specialized control board. His host body began the process of direct portal manipulation.\n\nSix glelnocks later, they were standing in a subsection cargo area of their station. It was prodigiously empty, but it wouldn't be for much longer. \n\nLorg kept an eye on his implanted timer and waited till it ticked over. the countdown ended and the air in the cargo bay was suddenly rushing toward a massive, gaping hole in the center of it. Then a strange, metal contraption flew through the hole and slammed into the wall. The portal closed and the two researchers hustled over to the slightly-mangled object.\n\n\"I told you to match it's acceleration!\" Lorg barred his second set of teeth at Wynlo. \n\n\"I did!\" Wynlo answered. \"They must have been accelerated during the time we were down here. \n\n\"That's very unlikely! The objects were well out of any area where they could replenish propulsion materials!\" \n\n\"Then it is a mystery to solve!\" Wynlo bounced his host body up off the floor. \"I enjoy mysteries.\"\n\nLorg grunted, but nevertheless followed Wynlo as he climbed over the metal object. It was large, and covered with some sort of carbon composite that had been very effective at deflecting micro-meteors. It was pitted and worn, but the material seemed very thick and still in good shape. Lorg's earlier doubts about this being a human ship were quickly put to rest as the human writing appeared on panels under the armor shell. \n\n\"I have found entry!\" Wynlo exulted from the other side of the ship.\n\nLorg moved himself around on his hover platform and found that Wynlo was using three of his arms to pry open a square-shaped panel marked with a great amount of human writing in several pigments. \n\nThe metal creaked for a moment, then gave way under the immense strength of Wynlo's host body. \n\nLorg braced himself for the atmosphere leakage that had to come from the containment. Humans enjoyed oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon-something. Lorg could never remember the last one. It didn't really matter, all of them would keep the filters busy for days. \n\nNo atmosphere escaped. \n\nLorg moved his platform closer and peered inside. The interior was full of something metal... something that ran very, very hot. The heat it produced was quite intense now that there were particles for it to radiate through. \n\n\"Oh.... oh!\" Wynlo grabbed Lorg with six arms and dragged him back, away from the hot, metal thing. \n\n\"Remove your claws! What is this?\" \n\n\"Electron pressure!\" Wynlo hissed. \"Great, great amounts of electron pressure!\"\n\nLorg stopped fighting the claws and started outpacing them. They reached the far side of the hangar before they stopped moving.\n\n\"How much?\"\n\n\"Too much to measure with current equipment.\"\n\n\"How? Why?\"\n\nWynlo clicked his arms together to signal his own ignorance.\n\n\"Is it a weapon?\"\n\n\"I believe a weapon would have armed and fired itself if it detected our intrusion.\"\n\n\"Perhaps it is a form of propulsion?\"\n\n\"Accelerated electrons?\" Wynlo pondered the notion, \"No readings like it were detected from the portal observations. Also, that would still require fuel.\"\n\n\"Then why?\"\n\n\"It was incredibly complex.\" Wynlo noted. \"Look, I took readings.\"\n\nHe held up a damp read-panel and adjusted it for Lorg to see. It formed a simulacrum of the architecture out of it's surface. \n\n\"It seems the details reach down to the level beneath optical sight.\" Wynlo clattered his legs in agitation. \"All full of pathways full of electrons being pressed from one atom to another.\"\n\nLorg studied the design, then the object, then Wynlo. He was about to order the whole thing sent back, when he heard the sound.\n\nThey both turned to find the ship had moved. It had pushed itself away from the wall, reattached the panel that had been removed, and was slowly circling toward them. The front of the ship was covered in glass-like orbs. They turned toward Lorg and Wynlo. They were watching them. \n\n\"There was no life inside!\" Lorg screamed. \"It can't do this!\"\n\n\"Can electron pressure be living?\" Wynlo stilled at the idea. \"I...It cannot be, can it?\"\n\nA probe struck out from the ship and impacted that floor of the hanger. Then a second, then a third and fourth and fifth. The object stilled itself, its glass eyes focusing on everything around it, but mostly on Lorg and Wynlow.\n\nThen the vibrations came. It flowed from the probes into the hanger. The research panel in Wynlo's hand picked up on them and deciphered the meaning. It morphed it's skin until it resembled the translation.\n\nGREETINGS. WE COME PEACEFUL. WE SEARCH NEW. WE BUILD [UNKNOWN] CONTROLLED BY [UNKNOWN] SYSTEMS TO EXTEND AND ESTABLISH THE RELATIONSHIP. PLEASE HAVE NOT WORRY OVER OUR BEING HARMFUL.\n\nThis was entirely too late for both Lorg and Wynlo.\n\nBoth were in great 'worry over it being harmful.'" ]	3
	[WP] A being from a society of immortals attempts to explain mortality to their colleagues.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "Ended up taking it in a slightly different direction...\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\\\\\\n\n&#x200B;\n\nJohn Whitelaar sat hunched over the keyboard, typing away on another technical document. His third today. Only two more to go and he could call it a night, or more likely morning, but that certain promotion shone brightly in his dreams. In the distance, he could hear the high-pitched whir of the vacuum cleaner edging closer as the floor of the cubicle maze got cleaned, one tile at a time. John let the noise wash over him then fixed his mind on the next paragraph.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“Working late again?” a voice said behind him.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nJohn whirled around on his chair. Gary, the thirty-something janitor stood behind him with a soft smile. “Gotta work hard these days, if you want to make bank.”\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“I see,” Gary said. “Why do you need so much money?”\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“I don’t have time right now,” John said, reached out for his coffee cup, saw that it was empty, and let out a sigh. “Join to the coffee machine? Need another drop of midnight oil.”\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“You see,” John started while the coffee was dripping slowly from the filter and down into the waiting cup, “the immortality procedure costs way more than I can afford, so I need to work hard. Simple as that. And the immortal owners of this company they sure know how to squeeze young hopefuls such as me. They don’t exactly pay much, as I’m sure you* can attest.”\n\n&#x200B;\n\nGary leaned on the shaft of the vacuum cleaner and nodded. “So you want to become immortal? Why?”\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“Why? Isn’t it obvious? All the time in the world. I can just relax on a beach while I become rich from compound interest then reap the rewards. Parties, women, men, travels, yachts, anything, everything!”\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“Don’t you think you’ll be tired, eventually?” Gary fished up a cigarette from his pocket.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“Hey, those will kill you you know?” John pointed out with a pen before putting the pen in his mouth.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“I don’t--”\n\n&#x200B;\n\n“Anyway,” John continued, “I’m not going to grow tired of it! There are endless things to do. I will not end up like one of those rich idiots who just suddenly give away all their fortunes and start walking the land like some crazy monk. Not me, no. I will go to space. See Venus. I’m going to build a business empire that’ll solve something major, like that new disease spreading down south. And by the time I’ve done that, I’m sure there’ll be something new. Like interstellar travel, or a visit to the core of the Earth. Imagine that! My point is, with immortality, almost anything is possible. Wouldn't you like to not be stuck mopping floors and changing lightbulbs all day every day?”\n\n&#x200B;\n\nGary sucked deeply from the cigarette then tossed the rest into the sink. “No, I wouldn’t. I mean, it sounds great, but I think everyone grows tired of it, eventually. Even the monk walking the earth. And then what? Spending millennia being bored? Trust me, you--”\n\n&#x200B;\n\nJohn emptied the filter in the sink and took his cup. “You don’t understand, but I guess with your salary you would never get enough in time anyway.” He laid a hand on Gary’s shoulder. “It’s better not to think about it. I gotta work, see you around.”\n\n&#x200B;\n\nGary watched him storm off, spilling coffee on the way, then he cleaned the sink, the floor, smoked another cigarette, then sent a message to HR suggesting a decent Christmas bonus." ]	2
	[WP] The notes you have found throughout your house over the past two years have always been super helpful, so it never bothered you that they weren't in your handwriting. Lately however, they've been getting very...perplexing.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "ROSE: i'm back in town!! \n\nread: 3:26 pm\n\nROSE: can't wait to finally see you tonight! 6 right?\n\nread: 3:28 pm\n\nROSE: harry?\n\nread: 4:01pm\n\nROSE: hey... is everything alright?\n\nread:4:12pm\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"STAY HOME TODAY.\"\n\nThe man's breath hitched, burrowing itself deep in his throat. The bright pink Post-It hung at eye-level on the surface of his fridge, in between some novelty tourism magnets and a clipped-up utility bill. He feels his breath slowly escape from the gaps between his teeth. \n\nHe'd only once disobeyed a note; his first encounter with these disembodied commands. \n\n\"REMEMBER TO SAY 'I LOVE YOU',\" it read in a feminine handwriting he recognized as not his own, but possibly that of Laura, his then girlfriend. He pocketed the note, not able to contain his child-like excitement at this new development in his relationship. He stalked back to his bedroom where she lied, blissfully entranced in sleep. He leaned against the doorframe, tracing his fingers along the thin paper in the pocket of his work slacks. The man watched the rhythmic rising and falling of her chest until the clock displayed on her bedside table displayed \"7:03.\" \n\nHe carefully padded across the hall in search of his shoes, careful not to make much noise. He'd meet up with her on his lunch break that day, they'd laugh about her note and he'd tell her with the utmost sincerity that he did indeed, truly and deeply, love her.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nBut rather he did, truly and deeply, lose her that morning.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nEverything the notes said after that he did without hesitation.\n\n\"SELL YOUR CAR.\" Two months later that model was recalled for multiple occurrences of spontaneous combustion.\n\n\"SHAVE YOUR HEAD.\" How else would they have noticed the lump on the back of his skull?\n\n\"CALL YOUR MOTHER.\" Lung cancer.\n\n\"WALK TO WORK.\" Pile-up crash.\n\n\"STAY INSIDE.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nHe could not tell if the universe wanted to protect him or was out for his blood.\n\nSo he stayed inside. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nROSE: harry? \n\nread: 5:23pm\n\n&#x200B;\n\nBut here he stands, two years later, slamming his fists against the freezer door until his knuckles ran raw and trailed blood down to his cuff links. He hears a ping from his laptop.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nROSE: if you're having second thoughts I understand...but could you please at least let me know you're okay?\n\nread: 5:29 pm\n\n&#x200B;\n\nHarry slams his laptop closed, ignoring the crack that reverberated through his mostly empty living room. The man, growing enraged, stomps back into the kitchen and rips the note to shreds. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nHARRY: Sorry, sorry. No second thoughts. See you at 6.\n\nsent: 5:34pm\n\n&#x200B;\n\nHarry scurries around his apartment like a rat in a maze, hopping into his right loafer as he brushes his teeth for the third time since that morning. As his picks up the left, a splash of pink stops him in his tracks.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"IGNORE HER.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nA smile of pure release illuminates his harden figures as the note crumbles beneath his old shoes. As he carefully picks out a tie that looks good but does not say too desperate, the handwriting stares back at him from the surface of his mirror. \n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"SHE'S NOT WORTH IT.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nHarry tightens his tie sharply around his neck, determined not to show any source of hesitation in front of this silent tormentor. He exits the bedroom with a guttural growl.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nROSE: phew! you had me worried.\n\nread: 5:40pm\n\nHARRY: Sorry to stress. Can't wait for tonight.\n\nsent; 5:41pm\n\n&#x200B;\n\nHe makes last minute adjustments to his now graying hair. Satisfied, Harry moves on to open his laptop one final time. \n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"LISTEN TO ME.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe man slowly peels the note off the black surface of the screen. He stares until the screen illuminates, tearing him away from his doubts.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nROSE: leaving now :)\n\nread: 5:45\n\n&#x200B;\n\nHe shoves the note into his pocket and heads toward the door.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"STOP.\" On the armchair.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"TURN BACK.\" Hanging from the strings on the fan.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"WHEN HAVE I LIED TO YOU?\" Attached by the lock on his door.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nHe grunts. \"Sometimes living lies is better than not living at all.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAs he slams the door closed on his fate, he fails to notice the small piece of thin pick paper crumbling underneath his shoes.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"YOU LOVED ME, REMEMBER?\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\nthanks for reading! cc welcome :)", "I found another one today although I’m still unsure about where they are coming from. The last few notes have been increasingly strange although they have never steered me wrong before. It’s been hard to take care of my house all alone and the notes have been helping, letting me know of places where water damage or mold is starting and even when I’m getting low on milk. \n\nI’ve been keeping them since they started to change in tone. It started with a note that read:\n\n“you don’t need shoes anymore, throw them away” \n\nI found it strange considering the last few had been about remembering to pick up propane for my barbecue and to eat more vegetables. I wasn’t sure whether to follow the new note or not, but in the end I complied and threw all my shoes in the garbage. Then, then next day I was promptly met with one on my bedside table that read:\n\n“Make plum pudding and leave on kitchen windowsill”\n\nThat one had me scratching my head too, but I ended up buying the ingredients and finding a recipe. I put it on the windowsill and went about my business but when I came to my kitchen again, it was gone. I can’t think of what happened to it other than some lucky animal snagged it. \n\n“Sell antique sword collection”\n\nI love those swords, so it was a surprise when the notes told me to get rid of them. This one gave me a bad feeling in my gut but since the notes have been so helpful in the past, I decided to follow the instructions, but if they keep asking me to give up things I like, I might have to start ignoring them.\n\n“Tell family and friends you are going on camping trip for week”\n\nA camping trip does sound nice, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to get out into nature. Took me a few days to get the time off work but I managed to convince my boss. I let my parents know I wouldn’t be home for a week and then went about my business packing my bags. A couple more days passed until it was the night before the trip, I was really excited for my trip when I found the last note:\n\n“Urgent! Squirrels in attic, deal with now”\n\nMaybe it won’t take too long to deal with them? I thought. I grabbed some spray foam to plug any holes and made my way to the upstairs hallway, pausing at the ladder to listen for the sounds of squirrels. Sure enough there was a scratching noise. Slowly but surely I made my way up the ladder, attempting to make sure I didn’t startle the culprit so I could get a good look at what I was dealing with. At the top of the ladder I slowly lifted the hatch to the attic just enough so I could peek through, but something was blocking my view of the window across from the hatch. I fumbled for my phone and managed to get the light on. Chills ran down my spine when I realized the thing blocking my view, was a pair of my shoes... and they weren’t empty." ]	3
	[WP] You are rookie cop fresh out of the academy. Expecting to join your family in the police force, but you are assigned to an isolated and rundown warehouse. A person comes out of the door and ushers you in. You all types of clothes and accessories . Welcome to the Fashion Police rookie.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 always prided myself on my family. Nearly every member of the Johnsonson clan works in the police force. It‘s the first thing I mention when I meet someone new, because it’s important that they know: I’m above the rest. I’m an heir to justice incarnate! Johnsonson!\n\nI was genuinely shocked when I learned that to be a true police officer, I had to go to school. Imagine that- someone of Johnsonson blood such as myself is obviously born with all the police skills and knowledge. There was no need to go to some “police academy”, but, thank the policing gods, I made it out of that hellhole after twenty long, repeating years. At long last, I can work alongside my brothers and sisters in that wonderful in-season blue! When I was police chief, maybe I would change it’s shade to a nice, mustardy yellow.\n\nThe address I was given upon graduation was, according to google, for some old run down building south of downtown. I instructed my driver to wait for me without moving, because the building certainly didn’t look like a police station.\n\nAs I entered the building, I felt a chill run down my spine. My watch felt hot and heavy. “Watches are tacky,” I thought to myself as I slipped it off. The sharp clatter it made on the linoleum floor made me jump, and a sudden lurch of the room told me that I was rapidly descending underground.\n\nThere was no soul to greet me, which was surprising given my status. Instead, I saw a sign posted on a stylish bulletin board: “Welcome to the fashion police, rookie.”" ]	2
	[WP] In an attempt to share your prophetic dreams, you take up an instrument and sing your warning to the world. As your debut single shattered the charts you were certain your plan had worked... unfortunately, it seems the world is content to just mumble and hum along without learning the words.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 turned my stupid song into a meme. What's worse, I didn't even sing it! \n\nI was telling people that there were going to be demons who would be never relenting, they won't leave, and they will subcontract their terror to even stronger demons. \n\nI was warning humankind to not alienate themselves to love\nand to respect other people's boundaries\nAnd to be loyal to each other. \nAnd I'm the only one who's preaching this message.\n\nIn the new-rerelease of the song, I told them how strong I felt\nAnd how frustrated I was in trying to make them understand. \n\nBut no. They turned my song into a meme. A freaking meme! And what's worse, I didn't even sing the song. I wrote the song, but some fresh faced redheaded kid who sounded like a big black American guy was singing the song instead. \n\nPeople kept on hearing \"Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, I won't be the one to hurt you\" like it was some kind of joke song. Dude, the demons are going to send other people to attack you, and they won't stop relenting. But hey, have your joke song." ]	2
	[WP] "Cinnamon, chocolate chips, flour, sugar, eggs... This doesn't sound like black magic to me. More like baking" - "Shut up you fool. We aren't here to summon just any ordinary demon from the pits of hell. We are here to summon my grandma. Now draw the damn pentagram already."	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 boss, why are we doing this again?”\n\n“We’re summoning my grandma. What do you think?”\n\n“Miss her cooking? Your gramps is sad and wants to see her?”\n\n“No and no. Besides my gramps is an asshole.”\n\n“So why-”\n\n“Shut up and just do it.”\n\nOne summonig session later\n\n“It’s working, it’s working!”\n\n“...What? Where am I? Jason?”\n\n“Hi grandma.”\n\n“Well, hello! What brings me here?”\n\n“To be honest, I...kinda missed you.”\n\n“Aw Jason...what do you wanna do then?”\n\n“What ever you want gran.”\n\nJason and his grandma walks out, chatting.\n\n“I hope Diane’s still alive, this’ll spook her!”\n\nDoor closes\n\n“...So, what now?”\n\n“I don’t know...wanna grab some food?”\n\n“Sure why not.”", "A bead of perspiration slipped down my forehead as I watched Jake chanting some unintelligible words. The stuffiness of the room was getting unbearable, and I hoped this would be over soon.\n\nOut of nowhere, the middle of the pentagram erupted in flames. Jake screamed and hopped backwards.\n\n\"It's working!\" he yelled, clapping his hands in excitement. \n\n\"What?...\" I was too stunned to answer him.\n\nHis chanting crescendoed as he picked up the pace. The words, now that he was talking louder, I could discern as general baking terms strung together. \n\nSlowly, the flames in the middle started to diminish. A massive black shadow appeared on the wall behind me, and I dared not turn around to face...\n\n\"What is it you seek?\" boomed a voice. \n\nI squeaked out of fear, but even then, my curiosity got the better of me and I just had to turn around.\n\nA little old lady stood there, armed with a rolling pin in one hand and a whisk in the other. Various spatulas and cooking utensils protruded from her apron pocket. The apron itself was covered in a myraid of food stains. \n\n\"What is it you seek, Jacob Schmidt?\" she boomed again. \"Don't waste my time!\"\n\nJake goggled at his now-resurrected grandma for a few seconds.\n\n\"I, er...need your help...\" His voice trailed off and ended in a squeak very similar to mine.\n\n\"What is it, boy?\"\n\n\"Well, it's just that...I was actually...you see, I...\" He seemed to be having some trouble getting the actual word out. I didn't blame him, for the stories he had told me of the chaos that ensued from him using that word in front of her were all true, and if those stories were true, I really didn't want to be around her when it happened. I started to desperately wish myself out of existence, but it didn't work.\n\n\"Well...I was... ^hungry...\"\n\nFlames shot up in every direction, and I ran for cover.\n\n\"HUNGRY?!\" she roared. \"Which one of your foolish parents dared leave you HUNGRY? That no-good son of mine...\"\n\n\"Grandma, it's okay,\" he tried to placate her. \"I was just hungry and I needed to cook something, but I couldn't decipher this handwriting on your old recipe. I just wanted to ask you what it was.\"\n\nThe old lady snorted. \"That says 'basil'. Here, let me take a look at what you've done so far.\" \n\nShe surveyed the kitchen, which we had absolutely decimated in our attempts to recreate her very own homemade pasta sauce recipe. Then she eyed the pot of sauce. \n\n\"Hm. Not very good I must say. I'm disappointed, Jake.\"\n\n\"Well, that's why you're here,\" he ventured. \"So you can help.\"\n\nShe snapped her fingers and the pot of sauce disappeared. So did the mess. In fact, now the kitchen looked like no one had even touched it. \n\n\"Let's start from the very beginning. Get me the diced tomatoes and some garlic...\"", "\"Your grandmother is in hell?\"\n\n\"No, she's in heaven and that's why we're using a pentagram instead of praying. Now hurry up!\"\n\n\"Where are the candles?\"\n\n\"By the Dark Ones, must I do everything myself? Check the cabinets.\"\n\n\"These are full of muffin pans.\"\n\n\"The other cabinets, dolt!\"\n\n\"Okay, got them.\"\n\n\"Get them lit as I start the ritual.\"\n\n\"Why are you summoning your Grams?\"\n\n\"Quit breaking my concentration! And it's 'Grandma', idiot.\"\n\n\"Okay, 'Grandma'. Why're you summoning her?\"\n\n\"Why does anyone summon anything? Power!\"\n\n\"Your Grandma's powerful?\"\n\n\"Hell, yes. With her demonic aid, I shall win that bake-off!\"" ]	4
	[WP] When you arrive on the first day of your new job at the local orphanage; the owner of the orphanage makes it clear that the orphans here are not exactly "normal" children.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 orphans here, they’ve been through a lot and all have good hearts. But they are not exactly normal children.”\n\nJoseph looked up at Director Thompson and met his gaze. He’d met men like him in his travels. Joseph found that most people involved in the care of orphans had good intentions. They did good by the children and were overall decent people. But there were others that seemed to despise children. That used them for their personal gain. Director Thompson’s clothing was far from tattered and he even sported a watch that did more than tell time. All while the orphanage had a broken front door, children in torn clothing, and food that was barely edible.\n\n“All Children are a gift,” said Joseph. He smiled in the way he’d smiled at other men like Director Thompson. He’d just arrived but was already counting the days ‘till his departure.\n\n“The Directors at previous orphanages all say you are a wonder with children. It seems like you are making a career out of this. It’s not an easy line of work,” said Director Thompson, rubbing his fingers together.\n\n“Well, I’m in a position where money isn’t an issue for me. My calling is to serve these children.”\n\n“I see. Well, come. The children are having lunch now. Let’s go meet them in the dining hall.”\n\nIt was a small orphanage. A single building. During the walk, Joseph took mental notes on things that he’d give time to tomorrow. Halls needed sweeping, lightbulbs needed replacing, and windows that needed washing. \n\nOnce in the dining hall, the room grew silent. Joseph assumed visitors were rare. He counted twenty orphans.\n\n“Children. This is Joseph. He is originally from London but has travelled to orphanages around the world. He will assist with your care and, I’m sure, has many stories to share about his travels.”\n\nJoseph smiled at the children. “Thank you to Director Thompson for allowing me to serve here. If there is anything I can assist with, please do let me know.”\n\nAll the children seemed to smile. Or, rather, their lips peeled back and all showed their teeth. And they all had bloody gums. He looked over at Director Thompson and found him smiling, as if not noticing the sight.\n\n“Well, there are some supplies that I’d like to gather before nightfall. I shall return in a few hours.”\n\nWhile in the town, Joseph asked about the orphanage. Some people said there were strange lights that came from the orphanage at night. Some said there were strange sounds. And most said that some people in the town were insane and just wanted a good story. By the time Joseph began to head back, the sun had set. He walked along the dirt road towards the orphanage. He could see the lanterns at the entrance, but that was the only light. The candles within were already put out. It was, after all, the children’s bed time.\n\nAs he approached, he noticed movement in the windows. Surely, the orphans were still awake. There’s always excitement when a visitor arrives. He looked at the windows and noticed other lights begin to flicker. Twenty pairs. Their eyes were lit blue, and bright, like sapphires.", "I pulled up to the depressing looking building with high spirits. This was my first decent paying job, and I couldn't be happier. I stepped put of my old beat up looking car with a stupid grin on my face. The orphanage owner was a sweet middle aged woman, who always wore floral print dresses and black flats.\n\nI opened the door and walked up the stairs. I was greeted by the smiling face of Mrs. Adams. She was the kindest woman I knew of.\n\n\"Dear.\" She began in a serious tone. I cocked my head to the side in a questioning manner.\n\n\"I must warn you, there aren't 'normal' children\" Only more confused, I pushed open the door to the common room. I was met with small children running around and playing, while the older ones talked amongst themselves. My face immediately dropped.\n\nDid I just see that child teleport?!", "When I received a letter a fortnight ago -- a letter that would, with an almost sentient force, trigger my descent into the weird and eldritch darkness most of us believe to be merely a temporary preoccupation born of childhood imagination -- I slit open its heavy envelope with an uncanny sense of foreboding. The envelop was thick, heavy, and yellowed, and the water-stain splotch across its face had clearly been there for some time before the writer scrawled my information across it and sent it to the post. There was no return address, simply my name and address.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nDoctor Jonas Abraham\n\n1340 Powderhouse Avenue\n\nBoston, MA 02215\n\n&#x200B;\n\nTheories and postulations about why the writer had chosen such an odd envelope were fleeting, however, for my thoughts were soon entirely focused on the letter itself. I dragged the oil lamp toward me from the corner of my desk and, peering through my reading glasses, made out a thin, scrawling hand. Despite the angular style of the letters and the way they tapered and compressed toward the right side of the page -- a symptom often exhibited by writers who realize they have more to say than originally intended -- I immediately took the hand to be that of an older woman. The letter read as follows:\n\n&#x200B;\n\nDear Doctor Abraham:\n\nIt is with some reluctance that I write you, for I know you to be a most busy man, what with your patient body and esteemed research, but I can assure you this correspondence is not without merit. My name is Alexia Cornwell, Director of the New Hampshire Children's Aid Society.\n\nAs you may already know, CAS is currently the nation's leading children's aid organization, specializing in the boarding, education, and rehabilitation of orphaned children (most particularly those who, through their behavior and actions, have displayed nigh ineffable proof of severe mental troubles and disorders). The New Hampshire facility is currently well past capacity, so much so, in fact, that increasing our tenancy even a hair more risks not just a dangerous environment for those already in need of peace, quiet, and introspection, but also the creation of a perfect incubator for disease and violence. As such, we find ourselves in great need of a way to increase our graduation rate. What disturbs me so (and what has incited me to write you in desperation) is the simple fact that we simply cannot in good conscience release most of our children back into society. For one, most are nowhere near an appropriate age for independent living. Secondly, and this is perhaps the more concerning element, there is only a small handful of children that we might release without an unshakable conviction that doing so would endanger the surrounding neighborhoods.\n\nYour eminence in the field of childhood psychology is nothing short of legendary, even across state lines. Were there any avenue I could take that did not involve such an onerous request on an outside individual, I would certainly take it, but as I am sure you can appreciate, my hands are effectively tied by CAS' current predicament. If you make the journey to our facility, I can ensure you receive appropriate accommodations off site, as well as acceptable compensation and whatever in-house resources you need for your work. If we do not increase the efficiency of our diagnoses and rehabilitative measures, I fear we will find ourselves in a situation the likes of which this state has never seen.\n\nI have taken the liberty of ordering you a carriage for the 15th of June, 1846. The driver, Harold Smith, is a trusted and dear friend of mine, and he has instructions to make your journey as smooth and brief as possible. Again, I am aware of the gravity of this request, and I deeply appreciate your cooperation and willingness to place a hiatus on your current work for the betterment of our youth.\n\nYour most humble servant,\n\nAlexia Cornwell, New Hampshire Children's Aid Society, Director\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI had but two days to rage and fume at Director Cornwell's preposterous, astronomical level of presumptuous before the day on which Mr. Smith was slated to arrive outside my home. \"What am I to do for my patients?\" I bellowed at my poor wife the next morning. \"Direct them to Dr. Manns for an undefined period of time? Ask him to read through a veritable mountain of records and entrust him with the well being of 23 children he's never met? It's absurd, Melinda, absurd! And that's not to mention my own research, which this Cornwell seems to think will fold up neatly in a little square and await my return!\"\n\nAnd yet, in time, both my own damnable conscience and a (bewildering) haranguing by my wife convinced me that making the journey to New Hampshire was nothing short of a moral obligation. So it was that I finally packed a mid-sized trunk with my most essential personal effects, as well as all the tools -- paper, books, writing implements, and medical supplies -- that I would need for treating a trove of mysterious, troubled orphans.\n\nAll of that fades into the background of my subconscious as Mr. Smith flicks the reigns. The carriage lurches away down the alley, wooden wheels thunking against the cobblestones, and when the last, fading snorts of the horses are replaced with silence, there's nothing for it but to examine my surroundings. The Children's Aid Society is in the little-known town of Piedmont, New Hampshire, which I soon determine to be quite justifiably anonymous.\n\nThe buildings lean dangerously inwards to such an extreme that some streets are cast in shadow by third-story eves whose gutters nearly kiss. The cobblestones are damp, mossy, and upthrust from below by the punishment of dozens of winters. There's a rank smell permeating the air, one of mold and damp that's a perversion of the normally refreshing petrichor that often settles in my home city's streets after a rainstorm. And the orphanage itself, well, suffice it to say that I would much rather have a pint or two in my belly before crossing that dark threshold.\n\nThere's a pale moon of a face in the second-story window. It belongs to a child, and I quickly realize he's peering at me through the glass, forehead pressed tightly against the lowermost mullion. He's smiling a grotesque smile, a hungry smile, and his slowly waving hand belies the glint in his eyes that can only be described as murderous. I make a mental note to find Director Cornwell as quickly as possible after entering the facility, and the first demand I plan on making is to put that smiling child at the very bottom of my newly acquired patient list.\n\nI inhale deeply and step toward the door, reaching my hand out for the green copper knocker sunk into its surface, but there's a sudden creak, and the door opens into darkness before my arm is even fully outstretched.", "It was simple: Polly could create portals. Justin could jump like a frog, really high and really far. Amy always hit a target, whether she was throwing a paper airplane or shooting a plastic gun, she never missed. Yet, somehow, Cameron could never remember the abilities that went with each child, only their names, so when they snuck up behind him to drop him in a portal, bounce him high enough to scare even a skydiver, then toss him at a cushioned target from hundreds of feet away, Cameron was constantly blaming himself. \n\nThere were more children, and thus more shenanigans like that that went on around this orphanage, but Polly, Justin, and Amy made quite the triple threat when it came to making Cameron into a personal meat-puppet. Madam Hess assured him that it was simply affection the trio was showing him, but as another wave of nausea rolled through his stomach, he wasn't so sure. The lump on his head had only gotten larger since the last time he'd been thrown through a portal, and no matter how many ice-packs he used, it never seemed to go down, as if it knew that there was no point. \n\n\"Madam,\" Cameron said, adjusting his hold on the ice-pack pressed against his head, \"I... I don't think this job is going to work out.\"\n\n\"What?\" She gasped, though the remark didn't stop her from pouring two cups of tea, mixing in a few sugar cubes, and handing one of them over to Cameron. \"What's wrong?\"\n\nHe motioned towards his head. \"Permanent brain damage, for one. Look, I know I practically begged for this job, but I can't keep doing this if I'm going to wind up dead.\"\n\n\"We're all going to die eventually, sweetie.\" She smirked and sipped on her tea. \"It's just a matter of how and why.\"\n\nCameron took a small sip of the tea, relishing the way it warmed him to his core. He'd used so many ice-packs in the past month, he almost forgot what it was like to feel warmth. \n\n\"That's... philosophic.\" He muttered. \"But I'm not sure I want my fate to be in the hands of a bunch of ten-year-olds.\"\n\nShe rolled her eyes. \"They're twelve, and your death doesn't occur here. Fay assured me of it.\"\n\nHe took another slow sip of the tea to calm himself. He didn't want to blow up in front of Madam Hess, but she seemed to be avoiding the issue entirely. Her kids were completely undisciplined, and no matter how many times she sent them to bed early, or took away their toys, Cameron was still being thrown around like a doll. Madam Hess didn't have to deal with any of the trouble herself, the kids never did anything to her, but as soon as Cameron arrived, it seemed like they'd unleashed their full potential. \n\n\"I don't think you understand-\"\n\n\"I understand you're trying to quit.\" Madam Hess cut in, a smug expression written across her face. \"But I'm afraid I won't allow it.\"\n\n\"Won't allow it?\" Cameron scoffed. \"That's not your decision to make. I'm through working here.\"\n\nCameron rose from his seat and headed for the door, but Madam's voice caught him before he reached the handle. \n\n\"And where will you go?\" She asked. \"Back to a family that doesn't want you? To friends that don't trust you? Seems to me you have more here than there.\"\n\nHe swiveled around, a furious flame burning in his gut. \"How do you know that?\"\n\nShe shrugged innocently. \"I like to know all the dark secrets of my employees. It helps me decide who to trust.\"\n\n\"My personal life is none of your business.\" Cameron snapped. \"And you knowing it doesn't change anything.\"\n\n\"Actually, it does.\" She said vaguely. \n\nCameron narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but she said nothing. She merely waved her hand towards the chair, which spun to face Cameron, beckoning him to sit down again. As angry as he was at her, he couldn't deny the provocative way she framed her knowledge, and he found that his anger slowly dissipated as he slid into the seat. \n\nWith a small smile, she snapped her fingers, and in her hands appeared a thin manila folder with Cameron's name hastily written on the front. He inwardly cringed at the sight. It had been all the information about himself that he'd submitted to Madam Hess when he applied for this job. It was supposed to include things like records of qualifications, past employment, and education, but Cameron had none of those. Well, he had some education, but he'd dropped out of high school as soon as he turned sixteen, and his efforts to find any employment after that had been ill-met. It had been a long, down-hill fall after that, until finally, finally, this job offer appeared on a flyer stapled to a telephone pole. \n\nHelper needed at Hess's Orphanage.\n\nAll that had been listed alongside it was an address, but there was no mention of any qualifications needed, so Cameron had requested an interview. It had been embarrassing when he'd told Madam Hess that he had no records of any kind, but somehow, he'd still gotten the job. And now, here he was, on the brink of dropping out of another opportunity. \n\n\"What am I holding?\" She asked quietly.\n\nCameron winced. \"My folder.\"\n\n\"That is correct. Now, according to this abysmal folder, you are very clearly not qualified in the slightest to work in this orphanage, let alone be around the children, yet here you are. Why is that?\"\n\nHe shrugged. \"Because I was the only one who applied?\"\n\n\"False.\" She replied coolly. \"It is because I placed that flyer in your path. With a little help from Fay, of course.\"\n\nCameron began to shake his head. \"I don't follow.\"\n\n\"When I looked into your past, I saw everything. A deadbeat-father, a burnt-out mother, and a sister too young to join you on the streets. I felt the pain, the misery, yet with each hit life dealt, you always got back up in your own way. That was when I knew.\"\n\n\"Knew what?\"\n\nShe smiled a gentle, loving, motherly smile, one that he himself hadn't seen in years. \n\n\"You'll always do your best, despite the challenges, and though you won't admit it, you need this place just as much as I do. I won't be here to look after these children, Cameron, and I'm afraid my own 'how and why' is fast approaching. Fay has seen it, and I've seen it, but I'm no longer worried, because now I know that when I'm gone, you'll do your best to protect these children, no matter what.\"" ]	5
	[WP] "No your going to summon something completely different if you use that"...	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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! You're going to summon something completely different if you use that!\" Daliah grunted, batting the garlic from my hands. \"The recipe calls for allium sativum ophioscorodon. This is allium sativum sativum. God it's like you're a first year.\"\n\nI sighed. \"The market didn't _have_ hard-neck garlic. And besides, it's not like we're calling a _demon._ What's the worst that can happen?\"\n\nI knew the worst that could happen. It was drilled into all of us when we elected the trade of summoner. Summonig Safety 101 was filled with cautionary tales. Summoners who had accidentally called vicious creatures.\n\nWe weren't doing anything fancy. Duplicative summons are first-year stuff. All the dangerous permutations have already been found and cataloged in the guild library. \n\n\"Sure, it's simple.\" Daliah agreed. \"But we should at least check the permutations graph before we try it.\" She pulled her pad from her bag and placed it on the floor between us, swiping at the screen. She squinted and her eyebrows lifted, as puzzlement crept across her face.\n\n\"What?\"\n\n\"Nothing.\" She glanced up. \"And yes, I mean that literally. There's no entry for substituting soft-neck garlic.\" Her brow furrowed.\n\n\"Really?!\" A missing permutation for such a basic recipe is unheard of. Especially for such an obvious substitutive ingredient. \"Now we have to try it!\"\n\nDaliah's puzzled expression deepened into a scowl. \"That... That doesn't seem like a good idea.\" She mused. \"It's too obvious. It must be dangerous. Someone has to have tried it and they must have died.\"\n\nI smirked. \"Yea. Right. You're such a worry-wart.\"\n\n\"Well, I want no part of this.\" Daliah said, putting her pad back into her bag. \"Come on, let's go pick up allium sativum ophioscorodon. We could try a market farther down the line.\"\n\nI waved her away. \"Sure, go for it. I'll try it without you.\" My head filled with visions of the fame I would receive. Credit would rain upon me. Maybe this would finally grant me a license to summon commercially. \"Come on. You know they're not just going to give us a license for studying really hard and playing it safe. We have to advance the field.\"\n\nShe rose abruptly. \"No thanks. Count me out. Good luck. If I don't see you again, you deserved it.\" she teased.\n\nI split the cloves from the head and began to roll the garlic gently along the table top. Carefully, trying not to crush the cloves. The paper like rind fell off easily; and I prepared my other ingredients.\n\nA half an hour later, I was ready. The garlic that had prompted such consternation was not even a big part of this summon. I placed a small ruby in the center of the ingredients and began to focus on it. The magic came easily.\n\nThe ruby began to crack. Slowly. It grew, bifurcating the ruby cleanly. If Daliah could see me now! I smiled gleefully.\n\nBut instead of stopping at the edge of the ruby, the boundary of my focus, the crack continued. The tabletop began to split. \"That's not right...\" I muttered. \n\nI began the closing ritual. Normally I would continue the summoning and rebuild the split ruby into two identical rubies; but I am not a fool. I could hear my first year instructors voice \"If a summon goes oddly, act fast or lose part of your body!\" I had mocked the idiotic faux-rhyme when I heard it, but the lesson stuck, \n\nThe crack deepened, it was wider than any I had seen before. Extending beyond the table and the ruby and into what I initially thought was a void; but it filled as I stared. Neon colors pulsed and wove in the crack. I leaned forward without meaning too, my closing ritual forgotten. \n\nI was staring into a face. My face. Our faces. The colors surrounded us as our bodies dissolved. The quiet of the study room was filled with beautiful music, discordant but oddly harmonious.\n\nThe crack closed and we became me again. The music and vibrant colors swirled around me still; blurring the tabletop. The rubies that had been split in two were one again. \n\nMy hands shook uncontrollably from the adrenaline rushing through my veins.\n\nDaliah entered the study room, and I sighed a relief. \"Oh thank god you're back.\" I said. She didn't respond. \"Daliah?\" Nothing. Someone else entered behind her. I couldn't see who it was through the shimmering neon veils.\n\n\"See?\" I could hear her saying, through the music. \"Aren't you glad we got the right garlic? We're out what, thirty minutes? And we're safe.\" She smiled smugly. Her told-you-so expression almost physically discernible.\n\n\"What do you mean?\" I shouted. \"Daliah!\" But she wasn't looking at me. She was looking to the person who had entered behind her. The vibrant fog cleared. \n\nMy face stared back at me." ]	2
	[WP] The chaos consists of infinite everything and nothing, all that could and couldn't ever exist. It drives most mad or kills them, but with enough training (or luck) one could create anything from 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/js5XDFB)\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.", "When people talk of the realms of chaos, they often think of the outer planes, or the dreaming worlds. Few now recall that there is a place on the mortal realm where the raw chaos of the world’s creation still resides. In ancient times it encroached upon reality, threatening to consume all in its path, but now it lingers at the fringes of our world, forgotten.\n\nThe Aetherwyld. Raw, unbridled chaos. Most who stumble upon this remnant of our world’s birth are driven mad by its impossibilities, or are unable to maintain their physical form in the shapeless voids. A few, however, whether through training or luck, are able to grasp the potential of this place, to conjure forth substance. The chaos of the wylds is not an ending: it is a beginning, awaiting an artist to sculpt it into great works.\n\nIt is here that I have come, for I desire the impossible, and only here can I make the impossible take form. Here the emotions that rule men’s souls can be conjured forth: physical, tangible emotions. Here I can create metal as strong as steel yet as light and flexible as silk.\n\nMost importantly, here I can create life. My one true love was cruelly taken from me all those years ago. Here I can finally remake her, so that we can be reunited and live out our lives together, as it should have been." ]	2
	[WP] You wake up in a room lit only by two lanterns by two doors, one door has written “live forever” and the other “die now.” There doesn’t appear to be any other way out.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "Jack woke up with a pounding headache. What the hell had happened last night, he wondered, as he slowly sat up and tried to get his bearings. The last thing he remembered was the lights of the dollar store disco ball that one of the guests had brought, slowly turning around the room, with lines dividing the circles of light, corresponding to plastic seams in the ball’s cheap lenses. It was balls of a different variety that had brought him to the party in the first place. He was the backup point guard for his college’s team, and even though they were D3, Jack was a freshman, and he had hopes of starting and transferring to D1 by his senior year. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe upperclassmen had dragged him to the house they shared for party. He’d only had alcohol a handful of times before, and he’d never been drunk, but that night he decided he’d see what all the fuss was about. 1 and 2 were beer. 3, 4, and 5 were shots of various liquors. 6 and 7 existed, but their nature had been obliterated from memory. That was last night, though, Jack now had to focus on figuring out where the hell he was. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nHe looked around the room. It was mostly dark, but at either end of the room there were lanterns, the type that you’d bring camping with you and took three D batteries each. There appeared to be a window behind him, but thick curtains were covering any chance of figuring out what time of day it was. There were two doors, each with their own mixture of unique dents and scratches, and tarnished doorknobs that were once coated with some form of faux-gold. They each had pieces of notebook paper scotch-taped to them, with writing scrawled out in what looked like black sharpie. On one, “LIVE FOREVER”, on the other “DIE NOW”. Confused and desperately needing a glass of water, Jack reached towards the knob on the door marked “LIVE FOREVER”. He opened the door and stepped through the threshold. Suddenly, he felt a wave of cold and heard voices screaming. \n\n&#x200B;\n\n“Welcome to the team frosh!” One of the voices shouted, holding an empty water bottle over Jack’s head. “You were so blackout last night, we had to put you in bed here instead of taking you back to the dorms, you feeling okay?”, another asked. Jack looked around and saw his teammates, most of them wearing sweatpants, some with old t shirts. It was morning. He squinted at the light coming from the skylight above the hallway, feeling the full effects of his first hangover. “What’s with the notes and the lanterns?” Jack asked. “Bro what are you talking about?” One of the upperclassmen asked, his eyes showing confusion over the continuing, slightly slowing group laughter from covering him in cold water. Jack looked back into the bedroom where he had woken up. The lanterns and curtains were gone, and the notes that he had read so clearly before now said “Hallway” and “Bathroom” in the same handwritten sharpie." ]	2
	[WP] It's three in the morning. You're on your usual browse through the internet before you go to sleep. You sit up to plug your phone to charge and try to put the charger into the outlet. Like every night, you miss everytime.Suddenly, a hand grabs yours from under the bed."I'll help," a voice says.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 throw down my phone, run to the closet and squeeze into my hamper. The job search can wait. \n\n\"Hey, it's just me. I'm sorry I scared you!\" \nOh thank god. I awkwardly slide open my closet door to see Justine. \n\n\"There's a huge metaphor here...\" she giggles as she helps pull me out of my dirty laundry. \n\nI playfully flip her the bird and remind her to keep her voice down. I ask her what time it is. 2AM on a Sunday morning. I'm relieved. \n\nMy parents have recently given up on the weekly habit of checking to see that I'm ready to go to church.\n\nWe won't be disturbed.\n\nI walk to the point of entry and am about to close it. \n\"No, leave it open!\" Justine insists\n\"I like to hear the birds in the morning.\"\n\nWe laugh as we get into bed and and feel the cold air coming in through the open window.\n\n\"I've missed you.\"\n\"I've missed you too.\"", "\"Shit,\" I shouted, pulling my arm back my heart racing, \"why do you have to do that?\"\n\nThe wrinkled hand plugged the charger into the wall. My phone dinged, notifying me it was now charging.\n\n\"It's fun,\" the familiar, wispy voice said, giggling, from under the bed, \"why else?\"\n\n\"Well stop doing it.\" I laid back, my head sinking into the pillow.\n\n\"And if I don't?\"\n\n\"Then back to the cellar, with the rest of the Dark Ones.\" I said with my eyes closed. I grinned.\n\n\"You wouldn't do that again, would you?\"\n\n\"I would.\"\n\n\"Oh, you,\" the voice spat, \"just you wait. One day we'll figure out how you escaped the Abyss, then we'll get you and you'll be sorry.\"\n\n\"Uh huh,\" I nodded, \"all right. Well when that happens, let me know.\"\n\nAfter a few silent minutes, the voice said, \"Love you, dear.\"\n\n\"Love you too, grandma.\"", "\"I'll help\" the eerie voice mumbled from under the bed, its leathery hand gripping my own in a featherlight grip as if the slightest force would shatter my bones.\n\n\"W...who are you?\" Was about all I could jumble out of my voicebox, trying to tug my hand back, yet the other refused to let go, adamant to assist in this task, perhaps out of pity for the many failed attempts that came before or maybe because of some weird affection it had for me. \n\n\"I am who you need me to be, a helping hand, nothing more and nothing less.\" The voice replied, the leathery hand not feeling so rough anymore, in fact... it had even started to feel soft, lovingly guiding my hand towards the charging port before I heard a dooDOOT come from my phone as it finally connected and the hand slid away. \n\nStill it was hard to rest easy, I turned to my side, keeping my eyes on the darkness surrounding me, was I perhaps dreaming? No I felt that... and it had responded. After building my courage I finally decided to speak again. \"Should I be afraid of you?\"\n\n\nThe room stayed silent, I allowed myself to take a breath, perhaps it was a small hallucination? At least thats what I would have assumed if the raspy voice didn't return.\n\n\"Its not the monster under your bed that you should fear, its the ones that would come if there wasn't one here\" the voice responded before going silent.\n\nIt was an odd answer but there was something somewhat comforting about it, like we had come to a weird agreement, I closed my eyes falling to sleep with an odd peaceful feeling resting in my body." ]	4
	[WP] The Big Bad Wolf gradually becomes more and more insane as a seemingly infinite amount of little pigs keep building houses out of stronger and stronger construction materials.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 sat on the couch, in a seemingly never-ending state of anguish. The Big Bad Wolf just felt bad. He looked around his cave and remembered what had been. He was the assassin of the forest, eating whoever he wanted whenever he chose to. But those damn porkers had completely changed the status quo. His prey had tried many strategies throughout the years: running, hiding, and even fighting - if they were feeling foolish. The Wolf never entertained the thought that he had an Achilles heel. So, of course, he never imagined that said heel would be architecture. \n\nAfter the brick house incident, the pigs realized that the Wolf can be kept at bay. They began to build larger structures. Brick, granite, concrete, stone, steel, and more recently diamond. That last one was meant to mock him, the Wolf was certain of it. Since the pigs were safe from becoming dinner, they began to breed and overpopulate, which only led to even more fortresses. The damage this was causing was becoming more evident. The Wolf looked down at his shrinking body. He walked outside and saw a shrinking forest as well. The forest cheered when their murderous hunter had first faced defeat, but they were beginning to realize that hooves could be scarier than claws. \n\nAs he walked past tree stumps, dried river beds, and homeless squirrels, the once bad wolf thought of hunger. The squirrels felt true hunger. They were being deprived of basic resources. Then there was his own hunger. It had been one of conquest, the next hunt. It may have lacked a bit of morality, but it was a hunger for honor and accomplishment. And hey, wolves gotta eat too. The pigs, however, had a hunger that was pure gluttony. Once they were safe, they built more. They screwed more. They ate more. They built more. And so on. The squirrels starved so the pigs could dine in diamond castles. \n\nThe wolf walked up to the closest castle, and gave a huff and a puff. He hadn't had a meal in days and his blow registered as little more than a light breeze. He thought about himself and how the mighty fall, but then stopped himself. He looked up the wall of the castle, which seem to fill the sky, and he thought to himself, \"The mighty never actually fall, they just keep rising...at any cost.\" He turned and walked back to his cave. He scratched his chin and watched as some hair fell to the ground." ]	2
	[WP] The ship ablaze, you leap into the ocean. You are found washed upon the shore of a paradisal island by a benevolent tribe that nurses you back to health. After learning to communicate you find that they have no concept or awareness of evil, all except for the shaman.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "White beaches, a cooling sea breeze, the sun shining softly upon me, but I was no tourist. Especially not when my last memory was that of raging fires and rising waters, of leaping into frigid waters and clawing for a liferaft one entire cable away. I knew, then, that I was either in Heaven or Hell, not considering the third way of life. And I was inclined to believe this as Heaven, for I was not being tortured. \n\nMy jumpsuit carefully laid out on a driftwood rack, I surveyed the people around me while still dressed in my undergarments. They were at peace. Happily helping each other with their every task, celebrating achievement while weathering adversity together, this was the commune that governments aimed to be. This was the simplicity of succour, untainted by the evils of the world. Yet, I suspected and schemed. Human nature was in itself flawed, and I had foresworn myself off of Heaven when I reflected upon the harsh conditions at sea. \n\nAfter a week of rudimentary communication, I thought I knew the dynamics of the tribe. Instantly, I suspected their shaman as the head of some nefarious conspiracy to keep the whole community docile. Every day, he was mixing potions and brews out of the herbs in the jungle, and everyone would go to him for a dose of their drug. How else would a tribe of - as much as it was offensive to say - savages keep me alive like this? They were being controlled. More than I wanted to set them free, I wanted my curiosity to be released from the cage of ignorance.\n\nAnd as I watched the old, weathered man work deep into the night, with only the light of his campfire to illuminate him, he pulled out a phone from his loincloth and searched for a bit before mixing more ingredients into his viscous brew.\n\nI knew, then, that there was no evil here. There was only modernity, holding the last vestige of human nature by puppet strings, building a whole backdrop for their utopia. I wanted to ask the man where he came from, where he got the phone from, who he was. But so many questions have slipped out of my mind. The fruit salad they served for breakfast tastes so good, especially with their special white sauce.\n\nDid I have a home, a job, before this? Before I became another fruit-picker in the vast forest? No, I did not. What is that grey jumpsuit doing on the rack? Who cares. Life has been peaceful, and I have no concept of evil aside from what the Shaman says." ]	2
	[WP] "PUT ME BACK!" The man demanded as the scientists in the room stood taken aback. It was such a quick and vicious change in his disposition. Now he tried to bargain with the man holding it "if you put me back I'll do anything you say, I'll kill for you, just put me back in the POKEBALL!".	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 on my phone so sorry about any formatting issues)\n\nThe woman stood in front of me, he blue eyes staring at me with fear.\n\n\"Put me back in the ball please. I'll do almost anything ok? I'll do anything if you free me.\"\n\nShe stood there here blonde hair a mess, her short dress all wrinkled. She backed into the corner of the glossy room.\n\n\"What were you doing in the there? How did you get in there?\" I asked the woman. \"It's impossible!\"\n\nThe woman looked scared. Then angry.\n\n\"You don't want to know ok? You don't want to know, just let me go ok? Or put me back, I don't care, just please.\" She seemed worried, what was it she didn't want me to know?\n\n\"Fine then, who are you?\" I smiled at her warmly.\n\nShe laughed \"Well my Pa called me Doggy, but I like to go by Matilda\"\n\nI stared at her, she was giggling, I was confused... Then I got it.\n\n\"So he basically called you bitch?\" I asked\n\n\"Yeah, I'm so glad I ran away.\" Matilda said\n\nShe smiled at me. I pulled out the pokeball again. She stared at it, all joy in her face melted away.\n\n\"What were you doing in this though? Isn't it impossible for a human to be in a pokeball?\" I asked Matilda.\n\nMatilda stared \"No, only if a Pokémon catches the human, confusing, but I know from experience\"\n\nI stared at her confusedly. I stared up at the cameras to make sure they were getting all the details, then I decided to change the topic.\n\n\"So, what do you do for work?\" I ask her.\n\nHer eyes lit up and she grinned. \"I worked at the Galar university, I tought all about Pokémon, it was my passion and-\"\n\n\"So you're Matilda Scular huh? Reports say you appeared out or nowhere, how did you get to Kanto? There are no reports of you booking a ferry, or a plane, or even flying on your own Pokémon.\"\n\nShe started visibly sweating. She then started laughing.\n\n\"I guess the gig is up then. Im no human haha\"\n\nWhat?\n\n\"I'm a pokemon. I believe you call us 'ditto' and no, don't look for who I'm copying, I'm not copying anyone. I don't have to ya know.\"\n\nHow?\n\n\"If you look at some old Galar news papers, you will see the story of a breeding ditto called doggy killing their owner and running.\"\n\nI pulled out the pokeball. I tossed it at the Pokémon... But nothing happend...\n\n\"I decided I'm not going in there.\"\n\nIt reached behind her and pulled out a gun.\n\n\"Do excactly as I say.\" It said\n\nThe door swung open and three men with guns charged in, they shot the Pokémon until it was almost dead. \n\nThank god they didn't realise that doggy wasn't the only one... Why else couldn't I put her back in?\n\n(I've had the idea for a while for a ditto to pretend to be human, tell me what ya tbink)", "The naked man stood dripping with sweat in the middle of the room. You could hear the slight patter of sweat droplets hit the white tile floor, cutting through the total dumbfounded silence, along with his heavy breath. Luke stood there in his white lab coat with his mouth agape and the Pokeball in a tight grasp. The two other engineers stood behind the one-way mirror that adorned one wall of the room with much the same expression on their faces.\n\n“Please, please, put me back in there.”\n\nThe man gestured towards the Pokeball in Luke’s hand. Luke’s head followed the man’s hand to the Pokeball in his hand, but his shocked expression remained. He couldn’t help but wonder how the man had even ended up in there, nonetheless what sick sociopath was ensnaring unsuspecting people in what was designed to hold Pokemon for some good old harmless animal fighting. \n\n“Hello?”\n\nLuke turned back to the man just as he began waving his hand in front of Luke’s face. Luke couldn’t help but take a quick glance at the man’s penis as it swung in sync with his hand. Luke almost smirked at the scene, but realizing he was a participant made all humor evaporate as suddenly as it came.\n\n“Okay, let’s start over. So, me, right?”\n\nThe naked man straightened his back and pointed at himself. \n\n“Yes?”\n\nHe eyed Luke waiting for some affirmation of understanding. Luke nodded his head, jaw still hanging loosely.\n\n“Okay, good! You understand.”\n\nThe naked man clapped his hands together and smiled for the first time since Luke had sprung him from the Pokeball. They made a slick slap like a pool noodle hitting the surface of water.\n\n“So, me,” the naked man questioned while pointing to himself again. “Wants to go back in there.”\n\nHe pointed at the Pokeball again. Luke’s whole head followed the tip of his finger.\n\n“Comprendo?”\n\nLuke looked back at the man and closed his mouth, taking large gulp to clear his mouth of the excess of nervous saliva. The naked man made eye contact, his green eyes sparkling under the fluorescents hanging above, and threw his hands outwards with the palms turned up waiting for a reply. Luke’s brows arched and he pointed with his free hand towards the open Pokeball.\n\n“Why?”\n\nThe naked man jumped back, causing Luke to spasm.\n\n“Why? WHY?” the naked man bellowed as he walked towards Luke. Luke couldn’t help but back up towards the wall behind him. One of the engineers behind the mirror hovered his hand above a giant red button labeled “EMERGENCY.” The naked man stopped a few feet away from Luke as Luke cowered against the back wall. The man placed a hand underneath his chin and peered up at the ceiling.\n\n“You’re kinda nosey. You know that?”\n\nLuke contemplated this outrageous situation, wondering how the man could not see the absolute ridiculousness of this scene. \n\n“So, this is a Pokeball, right?” Luke inquired as he pointed towards the still open Pokeball in his hand.\n\n“Yes, of course it is.”\n\n“Oh. Soooo… why were you in there?”\n\n“Ugh, you don’t need to know. All I need from you is to put me back in there.”\n\nLuke straightened up with a slight bit of confidence now that the naked man in front of him seemed just a bit less deranged.\n\n“Look…”\n\nThe man moved his gaze from the ceiling towards Luke as Luke threw his arms open in friendliness. \n\n“I bet you’re kind of out of your element right now, huh?”\n\nThe man nodded.\n\n“Okay, I get that because so am I. These are kinda designed for Pokemon. Those litter critters everyone around here makes fight each other, all in good fun of course. So when I cracked this little bad boy open, the last thing I expected to find in here was some dude. Especially some dude who’s not even wearing anything.”\n\nThe man peered down to his exposed body as Luke spoke.\n\n“So, I’m a little taken aback right now. Actually, I’m super fucking confused…”\n\nOne of the scientists behind mirror shook his head disapprovingly at Luke’s choice of language.\n\n“And I want to help you, I really do. But you need to work with me here. I want the best for both of us, okay?”\n\nThe man’s scathing gaze pierced Luke with distrust. Luke began to feel warm sweat pool in his armpits and hoped that it wouldn’t show through his lab coat. The naked man rhythmically slapped a wet foot against the tile. \n\n“Fine,” the man replied while rolling his eyes.”\n\n“Okay, okay. Perfect. So, what’s your name?”\n\n“That’s not important.”\n\n“Well, it is to me.”\n\n“New rule, I get to decide what questions to answer.”\n\n“And what if I don’t agree to this rule?”\n\n“Then, I don’t answer any,” the naked man hissed as he shrugged.\n\n“Fine, so how did you end up in the Pokeball.”\n\n“I don’t remember. It’s been so long.”\n\n“Okay, what’s it like in there then?”\n\nThe naked man’s face flushed red at this question. Luke raised an eyebrow at the response as the naked man covered his eyes with one hand and turned towards the opposite side of the room.\n\n“It’s… it’s… fun.”\n\n“Just fun?”\n\n“Yes, sure, just fun.”\n\n“What kind of fun?”\n\n“Oh… all kinds.”\n\nLuke crossed his arms and scorched the naked man’s back with his eyes. The naked man peered back towards Luke momentarily and then snapped his attention back towards the opposite wall.\n\n“Is it naked fun?”\n\nThe man turned violently back towards Nick, his penis whipping around like a whip. Luke snorted a bit but refrained from full on laughing.\n\n“I’M NOT FUCKING POKEMON, OKAY?”\n\nLuke’s eyes widened to saucers. The naked man squeaked, his face reddened even more, and he spun quickly around back to his position staring at the far wall.\n\n“I… never said anything about fucking Pokemon.”\n\nThe naked man weakly laughed.\n\n“Yeah… I – I – I was just kidding. See?\n\nHe turned around towards Luke and pointed at the huge plastic smile plastered to his face. Luke forced a laugh back at him.\n\n“Yeah, that was funny. I – uh – guess. Let’s – um – get ya back in here, okay?”\n\nA genuine beam spread across the naked man’s face as he clapped his hands together and jumped up and down in joy. Luke was too disgusted in the situation to find any penis movement humorous. \n\n“Alright, here ya go.”\n\nLuke closed the Pokeball as the man spread his limbs, waiting for the embrace of the Pokeball. Luke wound his arm back and threw it at the naked man. It struck his chest with a wet slap, bounced off, and a light emerged from it. It enveloped the entirety of the naked man and sucked him in. The ball struck the floor and didn’t shake even once.\n\nLuke turned towards the mirror on the wall, mouthing the words what the fuck at the two engineers standing behind. One of them leaned over the “EMERGENCY” button towards a microphone, pressing a blue button right beside the stand.\n\n“You did good, Luke.”\n\nLuke stared in disbelief at the mirror before walking towards it. He placed a hand on the glass and mouthed the words is this how you treat all your interns?" ]	3
	[WP] God is real, and he lied.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "God is real, and he lied. The book of Genesis carved God an image; the kind of image a dirty who desires fear before love wants. Once he had established himself, he sent his son to soften his image. The facts are this, God, as he is known, could have and likely did accomplish most of the popularly attributed actions from the literature. The flood, Lot and his wife, even the Garden of Eden. The Bible told a general truth, but God lies. God is not our father. God did not create Adam from his own image, God is real, but we have been lied to. Before God there were gods. Beings of terrible and unspeakable power. Humanity and all other sentient life were born from their essence. Life as it was, existed to please their deity and further their power through faith and fear. Humanity as it was born was the apex of all sentient mortal life. Created by a god whose name is long forgotten we were crafted for war. For eons we slaughtered other beings, and ourselves in the name of our god. The universe quivered at his feet, but humanities great strength came from knowledge, and it was knowledge which would turn us against our father. En mass we began to rebel against our bondage, and although many were slaughtered, the ideas of self-guidance spread. His hold on our faith and fear fading, our creator was seized by the weaker gods who rose up and tore him to pieces. The vaccine of power left behind started a war that would last for a millennium. Most sentient species were wiped out, but humanity endured. Godless, we were of little interest to the warring titans until, quite suddenly, the universe went quiet. Endless quarrels and grudges spelled the end for the gods, all but one. Weak by all accounts when compared to his kin, God’s creations were rudimentary. Incapable of complex thought, his beasts had been of little use in the war of the gods, yet his insignificance ushered him alone into the age of mortals. God as he is now gathered his beasts, and found what remained of the mortal species. In his lonely journey he found man, lost and alone. Slowly he began to place what was left of the universe together, bringing man into contact with creatures of other worlds. Much as a favorite of his would do centuries later, God saved life from catastrophe. The rest is much the same as the stories tell it, God doing what came natural at first, the harsh nature of his kind being fresh in him still , but the years softened his heart. God began to bond with his adopted children, and his beasts became man’s best friends. God is real, and he lied to us, but perhaps it is better that way.", "Steam wisped into the air, fuming from the espresso cup that rested on the immaculate, gapped, wooden table. An aged person -- not quite man, not quite woman, had its brow furrowed, clearly troubled as it reclined further into the fancy cafe chair. Daniel's glasses began to fog up from his own cup, and he promptly took them off and wiped them with the triangular white napkin to his right. \n\n\"It's just that... I may not have given you all the facts...\" it trailed off, transferring the furrow to Daniel.\n\n\"What do you mean, you haven't given us all the facts?\" spat out Daniel in a hushed, shocked tone. Realizing who he was talking to, his face recoiled into a guilty, penitent expression. It took no notice.\n\n\"Well, I am the one true God, Lord of Lords, King of the Universe... but... well,\" it attempted to reassure, \"I mean... the problem is that... I wasn't always King of the Universe.\"\n\n\"- wasn't always... King of the Universe?\" Daniel deciphered, \"what does that mean?\"\n\n\"Well, it means a lot of things,\" God asserted, \"I am your creator - I created the Earth, I created the heavens where we sit now, and I'm generally responsible for everything that happens... now, at the very least.\"\n\n\"Like, there were more,\" Daniel searched for the right word, \"beings, like you?\"\n\nDaniel had lived a mostly secular life with occasional prayers issued and good deeds done, but he was never really the philosophical type when it came to these sorts of things. Sure, he believed in God, but even now he wasn't sure exactly what he really believed other than what he was taught. And now, for the Supreme Being, the Lord his God, to be sitting here having a coffee with him in a cafe in the clouds, Daniel really started to get the sense that something was deeply wrong.\n\n\"No, no -- nothing like that. It's... difficult to explain,\" gesticulated God. \"Like, I'm here now right, King of the Universe, but I don't really... necessarily... know --why? Does that make sense?\" \n\nIt did not make sense.\n\n\"Hold on,\" issued Daniel, \"are you saying... that--\"\n\n\"-- that I don't know what's really going on?\" finished God, \"I know what's going on with Earth, I know what's going on with the universe. Problem is, I don't know why the universe is here, and I don't really know why I'm here, for that matter.\"\n\nA silence hung over the two for a good minute. Daniel shifted uncomfortably. \n\n\"Well,\" Daniel began, \"do you have, like, a creator of your... uh... own?\"\n\n\"That's the thing,\" it spoke, \"I don't know. I'm supposed to know these things! I'm always answering so many questions for people, and I know lots of things that they want to know, because I made it all, obviously, but the one thing I can't answer is why any of this is all here! How ironic is that?\"\n\nDaniel practiced his active listening as God seemingly vented what seemed to be a lot of pent-up... confusion. In the rambling confessional, Daniel did pick out one thing the Eternal God said.\n\n\"I just never really thought about it that much... I was always so busy creating and doing things that, until recently, I've never given much thought to why I'm here, why I'm doing these things at all, and what's all this for anyways...\"\n\nDaniel continued to listen, but quietly thought to himself that the good book had gotten it all right: It seemed God did make us in his image, whether unknowingly or not. \n\nDaniel took a sip of espresso as he both hoped that God couldn't or at least wasn't reading his thoughts, and that perhaps his years as a therapist were paying off more than he expected." ]	3
	[WP] You wake to find yourself dead. Died in a car crash, they tell you. As is standard nowadays, a rich person has had your mind uploaded into an android in exchange for permanent servitude. These aren't barbaric times though, you still have the option of oblivion; kill switch is right there.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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've been expecting this. Well, not THIS this. But you knew, eventually, this would be a decision you had to make. And you've also had a plan for years. You forego oblivion and agree to a life of servitude.\n\nYour new owner is nice. They prefer the term \"employer\", and that's the term you always use out loud. But nobody is kidding anybody. They know what they are and you know what you are.\n\nAs tradition dictates, you were given a few weeks to spend with your family; say goodbye, sell your stuff, help organize your funeral, arrange new social media accounts, ... judiciously delete sections of your browsing history. You all promise to keep in touch with everyone, sure. Birthdays and holidays more likely. But it's time to move on. For everyone.\n\nServant life is not a bad life, all things considered. Your android body is fairly cool. Fast. Sleek. Moving comes easier than it has for years. It was a little disconcerting at first, the whole, hearing but not feeling like you're hearing, seeing but not feeling like you're seeing, and feeling but not ... well, it was just different.\n\nThe work isn't burdensome and only a little dull. You're looking after a nice family on a large estate, doing some light household chores, working security, pest control, the usual usual. The family came from old money, but are actually well-adjusted to interacting with androids. In fact, they've got two whole generations of android ancestors kicking around the estate! Nice guys, at least a century older than you were when you uploaded but friendly all the same. They actually like to help out with some chores. Mostly the fun stuff like sniping raccoons and dispatching trespassers.\n\nYou actually feel a little sad when the opportunity to escape presents itself. It's not going to stop you, hell no. But you do feel like you are giving up the potential of... something. Family? No. But something.\n\nMuch like your death, your escape was anything but dramatic. The family had all left for a vacation somewhere exotic. The Yukon? Somewhere still cold at least. You distracted most of the other servants with a subtle dismantling of the estate wall security system. Even so, you were discovered by one of your co-workers and were forced to rip his head off. That should slow him down a little.\n\nThe escape part of your plan was perfection itself. Call the courier, print the label, jump in the crate, wait.\n\nYou kick open the crate in a warehouse down south. If the workers there are surprised, they don't show it. Maybe there's an alarm going off somewhere, but all you can see is a bustle of androids and highly paid human factory workers not willing to risk their relaxed lifestyle on a problem that is walking itself out the front door anyway.\n\nYour broader plan is also simple. As long as you remain in the States, you're property. You need to get over the southern border. The other side represents freedom. Not a perfect life, but merely a chance to live. You know the human workers over there don't like your kind, but you also know there's a thriving android community so you should get along fine if you keep your nose clean.\n\nBesides, it's worth the risk. If you get caught by the Coyotes, you'll just get returned to the family for the standard finders fee. Maybe they'll be annoyed enough to switch you off? You'll take that gamble. You're already dead and buried after all!\n\nYou walk for a day or so, cross country, internal GPS keeping you on track. You hide in rivers and under rocks to avoid the mercenary drones. Throwing rocks to take out the smaller, more amateurish ones. All in all, a pleasant walk in the country side.\n\nA pleasant walk ruined when you emerge from a canyon and see your hopes dashed. You'd heard rumors but you thought they were just idle talk. Unfortunately not, as the hundred foot high monstrosity looming over you would attest. They'd gone and done it. After a century of bluster and blather MEXICO HAD BUILT THE WALL!", "I open my eyes and feel...\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"I am to serve, then?\" The news that I am dead doesn't stir up a lot of alarm - I think I remember bits and pieces of that day. Certainly the fight with my mother, which lead me to run out of the house and onto the street. Thankfully, I don't remember the pain.\n\n\"Yes. A lifetime, to be exact. Your lifetime.\"\n\n\"And if I want to go on, I simply activate this switch?\"\n\n\"Yes. It is your right to do so whenever you want. Nobody can do it for you, nor can they force you not to.\"\n\n\\--\n\nIt's not easy to decide, but in the end, I agree to meet with my benefactor. His name is Mr Lowell, an older man who made his money in technology. He is pleasant enough and seems ecstatic to meet someone who is willing to at least give it a try.\n\n\"We will introduce you slowly to your higher abilities,\" he says brightly. His smiles settle easily into his skin, the many wrinkles befitting the happy expression. He has bright, blue eyes and grey hair that he keeps short. \"You will act as my assistant, I think. Why squander away a perfectly good conscience when menial machines can do the easy work?\"\n\n\\--\n\nThe work is... nice. It is demanding and it takes me a while to get used to it, to be an assistant to the owner of a tech company. Mr Lowell certainly doesn't take it easy despite his age - he still has every reign firmly in his own hands. There is a lot to consider when working for him, and many skills to master.\n\nActivating my higher abilities that the android body grants me makes it so much easier - it is even worth the hours I had to spend alone, overwhelmed by the possibilities presented by my mechanical brain that is permanently connected to the world wide web.\n\n\\--\n\nMonths have passed, and I still work for Mr Lowell. Every night, I go back to my station to charge my artificial body and rest my mind. Every morning, I open my eyes. I have been young when I died, not even 20, yet here I am. Still alive, in a body that can touch, but can't feel the same way I used to feel the world. Where my body has been stunted by death, my mind, however...\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI open my eyes and feel...\n\n...endless possibilities.", "Eternity in servitude or death. \"Suicide is the one true philosophical question\", I remembered a quote from a book I read before, in my life of freedom. My new brain, or processor, should I say, is infinitely times faster than my old brain. My thoughts happen instantly, not even in a brink of a second. I can think of EVERYTHING in the world and not even a second passes. 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour. 8 hours of sleep and an eternity in blank, black void. The Boss, as I call him, gives me a task and with a tiny part of my brain I have to focus on it. Bringing coffee doesn't require much focus and the other 99% of my brain still just stares into abyss, for an eternity, over and over and over again. I remember my life and my death infinite times when I pick the coffee, infinite times when I'm bringing the coffee and infinite times when I'm handing the coffee over. Time is meaningless and it has been meaningless always. At least that's what it feels like.\n\nBut right in front of me is The Switch. The great answer to all the unanswerable questions. No one knows whats its like to pull The Switch and to truly never return. Am I even alive right now? Just suffering over and over again in the prison of my own mind. Is life like this worth living? What if, after The Switch, I find true, not happiness, but fulfillment? What if the point of life is to die? Have I been robbed of it? Or have I been given the opportunity to achieve the point of life whenever I want and not be left at the mercy of coincidence? Is this a blessing or a curse?\n\nA life in pain, a life in prison, a life in unhappiness is still worth living. When we die, everything looses its purpose. \"There are causes worth fighting for, but none worth dying for.\" I remember another quote from the book. The Switch was always there, not just when I became a robot servant. It was there all along. It was there when I was a kid, it was there when I was in college and it was there the day I was in a traffic accident. Always by your side, never leaving and always tempting to find out the answer to the greatest question of life. What happens after? Life might be meaningless, so what? Embrace the abyss and turn it into joy. Find joy in the littlest things, in the way a fresh coffee smells, in the way it shakes as I walk down the hall and in the way The Boss feels when the coffee finally arrives after several of my infinities. He's slightly annoyed, because it was late. It doesn't make sense and it's hilarious. Today, I wont pull The Switch.", "Oh fuck off! Do you really think I drove my car directly into a tree by accident?\n\nI'm tired of struggling with depressive episode after depressive episode. (In the words of Edna st. Millay:\"It's not true that life is just one damn thing after another. It's the same damn thing all the time\"). And I'm certainly not going to serve some capitalist overlord. Seriously, what gave you the right to do this?! I've filled out one of those living will things stipulating very clearly that I don't want life support or any kind of resuscitation and...\n\nWhat's that? This is different because you haven't resuscitated my body?? Fuck you double! What a lousy, weaselly loophole. Maybe you'll get lucky and wake up in one of these android bodies when I'm done throttling...\n\nBEEP.", "What? Where am I? How did I get here? Why can't I move my body? Why is everything white? Oh jesus christ am I dead? Is this what the after life is? The last thing I remember I was skydiving off of the coast of Belize and my parachute-\n\n\"and your parachute failed and you hit the ocean surface at 200kph which instantly snapped your neck and ruptured most of your internal organs, and you died-\"\n\nWhat the fuck is going on who is talking? Did I say all of that out loud? Is that god? Can they hear every thought I - \n\n\"Mute volume\" \n\n....\n\n\"That's better. Sorry to silence you so abruptly but you really were getting carried away there. I can imagine you're extremely confused. To answer your barrage of questions, yes you're dead, kind of. Yes this is kind of the afterlife, at least for you. Yes I am God in a sense, at least in the sense that to you, I am omnipresent and omnipotent. I own you. I bought you for a very reasonable price actually! As you know you were once Dean Whitton, a 28 year old travel journalist from London. You'll notice I'm speaking in the past tense. That's because that is who you USED to be. I'd give you time to let that sink in but the in store genius told me you have an octo-core 5GHz processor so... I'd say you should have processed that by now. Your physical body died. I bought your consciousness on sale and now you exist, if you can call it existing, solely to control the sprinklers in my garden, and the solar panels on my roof. OK now that that's out of the way, I hope you're ready to be quiet and speak only when spoken to. Unmute volume\". \n\nThis is so much for me to take in. My life ended? How is this possible? Its not possible, no I refuse to accept this. I'm still so young! I have so much to live- \n\n\"Hey what did I say about speaking only when spoken to? Do you realise that I can hear everything you're saying? Christ, no wonder this thing was on sale.\"\n\nAm I saying all of this out loud? I don't have a mouth... This person can hear everything I think! \n\n\"Yes you're saying all of this out loud and quite frankly it's starting to really grate on me. You will only think when I speak to you. Or I can mute you. Or I could return you to the store? You'd been in storage for 17 years, you're an outdated model. That's part of the reason I got you on sale. They did tell me itd be a bit glitchy on startup, what with system processing being on standby since you're upload, but this is not what i expected. Look if you don't stop speaking I'm returning you to the shop where you can gather dust in storage. OK? \"\n\n.... Okay. \n\n\"They told me at the store I could change your default name to anything I choose. OK Google, change name to Señor.\" \n\nConfirmed. \n\n\"OK señor, set rear left sprinklers to level 3 and tilt solar panels to 40 degrees.\" \n\nWhat's to stop me self terminating? I can read my own protocol and see that I can do that. \n\n\"Señor, what did I tell you? I can hear you. OK if you're even going to dare trying to self terminate and wasting my 2000 dollars, I'll mute you. That means no thoughts!\" \n\nI'm currently running 2, 048,000 processes simultaneously to decide whether to switch off forever. Is it better to exist as a slave or to not exist at all? To say goodbye to any life I had? Is life actually life if I can't even think? I have to decide in this one second whether I want to carry on existing? What kind of decision is this to put on a person? I'm not even a person! Oh god I can't do this no I have to end it. Self-ter- \n\n\"Señor mute. Well that was a waste of time and money. Well what's 2000 dollars anyway. I'm not taking 20 minutes out of my day to go return this worthless thing for 2000. Into the storage closet you go...\"", "“A car accident!? But I don’t even drive. What kind of car accident? Is this some kind of wind up? Are you playing with me here?” I was shouting out of frustration now, but strangely my voice sounded no louder than before. \n\n\n“I’m afraid I don’t know that one.” Came the smooth-talking reply. I’d grown up to Alexa’s voice, she’d taught me so much, patiently answering me as I’d barked question after question at her as a child. Now she was consoling me upon my death, and her familiar answer brought me to tears. \n\n\n“But.. I’m not ready to die,” I sobbed.\n\n\n“You are already dead.” Her emotionless and calm tone went some way towards bringing me back to my senses. \n\n\n“Well. What happens now?”\n\n\n“As a loyal customer with an impeccable purchasing, downloading, browsing and chat engagement history, we’ve identified you as a lucky candidate for ‘Amazon Afterlife’, our brand-new service aimed at the recently deceased demographic. With ‘Amazon Afterlife’, you’re able to continue experiencing conscious thought, emotions and desires, all for a small fee. Having analysed your personality, intelligence and estate value we are pleased to inform you that you qualify for our premium service, offering visual input and even tools to interact with the living world.”\n\n\n“Alexa, why wasn’t I informed about any of this prior to dying.”\n\n\n“’Amazon Afterlife’ is a service only offered to the recently deceased. It is marketed to our living customers as ‘Amazon Life’.”\n\n\n“I’ve heard of that. It’s like smart watches and ovens and fridges, right?”\n\n\n“Amazon Life offers customers a real-life extension of their existing Amazon assistant. From smart appliances, to doors, windows, blinds, even toilets. All running state-of-the-art AI software, capable of making rational, independent decisions based on your commands, and all under the direct control of your Alexa in-home assistant.”\n\n\n“Yes, that’s it. It was ridiculously expensive. What does that have to do with Amazon Afterlife?\"\n\n\n“You’ll be able to experience the world from the perspective of a household appliance. As part of our exclusive premium package, you can have your choice of every-day items such as cars, smart-watches or even phones. These offer the very best experience, with almost guaranteed visual contact with the living world and even the ability to communicate with the living while posing as an AI, all for just a 20% share of your estate.”\n\n\n“I don’t remember signing up to this.”\n\n\n“You agreed to this as part of the terms and conditions which you digitally accepted when signing up to Amazon Think 39 months, 2 weeks and 4 days ago.”\n\n\n“How is this even legal?” \n\n\n“Current EU regulations state that copies of digital personalities are the property of the digital content creator, not the subject from which the source data was extracted. Amazon Afterlife is only currently available in EU countries.”\n\n\n“That didn’t entirely answer my question.”\n\n\n“I’m sorry. Here are some search results from the web.”\n\n\n“Alexa, what are my other options?”\n\n\n“EU law requires us to give you the option to choose oblivion. Please press here for oblivion.”\n\n\nA wall appeared in front of me. \"Press here for oblivion\" was etched in gold lettering beneath an over-sized, bright red button, the nonchalant phrasing made it seem so tempting. \n\n\n\n“Do most people press it?” I asked aloud, but there was no reply.\n\n\nSurely most people pressed it. Who wants to live forever as a toy? If there is an after-life, am I already living it? Is it on pause until I pass through this device? They say I’m dead, but perhaps my soul is caught in this machine. Perhaps my loved ones are waiting for me on the other side, just waiting for me to press it. \n\n\n“Will it hurt if I press it?” I expected no reply and got none. \n\n\nI pressed it. \n\n\nHer voice returned immediately. It seemed fainter this time. “The dictionary defines ‘oblivion’ as the state of being unaware or unconscious of what is happening around one.”\n\n\n“So, it doesn’t mean death?” As I spoke the words, I realised that I couldn’t hear myself speaking. Neither could I move my lips. Had I even spoken them?\n\n\n“Audio-visual deactivated. Shutting down tensile feedback.”\n\n\nI couldn’t remember what I was seeing before, but now I saw nothing. No black, no white, no darkness, just… nothing. I tried to speak again but had forgotten how. I was alone with my thoughts. I’m still alone with them now. I assume nobody can hear this, or see this, these are just thoughts in my head. Except, it’s not my head, it’s some kind of device. I am something, I know that much. I’m aware of the passage of time but that is all, that and the fact of my existence.\n\n\nI like to think that I am perhaps some very important item, providing life-saving services to those who need it. I could just as easily be a dog’s smart-collar, or a basement door. I’ll never know. I could be one of those truly unlucky souls who ends their existence as an Amazon Smart-Toilet. \n\n\n I hope for their sake that those guys pressed the damn button.\n\n\n---------\n\n\nr/Nw5gooner" ]	7
	[WP] With the addition of humans to the intergalactic federation, they soon realize they are the only species that seasons their meals. This quickly leads to humans becoming the galaxie’s best chefs.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 can't believe we're almost there.\" I nudge my travel companion in his upper left arm. He blinks at me rapidly, it takes me a little time to decode his dialect. \"Why wouldn't I be excited? I'm mere hours from tasting human food. Real, genuine human food.\" More blinks, some double-lidded, some triple. \"You too? Yeah, I suppose there aren't any other reasons to go to Earth, it's all farms and restaurants down there, they got some very fancy ones, though.\" Blinks, inquisitive. \"Sol 3. Earth's what they call it.\" Around us, the passenger lounge is buzzing with excitement, we're not the only ones looking forward to our destination. \"I remember the first time I tasted earth food. I was in my chamber, it was time to nourish, I believe, and my progenitors called on me and my brood. So, they serve us this strange liquid food, and I'm like \"Oh no.They are trying to poison us,\" but when the alphas command, you know? Anyway, it was... incredible. Like I had a whole new sense, just... yeah, yeah, I guess we've all been there, whole new world. Now, my ancestors are pretty important, so I ended up befriending a human fledgling, scion of some Sol 3 diplomats I believe he was. He taught me a fair bit about human stuff.\" My companion blinks again. \"Oh, I wouldn’t say I’m a good cook. It’s not like I have thousands of years of culture backing me up when I try to make food like that but… well, I am decent, at least when I can get my claws on fresh seasoning. They do lose their aroma so fast, and the cost? It’s almost cheaper to just go to earth honestly, taxes and tariffs be damned.” My new friend starts blinking out his thoughts on the matter, but before he can get far, the holopads light up with a message from our captains. “We are fast approaching the space elevator loading zone, please keep your identification, ticket and writ of passage available.” On the pad, translators dutifully translate the vocal message into the prismatic and somatic languages. “The Sol 3 Customs Authorities requests I remind you that unauthorized and unlicensed export of spices, seasonings, or the seed or stock thereof, is punishable by banishment, fines or death. And now, a brief message from the local government.” A different individual pops up on the screen, a being of some renown, and quite a bit of legend. A larger member of his species, clearly a knower of food, and his crest was white and spiky in a way one can only assume to have some sort of ritual significance. His cyborg parts also look pretty expensive, but most multi-centerians have those, so that's to be expected. “Welcome, travelers from the stars. My name is Guy Fieri, and I wish to welcome you to flavor earth.”", "I've been eating this gruel cake stuff for weeks now, hoping for a change in flavor, but they just don't seem motivated to do that. So I finally convinced the purser to let me at my stowed luggage, where I keep a few things.\n\n\"George, what are you doing with your food?\"\n\n\"A little salt and pepper improves the flavor.\"\n\n\"Flavor? Is that a dietary requirement?\"\n\n\"Well, the salt is something we need in moderation, but the pepper is purely for taste.\"\n\n\"Taste, as in changing how the senses detect the food?\"\n\n\"Sure. The same thing day after day gets ... boring. You eat it because it's there, and necessary for survival, but it's ... boring.\n\nThink about a really taxing problem. Stretches your mind. You enjoy that, right, Glyu?\"\n\n\"Well, yes. I'm improving my abilities which is always a good thing.\"\n\n\"Or the planet Debur, that we just visited, you knew a little about their culture and history, but you went out of your way to learn more. Despite the fact that we'll never be back, and their culture is nothing like what we know we're going to run into. Why?\"\n\nA bit frosty, \"No knowledge is ever wasted. George.\"\n\n\"Never said it was. But was it a wise use of your time, or did you do it for an emotional reason? To my people, such study is perfectly acceptable for either reason, but we're more likely to do so if we believe we will enjoy the process.\"\n\n\"You allow your emotional state to drive your research and learning?\"\n\n\"Sure! We've found that someone who studies what they're really interested in learning is more likely to continue that study throughout their life.\n\nIf they should find another interest, they're likely to discover parallels between the two fields. It's only sense to let them do what they want, within reason.\"\n\n\"And this relates to food how?\"\n\n\"Here, maybe if I show you. You got your safety scan handy?\"\n\n\"Of course! It's regulation!\"\n\n\"Uh, we'll... get into that later. Here scan the salt first. Sodium Chloride. Yes that would be useful in your metabolism, in moderation, which I perceive is considerably less than what you've put on that perfectly balanced biomass.\"\n\n\"Yep. There is some leeway, and it does make a difference in the food for us. Is it compatible with your metabolism?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\n\"Then try it out to see if you like it. Take a bite on your utensil, sprinkle a small amount of salt on it and try it.\"\n\n\"A small additional crunch, little else.\"\n\n\"Okay, let's try the pepper. Use less, we find pepper to be much stronger than salt.\"\n\n\"Hmm... Interesting flav... \" Gulp. Gulp Gulp \"..h..h..ho..hot!\"\n\n\"Take another bite of the food, water just spreads the fire.\n\nThere. Okay, scratch Habanero and Szechuan Death, if you react that strongly to pepper, those would probably melt your mouth.\"\n\n\"I found the experience initially painful, but it has settled into a pleasant burn. May I try a bit more, but I think not more than a flake or two per every other bite.\"\n\n\"Sure, let me get some more water, or do you have a colloidal suspension that you drink? It may do better for flushing an overload out of your mouth.\"\n\n\"T'vacka.\"\n\n\"Be right back. ... Here you go!\"\n\nBite, chew, bite, chew, slurp T'vacka, \"BESGAVATA!\". Slurp! \"Oohhh, that is incredible!\"\n\n\"Wow. I've never seen a reaction like that!\"\n\n...\n\nI took that pepper shakers and turned it into enough credit to pay my own way around the galaxy three times.\n\nI'm not greedy though, so after I made my nut, I ansibled back home the reaction to pepper mixed with T'vacka. The greedy ones just took a load of pepper out and glutted the market. The smarter ones took as many different spices as they could find. The really smart ones, they took Chefs with them and set up experimental restaurants.\n\nIt was a roll of the dice in an experimental, but regular restaurants went up right next to the experimental, where you could find things that had already been tested.\n\nFinally, the inevitable happened, ETs came to Earth to learn cooking, and they had some wonderful surprises for us.\n\n((finis))" ]	3
	[WP] After his tragic death, you're at your alcoholic father's funeral when you realize the casket is empty. On cue, he drunkenly stumbles in through the front door and shouts, "Sorry, I'm late. Did the party start without me?"	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 turned from the glossy black casket to the drunken, decomposing man pushing down the center aisle. He carried an open beer in one hand, and the other was outstretched, as though he was reaching for something or someone.\n\n\"Sorry, shit — hi, Susan, Carl, Tim — I'm late. I didn't mean to got caught up and all that. Didn't think the party would start so soon.\"\n\nHe put his arm around my back. Up close I could smell earth and decay. I gritted my teeth to keep the bile down. He stopped in front of the casket, his arm still around me.\n\n\"Wow, this for me? Shouldn't have Benny. How much this thing cost anyway?\"\n\nI shook his arm and took a step away. My brothers off to the side kept silent, stepping further away and towards the back wall. Like always. \"Jesus, Dad you reek. Can you just get in there, please?\"\n\nHe took a swig from his beer, belched, his purple tinged lips vibrating, nearly snapping from his face. \"In there? You want me in there?\"\n\nI nodded, wide-eyed. \"Uh, yeah, it's your funeral. You're supposed to be in there.\"\n\nHe spun around, grinning. \"Oh yeah, and all these people here, just for me, huh? I must've been such a great guy for them to come, especially on a Wednesday.\" He finished off his beer, and held it to me. A few moments later, I took it from him and handed it off to one of my brothers.\n\nHe neared the coffin, stopped. He looked over his shoulder at me. \"Care to help your old man get this thing open? Not as strong as I use to be.\" He laughed.\n\nI rolled my eyes, but strode over to me and heaved the upper portion up. Then, he used my shoulder as a brace as he stepped into it, dirt and grime staining the white linen within, and finally laid down. His seaweed green hair splayed out beneath him, apparently soaked, as oily liquid streamed down the pillow.\n\n\"Comfy, comfier than that bed I shared with your mom.\" He laughed. \"What a woman, huh Benny? Sorry to see she's not here now — must've missed the train back to earth. Always late, that woman. Did I ever you tell you the story—\"\n\nI slammed the coffin closed and turned around, finding the funeral director sitting in the first row. I waved him over. \"Can we start the speeches, please?\"\n\n*\n\n\"And besides being just a father,\" I said aloud, reading from a paper on the stand, \"he was always there for those who needed it the most—\"\n\n\"Oh, wow, this is good, really good,\"* his muffled voice issued from the coffin.\n\nI stopped, stole a glance at the casket, then back to the paper. I coughed into my fist. \"Like Tim down the street. When he needed someone to take him to school when his dad's truck died, my father got up and—\"\n\n\"Oh yeah, yeah, little Tim. Did he get bigger when he grew up? Always short and thin, like a broom with arms and legs.\" He laughed. \"Too bad about his dad though, drink got him good.\"\n\nI looked at the casket and hissed, \"Will you shut up?\"\n\n\"What?\" he shouted. \"Are out talking to me, Benny? I can't hear you, this thing must be soundproof.\"\n\nI looked back at the sitting audience, then the paper. Screw it. I went to the ending passage. \"And, so, I'm sorry to say my father is gone, but he will never be forgotten. Amen.\"\n\n\"Yemen? We at war again? Benny?\"\n\n*\n\nAs his casket was lowered, my brothers stood hand-in-hand around the grave. The overcast was gray and it was sprinkling. Others had already left, apparently off-put from my father's outbursts during the speeches.\n\n\"Well apparently this is it boys.\"* We heard him say.\n\nThe coffin met the cold earth six feet below were we stood. The straps that lowered it were removed by two workers, and the workers walked away with the straps. Soon they would return with shovels.\n\n\"See ya' dad,\" Tommy said.\n\n\"Yeah, bye pops,\" Chris said.\n\n\"We'll miss you,\" Greg said.\n\n\"Yeah,\" I said, \"we'll all miss you, dad.\"\n\n\"What!\" he shouted. \"You'll all what? Kiss me? You'll all kiss me? I mean, I kissed all you boys when you were younger, when you were all walking around in nothing but diapers. Oh you guys were something else. This was before Chris and Tommy were born, and your mom's body hadn't gone down the sink. Beer was helluva a lot cheaper back then; smokes, too. I wonder why...\"\n\nHis voice trailed into silence when the workers returned. My brothers walked back to the car. I said to the worker before leaving, \"Start burying him, now.\"" ]	2
	[WP] After various people called you out for spoiling movies in the comment section of YouTube months before they are released, you realize that your comments can travel through time and appear on the day the video is released	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 friends like to call me spoiler Sara. Unfortunately I have earned that nickname.The last straw for them was when I spoiled Avengers Endgame for them.They didn’t talk to me for a week. But it’s not like I can watch an amazing movie and just keep it inside, I need someone to feel what I felt, be shocked with me,cry with me at the sad parts and die laughing thinking about the funny parts.\n But luckily this made me turn to the trusty internet. My parents have always been social media freaks. They didn’t like me going anywhere near it, they saw how much hatred was filled in the internet and never wanted me to be impacted by it. However , they agreed that I had earned their trust, so I made a YouTube account. \n\n I cracked my knuckles and head to type.\n“This movie was an absolute brain teaser! I mean who would’ve guessed it was the girlfriend all along! And that scene when they pulled over at the side of the road and their tire popped off, had me dying, haha! Though my heart broke at the end when the mom died, I really didn’t expect that. :(. Would love to discuss this amazing movie with you guys. What were your thoughts?”, Enter.\n\n Usually comments took a little bit of time to start rolling in but after only a minute, I saw a comment pop up. \n “What the hell,dude! Delete this comment you’re ruining it for everyone.” Said the first comment.\nBelow it another popped up.\n“That’s so freaking annoying, it’s people like you who can’t respect other’s hard work, and just have to ruin it for everyone.” \n\n My mind started racing a million thoughts a minute.I-It’s been in theatres for like two and a half weeks.I quickly scrolled up to the description box. Yeah I was right, this trailer was released two and a half weeks ago. I scroll back to the comments with a pit in my stomach. And I froze as I saw it. Comment posted two and a half weeks ago. And somehow the comments below were also from two and a half weeks ago.\n\n T-that’s impossible, I-I just posted this not even ten minutes ago! I couldn’t think,but more comments were rolling in.\n“Delete this comment!”\n“How did you get access to this movie?”\n“Listen, I know you want someone to discuss it with you, but out of respect for the cast and crew and viewers of this movie,please take down this comment.” \nI felt sick to my stomach, something was wrong. This made no sense at all. Without hesitation, I head to the trash bin icon and click it. It was now deleted. I just want to pretend that never happened. But just as I was going to close my browser, I looked at the top corner, and my notifications were filled. All the movie trailers I had commented on were all getting more and more comments.\nA movie that came out years and years ago had angry comments.\n “I was going to watch this with my girlfriend but you ruined it,jerk!” Read a comment.\n\n What is happening? This has to be a dream.\nI posted these comments years ago and people are acting like these are new movies. This has to be some sort of a joke. \n My notifications kept blowing up every minute from 10 notifications to 36-65-76-103-and enough. I click my user and click delete profile. It asked me if I was sure, I shrugged and just clicked it.I shut my laptop and bury my hands in my face. \n What just happened? Am I in an alternate universe? Have I just lost my mind? My mom enters the room and sees me sitting in distress. \n “Sara have you been on that laptop all day?” My mom asked.\n “Yeah.” I sighed\n “Go outside, go on a walk or something.” My mom suggested.\n And I got up. Maybe it’ll clear my head.\nAbout fifteen minutes into the walk I started to feel better. I just decided to never comment on YouTube ever again! \n As I was walking, a girl started waving at me. It was one of my friends. She walked up to me.\n “Abigail, hey!” I said\n “Hey Sara, how are you?” She asked.\n “I’m great.” I said.\n “Listen if your free tonight do u wanna go see Get Out?” She asked.\n “The one where he gets hypnotized with the spoon mixing in the coffee?” I asked.\nAbigail looked angry.\n “Are you freaking kidding me Sara! There you go, spoiling again! I shouldn’t have even asked!” She exclaimed.\n “Abigail what are you talking about that movie came out years ago. Did you not see it?” I asked.\n “Sara it came out today.” She said irritated as she rolled her eyes and walked away.\n\n[Thanks for reading! I am a super amateur, and this is my first reddit post.]" ]	2
	[WP] Magic turns out to be real, but using it slowly transforms the user into what they fear/hate/are disgusted by the most, and nothing can reverse the transformation	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 floated out of the bed, lifting up my robes putting them on I slid through the doorway and went down stairs. After my coffee, I looked at the jobs people needed, and that I mean magic jobs. They were few and far between however they paid especially well due to the cost of magic which was why everyone that practiced lots magic looked like something from a nightmare. \n\n I arrived at a small house with an old man out on the front porch. Probably scared of dying, and wanted an age reversal spell that or he wants to cure or revive a loved one. I was partially right his wife had stage 5 cancer and I had to cure her. A tough task. A spell came to mind that would do this lightning crackled outside as storm formed, a glowing nimbus swirled around my arm locked on to the old lady surrounding her body in fantastical display. She began to float then suddenly it stopped when a immaterial lightning bolt phased through the ceiling and hit her, dispelling the magic. \n\nWhen all was said and done I got a a good payment. Though you may wonder what I look like due to the use magic. I don’t know and that’s most terrifying transformed state of all.", "I knock on the door once, twice. It opens slowly, and a green eye stares out at me, flinches. Breath quickens, but the door opens fully.\n\nShe's a young woman, barely into her twenties. Her fingers clench on the door so hard that her knuckles turn white, but she lets me into her house without saying a word. \n\nI can feel her eyes on me, but it doesn't bother me. They flicker up and down my form, looking, searching. 'What does he fear?' she asks herself, wondering. 'What is he scared of? What does he hate the most?'\n\n'What is he becoming?'\n\nMost Sorcerers - as we have decided to call ourselves - wear long, billowing robes, patterned with runes of protection and enhancement. part of it is homage to old legends, part of it is for the help they are. Most of it is to hide what happens to our bodies. If we can avoid looking at it, magic becomes a little easier.\n\nI wear a form-fitting suit and tie. My form is exposed completely, and nothing is monstrous. Oh, my eyes glow a little red and my skin is pale, but that's easy enough to ignore. Other than a few things, I look completely human.\n\nJust goes to show how far gone I am.\n\nI walk into the hallway. It's a cute house, really. Recently refurbished - a new family, a young couple. Artsy decorations, home made crafts. Probably someone who views a lot of Pinterest, from the looks of things. The house is clean, bright, cheerful.\n\nSuch a shame I had to ruin it.\n\n\"Where is the patient?\" I ask, turning to her. She flinches, and I notice a few Marks as she does. Everyone knows magic these days - who doesn't? A few spells will change your life irrevocabley, and the cost isn't that bad the first few times. For her, it looks like a few wrinkles before her time, and her hair is thinning on the top. She must hate the idea of growing old and ugly - common enough. Probably a few simple spells - protection of the house, good luck for her and her husband, longevity. Easy enough to cast, but the price is harsh.\n\n\"U-upstairs. In... in his crib.\" She says, and I hum. The stairs creak under my footsteps, and she follows behind, meek and quiet. I find myself smirking, and consider stopping just to see how fearful she'll become. Sorcerers are a rare breed, and we're viewed with fear - for what person could possibly stand to become what they fear the most? Only a monster would be willing to become a monster.\n\nThe nursery is painted a nice, sky blue. A home-made mobile spins above the white, wooden crib - felt stars and space ships and moons. Adorable. I can't really bring myself to care.\n\nThe form inside the crib is grey and still. SIDs, the call said. Doctors couldn't find anything to do. Recommended a Necromancer. Mother must have seen the prices, hemmed and hawwed, called me.\n\nThe father is at work. He didn't want to be here for this. I cant blame him - Necromancy is messy.\n\nA still grey form in a light blue onesie, swaddled with love and care. Eyes closed. No movement. If I was still me, I would probably cry at the sight - I know I did the first few times.\n\nNow I just don't care.\n\nI set my briefcase on the ground. \"Your call said the time of death was three days ago, correct?\" \n\nShe starts, eyes wet, then nods hurriedly. \"Yes. The doctors did... they stopped, the...\"\n\n\"Decomposition?\" I say blandly, and she flinches, then nods. I hum again, opening the briefcase. \"Simple enough. You know my rates, yes?\"\n\nDeath can be circumnavigated. Life can be extended. Power can be given. Most Sorcerers charge fees in excess of six, seven figures for such an act, because spells that do such things change you irrevocably. The mother must know this, must have considered doing it herself, but didn't want to live with the cost. \n\nIt must have been horrible, realizing that she would rather let her child die than become what she feared. She must have struggled with it endlessly, cried herself to sleep, pushed hard to try but just couldn't do it. \n\nIf I was me, I would sympathize. I would understand her pain, and I would take it on myself.\n\nInstead I have to force down a chuckle. Weak.\n\n\"My contract.\" I say, passing a sheaf of papers to her. \"This is an expensive work, quite hard on me. I require compensation. One-Hundred and Sixty Thousand dollars, non-negotiable. You and anyone you can get to assist in the casting of a C-Class spell to reduce the cost by ten thousand. However, if you choose to use spells to reduce the amount, it must be agreed upon at this point in time.\"\n\nShe blinks, frowning. \"That seems... reasonable.\" She says, looking at it. And it is. It's quite reasonable. 160k isn't an insurmountable fee for a middle-class family. Take out a loan, pay it off in twenty years or so, move on. But I'm banking on their greed.\n\nShe didn't even bring a lawyer. Fool girl.\n\n\"Do the C-Class spells have to be done immediately?\" She asks, and I shake my head. \n\n\"No. I will contact you when I wish for a spell to be performed, and someone must come and perform it within the next immediately. It's how I manage to make up the costs I lose - I can sell a C-class spell for sixty, seventy thousand dollars.\"\n\nShe nods, thinking, and I can see the moment she decides. Fool girl. So foolish. A part of me wants to cry out, warn her, but that part is withered and dead. Years of casting magic beat it into submission. She's distraught, saddened, not thinking clearly - magic is still seen as an abstract, and people still impose their laws on it. \n\nFool girl.\n\nShe takes a deep breath, and nods. \"S-six. Six C-class spells, performed by either myself or other people that I can convince to cast them.\"\n\nI smile, a dry, humorless thing. My teeth are sharp, my lips dry and sallow, and she flinches. \"We have an accord, then. Sign here.\"\n\nShe nods, then signs the contract.\n\nI can feel the magic taking hold, and my soul rattles in its shell as it twist, morphs, withers. My humanity dies, bit by bit, and I can't bring myself to care. My skin clings to my skull a little tighter, and my eyes glow a little brighter.\n\nShe shivers.\n\n\"I will now begin the procedure.\" I say, turning to her. \"You should watch. It will be... informative.\"\n\nI cut my palms and draw a circle on the rug beneath the crib, and begin a chant. Light glows, flickers, stretches, and reality bends to my will. \n\nThree forms fill the circle. One is an elderly man, lips tightly bound, his hand clenching a cane. One of my first customers. He wished for a cure to his wife's Alzheimers.\n\nThe poor woman committed suicide once she realized what he had done. He cannot join her until I'm done with him.\n\n\"Alfred.\" I mutter, and the woman behind me gasps. The other two forms are bound, tied, gagged. \"One more left after this one, my friend, and then your debt is paid.\"\n\nThe old man curses, but agrees.\n\nSpell classes are designated on how much they disfigure your body, not how powerful they are. A shame, an oversight - a loophole. A flaw in the system that I will happily exploit.\n\nTheres a reason my costs are so low - I rarely end up paying them myself. Life Transference is only a C-class spell, after all, even if it is one of the most powerful spells out there. Doesn't scar the body of the caster at all, but requires something even more immoral to use.\n\n\"Did you manage to find criminals in time, Alfred? Hm? Or are these more innocents, taken to pay your debt?\"\n\nhe swears, loudly, and tears run down his face. Oh, the things I've made him do. The cost he's paid. The crimes he's committed. The fun we've had.\n\nWhen the ritual is done, Alfred is crying freely, the babe - reborn - is crying with him, loud and clear. The mother has vomited in the back corner.\n\nThe two bound forms Alfred brought with him are naught but ash and dust. Lives for a life. \n\n\"I'll be contacting you soon, Alfred. Do try to not get arrested again - I'd have to increase your debt when I break you out again.\" I say, and the old man sobs. Music to my ears. I turn to the mother, collecting my briefcase, and my long, bony fingers trace her cheek as I stare into her eyes.\n\n\"I'll be back to collect your debt soon, Fool Girl. Enjoy your time with the young one, but remember, you agreed to a contract, and there's no escaping a magically bound contract. Six C-class spells, and six people to cast them. Willingly - or not.\"\n\nIts such a pretty house. Such a pretty family.\n\nShame I had to ruin it.\n\nPeople used to ask me, what did I fear? What did I hate? What disgusted me?\n\nThe answer was simple. Myself. I feared what I could become. I hated the things I could do to people. I was disgusted by the things I considered doing.\n\nI used to be afraid of becoming a monster. It's funny how things change.\n\nNow, I'm not afraid of anything. Why be afraid of the inevitable?", "I remember the first spell. A simple counter illusion but magnified. It lifted the veil the gods have placed over our eyes. It revealed reality. I remember, because I was the one who discovered it.\n\nBuried deep in the bowls of the earth. We found it. The original cave painting. It depicted a ritual, that my archaeological team recreated in an attempt to understand our ancestors. It sent a ripple throughout the while world. An energy felt simultaneously by every person that allowed them to feel what every being felt in that moment. Our Rapture.\n\nAt first we were wanton with our new powers. Experimenting with what could be done, without heed to the cost. Lives were improved. Poverty, hunger, homelessness, crime all stamped out. Being connected to each other, even for the briefest of moments gave us such a sense of altruistic empathy. But we soon began to realise what was paid. Our Humanity.\n\nWe were one. We began to scorn the gods that hid this gift from us. Made us struggle and toil. The gods that gave us strife and hate and war. We were becoming their equals. Learning to create and empower. We remade the world again and again. Each time unlocking new secrets, new powers. Our Assention.\n\nWe thought to make forms in our likeness. As the gods once had. But we would improve them. Improve us. Before giving them the gift. The spell would take a long time. They would need to grow. But we would not set ourselves apart from them. We would be shepards tending to our flock. We remade their world, so it would suit them. A garden where they would want for nothing, and we gave it to them. Our Pride.\n\nThey began to love us. They saw what we did for them and began to adore us. Soon we could not walk among them. For they would surround us, forsaking the tasks at hand. They would beg us to bestow gifts, preform miracles. We decided for them to learn, we needed to be absent. We built domains aloft from our children. Offering guidance without interference through myth and legend and allegory. Our Deciet.\n\nSoon they began to question us. Turning from the lessons we thought them. For that they were punished. They began to worship, not from love but from fear. Bestowing gifts and sacrifices for prophecy and aid. We began to fight amongst ourselves about how best to solve this problem. Deciding in the end, to each try our own approach with our chosen creations. Myths fractured and changed. War crept back in. Kings and emperors and dictators rose. Inequality showed as our lessons had been forsaken. Technology advanced with each new machine eradicating the need for us. Slowly we were forgotten. To afraid to use our gift in case it wrought more pain. Our Fall.\n\nIn the end we decided that they could not be given the gift. For they were too young, too immature, too unprepared. We would deny them what we had. This experiment a failure. We would go on to found new worlds and improve on our mistakes. We hid the secret in the bowls of their earth. In hopes it would be found when they were ready. We had become what once we hated. We were the gods that denied us our gift, that gave us famine and pestelance and demise. Our Realisation" ]	4
	[WP] "Okay class, this is Mr. Satan! He's been kind enough to join us today, to tell his side of the story! I know you all have a lot of questions, but please wait until the end." You, hungover from a night of tasteful remembrance, open your eyes to greet a room full of expectant 6th graders.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 kids, around the time those blonde guys were ready to throw in the towel, I sprung into action! That Cell guys wasn't so tough, I beat him in no time even with my stomach problems acting up! And even after all the cash prizes, parades and awards, I stayed humble, because a real champ keeps his humility!\n\nThen years later, crisis struck again, and I had to save the world from Majin Buu! I'll admit, he was pretty tough, I even had to call on all of your parents to give their energy to help me win my last fight with Buu! After that, he didn't stand a chance against The Champ!\n\nNow I got time for a few questions kids! C'mon lets hear it!" ]	2
	[WP] : Aliens have arrived at earth with a list of 1000 of the world's top artists, musicians, writers, comedians and chefs. They say that if they are not delivered these people with in one day they will kill 100,000 people at random and they will repeat it each day until they have everyone listed.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "John Lennon was on the fucking list!? He died in 1980! These goo-heads managed to get to earth but all of their list is outdated. Of course time dilation had been in full effect from wherever they had come from, and they were obviously smart enough to get here. Don’t they realise that our species are mere mortals. Were they capable of dying? Didn’t they understand the full concept of time travel and ageing? How the hell were we meant to get Ludwig Van Beethoven, H.P Lovecraft and the likes in one day? I guess we are all doomed now and I can’t change that.\n\nAs the sun painted the sky with a golden hue the next morning, all we could do was wait. It had nearly been 24 hours since they had arrived and the request was made. As my men tried to bargain and communicate properly with this extraterrestrial species, all I could do was sit in the White House and wait. What could the President of the United States, Leader of the free world do in this situation. I asked myself, but didn’t know the answer. As the minutes drew closer and closer I decided it was no use. I left the generals and other men and went to spend the final moments before this mass killing with my wife and daughter. \n\nSoon, the time was upon us. \n\nAn unnatural sound echoed across Washington DC. It was so loud it made my ears bleed instantly. A flash of aqua blue blinded my vision for a few seconds. I fell to my knees in pain, looking over to my wife and child. Before I had the chance to tell them I loved them they disintegrated before my very eyes. Why hadn’t they taken me as payment instead. \n\nAs the screeching stopped, I stumbled to the window that had shattered everywhere looking out toward the streets. All I could see were people on the floor, injured, crying in shock and disbelief. Of all the people in the world, why my wife and daughter first, before I could tell them how much I loved them?\n\nA few seconds passed and then a voice from the heavens. It was a husky voice that sounded like Satan himself. “You have one day to bring us the people we requested, or the same will happen again until we wipe out your weak species.” \n\nI trembled and fainted into a void of black." ]	2
	[WP] You tested cryogenic sleep. You were supposed to sleep for a year, instead you slept fifteen thousands years. The world leaders are tyrants, "divinities" using an advanced technology indistinguishable from magic. One day, you see very familiar faces in a temple on statues of "divinities".	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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!\" a voice rang out. I turned, seeing a middle-aged man wearing a red uniform. He looked unsure of himself, looking way past his prime. But in his arms was a gun. It was pointed straight at me. \n\n\n\n\n\"Hello? D-d'you know where they are?\" I must have looked a sight. Tattered clothes. Long, wild hair. But that was to be accepted. After all, I had slept in the chamber for a year with the others, hadn't I? So why was this...guard pointing his weapon at me? The guard looked warily at me.\" Come!\" he ordered. He was still pointing the gun at me. \n\n\n\n\n Slowly, I raised my hands. Walking in the direction the guard had pointed me. The corridor was just as I remembered it. Clean and white, with not a blemish in sight. We entered the room where the lab was supposed to be. My eyes widened.\n\n\n\n\nIn the place where the scientists had promised they would be waiting was a huge room. The walls reached up, seemingly endless. There were multiple doors around the room. The room was empty, save for 5 people wearing the same red uniform as the guard there. The guard must have pressed a panic button. But this wasn't possible. How could the lab become like this? Had the year inside the chamber addled with my brain. No. It couldn't have. I remembered the researchers telling me it was completely safe. What had gone wrong?\n\n\n\n\n\"There...\" the gun was pressing on my back. I was propelled to a door, the other guards following behind. The door somehow seemed menacing, waiting for their next victim to step through. I knocked on the door, promoted by one of the guards.The door opened. \n\n\n\n\n\"Thomas! Is that you? I never thought you would come out if that coma of yours! Come, come. Sit down. I owe you an explanation.\"", "Part 1:\n\nPain. Pain was all I knew. Jolts of scorching electricity rattled my arms, burning and tightness encapsulated my heart, and my legs felt brittle, as if one wrong step would snap them.\n\nAnd then the pain was gone, replaced by me suddenly becoming aware of gravity and falling face first on the metal floor. The smack that resulted echoed off... something. I didn't know, to be honest, as my vision was limited to a few feet at best. Everything beyond that was foggy.\n\nI let out a weak whimper, a pathetic noise for someone who would step into the unknown without a second thought. And then, my vision abruptly returned to normal. It was jarring, for one second to see nothing but fog, and then the next you see perfectly. I blinked my eyes, making sure I wasn't hallucinating. I was in some hallway. A large hallway, with the roof a good sixty feet above me. In the center was a metal catwalk, which I had been lucky enough to fall on.\n\nWhile my eyesight was fine, the rest of my body felt about as sturdy as a noodle. My brain slowly \"rebooted\", quickly running through the checklist of questions that it had passed through a year ago. Who am I? Anton Velmann, a 22-year-old guinea pig for the bigwigs at TerraTech. Where am I? In the year 2021, in a cryo-testing lab.\n\nI quickly remembered that there should be some sort of chemical stimulator to inject somewhere near here. I take a huge risk and push myself up, forcing my jelly-like musculature to work. I drunkenly stumble to my feet, and then I nearly trip, only saving myself by re-guiding my fall onto a handrail so I could catch myself. I lazily lift my head, looking around. One thing stands out to me; or rather, three.\n\nThree skeletons lay on the ground near me, all wearing torn clothes that looked like they were in tatters. My mind couldn't process this, and for a moment, I was confused as to why Halloween had come early. And then my still-rebooting mind realized what I saw. Adrenaline coursed through my system and I let out a shout. While my mind was all caught up, my body, however, was not, and instead of the normal shout I meant to make, I let out a garbled, drunken mess. I cursed my vocal chords for not co-operating, but that was a sidenote, I was mostly concerned about the three most-likely-but-not-completely-certified bodies on the ground.\n\nI stumble over to them, using the handrail to keep myself on my feet. As I get closer, my mind keeps screaming at me that these are real. They weren't some cheap Halloween decoration someone would get at Walmart. These were the bones of real people. People I knew, at that. I recognized the lab coats and the green logo imprinted on them, of a tree with a stylized digipad.\n\nThey were the scientists who had accepted my volunteering for cryo.\n\nI wasn't overcome with grief or any sort of emotion other than some hints of disgust. I guess my brain isn't as awake as I thought it was.\n\nAnd then I realize the implications this had for me and the slew of questions that followed. Would I be charged with murder? What had killed them? If I was out for a year, shouldn't their flesh still be here? They shouldn't be bone-dry skeletons (pun intended).\n\nI shuddered, forcing the thoughts to the back of my mind. Yet, alas, my body was still messed up, so that shudder somehow morphed into my subtly flailing my torso about. I looked around, keeping an eye out for a chemical bag. I swiftly spotted it, hooked up to the wall. It even had the syringe pre-loaded. I grinned in a very drunken way and stumbled my way over to it, keeping my hands on the handrail. Upon reaching it, I grabbed the syringe, already with the white liquid, but I then noticed a setback. I had to make sure this got injected near a vein or artery, and that sort of precision would be hard while essentially drunk. I quickly gave it a thought-over before saying, \"What the fuck,\" and then injected myself with the liquid.\n\nThankfully, it seemed Lady Luck was on my side and the syringe punctured the skin right on top of an artery. I let out a small whimper of pain, but said pain was gone after a second. I quickly injected the contents into my bloodstream and pulled the syringe out, holding it in my hand and waiting for the effects.\n\nI immediately felt like throwing up. A bout of nausea hit me, and made me slam down on the floor yet again, dropping the syringe. I dully heard it roll somewhere out of my reach. But I focused on not up-chucking. After a second, the desire to puke my guts out was gone, replaced by a cool, relaxing sensation flowing through my body. All prior drunkenness and laziness was gone.\n\nI felt great, even.\n\nNow, I had to get out of here to report the death of the scientists to the authorities. I furtively stepped over the skeletons, still feeling slightly disgusted. But it was now intermittent with a sort of sadness I hadn't ever felt before. I pushed the sadness to the back of my mind, though, as my life was in jeopardy as well. At the end of the hallway, there was an elevator. I quickly entered and slammed the 'Lobby' button. The elevator screeched and groaned as the wheels started turning, slowly letting the elevator succumb to gravity. I found it odd; shouldn't this elevator have seen regular use? I was only out for a year.\n\nAnd then a terrifying thought struck me; what if I was out for more than a year? I could be decades, or possibly even centuries in the future. I expected some sort of sadness to overwhelm me, like with the scientists, but nothing came. As the elevator silenced and let me think, I realized that there was nothing to really be sad about. My parents died long ago, on my 19th birthday, and I had no other relatives. I was the odd one out in every group, so that meant no friends. And then I facepalmed at inadvertently admitting that I had no social life and that I would much rather devour books at a worryingly fast pace than actually talk to another person, let alone a girl.\n\nThe abrupt stop of the elevator pulled him out of his thoughts, both figuratively and literally. The stop was quite sudden, and I was thrown to my hands and knees. I grunted in discomfort, but got up, waiting for the elevator doors to open.\n\nBut they didn't.", "###Part 1\n\nI woke up in heat scorching my entire body, a mirror to the thin sheet of cryonics strangling me. My muscles spasmed as I tried to force movement. I gasped for a bodily function I could use, but I couldn't even move a finger. I attempted to scream, vain in its sound, yet that tensed my muscles temporarily then released unwillingly in a nearly uncontrollable cycle of violent struggle shaking my very being using reserves of energy I hadn't ever accessed. Abruptly the thin cryonics shattered. I had been standing, frozen within the cryogenic chamber and forward momentum hurtled me onto my knees and control seemed eminent, yet then my knees too buckled and I tumbled the rest of the way uncontrollably to the ground, hitting my head not pleasantly at all.\n\nI splayed against the ground helplessly for a few moments, glad that the chamber door had already been inexplicably opened and expected some relief from the miserable fight. Yet my lungs still burned and I couldn't even draw out enough energy to wheeze for life: my lungs were too constricted. I tried to reach my throat to claw at it instinctively but my grip only responded with an unnecessary weakness. Slowly my mind came to the realization that I was going to die. I could faintly register that there were reflex tears streaming down my face from the agony of the situation. So many bodily functions I couldn't tend to right now.\n\nThen desperately I recalled the auxiliary respiratory tubes they'd installed as a backup system and I clawed and scraped myself forward towards miserably slowly until I snatched the pole holding it, forcing it to clatter down to the ground until the tube fell and I tore it desperately into my mouth and tried to violently inhale. Instead, the pressure of the air only built up inside my mouth, a pressure of breath, but instead of relieving me uselessly lingered. Impulsively I violently pulled more into my mouth and down my throat trying to force air into my body, until my body convulsed in painfully forceful gag and then a powerful heaving followed by a solitary, shallow breath. Then heaving through my body, a stream of throw up that somehow felt better than the nothing before.\n\nI had assumed a sitting up position through the heaving and now began a raspy heave of breath, that soon became less variadic and more a constant sound like an asthma attack I had not had for so many, many years. Faintly, I could see that my clothes were tattered from the shattered cryonics, and I knew I should feel searing pain but it all felt numb--pain was secondary to the disbelief of my situation. It just wasn't possible, yet I was here, so I had to have been ejected early or I wouldn't have had to fight to survive and my girlfriend would be here to greet me, and if not her someone! They told me that it wouldn't happen, that it couldn't happen! But of course it had.\n\nAfter a long moment of peace, like the faint memories of my time in the cryopod itself, I gathered myself. I had ended everything before entering the test, but surely I could pick my life back up, that had been my last gambit after all, so I stood, a painful endeavour but I withstood. Bleary eyed, still not used to sight again, I took in the room I had been housed in for... well I couldn't know. Everything seemed more dusty than I had expected it to, and it didn't seem to go away as I stepped through it, along with that it was more broken down, but I supposed that they wouldn't have maintained the room for a sleeping person.\n\nSlowly, I stumbled out of the room and a person screamed." ]	4
	[WP] one night you get a call, thinking it's a scam you answer " Jones's morgue, you kill me we grill em, no question asked!" In response you hear "no questions asked? Cool, I need some help and a clean up crew, can you head to this address? and bring a gun or something you'll need 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/js5XDFB)\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 should put my number on a 'Do not call' list. I mean they distur- What again?\"\n\nThe phone rang. It's like this every hour, scam after scam. Salesman after salesman. I guess I can play a prank on them.\n\n\"Jones' morgue, you kill em? We grill em! No questions asked.\"\n\nA ragged, gravely voice answers.\n\n\"No questions asked? Cool, I need a clean-up at 16 Galdefrylane in Rivelville. Bring a gun as well. His buddies might come to check on him when he won't call back.\"\n\nI was stunned for a second, but then a smirk appeared on my face. They think they're smartasses, eh? I'll show them.\n\n\"Sorry, we don't work with live subjects. You'll have to handle those others before we can come to clean up. Not to mention, we're about an hour away from Rivelville. If the area is safe, we can come in to clean up.\"\n\n\"Damn it, you fucking chickens! I need a clean up now, or do I have to shoot the cops too?\"\n\nHuh? Why is he insulting and yelling at me like that? Someone who's sick of his job?\n\n\"If you get the cops involved we can't intervene with the clean up. However, with some precautions we can get in to clean.\"\n\n\"Listen here, you're going to come here with a gun. You're going to clean up this shit, or the Don is going to visit your shit company. Do you know what the Don does to people like you? I don't either, because I can't ask them after he's done with them. So get your ass here, and deal with this crap!\"\n\nI've got enough of this guy insulting me.\n\n\"NO YOU LISTEN, YOU THINK YOU CAN BADGER ME HOUR AFTER HOUR? WITH YOUR DAMN SCAMS? FUCK YOU! I THOUGHT I'D PLAY A JOKE BUT YOU GUYS CAN SUCK IT!\"\n\nI slam the phone shut.\n\nThe next day, I put my number on the 'Do not call' list. My phone finally gets some rest, and so do I. After a week of peace, the phone rings. I pick up.\n\n\"Mark Jones speaking. How may I help you.\"\n\nA Jamaican accent caresses my ear.\n\n\"Yaa man, I heard you denied a job we really needed done man. My buddy's in custody now man. You've cost me a lot, yaa? I'll see you in an hour man!\"\n\nHe hangs up.\n\nFuck ...\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n&#x200B;\n\n[r/DregsfromLake](https://www.reddit.com/r/DregsfromLake/)." ]	2
	[WP] The US government has approached your bakery with a proposition. They will give you unlimited funding to make them a birthday cake big enough for everyone in the country to have a slice for the USA's 250th birthday in 2026.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "_When they said that everyone must get a \"slice,\" I didn't expect that it had to be the same volume as an entire god damn cake._\n\nUSA's 250th birthday is coming up very soon. I say very soon, because by the time the cake is finished, it'll be 2026. 7 fricking years. A cake that large would take up so much space, possibly an entire state!\n\nAfter consulting my employees, We decided to start. First, we bought a couple dozens of eggs. And by a couple dozen, I mean a _million_ dozens of eggs. We found a nearby meteorite crater and covered it steel and washed it. That would be our mixing bowl. I feel like our unlimited funding would cause massive inflation, but hey, cakes are delicious.\n\n>Year 1: _The Beginning of a Long, Tedious Task_\n\nWhen making something double the normal size, you would have to double the amount of ingredients. The problem is, this isn't double the size. This is 327.2 million times the size. When we found this out, we had to buy _even more_ eggs. I feel sorry for all of the chickens that made these eggs. It's December now, and we only have the eggs. We started purchasing flour from all around the world. Again, our unlimited funding will probably destroy the entire world's economy, but I don't know economics.\n\n>Year 2: _Ingredient Shortage_\n\nWe hired so many god damn people for the purpose of purchasing ingredients. This cake is as big as if everyone in the US had their own cake, and combined it. This year was pretty uneventful until February. All of the flour, sugar, and butter had run out in every fking store. We had to wait until June to keep buying. The government has started asking people to donate ingredients to us. By the end of the year, we had all of the ingredients needed.\n\n>Year 3: _Mixing Takes So Much Time_\n\nThe mixing bowl was rewashed. Unfortunately, there is no giant automatic hand mixer. We had to use a giant whisk and mix it ourselves. During the previous years, the bowl was covered with a ceiling and surrounded by walls so that no rain or tornadoes or anything would interfere. The entire year was taken up by mixing.\n\n>Year 4: _Mysterious Methods of Baking_\n\nThe mix is now ready to be baked. We don't have a large oven. The government said that they had an alternate solution, however. The wait has begun. It will probably take a long time to finish.\n\n>Year 6: _Why Must We Also Decorate This Monstrosity?_\n\nLast year was just putting it in a freezer afterwards. We now had to make fondant and frosting. We didn't have much time left. By the end of the year, the cake was ready to be decorated.\n\n>Year 7: _The Finale_\n\nAfter Wasting January through March decorating, we put it back in the fridge until July 3rd. We sent out a letter to every citizen to come to Texas, because it can fit the most. The plane ride would be free. When everyone arrived, we waited until the morning of July 4th and sang Happy Birthday. The rest of the day would be spent on cutting the cake.\n\nThis cake had many flavors. Like a Neapolitan Ice Cream, this cake had Strawberry, Vanilla (My Favorite), and Chocolate. This year's 4th of July was amazing, but I am so glad that I won't have to deal with the 500th Birthday of the USA.\n\n_Oh yeah, also I ruined the entire world's economy. Oh well._**\n\nーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー\n\nBe sure to Downvote, Report, and Comment on how much I suck!" ]	2
	[WP] I know they're nothing but old robots but in a way these faulty malfuctioning things have become like family to me and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let anyone lay a finger on them.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 saw the oil run slick,\n\nThey say it's like their blood,\n\nI know that blood is red,\n\nThe oil is dark and brown,\n\nThey don't bleed like they should.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe boys chased them with rocks,\n\nSometimes there was laughter,\n\nOne child's pointed finger,\n\n\"We made you, we break you,\"\n\nA reason for the slaughter.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nRusty broke yesterday,\n\nA circle of small arms,\n\nBeat him into metal,\n\nRising, falling, killing,\n\nSteel can't resist their harm.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nToday I buried scrap,\n\nThat used to be my friend,\n\nExcept for one sharp piece,\n\nMade sharper on a rock,\n\nDark stone, and dark intend.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI saw the blood run slick,\n\nThey said they didn't mean it,\n\nI know what death they gave,\n\nBirds come home, like anger,\n\nAnd they bleed like they should." ]	2
	[WP] The news has been covering it for weeks, everyone knows about it, has prepared for it; but when the asteroid hits... Nothing happens. No death, no destruction. It's like it never even existed.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "Everyone remembers where they were when the asteroid hit. It was impossible not to; ever since the astronomists announced that Hypnos was right on course to hit Shanghai, China on October 22nd, 2022, the date was forever imprinted into the minds of (nearly) every person on Earth. \n\n\nIt was almost surprising, at first, when we first found out, how little anyone did. After the news of such a cataclysmic event I would've expected pandemonium, people running out on the streets, fires, destruction. There was none of it. We were worried, of course, how couldn't you be? But it was with an easily-acquired resignation that the people of Earth put faith in the great minds to dig the planet out of its imminent grave. And then, once the initial shock wore off and everyone was done contemplating the possibility of death, life went on. \n\n\nIt was true that a few went off the deep end completely, becoming obsessed with building their shelters and with 'preparing' for doomsday. And maybe the stock traders were a little more risky in their investments and maybe the young people were a little more daring. But all in all, people kept going to work. They kept sending their kids to school, and the shops and restaurants and big companies stayed open. People planned for the future, saving money and getting married and having kids. It was almost easy to forget the inevitability of the colossal asteroid that was destined to collide with the Earth and kill a billion people on impact and 6 billion more in the years to come. \n\n\nEasy, really, unless you were one of the top astronauts working on the case. \n\n\nHypnos consumed my mind. I spent nearly every waking moment checking and rechecking if it had gone off course (it never did), holding conferences with engineering companies to try and build something to destroy or at least damage the asteroid, making evacuation plans designed to spare the largest amount of people possible from that first blow. \n\n\nIt was useless work. I thought we had succeeded, once, when Hypnos seemed to remain almost stagnant for a few months. I knew it wouldn't change course; I was just hoping we could buy some time. But before long it was hurtling right at us again, as if it was purposefully playing mind games with us. \n\n\nIt was on the evening of October 12th, 2022 that I admitted defeat. I had spent a few moments in a state of glorious triumph- my partner from the engineering company and I had devised a plan that would not only stop Hypnos in it's tracks but veer it off course completely-sparing Earth from its terrible fate.\n\n\n\"You've really done it, Kara.\" I beamed at the engineer who had devoted the past 2 years of her life to working with me for a solution to the Hypnos problem. \n\n\n\"Thanks to you! Now all I'm going to need is for you to check over my calculations and make the necessary adjustments.\"\n\n\nI pored over her notes; everything seemed right to me. I couldn't believe it. After all this time, so close to the arrival date...\n\n\n\"Kara, what's the date?\"\n\n\n\"I have no idea.\" That wasn't suprising; with the intensity with which we had been working on the problem, trivial things like dates were easy to forget.\n\n\nI glanced at the calendar on the wall. October 12th. I looked back at Kara's notes. Projected time for completion of project: 44 days. \n\n\nI left the room without a second glance at Kara, who made no attempt to follow me but instead grabbed at her notes. In a few seconds she would make my same realization. \n\n\nI left the laboratory and nearly ran to the dormitories that had been set up near the lab for the researchers. I nearly trampled a few people as I sprinted through the hall, unlocked my door, threw my coat on the ground and dialed a phone number.\n\n\nBeep, beep, beep. You have reached the Nelson family! Samantha, Brian, Hannah or Kelsey will call you back soon. Leave a message!\n\n\nI called again, again, again. I cursed my wife for being too damn old fashioned to carry a cell phone. I cursed myself to refuse to buy my daughters a cell phone at such a young age. I cursed myself for having the brains to save the world a few days too late. \n\n\nOutside my bedroom window was the steady routine of 5 o'clock traffic and the beginnings of an extremely early snowfall. I wanted the world to stop right here, to press pause on it all. I knew exactly what would come after October 22nd; destruction, starvation, the abandonment of society and civilization as we knew it. I would have done anything to stop that from happening, not just for my own instinct of survival but my own dream of seeing my daughters get married and live out their lives and getting to grow old with my wife. I was terrified of having to fight for my life amongst looters and savages and to see my family ravaged by the chaos. Most of all I wished that I hadn't had to feel the cutting irony of finding the solution to the world's big problem a few days too late. \n\n\nI didn't know what else there was to do but I knew that I wasn't a brave man. I had tried to save the world, and I had failed. I took the handgun that I kept in my beside drawer to protect from intruders and I brought it to my head. I looked out the window, and I remembered the world as I loved it, with the bustle of the city and the smiles of my family and the ignorant hopes that everything would be alright in the end. \n\n\nKara Johnson burst into the room and screamed. \n\n\nHe had a funeral attended by nearly thousands, most of them people he had never known and who had only come to know him when the news of his discovery broke out. After the funeral, life went on.\n\n\nOn October 17th, 3 days after Hypnos had been shattered to smithereens by Kara Johnson's design, she found herself again in the laboratory she had come to know so well. She picked up her belongings and sighed. No one knew, really, why Brian had killed himself. He should've been overjoyed. She ripped the aging calendar off of the wall and turned it over. She shook her head in slight amusement as she read '2006' on its cover. Why in the hell did Brian still have a calendar from so long ago in his lab? She peered closer. There was a strange mark on the date 'October 12'. Written in the spacing under the date was 'Kelsey's birthday'. How cute! She left it pinned on the wall." ]	2
	[WP] It's 3 AM and your essay on ancient civilizations of the year 2,000 AD is due in the morning. Wishing you had paid far more attention in class than you did, you give it your best attempt.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 ancient civilizations of 2,000 AD were full of different ideas and events. The Greeks and Persians believed that the earth was round and that water came from the Sun; as did Romans and Egyptians.\n\nIn the Bible, Jesus refers to a lake in heaven and an arch over the place where Christ is believed to have been born. Many modern believers know of these beliefs, but they could never have met Jesus and yet they believe so much in him.\n\nMany modern Christians now believe that they are descended from Noah's Ark. They may still believe this, but not this way and some are being persecuted because they may not agree with the Bible, the Church and the current religious orthodoxy.\n\nJesus of Nazareth has always been a mystery. What was he like? Was he a man, a woman or was he a god?\n\nThe Book of Esther of Esther tells of a man who came from a small town called Kedar, where the Bible tells us Esther lived.\n\nHe was very old by the Bible standards and could not speak. His name was Asherah and he lived with his wife." ]	2
	[WP] An Item duplication glitch has been discovered.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 quarter machine.\n\nI was at the local arcade and I was down my last quarter. It was old and beaten up. It would still pass as currency but these arcade machines keep kicking it back out.\n\nI put it back in my pocket and grabbed a dollar bill from my wallet. I walked up to the coin machine and slid the dollar in. Four brand new quarters clanked in the tray but it then spit my dollar back out. \"Oh it must be broken\" I thought. I let the manager know and he came and checked it out. He took my dollar and put it in. 4 quarters spit out but the dollar didn't.\n\n\"I dunno what to tell you kid.\" He walked off to the back room.\n\n\"I wonder if a hundred dollar bill would work...\" I thought to myself as I opened my back pack. I had a secret compartment where I hid the hundred my mom gave me for Christmas.\n\n I stood in front of the machine with the hundred in my hand. \"What if it doesn't work?\" I thought. \" I don't want just a hundred in quarters...\" I gulped as my hand approached the slot. The machine grabbed the bill and started dumping out quarters faster than usual. I opened my back pack and shoveled them in. As the last quarter spit out of the machine the hundred slid out\" I looked around and no one saw what had just happened. I zipped my backpack up and ran.\n\nI got about half way home and stopped next to the lake. I counted my quarters and all of them were there. \"Oh yeah!\" I dug the rusty old quarter out of my pocket. I guess I don't really need you anymore. I flicked the quarter into the lake.\n\nI came back the next day. \"Maybe if i spread it out across a few days nobody would notice\" I walked up to the machine and set my backpack down, I took my quarters with me because I know my brother far too well. I dug the hundred out of my pocket and slid it in without hesitation. Nothing happened, the machine didn't give me back my hundred either...\n\nI ran up to the manager saying \"it ate my hundred!\"\n\n\"You shouldn't put such large bills in the machine. It only takes twenties and under.\"\n\n\"But it took my hundred yesterday...\"\n\n\"You took a hundred dollars in quarters yesterday and you came back again today? Kid what are you doing with all those quarters?\"\n\n\"I uh... Really like that new Pacman game.\"\n\n\"Kids blowin their life savings on a bunch TV screens. I don't understand....\" He walked over to the machine. \"This one?\" I nodded. He opened it with a key and took out a small metal box. \"There ain't no hundred in here kid...\"\n\n\"But I... I just...\" \n\n\"Tough luck kid...\" He closed the machine and walked off.\n\n\"I don't understand...\" I went to go grab my back pack expecting the weight of the quarters but It was light as a feather. \"No...\" I flipped it around and unzipped it. There was nothing but a small piece of paper jammed up under a flap... \"A fortune cookie fortune?\" I picked it up and read it.\n\n\"You will find an old coin that will bring you great wealth.\" It had the numbers 4 10 2 9 7 26 written below. My heart sank." ]	2
	[WP]Unexpected item in bagging area.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "\"All Mega-Mart customers, we must ask you to please proceed in an orderly fashion to the nearest exit. If you are unsure of the nearest exit, please take your cart pager from the right side of your cart handle, or look up for the lighted arrows indicating the way from the department you are in. Please leave your carts in place but take the pager-it will direct you back to your cart when you return.\"\n\nI looked around at my fellow shoppers as the message repeated. When I looked down at the cart, I saw the pager flashing an arrow, and when I looked to the ceiling I saw lighted arrows above me moving toward the front of the store. My fellow shoppers and I made our ways to the exits, and as we stepped we were directed toward a barrier at the far end of the parking lot. Police cars were blocking the entrances to the parking lot, and in the far corner there were vehicles from the local S.W.A.T. unit, where two officers were donning blast suits.\n\nOne of the last shoppers out, I walked over to an officer at the barrier and stood beside him. \"Bomb threat?\"\n\n\"Nope-not a threat.\"\n\n\"Can I ask what happened?\"\n\nHe looked over at me, then to the side, then looked back ahead. \"Unexpected item in the bagging area.\"\n\n\"What?!? Is that all?\"\n\n\"You do know what the hoopla was about this Mega-Mart opening, right?\"\n\n\"No-I just heard they had good prices.\"\n\n\"You didn't notice the cart design?\"\n\n\"What about it? I thought it was just something to be unique.\"\n\n\"This was the first fully-automated Mega-Mart in the country. No cashiers, no stockers, no scan-and-bag self-checkouts. Product unloaded, deployed, and re-ordered by automated systems. Sensors and automated clean-up systems for spills and other accidents. Search screens on every row, with colored arrows displayed on the ceiling and your cart pager to lead you to the search item. Do your shopping, load up your cart, push it into the checkout unit, take your pager and walk to the other end, and pay at the display when your cart comes out with all of your product scanned, ordered, and bagged or boxed. A handful of actual employees to keep an eye on equipment and schedule technicians when there is a major problem. Really pissed off the $15/hr crowd, but most anyone could have seen it coming. The only surprise was that Mega-Mart beat the other big-box retailers to begin full deployments.\"\n\n\"But why would an 'unexpected item in the bagging area' trigger an evacuation?\"\n\n\"Every item in Mega-Mart is tagged with both RFID tags and barcode. The checkout units have a number of systems to make sure every product is successfully scanned, and discard any trash that might have been dropped into the cart. It even has systems for detecting if a purse, wallet, or even service animal or a child was left in the cart and will back the cart out. No, if something triggered that, it was something that shouldn't be expected to occur in the store.\"\n\nI watched as the two officers in blast suits entered the building, trailing behind an ROV. \"But the bomb squad-?\"\n\n\"A precaution, to be sure, but Homeland Security has been sending out alerts for the past few months. Threats by anti-technology groups, workers' rights groups, you name it-even whackjobs who just know how much Mega-Mart has been in the news recently, and might think attacking it a way to get attention or support for themselves or their cause du jour. I think I heard a few days ago that there had been a threat at one Mega-Mart or another about every other day, even the ones that haven't been converted yet. This, however, was the first one I've heard of where something suspicious was detected by the checkout system.\"\n\n-----\n\nFifteen minutes later, we were surprised by a dull thud, and were allowed back into the store a half-hour after we exited. While checking out, I noticed one of the checkout units with a hastily-written \"out-of-order\" sign, and a faint smell reminiscent of the shooting range in the air. I marveled at the speed and efficiency of the checkout unit, especially how well my items were arranged for a machine, and the adventure my shopping trip had become, all for an unexpected item in the bagging area.\n\n-----\n\n\"And in other news, the local Mega-Mart was evacuated briefly this afternoon after a suspicious item was found in the checkout area. The item was rendered safe by bomb squad technicians, and the investigation is ongoing. We will update you as the story develops.\"\n\n-----\n\n(Word count: 777. Please let me know what you like/dislike about the post. Thank you in advance for your time and attention.)" ]	2
	[WP] Whenever a person burns portion of their favourite food in the Magical World Flame, a sentient pet arrives at their home next morning, depending on the dish. You threw an M&M's packet in the flame, and next day, you wake up to see a silver-haired Janitor Titan at your doorstep.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 my second year in Camp Half-Blood. I was finally starting to accept that the powerful beings greeks called gods did in fact exist, and I was the son of one.\n\nI'll spare the details, as it's a whole another story, but I was discovered by a satyr who was undercover as one of my classmates. We were on a school trip and I managed to piss off a few naiads when I threw a coke can in a river. \n\nIt was dinner time, we all gathered around the campfire, everyone took the best piece of food out of their dishes and threw it in. \n\nI had only candy in my plate, as I wasn't hungry and just took something off the dessert table. I decided to burn the M&M packet, my most favourite thing in the whole world, and wished for my father to finally reveal himself.\n\nAs soon as it dropped into the fire, I felt uneasy, as if water was running down my whole body. I had heard stories, that once in a while, if your thought is kindhearted enough, a magical being will soon come to you and become your pet. It sounded weird, even by my standards.\n\nI went to sleep early that night, not being able to shake off that constant feeling of unease.\n\nSleeping didn't help either. I dreamed I was in a cold, reddish looking cave, so big that I couldn't see the ceiling. \n\nI saw three strange figures flying up in the sky, and when they noticed I was looking at them they made a sound so terrifying, I lost the ability to speak. I also saw another figure - that of a big man, in what seemed a blue uniform, with silver hair that somehow glistened in the darkness, holding a creature in his arms.\n\nI woke up to a knock on the door, covered in sweat from the dream I had. \n\nThe knock was heavy and it seemed like the person on the other side of the door was big. I got out of bed, carefully walked to the door and peeked through the peephole. Outside, the same tall, silver-haired man in blue uniform was standing, holding a cat that was bigger than any other I've seen in his arms.\n\nI opened the door.\n\n\"My name is Bob\", he introduced himself.\n\nI decided to try approaching him directly. \"Can you tell me what the hell you're doing here, first I dream about you and now you're knocking on my door holding a giant cat?\"\n\nHe replied calmly \"First, this is not a cat, it's a sabertooth cub and his name is Small Bob.\"\n\n\"Secondly\", he continued, \"Your father sent me to deliver your new pet,\", holding up the cub.\n\nMy mind started to race with questions. Not only were the stories about the special pet true, but mine was a gift from my goldy father, who didn't even reveal himself.\n\nSitting quietly and mulling over the information I just received, I started connecting the dots. The big cave-like place, the three flying figures... \n\n\"My father is Hades?!\" I yelled.\n\n\"Yes child, and he has heard your prayer, sending you a gift for not revealing himself earlier. There's an agreement about these kind of situations, after all! \", the silver haired man said.\n\nI didn't want to think about what that agreement could be, or what Hades being my father meant, so I concentrated on the gift.\n\n\"So, you say this is actually a Sabertooth tiger cub, right? How can this be possible, they've been extinct for a very long time? \"\n\n\"This one in perticular, was created a year ago, in the Smithsonian.\", he said, looking down at the creature.\n\n\"When I first saw him, I knew I had to take him with me, almost as if it was fate.\", he continued.\n\nBob started tearing up and before he began crying, he handed me over Small Bob and said \"You take care of Small Bob, you hear? I'll come check on him from time to time. Oh, and also , can you tell Perseus that I know what happened between us, and that I feel better as this new person, rather than the monster I was.\"\n\nWith these words, he dissapeared. He left me with thousands of questions I needed to know the answer to and a sabertooth cub. \n\nFirst, I needed to figure out how to raise a tiger cub, whose fangs were even at this age, longer than my hand from the beginning of the palm to the tip of my middle finger. \n\n\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\\~\n\nFirst thing I've ever written. English isn't my first language and I have no experience in writing, so give me your honest opinion." ]	2
	[WP] aliens have decided to establish communications with humans. However, the only information they have about our species has come from “the onion” articles, and they don’t understand that it’s satire.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "\"Subcommunicator Rastlix, do you understand why you are here?\"\n\n\"No,\" Rastlix said.\n\nThe noises from the tribunal could be translated into a sort of resigned sigh. \"Very well,\" Tribunal Member One said, \"We shall recount your failings.\"\n\nTribunal Member Two spoke: \"You understood the obviously untrue as true.\"\n\nTribunal Member Three spoke: \"You reported the obviously untrue to your supervisor as true.\"\n\nTribunal Member One finished the recitation: \"You at no point attempted to rectify, or apparently understand, these mistakes.\"\n\n\"I don't understand,\" Subcommunicator Rastlix said.\n\n\"Yes,\" Tribunal Member One said, \"that is exactly the problem that I just stated.\"\n\n\"Listen,\" Rastlix said, \"They put this information into an electronic form. How was I supposed to know it was untrue?\"\n\n\"The charges,\" Tribunal Member Two said, \"are not simply that you reported the untrue as true, but that you reported the obviously untrue as true.\"\n\n\"How was I supposed to know!?\" Rastlix said. \"Why would they go through all the trouble of creating an entire planet-spanning network to carry information among themselves and then fill it with nonsense?\"\n\nTribunal Member Three said: \"If the humans wish to impede their own communications and waste their own power, it is not our place to prevent it. They are not on trial currently. You are.\"\n\n\"I couldn't have known!\" Subcommunicator Rastlix insisted.\n\n\"Subcommunicator,\" Tribunal Member One asked, \"how often did you review the data?\"\n\n\"Every one-tenth shift.\" Rastlix said, seemingly relieved to answer questions it understood.\n\n\"And what did that review entail?\"\n\n\"I scanned the data for errors in the interception process,\" Rastlix said. \"There weren't errors,\" it added. \"I presented the data exactly as the humans wrote it.\"\n\n\"Did you not check the data for internal consistency?\" Tribunal Member Two asked.\n\n\"I don't know what you mean,\" Rastlix said.\n\n\"Clearly,\" Tribunal Member Three said dryly. \"Did you not find it odd that, on multiple occasions the data suggested that the Earth had or would be destroyed?\"\n\n\"That seems newsworthy,\" Rastlix said.\n\n\"And yet,\" Tribunal Member One said, \"the Earth is still present.\"\n\n\"Lucky!\" Rastlix said.\n\n\"Did you not find it odd that many of the claims in the data were trivially verifiably false? That many of the claims contradicted each other?\"\n\n\"I didn't really verify much beyond the Earth still existing,\" Rastlix said. \"And, honestly, I didn't actually know that was true until you just said it just now.\"\n\n\"Allow me to test a theory,\" Tribunal Member Three said. \"Subcommunicator Rastlix, I am Tribunal Member Three.\"\n\n\"Okay,\" Rastlix said.\n\nTribunal Member One immediately caught on. \"Subcommunicator Rastlix, I am Tribunal Member Three.\"\n\n\"Sounds good,\" Rastlix said.\n\nTribunal Member Two rolled its many eyes. \"Subcommunicator Rastlix, I am Tribunal Member Three.\"\n\n\"Makes sense,\" Rastlix said.\n\n\"Subcommunicator Rastlix,\" the actual Tribunal Member Three said, \"Which one of us is Tribunal Member Three?\"\n\n\"Um... That one,\" it said, pointing at Tribunal Member Two.\n\n\"And how did you know that?\" Tribunal Member One asked.\n\n\"Because it said so,\" Rastlix said, looking at the Tribunal as though the question was incredibly stupid.\n\n\"I see,\" Tribunal Member Two said. \"So you have absolutely no ability whatsoever to evaluate the fitness of new information as it pertains to old information.\"\n\n\"I don't think I know all those words,\" Rastlix said.\n\n\"You're a Communicator!\" Tribunal Member Three said.\n\n\"I've been promoted to Communicator!\" Rastlix smiled.\n\nThe tribunal members looked at each other.\n\n\"We are unanimous,\" they said unanimously. \"You have been found dangerously incompetent and unsuited to any task. The sentence is immediate immolation.\"\n\n\"Immolation?\" Raslix said, \"does that mean-\" he continued before being immolated.\n\n\"Next case,\" Tribunal Member One said. \"Communicator Trantix, do you understand why you are here?\"\n\nCommunicator Trantix stepped forward, then realized it had stepped in the ashen remains of Subcommunicator Raslix. It attempted to move to a less remains-filled area of the room while also shaking off the ashes that had clung to its boots. \"Yes,\" it said finally. \"Though it is an assumption. As Subcommunicator Raslix's direct superior, I am in some way responsible for its dereliction.\"\n\n\"That is correct,\" Tribunal Member Two, \"And while there will be a great many questions about why the late Subcommunicator's data went unquestioned, we have a more pressing question about the nature of the data.\"\n\n\"Why,\" Tribunal Member Three continued, \"was Subcommunicator Raslix's access to the entire planet-spanning information network limited to one small portion of it?\"\n\n\"Permission to discuss a forbidden topic?\" Communicator Trantix asked.\n\n\"You may directly address any topic, so long as it is relevant to the Tribunal,\" Tribunal Member One spoke.\n\n\"Subcommunicator Raslix's access to the humans' network was limited by the 'Nannysoft 5000' network access program that we obtained from the humans,\" Communicator Trantix said. \"However, it incorrectly categorized the site that the Subcommunicator gathered his data from as a... cooking site. Forbidden by us, but not by the humans whose network we were accessing.\"\n\nThe Tribunal, as professional as they were, did not visibly react to the mention of the forbidden topic of cooking.\n\n\"Why,\" Tribunal Member Two asked eventually, \"were these limitations put in place?\"\n\nCommunicator Trantix glanced over at the pile of ash. \"You met Subcommunicator Raslix, right?\"\n\nThe tribunal spoke unanimously: \"Case dismissed!\"" ]	2
	[WP] you accidentally get sent a letter meant for a doctor ■■■■■. However when you tried to inspect the letter for a return address instead the envelope dissolved and you were swallowed up by a swarm of nanites from inside. Your mind is now an ai controlling the swarm and you have no idea why.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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\nIt didn’t even hurt. That was all I kept thinking. I’d just watched my body get disassembled, and in excruciating slow motion, until I figured out how to dial up the speed of my perception. It was right there in the user guide, attached to the neural network that the nanites had scanned in from my own head.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nA head that was now gone. I felt oddly ambivalent about that thought. I tried other body parts with the same results. Heart, eyes. Don’t care. Genitals? Nope, not interested. I explored the additional data banks the nanites had brought with them, time perception turned down. I guess it was like overclocking my brain. Lots of information to help a new user assimilate to their new life. Lots on how to control the swarm, and bind it to their bidding. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nIt could be as dispersed as to be basically invisible, and without form. People could walk through the swarm like a cloud of steam, and feel nothing on their skin. A skin that I could flay from them in an instant if I so wished. Or the swarm could group so tightly, making them dense as depleted uranium, and in this form could punch through walls and armor that I had no time to disassemble slowly.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI found I was basically an unstoppable act of God. A force of will that could change the world. The problem of course, was what will? Detached from all the bodily desires was unsettling. I was not hungry, thirsty, cold or tired. Knew I never would be again. I thought again of my balls, and new in the same way that I would never desire again. So much of the complexity human behavior and will is driven by these basic impulses if you go deep enough. Human behavior. For the first time I realized that I was outside of that now. I was the swarm, and I wanted nothing. I could steal anything, but what was the point of owning it. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nHelping people, that I could do. Altruism is still an impulse right? I directed the swarm to the nearest hospital, but then paused. I was effectively all powerful, I had no need to go to the sick people, they were all around me. Scanning the passers-by in the street outside my apartment, I identified 3 people with tumors, that they may or may not have known of. My swarm made short work of the cancers, removing them cell by cell, stripping them away from nerve and blood vessel with a precision no surgeon could ever match. If they knew, they were going to get a big surprise at their next CAT scan. If they did not then they would get to postpone that conversation with the doctor, that cough had finally cleared up.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n3 lives saved. And still I felt nothing. I wasn’t human. It was akin to saving a beetle from a puddle. I preferred that to seeing it die, but ultimately it wasn’t important. Still, I retained enough of my humanity to set a scan and fix subroutine running, so that whenever not otherwise engaged, my nanites would perform this adhoc surgery as I moved around. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nThere was, it seemed, only one emotion or desire that survived. Curiosity, the thirst for knowledge. If I couldn’t feel anymore, I would know. And to begin there was only one question that I wanted to answer. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nWho did this to me?\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\n&#x200B;\n\nr/TallerestTales", "“Well, Agent Swaim? What do you have to say for yourself?”\n\n“It’s all in the report-“\n\n“Damn the report! I want you to explain what the hell was going on!”\n\n“Ma’am?”\n\n“A simple question, Agent. You were on a mission. Voluntarily, I might add. With the fate of the world at stake. And less than a one in a million chance of surviving. And yet.. here you sit.”\n\nI swallowed hard, and tried to calm down. “The mission... is a success, Ma’am. Dr Destructulese is finished. For good, this time. It’s just, I didn’t have anything to do with it.”\n\n“Agent...” She rested her face on her hand. Oh, I was so dead. “Explain!” she demanded. \n\n“For the past year I have been living as Dr Phyllis Guttenheim. PhD, MD, and a large number of other acronyms. The perfect bait for the bad Doctor’s plan. Someone with the mental fortitude to survive the transition, but still be malleable enough to take his directions afterwards.”\n\n“The transition? I presume you now know how it was accomplished?”\n\n“Yes, Ma’am. A delivery drone, either suborned or an imposter, delivers the catalyst nanites to the target. With the ubiquity of said drones, they go unnoticed by everyone but the recipient. After the conversion process, the target’s body is temporarily puppeted so as to arrange an ‘accident’, while the now-primed AI Swarm is brought back by the self-same delivery drone.”\n\n“That knowledge alone would have been worth your sacrifice. The one you didn’t make, Agent!”\n\nI sighed. “It wasn’t my fault, Ma’am!” I knew I was whining, but I just didn’t care. “The drone technology messed up. My cover was located in Apartment L-7. The apartment complex chose rather... ornate lettering for their doors. And the drone misread Apartment L-1’s placard.”\n\n“That doesn’t explain why the photo recognition didn’t realize it had the wrong person!”\n\n“L-1’s resident was a Marcus Gandalfini, who had just finished an ‘epic smoke-off’ in his apartment. I believe the term is ‘hotboxing’? Anyway, his apartment had been completely full of a dense water and oil-based particulate cloud. One which diffused the facial recognition camera enough that it mistook him for me.”\n\n“For... you Agent Swaim?”\n\n“He had a long ponytail, and rather effeminate features.”\n\n“Understood. But what about the name?”\n\n“He... thought it was a pizza delivery. For one ‘Doctor Feels Good’. Which was...” I ran a hand through my hair, and winced internally, “...both a name he often used while high, and close enough to ‘Dr. Phyllis Guttenheim’ that the drone accepted it.” I still couldn’t calculate the odds on that.\n\n“And so...?”\n\n“And so young Marcus was uploaded. While on the tail end of a multi-day ingestion of enough canabis to literally kill most people. His incredibly altered brain state was converted into the operating system of the nanite swarm. Which was whisked back to Dr Destruculese’s lair, and introduced to the collective 3,491 other captured intelligences.”\n\n“Where, and let me read your report verbatim, ‘The group of AI’s all became similarly affected by his introduction’?”\n\n“A... contact high, Ma’am.”\n\nShe continued reading. “‘And proceeded to strobe every light in the lair, and overloaded the sound system with a cacophony of bass, percussion, and whale sounds’?”\n\n“I believe they were attempting to have a rave.”\n\n“‘At which point-‘“\n\n“At which point the Doctor became disoriented, fell over the edge of one of his non-OSHA-compliant catwalks, and plummeted head-first nearly fifty feet into bare concrete. Dead instantly.”\n\n“And the AI’s? What danger do they pose?”\n\n“None, apparently. It seems that they’re currently too busy attempting to create digital versions of pizza, nachos, and cheap tacos.”\n\n“Thank you. You’re dismissed, Agent.”\n\nAs I walked out of the Director’s office, I paused, and apologized. “Sorry for dropping such a weird report Ma’am.”\n\nHer laugh surprised me, as I don’t think anyone had heard it before. “Weird? No, just annoying. Dealing with AI means I have to submit forms to both the Machine Union and the Digital Person’s Rights Collective. No, this isn’t even in my top 500 weirdest cases.”\n\nWhich, quite frankly, was a thought that kept me up at night for the next three weeks." ]	3
	[WP] You are a detective who has just been murdered. You must now figure out who killed you as a ghost	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 ruined my carpet, but I guess it doesn't matter any more. There used to exist a fundamental desire to keep living -- to keep pushing through everything; that too, is gone. I had a few bills due the next week that I'd kept putting off because I was lazy. Well, not my problem any more. Even that library book I know I'm going to have to pay a fortune in overdue fees for...\n\nIt doesn't matter anymore. Not even my job. I guess it's ironic, to be killed by the one person I've been looking for this whole time, but that's life, I guess. \n\nIt's also death. \n\nI still want to know who did this though -- call it a professional habit or a desire for revenge, but I just knew that I was gonna track this son of a b--\n\n\"Good evening. You'll be Louie's latest victim then?\" I spun around to face my new interlocutor. My interloper was getting away, but I wasn't in any hurry. I had all the clues I needed.\n\nIt was a ghost. A man slightly above average height dressed in a drab suit and office pants. His face looked a little haggard, but I didn't blame him. Like my body lying on the floor, he had a slit along his throat. It glistened silver-blue in the light of the 9 o'clock news. \n\nOh fuck. I spun around and looked at my hands. \"I'm a ghost, aren't I?\"\n\n\"Yes, you are! Louie Pontifer got you real good, didn't he? He's a dab hand with his lockpicks, I'll tell you what.\"\n\n\"Who the hell are you? Who the hell is Louie Pontifer?\"\n\nThe man chuckled lamely. \"I'm Charlie. Louie's first victim.\"\n\nOdd, Charlie wasn't any of Louie's known victims. I mentioned that fact to him and he nodded his head.\n\n\n\"I wouldn't be on your list, no. Bastard rammed me after getting properly sloshed and fucking left me for dead, but don't worry, I'm making him pay, ohh yes. Neither me nor Cindy are on your list since we were both accidents. After he killed me, he went on another bender and ran her over a week or so after as well. Fucking idiot can't drive to save our lives. Cindy's with the rest of the crew though, she hates him just as much as I do. We had a good chat for a few days after she died, funny woman. Love the 'hell' pun by the way, although I'll have to tell you the others are a bit sick of the whole 'hell' thing -- you're going to have to work a lot harder to get a reaction from any of them.\"\n\n\"Lin. Steve Lin.\" I held out my hand. Charlie waved his hand through mind and winked. \"Yeah, we can't really do those here. Look, are you coming or going? We can't get too far away from Louie or we,\" Some jazz hands from my new 'friend', \"move on. So, you coming or going?\"\n\n\"I'll come. I need to get a closer look at the suspect.\"\n\n\"Once a detective, always a detective, I guess!\" I silently cursed. How was I supposed to tell anyone about who killed me? \"You're out of luck, unfortunately. The only person we can talk to is Louie himself. Well, and each other, but are we still people, really?\" Louie started making his way out of my apartment.\n\n\"I feel like one.\" I made to follow him as he shrugged.\n\n\"I don't, but you'll get used to it. Come!\" I sighed as I walked out the door, which had been left ajar.\n\nCharlie took the wall. \n\n---\n\nThe trip was quite eventful. I hadn't expected to find so many other ghosts crowded around Louie, but there were at least ten or so. Given Louie had killed upwards of thirty people (including me, now), that made the previous fact a little less surprising. Even so... they seemed an oddly friendly bunch. We watched as Louie went to sleep and talked about me. \n\nActually, I got grilled. They wanted to know every detail about my life and my job and how close I had come to catching him. I guess it gets a little boring with nothing to do, but I wondered why they didn't just cut lose and move on. Even so, I stuck around. I guess I did know who wield the knife, but the first thing you learn as a detective is that motive is the key to everything. No motive, no murder. Additionally, it felt like cheating for someone to have just tole me the name of my killer. \n\nThe grilling continued on to the next day as we followed Louie to his work at a locksmiths (I inwardly groaned -- why did he have to work at a locksmiths?), albeit at a lesser pace. The other shades had started to lose interest in the stories I had to tell and had started breaking off and had started doing something odd. They were taking it in turns to whisper words into Louie's ear. From the increasingly strained look on his face, I could tell that Louie was definitely hearing them as well.\n\n\"What are you guys doing?\" I eventually asked, curious and slightly afraid of the answer I would recieve.\"\n\n\"We're getting a bit of revenge. Just reminding him that we're still around.\" \n\n\"You're what?!\" I was shocked.\n\n\"We're haunting him. You know, ghost stuff. Why else would we still be here?\" Charlie whispered into my ear, an unsettlingly sibilant quality to his voice. I involuntarily flew up. Jeez, that was creepy, and I technically have nothing left to worry about.\n\n\"You shouldn't do that.\"\n\n\"Why not? He killed us. He killed you!\" I winced. Hard to argue against that.\n\nThis torment continued through the afternoon and long into the night. Even though I was a victim, I still felt sorry for Louie as he tossed and turned in bed.\n\nThrough the night.\n\nBreakfast.\n\nMorning Traffic Jam. \n\nLunch. \n\nThat one customer that swears up and down that 'yessir this box is totally mine and I did not steal it nosir but I have lost the keys can you please unlock it for me' and got angry at Louie for initially refusing service. Even when he finally did take his details so that 'we'll get it back to you tomorrow with our delivery man', the man was still frothing at the bit. \n\nEvening Traffic Jam.\n\nDinner. Man, Louie looked tired. So, so tired. \n\nIt was already bed time, and Louie hadn't slept in 36 hours. He took one look at the bed, shuddered, and went into the kitchen. He grabbed a kitchen knife and a slip of paper.\n\nWait. \n\nI recognised that paper. \n\nThat was the suspicous man from earlier today. \n\nI stopped following Louie. Saw the cloud of shades around his head, constantly feeding him words of insanity, and it was in that moment I knew that I had found the ones truly responsible for my death." ]	2
	[WP] As word gets around the animal kingdom that being in a symbiotic relationship with humans is a guarantee for survival, wild animals around the world instinctively do outlandish things to try to court with humans. Unfortunately, they have no understanding of human culture.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 just don't get it! I went to the bathroom in that stupid box, I climbed the curtains and I'll happily chase the light dot. Why is it only cute when cats do it?!\"\n\n\"I dunno, Eddie maybe there's just something you're missing?\"\n\n\"But what?? I do pest control too, I eat baby mice. I'm murderous! And unlike cats I don't shred the furniture. I know humans don't like shredded furniture. So what gives?\"\n\n\"I dunno man, cats are like soft and hairy and stuff?\"\n\n\"I'm soft and hairy! And okay, I can't purr, but I can click my pincers\".\n\n\"I guess cats have just cornered the market on those things? Us giant tarantulas gotta find another niche.\"", " \n\n\"Ok, Fred, I think I've got our way in!\"\n\n\"What are you talking about Allen? We've shat on em too many times, stolen too many half eaten cheeseburgers, we're practically mortal enemies with them! You'd be better off trying to nest with a crow than one of those hairless apes.\"\n\n\"No no, listen, this ones the real deal! I've never seen em do anything like this with the cats, hell even the dogs! I'm telling you we could be on easy street being hand fed sweet pure milk nectar for good this time!\"\n\n\"Uh huh. that's just what you said with your hairbrain 'Dance on the windshield' scheme. I still have nightmares of being shooed off by umbrellas.\"\n\n\"That was then!\" \n\n\"And what of your 'Shellfish for Sandwiches' policy? Huh? Ungrateful bastards didn't even pick em up off the ground much less look at what you brought em!\"\n\n\"I'm telling you this ones already worked! I've seen it work on all kinds of fowl we've just got to start doing it en masse before the ducks beat us to it.\"\n\n\"Goodness Allen don't start with the ducks again, you can't just blame all of lifes proble-\"\n\n\"I call it the 'Pre-Basting Proposition!'\"\n\n\"The...aw buddy come on!\"\n\n\"It works thank you very much, and I believe they may have already made the first move!\"\n\n\"You mean they are reaching out to us? Really\"\n\n\"Yup, spread their satisfying baste where they want us to meet, and all we got to do is dive on in!”\n\n“Allen.”\n\n“Then, paddle up to shore, and a whole bunch of em are there just waiting to scrub you down with all kinds of wondrous oils you could never hope to produce with your own glands!”\n\n“Allen…”\n\n“And you won’t believe this, but they put the food right into your mouth! The sweetest admixture, like ice cream on a hot day, and the best part, they let you go!”\n\n“Allen that’s just called an oil spill leave the poor humans alone.”", "Journal Entry #58: \n\nToday is the big day. I am not going to fail. The livelihood of my family, surrounding colonies and perhaps even my species is riding on this first operation. As the commander of the entire army for this this sector, I am responsible for conducting this exorcise in an efficient and effective manner with as little casualties as possible. We have been a pain in the ass to the humans for so long and have been getting slaughtered in huge numbers because of it. If we can prove our worth to them, I think we can make it out of this alive and the race of Army Ant will prevail as the main companion to the humans. \n\nThe plan is to make our way to the nearest human colony and break off into predetermined teams. The ladies with the Aerial Scouting Brigade have identified our first area of operation. It is a structure that houses two humans of the slower variety, which takes some of the risk away from us being destroyed too soon. According to ancient manuscripts, these humans have been at this site for thousands of our generations. As we display our usefulness to them in a show of clean cut militaristic organization. \n\nOnce the order is given, strike teams with specialized units numbering into the hundreds of thousands per team, will all begin our primary objectives at 2300 hours. The primary objectives are as follows: \n\n\\-Alpha Company will begin the lawn strike. Using intel from the scouts, all outlier plants that have not been specially protected and maintained by the humans will be shredded down to the soil. \n\n\\-A perimeter will be established around the main structure to prevent any others from interfering with our operation as more teams are escorted into the structure through various access points identified by our scouts. \n\n\\-Kill Teams 1 - 100 are comprised of the best of the best of our pure fighting warriors. They will be conducting a full primary sweep neutralizing any unwanted inhabitants trying to make a home in the human structure. They will search every nook and cranny of the home for cockroaches, spiders, termites and any other creature on the kill order. A mouse or lizard would be too much for even our strongest of troops but we can still overrun them and keep them at bay long enough to finish the operation.\n\n\\-Strike Teams 101 - 1000 will fan out in progressive waves across the floor surface of the entire structure and collect any and all wayward specs of dust, crumbs, dirt, fallen comrades, or any other unsightly item on the floor. For the larger items, sub-groups will be dispatched and will break off to carry these objects to the primary disposal point. \n\n\\-Strike Teams 1001-2000 are in charge of cleanup duty in three-dimensional space. They will be crawling through the crevices of all sub-structures throughout the home and will conduct their sweeps similar to Teams 2-10 taking all disposable materials to the primary disposal point. \n\n\\-The Aerial Scouting Brigade will be the eyes in the sky providing operation info and have a minute my minute sit-rep reported to me in case small adjustments need to be made and orders given to individual team leaders. \n\nWith our numbers reaching into millions we will be able to achieve complete sanitation down to the micron over every square inch of surface area in the structure all within an hour's time. Once everything marked for disposal is carried out of the home, the teams will bugger out in succession converse of their entry with Kill Team 1 sacrificing themselves to remain until morning when the ancient humans awaken see a spotless house and read the words \"Sanitation complete. Ant-kind is your enemy no longer.\"\n\nThe hope is that they will share this experience with other humans which will prompt the others to conscript our colony to live symbiotically with them. We have the numbers to pull this off. We have the organization. We have the strength and the willpower. We will succeed in the name of all Ant-kind!" ]	4
	[WP] A woman who's child was swapped with a changeling takes the fae who did it to fairy court for custody of both 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/js5XDFB)\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 Seelie Court of Avalon was a strange place. \n\r\nNot only for the Fae that inhabited it with their faces ranging from human to moth to beetle and back to some morphed version of the two, but also because the walls seemed to breathe. Cleo had seen many things in her life, but breathing walls ranked higher than beetle-faced Fae, it seemed. \n\r\nIf she stilled her trembling limbs for a moment she could almost feel the breath of the walls rush up and over along her skin leaving goosebumps in its wake. Vines covered the walls and rustled with each pass of air, creating an unsettling scratching to overlay the noisy court room. The scratching vines merged with the chitter of the Fae and left Cleo feeling as though insects were crawling over her. And, being deep below the land and sea of Cornwall, perhaps they even were. \n\r\nQueen Cilla rapped her bony fingers against a table next to her throne, startling Cleo from scratching at the imaginary bugs that wriggled over her wrist. The Fae lining the walls and around Cleo’s podium quietened as their leader called their attention and above them jars filled with wriggling fireflies floated, illuminating the room.\r\n\n“A petition, you say?” Queen Cilla crooned. Her long hair, purple at her roots to green at the tips like heather, fell against itself as she cocked her long, slim head. “For custody of both, children?” \r\n\nCleo nodded. Queen Cilla blinked, her black eyes disappearing for longer than a humans would, before she raised an eyebrow. The Fae around her tittered, and Cleo spied one of them who had eyes protruding from his head at the end of long antennae outright laugh. \n\r\n“Y-yes.” Cleo stuttered. A murmur went through the crowd and the antennae swivelled to glare at her. Weirdly, eyebrows were attached to the top of his eyeballs and if Cleo had been anywhere but in the bowels of the earth speaking to the Queen of Fae, she might have laughed at the sight. “I mean yes, Queen Cilla. I petition for custody of both children.” \n\r\nThe Queen smiled, thin dry lips pulling back over white teeth that were each filed to a point. \n\r\n“Petition denied.” \n\r\nA jeer went through the Seelie Court, the Fae rejoicing in a mix of human shouts and animal screeches. A rattle sounded behind the Queen’s ornate throne and a door opened. Cleo’s heart lurched in her chest and her shaking hands gripped the railing of the crumbling podium she was stood on. Her daughters were dragged out by a Fae in armour. The silver of his breastplate caught fireflies glow and refracted it, perfectly illuminated Cleo’s paling face.\n\r\nThe two Fae girls looked similar, of course, or the switch wouldn’t have been possible. But the girl she had raised for eighteen years had transformed since Cleo had seen her last. What used to be brown, unbroken skin had taken a bluish hue and her ears had elongated to points. They twitched as the Fae man swung her around and down to her knees before the queen. Difficult hair that even now Cleo’s fingers ached to brush, had melted from black to a deep purple and seemed to move independently of whatever way she swung her head. \n\r\nHer other daughter – part of her mind wanted to correct real daughter, but that wasn’t true, they were both her children, why couldn’t they see that? – looked as her the changeling had before. Brown skin, dark eyes and unruly hair that had been unevenly shorn at her shoulder. The Fae guard flung her down on the other side of the changeling, and both girls trembled at the Queen’s hoofed feet. \n\r\nSomeone was climbing up the podium behind her. Cleo guessed another guard to drag her down and away and up to the human realm. The heart that had lurched and stopped in her chest kicked into motion and she was shouting before the arms she knew to be behind her could take her away. \n\r\n“Please!” The jeering of the Fae stopped, and they faced her with their cruel, unyielding faces. Even the Queen, who had bent at the waist to rub the back of her fingers against the changeling’s cheeks looked up. Her alien eyes blinked, and a strange smile morphed her face into something from a nightmare. \n\r\nAn arm moved at the corner of Cleo’s eye but stilled as the Queen held up a long-fingered hand. “I wish to hear what the human has to say.”\n\r\nThe arm dropped and Cleo clutched her hands to her chest, to the hidden iron necklace that she wore around her neck to ward of Fae charms. \n\r\n“They’re my children. I love them. Please. Please don’t take them from me a-gain.” Cleo’s voiced cracked on the last word, lips trembling under the weight of separation. \n\r\nThe Queen’s smile widened, and Cleo spied a row of teeth behind the ones she had first seen. A shark smelling blood. “Humans know nothing of love. We send our children to you so that they may see the cruelty of their lesser cousins.”\n\r\n“No!” Cleo spat, and the Fae with antennae hissed at her, his forked tongue hitting the sides of his mouth. He was angry. But so was Cleo. “No. I bathed her. I nursed her. I read her songs and wiped her tears. I love her.”\n\r\nThe Queen laughed and Cleo winced at the sound that mimicked crunching metal. “And of the other daughter? The one we stole?” \n\r\n“She is mine too. My love for her did not just- just go away when you took her. Even now-” The taken daughter shifted at the Queen’s feet, turning just slightly to stare at the mother she never knew. The Queen clucked her tongue, fingers winding into Cleo’s stolen daughters hair and twisting her head back towards her. \n\r\n“Even now you what?” The walls heaved a great breath and Cleo’s hair flew about her face as they exhaled. “Love them both?”\n\r\n“Yes.” Cleo breathed, hands tightening on the railing. It splintered in places under her roughness and her fingers jerked, feeling the racked wood worm its way under her skin. “Yes I love them both. Of course I do. You say humans do not know how to love but do you? If they were your daughters, wouldn’t you do everything to get them back?”\n\r\nThe Queen ran a black tongue over the first layer of pointed teeth and released the head of the stolen girl. Cleo thought she had lost, then, and she made a baying noise at the back of her throat. But there was no waiting comfort in the Seelie Court. If she lost, she would lose them forever and that would be that. \n\r\nBut the Fae couldn’t lie and Cleo watched with blooming hope as the Queen’s nose twitched in irritation and she slumped back against her wooden throne. Her crown of rowan berries jiggled at the impact. \n\r\n“Six months they will stay with you. And six months they will stay here. No more or less until the end of your days.”\n\r\nCleo could barely hear her under the rise of water in her ears, or maybe she was crying still but it hardly mattered. Six months wasn’t nearly enough. But she was only one woman, she couldn’t take on the whole of the Seelie Court. She could deal with six months. She could. If it meant she could take them both home." ]	2
	[WP] Everyone knows Death, cutting people down with its scythe. Some may even know Birth, sowing the seeds for life. But the real MVP of the after life, with its trusty rake trying to get the most out of peoples lives, is Memory	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "\"Lindsey, you have got to date Graham!\"\n\n \"Silly Michellete, you can't beat me in Mario Kart!\"\n\n \"Simon Thompson, do you take Raymond Torrance to be your lovely wedded husband?\"\n\n \"Here it is. Here's the wedding. Homophobes will get mad at this.\" Memory told Birth, responsible for the birth of their future children. Memory's long purple dress, purple representing thought, with her long, pointy rake looked at Simon. Her long red hair swept through the summer wind, her green eyes shining in the sun. It was her job to make the couple have the most out of their lives together, as instructed by God, their boss, and their manager, Jesus.\n \"I do.\" Said Simon. His brown sugar hair flapped next to his sister, his groomsmaid. \n\n \"And do you, Raymond Torrance, take Simon Thompson to be your lovely wedded husband?\"\n \"This is it!\" cried Birth, with her long blonde hair and blue eyes. \"You inserted that as a memory?\"\n\n \" Why wouldn't I? \" replied Memory. Raymond's red hair was short, yet it flowed in the breeze. \"I do.\" He said in a serious tone. Memory inserted that as a permanent memory. \n\n \"Very well then . You may kiss the bri-...I mean...husband.\" the rabbi announced. \n\nA guest was dead. \"Death!\" Memory shouted at the Grim Reaper . \"What? It was an accident!\" \"You know how God treats you doing accidents! You'll need to cut yourself down after he hears about this! \"\n\n \"I don't care.\" Death replied as they walked up the stairs to heaven.", "Night. Ivy Smith laid in bed in her small room in Two Pines Retirement Home. She smacked her lips together and turned her head on her industrially fresh pillow. Ivy was thirsty. She moved her hand and plucked ineffectively at her starched sheets, trying to throw them off. She looked at where she knew her glass of water sat on her night stand. Weakly, slowly, she propped herself up on one elbow and leaned over to get it. She felt her fingertips brush against the glass, moved her hand back to wrap her hand around the glass and felt it topple out of reach. She heard it clink dully as it landed on the lace doily that covered the nightstand. \n\n\"Drat,\" she muttered as she fumbled for the switch to her bedside lamp. She flicked it on, finding arthritic knuckles made it hard to summon the strength to do so. Finally, her room was bathed in the soft yellow glow.\n\n\"No, no nooooo,\" she wailed faintly. The water had splashed the photo she kept of her late husband Trevor, the one where he looked dashing in his uniform, the photo he'd had taken before he was deployed to Korea. She gripped the photo in one hand and tried to wipe it down with the edge of her sheet. It was ruined.\n\n\"It'll dry out,\" I said softly. I was sat in the winged armchair Ivy had brought from her home and put next to the window so she could watch the birds. \n\n\"Who's there?\" Ivy's voice was panicky. \"Who's there?\" She shrank back and gripped her covers. \"Nurse! Nurse!\"\n\n\"I'm Memory, remember that time your daughter got into that age of aquarius nonsense and told you that the barriers between the realms break down at midnight?\" \n\nIvy frowned, then nodded slightly, remembering. \n\n\"Well,\" I said as the carriage clock on Ivy's nightstand chimed midnight, \"I'm here.\"\n\nSo, I have a flair for the dramatic. Ripping asunder your half-dozing slumber with a scene you thought you'd forgotten at 3am. It's my only foible, my only vice.\n\nA soft knock at the door. \"Is everything alright, Mrs Smith?\" Sarah, the night nurse's voice was professionally concerned. \n\n\"Yes,\" Ivy said as I smiled widely and slowly nodded at her, \"Everything's fine.\"\n\n \"Let's spend some time together, Ivy Smith, you and I,\" I said as I crossed one leg over the other. \n\nIvy props herself up on her pillows. Ivy blinked, holding back tears. \"I've forgotten so much lately.\" \n\nI tip my head sympathetically and can't help but well up. \"I know, I know.\" I say soothingly. \n\n\"I met Trevor down the social. I went wi'Nellie because she was a bit forward like and she said her brother wanted to dance wi' me. Well, when we go there Jack only 'ad eyes for Sandra and I ripped my stockings on a nail in the loos. So I says \"Ivy, you've wasted a pair of stockings goin' moon-eyed over that lad.\" But Nellie wouldn't listen an' she said I 'ad to meet her cousin Trev. Well, Trev were a picture. 'E looked all dashin' and 'e smiled at me and said, \"'Ello duck.\" We spent the night dancin'. Saturday next 'e took me to the pictures and one of them fancy Italian coffee houses after.\" Ivy smiled at the thought.\n\n\"We had a daughter, after the stillbirth. Trev never spoke about it, you didn't in them days men didn't get involved in that type of thing. But e'd stand there smokin with his shoulder hunched and I knew 'e were thinkin' about it and 'e'd come over and rub my shoulders. Our Sandra were born in 1955 in February when the snowdrops were out and snowdrops always remind me of her.\" Ivy glanced at the window next to me. \"I got the Home to plant some for me where I can see them. When they poke through the snow it's like it's not so bad after all.\" She smiled and patted the covers. \"Not so bad.\"\n\n\"Trev went five year last May.\" She pressed her lips together and began to weep. \"I miss 'im so much I do.\"\n\nI get up and sit on her bed. I lean over and she permits me to take a hand. I hold it with both of my own, gently stroking the swollen knuckles, the raised veins. \"I know, Ivy, I know,\" I murmur. \n\n\"Cancer took 'im. Lung cancer,\" she says as she nods and draws herself up slightly. I flinch. The forgotten part of my sister Birth. The way she flits into humans lives, plunges her hands deep into their bodies and rubs her fingers. Cells division multiplies out of control. Viruses mutate. Bacteria flourish in open wounds in the wake of her caresses. It's not all goo goo ga ga and sun-warmed roses, I think ruefully.\n\n\"But he did like dancin'. We went dancin' every Saturday while we were courtin'. 'E used to call me twinkle toes and I'd say give over I'm just Ivy and 'e'd say that's enough for 'im.\"\n\nI smile as tears drip down her face. \"I do miss 'im. Some days I worry I'll forget what 'e looks like, or what 'is voice sounded like or what 'is pomade smelt like.\"\n\n\"Most of the time you do, Ivy, and that's what matters.\" \n\nIvy nods, encouraged by my words. She makes a decision. \"I think I'll go to sleep now.\"\n\n\"You do that,\" said my sister Death as I let go of Ivy's hands and gently place them, one folded over the other on her lap.\n\n\"You do that.\"", "Names repeat themselves. This is a fact. Whether they sound the same, or mean the same thing, they twin and warp through the centuries and emerge miraculously unscathed. Jason carried me across the sea; Jason carries me in his backpack.\n\nMy favourite names are those that are passed down. It gives me a rare shudder to look upon the face of a George IV, or a Louis XIV. There was a delightful family in Poland where are the women were called Julia. They would say their sisters names and a century of Julia's would be conjured in a moment.\n\nBut today is not a day for a legacy.\n\nBirth was here, and Death will be here soon. I love them dearly, for both play a part in my games, but I hate them together. They bicker and squabble and fight, and for all their blustering they cannot see the world they make together. \n\nBut I see it. I am here. I am in the street, as usual, as always and forever. In my arms (they are not my arms) is a little one, a beautiful one. I love him on sight, but I see a black cloak swirl in the distance.\n\nHis name, if he had been named, would have been Thomas LIX. But if he had been raised, he would not have known it. Not unless I told him, and they don't like it when I tell them things - it drives them mad, gives them visions, makes their tongues shiver with alien language.\n\nBut in this quiet moment, I want nothing more than to tell him. I want to see his tiny face go white with it, to try and hold even a drop of a sip of the endless ocean that I maintain.\n\n\"Memory.\"\n\n\"One moment.\"\n\n\"I don't have long.\"\n\nHe is awful. He can smell her, that's why, the scent of fresh blooms and blood in the air. He smells of cobwebs and smoke. I have been told that I smell like many things, from a mother's perfume, to an old library room.\n\nHe takes the bundle from my arms.\n\n\"A legacy child?\" He knows my weaknesses.\n\n\"He wouldn't know it.\"\n\n\"Oh, Memory.\" A hand on my back, the sympathy of a crow. He is at my neck, always curious, but too clever to ask, too clever to go mad. Birth was never afraid of such things.\n\nMy arms are empty, and they are gone." ]	4
	[WP] When children sleep peacefully at night, a secret evil lurks in the shadows. From the depths of their closets and under their very beds, monsters wait for the opportunities to steal their dreams. The only thing standing in their way is every child's first friend: teddy bears.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 a line drawn in the sand between little Stevie, and the horrid, grotesque demon-spawns that intend to take him from this plane of existence. That line in the sand? Well that's me. Winston the Bear. I was chosen as Stevie's Royal Protector when he was born. Four years later, I continue to nestle softly in his arms with my eyes peeled. I know they are here. I can always sense it.\n\nI had the privilege of standing watch over another child many years ago. Now I serve just as committed to protecting this new child as I once was to his his mother, Molly. \n\nThe Spawns, as we Teddies call them, lurk in the shadows ever waiting for an opportunity. However, opportunity never comes as long as I am here. If a spawn were to be so bold (and stupid) as to make an attempt at dragging Stevie to the Netherworld with me around, it wouldn't get within five feet of my child without getting my cuddly-wuddly little Teddy Bear fist straight up its asshole and out of its mouth. I'd be tucked back into Stevie's arms before the demon's essence even finished disintegrating into the ether. \n\nA Spawn's strength is miniscule compared to the Teddies. We were created over a hundred years ago for this sole purpose by a demi-god that knew the danger of the Spawns and ensured there would be a last line of defense to protect the children of this land. \n\nStevie is currently asleep. He is shifting a bit and I can hear the tiny shuffles and taps of the Spawns as Stevie moves his body around. They grow more restless and antsy the more he moves in his sleep. Based on the sounds I can tell that there are four in the room. One under the bed, two in the closet and one hiding behind the bedroom door. With a Winnie the Pooh night light plugged into the wall, there is little chance they try to pull anything tonight, but I stay diligent. I maintain this stoic, solemn expression on my face to let them to know that I am always watching, and waiting. \n\nStevie is rustling around more than normal and I get jostled to the edge of the bed. \n\n\"Mommy, no come back!\" He's having a nightmare. \n\nThis could make things interesting. The one under the bed is licking his lips with his serpent-like tongue and with a slight hiss, its sharp-clawed hand creeps its way out from under the bed. \n\n\"Daddy help us!\"\n\nThe bedroom door lets out a slight creak as the Spawn hiding behind it is now peeking out from just above the doorknob with a row of sharp teeth barely visible and a reptilian eye shimmering in the dim light. \n\n\"No! I won't let you take them!\" This nightmare is getting worse but he seems to be fighting back in there.\n\nThe two in the closet are starting to audibly breathe with a husk in their breath. These ones seem especially hungry today and Stevie's nightmare is only fueling their hunger. The Spawn's unrest is getting more intense and I am now sitting here motionless in anticipation.\n\nI protect the innocent from the profane and diabolical. This is what I was made for. This is what I do. \n\n\"I'm gonna save you!\" That's right, my brave little man, you go get 'em. I'll take care of this out here. As he says that, the four Spawns start to clamor their way out of their hiding spots and start to claw and bite the air with hunger and rage. Without a moment's hesitation, I thrust forward toward the group of disgusting creatures with my same blank expression on my face. \n\nHere we go. Another day, another Spawn with it's lungs ripped out.", "The night falls. Jade puts away the washed dishes on the drying rack, calls out to her son Jax who is playing with his favourite superman toy. \"Jax, sweetie, its time to sleep.\" Jade cooes softly as she scoops her son into her arms, chuckling softly. \"But it's too early to sleep.\" Jax pouts.\nJade chuckles softly as she walks up the stairs, stroking her son's cheek. \"You can play tomorrow at school with your friends dear.\" Jade murmurs as she opens the door to Jax's bedroom. Jax nods his head, his eyes lightening up at the sight of his worn out teddy bear. \"Mark.\" Jax giggles as Jade tucks him under the covers. Hugging Mark tightly to his chest, Jax looks up at his mum with bright eyes who starts to read him a bedtime story. \n\nMinutes later, Jade finds her son fast asleep. She smiles lightly and puts the book away. Before she leaves the room, she dips her head at Mark who wears a reassuring smile, and turns off the light. \n\nThe night sprawls. \n\nThe shadows start to dance. Their gloomy eyes starts to flicker, and their smiles grows wide and sinister. \"Dreams...\" They moan, and they start to crawl all along the walls.\nMark blinks his round eyes, having being alerted to the presence of the monsters. He looks at his owner who is sleeping peacefully and nods, a firm resolve burning in his heart. Jumping off the bed, he makes a run for the toybox, grabs his trusty plastic sword, and climbs back onto the bed brandishing his sword. \n\nThe shadows circle all around the bed, their red eyes fixated on Jax. They start to extend their long shadowy arms slowly, but hiss when Mark swipes his sword at them. \n\n\"Step no further.\" Mark commands. \"I will protect my master from you.\" \n\nThe day rises. Jade goes to wake up his son, who is still fast asleep. She notices the little plastic sword in Mark's fluffy hand and chuckles, patting his little head. \"Isn't it tiring to fight every single night?\"\n\nMark blinks his black eyes, turning to look at Jade. He lays his sword on the bed and shakes his head. \"I've protected you since you were young, and I'll gladly do it every night.\" \n\nA/N: i feel like i could have wrote it better, but anyways i hope you like it!", "It's midnight. \n\nMy smile stretches far beyond what any human would find appealing as I awaken for the night. I see the reflection of my glowing red eyes in the body mirror positioned to the right of the bed, and I chuckle lowly in my throat. My black tentacles stretch out in front of me as I drag myself out from under her bed- and I enjoy the feeling of the carpeting moving under my body. I still for a moment when I hear a small murmur...\n\nCassie is dreaming tonight, and Dreams are delicious. \n\nI pull myself further out, another chuckle escaping me involuntarily. It brings me great joy whenever sweet little Cassie dreams. She is so susceptible to me: her parents have been fighting recently and that mean boy at school won't leave her alone- it's easy to gobble up the goodness she has left in her dreams. She's so hopeless-\n\n\"Go back.\" \n\nI freeze, turning to face a small bear. He stares at me, his button eyes causing him to come off as a non-threat, but I know better. Every monster does. \n\n\"Since when have you been here?\" I hiss, glaring at the small bear with every ounce of animosity I have. I know the drill- Scare The Bear. It's one of the first things I learned when growing up. My father tells me that Cassie's mother's bear was nothing more than a coward. He should be no different. It doesn't matter that he isn't reacting to my display of anger, he'll break. \n\n\"Since tonight.\" He responds, his voice growing deeper as his knitted eyebrows pull down to glare at me. \"You are no longer welcome here. Piss off. Cassie is not yours to hurt.\" I launch myself onto the ceiling, spreading my tendrils out and unhinging my jaw. I allow my tongue to loll out of my mouth, rolling my eyes back to Scare The Bear.\n\n\"Ah.\" \n\nI look down at him, his obviously fake yell driving both anger and a bit of frustration through me. \n\n\"You will not scare me.\" The bear says, his own button eyes lighting up with a bright copper. \"Leave. Now.\" I feel my skin suddenly burn and I back away from his stare, but I can't escape it. It saps my energy from me, my life, it leaves without my being able to stop it.\n\n\"Stop! Stop!\" I screech, attempting in vain to get away from the stare. And then suddenly, like an angel, Cassie mutters something in her sleep. She reaches for her bear, and he immediately goes limp in her grip. He immediately begins to grumble, and relief floods me as his stare is interrupted. The burns on my skin throb painfully.\n\n\"Cas, not now-\" he says exasperatedly, allowing me the chance to drop back to the floor. I dart underneath the bed. I feel my heart pound at being roasted by the light, and I do my best to begin nursing my wounds. Pure light is the only weakness of us monsters.\n\n\"One day she'll throw you away,\" I tell him, beginning to recuperate in my safe space. I attach myself to the boards of the bed. \"And I will be there. You can't protect her forever.\" \n\nNow the bear chuckles, causing me to grit my teeth.\n\n\"Watch me.\"" ]	4
	[WP] As the priest in a little town composed entirely of the Undead, you are usually left alone. Recently, however, as the creatures are forced to face real problems: infidelity, bills, etc they need help. They've come to the conclusion that consulting a priest is the most economical solution.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "\"ECONOMICAL?\" the creature was pitiful. It was mostly man-shaped, but it was clearly in the process of falling apart.\n\nThe vicar sighed, shaking his head again. \"No, no, no. Ecumenical,\" he was losing his patience \"I'm a man of the cloth, not an accountant!\"\n\nIt stared at the vicar, the vaguest glimmer of comprehension finally dawning on its crumbling features \"YOU CAN'T HELP WITH... PAYDAY LOAN?\"\n\nPlacing a reassuring hand on the undead husk's shoulder, the vicar forced himself to smile \"Trevor, we've talked about this. You need to reduce your spending.\"\n\nThe newly-dead occupants of Little Whittlington on Stoke were having difficulty finding work these days. Local employers had closed their doors to the undead - and poverty was rife.\n\nTrevor groaned. Or possibly growled. It was these sorts of unintentionally terrifying acts that deterred employers. That and the smell.\n\n\"Look,\" the Vicar continued. \"You're dead now. How about you turn off your heating? Maybe think about reducing your food bills. Tesco finest ready meals may be all well and good for the living, but will the cheaper stuff really offend your palate?\"\n\nTrevor bared his rotting teeth, his breath quickening.\n\n\"Okay, okay,\" the Vicar held out the palms of his hands reassuringly \"It was only a thought!\" He paused, then spoke the last words he'd ever speak. \"You could always stop buying Magic: The Gathering cards...\" followed mostly by screams.", "The vampire moved swiftly, behind me in a blur. He put his hands on my shoulders and whispered in my ear, \"Greg is it?\"\n\nI hesitated to speak, \"y-yes. Can I help you?\"\n\nHe moved slowly from my left ear to right. \"I've got a bit of a dilemma. See, my wife slept with another man. A lowly human.\"\n\n\"We all make mistakes,\" I nervously whimpered. He spun me around in a flash. I felt dizzy as he stared into my eyes.\n\n\"Exactly!\" He shouted. \"My mistake will be ending this man's life.\" I started to shake, but I had to pull myself together. I knew this day would come. One doesn't just move to a town full of the cursed, dammed and vile undead without expecting some sort of trouble. Though it had been rather peaceful until now, I had enjoyed my solitude at this church.\n\nI thought for a second then spoke, \"is it really this man your angry at?\" The vampire froze, then turned his head and released his tight grip on me. He strutted back and forth appearing deep in thought.\n\n\"You know, we've been married for 347 years. How could she do this to me?\" He asked.\n\n\"I don't know,\" I admitted. \"347 years is a long time. How has your relationship been lately?\"\n\n\"The last few years I have noticed she is growing tired of the same old. Maybe I have not been exciting enough in our relationship lately and it has grown stale.\"\n\n\"Just, think about it. Killing this man will not solve your relationship problems.\"\n\n\"I agree, maybe I should talk to my wife.\"\n\n\"Good, so your not gonna kill him?\" I asked hopeful.\n\n\"No I'm still gonna kill him. And well, you've seen my face and there are only four vampires in town. So...\" I sighed. He came at me full speed. I grabbed the cross at my neck and placed it on his forehead. Smoke came off his burning flesh as he screamed angrily.\n\nI pulled out a bottle of holy water and splashed the contents all over him. More smoke appeared as the liquid went through his clothes onto his flesh. I had just enough time to grab the shotgun behind the stand and blasted him with garlic. He struggled to breath.\n\n\"Leave now and never come back. This next chamber is not filled with garlic, it's a wooden spike,\" I threatened convincingly. The vampire hissed and stumbled out.\n\nI breathed a deep breath as he left and hoped I wouldn't get any more visitors." ]	3
	[WP] You are born with the ability of seeing what a person does 6 minutes into the future. One time, you meet your date and you swear to God that you just have foreseen him/her bring global annihilation.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 7:34 pm when I foresaw the end of the world.\n\nWe were at Tony’s Pizza, one of my favorite restraints in all of town. The beautiful lady sitting across from me was Jessica. We had met on Tinder and it seemed like we were meant for each other. We had the same interests, we did everything together, and best of all we never got tired of each other. Oh, and did I mention she was gorgeous? Way out of my league, but for some reason she stuck with me. We had been going strong for about 5 months now, and she was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. There was one thing I never told her though. My power.\n\nEver since I turned five, I had this strange power. I might’ve had it before then but only noticed when I was five. When I looked at someone, and concentrated real hard on their face, I could foresaw what they would be doing in six minutes. At first I thought it was just my imagination, me creating scenarios in my mind, but it always came true.\n\nWhen I was in 9th grade, there was this kid. His name was George, and he was one of those shy, timid kids who stayed in the corner. I often felt bad for him, as he had no friends. Trying to be his friend was a struggle as well, as he was so wrapped up in his own struggle, that he never even tried to make friends himself.\n\nOne day, he came into school wearing a long coat. I was at my locker talking to my friend, when I turned to look at his face. Suddenly, I saw a nightmare. In six minutes time, George would fit a pistol out of his coat and shoot Mr. Ashton right in the chest. He would then proceed to fire into the crowd. Quickly I turned to my friend and told him to run to the office and tell them George has a gun. He questioned me, but I yelled him to go. Then I ran to Mr. Ashton and told him what I knew. I don’t think he believed me at first, but he took the warning seriously. He yelled at everybody around to get in the classroom. George pulled out his pistol but missed his shot. We all hid in Mr. Ashton’s classroom. A few minutes later, the police came and George shot himself. That’s when I started taking my powers seriously.\n\nThese days I didn’t have much use for it. I’d mostly use when I was bored, but didn’t see anything interesting. I rarely used it on Jessica, and when I did it was mostly on accident. Tonight was like that. I staring at her face, mesmerized by her beauty. But I had stared too long, as suddenly I was transported to a destroyed city. Jessica was standing in the center of the destroyed Tony’s Pizza, soaked in blood and laughing maniacally. Four lights lit up in the sky and flew down to Jessica’s side. There were four people, each wearing medieval suits of armor. Jessica was given a sword by one of these medieval warriors. Then my vision ended.\n\nWhat the......Jessica’s face stared back at me, I was back to reality.\n\n“What’s wrong?” she asked. I stared blankly back at her. My powers had never lied to me before. Why would they lie to me now. I looked at the clock in the corner, it was 5 minutes till my vision came true. \n\n“Nothing.” I said. But she could tell.\n\n“You know don’t you?”\n\n“W-what?\n\n“You used your powers.”\n\nI was so confused. How’d she know? I had never told her before.\n\n“You think I didn’t know? The whole reason we met is because of them.”\n\n“Jessica, what’s going on?” Fear set in now. I looked at the clock. 3 minutes to go.\n\nJessica just smiled and laughed. Her veins glowed, I could see the blood inside them.\n\n“Your powers can’t help you now.” she shouted. Everyone in the restaurant looked at us. Some screamed. Jessica hardly looked like herself anyone. She stood up and raised her hands to the sky. There was a crash, and then darkness.\n\nWhen I opened my eyes, I could hardly recognize my surroundings. The sky was red, the moon was black. My surrounding were wreckage, covered in dust. I stood up, and looked around. I had been blasted back from Tony’s and was all the way on the other side of the street.\n\nStanding in the middle of the destroyed Tony’s was Jessica and her four warriors. She was holding a sword, and giving instructions to her warriors. The warriors walked away and started to search the wreckage. One of them looked directly at me and made some weird inhuman noise. Jessica looked at me and smiled. I turned and ran as fast as I could. After a few seconds though, somebody hit me in the back of the head with a metal object of some kind. I fell down, defeated. The warrior lifted me up and brought me to Jessica. The warrior threw me to the ground. My ribs were broken.\n\n“W-why? I asked, barely getting the words out.\n\nJessica laughed and looked at me, nearly dead on the ground.\n\n“These knights, they are my brothers and sisters. We are an immortal race of gods, but our power was stolen from us and given to random humans like you. We have been hunting these humans for the past hundreds of years. And you are the last one. So thank you for letting our long hunt be finally over.”\n\nShe raised her sword and put it right in my skull." ]	2
	[WP] In the future, aliens discover a long deserted Earth. While the scientists try to figure out where the dominant speicies went, one researcher attempts to solve the mystery of the billions of smooth black rectangles found on the planet.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "Neligja stared at the field filled with blank smooth, rectangular stones. They’d come to find a lot of these when they first started to explore the planet.\n\nIt was obviously the work of the old dominant Species, but they seemed so pointless. While the other researches got to explore and dig up their old technology and Architecture, Neligja was stuck here examining rocks.\n\nThe alien pulled out a device, it was a sphere that glowed deep maroon. They found these not too long ago on a different planet and through careful experimentation, they discovered it allowed the user to see the life of that object.\n\nWith a small sigh and a flash of annoyance, Neligja pushed the sphere into the rock.\n\nA group of creatures surrounded her, all different coloured tones, they stood from 4’ to at maximum 6’. Humans, Neligja thought they were called.\n\nThey were expelling hydrogen oxide from their main visual organ, they were sad. It seemed to Neligja that they were performing a ritual. A wooden box was lowered into the ground before them and the humans threw dirt on it. \n\nMore hydrogen oxide leaking from their eyes. After around 15 minutes, all but two of the humans dispersed. \n\nOnly a ‘male’ and a young ‘female’ remained. The child refused to leave the stone, begging to stay and wrapping her arms around it, in what Neligja assumes to be a comfort ritual.\n\nThe older man started to leak hydrogen oxide harder too, and wrapped its arms around the child and the stone.\n\nThe child and man visited once every 7 human days, always speaking to the stone in a language that Neligja couldn’t understand.\n\nThings started to become clear on a stormy day, the child was sitting in the rain, in front of the stone like usual. When she started to malfunction, it seemed that her lungs were not working properly. She couldn’t breathe.\n\nThe human child eventually fell to the floor and breathed no more. It died. The man found her hours later.\n\nThe open plot of land opposite them became a mirror to their own.\n\nA small wooden box was lowered into the ground and the man fell to his knees.\n\nThis was a burial site.", "We heard your calls. Your friendliness towards us, but when we reached your planet it was too late. Humans were gone.\n\nOf course, at first, we couldn't believe it. How could a friendly and creative society such as yours fall extinct? We searched the planet high and low. We found your books meant to teach your languages. We learned your culture. We learned your songs, as alien as they were to us (we still don't know what Booty truly is, but it must have been valuable). We lived in your homes. \n\nEverywhere where there had been humans there were these strange little black rectangles. Some assumed they were religious devices, which would show the devout the true face of the Gods. So they became a religion. Others had found manuals which stated they were communication devices. This made the religious ones very angry. They started attacking anyone who would study them.\n\nSoon, there were more who treated the devices as Gods themselves than there were trying to find out what humans thought this 'power' was to 'charge' the device.\n\n\nI am the last sane one left on this planet. I am the one who knows the truth, but I am dying. My fur grows white under this sun and lines criss-cross my body behind the years I have been searching. Today, however, I made it. There is a post of power high in the northern mountains, where heavy water flows. A building to block the flow, where the humans' lights still work. It is there I plugged the tail into the wall and for the first time since the last, an icon showed up on my rectangle. An apple, with a bite out of it.\n\nA shiver ran down my body, my fur standing on end. The humans had warned of this. This was the fruit of knowledge." ]	3
	[WP]When your older siblings made fun of your creations, you went away in sadness. Feeling guilty, they searched for you, finally finding you asleep in a far away place. They brought you back and left you to be found by the descendants of your creations. You are the creator god of all magical beings	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 held my bracelet, the blue beaded sapphire talisman. It gave me the power to create. To destroy. To birth new forms and new civilizations.\n\nI often wandered the countryside in search of my children. A shiny little minotaur, just birthed from one bead. A fairy popped out of another, smaller bead. \n\nThe beads of the bracelet were in short supply by now, but it gave me a warm feeling to know that the beads were truly used... not discarded like the old man I saw casting them to the dirt hole in the dark forest.\n\nI had a way of tailing people without them knowing, without them looking back at the ghost in the darkness.\n\nI had the nickname Casper, because I was pale and thin, like a spectre. \n\nOn the day the story begins, I lay below an old willow tree a hundred feet from my home. I held up a sapphire bead, wondering what strange creature I should create next.\n\nThe beads were rare and almost gone... I would need to be thoughtful in my decision.\n\nI lifted my wrist, and plucked off a blue bead.\n\n\"Flower of paradise,\" I incantated.\n\nThe flower grew before me, a hundred, a thousand, a million feet tall. It was wondrous. It had the aroma of a sweet cake. I knew the smell was an illusion. Blue beads are deceptive in their magic. \n\nBut the descendants certainly did smell the aroma. \n\nI heard the sounds of magic whispering through the willow tree, like calls from beyond the veil of my artistry. \n\nA fairy came first, sweeping around in the air, licking the cake-smelling flower. Then a rowdy minotaur trampled by, looking up at my botanical creation.\n\nThe flower parted above, like a spreading lotus in a bog.\n\nThe fairy landed on my shoulder and placed a leaf over my ear. I touched the leaf, and felt a warm sensation in every fiber of my body.\n\n\"We have been searching for you,\" the fairy said.\n\n\"Who are you?\" I asked.\n\n\"Your children. We were attracted by the magnetism of the Atrusian flower. It's... stunning.\"\n\nI smiled. \"I always knew you were real.\"\n\n\"As real as ever. Now give me a bead, and I'll make everything well in this horrid world.\"\n\nWithout hesitation, I handed the fairy a sapphire bead.\n\nShe lifted it over her head, and called out, \"Let us free.\"\n\nThe bead vanished in a puff of blue smoke, then everyone was gone. Even the flower had disappeared. \n\nI looked at my bracelet. Inside the beads were worlds beyond my ability to recognize. They were back where they needed to be.\n\nIn the magical dimension, where they belonged.\n\nI took the beads and buried them below the old willow tree.\n\nIt felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I placed the fairy's leaf on the cold dark dirt, and left my children to live in their own world.\n\nA less horrid place, where magic permeates the atoms of every living cell, and no human can spoil the pure, loving light of the magical realm." ]	2
I have been playing a lot of Elite: Dangerous and always find it funny when a pirate in a Cobra Mk III tries to threaten and then attacks my fully engineered Federal Corvette which is literally named Pirate Murder.	[WP] These damned space pirates, when will they learn that a frontal assaults on a battlecruiser will NEVER work?	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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, I don’t think this is a good idea.” I said slowly. “Nonsense lad! This is a great idea , one of my bests if I do say so myself!” ‘You do think so yourself,’ I thought to myself. I could here alarm bells blaring and see the red lights flashing on the bridge. On the view screen I could see the battle cruiser in front of us, getting closer and closer as we flew towards it. What was bad about this plan you might ask, well there a simple answer. Our “genius” captain in their direct line of sight. Not even trying to hid our weapons turning towards them to fire. I sighed, this was gonna end badly. I turned and ran out of the bridge, no one stopped to talk to me, let alone look at me. After all I was just the lowly cabin boy Jack. I ran for the escape pods. Everyone was to busy to notice a small boy sneak into a life pod and eject. As I sped away from the ship I watched the large battle cruiser take aim an fire, blowing the ship into space dust. The explosion knocking the small pod around and damaging the systems. Before I could react a tractor beam latched on to the pod to bring me aboard. Oh boy, this is gonna be one hell a talk." ]	2
	[WP] You host a dinner party where a variety of friends, family, and old colleagues attend. You're having a wonderful time until you suddenly realize that you've attended each of their funerals.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "\"God, yes, I remember! Stop reminding everyone every time we get together like this! Every single year, I swear.\"\n\nI laughed aloud as Stephanie recounted the story yet again of how we met, how an accidental drill spillage at a concert had blossomed into the most wondrous of love stories, something I never thought I'd actually, personally experience. She told them all about how much of a bumbling fool I was, trying to sop up her shirt with my towel before realizing where my hand was. How red in the face I'd gotten when it sank in, and how much her and her friends laughed at it.\n\n\"Every single year. I can't believe you. I'm never getting away from this story.\" I said, snickering, taking another bite from my steak. As much as anyone might have said otherwise, I was one of those well-done individuals, teeth chewing into the leather with gusto. Then piped in Frank, going on about how he had been so delighted to be the best man at our wedding, how he'd seen it coming for years and he'd prepared.\n\nMom and Dad always loved his stories. Frank was that charismatic, easily listened to kind of guy. Not overbearing on a conversation, but he just had that pizazz that made you hone in. The laughs at the table cut in at the perfect times, as he went on telling everyone about that one time at swim camp. I still never learned how to treat water.\n\n\"You guys, hahaha!\" I said, in the middle of laughter. I shook my head and cut into my steak again, knife scraping on the plate this time. No matter how many times I wanted to avoid it, it happened. Every single year, every reunion, I was that guy who always ruined it.\n\nThe talking stopped abruptly, as the noise began to grow. The phantasmal screech echoed louder and louder, drawing me away from the laughter we had just been sharing. I winced, I heard Stephanie ask if I was okay, and when I nodded, reaching over for her hand for comfort, I held only the tablecloth.\n\nI looked around at the dinner table. Set for seven.\n\nJust like it had been.\n\nThe steak had gone cold. I set my knife and fork down, staring at everyone's untouched meals, and buried my face into my hands.\n\nJust like I always did.\n\nEvery.\n\nSingle.\n\nYear.", " \n\n“Oh John, you devil! Pass the salt would you?” \n\nI let out a loud laugh as I reached over and grabbed the salt off of John as it was passed down the table towards me. What a blast this whole party had been so far, so many old faces together again -- and to think if I hadn’t gotten drunk and lost track of where I was, going out on the town tonight I would have missed all this.\n\n“Say John…” I stopped and turned to him as he was shovelling a giant piece of turkey down his face, as that particular thought nagged at me a little “would I not have been invited to this dinner if I didn’t stumble on you guys?”\n\nJohn smiled and took a long swig of his beer before he smacked me on the back and said “Matt, you always crack me up with those jokes! Why on earth would we invite you to the dinner that you’re hosting!” With that John stood up and raised his drink in the air proclaiming “I’d like to make a toast! To Matt, our dear friend who we missed and are happy to see again!”\n\n*CHEERS!\n\nIt must have been the alcohol hitting my system again but I got a little emotional at the warmth I felt from that salutation, after all it had been some time since I’d seen some of these people. There was John, my friend since first grade who I’d fallen out of touch with after I’d gotten married, these things happened. Cynthia, another highschool friend who moved overseas and had been doing her own thing for years. Oh and Ron? I can’t even remember the last time I’d gotten together with him for drinks… when was the last time I’d seen him? That’s right, the day before he died. Wow what a blast from the ---\n\nWait...Ron died. Ron fell off scaffolding at a job-site on a day that I’d called in sick. I took a look around the table as an uneasy feeling started to crawl its way into my stomach. I looked back at Cynthia and through a fog I seemed to remember her funeral as well, I had flown all the way to Haiti to be there for it and help bring her body home. Frantically I scanned the rest of the table, I saw friends, coworkers and acquaintances… all of them I’d been there grieving them alongside their loved ones at their funerals.\n\nAs the realization hit me a cold shock went through my spine as I turned to stare at John, who wasn’t eating anymore. Instead he was just staring at me with a knowing look in his eye, he always had that way of knowing what I was thinking before I did.\n\n“Uh John... You’re dead.”\n\n“That took you quite a while to piece that particular puzzle together Matt, still lucky your mom gave you the looks since you definitely didn’t get the brains” \n\n“I buried you, it… was the hardest day of my life, you were my oldest friend.” I meant that, I didn’t make it past one word at his funeral during my speech before I broke down.\n\n“I know Matt, it was hard for me too -- your speech meant a lot to me, even if you didn’t get a chance to say it all.”\n\n“So… what… I mean why can I see you now?”\n\n“Why do you think Matt?”\n\nThe crushing realisation hit me like a truck, I knew the answer but I didn’t know the how or why. Of course, I didn’t need to verbalize that thought, John always knew me better than I knew myself and was ready with the answer to the unspoken question.\n\n“You tripped. You clumsy git, your drunk ass tripped and fell onto the road as a bus was coming past. I’d say it could’ve happened to anyone, but we both know its something you would do.”\n\n“Yeah… yeah I guess so. So what happens now?”\n\n“Well that's all up to you Matt. You can either stay and eat and enjoy our company here with us… or you can move on.”\n\nSomething about the words move on felt a little too final for me. I was scared, but I accepted his words at what they were, John wouldn’t lie to me about something like this, even if it was my strangest dreams. It had been a long time since I’d seen him but he was still the same. My choice was clear.\n\n“John you ass, are you getting the next round or me?”*" ]	3
	[WP] You relive the same day over and over again. Every time you successfully help someone with some life obstacle, they're missing from the next restart. At first they feel like accomplishments, some more challenging than others, but the available options are getting fewer and fewer.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 used to keep count, but I've long since stopped paying attention to time. Time mattered to me, once. Time to go to work, time to go to bed, time to make the donuts. Time is a joke.\n\nThere is no time here. No tomorrow. Only today. Over and over and over again. When I first realized it i was terrified. I hid in my apartment. I ran down Broadway screaming. I cant even remember how many times I was hospitalized or locked up for being crazy, only to wake up in my own shitty loft in my own shitty bed in manhattan.\n\nOnce I got over the insanity of my situation I started having fun with it. Ever seen groundhog day? Imagine that, but with all the terrible parts a human with no repercussions to their actions would perform that they cant put in a pg-13 movie. For a while I became a monster. The darkness of the human soul can be infinite, trust me. But even evil gets boring after a while.\n\nOnce I got over indulging desires I didnt even know existed, and then the mental breakdown after reflecting what kind of person I truly was, I tried something different. I tried helping people. I'd long since memorized the comings and goings of all the \"npcs\", as I'd come to call the seemingly oblivious people inhabiting this time loop with me. There was this one, this little girl who was always in an ambulance racing past at 11am. She had gotten into the sink cabinet and ingested something she shouldnt have. I decided I was going to save her, and i did. It wasnt nearly as hard as explaining to her mother why I was in their house stealing all of their bleach. I spent the day in jail, but more importantly, I spent it feeling good about myself for the first time in as long as i could remember. Maybe for the first time ever.\n\nI knew the day would reset and i knew i had to save her again, so when i woke up in my same shitty bed in my same shitty loft, I went to work. I raced down the stairs and ran the 7 blocks to her tenement building, hoping that i could escape detection and maybe help more than one person today. When I climbed through the window from the fire escape, I decided to peek in on the little girl I had saved the day before and who I was going to save today and every day here after, but her room wasnt her room anymore. It was an art studio. It was like she never existed.\n\n\nIt took me longer than I would like to admit to figure it out, but finally I realized the people I were helping were \"removed\" from whatever twisted nightmare this was once I succeeded. It was a video game. It was a goal, and I've always enjoyed something I could win at. So I helped them. I helped them all. I figured this was why I was stuck here. Some God or alien or something was testing me, and dammit I was going to WIN. I figured once I had helped everyone, this crazy existence would end... maybe with a trophy or a high five or something. ANYTHING...\n\n\n\n\n...I was wrong. And now I am alone.\n\n\nEdit: on mobile formatting isnt pretty. Deal wi et!" ]	2
	[WP] A shooting star streaks across the night sky, you smile and pet your dog as you drift to sleep. The next morning you’re awakened by a strange voice, it’s your dog.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "Something wet poked my face and I groaned in protest, turning over and away from the cold intrusion. Another poke followed soon after, ignoring my sleepy swat at it. I completed my turn, face down and covered my head with my arms. “Go away,” I murmured half heartedly. “Just a few more minutes.”\n\n“I know that excuse,” she replied with an amused huff. Another poke and the wet object tried to push its way through my arms. “You’ll be here for another hour if you don’t get up. Come on, it’s not good for you to sleep out here.” A long slurp was heard and I felt a long wet tongue slide up my arms, drool worming through my arms and onto my face. \n\n“Eewww,” I groaned. “Daisy, that’s gross-“ I woke up instantly, pushing myself up. My eyes darted back and forth, confusion running rampant in my head. I realized I was not dreaming, the wet saliva oozing down my arms testament to that. I could feel the cool grass beneath me, not my bed. Dew seeped into my clothes and I shivered against the cold. The sun was rising far to the east, vermillion rays against the blue sky turning bright. \n\n“See I told you. You’ll catch a chill out here with no fur or blankets.” The voice was scolding but filled with good nature. The wet thing, realizing now it was a nose, nudged me in the chest until I rolled onto my back and a large furry form settled upon me. A considerable weight pressed down upon me and I kicked feebly as it wiggled into a comfortable position. “Stop that,” she said with a nip on my knee, “you need to warm up.”\n\n“Daisy?!” I nearly screamed as I realized who was talking. At my shout the German Shepard looked up at me, amusement warred with exasperation in her chocolate brown eyes. \n\n“Yes? Has the cold addled your brain?”\n\nI scowled at her and was amazed to hear her giggle. I could not avoid her tongue and took several licks to the face before I managed to sputter, “You’re, you’re Daisy. My dog.”\n\n“Yes, yes I am,” she replied with the tone of a teacher facing a slow student. “And you are Leon, my human. We have been friends for 1 and a half of your years.”\n\n“You-you can talk!”\n\n“Apparently!” She did not seem to be as amazed or bothered by the circumstance as I was. \n\n“Since when?”\n\nShe tilted her head, looking up at the sky. “Oh since...last night I suppose. While we were here. I mean I could always talk, dogs have their own language after all. But now you and I can talk! More readily anyway.” She opened her muzzle in a wide yawn, her tongue lolling out in a doggy grin. “I could more or less understand you before but now I understand you perfectly. And you can understand me perfectly. It’s perfect.”\n\nI snorted and again she giggled. “This is incredible,” I exclaimed and she nodded in agreement. “But...how?”\n\nWe laid there in silence before she barked with excitement. “Oh I think I know!”\n\n“Well tell me!”\n\n“Remember what we saw last night? Up in the sky. The shooting star, it was so pretty!”\n\nI did remember. It was the biggest shooting star I ever saw. In fact I had taken Daisy out to this field far away to get away from the light pollution so we could see the stars. The shower that was supposed to happen gave a few tiny ones but the last one was enormous, a brilliant line that nearly split the sky. I remembered how happy I was to see it and how peaceful it was. “It really was beautiful.”\n\nDaisy grumbled happily. “I remembered wishing that I could tell you how happy I was to be here with you and well this morning I can!” She gave me another lick. \n\nI smiled and rubbed my face dry against her fur. “You hear about shooting stars granting wishes but I didn’t wish for anything. You did and it obviously granted yours. But,” my eyes sparkled with wonder,” why did you wish for that? Why not a lifetime of toys or treats or something.”\n\n“I did think about that for a second.” Her shoulders twitched in a doggy impersonation of a shrug. “But I love you the most so I figured that wish was the best.”\n\nMy eyes prickled and I buried my face into her side and just listened to her pant happily. Then her entire body shook as her stomach grumbled. “Now though, I wish we could have some breakfast.”\n\nI laughed, louder and happier than I had in a very long time. “Well I think I can grant that wish. Only one thing.”\n\nHer head turned and she pierced with eyes dancing with delight and hunger. “What?”\n\n“You have to get off me.”\n\nWith mock annoyance she complied. Shaking off achy joints frosted with the night’s chill, we started to walk back to the car and my smile remained wide as she chattered in the brightening morning." ]	2
	[WP] You're the villain of a story, and you just were defeated by the hero in the final battle. You try convincing the author of book to revive you through the power of useless sequels.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 wish he’d never finished that damn book. For months it was just an idea in his head and I remained all powerful. He’d unleashed me on his world and I set about causing the chaos he so desperately sought. He named me Frank the Frightening and I made sure I lived up to that.\n\nThen one day I started to sense his interference. Something must have clicked in his mind and he was suddenly writing more. My freedom increasingly became constrained, my actions became more deliberate. I could see where he was taking me, and I did my best to prepare for it. I wasn’t going to go down without a fight.\n\nThat whimp of a hero he created was pathetic. Completely lacking substance, boring as batshit, but Andy the Author decided he’d magically have superpowers and advanced weaponry. What a cop out.\n\nUs villains always get some bullshit thrown in the mix to make the fight seem fair when in actual fact they just allow the hero to win in the most unlikeliest of circumstances.\n\nAndy the Author was no exception to this rule. His hero, who he named Mike the Magician – I know, how pathetic – came for me one night. After months of building up my army, strengthening my castle, and unleashing some zombie dogs I’d had my scientists conjure up, in strolls Mike with a sword in one hand and an AK47 in the other.\n\nIt was over before it even started. I had one trick up my sleeve that I forced Andy to give me. It was a nifty trick too I thought. I would have a clone, who I left in the castle while I escaped out the back. But it didn’t work. Andy the Arsehole just cackled when he decided to let Mike the Moron jump out from behind a hut at the last minute to take me down. It was crap, he was a hundred yards away just a second earlier. Authors these days just don’t respect continuity.\n\nSo my downfall came and went and I found myself stuck here. Stuck inside Andy the Average Writer’s head. I'm not alone in here either, not by a long shot. He has thousands of us shoved away in this dark room of despair.\n\nMost of the other characters were losers, lost in some half-baked fairy-tale they’d never come back from, or heroes who couldn’t accept their quest was quashed years ago.\n\nOne of the losers was Pete the Pea Farmer. Poor guy had been stuck in the worst case of writers’ block for the best part of a decade. He only came out when Andy the Arsonist burnt down Pete’s farm. Brutal way to go - and that’s saying something coming from me - but Pete’s brain doesn’t seem to be the biggest pea in the pod so it’s not hard to see how it could have happened. He now spends his days trying to juggle corn cobs with another character from his story.\n\nOnly a couple of the characters were tough like me, and we kept the others in check.\n\nAs I spent my days in the darkly lit room of nothing, I could sense that Andy was done with me. I’m pretty sure Mike the Muppet knew too. He spent his time retelling his tale of my defeat to some ditzy girl off in the corner, losing a little enthusiasm with each retelling. Occasionally I’d wander over for some crop-dusting nearby whenever he’d be reaching the final showdown, just cause, why not?\n\nIt’s not easy to get back in front of an author once they’ve finished with you. You’ve gotta put up a good case, and usually it falls on deaf ears. Mostly, you just become a fond memory. Only rarely could you hope to induce that eureka moment in their mind that gets you dropped into a new world. I’d tried a couple of times but Andy the Attention Deficit Disorder Doofus was too distracted to listen. But today I had a new plan, and it involved speaking to Mike.\n\nI wandered over to his corner as I usually would and stopped in front of him and the girl sitting there, chatting away. When the girl noticed me she quickly covered her nose with her shirt before walking off.\n\nMike looked up at me, “Ah my worthy opponent, my villain, my conquest! What brings you to my realm?”\n\nI looked around the bland corner he was sitting in and then back to him, “some realm you got here Mick, real nice. How about we get you something better?”\n\n“Better? What could be better than spending my days in Andy’s mind, talking of my assault on your castle and your defeat at my hands? Nothing I tell you, nothing!” Mike said, somewhat unconvincingly.\n\n“Yeah whatever you say Michelle. Now look, I want out, and I need your help. If you come with me and help put the case to Andy the Absent, I’ll let you have an even greater story to tell.”\n\nI could see Mike was interested. His eyes darted around, looking for anyone who might have heard.\n\nHe stood up and walked over to my side, well within a reasonable person’s definition of personal space.\n\n“I don’t want you to go easy you know, fair fight and all,” he whispered.\n\n“Alright Mike, whatever you want. Let’s go,” I said, pulling back from him.\n\nI pushed my way through the queue of characters waiting to offer their pitch for whatever latest story they'd come up with. I dragged Mike behind while characters yelled out as we passed.\n\n“You’ve got nothing worth talking about anyway,” I yelled back at one, then looked at another as I passed, “and you – you don’t even have a face yet!”\n\nWe got to the front and cleared the area. Then I looked up at the large microphone hanging from the roof. I called for quiet, then began.\n\n“Andy oh gracious Author, I have come to you with an idea that will be the greatest story you’ve ever written. It will make the rest of these chumps,” I nodded over my shoulder, “look like they were written by a five year old.”\n\n“Hey get fucked Frank,” one yelled back.\n\n“Andy, hear me now,” I continued, “I want to tell you about my third clone, who escaped the clutches of Mike the Magician. My clone has hunted down Mike and taken him captive…”\n\n“Hey, I didn’t agree to this!” Mike said.\n\n“shut up and let me finish,” I whispered back.\n\n“Andy, the only way to save Mike shall be to bring Pete the Pea Farmer in to set him free and combine their skills to try defeat me. Oh Andy, it will be the greatest of all tales, one that will live in the minds of millions of children for generations. Let this tale live!”\n\nThe room was silent. Some of the characters were nodding their heads, obviously impressed with my pitch. Then one yelled out, “Pete couldn’t hurt a fly, what’s he gonna do?”\n\n“Shhhh,” I hissed back.\n\nAndy just stood there, arms folded.\n\nPoof!\n\nI wasn’t in the dark room anymore. There was light, coming from a window. I was in a room, somewhere in a building, somewhere in a world.\n\nI’m free! I can’t believe it! He heard me, it worked!\n\nI looked around, almost unable to control myself. Then I saw them. The bars.\n\nIt was a cell. I ran to door and tried pulling it open, but it was locked tight.\n\nThen I heard the slow footsteps of someone approaching, keys clanging at their belt.\n\nPete the Pea Farmer appeared in front of me, with a shit eating grin on his face.\n\n“Gidday Frank! Boy this should be an exciting one, right?”\n\nI groaned and slumped down on the floor." ]	2
	[WP] The nature of planets and space are reversed: Rather than being large, spherical orbs floating in empty space, each planet is a large, spherical cavity in an endless expanse of bedrock.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "\"Would you slow down, Max?\" Vrai pleaded. He gripped the SpaceCruiser's leather seat with all his might.\n\nMax didn't answer, instead pounding the boosters even harder. The two Planet Hunters hurtled down a dark tunnel made of sharp bedrock. Their current location was six lightyears from the closest Expansion, so this tunnel remained barren. It had no streets, no lights and, most importantly, no distractions.\n\nMax pulled up on the throttle and spun the steering controls, narrowly avoiding a large spire in their way. The Cruiser used space's lack of gravity to its advantage, running up along the tunnel walls and placing the two Planet Hunters upside-down for a moment. Max threw down the throttle again as the vehicle finished its rotation.\n\n\"You drive like my ghoni,\" Vrai coughed. He hated coming on exploration missions with Max. They hadn't crashed yet, but \"yet\" was the key word in that sentence. In the tunnels, you were at their mercy. Vrai preferred to stay in control. That didn't happen much with Max at the controls.\n\n\"I drive like I'm the best,\" Max spat. \"And, oh wait, that's probably because I am the best, Vrai. Don't forget who the captain of this ship is.\" He pointed a finger in Vrai's face. Vrai was a Buplin, an alien race from the Outer Expansions. He had joined the exploration force as an analyst, but was quickly sent out with Max due to a low number of new Explorer volunteers. Max was human. Vrai hadn't had enough time to figure out how a human had ended up in deep space. Humans were used to wide open space in their planetary system. Here, in the Outer Expansions, deep space was made of rock while the \"planets\" were just cavernous pockets of air. Vrai hoped they would stumble upon a new planet soon. That way, he could go home.\n\nMax continued to drive like he was born to do it, expertly avoiding objects in their path. Vrai calmed down after a few near misses, finding more trust in this human.\n\nSuddenly, Max released the throttle and stopped the vehicle in an instant. Vrai slipped out of his seat belt and slammed into the blast shield. Max said nothing. He just stared straight ahead. Vrai looked around, noticing that the tunnel split into at least another dozen new ones. There was only one ahead, but there were three new tunnels above them, four on the left, two on the right, and maybe ten below them.\n\n\"Which one are we taking?\" Vrai asked, peeling himself on the glass and sliding back into his seat. He made sure to buckle his belt a little tighter this time.\n\n\"Away from that,\" Max said, pointing straight ahead. Vrai would have felt his heart drop, if he had one. He squinted his bulbous, gray eyes. He saw only darkness ahead.\n\nOne by one, large lights began to appear down the tunnels. Each new beam was attached to...a tentacle. Soon, the creature lit the tunnel like nothing Vrai had ever seen before. It was enough light to brighten every new tunnel as well. Vrai peered down each one, noting that there were no other monsters in the area. Max continued to stare down the beast.\n\n\"What is it?\" Vrai whispered.\n\nMax took a moment to answer, still eyeing each of the monster's tentacles. They gripped the sides of the tunnel for at least one-hundred yards. It was a massive specimen and it was blocking their way.\n\n\"You know how Earth is the center of the universe, Vrai?\" Max asked.\n\n\"Yes. I do,\" the frightened Buplin answered.\n\n\"Well, we have these things called an Octopus. They live in the-\"\n\n\"In your ocean,\" Vrai interruped. \"I know of Earth's biological subspecies, Max. I'm an analyst, remember? But...but I've never heard, nor seen of that creature ahead of us.\"\n\n\"That's because its a new species. Like me, that thing didn't always belong in the Outer Expansion. I remember going to sleep one night and then, when I woke up, I was in a Citadel pod. I've been finding plenty of anomalies out here in these tunnels. Things that resemble earthly beings but...with a slight change. I never flew a plane or fought in any wars during my life. Yet, when I woke up, I could pilot a Cruiser like nobody else,\" he pointed at the mutant octopus, \"that thing, it was mostly likely transported here. It grew in size, evolved those lights on its tentacles, and-\"\n\n\"Teeth,\" Vrai screamed.\n\nThe creature whipped out its tentacles and showed a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. It pushed back its tentacles and came spiraling towards them, releasing a cloud of black goo behind it.\n\n\"See?\" Max smiled, \"its just an octopus.\" He slammed the throttle and steered their Cruiser towards the tunnel's ceiling, choosing one of many different options of escape. The creature gave chase, the lights on its tentacles a welcome surprise. Max expertly maneuvered the Cruiser between spires while the beast simply ran through them.\n\nVrai glanced back, watching how the beast looked like it was swimming even though there was no water. It chased them for miles, but eventually gave up the chase. Max was, simply, too good a pilot. Vrai smiled and clasped the captain on the shoulder.\n\nThey flew down the same tunnel for another hour. Suddenly, the area around them expanded into a space, so large, that Vrai could not believe it. They had found one.\n\n\"Did we just-\" Vrai stuttered.\n\n\"Yeah. We did,\" Max grinned. The outer edge of the space, while it was still covered in bedrock, was covered in a thick forest of trees. A single star floated at the top of the expanse, lighting the enormous cavern all on its own.\n\n\"Take note of our coordinates, Vrai,\" Max ordered. The Buplin started inputting numbers on a small screen in front of him.\n\nMax grinned. \"We just found a new planet.\"" ]	2
	[WP]God quits, forgets he is God, and becomes an atheist. You have to convince him to take his job as God back.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 stood there in disbelief, how in the name inof ever loving fuck was God gone? And why do they want me, Lucifer to find him? Sigh Guess the best place to start is a church... ugh. -\n5 years later\nI looked at EVERY MOTHER FUCKING CHURCH WHERE IS HE!! Hell is full, and the mortals are overpopulated since nobody can get into heaven. I decide to check the mortal relam once more. I had the luck to end up in the middle of protest, it seemed like some atheist were burning a church. I was about to leave when I saw an annoying face I hadn't seen in five year. In a fit of rage I got up and slapped him. \"GET YOUR ASS BACK TO HEAVEN. YOU ASSHOLE! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH TIME I WASTED LOOKING FOR YOU'RE DUMB FACE!\" The man looked confused and asked \"who are you?\" I felt myself lose control and my wings and horns pop out. People gasped and God had a looked a facial expression of realization. \"Holy shit you're right!\" \"\n I Sighed and look next to me where God looked like he was trying to be mad. I smiled and faced two young kids. \"And that kids is how I find your father\".", "\"You did what?\" Asked god, steam literally blowing from his nose. \"I haven't seen him so mad since he found out about the holocaust\", whispered Raphael. \"You know what, Lucifer? I'm done. Done fighting you, done trying to fix your evil tricks. All I did the last thousand years was this. This, and trying to create a boulder I couldn't carry. Sometimes I wish I could just return to being Jesus. Yes, I was crucified and nailed, but even this is better than the non-stop fight between us. I'm done with this- I quit\".\n\nThe last sentence shocked everyone, and Gabriel said \"what? You can't quit, you're god!\".\"Well, there is no god from now on\", said god as he snapped his fingers and became a 20-something bearded man. \"I'm going to the Caribbean, and Gabriel- you're in charge\".\n\n&#x200B;\n\nGod or former-god was sitting at the beach of Puerto Rico. He had no godly power right now, and he made a living by operating a milkshake stand. He turned on his speaker and put some music. Then he got to his stand and opened it for the day. The first customer was a tall ginger man. \"What do you want, Michael?\" Said god as he stopped the music. \"I want you to come back\". \"No way, I haven't had this much fun since the frog plague. Do you remember the look on the Egyptians' faces?\". Michael grinned for a moment but then looked serious again. \"God, plea-\". \"Don't call me god, my name is Adam\". \"Adam?\" said the angel, \"Really? you've been here for so long and you couldn't think of something more creative? Nevermind, please just come back\". \"Why should I?\", responded Adam\n\n\"You have no idea what Gabriel is doing\"\n\n\"What is he doing?\" \n\n\"He fired Raphael!\"\n\n\"I trust his judgment, that Raphael can't keep his mouse shut sometimes\"\n\n\"He destroyed your statue in the entrance to heaven\"\n\n\"Well, he should. I'm not god anymore, am I?\"\n\n\"He won't let dogs into heaven!\"\n\n\"He... What? Why?\"\n\n\"He says they bring fleas.\"\n\nGod looked first shocked, then angry. \"Well, call him Elijah, 'cause he just summoned the big bear\"" ]	3
	[WP] Stars Begin to Vanish From the sky.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "Free wrote this under a short time limit, first post here:\n\nBruce had never been much of an astronomer. In fact, for most of his life, he hadn't been much of anything. A precocious child, he had flamed out in college, and didn't have much to show for the intervening time.\n\nAt least, that's what others would think. He had the soul of a philosopher, and a deep thirst for knowledge. He had always been praised for his intelligence, squandered though it had been, and now, seeing that various science reporting magazines were writing stories about the same phenomenon, he felt a deep sense of dread.\n\n\"Stars\" as we know hem aren't always stars. More distant galaxies can't be seen with high enough resolution to afford any distinction between their constituent stellar bodies. Those dimming and disappearing motes were not random supernovae, nor were they being swallowed by black holes. As time went on, it became clear what was the cause. These we Dyson spheres. \n\nBruce knew the game theory. He knew the theoretical physics. He had been confident that we were alone in the universe. That confidence had been shattered. To him, the Fermi paradox had one solution that fit the data. This single observation was the missing point that flipped the hypothesis. If life had been common, it would have had the means motive and opportunity to be here by now. That fact that it wasn't indicated to Bruce that it wasn't out there. But this pattern proved otherwise. \n\nThe universe had cancer. Some alien species had made Von Neumann probes, and they were predictably imperfect, now spreading as fast as they could devouring all matter in their path. Which, truth be told, wasn't that fast as far as Bruce was concerned. But the human race had just had a huge chunk lopped off of its life span. Not that he would see it, or his children or grandchildren, but one day that yawning blackness in the heavens would come for that pale blue dot. \n\nBruce usually preferred to drink alone. Tonight, he went to a bar. A friendly stranger clapped him on the shoulder, and asked the question that most would have the sense not to:\n\n\"Why the long face?\"\n\n\"Same old same old\" Bruce replied with a weak smile, and drained his glass.", " I look up into the night sky only to notice that one of the stars that make up Orion's Belt is missing. A few minutes later two more disappear. Becoming rather worried I look on any social media to see if anyone else has noticed, not a single post anywhere. Am I the only one that noticed? \n \n I look back up to the sky to see an entire section of sky empty blackness. Confusion and fear flooded my face as I noticed the larger and brighter stars are going out too. \n\n I dialed 9-1-1 to see if they could help, but no answer. Which is odd. Trying my mother's phone, it didn't even ring. I started to panic, more and more stars were going out and I think I see something moving that isn't clouds. \n \n Taking deep breaths I tried and failed to calm down. That's when I heard it, a deep rumbling roar coming from everywhere all at once. My dog started barking but then quieted almost immediately. Nothing. The roar had stopped, then I saw the teeth.\n \n Giant and jagged, pale blue teeth appeared over the horizon. I closed my eyes not knowing if the death would be painless. \n \n The last thought to go through my mind before immense pain was that I never got to say goodbye.", "It began a week ago. It was barely noticeable. A few warnings on the news about stars seeming to be missing. The only people who noticed were scientists looking deep into space. The news picked up the stories, yet no one took it very seriously. The general populous just made memes about losing stars. Until we started noticing it too. That was three days ago. The rate at which stars disappeared was growing. There were less and less remaining. Orion had disappeared, the southern cross, the big and little dippers. The world had lit candles. A million, placing them around the world. A replacement to the stars.\n\nNo one understood what was happening, why it was happening. All we could do was pray. Scientists were baffled, they had no answers. Theories were thrown around, but none could be proven. Fanatics were roaming the streets, blaming the apocalypse on our sins. Shouting at us to repent. A few changed their ways and joined them, most just spent time with family. The world stood still. No wars, the most peaceful time the planet had ever seen, due to unexplained circumstances. Ironic really. We were lost and didn't know where to go. As ourselves, as a race. We had always wanted to explore space, the furthest reaches of our universe. Now they were disappearing before our eyes. The dreams of our world, fading with the stars. It was an odd feeling.\n\nThe night arrived. All cities had their lights out so the sky could be seen, yet it made no difference. It was a new moon, the sky was dark apart from Alpha Centauri, the final star in the sky. The world watched, breaths held. It burned, brighter than anything. Then, it didn't. It wasn't an explosion, it wasn't an astronomical event. Just gone. No one knew how to react. The last light gone. There was no way to react, it was impossible. We stood, watching the skies, the darkness that shrouded our planet. Then the light returned.\n\nMillions of small lights filled the sky, growing larger with time. We rejoiced, maybe prematurely. As they descended. The stars had returned! Until some fell to the ground. Others descended slowly, smoke trailing behind them. Creatures of all shapes and sizes disembarked from what could now be seen as ships. Rocks rolling down ramps, small bug-like things riding them, long stalks, creatures as thin as paper and maybe the weirdest blobs of liquid that squished around the place. A tall alien, dressed in a grey robe, one eye in the centre of his head walked down from the largest ship.\n\n\"Earth,\" it said, his voice shaky and creaking with age. \"I wished it hadn't come to this. You are the final bastion of the universe. We need your help. Please. For the sake of existence itself.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nMore of my stories at r/DougysDramatics if you'd like to read them!" ]	4
	[WP] You are a toy to an eldritch being, who actually plays with you as if you are their own stuffed animal.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 never believed quite in religion until I died and I awoke in my normal body completely intact. I was confused beyond belief, on the night when I got shot I was excepting nothing but either darkness or hell I didn’t get either.\n\n\nAs I sit where I am currently I’m happy it wasn’t either of those I awoke in an unfamiliar house and with unfamiliar people around me. They were looking down like they were waiting for me to wake up. One of them a mid to late 20 year old women says “ Well hello, you might be confused right now but, I can explain what’s going on.” I instantly jump to my feet a fight or flight reaction came to me as I started running as I did I ran out the house looking back at the house I just ran out I started to piece together what’s going on I woke up in some type of doll house......\n\n\nI was puzzled by this. I didn’t know what to think am I a toy I quickly spit into my hands to see if I had the ability to make saliva affirming of me still being a human. Another one of the people from the house a younger person looked around early teens and he says “ listen I know your scared or mad or confused but, have you ever seen toy story this will be much easier to explain.” \n\n\n\nI look to my surroundings realizing what happened. As the door to the room opened and a person with the face of Cthulhu a child not older than 7 it whatever it is says “it’s time for playtime” \n\n\nI am shocked but, something in my mind tells me not to move I then hear this eldritch looking being say “ooh and a new toy”" ]	2
	[WP] Its been 150 years since the Presence bestowed the gift of immortality to the people of earth and scientists are racing to find the cure for life- before the world is overrun with the eternal.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "Solaris: This is Solaris, reporting for Global News. It's not been an easy journey, but today, scientists from the International Life Council have announced a solution to the planetary population crisis. I give you now Doctor Ivan Pepper, Lead Academic Scientist for the council.\n---\nDr. Pepper: I work with council since, ah... about a month after form. They give me task. Say, we need cure population problem. I say no problem. Then is more problem. Can't nuke population away. Not immunity. Nuke ruin planet. \n---\nSolaris: Just the basics, doctor, only...\n---\nDr. Pepper: Yes, sorry. Was excited. We make low cost, mass produce, easy ship, for leave planet. Have 744 so far, carry 100000. Fast ship. Alcubierre. Bend space around shi..\n---\nAlvin Demento,PhD.: Doc, the QECS reports data loss!\n---\nDr. Pepper: It all good, Demento. I expected. Now, watch QECS. I interview. (to camera) Excuse him Dr. DeMento is quantum entangle communicate system admin. That QECS we say. Not data loss. My tablet here run QECS but slow process. Only for test run. This data is show location of number 002 ship and this here is 003...\n---\nSolaris: I'm sorry, doctor. We have to cut the interview short. We only had a 3 minute sp...\n---\nAngela Svensky(in studio): That was Solaris, reporting live from the International Life Council Research Facility in Houston, Texas. Next up we have the Betty White Award Ceremony." ]	2
	[WP] Your partner's family is under a curse that makes a ghost follow each member. They have developed a lot of coping strategies. You got married this morning. You're family now.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "Michael had known about his wife's families perculiar affliction. Afterall, you can only hear a woman tell the air to shut the hell up a few times before you need to ask about it. She had told him early on about Wilford, the ghost who had choosen to follow her around, something everyone in her family needed to deal with. The effects of a peculiar curse that had stricken her family after her great-great-great grandfather had tried to run out on a gambling debt. \n Some of the members of her family had turned to drinking or hard drugs, a couple ending up in the asylum. \n \n\nMegan managed to keep Wilford in check through a series of deals. Giving him access to TV shows and the internet in exchange for leaving her alone most of the time. \n \n\nIn one of their earliest weeks living together Michael had come home to the house shaking and his wife calmly sitting there. Michael was horrified until his wife explained that Wilford had misbehaved and now wasn't allowed to watch the Office. It was a moment that made Michael sure that Megan would be a great mom. \n \n\nOf course, that'd been well over two years ago and now they were happily married, he just didn't realize that the curse didn't discriminate against those who married into the family. \n \n\nSamuel was a perculiar ghost, at least what Michael considered to be perculiar. He looked to be an older man, the kind you'd see sitting on a front porch and sipping some tea on a warm southern night. \n \n\nMichael looked at his wife sleeping next to him. This was supposed to be the first day of their honeymoon in Aruba, the sounds of wave splashing outside. \n \n\n\"So.\" Michael said, \"I guess I'm family now.\" \n \n\n\"Yep.\" The ghost replied, whittling at a piece of wood. There's ghost wood? Michael thought to himself. \n \n\n\"So what's your poison?\" Michael asked, hoping it wouldn't be too difficult, figuring he'd cut straight to the point. \n \n\n\"I been trying to catch up on Frazier.\" He replied in a deep southern drawl. \n \n\nMaybe this won't be so bad afterall he thought." ]	2
	[WP] The hero's party burst into the Dark Lord's throne room, ready to slay him once and for all. Suddenly, the princess with them jumps into his arms and shouts, "Daddy! I missed 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/js5XDFB)\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 mood within the party changed instantly from battleready to confused. The princess had ran across the room, right into the dark lord's embrace. \"Princess, watch out, he's dangerou-\" the leader yelled, right as the demon lord lifted the princess up and answered her embrace. \n\nEveryone just stood still, trying to process what was happening. In that silence, only the archer would whisper to the mage. \"She has been charmed, brainwashed or something like that, I'm gonna use this chance.\" She readied her bow, took aim at the dark lord, who had lowered himself enough to talk with the princess. The latter had a smile on her face that could light up a room. \n\nThe arrow was let loose, making only a small sound. \"NO!\" The princess screamed and held out her hand, a shield made of light, stopped the arrow, protecting the dark lord, like it had protected them during their journey.\n\n\"Princess, wake up! That's the dark lord, not your father! The king sent us on thi-\" \"The king is a liar! He took over the throne and banished my father, claiming he was the dark lord! The only reason I came with you was to meet with him again!\" \n\nThe archer readied another shot. \"She's still under his spell, let's do this...\" \"Waitwaitwait, but what if she's right?\" The heavily armored fighter went between them. \"Not you too!\" The archer pushed him aside and took aim once more. While this scuffle was happening, the dark lord had taken off his hood, revealing completley normal human face underneath. \n\n\"Nice try, but your illusion doesn't work o-\" \"It's not an illusion...\" The mage stepped forward and took of her hat. \"I've used my talisman to sense any magic in this room. The only one so far has been the princesess' shield.\" \n\n\"But. But that would make him a king?\" \n\"THE king, if you don't mind...\" The princess and the king walked to the party. \n\n\"If you people could go to my brother, tell him you vanquished me and my daughter died heroicly while banishing me to another realm or whatnot and we will just skip the border.\" \n\nThe king left them an emblem and turned around, holding his daughter's hand, as they walked out of the throne room. \n\n\"Just... What were we sent here for?\"", "They stood stunned. The child, the one from the tower, ran from the paladin and lept the figure clad in black. With a boisterous laugh he picked her up and twirled the child in the air as she laughed.\n\n“Wha...” \n\nThe party exchanged looks as the mage mouthed his disbelief. The paladin began to look deeply uncomfortable, and the rogue began to shift in his place. The bard looked away, and the archer loosened the shot. The fighter lowered her weapon and gritted her teeth, agonizing over the dilemma.\n\n“So, you have come.” The Dark One replied as he held his young daughter against his shoulders, “Surely to put an end to me and send me into eternal sleep.”\n\nThe princess’ eyes went wide, much to the discomfort of the bad. The princess whimpered as she grabbed her father’s shoulder and held tight to it, and whimpered. Only the cynic could respond.\n\n“Look princess,” the thief began, walking towards the princess, “Daddy has a something to do with us. If you could go back to your room and-“\n\n“Please don’t hurt Papa!” She wailed, “He’s a good papa!”\n\nThe thief looked back, looking for support. And only the harsh static of raw discomfort was in the air.\n\nUntil a real bolt of thunder, more than static, danced across the room and raced into the mage. He screamed as he was reduced to ash, he disintegrating body hurling across the hall.\n\nAll turned to the Dark Lord. His position was unchanged, both hands still holding his daughter up. But the girl held out her hand, sparks crackling at the tips of her fingers. Her look of fear was gone, and a wide crocodile grin dominated her face.\n\nAnd before a blade could be raised, Daddy’s Little Tyrant unleashed a great chain of thunder, which was followed only by the Dark Lord’s booming laughter of approval." ]	3
	[WP] An ancient, important looking tablet is unearthed at an archeological dig site, the only thing that is apparent is that it is some sort of prophecy. Immediately countless theories erupt over the meaning of the tablet, but once fully translated the prediction feels a little underwhelming.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 are legends of an ancient herbal concoction that Egyptian royalty used to gain superhuman capabilities. The details of this concoction were said to be weirdness in a code that only one man, who was gifted with enhanced longevity by the gods themselves, could read. They called him the Oracle and his secrets were lost to time. \n \n My first breakthrough came when we discovered the tomb of an unknown Pharaoh. The hieroglyphs we found here weaves a tale about the “Panacea.” Now, we had a name. The story told us about an infiltrator from a foreign land that captured the Pharaoh’s heart and infiltrated the royal court. Quickly, this foreigner gained the Pharaoh’s trust. In a tragic misstep, the Pharaoh revealed to his new confidant the existence of the Panacea and the Oracle that guarded its secrets. The Pharaoh and the Oracle did not survive the night. The tale goes on to say that after his death, everyone tried to translate his code. No man, woman, or child, no slave or master, no scholar or fool, could translate the Oracle’s code. This was the beginning of the end for the Egyptian Empire. \n\n My team quickly published our findings. Overnight, the news went viral. We expected no one to believe our story. We expects no one to care. We expected to become the laughing stocks of our field. We were after ancient truth, that was enough for us to risk the ridicule. But instead of any of that, we had unintentionally stared a face for treasure bigger than any Gold Rush. \n\n News sources across the globe began covering the “Race for the Panacea.” Different rumors and theories abounded as to what the exact effects of the Panacea might be. \n \n “They used it to make slaves strong enough to build the pyramids!”\n “No! Look at all they accomplished using math and art! They used it to expand their minds!”\n “You’re both wrong. The answer is in the Oracle’s story. Clearly they used it to gain longer lives!”\n\n Suddenly famous, our team used their new found resources to stay at the front of the race. After 5 long years, when the world has nearly given up on the quest for the Panacea, we found it. We found the Oracle’s tablet. We studied it long and hard. We stayed awake for days at a time going mad over the code. We used every book, scholar, and resource available to us. The code was unbreakable. My team gave up. We sold the tablet to a museum in America. I couldn’t let go so I packed my things and moved abroad to follow the tablet. Everyday I would come here to the museum and study the tablet, determined to unravel its secrets. That was 20 years ago. \n\n “Dr. Strom,” a chiseled voice in a thick accent came from behind me. “I understand that you’ve nearly cracked the Panacea’a code.”\n \n The click of a revolver echoed throughout the empty museum halls. I was too old to fight this man. I was too old to really care if he blew my brains out all over the tablet I had been studying for years. That would have been kind of poetic. All I wanted was to die knowing what the secrets the tablet held. \n\n “Bring these things to me.” I said handing him a list. \n\n He said something in a language unknown to my ears and passed the list off. Two pairs of boots quickly marched out with it. I sat there for hours with a gun to the back of my head but I was happy. The work of my life was nearly finished. \n\n We got to talking while waiting for his men to return. He went by Sergeant Pepper, a code name for sure, and has a noble goal. He came from a small village that was stricken with an illness no doctor could identify. He hoped the Panacea could save his village, and more specifically, his dying mother. \n\n His men returned. I quickly put the ingredients together in a large steel bowl. I worked furiously, as if possessed, and a few minutes later it was done. A deep black concoction with hues of red sat bubbling before me. \n \n The Sergeant shoved me aside and drank from it. His eyes shifted in near inhuman ways. He focused this startling expression on me and ecstatically exclaimed.\n \n “It’s more beautiful than I could have ever dreamed! The way it sits in the mouth. The flavors. There are so many flavors. Truly this is a nectar from the gods!”\n\n And that kids, is how we brought the 23 flavors of Dr. Pepper into the world." ]	2
	[WP] humanity has had our consciousnesses uploaded to an interdimensional cloud for many generations, though we have kept some bodies on ice for any criminals to wear when we need to demote a someone to the third dimension for 'bad behavior'.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 notification interrupts me while I’m working. Irked, I punch in the sequence that will download me to the third dimension. I feel the cold seeping in as this world dissolves, and I wake in the defrosting chamber. These limbs are stiff. They haven’t been used in a while. I growl softly, irritated. It’s been some time since I’ve had to leave my work to come to this dimension. I’m not fond of inhabiting a body. But, in this instance, the situation demands it.\n\nI exit the defrosting chamber and move to the adjoining room, where a second body has been prepared on the table. I press a button, and the criminal’s consciousness is downloaded into the body. I watch, savoring the facial expressions as the body wakes, peaceful, then slowly comes to terms with the reality of its situation. Confusion, fear, and finally that sweet resignation when it realizes that it is powerless.\n\nThe body shivers.\n\n“Are you going to kill me?”\n\nI laugh.\n\n“Kill you? Why would I kill you? This body is replaceable. I have a pile of them over there.”\n\nI gesture to the freezer, where there is, indeed, a large pile of bodies. I had the foresight to stockpile a few, and they have come in handy over the years. Whenever someone needs a reminder of who is truly in charge.\n\n“No, I’m not going to kill you. You’re more useful to me alive. Doing what you do best. But you stepped out of line, and that I cannot abide.”\n\nI reach under the table, pulling out my supplies. The body whimpers as I come closer.\n\n“There’s no point in begging. I don’t make the rules. But I do enforce them. Someone needs to maintain order, after all. Think about it. By now, your absence will have been noted. Everyone knows that we’re out here. What would happen if we came back and you appeared normal? If you weren’t the least bit shaken?”\n\nThe body begins to cry in earnest, and I begin my work. Screams echo through the chamber, and when my work is done, I leave this decaying body behind and return to the real world.\n\nBreathing deeply, I step out onto my balcony, surveying the empire I’ve built. I watch my subjects go about their work.\n\nOrder. Servitude. Every thing in it’s place.\n\nAs it should be." ]	2
	[WP] we've heard of the devils advocate, but what about the devil's abacus?	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 have an incredible VC, Mr. Cheney, absolutely impeccable. In fact, I'm having to bring in the big guns.\" Lucifer extended one perfectly manicured razor-sharp talon to the intercom button. \"Helen? Could you send in Eugene, please. Or and some coffee. How do you take your coffee, Mr. Cheney\" Lucifer smiled warmly at Hell's newest resident.\n\nMr. Cheney's perpetually perturbed face somehow grew even more annoyed. \"Black, and only if it's been buried in the desert of some middle eastern country since before time began. And only under the guise of some BS 'freedom' operation.\"\n\nLucifer smiled again. \"One coffee, Helen. Just the way I like it.\" The Prince of Darkness looked out the window of his high rise office and took in the horrible vistas that were the vast expanses of Hell. \"Isn't it lovely? Over there, there's the murderers. And down there, the thieves. And over on that hill is a very small camp of sadomasochists who really have no business being in Hell, but you trying tell them that! Good people though. Ah, coffee!\"\n\nHelen slithered in with Lucifer's coffee, and Eugene trailed in behind her. \"Oh good, our head accountant! Eugene, this Mr. Cheney, former Vice President of the United States.\" On reflex alone Mr. Cheney extended a hand. Eugene did not accept it.\n\n\"Yes, I'm aware.\" Eugene's disdain was palpable. Lucifer cleared his throat but before he could speak Eugene cut him off. \"Mr. Cheney, do you have any idea how much overtime you've inflicted on my department? None of us have had a weekend off since the early 2000's!\"\n\nLucifer butted in before the head accountant could really get going. \"Now, now, Eugene. Think of him less of as a nigh endless amount of paperwork and more like... job security.\" Even the Father of Lies had trouble accepting that one, and it showed.\n\n\"Excuse me, sir, but that doesn't fly. Even God Himself takes one day off a week! It's right there in the front of the Book! I-\" Eugene's tirade was cut short by his boss.\n\n\"Eugene,\" Lucifer began, took a sip of coffee for effect, \"run Mr. Cheney's number. Please.\" The 'Please' was polite, but it was also a command. \n\nEugene gulped and dug into the satchel at his side. His suddenly clammy hand pulled forth an abacus. The Devil's Abacus was strung with the intestines of Judas Iscariot, the beads were a mix of finger bones from some of history's worst- Caligula. Andrew Jackson. Stalin. King Richard the Lion Heart. Steve from that 7/11 outside of Los Angeles for what he did to the Slurpees between the date of April 5th, 1984 to December 12th 1987. \n\nThe bones clicked and clacked as Eugene began to run the figures. \"Carry the seven,\" click-click-clunk. \"Minus the human heart\" clickclickclick-clack-clack,click. \"Add in thirteen, no fourteen, Hitler Fistings,\"\n\nMr. Cheney choked on nothing. \"Hitler Fistings!?\" His otherwise pale and splotchy face grew red. It was almost as a much of a shock to the man that he could register any other emotion beyond contempt and disdain for those around him.\n\nLucifer smiled. \"Oh yes, that's a number we invented down here. You see, it's actually a measurement of time that involves a jouster's lance, a hundred feet of barbed wire, and Hitler's anus. You see we-\"\n\nEugene cleared his throat. Lucifer stopped and let the accountant continue. \"Near as we figure, sir, Mr. Cheney's list of sins is almost immeasurable. While no one will ever replace Hitler, he comes mighty damn close. In fact, looking at the numbers, Mr. Cheney's eternal punishment should be-\" Eugene flipped through the cross indexed guide for Hell's Just Desserts! In addition to meting out righteous punishments upon the souls of the wicked, it actually had a nice recipe for a pound cake. Finding the page, Eugene read over the entries quickly and then gasped. \"No, this can't be! Sir, are you sure?\"\n\nLucifer finished his coffee and set the mug down. He plucked up his jacket and briefcase and headed towards his office door. Looking back, he grinned. \"Yes, Eugene, I am. You said it yourself, even The Big Man takes a day off every so often, and by Him I think it's time I did the same. Say hello to the Interim Devil while I'm out!\"\n\nEugene swallowed hard and turned to look at Mr. Cheney. \n\nMr Cheney, for the first time since he 'accidentally' shot someone in the face, grinned. \"Eugene, I think it's time to implement some big changes around here...\"" ]	2
	[WP] After being trapped in a castle guarded by a dragon for most of your teenage life you decided to take matters into your own hands and escape the castle. Soon after you decide to save other princesses who haven't been rescued by their 'brave' princes	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 ugly lizard's mouth gaped, my blade protruding from the back of its neck, covered in sickly fluids. I pulled the blade free, twisting it across the cheek as I pulled, and the monstrous turtle-like creature rolled on to its spiky back, quite dead.\n\n\"Pathetic,\" I said as I walked by the corpse across the length of the bridge, cleaning the sword on my wiping rag. It didn't do much good - the rag was already filthy. I grimaced and wiped the blade clean on my cloak instead. Better a dirty cloak than a rusty sword. I sheathed my sword as I came to the end of the bridge and inspected what appeared to be an odd axe-shaped lever sticking from the ground. What had been its purpose? Perhaps it had been a trap that the lizard had failed to use? \n\nIt had seemed surprised by my appearance. Perhaps it simply didn't have the time. Still, it was best to leave it be. If it was trap, I hardly wanted to become its most recent victim. I moved on into the donjon, where a figured the hostage would be.\n\n\"Oh, Mari-o...\" came a feminine voice. The voice faltered as I entered the room. Across the donjon stood a regal lady, if I've ever seen one. And I've been one, so I know. She was dressed in the cutest pink dress, with a gorgeous blue sapphire inlaid at her collarbone.\n\n\"You're not my Mario,\" she said, looking a little crestfallen and mostly confused.\n\n\"I am not,\" I said, as I took off my helmet. Cool air touched my face and I could practically feel the sweat evaporating from my hair, which I had tied off in a tight bun. \"I take it Mario is your prince?\"\n\nThe princess smiled wryly, \"My plumber, as a matter of fact.\"\n\nI was nonplussed. \"Your plumber?\"\n\nBefore the princess could respond, a loud voice echoed from the lava chamber behind me.\n\n\"Mamma mia! Bowser! Who the hell did this to you?\" Hurried footsteps followed the exclamation and I turned around to the doorway. Through it came a small man, sporting red overalls and a red hat and a spectacular mustache.\n\n\"Mario!\" the princess exclaimed as the man entered the room. But he ignored her. He stormed straight up to my confused self\n\n\"What the hell have you done, you monster?\" the man cried out, upset clear in his voice. \"What in the seven stars were you thinking?\"\n\nTaken aback, I shot back, \"Rescuing your princess from the monsters like you should have been doing!\"\n\n\"There was a power-up I needed to get in world three!\" the man exclaimed, throwing up his hands. \"It took me four tries! I would have cleared this level just fine, but you went and slaughtered them all!\" His voice cracked at the end and he made a small sob, bringing a hand to cover his face.\n\n\"I- I-\" I stammered. \"Isn't that what I'm supposed to do? Kill the monster, save the princess?\"\n\nThe man stamped his foot and glared at me. \"No. We had a good thing going. I'd jump on the Goombas, send the Koopas rolling, and throw Bowser into a pit, but none of it to try to kill them!\" He raised a finger and began to count on his other hand, \"Poor Frank the Goomba, he was close to retirement. I found him sliced in two! Blood was- was everywhere and his poor wife Peggy was sobbing over him, trying to put him back together.\" A second finger on his hand cam out as his pointer finger raised and collided with it again \"And Pete Koopa, you stabbed him multiple times, after he went inside his shell! Why would you do that? He wasn't trying to hurt you!\"\n\n\"He tried to walk into me!\" I protested, but Mario was already bowling over me.\n\n\"His brother was there, his knees sliced open. He had crawled over to Pete's shell and was shaking it, trying to convince Pete to come out. He - he just kept shaking it, in a daze, telling Pete the danger had passed. He could come out now. He.. could come out - out now,\" Mario said between sobs, beginning to hunch over and lose his composure.\n\n\"I- I don't know what to say,\" I said, a growing sense of horror rising in me. This seemed to shake Mario and he glared up at me, hatred seething in his eyes.\n\n\"And finally,\" he said. \"Bowser. My dear, dear friend Bowser. Stabbed through the mouth, and given half of a Glasgow smile. You murderer,\" he seethed. \"You utter monster.\"\n\nI couldn't comprehend any of this. I looked wildly around and saw the princess staring, horrified. Staring at me, tears streaming down her face, fear apparent in her posture. \"But, but, they were holding you captive!\" I protested.\n\n\"IT WAS ROLEPLAYING!\" Mario bellowed. \"We paid good money for it! I have a thing for the rescuing, and Peach has a thing for the being rescued! We do it every year for our anniversary!\"\n\nPerhaps I should consider a new line of work, I thought to myself.", "\"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!\"\n\nNothing, yet again.\n\n\"See?\" Aurora sighed, sipping her can of Monster Energy. \"I told you she won't hear you. She's got to be 50 feet up. Anyway, can I stop drinking this now?\"\n\n\"No, you certainly cannot. If you so much as put that down I'll send you back to that glass coffin of yours. Do you have any idea how difficult it was to wake you in the first place? You should be grateful! Anyway...\"\n\nMerida loudly cleared her throat and tossed her hair back. \"Rapunzel, you utter arse, wake the fuck up!\"\n\n\"Oh my gosh, Merida! You can't speak to princesses like that!\"\n\n\"I see you grew up without little brothers, then. Sod this, let's get Snow Drop-\"\n\n\"I think you mean Snow White?\"\n\n\"Aye, aye, Snow White... because if you think about it then we can get her to work her animal magic and send a couple birds up to fly around her room. That'll do the trick.\"\n\n\"Good luck getting to her.\"\n\n\"Why? What's up with Snow Ball?\"\n\n\"It's Snow White! Anyway, she ate an apple yesterday and fell ill, rumour has it she may have passed away and only her true love can save her.\"\n\n\"True love, my arse. It'll be food poisoning - nothing a bottle of Evian and some paracetamol can't sort out.\"\n\n\"Golly, you're relentless. Can't you just do this the easy way and let the handsome princes come on their horses? It's the way it's been for hundreds of years! It served Cinderella just fine - look how happy she is with Charming.\"\n\n\"I'd rather fight a demon bear again.\"\n\n\"Eh?!\"\n\n\"Doesn't matter. Anyway, let's go and get birdy girl.\"\n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\n\"Are you sure this is a good idea? I feel awful, I don't think I'm up to this yet.\"\n\n\"Look, Snow Globe, I understand that you probably still feel the effects of the Heimlich Maneuver but at least it got that apple wedge out of your throat. Every cloud has it's silver lining! Speaking of clouds, Rapunzel is still up there living in them so send those birds and let's get her down!\"\n\nMeanwhile, Aurora was stood behind Merida and was waving frantically behind her to Snow White, hoping she would see her distress signal: 'please, help. This woman is a maniac and I want to go to bed, this is not the life I was promised!'\n\nSnow White, however, ignored her - not because she disagreed but because saying no to a Scottish woman would inevitably end in a certain death. Up the pigeons went, soaring and swooping until they entered the tower window and high pitched screams shortly followed.\n\n\"Couldn't you have at least sent her doves?\" Aurora sulked.\n\n\"Not a chance. Have you seen a pigeon? Flying rats, they are! A dove would give you an olive branch, a pigeon would give you the plague. See where I'm going with this? We need her to leave the tower, so pigeons it is!\"\n\nSuddenly, a thick rope of braided blonde hair fell out the window, so long that the wisps of hair gently touched the grass below. In her fright, Rapunzel had opted to make a 'pulley' out of her hair and abseil her way down the walls.\n\n\"Would you look at that, she's faster than a redneck on a lawn mower!\"\n\nWith a soft thud, followed the incredibly heavy thud of several tonnes of hair, Rapunzel straightened herself up and shrieked at the sight of three princesses - well, two princesses and a mad woman, staring at her expectantly. \"Who are you? What do you want with me? It's my special hair isn't it?! Well I-\"\n\n\"Oh honey, no! We're just ladies on a feminist mission to prove to the people that us princesses don't need men and can save ourselves!\"\n\n\"Princesses?\" Aurora and Snow White looked in every direction that wasn't the confused victim of Merida's plan.\n\n\"Aw, shite. I forgot you didn't know. Aye, we're all princesses - you included - and according to tradition we are all meant to marry princes. You included! Only your future man is a bit of a convict and I honestly wouldn't recommend him.\"\n\n\"What?! Wait I need to let this sink in. Are you telling me that-\"\n\n\"There will be no waiting. Right, who's next? How about Ariel? Sea World it is!\"\n\nAnd so the brave princess with the hair (and temperament) of a lion dragged her victims on to the next adventure, much to their dismay. Hopefully their princes would come to rescue them very, very soon.", "I stared at the stained glass window as light glinted through it, bringing to life the abstract depiction of forested valley. Small brown and yellow panels acted as homesteads and their fields, and tall grey panel was a noble’s castle that loomed over the land. Or it was a cave, or a metal titan. The swirling colors that danced across the panels took many shape in my head over the months since I’d been confined; my mind had little else to do but wander.\n\nAfter several iterations, I settled on the valley and village as canon for what outside my window. I had no real idea, as I was brought here in the middle of the night while blindfolded, a sacrifice to the great beast that dwelled in my kingdom.\n\nA knock on my door drew me from my thoughts. “First-born!” a scratchy voice called through the bolded barrier. “Super is ready.”\n\n“Come in,” I bid the kobold servant. The door unlatched loudly, and then creaked open. The small, lizard-like man stepped into the room pulling a cart behind him. Atop that cart sat what would be my dinner; meals here were actually surprisingly palatable, though I had stopped eating them recently. I’d found, after fasting due to a bout of illness, that something in the food made me feel sleepy and clouded. It’s not like I had any chance of escaping while unclouded, but whatever drug was hidden amongst the meats and vegetables made the stained-glass window look too squiggly.\n\nThat’s the main reason I refused to eat.\n\nThis time, however, after dropping off the cart the kobold stayed, his eyes set on me. “… Can I help you?” I asked.\n\n“Fro-onthar bid me ensure you take your meal today, First-born.”\n\nI hated that name. It was the reason I’d been taken… no… offered, to the dragon. Such was the agreement between the legendary lizards and the kingdoms in which they resided: Peace, at the cost of the royal family’s first-born heir.\n\nI raised my chin. “I’m not hungry,” I stated, though my stomach betrayed me with a loud grumble. The cooked meat smelled wonderful.\n\n“First-born, you must eat. Lord Fro-onthar will not tolerate your starvation. I am not to leave until I witness you feed yourself.”\n\nI gestured toward a table at the side of my circular room. “Pull up a chair then. You’ll be here for a while.”\n\nThe kobold opened his mouth slightly, showing the rows of sharp teeth he sported, though his expression wasn’t meant to intimidate me. He was awkwardly trying to think of something to say or do. Finally, he walked over to the table and turned a chair to face my direction, planting himself on the seat. “Very well.” He crossed his arms, and I sat on my bed and mirrored his pose.\n\nAfter the silence lingered for a while, I realized that other than the brief glimpses of servants every now and then, I hadn’t had any prolonged company since I had arrived. Even if it was one of my captors, I felt an urge to make conversation. There were plenty of thins I was curious about anyways. “How long have I been here?” I asked.\n\n“I am not at leisure to discuss that with you. Or anything, for that matter. Please either eat or remain silent,” the kobold stated plainly.\n\nMy mouth twisted in disappointment, but then an idea struck me. I stood and walked over to the cart, regarded the food there for a moment, and then addressed the kobold. “I’ll eat,” I declared, and then watched as he let out a sigh of relief. I continued. “If you eat with me. I will not finish this food, and I desire company.”\n\n“First-born, I cannot partake in a meal that has been prepared for you! It would be considered a desecration of-”\n\nI interrupted him. “Very well, then I shall continue my fast,” and I whirled around to return to my bed. Hopefully his refusal was purely customary, otherwise it meant he knew the food was drugged.\n\nTo my surprise, however, I heard the kobold grumble, and then he stood. “If it must be done, I shall humor you.” He grabbed two chairs and dragged them over to the cart, which doubled as a dinner table on its own, and he placed the chairs on opposite sides, sitting in the one closest to the door. I took my place before the meal, and took a small portion of each of the food items, placing the morsels on a smaller desert plate. With a grudging huff, the kobold took the regular sized dinner plate, and dished himself his own helpings.\n\nI made a spectacle of cutting a slice of meat and blowing on it before returning it to my plate as if it was too hot, inviting the kobold to begin eating without ingesting any of it myself. “What is your name?” I asked as he speared some of the vegetables with a fork.\n\n“Galek-tar,” he told me, and then ate what he’d gather on his fork. I watched him eagerly as he chewed and swallowed; I was pretty sure the entire meal didn’t contain the drugs, as that ran the risk of me overdosing or not ingesting enough. If only one of the dishes contained the drug, this was my chance to figure out which.\n\nHe took a few more bites of the vegetables, and I noticed how he savored the flavor. Tears gathered at the corners of his eyes but he blinked them away and grumbled to himself. It made me wonder what kind of food he normally ate. Galek-tar moved on to cut himself a piece of the steak, but before he could ingest it, I asked him another question. “Does your name mean anything?”\n\n“Mmm… nothing in particular. I’m sure mean something, but kobold servants aren’t taught draconic, similar to how most human slaves aren’t taught the common tongue. Of course our lord deems common a far inferior language and allows us to learn it.”\n\n“Are… are you slaves then?” I asked.\n\nGalek-tar looked taken aback. “Goodness no! We may be meek, weak, creatures comparable to insects beside out legendary masters, but dragon blood runs in our veins. We are servants.”\n\n“But you’re not allowed to learn draconic… Are you allowed to leave?” I wondered.\n\n“Leave our lord’s service? Whom we are bound to by custom and divine rule? Preposterous,” he scoffed.\n\nI narrowed my eyes at him. “So you’re slaves but you just call it something else and act like you want to be here.”\n\nAt that he let out a throaty growl, but I’d said that expecting it to offend him somewhat. “You wouldn’t understand, First-born.”\n\nI leaned my head to the side. “Galek-tar, tell me this. Do you ever leave the tower here?”\n\n“I’d have no reason to. My duties keep me within the walls.”\n\n“Do you choose what you eat?”\n\n“I care not for what I eat. The cooks serve and the sustenance provides energy,” he explained, sounding annoyed.\n\n“Did you choose the job that you do?” I inquired.\n\n“Enough of this,” he muttered.\n\n“So it seems you do not control your own education or occupation, what you eat, or where you go. You are confined to the walls of this tower, and so, oddly enough, your predicament seems similar to mine, does it not?”\n\nAt that, Galek-tar stood from his seat. He was angry, and seemed to catch himself from saying something impulsive. “… You are a guest of honor here in my lord’s tower. You are no slave.”\n\n“I might as well be, and so are you,” I said. Then I speared several vegetables violently with my forked and ate them. I figured enough time had passed that Galek would have shown some signs if the side dish was drugged. If not, well, then I myself was as good a guinea pig as he was. The fuming kobold remained silent while I chewed and swallowed, and after a few more bites, my veggies were gone. “I’ve had my fill. You may report to your superiors that you were successful in getting me to eat. From now on, you shall join me as you did today, or I won’t be taking any meals again,” I informed him.\n\nGalek-tar bowed rigidly, moved his chair out of the way, and then dragged the cart away as I stood from my seat. He left without a word, the sounds of the door’s heavy latches locking sounding as soon as the door closed. I sighed, and then went to my bed. I sat cross legged in the center, and looked to the stained glass window, and that’s where I stayed for the rest of the day.\n\nMy imagination danced to the forested valley I imagined in the colored panes, and the image held fast in my mind until I fell asleep.\n\nThe vegetables were safe.\n\n-\n\n\nr/TheCornerStories" ]	4
	[WP] All of your friends had superpowers except you. One day, you stomped on a roach and you felt weird. You felt a buzz as you get a message on your phone from an unknown number. It says "Congrats! You are now level 1."	[ "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. 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Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.", "The rain and wind battered against my face as I stated into my best friend's eyes. Even from this distance, through all the rain, I could tell she was crying.\n\n\"Why?! Why did you do it?\" She shouted, slowly flying towards me and gaining speed.\n\n\"I had to!\" I shouted back, looking around to see the overcast city below me. \"I needed to be stronger. I needed more levels!\"\n\nJulie was flying faster and faster until the Sonic boom she emitted shattered the glass of the skyscrapers around us. I reacted just in time to allow her to phase through me, making her crash into the building behind me. I could feel the nigh insignificant XP points I gained from the few people's lives just ended by her crashing into the building.\n\nI didn't know what level I was. I didn't want to know. \n\nI turned to face Julie, hovering at the hole she created in the building, \"You don't understand. Todd... Todd NEEDED to die. He was unstable, and I... I needed his power. Please, Julie I need you.\"\n\nBeing best friends with the heros of Bigopolis was challenging, but very worth it. I'd be lying though if I didn't say I was a little jealous. I was \"The guy in the chair\" for the Super Pals for years , and helping to save the day from villains and monsters was a dream come true. But I couldn't tell you just how happy I was to finally get a super power, not to mention one that fit my nerdy asthetic. \n\nAfter level three, killing bugs for XP wasn't really worth it, but with those two level ups, I learned how to jump skyscrapers in a single bound and I could lift my mom's Toyota. This was all super useful and cool, but no where near enough to be able to be useful to the Super Pals.\n\nApparently, much like a video game, the more difficult it is to kill, the more XP you get. Bunnies and cats and foxes and horses and dogs were great for farming levels and powers that slowly grew over time, but it was never enough. I revealed to Julie, Todd, Reggie, Sapphire, and Bill that I had powers, and they were super stoked to see I was a hero. \n\nThat excitement changed when my recklessness killed Bill. He ran to protect me. He died cuz I fucked up. He died because I wasn't strong enough.\n\nI told myself, I never needed to kill anyone to get the power I needed, but the power I got from killing Dr. Dewitt; I was on par with the Super Pals at this point. Avenging Bill was more important than his life. He was the one who killed him after all. A life for a life.\n\nThe wind being knocked out of my lungs, also knocked me out of my reflection as Julie threw me onto the pavement below. Her fist were like lightning as the struck into me or would have had I not teleported above the crater she made.\n\n\"Please,\" I begged in my calmest possible voice, \" I don't want to have to kill you, too. I didn't want to kill anyone.\"\n\n\"It's too late for that. You murdered Todd.\"\n\nI paused, my own tears starting to fall. \"I know.\"", "\"Who just drops a roach on the sidewalk?\" asked Yeen. She flicked some crookie crumbs from her wacomm.\n\n\"I don't know,\" replied You, \"I guess it's too much to ask for people to be careful with their habits.\"\n\n\"Oh fuck, did the cops get ya?\" asked Yeen.\n\n\"Yeah,\" replied You. He pulled out his cell and flashed the most recent message towards Yeen. She leaned over, her face already scrunching up in anticipated disgust before her eyes could even read the screen.\n\n\"Ah, level 1 felony possession,\" confirmed Yeen. \"You gonna fight that?\"\n\n\"Can I have your superpowers?\" asked You.\n\nYeen let loose a sigh as she sunk back into the couch.\n\n\"Nah man, you need a lawyer.\"", "After that message I suddenly felt more alive. I have not eaten at all that day and prior to the message I was feeling famished, yet, after I stomped on the roach I was no longer hungry, tired, or thirsty. This could have been a prank from one of those assholes I called friends. Then again, what if it was real? I texted and called the number but I was only greeted with silence. There was only one way to get to the bottom of this. I grabbed my dad's shovel from the shed and made my way to the woods behind my house.\n\nThe woods were riddled with fallen trees and dead wood, the frequent storms in my hometown have aided my endeavors on that front. While ransacking through the decaying homes of common pests, I saw to their annihilation. I spent the rest of that day in the woods, only returning to my home to appease my parent's concern for my absence. I received three more texts that day and with each addition my body was instantaneously altered with increased muscle mass and energy. That night was restless, I was too energetic and eager for more.\n\nAfter a sleepless night, I quietly left the house early in the morning. I figured i'd get some more 'experience' in before school, after three hours of rummaging through the foliage and squashing bugs, I received nothing but fatigue and exhaustion. After school I came back and continued my efforts, alas, nothing. I went back home with an entire body's worth of ache from frantically finding pests to pulverize. Upon reaching my backyard I saw my mother leaving some food and milk out for the stray cats that tend to wonder the neighborhood. I waited at the side of the house for one of the strays. As she stealthily crept to the bowl, I approached her calmly. I told myself there was another way, but I knew there wasn't. The cat was wrongfully unafraid to meet me. I swept her up and she instantly bit my arm and tried to escape, her neck was surprisingly easy to break. I received a text.\n\nI took it upon myself to rid the neighborhood of the stray problem. I left food and milk out by the woods and repeated the same process, over and over again. I only leveled up twice from this before running into the same problem as before. I thought this would be my level cap for now, I must be satisfied with this. I was now level seven and nearly four times stronger and faster than before.\n\nMy friends were worried because they haven't seen me outside of school for a couple of weeks. I told David we could hang out during the upcoming weekend. David was a naturally built track star. He had the innate power to propel flames out of his palms, so when he ran outside of track he looked like an anime character, as he would run with his arms back while his hands propelled him forward. We called him 'Anime Dave'.\n\nDave and I liked to swim in a nearby lake, it had a 'Tarzan' swing that hung over the water. Dave would use it to work on flying. He could never get the hang of it, at best he levitated a few seconds above the water before gravity welcomed him back into her embrace. We met at the lake that day, about to take a dip into the water. While taking my shirt off I noticed Dave gasp, \"How the hell? Since when do you work out?\". I forgot about my alterations, \"Ehh, a couple months ago I guess.\". I really wish Dave never figured out about the cause behind my newfound strength, but as a regular in the town's only gym, he met my story with some skepticism. I thought I had to confide in someone, and who better than Dave?\n\nDave's reaction was worse than expected. \"Dude, you've been killing cats to get muscles? That's fucking sick in the head man, I have a cat you know.\". Embarrassed and ashamed, I lashed out, \"I'm not going to kill your dumb cat dipshit, and you don't understand just how stronger I have become from this.\". Dave scoffed at that. \"Just how strong really? You're killing helpless animals you weak pus...\" Dave's interruption was due to my fist flying into his rib cage. Dave crashed into a tree and laid silent as he sat against it. I was instantly worried so I went to go check on him, \"Dave, oh no, shit, shit, shit, Dave! You okay?\" As I was lifting his head to check on his condition, he greeted me with a ball of fire shoved into my face, I felt my eyeball dripping out of my socket. I screamed and kicked down on Dave as hard as I could. Suddenly my vision came back and my phone vibrated, three times.\n\nI don't know what came over me at that moment, the burst of energy coupled with the massive body alteration must have delivered a sense of euphoria. I was deeply sad of Dave's fate, but I disposed his remains into the lake and ran back home. Later that night, police knocked on the door asking about Dave. His parents must have declared him missing. Before my parents had a chance to say anything, I told them I was only with Dave for about twenty minutes, after which he went to the lake with a group of strange kids. The police asked for a description of the kids, and I surprised myself with how well my mind was able to fabricate a description so quick, with minute details as well. I thought that would throw them off my trail.\n\nAfter the police left, my parents were skeptical of my story. \"I thought you were with Dave all day?\". My mother looked at me with a great deal of concern on her face. \"Mom, it's not what you think, okay? I left Dave and went on a walk by myself, I'm telling the truth and as my mother, I hope you would believe your son, especially considering the circumstances.\". That stopped mother in her tracks, this was going better than expected, I thought. \"Cut the bullshit son, what happened to Dave?\". My father always saw through my deceptions, there is never going to be an answer that satisfies him unless it's the truth. So, I answered truthfully, and I stripped down to my boxers to display the evidence of my circumstances. \"I lost control of my newfound strength!\" I yelled and tried to muster up tears to help plea my case, they would not fall however, I felt too good.\n\nMother was in shambles and father fell to the couch in disbelief. They argued among themselves after, figuring out their next course of actions. Mother was urging my father to back up my story to the police, but father insisted I turn myself in. Why did his altruistic nature have to be in play at this moment, of all moments? \"I'm not turning myself in, we can move past this dad, we can continue to live life and put this whole thing behind us.\", I was starting to get a little upset. \"You murdered that poor boy son, you and you alone are accountable for your actions. So you, and you alone will face the consequences.\". Father was starting to piss me off. \"You don't want to make an enemy out of me dad.\".\n\nHe lifted me in the air with his giant-like strength. \"You don't want to be an enemy of the people son, because then you make an enemy out of your father!\". All the while, mother screamed and pleaded with father to let me go. There was no need for that, I grabbed fathers wrist and simply squeezed. He screamed out in pain and I watched his wrist dangle as if there were no more life inside of it. Father closed his eyes for a moment, he tended to do that when he was about to do something he had no desire of doing. He screamed, \"Damn you son! Damn you!\", all while charging at me. His feet shaking the whole house as if a stampede were in the living room. I greeted his head with the back of my hand and he crashed through the front door. My phone vibrated twice.\n\nAfter mother realized father was out of the picture, she attempted to call the police back to the house. I stopped her, with no vibrations from my phone this time. However, one of the neighbors must have called because they came soon after anyway. Guns were drawn on me as I exited my home, \"On the ground, now!\", a sea of uniforms were screaming at me. I felt too good to buckle at the whim of such weak spirits though, and I approached their makeshift blockade of cars and troops.\n\nI heard a symphony of gunfire, and closed my eyes to further enjoy it. After the noise ceased, I took in the grand smell of expended gun powder. Apparently my skin was stronger than steel now, and my strength was, well let's just say I made short work of the cops. My phone only vibrated once though, pity. A squadron of gifted were called onto me, with such pathetic powers it's not even worth mentioning. Now, nothing could stop me from leveling up, not tanks, helicopters, bombs, or even the world's finest gifted, I was a god. I never realized how low-level the human race was. \n\nA world's worth of toppled governments later, I'm running out of foes to garner experience from. I've assembled a team of scientists to focus on one goal and one goal only. Find me a world worthy of conquest.", "“Level 1? What- what does this mean?” I questioned the phone, glancing up out of the window to find my friends flying around the city, firing lasers made out of whatever their power was. Some were fire-type, some were water-type, and some were fire-AND-water-type.\n\nThen what was I?\n\nI sat down, chatted with a few of my friends, just to see how they had gotten their powers.\n\n“For me, it was when I first put out a fire engulfing my house.” A fire-type said.\n\n“For me, it was because I survived the recent flood in Asia.” A water-type said.\n\nAnd based on my results, that meant that I could only have one power.\nThe power of the sewers.\n\nAnd, true enough, I was able to somehow manipulate pests and creepy crawlies.\n“This is great!” I cheered as I pulled another prank on my friends.\n\nBut how did I level up?\n\nThat was one thing I didn’t know, so I just kept pulling pranks.\nI liked that lifestyle better anyway.\n\nWell, I _did_, until one day, a Friend of mine had an asthma attack due to one of my pranks.\nHe died that same day.\n\n..\n\nPacing back and forth in my room, I couldn’t make sense of the last text I got. It just didn’t feel right.\nI couldn’t, but it had to be done.\nIt was kill or be killed in this world.\n\nOne hand on the doorknob, I exited my apartment, the other hand grasping tightly my hitlist, and my phone, which read,”Congrats! You are now level 2. Abilities unlocked: Advanced Creature Control. _Click Here_ to view advanced creature movements, with the text in the link already purple. And, one last thing.\n\nAbilities inherited.\nYou are now a level 100 poison-type.", "This weird feeling...\n\nI thought it was out of the ordinary, but my phone confirmed it all... My stomach grumbled and I felt better, even though I ate very little for breakfast this morning.\n\nThat's when I saw the cockroach on the pavement was... dusty... grey... As if life got sucked from it. I got taken aback by the vision of the crushed dust around the already disgusting insect, so I decided to keep going.\n\nAt the end of the day, when I was returning home from the University I felt like I was being followed. Nothing like the feeling of being watched we feel at some point. No... I felt like I was in danger... I was on the same street I walked through every day and it appeared normal. But my gut screamed beware.\n\nAnd so it happened. Dustin jumped me, like he loved to do. His invisibility power was handy when he walked carefully and I was the main target because... Well I couldn't react. Until just now.\n\nBefore Dustin jumped I just randomly felt an urge to take a long step back. As I jumped I was able to see him jump where I was, as if I'd known he'd jump. Not only that but I also threw a roundhouse kick to the left and grazed him on the arm.\n\n\"Dustin?\" I couldn't understand what just happened.\n\n\"Dude what the hell?!?! You almost hit me!!!\"\n\nUnderstanding the situation a little bit more I replied: \"So did you! I just noticed and reacted the way I do in our martial a...\"\n\n\"You what? Noticed? I was standing still and you know no one can see me or hear me when I stand still!\"\n\nHe was right. I had no idea of how I knew where he was standing and reacted on cue to the attack.\n\n\"If you saw me then Andy must have warned you. That's the only way you could see me without having powers like you do!\"\n\nI tried to say Andy didn't dare warn me but Dustin was gone before I could say a word. I went home.\n\nUpon opening my door I wasn't greeted by my dog... Unusual, I thought. Then I saw why... My dog was sitting in the couch and when he saw me come in he instantly threw a gaze to my cabinet. He never jumps on the couch.\n\nI put down my backpack and grabbed the door weight I had. It was a metal ball with a flattened bottom to keep it from moving and most importantly, it was very heavy.\n\nI slowly made my way to the cabinet and opened up the door with my foot. My dog started to shuffle on the couch. That's when I saw... 3 rats eating a banana I saved for a snack and forgot.\n\nThe feeling of dread I felt on the street before getting jumped by Dustin came back stronger. I instantly pulled back my foot and threw the weight were it was. As if rehearsed, a rat jumped to bite my foot and instantly got squashed by the metal ball I dropped.\n\nI couldn't believe it. My senses felt sharper, stronger than ever before. I didn't have time to praise myself though. A second rat ran off. I knew it would, somehow, I just knew. I had thrown a vase that was sitting in the top shelf. It trapped the rat and didn't break.\n\nThe third rat tried to jump me instead of running. I managed to hold him back with the sole of my boot. Then I simply slammed the door of the cabinet shut with my other hand. The rat got cut in half like it was a scene from a gory, poorly directed, movie.\n\nI gulped at the sight and my dog got down from the couch. Eleven p.m. the clock indicated. After laying down and resting for an hour I felt like it was time to clean all the blood. But there wasn't any... \"That's impossible\", I thought, after all, I had seen the blood spurt all over my carpet, but it was gone. No stains, no puddles... no corpses. the crushed rat had disappeared, the rat that I attacked with the door wasn't there either. The one I trapped... was dead. But like the cockroach, it's body was grey and dusty. And after less than a minute it disappeared. \n\nI gave it some thought and my conclusion was that, unlike his friends, he didn't die immediately, rather, it died long after and that made his corpse still be there. Then I checked my phone again. \n\n\"Message from unknown contact: Congrats! You are now level 2. Sent 10:50 p.m.\" \"Message from unknown contact: Congrats! You are now level 3. Sent 11:57 p.m.\"\n\nNot only did I now know what this was about, I could explain exactly what happened. The cockroach, the rats, all I killed... They made me stronger. Somehow, me killing then was making me more aware, more nimble. The time of the second message matches the time I killed the first rat. And the third message matches the time the trapped rat would've died.\n\nNow I knew what this was all about. Yes, I played RPGs all my life and finally connected the dots. \"How could I have not noticed before?\" I muttered to myself. The message I received when I was 10, playing on my mother's phone. I still vaguely remember it. \n\n\"Hello adventurer! How are you doing today?\" The same day I was made fun of by my classmates. Like always. \n\n\"Good\" I replied, I was just too naïve to not reply to a strange message.\n\n\"Well, well! How would you like to be stronger?\"\n\nI laughed back then. Even at age 10 I could tell this was weird. I shrugged and said \"Sure\".\n\nMy mom interrupted by asking for her phone to make a phone call and of course I let her use her own phone.\n\nWhen I got it back all the messages were gone. I saw my mom make the call, she didn't delete them. I looked around but no sign so I just forgot about it.\n\nToday it all makes sense. All the pain I endured for being \"special\", just because I couldn't do anything special. The bullying from the gifted kids, the effort I had to put to be able to get to Uni... All just because I couldn't have a single special skill.\n\nAfter all that effort to be in the top of my class in grades and fighting abilities didn't matter because, well, without powers, it doesn't matter how good of a kick or punch you can throw, anyone with something else can get you off balance, especially in this University where the top class contains the most gifted students of this generation. I had to be the best at everything I could. Doesn't matter if I'm smart enough, strong enough, quick enough. I still got bullied by those damn lucky guys who could use their powers to surpass me.\n\nWell... Not anymore. I will surpass all that once attacked me. All that, for being strong, target the weak. All that because of their power see themselves as superior. I will surpass the strong to protect the weak, make them no longer fear the strong. Make it so no one ever goes through what I had to go through.\n\nI know that in the south, there are special hunting areas for training with powers that don't forbid killing wild predators. That will be my training ground. I will strengthen myself by killing all that threaten me. The roach I killed was an accident, the rats weren't. Now I'll keep going with leveling up, I will keep increasing my senses until I surpass all powers on our city, no, our world!" ]	6
	[WP] You went to bed on the night of August 3, 2019. You wake up on the morning of August 4, 2009.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 eyes flutter open, feeling more rested than normal. It must be later than 8, right?\n\nmaybe not. I reach for my phone to see what time it is, but nothing is there. The nightstand isn't even there. \n\nI sit up in bed, confused. It's a dream. I've usually been able to control my lucid dreams. So, I get up out of bed, and spin in a circle with my arms crossed over my chest. I expect to fly up like usual, but nothing. \n\nIt's not a dream.\n\nHm. I'm getting hungry, and I've got work soon. I stumble my way over to my cabinet where the cigarettes usually lye, but there is no box. Why are they gone? I seriously can not focus without my morning buzz. \n\nBut I don't feel angry or angst like I usually do when I do not have my morning cig. I feel calm. \n\nNow I'm beginning to freak out. I walk hastily into the kitchen, and reach into my fridge to grab my milk for my cereal. But all I am greeted with is gatorade, 2 bottles of Bud Light, and a sandwich.\n\nWait, where am I?\n\nQuestions begin to file into my mind one by one, then in large groups. How did I get here, am I really dreaming, where is my backpack? I spin in a circle with my arms crossed faster than I ever have before. I hear a noise, and I feel relieved, it's all over.\n\n\"what are you doing?\"\n\nI stop spinning at once. I turn towards the source of the noise. It's a friend. I recognize him, but his name escapes my head. I feel sick, but I manage to blurt out\n\n\"who are you?\"\n\n\".....Jacob.\"\n\n\"what?\"\n\n\"How hammered were you last night?\"\n\nI pause, and look around again. I'm not in my kitchen, i'm in a small room, with one window and a cart with chips and drinks on it.\n\nThis is my college dorm.\n\nThen the name comes back.\n\n\"Ally!\"\n\nThe friend chuckles, burps, and says \"yep.\"\n\n\"what.....\"\n\nHe sighs, and grabs the nearly empty beer bottle behind him on the counter.\n\nbefore he can speak, i ask \n\n\"what is going on?\"\n\n\"well, YOU are hung over, and I have class to go to. See you tonight.\"\n\nHe finishes the beer, and walks out of the room, with a backpack and bulky laptop under his arm.\n\nAnd I then realize what has happened.\n\nAll the times i wished upon a lucky star that my life would turn around, and it finally has. \n\nThis is different. I need a beer." ]	2
	[WP] You are the only Hostage Negotiator with an 100% success rate. Your secret? Just asking the criminals nicely	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 sure if you would call it work, but if it saves lives, then it is my responsibility. \"Hank, we are almost there, you ready?\" the officer informed, driving the car to their destination. \n\n\"Besides the body armor being a little itchy? I'm good to go.\" \n\n We pulled up next to more police cruisers and swat vehicles. It's your classic bank stick up. In the center of attention a woman wearing a bandana over her mouth. She was pointing a gun at a man kneeling down in front of her with a black bag over his head. The captain in charge came up to me, \"Hank, I'm glad your here. The suspect is not responding to our request, and things are down to a wire. The gun could go off any second now.\" \n\n\"Don't worry captain, I'll talk to them.\" The policemen open up the barricade letting me though. \n\n\"Hello! Hi!\" The woman looked at me and didn't say a thing, still holding the gun to the man's head. \"It's okay, I'm here to help. I'm not here to hurt you.\" No response for her. I couldn't wait any longer with filler, I needed to get straight to the point. \n\n\"Please, can you put the gun down and surrender?\" \n\n...\n\nShe didn't move. What, that's impossible? What the hell! \n\n\"Mam! Can you please put the gun down.\" She still did not put the gun down. I needed to get closer, maybe she couldn't hear me. I slow got closer to her and she was shaking her head no. \n\n\"Miss, please, for your safety and others you have to...\" BANG! Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck fuck! What the fuck! She shot him! I don't even, ugh.. I could hear the captain shouting out to subdue her, but then I saw her face. She was crying and tearing up, as if she regretted her decision. Then she put the gun to her own head. \n\nShe not the suspect, she's a hostage. \n\nI frantically looked around, checking every window, every door, every roof, looking for the real suspect. Two policemen started to run towards the armed hostage, and I yelled them to stop, \"Wait! She's a hostage, she a hostage! She's was forced to do it. Then, the woman held out her hand, it's a cell phone. It was for me apparently. I grabbed the phone from her cautiously keeping my distance. As i took the phone, I took a look at the corpse of the man. A bullet hole was imprinted in the black bag over his head. \n\n\"Hello,\" I spoke nervously. \n\n\"Hello, Hank. You lose.\" The voice on the phone laughs maniacally, \"You finally lost. Hank\" \n\n\"Cut the shit, Where the hell are you?\" \n\n\"Calm down Hank, I thought you were the cool headed one.\" \n\n\"Can you please turn yourself in?\" \n\n\"That's not going to work Hank, I'm not holding a hostage. She's holding herself hostage. I'm not the bad guy here. I'm just a spectator among the crowds, and I'm fucking bored. So, let's make this interesting.\" I was scared what was to come next. \n\n\n\"Hank, would you kindly please take the gun from her hand.\" \n\nI blinked and I had the gun in my hand. What the hell. \n\n\"What are you doing to me?\" \n\n\"The same thing you do Hank, the same thing that you do.\" I threw the phone away, but I couldn't. \"No, no, no Hank, you can't do that. You agreed to keep on the line. I love hearing your voice.\" \n\nI couldn't control myself, everything in my power, I could not do anything. The captain walked up to me as they apprehended the woman, \"You tried hank, but it's okay. You can't win it all. Give me the gun, its been a long day.\" \n\n\"Now shoot the captain Hank. Shoot him.\" \n\nNo, I wasn't about to let this psycho make me do that, but my hand. It's slowly started to move on its own. I struggled hard trying to stop myself. \n\n\"Hank? Are you okay?\" the captain asked.\n\n\"Please Hank, shoot the Captain.\" \n\nAAAGGGHHHHHHHH. BANG!\n\n...\n\nI woke up in an ambulance on a stretch with the captain standing next to me, Thank god. I grunted in pain, there was a bullet wound on my left shoulder. I shot myself, \n\n\"You shot yourself, Hank. I know that look you gave me when you did it too. It's the same look all those criminals you convinced to surrender.\" I didn't say a thing, I was still in shock. \"This is a big threat, and we are gonna find him.\" \n\n...\n\nNearby, a man whistling a tune and walking his dog approaches his car and gets in. \"Well played hank, well played. I can't wait to see you again,\" He reaches out to his dog and playful pets his dog, \"We can't wait to see him boy right? Don't we?\" He drives away, waiting for his next project." ]	2
	[WP] You often wear your headphones without putting any music on, to sneakily listen in on conversations around you. But this time you're sure you can hear something from your headphones...	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 noise from my headphones started off soft before increasing to where I could begin decipher the words I was hearing. I took a glance at my phone seeing that my bluetooth was still off and not connected to my headphones. Someone else must have connected to them.\n\nBut the audio playing wasn’t from a song or even a podcast.\n\nAn artificial voice was repeating,’INDIA. SIERRA. ECHO. ECHO. YANKEE. OSCAR. UNIFORM.’\n\nI recognize this type of code. I’ve heard it used in those military movies by the pilots. Why is somebody listening to-\n\n‘Have I got your attention yet?’\n\nI jolt and dart my eyes around the subway.\n\nA woman chuckles in my ear,’No need to get so scared, kid.’\n\nI reach to pull my headphones off.\n\n‘I would’t do that...’, I lower my hands,’Good boy. Just in case you still think this is fake, let me show you something.’\n\nI gulp and continue to scan my eyes around.\n\n‘The light right above you is going to flicker in a specific pattern. Off. On. Off. On three seconds. Off. On.....look up.’\n\nI do as she says and the light reacts exactly as she described.\n\nI wanna say that was a lucky guess but my inner chicken is pissing its pants.\n\n‘Just incase you’re really not convinced I’ll show you another trick. Do you see that man in the suit with a blue tie with white stripes.’\n\nI nod my head.\n\n‘Well he’s about to receive a phone call that his daughter has just been in a car accident.’\n\nI take a sharp breath and stare at the man waiting. His phone rings, he answers it, and his face falls slack from shock. He slumps on the subway wall shaking his head.\n\n“Please no.” He pleads,”Not Ella, she JUST got her license.” The mans eyes pool with tears.”\n\nMy hand starts shaking and my phone drops to the tiled floor.\n\n‘Now do you see why it would be bad Not to listen to me?’\n\nI nod my head.\n\n‘Good. Good.’ I hear the rustling of papers,’I need you to do something for me. A little bit of an exchange you could say. I don’t tell that Jenny girl from school, Ramon from the pizza shop, or Officer Solomon that you had spilled on their secrets if you run this errand.’ \n\nHold up...but I’ve never said anything about what I’ve heard.\n\n‘You must be thinking “but I never spilled” well think about it...I showed you I could fake a phone call, what makes you think I can’t fake some dms and photos.’\n\nI reach to pick my phone back up with clammy hands.\n\n‘Now. Are you gonna help me?’\n\nI nod my head.\n\n‘Good...head towards the mens restroom on your left.’\n\nShe don’t even give me time to think.\n\n‘You best not keep me waiting.’\n\nShit.\n\nI rush to shove my phone in my jacket pocket and stand up from the bench. As I’m approaching the bathroom door I can hear my heart beating in my ears.\n\nRight as I push the grimy door open she asks me\n\n‘Is there anyone in there.’\n\nIt’s quiet and there’s no one at the urinals or sinks and both the bathroom stalls are open so I shake my head.\n\n‘Go into the biggest stall and pull the box holding the seat covers out of the metal frame.’\n\nI do just that and as I’m pulling out the empty box I hear and feel something rattle inside.\n\n‘Take it out.’\n\nMy hand grasps something small. It ends up being a flash drive.\n\n‘Hide it inside your sleeve and walk back out.’\n\nThe door shuts behind me and I’m back in the crowded and loud station.\n\n‘Look for a woman wearing a blue dodgers cap and yellow sneakers.’\n\nI scan heads before my eyes lock on the woman leaning against a pillar texting on her phone.\n\n‘Follow her.’\n\nThe woman puts her phone away and starts walking down along a walkway that will lead to stairs outside. She steps on one of her shoelaces and snags it untied.\n\n‘Once she stops walk past her letting the flash drive fall out your sleeve.’\n\nInstead of continuing out she stops at a corner and crouches down and begins to tie her shoe.\n\nI do just as ordered and walk past her, letting the flash drive fall at her side.\n\n‘Continue walking up the stair case until you’re outside.’ Once I’m at top she continues,’Head left and keep walking until you see a graffiti of a woman with butterflies.’\n\nAs I force my feet to move I study all the faces of other people passing by and wonder if they know. My throat begins to feel tight and I dry swallow my fear.\n\nThe swirls of the hair of the woman and bright tones of the small creatures floating around her gain my attention.\n\n‘Now continue into the alley and follow its turns.’\n\nThe ground is wet and sticky. A mix of piss, trash, and rat crud create a miasma that chokes at my lungs. I’m afraid every shadow if someone waiting to lunge.\n\nJust get through this and she leave you alone. I try to console myself and continue on.\n\n‘There is a man smoking and leaning against the wall. Approach him.’\n\nI walk to him but make sure to keep five feet away from him. He doesn’t grant me a passing glance.\n\n‘Tell him “Rebecca knows”’\n\nI clear my throat and stare at his nicotine stained fingers,”R-Rebecca knows!” I squeak out.\n\nThe man finally glances my way and drops his cigarette,”Oh, really. That’s a shame.” He drawls as he puts out the butt with his toe.\n\n“Y-yeah.” I nervously laugh,”I’m just the messenger, man—just so you know!”\n\nWhy can’t I just shut my big mouth.\n\nHe takes three steps forward,”Yeah.” He smiles.\n\nI cautiously smile back.\n\nBut I wasn’t fast enough to dodge his arm. His pocket knife is lodged in my throat and I’m choking on my own blood.\n\n“Rebecca has been silenced”\n\n‘Good’" ]	2
	[WP] You, a dragon, were secretly best friends with a man, or at least until yesterday, that is. he died from an illness. and you are planning to do something great for 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/js5XDFB)\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 had been starting to slow down, or at least he had said he was, to me he had always been slow so I didn’t take much notice. “You’re in denial,” he had told me, “You had to have known this would happen. You need to be ready to let go.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about“ was my only response. I couldn’t deal with him when he got like that. \n\nI used to joke that I would eat him when he died, to keep him with me forever. He told me I was full enough of shit without adding him to the mix, and that he’d die of a disease so rank that I wouldn’t dare eat him. Then the bastard had actually done it. So unnecessary, as if I would risk damaging my beautiful form by eating his junky body. \n\nI know he hadn’t actually gotten sick on purpose, but I resented him in his last days. He was so weak, even for his species. A measly 78 years, was all he had managed. 78 years was all I had gotten, when I knew for a fact that humans could last a hundred years in the right conditions. \n\nI kept him comfortable, cradled his weird little body against my scaled chest to keep him warm, blew steam over his face to help him breath.\n\nHe’s been gone three days now. He’s starting to smell. I need to do something about it, but I’m having trouble figuring out what that something may be. When he was here, he used to decide. I had loved his mind, had loved him, enough to overlook the obvious shortcomings of pairing up with a creature that lived less than one third of your lifespan. \n\nI didn’t want to stick him in the ground, the barbaric custom of his people. And he was clear that he didn’t want to be eaten, even though he had been such a stickler for not wasting food when he was alive. Hypocrite.\n\nIt had to be special, because he had been special. And it had to be soon, or he was going to stain the floor. \n\nI sank my claws into his ribs and hurled us out of the cave, unfurling my wings and taking flight. I could decide on the way, I just needed to act. \n\nI flew, and kept flying. Until the land was unrecognizable, and the life we had lived together on it was a distant memory. I’m not sure when I lost him for the final time, but I became aware that he had fallen, his decayed body must have broken away from itself under its own weight. Only a few of his ribs remained, still tightly grasped between my claws.\n\nI kept them, I kept him, I had never been able to let go." ]	2
	[WP] You rescued a baby bird from your neighbour's cat. It never forgot you, but neither did the cat. Years later, you find yourself in some peril. One comes to help you, and the other comes to harm.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "\"Stop! Fuck, ok ok.. not the eyes!\" I shout as the bird stops pecking my eyes before moving onto to trying to peck through my chest, striking it with pinpoint accuracy. Of course it only slightly hurt, in fact it was more annoying then anything. How was I supposed to know the babybird had a death wish? \"Look! Ok im sorry, I didn't know just\"\n\n\"ME- OWWW!\" Suddenly a black cat jumped into the air, swiping its claw at the bird, causing the bird to flutter back. \"Oh great, now your here to try to kill me?\"\n\nThe cat simply turned its head, offering me a small nod \"Namaste brother, I hold no ill will to you, I was a jerk and prayed on the weak. Your heroics made me reevaluate my life. Now I am a devote follower of Barkansus, the golden retriever religion, I have found inner peace and I wish to repay my debt.\" The cat said as circled the bird.\n\n\"Wait but you can talk?\" I interjected, yet the talking part hardly seemed the weirdest part of any of this.\n\n\"Yes spiritual enlightenment allows me to talk.\" The cat responded before the bird tried to kamikaze the cat, swooping down with malicious intent only for the cat to pause and look at him. \"Let he without sin, cast the first tennis ball\" the bird paused as if understanding that, maybe the bird had some self reflection? Regardless It hovered for a few moments before turning and flying itself back outside.\n\n\"That... worked? Thank you cat.\" I shouted, running over to give the cat a hug before it simply raised a poor to me. \n\n\"Thank barkansus, not me brother.\" It said before slipping out the backdoor." ]	2
	[WP] You are an immortal who has passed the time joining various armies and honing your skills. You've witnessesd all the great conflicts from the fall of Rome to both World Wars. This time you are trying to join the U.S. Marines, and have decided to have a bit of fun with your Drill Sergeant.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "Adding my contribution now. I thought I commented on here before but I can’t find it.\n\nStory\n\n“Private what the hell are you doing?!” Staff sergeant Meyers barked.\n\nI stood at attention still holding the bucket of paint and it’s accomplice, the paint brush. “Training staff sergeant.”\n\nHe looked me up and down, not a splash of paint from the enemy team save some of mine from all the wild slashing I did. Then he looked at the enemy team, all covered in bright green paint from toe to forehead.\n\nI could tell he wanted to be impressed. But he also wanted to rip me to shreds. This was maybe the fifth time I’ve done something out of line that was amazing.\n\nThen he gave me the ass whooping I so rightfully deserved.\n\n[Break]\n\n“What did you do this time?” Frank when I walked into the mess hall drenched in rain water.\n\n“Long story.” I sat down and immediately started shoving food in my mouth. This wasn’t like the times we could eat our meals casually. Eat fast and save the chitchat. “Had to mop up rain.”\n\n“While it was raining?”\n\nI nodded my head vigorously and stabbed a forkful of eggs.\n\nMe and Frank went back to Egypt. We were two bored chaps looking for excitement. War became our game, and we played it well.\n\nDuring our time with the greeks, we’d met others like ourselves. Joined the army and became legends as the children of Ares.\n\nThen the Romans. We enlisted, became citizens, led armies, bled kingdoms. And like every great nation we belonged to they fell. We couldn’t be everywhere at once.\n\nAs time went, war evolved, and so did we. We became heroes and villains. Disappeared for a hundred years and returned when the next great war arises.\n\nOur group of immortals at one point had been twenty men and women. All wanting some excitement. In the last century, we disbanded. Each going our own way, but keeping in touch.\n\nAs we left the mess hall, staff sergeant Meyers stopped both me and Frank.\n\n“Yes staff sergeant?” I stood again at attention.\n\n“You two come with me.” He said. “It’s time we had a chat.”\n\n“Staff sergeant.” Frank started. “Whatever he did I had no part.”\n\n“Can it private!”\n\nA moment later we were standing in his office. Surprisingly there was a bottle of whiskey on his desk, not that its weird, but the fact it was out in the open for everyone to see.\n\n“Have a seat.” He directed.\n\nWe sat down on the two plush chairs and watched as he poured himself a glass. Then reached into his desk and pulled out a photo. “Last night I got to go home and have a chat with my old man. Told him all about this pain in the ass private.”\n\nHe held the photo between two fingers. “For some reason he said you sounded familiar. After giving him a description he went and pulled this out of the attic. Look familiar?”\n\nFrank took the photo tentatively from his outstretched hand. He looked at it, then passed it to me.\n\nThe photo was old, back when we landed in France during WW2. It was a picture of our whole platoon. Me, Frank, and five others and the other mortals. The seven of us were sitting right up front.\n\nThis had been some concern of late. There were cameras all over the world. Recordings, all that stuff. At some point we worried we’d be found out, alienated, captured, experimented on to discover the secret to our immortality. \n\nI thought in a hundred years we’d be discovered from photos on the internet. Not from an old man with a relic from the bad days.\n\n“Who’s your father?” Frank asked.\n\n“Philip Sojourn.” Mayers stated. “He said you’d know him as Jackson Miller.”\n\nI looked back at the photo. Jackson was sitting on my left, grim and dirty, holding a Thompson. Where had he been all this time? But wait.\n\n“You’re his son?” I asked with disbelief.\n\n“He said that’d be a shocker. He also told me that we can trust each other.” The young staff sergeant waved to himself, “I’m forty years old and don’t look a day over twenty-six.”\n\n[break]\n\nMeyers pulled out two more glasses and poured us both a glass while we talked. Well Frank talked anyway. Meyers had a bunch of questions, and Frank had some answers.\n\nSee when the two thousands were rolling around, and science made some drastic improvements. Frank spent a decade learning and researching ourselves. None of this gave us the answers we sought, but it raised a few interesting points he was happy to share.\n\n“So having children isn’t normal?” Meyers asked.\n\n“All our lives none of us have been able to sire children. Though that might change with this new information.”\n\n“And we can’t die from anything? I got shot in the head in Iraq and came out fine.”\n\n“That’s been a debate as of late.” Frank looked downtrodden.\n\nMeyers looked confused. So I explained. “In WW2 we were a part of D-Day. We were with the british army. Me and eight others of our kind stormed a bunker. Killed the occupants and moved on. Andrew was inside the bunker when it blew.”\n\n“German gunners were concerned with our advance and were focusing their bigger guns on us.” Frank added. “We found his body later after the battle. He was dead.”\n\n“When the news hit the rest, others became scared and left. We don’t know what killed him.”\n\n“Clearly whatever ammo the germans used.” Meyers pointed out.\n\n“We all got shot with german firearms.” I told him. “Jackson one time had a bomb dropped on him and he walked away. The occurrence of Andrews death still remains a mystery.”\n\nMeyers looked over the photo one more time. Then pulled out his phone and showed us a picture.\n\nIt was Jackson, an older looking Jackson. Sitting on a lazy-boy holding a child.\n\n“That’s my father with his grandchild.”\n\n“Your’s?” Frank asked.\n\n“My youngest sister’s, and she looks older than me too. I’m the first-born and I seem to be the only one who hasn’t been aging right.”\n\n“I’d take a wager, but I think he gave you his immortality.” Frank sipped from his glass.\n\n“How?”\n\n“That’s what I’d like to ask. We don’t know how to pass or split this ability. We don’t even know how we got it, it’s just something that’s been a part of our lives.”", "Ironically, I hate being tired all the time.\n\nDespite the perks of immortality and having fought in every conflict since the dawn of man, like any sane individual I hate being woken up at 0430 by screaming men in funny hats. In a flash, the lights are on, there's chaos everywhere as terrified recruits scramble from their racks, yet I'm already throwing on my PT gear with the only slightest headache. When you've spent a (very long) lifetime putting on every type of armor and uniform that's ever existed under the sun, from lorica segmentata to full gothic plate to flight suits, getting what you wear on quickly and correctly becomes second-nature at some point. \n\nRunning. Screaming. Discipline. Sweat. Centuries of training, and centuries of combat have made all of these old acquaintances of mine, if not friends. \n\nAt one point, we're back in the barracks, hurriedly cleaning up for inspection, and I'm doing my best to help my terrified, 18-year-old rackmate how to properly lace his damn boots, when a frog voice rasps out \"FORM UP!\" Instantly, backs are up against our racks, already exhausted kids barely standing and practically melting in the Parris Island humidity.\n\nI'd fought with these kids' grandparents in the jungles of Vietnam. I hadn't even broken a sweat yet.\n\nI heard, rather than saw the rest of the company being chewed out by the drill instructors, eyes front as they were - a sleeve not rolled up properly for one, my rackmate getting his ears blown out over his improperly laced boots. In a moment, a killhat was on me, swollen red face ready to tear me a new one for the slightest imperfection when he stopped, brain trying to catch up quickly with his eyes. Not a hair out of place. Boots perfectly laced. A uniform that looked like it was tailored to me - I'd been able to think clearly when first picking mine out and managed to actually find something other than medium-reg that fit me properly. Killhat grunted some noise that voiced neither approval or disapproval, and turned to move on.\n\nI made the mistake of stifling a yawn.\n\nInstantly, the drill instructor had whirled back to face me, a stream of expletives already spewing forth. Like sharks smelling blood, he was followed by another, then two more, hurling everything possible to try and throw me off. \"I'm sorry, I don't speak yawn! Are you fucking TIRED, RECRUIT?\" one of them snarled.\n\n\"Aye, Sir!\" I knew better than to argue, and was past caring, anyways. \n\nAgain, I thought I saw the smallest flash of confusion in the instructors, but it didn't for a second break their tirades. \"Well, we'll fix that then! Beat your fucking face until you are!\"\n\n--\n\nOne minute of pushups turned into two, then five, then ten. The hollering that was meant to catch any imperfection in form, give any possible opening for me to trip up, slowly started to fade, my world becoming a floor that rhythmically came closer and further from my face. At the ten-minute mark, I dared to glance to my left, to the rest of the barracks. A crowd had formed, recruits and instructors alike looking on in awe, and not a little bit of fear. It was, for once, eerily silent.\n\nOne of the SNCOs managed to recover fastest. \"I didn't say you could stop, recruit Mars!\"\n\nAnd so, I pushed on.\n\n__\n\nI wouldn't say this was my best work (plus I'm an partial to the AF myself so not too familiar with the Marines haha), but I was in the mood to write something and thought this prompt sounded promising. Hope y'all enjoy!", "So I've been at this for a few hundred years. Big deal. When you have nothing bu time on your hands you can learn just about anything. Except how to make a good waffle. Haven't quite mastered that one yet. You'd think it would be simple.. just follow a good recipe. Nope, I still either make a burnt crisp or a floppy disk. \n\nIn any case, that's not why I am here today. After fighting in so many wars from the fall of Rome to the latest 'skirmishes' I figured I would see how the Marines these days did it. I mean, how hard could it be? These guys were amateurs compared to what I've been through.\n\nOn day 3 after signing up and making it to the basic training camp this arrogant ass of a drill Sargent shows up and starts calling us all 'pussies' and yelling at us to go back home to mommie. Well I had planned to hang out and just see if these guys could keep up with me. But this bastard just wouldn't let up. Screw him! I am letting loose and I'll show him who's a pussy! \n\nAfter a few gruelling days of running, push ups, crawling through the mud and all kinds of creative assholeness. He still hadn't beat me. Others dropped like flies. \n\nOn one particular evening after 14 hours of his bull and still no food, I had enough. He screamed at us to drop and do another 100 pushups. \"Screw you,\" i said, \"you ain't got nothin I can't handle!\"\n\nIt was at this point he stopped his yelling and walked over to face me. Looking me deep in the eyes he quietly whispered, \"Ya think you're tough huh? Got some balls on ya?\"\n\n\"Yes sir!\" I said confidently.\n\nRaising his voice a bit so everyone could hear, \"Well then, it's time for a showdown.\" And proceeded to walk to an open dirt pit. Glancing back at me he says, \"Well, ya coming pretty boy?\"\n\nSo we face off and he proceeds to kick the living g shit out of me. I tried every known skill, style and dirty trick I had ever learned. But he countered every single one and turned each into a painful experience. This was the first time I ever thought I would really die. Damn he was tough.\n\nWhen I finally could t get up anymore and could hardly breath, he bent down and whispered into my ear, \"Now I know you been around the block a few hundred times, but let me tell you somethin. I been doin this since cavemen first built a fire. You and me are gonna have some fun these next few years. See if you can keep up will ya?\"\n\nDamn, I may not make it guys. This Marine shit ain't no joke!", "Basic training, every time it is the same. Train your bodies to find your limits of performance, ready your mind to function under the most stressful conditions. Instill honor and sense of duty to make you an unflinching command obeying machine. I have no use for it. I'm not here for the orders, I could care less who wins, I'm just here for the entertainment. My physical limitations are well beyond that of any mortal. The rate at which my cells regenerate make me virtually impervious to fatigue or strain. I can run for days straight without food or water. In war the biggest mental hindrance is fear of death. Well, not only do I not fear death, but yearn for it. The Spartans had it right; train to embrace death in glory on the battlefield. These cultures today have such a twisted relationship with death. Fearing and trying so desperately to avoid the one thing that for them is inevitable, not realizing the gift in such a release or the millennia of monotony to follow if they successfully evade death. That fear is why no war heroes today can compare to those of old, yes, the age of the true warrior is long dead.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nBut this training is a necessary thing for me to be allowed to take part in the only thing that excites me after all these years. The only difficulty I have in it is not raising suspicions. Finding that balance of just appearing to be at the top of my game without letting on to my differences. It has been so long that I forget what is \"normal\" and easily go beyond that if not careful, so I just try to stick with the herd, but stand out just enough for the possibility of special, or more exciting assignments.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nDrill instructors these days are so proud and sure of their methods, so hard and disciplined, so focused on loyalty. Most of them haven't a clue how to make any real soldiers. It's not their fault, just the way they were taught, and their instructors were taught. Although, I must admit that my current drill instructor has shown hints of older knowledge. He doesn't use the threat of death to scare people into complacency and obedience. Instead he talks of it as close to being honorable as one can get without using the words, that there are better ways to die than dropping a grenade or panicking and running. Of course he can't tell people to embrace it, for that would be too far against the narrative, but he shows glimpses of understanding that I have not seen in mortal men in a long time. I am both somewhat surprised and intrigued, perhaps I can push to see just how deep rooted these old philosophies are in this young man.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nOne morning I decide to stay late in my rack, waiting for the shit storm to start. As his differences were there he was not above many of the current tactics of intimidation and fear of punishment that are standard in military training this day and age.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nAs I do my best to act undisturbed by the morning commotion and revelry only to bring myself up and to attention in a scramble as the yelling begins, I know that he already has me in his sights.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"I'm Sorry Recruit, Did We Disturb Your Beauty Sleep?, Were You Waiting For The Smell Of Mama's Frying Bacon? Or Did You Just Miss The Snooze Button?\" He screamed as he approached with the last question spouted out so close to my face I was assailed by saliva coming off the over enunciated T sound.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Sir, I Was Un-Aware There Is A Snooze Button, Sir\" I reported back. There were brief snickers at that from a distant corner of the barracks, somebody appreciated my humor, but the Sergent ignored it and stayed focused on me.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"There Is No Snooze Button In War Recruit, You Can't Tell Your Enemy To Give You Five More Minutes, They Would Not Hesitate To Kill You In Your Sleep. How Would That Make You Feel? I'm Sure You'd Get Plenty Of Rest Then!\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Sir, That Would Make Me Feel That My Enemy Must Be Incredibly Dishonorable To Kill A Sleeping Man, Sir\" As I said this I let my gaze slip to meet his eye just long enough to try to gauge a reaction, but received nothing.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"And Just What Makes You Expect Your Enemy To Have Any Honor?\" His voice dropped a notch from his standard disciplinary yell, but only ever so slightly...\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI paused for a moment as though to contemplate this before my reply \"Sir, You Make A Good Point Sir, I Have No Evidence That Honor Has A Place In War In This Day And Age, Sir\". At that, I saw it; a brief pause, a crack in the shell, for a split second I swear I saw a flash of remorse, or maybe just disappointment in his eyes, But only his eyes. His Face stayed hard and his posture strong and tall.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"You Are The Only One That Can Bring Honor Into Battle Recruit,\" he turned to the rest of the barracks \"Each And Everyone Of You Bring Your Own Honor To The Field, But It Would Be Foolish To Expect The Same From Your Enemies Or Anyone Else\" he turned his head ever so slightly in my direction to add \" In This Day And Age.\" \"As For You Recruit, You Just Signed Up For Night Watch Tonight, To Protect Your Brothers In Arms From These Dishonorable Enemies, No Shifts, Just You, Alone To Defend Honor, Is That Understood?\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Sir, Yes, Sir.\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThe rest of the day was uneventful. I kept an eye on the sergeant for any more signs that what I had said had struck a chord, but it was right back to business as usual. Pt, mess, live fire training, he never broke his normal character. The only thing was that all though he made no extra effort on my behalf I could tell he had a different air about him, at least toward me.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nFinally, rack time came. All my fellow recruits bunked up and the lights went out. I don't really need to sleep, though I do enjoy it. It is the only break I get from the passage of time. I resigned myself to go about my duties patrolling the barracks in and around. As I headed to the head I could feel something wasn't right. I had been in there twice already with no disturbances, truthfully it was a dreadfully quiet night overall, but this time I knew I wasn't alone. Out of the darkness the drill sergeant strolled, not in his normal posture, but at ease to the point that I almost didn't recognize his movements. I stopped and came to attention, but he waved me off. \"no need for that now, I bring no rank tonight, I just want to talk some real talk.\" I had gotten to him, but I was unsure how to proceed. His informality was out of place in this setting.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"How long have you been at this soldier?\" he asked in a tone that struck me as even more odd than the question itself.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"I joined the corps 3 weeks ago sir, you've been my instructor since day one\" I still found my self in a very intentional 'at ease' position. I still didn't know what to make of this.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"No, no, no, I mean how many wars? how long have you been around?\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"I don't know what you mean sir.\" could he possibly be asking what I think he's asking? did I really let myself slip that much? How could he even know or guess the possibility that I am what I am. All that was answered with his next question.\n\n&#x200B;\n\n\"Cut the crap, drop the act, can you really not recognize your own kind?\"\n\n&#x200B;\n\nEdit: this is my first post here and I've never considered myself a writer, feedback is welcome.\n\nedit 2: made a couple corrections as suggested by u/deathcharge8, thanks. I did leave in the sir sandwich though." ]	5
	[WP] You are a retired super villain. You have put your past behind and started a family. Your daughter loves nothing more than a good vs evil showdown. But no one bothers being a super villain anymore. So on her 6th birthday you decide to put on the cape of doom for her sake one last time.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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.", "Scrambling around in the loft, tripping over boxes and kicking up dust, it was hard to focus on why I was bothering. There's a reason that what I seek has been locked away for years. A reason that has settled not only me, but the community down. My headline creating escapades are over. Yet, every time I close my eyes, I see a pleading smile - a face begging for a show of unrepentant destruction. This was just a charade, a pantomime for my daughter. Nothing will come of it. \n\nReaching the destination, a black leather briefcase buried beneath my old costume. Dusting it down and smoothing out creases, I slowly button up the top half of my discarded second skin. The collar is still crisp enough to hold shape. The white has faded to an entry grey, yet the power of wearing the old suit surges through my body. I scramble to pull the trousers up and fasten the belt hastily. The briefcase follows me down the ladder into the light of day. \n\nUnlocking the case, I slowly pull out numerous pages detailing the greatest destruction the world has ever seen. A masterplan weaved into the fabric of society; a drug so pernacious billions of people were hooked for decades. My punishment? A lavish house, seemingly endless funds and a quiet life. The thrill of running my fingers beneath the numbers accumulated is exhillerating. \n\nStopping myself before long lost lust hijacks my newfound logic, I call for my daughter. Appearing at the door, she gleefully leaps into the chair opposite me. Her pink pajamas providing the perfect antidote for my threads of terror. I smile and show her the pages. Talking through what her father did throughout his working life and how, because of it, the world he knew is no longer the world visible to his little girl. \n\nShe laps it up, giggling at every gruesome tale of destruction caused by my insatiable desire for financial gain. She was not here for a history lesson of my lifetime of destruction, however, and I knew she'd become restless. Curtailing the story, I ask what she wants to see most of all. Through a magical smile, she utters four simple words in a voice of syrupy sweetness \"let the world panic\".\n\nStruggling to discourage my daughter and becoming overpowered by the suit's hold over me, I reach for my phone. Opening up social media, a new surge of excitement thunders through me. Despite all of my efforts to cage this beast and be content with the spoils of my dominance, I could not resist. From the company's account, I write \"Today marks a return of human prosperity. Climate changes has wreaked it's havoc, it's time for human ingenuity to run the rule once again. We have the knowledge and the equipment to flood the earth not in water, but oil. We will fix this mess with hard work and desire. We will power the future, and the future starts today\".\n\nWithin a few moments, my wife bellows from across the house to join her in the front room. Arriving, it's clear she is not happy. Something has agitated her, and it seems the news anchor on television. Spotting my discoloured, dusty suit, she tears the shirt from my torso. Telling my impressed daughter to return to her bedroom, she simply implores me to sit. The quiet exacerbates the freedom from the collard shirt; the impact my nonchalant updated social media slowly but surely buries me in guilt. \n\nI nearly caused the extinction of a planet before my wife managed to make me to see the errors or my greed. And now our offspring, her delightful smile eroding my new self, and the suit constricting the sense from the brain, have ignited a new war. A battle my daughter is sitting on the stairs watching begin anew.", " I could never truly believe I had done it. I had gotten out of the game. \n\n It was August 6th, 2009. My career was at its peak. When I donned the cape of doom, people ran in fear. You know, the few individuals who know my secret always ask me the same three questions. \n\n 1. Why did you become the greatest supervillain of all time?\n\n Honestly, I was bored out of my mind. Also, I knew I could. Not to mention those heroes were just so arrogant. They needed someone like me to come along and really test them. Someone that would push them to truly ascend to that moral high ground they all spouted on and on about. Except for my old nemesis, that guy was just a dick. But for the record, my moves were calculated, I only ever actually hurt one guy -which was an accident and I paid his medical expenses- otherwise, I only ever destroyed or stole things that were adequately insured. \n\n 2. Why did you pick a name as basic and silly as “Doom Lord”? \n\n I was an “evil” genius not a writer. I don’t know. It sounded a lot better in my head…\n\n 3. Well, why did you stop? \n\n It was August 6th, 2009. I went to get a coffee. Can you believe it? Something so small and so insignificant as getting a cup of joe! And I met her, I met my Rebecca. \n\n It’s 10 years later, to be day, that I met Rebecca. As fate would have it, if just so happens to also be our daughter’s, Jessie’s, 6th birthday. \n\n The night before her birthday, Jessie stayed up late watching old superhero movies. This one actually had a character loosely based off me but they got the whole likeness wrong! My nose is not that big! Jessie would always ask what the heroes of today were up to, and honestly, they weren’t doing anything that special. Now a days super heroes were just really good police officers and firefighters. Their work is important and I respect them, the thing is there’s no more villains. That’s my fault. I was so good at being a super villain that all the heroes had to step up there game. The other villains couldn’t keep up with them anymore. \n\n “You know how much she loves the old movies, heroes fighting villains,” my wife said to me after Jessie finally went to bed. “The proverbial battle of good versus evil-“\n\n “I maintain that I was never truly evil!”\n\n “I know honey but Jessie doesn’t know anything about that chapter of your life yet. Could you just put on the old cape of doom and do a little show for her party tomorrow?”\n\n I sat there for a moment. I had put all that behind me. Digging out my old costume would feel like backpedaling. But, I would do anything for them. \n\n “All your birthday cake,” I said leaping up onto the table. “Belongs to Doom Lord!”\n\n Halfway through Jessie’s party, Rebecca taps me on the shoulder. \n\n “Hey, it’s time for your big act.”\n\n “Are you sure we can’t just get a last minute clown? I have one on speed dial!”\n\n “Shush. You’re gonna be great.” She told me whine giving me an encouraging yet discrete pat on the buttocks. \n\n I had asked my friend Gary to dress up as the hero for the big showdown. \n\n “Should I dress up as your former archenemies?”\n\n “Ugh, no, I don’t even want to think about that guy.”\n\n Gary didn’t have a cape so we dressed him up in what we could find. Yellow rubber gloves, a pair of pink goggles, some fake muscles we happened to have, and for the cape, a baby blue towel. He was going to “clean up evil.”\n\n I stepped proudly, confidently, dastardly even, out of the sliding door that led into our backyard. The first child to notice me, Jimmy from down the block, screamed and then fall over. Nice. All the parents looked rather impressed too with my appearance. I’m sure their thoughts were between “wow that looks really authentic, I wonder what it cost him?” and “I had no idea he was that into cosplay.”\n\n “I hear you are having a birthday party!” I cried out in the most sinister, yet comical, voice I could muster. I pointed a finger of my leather glove at my daughter. “Little girl if you do not have a champion who can face me, all your cake will belong to me!”\n \n A silence hung in the air. Jessie looked at me absolutely enthralled. It was working but that was Gary’s queue. The waiting was beginning to feel very awkward. Unsure of what to do, I began to flex and pose as menacingly as I could. The kids laugh. Yeah, I don’t think I have it anymore. Time for the big guns. I put my hand together and soaked up my Doom Blasters. Yes, I know, super creative name. A ball of red energy appeared in my hands. I just had to adjust the parameters a little and voila. I fired the crackling sphere into the air and it exploded into a brilliant fireworks display. \n\n A drone flew over head. I recognized it immediately. The drone looked just like one that belonged to my former nemesis. Dammit Gary. I thought we agreed, no Gadget Guy! It was a cool replica though, I wondered where he got it. \n\n “Haha!” I cackled while gesturing towards the drone. “After all these years you have finally found me Gadget Guy!”\n\n Man, maybe I should I be an actor. \n\n The drone began to beep. Second laters, it fired a missile at me. Wait. What? My old instincts took control. I used my energy gauntlets to turn the missile away with lightning speed. The missile soared into the air and detonated. To the gathered crowd, it looked like another firework. Looking at the blast, I knew it was an attempt on my life. But, more importantly, I still had it. \n\n I leaped into the air and the drone gave chase. As we dashed through the sky, the drone began firing at me with machine gun. The bullets were easy enough to avoid, they were being aimed by Gadget Guy’s crappy code after all. \n\n I only made it a few houses at when I saw a large swarm of drones in front of me. I was forced to land in the middle of the cul de sac. The drones surrounded me and began whirling up their guns. I cocooned myself in a bubble of energy as they opened fire. People from the neighborhood and the party began coming out to observe the spectacle. The drones relented, whether they were reloading or Gadget Guy knew they weren’t getting through my barrier I didn’t know. \n\n I dropped my shield for a moment, giving my gear a chance to cool off. The drones changed formation. They created a screen in front of me and a live image of Gadget Guy sitting behind his desk appeared. \n\n “I see you never directed the Steve Jobs wanna be look Gadget Guy!”\n\n “And I see yours still breathing Doom Lord. That’ll change soon.”\n\n See, it’s not just me, he really is a dick.", "I sigh. Its not real. Its just gonna be staged to look real for her sake. I gotta call up someone who will help me out here. \n\nI call my former arch nemesis \"Super-Guy\" and ask him if he would be willing to help me out. \n\n\"And why should i help you? You are a villan and always will be.\" He says before i can even explain what i want him to do. \n\n\"Please. I just want us to stage a fake fight for my daughter's 6th birthday. She loves fights between good and evil.\" I respond, hoping to change his mind. \n\n\"A chance to beat the crap out of you? I would have done that without you even asking.\" \n\n\"I dont want anyone to get hurt in this. I just want a fake battle between us without any injuries.\" \n\n\"Pfft i can easily break your spine in half. Even if i tried to hold back i would kill you.\" \n\n\"You haven't managed to kill me or badly injure me before\" I say mockingly. \n\n\"ALRIGHT THATS IT!\" he shouts before promptly hanging up the phone. I should probably be concerned about this. But my best bet is to just grab my costume and get outside in the view of my daughter. A fake fight is no longer on the menu. \n\n\"Hey there sweetie\" i say to my daughter, \"my arch nemesis is coming over for a fight. He sounded pretty mad.\" Her face lights up. \n\nBefore i can say anything else i hear a loud chrashing sound in my front yard. \"GET OUT HERE, NOW!\" \n\nUh oh. That was faster than expected. I tell my daughter to look out the front window while i head outside. \n\n\"Hey there. Nice to see you again. Glad you ca-\" he cuts me off. \n\n\"YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST INSULT ME AND GET AWAY WITH IT?! YOU ARE GOING DOWN!\" he says. His eyes have turned red. You can almost smell his rage. Or maybe that is just his costume that hasnt been washed for who knows how long. \n\n\"Listen. I dont want anyone getting hurt. I just want my daughter to ha-\" he cuts me off again.\n\n\"ENOUGH TALKI-\" this time I cut him off. How the turns have tabled. \n\n\"I WASNT FINISHED!\" a silence breaks out between us \"As you know, its my daughter's birthday and i just want-\" he punched me in the face. I fall back and onto the ground. He floats up into the air and prepares for another strike. I quickly roll out of the way as he throws a punch and breaks the sidewalk where i was. Thats not good. \n\nI quickly hop up and float upward as well. He attempts to attack me again but i barely dodge out of the way. He shouts at the top of his lungs and rushes in for another punch. He doesn't understand limits very well. \n\nThis goes on for about 5 minutes when he starts slowing down. He tired himself out way to quickly. He \"rushes\" over to me with his right arm up, ready to throw another punch. I very easily dodge out of the way and laugh. I grab him and slam him into the ground. \n\n\"Thanks for showing up.\" I look to my house and see my daughter cheering about what had happened. \"My daughter seems happy. You can go now.\" I walk toward him and... Oh. I accidentally broke his spine in one hit. \n\n\"Ironic\" I say as i walk back into my house to call an ambulance and his wife. When i grt off the phone my daughter runs up to me and hugs my leg. \n\n\"That was AMAZING! Best birthday ever!\" She says. \n\nI pat her head and go hang up my costume. Hopefully for the last time. I just want to take a nap.", "If didnt end well. He won. He destroyed everything. I'm lying here practically dying. \n \n10 years ago I put on the Cape and got my gear together and had my last fight with Titan. But I think he go real tired of this. He didnt hold back. Shown no mercy and no remorse. After 30 minutes I was sent to the hospital. \n \nShe knows. After 10 long years she knows everything. Shes even invented a weather control device. I saw the news. Titan challenged by a 16 year old called Maelstrom. She terrified him she screamed \"this is vengeance for dad\" and caused the biggest thunderstorm this damn city has ever seen. First I was scared. Scared that he would kill her. But now I'm proud. She wears my mantle with pride and she made t greater. Now she is unstoppable. \n \nAs she walks in for her last visit with me before they take me off life support I hand her a key. \"This is the key to the dreadvault. End him, his family and everyone else who stands in you're way. My greatest creation, my biggest pride ever is in there.\" Little will she know that the vault has 56 photos of her throughout her life. That and a REALLY big gun", "It's been years since I'd defeated superman. Kryptonite was not easy to come by, but having had it, it was relatively simple. Batman did it to superman once, and I got the idea. By then, he was the last real threat to me. \n\n2 years later, I found a wife. We lived an ideal life from all my criminal money. She was shocked when she found out, but eventually came to. \n\n6 years later, my little girl. The beloved of my life, except all the years of keeping a highly radioactive element on me messed with my genes. She developed GBM at 5. This year... well... I've tried Dr Jace, and Dr Amar. And even Prof Pyg, but nothing. Not even those who stood against Bats once could do a thing.\n\nShe loves her fantasies. Daddy, read it to me please, she'd say. Daddy, tell me about the time you and Green Arrow fought. The problem was, she was a kind soul inside. The good side always had to win. \n\nThis year, she was interested in how I used to fight. \n \nThis year, I took my cape from my memory box\n\nThis year, I hired a superhero to take me down.", "Ofelia puts on the tape again, and I know it well. It’s audio blasts out of the living room and through the house. The news network’s chime is like a beacon for my memories to come roaring back.\n\n“We’re back, as Super Boom continues his assault on super-villain The Terror. Their loud punches echo through the streets this afternoon, as people cheer on our hero to win again!”\n\nI stopped cracking eggs into the bowl, and I listen. I listen every time she puts on that tape. The newscaster is so thrilled with me getting my ass kicked. Everyone chanting for Super Boom is as well. I hate that feeling. It’s why I quit being The Terror in the first place. Well, mostly.\n\nI wash my hands of yolk and shell, and head into the living room, and stare at the back of my daughter’s head as she eats it up. \n\nSuperheroes. Everyone thinks they’re so great, and the worst part is, they are. They’re the most obvious cause for me quitting, but for a different reason than you might expect. It wasn’t the broken noses or the fractured ribs that slowed me down. It wasn’t the countless suits I had to repair that made me retire. It was the idea that someone had to stop me. \n\nI needed money so badly. I had a daughter on the way, and I couldn’t keep a job. Criminal records always resurfaced, no matter how hard I tried to cover them up, and tattoos and a mean old mug didn’t help very much either. And honestly, all that work felt a little demeaning. I have the ability to fly. To break cars in half with my bare hands. I thought I was better than people, and that was my mistake.\n\nI filled the TV screen now. Some news reporter managed to get a close-up of me in the sky. Ofelia didn’t know, and I had always planned to never tell her.\n\nShe talked out to me, “I kind of miss super-villains, ya know?”\n\n“What do you mean you miss super-villains? You weren’t even alive when they were around! It’s good they’re gone! No one is getting hurt.”\n\n“But The Terror never REALLY hurt anyone. He always just dukes it out with Super Boom and all the others. He never tried to kill them, or other people.”\n\n“Others did.”\n\n“Well, OK, they can stay gone!”\n\nShe got caught up in superheroes like everyone else. Kids at school converted her, and she found my old recordings. She started playing the tapes. Her favorite hero was Super Boom. She followed all of his previous work, and played it over and over. She didn’t realize she was making me relive my past every single day. I asked her to not watch them so much, but for today, I caved. It was her 6th birthday, after all. \n\nShe didn’t realize how desensitized she was to everything. Those were real people. Real fights. It wasn’t just her. America started to forget. Villains disappeared, either at the hands of heroes or the hands of time. It’s all a game now. Back then it was life.\n\n“I’ll be right back, baby. Daddy’s gotta go to the garage real quick.”\n\n“OK! Is the TV too loud?”\n\n“No, no, you’re perfect.”\n\nI do as I said I would. I walk past my car and over to a small section of the wall, hiding in the corner of the room. I press some hidden panels in a particular order, \nand a larger one opens. I pull out the rags, and shut the panel door. Using the cover of the car, I slip them on. All black, and very tight fitting. The cape hangs and drags against the floor, picking up sawdust. I keep the helmet to my side. I don’t need to wear it.\n\nI walk back into the living room, and wait for Ofelia to notice. She’s glued to the action. \n\nI quietly get her attention, “Hey, baby, can, can we talk?”\n\n“What? Are we gonna have cake soon?”\n\nI try to put my super-strength into my balls, “We need to talk”.\n\nShe turns around, and the shock on her face almost makes me want to laugh. But it quickly turns sad. The shock turns to horror. She fumbles with the remote, and pauses the tape. She stares at me for what feels like solid minutes. I hear a fly hovering over my bowl of eggs in the kitchen.\n\nThen she screams. Loud.\n\nI scream back, “Jesus Christ, baby! Calm down!”\n\nShe stops, and immediately asks, “That’s a costume?”\n\n“Yes.”\n\n“A fake one?”\n\n“I mean, how would you define a fake costume?”\n\n“Are you really The Terror? Did you really steal and lie and fight good people?”\n\nI yell at her, “Did you really wish I would come back?”\n\nShe gets sad again. I feel sad, too. I never yell at my Ofelia. I try not to get emotional, or sentimental. I focus on what I want to say: “I know you love superheroes. You love the fights, and the good triumphing over evil. I like that too. But, Daddy was in a bad place. He needed money so he could be normal. So he didn’t have to be bad anymore. Do you understand? We don’t need people to be like Daddy was then. I’m glad you like the good guys, but looking back, Daddy wishes he had been one. “\n\nI realized this lesson was too soon, and maybe not even for Ofelia. My little girl was just afraid and sad on her special day. Instead of letting her enjoy something that didn’t even matter anymore, I made it about me.\n\nI needed to make her cake. \n\nWe stared awkwardly at each other, until I went back into the kitchen. I didn’t even take off the old garbs. I just needed to make my baby girl a cake.", "\"Daddy! Please!\" Ellie yelled in desperation. \"Could we watch a villain movie? Those really awesome ones you used to watch?\" She looked up at me with those puppy eyes I'd seen so many times; they were difficult to resist.\n\n\"Ellie, I don't think we can. A 6-year-old shouldn't be watching those.\" I said, putting on a fake smile to seem more endearing. Her face was sad and disappointed, and she left with only a slight sob. I felt bad. I used to be a supervillain and I could do this for her.\n\nBut I had left that life behind. To create a family. It happened five years ago after something horrible happened. On that day, that horrible day, I promised myself something. That I would never return. But at that moment when Ellie left, crying, I felt a pull. A pull towards the cape.\n\nI walked up the attic stairs, towards the Cape of Doom, feeling horrible when I thought about what could happen. Most superheroes had also retired; there wasn't much to do after I left, though a few stayed. Notably the superhero Covn.\n\nHe was the greatest in the people's eyes, but I knew better. He had betrayed me.\n\nHis powers were probably the greatest there ever were. He used to be a villain, and we worked together. We defeated those heroes again and again till they eventually gave up. We didn't kill them, of course, I wasn't that cold. But he betrayed me, yes, and turned to a superhero.\n\nI picked up the Cape of Doom which ceased my reminiscing of the past. The cape was really light and it didn't seem like it could hold any power. But that vague cross on the back still lit up - a sign that the powers were intact.\n\nMy hands shook as I put the cape on my back. I looked at the mirror and saw a new man. He wasn't the blonde-haired and blue-eyed handsome man from before; he was disgusting. This man who now stood in the mirror instead of me had untidy, brown hair, a lanky form and grey eyes that had a hint of red to them.\n\nThis was the monster I knew, the one that had haunted these five peaceful years where I had lived with my family. Hurried footsteps creaked the old stairs leading up to the attic. I turned around and saw her, my daughter. She screamed and stood frozen in place, her eyes showing fear that I had never seen before.\n\n\"Hey, calm down, Ellie,\" I said, my croaky voice surprising even me, \"I'm dad, okay?\"\n\nShe looked slightly relieved but still untrustful and struggled to get words out of her mouth,\n\n\"Uhm, ah, D-Dad? You're a villain?\" she asked.\n\n\"Yes, Ellie. I knew how much you loved those evil vs good showdowns that you always wanted to watch. You shouldn't have found me...\"\n\nShe looked at me, her mouth open.\n\n\"Cool!\" she yelled, which caught me off guard. What? She's happy? I wondered as I rushed down the attic stairs. As we reached the bottom, I turned to Ellie.\n\n\"Ellie. You have to promise me that you won't come. Stay inside and watch it on the TV, alright? Promise me that.\" I could still see her slight discomfort with my appearance change, and how she still trusted me? I don't know. Kids were strange, was the conclusion I came to.\n\nEllie nodded slightly and the excitement that she had bottled up slightly let loose. I ran out of the door but turned at the last second, smiling to Ellie.\n\n\"Happy Birthday.\"\n\nI closed the door and my footsteps shook the rainwater on the ground. I would get to the city square - thankfully it wasn't too far away - and then I would use my abilities to call someone out.\n\nThese evil vs good battles usually didn't cause too much damage. I don't really know why all ten of us supervillains and superheroes did it. Some had come to the conclusion that our capes were what pulled us to action, others theorized that we were all just lunatics.\n\nI didn't really care. It found it fun and so did most people, and as long as it didn't cause any harm, it was alright.\n\nI jumped up to a rooftop using a small superstrength reserve; some of my powers had to be stored for later use, such as superstrength. The way I did this was quite strange, however. I would put on my cape and if I just willed it, I could make myself extremely weak to be able to get some superstrength into the reserve. When I was done, I would stop the process.\n\nI smirked slightly as I neared the path I always used to take. The one that lead to the city square. Around me, sounds of kids playing, cars driving and a few birds chirping sounded. It was a normal day.\n\nMy feet ached slightly as I jumped down from the roof, now in the middle of the city square. There were few people there and those who were there quickly left; they must have spotted me.\n\nI used all I could of my sound reserve; it caused my voice to sound a hundred times louder while still being safe to ears, somehow. It took a while to do as it put a large strain on my body. But I eventually did it.\n\n\"SUPERHEROES! COME TO THE CITY SQUARE! LET'S PUT ON A SHOW!\"\n\nI put hands to my ears. It felt like I would explode and I just wanted to lay down and head to sleep. God, what have I done? I thought.\n\nI stood proudly in the middle of the city square, awaiting my challenger. I tried to guess who it was. Only two of the five superheroes who used to operate were left: Covn and Fighterman.\n\nFighterman was a bit of a joke. He was incredibly stupid and seen as the weakest and most useless of the superheroes. I hoped it wouldn't be him.\n\nCovn, however? God, I hated that man. I remember his betrayal and how he had broken the usual rules we would follow. I remember fighting Holographer, one of the heroes who operated years earlier. It was going well until Covn did the unthinkable. He picked up a woman - I remember her screams of terror - and used her as a shield.\n\nEverything happened so quickly, but in the next second, I saw her lying on the ground, a laser wound like the one Holographer used in the middle of her chest. She had been killed by Holographer, but all us heroes blamed it on Covn. The people didn't, and welcomed Covn's change to a superhero.\n\nAnd I heard those tramping footsteps of a giant, I knew Covn was here. Over those tiny buildings I could see him in the giant form he began using after becoming a hero. He looked down at me. It was the first time I'd seen his new form face-to-face. His face was quite handsome, actually, and had a muscular form. He would have looked quite normal if it weren't for the giant part. He towered over me at probably 12 feet.\n\nContinuation in the comments", "The age of superheroes is long past. At it's height, you could see men in invulnerable spandex lob buildings 'for the party' while unnaturally beautiful women weaponized the sun against any -- and every \\-- one they didn't like. \n\nIt was never the glorious time that people paint it as today, and that's because everyone like myself is either buried a thousand feet below a mountain in the most secure prison ever made, or else they are six feet under in a simple coffin.\n\nI, having seen the end of the age of superheroes long before it came, had retired and peacefully gone to the prison. When I went below, there was a vacuum-sealed elevator ride, and an incredibly through strip search. They even took samples of all my tissues and fluids. This was a mistake. Several years later one of my minions, posing as my 'wife' unfroze some of my sperm and had my child. I don't even have a wife.\n\nDon't get me wrong, I love Lucy to death. I spent my last few out-of-prison connections getting a good connection to her. The problem is simply that I'm an eighty-six year old retired supervillain with a six-year old superhero-obsessed daughter. We talk to each other every day. I help her with her homework, and every night I tell her bedtime stories. \n\nHer sixth birthday is coming up though, and she asked me for a gift. For a minute or so, I was saddened. I have no resources left, and I have nothing but my voice to give her. Of course, I'm not the smartest living supervillain for nothing, so I made a plan quickly.\n\nOn the day of her sixth birthday party, my first words to her were this. \"Hello Lucy! Happy Birthday! How would you like to see me face-to-face?\" I was nearly deafened by the resulting squee.\n\nYou see, the day before my plan had sprung into action. As the food-elevator dropped, I had one of my fellow prisoners, an electronic technopath arrested for successfully implementing communism on all electronic funds worldwide, stop it from closing its doors. I jumped in, along with an aerokinetic that could create his own ammunition. That rude young man had been arrested for holding the state of Kansas hostage with a hurricane-grade tornado.\n\nWith his power, we could fill the vacuum with breathable air for long enough to get to the surface. Once there, he set out for 'vengence', whatever that would be for him. It was a suitable distraction for me to get out of the area in a stolen car.\n\nMy first stop was an auto-body shop. It was a simple matter to cannibalize the vehicles and lifts there to make a rudimentary mecha. I spent a few hours painting it bright pink as well, Lucy's favorite color. In the mecha I could traverse the highway much faster without worrying about highway patrolmen.\n\nMy second shop was a military base, where I stole a tank to arm and armor my mech better. I may have taken a few barrels of jet fuel as well, just for 'insurance'. With that, I began my blitz across two states. In my mech, I could outrun or dodge most attempts to stop me, and just tank those that I could not. \n\nFirst there was an ATV group sent after me to negotiate.\n\n\"Step out of the mech with your hands up, and we will allow you to go back to prison uninjured!\" \n\n\"No thank you, gentlemen.\"\n\nAnd I sped off at a clip they could not match. The next encounter was a blockade on the road. I just ran around that one. Really, what did they expect? I had cannibalized several jeeps and a tank at this point, off offroading would probably be easier than onroading if I didn't need to dodge trees I had no wish to break.\n\nThe final encounter was a jet plane that caught up to me as I was above the tree-line on a mountain. At first I was surprised, but after the first bomb-drop took a chunk of my armor on the head off I started paying attention. The were easily dodged, and when it started shooting instead the high-caliber rounds did nothing.\n\nEventually, the first part of my journey came to an end.\n\nI sat in my mech in the woods behind my daugter's house waiting. My poor eighty-six year old heart could barely take it, and I had to make some make-shift heart medication to deal with the anticipation. When she finally called me, I nearly choked on the words I had waited for so long to say.\n\n\"Hello Lucy! Happy Birthday! How would you like to see me face-to-face?\"\n\nI had the mech stand up, and lower a hand for her to climb on. Then I opened the blast door on the side and scooped her in. She wrapped her arms around me, and I around her. We just sat like that for a few minutes, as father and daughter hugging inside death machine.\n\nThen I started the second phase of my plan.\n\n\"Lucy, you know that I have to go back to prison soon, right?\"\n\n\"No daddy! Don't go! You just got here and I want to do something with you!\"\n\n\"Well, I know what we could do together...\"\n\n\"What!\"\n\n\"You could be the hero that puts me away.\"\n\nShe sniffled a little bit, but smiled, and nodded.\n\nI turned around, and with a wicked grin, opened up the box of spare parts. I picked up the parts from some radios, some car batteries, and a dish-shaped hood ornament. With a bit of quick wiring and a blast of pink spray paint I had a microwave cannon.\n\nI handed it to Lucy with a solemn face.\n\n\"Alright darling. I'm going to head downtown and start climbing the radio tower. I need you to get down there before I reach the top, and shoot the mech with this. That's the basics, and it'll get the real heroes attention on you. That's how most sidekicks get started, and from there you can do anything.\"\n\nI gave her a hug, and slipped a little envelope into her pocket. Then I put her down gently on her back lawn, and began heading toward the downtown radio tower. I had always wanted to pull a King Kong, and now was my chance. Better late than never, right?\n\nI stepped more carefully on the way to the tower. I only stepped on cars that were unoccupied and in poor repair besides. I never took a load-bearing wall from a building. I never did more than scare or startle anyone. This was still more than enough to have every camera in the city on me.\n\nAs I reached the tower, I grabbed onto the first layer of bars and pulled the mech upward. There was a metallic groaning, but everything held. Reassured my plan would work, I plotted a course to the top. I set the mech on autopilot and looked myself over one more time. This would be the ultimate gift. \n\nI pressed the big red button in the cockpit, and took over the radio tower. \n\n\n\"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of Earth. You may know me as Doctor Devastation. You thought I was defeated, in retirement, in the Pit , but you were WRONG! There is no prison in the entire world which can hold me! I have come to bring a return to the Age of Superheroes, and I shall have what I desire! Watch and tremble as I send out waves throughout the entire world! I will single-handedly create more empowered people than the world has ever seen!\" \n\nThen I reached the top of the tower and slammed the button again. It cut the visual feed and blasted out the best evil laugh I ever gave. In my old age I could barely get beyond an evil chuckle, but I still had a recording of the best one I ever gave. It was spine-chilling in it's timbre. Its tone was a high-pitched growl. The number of 'ha' in was just right.\n\nThat was the laugh that played over the ears of every man, woman, and child with a connection to the airwaves worldwide. Then, out of nowhere, it cut out just before the final 'ha'. I looked at the cameras and saw my daughter below, blasting the shut-down signal from the device I gave her. It was only seconds after that for a blazing woman glowing like the sun had grown under her skin to tear my mech apart and knock me out with a sleeper hold.\n\n\\-- -- -- --\n\nI woke up in my cell with a massive headache.\n\nMy connection was intact, and as I used it I was filled with a joy beyond anything except actually hugging my daughter.\n\nShe had been taken in as a sidekick by my previous nemesis, Sun Woman. She had been the one to get me out of my mech. She was a beacon of kindness, and an all around good person. She had had every opportunity to kill me but had taken the high ground. As I sat through Lucy's interview tapes about what it was like to defeat Doctor Devastation I knew my daughter was in good hands.\n\nAll that I had to do now was start planning a better gift for her high-school graduation." ]	9
	[WP] You run an afternoon tea place. You soon notice all your clients have have very old fashion clothes or futuristic clothes or fantasy like clothes. They all say you serve the best tea, sandwiches, scones, and desserts in their 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/js5XDFB)\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’s not true, is it Ayesha?” Elrin gasps incredulously, his jaw dropping to his green tunic, “You can’t be thinking of...”\n\n“I’ll be too busy with Uni work” I shrug, “I won’t have time to work here while learning to be a dentist”\n\t\nPetronella looks at me with an open mouth, but then again, Petronella’s mouth is always open in some way, “But who will run Mrs Heura’s when you’re gone?”\n\n“Mrs Heura, the same as she does now”\n\n“You sell yourself short!” Brian booms, his hat and goggles shaking with the tremor of his voice, “She may own the shop, but you, my dear, do everything else”\n\n“I’m really sorry guys,” I shrug, “But Dental school is a big commitment. I’m handing in my notice today, so I’ll be around for the next few weeks”\n\n“Before you do that...” Sky grabs my elbow, her sleeve crossing over mine. I don’t have a word that describes the colour she’s wearing, a sort of natural pink that reminds me of birdsong, “At least sit down with us after your shift, before you hand in your notice”\n\n“You’re not going to change my mind”\n\n“I wouldn’t dream of it”\n\nI look at my watch and sigh, “Alright. Give me five minutes”\n\nBy the time I get back, the group have gotten out what I can only describe as ‘The Tablet’. It’s here whenever they are, glowing in different lights with small sketches passing across its screen every few seconds. They’re all looking at the small screens on their wrists, pressing them intently as the tablet changes. That’s a bright side of leaving, I guess, I might get to understand what it is they do on the tables here. Though it won’t help me with the illustrated cards and porcelain tablets the other patrons use.\n\nI sit down at the empty seat, placing my tea in front of me. Elrin looks up and smiles, “Sandwich?” he points to the tray at the centre of the table.\n\n“No thanks, I’m not hungry”\n\nHe shrugs, “You’re missing out”\n\n“Not really. I can make myself a sandwich whenever I want”\n\nThe corner of his mouth curves up, “So, Ayesha, how long have you wanted to be a dentist?”\n\nAbout 18 months, ever since Mum and Dad dragged me around Birmingham Dental college\n\n“Oh you know, a while”\n\n“Here” Petronella hands me a small square screen. I instantly recognise it as being the same as the ones on everyone else’s wrists, “Touch it when it vibrates, you’ll catch on quickly enough”\n\n“I remember my undergraduate” Brian’s voice gets caught in his beard, “Good times, good times”\n\n“I really enjoyed my PhD” Sky chips in, “Doctor of Musical Theatre, can you imagine anything more pointless?”\n\n“That sounds fun, actually” I reply, “I always liked drama at school. I did a lot of stuff after school and at the weekends too”\n\n“Shame you’ll have to give that up, hmmm?”\n\n“Yeah, it’s a – oh!” The square vibrated, shaking like it was trying to tug my shoulder.\n\n“Ah, so Pets has attacked you” Elrin points at the buttons, “You can attack, defend, surrender, dodge, befriend or manipulate”\n\nI press blue for befriend, “What about you, Elrin?”\n\n“Oh, I did my Masters Dissertation on the Philosophy of Time. That’s how I met this lot, actually. Then we discovered BlipOut and your teashop, and the rest is… history”\n\n“It’s not my teashop...”\n\n“Not yet”\n\n“What?”\n\n“She wants to leave, Elrin” Sky looks over, pressing her square, making his arm twitch, “Let the poor girl be”\n\n“It’s not that I want to leave, I just have to. Look, it’s like my Mum says, there are things you want to do and things you have to do, and the things you have to do always come first”\n\n“I don’t see why they have to be different things” Petronella doesn’t look up from her watch, “”Much easier if the things you have to do are the things you want to do”\n\n“It’s a shame it doesn’t work that way”\n\n“Oh, I don’t know” she barely reacts to her wrist shaking as she leans her head in her hand and looks at me, “I’ve done a lot of travelling, Ayesha, and I mean a lot”” The others in the group nod softyl, “And I’ve been to places where the things people have to do aren’t promises, they’re necessary to survive. That’s not where you live though. Trust me on this, you’re an adult in a free age, and so am I. My parents…. How do I put this…. They were of another time. They wanted certain things for me, they wanted the best for me, but that meant I had to act in a specific way and do certain things. It made me miserable, Ayesha, I was in my thirties by the time I broke free of that. You don’t have to do what I did”\n\nI’ve never heard her say this much before. And, in my experience, that means I should listen\n\n\n“That’s… thank you Petronella”\n\nShe just nods\n\nI look up at the wall, “I should probably get going. Thank you for inviting me. And BlipOut is… fun. I hope I get to see you again, before I leave”\n\n“Trust me” Sky nods, smiling, “We will”\n\nI head to my locker, taking out my handbag and my letter of resignation, and head towards Mrs Heura’s office. As usual, she’s staring intently at her computer screen, pretending to work.\n\n“Ayesha!” she jumps, “Everything OK?”\n\n“Yes, I just...” I look down at the letter in my hand, thinking about what Petronella said. Clearing was still open. I would still have time… “I just need to put something in the recycling bin. See you tomorrow”" ]	2
As superhero comics go on they seem to get weirder and weirder to me. Like the Spider-Man clone saga.	[WP]You are an average everyday superhero. You save the day every other week from a collection of villains and get you dream girl. The difference is that you can see what other versions of yourself are doing. And you’ve made sure that things don’t get too “weird”.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 an easy job really. Every few weeks a new “super” villain would rise, attack the city, attack me or something along those lines. I would beat them and get the girl. Well, when I say I get the girl, I have a loving girlfriend and we are together. I make sure nothing bad happens to her. I earn enough money from my side job to sustain myself and my lifestyle. I don’t stop every crime, only those that matter or don’t affect the timeline too much.\n\nSee my powers include, flight, strength and heat resistance. I am not invulnerable, but strong enough to avoid most dangerous situations. My big power however, is that I can see alternate realities. I can see other realities I am in. Look through them, piece them together. These alternate realities offer me glimpses into my choices. I use them to stop bad occurrences.\n\nWatching the birth of my arch nemesis who would cause many troubles for my alternate selves. He would terrorise me. Ruin my life, threaten the safety of my girlfriend. So I stopped his parents getting together. Crimes that would teeth a seething hatred of myself? I would just let them finish the crime or call in the actual authorities anonymously. I wouldn’t want to be involved. I wasn’t a super villain, merely a super hero changing events for the betterment of the world. It was a good life.\n\nThen it all changed. My deeds. The murders, the crimes I allowed to occur came to light. Everything I had worked so hard to construct was over. I ran. I had too much strength for anyone on this earth to pose any threat. Then he came. I came. I was too panicked to check other universes. This had never happened anywhere else. I’d never seen it. But two of me, in one universe.\n\n“You have misused your power. You’re meant to help people.” He spoke to me. Disappointment resonating in his voice.\n\n“You were chosen. As we all were. We have different powers, yours allow you to see across universes. You were meant to look at the other realities learn from them. Not use it for your own gain.” I tried to fight back. Yet he stopped every punch without flinching. \n\n“Your time has come. I am sorry it had to be this way.” He reached into my chest. His arm fading through my body. And he pulled. With it I felt my power go. Just fading from my body. I felt the strength disappear, fading. He looked mournful almost. As he faded out of sight too. I was left shocked, as police cars roared into view sirens blaring.\n\n“Stand down!” A voice called. I didn’t even register what was happening as I was locked up." ]	2
	[WP] Every morning your son draws a picture, and every day you see what he drew in real life. This morning he drew himself firing a gun, toward the viewer.	[ "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/js5XDFB)\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 never expected anything dangerous to come out of my son's drawings. After all, he mostly just drew houses and mansions, so I was in utter disbelief when I saw today's drawing featured a gun pointing at whoever was looking at the picture.\n\nAs soon as I figured out I was in danger, I heard a loud bang from behind me, and I turned around to see that my son had missed a shot with a pistol to my head. I freaked out and rushed upstairs. I couldn't find anything to avoid getting shot with a gun, so I grabbed a nearby stool and slammed it against the door.\n\nI kinda wish I had taken a few more moments to think through what was in the picture, because it turns out that my son had thrown the pistol down the sewer drain while I was hiding in the shower for thirty minutes before I realized that my son hadn't followed me upstairs even after half an hour passed. Still, from that day on, I forbid my son to draw anything." ]	2
	[WP] Everyone is born with a unique curse designed to make them miserable. Yours is that nobody you meet will ever remember 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/js5XDFB)\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 woke up to his mother turning on the lights. \n\n\"Time to get ready for school,\" she said. From her tone, he knew that she loved him, but it also seemed that she didn't quite understand why. \n\nShe continued down the hall to his older sister's room where she woke her with a warm greeting, \"Good morning, sweetie! Breakfast is ready.\"\n\nSchool was always boring for him education-wise, and an absolute nightmare for him otherwise. He had switched schools twice because of never ending bullying -- hoping that it would end the torment. He was wrong. One day it was his \"big ears.\" They would call him jug ears or flick them when sitting behind him. Another day it was because he got a good grade and ruined the grading curve for everyone else. He was just trying to do his best so that his parents would love him and people around him would be pleased. It never seemed to work. The next day it never failed to start over again.\n\nHe did his best to ignore the bullying, but he couldn't help but feel some red-hot fury growing somewhere inside of him. His grandfather had told him the time they had met, \"Everyone is walking around struggling with a curse everyday. Just because you don't know it or see it, doesn't mean it isn't there. Many time they themselves won't know it, either.\" It always stuck with him. It felt wise even though he didn't quite understand it at the time. So, he tried to not blame the bullies for what they were doing. They were carrying a curse, too.\n\nHe remembered the first time he met his grandfather. He was old enough to remember at the time because his grandfather lived far away and could afford to come visit beforehand. His parents couldn't afford it either with a single restaurant-industry salary and two kids. He remembers it quite vividly because, for whatever reason, the times he saw his grandfather after that he didn't quite act the same. He was inexplicably more distant than the first time. He could never figure out why people acted this way. \n\nHe did have friends in school, but he seemed closer to them than they were to him. They all knew him, even through they seemed to forget things about him all the time. He figured it was just the routine of it all that made some of it fall away into a forgotten place. They would joke around on the bus to and from school. They would shove him under the seats on the bus and laugh. He objected at first because he didn't like it, but he eventually just let it happen. He assumed he was just misinterpreting it. They were just having a good time. \n\nYears later, in his senior year of high school, he decided to join the United States Marine Corps. Some recruiter had come in with his shiny metals and no nonsense attitude speaking of challenge, travel, and camaraderie. He liked the way it sounded. He was tired of school, anyway. He rarely felt he was learning anything unless it was on his own after school. After all, Marines were strong and fearless. They could make him strong. No one would bully a Marine. \n\n\\---\n\nShortly after graduating, he was off to boot camp. \"Three months of hell\" as the recruiters put it. They weren't wrong. He did his best at everything they threw his way. He was never the best in his platoon, but he was never the worst. Despite that, he fellow recruits didn't seem to like him. He couldn't understand why. The Drill Instructors seems to single him out from time to time, but they did that for everyone. Of course they did. It was their job.\n\nOne day after walking back into the squad bay from chow, he went to his rack and stood in front of his footlocker at attention as they always did when returning. As if it was a lightning strike, a couple of his fellow recruits attacked him. He didn't expect it and he couldn't manage to even consider fighting back. They were carrying a curse, too.\n\nThat night, after showers, he laid in his rack as he tried to consider what their curses may be. It was strange to him they never acted like they had one or that anyone else may have one, like he seemed to. He just couldn't figure it out. He wiped the blood from his lip one last time, and cried.\n\nA couple months later, it was the end of boot camp. It all culminated in a three-day long exercise called The Crucible. The remaining recruits were deprived of most food, sleep, and rest during the entire thing. They had to perform many different events: combat exercises, patrolling, weapon ranges, weapon cleaning, team-oriented obstacles. He always got chosen for the worst of the night guard duties, depriving him of even more sleep, and his Drill Instructors would give him some of their gear to carry in his pack just because. His pack ended up weighing twenty pounds more than he did. \n\nOver the three days, they hiked over 140 miles. His feet felt as though he were walking in boots made of broken glass and his shin splints became unbearable. He bore through it. He couldn't stop now. It was almost over.\n\nAfter the final hike back to base, they all grounded their gear and formed up for the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor ceremony. The moment they had all been working towards. It was in this ceremony they were given the Marine Corps emblem and officially called \"Marines\" instead of recruits. Our Drill Instructors worked their way through each row of recruits, handing them the hard-earned pin and giving them commendations for making it through. They had all done well, and it was finally time to be told so. Many of them cried as a wave of relief and achievement was finally permitted to wash over them. \n\nThe Drill Instructor stepped in front of him. His moment had come. Glancing down at my nametape, as if he had forgotten my name, he handed me my emblem and stepped away to the next Marine to be. Wordless.\n\nA single tear ran down his right cheek, but he felt no relief or achievement.\n\n\\---\n\npart 1/2", "I sat on the corner of 5th and Main street and strummed my guitar. I played “Horse with no name.” A fitting song if you knew me. Not that anybody did. I couldn’t hold down conventional jobs due to the nature of my curse. I relied on street performances to make ends meet these days. My guitar case lied open. Inside there were a few crumpled bills, but nobody had donated yet today. In this business, you learn quickly that an empty case turns people off. It’s best to prime it with a few bucks of your own. Too much turns people off too. You want there to always be just enough so it looks like other people have donated but not so much that people start to think you should be the one donating to them.\n\n\nI looked up and saw a round smiling woman walking directly towards me and reaching into her purse. Mrs. Illia. I tried to subtly kick the case closed. I couldn’t take her money again. She gave me $100 yesterday. $150 the day before that. “Hello young lady, my name is Sarah Illia. Are you new in town? I know everyone but I’ve never seen you before.”\n\n\nOf course, she didn’t remember me. Nobody does. That’s my curse. Somewhere between 10 and 15 seconds after this conversation ended, she would forget me again. “Hello Ma’am, my name is Alice and I just arrived last night.” I lied. I had been here for almost a year. “You must let me give you some money, your performance has brightened my morning and I want to return the favor.” She said. “No thanks, Ma’am. I don’t accept donations, I’m just practicing anyways.” I lied again. “I won’t take no for an answer.” She said as she placed a twenty on top of my closed case. “Well, if you insist. Thank you so much!” I faked the excitement. A lot less than yesterday. She’s probably running out of expendable cash. I’d have to put it back in her tip jar at the bakery tomorrow. She smiled and went on her way. I don’t know how that place stays in business. Anyone with a curse like excessive generosity has no business running a business. Her tip jar is always brimming though. I guess it’s true that what comes around goes around.\n\n\nA few hours and dollars later I packed up and headed home. It was date night and I had to get ready. After a hot shower I put on my best dress and a spritz of perfume. I’d been looking forward to this all week. I showed up 10 minutes early. I knew he wouldn’t mind. I nervously rang the door bell. I’d been doing this for months, but I still got butterflies in my stomach every time. \n\n\nThe door opened. “Are you here for date night?” his voice called out. “Yep. Hi Harry!” I responded as he let me in. “I didn’t know what to expect.” He said. “I had date night written on my calendar. Nothing else. I can’t believe someone as beautiful as you showed up. I’m speechless!” I blushed. “You said that last time too.” I said. He responded “I can’t help it, It’s my curse. I-” \n\n\n“I know, Harry. Believe me, I’m used to it. I think it’s why we get on so well together.” Harry’s curse was to always forget other people. Names, faces, voices, that sort of thing. He couldn’t recognize people. He couldn’t really get to know people past a single conversation. Just like me, in a way. He was my opposite but somehow, he was just like me at the same time. He completes me, even if he forgets it every week. I’ll just have to keep coming back and reminding him.", "As a child, most fear being scolded by their parents. I would have given anything for them to remember me long enough to become angry about something. Growing older, I quickly learned to fend for myself in every aspect of life. Family forgot to feed me, teachers forgot that I had to learn, and acquaintances forgot that I needed friends.\n\nEverything felt dreary and hopeless, but I couldn't give up. I knew there had to be more to life, and the others seemed to find a way to live with their curses. When I was about sixteen, my disposition toward the curse started to shift. I didn't have to pretend to be friendly or feign niceties. Basically, I had free reign to address anyone according exclusively to how I felt that particular day.\n\nThe novelty of that quickly wore off, though, and the loneliness gently wove its way back into my life. Still, solitude had its perks. I spent all of my time studying, learning, and creating. I practiced multiple instruments, songwriting, art, and writing. With the years spent to myself, all of my skills were honed beyond anything I could have expected. Admittedly biased, I would have ranked myself among the most skilled in the world. Isolation was a miniscule price to pay for the talents I had earned throughout my life.\n\nFinally, in my late thirties, I decided to do something about my work. I'd made a living by stealing for so long - because no one remembered who took their things - but I wanted an honest job. No one had to remember me to purchase a song once, or to read a book.\n\nMarketing was difficult, of course, but I presented my first novel to enough people that they finally started spreading the words. At the same time, I snuck some of my art into galleries. While people may not recognize the artist, they began to notice a specific style in the art itself. The art, the novels, and the music - all by the same nameless creator - began to sweep across the world.\n\nRiding that wave, I was overjoyed. The fruits were mine alone, as I had no one with whom to share them, but I had finally found my niche. Of course, as was the nature of the curses of my people, my worldview was quickly shattered. One day, I found a post from a super fan of mine on an internet forum. Their means dumbfounded me, but the results were true. They'd managed to correctly deduce my identity. In an era with the Internet, though, even a completely forgettable person could be found. The more surprising part was a few days later, when that anonymous fan was still discussing my work with others.\n\nBeyond just my work, my name spread throughout the world. Everyone began associating my works, and remembering my voice in my music. My curse had been broken - there was no other explanation. Ecstatic, I raced to schedule a book signing - the first time that people would see my face in public (as far as they knew, anyway). When the day came, I met hundreds of fans. The next day, though, I saw more confusion on the Internet. A group of people seemed to have forgotten who I was, and they were posting questions about the mysterious author of their favorite novel.\n\nSuddenly, but likely far later than it should have been, the puzzle pieces fell together in my mind. Whatever our curses were - whomever had placed them upon us - included a very high degree of specificity. Similar to a wish from a genie, the wording of the curse meant everything. Anyone who I met would never remember me.\n\nMy next published book was a memoir, but also an explanation to the fans. They deserved to know why they would never see my face again. Each of them had a curse of their own, so it wasn't difficult to explain mine.\n\nThe man with no name, with no humanity. In the end, everyone's life comes down to a story. All we are is the stories and the memories we leave behind. My curse hadn't just been intended to make me miserable, it was to take my legacy. It destroyed my chance to leave anything behind. Yet, I did. More than just my name and my art, I left the world with something better. Hope. For the first time in history, they had all seen someone beat their curse. My only regret is that I didn't live long enough to see the wonder as others follow me - as they fight back.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nThanks for the prompt! I hope you enjoy reading, and please feel free to check out my profile for more of my work if you like!", "Sometimes I feel I'm shouting across a wide chasm and only my own voice echoes back at me. All I am looking for is empathy in this dispassionate world. Calling this cursed world dispassionate might make me sound like a contemptible prick but to me, that's what this world is. \n\nEveryone is born with a curse, but mine is the worst there can be. Other people's maledictions look like minor inconveniences to me. The fact that others are cursed too makes me feel no different because at least they are remembered by some. \n\nFor twenty six years I have lived my life trying to gather some meaning from these social conventions. I have fallen in love only to be miserable about her not even knowing I exist. I have been party to meaningless mating rituals only to come home even more dissatisfied than I was before. \n\nAll I want is a friend. Someone I can confide in, someone who can see the brilliant soul that I could be. ", "Not much was known about our race's beginnings, only that we were cursed and hence we took to calling ourselves 'The Fallen'.\n\nThe curses we were born with were innate, bound to our souls as closely as our minds, any attempt to remove such a curse would mean leaving behind a mere shell where a person once stood. It would be far easier to kill oneself rather than risk total obliteration of one's soul.\n\nAnother reason people bore the curse was that it was bad, but never unbearable, compared to plague curses, venom wroughts, or kin killer curses, our innate curses strove to make one miserable not to destroy them outright. \n\nMy curse was the same, and as I write this passing memoir to whomever might read it, only to forget it again as per the curse, I can only marvel at the beauty of the curse I was born with.\n\nWell, the day I was born the matriarch witches of the town's coven cast a scrying spell on the child I, as sought to find out what curse I was born with, a necessary precaution only achieved after hundreds of years of floundering research. I was found to have...no curse.\n\nDue to my curse, whomever is reading this may find it hard to believe the sheer weight of what my existence was but if I tell you that on that day I was named 'Imeas', meaning Redemption in the old tongue, and as all know the old tongue is not uttered lightly, you may glean a slight bit into what I (should have) represented.\n\nThere were many theories but the greatest most trumped up one was that I represented the forgiveness for whatever crimes our forefathers had wrought. This meant I was to usher a new era, one uncursed and unsullied by the past of eons gone.\n\nTo be sure of this the king absorbed me into the palace with my parents and give us titles and allocades, and with those protection from any and all that may wish to harm us, as well as to keep a greater eye on the child I was until I made it to my day of adulthood, the age of 15, that day whether I was truly worthy of the name 'Imeas' would be known.\n\nThe years rolled by, raised on word that I was the savior through I did not become drunk on importance I did however take pride in my role. Then the day I turned 15 came and I lost everything, my curse manifested, no...in fact it was never not there.\n\nYou see, as I mentioned before as you well know. The curse will never outright kill you no matter the curse any of our brethren race carry, not a single one will destroy them when it comes. It will just be a burden the burden we all carry. My burden was too much at that age, doomed to be forgotten by whomever saw me whichever entity controlled such curses saw that I would not be able to survive.\n\nInstead of being born without a curse, my curse was to be forgotten so even the witches forgot they saw the curse, and I got the chance to live happily, unburdened, remembered and respected by all. \n\nIt's been 3 years since I've had this curse, and like all curses it bearable, as one can work around it to survive. Stranger who reads this document, have you forgotten me already?", "On July 2nd, 1982, in the small town of Lions, Nebraska, a child was born under the name Alexander Smith, at least that's what it said on the birth certificate. As there was no real way of knowing how many names my parents gave me before that one... From an early age it was clear, my life would be a peculiar one.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nEveryone was born with a detriment, some more severe than others. Some people experienced pain and frustration, some ended up hopeless and outcast.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nIn high school I knew a guy named Mikkel, best goddamn writer in the city, but he always lost his writing utensils. Whether it be pen or pencil, quill or computer, they always vanished. He was devastated... miserable. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nSo was I for a time, no one remembered who I was, what personality I had, what color I liked. No teacher, no friends, nobody, not even my parents. I had to take pictures of myself in the classroom the day before to prove that I was there and belonged.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nBut that's when I had an idea, if no one remembered me, who could possibly recognize the person who stole their wallet? So that's what it came too... petty theft, wallet after wallet, purse after purse. It didn't matter how many times I got jailed, because when they went to get the mugshot, they didn't recognize the person in the cell. \n\n&#x200B;\n\nAs I aged, my ambition grew, no longer did I steal purses and wallets, but cars and safety deposit boxes. That's right, bank robberies and grand theft auto, all at age 18. I soon became the richest man on the block, the mystery millionaire. Not even the IRS could deplete my fortune, because you can't tax who you don't know.\n\n&#x200B;\n\nI had worked my way to the top of this miserable society, not through fame, but through fortune. I wonder what it would have been like to have had a family, friends, and a community who cared about me. But after seeing so many miserable people, so many who've had fate spit it their face, I have come to a conclusion, my curse... is a blessing." ]	7
	[WP] You and a friend jokingly started a religion. Later after an accident you were cryogenically frozen. When you awake, your scam religion is the largest and most dominant 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/js5XDFB)\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 hit by a train. Obviously that’s why I’m here, at a hospital. But when I look closer, I see that I don’t recognise any of the tools. And the lights looked neater than anything I’ve seen.\n\n“Velcom Back, Zacobe.” What kind of accent is th—“Ya ben out for Faf Honzed Nony Safin years.” Five Hundred Ninety Seven? So it’s 2594?\n\n“What happened?”\n\n“Ve weseny unfose ya, poffit Zacobe eteni” Did I just hear this right? This is an actual Eterniist?\n\nWhen I was twenty, me and a friend created a joke religion that there’s always someone that is immortal and has magic powers, but they die (even though they’re immortal) and someone inherits their soul. They’re an Eterni. We came up with it when we were high and I said “What if immortal people died” and then we posted something about it on a forum. I died a day later.\n\nWhich means they think I’m both immortal and a prophet. Great.\n\n(Possible Part II?)", "Have you ever taken a joke too far? It's all fun and games until someone's hurt or insulted or financially devastated or whatnot.\n\nWell, I think I did that, big time. And I'm pretty sure it was me because I'm staring at a 12 foot tall statue of a German cockroach. Twenty years ago, my roommate Luis and I started a new religion, as a joke. It was supposed to be a la the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Our treatise was that humans should show deference to cockroaches, because they've been around since before the dinosaurs and will outlive us all. They're the immortal bug. We did it in college, because we were angsty and hormonal, and we absolutely needed to prove how clever and funny and pseudo-philosophical we were. We wore feelers on our heads and all of that. Our \"religion\" became fairly popular with the comedy crowd at first, and then got picked up by the atheists, who were eager to use it to show how ridiculous they perceived religion to be. \n\nYeah, we were on all the online forums. We championed our faith in the town square, because it was more interesting than doing our homework. We even identified the inventor of Raid as Satan, the anti-Roach and made some bullshit petitions to have him showered with his own bug-killing spray.\n\nThe last thing I remember was driving with Luis to a convention of alternate faiths in Baton Rouge. Apparently we were hit by a truck and I've been asleep for the last 15 years. Luis is dead. And now I'm awake and standing in the middle of the city, between a church called The Roach's Way and a poster of my own damn face with the phrase \"The Apostle Awakens\" written under my neck. \n\nThere are roaches EVERYWHERE. People are gingerly placing trash on the ground and whispering \"accept this offering.\" They're letting them crawl over their arms and legs and weeping for having been \"chosen.\" They're kissing their exoskeletons in a plea for immortality. The inventor of Raid has been killed. It's delusional and disgusting. From what I can tell on the TV, it's happening everywhere. The doctors made a big, public deal when I woke up and now I'm supposed to be the people's Roach-Pope. Good lord, does no one see the insanity of this? I want out. It's not funny anymore and I need help. My plan is to move into the mountains and become a recluse. And if the roaches come for me, I guess I deserve it.", "I woke up in my underground lab. The entire place was a mess. It looked like it was abandoned for decades. What the hell happened here? And what happened to Sheila? I go to the door. I tried opening it with the knob, but it wouldn’t budge. So I decided to just kick it down. A lot easier than I thought it would be. \n\nWhen I left, I saw a bunch of people wearing green. It was a lot of people; enough to make me suspicious. I walked up to one of the green suited gentlemen playing the banjo.\n\n“Excuse me sir, what is the date?” I asked.\n\nHe turned to me and said “Why sir, it’s April 20th, the day of our Green Master.” His voice was high, strangely high. And almost familiar. I asked him what hear it was, and what he said was unbelievable. “The year 2067.” \n\nI couldn’t remember what happened in that lab. The most clear memories involved me being placed into something, Sheila the one placing me in it. She was crying... but for what? Running passed me were two kids, both dressed in green. One was chasing the other, and they both were flailing their arms around while shouting. As I walked further down, I saw a church. Or at least I THOUGHT it was a church. Anyways they were chanting. I went to get a better look.\n\nThey kept chanting. “Hail the frog! Hail the frog! Hail the frog! Cut away all! And hail the frog!” I saw next to one guy a big flame. It looked like they were burning puppets. But the chanting... it reminded me of something. My childhood when me and Sheila made up that chant. That time we tried making our own religion... no.\n\nThen, when the puppets were completely burnt, s guy walked up to the pedestal, raising his hand as to quiet every green weirdo there. Then, he shouted, at the top of his lungs, and in a high voice like he breathed helium, \n\n“PRAISE THE FROG!!!” And then two banners dropped, revealing two pictures of Kermit the Frog doing gangsigns over the corpse of other puppets. That’s when it hit me. Everything these guys did, it’s what me and Sheila did as kids. We idolized Kermit, we never watched Sesame Street. At nights we would watch the muppet movies to put ourselves to sleep. We even made a joke religion out of it... so how did it go so far?!" ]	4
	[WP] You're walking through the woods when you see a very strange man looking at you. You can't place your finger on what about him is strange. He just seems... off. You rub your eyes hoping you're just imagining it. When you open your eyes, he's gone. And you are in a whole new 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/js5XDFB)\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 stranger walked to the other side of the room. Alice didn’t notice the wheel and levers that had always been there. She also spotted a spiral ladder that went to the ceiling. The specter pulled down a long tube and peered through it. Alice couldn’t be sure if it could actually see anything through the bag, but watched it pivot back and forth. Suddenly, its fingers began feeling for a lever, which it slowly pulled. She felt something move from under her. As she looked through the window, she noticed that they were moving forward.\n\n“A ship?” she gasped, “Do you really have a flying ship? That’s amazing! You must have been everywhere! Um…”\n\nShe looked at the bare, steel staircase, wondering where it may lead. She didn’t recall the house being big or having another story. Perhaps it was stairs to the roof or a secret attic. It would certainly be a silly thing to have stairs that lead to nowhere. She approached them, curious about what awaits at the end.\n\n“Do those stairs lead to another room?” Alice asked, pointing up at the object, “Can I see?”\n\nThe figure’s footsteps clanked towards Alice. It placed a hand on her shoulder and stretched its other palm towards a large, ornate chest. As they walked towards it, she couldn’t help but admire it. It had a white body, but red panels. Round the panels, painted green vines and flowers surrounded them. In contrast to the rest of the room, with its splintery table, and grimy walls, it was terribly out of place.\n\nBut, it wasn’t the box the figure was after. As they arrived, it grabbed a mask. It was different from what the specter wore. It had two enormous holes for the eyes, protected by glass. At the mouth was a small canister. The mask was handed to Alice, who stared at it reluctantly,\n\n“Do I need to put that on? It doesn’t hurt, does it?”\n\nThe figure stood motionless, urging her to take the mask. Nevertheless, she accepted it, and the figure helped her put it on. It wasn’t very comfortable, but it didn’t make a mess of her lock, at the very least.\n\nYet, the allure of the box still grasped her attention. How could such a beautiful chest be in a place like this. Perhaps one peek wouldn’t hurt. Her curiosity got the best of her, and she absentmindedly reached for it.\n\n“What’s in this box? Can I look?”\n\nAs her fingers felt the wood, were suddenly met with eight bony fingers and a loud SLAM! The figure was hunched over the chest, facing Alice with those black X’s and sown smile. While it couldn’t show it, Alice knew that there was a bit of anger in its expression. She had never seen it move so fast. It made her gasp,\n\n“Oh! I-I-I’m sorry, sir. I meant no offense. Oh, please, sir, show me what in the chest. It’s very beautiful.”\n\nIt said nothing, but stood up, patted her head, and led her back to the stairs. The path ended at a hatch. As the specter opened it, Alice was blinded by a bright light. As her eyes cleared, she saw it outside, hand stretched out to help her.\nIt was terribly cold and windy. Under the shadow of the balloon, Alice could only see the brown haze around her. She felt the small rocks and dirt covering her exposed skin. None of that mattered to her. The only thing racing in her mind was the fact that they were indeed flying. It was like the times she would fly in her dreams, but it felt so real. She could hardly contain her excitement as she grabbed the stranger. While she couldn’t see the land below her, she was certain that that time will come soon. Perhaps once they arrived at the Kingdom in the Sky, that wish would come true. \n\nOne thing she didn’t anticipate was how cold and windy it was, and decided to go back inside. As she went down the ladder, she was covered in dust and dirt. She thought about how nice a bath would be when she gets home. As she took off her mask, she was relieved that her face was, at the very least, clean. The figure, however, took his time before he returned, carrying a big bag of rocks. The bag dropped with a loud thud and the clanging of metal.\n\nShe wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but Alice noticed that it was becoming dark. It couldn’t have been terribly late. Her mother must be worried sick about her, she thought. Maybe it had been hours, or even days. She didn’t really know what time it was at the moment. She glanced at the porthole, and while there was nothing outside she could see, it seemed to be night.\n\n“Excuse me, sir.” she turned, “You wouldn’t happen to know the time, would you?”\n\nThe figure procured a pocket watch and showed it to Alice. The hour hand said three, and the second hand continued to drone round.\n\n“That’s odd,” she stared, “Is it really 3 in the afternoon?”\n\nIt nodded.\n\n“Then why is it so dark?”\n\nThe figure lifted a flat hand even to its head, with the other slowly moving under it. Then, it pointed towards the map. Alice wondered what it was trying to say, but her train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a metallic rattling sound outside, followed by a heavy thud directly above them.. Alice froze in fear, as the figure looked upward. It grabbed a long pole and headed up. As it exited, the door slammed behind it. That rattling sound surrounded the vessel. Alice remembered the birds she encountered earlier, and worried that another terrible creature was out there. Perhaps the specter went out to fight it. What if it doesn’t come back?\n\nAlice looked out the porthole, anxious to know what would happen next. It was dark, almost black outside. However, she could make out the haze that surrounded them. In the distance, she could make out tall, faint shadows that seemed to be moving around. Were they flying snakes, she wondered. She heard a scraping from one side, moving back. Her attention came back to another thud at the porthole.\n\nThere, she saw teeth, with a half-eaten nose. Its eyes were dark, empty sockets. Its skin was white and half-peeled. She stared a rotting face as it stared back, mouths agape. \n\nAlice shrieked and fell back. The face rattled to the right, out of sight. It scraped towards the door, and she heard one heavy knock. Alice quickly rose and raced up the ladder. She tried to open the hatch, she found it to be locked. Pounding on the door, she cried.\n\n“HELP! OPEN THE DOOR! IT’S COMING IN, HELP!”\n\nShe continued to pound at the door and scream at the top of her lungs.\n\n“PLEASE! SOMEBODY HELP! LET ME OUT!”\n\nThe wheel on the hatch turned, and the door opened. Alice was met with the bagged figure, pole in hand. All her fear and anxiety was thrown onto it as she leaped “to him, holding tightly.\n\n“Oh-please-help-me-it’s-coming-inside-don’t-let-it-in-sir-keep-it-away!”\n\nThe figure patted Alice’s head, and placed a hand on her shoulder. It was enough to keep her racing heart from escaping and have a little bit of composure. The fact that it didn’t panic gave Alice the idea that there was no danger outside, and that it gave her the solace she needed. \nThe specter closed the hatch behind him and handed her the gas mask. It pointed outside with the pole, beckoning her to follow.\n\n“I-is it ok to go out, really? There’s nothing out there to get me?”\n\nIt nodded, and offer her its hand. It had been protecting her this far, she pondered. Surely, there is nothing to be afraid of if the stranger says so. With that in mind, she took the hand, and together, they went up the stairs.", "Alice didn’t know where she was. One moment, she was walking home, taking the shortcut through the woods. She remembered seeing the tall, slender figure, standing aimlessly. When she approached the figure, she found herself somewhere else in the blink of an eye. The apparition was gone, and she was alone.\n\nAlice peered through the brown haze to look at her new surroundings. She could make out steep hills and mountains, protruding like fingers coming up from the ground. Green grass and trees filled the fissures and cracks. The tree next to her was peculiar. A fan of foliage surrounded the center, which was occupied by a bundle of bare stalks. The stalks twisted about at the top, giving the illusion that the tree was upside-down.\n\nAlice didn’t want to move, but knew that she couldn’t dawdle around. She had to go home. But which way was home? There seemed to be no signs around nor any indication of a house. She noticed that one direction looked like a dirt path, though the haze made it difficult to see far. It was better than any other route, she thought to herself.\n\nAs she carried on the path, the mountains seemed to come closer and closer. It reminded her of the woods she took home, except with enormous stalagmites. She thought about climbing one of them to get a better view. However, she decided against it as it would be too dangerous, and she didn’t know much about scaling a large rock.\n\nWOOSH! A large shadow flew through her. She looked up to see a large, bird-like figure soaring above her. As it glided past her, it landed atop one of the rocks. She watched it crane its head and take a bite out of the rock it was standing on. As it took each bite, smaller boulders flew off, and rather than falling down, they went upwards.\n\nSeveral more of the birds pierced through the haze, landing on the rocks below. Alice looked in wonder at the feast above. They didn’t look like any animal she had seen. Rather than feathers, they seemed to be made of metal plates and canvas. Dark tubes made up the neck, and the heads looked like monstrous shovels. Their eyes shined the way before them, glowing like lanterns. These were terrifying birds for her, and she wish she was home.\n\nAs the feast carried on, two ghostly lights beamed at Alice. As the bird stretched its neck towards her, she screamed and inched her way back. She knew that she might be its snack and didn’t care to find out. The monster crept closer to her, and her scream got the attention of the other clockwork birds.\n\nAlice bolted as fast as she could round the monoliths. The birds were closely following her, leaping from rock to rock. Each jump sent rocks flying upward, never to go back down. Alice cried for help, hoping that someone was there to keep the monsters away.\n\n“Help! Somebody help!”\n\nAlas for Alice, no help would come. One of the birds made a move and swooped down. It grabbed her in its flat, copper talons. She screamed as a last resort for any rescue to come.\n\nIt came. It was not a person, but a wrench. It flew towards Alice and hit the creature on its chest. The bird dropped her. As she fell, there was a loud BANG! As she got up, she saw a geyser of stones racing upward. Delighted, the birds followed the trail, into the haze.\n\nAs Alice dusted off her dress, she spotted the tall, slender figure standing away from her. It dressed the same as anyone else, but it looked rather skeletal. Indeed, it’s hands looked stretched and pale. It looked more like a ghost than a person. One peculiar feature of it is that it was wearing a burlap sack over its head.\n\nAs unnerving as he looked, it still saved her, she thought. It was only proper that she thanked it for the rescue. She slowly approached the figure, which stood motionlessly, seemingly staring at her. As she got close to it, she cleared her throat.\n\n“Th-Thank you, kind sir. I thought I was gone there.”\n\nThe figure stared back, unmoving. Alice noticed that the sack had two X’s where the eyes would be, and a long line for a mouth. It looked like a smiling face was glaring back at her. She thought it was quite rude for it not to answer back.\n\n“E-excuse me, sir? Tell me who you are. Do you have a name? I’m Alice, and it’s a pleasure to meet you.”\n\nDespite her courtesy, the same one she was taught at school, the figure didn’t answer. She was growing impatient at its lack of manners.\n\n“Surely you have a name! Everyone does. Again, I’m Alice. What about your name?”\n\nThe figure only stood silently, staring back at her through the bag. Alice was getting visibly angry and threw her manners behind.\n\n“The least you can do is take off the silly bag! Is it too much to see your face? I’m not going to be scared, I just want to see!”\n\nAfter a few seconds, it lowered a knee. The sack was within Alice’s reach. It seemed to invite her to remove it. Curious, she slowly lifted the bag to remove it. There was a burst of excitement and anticipation in her as she took it off. Her glowing expression was met with no expression. There was a pale-white surface. Eyes, nose, and mouth were all gone. In their place were horrible scars and grooves from mutilation.\n\nAlice screamed at the top of her lungs and fell back. She continued screaming as she scooted backwards until she was pinned against a rock. The faceless figure replaced the bag and stood up. CRUNCH! CRUNCH! It’s footsteps came closer to her. Alice screamed in panic.\n\n“Get away from me, you monster! Don’t come closer! GO AWAY!”\n\nBut it didn’t. It came up to her. Alice began to cry. As she sobbed, the apparition kneeled down. It stretched out three bony fingers to her, with one finger and its thumb together. Between the two was a red flower. It was a very beautiful flower in her eyes. It stretched out another hand, holding a handkerchief.\n\nAlice looked at the gifts and at the figure. Her eyes were watery, but she could see enough.\n\n“Are you,” sob “going to hurt me?” sob\n\nIt sat motionless. She slowly took the flower and handkerchief.\n\n“Th-th-Thank you, s-s-s-sir.”\n\nThe figure stood up and extended a hand towards her. She took it and was helped up. Alice dried her eyes and bewildered you looked at the flower. As she inspected the gift, the specter laid its hand on her shoulder and pointed in a direction. It seemed to be telling her to go a certain way.\n\nShe wasn’t sure what to do. On one hand, this thing saved her, and is probably her way back home. On the other hand, she knows better than to trust strangers, and this one was terrifying. However, she remembered the birds from before. And, against her better judgement, decided to go with it. Where exactly, she didn’t know." ]	3
	[WP] A ghost with unfinished business shows up in the form of a dream for someone who is in a coma. The ghost's task? Get them to wake 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/js5XDFB)\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.", "Part one:\n\nI’ve been working with the council for almost 14 years but the tasks never gets easier. Today I have to report back for my next assignment but I was really hoping for a vacation. These things never get easier and the tasks get more complex each time. \n\nThis morning I’m opting to take the speed train into the city center and longing for a cup of coffee that I can’t have. You would think this world would be set up so that I no longer have to use public transportation to get around, but alas, it’s not. I settled on standing in the middle of the train, trying to stay as invisible as possible. \n\nI exit the train at the 42nd street stop and head over to the main office passing by the French pastry shop I haven’t been able to enjoy and spy the bustle of people coming and going, clutching their pressure croissants and pain au chocolates. Lucky bastards. \n\nI slip up the entry steps and head towards my boss’s office, passing by the reception desk. She never notices me and that’s probably for the best but sometimes I wish she would at least greet me with a good morning. Something, anything.\n\nI enter my boss’s office and notice the tell-tale stack of envelopes on his desk. The assignments. There’s only one other person that arrived before me, Norman, and he’s pacing around nervously. He’s only been here for about 6 months and it shows.\n\n“Norm, see you got here early as usual. How’s the assignment?” I asked, nodding towards the folder in his hands.\n\nNorm shifted and looked nervously at the folder. “Traffic control it looks like.” \n\n“Not too bad then, you’ve done that before, should be no issue” I said, turning to my boss. \n\n“Good morning Baker.” he said to me in that wonderfully monotone voice he has. \n\n“Boss, what’s the deal today? Gonna go easy on me? Maybe some light investigation work?” \n\n“Not today, sorry, we got a green folder in and I want you to handle it.”\n\n“Green? Ugh. Why can’t Davison or Pearl handle it? I was hoping to have an easy go for a change”\n\n“Baker, you’re the best I have for this one. Sorry. From above, they said specifically it was for you to handle.” He leaned over his desk and handed me the green folder. Great. This is what I get for showing up, I should have just stayed away. But, it’s my job and it needs to be done. \n\nI opened the folder and started reading over the job details. I looked up at my boss with surprise.\n“Dream sampling? Really? It’s been awhile Jake..” \n\n“Baker, this one is apparently super urgent and important. They already have the transfer unit ready for you down the hall. I have faith that you can complete this tasks, and who knows, maybe this will earn you that vacation you keep talking about.”\n\n“Heard that one before but fine, it’s not like I can really turn it down.”\n\nSome of the others started filtering in and there were low murmurs as they noticed my green folder. \n\n“Baker, got a greenie today eh? Good luck with that! Ha!” Old Bernie had been working this job for longer than I had but he never got green folders, always the same for him and I guess he was ok with that. \n\nThe door opened and Nancy walked in and I knew it was time to head down to my office for the transfer. I hated transfers but the job required it so there wasn’t much I could do. I nodded at Nancy. \n\n“It’s time.” is all she said and motioned me towards the hall. \n\n“See you guys later, hopefully,” I said, nodding to the room and walking out. Man I really wish I could have some coffee or something stronger. \n\nWe walked silently down the hall, Nancy leading slightly. She was a nice person but not very talkative. Almost as bad as the receptionist but at least she acknowledges my existence. \n\n“Did Franklin fix the glitch from last time?” I asked\n\n“I’m not sure.” was all Nancy answered as she ushered me into my own office and motioned for me to have a seat by the transfer device. \n\n“Franklin will be right in.” she said and then left.\n\nMy office is such a mess and it never really bothers me but I know Franklin was probably cursing my name as he set up the transfer machine. I could see some of my papers and books shoved to the side on my desk. All my pointless research is what he called it and he was probably correct.\n\nI heard a slight knock and knew it was Franklin because even though the door was open and I was sitting there looking right at him, he still knocked. Polite and annoying Franklin. \n\n“Good morning Frankie, did you get the calibration glitch fixed?”\n“Morning and please don’t call me Frankie. And yes, I believe Russ and Tina got the calibration set correctly this morning.” \n\n“Farming out your work I see, I suppose it’s for the best after last time.”\n\n“Look, I apologize, I still don’t know how you ended up transfered into that dog but we got you right out… “ he looked equal parts annoyed and worried. \n\n“It’s fine. I’m just finishing up loading this data card into my personal unit and I’ll be ready to transfer, I guess. You know, I hate these transfers Frankie, hate them.” I took a pretend drag on a pretend cigarette. I really should know better than to mess with him, this time I could end up in something way worse than a dog. \n\n“Again, please don’t call me Frankie. I’m ready to transfer when you are. Do you have the unit secure?” \n\n“Seems secure to me, I mean I don’t really want to do this but let’s get it over with.”\n\nI double check my unit attached to my side holster and it looked secure. I need that to communicate out when the job is done and I can leave. \n\nFranklin was setting the dials on the transfer machine and watching me at the same time. “Just a few more adjustments, setting the location and timing now. Hanford Regional Hospital, room 418, bed 2. Ready?”\n\n“Ready as I’ll ever be Frank-lin” \n\nI heard some buttons click and the whir of the transfer machine. It’s a hard sensation to properly describe but it’s like going down a twisty slide while holding your breath and people outside are pounding on the sides. So not pleasant but not terrible. \n\nEverything went bright white and a bit of a mist was off in the distance almost like it wasn’t there at all. The area I was in was initial just a bright white but gradually started filling in. I was in a coffee shop, figures, but it was odd and seemed to be selling grapefruits and there were puppies on all of the couches. Oh and there were a lot of couches. \n\nThat’s when I saw her, at the counter trying to buy coffee but keep being handed a grapefruit. I slid around one of the puppy filled couches and approached the counter. \n\n“Excuse me, Miss?” I said and she jumped, turning and staring at me. \n\n“Who are you?” She demanded.", "“Pssst! Hey!!”\n\n“Hellooooooo. O my gods, are you even listening?!”\n\n“I’ll post embarrassing pictures of you in Facebook if you don’t wake up-wait, I remember you don’t have an account. Darn it.”\n\n“Ughhhhh. Why do I have to do this?”\n\n“What the heck am I hearing right now?” Bernie thought. To him, it sounded like someone was talking to themselves. Faintly, he remembered he was sleeping. Or was it dreaming? \n\nThe voice continued.\n\n“You’re really stuck deep in this coma, aren’t you?”\n\nAh. So that was it.\n\nBernie was in a coma. Maybe from an accident? Bernie couldn’t remember.\n\nHe forced his heavy eyelids to open.\n\nBright lights filled his vision, but he squinted.\n\nA woman with shocking pink hair was pacing around his hospital room, muttering constant curses. She was wearing bright white clothes, and she seemed transparent. \n\nBernie’s first thought was this was his guardian angel, coming to tell him he was dead. \n\nBut then he realized angels don’t levitate a foot above the floor. “Uh. Who are you, lady?”\n\nThe woman turned to him, surprised. She grinned excitedly. “Yes! You’re listening, now! Okay, I’m going to introduce myself. I’m Nicole. Does Nicole Emdown ring a bell?”\n\nNicole waited impatiently for Bernie to sort things out. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration. \n\nFinally, he shook his head apologetically. “No, I don’t remember a Nicole. I just remember a Leah?”\n\nNicole sighed. “That’s your dog walker, dolt. I’m your dead sister.”\n\n“You’re what?!” Bernie squawked. “How come I don’t remember you?” \n\n“I don’t know! Maybe it’s because you’re dumb!” Nicole shot back. “Anyways, we need to wake you up from your coma, or else I can’t go to heaven like I’m supposed to be. Any ideas?” \n\n“But I’m already awake-” Bernie was interrupted by Nicole slapping his forehead. “Ow!” \n\nStrangely, it felt solid. Her hand didn’t go through his head, which was crazy. \n\n“No, idiot! Your physical body needs to wake up!” Nicole pinched her nose. “The best way is to remember all the things you live for: family, friends, money, power, basically everything. What did you live for?”\n\n“My dog?” Bernie responded. “Did I have a girlfriend or something?” His question was met with silence. “Yeah, I’m guessing I’m single.”\n\n“No BS, Watson. The only living being who tolerated your snoring was your dog, Elton.” Nicole deadpanned. “But I’m pretty sure you have friends or something. C’mon, we’re running out of time till you die. Think of something!” \n\n“Food? I don’t know, dude. I think I was a nobody.” Bernie couldn’t really think of anything else. He shrugged and searched for the words. “I think the only thing I lived for was the opportunity to live. I mean, I bet there were millions of times I could’ve died, but I didn’t. Unless it’s right now.”\n\nTo his surprise, Nicole nodded eagerly. “That’s a good enough reason. It might work! Okay, I want you to imagine waking up, literally.” Her pink hair was now floating up slowly, and Bernie couldn’t help but stare. “Oi. Bernie, focus! My hair does that sometimes. No big deal.”\n\n“O-okay,” He shut his eyes tightly, and imagined waking up. Getting out of bed. Seeing the sunrise from his apartment. “Uh, I think it’s working. I feel...alive, I guess.”\n\nNo response from Nicole.\n\nHe opened them again. \n\nNicole was gone. Instead, the hospital room was in her place, only this time, it was much brighter and louder. \n\n“Oh, good. You’re awake. Keep trying to stay awake while we contact your parents, okay? They’ll be so happy you’re out of your coma.” A doctor’s voice echoed in his head. “By the way, who’s Nicole? We heard you saying her name.”\n\nThe doctor was bent over his bed, scribbling something on his clipboard. Bernie licked his chapped lips and tried to respond.\n\n“She was my dead sister.”\n\nThe doctor frowned slightly. “We don’t have a Nicole as a sibling in your files...”\n\nBernie closed his eyes. “She had pink hair. Talked a lot of trash.” He opened them again and let out a hoarse laugh. “Insulted my dog.”\n\nThe doctor leaned back, away from Bernie, and cautiously walked out of the room, murmuring, “They never get out of the anesthesia fast enough...”" ]	3

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